Project Don't Use That, Use This (XY/ORAS PU Edition)

[MZ]

Neither version deals with these threats but one has offensive pressure and the other is a waste of space. If max HP Golem doesn't deserve to make it on here, neither do the Bouffalant, Simipour, Gourgeist, or Avalugg posts.

 

[MQJinx]

Don't use this:

Ditto @ literally anything other than Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 SpA / 1 Spe
- Transform

Why it's bad: Without a Choice Scarf, Ditto has to rely on speed ties to beat the opposing mon. This is extremely luck reliant and Ditto might not end up doing its job. You're better off with something else if you don't use Choice Scarf.

Use this instead:

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 SpA / 1 Spe
- Transform

Why it's better: With a Choice Scarf, Ditto makes for a solid revenge killer in PU. And really, it's the only reason ever to consider using Ditto, otherwise it tends to be a huge liability on your team.

 

[Mistress Remilia]

Don't use this:

Unfezant @ Choice Band/Life Orb/Anything else
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Return/Frustation
- U-Turn
- Bad Flying STAB
- Night Slash

Why it's bad: Why Unfezant even gets usage? Sure, it's only 1,5% usage, but that's just way too high for such a bad pokemon.
I'll begin with minor flaws, then with major flaws.
Unfezant has 93 Speed, it doesn't seem too bad, but unlike Dodrio, Fearow, and even PIDGEOT, which is also bad, it is burned by Gourgeist Small before it attacks, Haunter can KO him before it can attack, which is also pretty sad for Unfezant, and other problem with Speed.
Unfezant lacks a good Flying STAB, but like, it doesn't even get Acrobatics, and THIS is what makes Unfezant so awful, because having Normal STAB as your main spammable STAB is far from being good, as Normal is a poor type offensively,and when you lack of good coverage like Unfezant, it really hurts.

Use this instead:

Dodrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Speed
Timid/Adamant Nature
- Frustation/Return/Double-Edge
- Brave Bird
- Quick Attack
- Knock Off

Why it's better: Dodrio has 100 Speed, a much more effective Coverage Dark move, some Priority, and BRAVE BIRD.
Dodrio is a very good wallbreaker, and it is your best bet in the competitions of Generic Birds.

 

[MQJinx]

Don't use this:

Wartortle @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Toxic
- Any move other than Foresight

Why it's bad: Without Foresight, Wartortle doesn't have a niche in PU that isn't done better by Avalugg, who has access to reliable recovery, Roar, and offensive presence. Wartortle has minimal offensive presence, causing momentum loss for its offensive partners. It is also massive setup bait, and Avalugg can fix all of these problems.

Use this instead:

Wartortle @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Toxic
- Foresight

Why it's better: Wartortle is the only mon in PU that can use both Rapid Spin and Foresight, allowing a guaranteed spin. This is what gives Wartortle its niche in PU over Avalugg, being able to Foresight Ghosts on the switch and removing hazards for its teammates without removing hazards on the opponent's side. Foresight is absolutely mandatory on Wartortle, otherwise you're better off using Avalugg or a defogger.

Don't use this:

Lickilicky @ Choice Band
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Power Whip

Why it's bad: It's not necessarily bad, it's just that there's one Normal-type that does CB Lickilicky's job better. Lickilicky is better off taking advantage of its bulk in balanced and stall teams as a cleric that can pass massive Wishes to its teammates while leaving a teamslot for this particular Normal-type. That mon that does a better job at being a bulky CB user in PU is none other than...

Use this instead:

Bouffalant @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless / Sap Sipper
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Charge
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Pursuit
- Megahorn / Pursuit

OR

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious / Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Body Slam / Knock Off
- Heal Bell / Dragon Tail

Why it's better: Bouffalant still has decent bulk, however it is slightly faster and has significantly more Attack than Lickilicky. Although it wears itself down with Head Charge, it can open a teamslot for you to use Lickilicky for Wish support, or you could use something like Togetic. Boufflant still has decent coverage to hit a majority of the metagame hard, taking out the same threats that CB Lickilicky can. Lickilcky itself has a massive support movepool as well as Oblivious that prevents Taunt and Encore from affecting it or Own Tempo to block Chatter. It also has access to Dragon Tail to phase opposing mons.

 

[Mistress Remilia]

CB Licki has that strong Explosion, and an actual useful Dark Coverage move, so i refuse to put CB Licki in don't use Thread.

 

[Anty]

CB Licki has that strong Explosion, and an actual useful Dark Coverage move, so i refuse to put CB Licki in don't use Thread.

Choice band lickilicky is still bad. A way to hit ghosts is nice, but a lot less strength isnt. Its low strength means it is easy to play around as return is much weaker than head charge:
252+ Atk Choice Band Lickilicky Return vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 225-265 (63.7 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Bouffalant Head Charge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 313-370 (88.6 - 104.8%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Explosion is also a 'meh' move, as if you incorrectly predict you lose your mon. I would even prefer to use cb stoutland out of sand (although it is awful out of sand):
252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 267-315 (75.6 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Also comparing licky's strength with tauros:
252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Tauros Rock Climb vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 227-269 (64.3 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(mewtwo is there for comparison)
CB licki is similar to fearow; it does have a niche, but it isnt niche enough that you would consider using it on a serious team.

 

[MZ]

Stunfisk usage: Limber 0.065%
fml

Don't use this:

Stunfisk @ Whatever
Ability: Limber
EVs: idgaf
Who cares Nature
- Not
- Relevant
- For
- This

Why it's bad: It may seem nice to give opponents a relatively useless ability when they use skill swap. However, despite the massive utility that limber might have, Stunfisk has an even better ability at its disposal.

Use this instead:

Stunfisk @ idgaf
Ability: Static
Who cares Nature
- Not
- Relevant
- For
- This

Why it's better: IT DOES SOMETHING

Also, AV Bouffalant does not belong here. It's not the best, but it certainly is good at pursuit trapping haunter, chatot, kadabra, and other special threats to eliminate them for teams, and in general is not bad enough to belong.

 

[MQJinx]

Don't use this:

Tangela @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Lax Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder / Toxic
- Synthesis / Leech Seed
- Knock Off

Why it's bad: There is simply no reason at all to run a Lax nature on Tangela. There is no point in cutting off Tangela's Special Defense, as some special defense actually can help its survivability in taking a few random hits.

252 SpA Choice Specs Raichu Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0- SpD Eviolite Tangela: 129-153 (38.6 - 45.8%) -- 14.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Use this instead:

Tangela @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold / Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder / Toxic
- Synthesis / Leech Seed
- Hidden Power Ice / Stun Spore / Knock Off

Why it's better: While Knock Off isn't the best move for Tangela, if you're gonna use it, at least use a Relaxed nature, as Tangela won't be outspeeding much anyway, and those that it would outspeed with a neutral nature tend to beat it anyway. As mentioned before, taking special hits better can be useful in a pinch. Hidden Power Ice is also a very useful move to hit Grass-types that would normally wall Tangela such as Torterra, as well as some other mons like Altaria. Stun Spore can be used to cripple an opposing mon for sweepers to handle.

252 SpA Choice Specs Raichu Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Tangela: 116-137 (34.7 - 41%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

EDIT

Don't use this:

Glalie @ whatever
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: Any spread not invested in speed
Whatever Nature
- Any
- Moveset
- Without
- The Following Moves: Spikes, Taunt, Explosion

Why it's bad: Offensive sets for Glalie are done better by Rotom-F and Aurorus, who have a lot more firepower. Defensive sets are outclassed by Regice and Lapras due to their higher bulk and more move options. So what can Glalie do?

Use this instead:

Glalie @ Focus Sash
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Explosion
- Ice Beam

Why it's better: This set separates Glalie from all other Ice-types in PU. It is the only Ice-type with all three of these moves, so if you want to use Glalie, use it as a suicide lead on hyper offense teams. Otherwise, you're better off using a different Ice-type.

 

[we like ike]

Hey guys, I'm new here but I was hoping to get a clear explanation for why scrappy stoutland is always outclassed. I was using one a team with tauros and found it quite helpful, and more useful than Bouffalant. Scrappy normal moves are great and help get damage on defensive ghosts tauros doesn't like.

I think it has a big advantage in not having to carry a ghost coverage move and having to predict less because only rock/steel resist its stab. It gets perfect two move neutral coverage which means you can run whatever you need in the last two slots. It has a coverage move to hit anything that resists normal super effective. It can also outspeed things that Bouffalant cannot, including poliwrath.

 

[ExplosiveChaos]

Hey guys, I'm new here but I was hoping to get a clear explanation for why scrappy stoutland is always outclassed. I was using one a team with tauros and found it quite helpful, and more useful than Bouffalant. Scrappy normal moves are great and help get damage on defensive ghosts tauros doesn't like.

I think it has a big advantage in not having to carry a ghost coverage move and having to predict less because only rock/steel resist its stab. It gets perfect two move neutral coverage which means you can run whatever you need in the last two slots. It has a coverage move to hit anything that resists normal super effective. It can also outspeed things that Bouffalant cannot, including poliwrath.

The ability to hit Ghost-types is great, but it is just way too outclassed by Tauros. Even with Scrappy, a Normal move on a defensive ghost type won't do that much, it is better to use Crunch. Also, if Ghost-types are a big threat, it is generally better to keep Tauros and find a pokemon that can deal with Ghost-types.
I also believe that this is not the place to ask this question, but I may be wrong. Ask Anty or an other Council Member.

 

[scorpdestroyer]

I think people are giving Scrappy Stoutland less credit than it deserves; sure it faces a ton of competition from Tauros, but you can't deny that being able to spam CB Return isn't a good thing once you wear down rock-types a little. For the record, Return hits a Ghost-type for almost as much as Crunch if you factor in STAB. If my calcs are correct I'm pretty sure it 2HKOs Missy without the need for prediction and also gets some bulk to it. I would imagine a CB Stoutland to run something like Return / Superpower / Wild Charge / filler, with the filler maybe being filled with stuff like Play rough, Sleep Talk, Double-Edge, or just Toxic to catch Tangela.

I wouldn't use it over Tauros a lot of the time but it's definitely better than what it's being bashed for.

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Misdreavus: 160-189 (49.3 - 58.3%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 195-231 (48.2 - 57.1%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Poliwrath: 181-214 (47.1 - 55.7%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Tangela: 144-171 (43.1 - 51.1%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Solid Rock Carracosta: 225-265 (77.5 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

okay lol I didn't think it'd be this strong, wear down Rock-types a bit and add a SR and CB Return actually 2HKOs a lot of stuff without the need for prediction in theory

 

[we like ike]

I think people are giving Scrappy Stoutland less credit than it deserves; sure it faces a ton of competition from Tauros, but you can't deny that being able to spam CB Return isn't a good thing once you wear down rock-types a little. For the record, Return hits a Ghost-type for almost as much as Crunch if you factor in STAB. If my calcs are correct I'm pretty sure it 2HKOs Missy without the need for prediction and also gets some bulk to it. I would imagine a CB Stoutland to run something like Return / Superpower / Wild Charge / filler, with the filler maybe being filled with stuff like Play rough, Sleep Talk, Double-Edge, or just Toxic to catch Tangela.

I wouldn't use it over Tauros a lot of the time but it's definitely better than what it's being bashed for.

This. Scrappy means you need one less coverage move which really opens up options. You also don't face a 50/50 predict between return and dark coverage if the opponent has a ghost. Another thing Stoutland can do that Tauros cannot is be on the same team as another Tauros, which is really hard for slower teams to handle.

 

[Anty]

Relicanth 1760:
Chesto Berry 52.609%
Adamant:240/252/12/0/0/0 28.276%
;_;
Dont Use This

Relicanth @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- Stealth Rock
- Head Smash
- Waterfall
Why it's bad: 1. Carracosta does any bulky set better than relicanth
2. It really needs the speed to beat pokes like Poliwrath and Marowak
3. You get walled by Poliwrath
4. It isnt strong enough to smash what ever comes in

Use this instead:

Relicanth @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Waterfall
- Zen Headbutt
- Filler

Why it's better: Relicanth's job is a wallbreaker. The only reason to use it over costa or barbaracle is its incredibly strong STAB, which lets it smash through every wall with help from choice band. As said before, it needs the speed to beat pokes like marowak/golem/poliwrath. Zen headbutt is vital for hitting the most common poke in the meta, who over wise walls. You can even use stealth rocks there for all i care, eq hits metang and klang for more damage i guess while double edge is strong and doesnt miss.