Pokémon Nihilego

[StickyRobot]

I agree with HP Fire, since a strong Power Gem should do enough to Landorus and most dragons that aren't Garchomp. Fire snags steels including Aegislash and prevents you from being walled by Ferrothorn and the like.

252 SpA Life Orb Nihilego Power Gem vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-Therian: 199-235 (52.2 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Not bad. Sludge Wave 3HKOs Garchomp so I guess that's worth mentioning. I'd definitely go HP Fire though HP Ice is viable if you have issues with Landorus / Garchomp.

I like the idea of how this thing can both run a suicide lead set as well as late game sweeper. If you can eliminate the scarfers and certain priority users Nihilego can go on a Beast Boost rampage especially if you can get a surprise kill via Hidden Power.

 

[heavylobster43]

Specs Nihilego is better than I expected. Specs Power Gem hits a lot of prominent Steels and Grounds neutrally, while its natural special bulk makes it feel like it's an AV user naturally. It's not a dominant force in OU, but it's a respectable one with its weirdly effective special Rock STAB and awesome speed tier.

 

[malefic]

i've found a scarf set to be pretty interesting. base 103 speed and beast boost synergize well with a scarf - cleaning late game with power gem is entirely possible. does some cool stuff like revenge +1 volc (or switch in on the qd) and catch koko/diancie off-guard. 2 of hp fire/clear smog/tspikes are usable in the last 2 slots i guess

e: hp ice is better on a scarf set actually

 

[Colonel M]

This mon is cool. Aegis leaving really helps it too.

I'm so torn on what HP to use. Currently I got Ice which is probably the best atm. I feel Fire and Ground are good to consider though.

The best thing is the small customizing can make a huge difference in how it functions. Saccing SpA EVs seems criminal, but it also means you gain Speed for every revenge kill. Special Attack is still probably the best for it.

Though it screams shaky there's also Substitute. It's noteworthy only because it can retain a higher HP Sub (hell you can use 101 HP) and remain safe from revenge kills if the opponent switches. Toxic Spikes seems meh, but Stealth Rock is cool. I really dig the Specs and Scarf set is okay. The movepool is just good enough too - Grass Knot, Thunderbolt, and Calm Mind help at least.

 

[Chillarmy]

i've seen some interesting sets for this thing, and tbh it's pretty cool. sash rocks is actually lit af bc u beat almost every fogger / spinner available (latis can be neutered p easily in this meta), and nihil won't be an offensive pushover with beast boost. scarf and AoA are cool sets too for punishing the tapus (fini's annoying ass especially), so there's some versatility there. also i think the best hidden power for this thing is ice, by a long shot; gem hits a lot of steels for neutral (2hkoing usually), ohkoing lando is huge, and ferro can often become a liability in this meta. if all else fails, you can run zone support anyway, but weakening / scaring certain steels out seems to be a lot easier with all of these new toys...

p.s, this mon's design and cry are the cutest things ever and i hope i'm not alone here :>

 

[Force Majeure]

i've seen some interesting sets for this thing, and tbh it's pretty cool. sash rocks is actually lit af bc u beat almost every fogger / spinner available (latis can be neutered p easily in this meta), and nihil won't be an offensive pushover with beast boost. scarf and AoA are cool sets too for punishing the tapus (fini's annoying ass especially), so there's some versatility there. also i think the best hidden power for this thing is ice, by a long shot; gem hits a lot of steels for neutral (2hkoing usually), ohkoing lando is huge, and ferro can often become a liability in this meta. if all else fails, you can run zone support anyway, but weakening / scaring certain steels out seems to be a lot easier with all of these new toys...

p.s, this mon's design and cry are the cutest things ever and i hope i'm not alone here :>

It's really the special Rock STAB that makes this mon; it's kind of similar to how people rediscovered how important it is to have a real rock resist in late ORAS. it's a decent stop to all of the Tapus if you're scarfed. It also murders clef which will become relevant down the line.

Yeah this thing is too cute for something that's a parasite; celesteela is the other cutie UB.

 

[viol and bass]

It's really the special Rock STAB that makes this mon; it's kind of similar to how people rediscovered how important it is to have a real rock resist in late ORAS. it's a decent stop to all of the Tapus if you're scarfed. It also murders clef which will become relevant down the line.

Yeah this thing is too cute for something that's a parasite; celesteela is the other cutie UB.

With the buffs to Mega Evolution and the addition of Power Gem to its movepool, I think Mega Diancie really gives Nihilego a run for its money. It's faster, hits harder without a boosting item, can go mixed for wallbreaking, and most importantly it has Earth Power which allows it to actually break most steels. Oh and it has Magic Bounce. It's hard to find reasons to use Nihilego instead. Scarf Nihilego seems decent on paper, but how do you get around the fact that every time it comes in, the opponent can just switch in a ground- or steel-type and hard wall it? That's the other thing, Beast Boost is a nice ability, but you can't easily get the ball rolling when essentially every ground- and steel-type walls its STABs.

Anyway, you guys should really try Air Balloon on this mon, it allows it to actually check Landorus which is fucking amazing.

 

[Shokwav]

With the buffs to Mega Evolution and the addition of Power Gem to its movepool, I think Mega Diancie really gives Nihilego a run for its money. It's faster, hits harder without a boosting item, can go mixed for wallbreaking, and most importantly it has Earth Power which allows it to actually break most steels. Oh and it has Magic Bounce. It's hard to find reasons to use Nihilego instead. Scarf Nihilego seems decent on paper, but how do you get around the fact that every time it comes in, the opponent can just switch in a ground- or steel-type and hard wall it? That's the other thing, Beast Boost is a nice ability, but you can't easily get the ball rolling when essentially every ground- and steel-type walls its STABs.

Anyway, you guys should really try Air Balloon on this mon, it allows it to actually check Landorus which is fucking amazing.

I believe the niche for this mon lies in its SR lead set, which is quite good at what it does. Something like SR/PG/SW/HP Ice is probably its best set. I second the air balloon; it allows it to escape dugtrio switch in first turn, limiting your opponent's options. It also appreciates the stab poison moves, able to check many of the new tapus and other fairy types that are currently blitzkreiging the meta. I think it'll do fine in OU, these traits plus the lack of taking up a mega slot helps it stand out from Diancie.

 

[heavylobster43]

This mon seems super meta-dependent. Choiced sets work fine when most common Steels/Grounds are neutral to Rock(mostly the case now) but might not be as effective if true Rock resists become more common. It's one of the best answers to something like Zard-Y or Volcarona, but they tend to come and go due to their Rocks weakness. Balloon set seems to be better than Sash, as Azelf and other classics do the suicide lead thing better, while Balloon gives it the option to pick its spots more effectively. Note that Choice sets are basically late-game cleaners to be brought out once Rock resists are gone, and they do this fairly well, since most stuff that naturally outspeeds it like Koko can't OHKO. Also right now the main Ground types seem to be Lando/T and Chomp, and this thing gets Dazzling Gleam, which 2HKOs Chomp with Specs while Grass Knot doesn't, so running that + HP Fire on a Specs set may have merit as long as Chomp is common but other Grounds are not.

 

[Rarycaris]

With the buffs to Mega Evolution and the addition of Power Gem to its movepool, I think Mega Diancie really gives Nihilego a run for its money. It's faster, hits harder without a boosting item, can go mixed for wallbreaking, and most importantly it has Earth Power which allows it to actually break most steels. Oh and it has Magic Bounce. It's hard to find reasons to use Nihilego instead. Scarf Nihilego seems decent on paper, but how do you get around the fact that every time it comes in, the opponent can just switch in a ground- or steel-type and hard wall it? That's the other thing, Beast Boost is a nice ability, but you can't easily get the ball rolling when essentially every ground- and steel-type walls its STABs.

Anyway, you guys should really try Air Balloon on this mon, it allows it to actually check Landorus which is fucking amazing.

Reason #1 to use Nihilego over Mega Diancie: it's currently allowed in Pokebank OU and Mega Diancie isn't. I feel like we should hold off on theorymonning about being outclassed by unreleased Pokemon until we get confirmation that they're likely to be released.

 

[Colonel M]

Having used it a bit I feel the best set is Scarf. if you can clear the Steels and weaken the Ground-types you can lock yourself onto Power Gem and go to town. Since it outspeeds Scarf Genesect and +0 Speed Pheromosa it is pretty nice.

I think another set I really want to try is Sub + 3 attacks. Substitute is a potent move to use when you're fast and can force switches. You could still stick with HP Ice, which IMO is slightly superior atm because of 50% Zygarde, but HP Fire is still good too.

I feel on this mon Magnezone support is almost a must, which can create some problems with running two Scarf users and a really nasty Ground-type weakness. The biggest boon, though, is Magnezone eliminating Steel-types brings some comfort to using Sludge Bomb or Sludge Wave.

I've experimented with teams on it that were sort of just thrown together. Other noteworthy mons are Tapu Lele to circumvent Bullet Punch and Sucker Punch revenge kills, Rotom-W and Mantine to help harass some problematic Pokemon, and hole punchers like Greninja and Landorus-I that can whack around some of the more problematic mons for Nihilego. I've also found Celesteela to be a solid partner for resists and being able to troll Steel-types with Flamethrower / Fire Blast.

 

[Askeia]

Ever since Aegislash has been banished, I have been spamming Nihilego quite a lot. Really agree with the assessment above with Scarf being its best set. Special Rock STAB is one of the best combinations of typing:type, and it snowballs really quickly with Beast Boost once grounds and steels are weakened.

 

[heavylobster43]

Biggest advantage this thing has over Mega Diancie(aside from saving the Mega slot) is that it has pretty impressive special bulk even uninvested due mostly to its much better HP stat. It's also more powerful with a boosting item. Nihilego is basically a speedy sweeper with a built-in Assault Vest.

 

[StickyRobot]

252 SpA Diancie-Mega Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 153-181 (44.8 - 53%)
4 Atk Diancie-Mega Diamond Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mew: 163-193 (47.8 - 56.5%)
252 SpA Diancie-Mega Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 181-214 (53 - 62.7%)

252 SpA Choice Specs Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 229-270 (67.1 - 79.1%)
252 SpA Choice Specs Nihilego Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 193-228 (56.5 - 66.8%)

One key difference is that Nihilego does not take up a Mega slot and aside from that bonus it also gets to hold an item. Choice Specs or even Life Orb means it hits harder than no-item Diancie. Beast Boost makes this even more noticable allowing Nihilego to totally sweep a team given the chance. Nihilego also takes special hits WAY better.

Nihilego has 48% MORE HP than Diancie
Diancie has lol 200% more defense Nihilego
Nihilego has 16% more Special Defense

 

[Rhys29]

While we are focused on how this will work offensively, I see that massive 109 HP and 131 Special Defense. The only Rock-type Pokemon that can contest Nihilego's Special Defense is Rock Arceus with 120/120. However, Rock Arceus uses up its item to be Rock-type, meaning it is immediately outclassed by an Assault Vest set. If you opt out of Assault Vest, this sucker can double screen, too. While it seems crazy, I can see Nihilego specifically going after special threats while sandstorm is up, easily dropping them 1 vs 1, then using the Beast Boost to sweep.

General idea of the set (note you can get similar results with sets including Light Screen):

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Now this will never stand up to Chans/Bliss in terms of raw special walling, but it has offense that those two could never achieve. My basic idea for the set looks like this:
Nihilego@Assault Vest
252 Sp. A / 8 Sp.D / 248 Spe (Timid)
- Sludge Wave
- Power Gem
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt / HP-Ground / Dazzling Gleam

Real basic, just threw it together. I am going to look into a set that uses more defensive EVs but still uses Beast Boost well. Though I think it might be useful to foresee what threat you what to neutralize first before making changes. Fourth slot is for coverage options, and I think Psyshock can be used to beat other Nihilego and let it at least attempt a mix set.

I made some basic calculations:

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+3 252 SpA Xurkitree Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 175-207 (48.7 - 57.6%) -- 94.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Xurkitree Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 82-97 (22.8 - 27%) -- 42.7% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-A Psycho Boost vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 265-315 (73.8 - 87.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Charizard Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sun: 82-97 (22.8 - 27%) -- 47.9% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Charizard Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego (also in Sun): 80-95 (22.2 - 26.4%) -- 18.5% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Heatran Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 32-38 (8.9 - 10.5%) -- possibly the worst move ever
252 SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 140-168 (38.9 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Scald vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 138-164 (38.4 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (easily 2HKO'd by Hydro Pump unfortunately ignoring accuracy)
+1 252 SpA Raikou Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 72-85 (20 - 23.6%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
0 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 86-104 (23.9 - 28.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 92-110 (25.6 - 30.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Psychic vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 156-186 (43.4 - 51.8%) -- 8.6% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Nihilego in Sand: 135-164 (37.6 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

And this is what it can do in return:
2252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 20 HP / 0 SpD Xurkitree: 204-240 (65.3 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Deoxys-A: 355-418 (147.3 - 173.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Charizard: 588-696 (197.9 - 234.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 123-145 (37.9 - 44.7%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock (eh, its still a chance)
252 SpA Nihilego Hidden Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 248-292 (76.5 - 90.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 166-196 (51.3 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 210-248 (65 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raikou: 108-128 (33.6 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 144-171 (47.5 - 56.4%) -- 84.8% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Nihilego Hidden Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 284-336 (101 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Nihilego Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 158-188 (52.4 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 175-207 (67 - 79.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and LO recoil)
252 SpA Nihilego Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Starmie: 222-262 (85 - 100.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock (and guaranteed with LO recoil and sandstorm damage)

You could run 236 Sp.A / 40 Sp.D / 232 Spe which specifically stops Specs Latios from scoring a 2HKO with Specs Psychic, gives you a 93.7% chance to OHKO Magnezone with HP-Ground (guaranteed with any chip or SR), and still outruns base 100s.

This set, as with this mon, is moderately underwhelming. Even more so considering sandstorm needs to be up to get these numbers. It is just too susceptible to revenge killing due to its low defense. Its highest base power attacks require set up to either hit hard or hit reliably. However, threats like Magnezone and Charizard-Y have no chance and basically every other mentioned threat can be beaten if they don't predict the switch. The fact that it can challenge Xurkitree after a Tail Glow is damn impressive in of itself.

 

[MSC Knightmare]

This is a set I've had some success with

Offensive Hazard setter

Nihilego @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
252 Speed, 252 Special Attack, 4 HP
Timid Nature

Move 1: Sludge Wave
Move 2: HP Steel
Move 3: Stealth Rock
Move 4: Toxic Spikes

This set fares quite well as a hazard setter against both offensive and defense alike. Sludge Wave is primary STAB, while HP Steel prevents Mega Diancie from anti leading you. It might seem unlikely that Nihilego can get up all 3 layers of hazards before dying, but Focus Sash is there so that you can at least put up 1 layer of hazards in the face of something like a Garchomp, or that you can eliminate Mega Diancie with HP Steel without getting eliminated by their ground type moves.

Against offense, I'll usually lay down Rocks first, whereas vs defense, I'll probably be laying down Toxic Spikes. Because the rest of my team can apply good enough pressure, it's usually okay if Nihilego faints while laying down hazards. However, while its bulk isn't great, it can comfortably take most non-Ground type attacks and is fast enough to lay down multiple hazards somewhat reliably.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-488895527

This is a great example of how this set functions at its best. I'm able to get down all my hazards and really apply pressure on my opponent. Getting down 2 layers of Toxic Spikes allows me to be a little looser with Xurkitree, being able to dare my opponent to send Alolan Maro in to block my Volt Switch in exchange for being badly poisoned and hurt bad by Stealth Rock. Had my opponent not DCed, it also would've lefted his Tapu Bulu crippled and easy to break through. Because my opponent isn't able to send in Alolan Maro without severe consequence, I'm able to Volt Switch with Xurkitree freely and with little prediction, being in a good position to accept the loss of momentum thanks to my Gliscor being healthy.

It also works really, really well with Pheramosa and how much pressure it can apply in general with forcing switches.

The utility that Nihilego brings with its hazards complements an offensive build quite nicely, and to me, that gives it a clear and defined niche in the OU tier.

 

[StickyRobot]

Just run Power Gem > HP Steel. It 2HKOs Diancie and does more or equal damage against pretty much everything else in the game.

 

[Plague von Karma]

To remedy it's really upsetting weakness to Earthquake, I have some ideas for how to get around it.

Not-Lillie (Nihilego) @ Air Balloon/Focus Sash
Timid Nature
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed/4 HP
Moves:
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem/Sludge Bomb/Acid Spray
- Grass Knot/Hidden Power Ice

So here is my attempt at remedying it's crippling weakness to Earthquake. Nihilego definitely has options against Earthquake users, and given her Special Attack, it's not hard to send them packing either. HP Ice hits Garchomp really hard, and Grass Knot can easily kill Hippowdon. This also grants a free Beast Boost to hit something else even harder. However, this is mainly a Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock setter, and should be setting up instead of fighting. Just hurt anything that is physical, really. Air Balloon would be a good option here so that scarfed Garchomp or something like that can't outspeed and kill you (tbh it still could given the awful physical bulk), but Focus Sash works just as well in that respect.

Any improvements would be appreciated.

 

[StickyRobot]

Power Gen got a BP boost from 70 to 80? This thing keeps getting better.

 

[TerrickTerran]

Power gem went up to 80 last gen.

 

[Plague von Karma]

Power Gem got a BP boost from 70 to 80? This thing keeps getting better.

In all honesty this Pokemon would have still been good without it. The Power Gem was just a bonus. It still has stupidly powerful STABs.

 

[Carrier]

Not-Lillie (Nihilego) @ Air Balloon/Focus Sash
Timid Nature
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Sp.Atk/252 Speed/4 HP
Moves:
- Toxic Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem/Sludge Bomb/Acid Spray
- Grass Knot/Hidden Power Ice

It's killer trying to drop any of these moves, though; it's a pretty gnarly case of 4MSS. Between Ice / Knot / Gem / Sludge you bust most leads. Depends on how weak you are to opposing hazards and specific pokemon, I guess.

A lot of leads get either whacked or 2HKO'd by Power Gem, so I'd say it's the superior option here, but Sludge Bomb/Wave (the power helps in some situations) could be used for essentially just the tapus and other niche OHKOs; it's not as great, though.

Mamoswine seems to like to hit Stealth Rock first, which means you could pop Power Gem and either nab a kill or force a switch. If you really don't want that SR up or mindgames, though, run Knot.
HP Ice is necessary for doing anything other than having a Garchomp, Lando, or even something odd like Salamence switch in and EQ you (all other moves hardly 4HKO), so prediction is key for this to work.

HP Fire can surprise Scizor, Ferro, and Kartana on the Sash set, making it about as niche as HP Ice.

If you want niche, you could run Clear Smog and stop a Porygon-Z cold before switching out.

Edit: Honestly, this guy is pretty much useless except for hazards. A lot of other leads stomp it down and it just is too physically frail to go on a rampage.

 

[Min]

I've actually been using wonder room on this mon to swap the amazing special defence stat over to physical defence, which helps it deal with a lot of the threats that usually swap into it. A-Maroak most notably.

Although I don't know if this will work as well when the whole meta gets a crap-ton faster when bank drops.

 

[Zé Capáu]

Oh the lewd things that I've seen about this pokemon on the internet...

...Curse you, google images!

 

[Banryu]

I've actually been using wonder room on this mon to swap the amazing special defence stat over to physical defence, which helps it deal with a lot of the threats that usually swap into it. A-Maroak most notably.

Although I don't know if this will work as well when the whole meta gets a crap-ton faster when bank drops.

I'd love to see some replays of this in action if you've got anything. Sounds interesting.