[OVERVIEW]
* Nihilego is the first Pokemon to gain access to the unique Rock/Poison typing, which allows it to hit many common Pokemon in the metagame for super effective damage.
* A base Speed of 103 enables Nihilego to outspeed most of the metagame, while its base 127 Special Attack stat can deal quite some damage when combined with its enormous offensive movepool. This makes Nihilego a fast offensive sweeper if left unchecked.
* Nihilego's ability, Beast Boost, allows it to increase its highest stat further when it scores a KO, which makes Nihilego stronger after every successful KO.
* Furthermore, its Poison typing allows it to hit the guardian deities for super effective damage, OHKOing them most of the time.
* However, Nihilego is often walled by bulky Steel-types like Celesteela and Magnezone and is helpless when facing a Trick Room team.
* Base defensive stats of 109 / 47 / 131 allows it to take on a variety of special attacks with ease, while Sandstorm can be used to further boost its Special Defense to higher levels.
* However, Nihilego's abysmal Defense stat of 47 leaves it open to OHKOes from the likes of Celesteela and Garchomp.
* Overall, Nihilego is a powerful threat, especially in this metagame, where most of the Pokemon are relatively slow, as its typing allows it to take out most of the popular Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Fast Offensive Lego
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Power Gem
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Grass Knot
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Nihilego is used primarily for its Speed and typing. Therefore, it is mandatory to run Sludge Bomb due to the rising popularity of Fairy-type Pokemon. Sludge Bomb almost always OHKOes most of the popular guardian deities, after which Nihilego gets a boost from its ability to make sure its next attack hits even harder.
* Pokemon like Gyarados and Arcanine are common staples in many teams, and the former can even OHKO Nihilego if its not running a Focus Sash. Power Gem ensures Nihilego KOes them with ease while also hurting Celesteela for neutral damage.
* Hidden Power Ice allows Nihilego to OHKO most Garchomp and helps deal with the occasional Ground-type Pokemon once boosted and is often a staple on most Nihilego. Grass Knot can be used in this slot to deal huge amounts of damage to Gastrodon and Milotic, 2HKOing the latter.
* Protect is necessary in VGC due to Nihilego's frailty, as it helps scout incoming attacks and stall out Trick Room.
Set Details
========
* Focus Sash is the most used item on Nihilego, as it helps compensate for Nihilego's lack of physical bulk. Prolonged field presence with Beast Boost makes Nihilego much more threatening than it already is.
* Taking enough Special Attack EVs is another way to take advantage of Beast Boost, to ensure Nihilego's Speed is boosted instead. This increases Nihilego's Speed so that it can outspeed even Choice Scarf Pokemon.
* Life Orb is often used to secure the OHKO on Gyarados and Arcanine. However, this makes Nihilego much more susceptible to Earthquake and Heavy Slam.
* 252 Speed EVs ensure Nihilego outspeeds maximum speed Garchomp, which is one of the faster Pokemon in the format. This also helps Nihilego outspeed threats like Tapu Lele and Salamence.
* 252 Special Attack EVs are run to maximize Nihilego's damage output. The EVs are plain and simple, as Nihilego is purely an offensive sweeper.
Usage Tips
========
* As one of the frailest Pokemon in the format, Nihilego is almost always equipped with Focus Sash.
* It is advisable to switch into incoming special attacks to take advantage of Nihilego's special bulk while safely getting it onto the field.
* As a Focus Sash user, Nihilego can also pressure your opponent as a lead, as it can easily take out a lot of threats.
* You have to be careful when using Sludge Bomb, as a switch into a Steel-type will render it useless, and moreover, put Nihilego at a risk.
* Terrains are useful when using Nihilego, as Tapu Lele's Psychic fails to OHKO it when it is used under a different terrain. Similarly, Grassy Terrain weakens Earthquakes from Garchomp and Krookodile, and when paired with Intimidate or burn, it greatly improves Nihilego's longevity to the point that you don't need to rely on Focus Sash.
* Nihilego is an easy pick against most teams due to its powerful movepool and offensive capabilities.
* Nihilego is best used against Pokemon it can either OHKO or wall using its Special Defense. As such, it shouldn't be kept on the field against Pokemon that can OHKO it like Kartana and Celesteela.
Team Options
========
* Nihilego suffers from a variety of weaknesses due to its typing. As Ground-types are one of the most common types in VGC, Wide Guard users like Celesteela make great partners to Nihilego, helping it overcome Earthquakes.
* Grassy Terrain helps further mitigate Nihilego's Ground weakness to an extent. As such, Tapu Bulu works well with Nihilego, as the latter can easily OHKO Fire-types that threat Tapu Bulu, while the guardian deity can take out Ground- and Water-type Pokemon with ease.
* Sandstorm setters like Gigalith help boost Nihilego's Special Defense even further, helping it tank Psychics from Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain.
* Fire-type Pokemon like Alolan Marowak and Arcanine are useful in order to take out opposing Steel-types that usually wall Nihilego, while Taunt users help shut down any Trick Room attempts.
* Intimidate users like Arcanine and Gyarados help soften up physical attacks to prolong Nihilego's field presence.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Nihilego's huge Special Defense can be utilized to work with Weakness Policy, giving it a massive power boost. This, however makes Nihilego susceptible to getting OHKOed by opposing physical attackers.
* Another option would be to use Grassy Seed along with Tapu Bulu to enhance Nihilego's Defense stat. This helps Nihilego survive attacks like Earthquake and retaliate with Hidden Power Ice.
* Assault Vest can be used to further boost Nihilego's Special Defense, allowing it to survive Psychics from Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain and retaliate with Sludge Bomb.
* Trick Room gives Nihilego a niche in certain Trick Room teams, as it can catch people off guard. However, due to Nihilego's low bulk, it can fail to survive and set up Trick Room.
* Moves like Thunderbolt are used at times to help take down Celesteela, but it can make Nihilego get walled by Ground-types like Krookodile and Garchomp.
* Hidden Power Fire can be used to deal with Kartana, Alolan Sandslash, Magnezone, and Scizor to an extent, but it is generally outclassed by Power Gem.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Nihilego is often walled by bulky Steel-type Pokemon like Assault Vest Kartana and Celesteela, and is left helpless against them, unless you manage to trigger Beast Boost and get an attack boost.
**Ground-type Pokemon**: Due to Nihilego's 4x weakness to Ground-type moves, it is easily OHKOed by popular Ground-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Krookodile, and Mudsdale.
**Psychic-type Pokemon**: Powerful Psychic-type moves can OHKO Nihilego and should be played around with caution. Notable threats include Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Shattered Psyche Raichu.
**Alolan Muk**: Alolan Muk easily walls Nihilego with its typing and can 2HKO it with Knock Off quite easily.
**Trick Room**: As Nihilego is one of the fastest Pokemon in the format, it is quite weak inside Trick Room, possibly making it the slowest Pokemon in the field. Taunt users are recommended to handle Trick Room.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Strong physical attackers like Garchomp, Kartana, and Pheromosa can easily take down Nihilego if it doesn't run Focus Sash.
* Nihilego is the first Pokemon to gain access to the unique Rock/Poison typing, which allows it to hit many common Pokemon in the metagame for super effective damage.
* A base Speed of 103 enables Nihilego to outspeed most of the metagame, while its base 127 Special Attack stat can deal quite some damage when combined with its enormous offensive movepool. This makes Nihilego a fast offensive sweeper if left unchecked.
* Nihilego's ability, Beast Boost, allows it to increase its highest stat further when it scores a KO, which makes Nihilego stronger after every successful KO.
* Furthermore, its Poison typing allows it to hit the guardian deities for super effective damage, OHKOing them most of the time.
* However, Nihilego is often walled by bulky Steel-types like Celesteela and Magnezone and is helpless when facing a Trick Room team.
* Base defensive stats of 109 / 47 / 131 allows it to take on a variety of special attacks with ease, while Sandstorm can be used to further boost its Special Defense to higher levels.
* However, Nihilego's abysmal Defense stat of 47 leaves it open to OHKOes from the likes of Celesteela and Garchomp.
* Overall, Nihilego is a powerful threat, especially in this metagame, where most of the Pokemon are relatively slow, as its typing allows it to take out most of the popular Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Fast Offensive Lego
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Power Gem
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Grass Knot
move 4: Protect
item: Focus Sash / Life Orb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Nihilego is used primarily for its Speed and typing. Therefore, it is mandatory to run Sludge Bomb due to the rising popularity of Fairy-type Pokemon. Sludge Bomb almost always OHKOes most of the popular guardian deities, after which Nihilego gets a boost from its ability to make sure its next attack hits even harder.
* Pokemon like Gyarados and Arcanine are common staples in many teams, and the former can even OHKO Nihilego if its not running a Focus Sash. Power Gem ensures Nihilego KOes them with ease while also hurting Celesteela for neutral damage.
* Hidden Power Ice allows Nihilego to OHKO most Garchomp and helps deal with the occasional Ground-type Pokemon once boosted and is often a staple on most Nihilego. Grass Knot can be used in this slot to deal huge amounts of damage to Gastrodon and Milotic, 2HKOing the latter.
* Protect is necessary in VGC due to Nihilego's frailty, as it helps scout incoming attacks and stall out Trick Room.
Set Details
========
* Focus Sash is the most used item on Nihilego, as it helps compensate for Nihilego's lack of physical bulk. Prolonged field presence with Beast Boost makes Nihilego much more threatening than it already is.
* Taking enough Special Attack EVs is another way to take advantage of Beast Boost, to ensure Nihilego's Speed is boosted instead. This increases Nihilego's Speed so that it can outspeed even Choice Scarf Pokemon.
* Life Orb is often used to secure the OHKO on Gyarados and Arcanine. However, this makes Nihilego much more susceptible to Earthquake and Heavy Slam.
* 252 Speed EVs ensure Nihilego outspeeds maximum speed Garchomp, which is one of the faster Pokemon in the format. This also helps Nihilego outspeed threats like Tapu Lele and Salamence.
* 252 Special Attack EVs are run to maximize Nihilego's damage output. The EVs are plain and simple, as Nihilego is purely an offensive sweeper.
Usage Tips
========
* As one of the frailest Pokemon in the format, Nihilego is almost always equipped with Focus Sash.
* It is advisable to switch into incoming special attacks to take advantage of Nihilego's special bulk while safely getting it onto the field.
* As a Focus Sash user, Nihilego can also pressure your opponent as a lead, as it can easily take out a lot of threats.
* You have to be careful when using Sludge Bomb, as a switch into a Steel-type will render it useless, and moreover, put Nihilego at a risk.
* Terrains are useful when using Nihilego, as Tapu Lele's Psychic fails to OHKO it when it is used under a different terrain. Similarly, Grassy Terrain weakens Earthquakes from Garchomp and Krookodile, and when paired with Intimidate or burn, it greatly improves Nihilego's longevity to the point that you don't need to rely on Focus Sash.
* Nihilego is an easy pick against most teams due to its powerful movepool and offensive capabilities.
* Nihilego is best used against Pokemon it can either OHKO or wall using its Special Defense. As such, it shouldn't be kept on the field against Pokemon that can OHKO it like Kartana and Celesteela.
Team Options
========
* Nihilego suffers from a variety of weaknesses due to its typing. As Ground-types are one of the most common types in VGC, Wide Guard users like Celesteela make great partners to Nihilego, helping it overcome Earthquakes.
* Grassy Terrain helps further mitigate Nihilego's Ground weakness to an extent. As such, Tapu Bulu works well with Nihilego, as the latter can easily OHKO Fire-types that threat Tapu Bulu, while the guardian deity can take out Ground- and Water-type Pokemon with ease.
* Sandstorm setters like Gigalith help boost Nihilego's Special Defense even further, helping it tank Psychics from Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain.
* Fire-type Pokemon like Alolan Marowak and Arcanine are useful in order to take out opposing Steel-types that usually wall Nihilego, while Taunt users help shut down any Trick Room attempts.
* Intimidate users like Arcanine and Gyarados help soften up physical attacks to prolong Nihilego's field presence.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Nihilego's huge Special Defense can be utilized to work with Weakness Policy, giving it a massive power boost. This, however makes Nihilego susceptible to getting OHKOed by opposing physical attackers.
* Another option would be to use Grassy Seed along with Tapu Bulu to enhance Nihilego's Defense stat. This helps Nihilego survive attacks like Earthquake and retaliate with Hidden Power Ice.
* Assault Vest can be used to further boost Nihilego's Special Defense, allowing it to survive Psychics from Tapu Lele in Psychic Terrain and retaliate with Sludge Bomb.
* Trick Room gives Nihilego a niche in certain Trick Room teams, as it can catch people off guard. However, due to Nihilego's low bulk, it can fail to survive and set up Trick Room.
* Moves like Thunderbolt are used at times to help take down Celesteela, but it can make Nihilego get walled by Ground-types like Krookodile and Garchomp.
* Hidden Power Fire can be used to deal with Kartana, Alolan Sandslash, Magnezone, and Scizor to an extent, but it is generally outclassed by Power Gem.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Nihilego is often walled by bulky Steel-type Pokemon like Assault Vest Kartana and Celesteela, and is left helpless against them, unless you manage to trigger Beast Boost and get an attack boost.
**Ground-type Pokemon**: Due to Nihilego's 4x weakness to Ground-type moves, it is easily OHKOed by popular Ground-type Pokemon like Garchomp, Krookodile, and Mudsdale.
**Psychic-type Pokemon**: Powerful Psychic-type moves can OHKO Nihilego and should be played around with caution. Notable threats include Choice Scarf Tapu Lele and Shattered Psyche Raichu.
**Alolan Muk**: Alolan Muk easily walls Nihilego with its typing and can 2HKO it with Knock Off quite easily.
**Trick Room**: As Nihilego is one of the fastest Pokemon in the format, it is quite weak inside Trick Room, possibly making it the slowest Pokemon in the field. Taunt users are recommended to handle Trick Room.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Strong physical attackers like Garchomp, Kartana, and Pheromosa can easily take down Nihilego if it doesn't run Focus Sash.
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