np: NU Stage 9 - Locked Out of Heaven

[VictiniStar]

I fear no one will use Garbodor any longer as long as Scolipede is in NU, as it can't compete with scolipede over the job to set out toxic spikes and spikes, because Scolipede can set up these hazards without being a set-up fodder.

Also, with a good base attack stat and super base speed stat, it can surely be a top-threat physical attaker as well, with good coverage and swords dance in its arsenal. Weezing, the best check to an offensive scolipede, will therefore be more used in this tier.

Musharna will no longer be too OP in this tier, as a +2 megahorn will OHKO the most defensive variant of Musharna. Because of that, I will suggest the admins to let Musharna and Scolipede go to the RU tier, as they are way too good for today's NU metagame.

NU needed more than one fighting type (Sawk), so Primeape is more than welcome in this tier. It should finally be considered to form a voltturn chore with Eelektross, Ampharos, Swellow, Braviary and of course - Primeape. I think he should stay in NU.

As for Jynx, it is easily finished by faster threats (Swellow, Scolipede time being, offensive Jumpluff, the ever-common scarf abusers etc.) so I don't see her as a problem for today's NU tier. This tier should have another effective sleep abuser than just Jumpluff, so I don't see Jynx broken in any way - it is a good poke for the NU tier.

Adapt the new NU tier, play well and have fun!

 

[Punchshroom]

Garbodor can still serve as a better Spiker that sets up easier on pokes such as Primeape and Alomomola (Scolipede can get worn down fast from Waterfall, especially after SR). While Scolipede is the go-to Spiker for offensive teams, Garbodor is still an option for a defensive Spiker, and can defend itself with moves like Drain Punch, Seed Bomb and Rock Blast.

If Musharna has proven to not be gamebreaking before the tier changes, and you stated that Musharna isn't too "OP" due to Scolipede's influence, why would you suggest it moves up to RU? Better yet, why would you suggest it moves up along with Scolipede anyway, where you claimed keeps it enough in check that it isn't broken in NU? This post is quite contradictory.

Agree with the rest, though it's worth a mention that Scarf Jynx destroys her offensive checks easily.

Meanwhile:

Icicle Spear Piloswine does an extraordinary job of killing Serperior, from damage calcs. Scarfipede is very rare, but does some killer damage with Megahorn. (I've only seen a couple, but it's quite a shock.) Swoobat has base 114 to beat Serperior's 113, and can do enough damage with Air Slash to prevent a sub from coming up. CB Sneasel can OHKO with Ice Punch. LO Sneasel has a good shot at doing the same. Persian can break the sub with Fake Out and then prevent a sub from coming up with either U-Turn or Return for 45-60% damage. Swellow can break the sub and then KO with Facade or Brave Bird. (Brave Bird even before Guts activates.) Serperior can't actually OHKO Swellow with HP Ice or Rock, so long as Swellow comes in at full health. (Though if it already has a sub and Calm Mind, it will.) Electrode can deal enough damage with Signal Beam to prevent a new sub after breaking the first.

Fast things, man. Fast things.

If Piloswine and Electrode switch straight into Calm Mind, they stand a good chance of losing to Serperior. Piloswine isn't OHKOed by +1 LO Giga Drain, but hazards and lack of recovery can easily change that, Ice Shard knocking it into Overgrow range ensures the KO. Electrode stands no chance if against the healthy Serperior with a Calm Mind, the best it can do is Taunt to prevent Sub Or Calm Mind before getting owned by +1 LO Giga Drains. Sure, Persian breaks the Sub with Fake Out and gets destroyed by Giga Drain becuase Fake Out doesn't flinch Subs. Sneasel is just about the only offensive check mentioned here that can switch in on Serperior's moves and beat it, though any amount of residual damage (namely SR) greatly reduces his chances.

Yeah, echoing what Zeb said: Swellow can't switch in safely, with the status orb only making it more vulnerable. Swoobat has to run max speed and Timid to outpace Serperior, sacrificing the bulk it needs for setup. Swoobat also only wins if Serperior goes for Calm Mind on the switch, and needs Air Slash / Heat Wave (can't flinch, weaker and higher miss chance) to beat Serp anyway as it may not have time to boost.

 

[Infernis]

I haven't added anything to any of my teams lately to specifically counter Serperior, yet I've almost never seen it do well against them except in strange circumstances. Apparently something of mine is working, I'll see what. I was just spitballing earlier, I haven't used most of those personally for that purpose. I don't know about Serperior's letter ranking, but I've just never seen it dominate a match. I guess this isn't the thread to discuss ranking, though.

 

[ryan]

With Jynx having found its way into NU a few weeks ago, I am wondering how people feel about it. I know a lot of people worried that it would be broken and still too powerful for the meta. Personally, I haven't had any huge issues with it. Ironically, the set that has given me the most trouble has been the Scarf set bar none.

Anyways, do people feel like it's broken? Has it seemed to have found its place in this new fast-paced metagame? Does it need a new wardrobe? What do you all think?

 

[Leafshield]

Yaknow, I've had barely any trouble with Jynx in the current meta. I don't know why, as I use older teams with minor tweaks to fit the new stage, so maybe I'm just inadvertantly prepared for her. The Scarf set is the most bothersome, I agree; I manage to leave Jynx without a sub fairly easily with the help of Kangaskhan's double priority.

 

[ebeast]

Jynx is an extremely dangerous Pokemon, a definite suspect, and a potential ban. Not much has really changed since Jynx was last banned as even though the metagame got slightly faster Jynx is still sitting near the top of the speed tiers. There were always Pokemon that could outspeed Jynx and they really don't make all that much of a difference to her. (Unless you try using Pursuit on some just for Jynx) Checking Jynx is not as easy as it might seem and sending a Pokemon safely into Jynx is almost impossible. (Grumpig, Metang, Munchlax being the main ones, but none have reliable healing and wearing the last two down is not hard due to their lack of Leftovers. Grumpig is also only really useful for Jynx in this metagame and gets trapped easily by Skuntank.) If you have ability to safely bring your fast attacker or Scarf user to check Jynx, it means that Jynx has already scored a KO and is looking to switch out and come back later for another. This is not taking in mind Lovely Kiss, which is by far Jynx's best move, that neutralizes a potential threat or counter to Jynx and makes it much harder to play around or deal with.

This is again only taking into account the Lovely Kiss / Ice Beam / Psyshock(Psyshic) / Focus Blast set. Pretty much every set Jynx can run (Scarf, SubNP, NPKiss Dual STAB) is extremely good in their own rights and are beaten by different Pokemon. The Life Orb set with Psyshock doesn't like Alomomola as it can take a hit and Toxic stall with Wish, Protect, and Regenerator, but (Of course Jynx can simply put it to sleep with Lovely Kiss) Alomomola gets completely destroyed the Substitute + Nasty Plot variant. This applies vice-versa as well in that counters to SubNP can't handle LK + 3 Attacks. Jynx also doesn't really have much problems with offense as some people might think. The chances of someone having 6 Pokemon capable of outspeeding Jynx is very unlikely and Jynx is going to be able to get in there and score a KO, put something to sleep with Lovely Kiss, or possibly even both. Literally none of the viable Pokemon that can outspeed Jynx are capable of taking a hit from LO Jynx so you're required to sacrifice a Pokemon just to check Jynx. BW sleep mechanics also mean that something being put to sleep might as well count as being KOed, especially with the amount of pressure that Jynx puts on opposing teams-it's not going to be waking up anytime soon.

Now like I said, being able to check Jynx on a free switch hardly means anything as Jynx is can easily switch out and come back later on. Even though Jynx can indeed switch, it does suffer from a weakness from Stealth Rock that would limit Jynx's ability to destroy everything. However, the beauty about Jynx is that it only needs a single free turn to start doing work on the opponents team via either scoring KOes or putting something to Sleep. Generally speaking Jynx is going to end up taking down 2 Pokemon and putting another to sleep with Lovely Kiss, at the least, every single match. To quote Raseri:

Jynx is low-risk, incredible-reward.

More discussion on Jynx would be interesting to see, so pls continue discussing.

 

[Audiosurfer]

Most of what you said is pretty consistent with my experiences facing Jynx. The Stealth Rock weakness isn't very important in terms of effecting Jynx's ability to perform as unlike other things weak to SR like Swellow, there are fewer checks/counter that can switch in and avoid a 2HKO (and those that do get put to sleep) making it much more difficult to handle than other SR weak mons once it finds a way to come in.

In terms of what set I've had the most trouble with, I think SubNP is probably the most dangerous when I get faced by it since usually my plan for beating Jynx is outspeeding and taking advantage of its low Defense to revenge kill it, but that's made alot harder if they Substitute as I switch out and force me to take an Ice Beam, which will either outright kill my mon or leave them on too low health to be much use later in the game. Generally, my revenge killer winds up dead or crippled with Jynx walking away unscathed. I usually have to do some tricky switching involving something w/ a multi-hit move, but that's obviously far from reliable, so it's definitely been something I'm wary of.

 

[psVoltage]

The main issue about jynx is her scarfed Lovely Kiss, Turning her counters into setup fodder... It really is a pain and the only thing that stops is is vital spirit ( not many good users to face jynx ) or a miss.

 

[Infernis]

Scarf... Lovely Kiss? But then you can't set up. I guess it opens it up for others to set up, but Jynx with scarf lovely kiss is not a good Jynx.

From my perspective, Jynx hasn't been a problem at all. Swellow can take out the slower sets, and Scarfstrika beats any set. But the real star of my current favorite team is Ninjask, who beats all three of the good drops as well as many others. It's neat. (X-scissor is best.)

 

[Cinccino]

Choiced Lovely Kiss works like CBLoom in OU, I guess. Shut a counter down and sweep later on.

 

[Ewil]

Scarf... Lovely Kiss? But then you can't set up. I guess it opens it up for others to set up, but Jynx with scarf lovely kiss is not a good Jynx.

From my perspective, Jynx hasn't been a problem at all. Swellow can take out the slower sets, and Scarfstrika beats any set. But the real star of my current favorite team is Ninjask, who beats all three of the good drops as well as many others. It's neat. (X-scissor is best.)

Actually Ninjask can't take down the SubPlot set. As just AudioSurfer has stated, if you try to beat Jynx with something faster, the SubPlot set is your nightmare (unless your faster mon knows Rock Blast, but i can't think one that does).
So Ninjask and all scarfers are not going to beats all the Jynx variants, so they are checks (not counter because they can't enter against Jynx except if you predict a Nasty Plot and she's not already behind a sub) to the most part, but not to all.

in conclusion:

I support what EBeast said about Jynx. She has so differents counters/checks for every set and you basically can't predict wich one she's going to use. Pretty suspectable.

 

[jake]

I'd just like to take a moment to remind people that this thread is not for discussing whether or not any given Pokemon is "ban-worthy", "bannable", or anything like that. You can talk about Jynx and its sets and how you personally deal with it or what your favorite set is or whatever you like, but let's stay away from "suspectable" and other similar terminology / references. Thanks!

 

[ryan]

I was just wondering how you guys felt it fit in the meta gosh

No, but seriously, haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. Wondered how people were doing with it.

Anyways, I feel like Raseri's quote on Jynx is pretty accurate, even in this metagame. Lovely Kiss alone is reason to use it. It's a reliable Pokemon that has access to a fairly reliable sleep inducing move that isn't a Grass-type. On top of that, it has really great offensive prowess with powerful STAB moves, solid choices in coverage moves, and great choices in boosting moves between Calm Mind and Nasty Plot. (It even gets Focus Punch! :o)

Anyways, I suppose that asking if it is broken sort of leads to "should it be banned?" so a more appropriate question would be have you found any ways to get around Jynx aside from Munchlax, Grumpig, and Metang? I have joked about Fire Punch Hypno in the past, but it actually could handle it. I find the best way to handle Jynx is just by applying constant offensive pressure, doing my best not to give it a free switch or a chance to set up. Of course, this strategy is not infallible, but it has worked the best for me thus far.

 

[Ewil]

Sorry for having misinterpreted Treecko's question.

Personally i'm trying a strange defensive team, and my counters to Jynx are Munchlax and Bronzor.

Eviolite Bronzor actually is pretty good once Jynx has putted something to sleep, it can starts setupping Calm Minds in Jynx face fearing nothing of her moves and Rest up the damage taken. Actually i'm trying a set with Psyshock and Flash Cannon and it works pretty well, but with all the offensive pressure of the opponent team, you have to rely first on Munchlax to phaze her, and when the opponent's team is weaked, you can start CMing with Bronzor. It's a gimmick counter, but it works and can checks a lot of Psychic types anyway.

On the Jynx side i think that i've already said my experience in using her, but i don't remember where, so:

I've tested the SubPlot set and what EBeast said it's pretty accurate. Maybe is one of the most devastating set (not that the others are easy to counter) and even without Lovely Kiss, Jynx can still scores many kills and weaken the opponent's team a lot. Even non boosted Psychics/Ice Beams does a lot of damage, so that's it ! For me, Jynx is one of the most powerful and versatile sweeper of the NU tier with a low risk involved and a very high reward.

 

[kniteowl]

I'm just curious are any of you guy more likely to use yache berry or lum berry because of Jynx's presents in the meta, just to counter or surprise opposing Jynxes?

 

[Sweet Jesus]

I'm just curious are any of you guy more likely to use yache berry or lum berry because of Jynx's presents in the meta, just to counter or surprise opposing Jynxes?

I haven't seen any, but I'm thinking swords dance samurott with lum berry can be a good jymx lure and should do pretty good in this meta where tangela is pretty bad. Lum berry will also cure the will-o-wisp misdreavus and weezing will use to shut down rott. Samurott still isn't coming in on jynx, but he's ohkoing her while she can't do so.

 

[Infernis]

I was already using Lum Samurott, and it's as strong as ever. Megahorn can lay down some serious hurt if they switch in expecting a water move, or you can switch in and KO if you predict a Lovely Kiss coming in.

 

[ium]

i just quickly slapped together a few teams and gave certain pokemon a try, and i have a few thoughts on what i've seen so far. first of all, i think choice scarf jynx is probably one of the best sets to be using right now. of course this heavily depends on what your team needs. however, a lot of teams are gravitating towards a frail offense and jynx will generally have trouble getting past its usual checks for the most part, so slapping on a choice scarf and having a great revenge killer that is bound to land a 1-2HKO on most pokemon instead is really useful.

some of the other stuff i've found to be great are swellow, carracosta, and samurott. like i said, frail teams are becoming more common, and with some grass-types not seeing as much usage, samurott and carracosta have an easy time ripping through teams because of their respective boosting move and aqua jet. they definitely do have true counters that stop them cold, but they pair incredibly well with the new pokemon, namely jynx and scolipede. swellow has always been great since it dents anything that isn't a rock- or steel-type, but now it's even better since it's just faster than most things.

my absolute favorite in this metagame is scolipede when paired with one of the said water-types. people are probably already sick of hearing about substitute + swords dance scolipede with salac berry, but it's such a great momentum-grabber even in the face of good checks. many switch-ins to scolipede will most definitely be steel- or ground-types (some usually having an additional rock typing), so being able to baton pass out to samurott or carracosta will keep things going in your favor. additionally, pokemon that trouble these water-types, such as grass-types and jynx, are easily threatened by scolipede. it's really pressuring for the opponent since both scolipede and samurott/carracosta can possibly set up, and more often than not, you'll be accumulating stealth rock damage or punching holes in the opponent's team until something else can clean. as for using lum berry on the water-types to catch jynx off-guard, i find it to be pretty situational, especially when jynx can KO them when weakened with psychic, so i'd rather gain the general benefit from mystic water and hit stuff harder.

also, why would you pick this song lol apparently this is offensive to someone. i'm a shit friend, i'm horrible, i suck. please hate me for this. i must be a fucking retard.

 

[JCM.]

So we're going on two weeks with the new tier shifts. Anyone have any particularly good Pokemon they've used that they'd like to share? My favorite I've used this meta definitely has to be this man right here:

Carracosta @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
Adamant nature
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall

Carracosta gets a plethora of setup opportunities in the current meta, and is probably the best late-game sweeper in the meta against both offensive and defensive teams. It has a handful of "counters", which are all required to be at full HP to beat it; Gurdurr, Alomomola, Tangela, and Seismitoad are the only true outright counters. Serperior outspeeds Adamant Carracosta after a Smash (not Jolly), and can OHKO it. Of the Pokemon that are faster than Carracosta after the boost, only Floatzel, Serperior, Tauros, Eviolite Electabuzz, Miltank, Simisage, and Simipour can take a +2 Aqua Jet, and several of those can't even OHKO it in return (plus a lot of them aren't even good in this metagame).

If you get up a Shell Smash and have the opposing team even just slightly weakened (like having switched into SR before), Carracosta can cleanly sweep any time and every time. It's just SO GOOD I don't even know how people can stand not using it. Swellow check, Scolipede check, outspeeds Jynx after a boost, OHKOes Scarf Primeape 50% of the time with +2 Aqua Jet after just one round of SR damage... not to mention, most of its "counters" are doing poorly in this metagame. Carracosta is fantastic.

side note: do not use if you are mad at stone edge, rock slide doesn't cut it here

k i'll name some pokemon that i find really good atm with some descriptions and sets

Eelektross (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 104 HP / 252 SAtk / 152 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Volt Switch

Goddamn this thing is good now. What makes this set so good is it's phenomenal coverage with good bulk, allowing it to take a couple of hits. Volt Switch is crucial to this because it allows you to flee from a counter / check if you predict the switch, and grabs some momentum. Flamethrower allows you to beat Grass types that resist your STAB and Steels, while Giga Drain beats Grounds and Thunderbolt is additional STAB. The EV spread maximizes SAtk, and 152 Spd allows you to outspeed Exeggutor, Golurk, Alomomola and Tangela, which is sweet as you carry a move to OHKO (or 2HKO at worst) each of them. The rest is dumped into HP.

Swellow @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Brave Bird
- U-Turn
- Pursuit

It's really the standard Swellow, with a twist. Quick Attack < Pursuit allows you to trap Jynx if you can switch in safely (ie. Switch into Lovely Kiss while you're already poisoned) at the cost of weak priority. Swellow is really good because it can outspeed most of the unboosted tier + the new drops.

Serperior @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]

This thing is amazing, I know it has already been mentioned in this thread, so no description for this.

 

[Ashley11]

Yeah I really like swellow right now as well. I haven't tried the pursuit though, that sounds like a great twist to have right now in the metagame with jynx everywhere.

I honestly won't be surprised to see all three scolipede jynx and primape in the top 10. Jynx might even be in the top 5 really. It's very good with lovely kiss, but I also agree the scarf set is the best.

I haven't had any problems with scolipede, and jynx has just been a bit annoying with lovely kiss, but not TOO much of a problem. The thing about jynx is that you can't really pull out a psychic trapper like skuntank on it because some of them run substitute which defeats sucker punch, or the lovely kiss to put it to sleep.

 

[ium]

has anyone done some small tweaks to standard sets to fit this metagame aside from lum berry?

i'm actually surprised at how people think that gurdurr is less effective in this metagame just because people use misdreavus (which still dislikes knock off and can't achieve much with will-o-wisp) and weezing; seriously, gurdurr's not the only one that has trouble with these pokemon. in fact, it's actually better right now since it's a nice check to scolipede and primeape, while jynx can't come near it in many cases because of mach punch stacked with hazards. in addition, its biggest counter in musharna has substantially reduced in usage since it's threatened by so many things right now.

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch / Knock Off

the small change in its moveset here is stone edge, allowing gurdurr to nail scolipede. scolipede generally can't touch it, choice scarf primeape does 40% max and choice band primeape does 60%, and jynx takes like 50-60% from mach punch. i don't see how these qualify as scenarios where "gurdurr loses to all drops and should be a lower rank," but then again the viability thread has always been stupid, so i wouldn't know. the only issue that gurdurr has is choosing between ice punch and knock off for golurk and misdreavus respectively, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem since most teams should be structured to handle them. gurdurr is just insanely bulky and powerful with the same useful moves at its disposal, and this new metagame has been fairly kind to it.

the other, more minor pokemon that i've also taken a liking to is metang. i actually like having a really bulky rock-type resist right now because my teams usually stack a bunch of pokemon (jynx, scolipede, rotom-a, swellow, and so forth) that are susceptible to rock-type coverage moves from the likes of choice scarf primeape and sawk, which seem to be extremely common right now. knowing that metang can switch into a choice-locked stone edge from primeape with ease is great, and it's safer than using something like golem and risking a close combat.

i know that before the new drops came along, people have been using other moves in lieu of earthquake, such as reflect, light screen, or explosion. the fact is that earthquake really isn't that effective since the most common fire- and electric-types its meant to hurt has an immunity to it (charizard, rotom-a, eelektross). however, with jynx being back in the tier, having bullet punch over the standard earthquake seems to be the ideal right now. metang does a heavy amount of damage to jynx (it nabs a clean KO after stealth rock) which enables it to avoid the lovely kiss, and it doesn't really take too much damage from any of jynx's attacks. and again, choice scarf primeape is horribly weak so metang doesn't even take as much damage as other stealth rock setters that are weak to close combat.

 

[skylight]

the other, more minor pokemon that i've also taken a liking to is metang. i actually like having a really bulky rock-type resist right now because my teams usually stack a bunch of pokemon (jynx, scolipede, rotom-a, swellow, and so forth) that are susceptible to rock-type coverage moves from the likes of choice scarf primeape and sawk, which seem to be extremely common right now. knowing that metang can switch into a choice-locked stone edge from primeape with ease is great, and it's safer than using something like golem and risking a close combat.

i know that before the new drops came along, people have been using other moves in lieu of earthquake, such as reflect, light screen, or explosion. the fact is that earthquake really isn't that effective since the most common fire- and electric-types its meant to hurt has an immunity to it (charizard, rotom-a, eelektross). however, with jynx being back in the tier, having bullet punch over the standard earthquake seems to be the ideal right now. metang does a heavy amount of damage to jynx (it nabs a clean KO after stealth rock) which enables it to avoid the lovely kiss, and it doesn't really take too much damage from any of jynx's attacks. and again, choice scarf primeape is horribly weak so metang doesn't even take as much damage as other stealth rock setters that are weak to close combat.

I actually like the idea of Sleep Talk for those Metang that switch into Jynx. If Jynx tries to set up on it and sleep it again, Sleep Talk can allow it to hurt Jynx through either attacking hard, attacking with priority or setting up SR (if it's switching in and SR isn't up).

 

[Dell]

Definitely supporting you here with the statement regarding Gurdurr, ium. I think one of the primary reasons upon people have been having a lot of letdowns upon Gurdurr's viability in the current metagame is because they find the luxury of sweeping with Bulk Up to be a lot more rewarding on the long run than anything else that it generally cares to run. It still checks a significant portion of the many physical attackers that are becoming quite prevalent in the metagame, including Choice Scarf Primeape, Scolipede, Carracosta, Kangaskhan, and quite more to name from. Knock Off Gurdurr works as quite a potent way of allowing Gurdurr's offensive partners to deal with Misdreavus and Weezing better if not beat them 1v1, and still a good priority user. This set can actually make Gurdurr worthy of obtaining its A-rank status back that it has previously claimed.

Metang is another cool Pokemon to use because of its number of resistances and good bulk that allows it to check a variety of dangerous offensive threats such as Jynx, Kangaskhan, Primeape and Scolipede, and Bullet Punch is a good alternative that allows it to pick off opposing Jynx and weakened threats.

 

[Lolk]

I have been using a very fun Bastiodon set for the past few days and I thought I would share it with you guys! I am using a bulky/stall team atm and this guy has just been hilarious and amazing at the same time!

Bastiodon @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Protect
- Roar
- Metal Burst
- Magic Coat

Most people do not like Bastiodon for his doomed typing. Why would somebody use a defensive pokemon with 4X weaknesses to the two greatest offensive types in the tier? This set to me is played like a bulky revenge killer set. If you see a terrifying +6 monster ready to destroy your team, it can be stopped with the simplest eye-for-an-eye strategy. Take a hit with sturdy and metal burst for the kill. Protect allows you to switch into stealth rocks and still activate sturdy. The beauty of Bastiodon is it is not a one trick pony. This guy can wall and phase out any special attacker without a super effective move. I use alomomola and others for toxic support, but you totally could replace magic coat with toxic if you want. I just love magic coat on this guy. Just today I got three rage quits on PS just by Bastiodon repelling a lovely kiss back onto a jynx. Im not even joking it's hilarious.

What are your guys' thoughts about Bstiodon in this new meta?

 

[Punchshroom]

Magic Coat is a really nifty move that Bastiodon can definitely put to good use. He walls Jynx not carrying Focus Blast or Trick (sadly, Scarf sets are seeing plenty of use), and can stop the fast threats wanting to blitz by the RU drops (Swellow, Zebstrika, Sneasel without Low Kick). On the other hand, threats such as Primeape, EQ Scolipede, and Carracosta can give him a hard time, and that can give them setup opportunities regardless of Roar or Magic Coat as you switch out in fear. Not dissing Bastiodon though, it can still function, but not sure if better or worse...

The Rock, Normal and Flying resist is definitely a nice thing to have, and I use Metang for this role.

Metang @ Eviolite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Zen Headbutt / Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Toxic / Earthquake

This chunk of iron takes a more offensive approach to tanking hits, functioning similiarly to Piloswine (even having priority STAB!). It may not have the wooly beast's power or coverage, but makes up for it in a whole slew of useful resistances to Normal, Flying, Rock, Grass, Ice and Psychic and still hitting most of his opponents adequately. He can take on Scolipede and Primeape with Zen Headbutt and snipe Jynx with Bullet Punch. Unlike Pilo, Metang can switch into Swellow's STAB and threaten it out, setting up SR to punish it back on the switch. Meteor Mash can still be used for greater power, but the metagame has made Zen Headbutt more useful imo, even hitting Weezing on the switch, where Pilo would be unable to do the same. That last move can be used for problematic switchins, such as Charizard, Rotom-F, Eelektross or Alomomola. Most of Earthquake's would-be targets are Flying-type or Levitating, but can still hit grounded Fire and Electric types and smacks Bastiodon and Probopass.

Damn, I wish Metang had Magic Coat, you'd think a Steel- and Psychic-type would be able to learn it.