happy new year, hopefully the tier shifts don't destroy NU too much. here's some stuff I've been having fun with:
Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Aqua Tail
In my opinion this is Serp's better set. Unlike the CM set Serp can punish Fire-types switching in with Aqua Tail and has a powerful move to hit the likes of Mesprit and Rotom. SD Serp unlike Leafeon outruns stuff like Archeops, Pyroar, and Typhlosion. Basically eliminate bulky Poison-types and stuff like Scyther and sweep. MegaLix takes about 50% from +2 Aqua Tail iirc so weaken that too. Try this set out before Contrary Leaf Storm becomes the only Serp set.
Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Atk / 188 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
-
Megahorn
I was counterteaming Deej Dy and to make my team more Malamar-proof, I used Megahorn Rhydon. This Rhydon spread is designed to always OHKO a +1 Malamar with Megahorn without any prior damage, and comes quite close to doing so vs +2 Malamar after SR and a bit of residual damage (does about 75-90% iirc). So, it always wins in a one-on-one situation if it doesn't miss and at worst severely weakens Malamar if switching in. It also OHKOs Lilligant switching in, OHKOs Mesprit after damage from SR + LO switching in, and hits a Roosting Xatu hard. The Special Defense EVs enable it to check Fire-types better and even live some HP Grasses from a high amount of HP; it has enough physical bulk to check Normal-types as it is.
Tauros @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Climb
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
- Endeavor
With all the MegaLix running around, Tauros can lure them in really well and hit them with a SubEndeavor. It's also really useful against random bulky Pokemon you would like to be gone, or to defeat something scary that's about to sweep you (cough Malamar cough CM Mush). Apart from that, Tauros actually hits really hard with Sheer Force LO Rock Climb and in addition it is really fast (it's as fast as Archeops), too, meaning it can actually sweep teams if you manage to keep it alive after weakening their stuff. This bull is very underrated but really good.
Feraligatr @
Rindo Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: whatever spread you run
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Ice Punch
Rindo Berry is so much better than Lum imo; few people try to status a Gatr because of how common Lum is and I pair this with HW support so Gatr gets a second chance either way and to sweep after it breaks what it has to. Rindo guarantees that Vileplume will never beat you and you no longer need to find out if it's offensive or defensive because you can simply set up to +4 and live even Specs Plume Giga Drain. It also enables you to weaken Tangela and prevents Lilligant / Leafeon / Serp from revenge killing you which is what a lot of people rely on to check Gatr.
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Honestly I think the metagame is really fun right now, there's so much fun stuff to try, and I'll definitely be coming back to post what more I find fun to use. Mega Steelix is really annoying but whatever, I don't think it's broken :)