I've never liked OU. I've liked UU a bit, but its really NU that I really enjoy. With gimmicky, beaten-off-the-path, obscure Pokemon, I think its the best tier.
Now, I'm going to be the first to say, this is my first NU team. I know a lot of theorymon, but I don't know much of the practical application of Pokemon. I think this is more of a defensive team, and not so much of a stall team. In this thread, you will read about the team, the team-building process, and my attempt to analyze the highly unpredictable, extremely hostile and very powerful environment that is NU.
I also want to say, now that Cloyster, Nidoqueen, Leafeon and all the good 'stall Pokemon' in NU have left, can stall make a comeback?
Team-Building Process
I always wanted to build a defensive team outside of OU and Ubers, the developed metagames. By the time I had finished fooling around with an Nidoqueen/Vaporeon/Celebi/Heatran/Blissey/Skarmory team on Pearl and actually picked up the game again, UU had been well developed, but NU has just started to be developed.
On Pearl, against battles from my friends, I found that Toxic Spikes (from Nidoqueen) and a Fire/Water/Grass defensive core was extremely useful in bringing down threatening Pokemon. I used a Wish passing Vaporeon, Plust's Blissey ('cause you know how good it is), a Toxic Spikes & Stealth Rock Nidoqueen, TormentTran, a Bold SubSeed Celebi and my own Skarmory, BB, Spikes, Roost and some other fourth move I don't care to remember. I found that in addition to the Fire/Water/Grass core (these Pokemon were sturdy enough to withstand attacks from both sides of the spectrum), a secondary SkarmBliss core was also very useful. Nidoqueen rounded out the type synergy perfectly, as her unique typing provides useful resistances and immunities, not to mention the ability to absorb and lay down Poison Spikes, which she is (arguably) better at doing than Tentacruel. (Forgoing the use of Tentacruel and using Nidoqueen also meant I could use Vaporeon.) Since then, when my last Pokemon Vaporeon stalled out my friend's Hypnosis/Thunderbolt/Psychic/Will-o-Wisp Trace Gardevoir (yeah, dunno how that happened...Vaporeon's only direct attack was Surf), I'd wanted to continue using that defensive core.
To start this off, I know I want a Fire Type, a Grass Type and a Water Type. Additionally, I decided I was going to use Nidoqueen because she was so useful in my experiences.
Next, I wanted to determine my three Pokemon. I looked through the list of Fire Types first. There was Torkoal, Camerupt, Flareon and Magcargo that caught my attention as being defensively sound. I cast away Magcargo and Torkoal due to their 4x weaknesses to water, leaving me with Torkoal and Flareon. I ultimately decided on Flareon, seeing his ability to pass Wishes, and higher overall defenses, plus higher attacks and speed.
For my water type, I decided on Mantine, being attracted immediately to the two immunities and dual weakness it had, as well and the high special defense stat; for a grass type, I chose the most defensive pure grass type in the absence of Tangrowth, Meganium, with very solid 80/100/100 defenses. I also gave good consideration to Exeggutor, Bellossom, Cradily, Jumpluff, Vileplume and Wormadam. Please don't make fun of me for that. Wormadam is a cool-looking Pokemon. I tossed out Wormadam after seeing her support movepool...or lack thereof. I nixed Vileplume because I felt I didn't need the secondary Poison Typing with Nidoqueen already on the team. Bellossom went because of the low HP, although I really liked the support movepool and Sp. Def. That left me with just Meganium, Jumpluff, Cradily and Exeggutor. After reading through the analysis, I got the impression that Jumpluff was mostly used as a Pokemon to 'glue' together a team of mostly sweepers, and I didn't like having all three of my walls being SR weak. Then, I weighed my options between Exeggutor, Meganium and Cradily.
Exegutor: 95/85/65 Sleep Power, Wish, Leech Seed, Toxic, Protect, Reflect, Light Screen, Explosion, Curse, Gravity, Ingrain, Mimic, Moonlight, Power Swap, Rest, Skill Swap, Stun Spore, Substitute, Sunny Day, Thief, Trick Room and Worry Seed. Most of his support movepool is gimmicky, and the base 65 Sp. Def really hurts. However, I really do like Sleep Powder and Wish, so maybe.
Meganium: 80/100/100 Aromatherapy, Light Screen, Reflect, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Worry Seed, Substitute, Grasswhistle, Toxic, Counter, Ingrain, Mimic, Protect, Rest, Role Play, Safeguard, Substitute, and Wring Out. Sorta gimmicky and without a reliable recovery move (Exeggutor could Wish/Protect) with a lot of PP. However, I really like Aromatherapy and Counter, and I think Role Play would be really cool to use against Flash Fire Pokemon (Ninetails, I'm looking at you). Substitute + Role Play would be really interesting...but Exeggutor would probably do that better with Skill Swap. However, I really like the better defenses and the mono grass typing, which means I might survive random Megahorns/Bug Buzzes. Definite possibility.
Cradily: 86/97/107 Curse, Sleep Talk, Rest, Recover, Substitute, Stealth Rock, Protect,
Stockpile. Mirror Coat, Confuse Ray, Amnesia, Barrier, Block, Body Slam, Curse, Gastro Acid, Ingrain, Mimic, Pain Split, Psych Up, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Spit Up, Sunny Day, Swallow, Synthesis, Toxic, Worry Seed, and Wring Out. Easily the best support movepool of the three and the highest defenses. However, the extra rock type is what I really didn't like, especially after I chose my fourth member and lead. Additionally, I don't like that Cradily doesn't get the screens. Maybe, but the least of the three choices.
For the time being, I'm sticking with Meganium.
I still needed two more members. I looked through the list of physically defensive Pokemon in NU, and decided on Miltank. Not only did she add a Ghost immunity, but she added a great staller for the team. Additionally, I've always had a soft spot for Miltank, and I've never underestimated her...I'm some many of us remember trying to defeat Whitney's Miltank in GSC and never being able to do so until the 10th time or so. 95/105/70 defenses are like Physical Blissey. Despite that, Thick Fat would have secured her a spot anyway, as now she has wonderful synergy with Meganium and Nidoqueen.
I still needed a lead, and I must have been in a weird mood, or just gotten off from running or something, because I was really hyper and chosen Raticate. Raticate was a weird kind of suicide lead that I figured most people weren't prepared for, and like Jynx, he's one of those 'beaten off the path' Pokemon. (I swear, Jynx will make it into one of my teams one of these days.)
Unfortunately, Nidoqueen was banned from NU, so I had to drop her spot. Yippie. There went Stealth Rock, Toxic Spikes and my ability to absorb the latter entry hazard.
Additionally, after playing with the team a little bit, I decided Raticate didn't fit the concept of the team that well. I looked around for a bit, and Friar suggested running Caturne. He also suggested replacing Mantine with Slowking and adding Sandslash for its physical bulk and spinning abilities. SO there I was, with three new members of my team.
The first thing that jumped out at me was I had a massive Swift Swim Seaking weakness, as 3 of my Pokes were weak to Megahorn and 2 weak to Surf (Miltank was the only one neutral). Sure enough, I got destroyed by a Swift Swim Seaking on th first battle I used this. However, Cacturne dealt with the Electrode lead extremely well, and besides the battle, this team actually worked very well. Ich777ich pointed out a major weakness to LO + 4atks Pinsir. With that in mind, he opted for switching out Flareon for Ninetails. I figured this was pretty sound advice, so I followed it.
Analysis:
Cacturne @ Focus Sash
Sand Veil
Adamant (+ Atk, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spd
~ Spikes
~ Seed Bomb
~ Sucker Punch
~ Encore
First off, props to Friar for suggesting this to me. Cacturne is a brilliant lead that absolutely screws over Rain Dancers, Sandstormers...really anything that sets up something on the first turn. Spikes is a great way to damage your opponent by chipping off 12.5%, 18.75%, or 25% of their health after 1, 2, or 3 layers, respectively. Seed Bomb serves as primary STAB for Cacturne. A trusty STAB Seed Bomb coming off 361 Atk is always fun, right? Sucker Punch is the kicker against other leads, especially faster, frail ones, such as Electrode. Encore rounds off the set, giving Cacturne a way to set up Spikes. Against Electrode, Encore the first turn to encore their Rain Dance. If you encore an Explosion, you survive because of Focus Sash. Once Rain Dance has been encored, you can either use the free turn to set up Spikes or Seed Bomb the incoming Pokemon.
Cacturne makes an excellent lead. He supports the team by setting up spikes, providing Encore Support, and either taking down a problem Pokemon while going down or putting a large dent in one. Despite this, Cacturne is usually the first on the team of faint, frail as he is.
Ninetales @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
Timid (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 120 HP, 248 Sp. Atk, 136 Spd
~ Hypnosis
~ Energy Ball
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power [Rock]
I know, a timid Ninetales on a defensive team? And what's with that weird EV distribution? Let me explain.
First, Ninetales is my fire-attack absorber. He's fast and powerful, and loves switching into Megahorns, Flamethrowers and Ice Beams. The given EVs give him 317 HP, which is enough to switch into Stealth Rock five times. 136 Speed EVs allows for a speed stat of 297, outrunning max speed Pinsir, and everything tailored to outrun that by 1 point (Pinsir caps at 295). Hypnosis is best used after switching into an Encored Pokemon, making a useless Pokemon more useless. Energy Ball hits Pokemon like Seaking, Quaqsire and Slowking who switch in, expecting to soak up a Flamethrower. Speaking of which, Flamethrower is Ninetales's main STAB attack, and is further boosted by Flash Fire, making it a feared attack. Finally, Hidden Power [Rock] rounds off the set, allowing for Ninetales to attack other Ninetales, Charizard, Typhlosion and other Flash Fire Pokemon.
While playing, I haven't used Ninetales much, so more will be added as I father experience with her; I am not yet sure how defensively sound she is.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Own Tempo
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp. Def
~ Surf
~ Slack Off
~ Psychic/Calm Mind
~ Thunder Wave/Calm Mind
For the positives, Slowking is often hailed as the premier special wall of NU, and rightfully so. With 394 HP and 350 Sp. Def, and access to Calm Mind, Nasty Plot and Thunder Wave, as well as a way to reliably heal himself in the form of Slack Off, Slowking is almost as sturdy as Blissey. Speaking of the pink blob, Slowking can defeat her 1 v 1. Slowking for OU! Just a fun fact: with max HP and Sp. Def, Slowking is capable of surviving 2 Draco Meteors from SpecsMence. So you can switch in, Slack Off the damage, Slack Off again, Slack Off a third time if necessary, and then Ice Beam for the KO (assuming you're running Ice Beam over Psychic).
Own Tempo was chosen over Oblivious for the protection against random confuse attacks...Dynamicpunch, Confuse Ray, um, y'know, Psybeam...
For any wall, maximizing HP is the most important thing to do. With that in mind, 252 EVs were dumped into HP to start. I decided I wanted Slowking to wall special threats, because his stats suggest he would do so, and so I dumped another 252 EVs into Sp. Def. The remaining 4 EVs were dumped into Defense to provide a small increase to overall bulk.
Concerning his moves, Surf accounts for STAB and is useful for fainting Pokemon like Typhlosion. Slack Off checks the obligatory 'reliable recovery' that a wall like Slowking so desperately needs. For his third moveslot, I've generally found Psychic more useful, as when I'm stuck in a stall war with Miltank, the Sp. Def drop will allow for me to come out on top, as I can't waste my time Calm Minding/Nasty Plotting against her. Finally, Thunder Wave is a great way to cripple incoming switches and troublesome Pokemon.
Slowking is actually in both cores of this team. He serves as the water type in the Fire/Water/Grass triangle and forms a strong defensive core with Miltank.
And just for kicks, I'm gonna make SlowKING female. Sorry, that was bad...
Meganium @ Leftovers
Overgrow
Bold (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 208 HP, 252 Def, 48 Sp. Def
~ Leech Seed
~ Substitute
~ Hidden Power [Fire]
~ Energy Ball
Meganium is just a great Pokemon in general, and also as the final point to the Fire/Water/Grass combination I have great faith in. Leech Seed is a great move that steals HP from my opponent and heals Meganium with. Leech Seed is generally used against a Pokemon I know I just forced out, such as Floatzel, Mantine or Golem, all three of who fear a grass-type attack. Substitute has excellent synergy with Leech Seed and is a good move to have on a wall in general. Substitute not only scouts attacks and provides as a buffer against them, but also blocks status, eliminating the need for Aromatherapy on Meganium, as I had previously run. Leech Seed and Substitute form the dreaded SubSeed combination, which is not only extremely annoying, but incredibly difficult to take down without losing a large chunk of HP from one, if not several Pokemon at the same time. The third slot is Meganium's only way of covering grass and steel types who resist her grass STAB. Hidden Power [Fire] is a great check against SubSeed Jumpluff and SubCharge Magneton, as well as against Pinsir switch ins. Energy Ball is the strongest and most consistant option available to Meganium, essentially being the grass version of Shadow Ball, and is what I'm running at the moment.
I have debated running Safeguard/Outrage/Earthquake/Seed Bomb with an Adamant Nature and 252 Atk, 128 Def, 128 Sp. Def, but that seems a little too offensive for the nature of the team. Also, a Leech Seed/Substitute/Protect/Hidden Power [Fire] set has come to mind, but I think this current one I have is much better, as the loss of Energy Ball is somewhat painful.
208 HP EVs allow for 353 HP, which is divisible my 16 + 1, allowing for the maximum amount of Substitutes. Max Defense is obvious, need I say it? The leftover EVs are dumped into Special Defense, although I am considering seeing how much Sp. Atk I will need to ensure an OHKO on the common Pinsir spreads on the switch with HP Fire, and adjust the spread accordingly.
Meganium completes the Fire/Water/Grass defensive triangle, and I've made him more Physically Defensive than specially defense. Why? A Physically Defensive Meganium is able to switch into more attacks than a specially defensive one. For example, many Pokemon with Fighting Attacks tend to carry Earthquake or Dark Attacks. Miltank is in. I can switch to Slowking to take the incoming Close Combat, but then I have to scurry from the Earthquake that's sure to follow. However, if I switch to Meganium, instead of Slowking, I can Substitute and attack with Energy Ball.
I switched out Reflect, Light Screen and Light Clay because the lack of Recovery on Meganium was too much strain for him. He could take a few hits, and then was dead weight for the team.
Miltank @ Leftovers
Scrappy
Impish (+ Def, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp. Def
~ Milk Drink
~ Body Slam
~ Curse
~ Heal Bell
It is often said that Miltank is one of the sturdiest Pokemon in existence, and I'm not going to doubt that. How she ended up in NU is beyond me; but I'm not going to question how, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that she's here.
Milk Drink is an obvious recovery move and is exclusive to Miltank. Recovering 50% if one's HP can be extremely frustrating to the opponent. Body Slam provides reliable STAB and also have that wonderful chance to paralyze. Surprisingly, Curse is Miltank's saving grace. Usually, she can switch in on something she forces out and uses Curse on the switch. If the opponent is likely to status her, she'll use Heal Bell. If the opponent is likely to attack her, she'll use Milk Drink to see if it's safe to continue Cursing (keep in mind that after a Curse, she is slower than most Pokemon). If it's safe, continue to Curse to 6+, Milk Drinking as necessary, and sweep. I've 6-0'ed teams by doing this. Heal Bell makes Miltank a great cleric, and as she is my main wall, allows for me to keep her free of my opponents trying to KO her in uncool ways (read: toxic). There are no soundproof Pokemon on my team, so I don't have to worry about that unfortunate gimmick.
Max HP and Def ensures the maximum ability to take physical hits. Before, I was running a 252/136/120 spread, and 136 EVs in Defense wasn't enough. The extra 29 points really do like a difference, especially when you start multiplying the defense stat with Curse boosts.
I just want to say, I freaking love Miltank. Not only does she wall Pokemon, but she sweeps teams too with Scrappy Body Slam. After two curses, she is able to effectively wall Slaking's Return.
Sandslash @ Leftovers
Sand Veil
Impish (+ Def, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Atk, 252 Def
~ Stealth Rock
~ Rapid Spin
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge
Sandslash is another 'utility' Pokemon that performs several roles on the team. First, he provides as a spinner with Rapid Spin. Sandslash is a great choice for this role, as not only does his typing have great synergy with the team, but he also resists Stealth Rock. Speaking of which, with Stealth Rock, Sandslash is able to set up the entry hazard himself, which is a great asset to any team. The final two moves are somewhat filler, but they serve their purposes. Earthquake is perhaps the most reliable STAB attack in the game, with 100 Base Power and perfect accuracy. Ground is a much-needed attacking type on this team, and Sandslash provides it. Rock is an attack type that compliments Ground extremely well, and thus the most unreliable move in the game, Stone Edge, found its way onto this set. Stone Edge's main purpose it to hit Flying and Bug Pokemon that think they can switch in and absorb an Earthquake, such as Mantine, Dodrio and Pinsir.
Max HP and max Def provide for the greatest possible physical walling abilities. Additionally, Sandslash is able to survive a Raichu's +2 Grass Knot with about 10% left and OHKO with Earthquake.
Sandslash doesn't seem to pull his weight on the team. Due to his Ground typing, he rarely finds an opportunity to switch in and stay in for two turns to Rapid Spin and set up Stealth Rock, and let's forget about attacking at the moment. Except for the above scenario with Raichu, I've had little luck with Sandslash. He couldn't even KO a Bastiodon with Earthquake, although I suspect this was because of the lack of investment in attack, but nonetheless, I digress.
I do not yet know of an "NU Threat List" but I intend on making one and being able to entirely counter it. Until then, suggestions?
Now, I'm going to be the first to say, this is my first NU team. I know a lot of theorymon, but I don't know much of the practical application of Pokemon. I think this is more of a defensive team, and not so much of a stall team. In this thread, you will read about the team, the team-building process, and my attempt to analyze the highly unpredictable, extremely hostile and very powerful environment that is NU.
I also want to say, now that Cloyster, Nidoqueen, Leafeon and all the good 'stall Pokemon' in NU have left, can stall make a comeback?
Team-Building Process
I always wanted to build a defensive team outside of OU and Ubers, the developed metagames. By the time I had finished fooling around with an Nidoqueen/Vaporeon/Celebi/Heatran/Blissey/Skarmory team on Pearl and actually picked up the game again, UU had been well developed, but NU has just started to be developed.
On Pearl, against battles from my friends, I found that Toxic Spikes (from Nidoqueen) and a Fire/Water/Grass defensive core was extremely useful in bringing down threatening Pokemon. I used a Wish passing Vaporeon, Plust's Blissey ('cause you know how good it is), a Toxic Spikes & Stealth Rock Nidoqueen, TormentTran, a Bold SubSeed Celebi and my own Skarmory, BB, Spikes, Roost and some other fourth move I don't care to remember. I found that in addition to the Fire/Water/Grass core (these Pokemon were sturdy enough to withstand attacks from both sides of the spectrum), a secondary SkarmBliss core was also very useful. Nidoqueen rounded out the type synergy perfectly, as her unique typing provides useful resistances and immunities, not to mention the ability to absorb and lay down Poison Spikes, which she is (arguably) better at doing than Tentacruel. (Forgoing the use of Tentacruel and using Nidoqueen also meant I could use Vaporeon.) Since then, when my last Pokemon Vaporeon stalled out my friend's Hypnosis/Thunderbolt/Psychic/Will-o-Wisp Trace Gardevoir (yeah, dunno how that happened...Vaporeon's only direct attack was Surf), I'd wanted to continue using that defensive core.
To start this off, I know I want a Fire Type, a Grass Type and a Water Type. Additionally, I decided I was going to use Nidoqueen because she was so useful in my experiences.
Next, I wanted to determine my three Pokemon. I looked through the list of Fire Types first. There was Torkoal, Camerupt, Flareon and Magcargo that caught my attention as being defensively sound. I cast away Magcargo and Torkoal due to their 4x weaknesses to water, leaving me with Torkoal and Flareon. I ultimately decided on Flareon, seeing his ability to pass Wishes, and higher overall defenses, plus higher attacks and speed.
For my water type, I decided on Mantine, being attracted immediately to the two immunities and dual weakness it had, as well and the high special defense stat; for a grass type, I chose the most defensive pure grass type in the absence of Tangrowth, Meganium, with very solid 80/100/100 defenses. I also gave good consideration to Exeggutor, Bellossom, Cradily, Jumpluff, Vileplume and Wormadam. Please don't make fun of me for that. Wormadam is a cool-looking Pokemon. I tossed out Wormadam after seeing her support movepool...or lack thereof. I nixed Vileplume because I felt I didn't need the secondary Poison Typing with Nidoqueen already on the team. Bellossom went because of the low HP, although I really liked the support movepool and Sp. Def. That left me with just Meganium, Jumpluff, Cradily and Exeggutor. After reading through the analysis, I got the impression that Jumpluff was mostly used as a Pokemon to 'glue' together a team of mostly sweepers, and I didn't like having all three of my walls being SR weak. Then, I weighed my options between Exeggutor, Meganium and Cradily.
Exegutor: 95/85/65 Sleep Power, Wish, Leech Seed, Toxic, Protect, Reflect, Light Screen, Explosion, Curse, Gravity, Ingrain, Mimic, Moonlight, Power Swap, Rest, Skill Swap, Stun Spore, Substitute, Sunny Day, Thief, Trick Room and Worry Seed. Most of his support movepool is gimmicky, and the base 65 Sp. Def really hurts. However, I really do like Sleep Powder and Wish, so maybe.
Meganium: 80/100/100 Aromatherapy, Light Screen, Reflect, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Worry Seed, Substitute, Grasswhistle, Toxic, Counter, Ingrain, Mimic, Protect, Rest, Role Play, Safeguard, Substitute, and Wring Out. Sorta gimmicky and without a reliable recovery move (Exeggutor could Wish/Protect) with a lot of PP. However, I really like Aromatherapy and Counter, and I think Role Play would be really cool to use against Flash Fire Pokemon (Ninetails, I'm looking at you). Substitute + Role Play would be really interesting...but Exeggutor would probably do that better with Skill Swap. However, I really like the better defenses and the mono grass typing, which means I might survive random Megahorns/Bug Buzzes. Definite possibility.
Cradily: 86/97/107 Curse, Sleep Talk, Rest, Recover, Substitute, Stealth Rock, Protect,
Stockpile. Mirror Coat, Confuse Ray, Amnesia, Barrier, Block, Body Slam, Curse, Gastro Acid, Ingrain, Mimic, Pain Split, Psych Up, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Spit Up, Sunny Day, Swallow, Synthesis, Toxic, Worry Seed, and Wring Out. Easily the best support movepool of the three and the highest defenses. However, the extra rock type is what I really didn't like, especially after I chose my fourth member and lead. Additionally, I don't like that Cradily doesn't get the screens. Maybe, but the least of the three choices.
For the time being, I'm sticking with Meganium.
I still needed two more members. I looked through the list of physically defensive Pokemon in NU, and decided on Miltank. Not only did she add a Ghost immunity, but she added a great staller for the team. Additionally, I've always had a soft spot for Miltank, and I've never underestimated her...I'm some many of us remember trying to defeat Whitney's Miltank in GSC and never being able to do so until the 10th time or so. 95/105/70 defenses are like Physical Blissey. Despite that, Thick Fat would have secured her a spot anyway, as now she has wonderful synergy with Meganium and Nidoqueen.
I still needed a lead, and I must have been in a weird mood, or just gotten off from running or something, because I was really hyper and chosen Raticate. Raticate was a weird kind of suicide lead that I figured most people weren't prepared for, and like Jynx, he's one of those 'beaten off the path' Pokemon. (I swear, Jynx will make it into one of my teams one of these days.)
Unfortunately, Nidoqueen was banned from NU, so I had to drop her spot. Yippie. There went Stealth Rock, Toxic Spikes and my ability to absorb the latter entry hazard.
Additionally, after playing with the team a little bit, I decided Raticate didn't fit the concept of the team that well. I looked around for a bit, and Friar suggested running Caturne. He also suggested replacing Mantine with Slowking and adding Sandslash for its physical bulk and spinning abilities. SO there I was, with three new members of my team.
The first thing that jumped out at me was I had a massive Swift Swim Seaking weakness, as 3 of my Pokes were weak to Megahorn and 2 weak to Surf (Miltank was the only one neutral). Sure enough, I got destroyed by a Swift Swim Seaking on th first battle I used this. However, Cacturne dealt with the Electrode lead extremely well, and besides the battle, this team actually worked very well. Ich777ich pointed out a major weakness to LO + 4atks Pinsir. With that in mind, he opted for switching out Flareon for Ninetails. I figured this was pretty sound advice, so I followed it.
Analysis:
Cacturne @ Focus Sash
Sand Veil
Adamant (+ Atk, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spd
~ Spikes
~ Seed Bomb
~ Sucker Punch
~ Encore
First off, props to Friar for suggesting this to me. Cacturne is a brilliant lead that absolutely screws over Rain Dancers, Sandstormers...really anything that sets up something on the first turn. Spikes is a great way to damage your opponent by chipping off 12.5%, 18.75%, or 25% of their health after 1, 2, or 3 layers, respectively. Seed Bomb serves as primary STAB for Cacturne. A trusty STAB Seed Bomb coming off 361 Atk is always fun, right? Sucker Punch is the kicker against other leads, especially faster, frail ones, such as Electrode. Encore rounds off the set, giving Cacturne a way to set up Spikes. Against Electrode, Encore the first turn to encore their Rain Dance. If you encore an Explosion, you survive because of Focus Sash. Once Rain Dance has been encored, you can either use the free turn to set up Spikes or Seed Bomb the incoming Pokemon.
Cacturne makes an excellent lead. He supports the team by setting up spikes, providing Encore Support, and either taking down a problem Pokemon while going down or putting a large dent in one. Despite this, Cacturne is usually the first on the team of faint, frail as he is.
Ninetales @ Leftovers
Flash Fire
Timid (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 120 HP, 248 Sp. Atk, 136 Spd
~ Hypnosis
~ Energy Ball
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power [Rock]
I know, a timid Ninetales on a defensive team? And what's with that weird EV distribution? Let me explain.
First, Ninetales is my fire-attack absorber. He's fast and powerful, and loves switching into Megahorns, Flamethrowers and Ice Beams. The given EVs give him 317 HP, which is enough to switch into Stealth Rock five times. 136 Speed EVs allows for a speed stat of 297, outrunning max speed Pinsir, and everything tailored to outrun that by 1 point (Pinsir caps at 295). Hypnosis is best used after switching into an Encored Pokemon, making a useless Pokemon more useless. Energy Ball hits Pokemon like Seaking, Quaqsire and Slowking who switch in, expecting to soak up a Flamethrower. Speaking of which, Flamethrower is Ninetales's main STAB attack, and is further boosted by Flash Fire, making it a feared attack. Finally, Hidden Power [Rock] rounds off the set, allowing for Ninetales to attack other Ninetales, Charizard, Typhlosion and other Flash Fire Pokemon.
While playing, I haven't used Ninetales much, so more will be added as I father experience with her; I am not yet sure how defensively sound she is.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Own Tempo
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Sp. Def
~ Surf
~ Slack Off
~ Psychic/Calm Mind
~ Thunder Wave/Calm Mind
For the positives, Slowking is often hailed as the premier special wall of NU, and rightfully so. With 394 HP and 350 Sp. Def, and access to Calm Mind, Nasty Plot and Thunder Wave, as well as a way to reliably heal himself in the form of Slack Off, Slowking is almost as sturdy as Blissey. Speaking of the pink blob, Slowking can defeat her 1 v 1. Slowking for OU! Just a fun fact: with max HP and Sp. Def, Slowking is capable of surviving 2 Draco Meteors from SpecsMence. So you can switch in, Slack Off the damage, Slack Off again, Slack Off a third time if necessary, and then Ice Beam for the KO (assuming you're running Ice Beam over Psychic).
Own Tempo was chosen over Oblivious for the protection against random confuse attacks...Dynamicpunch, Confuse Ray, um, y'know, Psybeam...
For any wall, maximizing HP is the most important thing to do. With that in mind, 252 EVs were dumped into HP to start. I decided I wanted Slowking to wall special threats, because his stats suggest he would do so, and so I dumped another 252 EVs into Sp. Def. The remaining 4 EVs were dumped into Defense to provide a small increase to overall bulk.
Concerning his moves, Surf accounts for STAB and is useful for fainting Pokemon like Typhlosion. Slack Off checks the obligatory 'reliable recovery' that a wall like Slowking so desperately needs. For his third moveslot, I've generally found Psychic more useful, as when I'm stuck in a stall war with Miltank, the Sp. Def drop will allow for me to come out on top, as I can't waste my time Calm Minding/Nasty Plotting against her. Finally, Thunder Wave is a great way to cripple incoming switches and troublesome Pokemon.
Slowking is actually in both cores of this team. He serves as the water type in the Fire/Water/Grass triangle and forms a strong defensive core with Miltank.
And just for kicks, I'm gonna make SlowKING female. Sorry, that was bad...
Meganium @ Leftovers
Overgrow
Bold (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 208 HP, 252 Def, 48 Sp. Def
~ Leech Seed
~ Substitute
~ Hidden Power [Fire]
~ Energy Ball
Meganium is just a great Pokemon in general, and also as the final point to the Fire/Water/Grass combination I have great faith in. Leech Seed is a great move that steals HP from my opponent and heals Meganium with. Leech Seed is generally used against a Pokemon I know I just forced out, such as Floatzel, Mantine or Golem, all three of who fear a grass-type attack. Substitute has excellent synergy with Leech Seed and is a good move to have on a wall in general. Substitute not only scouts attacks and provides as a buffer against them, but also blocks status, eliminating the need for Aromatherapy on Meganium, as I had previously run. Leech Seed and Substitute form the dreaded SubSeed combination, which is not only extremely annoying, but incredibly difficult to take down without losing a large chunk of HP from one, if not several Pokemon at the same time. The third slot is Meganium's only way of covering grass and steel types who resist her grass STAB. Hidden Power [Fire] is a great check against SubSeed Jumpluff and SubCharge Magneton, as well as against Pinsir switch ins. Energy Ball is the strongest and most consistant option available to Meganium, essentially being the grass version of Shadow Ball, and is what I'm running at the moment.
I have debated running Safeguard/Outrage/Earthquake/Seed Bomb with an Adamant Nature and 252 Atk, 128 Def, 128 Sp. Def, but that seems a little too offensive for the nature of the team. Also, a Leech Seed/Substitute/Protect/Hidden Power [Fire] set has come to mind, but I think this current one I have is much better, as the loss of Energy Ball is somewhat painful.
208 HP EVs allow for 353 HP, which is divisible my 16 + 1, allowing for the maximum amount of Substitutes. Max Defense is obvious, need I say it? The leftover EVs are dumped into Special Defense, although I am considering seeing how much Sp. Atk I will need to ensure an OHKO on the common Pinsir spreads on the switch with HP Fire, and adjust the spread accordingly.
Meganium completes the Fire/Water/Grass defensive triangle, and I've made him more Physically Defensive than specially defense. Why? A Physically Defensive Meganium is able to switch into more attacks than a specially defensive one. For example, many Pokemon with Fighting Attacks tend to carry Earthquake or Dark Attacks. Miltank is in. I can switch to Slowking to take the incoming Close Combat, but then I have to scurry from the Earthquake that's sure to follow. However, if I switch to Meganium, instead of Slowking, I can Substitute and attack with Energy Ball.
I switched out Reflect, Light Screen and Light Clay because the lack of Recovery on Meganium was too much strain for him. He could take a few hits, and then was dead weight for the team.
Miltank @ Leftovers
Scrappy
Impish (+ Def, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp. Def
~ Milk Drink
~ Body Slam
~ Curse
~ Heal Bell
It is often said that Miltank is one of the sturdiest Pokemon in existence, and I'm not going to doubt that. How she ended up in NU is beyond me; but I'm not going to question how, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that she's here.
Milk Drink is an obvious recovery move and is exclusive to Miltank. Recovering 50% if one's HP can be extremely frustrating to the opponent. Body Slam provides reliable STAB and also have that wonderful chance to paralyze. Surprisingly, Curse is Miltank's saving grace. Usually, she can switch in on something she forces out and uses Curse on the switch. If the opponent is likely to status her, she'll use Heal Bell. If the opponent is likely to attack her, she'll use Milk Drink to see if it's safe to continue Cursing (keep in mind that after a Curse, she is slower than most Pokemon). If it's safe, continue to Curse to 6+, Milk Drinking as necessary, and sweep. I've 6-0'ed teams by doing this. Heal Bell makes Miltank a great cleric, and as she is my main wall, allows for me to keep her free of my opponents trying to KO her in uncool ways (read: toxic). There are no soundproof Pokemon on my team, so I don't have to worry about that unfortunate gimmick.
Max HP and Def ensures the maximum ability to take physical hits. Before, I was running a 252/136/120 spread, and 136 EVs in Defense wasn't enough. The extra 29 points really do like a difference, especially when you start multiplying the defense stat with Curse boosts.
I just want to say, I freaking love Miltank. Not only does she wall Pokemon, but she sweeps teams too with Scrappy Body Slam. After two curses, she is able to effectively wall Slaking's Return.
Sandslash @ Leftovers
Sand Veil
Impish (+ Def, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 4 Atk, 252 Def
~ Stealth Rock
~ Rapid Spin
~ Earthquake
~ Stone Edge
Sandslash is another 'utility' Pokemon that performs several roles on the team. First, he provides as a spinner with Rapid Spin. Sandslash is a great choice for this role, as not only does his typing have great synergy with the team, but he also resists Stealth Rock. Speaking of which, with Stealth Rock, Sandslash is able to set up the entry hazard himself, which is a great asset to any team. The final two moves are somewhat filler, but they serve their purposes. Earthquake is perhaps the most reliable STAB attack in the game, with 100 Base Power and perfect accuracy. Ground is a much-needed attacking type on this team, and Sandslash provides it. Rock is an attack type that compliments Ground extremely well, and thus the most unreliable move in the game, Stone Edge, found its way onto this set. Stone Edge's main purpose it to hit Flying and Bug Pokemon that think they can switch in and absorb an Earthquake, such as Mantine, Dodrio and Pinsir.
Max HP and max Def provide for the greatest possible physical walling abilities. Additionally, Sandslash is able to survive a Raichu's +2 Grass Knot with about 10% left and OHKO with Earthquake.
Sandslash doesn't seem to pull his weight on the team. Due to his Ground typing, he rarely finds an opportunity to switch in and stay in for two turns to Rapid Spin and set up Stealth Rock, and let's forget about attacking at the moment. Except for the above scenario with Raichu, I've had little luck with Sandslash. He couldn't even KO a Bastiodon with Earthquake, although I suspect this was because of the lack of investment in attack, but nonetheless, I digress.
I do not yet know of an "NU Threat List" but I intend on making one and being able to entirely counter it. Until then, suggestions?
