Other Pokemon of the Week [Landorus]

Status
Not open for further replies.
I personally like using a stall set since everyone expects the 3 attack set and there are way too many things that do it better and counter it in the process (faster and/or bulkier) like Greninja, Landorus, Thundurus, Lati@s etc.

Gengar @ Black Sludge
EVs: 32 HP / 144 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
-Will-O-Wisp
-Shadow Ball
-Substitue
-Disable

I used to run Taunt which is also great, but Sub+Disable is way to valuable for completely shutting down some Pokemon like stallers, choice items and Pokemon with only one attack to hit with. WoW shuts down a lot of switch ins and boosters. If I have the speed advantage I spam subs while the burn weakens them, then disable their move on the 3rd-4th turn instead of subbing to make them regret trying to endure my 4 subs in a row. I feel this set allows for a lot of mind games and opens up a lot of chances to outplay people who only spam top tier Pokemon. I have made many people rage quit too using this set.
 
Last edited:
My favorite thing to do with Gengar right now is to abuse hex. Hex got buffed to 65 base power this generation, which puts it pretty close to shadow ball to begin with. Once you start hitting statused things, it gets ridiculous levels of power. For example, it pretty much OHKOes landorus with a turn of burn or poison damage. The set goes as follows:

94.gif

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Taunt
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb

Sludge Bomb is preferred to poison things, making hex more destructive. Substitute is kind of nice, but taunt really shuts down stall, and substitute can almost only get up on switches and misses. This set is a lot like standard bulky gar, but Hex really makes the set. Try it out.

Besides this Gengar is one of my favorite OU mons for a bunch of other reasons as well. As dumb as it sounds, one cool set is knock off Gengar. It's not really a physical set, but the utility is so amazing that it works. Other cool things include specs trick, sub LO, and all out attacker LO. Great mon, really underrated.
 
Sorry for the delay, here is this weeks victim!

Mega_Absol.jpg

Absol (Mega)
Base Stats: 65 HP / 150 Atk / 60 Def / 115 SpA / 60 SpD / 115 Spe
Ability: Magic Bounce​
Alright, this week's victim will be Mega Absol (suggested by Ohioisonfire), a fairly underrated and powerful threat in OU, although more commonly seen in UU. With access to STAB Knock Off, extremely high base 150 Attack after mega evolving, a wide variety of coverage moves, Absol can be a huge threat if played correctly. Lets discuss!
 
Awwwww yus, nobody knows how happy I am to see this. Sorry for nagging you, bolts
This is the set I'm currently running, directly off of my team.

359-mega.gif

Soul Hospital (Absol) (F) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Ice Beam

Absol is a HUGE threat to a large portion of the metagame. After mega evolving, Mega Absol packs a great Speed tier of 115, outspeeding many common threats in the game, including Latios and Gengar. Absol also has access to the strongest un-boosted Sucker Punch in the game I think, making it easy to switch in to Pokemon that would outspeed it on the first turn of Mega Evolving. Ice Beam surprises too many bulky Landorus on the ladder to count. Letting it go mixed gives it a huge advantage over many sweepers. It also has a fantastic ability in Magic Bounce, making it immune to Toxic and Burn outside of Scald. It works as one of the best Chansey counters in the current metagame.
Just for some fun:
4 SpA Mega Absol Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 352-416 (92.1 - 108.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Mega Absol Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latias: 386-456 (128.2 - 151.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Mega Absol Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 384-454 (59.8 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

All around, I haven't regretted putting Absol on my team. I didn't have a dedicated Mega slot, so I just threw her on, and she fit in with the team surprisingly well. She does require more team support than most Megas due to her frailty, but I encourage anyone curious to give her a try.
 
M-Absol was much better during the Deo era where with its Magic Bounce ability could hinder and slow down Deoxys-D very efficiently considering it was a very popular hazard setter at the time, Deo-D that is. I never actually find myself using this unless I want to go out of the norm cause I feel like it benefits against much more passive teams rather than offensive ones in some cases.

Everyone preaches about the SD, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Filler set but it has more options such as Ice Beam and Fire Blast to hit things like Defensive Lando-T and Ferrothorn respectively just to give some examples. When I do use M-Absol I do (as Ohioisonfire has above) use a mixed set normally because I feel this covers a lot more ground than the standard set does. Speed tier is garbage before Mega evolving so having pivots like Rotom-W and Lando-T help with getting it in at more opportunistic times. You'll always want a consistent answer to whatever coverage M-Absol is missing out on, or on things that M-Absol will usually miss KO'ing in general. Notable threats to it are mons such as Clefable and Azumarill cause in most cases it has this 4MSS where it just straight up loses to something but those are some pretty big ones that it has issues with. Unaware Quagsire is pretty annoying to M-Absol as well since it'll ignore stat boosts from M-Absol and it can just fish for burns and stall by recovering.

Offensive teams that pack things like Scarf Lando-T, Keldeo, Greninja, set up sweepers like Char-X, usually what threatens M-Absol so make sure to have answers to top tier threats cause in most cases a well played M-Absol can handle the rest outside of top tier one way or another.

Common misconceptions is the same as every frail mon. Stop switching into moves you shouldn't lol. Also in this particular case seriously considering the opportunity cost of utilizing Magic Bounce when switching into a potential support move. For example if you're up against an offensive Stealth Rock Heatran and you're assuming it'll go for Stealth Rock or Taunt, think twice because if you predict wrong you're taking the brunt of something like Fire Blast and it's going to hurt. It's better to switch into more passive mons that can't immediately threaten you in the first place such as Sableye for example. That's all I got for that.
 
Absol's biggest boon is its sheer versatility; take a moment right now to look up its movepool. It has great physical and special options, letting Absol be tailored to cover what the team needs. 115 speed is also great, outspeeding a lot of the meta. Dark is also an undervalued STAB; it only really sees usage on Bisharp and Weavile, and the occasional Dark Pulse Greninja. Sucker Punch and Magic Bounce are the icing on the cake; Magic Bounce lets it completely wreck stall (dare I say better than the wallbreaking megas themselves?) and gives it free turns to switch in, while Sucker Punch deals with anything faster + setup mons barring Dragonite.
 
Lil YoshiXD said:
absol just way to frail it can barely come in on anything.
Click to expand...
Just because it's frail doesn't mean it's bad. That's all people focus on when they see it, which is terrible. Sure, Absol doesn't have a lot of safe switch ins, but a smart Mega Absol player won't just throw her in without a guaranteed switch-in. Besides, one of Absol's best traits is being able to threaten out many Pokemon, and Knock Off whatever comes in.
 
Ohioisonfire said:
Awwwww yus, nobody knows how happy I am to see this. Sorry for nagging you, bolts
This is the set I'm currently running, directly off of my team.

359-mega.gif

Soul Hospital (Absol) (F) @ Absolite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Ice Beam

Absol is a HUGE threat to a large portion of the metagame. After mega evolving, Mega Absol packs a great Speed tier of 115, outspeeding many common threats in the game, including Latios and Gengar. Absol also has access to the strongest un-boosted Sucker Punch in the game I think, making it easy to switch in to Pokemon that would outspeed it on the first turn of Mega Evolving. Ice Beam surprises too many bulky Landorus on the ladder to count. Letting it go mixed gives it a huge advantage over many sweepers. It also has a fantastic ability in Magic Bounce, making it immune to Toxic and Burn outside of Scald. It works as one of the best Chansey counters in the current metagame.
Just for some fun:
4 SpA Mega Absol Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 352-416 (92.1 - 108.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Mega Absol Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latias: 386-456 (128.2 - 151.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Mega Absol Superpower vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 384-454 (59.8 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

All around, I haven't regretted putting Absol on my team. I didn't have a dedicated Mega slot, so I just threw her on, and she fit in with the team surprisingly well. She does require more team support than most Megas due to her frailty, but I encourage anyone curious to give her a try.
Click to expand...

Yveltal has the strongest sucker punch in the game iirc.
252 Atk Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Abomasnow: 290-343 (75.5 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Mega Absol Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Abomasnow: 186-219 (48.4 - 57%) -- 90.2% chance to 2HKO

Yeah absol is a pretty cool mega with epic mixed attacking stats, and a wide movepool full of strong coverage moves. I think the only reason that's holding it back is too much priority in this meta, there's breloom everywhere, talonflame everywhere, azumarill everywhere, scizor everywhere. Absol is too frail to tank and has 4MSS. It can either run SD + Knock off + Sucker Punch + Ice Beam, too be walled by ferrothorn, or SuperPower + Knock Off + Sucker punch + Ice Beam to be walled by skarmory, whatever, but it basically has to choose it's coverage moves and decide what to be walled by. But that's part of why it can be dangerous, you have to sack a mon to basically find out what coverage move it's running, and by then it might be too late. It also has a cool ability that prevents it from being burned like other physical attackers (except zard-x but we all know that's broken af), and can't be paralyzed by thundurus's prankster t-wave. This is sorta like hydreigon BW2, very scary mixed attacking stats, epic movepool, and looks epic.
 
Mega Absol is sneaky good in the right hands. 115 speed tier and not caring about bitch move Prankster TWave is great. Also bodies Mew, and can sometimes snag a Justified boost from taking a Knock Off. It also has Fire Blast and Ice Beam to hit most physical walls in some form on another. The SD set isn't that good right now because of reliance on Superpower, but when ORAS comes it can legally run Sucker Punch / Knock Off / Play Rough / SD, which is better overall coverage and not self-defeating. That set has been playing very well on the HO ORAS ladder thus far. The meta hasn't been kind to it, but things becoming more offensive helps it out. I'm really excited to see how it ends up doing once it's new SD set takes hold. Overall, an extremely solid Mega that doesn't get nearly enough use or credit. It's also really cool to see something use Magic Bounce in a sweeping/offensive capacity instead of a "ZOMG no hazards here" capacity (here's looking at you, Xatu).

Also, because I have to mention it every time I talk about Mega Absol, it was freaking glorious during the Deo/Sharp/Aegi days. Never had an easier time laddering.
 
boltsandbombers said:
Hi, please stop with the one-line posts, they really do not contribute to the discussion and what you said is just repeating what others said.
Click to expand...

>tells people not to make a one-lined post
>in a one lined post

(sorry I had to)

I honestly don't think Mega Absol is very good any more, the metagame has really shifted out of his favor. Deoxys was a mon that kind of made him viable because magic bounce had a use, and back when Thundurus was really good he had the niche of outspeeding it and not getting hit by thunder wave. Outside of that, Absol really doesn't hit hard enough and can't really do anything to Clefable or Sylveon. Once it gets off that first Knock Off, it really can't do much without an attack boost from adaptability or whatever. This might just be me, but I personally don't really see the need for sucker punch. The main faster mon is Greninja, and Dragon Dancers can't really be struck down by sp. I'm not even sure what it's there for- Alakazam and Excadrill in sand? Personally, I forgo it for other extra coverage on more defensive teams.

If you want partners, I think you pretty much have to go with Heatran because it shuts down Clefable. You also want something to check/counter Azumarill, and some Volt-Turn to get Absol in safely. If you're running pursuit, Keldeo is an amazing partner.

Overall, this isn't a mon I really highly reccomend, but it can work situationally. Knock Off spam is really cool but to a certain degree you should just use Bisharp.
 


​
[URL='http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/pokemon/absol']L​
andorus​
[/URL]
Base Stats: 89 HP / 125 Atk / 90 Def / 115 SpA / 80 SpD / 101 Spe (Incaranate)

Base Stats: 89 HP / 145 Atk / 90 Def / 105 SpA / 80 SpD / 91 Spe (Therian)
Abilities: Sheer Force / Intimidate
​
Alright, this week's victim will be Landorus, a Pokemon with two forms to fulfill various different roles on a given team. Landorus-I acts best as an all out attacker with strong Life Orb and Sheer Force boosted attacks, but can also use Calm Mind or Rock Polish to possibly sweep or punch holes in defensive or offensive teams. Both formes are good Stealth Rock users due to their strong offensive presence. Landorus-T, on the other hand is a very strong physical attacker that can be an effective pivot and revenge killer with a choice scarf or can go a more defensive route.
Lets discuss!
 
god landorous is diverse and probably the best pokemon in ou if you count both forms.
Landorous is an amazing wall breaker with cresselia being its only true stop.
It can also run a scary rock polish set.
Its speed is left to be desired tho.

Landorous-T is an amazing pivot.
It is a great scarfer
Nice SR setter
Among other options are SD, and rock polish.

It can also use gravity to make skarmory's life hell.
 
Landorus can be a scary wallbreaker with CM too, has decent coverage, but is weak to common priority like aqua jet and ice shard, pretty frail too unlike lando-t who gets intimidate. Landorus-t is great offensive check to birdspam, scarfed set is a great revenge killer.
 
I think it may be more useful to seperate Landorus into two different weeks, given the sheer difference in niche, as Landorus and landoge fill such different roles. Landorus-t is one of the most useful pokemon in the meta right now, being able to run a few sets and have a lot of utility with all of them. Genie is still a solid mon, but it's fallen a little out of favor because of the offensive state of the meta. This is why rock polish genie is it's best set right now, as it is one of the most efficient sweepers in the tier against offense, needing one turn in order to setup, and beating many of the meta game,a most dangerous threats with ground psychic fighting coverage and extreme levels of power.
 
Nabilla Benattia said:
I think it may be more useful to seperate Landorus into two different weeks, given the sheer difference in niche, as Landorus and landoge fill such different roles. Landorus-t is one of the most useful pokemon in the meta right now, being able to run a few sets and have a lot of utility with all of them. Genie is still a solid mon, but it's fallen a little out of favor because of the offensive state of the meta. This is why rock polish genie is it's best set right now, as it is one of the most efficient sweepers in the tier against offense, needing one turn in order to setup, and beating many of the meta game,a most dangerous threats with ground psychic fighting coverage and extreme levels of power.
Click to expand...
Hm.. Yeah. That's a pretty good idea. I'll fix it in a bit.
 
I think everyone's really forgotten about Landorus recently, presumably because most offenses decide to just slap on a Choice Scarf Landorus-T considering it's axiomatically the best Choice Scarfer, leaving no room for poor Landorus. Landorus is even worse off considering many balance teams decide to run defensive Landorus-T, again, missing out on regular Landorus. From what I've heard, regular 4 attacks Landorus isn't even considered that good in ORAS OU either because apparently Landorus-T is somehow better than it is in XY OU. I'm not sure whether I agree or disagree considering my limited playing of ORAS OU, but I do believe that there is serious potential (in both XY OU and ORAS OU) for Rock Polish Landorus, a forgotten set which is still threatening to the common offenses in the game. XY OU is mostly either offense or the common balances with Slowbro and Mew and Ferro and stuff. Occasionally full stall (like Doublade, Chansey), but this is less common than the rest. I see real potential in pairing something with RP Landorus (the offense killer) with strong balance beating Pokemon, especially ones that beat things like Mew, Magma Storm Pherb Solar Tran to switch in and trap the Slowbro and beat it for something like ZardX to hole punch the rest of the balance, with RP Lando cleaning up offense sounds interesting.
 
Really like the discussion so far, thanks for the very detailed post TRC, appreciate it.
What are people's thoughts on separating the two formes into different weeks? I just throughout I would put them together to have people compare them in some aspects even though they are very different, but I'd be fine splitting them up.
 
Tbh Rock Polish Lando-I is the preferred set for a lot of players who have a general idea of what they're doing cause it has more consistency against certain metagame trends that have flourished. I'm guessing it has to do with how offense increased overtime but RP Lando-I took a longer time to be recognized and I really don't know why considering it's one of its best sets since the time Sand Offense started gaining more prevalence. Double Dance Lando-T is also a pretty kick-ass set because it usually gets a free turn baiting the potential switch and as such has the advantage of getting a free boost in either attack or speed to do a number on unprepared teams or mid-game when checks and counters are out. Lando-I is going to get some relevance come ORAS not just for its RP set but for its synergy with threats such as M-Metagross, M-Sharpedo, Crunch M-Gyarados, etc. Regardless both Lando-T and Lando-I are great you just need to consider the options that both has in terms of team building. Lando-T has a much more physical presence in terms of viable sets such as Double Dance, Scarf, and Defensive sets while Lando-I is more of an immediate wallbreaker and with Rock Polish can perform the role of a set up sweeper and maintain power with Sheer Force + Life Orb boosted attacks, something Lando-T doesn't have access to.
 
I think Landorus-I has become worse because the meta has become much more physically based which makes Lando-T's intimidate much more valuable. This is probably cause by the ban of Aegislash. However, the presence of physical attackers means more walls to check these threats which Landorus-I can take advantage of as a stallbreaker. That said, I think Landorus-I is a good mon to take advantage of with pursuit trappers to get rid of the Latis, Cress, and Celebi. That makes Bisharp a good partner. Bisharp also fairs well against Scarfers and revenge killers that beat Landorus that need to play mind games with Pursuit and Sucker Punch against Bisharp. The metagame would be much kinder to Landorus-I if it wasn't so fast paced, to be honest. We're going to have to hope for that if Landorus wants to come back to its former glory because Landorus-T seems much better right now.
 
Last edited:
Eh lando-i commonly runs knock off for latis and celebi, cress honestly isn't too relevant in OU, and pretty much all the new megas released in ORAS are physical attackers. This can be good for lando-i because then it faces less competition as a good special wallbreaker, but with all the new physical attackers, as Worthlessnoob mentioned, this makes lando-t's ability to check physical attackers even better, and considering that atm lando-t is one of the best if not the best scarfers, I think landorus-t will probably be a little bit better than landorus-i.
I'm fine with doing both forms in the same week, even though they have pretty different roles.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top