Other Research Week Mk. I

[Nova]

Research Week - OU Edition!
Hosted by Trinitrotoluene and Nova!

Duration: May 18 - June 1
​

Research Week looks to investigate Pokemon that have potential in OU, be it in stats, movepool, or supporting their team, to serve as an innovative choice in today's metagame. These are Pokemon that, for the most part, remain relatively untested. Trinitrotoluene and I selected 3 Pokemon we feel, with help from everyone else, could see the rise of new and powerful sets, or the fulfillment of a particular niche. Perhaps the title is a bit of a misnomer; in fact, this installment (and likely future ones) of Research Week will continue as long as the discussion does, and that's where you all come in.

If you have anything to say about any of these Pokemon, please post about them! It doesn't matter if you've used them or have just faced them in battle, anything is fine (but please, do try them). Just be sure to back up your posts with good competitive reasoning, such as damage calculations! Posting replays showcasing the Pokemon you selected is especially encouraged.

• Be open-minded, don't just say something is terrible and walk away; at least look into them and see what options they may be able to utilize!
• Feel free to theorymon, but make it clear that you are theorymoning. At the end of the week, however, we want discussion to move towards how useful the Pokemon actually are in OU, and what sets are effective on them.
• Just because an analysis has been done for a Pokemon doesn't mean there isn't more to explore; it's quite possible that something might have gone unnoticed or is missing.
• Do not post in this thread complaining about the Pokemon we choose and/or suggesting ones we should do for future weeks. We want discussion to stay on topic about the 3 Pokemon we are "researching." Feel free to VM / PM me or Trinitrotoluene these suggestions, but don't expect the next research week to have all the Pokemon you suggested, or any of them.

So, the 3 Pokemon we will be looking at this research week are Aerodactyl, Ampharos, and Porygon2!​

Here are some questions to think about as this Research Week progresses:

1. How useful are these Pokemon in OU?
2. What sets can they run effectively?
3. What gives them trouble?
4. What advantages do they have over other Pokemon?
5. What niche can this Pokemon fill in teams?
6. Are they worth the team slot on your team or is it outclassed?

Alright, now that that's out of the way we can get to the fun part of this. First up, Research Week will now have a duration of roughly two weeks. The reason for this is as follows:
The Research Week Challenge:

• Users will use any number of the research week mons on their team
• Users will attempt to reach as high as possible on the ladder with the Pokemon. Surpassing an ELO rating of 1950 on the ladder with your registered alt will grant you a spot on the Hall of Fame: Platinum Class. Breaking past an ELO rating of 1850 on the ladder with your registered alt will earn you a spot on the Hall of Fame: Gold Class. Crossing an ELO rating of 1750 will secure you a Silver Class spot while an ELO rating of 1650 will earn you a Bronze Class spot. Post a screen-shot of your peak and an importable of your team in order to achieve this.
• Users will be expected to post their experiences with the Pokemon they use, the teams they used, the problems they encountered while trying to make the said Pokemon work.
• If a user does not participate in the discussion, he will be passed over

In order to participate in the challenge, simply post what Pokemon you're trying and your fresh new alt (yes, this is mandatory). Post battle logs, experiences with your team on the ladder, and generally how a Pokemon has worked out for you: past or present.

It has been noticed that the last few Research Weeks have been basically reduced to ladder runs. This completely defeats the purpose of Research Week where the idea is NOT TO see if a person can get a high ladder rating with an underused Pokemon but to subjectively assess as a community, whether that particular Pokemon is viable in the tier and discover its potential in the tier. In order to remedy this, an archive is going to be created, highlighting great posts.

Participants

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• Chesnaught - alcho - None - Mega Aerodactyl
• Andrew - weather vane - None - Mega Ampharos, Porygon2
• Ajwf - AjTheTechy - None - Porygon2

Hall of Fame

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Platinum Class: 1950+
Currently none
Gold Class: 1850-1949
Currently none!
Silver Class: 1750-1849
Currently none!
Bronze Class: 1650-1749
Currrently none!

Compendium of Great Posts

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Research Subject(s)

 

[Milkshook]

I have used Aerodactyl before on one of my older teams and it is quite a good cleaner/revenge killer. It has a nice and powerful Double Edge and Stone Edge with Earthquake for coverage. It is mostly outclassed by Terrakion but it outspeeds almost all of unboosted OU and doesn't have to be locked into a move with Choice Scarf.

I have faced Porygon2 a few times before and it is best against HO taking hits well and Recovering. A lot of balanced teams have Toxic and Knock off on them and every stall team does too so they don't have that hard of a time dealing with it.

 

[skies]

Username: Chesnaught
Alt: alcho
Ladder Standing: N/A
Research Subject(s): Mega Aerodactyl

Also, do not run regular Aerodactyl, it really fucking sucks lol. Here's about Mega Aerodactyl:
1.) Mega Aerodactyl is very useful, with a blazing fast 150 Speed, allowing it to run an Adamant nature. It is a fantastic revenge killer and late game sweeper. With an Adamant nature, it outspeeds 252+ base 71 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Tyranitar, who Mega Tyranitar stops a sweep. Mega Aerodactyl is the perfect Talonflame check, which is amazing for HO teams. It's also not a slouch defensively, it has access to great moves like Taunt, Roost, and Stealth Rock. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl is certainly a very underrated threat in the current OU metagame.
2.) Mega Aerodactyl can run either an Offensive or Defensive set, with a variety of options! Tough Claws makes Aerial Ace a usable move, giving Aerodactyl two STAB moves that get nice coverage. Offensive sets can be tough to deal with because Mega Aerodactyl is very fast and powerful, making it difficult for HO teams to handle sometimes. Defensive teams give it a bit more trouble, but Taunt shuts them down. Defensive sets are great as well, with access to Stealth Rock and Defog, it supports its team, and with just 44 Def EVs, it allows Mega Aerodactyl to check Talonflame perfectly. It also has access to Roost for longevity, so it's really great! The unpredictability and surprise of Mega Aerodactyl is just great!
3.) Mega Aerodactyl is weak to a lot of priority, such as Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Scizor's Bullet Punch. Bulky Water-types such as Slowbro, Suicune, and Rotom-W give it a lot of trouble, being able to effectively take it down with their STAB moves, while not being hit super effectively by any of Mega Aerodactyl's moves, not even Thunder Fang can hassle these Pokemon. Choice Scarf users give it problems, such include Keldeo, Garchomp, and Latios, however, none of these enjoy switching into it. Thunder Wave from Thundurus cripples it, as does Will-O-Wisp from Sableye also does the job. Also, taking up a Mega Evolution slot which could be used for something else is a kind-of disadvantage, but if you play Mega Aerodactyl correctly, it shouldn't be a problem! Finally, Stealth Rock is a problem, as it takes away 25% of Mega Aerodactyl's health just for switching in, thus requiring Defog support alongside it, unless it runs it itself, Roost mitigates this issue as well.
4.) First off, it has a base 150 Speed, which is blazing fast by any means. Secondly, base 135 Attack is nothing to scoff about, it hits decently hard. Aerodactyl has a cool typing, a unique one, which gives it an immunity to Ground-type moves, while also giving it nice resistances to common Flying-, Normal-, and Fire-type moves. Mega Aerodactyl also has above average bulk, with 80 / 85 / 95 defenses, it take a few neutral hits and retaliate back. Mega Aerodactyl has a very expansive movepool as well, so that's a cool advantage over other Pokemon. Also, gaining a SpD boost in Sand is always nice, thanks to the Rock-typing. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl has very many pros, along with a few cons, but it certainly has enough to warrant use over other Pokemon.
5.) Mega Aerodactyl's great niche is, as mentioned many times before, its blazing fast 150 base Speed! With access to this, alongside many coverage options and defensive capabilities, it's really great. It has a very useful niche in being able to revenge kill many Pokemon because of this and it can hit very many Pokemon super effectively. Also, Defog + Stealth Rock is really cool, so you can always use that as a niche. Basically, being an offensive Pokemon with wide coverage, high speed and power, nice defenses, and recovery is about as good as it gets. It fits really well on HO teams to beat stuff such as Greninja and Talonflame, which often give HO struggles. Mega Aerodactyl is a really great Pokemon who is not seen as often as it should!
6.) Mega Aerodactyl might be outclassed in the regards of being a Mega, which could be used for other Pokemon your team needs, such as Mega Charizard or Mega Gyarados, both equally as large threats. However if you are using Mega Aerodactyl, your team will love using it. It provides a lot to teams like offensive pressure and Stealth Rock. Mega Aerodactyl is definitely worth the team slot, it certainly is. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl is a very powerful Pokemon with both an offensive and a defensive presence, so watch out if you run into one! I am enjoying it very much in my current adventures, and I hope you guys try it out too! Here's my current set I'm playing with, in case you are interested:

Set

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 212 Atk / 44 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace

 

[rachet67]

Username: Chesnaught
Alt: alcho
Ladder Standing: N/A
Research Subject(s): Mega Aerodactyl

Also, do not run regular Aerodactyl, it really fucking sucks lol. Here's about Mega Aerodactyl:
1.) Mega Aerodactyl is very useful, with a blazing fast 150 Speed, allowing it to run an Adamant nature. It is a fantastic revenge killer and late game sweeper. With an Adamant nature, it outspeeds 252+ base 71 Speed Pokemon such as Mega Tyranitar, who Mega Tyranitar stops a sweep. Mega Aerodactyl is the perfect Talonflame check, which is amazing for HO teams. It's also not a slouch defensively, it has access to great moves like Taunt, Roost, and Stealth Rock. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl is certainly a very underrated threat in the current OU metagame. 2.) Mega Aerodactyl can run either an Offensive or Defensive set, with a variety of options! Tough Claws makes Aerial Ace a usable move, giving Aerodactyl two STAB moves that get nice coverage. Offensive sets can be tough to deal with because Mega Aerodactyl is very fast and powerful, making it difficult for HO teams to handle sometimes. Defensive teams give it a bit more trouble, but Taunt shuts them down. Defensive sets are great as well, with access to Stealth Rock and Defog, it supports its team, and with just 44 Def EVs, it allows Mega Aerodactyl to check Talonflame perfectly. It also has access to Roost for longevity, so it's really great! The unpredictability and surprise of Mega Aerodactyl is just great! 3.) Mega Aerodactyl is weak to a lot of priority, such as Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Scizor's Bullet Punch. Bulky Water-types such as Slowbro, Suicune, and Rotom-W give it a lot of trouble, being able to effectively take it down with their STAB moves, while not being hit super effectively by any of Mega Aerodactyl's moves, not even Thunder Fang can hassle these Pokemon. Choice Scarf users give it problems, such include Keldeo, Garchomp, and Latios, however, none of these enjoy switching into it. Thunder Wave from Thundurus cripples it, as does Will-O-Wisp from Sableye also does the job. Also, taking up a Mega Evolution slot which could be used for something else is a kind-of disadvantage, but if you play Mega Aerodactyl correctly, it shouldn't be a problem! Finally, Stealth Rock is a problem, as it takes away 25% of Mega Aerodactyl's health just for switching in, thus requiring Defog support alongside it, unless it runs it itself, Roost mitigates this issue as well. 4.) First off, it has a base 150 Speed, which is blazing fast by any means. Secondly, base 135 Attack is nothing to scoff about, it hits decently hard. Aerodactyl has a cool typing, a unique one, which gives it an immunity to Ground-type moves, while also giving it nice resistances to common Flying-, Normal-, and Fire-type moves. Mega Aerodactyl also has above average bulk, with 80 / 85 / 95 defenses, it take a few neutral hits and retaliate back. Mega Aerodactyl has a very expansive movepool as well, so that's a cool advantage over other Pokemon. Also, gaining a SpD boost in Sand is always nice, thanks to the Rock-typing. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl has very many pros, along with a few cons, but it certainly has enough to warrant use over other Pokemon. 5.) Mega Aerodactyl's great niche is, as mentioned many times before, its blazing fast 150 base Speed! With access to this, alongside many coverage options and defensive capabilities, it's really great. It has a very useful niche in being able to revenge kill many Pokemon because of this and it can hit very many Pokemon super effectively. Also, Defog + Stealth Rock is really cool, so you can always use that as a niche. Basically, being an offensive Pokemon with wide coverage, high speed and power, nice defenses, and recovery is about as good as it gets. It fits really well on HO teams to beat stuff such as Greninja and Talonflame, which often give HO struggles. Mega Aerodactyl is a really great Pokemon who is not seen as often as it should! 6.) Mega Aerodactyl might be outclassed in the regards of being a Mega, which could be used for other Pokemon your team needs, such as Mega Charizard or Mega Gyarados, both equally as large threats. However if you are using Mega Aerodactyl, your team will love using it. It provides a lot to teams like offensive pressure and Stealth Rock. Mega Aerodactyl is definitely worth the team slot, it certainly is. Overall, Mega Aerodactyl is a very powerful Pokemon with both an offensive and a defensive presence, so watch out if you run into one! I am enjoying it very much in my current adventures, and I hope you guys try it out too! Here's my current set I'm playing with, in case you are interested:

Set

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 212 Atk / 44 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace

Paragraphs for all the points would really help this become readable.

I think Mega-Aerodactyl has the most potential out of all three of them, as it checks a ton of useful stuff in the meta such as Talonflame, and has a great speed tier that allows it to run adamant nature without getting out-sped by a bunch of stuff. It has hone claws as well, which both fixes its accuracy with stone edge, and allows it to function as a decent late game sweeper. I don't have a lot of experience using it, but if I register for this project once school's over, I'll probably use it.

 

[Andrew]

Username: Andrew
Alt: weather vane
Ladder Standing: N/A
Research Subject(s): Mega Ampharos, Porygon2

I'm p excited for this project - I chose p2 and m-amphy cuz i recently got into trying out Trick Room and it's pretty cool so far. p2 is a reliable bulky setter while mega amphy has gotten lots of love/discussion lately. Not sure how these will work out, as I go along I will iron out the kinks in the team.

I will most likely be replacing the research subjects with other mons for comparison on another alt - Cress and Aromatisse are two that i will probs test in p2's place
As for mega amphy, i'll compare against m-mawile - I've already been playing a few TR games with mega maw and she's great, so there's that competition between the two as a slow and powerful TR sweeper/wallbreaker.

As to the other members of the team, I hijacked from my previous TR team i was using (Azumarill, Gourgeist XL, Conkeldurr, Reuniclus) but these members are in no way set in stone. I like to test them in battle to see what changes I can make, so there will probably be a bit of rearranging as I go along. Oh, also want to try out Rhyperior as a possible replacement for Conk, for deterring Tflame/Pinsir priority, #note2self

 

[Ajwf]

Username: Ajwf
Alt: AjTheTechy
Laddering: N/A
Research: Porygon2

Porygon2 has basically a limitless amount of options and sets depending on the team. He has the ability to perform as a scout, a cleaner, a wall or a tank. Picking up immeasurable amounts of odd roles he can fill at any moment, P2 allows you to maintain a shifting win condition.

As far as sets, the wall set should run the boltbeam coverage. It just grabs more. The recover is mandatory, and toxic/magic coat/Twave are the last slots. The options for Gravity (Blizzard/Thunder/Recover/Gravity) are there as well. Trick room kinda is there, but I don't know I like the option as much.

The set has issues with Conkeldurr, random knock off, Magnezone and Heatran. Steel types in general can be a bitch although Aegi/Skarm both have to watch (the Shadow Ball/Tri attack one exists). The niche is a "Wild Card". It does what you need if you're clever enough to use it right. And nothing in the game can possibly do what P2 does (trace+bulk combo is nonexistent besides p2).

I'll probably throw together a different stall team than I usually run. I think p2+Spdef Wall+sylveon (p.defensive) is going to be a starting core.

 

[Andrew]

alright, a bit of an update here, not sure if i should make a new post or edit in on my last one, so, to keep discussion going,

I like p2 as a TR setter tho, with TR, he has some 4mss. Right now I'm running Trick Room/Toxic/Recover/Discharge, - I'd like to run Magic Coat/Ice beam as well. Having the ability to toxic stall under TR when it's not safe to bring in a sweeper is great. I've played 10 matches so far with a couple iterations of the team (which i will provide below) and I've run into 1 or 2 decent matches so far hehe...but they've all been great as to seeing what the members of the team are capable of doing. For example, Mega-Amphy KO'ing scarf Exca with FB under TR is a great feeling. She is very powerful coming off of fully invested base 165 atk, and it's interesting to see how the usual checks/counters to these pokemon are reversed under TR...Mega Amphy fearing Greninja Ice beam? no worry, she moves first under TR.

Anyway, these guys are performing pretty good so far, altho having these two on the team does seem to limit some choices/flexibility in the long run. I've been thinking of getting rid of Trick room and using them on a more stallish team, so i might have to try that out later.

importable

Ampharos-Mega @ Ampharosite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Trick Room
- Magic Coat
- Toxic
- Recover

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off

Frag Out! (Gourgeist-Super) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Trick Room
- Destiny Bond
- Explosion
- Shadow Sneak

Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- Trick Room

other comments: I tried out a few variations - namely, first I replaced theV8man 's Gourgest-XL with TR Aromatisse, but I really didn't like that change very much. Having an exploding pumpkin w/destiny bond to set up TR from the start is great, as well as usually taking down the opp's lead as long as it's not a hazard setter. I experimented a bit with trick room/u-turn leads (xatu/whimsicott), wasn't really impressed, didn't try uxie tho....

anyway, as it turns out, I have 3 Trick room setters which i think is a good number, two special attackers and two phsyical attackers. The offensive coverage between Reuniclus and M-Ampharos is nice, as well as the offensive synergy between Azu/Conk. Azu's Ass vest could be replaced with choice band but i like the bulk and flexibility. Reuniclus I wish could carry either calm mind/focus blast, but the recovery so far has proved important in muscling through mons that can't 2hko. Psyshock still does good damage to special walls. One thing tho, Psychic/Ghost coverage leaves nothing for Bisharp, however all of Azumarill, m-amphy, and conk can handle him, and conk has mach punch for outside of TR. Conk, status sponge, as well as Reuni w/ magic guard. P2 has Magic Coat in the importable, altho i just changed it to Discharge so he has a bit of attacking presence and isn't taunt bait.

I'm in the process of trying out choice band Rhyperior over Conk - this gives me two solid answers to bird spam, as well as providing immediate power and bulk, but with less flexibility. (Also tried out KS + 3 attacks Aegi over Reuniclus, but i needed the additional TR setter. similar weaknesses and attacking power when Reuniclus is equipped w/ life orb blahblahblah)

Yea..so sorry if this has gone on kind of like a mini RMT, and I'm just getting started with this TR team and p2/Ampharos in these certain roles, so feel free to critique, sorry if i did anything wrong here
andrew

edit: oh, and replays are down for the moment on PS, and it may be a day or two before i can provide any

 

[FatBagel]

It's been a while, but I used a fairly successful M-Amph team a while ago.

A core of Azumarill, M-Amph and WishPass Jirachi allowed me to grab momentum and offset Ampharos' lack of recovery.

What makes Ampharos so good?

It has 2 very viable sets. The 'Pivot' set, which is Max HP/SpA I think, which is essentially take a hit and volt switch out.

It comes in on say Rotom-W, takes either STAB with ease, then Volt Switches (which is a 2/3HKO I think). With Mold Breaker it can hit Volt Absorb pokemon too. Obviously it has coverage, with Power Gem (very niche but he lacks coverage) / HP Ice and Dragon Pulse, but Volt Switch is generally the best option.

A slightly more gimmicky set is an Agility set, which aims to come in late game, set up an Agility and destroy everything with his monstrous SpA. STAB Thunderbolt and Dragon Pulse hit very hard off of 400+ SpA, but dedicated special walls can be a huge problem.

Ampharos is fun to use, but really difficult to justify. There are better options, but he is a terrific pivot with his unique resistances and incredible power. If he didn't take up a mega slot, he'd be far more viable, I think.