Rhyperior [QC 2/3]

Overview
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Although Rhyperior is by no means amazing, it has a unique combination of traits that make it usable in the OU metagame. A great base 140 Attack and STABs with near-unresisted coverage give Rhyperior great offensive presence, and an equally impressive base 115 HP and base 130 Defense make it extremely hard to take down from the physical side. Thanks to its ability Solid Rock, Rhyperior can safely take almost any physical super effective attack, establishing its reputation as a Pokemon that can afford to take a hit while overpowering its opponents. With these qualities in mind, Rhyperior makes a great check to Talonflame, Mega Charizard X, Mega Pinsir, Garchomp, Dragonite, Mega Mawile, and even unboosted Excadrill, all extremely dangerous and relevant sweepers.

However, Rhyperior has a few unfortunate downfalls that must be addressed. Without any form of recovery outside of Leftovers, Rhyperior is prone to being worn down, even by the Pokemon it's supposed to check. Rhyperior's slow speed means it often relies on hitting opponents on the switch, and mispredictions can be costly when Rhyperior has an easily exploitable base 55 Special Defense that will quickly force it out. With top metagame threats such as Mega Charizard X and Talonflame utilizing moves like Will-o-Wisp, Rhyperior isn't guaranteed a safe switch-in against some of the Pokemon it's supposed to counter. On top of that, Rhyperior is always haunted by its double weakness to both Grass- and Water-type attacks, most of which will swiftly KO it even through Solid Rock. Overall, although Rhyperior can be a valuable asset to a team, make sure you're using it for its main draw: checking and countering a large degree of OU threats that can easily overwhelm unprepared teams. Otherwise, its negative attributes can easily turn it into a liability.


Physically Defensive
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name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Punch / Toxic
ability: Solid Rock
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
nature: Impish

Moves
========

As a Pokemon with naturally immense bulk that forces many switches, Rhyperior is a prime user of Stealth Rock, usually having an easy time setting up while also deterring Excadrill, Zapdos, and Mandibuzz from switching in and potentially removing the entry hazard. Earthquake is a reliable and strong Ground-type STAB, and together with Rhyperior's Rock-type STAB of choice, Rhyperior gets excellent and powerful neutral coverage. Stone Edge is consistently strong but can be prone to accuracy issues, while Rock Blast is slightly more accurate and can break substitutes at the cost of a less reliable damage output. In the last slot, Ice Punch is useful for hitting Garchomp and Dragonite, and lets Rhyperior check both well. On the other hand, Toxic prevents the likes of Hippowdon from switching in, and aids greatly in wearing down other switch-ins such as Azumarill. Fire Punch and Roar are also options for the last slot, should Toxic or Ice Punch be unnecessary. Fire Punch prevents Scizor from setting up on Rhyperior while also hitting Ferrothorn for hefty damage, whereas Roar allows Rhyperior to beat setup sweepers of any kind, particularly bulkier ones such as Swords Dance Aegislash that may be able to live a hit or two from Rhyperior.

Set Details
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Maximum HP and Defense investment allows Rhyperior to easily tank physical hits from any attacker not in possession of a Water- or Grass-type move. Leftovers is mandatory, as without it, Rhyperior would be worn down far too easily to effectively do its job. Solid Rock is also mandatory, as its effect allows Rhyperior to easily ignore attackers that may carry super effective coverage moves, such as Mega Pinsir and Mega Charizard X, which commonly carry Earthquake.

Usage Tips
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At the beginning of the battle, you should assess which of your opponent's Pokemon Rhyperior will be used to counter, . Make sure Rhyperior does not attempt to cover too many threats, as it will not last long if subjected to repeated beatings. It's always a good idea to keep Rhyperior healthy for when these Pokemon are sent out, as its lack of recovery outside of Leftovers will severely punish Rhyperior when it is exposed to risky or poor plays. In some cases, scouting will be necessary before Rhyperior can safely come in—for example, Rhyperior can easily stop Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X, but bulky variants with Will-o-Wisp are much harder to deal with, and Mega Charizard Y flat-out destroys Rhyperior with Solarbeam. Therefore, before recklessly switching Rhyperior into threats, it's always a good idea to learn the opponent's sets. Once Rhyperior is safely in, Stealth Rock is great to use against foes that aren't an immediate threat. However, remember to attack when necessary—allowing an opponent to get a free turn can be extremely dangerous against foes such as Swords Dance Excadrill.

Team Options
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Teammates that can easily take advantage of the Water- and Grass-type moves that Rhyperior lures in are prime candidates as teammates. Azumarill, Keldeo, Rotom-W, Poison Heal Breloom, Mega Venusaur, and Celebi are all Pokemon that fit the bill well, although the former three should be used alongside another teammate that can sponge Grass-type attacks, such as Mega Scizor (who can easily set up on Mega Venusaur, one of Rhyperior's number one switch-ins). Although it shares several weaknesses with Rhyperior, Tyranitar provides useful Sand support for Rhyperior, allowing Rhyperior to gain an effective special defense boost that allows it to take hits from the likes of Aegislash better. Although Rhyperior doesn't mind entry hazards very much, Rhyperior's teammates will most likely appreciate Rapid Spin or Defog support, seeing as its team will be doing a lot of switching due to Rhyperior being easily forced out. Zapdos shares decent synergy with Rhyperior, easily absorbing Grass- and Water-type attacks, as does Skarmory, as Rhyperior will easily cover for its Fire- and Electric-type weaknesses.


Other Options
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A Rock Polish set utilizing Weakness Policy may sound like an appealing sweeper, but it's not very reliable, seeing as Rhyperior frequently attracts Grass- or Water-type moves that will OHKO right through the Weakness Policy (particularly when Rhyperior has no investment in its defenses). Swords Dance gives Rhyperior tremendous power, but Rhyperior's serious drawbacks in speed and typing will almost always cause it to fail. On Trick Room teams, however, Rhyperior can utilize an offensive set to good effect, as its low speed, high bulk, and outstanding Attack stat make it a prime candidate for a Trick Room sweeper. Rhyperior can run a Substitute + 3 attacks set that takes advantage of its ability to force switches; however, it reduces Rhyperior's longevity and doesn't perform its role as well as the standard Physically Defensive variant. Lastly, Assault Vest sets utilizing moves like Dragon Tail are a possibility, but a lack of Leftovers seriously hurts Rhyperior's ability to consistently switch into threats and makes it far more prone to being worn down. Finally, Megahorn may seem like an appealing move, but most of its targets are also hit by Ice Punch, which has a far greater range of uses.


Checks & Counters
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**Water- and Grass-type Pokemon:** Most Water- and Grass-type Pokemon are not only bulky enough to repeatedly switch into Rhyperior's attacks, but also almost always threaten a OHKO with their STAB moves.

**Special Attackers:** Rhyperior's Special Defense stat is quite low, allowing most special attackers to do hefty damage to it.

**Physical Walls:** Most physical walls, particularly ones that don't mind Toxic (such as Skarmory), can switch in on Rhyperior all day and proceed to wall and set up on it.
 
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CyclicCompound

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Keep in mind I'm not QC, but for the physical attacker set, I don't think you don't need to adjust the EVs to account for HP Grass. Almost nothing in OU carries HP Grass, especially now that Gastrodon's a lot less commonplace.

Also, I'm not a huge fan of Rock Blast on an attacking set. Even with the slight accuracy drop, Stone Edge is a lot more consistent. Although Rock Blast lets you get through substitutes, the only common target of Rock Blast would be Gengar, Kyurem-B, and occasionally Trevenant. However, Rhyperior is a shaky check at best, as Gengar 2HKOs with Shadow Ball + Focus Blast, and Rhyperior must hit four or five times with Rock Blast (33% chance of occuring) for it to not only break Gengar's sub but also KO. Sub Kyurem-B can OHKO with Ice Beam thanks to Teravolt, not to mention that again, Rock Blast would have to hit at least 4 or 5 times to get past the sub AND KO KyuB. And against Trevenant, Horn Leech would shred you while WoW would neuter you. So I don't really think Rock Blast is all that great.
 

CoolStoryBrobat

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Not QC, but I honestly I think Fire Punch may be a more valuable option over Megahorn in most scenarios for the offensive set...The dark/Psychic-types in OU you'd even have to worry about are Alakazam, Celebi, Hydreigon, Jirachi, Lati@s, Mandibuzz, Sableye, Starmie, and Tyranitar. And all of those guys barring Celebi and Sableye can be dealt with by using the appropriate coverage move. Fire Punch allows you to hit the Air Balloon Steel-types you mentioned, but it also allows Rhyperior to break past Ferrothorn and Forretress, as well as hit Breloom on the switch-in (Breloom resists both of Rhyperior's STABs and packs a 4x move, making it pretty easy to lure in). Aside from the generally higher BP and possible extra neutral coverage Megahorn can give you, I think Fire Punch would carry it in more situations on the Offensive set.

Edit: For usage tips on the offensive set, I would list how it's able to come in easily on most Fire or Flying-type Pokemon (barring Landorus, Gliscor, and Skarmory since they all still wall you or can hit back) and hit a Pokemon switching in hard with the appropriate move while tanking hits on either side of the spectrum thanks to its bulk + Solid Rock. Team options would probably be Grass-types like Celebi or even Mega Venusaur since they both cover its weaknesses extremely well. Water-types like Jellicent or Azumarill also work too since they resist Ice and Fighting, while Rhyperior takes Electric-type moves for them...just be wary of Grass
 
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Ash Borer

I've heard they're short of room in hell
I'm a bit skeptical about Rhyperior in OU, however on the stealth rock setting set, on the last slot, protect has its uses over a phazing move. It dumps on choice users and racks up leftovers recovery, Rhyperior's only method of recovery. Also, Rhyperior is pretty solid against togekiss who is fairly popular. It's especially good against mono attacker sets or ones that run flamethrower to hit aegislash, you can mention that in the analysis to try and sell it as a viable mon.
 
Thanks for the feed-back porky. I mentioned protect in OO, but your perspective is pretty convincing! I'll also include togekiss to reasons for OU inclusion (aside from being slightly more usable thanks to assault vest and talonflames popularity). I'll work those changes in tomorrow.
 
Bump with Tainc's and (formerly)Porky's suggestions. Also noted that the AV set works great against Thundrus and Thundrus-T forms, as they usually run only Thunderbolt/Volt Switch and HP Ice.
 
Recent scouting on viable rock types lead me to this, I am new to the contribution forum so let me apologize forehead before I break any rules.

The major niche of rocks in this generation is to check Fly type in the form of Talonflame and Mega Pinsir, and solid rock is amazing in the sense that it helps you tank coverage, especially when Rock is as a whole an awful defensive typing.

Lucky for Rhyperior, I don't think there are any major competition with existing rocks just yet. Tyranitar is never used in the physical side, and Terrakion is not even a tank to begin with. I am not recommending specially-defensive sets it faces heavy competition with Tyranitar.

In this sense, I think a physically defensive set would worth a mention. While having common weaknesses hurts, it is compensated by enormous sheer bulkiness and great ability. And by offensive mean, STAB Edgequake(although I prefer rock slide due to accuracy) is nothing to laugh with. 4* water and grass is also less a problem as they are more commonly used on the special side, aqua jet/waterfall users are your really worry.

However, it is important to know that this set face the competition from Hippodon in terms of utility, but Ryperior has an edge in the form of better raw bulkiness and offensive present

Lastly, I would take a note on whether baton pass set would be viable, as we can see, the only thing it really need is speed(though by huge margin), and its has enough bulkiness to overcome most priority attacks, scarfs are also less common these days. Any possibility of some +2/+3 Scelicope pass? Protect, sub, protect should not be too difficult, SD is not mandatory at all with 140 base Atk, but I don't run BP in general so I don't know if it loses you too much momentum.
 
I'd actually been running a SB 'Pede pass with him, and it never really seemed to work, where having him as an offensive check (the AV set listed in the OP) has been getting much more solid results.

The problem of running him as a full defense tank is that it makes him too 1-Dimensional, which in turn makes him really easy to play around. Being able to live against certain special attackers and KO them gives him more value in a team I feel than running a pure physically tanky set. If you need a pure physical wall, Mega Aggron would just be imo a far superior pick. Thanks for the insight though!

For those in the know, should I change this to QC 0/3, or are there any glaring holes that should be fixed first?
 

CyclicCompound

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Hey, so Rhyperior's always been a Pokemon that I've enjoyed using, so I thought I'd try it out in Gen VI. I used an offensive Substitute + 3 Attacks set, that being my favorite from Gen V, and it was awesome. If you'd like, I saved a replay of a battle in which Rhyperior takes a +2 Icicle Spear from Cloyster (its Substitute actually takes two of them... wow). Then Mega Charizard X tries to revenge kill it with Earthquake, which Rhyperior also survives and KOs the Charizard instead.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-76768502

Long story short, I believe Substitute + 3 Attacks definitely needs to get a set.

Substitute + 3 Attacks
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name: Substitute + 3 Attacks
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Ice Punch / Megahorn
ability: Solid Rock
item: Leftovers
evs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
nature: Adamant

248 HP for maximum leftovers recovery, Ice Punch before Megahorn because the only notable things that Megahorn hits harder are Lati@s and Alakazam (Alakazam is OHKO'd by EQ anyway).
 
CyclicCompound, It also hits Celebi and Shaymin harder, as their physical bulk means they aren't OHKOed by Ice Punch, but your point is noted! Added Sub+3 attacks as the 2nd build option, pushed Offensive set down to 3rd option, Colonel M
 
I'd actually been running a SB 'Pede pass with him, and it never really seemed to work, where having him as an offensive check (the AV set listed in the OP) has been getting much more solid results.

The problem of running him as a full defense tank is that it makes him too 1-Dimensional, which in turn makes him really easy to play around. Being able to live against certain special attackers and KO them gives him more value in a team I feel than running a pure physically tanky set. If you need a pure physical wall, Mega Aggron would just be imo a far superior pick. Thanks for the insight though!

For those in the know, should I change this to QC 0/3, or are there any glaring holes that should be fixed first?
Mega Aggron lose out on offensive presence due to not having STAB on EdgeQuake, and not having leftover can occasionally becomes a problem. Although immediate bulkiness does play a more important role so this may not matter, Rhyperior has superior bulk after 4 turns of leftover given neither receives other recovery. But yeah, Rhyperior fail to tank Mega Lucario CC(although Mega Aggron also can't), this is definitely not a good sign at all.

However, using Aggron kills the purpose of having rocks anyway, and you may want your Mega slot for other things.

Rhyperior is still the top rock type physical tank in the entire meta, and I do believe rock types would see more lights in this generation.

But yes, being 1 dimensional can be a huge problem, but the meta is heavily physical inclined so I don't think there are many special threats to check. Are there anything else it can go against with proper SpD investment?
 
Togekiss, Thundrus (both formes), Lati@s (at least dragon pulse, psyshock sets). Also, it still checks CharX and Talonflame, even without putting EVs into physical bulk
 

alexwolf

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We talked a bit with the QC team and this is the only set that should exist:

Physically Defensive
########
name: Physically Defensive
move 1: Steath Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge / Rock Blast
move 4: Ice Punch
ability: Solid Rock
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
nature: Impish

You check a ton of dangerous sweepers, such as Mega Char X, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, Excadrill, Dragonite, Shift Gear Genesect, and Mega Mawile. Just make sure to stick to keeping in check one of those mons, as otherwise Rhyperior gets worn down easily and fails to hold back his targets at late-game. Fire Punch and Roar go to set details. Also, include a max HP / max SpD spread in set details, which lets Rhyperior deal with Aegislash much better.
 
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alexwolf Thank you for the feedback--I've updated my post to include the QC team's set, and hidden the others so that I can incorporate pieces into OO or as alternate sets later if needed.
EDIT:
Colonel M Added mention of Sub + 3 attack in the OO. Anecdotal evidence (my own games with it in 1200-1400 range) does show that it's more useful than AV because even with AV many things deal more than the ~19% damage that the Sub "deals" with leftovers.
 
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Colonel M

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I'm okay with Substitute + 3 Attacks out for now, but I want to personally test it before it is flat-out rejected by even myself. For now just OO it and I'll get back to this thread.
 
What about a careful nature Rhyperior with assault vest and a few ev points in spec def. How would that fair? im no expert on meta game but It might have potential
 

Colonel M

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What about a careful nature Rhyperior with assault vest and a few ev points in spec def. How would that fair? im no expert on meta game but It might have potential
It's listed in other options. It works but limits Rhyperior from Stealth Rock and Roar.
 
It's listed in other options. It works but limits Rhyperior from Stealth Rock and Roar.
Oh my bad im using my android device. Didnt see it lol. suppose that sucks. But at least he may benefit in ou from AV and given the right moveset could be a devastating all out attacker
 
acebass32 --I have in my hidden tag an AV set +4 attacks. It's definitely good at some things (checking Togekiss, Thundrus, living unSTAB super effective moves), but is outclassed by a Sub+3attack set (as you're getting the benefit of lefties recovery and only taking ~19% damage from their attack) in almost any situation.
 

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