Singles Victim of the Week [Current Victim: Landorus-T] ~ VOTING ~

[skies]

I'm voting for cant say because I think Blissey is an interesting choice that holds a lot of merit. The set he posted does effectively beat Zapdos, along with beating other Pokemon besides it, making it something I would choose if I were looking for on a teamslot.

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

GroudonEmpire because I liked the idea that Mega Latias can use Zapdos as a setup fodder for Calm Mind because it resists Electric- and Fire-type moves. Despite Zapdos having Hidden Power Ice, it definitely won't be taking too much damage. With access to recovery as well, Mega Latias is easily able to get rid of it. Also Substitute is nice because of the fact that it can also avoid paralysis if Zapdos has Discharge too.

 

[GateCreeper]

My vote goes to freekhoorn because Reuniclus can easily setup on Zapdos, and it deals with its common teammates as well (Mega Venu, Suicune, Ferrothorn). It's also quite a cool mon in general. Don't worry GroudonEmpire you're still my fwen :)

 

[cant say]

Yo guys, just wanted to reiterate our new policy on explaining your votes. If your post has just a name simply edit it (no reason to re-post)

 

[ethan06]

unfixable Lucina09 DragonWhale NOVED ^

 

[skies]

done :D

cant say edit: omg dont you read smh thanks for the vote tho <3

If your post has just a name simply edit it (no reason to re-post)

 

[xastify]

Creeper3971 because dragalge resists all coverage bar hp ice which doesnt do that much and is a cool mon in general

 

[UniversalStudios]

Lucina09

come on dude I literally just posted about this

 

[GroudonEmpire]

cant say what exactly is the posting policy you were reiterating?

 

[cant say]

cant say what exactly is the posting policy you were reiterating?

From the post where I opened the voting on the previous page:

Anyway, onto the votes! (they're all on this page, just scroll up). A new thing we're gonna do is that you have to give a brief reasoning as to why you like the set you're voting for. You don't have to write an essay or anything, it's just cool to hear feedback!

People have clearly just skimmed that post to see that the voting has opened and gone with the flow. Not a big deal coz I suffer from tl;dr myself, lol. I'll be closing this voting phase real soon and starting the next Victim so get your votes / edits in quick!

 

[cant say]

I've been hesitant to call this week purely because we're in the awkward situation of having a three-way tie between Creeper3971's Dragalge, freekhoorn's Reuniclus, and Lucina09's Mega Charizard X, so I was hoping someone may come along and break the tie but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon and I'd really like to move on to the next Victim. All three of you will be logged, congrats!

For this instalment I asked around to see what people are having trouble with to see if we can really help those running into problems right now, so I've decided we're going to discuss what makes a great check/counter to Mega Lopunny! Sporting fantastic coverage in its STAB moves thanks to Scrappy, it can be hard to wall the fighting rabbit. But before one of you quickly posts the most obvious counter to it, I regret to tell you that Talonflame is banned from nomination! Bringing in Talonflame to smack Lopunny with a priority Brave Bird is so simple that whoever posted it was sure to win, we would much rather read what creative answers you can come up with to stop this thing.

 

[Pyritie]

Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed

Enough speed to outrun neutral nature base 70's (like adamant bisharp) with the rest dumped in physical bulk. Close Combat + Extreme Speed KO's. Or you could burn it!

0 Atk Arcanine Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Lopunny: 104-124 (73.7 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Arcanine Extreme Speed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Lopunny: 35-42 (24.8 - 29.7%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO

-1 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Arcanine: 52-63 (26.3 - 31.9%) -- 30.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
-1 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Arcanine: 67-81 (34 - 41.1%) -- 57.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Dropping either close combat or extreme speed for Morning Sun is also a good option, as it gives arcanine a lot more breathing room and longetivity. Rocky helmet is also a good item choice.

I tried doing a special set instead but arcanine's special movepool is pretty awful.

 

[freekhoorn]

Cofagrigus @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psychic / Hex
- Trick Room / Substitute / Disable

This is the best counter i could think of. A ghost pokemon you say? Know that mega lopunny has scrappy? I do, but cofagrigus has mummy, wich means that if cofagrigus is hit by a contact move - and lopunny only uses contact moves - the attacking pokemon get its ability deleted and gets mummy instead. This means lopunnys normal and fighting moves wont work anymore against cofagrigus.

Apart from that he has a high 145 defense stat but a not so high hp stat in 58. Pain split works very well with that low hp stat, because it combines the hp of both pokemon and gives half to both. Cofagrigus often has a lower hp stat then his opponent so this means he can get hp back and lowers hp of the opponent in one move.

Will-o-wisp is for crippling lopunny (and other attackers) and psychic is for dealing super effective damage to lopunny but with all the passive damage lopunny will get (rocky helmet, burn and pain split) it isnt even necessary. Hex turns in a 130 base attack ghost move if the opponent is statused so works with will-o-wisp well.

For the last slot you have a ton of options, trick room is nice because cofagrigus has a low speed stat, substitute gives cofagrigus a status immunity and more longevity. Disable can also be very nice for lopunnys ice punch so it completely makes lopunny useless against him (or a kanghaskans earthquake)

252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 64-76 (38.7 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Most lopunnys are jolly , 94 % , but he can live the 2hko of adamant too (altough he doesnt need to thanks to mummy)

252+ Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 135-159 (42.1 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Ice punch from adamant does barely do 20% damage

252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 28-33 (16.9 - 20%) -- possible 5HKO

 

[RandomBro]

Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Moonlight


cresselia checks it decently. return doesnt even 3HKO, while psychic 2HKOs. thunder wave can cripple lopunny and moonlight can heal off any damage.
252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 120-142 (27 - 31.9%) -- 48.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Cresselia Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lopunny: 158-188 (58.3 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[GateCreeper]

Why use Cresselia, when you can use something much cooler, niche, and shittier than it?

Musharna @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Synchronize
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonlight
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Healing Wish / Trick Room
- Yawn / Thunder Wave

The problem with M-Lop is that it lacks the brute force to take care of some bulky pokemon, and Musharna is one prime example of this. As long as you don't get caught off guard by Mega Lopunny's Encore, Musharna can defeat M-Lop with no problems. The thing that makes Musharna a little different from Cresselia is that it has a higher Special Attack stat, so its Psychic/Psyshock (whicever one you choose) will hit much harder. Musharna also gets Yawn, which can be useful if you want to force switches works (even more effective when Stealth Rock is up). Musharna's support movepool is pretty interesting, so feel free to check it out.

Calcs:

Hide

252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 73-87 (32.7 - 39%) -- nice move
0 SpA Musharna Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lopunny: 114-134 (81.4 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

freekhoorn that was great omg!

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 SpA
Nature: Bold
- Moonblast
- Cotton Guard
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Taunt / Stun Spore

Whimsicott is a cutie, fluffy, an annoying little shet, and works nicely in dealing with Mega Lopunny in such a fun fashion. By stalling of course. That's pretty much Whimsicott's biggest reasons in practically every metagame it plays under. One of the main reasons in using Whimsicott is its ability Prankster, which allows any non-attacking move to go first. This really assists it in stalling out its opponents and makes a nice check to many Pokemon that it isn't vulnerable against. That's one of the main reasons why Whimsicott doesn't need Speed is because of that. Instead it can invest in defensive EVs instead. Leftovers allow for it to get passive recovery each turn. Maximum HP, 244 EVs in Defense, and an Bold nature maximizes Whimsicott's defensive capabilities and the remaining 12 EVs go into Special Attack for Moonblast to get a little boost in damage output.

Moonblast is Whimsicott's strongest STAB move, allowing it to hit Mega Lopunny for super effective damage. Cotton Guard drastically raises Whimsicott's Defense, so that it can take any attack that Mega Lopunny dishes out even better. Leech Seed is used to so get extra HP off of Mega Lopunny further extending its stalling capabilities. Also, this slowly cripples Mega Lopunny each passing turn for its benefit. Protect is used in conjunction with Leech Seed and Leftovers to get off extra HP for longevity. Also, it doesn't take damage from Fake Out. Mega Lopunny sometimes run Substitute and or even Encore. So Taunt can be used over Protect if you want to keep Mega Lopunny from destroying Whimsicott's stalling plan. You can then go for Cotton Guard because it'll only be able to attack from that point on. Lastly, Stun Spore can be used as another option over Protect and Taunt if you want Mega Lopunny to be inflicted by status and hax from paralysis, thus crippling it and possibly won't be able to have certain turns to attack. Also, it'll allow you to attack first with Moonblast because Whimsicott will outspeed it now.

Damage Calcs:


Jolly

• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 46-55 (27.5 - 32.9%) -- 86.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
  
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 73-87 (43.7 - 52%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
  
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Fake Out vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 30-36 (17.9 - 21.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
  
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 72-86 (43.1 - 51.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Adamant

• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 51-60 (30.5 - 35.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
  
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 81-96 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 47.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Fake Out vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 33-39 (19.7 - 23.3%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 78-94 (46.7 - 56.2%) -- 23.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

With Cotton Guard​

Jolly

• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. +3 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 18-22 (10.7 - 13.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. +3 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 30-36 (17.9 - 21.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Fake Out vs. +3 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 12-15 (7.1 - 8.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. +3 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 30-36 (17.9 - 21.5%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery

Adamant

• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. +3 252 HP / 248+ Def Whimsicott: 39-46 (12 - 14.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. +3 252 HP / 248+ Def Whimsicott: 61-73 (18.8 - 22.5%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Fake Out vs. +3 252 HP / 248+ Def Whimsicott: 25-30 (7.7 - 9.2%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252+ Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. +3 252 HP / 248+ Def Whimsicott: 60-72 (18.5 - 22.2%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

Cotton Guard +6​

Jolly

• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. +6 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 12-15 (7.1 - 8.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. +6 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 19-24 (11.3 - 14.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Fake Out vs. +6 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 7-10 (4.1 - 5.9%) -- possibly the worst move ever
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Ice Punch vs. +6 252 HP / 244+ Def Whimsicott: 20-24 (11.9 - 14.3%) -- possibly the worst move ever

Don't really think I need to do Adamant but you get the idea.

Whimsicott's Moonblast​

• 12 SpA Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lopunny: 92-110 (65.7 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Sorry, the hide command is acting crappy today. >.<

 

[GroudonEmpire]

Let's try this again, shall we?

I present to you guys Mega Latias!

Latias-Mega @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Draco Meteor/Substitute
- Roost

I still don't understand why I'm nominating the one Mon I'd hate the most to face (other than Klefki and aEGISLASH) BUT HEY, This mon is exemplary.

 

[cant say]

Uxie @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Yawn
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock / Knock Off
- Psychic / Psyshock

Lopunny can't do much damage to Uxie at all, and will be either punished for it by Rocky Helmet or rendered almost ineffective with Leftovers recovery (I was doing the calcs at -1 for some reason o_0). Chances are any Lopunny will switch out of this matchup so you can opt for Yawn to either force another switch or put something to sleep. Stealth Rock + Yawn is a cool combo that either helps rack up entry hazard damage or forces the opponent to sleep. U-turn works great as a slow pivot out of the opponents switches, allowing you to see what they bring in before you choose your switch. I've thrown a STAB move into the fourth slot so you can attack Lopunny if you fear Encore / Substitute.

calcs

Defensive:

• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Uxie: 55-66 (30.2 - 36.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
  
• 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Uxie: 34-41 (18.6 - 22.5%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery

Offensive:

• 0 SpA Uxie Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lopunny: 84-102 (59.5 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 0 SpA Uxie Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Lopunny: 78-92 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I'll leave one more day for anymore nominations, then we're voting!!

If you have an idea for the next Victim, feel free to post on my profile :)

 

[cant say]

VOTING TIME

• Pyritie - Arcanine
• freekhoorn - Cofagrigus
• RandomBro - Cresselia
• Creeper3971 - Munna
• Lucina09 - Whimsicott
• GroudonEmpire - Mega Latias
• cant say - Uxie

I'm voting for freekhoorn coz Cofagrigus does this job perfectly, as well as mess up a bunch of other physical threats with Mummy. On paper it looks like a really interesting option and definitely something I want to try myself!

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

I'm voting for freekhoorn because Confagrigus completely shuts down Mega Lopunny of its STAB moves, only to have it rely on Ice Punch to damage it. Even if Mega Lopunny is behind a Substitute, Mummy can still go right through it because regardless, it is still making contact. Will-O-Wisp will do a great job of crippling it. Psychic can hit for super effective damage, Pain Split can share some HP it lost with Mega Lopunny, and Trick Room to outspeed.

Nice job.

 

[Pyritie]

freekhoorn because there's absolutely nothing mega lopunny can do to KO it, and cofagrigus is a useful check to most other strong physical attackers that rely on their abilities, like mega kangaskhan or mega salamence.

 

[ethan06]

Well, this is going to look a lot like bandwagoning but, while I was close to voting Lucina's Whimsicott, I think freekhoorn takes it for me as well. Cofagrigus is far more interesting than any bulky psychic for me as it actually takes Lopunny's attacking power away completely rather than simply minimising it - something that not many other things can do (hello Skill Swap Mega Banette). It also provides a handy one-time check to a bunch of other threats in the format: mainly Kangaskhan, Aegislash, Salamence, Scizor, and Slowbro, but I'm sure there are more.

 

[GateCreeper]

I vote for freekhoorn this round (cant say's Uxie set was a close second). Cofagrigus is a underused mon with a great ability, it has the potential to completely shut down some dominant physical attackers, and Mega Lopunny is one of the best examples of these. Out of all the nominations that were named, I think Cofagrigus does the job best and is a unique choice. Cress might do it better but Cress is pretty standard in the meta and it should've been banned from nominations as well imo, but I'm not trying to disregard RandomBro's post, my vote would've went to him if Cress wasn't as common as it is now.

 

[GroudonEmpire]

freekhoorn because no1 else will win. And it forms an excellent duo with ma NIGGA SLAKING!!!!!

 

[freekhoorn]

Im voting for Lucina09 because whimsicott is able to set-up on it and gets a lot of passive recovery with leech seed and leftovers.