Project ORAS NU Theorymons

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Flavor of the month mon incoming
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+ Rock Slide

I don't think this is out of the question at all considering somewhat similar mons (Gogoat, Tauros and Bouff) get it and plenty of other coverage. Normal types get crazy coverage anyways.

So what's this do? Adds a little bit of coverage to help round out things a bit. It enables you to hit the flying types which take pitiful damage from your unboosted moves they either resist or are immune from. Things like Drifblim, Scyther and Charizard aren't great switchins any more. What this also does is add some interaction to Sawsbucks other unused ability, Serene Grace. Slower threats you cannot beat outright are more manageable with a 60% flinch chance. Maybe it lends some viability to a scarf set as well? Probably not much.

I don't think it's crazy OP but may be enough to put Sawsbucks at a solid B or B+. I thought about maybe offering up Body Slam and Iron Head/Tail but then you're spreading the four move slots even more thin.
 
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good job guys, loved reading the discussion, keep it up y'all!
time to vote for your two favourites!
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+ Analytic
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+ Knock Off + Leaf Storm
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+ Nasty Plot
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+ Defog
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+ Flower Veil

Voting ends on sunday!
 
Clearly Lilligant and Haunter.

Analytic on Floatzel makes 0 sense from a flavor POV (I don't care if Starmie gets it, it still makes no sense), Defog Altaria would just give Stall another option to play (and Stall must burn in hell), and poor Cacturne needs a Speed boost or a way more significant movepool increase than that.
 
NP Haunter gets the lead this weak, closely followed up by Analytic Floatzel.
1. Haunter + Nasty Plot (12 Votes)
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2. Floatzel + Analytic (8 Votes)
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3. Lilligant + Flower Veil (4 Votes)
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4. Cacturne + Sucker Punch & Leaf Storm (3 Votes)
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4. Altaria + Defog (3 Votes)
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New slates for this week!! Most of these were brought to you by Quite Quiet's genius mind so thanks to him!
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+ Mold Breaker
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+ Regenerator
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+ Close Combat & 115 Base Speed (max. 361)
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+ Scrappy
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+ Recover

Discuss your thoughts on these slates; their impact on the metagame, their potential new VR ranks, some cool sets you would run, what it would mean for them, etc etc. As always, the discussion period will end on Friday!
 
Mold Breaker is pretty sick limiting actual EQ switching (Flying-types hate Stone Edge) but something really noticeable here is bypassing Magic Bounce so you have guanteed Rocks. SD Sandslash actually have a pretty good matchup against all the viable hazard removers with the exception of Shiftry. I could see it run like SR, SD, EdgeQuake. I never liked Rapid Spin tbh.

Lapras + check could be cool for sponging random hits for you're team. It still has a lot of weaknesses which is why I don't think Life Orb would be viable but Specs doesn't have to take that recoil. It could run AV to capitalize on my first statement or run Lefties for Heal Bell or Perish Song.

Needs Reckless to cuz not enough power in Wild Charge.

Scrappy Spin is neat since it loses to every spin blocker, not much to say here.

I never really got to the point where Moonlight's PP screwed me over so to me this really means nothing. But its a nice minor buff to a good Pokemon.

Submission
Omastar + Solid Rock
 
Mold Breaker Sandslash was sort of my idea, and in my opinion a buff that's desperately needed. With Mold Breaker, Slash gets past many things that stopped it before, primarily Levitating Ghost-types. (Knock Off doesn't help much because they commonly run Colbur Berry for more viable Pokemon like Malamar or Shiftry) It could set up Stealth Rock on Xatu and OHKO it with Stone Edge. (Also, I actually think X-Scissor would be a neat option on SD sets to hit Malamar and Grass-types)

Lapras would be a nice bulky tank, but its typing is still pretty bad defensively. Has a great movepool for the jobs its supposed to perform. Not going to be metagame defining but it will improve it slightly.

Rapidash becomes a shittier Arcanine I guess? Makes it a neat choice actually as Close Combat hit many Rock-types that take little damage from its other attacks. The speed boost makes it much more reliable. A Morning Sun set could be a neat option to help it recover off the recoil it gains via its moves. (Choice Band with Baton Pass (assuming that BP is legal with Close Combat) would be very good as well)

Why Scrappy Claydol and not Scrappy Hitmonchan? Still though, unblockable Rapid Spin is a great thing to have. Losing Levitate sucks though as now it gets worn down by Spikes/Toxic Spikes. (Magic Guard/Sheer Force would be a better buff IMO)

Recover Musharna gives it recovery with more PP, and I guess it makes it better against Abomasnow or Aurorus?

Submission:
Oblivious Smeargle (Would this be broken? If so, I'll change it)
 
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Alright, my 2 cents.

Sandslash:

Mold Breaker is a huge upgrade from its extremely situational abilities, as with its STAB Earthquakes now able to hit Levitating Pokémon it can smash straight through Weezing. With Stone Edge, very little can switch in on it after it gets an SD. It can also lay Stealth Rock against Xatu now.

Lapras:

Regenerator is a nice ability, and it will help make up for its Stealth Rock weakness. It can also run a Choice Specs or Assault Vest set better now. It would be an improvement for sure, but it's nothing ground breaking

Rapidash:

The Speed boost is excellent - it now outruns all of NU bar Swellow. Close Combat helps it hit the Rock types that resist its STAB, although it still doesn't 2HKO Eviolite Rhydon or Regirock without a Life Orb, which Rapidash really doesn't want to run as combined with Flare Blitz it gets worn down very quickly indeed. Will make it a better late game cleaner

Claydol:

Scrappy. OK, this makes no sense flavour wise, but it is a nice buff. It would make it the best Rapid Spinner in NU, as now nothing's immune to its Spin. Combined with resisting Stealth Rock, it will make it way better at its job. Personally though I would've given it Sheer Force to make it a poor man's Nidoqueen.

Musharna:

OK, why is an A Rank Pokémon even being considered for this? The point of NU Theorymon is to shake up the meta by throwing less viable Pokémon a bone or 2. The buff is pretty minor, although it will mean you won't have to worry about Abomasnow and lol Hippopotas interfering and it has more PP. Doesn't help it beat any of its former checks though, and it's pretty minor.

My Nomination

Ampharos with Tail Glow. Now that may scream "BROKEN!" to you, but actually Ampharos is still slow and with no means of recovery bar Leftovers. It makes sense flavour wise, as several of Ampharos's Pokédex entries mention it using its tail as a beacon. Tail Glow is also a move very few Pokémon get, and I think it will help Ampharos stand out from the pack.
 
Sandslash with Mold Breaker
Alright. It can beat Offensive Rotom-Normal. The one problem is that Rotom outspeeds and Will-Os you anyway. The only good thing is that you get damage off. This also can damage Bronzong in RU heavily, which is nice.

Regenerator Lapras
Would be amazing if it wasn't for the fact that Lapras is weak to Stealth Rock and affected by Spikes which, without a Spinner or Defoger, negates Regenerator. I feel like Magic Guard would be better if that's not OP. Without hazards, it can be pretty good. Too bad it's type doesn't help much, though

Fast Close Combat Rapidash
The Speed boost would be great for Rapidash to be on par with some of it's counters, like Speed tying with Floatzel in order to hit it with Wild Charge. Close Combat is nice for bulky Rock and Steel-types like Aggron, though Low Kick is already a decent option and Drill Run also exists.

Scrappy Claydol
..Okay. I get the spin blocker counter thing, but since all spin blockers are Ghost-types, can't Ghost-types still kill it? Especially if you're not able to get Rapid Spin on the switch,like if you needed to try to get Rocks up while hazardsare on you're side of the field. On the switch, it's good, though.
However, Claydol loses it's immunity to Sticky Web, Toxic Spikes, and Spikes, which may be a problem, especially if you have to switch often to avoid a Ghost you just Spun against.

Recover Musharna
Alright. It now has a lot more longevity as a tank, since it doesn't have to worry about losing all of it's Moonlights as much ....That's all I've got, I don't have much experience with Musharna, to be honest...

These probably sounded stupid, but whatever, I'm learning :P

My nomination:
Vivillon with 110 Special Attack + 95 Speed
This would just give Vivillon some more killing power, helping it sweep after a Quiver Dance better
 
Mold Breaker Sandslash: It gets around random stuff here and there, but not anything meta-changing. Likely, the best thing that it gets from this is that it no longer cares about Xatu switching in as it goes for SR- Mold Breaker lets rocks get up anyway. Weezing also no longer checks Sandslash, as Lum Berry negates WoW:

252+ Atk Sandslash Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 148+ Def Weezing: 206-246 (61.6 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's about it, though. Overall assessment: slightly relevant.

Regenerator Lapras: As an avid user of Lapras in PU, I love this. My problem with Lapras is that it gets worn down very easily, especially by status, faster mons, and Stealth Rock. Regenerator gives it a needed form of recovery, and almost totally negates the weakness to SR. As much as Specs benefits from this, the Sub/Toxic set actually is really good now:

Lapras @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry

I know I run this in PU, but it's NU viable now, as it wins vs. stuff like Audino that would beat it normally. Overall assessment: very relevant.

Close Combat Rapidash + 115 Speed: Now, the only non-boosted mon that can outspeed Rapidash is Swellow! Unfortunately, Rapidash already suffers from four move-slot syndrome, as it needs to run Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Will-o-Wisp, Morning Sun, and Drill Run. With the addition of Close Combat, nothing much will change. You are missing out on some sort of coverage depending on whether you run Wild Charge, Drill Run or CC, as WoW and Morning Sun are necessary. For example, Wild Charge OHKOs Archeops after SR... but Close Combat misses out. However, it is important to note that Close Combat threatens another coverage move, so your opponent still does not know which you are running. Overall: Speed = relevant, CC = a little relevant.

Scrappy Claydol: This ability, while making no sense flavor-wise, makes Claydol the best spinner in the tier by far. Claydol is one of the most susceptible spinners to normal spinblockers like Rotom. Now, spinblocking simply doesn't exist. Hazard-stacking teams suffer from not having any way to protect their hazards from being removed. Losing Levitate is not a huge problem for Claydol, although the immunity to Spikes can be nice. Overall assessment: very relevant.

Recover Musharna: In my opinion, the only thing this means is that Musharna can now almost always beat Abomasnow. The other small buff that Recover gives Musharna is that it is harder to PP Stall. In general, this is not relevant because CM Musharna wins versus anything that would attempt to PP stall it anyway. Overall assessment: not relevant.

Nomination: What if Exeggutor got Calm Mind? Would this make it a threatening sweeper, or would it do nothing to the meta? In my opinion, Calm Mind Exeggutor is a threat, boosting its poor Special Defense. It has slightly better coverage than other Calm Mind sweepers, with access to Grass-type moves like Giga Drain. Finally, there's an actual use for Harvest, instead of people randomly using Sitrus Berry sets on the low ladder: Calm Mind + Rest + Chesto Berry.

edit: put spaces between the sets, it looked too much like a text wall xd
 
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Sandslash + Mold Breaker: This is a really cool idea that would improve Sandslash and give it a niche in the metagame. First of all, Mold Breaker Rocks + a decently powerful Stone Edge or Knock Off means that you'll usually get Rocks up against Xatu teams. Secondly, Mold Breaker Earthquake would let you hit Rotom, Haunter and Mismagius for good damage without relying on Knock Off, reducing Sandslash's vulnerability to Colbur Berry sets. Granted it still has a poor matchup if it gets hit by a Wisp, but I think this would improve Sandslash to B+/B rank.

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Lapras + Regenerator: Definitely helps Lapras avoid taking too much residual damage from Stealth Rock, Spikes, and potentially Poison or Burn damage. While it would obviously be a nice addition to offensive sets, a defensive Heal Bell pivot set would also become a lot better now that it has some actual recovery aside from Leftovers. I think this would make Lapras one of the better Ice-types in the tier and raise it up to A-/B+ rank.

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Rapidash + Close Combat + 115 Speed: The speed boost is definitely the most important aspect; when combined with a possible Flash Fire boost from switching into a Will-O-Wisp (or another Rapidash), this makes Rapidash extremely difficult for a lot of offensive mons to deal with. Close Combat is also useful for providing a more powerful hit against Rock-types such as Regirock and Omastar. I think this would turn Rapidash into one of the tier's premier offensive Pokemon, and I'd be very surprised if it wasn't at least A- rank.

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Claydol + Scrappy: I really dislike this, both from a flavor standpoint and from a competitive standpoint. Getting a guaranteed spin against anything with less than 262 Spe (or 239 with a Modest nature) is disproportionately powerful to Claydol's other attributes (especially without Levitate) and would turn Claydol into a suicide spinner rather than a mon in its own right. Claydol has an interesting dynamic at present because it can hit all spinblockers as they switch in with a decently powerful Shadow Ball; Scrappy would ensure players just spin in this case rather than play tactically. No comment on rank.

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Musharna + Recover: This is just a straight buff; better matchup against hail teams, more PP; it's functionally the same in the vast majority of contexts so not much more to say really. I think Mush should drop to A rank anyway but this wouldn't really change that.

Okay, time for another suggestion.

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Musharna + Wish: While Wish would definitely be inferior to Moonlight on a mono-attacking set, it would potentially let Musharna start to fill more of a cleric role, similar to Mega Audino but with different resistances. Musharna's high base HP stat also makes this a viable option. :)
 
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