Underused Pokemon Matchmaking Phase 2 [Week 29 - Nasty Plot Infernape]

[Highways]

Sceptile

 

[nv]

And with another small, yet close, vote, Eutychios Mega Sceptile wins! That makes two wins now for Eutychios so congratulations on that!

This week is Core Week, so I decided to go with one that I posted in the Good Cores thread.

Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run
- Protect

+

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe (only if HP Fire)
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Baton Pass / Shadow Ball

Mega Beedrill and Choice Specs Sylveon are a really good offensive core. They not only form a momentum core with Beedrill's U-turn and Sylveon's Baton Pass, but they both wear down each other's common checks and counters, Steel-types, as they tend to lack reliable recovery. Not only this, but Sylveon is such a massive threat right now as its Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice can 2HKO common Fairy-type switch-ins after very little prior damage such as Doublade, Nidoqueen, and Entei. Mega Beedrill also got better with the drops as it straight up OHKOs both Sylveon and Celebi with its STAB Poison Jab and U-turn respectively. This core does, however, struggle with fast, strong physical attackers such as Mega Aerodactyl and Choice Band Entei since Mega Beedrill lacks any defensive merit and Sylveon gets worn down after repeated hits.

Submissions end on Friday.

 

[Sun]

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Crocune is a good partner for this core helps to deal with mega aero, band entei and mega pert very well, also it's a good setup-sweeper , and with pressure is still annoying for stall builds, also it's a good status absorber thank to Rest, can absorb toxic and burn which give troubles A mega bee and Sylveon, finally can be a threat for steel types as metagross, mega steelix and Mega Aggron having a burn chance with scald.

 

[GeniusX]

Reserving Krookodile

Krookodile @ Dread Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit

Krookodile is a great support mon for this core. First, it has great synergy with Sylveon since it can defeat Steel- and Poison-Types without too much efforts and Pursuit Trap Bronzong. Getting rid of Poison and Steel types also help Beedrill utilize its STAB better. Krookodile also sets up rocks which pressures the opposing mons since this core forces a lot of switches. Krookodile also checks offensive fire types which are troublesome to this core. Lastly, Krookodile has the ability to remove items which can help the team in the long run.

 

[Highways]

Reserving Hydreigon

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor​

Hydreigon is a useful Pokémon to pair with this core, since it can hold a ton of dangerous walls that both Sylveon and Beedrill-Mega, like Specially Defensive Forretress (Sylveon can't touch this without HP Fire), Bronzong and other bulkier stuff. It also has the needed support to hit Fairies, since Beedrill-Mega can OHKO them.​

 

[Ramses]

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Defog

Salamence is a great teammate for this core. It offers itself as an exemplary check to a slew of threats such as Entei and Infernape, as well as offer Defog support for Mega Beedrill. It also forms a nice core with Sylveon that checks offensively Hydreigon extremely well. Overall it's a pretty nice partner for this core with the ton of support and power it brings to the table.

Eutychios this core is super offensive, you should have posted offensive suicune imo to keep up momentum and still check things like entei and mega aero.

 

[ehT]

WHY AM I RU USE ME LADDER FFS (Slowking) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave

So, the problem with this core is that it loses to Fire types, especially Entei, Steel types, and most Ground types. Slowking fixes this problem by switching into these threats and spamming Scald and T-Wave, making Sylveon's life much easier. This defensive utility is further augmented by Beedrill's ability to bring it in for free by U-Turning on forced switches into the likes of Cobalion, Metagross, Forretress, etc., which are all mons that Slowking can take head on. In return, Beedrill and Sylveon place huge offensive pressure on Dark types, Grass types, and Water types, which will all seek to take advantage of Slowking's relative passivity. In short, Slowking capitalizes on this Beedrill and Sylveon's ability to threaten its checks, while Slowking threatens Beedrill and Sylveon's checks.

 

[Cheryl.]

Reserving Swampert

 

[Sun]

Salamence @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Roost
- Defog

Salamence is a great teammate for this core. It offers itself as an exemplary check to a slew of threats such as Entei and Infernape, as well as offer Defog support for Mega Beedrill. It also forms a nice core with Sylveon that checks offensively Hydreigon extremely well. Overall it's a pretty nice partner for this core with the ton of support and power it brings to the table.

Eutychios this core is super offensive, you should have posted offensive suicune imo to keep up momentum and still check things like entei and mega aero.

i think this core can be used on bulky offense teams, which crocune is appreciated, also offensive cune lack to recovery moves, so after some hazards damage , sacred fire burn and others damage , Cune die fast in the game, also using the offensive one you lost a stallbreaker and a status absorber, so hazard stacking semistall teams are a pain for this core without a status absorber, i hope u understand my point ^^

 

[BIG G CHOPPA]

Roserade @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
-Sleep Powder / Extrasensory /Hidden Power Fire

As most of mega beedrill's checks are grounded it appreciates spikes support, along with sylveon as they can simply fire off u turns / hyper voices respectively. Exerting some nice offensive pressure. Depending on what coverage move sylveon has, roserade's last moveslot can be tailored to your discretion. Sleep powder is nice as it can put an important mon to sleep. Extrasensory helps weaken poison types that annoy mega beedrill and sylveon while hidden power fire nails steels that bother mega bee like forretress. Sludge bomb and leaf storm are obligatory stab that hit pretty damn hard.

 

[Euphonos]

Delphox @ Salac Berry
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock / Psychic

Mega Beedrill and Sylveon have one thing they share in common: eliminating Dark-types. This reminded me of this patented Delphox set where it struggles to some of the Dark-types lurking in the tier, most notably Hydreigon which resists Delphox's STABs very well.

This Delphox serves as a late-game sweeper when most of defensive juggernauts of the tier were weakened enough for Delphox to shine. Substitute allows it to block Status and allows it to reach into its Blaze range, powering up Fire Blasts and say "resists, anyone?" to any Pokemon who attempts to sponge them, while reaching into its Salac Berry range (hence the 4 HP EVs) to outrun most Pokemon in the tier. Psyshock and Psychic are pretty flexible choices and it is very dependent on what Pokemon you're attempting to hit with.

 

[nv]

Nice submissions this week! Time to vote.

We got Eutychios's Suicune, GeniusX's Krookodile, Mr. Highways's Hydreigon, -Magic-'s Salamence, ehat's Slowking, Camilas's Roserade, and Euphonos's Delphox.

Voting ends on Monday.

 

[Sun]

ehat's slowking

 

[esche]

Magic's Salamence

 

[Adaam]

GeniusX Krooker

 

[ehT]

Highways' Hydreigon

 

[Sobi]

slowking

 

[nv]

With only 5 total votes (what happened ppl?), ehat is the winner this week. Congratulations!

This week's matchmaking victim is the Queen herself...

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 180 HP / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock / Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam

Offensive Nidoqueen is arguably the most reliable hazard setter for bulkier offensive teams thanks to its above average typings, its immunity to Thunder Wave and Toxic, as well as being able to absorb Toxic Spikes all while firing hard hitting STABs + coverage thanks to Life Orb and Sheer Force.

Submissions end on Monday.

 

[Sun]

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- U-turn
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor

scarf hydra is a great partner for offensive nidoqueen, they have a ot of sinergy, nidoqueen check fairy pokemons as sylveon, florges, which are problematic for hydreigon, also is a good fighting resistor, hydra check water type, and it has a good ground immunity useful to check krook, also it generate momentum useful when the oppo bring sylveon front of hydra.

 

[ehT]

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

Nidoqueen may be fat, but as far as tanking goes, she is a limited resource. Suicune addresses this problem by switching directly into moves that Nidoqueen doesn't want to take, such as Earthquake, Knock Off, and Sacred Fire. This frees up Nidoqueen to fire off powerful attacks and / or set up Rocks versus Grass and Electric types, which Suicune appreciates, as well as generally have a lot more freedom in which hits it wants to take and when. On the offensive side of things, these two place a lot of pressure on physical and special walls alike, through Suicune's stallbreaking prowess and Nidoqueen's brute force and hazard pressure. This support can allow for another teammate, such as SD Cobalion, to break through, if Suicune doesn't do so all by itself.

 

[GeniusX]

Reserving conkeldurr

Conkeldurr @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab / Ice Punch
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

Conkeldurr and Nidoqueen form a pretty neat core and since we can say goodbye to Alakazam for the time being, there isn't a lot of reliable checks in the UU tier to take on this sheer force combo except for probably Cress. With Nidoqueen being able to take on the fairies in the tier, Conkeldurr destroys some of Queens primary checks including such as Blissey. Conkeldurr also forces a lot of switches and appreciates rocks support. Guts AV Conkeldurr also can switch into scald, while also being a special sponge and switch into Krookodiles.

 

[eden]

Krookodile @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit

Nidoqueen on the offensive end of the spectrum loves having something to pressure its standard counters: like Bronzong,Cresselia, and Blissey. All of these hate being in on Choice Band krookodile and its manly Knock Off. For what its worth I chose CB>Dread Plate because CB pressures Cresselia far more than Dread Plate can(CM Cress can actually set up on dread plate,,,). Also the fact that CB Earthquake destroys standard krookodile switch ins like Swampert/Suicune/to an extent Seismitoad is awesome.Dread Plate is also usable here obviously but then I'd suggest also investing in another way to pressure stuff like Cresslia.

 

[MegaFlareon]

Mega Blastoise (M) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SpA / 72 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere/Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Mega Blastoise and Nidoqueen form a fantastic offensive synergy as their sheer power and type coverage allow them to answer each other's checks with the exception of Blissey which can be handled by any physical attacker. Mega Blastoise handles Snorlax, Cresselia, Bronzong, and Reuniclus for Nidoqueen while Nidoqueen checks Florges, Toxicroak, and Tentacruel for Mega Blastoise. Both of them also compliment each other in terms of utility as Nidoqueen can set up rocks while Mega Blastoise can spin away hazards for the team.

 

[nv]

It's voting time!

We got Eutychios's Hydreigon, ehat's Suicune, GeniusX's Conkeldurr, SunnyORAS's Krookodile, and MegaFlareon's Mega Blastoise.

Voting ends Monday.

 

[Sun]

suicune