The Best of the Worst: NU in RU

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Although they can't find the momentum to rise up into RU, many Pokémon from lower tiers, especially NU, have formed a niche in the tier. In fact, many appreciate flying under the radar and use it to their advantage, getting fantastic matchups against teams that aren't prepared. For example, Vanilluxe blows through teams lacking a secondary check alongside less sturdy Steel-types like Doublade and Mega Steelix that drop to it very quickly. Others, such as Venusaur, are capable of dismantling defensive cores with Knock Off, crippling Pokémon like Gligar and Registeel that rely on their items. No matter how carved their niche in the RU metagame, these underused threats should definitely be considered when teambuilding!

Although clearly outclassed by Ninetales as a Fire-type wallbreaker, Houndoom has found its niche in RU by virtue of a great typing and ability that give it reliable defensive utility, a good Speed tier, and a wide movepool. Its Dark / Fire typing allows it to use Knock Off users like Mandibuzz for free setup. Houndoom's typing gives it a great matchup against many common priority users, notably Sucker Punch Toxicroak and Shadow Sneak Doublade, giving it more room as a setup sweeper. Flash Fire lets it hard counter one of the most influential setup sweepers in the tier, Ninetales, and its wide movepool allows it to tilt certain matchups in its favor. For example, it can use Taunt to decimate stall or run Substitute to improve its sweeping potential.

Here's a replay showcasing Houndoom's potential in the tier.

Defensive Steel-types being an absolute necessity on 90% of teams really causes problems for Vanilluxe, but it manages to put up solid results given a good matchup. Vanilluxe's presence in the tier has gone under the radar enough for teams to use Steel-types such as Doublade and Mega Steelix, abysmal Vanilluxe checks, in high tournament play. As a result, every now and then Vanilluxe gets an opportunity to tear through the opposition. Although it can't make any progress against more sturdy Steel-types such as Bronzong and Registeel, it can at least prevent Stealth Rock with Taunt and stop any Leftovers recovery thanks to Snow Warning. Taunt is fantastic for letting it break past walls such as Cresselia, specially defensive Milotic, and Porygon2 that rely on their recovery moves to beat Vanilluxe. Its great Speed tier lets it outpace quite possibly the best Pokémon in the tier, Mega Blastoise. It also has some use as a revenge killer with Ice Shard, picking off some setup Pokémon such as Dragon Dance Flygon and Swords Dance Virizion.

Replay of Vanilluxe.

Mismagius appreciates the tier's lack of sturdy Ghost switch-ins and preys on defensive cores with Nasty Plot and a Z-Move to break through the few defensive stops the tier has. It also has an impeccable matchup against common passive Pokémon, notably Registeel, that players commonly toss on their teams as their blanket check to special attackers. Its fantastic Speed tier lets it outpace base 100s, giving it a secondary role as a revenge killer and a great tool against offensive teams. Electrium Z is also an option to eliminate Pokémon like Mega Blastoise without boosting and checks like Drapion after prior chip damage. However, without boosting, Mismagius is very lackluster, and sometimes it can't find the opportunity to set up in quick-paced games and has little to no potential against teams carrying faster Pursuit trappers such as Sneasel and Choice Scarf Drapion that can remove it easily.

Here's a replay of Mismagius destroying offense.

Slowbro is generally viewed as inferior to the defensive titan Milotic, but it has some qualities that can give it the edge on some builds. For example, Slowbro isn't as easily exploited as Milotic, as the latter is forced to heal nearly every time it enters the field, whereas Slowbro can fire off attacks against incoming Pokémon and bank on Regenerator to heal off any chip damage it might've taken. Rindo Berry and Psyshock also let it check Virizion, something Milotic lacking Dragon Tail is helpless against. However, Slowbro struggles against potentially the best Pokémon in the tier, Mega Blastoise, something Milotic excels at stopping. Slowbro's Psychic typing hinders it against attackers like Doublade and Yanmega, while Milotic's amazing mono-Water typing gives it a good matchup against a good portion of the tier. Milotic is also a fantastic tool against prevalent Steel-types like Bronzong and Registeel thanks to Scald + Refresh, while Slowbro just drops to Toxic.

Replay of Slowbro checking Swords Dance Drapion and exploiting Regenerator to pressure the opposing Slowking.

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Get out there!

Although standard sets and Pokémon are usually the most reliable, keep in mind that creative and underused options can be good too!

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