Hi there.
No, I'm not tennisace. ChaoticaMortis here with my first RMT ever. I've been playing NU since the tier was unofficially established back in 2011, and I've stuck here ever since (I one day hope to resume my fail streak in RU however). NU is the most diverse metagame on Smogon right now, which is both good and bad. On the good side, you have a large variety of viable Pokemon as well as a pretty good player base; on the bad side you have to prepare against those same Pokemon and players. If you've got a decent level of skill it can be quite fun. I've wanted to write an RMT for a long time, but until now I haven't had that good of a team, nor had much to say.
Anyways, this is the team that's gotten me as high as 35/6736 (alt: citizen_snips) on the NU ladder on PO, which I believe to be an accomplishment as I'm pretty awful at this game. I've been using a variation of this team for quite a long time now (about a round and a half) and I'd like to know if there's anything better I could do with it. I'm not the best at team building; I pick a couple of Pokemon that I like using (that I know are viable, of course) and then try to match them up with things that can cover their weaknesses as well as combo with them fairly well. Sometimes this works and has great results... other times I'm glad I'm using an alt that people wouldn't know is mine. After a fair amount of time mixing and matching different Pokemon I finally got something that worked, and since then it has evolved into my current team:
Name: Gurdurr
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Payback
item: Eviolite
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpDef
For weeks I had been seeing posts about how good Gurdurr was; how anti-metagame Gurdurr could be; how ridiculously he destroyed teams that weren't prepared for him. Well, for the most part the rumors are true: Gurdurr is a boss. If you've ever wanted to see a NFE sweep, pick this guy.
This is a standard Bulk Up set, you know, the only set this thing will ever run. Bulk Up boosts Gurdurr's decent Atk and Def to the point of being untouchable after you've gotten a couple in, and this can be quite intimidating. He's also got healing in Drain Punch and priority in Mach Punch with Payback for Ghosts / Psychics (although I tend to just switch out when I see one of those). The SpDef is slightly altered because I wanted it to be an even number for the Eviolite boost (I'm not sure if this mattered).
Gurdurr gets at least one kill per match and forces a lot of switches (fuck your Lickilicky), and he works well with Absol, who can sponge every Psychic attack aimed at him. Bro can also tank hits from most of the physical attackers in the tier (but Amoonguss is better in that regard).
The only problems I've had with him is that Payback rarely finds any use (definitely switching it soon), and that he's kind of weak without the Bulk Up boost, but I usually get one in because there's so much he can set up on! He's rarely dead weight.
Name: Amoonguss
move 1: Spore
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Clear Smog
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Leftovers
ability: Effect Spore
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpAtk
ivs: 30 Spe
Spore is one of my favorite attacks, and I've been in love with it since I used a Parasect in-game on SoulSilver. Parasect however, sucks ass in competitive play without a ridiculous amount of team support. This fact, and the fact that many of my fellow players had told me good things about Amoonguss, led me to choose it for my team. I can tell you that I wasn't disappointed at all with it.
Again, this is as standard as it goes for a set. Spore puts things to sleep, Giga Drain heals, Clear Smog stops boosters, and HP Ice is nice for utility damage (fuck your Altaria). Amoonguss has great defense and can always take a hit when I need him to (which is often). He completely rofl-stomps Gurdurr, as well as most Fighting, Water, and (a few) Grass Pokemon. He's really the only thing I have to beat Quagsire, but he's very good at doing just that, among other things.
My problem with this guy is that he tends to Effect Spore something to sleep that I didn't want intend, which effectively makes Spore a bit useless. He's also destroyed by the birds, and I don't have much that can stop that.
Name: Magmortar
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Thunder(Blast)bolt
move 4: Hidden Power (Blast) Ice
item: Choice Specs
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 Spe
Honestly I don't know what the fuck I was trying to do with this set. Choice Specs hit ridiculously hard and I still wanted to have a slight increase in speed, but other than that I'm not sure what I was trying to do. Maggy has been a popular special attacker since NU started, and there's a reason why: he's extremely powerful.
This set abuses Choice Specs to do huge amounts of damage to anything that might think it can tank a hit from Magmortar. I find myself often just sending him in on a Tangela and spamming Fire Blast, which surprisingly works most of the time. Thunderbolt for Water Pokemon (although I never use it), Focus Blast for coverage (same as T-Bolt), and HP Ice for when I know another fucking Altaria is going to try and switch in on me. Maggy kills lots of stuff for me, but he also dies very fast. I was thinking about switching this to the LO / Expert Belt + 3 Attacks set simply because I find I often want to switch moves when I can't. This guy is my Jynx counter, so a Choice Scarf set might also be good.
There are many problems with this thing (namely the set itself), but I've still found myself doing pretty well with it. I definitely think this spot in my team could be better filled though.
Name: Samurott
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Megahorn
move 4: Aqua Jet
item: Life Orb
ability: Torrent
nature: Adamant
evs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spe
I've liked Samurott (along with the other two B/W starters) since I first played Black version. He's often a staple on my teams as his offense and coverage are great, especially if he can net a Swords Dance.
Back to standard sets. Swords Dance boosts Samurott's Atk by +2, which along with Life Orb makes even his Aqua Jet do chunks of the opponent's health. Waterfall for STAB, Megahorn for silly Grass and Psychic types that think they can stop Sam, and Aqua Jet for priority and revenge killing. He's my utility attacker as his coverage is pretty wide and he does good damage to just about every Pokemon in the tier. Hell, he's even got somewhat decent physical bulk. Along with Amoonguss and Magmortar, he makes my team's unintentional F/W/G core, which I sometimes find very helpful.
I have no problems with Samurott. There's not a single thing this bro intends to do that he fails at. He comes in, dances around, and proceeds to whip his mustache around in a violent tsunami of pain and destruction.
Name: Absol
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Night Slash
item: Life Orb
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Absol is one of the most dreaded Pokemon in NU; half the time you see one you're either about to lose a Pokemon or play a really shitty mind game between Substitute and Sucker Punch. I've always liked Absol, and I've had fun with it in every tier I've played. (He's also pretty cool in-game as his Special movepool is fucking huge.)
Standardized tests are destroying our nation's education system. Standardized sets however, keep my team functioning. Absol actually works quite similarly to Samurott: It has Swords Dance, priority, STAB, and a powerful coverage move that would destroy something normally seen as a counter to a Pokemon of its user's type. In fact, I use him almost exactly like I use Samurott. The main difference is that Absol is much more powerful, but much less bulky. Much like Gurdurr, Absol will get at least one kill per match, as well as putting a huge amount of offensive pressure on the opponent's team. He has great synergy with Gurdurr and Amoonguss, who both draw out Psychic Pokemon that Absol loves to pick apart.
Absol is frail, and Sucker Punch fails almost as often as it works, which can sometimes cost me the match (or at least just the Pokemon). I've considered using Skuntank instead, but I'd like more input before I decide.
Name: Loldevoir
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunderbolt
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Trace
nature(s): Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Behold, the Weather Revenger. Gardevoir is another favorite of mine from generation 3. I've always liked this Pokemon, and when I read up on it in the NU discussion threads I decided I had to have it for my team.
I first found this set in the Gardevoir discussion thread in the NU forums, and instantly fell in love with it. At the beginning of this round, weather was somewhat common, and I was getting frustrated at all the shit that was outpacing my Pokemon and blasting them with high-powered attacks. Gardevoir was the solution to my problem. Most people use Gardevoir as a poor man's Mesprit, but honestly she's just as good offensively as she is as a support Pokemon. Psychic doesn't punch holes like Sucker Punch or Waterfall, but it does its job, and I find myself netting a lot of kills with Gardevoir. Choice Scarf lets her outpace most of the tier and revenge kill just about anything (whether it's a weather Pokemon or not). Trace lets her come in on Pikachus, Flareons (although I don't advise that one), Sawsbucks, and anything else that has an ability that nullifies a certain type's damage.
I got 99 problems and Gardevoir ain't one. Like Samurott, she effectively does what I need her to do in every match, and can sweep weakened teams with ease.
So there you have it, my very first RMT. I hope it wasn't too terrible or too boring. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism, set / team advice, rates, or whatever else you feel like posting. Also sorry if my descriptions weren't terribly helpful, I'd be glad to go into more depth about anything specific that you're interested in.
As for a threat list, I'm not quite sure how to do one properly, but I can say that the birds would give me hell if I saw more of them. Jynx is terrible even when I do manage to counter it with Magmortar. A few of my Pokemon get screwed by the move Trick. Priority hurts Magmortar and Gardevoir. Skuntank can tear a few of my Pokemon apart and I have trouble with it sometimes as well. I guess it would be cool for you guys to help identify things that I might have missed, didn't consider, or just don't know about.
Thanks for reading!
No, I'm not tennisace. ChaoticaMortis here with my first RMT ever. I've been playing NU since the tier was unofficially established back in 2011, and I've stuck here ever since (I one day hope to resume my fail streak in RU however). NU is the most diverse metagame on Smogon right now, which is both good and bad. On the good side, you have a large variety of viable Pokemon as well as a pretty good player base; on the bad side you have to prepare against those same Pokemon and players. If you've got a decent level of skill it can be quite fun. I've wanted to write an RMT for a long time, but until now I haven't had that good of a team, nor had much to say.
Anyways, this is the team that's gotten me as high as 35/6736 (alt: citizen_snips) on the NU ladder on PO, which I believe to be an accomplishment as I'm pretty awful at this game. I've been using a variation of this team for quite a long time now (about a round and a half) and I'd like to know if there's anything better I could do with it. I'm not the best at team building; I pick a couple of Pokemon that I like using (that I know are viable, of course) and then try to match them up with things that can cover their weaknesses as well as combo with them fairly well. Sometimes this works and has great results... other times I'm glad I'm using an alt that people wouldn't know is mine. After a fair amount of time mixing and matching different Pokemon I finally got something that worked, and since then it has evolved into my current team:
GurrShroomMagmorottAbdevoir
(btw I suck at naming things)
(btw I suck at naming things)
Name: Gurdurr
move 1: Bulk Up
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Mach Punch
move 4: Payback
item: Eviolite
ability: Guts
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpDef
For weeks I had been seeing posts about how good Gurdurr was; how anti-metagame Gurdurr could be; how ridiculously he destroyed teams that weren't prepared for him. Well, for the most part the rumors are true: Gurdurr is a boss. If you've ever wanted to see a NFE sweep, pick this guy.
This is a standard Bulk Up set, you know, the only set this thing will ever run. Bulk Up boosts Gurdurr's decent Atk and Def to the point of being untouchable after you've gotten a couple in, and this can be quite intimidating. He's also got healing in Drain Punch and priority in Mach Punch with Payback for Ghosts / Psychics (although I tend to just switch out when I see one of those). The SpDef is slightly altered because I wanted it to be an even number for the Eviolite boost (I'm not sure if this mattered).
Gurdurr gets at least one kill per match and forces a lot of switches (fuck your Lickilicky), and he works well with Absol, who can sponge every Psychic attack aimed at him. Bro can also tank hits from most of the physical attackers in the tier (but Amoonguss is better in that regard).
The only problems I've had with him is that Payback rarely finds any use (definitely switching it soon), and that he's kind of weak without the Bulk Up boost, but I usually get one in because there's so much he can set up on! He's rarely dead weight.
Name: Amoonguss
move 1: Spore
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Clear Smog
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Leftovers
ability: Effect Spore
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpAtk
ivs: 30 Spe
Spore is one of my favorite attacks, and I've been in love with it since I used a Parasect in-game on SoulSilver. Parasect however, sucks ass in competitive play without a ridiculous amount of team support. This fact, and the fact that many of my fellow players had told me good things about Amoonguss, led me to choose it for my team. I can tell you that I wasn't disappointed at all with it.
Again, this is as standard as it goes for a set. Spore puts things to sleep, Giga Drain heals, Clear Smog stops boosters, and HP Ice is nice for utility damage (fuck your Altaria). Amoonguss has great defense and can always take a hit when I need him to (which is often). He completely rofl-stomps Gurdurr, as well as most Fighting, Water, and (a few) Grass Pokemon. He's really the only thing I have to beat Quagsire, but he's very good at doing just that, among other things.
My problem with this guy is that he tends to Effect Spore something to sleep that I didn't want intend, which effectively makes Spore a bit useless. He's also destroyed by the birds, and I don't have much that can stop that.
Name: Magmortar
move 1: Fire Blast
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Thunder(Blast)bolt
move 4: Hidden Power (Blast) Ice
item: Choice Specs
ability: Vital Spirit
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpAtk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe
ivs: 30 Spe
Honestly I don't know what the fuck I was trying to do with this set. Choice Specs hit ridiculously hard and I still wanted to have a slight increase in speed, but other than that I'm not sure what I was trying to do. Maggy has been a popular special attacker since NU started, and there's a reason why: he's extremely powerful.
This set abuses Choice Specs to do huge amounts of damage to anything that might think it can tank a hit from Magmortar. I find myself often just sending him in on a Tangela and spamming Fire Blast, which surprisingly works most of the time. Thunderbolt for Water Pokemon (although I never use it), Focus Blast for coverage (same as T-Bolt), and HP Ice for when I know another fucking Altaria is going to try and switch in on me. Maggy kills lots of stuff for me, but he also dies very fast. I was thinking about switching this to the LO / Expert Belt + 3 Attacks set simply because I find I often want to switch moves when I can't. This guy is my Jynx counter, so a Choice Scarf set might also be good.
There are many problems with this thing (namely the set itself), but I've still found myself doing pretty well with it. I definitely think this spot in my team could be better filled though.
Name: Samurott
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Waterfall
move 3: Megahorn
move 4: Aqua Jet
item: Life Orb
ability: Torrent
nature: Adamant
evs: 112 HP / 252 Atk / 144 Spe
I've liked Samurott (along with the other two B/W starters) since I first played Black version. He's often a staple on my teams as his offense and coverage are great, especially if he can net a Swords Dance.
Back to standard sets. Swords Dance boosts Samurott's Atk by +2, which along with Life Orb makes even his Aqua Jet do chunks of the opponent's health. Waterfall for STAB, Megahorn for silly Grass and Psychic types that think they can stop Sam, and Aqua Jet for priority and revenge killing. He's my utility attacker as his coverage is pretty wide and he does good damage to just about every Pokemon in the tier. Hell, he's even got somewhat decent physical bulk. Along with Amoonguss and Magmortar, he makes my team's unintentional F/W/G core, which I sometimes find very helpful.
I have no problems with Samurott. There's not a single thing this bro intends to do that he fails at. He comes in, dances around, and proceeds to whip his mustache around in a violent tsunami of pain and destruction.
Name: Absol
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Night Slash
item: Life Orb
ability: Super Luck
nature: Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Absol is one of the most dreaded Pokemon in NU; half the time you see one you're either about to lose a Pokemon or play a really shitty mind game between Substitute and Sucker Punch. I've always liked Absol, and I've had fun with it in every tier I've played. (He's also pretty cool in-game as his Special movepool is fucking huge.)
Standardized tests are destroying our nation's education system. Standardized sets however, keep my team functioning. Absol actually works quite similarly to Samurott: It has Swords Dance, priority, STAB, and a powerful coverage move that would destroy something normally seen as a counter to a Pokemon of its user's type. In fact, I use him almost exactly like I use Samurott. The main difference is that Absol is much more powerful, but much less bulky. Much like Gurdurr, Absol will get at least one kill per match, as well as putting a huge amount of offensive pressure on the opponent's team. He has great synergy with Gurdurr and Amoonguss, who both draw out Psychic Pokemon that Absol loves to pick apart.
Absol is frail, and Sucker Punch fails almost as often as it works, which can sometimes cost me the match (or at least just the Pokemon). I've considered using Skuntank instead, but I'd like more input before I decide.
Name: Loldevoir
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Thunderbolt
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Trace
nature(s): Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Behold, the Weather Revenger. Gardevoir is another favorite of mine from generation 3. I've always liked this Pokemon, and when I read up on it in the NU discussion threads I decided I had to have it for my team.
I first found this set in the Gardevoir discussion thread in the NU forums, and instantly fell in love with it. At the beginning of this round, weather was somewhat common, and I was getting frustrated at all the shit that was outpacing my Pokemon and blasting them with high-powered attacks. Gardevoir was the solution to my problem. Most people use Gardevoir as a poor man's Mesprit, but honestly she's just as good offensively as she is as a support Pokemon. Psychic doesn't punch holes like Sucker Punch or Waterfall, but it does its job, and I find myself netting a lot of kills with Gardevoir. Choice Scarf lets her outpace most of the tier and revenge kill just about anything (whether it's a weather Pokemon or not). Trace lets her come in on Pikachus, Flareons (although I don't advise that one), Sawsbucks, and anything else that has an ability that nullifies a certain type's damage.
I got 99 problems and Gardevoir ain't one. Like Samurott, she effectively does what I need her to do in every match, and can sweep weakened teams with ease.
So there you have it, my very first RMT. I hope it wasn't too terrible or too boring. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism, set / team advice, rates, or whatever else you feel like posting. Also sorry if my descriptions weren't terribly helpful, I'd be glad to go into more depth about anything specific that you're interested in.
As for a threat list, I'm not quite sure how to do one properly, but I can say that the birds would give me hell if I saw more of them. Jynx is terrible even when I do manage to counter it with Magmortar. A few of my Pokemon get screwed by the move Trick. Priority hurts Magmortar and Gardevoir. Skuntank can tear a few of my Pokemon apart and I have trouble with it sometimes as well. I guess it would be cool for you guys to help identify things that I might have missed, didn't consider, or just don't know about.
Thanks for reading!