Metagame NP: RU Stage -1: Message to Oglemi, Nails, and Honko (VENOMOTH STOLEN FROM US))

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Sableye is a decent counter, but cant really do anything back. Calm mind set has max def investment so foul play wont do anything. And life orb shadow ball does over 60% to physically defensive Sableye

Most Sableye (or at least the most effective ones), run 252 HP / 252 SDef Careful Nature. If you're running physically defensive Sableye, you're doing it wrong.



252 SpA Life Orb Reuniclus Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 104-123 (34.2 - 40.4%) -- 48.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Reuniclus Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 66-78 (21.7 - 25.6%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery **(What it will look like after Knock Off)**

0 Atk Sableye Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Reuniclus: 192-228 (45.2 - 53.7%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO

0 Atk Sableye Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0+ Def Reuniclus: 152-180 (35.8 - 42.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

0 Atk Sableye Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Reuniclus: 144-170 (33.9 - 40%) -- guaranteed 3HKO **(Most CM Reuniclus don't have Shadow Ball anyway)**


Conclusion: Sableye stops Reuniclus in its tracks.

 
Well, Calm Mind sets don't run anything to hit Sableye, so it doesn't matter how little Foul Play does. TR sets are hit hard by Foul Play and might not even run Shadow Ball instead of HP Fire. Specially defensive Sableye obviously does a better job against it, but that goes without saying.

Spiritomb IMO does a better job because it inflicts more damage over time , plus 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye = 252 HP / 4 SpD Spiritomb specially defensively.

252+ SpA Spiritomb Dark Pulse vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Reuniclus: 174-206 (41 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

^ Assuming Spiritomb switched on Reuniclus, and actually I'm seeing a lot of black glasses Spiritomb which does 49.5 - 58.4% to +1 Reuniclus.

Spiritomb also checks Escalivier better, because Megahorn does less + HP Fire OHKOes (I'm actually running WoW/Shadow Ball/HP Fire/Dark Pulse, works great to check top-threats INCLUDING Azelf and the aforementioned pokemons)

252+ SpA Spiritomb Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 182-216 (40.9 - 48.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Also interesting.
 
I've noticed that team types like Tsunami's Final Attack Order from BW have been working extremely well on the ladder. Smashpass has also been really cool, espescially to mons like clawitzer, who essentially just kills everything with a SE move of it's choice.
On the issue of reuniclus, I've just noticed that CM Spiritomb Can set up along with Reuniclus and is a fantastic counter to the CM Set, and it works even better against TR sets
 
Yes, if you wanted a Reuniclus check, Spritomb works great and is better than Sableye, by far.

However, if you want a insanely overpowered demon that checks 90% of the metagame, choose specially defensive Sableye.
 
Most common pokes weak to grass atm in ru are heavy (like rhyperior), so grass knot is enough. And Fire blast is usually better, due to Delphox's power. Life orb/choice item is in general better than magician gimmick sets


True but it's kind of useful to steal items, other items would probably be better though, just wanted to try it out.
 
Barbaracle is a HUGE threat in the current meta, and waaaaay too underrated, being able to bulldoze through any team with Shell Smash, along with surprisingly good 72 / 115 / 86 bulk, along with being able to hit 678 Attack and 470 Speed (read: faster than 252+ Dugtrio, fastest relevant threat). tbh, I have seen few priority users and even fewer scarfers, letting Barbaracle destroy teams once a certain threat/wall is destroyed

I know what you're thinking, "But it has a bad typing and it can't set up easily". Well, let me take these accusations one by one.

I agree, it has a bad defensive typing, but Barbaracle isn't a wall, is it? Considering it's an offensive wallbreaker/sweeper, we must take its offensive typing into consideration.

Water walled by:

Dragon- Most relevant one is Druddigon Kyurem, which gets rekt by Stone Edge/Cross Chop. Even Druddigon gets destroyed, if you really want to include it :/

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Druddigon: 337-397 (94.1 - 110.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Grass- Shaymin, the most relevant Grass type, gets destroyed: +2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Shaymin: 309-364 (90.6 - 106.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

I will admit, Tangrowth is a stop though. Even though its 2HKO'd, it should switch in when Bar kills.

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 190-225 (47 - 55.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Water- I haven't seen many Water types tbh. The only Water types that resist Rock as well is Empoleon (banned, iirc) and Poliwrath (not that relevant). Even the bulky af Alomomola gets 2HKO'd.

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 256-303 (47.9 - 56.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

All in all, Barbaracle has an amazing offensive typing, letting it destroy many relevant threats.

I know , "But it can't set up". However, it can set up surprisingly well thanks to its aforementioned 72 / 115 / 86 bulk. Just look at these calcs:

4 Atk Bronzong Gyro Ball (129 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Barbaracle: 112-133 (39.1 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

4 Atk Alomomola Waterfall vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Barbaracle: 61-73 (21.3 - 25.5%) -- 0.7% chance to 4HKO

4 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Barbaracle: 206-246 (72 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Cresselia Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Barbaracle: 87-103 (30.4 - 36%) -- 46.5% chance to 3HKO

Some of the best walls in the meta, Bar can set up on a majority (along with KOing them, do the calcs yourself). This lets Bar have good and multiple oppertunities to set up and destroy.

and remember, Barbaracle only needs to set up once. This puts a ton of pressure to not let it set up.

tl;dr, Barbaracle is a huge threat, and will murder you while your sleeping.

Random replay: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/rubeta-107007284

Note that even though I was in a horrible position, I still got the SS up and swept. Also note his one huge counter to Barbaracle, Gourgeist-H, still lost thanks to support from Cress :]
 
Hi, got bored again and play ~30 games (some were with a really bad team but I played some with a team that somehow got top 10 at the time this post was posted) and found another really cool mon (well not mon, set):


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NIPPLE BLADES OF FURY (Zoroark) @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot

  • 105 attack is good
  • STAB Sucker Punch an STAB Knock off is obviously amazing. Strongest pokemon with both of them in RU.
  • 105 speed is solid
  • Flamethrower is obvious what it hits.
  • Grass Knot is honestly just a random filler I used because I found it ohkoes Rhyperior with LO and only 4 special attack evs. You can probably pick a better filler depending on what your team needs. edit: just found out you have a shot at 2hkoing physically defensive Milotic if you get to hit it in the switch with a Knock Off followed by Knot.
  • Sadly I can't give good Illusion partners because most of the time I just picked Meganium (the real RU god) or Escavalier for that.
  • I use max attack evs because it guarantees a dead Yanmega after Stealth Rock and I spam knock off or Sucker Punch most of the time.
 
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So one team style I have been enjoying recently is Toxic Spikes + Sub Roost Kyurem, because a lot of teams have trouble breaking through Kyurem and t-spikes just makes it that much harder to do so (and molk made me run it :(). I paired it with SpD Shaymin as well, as I have found it is pretty underrated with a set of Aromatherapy / leech seed / giga drain / hp fire (for Esca). I've found this team is pretty solid and able to take on most of the threats in the meta, especially with SpD Drapion countering Cresselia and Reuniclus, two mons which stall would otherwise struggle with.

I had a really fun and long match with Lolk recently with this team and his team was also pretty cool I thought. Show casing underrated threats like Rain Dance Ludicolo, who absolutely wrecks in this meta, along side Defog Gligar, who is an underrated support mon in the tier right now thanks to Defog, and grabbing momentum with U-turn.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/rubeta-107056998

I just wanted to make this post because (as it is a new meta) I think people haven't really tried out defensive or balanced teams, even though they are both quite threatening right now :>.
 
Defensive teams are honestly so threatening right now, with teams like the one in the replay atomicllamas posted. They are honestly just very hard to break if you don't build your team around them, because there is such a huge amount of diversity in defensive Pokemon right now, and so many of them have amazing synergy together. With pokemon like Registeel, Rhyperior, Milotic, hell even Kyurem if you feel like it, it has become increasingly more difficult to handle these kind of teams. Primarily because the metagame just hasn't caught up to it yet, but also because the sheer bulk and stopping potential they have.

One set that I've found pretty cool that does a lot of damage to defensive teams is:

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Now it's not a perfect set, but most people don't know that Kabutops can use Knock Off, so they end up switching Dark-weak Pokemon into it to check it. Other than that, it just attempts to set up a SD and do as much damage with Stone Edge as possible before it dies. it doesn't have a particularly long life span, but it can generally put a good dent into a team before it goes down. Or it can just spam Knock Off and make the ladder rage :). Look out for tangrowth though, you're not getting past it without a crit :(

So, I have a question for you guys. What do you do to beat stall teams? Any good sweepers that just dismantle them? Or good cores that they won't be breaking past anytime soon? :)
 
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Barbaracle @ White Herb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Razor Shell
- Stone Edge
- Cross Chop
- Shell Smash

I already said how much shit this guy wrecks, so read my previous post if you haven't already.

Barbaracle is actually one of the best, if not the best, answer to stall. Compared to offensive teams, it's just so much easier to set up a Smash. Even Stall's best physical walls, such as Alomomola, take huge damage, almost requiring you to run a bulky Grass type such as Tangrowth and Gourgeist-H (which still get 2HKO'd by Stone Edge btw). Literally, the only thing I've found that doesn't get 2HKO'd by these moves (and actually beats it) is:

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Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 4 SDef / 200 Def / 252 HP / 52 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Sword
- Does it matter?
- See Above
- See Above

+2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Razor Shell vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 127-150 (39.4 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

52+ Atk Doublade Sacred Sword vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Barbaracle: 144-170 (50.3 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's it, the only effective answer I've found. Also, don't mention Bar's access to EQ or Night Slash.

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 170-200 (52.7 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 158-186 (49 - 57.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

I swear, this thing shits on Stall, which is why I personally haven't had problems with it.
 
Undefeated with T-Spikes Kyurem stall thus far. I run specially defensive Registeel, Alomoloma, Defog Gligar, SubRoost Kyurem, T-Spikes Cofagrigus, and CM Resttalk Aromatisse. Kyurem is without a doubt the best mon in the tier. I run just enough HP for 101 subs, and it still tanks most hits like a beast. Unfortunately I only have one replay. While not that great of a match, the ending shows just how bulky Kyurem can be while maintaining substantial offensive presence. It also showcases one of the best stallbreakers in the tier in NP Azelf

http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/rubeta-107066026

On breaking stall: Nasty Plot Azelf is probably one of the most threatening mons to stall (and in general) in the tier. It is able to grab a NP boost fairly easily, and at +2 there's very few mons that will avoid a OHKO. Notice in the replay how 4 HP / 252 SDef Calm Alomomola is a clean OHKO. Levitate is huge just for avoiding Toxic Spikes, which act as a safety net for stall teams, putting potentially dangerous sweepers on a timer. Another good way to break stall is with powerful Flying type attacks. Hurricane from Moltres and Tornadus are incredibly hard to switch into. In Moltres' case, Fire STAB + Hidden Power threaten most of the viable Flying resists. Registeel, Bronzong, Rhyperior are all unable to take a hit from the appropriate attack after taking a Hurricane. Hazards + Defiant Braviary can also do well vs stall, but operates under the assumption that the stall will be using Defog > Rapid spin. Hazards + Defiant + Ghost probably does well vs stall, though I've yet to face it.

Fun so far :)
 
Cobalion @ Leftovers / Lum Berry / Life Orb whatever
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Magnet Rise

Escavalier? Rhyperior? Non-Focus Blast Kyurem? Earth Power Shaymin? Earthquake Drapion? Gligar? Basically anything that uses Ground-type moves as STAB or coverage give the musketeer a free Swords Dance, and the fact that it is immune to Toxic is icing on the cake. I wish I could fit Substitute on this thing, maaaaybe over Close Combat, just so Cobalion isn't subject to other status, but dual STABs seems fine for now.
 
There are a few good stallbreakers available, but it really depends on the stall build's core whether or not you'll be able to beat it. For instance, Swords Dance Lum Berry Virizion can rip apart pretty much any stall team, unless of course they have something like Amoonguss or a healthy Gligar, etc. There's also Nasty Plot Azelf, but unlike Virizion, the problem isn't trying to avoid status, but rather, to actually get the chance to set up due to its frailty, and even then, there's still Pokemon like Cresselia and Reuniclus that can keep it in line.

Probably a really effective stallbreaking core regardless of the match-up is Specs Yanmega + Trapper. Yanmega's most common switch-in tends to be Registeel, Milotic, or Escavalier, all of which can be weakened enough / trapped and killed by an appropriate trapper. Generally have Yanmega come in, U-turn out of the appropriate counter, and then send in your trapper to dispose of them / weaken the threat in question. Afterwords, you're pretty much ready to tear shit apart as Yanmega is so disgustingly powerful to the point where it 2HKOes everything else outside of its few counters lol. The cores work something like this:


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Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Modest Nature
Trait: Tinted Lens
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Bug Buzz
-Air Slash
-U-turn
-Giga Drain / filler

+
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Magneton @ Choice Specs
Timid Nature
Trait: Magnet Pull
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power Fire
-Volt Switch

OR

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Dugtrio @ Focus sash
Jolly Nature
Trait: Arena Trap
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Reversal
-Stealth Rock

Basically, there's quite a few good trappers available that can pave the way for another Pokemon's sweep and that's usually the easiest way to break stall outside of actually trying to outplay your opponent. There's even Gothorita available as an alternate trapper if you're into that. It's a bit unorthodox, but it has some pretty sweet potential as well.
 
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Spirit I use trappers as well, but my sweeper of choice is Swellow, which I find to be underrated in this meta. It outspeeds pretty much every fast unboosted Pokemon in the meta such as Cinccino, Azelf, Raikou, Sceptile, Heliolisk, Virizion...and promptly OHKOes the shit out of them (yes, even Raikou!). Slower, bulkier teams are a bit more of a hassle to overcome, but outside of Alomomola, Earthquake Bronzong, and Doublade, the 3 headed trappers make short work of most Swellow counters anyway, which allows Swellow to blast a hole or two in said stall team (c'mere Amoonguss / Tangrowth!). I even happen to run a Drapion on my team, which easily harasses all three of them with Taunt, Knock Off, Pursuit, or even Toxic Spikes.
 
689.png

Barbaracle @ White Herb
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Razor Shell
- Stone Edge
- Cross Chop
- Shell Smash

I already said how much shit this guy wrecks, so read my previous post if you haven't already.

Barbaracle is actually one of the best, if not the best, answer to stall. Compared to offensive teams, it's just so much easier to set up a Smash. Even Stall's best physical walls, such as Alomomola, take huge damage, almost requiring you to run a bulky Grass type such as Tangrowth and Gourgeist-H (which still get 2HKO'd by Stone Edge btw). Literally, the only thing I've found that doesn't get 2HKO'd by these moves (and actually beats it) is:

680.png

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 4 SDef / 200 Def / 252 HP / 52 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Sword
- Does it matter?
- See Above
- See Above

+2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Razor Shell vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 127-150 (39.4 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

52+ Atk Doublade Sacred Sword vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Barbaracle: 144-170 (50.3 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's it, the only effective answer I've found. Also, don't mention Bar's access to EQ or Night Slash.

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 170-200 (52.7 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Barbaracle Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Eviolite Doublade: 158-186 (49 - 57.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

I swear, this thing shits on Stall, which is why I personally haven't had problems with it.


I've been running Barbaracle to some success, although I've used focus sash instead of white herb. It's a monstrously powerful sweeper, and it's done a lot of work for me. The only real problem for it is accuracy.
Just curious, though, what is the point of running Cross Chop over Earthquake when the latter has perfect accuracy and hits Doublade? What exactly does it do for Barbaracle?
 
While I haven't really gotten a chance to test this in RU much yet, I am intrigued by this idea I had earlier today:

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Nature: Modest
- Protect
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Hidden Power Fire​
Although there's plenty of AV users out there, odds are, none of them are coming in on Sharpedo at first. So why not use a special set to lure out some physical walls? Dark Pulse and H-Pump hit really hard. H-Pump possesses the power to straight OHKO Rhyperior while Dark Pulse easily 2HKOes Alomomola, a common counter to physical sets. Your choice of Ice Beam vs. HP Fire comes down to which AV user your team has more trouble with as both will hit Grass-types. Ice Beam nails Druddigon while HP Fire blasts Escavalier for heavy damage. While Pedo has lower Special Attack, most of its moves have either higher or equal base power as the physical set (H-Pump being much stronger than Waterfall) If you're really feeling ballsy, you could run both Ice Beam and HP Fire at the cost of Protect, but considering Sharpedo's defenses amount to... a wet paper bag at best, you probably want to use Protect lol.

Spirit , trappers are really dangerous right now, especially with nukes like Yanmega, Kyurem, and Moltres. Yanmega and Moltres are probably the most notable ones to benefit since they can use U-turn to force out their counters and bring in the appropriate trapper safely. If a Moltres or Specs Yanmega can be free to use whichever STAB they want, you're in for a world of hurt.
 
EonX- said:
Spirit , trappers are really dangerous right now, especially with nukes like Yanmega, Kyurem, and Moltres. Yanmega and Moltres are probably the most notable ones to benefit since they can use U-turn to force out their counters and bring in the appropriate trapper safely. If a Moltres or Specs Yanmega can be free to use whichever STAB they want, you're in for a world of hurt.

I actually think the mon that uses trapping the best is Tornadus, since so many teams rely on Raikou to take care of opposing Tornadus, and Dugtrio easily traps and kills Raikou. Tornadus also has an extremely diverse move pool which can remove some of its own would be counters, such as Grass Knot and Knock Off, as well as U-turn to make trapping Raikou easy to do as well. The thing to note imo, is that fly spam goes with Dugtrio extremely well (Yanmega, Moltres, Tornadus).
 
At the moment I love running carracosta.
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Carracosta (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Aqua Jet
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
While carracosta has really bad speed (that's an understatement), it is the only poke with the combination of sturdy + shell smash + priority. It is insanely strong after a SS and WP. Its big drawback is that you need to keep hazards of the field, and in this metagame that is a bit of a challange. Set up on something that has a SE move and them try for a sweep. Since it is so slow, it misses out on the base 100s by 2 with an adamant nature, so it is best to use it as a late-game sweeper. Aqua jet is a must as it can nab kills on things that are faster that don't resist. Here are some calcs:
+4 252+ Atk Carracosta Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Raikou: 240-283 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+4 252+ Atk Carracosta Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 684-804 (157.6 - 185.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Carracosta Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Reuniclus: 408-481 (96.2 - 113.4%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Carracosta Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 262-309 (81.8 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+4 252+ Atk Carracosta Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 300-354 (67.5 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
While at +4 it can not ohko the premier walls, after some dents in the he can sweep late game
 
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Confirming what drama llama said: Tspikes stall with SubRoost Kyurem is really fun atm. Yesterday I used a team Molk built and I'm currently at a pretty strong #6 on the ladder iirc. The team consists of:

- Rhyperior (does the stealth rocking thing, solid answer to shit like Raikou because specially defensive is fun, fun, fun. Also kills silly Dugtrios that think they can kill mighty Rhyperior at full health :>)
- Cofagrigus (sets Toxic Spikes and can spinblock them as a bonus, is also generally really fuckin bulky and can burn stuff to be even more of a headache)
- Kyurem (stalls the fuck out of things yasss)
- Alomomomomomomomomomomomomola (doesn't give one single fuck about physical hits and passes big fuckin wishes to Rhyperior, Escavalier etc)
- Escavalier (Assault Vest for the tanking, pretty standard set, it's just really fuckin good and pairs v. well with the rest of the team)
- Togetic (Defogger, cleric, can switch in on many things which is cool)

Will provide more information and a replay maybe later
 
There are a few good stallbreakers available, but it really depends on the stall build's core whether or not you'll be able to beat it. For instance, Swords Dance Lum Berry Virizion can rip apart pretty much any stall team, unless of course they have something like Amoonguss or a healthy Gligar, etc. There's also Nasty Plot Azelf, but unlike Virizion, the problem isn't trying to avoid status, but rather, to actually get the chance to set up due to its frailty, and even then, there's still Pokemon like Cresselia and Reuniclus that can keep it in line.

Probably a really effective stallbreaking core regardless of the match-up is Specs Yanmega + Trapper. Yanmega's most common switch-in tends to be Registeel, Milotic, or Escavalier, all of which can be weakened enough / trapped and killed by an appropriate trapper. Generally have Yanmega come in, U-turn out of the appropriate counter, and then send in your trapper to dispose of them / weaken the threat in question. Afterwords, you're pretty much ready to tear shit apart as Yanmega is so disgustingly powerful to the point where it 2HKOes everything else outside of its few counters lol. The cores work something like this:


469.gif

Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Modest Nature
Trait: Tinted Lens
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Bug Buzz
-Air Slash
-U-turn
-Giga Drain / filler

+
082.gif

Magneton @ Choice Specs
Timid Nature
Trait: Magnet Pull
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power Fire
-Volt Switch

OR

051.gif

Dugtrio @ Focus sash
Jolly Nature
Trait: Arena Trap
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Reversal
-Stealth Rock

Basically, there's quite a few good trappers available that can pave the way for another Pokemon's sweep and that's usually the easiest way to break stall outside of actually trying to outplay your opponent. There's even Gothorita available as an alternate trapper if you're into that. It's a bit unorthodox, but it has some pretty sweet potential as well.



So after you posted this, I started laddering with Specs Yanmega, and I have to say that it is incredibly powerful and hard to switch into. But, it just doesn't do much vs more offensive teams. On the other hand, LO Speed Boost Yanmega can rampage offensive teams, but really struggles against stall.

I guess thats a big part of what makes Yanmega such a big threat, its able to threaten any type of team it wants, but not all at the same time. I think its kind of unique in that sense, because most of the RU Pokemon seem to have either a good matchup vs offense, or a good matchup vs defense, but not both. With the possible exception of Kyurem, who can walk over offense with a scarf set for the most part, and a SubRoost set can be almost impossible for stall to handle :)

and, a set dump to end it!

Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Defog
- Low Kick
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm

This is a set I'm still working on, because I want a reliable way to remove entry hazards without stacking stealth rock weaknesses or using Gligar. Shiftry and Skuntank are the main 2 choices, but i like Shiftry's typing and movepool, so I decided to give it a shot. The weird part of this set is Low Kick, the main reason i put it there is to hit Kyurem, though I did consider a lot of different choices in that slot, and I think its something that can be experimented with a lot. Knock Off is a super strong STAB move that doesn't afraid of anything, while leaf Storm lets you actually hurt Milotic and Rhyperior. Shiftry isn't an amazing top tier RU Pokemon by any means, but I think the utility of being a hazard remover that isnt that vulnerable is a niche that's worth exploring!

So, does anyone have experience with Shiftry to help me out a bit? Is it shit and im wasting my time?
 
For hazards at the moment, I went back to something more traditional with Hitmontop and rapid spin. More specifically AV top with intimidate. It's not perfect, but it's one of the more useful ways to remove hazards on a defensive set I've found. EV spread is just something random, but it's been working out fairly well for me so far, plus intimidate is a nice way to increase the physical bulk even more. Fake out stall turns for weather/screens/toxic/what have you, mach punch for filler and pursuit because it's fun hitting something switching out when you don't have to spin even if it's barely damage.

Hitmontop (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Fake Out
- Mach Punch
- Pursuit

Yeah it's walled by every ghost ever, and you can't foresight it away, but it can continue to switch in on stuff through out the battle with wish support.
 
For hazards at the moment, I went back to something more traditional with Hitmontop and rapid spin. More specifically AV top with intimidate. It's not perfect, but it's one of the more useful ways to remove hazards on a defensive set I've found. EV spread is just something random, but it's been working out fairly well for me so far, plus intimidate is a nice way to increase the physical bulk even more. Fake out stall turns for weather/screens/toxic/what have you, mach punch for filler and pursuit because it's fun hitting something switching out when you don't have to spin even if it's barely damage.

Hitmontop (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SDef
Impish Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Fake Out
- Mach Punch
- Pursuit

Yeah it's walled by every ghost ever, and you can't foresight it away, but it can continue to switch in on stuff through out the battle with wish support.
i really dont like this set. not only does hitmontop really want to be able to use moves like foresight and toxic, as they make it... viable, but the moves you've chosen for this set are really sub par. literally all of them are 40 power or below, which gives you no power to go off, so you're not gonna be hitting anything for any damage unless its like a smoochum switching out as you pursuit. if you insist on using assault vest top over the superior leftovers, or even something like lum berry, then you should really have some stronger damaging moves, like close combat and stone edge. close combat can be annoying because you're lowering the defense that you're trying to sustain, but hitmontop really has no better option - you simply have to play around that defense drop. also what are those evs for????? if you're gonna use random ass evs at least explain what they do please.
hitmontop is a bad spinner for a simple reason - it loses to ghost types even without being a spinner. this is a massive disadvantage, and is basically the main factor that makes hitmontop terrible.

really though you're better off using a set like this (if you have to use hitmontop - other spinners / defoggers are better)

237.png

Hitmontop @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: idfk physically defensive shit
Impish Nature i guess
- Rapid Spin
- Foresight
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge / Toxic

overall a much better set that actually capitalizes on what hitmontop does - spin with foresight. close combat and stone edge are strong moves that have good coverage, tho you can use toxic over stone edge to cripple bulkier mons. stone edge is nice for tornadus switchins tho. foresight is basically needed if u want to have a chance to spin against ghosts (even though they beat u anyway). rapid spin is rapid spin.

seriously hitmontop is bad. use a defogger ideally since theres a lot of good ones, or good rapid spinners include cryogonal, kabutops, and uhhhhhh avalugg i guess??
just dont use hitmontop lol
 
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