Other Lower Tier Threats

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(Yeah I'm doing this, bear with me)
Galvantula @ Life Orb/Focus Sash
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 4HP/252SpecAtt/252Speed
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Thunder
- Sticky Web
- Volt Switch/Hidden Power Ice
Role: Offensive Lead/Pivot
Galvantula is one of the best pivots in UU, and while its usability in OU may be limited, but with the right support, he can help your team to victory. Bug Buzz/Thunder are your typical STABs, while Sticky Web is the reason you're using it in the first place (Unless you're like me and ran a Choice Specs set, but that's for another day). Finally, the last slot is exchangeable, with Volt Switch being the pivoting move, while Hidden Power Ice can help lure in threats like Landorus. Of course it's not the best move to use. You can use either Focus Sash for guaranteed Webs, or Life Orb for a more offensive pivot.
(Don't kill me!)
Edit: Just realised that Mega Manectric can do the same thing with Hidden Power Ice. But better thanks to Overheat/Flamethrower. DON'T KILL ME D:
 
Alright. There's a line between a lower-tier threat and a Pokemon that is, frankly, bad in OU. To not clutter up the thread I'll use hide tags.
Furfrou: There are a four major issues with Furfrou. It's rather easy to break specially, lacks reliable recovery, is extremely passive to the point where it is fodder for basically every Pokemon in the tier immune to Toxic, and does not provide anything for its team outside of 'just walling'. The first two issues are the reason we don't see Mega Aggron all over the place in OU, even though its walling capabilities are great and it can even provide team support with Stealth Rock as well as hit pretty hard with high-powered attacks, good coverage, and an Attack stat that is not shabby. Walling exclusively on one side of the spectrum will always have downfalls; it means that the Pokemon is open to a wide array of threats and is only distinctly able to handle a set group of Pokemon. Most common walls in OU are able to take at least some Pokemon for both the physical and special attacking spectrums, typically by virtue of resistances that Furfrou has a complete and utter lack of.

Lacking resistances as a defensive Pokemon is also an issue; it makes it easily worn down. Just look at Hippowdon, a Pokemon that even has reliable recovery, but a dearth of resistances that makes even it difficult to keep at the high levels of health it needs to wall certain threats. All things considered, Furfrou takes ~42% from CB Talonflame's Brave Bird with Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery considered. Furfrou has no way of recovering that up immediately, and moreover is taking a large chunk, such that the next time it comes in, as it will next be forced out by a special attacker, it can no longer wall Talonflame. This makes it, despite high levels of raw bulk, rather straightforward and easy to break.

There's also the fact that it is vulnerable to every form of status whilst being forced into a state of complete passivity to heal it up. Its typing overlaps with Chansey synergy-wise, so it becomes difficult to stay "just get cleric support". Finally to touch on the last point: defensive teams are looking for not only walls, but Pokemon with some utility. Almost every single stallmon I can name provides some sort of utility to the team outside of pure walling. Mega Charizard X provides offensive presence. Skarmory can Defog or Stealth Rock if needed. Chansey can Wish or set up Stealth Rock or function as a cleric. Clefable can do all of the same jobs as Chansey. Amoonguss can put an opposing threat to sleep with Spore. Hippowdon sets up Stealth Rock. Aegislash provides offensive presence. Literally the only Pokemon I can think of that doesn't provide some sort of extra utility is Quagsire, which makes up for it in serving as a stop to most of the tier's physical boosting sweepers, no matter how boosted they are. This extra level of support makes them worth a teamslot and able to fit into teams.
Galvantula: The issue with Galvantula is that you're dedicating a crappy Pokemon to the role of setting up Sticky Web. I'd argue that Shuckle completely eclipses it as a Sticky Web user, boasting actual bulk that gives it the freedom to run a Mental Herb and avoid Taunt and access to Stealth Rock, which lets it provide another important form of support that is vital for teams. Shuckle simply packs more into one teamslot than Galvantula ever could, boasting more reliability and utility.
Machamp: Machamp is almost entirely outclassed by Conkeldurr. An attack that forces confusion is simply not enough. You're taking a Pokemon and using a move entirely reliable on hax to be good and using that as a reason to justify its use. Drain Punch is more consistent, not relying on hax and making Conkeldurr generally more difficult to wear down than Machamp. There's nothing else for Machamp that makes it worth using, so it's just outclassed.
(Will add pictures later)
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Tail / Ice Punch

Rhyperior is a Pokemon that I've used a bit recently, and it's actually proven pretty good. It is the perfect bird check, taking absolute pittance from Talonflame and always surviving +2 Pinsir EQ, even. It walls the likes of Mega TTar, Mega Charizard X, and more with ease. It can set up Stealth Rock and pressure most of the common Defoggers, for example bringing Skarm down below half with two Stone Edges and then EQ on the Roost whilst obliterating Mandibuzz and Zapdos, and hitting the Latis for solidly over half. With an enormous Attack stat and some investment, it pressures switch-ins such as Keldeo and overall has some decent offensive presence to work with. Rhyperior is not difficult to break in some aspects, but takes hits you wouldn't believe physically and is overall a reliable defensive presence.

Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Sticky Web
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Infestation

Though rare, legitimate Sticky Web teams do exist and can be effective, and it's all because of this thing. Shuckle is remarkably reliable, unable to be stopped with Taunt and very often getting both layers. Encore lets it use Defoggers and in conjunction with its Mental Herb Taunt users as fodder. Moreover, it supports powerful attackers such as Mega Medicham who are mostly held back by their low Speed in an offensive matchup. Not much else to say: Shuckle is OU Webs.
 
In addition to what Jukain said, if you don't want your post to get deleted just stick to posting about Pokemon ranked in the viability ranking thread, unless you have a very good reason to post about a Pokemon that is not on the list. I won't delete any of the posts so far because it seems like a lot of effort was put into them, but from now on posts about unviable or outclassed Pokemon such as Furfrou will be removed.
 
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Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast

Sheep has useful resistances and excellent 90/105/110 bulk, giving sheep many switch in opportunities. Sheep also has a very high special attack (471 with Modest!) and nearly perfect coverage from STABs+Focus Blast, resisted only by Whimsicott and the mighty Dedenne (not even Shedinja due to Mold Breaker!) Sheep works well as an agility sweeper; even with 45 base speed and a Modest Nature, sheep reaches 378 speed at +2, which is one point (exactly one!) higher than Timid Greninja. Sheep also fears very little from common things that are faster, like Talonflame and Mega Manectric (Ice Beam and Psycho Boost from Deo-S really sting but it'll probably get banned soon!) Sheep is very resistant to strong priority, resisting Brave Bird/Aerilate Quick Attack, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet; and sheep has the raw bulk to stomach STAB Sucker Punch and SE Ice Shard, let alone neutral 40 BP ones like Mach Punch and Shadow Sneak. Provided everything that can take a hit from sheep and KO back has been sufficiently weakened, such as Lando's and some Fairies, sheep's rampage is usually only stopped by Scarfed Earthquakes and Dragon moves which are easy to punish/scout with Flying and Fairy type teammates. Thanks to Mold Breaker, sheep can even OHKO Dragonite through Multiscale, so that's another way sheep can't be revenge killed! Sheep's pre-evo ability in Static also allows sheep to annoy certain physical attackers.

Sheep can reliably use Thunder on a rain team, which off of sheep's high special attack (471!) really really hurts, plus sheep can paralyze things with it. But outside of Rain, sheep has a really annoying tendency to miss with it. Imagine having Focus Blast as your main STAB move, and using Focus Blast as a coverage move at the same time.

Sheep can also run a bulky pivot set. With full investment in HP, sheep is really quite bulky. Sheep can also extend its longevity with a RestTalk set, which I like to call the Sleepy Sheepy.
 
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Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Modest / Timid Nature
- Calm Mind / Substitute
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Alakazam has really been neglected this gen, which aegislash everywhere and being the only mega who receives less than 100 BSE increase, it struggles to find a spot on most teams. Nevertheless, alakazam mega is a frightening special sweeper, possessing 175/150 special attacking stats, capable of speed tieing scarf base 100's. It's special attack is so high that it can 2HKO the specially defensive behemoths, blissey and chansey at +1. Everything else is completely annihilated by its STAB and near perfect coverage. Alakazam also has amazing abilities, magic guard prevents it from taking damage from SR on the switch and trace is a very interesting ability. Mega-evoing on a multiscale, protean, and sturdy users all lead to satisfying results. Unfortunately in a meta where powerful priorities are everywhere alakazam struggles quite a bit to preform early and mid game sweeps, because of this it is best to bring it in once its checks and counters, namely aegislash, Talonflame, and scarfed 100+ pokes are removed. It's move pool is fairly standard a boosting move, a STAB and coverage, I personally prefer Psyshock over psychic since it outperforms it 90% of the time! focus blast is for dark and steels although dazzling gleam could be used as well (do note that this leaves you to struggle with certain steels) shadow ball takes up the last moveslot, hitting aegislashs on the switch hard and providing insane coverage. The EVs are standard although the nature remains to be determined modest provides the power to 2hko Chansey while timid puts it in a remarkable speed tier

I'll fix this up later
 
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Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play

Sableye is underrated in my opinion, and a formidable counter to the popular DeoSharp teams, thanks to its ability - Prankster. Giving priority to status moves, Sableye takes advantage of this ability with its decent, but not astounding support movepool. I believe the set I posted is the best, but some other fine options include: Toxic, Confuse Ray, Substitute, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Torment, Trick, and Magic Coat. The EVs and nature can be changed around, so I just chose the standard Smogon set.

Taunt is used to stop Stealth Rock + Spikes, or Dual Screen leads. Once taunted, Sableye is able to use it's other moves to damage or cripple an incoming attacker. Will-O-Wisp turns almost every physical attacker into setup fodder for another teammate. Recover allows burn damage to rack up from Will-O-Wisp to ultimately wear down everything not immune to burn. Lastly Foul Play isn't affected by burns on the opposing Pokemon and does considerable damage to things invested in Attack. Teams with many physical attackers on them have a hole in them for Sableye to exploit. Unless you can OHKO Sableye, you cannot stop it from doing it's job outside of other Prankster users.
 
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Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Foul Play
- Toxic / Heal Bell
- Protect

Umbreon sports a good niche in OU as one of the best mixed walls around, with both high HP, Defense, and Special Defense stats. It is a solid check to Pokemon such as non-Low Kick Bisharp and Charizard Y (who only has a 30% chance to 2HKO with Fire Blast in the sun, and does even less with Focus Blast!) and can basically stall as long as it isn't statused with Toxic or a burn, and even if it is poisoned or burned, can easily pass that status using Synchronize. It works great as a wish support Heal Bell cleric, or can run Toxic + Foul Play to slowly wear down the opponent. Umbreon also takes on most unboosted Mega Scizor that pack U-Turn instead of Bug Bite, as it can use Wish to get rid of the damage (around 75% from unboosted U-Turn can be absorbed at most) In conclusion, Umbreon is a huge defensive threat on teams that can't break through it without Pokemon such as Choice Specs Keldeo and Terrakion.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 168-199 (42.6 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon in Sun: 187-222 (47.4 - 56.3%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 244-289 (61.9 - 73.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (factoring in miss chance)
252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 180-213 (45.6 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0- Atk Umbreon Foul Play vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 162-192 (45.2 - 53.6%) -- 37.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 151-178 (38.3 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 216-255 (54.8 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Heatran Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 118-141 (29.9 - 35.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-B Outrage vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 220-261 (55.8 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mega Manectric Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 91-108 (23 - 27.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gengar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 158-186 (40.1 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
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Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Ability : Magic Guard
EVs : 252 HP /252 Def / 4 Spe
Nature : Bold (+Def -Atk)
-Psycho Shift
-Cosmic Power/Calm Mind
-Stored Power
-Roost

With his abyssal stats, Sigilyph remains in the far end of the NU, with pokemons like Luvdisc and Butterfree. Yet it can break apart a whole OU team if correctly settled. Let me explain the way to use this set which may appear to be weird, but is definitively effective.

First, you switch on a status move like Leech Seed which will be useless thanks to Magic Guard, an choice attacker blocked on Earthquake or simply a staller like Blissey who can do nothing to the flying rake. Then, it's your choice : You can burn with 100% accuracy with Flame Orb Psycho Shift, and therefore reduce the physical offensive ability of what switches in to basically nothing or simply boost your defense and special defense with Cosmic Power. When several Cosmic Powers add up, go rampage with Stored Power! At max def/ def spe, it has 260 base power and benefit from the STAB, which means A LOT! Roost is here for the obvious recovery move not to get killed during the set-up.

At this point, you're thinking "What! It's totally broken! Why is this living god in NU?" or "What a bullshit! It's like Power Trick Shuckle, it sounds pretty cool but it totally sucks when tried for real!"
And you're both right, isn't that formidable! Sigilyph is gonna suck hard and do absolutely nothing against almost every dark type or phazer, so be careful and clean the way before sending him do his dirty work, though it is possible to burn to death some Assault Vest Tyranitars once boosted. But in the actual OU metagame, there is almost no phazers excepted for some rare Heatrans, Skarmory, Hippowdon and Dragon-tail Goodra, which makes this set far more effective than in 5g. And it is definitely unexpected: many a trainer underestimated Sigilyph and belived it was free stealth rock and spikes for his Ferrothorn, only to get his team entierly wiped out by the mayan fork!

So, Sigilyph has his own niche since there is less phazers than before. It is an underestimated pokemon that wreaks havoc with an undisputed efficiency. Furthermore, the set is very fun to play : watch a Mega Charizard Y struggle to 4HKO a NU-Pokemon with Fire Blast in the sun is priceless :)

An exemple to prove you the effectiveness of Sigilyph : http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-136234117
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-137125333

EDIT: As ShootingStarmie says, Clefable, having access to Magic Guard and Stored Power, can compete with Sigilyph. But Sigilyph has also things that Clefable doesn't get:

-100% accuracy burn move with Psycho Shift, which really helps to tank physical moves:

252+ Atk Mold Breaker burned Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Sigilyph: 85-100 (24.4 - 28.7%) -- 99.5% chance to 4HKO
252+ Atk burned Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Sigilyph: 109-129 (31.3 - 37%) -- 79.6% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk burned Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Sigilyph: 148-175 (42.5 - 50.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

After a burn, Sigilyph doesn't even get 2HKO'd by stabbed super effective 100 BP hits! And this is even before Sigilyph boosted his defense with Cosmic Power.

-Immunity to Earthquake that grants free switches

-Stabbed Stored Power

-Much faster than Clefable : Sigilyph has 97 Base Speed while Clefable only gets 60 : it helps setting a Cosmic Power or a burn before taking a hit against some relatively slow attackers.

As for the assessment that Cosmic Power isn't competitive, I would say it's usually true, but Sigilyph does't fear status and the threat of a burn prevent usually sweepers from boosting in front of him with DD or SD. And it's the best way to boost Stored Power's BP while safely tanking hits. It is also possible to run Calm Mind instead of Cosmic Power, but it's less reliable against physical attacks.

If you still doubt the efficiency of this set, I will add more replays from the OU ladder : I am currently testing this set on Showdown, and by far it has been quite succesful :)
 
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Hi guys! Just to let you know that I've just updated this thread, and I want to talk about some of the more recent posts and as to why they aren't making the OP or how they can be improved.

Sableye - I've found Knock Off to be a general better attack than Foul Play, just because Knock Off is such a good move, and you're basically crippling any switch in that isn't a Mega Evolution. Still, Sableye did make the OP because it can work in this metagame.

Sigilyph - Again, this is not being added to the OP. Not only is Cosmic power generally not a good move / strategy, it's also completely outclassed by Clefable in that sort of role. I won't add until I see some good reasoning as to why it should be added.

That's it folks! Please keep posting your sets, and try to make sure they aren't completely outclassed by other Pokemon. There's still lots of hidden gems in this metagame, so keep em' coming! Please also feel free to talk about sets and why they were rejected / accepted. Thanks guys
 
Here's something I like.

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Krookodile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Taunt / Toxic

Krookodile is a pretty cool mon in this meta that has a few things going for it. With its buffed 80 Defense and Intimidate, Krookodile is surprisingly resilient on the physical side, being able to take a lot of physical attacks quite well (of course, not super effective ones!). In addition to this, Krookodile can provide Stealth Rock support, which is great, and it also packs a solid offensive presence with its 117 Attack. It faces stiff competition from Landorus-T, but Krook has some cool advantages. For one thing, it has a Ghost resist, which makes it one of the better answers to Aegislash, taking almost anything from it and being able to retaliate with its STABs. It can also check Tyranitar to a decent degree of effect too which is neat. Taunt is a really neat tool in Krookodile's arsenal, which allows it to prevent slower defensive threats like Ferrothorn and Chansey from using their support moves, and gives it a huge advantage over Landorus-T. Toxic is a viable alternative too if you're really looking into residual damage, which can prove helpful if you have no reliable way around something like Mandibuzz. Krookodile also absorbs Knock Off decently well, but Bisharp's Defiant is a worry. Nonetheless, Krookodile is a pretty cool mon in OU right now that has some pretty cool niches and is definitely worth looking into as an alternative over Landorus-T.
 
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Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 32 Def / 252 SAtk / 224 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory
- Calm Mind

muh bby <3

Oh man I really like this set. Beats the shit out of double genies, counters Thundurus, easily hp ices landorus; I really, really, love this set.
The obvious premise is to just CM up and sweep, and leftovers is used to attain more CMs as opposed to a Life Orb. The survivability really helps in checking mons like talon, thundurus, and mega pinsir. Tbolt is obv, hp ice is obv, and extrasensory is used over shadow ball because you set up on aegislash regardless and hitting mega venusaur harder is more important. It's also a nice hit on AV conk. Cm is the whole point of the set, so yah.
I dumped all the evs I could into defense to help take sucker punches better, because honestly, a sucker punch is the only thing stopping this baby from just sweeping those standard deo-d/m-mawile/bisharp/aegislash/thundurus/lando teams. man its SOO ez to steamroll that shit.

As a fast electric mon not named thundurus, it has some clear advantages over it and mega manectric, namely, bulk. Mega Manectric is a bit too overreliant on intimidate and not even that bulky imo, not to mention it takes up a mega slot and is STUPENDOUSLY weak. Megaman cannot boost its offensive presence in any way outside of a lightning rod boost too, which is super predictable and difficult to obtain as it requires you to stay with terrible stats.
Over thundurus, again, more bulk is actually there. Sure, you lose out on t-wave and the like, but in return you have actual survivability, are tougher to stop (CM boosts) and much less predictable. I mean, sure, the last one is sorta dumb, but too many people just send in their thundurus to ANSWER to raikou only to find out i'm faster and that focus blast does nothing after a cm. It's quite amusing actually.

I'd say what makes raikou so effective right now is the popularity of double genies. Facing those guys automatically gives me a strong matchup against the team overall really, and being a fast electric type you naturally check flyspam and pinsir as well. Its just difficult to stop if you don't have the right mons, but its easy to kill if it sets up too early. Raikou is very particular about what it needs gone, and there must be only one weakened sucker puncher on the field to start with. Every scarf ground and scarf tyranitar (and tyranitar in general) must be removed, as well as kyu-b. Anything with an AV (even azu) must be weakened a bit, chansey and quag obv need to go, and stuff like hippo and rhyperior must be weakened a good deal as well.

A wonderful answer to all of the mons raikou needs gone is actually mega heracross, these two work wonderfully together imo. However, instead of going adamant like Chou Toshio suggested, I personally like to go Jolly. Jolly allows me to score teh free kill on unsuspecting dragonites and sash brelooms, and its extremely helpful as a wallbreaker in outpacing stuff like mew as well.

So what can raikou set up on?
I love it when people switch in their aegislash in on raikou, I really do. People just seem to think aegislash counters every electric mon (not named STUNFISK LMAOOO) But raikou, believe it or not, beautifully sets up on aegislash 100% of the time:

252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. +1 4 HP / 0 SpD Raikou: 140-165 (43.4 - 51.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

That's the only calc you really need imo :I you can see where this goes from there.

repleys:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-136349881

This one is vs. the exact same team I mentioned earlier, raikou just steamrolls it and would've literally 6-0'd if deo-d wasn't carrying superpower.

So yeah get out there n use this shit, its gud
 
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Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake / Iron Tail / Ice Punch

Hello. This is dog. Do you remember dog? Because dog remembers you. Dog remembers how you and everyone else used him when he had a shiny and extremely broken mega form, and how he was abandoned when he lost the ability to 6-0 teams with no effort. But dog can still be useful. This is because dog is the only OU-legal Pokemon that can learn Swords Dance and Extreme Speed, which, combined with his respectable attack stat and powerful STAB in Close Combat, as well as good coverage options, allows dog to be an effective physical attacker and set-up sweeper.

Unfortunately, dog is pretty frail, but partially makes up for it with a quadruple resistance to Stealth Rock and an immunity to Toxic and Sand Storm. Dog is weak to ground, fire and fighting which can make setting up difficult. But dog can do it; while he fears Heatran's Fire STAB and Tyranitar's Earthquake, dog can at least make them think twice about attacking with the threat of an OHKO from Close Combat. Dog can also check unboosted Bisharp, a top threat in the meta, and even receives a Justified boost if he's hit by Sucker Punch or Knock Off. He is also able to set-up in front of more passive opponents, such as Chansey and Ferrothorn. And even without a boost, dog can still pick off weakened opponents with Extreme Speed, which has +2 priority: this means he can attack Talonflame and other priority users before they can move.

If dog does manage to get a boost, he can be pretty hard to handle, especially for frailer offensive teams. +2 Extreme Speed is just powerful enough to menace offensive teams, and can OHKO threats like Talonflame, Greninja, Thundurus, Latios, and many others. +2 Close Combat puts the hurt on several defensive walls, and can even OHKO Skarmory. However, dog must choose what walls it. Aegislash is an especially important target, so Earthquake is a good choice, however then nothing in its moveset can touch Gengar. Iron Tail allows dog to get past Mega Venusaur, Clefable and other things that resist Close Combat, and Ice Punch is useful for Gliscor and Lando-T.
 
manaphy.gif


Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rest
- Rain Dance

So everyone knows about Crocune. However, theres another mon that can fill this role as well, and her name is Manaphy. Having been unbanned from Ubers this gen thanks to the weather nerf, Manaphy has slipped under the radar to the point where shes UU by usage. However, Manaphy still has a niche in OU in being one of the better late game sweepers. This set, like previously mentioned, works just like Crocune. However, Manaphy has one thing going for her over Suicune despite her lower bulk aside from a slightly higher SpAtk: Hydration. This allows Manaphy to run Rain Dance over Sleep Talk, which not only boosts Scalds power, but also makes her immune to status. Rest in combination with this allows for instant recovery to full and not being dependent on the unreliable Sleep Talk. The other two moves are fairly straight forward. Calm Mind is for boosting, while Scald is the best STAB as the burn chance along with high PP allows it to be spammed easily, even on resists.
 
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Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Trait: levitate
EVs: 252hp/4def/252spd
calm
- overheat
- volt switch
- will-o-wisp
- thunderwave

This is double status rotom-h, defensive pivot for offensive teams. Also bakes cakes.

Rotom-H last generation suffered some very particular weaknesses that made it the inferior choice to Rotom-W and firmly cemented it in UU. Wash had the advantage of benefiting from rain, OU's most dominant weather, while Heat sadly was blatantly hampered by it. Stealth rocks also made rotom-H's job much harder, whether it was offensive or defensive.Ultimately it settled into UU where there were far fewer water pokemon due to the prevalence of drizzle in OU drawing most noteworthy water mons into the tier above.

However both meta changes and game mechanic changes seem to offer nothing but positives for the toaster oven. the emergence of Charizard-Y and the nerf to weather meaning they're no longer infinite means that Heat's largest hindrance and Wash's largest boon, rain, is far less important to OU's metagame. The emergence of defog, and the return of Excadrill have reduced both the prevalence of stealth rock as well as easing the removal of it. However the reduction of Rotom-H's two biggest weaknesses isn't the only thing it's gained. In the transition to XY it now also boasts a fairy type resistance, and a paralysis immunity.

This brings us to the set above. double status Rotom is a great lure and support pokemon for offensively inclined teams. Its ability to absorb burns and paralysis simultaneously is invaluable, and an earthquake immunity provides plenty of switch in opportunities. The real beauty of this set though is the use of thunderwave. T-wave support is what allows Rotom-H to catch fast special attackers, as well as Charizard-X hoping to get a free switch in on a WoW, off guard and cripple them. burn is a fantastic way to cripple the physical attackers wishing to harm Rotom, and t-wave is a proverbial sucker punch against fast special attackers such as latios and M-Alakazam that assume they can switch in, bust through Rotom with sheer power, and ignore its burns.

Of course, this set still has several flaws. Heat's signature elemental move is far less reliable than wash's, and liberal use of overheat can leave the opponent with potential set up opportunities. stealth rocks, though less of a problem this gen than last, still strips rotom of 25% health and can seriously impact his survivability even with leftovers. the absence of pain split also hurts it in comparison to specially defensive Wash.

Ultimately double status Heat is a potential substitute for specially defensive Rotom-Wash. It provides an extra status immunity that's extremely valuable for much more offensive teams while simultaneously crippling many more offensive pokemon thanks to the surprise double status. That said it should only be used specifically for its advantages over the washing machine, and not simply seen as a flat out alternative.
 
hydreigon.gif

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 216 HP / 8 Def / 252 SAtk / 32 Spd
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power / Superpower / Taunt
- Roost
[If using Superpower, change to a Rash nature]

Hydreigon is a fairly niche pokemon in OU, as it is outsped and OHKOed by most of the prominent Dragon types in OU, and has a nasty 4x weakness to Fairy, with Fairy types also happening to resist/be immune to both its STABs. However, Hydreigon's Dark and Ghost resistances are now more valuable than ever, and the pokemon that Hydreigon is best suited to check or counter often sit well below Hydreigon's base 98 speed. This allows Hydreigon to run a bulky set, that has reliable recovery and hits really hard, while only requiring minimal speed investment. Hydreigon is also able to differentiate itself from Lati@s as a pivot, as Hydreigon's useful resistances, mean that it is able to switch in often + roost, while being able to check the common Pursuit users in OU (Bisharp, Tyranitar, Aegislash) that restrict Lati@s. This combination of roles allows for Hydreigon to be a viable choice on an OU team.

Max Special attack and a Modest nature allow it to hit as hard as possible, 32 Spd EVs outspeeds 252 Speed base 70s by one point (notably Bisharp and Breloom), 216 HP EVs hit a Life Orb number and give Hydreigon some bulk that complements Roost. This bulk allows Hydreigon to avoid being OHKOed by any priority moves (it survives Mach Punch from any Breloom set, and OHKOes in return if the sash is broken, and it can easily live +6 Azumarill's Aqua Jet), and allows it to check Bisharp, avoiding the OHKO from Adamant Life Orb Iron Head + Sucker Punch and most Aegislash sets.

Draco Meteor is mandatory as the nuke of this set, and Fire Blast gives it coverage against Aegislash, Scizor, Mega-Mawile and Ferrothorn, all of which Hydreigon outspeeds. This leaves Hydreigon walled by Heatran, so Earth Power is a possible choice for the third slot. Earth Power also does 45.6 - 54% to standard Mega-Tyranitar, which with Stealth Rocks up, prevents it from switching in. Although Azumarill obviously beats Hydreigon 1v1, running Earth Power over Dark Pulse also prevents any opportunities to set up + sweep with Belly Drum, as two Earth Powers do over 75%, negating the Sitrus Berry recovery). Roost allows Hydreigon to consistently check the aforementioned pokemon throughout the match.

As an alternative to Earth Power, Hydreigon can also run Taunt, which works in conjunction with Roost to shut down pokemon like Chansey, while also preventing slower pokemon from boosting or setting entry hazards against it. Superpower is also a viable option, as it still inflicts significant damage to Heatran (57.2 - 68.1% to 252 HP Heatran), plus an uninvested Superpower will OHKO all but the most physically defensive set of Tyranitar, and has an over 80% chance to OHKO standard DD Mega Tyranitar. Superpower also does 48.1 - 57.1% to standard Chansey, although the attack drop means that Hydreigon will need some prior damage to KO Chansey before it recovers HP.

Hydreigon has plenty of other moves to choose from, notably STAB Dark Pulse, but Life Orb Dark Pulse is unable to OHKO Deoxys-D or Aegislash, the only two common OU Dark-weak pokemon that Hydreigon can potentially outspeed. STAB Dark Pulse only reaches 120 base power, while a neutral Fire Blast has 115, and 2 Draco Meteors significantly outdamage two Dark Pulses, making Draco Meteor a more effective move to spam than Dark Pulse. U-Turn is another option for Hydreigon, but it is best suited for a Choice Scarf set.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-137093561 Went on the ladder quickly and managed to get a demonstration of the set in action. It's not a particularly good game, but it's one that shows off this Hydreigon set perfectly.
 
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Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SpDef
Adamant Nature
-Sacred Fire
-Extreme Speed
-Stone Edge
-Bulldoze / HP Grass / Iron Head

As a general rule, NOTHING wants to switch in on Entei. It has an incredible STAB in the form of Sacred Fire, able to cripple or even kill most Pokemon on the switch. This is mainly due to its astounding 50% burn chance and 100 base power. Also useful is the fact that Sacred Fire does not make contact, meaning Aegislash cannot cripple your Entei with King's Shield. Even powerful walls such as Chansey are threatened with a 2HKO switching in. Furthermore, Entei has access to powerful priority in the form of Extreme Speed, letting it OHKO Talonflame after SR even before Talonflame has a chance to use Priority Roost or Brave Bird. Stone Edge provides a handy OHKO against both forms of Mega Charizard, as well as doing a decent amount of damage on a predicted Heatran. The fourth moveslot, ordered from most to least useful, is used to take care of specific threats. Bulldoze is a possible OHKO against Heatran, Entei's main counter. HP Grass provides a handy 2HKO against Quagsire, who would otherwise set up against Entei with little to no threat of being KO'd. Iron Head (essentially Entei's only other viable physical move) is used against a very limited list of threats, such as bulky Tyranitar (in conjunction with Sacred Fire for a Burn) that would otherwise assume Entei would be threatened out.
Admittedly, Entei is generally outclassed by Mega Charizard X in virtually every respect. Furthermore, Entei's two primary means of attack (Sacred Fire and Extreme Speed) only have 8 PP each, making PP stalling a real threat to your ability to sweep.

Entei really only has a few reliable counters due to the high damage and burn chance. The premier counter would be Heatran (particularly Balloon) as Stone Edge just barely misses out on a 2HKO where as Earth Power can easily 2HKO Entei. Bulldoze mitigates this somewhat, but Balloon Heatran can still easily kill a wounded Entei. Lum Berry Dragonite is able to switch in without fear of a crippling burn or a OHKO and can use Extreme Speed to hit before Entei can use its own. Conkeldurr is a coin toss as to which Pokemon will survive the fight. Conkeldurr's Guts, Drain Punch and Stone Edge all pose a significant threat to Entei if played right.
It's worth noting, however, that while hard to counter, Entei is actually very easy to check. Combined with its weakness to Stealth Rock, it's relatively easy to wear down in the long run.
 
T
Dragonblaze052 said:
upload_2014-6-26_14-38-5-png.15762

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SpDef
Adamant Nature
-Sacred Fire
-Extreme Speed
-Stone Edge
-Bulldoze / HP Grass / Iron Head

As a general rule, NOTHING wants to switch in on Entei. It has an incredible STAB in the form of Sacred Fire, able to cripple or even kill most Pokemon on the switch. This is mainly due to its astounding 50% burn chance and 100 base power. Also useful is the fact that Sacred Fire does not make contact, meaning Aegislash cannot cripple your Entei with King's Shield. Even powerful walls such as Chansey are threatened with a 2HKO switching in. Furthermore, Entei has access to powerful priority in the form of Extreme Speed, letting it OHKO Talonflame after SR even before Talonflame has a chance to use Priority Roost or Brave Bird. Stone Edge provides a handy OHKO against both forms of Mega Charizard, as well as doing a decent amount of damage on a predicted Heatran. The fourth moveslot, ordered from most to least useful, is used to take care of specific threats. Bulldoze is a possible OHKO against Heatran, Entei's main counter. HP Grass provides a handy 2HKO against Quagsire, who would otherwise set up against Entei with little to no threat of being KO'd. Iron Head (essentially Entei's only other viable physical move) is used against a very limited list of threats, such as bulky Tyranitar (in conjunction with Sacred Fire for a Burn) that would otherwise assume Entei would be threatened out.
Admittedly, Entei is generally outclassed by Mega Charizard X in virtually every respect. Furthermore, Entei's two primary means of attack (Sacred Fire and Extreme Speed) only have 8 PP each, making PP stalling a real threat to your ability to sweep.

Entei really only has a few reliable counters due to the high damage and burn chance. The premier counter would be Heatran (particularly Balloon) as Stone Edge just barely misses out on a 2HKO where as Earth Power can easily 2HKO Entei. Bulldoze mitigates this somewhat, but Balloon Heatran can still easily kill a wounded Entei. Lum Berry Dragonite is able to switch in without fear of a crippling burn or a OHKO and can use Extreme Speed to hit before Entei can use its own. Conkeldurr is a coin toss as to which Pokemon will survive the fight. Conkeldurr's Guts, Drain Punch and Stone Edge all pose a significant threat to Entei if played right.
It's worth noting, however, that while hard to counter, Entei is actually very easy to check. Combined with its weakness to Stealth Rock, it's relatively easy to wear down in the long run.
Click to expand...
Entei has been done already. Twice.
 
Honestly, neither prior submission is all that good. An Entei that can't switch moves as needed is incredibly easy to force out, so Choice Band diminishes its usefulness. Trying to make something with base 100 speed fast in OU may be possible, but it simply can't be done with a neutral nature. Any suggested "fast" Entei is basically sacrificing potential bulk in order to still be outsped by Pokemon with 85 base speed. Any build with Atk as low as 84 IVs is sacrificing Entei's high damage, the very thing that makes Entei worth using in OU. Entei loses out on speed by nature if you want access to Extreme Speed and an Entei that's not doing high damage is hardly worth using in OU. If you're going to seriously suggest an Entei build that can hold its own in OU, it HAS TO be the bulky physical attacker variant. No other archetypes of Entei can actually stand up against OU Pokemon and hold their own.
 
Dragonblaze052 said:
Honestly, neither prior submission is all that good. An Entei that can't switch moves as needed is incredibly easy to force out, so Choice Band diminishes its usefulness. Trying to make something with base 100 speed fast in OU may be possible, but it simply can't be done with a neutral nature. Any suggested "fast" Entei is basically sacrificing potential bulk in order to still be outsped by Pokemon with 85 base speed. Any build with Atk as low as 84 IVs is sacrificing Entei's high damage, the very thing that makes Entei worth using in OU. Entei loses out on speed by nature if you want access to Extreme Speed and an Entei that's not doing high damage is hardly worth using in OU. If you're going to seriously suggest an Entei build that can hold its own in OU, it HAS TO be the bulky physical attacker variant. No other archetypes of Entei can actually stand up against OU Pokemon and hold their own.
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To be fair, Banded gives the ability to fire off extremely hard hitting Sacred Fires, and that allows Entei to not be reliant on Scared Fire's Burn chance. Not too much can switch into it, and what does is mostly scared of the Burn. No one is going to switch in their Tyranitar into that thing, even though Tyranitar doesn't really have much to be worried against Entei, as it is scared of the Burn. And while switching out and racking up Hazard damage in a meta such as the one right now sucks, Entei has the ability to force the opponent to either swap their resist in and chance a Burn, or swap a Pokemon that doesn't mind it, like a special sweeper. And when Entei's ability to spread burns is hurt, it's usefulness diminishes dramatically, where a band allows it to be less reliant on the Burn chance and dish out more damage in general. And as an added bonus, cleaning up or RKing with ESpeed becomes even easier
 
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Fourth Inversion said:
hydreigon.gif

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 216 HP / 8 Def / 252 SAtk / 32 Spd
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Roost
Click to expand...

Cool, that's my set from the Hydreigon thread with slightly customized EV's. Nice post but there's a few things I want to add though. Hydreigon is outclassed at wallbreaking, but functions well as a bulky pivot. Although it gained a large weakness to fairy, most of its other weaknesses (Dragon/Ice/Bug/Fighting) aren't as prevalent attacking types this gen. That along with its bulk, good immunities and many resistances allow it to switch in many times during a battle, and threaten KO's with its nuke and good coverage. It shouldn't be thought of as a traditional dragon-type.

Regarding the moveset, you can slash Superpower/Taunt instead of Earth power, depending on your needs. If you hate Ttar, Superpower can break it as well as Chansey (with some decent prior damage though) whilst still handling Heatran. Taunt is great against stall teams and pokemon like Mawile who switch in looking for free setup, and can sometimes snag team-mates free turns.

And regarding Dark Pulse: It's low base power means it needs specs to guarantee a lot of essential 2HKO's. Neutral Fire blast is nearly just as strong anyway, and most of the time you'll be using Draco meteor as neutral stab.
 
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Sevifar said:
Cool, that's my set from the Hydreigon thread with slightly customized EV's. Nice post but there's a few things I want to add though. Hydreigon is outclassed at wallbreaking, but functions well as a bulky pivot. Although it gained a large weakness to fairy, most of its other weaknesses (Dragon/Ice/Bug/Fighting) aren't as prevalent attacking types this gen. That along with its bulk, good immunities and many resistances allow it to switch in many times during a battle, and threaten KO's with its nuke and good coverage. It shouldn't be thought of as a traditional dragon-type.

Regarding the moveset, you can slash Superpower/Taunt instead of Earth power, depending on your needs. If you hate Ttar, Superpower can break it as well as Chansey (with some decent prior damage though) whilst still handling Heatran. Taunt is great against stall teams and pokemon like Mawile who switch in looking for free setup, and can sometimes snag team-mates free turns.

And regarding Dark Pulse: It's low base power means it needs specs to guarantee a lot of essential 2HKO's. Neutral Fire blast is nearly just as strong anyway, and most of the time you'll be using Draco meteor as neutral stab.
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Thanks for the inspiration for the set and for the comments/additional move slashes - I'll edit the post in a minute to incorporate those details. Come of think of it, in general terms, it's a pity that Dark Pulse's 80 base power means that it has limited utility as a STAB move and very limited use as a coverage move in OU, while Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Pursuit and Foul Play are all amazing Dark physical moves.
 
This thing hasn't been mentioned yet o_o

weavile.gif


Weavile (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch / Low Kick
- Pursuit / Low Kick

Weavile is a really underrated physical attacker that takes advantage of its blazing speed and good offensive typing to threaten a good part of the OU metagame. Knock Off is the spammable stab everyone knows about; Ice Shard allows Weavile to check faster ice-weak pokemon such as scarfed Garchomp and Landorus-T, and it has a 81,3 % chance to OHKO Thundurus after Stealth Rock (guaranteed with a round of life orb recoil) without worrying about prankster T-Wave. Ice Punch has a mediocre base power, but it has the advantage of threatening many common physical walls such as Mandibuzz and Hippowdon. Low Kick is a good coverage move that OHKOes Kyurem-B (after Stealth Rock), Terrakion and Tyranitar and has a chance to 2HKO physically defensive Ferrothorn.

Finally, Pursuit is an amazing move on Weavile due to the amount of offensive mons that it forces out. It faces competition from Bisharp as a Pursuit trapper, but its incredible speed makes Weavile less reliant on mindgames and allows it to use Pursuit more safely agaist certain targets. For example, Hidden Power Fighting has become more common on Lati@s, allowing them to snipe an unsuspecting Bisharp trying to use Pursuit without scouting for it. On the other hand, Weavile does not need to worry as much, as its fast Knock Off discourages any player from trying to stay in with Lati@s. Greninja and Thundurus are other threats that Weavile can effectively checkmate. Greninja takes 94.4% minimum from a neutral Knock Off, meaning that Weavile can revenge kill it after it KOes a pokemon with a move not named Dark Pulse, so the frog is most likely forced out: at this point, you can opt to go for the Pursuit, that deals 78 % minimum. Thundurus is threatened by Ice Shard, so it can be trapped if your opponent needs Thund to check another pokemon on your team. Pursuit also puts pressure on Chansey, allowing Weavile to be useful agaist stall teams, even if common stall mons (Mega Venusaur, Skarmory, Quagsire) wall it.

These traits make Weavile a great pokemon to use on Zard Y + Keldeo teams, that are often weak to Greninja and need the Lati twins to be removed. Its ability to destroy Thundurus can also pave the way for setup sweepers that can be crippled by the genie's Thunder Wave, most notably Zard X and Mega Gyarados.

Weavile has obviously a fair share of shortcomings that prevent it from being a top-tier threat. Its frailty and terrible defensive typing mean that it can't take almost any hit, so you will have to bring it in after a teammate has been KOed or via double switching; its weakness to Stealth Rock further decreases its lifespan. As stated above, it faces stiff competition from Bisharp, that boasts a stronger (albeit unreliable) priority move, and an amazing ability that allows it to discourage Defog and reliably check Aegislash. On the other hand, Weavile has an entirely useless ability (good luck Pressure stalling with Weavile's "bulk" and lack of recovery) and Aegislash can play King's Shield mindgames with it. Anyway, Weavile will not disappoint if played to its strenghts.
 
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Hi guys! Just to clear something up about submitting multiple sets of one Pokemon. You're allowed to submit a set for a Pokemon that's already been done, because if that Pokemon is versatile enough, it can fill many roles in the metagame. Take Tornadus-T for example. It can act as a nice check to several threats with an Assault Vest, or it can be an offensive pivot for Rain teams. This doesn't mean you need to create entirely new sets for small changes, like EVs and move slots, you can just slash them in your original set.

Regarding the Entei set that was recently posted, I'm afraid to say I don't think I'm going to include it, just because it's very hard to argue using any other Entei set rather than the one already in the OP. However, you're free to discuss both sets and their viability.

I've updated the OP for now, please let me know if you see any mistakes that you think need my concern, thank you!
 
Entei The Swift said:
319.png

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Spatk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
Modest
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
- Destiny Bond

This thing is sooo good in OU imo. Gliscors expecting to wall waterfall, Aegislashs thinking it can take a crunch in defense form, physically bulky pokemon just melting. (Latis, excadrill, garchomp, ferrothorn, hippodown etc). This set takes alot of things by surprise. I personally think this set isnt as great in any other tier. Hydro pump and dark pulse for stab, protect for scouting and free boosts, and destiny bond for those core threats for your team. Obviously the only thing this shark can't do is take alot of priority.



On my phone right now. Will add damage calcs if anyone really wants me to.
Click to expand...

Yes please because I'm desperate for any kind of viable sharpedo.
 
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