Project OU Weekly Research | v2 hosted by Terrakion. coming soon!

[Phantom Me]

Mega Pinsir

 

[Skarmx2]

Mega Pinsir

 

[Dgvhh]

The goal of course is to try and do all three, but for this week, I'm going to say 100% I'll do Mega Pinsir, 70% likely I'll get to reuniclus 40% Likely I'll get to mega Hydreigon

Mega Hydreigon?

 

[p2]

hydra.

 

[ethanlol]

Mega Hydreigon?

LOL what I thought

 

[blank]

signups are now over!

Dgvhh Recreant StarBomber109 AM Giagantic Terrakion. Tressed Team Pokepals CrystalRam FootHead58 Champ‡Xmaster ethanlol BlazeLatias littlelucario Phantom Me Skarmx2 p2
​

thanks everyone that signed up! you guys have between now and monday (3/7) night (EST) to write up your posts about whichever pokemon you took (hydreigon / mega pinsir / reuniclus). as a reminder:

If you take a test subject, it is expected that you'll post. Your posts don't need to be super lengthy & detailed, but they shouldn't be super short and simple. I'm not gonna put some arbitrary regulation on how many sentences you should have, but you should have at least a small paragraph.

and as a reminder to those unsure of what to post:

Things you can post include (but are not limited to):

• strategies used
• how you went about building with this Pokemon
• general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
• if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
• sets you used with the Pokemon

remember: you aren't limited to these guidelines; they're just here to help in case you aren't sure what to post. if you'd prefer to focus on 1 specific aspect of the pokemon you selected rather than a broad overview, that's totally okay! if you're still lost, try checking out this post by Infernal.

if you didn't sign up but you'd like to post, feel free to do so, but just don't post if you haven't used the pokemon in awhile / at all. also, if you signed up, but you cannot find the time to post, don't worry about it! just please don't do it regularly :x.

have fun ^^

 

[blank]

Dgvhh Recreant StarBomber109 AM Giagantic Terrakion. Tressed Team Pokepals CrystalRam FootHead58 ethanlol BlazeLatias Phantom Me Skarmx2 p2 Champ‡Xmaster

tagging didn't work after 3 tries :(

 

[MANNAT]

Yeah so I focused primarily on building and have formulated a general framework to use for mega pinsir teams:

Role 1: Mega Pinsir

Mega Pinsir

Mega Pinsir has always been a titanic offensive threat in OU for its ability to destroy slower teams and do well vs faster teams with its aerilate-boosted STAB moves, specifically return and quick attack with tons of coverage options like earthquake and close combat to deal with mons that resist flying, namely steel and rock types.

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Role 2: Hazard Removal - Arguably Mega Pinsirs biggest flaw is the fact that it is 4x weak to rocks post mega evolution, so running hazard removal is a must when using it, especially if you decide to team it up with Talonflame.

Examples

The Lati twins make excellent partners because they can run HP fire to lure in skarmory, one of the best bulky mons used to counter mega pinsir, wallbreak with LO draco meteor, a useful defensive typing to take on electric and fire types that threaten pinsir pretty decently. Latios is probably the better option here since it can run lure moves like eq and hp fire to weaken mons that beat mega pinsir and has more power vs slower teams, but Latias can run healing wish to give mega pinsir a second chance at a sweep.. Keep in mind that the lati twins stack a weakness to ice with mega pinsir when building the rest of the team.

Starmie is also a really nice partner to mega Pinsir since it puts an immense amount of pressure on offensive teams, 90% of them not having a sound answer to starmie that can reliably switch into starmie. The immense amount of coverage moves that Starmie has to choose in between will always keep your opponent guessing, and can let starmie beat a lot of mons that threaten pinsir, but it does not offer as much as the lati twins defensively.

Excadrill under sand forms a potent wallbreaking core with mega pinsir as well as its increased speed under sand helping it beat offensive teams with priority spam that mega pinsir struggles with. In terms of synergy, Exca can switch into flying types that threaten pinsir and check them with iron head/rock slide as well as boasting a 4x resistance to rock, along with its STABs beating rock types, but it has to watch out for stray earthquakes. Keep in mind that by using exca, you are forced to give up a team slot for a sand setter.

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Role 3: Electric Check - Mega pinsir is really annoyed by electrics as they resist its STABs and can outspeed and smack pinsir with electric moves. This is especially important if you chose the electric-weak starmie as your hazard removal, but is still important with the other two since volturning and pivoting electrics can quickly wear down their counters. The rest of the roles on this list probably include a few electric checks, so you can pick and choose from them, but if you are having some trouble fitting an electric check on the team, just respond to this saying so, and I’ll include a few extra examples.
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Role 4: DarkSpam Check - If you decided to run defog as your method of hazard removal especially, then darkspam teams are gonna be annoying af to deal with and you need a solid check for them. Even, if you picked up like excadrill or some other dark check on your team, this is a necessity if you are running defog as multiple dark types can wear down their shared checks pretty quickly with their powerful STAB moves. Even if you have rapid spin, most spinners are susceptible to getting hit hard by dark types, and bisharp OHKOs mega pinsir at +2 with sucker punch, and weavile also OHKOs with icicle crash and ice shard after rocks iirc.

Examples

Keldeo is an excellent partner to Megasir for a variety of reasons. First of all, it resists ice and fire for Mega Pinsir while also checking fast rock types and darks while having the ability to be a revenge killer with a scarf or a wallbreaker with specs, so it can offer a lot of role compression for a team which is nice on this list. Keldeo can also bluff choice items with mystic water/black belt and lure in mons that trouble Pinsir like Rotom-w (resists water) or Zapdos (resists fighting) by bluffing specs early game and blow it back late game, making way for mega pinsir to sweep. Aside from that, Keldeo is pretty one dimensional, but it is damn good at what it does. However, Keldeo cannot repeatedly switch into Bisharp without dying to sucker, so switch it into bisharp sparingly.

Cobalion is a great darkspam check to use alongside pinsir for a variety of reasons. Once again like Keldeo, it resists several types that mega pinsir is weak to in rock and ice. The main value of cobalion over Keldeo is that it is a lot sturdier of a dark check, and it can actually threaten shit with the justified boost it gets from eating a knock off or dark pulse. Additionally, cobalion can pivot around with volt switch and give momentum to your team, and it can set rocks to facilitate mega pinsir’s sweep especially weakening up one of its best checks in talonflame. Not only that, but Cobalion can function as a very capable fairy check in spite of not resisting fairy, not unlike Bisharp, but Cobalion can tank hits a lot better, and it has a nifty speed tier that lets it outspeed mega gardevoir, which usually destroys bisharp in the first place. Additionally, Cobalion utilizing swords dance can function as a very deadly wincon that can boost its decent 90 attack to deadly levels.

Heatran is a really good dark check to pair with mega pinsir by virtue of its defensive typing and bulk in conjunction with pinsir. It resists every single type that mega pinsir is weak to bar rock, and it is even immune to fire attacks that trouble mega pinsir while not stacking any weaknesses that mega pinsir has, unlike the other two mons that I mentioned. Also, Heatran can set rocks for Mega pinsir so that it can sweep easier, and it can even lure shit like rotom-w with solarbeam as well as check talonflame pretty well (especially if you have ancientpower/stone edge). However, it has a pretty hard time checking hoopa-u, so you probably want 1-3 other pokemon to check hoopa-u.

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Role 5: Fast Rock Check - Mega pinsir has a lot of trouble with fast rock types like scarftar and maero since it can't just click cc or eq at +2 vs them to kill them, so a fast rock check is needed. Scarftar in particular is annoying since it can pursuit trap starmie and lati@s that want to take away hazards, and you don't really need more than one of these since aero isn't super common and scarftar is kinda easy to deal with aside from it pursuit trapping ur shit, but you can never have too many checks for something.

Examples

Scizor is a solid rock check that can be used in conjunction with mega pinsir quite well, but keep in mind that it isn’t a great switch into any of rock types that check pinsir. Priority bullet punch lets it do a ton of damage to them without taking damage from them, and scizor can also check ice types with bp pretty well, so it is a pretty versatile teammate for mega pinsir. Also, it can get mega pinsir in for free with slow u-turns, which is nice. The main problem with Scizor is the fact that it isn’t really bulky enough to switch into anything powerful in this tier, so you have to rely on switches vs weak moves or weak pokemon to get mega pinsir in reliably unless you wanna eat like an ice beam from kyub and take 40% lol.

Azumarill is another great rock check that works well with mega pinsir. It is moderately bulky, so it can switch into resisted attacks and weak neutral hits pretty comfortably, but it isn’t a wall either lol. Azumarill can OHKO mega aero with ajet after rocks, and it 2HKOs scarftar with ajet, (therefore OHKOing with waterfall). Azumarill can also check Excadrill, which is commonly found on sand teams and can be a huge pain in the neck if you don’t thoroughly prepare for it. Azumarill has a solid defensive typing that can help mega pinsir out since it can tank ice and fire hits for mega pinsir while luring in ferrothorn with superpower. (Iron barbs recoil is annoying) Keep in mind that Azumarill stacks an electric weakness with mega pinsir, so you need to have more mons that are well-prepared vs electric types than you would usually have.

Garchomp is an excellent check to fast rock types that goes well with pinsir by virtue of its resistance to rock, resistance to fire, ability to punish birds like talonflame, and immunity to electric. Tankchomp can also take every single secondary attacking move that these rock types want to go for bar ice type coverage. Not only that, but chomp can set rocks and shuffle around the opposing team with dragon tail so that mega pinsir has an easier time cleaning late game, and it can check some electric types by virtue of its ground typing, although that isn’t recommended because most electric types run HP Ice as coverage. You can run like stone edge or something so that you can lure in and kill weavile as well as wisp talonflame very easily.

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Role 6: Birdspam Check - Talonflame's priority brave bird can absolutely destroy mega pinsir, and relying on a speed tie to beat opposing pinsir kinda sucks, so a bird check is highly recommended. Even if you have a bird check on your team already, I highly recommend running another one since mega pinsir and talon ran together can wear down your bird check quickly if you only have one.

Examples

Landorus is a really nice teammate to mega pinsir for a few reasons. First of all, it takes on excadrill, talonflame, and opposing mega pinsir so that my own mega pinsir can sweep more easily. Additionally, it can check electrics with its ground typing, especially if it has a choice scarf equipped. Not only that, but Landorus can run many other sets from a double dance set to form a double swords dance sweeping core with mega pinsir to a bulky rocks set that can tank hits from birds and KO back with stone edge. The defensive sets can provide momentum with slow u turning vs the opponent and get mega pinsir in for free vs things that it threatens so that it can either set up or just severely dent something. Additionally, Landorus can lure in ice types that threaten pinsir with yache berry+stone edge so that mega pinsir can sweep without having to worry about taking an ice shard to the face.

Another excellent bird check is Rhyperior, who can tank any hit from any physical flying pokemon in the tier bar like final gambit from staraptor lol. Rhyperior also is a really good electric check that has great offensive presence for a tank with STAB quakedge coming off of base 140 attack with tons of utility and coverage option to utilize from ice punch to weaken lando/tankchomp for pinsir as well as toxic to cripple those two and many common walls, or it can even run dragon tail to shuffle around the opposing team so that it gets weakened for pinsir to sweep. Rhyperior is also a great check to every fire type in the tier, especially zardx since solid rock lets it take ½ damage from coverage moves, and most fire types don’t run water or grass attacks. Not only that, but Rhyperior can take on every single OU electric type bar focus blast thundurus because of solid rock and its offensive prowess vs them. Lastly, rhyperior sets rocks which are awesome with mega pinsir for reasons already stated above.

Lastly, Tyranitar is a really good bird check to use on teams with mega pinsir for quite a few reasons. To begin, it lets you run sand rush excadrill, who can spin away rocks for pinsir as well as being a potent sweeper that can decimate underprepared teams. Tyranitar can pursuit trap the lati twins so that talon is forced to take rocks damage whenever it comes in, potentially letting feint pinsir sweep (but feint sux so don’t use it unless u get 6-0’d by talon lol) or so that it can’t switch into anything. Tyranitar also resists fire and flying, which are two very threatening types to mega pinsir, so its ability to check those mons is important. Its scarf set can function as a potent revenge killer for everything that isn’t freakishly fast as well as trapping and killing mons that might threaten pinsir. It can also act as a decent bisharp check since it resists sucker punch and can run superpower to OHKO bisharp. Lastly, ttar can set rocks for pinsir and lure things in with its crazy type coverage, which can pave the way for pinsir or other mons to sweep.

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Role 7: Skarmory Lure/Mag: Skarm is basically the best counter to Mega pinsir in the game, so a skarm killer is kinda manditory on teams with it. Lures are really nice because skarm wants to stay in vs them and they kill it, but magnezone can 100% kill Skarm, clearing the way for a mega pinsir sweep. You don't really need multiple of these as long as you have to lure skarm only once per game, but more than one doesn't hurt if you can afford the moveslot. I'm not going to provide any example members since basically anything with a fire or electric move that doesn't usually run it works here lol.

 

[AM]

Sets

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance

Gyarados @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance

Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Magnezone @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Magnet Rise

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 112 HP / 144 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dragon Breath
- Healing Wish
- Defog

Team I used to test.

Strategies used

The Magnezone, Knock Off, Pinsir combo is a staple. Idea is magnezone traps things like Skarmory and Ferrothorn to supplement sweeps by Pinsir and Gyarados. Torn-T is a common switch in to Latias so Dragonbreaths high paralysis rate has the potential to make it fodder.

How you went about building with this Pokemon

I put 6 offensive goons together where I just click buttons with no real thought process. Tested it in some games and that's how I built it.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strength: People use really garbage means to handle flying types which makes Pinsir threatening to some builds.

Weakness: Lots of Rotom-W so it can be annoying to set up and punch holes effectively. Choosing between Adamant and Jolly comes at a price for each one, with one not able to break holes as deadly as Adamant, or if choosing Adamant losing the speed necessary to beat out base 100s and offensive chomps.

Meta in favor or no

Sure I guess, idk on and off. A typical M-Diancie offense really shouldn't have trouble with your typical M-Pinsir builds.

Sets you used with the Pokemon

I normally use these two sets.

Jolly SD

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance

Adamant Feint SD

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Close Combat
- Feint
- Swords Dance

These sets I plan on trying in the future to see if I can't bring back an XY classic.

Sub + SD

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Substitute
- Swords Dance

Sub +3 Attacks

PPinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Quick Attack / Feint
- Close Combat
- Substitute

If for whatever Static Zapdos becomes relevant maybe I'll give Stone Edge a shot as well.

 

[zbr]

For those who are doing M-Pinsir, here is an old but still relevant guide on M-Pins (largely similar to LilLuke's one above but is a lot more in-depth) provides some interesting sample teams for yall to try.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...ng-a-solid-mega-pinsir-team-in-depth.3511356/

Keep in mind that M-Pin's speed tier is not the most optimal one for this meta so forgoing a +Spe nature is actually a viable option. Also hoping to see someone bring back the powerful subflail set from eons ago.

 

[MANNAT]

For those who are doing M-Pinsir, here is an old but still relevant guide on M-Pins (largely similar to LilLuke's one above but is a lot more in-depth) provides some interesting sample teams for yall to try.

http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...ng-a-solid-mega-pinsir-team-in-depth.3511356/

Keep in mind that M-Pin's speed tier is not the most optimal one for this meta so forgoing a +Spe nature is actually a viable option. Also hoping to see someone bring back the powerful subflail set from eons ago.

well rip my upcoming rmt...

 

[Dgvhh]

Ok. I assume they have done Mega Pinsir just fine ill do the underdog: Reuniclus.

Name: Reuniclus
Type: Psychic
Ability: Magic Guard or Overcoat
Hidden Ability: Regenerator
Role: Bulky Offensive/ Trick Room Optional Setter-Wallbreaker
Stats: 490 BST
HP: 110
Atk: 65
Def: 75
Sp.Atk: 125
Sp.Def: 85
Speed: 30

Overview: This Pokemon is able to take bulky offensive/ balanced roles and being able to decently fit anywhere (but needs support)

Pros:
-This Pokemon boasts Great Utility in Magic Guard and Regenerator (Overcoat just prevents Spore while Magic Guard deals with Anti-Life Orb Recoil and Hazards)
-This Pokemon offers decent offensive pressure and offers (optional) Trick Room support/wallbreaking (Too bad Trick Room is really hard to do) with Life Orb + Magic Guard
-This Pokemon is able to take hits well and keep able to take them as well. However, granted that darks and wallbreakers and VoltTurn is everywhere, he wont shine very well without support like say, Hippowdon.

Cons:
-Very Slow (Unless Trick Room) and has to constantly take hits or make it weak to taunt/stallbreakers. As a consequence it can lose a lot of momentum against such Pokemon.
-Its Typing isnt convenient and Especially when Wallbreakers/Dark Spam is everywhere like Bisharp or Weavile or U turn users or Mega Scizor, one of the most used Megas in OU. Thats just really much "go figure".
-As i said before, it needs support if it needs to be good (every mon needs support but this dude can be a bit sapping unless accompanied in fat offense or stuff like balanced)

Strategy I used:
-I used Reuniclus as a Life Orb Attacker with support like Magnezone for stuff like Mega Scizor or Skarmory (dont ask why). But in the end i ended up making a balanced team with it that dies to hoopa like any other :( (then again i can add klefki or Mandibuzz and make it hazard stack + Reuni offense or Reuniclus semistall :/ )

Team:

Hide

Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Defog
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 192 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 124 SpD / 148 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off

Have fun! n_n

 

[Phantom Me]

Mega Pinsir is a powerful offensive threat with a high Attack stat that can be furthered by Swords Dance as well as Aerilate, which powers up its Normal-type moves and turns them into secondary STAB moves. Mega Pinsir's access to an Aerilate-boosted Quick Attack means that it is capable of outright OHKOing certain faster attackers, and with new additions to the metagame such as Mega Lopunny, Mega Sceptile, Mega Beedrill, and Mega Gallade, things have only gotten better for Mega Pinsir. Additionally, Mega Pinsir's decent bulk means that it doesn't find setting up too difficult. However, Pinsir is weak to Stealth Rock, especially after Mega Evolving, and it is shut down by burns and paralysis. Finally, a multitude of common threats, such as Talonflame, Rotom-W, Thundurus, Skarmory, Landorus-T, and Zapdos, are highly problematic for it.

Team

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 72 HP / 184 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 192 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
- Stealth Rock

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

Building process

The core is Pinsir+Keldeo since its a great core and covers each others weakness. Pinsir has a crippling 4* stealth rock weakness, thus latias is added for defog. It can also give pinsir a second chance by healing wish. Offensive team needs stealth rock to exert pressure, and heatran fits in this team well since it checks tflame and breaks sash. Lando-t is the scarfer since it
provides momentum by u-turn.Clefable is the final piece of the puzzle since it glues the team together, and i no longer need magnezone to kill skarmory since i have heatran.

Strategy:My strategy was very simple, removing pinsirs counters asap.Heatran could stealth rock easily, granting me some kos. Rocks removal is an absolute must, as pinsir will lose half health simply by switching in rocks.

At last, i dont think that the meta is favouring pinsir. Tflame, Skarm and diancie is roaming free, giving it trouble. However, if used properly, pinsir can be a potential match winner

 

[p2]

thoughts
hydreigons a pretty cool mon; great offensive typing, stats and movepool and a nice ability in levitate which actually lets it check stuff like lando-t pretty nicely. it was pretty much one of the scariest wallbreakers back in bw because its coverage shredded anything and it had a bunch of different sets and lures which made it nearly impossible to reliably switch into. but im pretty sure kyu-b has taken over that given trends in bw, but it's still a very solid mon.

as for oras: fairy types completely destroyed hydreigons chance at being as good as it was in bw because they either outspeed it (mega diancie + gardevoir) or are bulky enough to take a bunch of hits (azumarill) or just force mindgames when coming in, because if hydreigon can't flash cannon that clefable or mega altaria it's completely forced out because it can do nothing back while they setup on it, ohko, or just cripple it with twave. so yeah, fairies heavily dented hydreigons viability, but regardless, it's still a decent mon that completely shits on teams with proper prediction or ones that just haven't prepared well for it.

what helps hydreigon separate itself from hoopa-u though is its access to reliable recovery, dragon stab and it actually has some defensive utility and synergy with teams that hoopa cannot provide, it also is 18 points faster which means that it can outspeed kyu-b, gyarados, and neutral natured base 100s. it's not much but it's more than enough to give hydreigon a use in ou.

hydreigon isn't just limited to breaking walls though, it can annoy offense with scarf sets, luring checks like mega diancie, mega lopunny and the like. it's not just limited to using roost 3 attack sets or anything either, it also can also run a stallbreaker set with taunt + roost which it commonly runs in uu, it can also run choice specs in order to just completely demolish anything that tries to switch in, and it can run physically based sets to completely break stuff like ferrothorn with superpower.

overall, i think hydreigon is a pretty good mon, it's a nice special dark type breaker that faces heavy competition from hoopa-u but it carves a niche in having reliable recovery, more defensive utility, and more speed.

building

Hide

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Roost
- Flash Cannon

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Pursuit
- Hammer Arm

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Ice Beam
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 88 Def / 24 SpD / 88 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder
- Roost
- Psyshock

when you're building around hydreigon. one of the most important things you need to cover are fairy types because of its 98 speed, hydreigon isn't doing shit to mega gardevoir and mega diancie + it struggles to break azumarill and clefable. that's why megagross is one of the single best teammates because it switches into fairies pretty easily, threatens an ohko on most of them, it can also trap faster checks like latis which are a pain to play against too. because my hydreigon lacks coverage for steel types, megagross also helps break stuff like ferrothorn thanks to hammer arm, as well as damaging heatran and spdef skarmory. i was kinda unsure at this point but i decided to take a bulky offense route instead so i went with clefable. clefable also checks alakazam to an extent which annoys this team a bit. it also checks electric types and is just a pain in the ass to kill really. i went with ice beam because this team isn't reliable enough against gliscor and even though nobody is using it, it's still a massive pain to face especially if keldeo gets weakened, ive been seeing some subtoxic gliscors too which keldeo just loses to so yeah. thunder wave definitely isn't a bad choice on this team though because you cripple stuff that checks hydreigon and make it much easier to break teams with it. lando-t because the team needed rocks and a proper ground immunity and a bird check. the ev spread is weird but it avoids the ohko from latios' draco meteor without rocks up, outspeeds adamant bisharp and the defense avoids the ohko from band azus waterfall without rocks, rest is thrown into hp to attempt to pressure stuff like sableye a bit better and get rocks against it. team was looking weak to scizor and it's a bit slow so keldeo helps here being able to help with +1 dders that can overwhelm lando, esp gyara and zard x. in general scarf keldeo is just great because being able to outspeed nearly everything is nice and it still effectively spreads burns. needed latios at this point because keldeo screws over this team really badly. didn't need hazard removal so i went with roost + 3 atk which is nice. thunder ohkos azu and manaphy which is why its better than tbolt which relies on a roll, it also nets some nice paras on scarftars switching in and it gives you a great matchup against rain if you can deal with ferro because not much on rain stops a latios from spamming thunder and draco meteor. i made this build a while ago back in like january but i really like it.

conclusion
like i said before, i think hydreigon is a pretty solid mon in the meta despite its really strong competition from hoopa-u. i wouldn't say the meta is favouring it or against it at the moment, it copes fine though stuff like reuniclus being better is nice for it. it also takes on mega slowbro very well which hoopa can do too, but the vulnerability to scald burns and spikes and the fact that mega slowbro + ttar cores shit on it makes it a difficult role for hoopa to pull off. hydras resistance to pursuit makes it very difficult for ttar to beat and the possibility of superpower always deters ttar pretty well. overall, it's a really nice mon but fairies are just a huge thorn in its side, but despite that, it still manages to be an effective mon in ou.

 

[StarBomber109]

Mega Pinsir

(side note: Replays are broken on Showdown, but fear not, I saved at least one good battle! I just gotta figure out how to upload them)

Mega Pinsir saw a lot of play at the beginning of XY OU, he was fast, super strong, and he had great coverage options, from EQ for Ageislash and Heatran to Close Combat which could plow through heatran or Ferrothorn. However, as the metagame evolved, and ORAS OU developed, Mega Pinsir declined. I'm not too sure why, as he still has options and can still beat face like no other flying type. Mega Pinsir was usually found on the infamous 'birdspam' teams for its ability to punch through Talonflame's usuall counters. Talonflame as a rule beat down things that Mega Pinsir couldn't do well against. Thinks like Sableye and skarmory can be a huge threat for Pinsir for the fear of burns, thunder waves or whirlwinds, Talonflame can absorb will-o-wisps and setup on many of these pokemon as it has just enough bulk to survive a hit to get an SD in, and then 1 shot most of them.

In short, Megapinsir is fast and hits hella hard. Airilate is a powerful ability and Mega Pinsir's power to obliterate all kinds of teams after an SD is well known by now. He does have some drawbacks though.

Entry hazards will always be a problem for him, he also fears status, and talonflame actually checks him quite well. After mega he's even more succeptable to rock-type attacks. Also a strange side effect of his mechanics, he takes spikes damage while not mega, but takes extra SR damage when mega, making fighting hazards stack teams somewhat of a pain as if you can't get hazards out of the way Pinsir will almost always lose half his health when he comes in. He has no recovery and while not frail, is not bulky either. Also he's fairly one dimensional. You aren't going to expect any tricks out of Mega Pinsir, he says "If I sd and my counters are dead I win" so your opponent is going to work hard to preserve their checks and counters to him.

Strategy: Mega Pinsir fits best on balance or Hyper Offense teams, as a wallbreaker who can destroy stall and still have some surprises for other offense teams as a flying-type quick attack can catch some pokemon off guard. There's a couple of things when using mega-pinsir that you should keep in mind. He needs hazard removal. Weather this be rapid spin or defog, he wants to come in as healthy as possible as he needs all the health he can get. Also he needs pokemon that can switch into his usual checks and take them out. Good examples include Talonflame Magnezone and Lucario. There's plenty of other OU threats that work well with Mega Pinsir, you just have to think about things that he doesn't want to hit and prepare for them. While in the match, beware not to bring in Mega Pinsir too early. If you get an opportunity to setup, and you feel like his SD can do some damage go for it, but if your opponent still has things like Skarmory or Sableye (non-mega or not yet mega) left, hold off. As I mentioned, Mega Pinsir has well known checks, you need to make sure these are out of the way or weak before you start your sweep attempt.

What is that one Pinsir set you ask?

inside

Pinsir (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Close Combat

note: jolly or adamant, its your call

As you can see, its fairly straightforward. Close combat is the preferred choice for now because it hits everything earthquake does (and a couple things it doesn't). Quick Attack and Return provide the best STAB attacks, while Swords Dance provides Mega Pinsir a gigantic attack boost that skyrockets his offensive potential. Evs are to make mega pinsir as fast and strong as possible. The pre-mega ability is always Hyper Cutter as it will prevent you from getting intimidated by Lando or Gyra if they try to switch in to catch you.

Teambuilding!

I actually built a team with mega pinsir about a year ago.
AIR RAID!

This team still works surprisingly enough. The only change I made was I switched from Focus Sash on the excadrill to leftovers and made it more SpDef (which fixed a lot of issues I had with that pokemon when I wrote the RMT). When playing this team I had a lot of success, but I'd like to mention that there were a lot of games I won without switching in mega pinsir once. With a team like this, where you have multiple wincons, it's not surprising to have a pokemon that just doesn't get switched in. Against some teams he came in very useful, and his hitting power is so scary that sometimes it affects how your opponents play. However against other teams, talonflame can just own face and I can reserve mega-pinsir as a backup plan in case I mess up and lose talon. Bolts and Bombers did make a 'birdspam' core which was my inspiration for this team, but there's plenty of good cores that use Mega Pinsir. Team is surprisingly weak to opposing talon unless it's SpDef WoW in which case Zone easily checks it and my talon can fight it. (Rotom checks it but he's my only check) In hindsight, I changed the way I played the team a little bit, but it's style "HYPER OFFENSE SMASH!"

Is the metagame right now in favor of mega pinsir? I guess that could depend on your opinion. My feeling is the metagame will always favor him if the one using him has a mind to build around him. Like I said earlier though, Mega Pinsir only really does one thing, and it's something that some argue Talonflame does a little better, but he's so good at it that he's difficult to ignore. Some people might feel like he's outdated, 'He was good once but now everyone knows what he does' which is true to some degree, but that also means that some people have forgotten about him.


~~~Just so you know, I'm not done yet!

Reuniclus!

Is it just me, or would this guy fit into a Drum'n'bass video? Seriously that's been my opinion ever since gen 5...but anyways.

Reuniclus has a lot of things going for him, including having three awesome abilities. His most awesome ability is obviously Magic Guard. When this pokemon was revealed back in gen 5, everyone thought it would be BROKEN due to his sky high special attack and magic guard, since Life Orb recoil is absorbed into magic guard. His other ability while not as awesome as magic guard, still has some utility in Overcoat. Overcoat got more useful in gen 6 for it's ability to block spore which has become disgustingly common. Reuniclus' third ability is Regenerator which, while also awesome, pales in comparison to magic guard. It's a strange case where, if a pokemon has any one of these three abilities they can be useful, but the fact that Reuniclus has all three means that Magic Guard outshines the others as the most optimal choice. As mentioned, Reuniclus hits like a truck with special attacks and with access to Psyshock he can hit pretty hard on the physical side as well. He's relatively tanky, and has Recover to back up his tanking making him hard to KO.

He is also really slow. This could be considered a downside but the fact that Reuniclus can learn Trick Room means that he can catch some teams off guard, suddenly 'outslowing' them under trick room. Most of the time however, his low speed is a big problem, meaning he's forced to take hits. Reuniclus' biggest problem actually comes in the form of a pokemon, Bisharp is his mortal enemy for a couple of reasons. The only move he really has to hit Bisharp is Focus Blast but if he carries focus blast, and calm mind and recover and psychic move...that means he can't hit Sableye, to top it off, Bisharp will always outrun Reuniclus, so either it gets a sucker punch to the face, or gets obliterated by knock off. EVEN ASSUMING Reuniclus survives (which he probably won't thanks to his low defense), he could die anyways because Focus Blast has an annoying habit of missing when you need it most. If you add up all the other, faster dark types in OU and...oh my...Reuniclus has a big problem. As mentioned, his physical defense is quite low, so he's vulnerable to un-stab Knock Off or U-Turn from various strong physical attackers like Lando-T or Scizor. He also has a bit of 4mss because while his movepool is large, he has to make room for Recover, Calm Mind, or Trick Room, and that cuts space for attacks. He has a lot of coverage options, but they crowd in with his support options.

Sets: I had a few novel ideas that didn't work out (like assault vest, maybe the topic of a 'don't use that, use this!' someday) but mostly, he has two sets that work rather well, straight from the analysis it's Calm Mind and Trick Room. The only sets I really used were TR.

Teambuilding with Reuniclus was rather hard. I wanted to focus on TR, as I liked the potential and it's not something a lot of people are prepared for, it catches them off guard. Then I decided to pick a bunch of pokemon who could function well under TR, because of either Priority or being kinda slow themselves.

Blood Shugar

Pendulum (Reuniclus) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

Colour (Sableye) (M) @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Ice Punch
- Recover

Hold Your (Bisharp) (M) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Witness (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Sonic (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake

Recreation (Dragonite) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Well, it's weak to keldeo, but I kinda did this more for fun than anything. It was fun to use for sure, and I've always wanted to try 3-punches Sableye, it's not an especially good set, but it's funny, and unexpected. It also really benefits from TR as once TR is up he can really abuse his low speed.

TR isn't the only way to teambuild with Reuniclus. Unfortunately, he's not as tanky as he appears, so I don't think the meta really favors him. He's strong for sure, but there's too many things that can hit him for 2HKOs so his chances to, get in, setup, then start fighting are pretty limited.

 

[ethanlol]

M-Pinsir's Role

M-Pinsir is a very potent wallbreaker and is usually used to sweep.

Positive Traits

-Base 155 Attack
-Swords Dance
-Aerilate Boost to Normal Moves
-Strong Flying Stab (Boosted Frustration/Return and Quick Attack)

Negative Traits

-Poor Defensive Typing (Weak: to Fire, Electric, Ice, Flying, Rock)(Resists: Grass, Fighting, Bug)
-2x Weakness to rocks Pre-Mega, 4x Weakness to rocks Post-Mega
-Easily Revenge Killed By Healthy Rocks, Electrics, Steels (Tyranitar, M-Manectric, Jirachi)

THE SET



THE TEAM

I partnered M-Pinsir with Kyurem-Black because it weakens Rotom-W and Skarmory for M-Pinsir's sweep. Kyurem takes care of all Electric types. Bolt-Beam is hard to switch in and causes a lot prior damage that M-Pinsir appreciates.

Another good answer to Electric types. Was chosen for defog which is really helpful for M-Pinsir's sweep. Good Keldeo switchin.

Good Switchin to so MANY types mainly Dragon and Fairy. Provided Speed control for threats like M-Lopunny and M-Alakazam. Provide momentum and Healing Wish support.

Team had no dark resist. Keldeo is there to switchin and heavily damage something. Helped vs M-Scizor

Needed an answer to bird spam. Chance to paralyze on contact is nice. Suprisingly bulky and provide rocks.

M-Pinsir and the Current Metagame

I think with the decrease of Electric-Types that M-Pinsir can be used effectively as a late game cleaner. Choice Scarf Jirachis, Tyranitars, etc. could prove to be a problem. This team I feel applies good pressure on Pinsir's checks. M-Pinsir breaks Balance and Bulky Offense. Pinsir needs pressure applied on pokemon that resists it's stab to really function well. There are a lot of resists that can tank a hit and reply back with their own. I think due to the prevalence of steel and rock types M-Pinsir finds it really hard to sweep. With such a frail array of teams running around today he could utterly destroy them with just one SD. The metagame is not in or out of favor for M-Pinsir.

First time doing one of these. Thanks for reading! Question: How do you qualify to have a signiture with a picture in it :3 ?

Sets:

Hide

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Mild Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost

Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Discharge
- Earth Power
- Toxic

 

[FootHead58]

Ok so because I am an unoriginal scrub, I did mega pinsir as well. But honestly, if you just use it you'll see why everyone's picking it. It's such a great wallbreaker, but it can also sweep plenty of teams.

What set's did I use?

I chose to use the set that I'm sure most of us did -

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat

This set is incredibly effective in the current meta. At +2 it ca take on stuff like heatran, ferrothorn, and even gliscor, tankchomp, and defensive landorus - so if landorus switches in as soon as pinsir is on the field, it's intimidate will not work because of pinsir's pre-mega ability hyper cutter, and then you will be able to be at +2, and kill lando before lando can even think of stone edging.

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Landorus-T: 385-454 (100.7 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gliscor: 306-360 (86.4 - 101.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 400-472 (113.6 - 134%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Garchomp: 399-469 (95 - 111.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 566-668 (147 - 173.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Return vs. 252 HP / 232+ Def Slowbro: 339-399 (86 - 101.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Mega Pinsir Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Klefki: 321-378 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

That's most of the notable offensive calcs versus it's supposed checks. However, at +2 it can offensively check mega lopunny, AV torn, weavile after rocks (Yes, it lives ice shard, and +2 quick attack does kill), mega alakazam, and many many others. However, even if you aren't at +2, you can still get some impressive OHKO's - such as on mega charizard Y or hoopa-U.

Is the meta in favor of it/ strengths and weaknesses

I think that there are some parts of the meta that are quite favorable, and some parts that are reeeeeeally not favorable. Pinsir loves to tear apart VenuTran cores, but it really doesn't like all the rocky helmet users running around. It's weakness to stealth rocks makes hazard control mandatory, but this is not a problem exclusive to pinsir - and the amount of viability that pinsir brings to the table definitely outweighs its undesirable aspects. Also, it really doesn't have plenty of options to run for it. Like, you're running frustration, quick attack or feint, SD or sub, and then either close combat or earthquake. Basically - If you see a mega pinsir, you know what's coming. But, it is able to destroy walls for a team mate, while also being able to take hits comfortably such as a bisharp sucker punch, or a mega scizor BP.

Team building:
I built two teams around mega pinsir, and borrowed the third one from the Teambuilding workshop. Here's the one's I've got:

Mega Pinsir Darkspam

(Pastebinning the teams because idk how to do the cool hide button thingy)
http://data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACgAAAAoCAMAAAC7IEhfAAAAP1BMVEX///+t72sxMTGExms2NjZrjGOr7GoyMzFSU1L7+/tTVFKCw2pjSs5tjWWFxm1rY856et1kTMybpP5zdHJSUVPFqVeKAAAA90lEQVQ4je2Su3bDMAxDTfEhylJsJen/f2vB9LRDjyy7Q7dw8XINAqCW5T3/MZLSNcwoX+GMwMmpJjh2T3amKZVYobmmE59iTATWK081wyAtNwt0KglQc9lAK08lRWMzvbbP44iXW4RBHMuT5ZIqYtDTTY0ny6VycDGqOuHK5mr3ZrR69F6PSEnF7d4frcIh09fFZXROPJvU9/3RjEMydovl8Tll7723D1uVteBHiA+zy9P3vTVk9+JeUTuP35xU994qgwDH+OaxIOp21ygJZNAHnSP3huMlIOjRdSz3nTuFg0CP5H57OHkWPx6kyAXwdZFL3Hv+Pp+Nugc/927ArgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==
http://pastebin.com/X3z6ttnL

Basically the mentality I had with this team was to build around beating the stuff that mega pinsir does not like. Now, while mega pinsir can muscle past some bulky grounds, weavile cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. Also, weavile appreciates mega pinsir's ability to keep fighting types in line. Plus it can check thundurus and tornadus who were both wicked pains in the butt, along with gengar. Next I added scarf-tar + excadrill to amply check electric types (Which mega pinsir does not like), force in landorus to wear it down, form a nice dark spam core with weavile, pursuit trap the lati's, and provide hazard removal and some good talonflame checks. From there I noticed that there was a lot of pressure on weavile to take on the bulky grounds, and we really crapped out vs skarmory. Also, we couldn't switch into heatran for the life of us... Enter manaphy! To round the team out, I gave us healing wish support, a keldeo check, a stealth rocker, a rotom check, and some speed - celebi. The team does pretty well, I like it a ton.

Mega Pinsir + Kyurem-B

http://pastebin.com/CFtRuxSU

Kyurem works exceptionally well with mega pinsir, being able to damage rotom, hippodown, and zapdos - all of which don't die to a +2 return. From there I added banded azu to lure in things that I did not like such as weavile, heatran, and the lati twins. I also threw in latios because at the time, azumarill was my only keldeo check and I got burnt way too often. Also, I had a number of ways to damage steel types such as kyurem-black and choice banded azumarill, so latios could really have some fun nuking stuff once the steels it doesn't like are gone. From there I added defensive landorus as a blanket check to physical attackers, and finished up with scizor which gave us another way to deal with lati's, kyurem's, weavile's, and gives us a nice fairy-dragon-steel.

Anyways, this is all I've got for now. Mega pinsir's all together a great mon that I love, and is definitely under rated.

 

[ethanlol]

I was wondering if it was possible to request weekly research mons. :3 This thread is awesome.

 

[Infernal]

​

Overview

Reun is an interesting Pokemon, sporting solid bulk, Recover, and an amazing ability in Magic Guard. With these traits, Reun makes for a good CMer, being able to 1v1 threats like Clefable. It's able to power up on various Pokemon while avoiding the various forms of residual damage other CMers like Slowbro dislike. Because of its good bulk and ability, more defensive builds relying on status and entry hazards to wear down the opposing team can find themselves struggling with Reun. These builds often use things like Ferro, Hippo, Rotom-W, and Mega Venu, all of which are set up bait. Although Reun doesn't perform as effectively against more offensive builds, it's far from useless against these styles. Offensive Pokemon like Mega Lop, Mega Diancie, Mega Manec, and Mega Cham all have a hard time taking Reun down and can even be taken advantage of to set up some CMs. This all makes Reun a nice win condition to build around.

Despite its pros, Reun isn't without flaws. Dark types are currently super popular. Even though many of them have to be careful switching in, the likes of Bisharp, Weavile, and Tar are all annoying for Reun to deal with. Although Reun can run Signal Beam, Hoopa-U in particular is very scary, mainly for its ability to switch in more reliably than the others and fire strong Hyperspace Fury's afterwards. Mega Sab is also pesky, walling Reun with little issue. Aside from dark types, Reun faces a few other problems. Mega Sciz is popular and gives Reun a hard time. Despite its bulk, Reun can still be muscled through by the likes of Zard-X, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Pinsir. Without Shadow Ball, breaking through Pokemon like Mew and Slowbro becomes harder too.

In terms of sets, Reun's most effective one is CM. Coverage wise, Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, and Signal Beam are all options. Each of these have their pros and cons, with fighting coverage being the standard and preferred choice. Aside from CM, sets like Trick Room and Specs can be used too, with the latter usually using Regenerator as an ability. These sets are generally inferior to CM though, and give up many of Reun's defining characteristics.

Overall, Reun is a really cool Pokemon to toy around with. It has many strong assets between CM, good bulk, and Magic Guard. With support from its teammates to help deal with problematic Pokemon like Hoopa-U, Reun can be an effective win condition that's hard to take down.

Building

Due to the nature of how Reun plays and the threats that need to be eliminated before attempting to sweep, teams with the blob tend to end up on the balanced side. The main thing to focus on when building around Reun is handling dark types, namely Hoopa-U, Tar, and so on. This can be accomplished in several ways. For example, Spikes from Skarm and Ferro are often seen on Reun teams to steadily wear down dark types since they are are all usually grounded. Additionally, Thunder Wave support from the likes of Mega Latias and Clef are often seen alongside Reun. These two Pokemon do a nice job luring in and paralyzing the Pokemon Reun has a hard time with, allowing them to be dealt with more easily. Clef in particular can handle Mega Sab and use options like Flamethrower to lure Mega Scizor for Reun. On the topic of Mega Scizor, eliminating the bug and other steels like Jirachi is key. Because of this, Magnezone can sometimes be a good partner as described by the Magnezone + Reuniclus core posted in the Good Cores thread here. Keldeo is also a nice partner for its ability to handle the majority of the threats Reun struggles with. While teams with Reun can be made in several ways, nearly all of them will take these things into consideration.

Hide

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Grass

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 SpA / 92 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Roost

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Recover

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 88 Def / 24 SpD / 88 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

I made this team quickly and while it isn't too great, many of the things mentioned before are incorporated. Tar is really good to help trap Hoopa-U and eliminate one of Reun's biggest obstacles. Ferro provides Spikes to help wear down answers to Reun, while providing an answer to Manaphy and Mega Gyarados. Keldeo assists the team by serving as an answer to Mega Sciz and the numerous dark types Reun has issues with. Keld has HP Grass because Azumarill can be annoying for this team, and with Tar to trap Latios, Icy Wind is less needed. Mega Altaria gives the team a response to numerous threats, including Serp, opposing Keldeo, and the likes of Zard-X. It's also able to handle Mega Sab and lure Mega Sciz with a surprise Fire Blast, further assisting Reun. Lando-T provides SR and a crucial ground immunity to help deal with threats like Excadrill. With SD, Lando-T gives the team another check to Mega Sciz and additional way to pressure any Mega Sab attempting to block SR as well. Considering Keldeo's tendency to get worn down and the team's reliance on entry hazards, these two things are appreciated. Reun is obviously the center of the team and takes advantage of the support provided by its teammates. Its ability to 1v1 threats like Clef is useful in particular, as the team is weak to the fairy otherwise. It also helps keep threats like Mega Venu, Mega Lop, and Mega Cham from tearing me up, demonstrating some of the defensive utility Reun can provide a team with.

Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, Reun is definitely a solid Pokemon. It's a potent win condition that can 1v1 prominent threats like Clef and prove hard for many teams to take down thanks to its good bulk and ability. While the popularity of dark types certainly hurts Reun, many of them are unable to switch in directly. There are also numerous partners Reun can be paired with to help deal with problematic Pokemon, and many of these partners are great additions to any team (Clefable, Keldeo, and so on). Discussion on whether Reun should bump up to B+ in viability is ongoing, and it'll be interesting to see whether its various strengths are enough to proceed with the move.

 

[Dgvhh]

I also did Hydreigon and Mega Pinsir in 1 team, but i might as well do both.

Name: Hydreigon
Type: Dark/Dragon
Ability: Levitate
Role: Anti-Switch in Balance Breaker/Cleaner/Wallbreaker/Semi-Defensive Sinergetic Nuke
Stats: 600BST
HP: 92
Atk: 105
Def: 90
Sp.Atk: 125
Sp.Def: 90
Speed: 98

Overview: This Pokemon works like a snowball effect: If left untreated, it can cause serious problems with handling it, as it works against switch ins, gaining offensive momentum.

Pros:
-It has a ton of coverage (Superpower Head Smash Flash Cannon Focus Blast U turn etc etc.)
-It packs a ton of power and semi defensive with access to roost and Levitate
-It is extremely flexible with access to a ton of moves and good with a lot of items (mainly stuff like Life Orb Scarf etc.)

Cons:
-Despite having a flexible movepool, it may suffer with 4mss (4 Moveslot Disorder- where it wants to have certain moves but its cramped into 4 moves), therefore making it really hampered in its flexibility, though not by a lot.
-98 speed is really quite horrible against stuff like Offensive teams, yet good against slower teams (its whats its mainly for anyway, so why complain?) Where a lot of OU Pokemon are 100+ speed or access to priority. (Even with Scarf, its pretty not that salvaging as its movelock is another issue)
-Competition with other Dragons like Latios/Garchomp/Kyurem-Black or Darks like Weavile or Bisharp . They can offer more what Hydreigon cant or have speed, power or utility/defensive capabilities to pull it off better than it.

Strategy:
-Since Hydreigon is good as a cleaner/Anti-Switch in, hazard stack is godsent for this boy.
-Speed control is also good too, so stuff like Klefki are godsents for him.
-Fast Pokemon like Tornadus-Therian Weavile or Priority users help this dude beat stuff like Latios and 100+ speed Pokemon.
-Despite its 4x weakness to Fairy, it can pressure most of them already, but having pokemon like heatran or scizor can really help.

Team used:
I used this with Mega Pinsir tho :/

Hide

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Stealth Rock

Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Close Combat

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Roost

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 180 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Psychic
- Ice Beam

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Stone Edge

Since i used Mega Pinsir, i might as well do an analysis for him

Name: Pinsir-Mega
Type: Bug/Flying
Ability: Aerilate
Role: Wallbreaker/Mid-Game Balance Breaker/Quick Attack Cleaner/Fat Team Killer
Stats: 600BST
HP: 65
Atk: 155
Def: 120
Sp.Atk: 65
Sp.Def: 90
Speed: 105

Overview: This Gen 1 mon would be able to take advantage of what couldve made it a nice Normal Type Gen 1 Superpower into a reality...5 gens later.

Pros:
-Packs a lot of Power with 155 Atk + Swords Dance and access to Aerilate (Turning Normal Type Moves into Flying Type and 1.3x Power boost) with nice Normal Moves to boot.
-It destroys any wall that stands in its way besides Skarmory (Best Defensive counter to Mega Pinsir: All other Pokemon get 2hkoed by +2 Aerilate Return), but Still Pressures Skarmory a lot. It also destroys almost any balance team you can throw at it with its newfound power and nice speed to pull it off.
-Since Aerilate is really powerful, it really doesnt suffer from 4MSS at all. Only good coverage is Close Combat and Earthquake (the former is more common)
-Quick Attack can be a nice way to clean up lategame or revengekill.

Cons:
-Hazard Stack (mainly stealth rock) annoy this Pokemon
-Fast Pokemon like Mega Diancie, Thundurus, Talonflame, Sand Rush Excadrill, etc. annoy this Pokemon hardcore etc. It may also find itself suffering from Priority users or 110+ speed users or forced to switch out.
-Its Defensive Typing is horrible with the types its weak to everywhere.

Strategy used:
-Since Skarmory and the new surge of Zapdos and Rotom-Wash annoy this Pokemon, Pokemon like Hoopa-Unbound, Magnezone, are a boon. Heck even the old Hydreigon works :O
-Hazard Stack is godsent, similar to Hydreigon. Speed control is optional but good option.
-Pursuit/Priority/Fast Pokemon is incredible here with Mega Pinsir making a blow to them and it just overwhelms the foe.

Thank you and have fun n_n

 

[Champ‡Xmaster]

Forgive me for lack of sprites, I have some limitations while writing this post that are not letting me include them.

Mega Pinsir

Set:
Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Body Slam/Return
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

A lot of people fail to realize Mega Pinsir's bulk because of its poor defensive typing, but base 100 def and base 70 spdef are no terrible and this set is an interesting one to try and build off of. The glaring problem here is that mega pinsir has such a poor defensive typing that this could never work, but this set turns mega pinsir into a very powerful late game set up sweeper. I actually turn out to have more success with this set because I feel that a lot of the bulky pokemon that are commonly used as late game win conditions are particularly weak to this form of mega pinsir over the more common set. Also, rest talk provides mega pinsir with reliable recovery and it does not matter as much if mega pinsir gets statused, which is something that offensive mega pinsir usually has to worry about. That being said, here are the issues that need to be addressed when building with this set.

Weaknesses:
Mega Pinsir has a poor defensive typing, and its weaknesses need to be addresses, keep in mind that it has a lot of them. That being said, remember that once a few bulk ups are set up, nothing physical will be able to stop mega pinsir, and mega pinsir can pretty much beat anything.
Stealth Rocks:
Mega Pinsir is obviously very crippled by rocks. A defogger or rapid spinner is needed for this to work. I would suggest Excadrill as a rapid spinner because it doesn't have very many overlapping weaknesses with Mega Pinsir. This set lends itself to a more balanced team, and for the team I made, I chose a defogger in:

Togekiss:
Togekiss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Aura Sphere
Togekiss worked really well here because it is a really nice pivot I could use with reliable recovery and attacking power. It does have some overlapping weaknesses with mega pinsir, but that is mostly addressed with the rest of my team.
I am now going to introduce the rest of my team and explain the roles they fill and how they support mega pinsir.

Metagross:
Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake

AV metagross is a really nice support pokemon to this mega pinsir set for a number of reasons. A pursuit trapper is really nice for getting extra damage off in general and weakening pokemon enough so mega pinsir can set up late game. More importantly, however, it takes care of Pinsir's rock and ice weaknesses with eases and it has enough bulk to last a long time.

Seismitoad:
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power

Basically, I wanted a bulky stealth rocker that can hit hard. Seismitoad is very useful on this team because it has decent bulk, it doesn't share any weaknesses with mega pinsir, it can switch into scalds to avoid having pokemon such as metagross and mienshao (coming next) get burned. It also deals with a lot of the more common leads quite well such as Lando-T, Heatran, and Garchomp.

Mienshao:
Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

This is a really nice pokemon to use because it hits things hard. Stone edge is most commonly clicked because it deals with a lot of the flying types that can stop mega pinsir. Predicting torn-T switches is really fun.

Heatran:
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp

A bulky, special defensive heatran really helps this team by causing a lot of DOT to whittle down opposing pokemon for mega pinsir. Taunt also prevents opposing pokemon from setting up.

Overall this set is a nice, bulky alternative to use in the current meta. The main advantages of this set includes its reliable recovery, it doesn't matter if it get's burned, and it's general ability to last longer. However, it does require the right support in order to work effectively.

 

[blank]

closing. thanks to everyone who participated!

the posts being added to archive are this post on hydreigon by p2, this post on mega pinsir by littlelucario, and this post on reuniclus by Infernal.

thanks FookMi? and Nedor for helping me decide on the posts to archive. remember: the archived posts are simply the posts that best summarize the pokemon for future reference. not every post needs to summarize the pokemon; some people may just want to center their posts around one aspect, and that's totally okay. you don't need to follow the guidelines perfectly to post here; they're just there to guide you a bit if you're unsure of what to post.

~​

week #8

lucario | mega altaria | cofagrigus
​

considering mega altaria isn't like the pokemon typically chosen for this, i think i should justify why it was chosen. as of recently, mega altaria has seen a pretty big fall from grace. while it's still a great, versatile pokemon that's decently high in viability (as in A rank), but it's on the decline.

​

REMEMBER: you simply pick 1 one of these 3 (or 2 / 3 of them if you want :p) and post here saying which one you're taking. also, you can use any set you want!


the discussion period will start on 3/11 (at night in EST); those of you who want to participate have between now and then to play around with one of these pokemon.

have fun !!!

 

[Dgvhh]

Cofagrigus for sure :]
Tbh Mega Altaria as well :/

 

[AM]

Real men pick M-Altaria.

 

[MANNAT]

LUCARIO MY BOIIIIII