I think RU will drop the "bottom third" due to new mon hype. Pokemon with under 6% usage (Cincinno, Typhlosion, Gallade, Medicham, Accelgor, Sawk, Absol, Clawitzer, Spiritomb, Togetic, Qwilfish, Sceptile, Fletchinder) Bold = Potentially bannable pokemon, will probably drop to NU. RU, though, will play with many of the new pokemon since many of them did not see use in UU alpha (which resembled ORAS OU lite). Gallade, Medicham, Sawk could be a "Fighting Spam" core, with Steelix/Silvally-Steel to cover flying and fairy, Skuntank to cover psychic, and Sceptile as a revenge killer. Ambipom will never drop to NU, it's used more than Sneasel (a legitimately good pokemon) in RU.
-
Follow our Instagram!
-
Curious about what we're currently doing about bots? Check out the latest updates from staff in this thread.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Metagame SM NU Speculation Thread [Read Post #109!]
- Thread starter Jisoo
- Start date
- Status
guan123 said:I think RU will drop the "bottom third" due to new mon hype. Pokemon with under 6% usage (Cincinno, Typhlosion, Gallade, Medicham, Accelgor, Sawk, Absol, Clawitzer, Spiritomb, Togetic, Qwilfish, Sceptile, Fletchinder) Bold = Potentially bannable pokemon, will probably drop to NU. RU, though, will play with many of the new pokemon since many of them did not see use in UU alpha (which resembled ORAS OU lite). Gallade, Medicham, Sawk could be a "Fighting Spam" core, with Steelix/Silvally-Steel to cover flying and fairy, Skuntank to cover psychic, and Sceptile as a revenge killer. Ambipom will never drop to NU, it's used more than Sneasel (a legitimately good pokemon) in RU.
How is Togetic bannable though? Its only potentially broken aspect is NastyPass, which will likely get banned again anyway (at least Baton Pass will, the strategies people can pull with that damn move are ridiculous).
Clawitzer is also easily handled by things that can handle the likes of Samurott. Its certainly no ORAS RU Pangoro, that's for sure.
And if Brobat's list of potential UU drops to RU in that tier's thread is anything to go by, I can actually see Hitmonlee of all things dropping to here because Mienshao completely outclasses it in every regard. It's essentially just like Sawk with higher speed, so I don't see it staying for long if that gets banned.
(On a side note though, I'm pretty sure most of the Spiritomb I'll encounter in the potential NU Alpha will be fucking CroTomb and I hate facing that set)
Maybe the wrong thread for this, possibly suited for the NP thread but hypothetically, if we get a whole slew of drops that are all pretty strong compared to current ORAS NU, wouldn't that alter what the current "power level" of NU is? Going from the list a few posts above, all of those are prime offensive threats (w/ a few exceptions.) Wouldn't they basically "replace" our top ones rn? Shit Like Samurott, Tauros, Archeops, etc. I was thinking if we get enough strong drops wouldn't they become the standard of NU vs what we have now? Like if just Hitmonlee fell down, I could see it getting banned without question, but if we had the entire list it alters the landscape of the tier so drastically that Hitmonlee can't immediately be considered OP.
Last edited:
in a world...
where piles of goop and other related things terrorize the streets...
our only solace is...
the duo you've all been waiting for...
(SAND) RUSH HOUR
nevermind thanks pursuit for the animated dug sprite :)
Dugtrio-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge/Sucker Punch/Shadow Claw
Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Earthquake
i've tried out this duo a bit and i really like it!where piles of goop and other related things terrorize the streets...
our only solace is...
the duo you've all been waiting for...
(SAND) RUSH HOUR
nevermind thanks pursuit for the animated dug sprite :)
Dugtrio-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge/Sucker Punch/Shadow Claw
Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Earthquake
gigalith acts as your sand setter and lead (hopefully we get this hunk of rock), and sets up rocks and acts as a tank for your team/dugtrio. leftovers gives it good reliability with it's massive health pool, and 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD make it even MORE hard to KO. earthquake hits a lot hard, and rock blast breaks through flying types and can break sash. you can run stone edge but i prefer rock blast over it. toxic lets you wear down stuff. the sad part about gigalith though is that mono-rock kinda sucks.
now for the star of the show, dugtrio-a! this thing actually hits REALLY hard with sandforce + lo + stab. 252 Atk gives it 299 Atk, but with LO boost and sand force boost you gain a .6% (assuming i understand how LO and sand force stack properly) bonus to your attacks. it also runs 252 Spe with jolly, as it actually let's it speed tie with things like archeops and tauros, and the 4 SpD can be put into anything else you want a whole 1 point in. dug-a is gonna run EQ as a super hard hitting stab, pursuit which allows it to trap mons like haunter and rotom. iron head acts as a stab and hits rock types, and stone edge can be used as rock coverage, but it can be switched out for sucker punch or shadow claw based off of what you want.
Last edited:
guan123 said:I think RU will drop the "bottom third" due to new mon hype. Pokemon with under 6% usage (Cincinno, Typhlosion, Gallade, Medicham, Accelgor, Sawk, Absol, Clawitzer, Spiritomb, Togetic, Qwilfish, Sceptile, Fletchinder) Bold = Potentially bannable pokemon, will probably drop to NU. RU, though, will play with many of the new pokemon since many of them did not see use in UU alpha (which resembled ORAS OU lite). Gallade, Medicham, Sawk could be a "Fighting Spam" core, with Steelix/Silvally-Steel to cover flying and fairy, Skuntank to cover psychic, and Sceptile as a revenge killer. Ambipom will never drop to NU, it's used more than Sneasel (a legitimately good pokemon) in RU.
I don't think we can make any safe assumptions whether something from ORAS RU will drop here for sure. Even "obvious drops" like Fletchinder are still no certainty. So guessing that x mon is potentially bannable and x mon will probably drop to NU is way too early to assume.
vPixel said:in a world...i've tried out this duo a bit and i really like it!
where piles of goop and other related things terrorize the streets...
our only solace is...
is the duo you've all been waiting for...
(SAND) RUSH HOUR
rip animated dug-a sprite :(
Dugtrio-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge/Sucker Punch/Shadow Claw
Gigalith @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Toxic
- Earthquake
gigalith acts as your sand setter and lead (hopefully we get this hunk of rock), and sets up rocks and acts as a tank for your team/dugtrio. leftovers gives it good reliability with it's massive health pool, and 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD make it even MORE hard to KO. earthquake hits a lot hard, and rock blast breaks through flying types and can break sash. you can run stone edge but i prefer rock blast over it. toxic lets you wear down stuff. the sad part about gigalith though is that mono-rock kinda sucks.
now for the star of the show, dugtrio-a! this thing actually hits REALLY hard with sandforce + lo + stab. 252 Atk gives it 299 Atk, but with LO boost and sand force boost you gain a .6% (assuming i understand how LO and sand force stack properly) bonus to your attacks. it also runs 252 Spe with jolly, as it actually let's it speed tie with things like archeops and tauros, and the 4 SpD can be put into anything else you want a whole 1 point in. dug-a is gonna run EQ as a super hard hitting stab, pursuit which allows it to trap mons like haunter and rotom. iron head acts as a stab and hits rock types, and stone edge can be used as rock coverage, but it can be switched out for sucker punch or shadow claw based off of what you want.
Here you go :]
vPixel said:snib
I really doubt Gigalith is gonna makes it way down to NU. It's pretty much UU's tyranitar right now, and even if they drop it RU would be insane to not pick it up.
Not really related to SMNU discussion, just wanted to say:
Merry Christmas guys
HO HO HO (Delibird) @ Choice Band
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Focus Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Drill Peck
WHITE CHRISTMAS (Abomasnow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
MISTLETOE (Comfey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind
- Taunt
- Leech Seed
THE DAY AFTER (Raticate-Alola) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Frustration
- U-turn
RAIN DEER (Sawsbuck-Winter) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Horn Leech
- Double-Edge
- Jump Kick
- Rain Dance
CELEBRATE (Raichu-Alola) @ Normalium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Surf
- Psychic
- Celebrate
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ice Shard
- Focus Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Drill Peck
WHITE CHRISTMAS (Abomasnow) @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
MISTLETOE (Comfey) @ Leftovers
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind
- Taunt
- Leech Seed
THE DAY AFTER (Raticate-Alola) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Hustle
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Frustration
- U-turn
RAIN DEER (Sawsbuck-Winter) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Horn Leech
- Double-Edge
- Jump Kick
- Rain Dance
CELEBRATE (Raichu-Alola) @ Normalium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Surf
- Psychic
- Celebrate
Merry Christmas to all (pretty late)
Hope you can enjoy this Gingerbread who is actually not getting much attention and is getting cold from the oven.
Gingerbread (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast/Grass Knot
Might be eaten whole off of a few bites but apparently has extremely good variety of flavors and decent 95/110 crispiness which is pretty cool in NU to sweep the opponent after a nasty plot.
Now look at this sad snowflake as it cries for more usage this Christmas as it worked harder and got its wish for its defenses to improve.
Icey (Cryogonal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 212 Def / 56 SpD (Stole this from smogon analysis)
Calm Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Freeze-Dry
- Recover
I guess the bulky cryo set is now gonna see more usage, although the standard one is still solid where both give other hazard removers more competition this gen.
Happy Holidays guys.
Hope you can enjoy this Gingerbread who is actually not getting much attention and is getting cold from the oven.
Gingerbread (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast/Grass Knot
Might be eaten whole off of a few bites but apparently has extremely good variety of flavors and decent 95/110 crispiness which is pretty cool in NU to sweep the opponent after a nasty plot.
Now look at this sad snowflake as it cries for more usage this Christmas as it worked harder and got its wish for its defenses to improve.
Icey (Cryogonal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 212 Def / 56 SpD (Stole this from smogon analysis)
Calm Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Freeze-Dry
- Recover
I guess the bulky cryo set is now gonna see more usage, although the standard one is still solid where both give other hazard removers more competition this gen.
Happy Holidays guys.
A week has passed and I wanted to talk about 2 mons that are very fun to use. These mons might not be NU eventually but I just wanted to share my thoughts on them.
Exeggutor-Alola @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Bomb / Energy Ball / Giga Drain / Psychic
This thing is insane. Much like Crabominable, if it manages to switch in safely something dies. Its stabs are very powerful and has the coverage to weaken stuff that resist its stabs. With specs it reaches skyhigh special attack OHKOing mons left and right.
Dodrio @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Early Bird
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Frustration
- Jump Kick
- Knock Off
With the recent buff it became an absolute beast. Hitting base 110 Speed and access to Jump Kick gave this mon a big boost in viability. It now speedties and potentially OHKOs Tauros with Jump Kick. It also outspeeds common threats like Pyroar, Scyther and Liepard and OHKOs them in the process.
Replay against Gyro showcasing both mons: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuualpha-508041615
Exeggutor-Alola @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Bomb / Energy Ball / Giga Drain / Psychic
This thing is insane. Much like Crabominable, if it manages to switch in safely something dies. Its stabs are very powerful and has the coverage to weaken stuff that resist its stabs. With specs it reaches skyhigh special attack OHKOing mons left and right.
Dodrio @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Early Bird
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Frustration
- Jump Kick
- Knock Off
With the recent buff it became an absolute beast. Hitting base 110 Speed and access to Jump Kick gave this mon a big boost in viability. It now speedties and potentially OHKOs Tauros with Jump Kick. It also outspeeds common threats like Pyroar, Scyther and Liepard and OHKOs them in the process.
Replay against Gyro showcasing both mons: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankuualpha-508041615
I just wanted to say Nasty Plot Alolan Raichu and Swords Dance Dodrio are fantastic. Not so much as sweepers, as they're frankly way too frail and thus way too weak to priority, but they are excellent wallbreakers, breaking pretty much everything (including their "checks") with their near-impeccable coverage, and they can still function as cleaners/general revenge killers without setting up.
Everyone already probably knows this too but Shiinotic is really great, checking a bunch of dangerous physical attackers with its typing and recovery. It doesn't completely overshadow Plume, either, as the latter still has better physical bulk, offensive STABs, and poison typing is always nice to absorb T-Spikes. I really hope we get it
Everyone already probably knows this too but Shiinotic is really great, checking a bunch of dangerous physical attackers with its typing and recovery. It doesn't completely overshadow Plume, either, as the latter still has better physical bulk, offensive STABs, and poison typing is always nice to absorb T-Spikes. I really hope we get it
Hello, future SM NU enthusiasts! If you were not aware, the SM RU Alpha ladder was recently implemented on Pokemon Showdown, which means there is an active metagame with which stats can be drawn to form a NU Alpha ladder in February! With the release of this new metagame and the recent closure of our mini-tour, we urge you all to try out the RU Alpha metagame and possibly discuss it in this thread. The PS NU Room staff won't be endorsing the fake, speculative metagame some of us were enjoying up until this point, and it will be more beneficial to our future metagame if we have players directly shaping the Alpha tiers above ours.
Feel free to post in this thread with insight on what you believe could be the NU Alpha metagame based on your experiences in RU Alpha! Otherwise, we'll see you here in a month!
Disj Edit: I would also like to point out a UU Alpha stat
| 122 | Guzzlord | 0.93267% | 2708 | 1.377% | 2118 | 1.404% |
February is still so far away............
Feel free to post in this thread with insight on what you believe could be the NU Alpha metagame based on your experiences in RU Alpha! Otherwise, we'll see you here in a month!
Disj Edit: I would also like to point out a UU Alpha stat
| 122 | Guzzlord | 0.93267% | 2708 | 1.377% | 2118 | 1.404% |
February is still so far away............
Last edited:
Yo just wanted to say RU alpha has haxorus, kommo-o, goodra, and kyurem in it, so flygon is kinda totally outclassed. So uh, hope yall like this:
Flygon@groundium z/dragonium z/steelium z/whatever
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Dragon claw
Rock slide/Iron Tail/Aerial Ace
Enjoy your new god.
Might edit this later with stuff about talonflame and virizion cause those are probably dropping
Flygon@groundium z/dragonium z/steelium z/whatever
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Dragon claw
Rock slide/Iron Tail/Aerial Ace
Enjoy your new god.
Might edit this later with stuff about talonflame and virizion cause those are probably dropping
urbestfriend said:Yo just wanted to say RU alpha has haxorus, kommo-o, goodra, and kyurem in it, so flygon is kinda totally outclassed. So uh, hope yall like this:
Flygon@groundium z/dragonium z/steelium z/whatever
Dragon Dance
Earthquake
Dragon claw
Rock slide/Iron Tail/Aerial Ace
Enjoy your new god.
Might edit this later with stuff about talonflame and virizion cause those are probably dropping
I personally disagree with this statement. Whilst Flygon isn't the best dragon around, it has niches over the over dragons that are currently in RU:
- It has access to reliable recovery, something which the rest do not. This allows it to increase its longevity if need be
- It has the highest base speed out off all the new dragon, allowing it to nuke them before they can nuke it back, especially if it's running a dragon z-move
- It has both a ground immunity and a decent support movepool, with things like defog; meaning it doesn't just need to be an attacker
- Getting DD massively improved its overall viability as it's able to abuse a great STAB combo and decent coverage
Edit: Ah, forgot about Noivern, thanks n_n
Last edited:
Yogibears said:Actually, noivern is the fastest of the dragons in RU, but your statements are very solid otherwise.I personally disagree with this statement. Whilst Flygon isn't the best dragon around, it has niches over the over dragons that are currently in RU:
Whilst I can understand why you may think it'll be meh, due to it's low base stats in comparison; it still offers a lot to RU
- It has access to reliable recovery, something which the rest do not. This allows it to increase its longevity if need be
- It has the highest base speed out off all the new dragon, allowing it to nuke them before they can nuke it back, especially if it's running a dragon z-move
- It has both a ground immunity and a decent support movepool, with things like defog; meaning it doesn't just need to be an attacker
- Getting DD massively improved its overall viability as it's able to abuse a great STAB combo and decent coverage
Since we have solid UU usage stats, we can better theorymon some potential stuff
Hopefully we get some of these mons so that this post isn't meaningless
260 | Cinccino | 0.09761% | 881 | 0.448% | 685 | 0.454%
204 | Ambipom | 0.22983% | 1403 | 0.713% | 1188 | 0.787%
The infamous "won't drop to NU" duo from ORAS seems pretty likely to drop, as these mons will be even more overshadowed by the new toys in RU. If this miracle does happen, Normal-types will become more of an offensive threat than before. Ambipom is cool (AmbiSpikes!) as it has a powerful Fake Out and okay coverage moves (Knock Off, Seed Bomb? Aerial Ace?) to complement with its normal STAB. Cincinno has a cool niche in bypassing Sash / Sturdy mons as well as having Bullet Seed to beat Rhydon and hit common Rock switch-ins hard. 115 is also an amazing speed tier that both mons share, outspeeding Tauros and everything under. It will probably take a while, while the metagame is settling down, for these two to become relevant, but they seem very interesting mons to mess with. (Also I probably totally jinxed this now, sorry)
265 | Typhlosion | 0.08664% | 1483 | 0.754% | 1109 | 0.735%
Another D-tiered RU mon, Typhlosion definitely doesn't have underwhleming power that mons like Cincinno do. Sporting an okay 109 SpA stat (same as Pyroar and Charizard last gen) and a decent 100 speed, Typhlosion doesn't seem that impressive. Specs STAB Eruption, however, is a very hard-hitting move. It OHKOes most offensive pokemon and most defensive mons that don't resist the move with a little chip damage. Good coverage in Focus Blast and HP Grass or Ice can deter other checks (such as Rhydon or Altaria). I would imagine Specs being the best and most common set, but I could see scarf being used to. And Z-Sunny Day, anyone?
198 | Golbat | 0.24093% | 615 | 0.313% | 474 | 0.314%
If Crobat stays in RU, this would almost definitely drop. Golbat seems like a pretty good defensive mon for stall, being a great Fighting check and having a good support movepool that includes Defog, Taunt, Super Fang, Roost and a Sub-negating Toxic. There's not that much else to say about Golbat. It has okay defenses that are boosted to a good 105 / 113 defenses with Eviolite. It would be nice as it has reliable recovery, which a surprising amount of defensive mons in NU lack. Overall, this would be a pretty okay check for offensive threats and a nice addition to stall teams.
161 | Talonflame | 0.49964% | 1623 | 0.825% | 1238 | 0.821%
Okay, this is some pretty wishful thinking. If Talonflame did drop, however, it would be very fun to toy around with. SD Acrobatics seems like an amazing sweeper / cleaner once set up, especially when you can get easy set-ups versus mons like Hitmonchan when they are forced to switch or otherwise get OHKOed. Rock types wall this set, but Rhydon isn't that hard to lure anyway and Regirock is pretty uncommon. Even if you get hit, you still outspeed the entire unboosted metagame (apart from Ninjask and Electrode, but the former is unviable and the latter is rarely seen, although its usage my increase if Talon gets really popular). You could even run Flare Blitz to surprise random Steel-types because of this (given that the only super effective priority against you is Accelerock) and maybe even a Band set could work. Even on bulkier teams I could see this being used, because it has reliable recovery and Wisp. This mon overall would be really good and fun, we'll see if it drops or not.
So yeah, the early SM NU metagame seems like it will be pretty hectic. Obviously these are UU usage stats, so they don't accurately reflect what we may get in February, this is just speculation. Also, you may notice that there are no Gen 7 Pokemon here, which is because most of them have already been discussed. There are plenty of interesting pokemon that may drop that I haven't covered, and some or even all of these Pokemon might not drop. Thanks for reading!
Hopefully we get some of these mons so that this post isn't meaningless
The infamous "won't drop to NU" duo from ORAS seems pretty likely to drop, as these mons will be even more overshadowed by the new toys in RU. If this miracle does happen, Normal-types will become more of an offensive threat than before. Ambipom is cool (AmbiSpikes!) as it has a powerful Fake Out and okay coverage moves (Knock Off, Seed Bomb? Aerial Ace?) to complement with its normal STAB. Cincinno has a cool niche in bypassing Sash / Sturdy mons as well as having Bullet Seed to beat Rhydon and hit common Rock switch-ins hard. 115 is also an amazing speed tier that both mons share, outspeeding Tauros and everything under. It will probably take a while, while the metagame is settling down, for these two to become relevant, but they seem very interesting mons to mess with. (Also I probably totally jinxed this now, sorry)
Another D-tiered RU mon, Typhlosion definitely doesn't have underwhleming power that mons like Cincinno do. Sporting an okay 109 SpA stat (same as Pyroar and Charizard last gen) and a decent 100 speed, Typhlosion doesn't seem that impressive. Specs STAB Eruption, however, is a very hard-hitting move. It OHKOes most offensive pokemon and most defensive mons that don't resist the move with a little chip damage. Good coverage in Focus Blast and HP Grass or Ice can deter other checks (such as Rhydon or Altaria). I would imagine Specs being the best and most common set, but I could see scarf being used to. And Z-Sunny Day, anyone?
If Crobat stays in RU, this would almost definitely drop. Golbat seems like a pretty good defensive mon for stall, being a great Fighting check and having a good support movepool that includes Defog, Taunt, Super Fang, Roost and a Sub-negating Toxic. There's not that much else to say about Golbat. It has okay defenses that are boosted to a good 105 / 113 defenses with Eviolite. It would be nice as it has reliable recovery, which a surprising amount of defensive mons in NU lack. Overall, this would be a pretty okay check for offensive threats and a nice addition to stall teams.
Okay, this is some pretty wishful thinking. If Talonflame did drop, however, it would be very fun to toy around with. SD Acrobatics seems like an amazing sweeper / cleaner once set up, especially when you can get easy set-ups versus mons like Hitmonchan when they are forced to switch or otherwise get OHKOed. Rock types wall this set, but Rhydon isn't that hard to lure anyway and Regirock is pretty uncommon. Even if you get hit, you still outspeed the entire unboosted metagame (apart from Ninjask and Electrode, but the former is unviable and the latter is rarely seen, although its usage my increase if Talon gets really popular). You could even run Flare Blitz to surprise random Steel-types because of this (given that the only super effective priority against you is Accelerock) and maybe even a Band set could work. Even on bulkier teams I could see this being used, because it has reliable recovery and Wisp. This mon overall would be really good and fun, we'll see if it drops or not.
SD Talonflame Calcs
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gourgeist-Super: 326-386 (87.1 - 103.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 420-494 (118.6 - 139.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shiinotic: 434-512 (133.9 - 158%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Garbodor: 225-265 (61.8 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Miltank: 184-217 (46.7 - 55%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 420-494 (118.6 - 139.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shiinotic: 434-512 (133.9 - 158%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Garbodor: 225-265 (61.8 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Talonflame Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Miltank: 184-217 (46.7 - 55%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leftovers recovery
So yeah, the early SM NU metagame seems like it will be pretty hectic. Obviously these are UU usage stats, so they don't accurately reflect what we may get in February, this is just speculation. Also, you may notice that there are no Gen 7 Pokemon here, which is because most of them have already been discussed. There are plenty of interesting pokemon that may drop that I haven't covered, and some or even all of these Pokemon might not drop. Thanks for reading!
KittenGaming said:161 | Talonflame | 0.49964% | 1623 | 0.825% | 1238 | 0.821%
So yeah, the early SM NU metagame seems like it will be pretty hectic. Obviously these are UU usage stats, so they don't accurately reflect what we may get in February, this is just speculation. Also, you may notice that there are no Gen 7 Pokemon here, which is because most of them have already been discussed. There are plenty of interesting pokemon that may drop that I haven't covered, and some or even all of these Pokemon might not drop. Thanks for reading!
Yup especially this one. It might have fallen from grace by receiving the arguably biggest debuff of gen7 by the nerf of gale wings. But it still sports an extremely good speed tier and a decent movepool making it still run its former sets effectively, with Bulky BU+Will-o-wisp set getting a special mention since flame body seems to get some viability for it now.
But that's only my opinion and probably mantine/pelipper is the new smogonbird now.
Trick room is shaping up to be viable, with so many more slow abusers and some trick room setters. The problem is that TR only lasts 5 turns. One counterplay could be gale wings acrobatics talonflame (heavy hitting priority). With the UU alpha metagame looking like ORAS OU (the early beta does too) and the RU alpha metagame looking like ORAS UU, I predict the NU alpha metagame will look like ORAS RU (minus the top few mons). So a good prediction of the SUMO NU metagame will be ORAS RU, with a few new pokemon (the megas are gone, some defensive pokemon like registeel and alomomola will not drop to SUMO NU, etc).
(unrelated pun: do you think hariyama will be any good? It's a Sumo!)
(unrelated pun: do you think hariyama will be any good? It's a Sumo!)
Skelos said:Yup especially this one. It might have fallen from grace by receiving the arguably biggest debuff of gen7 by the nerf of gale wings. But it still sports an extremely good speed tier and a decent movepool making it still run its former sets effectively, with Bulky BU+Will-o-wisp set getting a special mention since flame body seems to get some viability for it now.
But that's only my opinion and probably mantine/pelipper is the new smogonbird now.
And Talonflame can run these sets:
- Bulky Wisp
- Bulk Up
- Swords Dance
- Natural Gift + Acrobatics
- maybe even Sub Salac Acro or Sub Liechi
Something I haven't seen people talk about is Durant:
Durant @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Superpower / Baton Pass / Crunch / Thunder Fang
Durant extremely low usage in SM UU (| 212 | Durant | 0.20232% | 938 | 0.477% | 708 | 0.469% |) and similarly it looks to be very uncommon in SM RU alpha. Durant would be very destructive with it's base 109 Speed stat and its ability to outspeed the majority of the tier. Durant has a sky-high attack stat which is already massive and when coupled with the Hustle boost it reaches insane levels. With Darkinium Z you able to get a +2 boost from Hone Claws instead of one which makes devistating thread if it's actually going to drop. With it's impressive Defense stat (108) it has a lot of opportunities to set up as well. The last move slot can be used for what your team needs the most, the one i'm going to talk about is "Baton Pass". Baton Pass won't be banned in SM NU alpha (at least as far as I know), which makes Z-Claws Baton Pass Durant a massive threat. In ORAS NU we had Tauros which was already rank S by the destructive power it had with base 100 Atk and 110 Speed and good move pool to abuse with it's best ability Sheer force. However, the issue with Tauros was "missing" moves.. All the moves it had that were able to abuse Sheer Force were not 100% accurate. With Hone Claws pass from Durant that is fixed since Hone claws also gives a boost in accuracy, which makes Tauros never miss (I don't know about you guys but i'd be scared as hell to face a +2 Tauros that is never missing). Another mon that is able to abuse that Z-claws pass of Durant is "Tyrantrum" (where i'm talking about later this post as well). Tyrantrum was one of the best mons / if not the best mon before it got banned in ORAS RU. With Rock Head Head Smash even Rock-type resists are vulnerable. The ones that are able to switch in safely can't switch in on superpower or other coverage it has. The only downfall it has was that Head Smash was able to miss, again with the Hone Claws pass you negate that. Likewise, I'm scared as hell to face a Scarf tyrantrum with +2 Attack.
Now Tyrantrum:
Tyrantrum @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Superpower
As I promised in the Durant post I was gonna talk about Tyrantrum, Tyrantrum has little to no usage in SM UU as well (| 172 | Tyrantrum | 0.38336% | 1183 | 0.601% | 856 | 0.567% |). In SM RU it looks outclassed by other dragons in the tier like: Kommo-o and Haxorus. So Tyrantrum will probably fall down to SM NU where it will be a destructive powerhouse. With a wide varity of moves Choice band Tyrantrum is able to break through most defensive cores with just straight power. Jolly Scarf it's able to outspeed base 130 speed mons which will basically be the whole tier, with 125 Atk and massive 150 / 120 base power STAB moves it will destroy most offensive teams as well. If Tyrantrum actually drops it's a mon that I believe will be quick banned ASAP.
Durant @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Superpower / Baton Pass / Crunch / Thunder Fang
Durant extremely low usage in SM UU (| 212 | Durant | 0.20232% | 938 | 0.477% | 708 | 0.469% |) and similarly it looks to be very uncommon in SM RU alpha. Durant would be very destructive with it's base 109 Speed stat and its ability to outspeed the majority of the tier. Durant has a sky-high attack stat which is already massive and when coupled with the Hustle boost it reaches insane levels. With Darkinium Z you able to get a +2 boost from Hone Claws instead of one which makes devistating thread if it's actually going to drop. With it's impressive Defense stat (108) it has a lot of opportunities to set up as well. The last move slot can be used for what your team needs the most, the one i'm going to talk about is "Baton Pass". Baton Pass won't be banned in SM NU alpha (at least as far as I know), which makes Z-Claws Baton Pass Durant a massive threat. In ORAS NU we had Tauros which was already rank S by the destructive power it had with base 100 Atk and 110 Speed and good move pool to abuse with it's best ability Sheer force. However, the issue with Tauros was "missing" moves.. All the moves it had that were able to abuse Sheer Force were not 100% accurate. With Hone Claws pass from Durant that is fixed since Hone claws also gives a boost in accuracy, which makes Tauros never miss (I don't know about you guys but i'd be scared as hell to face a +2 Tauros that is never missing). Another mon that is able to abuse that Z-claws pass of Durant is "Tyrantrum" (where i'm talking about later this post as well). Tyrantrum was one of the best mons / if not the best mon before it got banned in ORAS RU. With Rock Head Head Smash even Rock-type resists are vulnerable. The ones that are able to switch in safely can't switch in on superpower or other coverage it has. The only downfall it has was that Head Smash was able to miss, again with the Hone Claws pass you negate that. Likewise, I'm scared as hell to face a Scarf tyrantrum with +2 Attack.
Now Tyrantrum:
Tyrantrum @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Superpower
As I promised in the Durant post I was gonna talk about Tyrantrum, Tyrantrum has little to no usage in SM UU as well (| 172 | Tyrantrum | 0.38336% | 1183 | 0.601% | 856 | 0.567% |). In SM RU it looks outclassed by other dragons in the tier like: Kommo-o and Haxorus. So Tyrantrum will probably fall down to SM NU where it will be a destructive powerhouse. With a wide varity of moves Choice band Tyrantrum is able to break through most defensive cores with just straight power. Jolly Scarf it's able to outspeed base 130 speed mons which will basically be the whole tier, with 125 Atk and massive 150 / 120 base power STAB moves it will destroy most offensive teams as well. If Tyrantrum actually drops it's a mon that I believe will be quick banned ASAP.
Looking at the usage percentages we'll get an influx of Dark types. In ORAS we had quite a few influental Dark types such as Malamar, hard to deal with sometimes once it got going; Skuntank, functioned as a trapper and a hazard remover; Liepard, great utility mon and mixed offensive capabilities and lastly Shiftry, mixed offensive capabilities and hazard remover. A big thanks to cyanize for introducing me a bit to ORAS RU since i know very little about it. Now on to the potential newcomers.
| 365 | Absol | 0.01962% |
Absol @ Life Orb / Dread Plate
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower / Iron Tail / Play Rough / Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
Absol is a very threatning SD'er (more than Shiftry imo) that can break through its checks after a Swords Dance. Has very strong priority in Sucker Punch and colorful coverage options. 75 base speed isn't all that fast but just enough to power its way through more balanced teams. Absol can also function as a Pursuit-trapper but is generally better off without it. Absol has 0 guaranteed switch ins so there's that. Unfortunately this mon has very mediocre bulk so Skuntank is better in that regard. Slow momentum gainers are perfect to bring in this powerhouse. If this drops it would be a very fun mon to play with.
| 307 | Sneasel | 0.04901% |
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard / Low Kick
Next up is Sneasel. Great revengekiller and trapper boasting a superb offensive typing. Has priority to pick off weakened mons and since it forces out more mons due to its offensive typing Pursuit can deal chunks early game. Sneasel lacks Absols wallbreaking power so it struggles against bulkier mons so entry hazard is recommended for netting those 2HKOs. Possible answers for this mon: Aromatisse, Hariyama, Gurdurr and Poliwrath.
| 305 | Spiritomb | 0.05119% |
Spiritomb @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
OR
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This thing. Offers you 3 immunities from the get-go and gives you other useful things like answering stuff with its good defensive typing and bulk, supporting movepool, a wincon, trapping stuff, priority and a very useful ability in Infiltrator. Crotomb can run Snarl and Will-O-Wisp to annoy special attacker and physical attackers respectively. Can see this mon being a nuisance like it was in XY. Answers: Taunters and Fairies.
| 255 | Sharpedo | 0.10846% |
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
Very threatening mon that ended up in BL2 last gen. I remember sweeping teams by passing SD's or NP's on it and just plow through but that might not be possible anymore. Either way Sharpedo can act as a very good cleaner but must keep priority users at bay. I could this mon being a problem in the future. Main answers: Poliwrath, bulky grasses/waters
| 249 | Houndoom | 0.11227% |
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch / Pursuit / Hidden Power ?
A Fire-type similar to Pyroar but has a few things that Pyroar can't. Dark is arguably a better offensive typing than Normal when paired with Fire, learns Nasty Plot, probably its biggest niche, to improve sweeping and can run Sucker Punch. Again another Pursuit-trapper to play with. However Pyroars speed is still greatly appreciated. Main answers: Hariyama and Poliwrath (again!)
Fortunately we will have lots of options to deal with these mons. I see Poliwrath becoming quite useful to deal with them along with NU-staples like Hariyama and Gurdurr. Fighting types like Sawk and Gallade are likely to drop and can help fending off these Dark types. Also Fairies like Ribombee and Aromatisse will definitely be useful.
| 365 | Absol | 0.01962% |
Absol @ Life Orb / Dread Plate
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower / Iron Tail / Play Rough / Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
Absol is a very threatning SD'er (more than Shiftry imo) that can break through its checks after a Swords Dance. Has very strong priority in Sucker Punch and colorful coverage options. 75 base speed isn't all that fast but just enough to power its way through more balanced teams. Absol can also function as a Pursuit-trapper but is generally better off without it. Absol has 0 guaranteed switch ins so there's that. Unfortunately this mon has very mediocre bulk so Skuntank is better in that regard. Slow momentum gainers are perfect to bring in this powerhouse. If this drops it would be a very fun mon to play with.
calcs
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Hariyama: 421-497 (98.1 - 115.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse (assuming this drops): 554-653 (136.4 - 160.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0- SpA Life Orb Absol Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mawile: 234-276 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 96 HP / 0 Def Poliwrath: 294-346 (85.2 - 100.2%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (watch out for Vacuum Wave)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Eviolite Gurdurr: 398-468 (106.4 - 125.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Mach Punch hurts tho)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse (assuming this drops): 554-653 (136.4 - 160.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0- SpA Life Orb Absol Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mawile: 234-276 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 96 HP / 0 Def Poliwrath: 294-346 (85.2 - 100.2%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (watch out for Vacuum Wave)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Eviolite Gurdurr: 398-468 (106.4 - 125.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Mach Punch hurts tho)
| 307 | Sneasel | 0.04901% |
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard / Low Kick
Next up is Sneasel. Great revengekiller and trapper boasting a superb offensive typing. Has priority to pick off weakened mons and since it forces out more mons due to its offensive typing Pursuit can deal chunks early game. Sneasel lacks Absols wallbreaking power so it struggles against bulkier mons so entry hazard is recommended for netting those 2HKOs. Possible answers for this mon: Aromatisse, Hariyama, Gurdurr and Poliwrath.
| 305 | Spiritomb | 0.05119% |
Spiritomb @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
OR
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This thing. Offers you 3 immunities from the get-go and gives you other useful things like answering stuff with its good defensive typing and bulk, supporting movepool, a wincon, trapping stuff, priority and a very useful ability in Infiltrator. Crotomb can run Snarl and Will-O-Wisp to annoy special attacker and physical attackers respectively. Can see this mon being a nuisance like it was in XY. Answers: Taunters and Fairies.
| 255 | Sharpedo | 0.10846% |
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
Very threatening mon that ended up in BL2 last gen. I remember sweeping teams by passing SD's or NP's on it and just plow through but that might not be possible anymore. Either way Sharpedo can act as a very good cleaner but must keep priority users at bay. I could this mon being a problem in the future. Main answers: Poliwrath, bulky grasses/waters
| 249 | Houndoom | 0.11227% |
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch / Pursuit / Hidden Power ?
A Fire-type similar to Pyroar but has a few things that Pyroar can't. Dark is arguably a better offensive typing than Normal when paired with Fire, learns Nasty Plot, probably its biggest niche, to improve sweeping and can run Sucker Punch. Again another Pursuit-trapper to play with. However Pyroars speed is still greatly appreciated. Main answers: Hariyama and Poliwrath (again!)
Fortunately we will have lots of options to deal with these mons. I see Poliwrath becoming quite useful to deal with them along with NU-staples like Hariyama and Gurdurr. Fighting types like Sawk and Gallade are likely to drop and can help fending off these Dark types. Also Fairies like Ribombee and Aromatisse will definitely be useful.
Last edited:
PursuitOfHappiny said:Looking at the usage percentages we'll get an influx of Dark types. In ORAS we had quite a few influental Dark types such as Malamar, hard to deal with sometimes once it got going; Skuntank, functioned as a trapper and a hazard remover; Liepard, great utility mon and mixed offensive capabilities and lastly Shiftry, mixed offensive capabilities and hazard remover. A big thanks to cyanize for introducing me a bit to ORAS RU since i know very little about it. Now on to the potential newcomers.
| 365 | Absol | 0.01962% |
Absol @ Life Orb / Dread Plate
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower / Iron Tail / Play Rough / Fire Blast
- Swords Dance
Absol is a very threatning SD'er (more than Shiftry imo) that can break through its checks after a Swords Dance. Has very strong priority in Sucker Punch and colorful coverage options. 75 base speed isn't all that fast but just enough to power its way through more balanced teams. Absol can also function as a Pursuit-trapper but is generally better off without it. Absol has 0 guaranteed switch ins so there's that. Unfortunately this mon has very mediocre bulk so Skuntank is better in that regard. Slow momentum gainers are perfect to bring in this powerhouse. If this drops it would be a very fun mon to play with.
calcs
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Hariyama: 421-497 (98.1 - 115.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse (assuming this drops): 554-653 (136.4 - 160.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0- SpA Life Orb Absol Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mawile: 234-276 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 96 HP / 0 Def Poliwrath: 294-346 (85.2 - 100.2%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (watch out for Vacuum Wave)
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Absol Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Eviolite Gurdurr: 398-468 (106.4 - 125.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Mach Punch hurts tho)
| 307 | Sneasel | 0.04901% |
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Low Kick
Next up is Sneasel. Great revengekiller and trapper boasting a superb offensive typing. Has priority to pick off weakened mons and since it forces out more mons due to its offensive typing Pursuit can deal chunks early game. Sneasel lacks Absols wallbreaking power so it struggles against bulkier mons so entry hazard is recommended for netting those 2HKOs. Possible answers for this mon: Aromatisse, Hariyama, Gurdurr and Poliwrath.
| 305 | Spiritomb | 0.05119% |
Spiritomb @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
OR
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
This thing. Offers you 3 immunities from the get-go and gives you other useful things like answering stuff with its good defensive typing and bulk, supporting movepool, a wincon, trapping stuff, priority and a very useful ability in Infiltrator. Crotomb can run Snarl and Will-O-Wisp to annoy special attacker and physical attackers respectively. Can see this mon being a nuisance like it was in XY. Answers: Taunters and Fairies.
| 255 | Sharpedo | 0.10846% |
Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
Very threatening mon that ended up in BL2 last gen. I remember sweeping teams by passing SD's or NP's on it and just plow through but that might not be possible anymore. Either way Sharpedo can act as a very good cleaner but must keep priority users at bay. I could this mon being a problem in the future. Main answers: Poliwrath, bulky grasses/waters
| 249 | Houndoom | 0.11227% |
Houndoom @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch / Pursuit / Hidden Power ?
A Fire-type similar to Pyroar but has a few things that Pyroar can't. Dark is arguably a better offensive typing than Normal when paired with Fire, learns Nasty Plot, probably its biggest niche, to improve sweeping and can run Sucker Punch. Again another Pursuit-trapper to play with. However Pyroars speed is still greatly appreciated. Main answers: Hariyama and Poliwrath (again!)
Fortunately we will have lots of options to deal with these mons. I see Poliwrath becoming quite useful to deal with them along with NU-staples like Hariyama and Gurdurr. Fighting types like Sawk and Gallade are likely to drop and can help fending off these Dark types. Also Fairies like Ribombee and Aromatisse will definitely be useful.
A few minor suggestions:
On Absol, it definitely has the raw power to run a 4 attacks set. Probably something like Knock/Sucker/Iron Tail/Superpower.
Sneasel should usually run Ice Shard > Low Kick imo, Low Kick hits Lix but usually isn't worth the loss in priority.
Houndoom could probably puul off mixed 4 attacks as well, though idk what exactly it'd run -- maybe Sucker/Pursuit/Fire Blast/Sludge bomb or Dark Pulse?
Incineroar, Honchkrow and Zoroark are notable Darks you missed. Without goong into too much detail, Incineroar could be a cool bulk up user, Honchkrow has Z Mirror Move (+2 atk) to play with, and we all know what Zoro does.
Spot on analysis though, and I'm always glad to help :]
cyanize said:When I use houndoom in RU, the grassium z solar beam set with nasty plot works wonders, luring bulky waters and some rock types as well, though I doubt it's going to drop to NU given the popularity of the set in RU. The same goes for durant and sharpedo, they are likely to be used often in offensive teams(pretty much every team in RU right now) so they're not dropping below 3.41% usage anytime soon looks like. Heck, they were even banned last gen from RU.A few minor suggestions:
On Absol, it definitely has the raw power to run a 4 attacks set. Probably something like Knock/Sucker/Iron Tail/Superpower.
Sneasel should usually run Ice Shard > Low Kick imo, Low Kick hits Lix but usually isn't worth the loss in priority.
Houndoom could probably puul off mixed 4 attacks as well, though idk what exactly it'd run -- maybe Sucker/Pursuit/Fire Blast/Sludge bomb or Dark Pulse?
Incineroar, Honchkrow and Zoroark are notable Darks you missed. Without goong into too much detail, Incineroar could be a cool bulk up user, Honchkrow has Z Mirror Move (+2 atk) to play with, and we all know what Zoro does.
Spot on analysis though, and I'm always glad to help :]
TheHungrySnorlax said:When I use houndoom in RU, the grassium z solar beam set with nasty plot works wonders, luring bulky waters and some rock types as well, though I doubt it's going to drop to NU given the popularity of the set in RU. The same goes for durant and sharpedo, they are likely to be used often in offensive teams(pretty much every team in RU right now) so they're not dropping below 3.41% usage anytime soon looks like. Heck, they were even banned last gen from RU.
Yes, those mons are likely to be used offensive teams, but they are not being used currently simply because the power level is too high for them. Who ever heard of a Durant in ORAS UU? I'd imagine (and have seen personally) that Durant and Sharpedo have very little usage, and I doubt Houndoom has enough to keep it over 3.41%. What niche does Bloom Doom Houndoom have over things like Bloom Doom Entei or Chandelure, after all?
Also, being banned from ORAS RU means little as of right now, since seeing as SM RU so far is quite similar to ORAS UU it stands to reason that some things that were underwhelming in UU but banned from RU (Moltres, Pangoro, Yanmega, Zoroark) would not get a lot of usage.
also on a sidenote, on a scale of 1 to OH GOD NO, how terrifying does hawlucha sound? because we're likely getting that.
- Status