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Gen 5 BW PU
- Thread starter Akir
- Start date
:simisear: How to BW PU 101 ft. BW PU himself :simisage:
(part 1)
(part 1)
Welcome all to another masterpiece post, this time instead of sharing meta thoughts I'm gonna take part on a more informative approach, I'm gonna be listing and explaining (to some extent) the roles in the tier (like a more detailed role compendium) and share some of my spice for (almost) every mon in the tier and also trying to explain them as well. I did not explore too much during PUCL and I am most likely skipping everything else this year including the nearest PUPL (which is also why I'm posting this), daddy won't cause anyone any harm this year.
Common in green
Moderate in yellow
Crack in red
Hazards:
Stealth Rock
:stunfisk: :torterra: :marowak: :bronzor: :solrock: :rampardos: :dwebble: :gabite: :monferno: :mawile: :clefairy: :krokorok: :pawniard: :relicanth: :drilbur: :onix: :wormadam-trash: :dunsparce: :bibarel:
Stunfisk has great bulk, plenty of opportunities with its defensive profile and a positive matchup vs every single removal (or bouncer) option, lacks reliable recovery tho. Torterra is as effective as Fisk at setting hazards up and it has reliable recovery, but doesn't appreciate getting burned by Tentacool and Staryu. Marowak uses its immense offensive pressure to get entries to get rocks up, it is not durable at all, mainly for being unable to even hold lefties but it works best in offensive teams maintaining pressure. Bronzor makes great use of its absurd defensive profile to get plenty of entries, however it is not as consistent vs removal options. Solrock has unique defensive profile that helps vs the toughest of the phys breakers in the tier while also having reliable recovery and Wisp. Rampardos is the usual suicide lead, threatening an OHKO vs Tentacool and Natu and demanding offensive approach vs into it as you don't wanna let it start hitting stuff. Dwebble is a more passive albeit viable suicide lead, trading the immense power for Spikes alongside the usual Rocks, Sturdy letting it run Custap to maximize the odds of double hazards going up. Gabite has unique set of resistances and great phys bulk with Eviolite, letting it set rocks up with certain ease and threatening Tenta back (by also being faster than it). Monferno can run rocks on both specialized lead sets or over Mach in its standard set, freeing up rocks from another slot. Mawile is a setter has seen usage with defensive sets with rocks in the past but is very rare nowadays, usually running BPass to act as slow pivot. Clefairy can run rocks and messes with every removal option but it usually has more interesting stuff to run. Krokorok can run a very viable suicide lead set, Pawniard compresses roles with its typing and unique movepool as it can also act as a rocker, Relicanth does p solid into removal options and sucks vs everything else, Drilbur is the only mon compressing setter and removal in one slot which can be very useful (also has Mold Breaker to bypass Natu), Onix can be a setter for Sun teams, WormT is what its name suggests but has unique defensive traits.
Spikes
:glalie: :maractus: :dwebble: :whirlipede: :trubbish:
Glalie works exceptionally well vs every common rocker and annoys Tenta and Natu which is great to do as a Spiker. Maractus has more of a defensive profile over Glalie but cannot be ran with Torterra, it also owns non-Toxic Tenta. Dwebble is a half-spiker, it doesn't usually get to set them up but it can. Whirlipede is such a weird mon, extremely fat, abuses its immense bulk to set Spikes up but it is horrendous vs removal options. Trubbish has very average stats all-around but it can do stuff while also being able to run both Spikes and TSpikes, Explosion can stop spinning attempts and Pain Split keeps it alive for more action.
Toxic Spikes
:tentacool: :whirlipede: :trubbish:
Tentacool is the only viable TSpikes setter, I personally like Toxic more since its MUCH better into Frillish and Maractus but TSpikes provides a way at pressuring whole teams. Whirlipede and Trubbish can run it but they can easily forgo it for more options.
Rapid Spin
:tentacool: :staryu: :drilbur:
Tentacool retains great special bulk, solid typing and valuable utility alongside Spin with Knock and the option of TSpikes. Staryu has worse bulk than Tenta but has Recover and Natural Cure, both essential to withstand Frillish stacks mainly if alongside Glalie. Drilbur compresses the roles of rocker and spinner, p cool into Fisk and Bronzor but suffers a lot vs Torterra and Wak.
Magic Bounce
:natu:
Natu is honestly in a bad spot rn. Amazing vs Bronzor but just bad into p much anything else, Fisk owns it, Torts have been running Stone Edge very often. Wak overwhelms it, common HO leads all beat it. It can at least force mindgames vs setters and that alone gives you more room to play around them, but you can't simply rely on it to get rid of hazards unless you are very confident ur facing Zor.
Choiced
Choice Scarf
:monferno: :golduck: :arbok: :mr-mime: :pelipper: :gabite: :grumpig: :dodrio: :torterra: :simisage: :leafeon: :stoutland: :victreebel: :lampent: :krokorok: :meditite: :rampardos: :glaceon:
Monf has a colorful coverage pool and most importantly U-turn. Golduck offers decent power and good coverage options with decent speed tier and anti-weather ability. Arbok has Switcheroo to screw with checks and Intimidate to add to the revengekilling tools it offers alongside Mach Punch resistance. Mime offers HWish support as well as the starting requested speed tier to deal with +2 Huntail and also Trick to cripple checks. Pelipper is new school and its here to replace part of the job Swanna left it, amazing dual STAB coupled with U-turn and just enough speed to outpace the unboosted meta. Gabite has very solid dual STAB which threatens anything offensive and also outspeeds Scarf Monferno, struggles a lot into Bronzor and Torterra though. Grumpig is a Mime counterpart with different utility like Heal Bell which is amazing in a tier where some mons really wanna click Rest and want even harder to wake up, as well as Thick Fat to help with Monferno and Simisear defensively. Dodrio has great speed tier, Pursuit and solid power but walled by Bronzor and Stunfisk. Torterra can tech Scarf to catch stuff that would otherwise be a threat to it like Monferno, Golduck, Pikachu and can even anti-lead stuff with Bullet Seed. Simisage and Leafeon have great speed tier, amazing into Huntail but both struggle to get locked into any move, Leafeon can at least BPass into something. Stoutland can run Scarf more likes a surprise set which can function pretty solid since it still retains enough power to screw offensive mons up. Victreebel compresses Scarfer with TSpike absorbing that hits very hard (unlike Arboks doll ass). Lampent has unique defensive profile with a great offensive typing for a scarfer and Trick to mess with checks. Krok scarf is a relic of the past and super ass, but can act as pursuitter. Meditite packs a surprisingly heavy punch with good moves, Trick and BPass to pivot around psychics, super frail being easily picked off by priority tho. Rampardos can run a scarf set to offset its worst problem (out of some more) and Glaceon can also do that with added benefit of better offensive typing + BPass.
Choice Band
:stoutland: :monferno: :sneasel: :torterra: :gabite: :dodrio: :banette: :kingler: :slaking: :zweilous: :krokorok:
Stoutland is the strongest and most consistent CB user of the tier, decent bulk, very hard to switch into and can even Pursuit, suffers from Bronzor spam. Monf has great dual STAB, a stronger U-turn to chip down checks and a strong Iron Fist-boosted Mach Punch but can't utilize its defensive profile and much more prone to faster prio. Sneasel uses its great speed, STAB Pursuit and Ice Shard to make the most out of CB, suffers a lot from 4MSS and strong STAB moves. Torterra hits like a damn truck, although decently bulky it is very slow and can't get past Bronzor. Gabite has good typing that it makes use offensively and defensively to threaten stuff, faster than Monf and base 80s but suffers from severe Zeb weakness on top of not getting past Bronzor anyways. Dodrio is decently fast, has Pursuit and priority with high BP moves, still walled by Bronzor and Stunfisk and hates its rocks weakness. Banette is slow but has a very strong prio in Shadow Sneak and also has Pursuit, very easily threatening the psychics of the tier while having Trick for other checks. Kingler packs a punch with okay coverage but is stonewalled by Frillish and is not fast enough while having abysmal SpDef. Slaking threatens everything but it is Slaking. Zweilous can actually mess with every fat team by itself, but Hustle doesn't do it favors and it is super slow. I'm actually tired of explaining why Krok is bad outside of lead.
Choice Specs
:shiftry: :simisear: :beheeyem: :golduck: :swoobat: :whiscash: :mr-mime: :vanilluxe: :mothim: :magnemite:
Shiftry has amazing dual STAB in a tier with lack of good dark resists, complementing itself with Focus Blast and having big set diversity making it even harder to play around it. Simisear has good speed and packs an immense punch with Specs Overheat, very few reliable checks but really wants removal support. Beheeyem can run a specs set, very rare nowadays but I see life in it with HP Fire when people figure out it NEEDS it. Golduck can run Specs just as well as it can run Scarf, not a whole lot of checks outside of Tenta and Fril while also being faster than Monf, using it as entry point. Swoobat makes use of its speed to revengekill stuff using Specs as it try to hit the hardest it can, usually failing at that (it is also hella frail). Whiscash is slow but it is the Specs user with the biggest defensive profile while also being very hard to switch into. Mime CAN run specs but dislikes heavily the presence of Bronzor while also not being fast enough to justify such frailty. Vanilluxe is better off running non-choiced but it can run specs with serviceable speed and bulk. Mothim is another slow breaker with added benefit of Tinted Lens, letting its Bug Buzz be very spammable but really needing the removal support and perhaps even paralysis support. Magnemite makes use of Specs to hit Bronzor as hard as possible so it can trap it for good.
Priority Users
Sucker Punch
:shiftry: :arbok: :mawile: :purugly: :pawniard: :murkrow: :mightyena: :seviper:
Shiftry is the strongest Sucker user, having STAB on it and using it in SD and mixed sets with great effect. Arbok runs Sucker on Coil sets to bypass faster threats like Zebstrika. Mawile does the same in SD sets but in its case it is mandatory cuz its speed is just too low to forgo it. Purugly can run Sucker as well to be the most reliable as it can as a revengekiller alongside Fake Out. Pawniard runs Sucker powered by STAB to offset its terrible speed but also adding to its valuable typing. Murkrow is terrible at using it ngl. Mightyena runs Sucker to increase the snowballing potential from Moxie and Seviper likes its Sucker to add to its colorful coverage to help vs most of the offensive threats.
Mach Punch
:monferno:
Monferno is the sole Mach user of the tier and has it even better with Iron Fist boosting it further. Makes great use of it as very few of the faster mons resist it and a ton of opposing prio users are weak to Mach, and added benefit of being a great tool to have on SD sets as well.
Quick Attack
:dodrio: :raticate: :leafeon: :bibarel:
Dodrio regularly uses QA, but Dodrio itself aint regularly used, so. Raticate can make good use of QA on its ToxOrb Guts set for a very solid option. Leafeon can also run QA on its SD Sets but usually opts for other options like Synthesis or Baton Pass. Bibarel can run QA on a Work Up set, its just not good.
Ice Shard
:sneasel: :glalie: :glaceon:
Sneasel will p much always go with Shard no matter what set it goes for. Glalie can sometimes make use of Ice Shard without too much commitment. Glaceon do actually commit some bit to slot Ice Shard when it really wants its other options filling the slots.
Aqua Jet
:golduck: :beartic: :carvanha:
Golduck can make use of Aqua Jet in non-choiced AoA sets, outprios Monf and can revengekill stuff like NP Simisear. Beartic is not really used but when it is used (in rain) it often runs Aqua Jet which is also boosted by the weather. Carvanha makes use of Aqua Jet to outprio Monferno at +1 as it would otherwise get OHKOd back by Mach.
Shadow Sneak
:banette: :muk:
Banette always goes with Sneak, it is too slow to really forgo it and having STAB on it makes it extremely useful to pick off weakened foes. Muk can sometimes use Sneak, although it is not too common in PU.
Extreme Speed
:pikachu: :dragonair:
Pikachus whole role revolves around its access to ESpeed, being a very strong prio move with increased priority over other priority options and even stronger on Pikachu due to Light Ball. Dragonair can use it and has seen usage with ESpeed, but its not something ur gonna see regularly at all.
Team Support
Wish
:audino: :leafeon: :clefairy: :hypno: :togetic:
Audino is the best Wishpasser due to Regenerator minimizing the needs to heal itself instead of healing partners. Leafeon can Wishpass with BPass for safer passes. Clefairy can find room for it on its vast movepool while being hazard and status-immune. Hypno can run both Wish and Taunt to stop passive mond from crippling it. Togetic can and has been ran with Wish but it is done better by Audino and Clef on that role.
Heal Bell/Aromatherapy
:vileplume: :jumpluff: :audino: :clefairy: :grumpig: :meganium: :leafeon: :articuno:
Plume can be a cleric with recovery and absorbing TSpikes all in one, hands down best cleric option in the tier. Jumpluff has the option to run Aroma to be an offensive pivot with valuable utility. Audino can run Heal Bell on its one set but for being too passive and Wish Tect taking up 2 slots it mostly prefers other options, even if it does good usage of Heal Bell. Clefairy can add it with diff combinations on, again, its vast movepool options. Grumpig compresses scarf with Heal Bell most of the time but it can run the move outside of scarf sets (maybe not as effectively). Meganium acts as both a cleruc and a phazer with recovery for some Stall teams. Leafeon can run Heal Bell on actually many different sets ranging from Wish sets to even scarf ones to even SD ones and Articuno used to run Heal Bell a solid amount of times in stall, not really the case anymore.
Healing Wish
:mr-mime: :clefairy:
Mime act as a fast HWish option mostly with Scarf sets, while Clef can act as one more as a surprise factor to catch foes offguard for setup opportunities.
Set-Up Sweepers
Swords Dance
:shiftry: :monferno: :ursaring: :leafeon: :torterra: :mawile: :sneasel: :kingler: :vileplume: :fraxure: :leavanny:
Shiftry makes the most out of its STAB Sucker with SD and great offensive typing, Monferno can do the same but with slightly better speed, better defensive typing and the slightly weaker but still very useful Mach Punch. Ursaring enables its Quick Feet set with Swords Dance, having both its Attack and Speed boosted and becoming a very serious threat. Leafeon uses its all-around good stats to enable opportunities to set up, having the option of packing prio, recovery or even avoiding status. Torterra can make use of SD in offensive and defensive sets alike, not too common lately since Bronzor is everywhere and stops it dry. Mawile boosts its Sheer Force boosted STAB Iron Head to crazy levels and improve Suckers capability of denying revengekilling. Sneasel very rarely runs SD but it can do that with Dark Gem Beat Up sets mainly so it has an early semi-reliable dark STAB (otherwise the strongest options are either Bite or Punishment), Kingler boosts its crazy Attack to crazier levels, but not having many opportunities to do so. Vileplume used to run SD Drain Punch sets to punish Scraggy which was common at the time while being a decent sweeper sometimes. Fraxure breaks fat structures with SD and Taunt, even would-be checks like Bronzor. Leavanny can run SD sets with interesting offensive capabilities.
Nasty Plot
:beheeyem: :simisear: :simisage: :mr-mime: :monferno: :raichu: :togetic:
Beheeyem is by far the best NP user, packing reliable recovery, good bulk, great power and enough coverage to threaten basically the entire damn tier. Simisear makes use of Gluttony Salac Berry to deny revengekilling atempts and staying out of Monfernos Mach range most of the time as it tries to break or clean. Simisage is a rarer sight with NP but functional enough, enough coverage and boosted STAB Giga Drains can constantly leave it out of prio ranges cuz of the recovery. Mime can run NP sets with or without Baton Pass, not too shabby of a user itself. Monferno can surprise Stunfisk enjoyers with NP boosted Overheat. Raichu usually runs NP as a way to stand out from Zeb and Pikachu competition as it abuses Stunfisk with Balloon similarly. Togetic runs NP on BPass sets as it is also capable of slowpassing.
Calm Mind
:duosion: :golduck: :swoobat: :mr-mime: :murkrow: :lampent: :servine:
Duosion is the one real common CM user of the tier, being capable of snowballing decently quick due to good bulk and residual damage immunity. Golduck does run CM decently often tho, with bulkier and more offensive variants having their own qualities. CM Swoobat is alright, since Simple makes it have twice the boosts per click, at +2 SpDef Zeb has an extremely low chance at killing it after rocks without any boosting move. If you see Mime clicking CM it is def passing soon. Murkrow can larp as a CM mon with rare typing and Prankster to boost before special mons threaten you out and you can Taunt to deny opposing setup or status induction. Lampent can find entries with its unique typing to set up and be a short term threat and Servine can also do that with a lesser offensive typing in exchange for Glare.
Bulk Up
:ursaring: :scraggy: :machoke:
Ursaring can make good use of Bulk Up in different ways, be that a RestTalk set, a BU 3A or a SubsBU set, all abusing different structures. Scraggy makes use of its high special bulk with investment and good typing to boost its Defense to stay unbreakable and Attack to become a threat after a couple boosts with Shed Skin Rest healing it, suffers from Monferno meta, taking a bit long to get online and Shed Skin reliability. Machoke can run a niche set eith BU 3A as Dynamic Punch confusions can enable it setup opportunities.
Curse
:muk:
Great special bulk allowing it do boost its other stats further with or without Rest. Colorful movepool threatening a lot
Dragon Dance
:fraxure: :dragonair: :whiscash: :scraggy:
Fraxure doesn't make too good of use of DD boosts, it aint getting strong quickly enough to get past stuff like Bronzor and every scarfer outpaces it at +1. Dragonair can run different variants of DD sets, but the most common ones are bulky with Rest, either Shed Skin letting it have early wakings or Marvel Scale with Sleep Talk to abuse the Defense boost it receives while asleep. Whiscash is not too good with DD, takes multiple boosts to become really strong while grasses are way too good in this tier for it to function properly, but it is usable with Ice Beam. DD Scraggy is fire but much harder to sweep with for obvious reasons.
Shell Smash
:huntail: :dwebble:
Huntail is one of the scariest sweepers in the tier, extremely dangerous at +2 with BOTH sides of the spectrum, the two things holding it off are how slow it is, enough to get outsped by some scarfers even at +2, and also how prominent prio moves are in the tier. Dwebble makes use of Shell Smash to let increase its odds at multi ups.
Coil
:arbok: :dunsparce:
Arbok is the sole viable Coil user in the tier, suffering a decent amount of 4MSS but also being flexible with team needs, actually threatening when set is still unrevealed. Dunsparce is a troll mon but really fun to fuck around when it gets an Agility pass.
Work Up
:dodrio: :bibarel:
These are both very niche. Dodrio can Work Up to either nuke something with Normal Gem Double-Edge or BPass to a partner in the face of a check. Bibarel can try acting as a sweeper with that, keyword TRY.
Rock Polish/Agility
:torterra: :pelipper: :kingler: :rampardos: :rapidash: :carvanha: (Speed Boost)
Torterra can Rock Polish with or without SD but ultimately suffers from being slow and stonewalled by Bronzor. Pelipper can run Agility sets to decent effect, but it has to rely on either low accuracy moves or low powered moves. Kingler is another agility water, but lacking recovery and really struggling to break through many teams or even setting up at all. Rampardos can try offsetting its awful speed with RP but its still suffering to set up and also still picked off by Mach. Rapidash can pass Agility to something. Carvanha can clean teams with Speed Boost and great offensive typing, but being extremely frail.
PIvotting
U-turn
:monferno: :pelipper: :jumpluff: :swoobat: :purugly: :natu: :eelektrik: :volbeat: :mienfoo: :raticate: :mothim: :persian: :vibrava:
Volt Switch
:zebstrika: :pikachu: :klang: :luxray: :chinchou: :magnemite:
Baton Pass
:leafeon: :glaceon: :mr-mime: :mawile: :dodrio: :volbeat: :hypno: :rapidash: :togetic:
Trapping
Pursuit
:stoutland: :sneasel: :banette: :dodrio: :arbok: :murkrow: :pawniard: :krokorok:
Magnet Pull
:magnemite:
Moderate in yellow
Crack in red
Hazards:
Stealth Rock
:stunfisk: :torterra: :marowak: :bronzor: :solrock: :rampardos: :dwebble: :gabite: :monferno: :mawile: :clefairy: :krokorok: :pawniard: :relicanth: :drilbur: :onix: :wormadam-trash: :dunsparce: :bibarel:
Stunfisk has great bulk, plenty of opportunities with its defensive profile and a positive matchup vs every single removal (or bouncer) option, lacks reliable recovery tho. Torterra is as effective as Fisk at setting hazards up and it has reliable recovery, but doesn't appreciate getting burned by Tentacool and Staryu. Marowak uses its immense offensive pressure to get entries to get rocks up, it is not durable at all, mainly for being unable to even hold lefties but it works best in offensive teams maintaining pressure. Bronzor makes great use of its absurd defensive profile to get plenty of entries, however it is not as consistent vs removal options. Solrock has unique defensive profile that helps vs the toughest of the phys breakers in the tier while also having reliable recovery and Wisp. Rampardos is the usual suicide lead, threatening an OHKO vs Tentacool and Natu and demanding offensive approach vs into it as you don't wanna let it start hitting stuff. Dwebble is a more passive albeit viable suicide lead, trading the immense power for Spikes alongside the usual Rocks, Sturdy letting it run Custap to maximize the odds of double hazards going up. Gabite has unique set of resistances and great phys bulk with Eviolite, letting it set rocks up with certain ease and threatening Tenta back (by also being faster than it). Monferno can run rocks on both specialized lead sets or over Mach in its standard set, freeing up rocks from another slot. Mawile is a setter has seen usage with defensive sets with rocks in the past but is very rare nowadays, usually running BPass to act as slow pivot. Clefairy can run rocks and messes with every removal option but it usually has more interesting stuff to run. Krokorok can run a very viable suicide lead set, Pawniard compresses roles with its typing and unique movepool as it can also act as a rocker, Relicanth does p solid into removal options and sucks vs everything else, Drilbur is the only mon compressing setter and removal in one slot which can be very useful (also has Mold Breaker to bypass Natu), Onix can be a setter for Sun teams, WormT is what its name suggests but has unique defensive traits.
Spikes
:glalie: :maractus: :dwebble: :whirlipede: :trubbish:
Glalie works exceptionally well vs every common rocker and annoys Tenta and Natu which is great to do as a Spiker. Maractus has more of a defensive profile over Glalie but cannot be ran with Torterra, it also owns non-Toxic Tenta. Dwebble is a half-spiker, it doesn't usually get to set them up but it can. Whirlipede is such a weird mon, extremely fat, abuses its immense bulk to set Spikes up but it is horrendous vs removal options. Trubbish has very average stats all-around but it can do stuff while also being able to run both Spikes and TSpikes, Explosion can stop spinning attempts and Pain Split keeps it alive for more action.
Toxic Spikes
:tentacool: :whirlipede: :trubbish:
Tentacool is the only viable TSpikes setter, I personally like Toxic more since its MUCH better into Frillish and Maractus but TSpikes provides a way at pressuring whole teams. Whirlipede and Trubbish can run it but they can easily forgo it for more options.
Rapid Spin
:tentacool: :staryu: :drilbur:
Tentacool retains great special bulk, solid typing and valuable utility alongside Spin with Knock and the option of TSpikes. Staryu has worse bulk than Tenta but has Recover and Natural Cure, both essential to withstand Frillish stacks mainly if alongside Glalie. Drilbur compresses the roles of rocker and spinner, p cool into Fisk and Bronzor but suffers a lot vs Torterra and Wak.
Magic Bounce
:natu:
Natu is honestly in a bad spot rn. Amazing vs Bronzor but just bad into p much anything else, Fisk owns it, Torts have been running Stone Edge very often. Wak overwhelms it, common HO leads all beat it. It can at least force mindgames vs setters and that alone gives you more room to play around them, but you can't simply rely on it to get rid of hazards unless you are very confident ur facing Zor.
Choiced
Choice Scarf
:monferno: :golduck: :arbok: :mr-mime: :pelipper: :gabite: :grumpig: :dodrio: :torterra: :simisage: :leafeon: :stoutland: :victreebel: :lampent: :krokorok: :meditite: :rampardos: :glaceon:
Monf has a colorful coverage pool and most importantly U-turn. Golduck offers decent power and good coverage options with decent speed tier and anti-weather ability. Arbok has Switcheroo to screw with checks and Intimidate to add to the revengekilling tools it offers alongside Mach Punch resistance. Mime offers HWish support as well as the starting requested speed tier to deal with +2 Huntail and also Trick to cripple checks. Pelipper is new school and its here to replace part of the job Swanna left it, amazing dual STAB coupled with U-turn and just enough speed to outpace the unboosted meta. Gabite has very solid dual STAB which threatens anything offensive and also outspeeds Scarf Monferno, struggles a lot into Bronzor and Torterra though. Grumpig is a Mime counterpart with different utility like Heal Bell which is amazing in a tier where some mons really wanna click Rest and want even harder to wake up, as well as Thick Fat to help with Monferno and Simisear defensively. Dodrio has great speed tier, Pursuit and solid power but walled by Bronzor and Stunfisk. Torterra can tech Scarf to catch stuff that would otherwise be a threat to it like Monferno, Golduck, Pikachu and can even anti-lead stuff with Bullet Seed. Simisage and Leafeon have great speed tier, amazing into Huntail but both struggle to get locked into any move, Leafeon can at least BPass into something. Stoutland can run Scarf more likes a surprise set which can function pretty solid since it still retains enough power to screw offensive mons up. Victreebel compresses Scarfer with TSpike absorbing that hits very hard (unlike Arboks doll ass). Lampent has unique defensive profile with a great offensive typing for a scarfer and Trick to mess with checks. Krok scarf is a relic of the past and super ass, but can act as pursuitter. Meditite packs a surprisingly heavy punch with good moves, Trick and BPass to pivot around psychics, super frail being easily picked off by priority tho. Rampardos can run a scarf set to offset its worst problem (out of some more) and Glaceon can also do that with added benefit of better offensive typing + BPass.
Choice Band
:stoutland: :monferno: :sneasel: :torterra: :gabite: :dodrio: :banette: :kingler: :slaking: :zweilous: :krokorok:
Stoutland is the strongest and most consistent CB user of the tier, decent bulk, very hard to switch into and can even Pursuit, suffers from Bronzor spam. Monf has great dual STAB, a stronger U-turn to chip down checks and a strong Iron Fist-boosted Mach Punch but can't utilize its defensive profile and much more prone to faster prio. Sneasel uses its great speed, STAB Pursuit and Ice Shard to make the most out of CB, suffers a lot from 4MSS and strong STAB moves. Torterra hits like a damn truck, although decently bulky it is very slow and can't get past Bronzor. Gabite has good typing that it makes use offensively and defensively to threaten stuff, faster than Monf and base 80s but suffers from severe Zeb weakness on top of not getting past Bronzor anyways. Dodrio is decently fast, has Pursuit and priority with high BP moves, still walled by Bronzor and Stunfisk and hates its rocks weakness. Banette is slow but has a very strong prio in Shadow Sneak and also has Pursuit, very easily threatening the psychics of the tier while having Trick for other checks. Kingler packs a punch with okay coverage but is stonewalled by Frillish and is not fast enough while having abysmal SpDef. Slaking threatens everything but it is Slaking. Zweilous can actually mess with every fat team by itself, but Hustle doesn't do it favors and it is super slow. I'm actually tired of explaining why Krok is bad outside of lead.
Choice Specs
:shiftry: :simisear: :beheeyem: :golduck: :swoobat: :whiscash: :mr-mime: :vanilluxe: :mothim: :magnemite:
Shiftry has amazing dual STAB in a tier with lack of good dark resists, complementing itself with Focus Blast and having big set diversity making it even harder to play around it. Simisear has good speed and packs an immense punch with Specs Overheat, very few reliable checks but really wants removal support. Beheeyem can run a specs set, very rare nowadays but I see life in it with HP Fire when people figure out it NEEDS it. Golduck can run Specs just as well as it can run Scarf, not a whole lot of checks outside of Tenta and Fril while also being faster than Monf, using it as entry point. Swoobat makes use of its speed to revengekill stuff using Specs as it try to hit the hardest it can, usually failing at that (it is also hella frail). Whiscash is slow but it is the Specs user with the biggest defensive profile while also being very hard to switch into. Mime CAN run specs but dislikes heavily the presence of Bronzor while also not being fast enough to justify such frailty. Vanilluxe is better off running non-choiced but it can run specs with serviceable speed and bulk. Mothim is another slow breaker with added benefit of Tinted Lens, letting its Bug Buzz be very spammable but really needing the removal support and perhaps even paralysis support. Magnemite makes use of Specs to hit Bronzor as hard as possible so it can trap it for good.
Priority Users
Sucker Punch
:shiftry: :arbok: :mawile: :purugly: :pawniard: :murkrow: :mightyena: :seviper:
Shiftry is the strongest Sucker user, having STAB on it and using it in SD and mixed sets with great effect. Arbok runs Sucker on Coil sets to bypass faster threats like Zebstrika. Mawile does the same in SD sets but in its case it is mandatory cuz its speed is just too low to forgo it. Purugly can run Sucker as well to be the most reliable as it can as a revengekiller alongside Fake Out. Pawniard runs Sucker powered by STAB to offset its terrible speed but also adding to its valuable typing. Murkrow is terrible at using it ngl. Mightyena runs Sucker to increase the snowballing potential from Moxie and Seviper likes its Sucker to add to its colorful coverage to help vs most of the offensive threats.
Mach Punch
:monferno:
Monferno is the sole Mach user of the tier and has it even better with Iron Fist boosting it further. Makes great use of it as very few of the faster mons resist it and a ton of opposing prio users are weak to Mach, and added benefit of being a great tool to have on SD sets as well.
Quick Attack
:dodrio: :raticate: :leafeon: :bibarel:
Dodrio regularly uses QA, but Dodrio itself aint regularly used, so. Raticate can make good use of QA on its ToxOrb Guts set for a very solid option. Leafeon can also run QA on its SD Sets but usually opts for other options like Synthesis or Baton Pass. Bibarel can run QA on a Work Up set, its just not good.
Ice Shard
:sneasel: :glalie: :glaceon:
Sneasel will p much always go with Shard no matter what set it goes for. Glalie can sometimes make use of Ice Shard without too much commitment. Glaceon do actually commit some bit to slot Ice Shard when it really wants its other options filling the slots.
Aqua Jet
:golduck: :beartic: :carvanha:
Golduck can make use of Aqua Jet in non-choiced AoA sets, outprios Monf and can revengekill stuff like NP Simisear. Beartic is not really used but when it is used (in rain) it often runs Aqua Jet which is also boosted by the weather. Carvanha makes use of Aqua Jet to outprio Monferno at +1 as it would otherwise get OHKOd back by Mach.
Shadow Sneak
:banette: :muk:
Banette always goes with Sneak, it is too slow to really forgo it and having STAB on it makes it extremely useful to pick off weakened foes. Muk can sometimes use Sneak, although it is not too common in PU.
Extreme Speed
:pikachu: :dragonair:
Pikachus whole role revolves around its access to ESpeed, being a very strong prio move with increased priority over other priority options and even stronger on Pikachu due to Light Ball. Dragonair can use it and has seen usage with ESpeed, but its not something ur gonna see regularly at all.
Team Support
Wish
:audino: :leafeon: :clefairy: :hypno: :togetic:
Audino is the best Wishpasser due to Regenerator minimizing the needs to heal itself instead of healing partners. Leafeon can Wishpass with BPass for safer passes. Clefairy can find room for it on its vast movepool while being hazard and status-immune. Hypno can run both Wish and Taunt to stop passive mond from crippling it. Togetic can and has been ran with Wish but it is done better by Audino and Clef on that role.
Heal Bell/Aromatherapy
:vileplume: :jumpluff: :audino: :clefairy: :grumpig: :meganium: :leafeon: :articuno:
Plume can be a cleric with recovery and absorbing TSpikes all in one, hands down best cleric option in the tier. Jumpluff has the option to run Aroma to be an offensive pivot with valuable utility. Audino can run Heal Bell on its one set but for being too passive and Wish Tect taking up 2 slots it mostly prefers other options, even if it does good usage of Heal Bell. Clefairy can add it with diff combinations on, again, its vast movepool options. Grumpig compresses scarf with Heal Bell most of the time but it can run the move outside of scarf sets (maybe not as effectively). Meganium acts as both a cleruc and a phazer with recovery for some Stall teams. Leafeon can run Heal Bell on actually many different sets ranging from Wish sets to even scarf ones to even SD ones and Articuno used to run Heal Bell a solid amount of times in stall, not really the case anymore.
Healing Wish
:mr-mime: :clefairy:
Mime act as a fast HWish option mostly with Scarf sets, while Clef can act as one more as a surprise factor to catch foes offguard for setup opportunities.
Set-Up Sweepers
Swords Dance
:shiftry: :monferno: :ursaring: :leafeon: :torterra: :mawile: :sneasel: :kingler: :vileplume: :fraxure: :leavanny:
Shiftry makes the most out of its STAB Sucker with SD and great offensive typing, Monferno can do the same but with slightly better speed, better defensive typing and the slightly weaker but still very useful Mach Punch. Ursaring enables its Quick Feet set with Swords Dance, having both its Attack and Speed boosted and becoming a very serious threat. Leafeon uses its all-around good stats to enable opportunities to set up, having the option of packing prio, recovery or even avoiding status. Torterra can make use of SD in offensive and defensive sets alike, not too common lately since Bronzor is everywhere and stops it dry. Mawile boosts its Sheer Force boosted STAB Iron Head to crazy levels and improve Suckers capability of denying revengekilling. Sneasel very rarely runs SD but it can do that with Dark Gem Beat Up sets mainly so it has an early semi-reliable dark STAB (otherwise the strongest options are either Bite or Punishment), Kingler boosts its crazy Attack to crazier levels, but not having many opportunities to do so. Vileplume used to run SD Drain Punch sets to punish Scraggy which was common at the time while being a decent sweeper sometimes. Fraxure breaks fat structures with SD and Taunt, even would-be checks like Bronzor. Leavanny can run SD sets with interesting offensive capabilities.
Nasty Plot
:beheeyem: :simisear: :simisage: :mr-mime: :monferno: :raichu: :togetic:
Beheeyem is by far the best NP user, packing reliable recovery, good bulk, great power and enough coverage to threaten basically the entire damn tier. Simisear makes use of Gluttony Salac Berry to deny revengekilling atempts and staying out of Monfernos Mach range most of the time as it tries to break or clean. Simisage is a rarer sight with NP but functional enough, enough coverage and boosted STAB Giga Drains can constantly leave it out of prio ranges cuz of the recovery. Mime can run NP sets with or without Baton Pass, not too shabby of a user itself. Monferno can surprise Stunfisk enjoyers with NP boosted Overheat. Raichu usually runs NP as a way to stand out from Zeb and Pikachu competition as it abuses Stunfisk with Balloon similarly. Togetic runs NP on BPass sets as it is also capable of slowpassing.
Calm Mind
:duosion: :golduck: :swoobat: :mr-mime: :murkrow: :lampent: :servine:
Duosion is the one real common CM user of the tier, being capable of snowballing decently quick due to good bulk and residual damage immunity. Golduck does run CM decently often tho, with bulkier and more offensive variants having their own qualities. CM Swoobat is alright, since Simple makes it have twice the boosts per click, at +2 SpDef Zeb has an extremely low chance at killing it after rocks without any boosting move. If you see Mime clicking CM it is def passing soon. Murkrow can larp as a CM mon with rare typing and Prankster to boost before special mons threaten you out and you can Taunt to deny opposing setup or status induction. Lampent can find entries with its unique typing to set up and be a short term threat and Servine can also do that with a lesser offensive typing in exchange for Glare.
Bulk Up
:ursaring: :scraggy: :machoke:
Ursaring can make good use of Bulk Up in different ways, be that a RestTalk set, a BU 3A or a SubsBU set, all abusing different structures. Scraggy makes use of its high special bulk with investment and good typing to boost its Defense to stay unbreakable and Attack to become a threat after a couple boosts with Shed Skin Rest healing it, suffers from Monferno meta, taking a bit long to get online and Shed Skin reliability. Machoke can run a niche set eith BU 3A as Dynamic Punch confusions can enable it setup opportunities.
Curse
:muk:
Great special bulk allowing it do boost its other stats further with or without Rest. Colorful movepool threatening a lot
Dragon Dance
:fraxure: :dragonair: :whiscash: :scraggy:
Fraxure doesn't make too good of use of DD boosts, it aint getting strong quickly enough to get past stuff like Bronzor and every scarfer outpaces it at +1. Dragonair can run different variants of DD sets, but the most common ones are bulky with Rest, either Shed Skin letting it have early wakings or Marvel Scale with Sleep Talk to abuse the Defense boost it receives while asleep. Whiscash is not too good with DD, takes multiple boosts to become really strong while grasses are way too good in this tier for it to function properly, but it is usable with Ice Beam. DD Scraggy is fire but much harder to sweep with for obvious reasons.
Shell Smash
:huntail: :dwebble:
Huntail is one of the scariest sweepers in the tier, extremely dangerous at +2 with BOTH sides of the spectrum, the two things holding it off are how slow it is, enough to get outsped by some scarfers even at +2, and also how prominent prio moves are in the tier. Dwebble makes use of Shell Smash to let increase its odds at multi ups.
Coil
:arbok: :dunsparce:
Arbok is the sole viable Coil user in the tier, suffering a decent amount of 4MSS but also being flexible with team needs, actually threatening when set is still unrevealed. Dunsparce is a troll mon but really fun to fuck around when it gets an Agility pass.
Work Up
:dodrio: :bibarel:
These are both very niche. Dodrio can Work Up to either nuke something with Normal Gem Double-Edge or BPass to a partner in the face of a check. Bibarel can try acting as a sweeper with that, keyword TRY.
Rock Polish/Agility
:torterra: :pelipper: :kingler: :rampardos: :rapidash: :carvanha: (Speed Boost)
Torterra can Rock Polish with or without SD but ultimately suffers from being slow and stonewalled by Bronzor. Pelipper can run Agility sets to decent effect, but it has to rely on either low accuracy moves or low powered moves. Kingler is another agility water, but lacking recovery and really struggling to break through many teams or even setting up at all. Rampardos can try offsetting its awful speed with RP but its still suffering to set up and also still picked off by Mach. Rapidash can pass Agility to something. Carvanha can clean teams with Speed Boost and great offensive typing, but being extremely frail.
PIvotting
U-turn
:monferno: :pelipper: :jumpluff: :swoobat: :purugly: :natu: :eelektrik: :volbeat: :mienfoo: :raticate: :mothim: :persian: :vibrava:
Volt Switch
:zebstrika: :pikachu: :klang: :luxray: :chinchou: :magnemite:
Baton Pass
:leafeon: :glaceon: :mr-mime: :mawile: :dodrio: :volbeat: :hypno: :rapidash: :togetic:
Trapping
Pursuit
:stoutland: :sneasel: :banette: :dodrio: :arbok: :murkrow: :pawniard: :krokorok:
Magnet Pull
:magnemite:
:monferno:
Checks: :beheeyem: :duosion: :tentacool: :grumpig: :pelipper: :gabite: :swoobat: :jumpluff: :simisage: :dodrio: :golduck: :arbok: :pikachu: :articuno:
Counters: :frillish: :stunfisk: :lampent:
Stunfisk takes Monfs hits extremely even avoiding 2hkos from CB moves while also threatening Static procs back, Frillish resists Fire and is immune to Fighting while also resisting U-turn, sets without TPunch are totally unable to touch it and running TPunch is a decently big commitment. Lampent is immune to both STABs while also quad-resisting U-turn and not being weak to TPunch, however it is weak to rocks so its less sturdy of a counter than the other two.
Beheeyem takes non-CB hits well while recovering it back, just like Duosion, U-turn chip is annoying for them though. Tentacool resists both STABs and U-turn but it is not too bulky on the phys side and lacks recovery, so it is overwhelmed long term. Grumpig resists Fighting and has Thick Fat, but hates U-turn chipping. Pelipper resists STABs and U-turn but hates rocks and also gotta watch out for TPunch. Defensive Gabite is very resistant on the phys side and also has Rough Skin to chip down Monf trying to wear it down. Offensive flyers like Swoobat, Jumpluff, Dodrio and Articuno all outspeed it and threaten an OHKO on it, former two even resisting Mach. Faster threats with super effective in general like Golduck, Acrobatics Simisage, Scarf Earthquake Arbok, Mr.Mime all revengekill it.
:zebstrika:
Checks: :stunfisk: :marowak: :muk: :scraggy: :gabite: :monferno: + every scarfer and every priority user
Counters: :zweilous: :whiscash: :audino: :clefairy: :palpitoad:
Zweilous eats any move Zeb throws at it any day while Resting chip damage all off and threatening big damage back. Whiscash uses Zeb as its main entry regardless of its set also blocking Volt Switch attempts and takes absolutely nothing, Palpitoad same deal but no potential of lefties recovery in exchange of rocks. Audino doesn't block Volt but with Regen it can always pivot into Zeb at any time while taking very little. Clefairy is a bit more chip prone for not blocking Volt and also not having Regen, but it has more reliable recovery move and can't ever be overwhelmed by hazards.
Stunfisk eats Zeb hits well, but the ubiquity of Balloon Zeb sitting on it to chip it down as all Fisk can do is tox is annoying. Marowak can EV to eat 2 Zeb moves and be a huge threat back even with balloon still up. Muk has no reliable recovery outside of rest and doesn't block Volt but eats Zebs moves super well and can even pick it off with Sneak, Scraggy is similar but has a more reliable Rest cuz of Shed Skin. Gabite can block Zebs Volt and scarf sets threaten to rk it easily, Monferno threatens Zeb both with Scarf sets and Mach picking it up while Zeb can't immediately deal with it. Outside of these pretty much every single scarfer and priority user does well vs Zebstrika.
:beheeyem:
Checks: :zweilous: :clefairy: :pawniard: :vullaby: :klang: :shiftry: :sneasel: :mightyena: :stoutland: :marowak: :banette: :simisear: :mawile: :torterra:
Counters: :bronzor: :scraggy:
Bronzor has enormous bulk while threatening Tox and Resting damage off, gotta be careful with sleep cycles though and HP Fire sets (not common enough at least yet). Scraggy eats any unboosted or boosted move Beh throws at it while it outspeeds and sets up in front of it causing major problems for it.
Zwei eats unboosted hits well but takes a lot to +2 Signal Beam, outspeeds Beh and threatens to 2hko but not only Beh can run Colbur but Zwei can also get sabotaged by Hustle which flips the mu. Clefairy eats unboosted hits well and Encores NP attempts, doesn't eat moves THAT well to the point of being a counter, needs good HP management. Pawniard eats unboosted hits, threatens Beh back mainly if packing Night Slash and can even pursuit it, 0 recovery though. Vullaby is neutral to Signal Beam as well, packs recovery and good bulk but can only deal with Beh through Toxic, more likely to be a trade. Klang does about the same as Zor but its much less proactive than Zor when asleep. Shiftry threatens an OHKO with Specs Dark Pulse and even non-Specs sets are big threats to Beh, but gets torn apart by Signal beam. Sneasel and Mightyena need a bit of prior chip in order for Beh to be in range of their moves, Sneasel can also pursuit it. Very strong wallbreakers like Stoutland, Marowak, Torterra and Simisear can also threaten Beh really quickly despite not being switch-ins to it. Banette can threaten a big hit with Shadow Claw and even pursuit while Mawile uses its typing to resists both common Beh moves to at least tank 1 while hitting back hard or setting up.
:marowak:
Checks: :solrock: :leafeon: :maractus: :eelektrik: + Any faster Grass, Water and Ice offensive mon
Counters: :torterra: :meganium:
PhysDef Torterra answers Marowak decently well, with reliable recovery and preferably Helmet chip as Marowak tries forcing Torterra to heal, other Tort sets can also answer Wak offensively and even softchecking. Meganium has great bulk, resists ground, has recovery and is faster than Wak with little speed investment making it most likely the speed mon into Marowak in the entire tier and being Stalls saving grace vs it.
Solrock counters non-Iron Head variants but gets demolished by the ones that do run them. Leafeon packs good phys bulk, power and speed to be able to switch into Marowak from time to time, mainly if max hp with Synthesis. Maractus doesn't take Fire Punch that well but Occa allows it do help vs Wak to a certain degree. Eelektrik avoid the 2hko from Waks DEdge and slow pivots on it to bring offensive threats against it, shaky for having to rely on Rest. A good tip is to not rely too much on checking Wak defensively, use your offensive mons to wear it down and mainly the ones clicking super effective buttons against it.
:stoutland:
Checks: :torterra: :mawile: :machoke: :frillish: :monferno: :simisear: :rapidash: :kingler: :dodrio: :pelipper: :simisage: :pikachu:
Counters: :solrock: :bronzor:
Solrock resists Normal without being weak to Superpower, threatens Wisp while also letting Stout take Helmet chip and then recovering the damage back. Bronzor walls it even harder, resists normal without fighting weakness but with much higher bulk and even a resistance to rocks.
PhysDef Tort with Helmet is solid into it, but also needs excellent HP management, unlike Marowak having to commit to Fire Punch to even force the healing, Stout can just click its STAB to do that making harder to stay consistent as a check. PhysDef Mawile with Intimidate can switch into Return any day and avoids the 2hko from Superpower. Machoke avoids a 2hko and threatens a super effective Dynamic Punch back, but Rest makes it super inconsistent as a switch-in. Frillish gets slaughtered by Scrappy but its there as a representation of it forcing Stoutland out of Intimidate which it would otherwise prefer to run. Monferno outspeeds even eventual Jolly Stoutland and kills it back with very little chip or straightup if CB/LO. Fighting coverage from stuff like Simisage and Kingler can help dealing with it. Strong and faster wallbreakers like Simisear, Rapidash, scarf Pelipper, Dodrio and Pikachu can also do quick work of it with little chip.
:shiftry:
Checks: :monferno: :jumpluff: :klang: :sneasel: :vileplume: :muk: :machoke: :clefairy: :articuno: :leafeon: :pikachu:
Counters: :zweilous: :vullaby:
Countering Shiftry is extremely difficult cuz of how set variation differs its own counterplay. Zweilous can switch into its STABs comfortably, can get screwed by an unlucky double specs Focus Blast hitting but otherwise it can deal with Shiftry p decently between phys and special sides. Vullaby can also deal with every Shiftry set, quickly answering it with Brave Bird as well.
Monferno resists botb STABs but does not like eating any +2 phys move or Specs special move, takes hits from mixed set better and with Slack Off Monferno can also be more refined as a check. Jumpluff can't take Dark Pulses but it switches into specual grass moves and mainly screws SD sets with Encore. Klang checks Specs and mixed decently well but its fodder to SubSD. Sneasel outspeeds, resists Sucker, threatens an OHKO back and if its too low it also has Ice Shard to pick Shiftry off. Vileplume is a solid mixed Shiftry check and at full it can check SD as well. Muk can stop Shiftry in a pinch. Machoke is great vs SD but hates taking special moves, Clefairy is the other way around. Articuno outspeeds, takes every unboosted move p well and can outplay Gem +2 Sucker with Subs. Leafeon has enough bulk to live boosted Suckers while answering with Gem DEdge or X-Scissor and Pikachu outpriorities Sucker with ESpeed.
:simisear:
Checks: :tentacool: :whiscash: :dragonair: :clefairy: :audino: :grumpig::monferno: :rapidash: :purugly: :zebstrika: :pelipper: :jumpluff: :arbok: :golduck: :shiftry: :pikachu:
Counters: :zweilous: :frillish: :lampent:
Although some mixed sets have been making appearances, Zwei is a great switch-in to it, takes little from Specs fire moves and resting them off and can Roar NP sets out while also living +2 Focus. Frillish takes Specs moves decently well, instantly recover them off and threaten it back, even more if running Scald, also not being too screwed by NP sets. Lampent is immune to both fire and fighting moves and doesn't take too much from HP Electrics.
Tentacool is a pretty good check to Simisear, none of its special moves really threaten it and Tenta can use them as entry points, however Tenta is often overwhelmed and tasked with checking more stuff and spinning while not having any sort of recovery. Whiscash takes hits decently well, not being threatened by any move since Sear doesn't really run grass coverage at all but also not being too bulk to munch Specs hits and not having recovery. Dragonair is almost like Zwei, a little less bulky and threatening but no fighting weakness. Clef barely checks Sear as it doesnt take rocks damage, has good special bulk and has recovery. Audino can pivot into specs moves and Encore or TWave NP sets. Grumpig resists fire due to Thick Fat while directly threatening back, mainly if scarf. Monferno softchecks Sear, takes any one of its hits be it Specs or NP and hits it back while also having Mach to pick it off. Rapidash outspeeds it and has Flash Fire to cease the fire move spam, can also kill it with Drill Run. Faster threats also help a lot vs it like Jumpluff, Zebstrika and especially Purugly which outspeeds, has priority (maybe even 2) and has Thick Fat to softcheck Sear. Scarfers and priority users alike are also very useful into it, just awareness as for Sucker users cuz NP sets mostly run Substitute.
Checks: :beheeyem: :duosion: :tentacool: :grumpig: :pelipper: :gabite: :swoobat: :jumpluff: :simisage: :dodrio: :golduck: :arbok: :pikachu: :articuno:
Counters: :frillish: :stunfisk: :lampent:
Stunfisk takes Monfs hits extremely even avoiding 2hkos from CB moves while also threatening Static procs back, Frillish resists Fire and is immune to Fighting while also resisting U-turn, sets without TPunch are totally unable to touch it and running TPunch is a decently big commitment. Lampent is immune to both STABs while also quad-resisting U-turn and not being weak to TPunch, however it is weak to rocks so its less sturdy of a counter than the other two.
Beheeyem takes non-CB hits well while recovering it back, just like Duosion, U-turn chip is annoying for them though. Tentacool resists both STABs and U-turn but it is not too bulky on the phys side and lacks recovery, so it is overwhelmed long term. Grumpig resists Fighting and has Thick Fat, but hates U-turn chipping. Pelipper resists STABs and U-turn but hates rocks and also gotta watch out for TPunch. Defensive Gabite is very resistant on the phys side and also has Rough Skin to chip down Monf trying to wear it down. Offensive flyers like Swoobat, Jumpluff, Dodrio and Articuno all outspeed it and threaten an OHKO on it, former two even resisting Mach. Faster threats with super effective in general like Golduck, Acrobatics Simisage, Scarf Earthquake Arbok, Mr.Mime all revengekill it.
:zebstrika:
Checks: :stunfisk: :marowak: :muk: :scraggy: :gabite: :monferno: + every scarfer and every priority user
Counters: :zweilous: :whiscash: :audino: :clefairy: :palpitoad:
Zweilous eats any move Zeb throws at it any day while Resting chip damage all off and threatening big damage back. Whiscash uses Zeb as its main entry regardless of its set also blocking Volt Switch attempts and takes absolutely nothing, Palpitoad same deal but no potential of lefties recovery in exchange of rocks. Audino doesn't block Volt but with Regen it can always pivot into Zeb at any time while taking very little. Clefairy is a bit more chip prone for not blocking Volt and also not having Regen, but it has more reliable recovery move and can't ever be overwhelmed by hazards.
Stunfisk eats Zeb hits well, but the ubiquity of Balloon Zeb sitting on it to chip it down as all Fisk can do is tox is annoying. Marowak can EV to eat 2 Zeb moves and be a huge threat back even with balloon still up. Muk has no reliable recovery outside of rest and doesn't block Volt but eats Zebs moves super well and can even pick it off with Sneak, Scraggy is similar but has a more reliable Rest cuz of Shed Skin. Gabite can block Zebs Volt and scarf sets threaten to rk it easily, Monferno threatens Zeb both with Scarf sets and Mach picking it up while Zeb can't immediately deal with it. Outside of these pretty much every single scarfer and priority user does well vs Zebstrika.
:beheeyem:
Checks: :zweilous: :clefairy: :pawniard: :vullaby: :klang: :shiftry: :sneasel: :mightyena: :stoutland: :marowak: :banette: :simisear: :mawile: :torterra:
Counters: :bronzor: :scraggy:
Bronzor has enormous bulk while threatening Tox and Resting damage off, gotta be careful with sleep cycles though and HP Fire sets (not common enough at least yet). Scraggy eats any unboosted or boosted move Beh throws at it while it outspeeds and sets up in front of it causing major problems for it.
Zwei eats unboosted hits well but takes a lot to +2 Signal Beam, outspeeds Beh and threatens to 2hko but not only Beh can run Colbur but Zwei can also get sabotaged by Hustle which flips the mu. Clefairy eats unboosted hits well and Encores NP attempts, doesn't eat moves THAT well to the point of being a counter, needs good HP management. Pawniard eats unboosted hits, threatens Beh back mainly if packing Night Slash and can even pursuit it, 0 recovery though. Vullaby is neutral to Signal Beam as well, packs recovery and good bulk but can only deal with Beh through Toxic, more likely to be a trade. Klang does about the same as Zor but its much less proactive than Zor when asleep. Shiftry threatens an OHKO with Specs Dark Pulse and even non-Specs sets are big threats to Beh, but gets torn apart by Signal beam. Sneasel and Mightyena need a bit of prior chip in order for Beh to be in range of their moves, Sneasel can also pursuit it. Very strong wallbreakers like Stoutland, Marowak, Torterra and Simisear can also threaten Beh really quickly despite not being switch-ins to it. Banette can threaten a big hit with Shadow Claw and even pursuit while Mawile uses its typing to resists both common Beh moves to at least tank 1 while hitting back hard or setting up.
:marowak:
Checks: :solrock: :leafeon: :maractus: :eelektrik: + Any faster Grass, Water and Ice offensive mon
Counters: :torterra: :meganium:
PhysDef Torterra answers Marowak decently well, with reliable recovery and preferably Helmet chip as Marowak tries forcing Torterra to heal, other Tort sets can also answer Wak offensively and even softchecking. Meganium has great bulk, resists ground, has recovery and is faster than Wak with little speed investment making it most likely the speed mon into Marowak in the entire tier and being Stalls saving grace vs it.
Solrock counters non-Iron Head variants but gets demolished by the ones that do run them. Leafeon packs good phys bulk, power and speed to be able to switch into Marowak from time to time, mainly if max hp with Synthesis. Maractus doesn't take Fire Punch that well but Occa allows it do help vs Wak to a certain degree. Eelektrik avoid the 2hko from Waks DEdge and slow pivots on it to bring offensive threats against it, shaky for having to rely on Rest. A good tip is to not rely too much on checking Wak defensively, use your offensive mons to wear it down and mainly the ones clicking super effective buttons against it.
:stoutland:
Checks: :torterra: :mawile: :machoke: :frillish: :monferno: :simisear: :rapidash: :kingler: :dodrio: :pelipper: :simisage: :pikachu:
Counters: :solrock: :bronzor:
Solrock resists Normal without being weak to Superpower, threatens Wisp while also letting Stout take Helmet chip and then recovering the damage back. Bronzor walls it even harder, resists normal without fighting weakness but with much higher bulk and even a resistance to rocks.
PhysDef Tort with Helmet is solid into it, but also needs excellent HP management, unlike Marowak having to commit to Fire Punch to even force the healing, Stout can just click its STAB to do that making harder to stay consistent as a check. PhysDef Mawile with Intimidate can switch into Return any day and avoids the 2hko from Superpower. Machoke avoids a 2hko and threatens a super effective Dynamic Punch back, but Rest makes it super inconsistent as a switch-in. Frillish gets slaughtered by Scrappy but its there as a representation of it forcing Stoutland out of Intimidate which it would otherwise prefer to run. Monferno outspeeds even eventual Jolly Stoutland and kills it back with very little chip or straightup if CB/LO. Fighting coverage from stuff like Simisage and Kingler can help dealing with it. Strong and faster wallbreakers like Simisear, Rapidash, scarf Pelipper, Dodrio and Pikachu can also do quick work of it with little chip.
:shiftry:
Checks: :monferno: :jumpluff: :klang: :sneasel: :vileplume: :muk: :machoke: :clefairy: :articuno: :leafeon: :pikachu:
Counters: :zweilous: :vullaby:
Countering Shiftry is extremely difficult cuz of how set variation differs its own counterplay. Zweilous can switch into its STABs comfortably, can get screwed by an unlucky double specs Focus Blast hitting but otherwise it can deal with Shiftry p decently between phys and special sides. Vullaby can also deal with every Shiftry set, quickly answering it with Brave Bird as well.
Monferno resists botb STABs but does not like eating any +2 phys move or Specs special move, takes hits from mixed set better and with Slack Off Monferno can also be more refined as a check. Jumpluff can't take Dark Pulses but it switches into specual grass moves and mainly screws SD sets with Encore. Klang checks Specs and mixed decently well but its fodder to SubSD. Sneasel outspeeds, resists Sucker, threatens an OHKO back and if its too low it also has Ice Shard to pick Shiftry off. Vileplume is a solid mixed Shiftry check and at full it can check SD as well. Muk can stop Shiftry in a pinch. Machoke is great vs SD but hates taking special moves, Clefairy is the other way around. Articuno outspeeds, takes every unboosted move p well and can outplay Gem +2 Sucker with Subs. Leafeon has enough bulk to live boosted Suckers while answering with Gem DEdge or X-Scissor and Pikachu outpriorities Sucker with ESpeed.
:simisear:
Checks: :tentacool: :whiscash: :dragonair: :clefairy: :audino: :grumpig::monferno: :rapidash: :purugly: :zebstrika: :pelipper: :jumpluff: :arbok: :golduck: :shiftry: :pikachu:
Counters: :zweilous: :frillish: :lampent:
Although some mixed sets have been making appearances, Zwei is a great switch-in to it, takes little from Specs fire moves and resting them off and can Roar NP sets out while also living +2 Focus. Frillish takes Specs moves decently well, instantly recover them off and threaten it back, even more if running Scald, also not being too screwed by NP sets. Lampent is immune to both fire and fighting moves and doesn't take too much from HP Electrics.
Tentacool is a pretty good check to Simisear, none of its special moves really threaten it and Tenta can use them as entry points, however Tenta is often overwhelmed and tasked with checking more stuff and spinning while not having any sort of recovery. Whiscash takes hits decently well, not being threatened by any move since Sear doesn't really run grass coverage at all but also not being too bulk to munch Specs hits and not having recovery. Dragonair is almost like Zwei, a little less bulky and threatening but no fighting weakness. Clef barely checks Sear as it doesnt take rocks damage, has good special bulk and has recovery. Audino can pivot into specs moves and Encore or TWave NP sets. Grumpig resists fire due to Thick Fat while directly threatening back, mainly if scarf. Monferno softchecks Sear, takes any one of its hits be it Specs or NP and hits it back while also having Mach to pick it off. Rapidash outspeeds it and has Flash Fire to cease the fire move spam, can also kill it with Drill Run. Faster threats also help a lot vs it like Jumpluff, Zebstrika and especially Purugly which outspeeds, has priority (maybe even 2) and has Thick Fat to softcheck Sear. Scarfers and priority users alike are also very useful into it, just awareness as for Sucker users cuz NP sets mostly run Substitute.
:simisear: How to BW PU 101 ft. BW PU himself :simisage:
(part 2)
(part 2)
I did not imagine I would write so much to the point I would be forced to split the post in 2 so my bad for that
Anyways here are some more resources cuz I'm too nice with it
Here is where I share something different from each mon, could be something hella fire or just a general take and some techs might not even be mine exactly.
:bw/audino:
Audino @ Chople Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Audino only has one weakness and crippling the one relevant mon of that typing sounds interesting enough to consider this. I usually prefer this type of set on Audino and leave Encore shenanigans to Clef.
:bw/banette:
Banette @ Lum Berry
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
- Will-O-Wisp
Lum Banette plays a big role in spikes HO, being much more aggressive as a spinblocker than Frillish, not being weak to Scald like Lampent and threatening a clean 2hko on Tentacool. Lum Berry makes so Tents can't cripple you tryna spinblock with Scald burns.
:bw/beheeyem:
Beheeyem @ Custap Berry
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 16 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
i've shown this set before but I wanna explain further the importance of HP Fire on such sets. P much everyone relies on Bronzor to stop Beh on like 80% of teams. A set like this unifies both fat and offensive mus into one that can offer 2 for 1 trades very often. HP Fire also gives life to Specs Beh sets.
:bw/bronzor:
Bronzor @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 104 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psywave
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
There is not much else you can do with Zor on top of some random move tweak like Skill Swap or Protect or a screen, but I do inforce the importance of speedcreeping opposing Bronzor, Bronzor faceoffs are extremely common in the tier and being able to always outspeed opposing ones gives you the upper hand on sleep cycling and positioning (unless you miss all Psywaves cuz ur bad)
:bw/dodrio:
Dodrio @ Normal Gem
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Work Up
- Double-Edge
- Drill Peck
- Baton Pass
Dodrio suffers heavily from Bronzor and Stunfisk mus, so I created this set to kinda fix it. +1 Gem DEdge comes very close to OHKOing Stunfisk so you just need a little bit of chip or Spikes, and if you face something like Bronzor you can just pass the Work Up boost to something, and as Work Up is both a phys and a special boost you can pass to any type of offensive partner really.
:bw/duosion:
Couldn't think of a any heat with Duosion, its standard CM sets have no real room for improvement and other sets like Regen or Dual Dance sets have alr proven to be far from what standard CM offers.
:bw/dwebble:
Dwebble @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off
No big deal really, I just prefer Knock over Smash on Dwebble for the increased utility, not that it makes that big of a diff anyways.
:bw/fraxure:
Fraxure @ Eviolite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Taunt
Let Fraxure leverage its attack to break common walls with SD and Taunt. DD doesn't offers it boosts with enough timing for it to just break everything and offer often positive trades. Its also super revengeable at +1 Speed so really why even bother.
:bw/gabite:
Gabite @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Bulldoze / Dragon Claw
I think Gabite has its value as a lead, as it can get taunted vs lead Glalie or Monferno and can often force some nice progress early on.
:bw/golduck:
Golduck @ Water Gem
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Maaaaany Golduck sets I like but this one is the one I like the most, +1 Gem Pump is a Hydrogen Bomb, also decently hard to stop positive trades vs this set.
:bw/huntail:
Nothing to inovate here really
:bw/jumpluff:
Jumpluff
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
I won't be claiming credits here, I've seen someone 3 or 4 years ago using this exact set and I honestly still fw this idea a lot as it can sit on its sturdiest checks.
:bw/klang:
Klang @ Eviolite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
it doesn't make this mon much better but this is a way at solving mostly of its bad mu vs Stoutland. With max def you are able to eat 2 CB Superpowers and you don't need to fear boosted Facades anymore.
:bw/krokorok:
Krokorok @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Bulldoze
- Crunch
Imo best suicide lead in the tier, dont @ me. Taunts opposing rocks, Crunch deals with Natu, Bulldoze deals with Tenta while also forcing -1 Speed for the incoming boosting mon to abuse, as well as the Intimidate drop.
:bw/mantine:
Mantine @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam / HP Electric
This set actually works pretty well, its 4x elec weakness is a gigantic disaster for it, but with Wacan you can eat elec moves from stuff like Zebstrika and Simisear to get rain up and start breaking under rain, pretty satisfying results.
:bw/maractus:
Maractus @ Occa Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Modest/Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Synthesis
There is nothing crazy going on here, this is just a call for you to run the goddamn Occa on your Cactuses, Occa p much doubles its staying power and that is exactly what it needs, making its life much easier into Monf, Zeb and Wak, regardless if you run Defense or SpAtk.
:bw/mawile:
Mawile @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Fire Fang
- Sucker Punch
I've never liked Mawile as a sweeper because its offensive typing is awful, so many defensive staples resist Steel and coverage slots become very limited. So I figured it could try to run an AoA set with Fire Fang over SD, that could maybe even be like Crunch for Frillish perhaps, idk.
:bw/monferno:
Monferno @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
Shown, tried and approved. Gem SD Monferno either lets its +2 CC go nuclear a single time (all it needs) vs some of its defensive checks or lets Mach be MUCH stronger into offensive checks while also serving as a surprise for being unrevealed.
:bw/murkrow:
Murkrow @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt / Thunder Wave
- Roost
That is all I can imagine working for it, and even that looks sus, I've seen something similar to this set in the latest tours but I need someone to convince me on the krow.
:bw/natu:
Natu @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Night Shade
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Roost
s/o Tack , since Natu is p much cooked vs phys setters anyways, lets try special sets so it becomes slightly more optimal vs Maractus and TRIES denying Stunfisk.
:bw/purugly:
Purugly @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Prob ppl have already caught up to this but Knock is actually p good on it. Outside of physdef Tort, no Purugly check likes losing their item.
:bw/rampardos:
Rampardos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Rock Slide
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
Not even this set can save Rampardos, being a rock is a no go in this tier, picked off by Mach, having your STAB resisted by Steel and Ground, its just dire.
:bw/rapidash:
Rapidash @ Fire Gem
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Megahorn
- Wild Charge
- Drill Run / Morning Sun / Baton Pass
This set actually fed me hope for Rapidash again, very potent wallbreaker while being very fast and I can't take credits for this one, so whoever started running Megahorn and making these sets very offensive, good job.
:bw/relicanth:
Relicanth @ Chople Berry
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Head Smash
- Toxic
Rampardos slander applies to this as well. At least it does very well into removal.
:bw/scraggy:
Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 52 HP / 204 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Crunch
- Drain Punch / Rest
I've used this before and it is very fun, MUCH frailer than BU but it can be a big ass threat at +2 since HJK BP makes up for the low Attack.
:bw/shiftry:
Shiftry @ Dread Plate / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Synthesis / Focus Blast / Nature Power
Maybe my proudest recent creation. This Shiftry is VERY good, compresses breaking and revengekilling in one slot with its good moves and Sucker, Synthesis also lets it act as Torterra check making use of even its little defensive profile, aint that beautiful?
:bw/simisage:
Simisage @ Life Orb
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Flying]
NP Sage is funky but if you get a good setup opportunity I swear it works pretty well, bad part is that most of the time you are forced to hit multiple Focus Blast.
:bw/sneasel:
Sneasel @ Dread Plate
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Ice Shard
- Punishment
- Pursuit
Lets it restrain itself with its clicks a bit less and less outplayable.
:bw/stoutland:
Stoutland @ Silk Scarf / Chople Berry
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Return
- Facade
- Pursuit
- Roar
This tech is actually pretty clever. Roar can of course help for standard purposes of phazing boosting mons or spreading hazards mainly if using Spikes, but in BW u get to use Roar to reset sleep counters, in this case, mostly notably Bronzor. Not exactly 100% Zor-proof but it is the best you can achieve with it and its a decently adaptable tech on it outside of Zor mu.
:bw/stunfisk:
Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Discharge
- Earth Power
- Protect
I didn't create this, but Protect is really damn good on it mainly in paraspam teams.
:bw/swoobat:
Swoobat @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Heat Wave
- Signal Beam
As I said in role compendium, CM gives it the power it really lacks and the +2 SpDef helps it escape Zeb rkilling, since it eats almost always Tbolt after rocks at +2.
:bw/tentacool:
Tentacool @ Eviolite
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Toxic / Toxic Spikes
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Do not ignore Marowak when using Tentacool, I prefer Tox over TSpikes nowadays on Tenta as it deals MUCH better with Fril and Maractus.
:bw/torterra:
Torterra @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Seed
Scarf turns the table into mons that would otherwise threaten it like Monferno, Golduck and Pikachu. All of this while retaining good power and some defensive profile. It can also anti-lead some suicide leads with Seed. Watch out cuz it still does not outspeed Zeb and it is still fucked by Zor.
:bw/ursaring:
Ursaring @ Custap Berry
Ability: Guts
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Return
- Fire Punch
- Crunch / Earthquake
Bulk Up makes surviving hard ass moves much more likely and also likely puts it into Custap range. Threatens all the common defensive structures as well.
:bw/victreebel:
Victreebel @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off / Giga Drain
Compresses hard hitting scarf that can also absorb tspikes. Slow compared to scarfers but can def get job done.
:bw/vileplume:
Vileplume @ Occa Berry
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 220 HP / 184 SpA / 44 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Giga Drain / Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Leech Seed
- Moonlight
I've always been big on offensive Plume. Hard to switch into and can softcheck a decent amount in the tier.
:bw/volbeat:
Nope
:bw/zebstrika:
Every year a new item is meta in Zeb, we finna find out soon.
:bw/zweilous:
Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 112 SpD / 148 Spe
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
The speed here has been helping me a lot, taking part on the great Wak creeping wars.
:bw/audino:
Audino @ Chople Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Audino only has one weakness and crippling the one relevant mon of that typing sounds interesting enough to consider this. I usually prefer this type of set on Audino and leave Encore shenanigans to Clef.
:bw/banette:
Banette @ Lum Berry
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Pursuit
- Will-O-Wisp
Lum Banette plays a big role in spikes HO, being much more aggressive as a spinblocker than Frillish, not being weak to Scald like Lampent and threatening a clean 2hko on Tentacool. Lum Berry makes so Tents can't cripple you tryna spinblock with Scald burns.
:bw/beheeyem:
Beheeyem @ Custap Berry
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 16 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
i've shown this set before but I wanna explain further the importance of HP Fire on such sets. P much everyone relies on Bronzor to stop Beh on like 80% of teams. A set like this unifies both fat and offensive mus into one that can offer 2 for 1 trades very often. HP Fire also gives life to Specs Beh sets.
:bw/bronzor:
Bronzor @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 104 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psywave
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
There is not much else you can do with Zor on top of some random move tweak like Skill Swap or Protect or a screen, but I do inforce the importance of speedcreeping opposing Bronzor, Bronzor faceoffs are extremely common in the tier and being able to always outspeed opposing ones gives you the upper hand on sleep cycling and positioning (unless you miss all Psywaves cuz ur bad)
:bw/dodrio:
Dodrio @ Normal Gem
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Work Up
- Double-Edge
- Drill Peck
- Baton Pass
Dodrio suffers heavily from Bronzor and Stunfisk mus, so I created this set to kinda fix it. +1 Gem DEdge comes very close to OHKOing Stunfisk so you just need a little bit of chip or Spikes, and if you face something like Bronzor you can just pass the Work Up boost to something, and as Work Up is both a phys and a special boost you can pass to any type of offensive partner really.
:bw/duosion:
Couldn't think of a any heat with Duosion, its standard CM sets have no real room for improvement and other sets like Regen or Dual Dance sets have alr proven to be far from what standard CM offers.
:bw/dwebble:
Dwebble @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off
No big deal really, I just prefer Knock over Smash on Dwebble for the increased utility, not that it makes that big of a diff anyways.
:bw/fraxure:
Fraxure @ Eviolite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Taunt
Let Fraxure leverage its attack to break common walls with SD and Taunt. DD doesn't offers it boosts with enough timing for it to just break everything and offer often positive trades. Its also super revengeable at +1 Speed so really why even bother.
:bw/gabite:
Gabite @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Bulldoze / Dragon Claw
I think Gabite has its value as a lead, as it can get taunted vs lead Glalie or Monferno and can often force some nice progress early on.
:bw/golduck:
Golduck @ Water Gem
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Maaaaany Golduck sets I like but this one is the one I like the most, +1 Gem Pump is a Hydrogen Bomb, also decently hard to stop positive trades vs this set.
:bw/huntail:
Nothing to inovate here really
:bw/jumpluff:
Jumpluff
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
I won't be claiming credits here, I've seen someone 3 or 4 years ago using this exact set and I honestly still fw this idea a lot as it can sit on its sturdiest checks.
:bw/klang:
Klang @ Eviolite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
it doesn't make this mon much better but this is a way at solving mostly of its bad mu vs Stoutland. With max def you are able to eat 2 CB Superpowers and you don't need to fear boosted Facades anymore.
:bw/krokorok:
Krokorok @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Bulldoze
- Crunch
Imo best suicide lead in the tier, dont @ me. Taunts opposing rocks, Crunch deals with Natu, Bulldoze deals with Tenta while also forcing -1 Speed for the incoming boosting mon to abuse, as well as the Intimidate drop.
:bw/mantine:
Mantine @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam / HP Electric
This set actually works pretty well, its 4x elec weakness is a gigantic disaster for it, but with Wacan you can eat elec moves from stuff like Zebstrika and Simisear to get rain up and start breaking under rain, pretty satisfying results.
:bw/maractus:
Maractus @ Occa Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 124 SpA / 136 Spe
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Modest/Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Synthesis
There is nothing crazy going on here, this is just a call for you to run the goddamn Occa on your Cactuses, Occa p much doubles its staying power and that is exactly what it needs, making its life much easier into Monf, Zeb and Wak, regardless if you run Defense or SpAtk.
:bw/mawile:
Mawile @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Ice Punch
- Fire Fang
- Sucker Punch
I've never liked Mawile as a sweeper because its offensive typing is awful, so many defensive staples resist Steel and coverage slots become very limited. So I figured it could try to run an AoA set with Fire Fang over SD, that could maybe even be like Crunch for Frillish perhaps, idk.
:bw/monferno:
Monferno @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
Shown, tried and approved. Gem SD Monferno either lets its +2 CC go nuclear a single time (all it needs) vs some of its defensive checks or lets Mach be MUCH stronger into offensive checks while also serving as a surprise for being unrevealed.
:bw/murkrow:
Murkrow @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse
- Taunt / Thunder Wave
- Roost
That is all I can imagine working for it, and even that looks sus, I've seen something similar to this set in the latest tours but I need someone to convince me on the krow.
:bw/natu:
Natu @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Night Shade
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Roost
s/o Tack , since Natu is p much cooked vs phys setters anyways, lets try special sets so it becomes slightly more optimal vs Maractus and TRIES denying Stunfisk.
:bw/purugly:
Purugly @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Prob ppl have already caught up to this but Knock is actually p good on it. Outside of physdef Tort, no Purugly check likes losing their item.
:bw/rampardos:
Rampardos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Rock Slide
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
Not even this set can save Rampardos, being a rock is a no go in this tier, picked off by Mach, having your STAB resisted by Steel and Ground, its just dire.
:bw/rapidash:
Rapidash @ Fire Gem
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Megahorn
- Wild Charge
- Drill Run / Morning Sun / Baton Pass
This set actually fed me hope for Rapidash again, very potent wallbreaker while being very fast and I can't take credits for this one, so whoever started running Megahorn and making these sets very offensive, good job.
:bw/relicanth:
Relicanth @ Chople Berry
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Head Smash
- Toxic
Rampardos slander applies to this as well. At least it does very well into removal.
:bw/scraggy:
Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 52 HP / 204 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Crunch
- Drain Punch / Rest
I've used this before and it is very fun, MUCH frailer than BU but it can be a big ass threat at +2 since HJK BP makes up for the low Attack.
:bw/shiftry:
Shiftry @ Dread Plate / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Synthesis / Focus Blast / Nature Power
Maybe my proudest recent creation. This Shiftry is VERY good, compresses breaking and revengekilling in one slot with its good moves and Sucker, Synthesis also lets it act as Torterra check making use of even its little defensive profile, aint that beautiful?
:bw/simisage:
Simisage @ Life Orb
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Flying]
NP Sage is funky but if you get a good setup opportunity I swear it works pretty well, bad part is that most of the time you are forced to hit multiple Focus Blast.
:bw/sneasel:
Sneasel @ Dread Plate
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Ice Shard
- Punishment
- Pursuit
Lets it restrain itself with its clicks a bit less and less outplayable.
:bw/stoutland:
Stoutland @ Silk Scarf / Chople Berry
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Return
- Facade
- Pursuit
- Roar
This tech is actually pretty clever. Roar can of course help for standard purposes of phazing boosting mons or spreading hazards mainly if using Spikes, but in BW u get to use Roar to reset sleep counters, in this case, mostly notably Bronzor. Not exactly 100% Zor-proof but it is the best you can achieve with it and its a decently adaptable tech on it outside of Zor mu.
:bw/stunfisk:
Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Discharge
- Earth Power
- Protect
I didn't create this, but Protect is really damn good on it mainly in paraspam teams.
:bw/swoobat:
Swoobat @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Heat Wave
- Signal Beam
As I said in role compendium, CM gives it the power it really lacks and the +2 SpDef helps it escape Zeb rkilling, since it eats almost always Tbolt after rocks at +2.
:bw/tentacool:
Tentacool @ Eviolite
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Toxic / Toxic Spikes
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Do not ignore Marowak when using Tentacool, I prefer Tox over TSpikes nowadays on Tenta as it deals MUCH better with Fril and Maractus.
:bw/torterra:
Torterra @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Seed
Scarf turns the table into mons that would otherwise threaten it like Monferno, Golduck and Pikachu. All of this while retaining good power and some defensive profile. It can also anti-lead some suicide leads with Seed. Watch out cuz it still does not outspeed Zeb and it is still fucked by Zor.
:bw/ursaring:
Ursaring @ Custap Berry
Ability: Guts
EVs: 72 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Return
- Fire Punch
- Crunch / Earthquake
Bulk Up makes surviving hard ass moves much more likely and also likely puts it into Custap range. Threatens all the common defensive structures as well.
:bw/victreebel:
Victreebel @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off / Giga Drain
Compresses hard hitting scarf that can also absorb tspikes. Slow compared to scarfers but can def get job done.
:bw/vileplume:
Vileplume @ Occa Berry
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 220 HP / 184 SpA / 44 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Giga Drain / Leech Seed
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Leech Seed
- Moonlight
I've always been big on offensive Plume. Hard to switch into and can softcheck a decent amount in the tier.
:bw/volbeat:
Nope
:bw/zebstrika:
Every year a new item is meta in Zeb, we finna find out soon.
:bw/zweilous:
Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 112 SpD / 148 Spe
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
The speed here has been helping me a lot, taking part on the great Wak creeping wars.
:bw/articuno:
Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 28 Def / 228 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Hurricane
- Roost
The closest you can get to SubsRoost Swanna we had in the tier, but it needs a lot of support.
:bw/dragonair:
Dragonair @ Eviolite
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Tail
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Same old same old, you start DDing, you Rest, your defense is boosted allowing for more DDs and its snowball nation with neutral priority DTails.
:bw/glalie:
Glalie @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Scarf allows Glalie to not miss up on p much no layer attempts and can also surprise with its other moves.
:bw/machoke:
Machoke @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
No crazy change, just saying Machoke needs Toxic instead of Ice Punch, more immediately threatening, pairs better with confusions and helps into Frillish.
:bw/marowak:
Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 224 HP / 96 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock / Substitute
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Double-Edge / Iron Head
My spread is just goated. HP to eat 2 from any non-boosted Zeb and Monf moves, Speed to outspeed Ada Wak creepers and leftovers Attack.
:bw/regigigas:
Regigigas @ Leftovers
Ability: Slow Start
EVs: 172 HP / 84 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray / Earthquake
- Return
Idr who created this set but it is hella fun to use
:bw/trubbish:
Trubbish @ Eviolite
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Explosion / Toxic Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Pain Split
Trub can go either way on the slashed moves. The most average spiker in the whole tier.
:bw/whirlipede:
Whirlipede @ Eviolite
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Facade
- Endeavor
Facade is like your best bet in wars vs Tenta cuz Tenta is likely to start burning you with Scald.
:bw/arbok:
Arbok @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 228 Def / 80 Spe
Impish Nature
- Switcheroo
- Earthquake / Glare
- Dragon Tail
- Poison Jab
S/o Tizio Potente Ao for this one. He created this and ngl I just really enjoyed the idea.
:bw/bibarel:
Bibarel @ Normal Gem
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Work Up
- Waterfall
- Return
- Quick Attack
Disappointing mon, I tried suicide lead on it and even that is totally outdone by Krokorok. This mon is truly just dogshit
:bw/dunsparce:
Dunsparce @ Custap Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Atk / 72 Def / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Headbutt
- Bite / Earthquake
- Glare
Fun lead that paralyzes shit, tanks everything, get rocks up and can go for paraflinching from there as the bonus
:bw/glaceon:
Glaceon @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Ice mons being choiced is tough cuz some of the most common walls resist it, so having the appropriate coverage alongside the strong ice clicks is what their appeal come from, in Glaceons case SBall and access to BPass
:bw/grumpig:
Grumpig @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Heal Bell
- Trick
Stlll the set I created and I run the most by far, I just wanted to give it more attention
:bw/kingler:
Kingler @ Rare Bone
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Fling
- X-Scissor
S/o Tack for this one as well. ZU Tech to catch Frillish by surprise with Fling.
:bw/leavanny:
Leavanny @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor / Flail
- Leaf Blade / Flail
I've seen multiple Leavannys recently and I'm still tryna figure it out, but kept me intrigued ong.
:bw/meganium:
Meganium @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Tail
- Aromatherapy
- Synthesis
Best Wak switch-in in the tier. Very good bulk, being a cleric and a phazer is what it does best, forget SD and Leech Seed bs, run this.
:bw/mightyena:
Mightyena @ Dread Plate
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
- Return / Super Fang
The one thing making it even usable at all is the exclusivity of having Moxie, excellent snowball potential, this mon has no speed, no bulk and no coverage but the one thing it does it can do very well
:bw/mr-mime:
Mr. Mime @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Baton Pass
Very recent creation, NP Pass mon that can either act as a standalone breaker with NP or it can pass NP to something else or even better it can bypass Pursuit by clicking dry Baton Pass.
:bw/muk:
Muk @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 56 Def / 72 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
Curse Muk has many variations and has been a thing for a while but I've found Shuca especially interesting, that spread with Shuca lets Muk even trade Marowak which would be otherwise its #1 problem.
:bw/pelipper:
Pelipper @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hurricane
- Surf
- U-turn
Another standard being, just wanna bring more attention to this, excellent scarfer with good moves and U-turn. Breaks as well as Scarf Swanna used to.
:bw/raichu:
Raichu @ Air Balloon
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch / Encore
Its trait over Zebstrika is access to Nasty Plot. It abuses things like Stunfisk with Balloon for setup opportunities.
:bw/raticate:
Raticate @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Crunch
- Quick Attack / Protect
- U-turn / Protect
Fastish and strong Guts mon with access to U-turn. I actually really like Raticate and I think it deserves more.
:bw/seaking:
Seaking @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Toxic / Rest
- Protect / Sleep Talk
Water that hardwalls Zeb, ngl just run Whiscash
:bw/seviper:
Seviper @ Life Orb
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Sucker Punch
Great breaker actually, very hard to switch into but it gets outsped by like everything
:bw/simisear:
Simisear @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This mixed set is actually pretty decent and works very well vs guys that spam Zwei and even hit Fril decently hard.
:bw/slaking:
Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Fire Punch
- Shadow Claw
- Pursuit
Long time no see
:bw/solrock:
Solrock @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
This thing has finally gone mainstream, and reaction started as soon as I've seen the first couple of Iron Head Marowaks, I recommend you to not ignore speed investments on Solrock.
:bw/vanilluxe:
Vanilluxe @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
- Toxic
Vanilluxe got even more points with me than Glaceon (for not being a slug), ok enough speed allowing for it to at least get past Ada Stout/Modest Shiftry. This is one of the better wallbreakers I've crafted (it also ate a Stoutland Return in a test using it btw).
:bw/walrein:
Walrein @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Abuses Fril structures like literally nothing else but looks absurdly hard to support due to tiers hostility to removal + type overlapping.
:bw/whiscash:
Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 172 HP / 200 SpA / 136 Spe
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Modest/Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power / Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Protect / Ice Beam
Yall already know this is my goat. I've tested with DD in the past, then got into Specs and now I've been testing bulky lefties sets for ir and I'm pleased to say its also exceptionally good at what that does.
:bw/wormadam-trash:
Wormadam-Trash (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Anticipation
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Signal Beam
- Psychic
- Toxic
Trash
Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 28 Def / 228 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Ice Beam
- Hurricane
- Roost
The closest you can get to SubsRoost Swanna we had in the tier, but it needs a lot of support.
:bw/dragonair:
Dragonair @ Eviolite
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Tail
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Same old same old, you start DDing, you Rest, your defense is boosted allowing for more DDs and its snowball nation with neutral priority DTails.
:bw/glalie:
Glalie @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Scarf allows Glalie to not miss up on p much no layer attempts and can also surprise with its other moves.
:bw/machoke:
Machoke @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
No crazy change, just saying Machoke needs Toxic instead of Ice Punch, more immediately threatening, pairs better with confusions and helps into Frillish.
:bw/marowak:
Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 224 HP / 96 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock / Substitute
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Double-Edge / Iron Head
My spread is just goated. HP to eat 2 from any non-boosted Zeb and Monf moves, Speed to outspeed Ada Wak creepers and leftovers Attack.
:bw/regigigas:
Regigigas @ Leftovers
Ability: Slow Start
EVs: 172 HP / 84 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray / Earthquake
- Return
Idr who created this set but it is hella fun to use
:bw/trubbish:
Trubbish @ Eviolite
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Explosion / Toxic Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Pain Split
Trub can go either way on the slashed moves. The most average spiker in the whole tier.
:bw/whirlipede:
Whirlipede @ Eviolite
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 248 HP / 72 Def / 188 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Facade
- Endeavor
Facade is like your best bet in wars vs Tenta cuz Tenta is likely to start burning you with Scald.
:bw/arbok:
Arbok @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 200 HP / 228 Def / 80 Spe
Impish Nature
- Switcheroo
- Earthquake / Glare
- Dragon Tail
- Poison Jab
S/o Tizio Potente Ao for this one. He created this and ngl I just really enjoyed the idea.
:bw/bibarel:
Bibarel @ Normal Gem
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Work Up
- Waterfall
- Return
- Quick Attack
Disappointing mon, I tried suicide lead on it and even that is totally outdone by Krokorok. This mon is truly just dogshit
:bw/dunsparce:
Dunsparce @ Custap Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Atk / 72 Def / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Headbutt
- Bite / Earthquake
- Glare
Fun lead that paralyzes shit, tanks everything, get rocks up and can go for paraflinching from there as the bonus
:bw/glaceon:
Glaceon @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Baton Pass
Ice mons being choiced is tough cuz some of the most common walls resist it, so having the appropriate coverage alongside the strong ice clicks is what their appeal come from, in Glaceons case SBall and access to BPass
:bw/grumpig:
Grumpig @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Heal Bell
- Trick
Stlll the set I created and I run the most by far, I just wanted to give it more attention
:bw/kingler:
Kingler @ Rare Bone
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Fling
- X-Scissor
S/o Tack for this one as well. ZU Tech to catch Frillish by surprise with Fling.
:bw/leavanny:
Leavanny @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor / Flail
- Leaf Blade / Flail
I've seen multiple Leavannys recently and I'm still tryna figure it out, but kept me intrigued ong.
:bw/meganium:
Meganium @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dragon Tail
- Aromatherapy
- Synthesis
Best Wak switch-in in the tier. Very good bulk, being a cleric and a phazer is what it does best, forget SD and Leech Seed bs, run this.
:bw/mightyena:
Mightyena @ Dread Plate
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
- Return / Super Fang
The one thing making it even usable at all is the exclusivity of having Moxie, excellent snowball potential, this mon has no speed, no bulk and no coverage but the one thing it does it can do very well
:bw/mr-mime:
Mr. Mime @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Baton Pass
Very recent creation, NP Pass mon that can either act as a standalone breaker with NP or it can pass NP to something else or even better it can bypass Pursuit by clicking dry Baton Pass.
:bw/muk:
Muk @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 56 Def / 72 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Curse
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch
Curse Muk has many variations and has been a thing for a while but I've found Shuca especially interesting, that spread with Shuca lets Muk even trade Marowak which would be otherwise its #1 problem.
:bw/pelipper:
Pelipper @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hurricane
- Surf
- U-turn
Another standard being, just wanna bring more attention to this, excellent scarfer with good moves and U-turn. Breaks as well as Scarf Swanna used to.
:bw/raichu:
Raichu @ Air Balloon
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch / Encore
Its trait over Zebstrika is access to Nasty Plot. It abuses things like Stunfisk with Balloon for setup opportunities.
:bw/raticate:
Raticate @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Crunch
- Quick Attack / Protect
- U-turn / Protect
Fastish and strong Guts mon with access to U-turn. I actually really like Raticate and I think it deserves more.
:bw/seaking:
Seaking @ Leftovers
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Toxic / Rest
- Protect / Sleep Talk
Water that hardwalls Zeb, ngl just run Whiscash
:bw/seviper:
Seviper @ Life Orb
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower
- Sucker Punch
Great breaker actually, very hard to switch into but it gets outsped by like everything
:bw/simisear:
Simisear @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 60 Atk / 196 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This mixed set is actually pretty decent and works very well vs guys that spam Zwei and even hit Fril decently hard.
:bw/slaking:
Slaking @ Choice Band
Ability: Truant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Fire Punch
- Shadow Claw
- Pursuit
Long time no see
:bw/solrock:
Solrock @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
This thing has finally gone mainstream, and reaction started as soon as I've seen the first couple of Iron Head Marowaks, I recommend you to not ignore speed investments on Solrock.
:bw/vanilluxe:
Vanilluxe @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
- Toxic
Vanilluxe got even more points with me than Glaceon (for not being a slug), ok enough speed allowing for it to at least get past Ada Stout/Modest Shiftry. This is one of the better wallbreakers I've crafted (it also ate a Stoutland Return in a test using it btw).
:bw/walrein:
Walrein @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Abuses Fril structures like literally nothing else but looks absurdly hard to support due to tiers hostility to removal + type overlapping.
:bw/whiscash:
Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 172 HP / 200 SpA / 136 Spe
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe
Modest/Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power / Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Protect / Ice Beam
Yall already know this is my goat. I've tested with DD in the past, then got into Specs and now I've been testing bulky lefties sets for ir and I'm pleased to say its also exceptionally good at what that does.
:bw/wormadam-trash:
Wormadam-Trash (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Anticipation
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Signal Beam
- Psychic
- Toxic
Trash
:bw/clefairy:
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 128 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave / Wish / Knock Off / Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock
- Encore / Wish / Knock Off / Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
The normal typing is its absolute only drawback, making it considerably harder to fit onto teams. The spread lets it outspeed Beheeyem, tank a Monf CC from full and leftovers SpDef. It can run so many combinations but the moves before slashes are is my favorite set.
:bw/eelektrik:
Eelektrik @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Discharge
- U-turn
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Very bulky slow pivot that offensive teams like so much and it does work super well to bring teammates in.
:bw/lairon:
Lairon @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock / Toxic
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Roar / Toxic
Still figuring this out but I'll eventually be back with some answer. Think of Roar there just like what I explained about Stout
:bw/lampent:
Lampent @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Trick
Goated defensive profile for an offensive mon, actually. Stats messes it up a decent bit
:bw/meditite:
Meditite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Trick
- Baton Pass
Hits super damn hard but dies to every mon in the world. BPass is cool to pivot into pursuit users vs bulky psychics.
:bw/palpitoad:
Palpitoad @ Eviolite
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Refresh
Whiscash + rocks - leftovers
:bw/servine:
Servine @ Eviolite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
Lures in Monf to Glare it at least but takes so long to become threatening.
:bw/togetic:
Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hyper Voice
- Baton Pass
- Roost
Can slowpass NP to something which is kinda unique. Try passing this to either a weather mon or an Agility mon.
:bw/vibrava:
Vibrava @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Roost
It has the typing, the movepool, it just lacked the stats, spikes immune rocks resistant pivot that can spread tox everywhere but lacks stats to come in on Wak for example.
:bw/carvanha:
Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
Sole Speed Booster in the whole tier, actually works but really needs spikes for cleaning just like Sharpedo in UU. Aqua Jet outpriorities Monf at +1 which would otherwise OHKO with Mach.
:bw/chinchou:
Chinchou @ Eviolite
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Relic of the past, lastly it used to be Swannas hardest counter, now Pelipper exists and just U-turns on Chinchou and Chinchou is kinda stuck and never used. Theoretically still helps for Zeb and Simisear kinda but it can.
:bw/drilbur:
Drilbur @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
Only mon able to compress rocks with spin, threatens Tenta and can up on Natu cuz of Mold Breaker, which also allows Drilbur to hit Bronzor with EQ. It is better as a setter than as a spinner.
:bw/magnemite:
Magnemite @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Can trap Bronzor
:bw/mienfoo:
Mienfoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Taunt / Toxic
Decent bulk checking weaker stuff and using them to generate momentum with slowish U-turns.
:bw/onix:
Onix @ Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Rocks setter for sun but its not even a rule for sun to carry this rn.
:bw/pawniard:
Pawniard @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 64 SpD / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head / Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Stealth Rock
Hard walls Bronzor, has a LOT of useful moves but cant fit them all. Despite the 4MSS this is a very cool mon and I've found usefulness for it in teams.
:bw/slowpoke:
Slowpoke @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Future Sight / Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
Can switch into a good majority of phys moves of the tier and recover itself with regen but it is also extremely passive
:bw/staryu:
Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
Spinner que é pior que Tenta contra a maioria dos setterd mas é melhor contra Frillish e Glali
A spinner worse than Tenta vs the majority of the setters but better than Frillish and Glalie mainly and maybe even better vs Marowak as well, thanks to recovery, Natural Cure and lack of ground weakness.
:bw/vullaby:
Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Big Pecks
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 120 SpD / 136 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Toxic / U-turn
- Taunt / U-turn
- Roost
I got a bit delusionsal with this bird but it just takes too much support for honestly not that much of a return. Very unique defensive profile but falls short to its own rocks weakness and passivity.
Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 128 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave / Wish / Knock Off / Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock
- Encore / Wish / Knock Off / Toxic / Heal Bell / Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
The normal typing is its absolute only drawback, making it considerably harder to fit onto teams. The spread lets it outspeed Beheeyem, tank a Monf CC from full and leftovers SpDef. It can run so many combinations but the moves before slashes are is my favorite set.
:bw/eelektrik:
Eelektrik @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Discharge
- U-turn
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Very bulky slow pivot that offensive teams like so much and it does work super well to bring teammates in.
:bw/lairon:
Lairon @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock / Toxic
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Roar / Toxic
Still figuring this out but I'll eventually be back with some answer. Think of Roar there just like what I explained about Stout
:bw/lampent:
Lampent @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Trick
Goated defensive profile for an offensive mon, actually. Stats messes it up a decent bit
:bw/meditite:
Meditite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Trick
- Baton Pass
Hits super damn hard but dies to every mon in the world. BPass is cool to pivot into pursuit users vs bulky psychics.
:bw/palpitoad:
Palpitoad @ Eviolite
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Refresh
Whiscash + rocks - leftovers
:bw/servine:
Servine @ Eviolite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
Lures in Monf to Glare it at least but takes so long to become threatening.
:bw/togetic:
Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hyper Voice
- Baton Pass
- Roost
Can slowpass NP to something which is kinda unique. Try passing this to either a weather mon or an Agility mon.
:bw/vibrava:
Vibrava @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Roost
It has the typing, the movepool, it just lacked the stats, spikes immune rocks resistant pivot that can spread tox everywhere but lacks stats to come in on Wak for example.
:bw/carvanha:
Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
Sole Speed Booster in the whole tier, actually works but really needs spikes for cleaning just like Sharpedo in UU. Aqua Jet outpriorities Monf at +1 which would otherwise OHKO with Mach.
:bw/chinchou:
Chinchou @ Eviolite
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Relic of the past, lastly it used to be Swannas hardest counter, now Pelipper exists and just U-turns on Chinchou and Chinchou is kinda stuck and never used. Theoretically still helps for Zeb and Simisear kinda but it can.
:bw/drilbur:
Drilbur @ Eviolite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
Only mon able to compress rocks with spin, threatens Tenta and can up on Natu cuz of Mold Breaker, which also allows Drilbur to hit Bronzor with EQ. It is better as a setter than as a spinner.
:bw/magnemite:
Magnemite @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Can trap Bronzor
:bw/mienfoo:
Mienfoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Taunt / Toxic
Decent bulk checking weaker stuff and using them to generate momentum with slowish U-turns.
:bw/onix:
Onix @ Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sunny Day
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Rocks setter for sun but its not even a rule for sun to carry this rn.
:bw/pawniard:
Pawniard @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Atk / 64 SpD / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head / Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Thunder Wave / Stealth Rock
Hard walls Bronzor, has a LOT of useful moves but cant fit them all. Despite the 4MSS this is a very cool mon and I've found usefulness for it in teams.
:bw/slowpoke:
Slowpoke @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Future Sight / Psyshock
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
Can switch into a good majority of phys moves of the tier and recover itself with regen but it is also extremely passive
:bw/staryu:
Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
Spinner que é pior que Tenta contra a maioria dos setterd mas é melhor contra Frillish e Glali
A spinner worse than Tenta vs the majority of the setters but better than Frillish and Glalie mainly and maybe even better vs Marowak as well, thanks to recovery, Natural Cure and lack of ground weakness.
:bw/vullaby:
Vullaby (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Big Pecks
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 120 SpD / 136 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Toxic / U-turn
- Taunt / U-turn
- Roost
I got a bit delusionsal with this bird but it just takes too much support for honestly not that much of a return. Very unique defensive profile but falls short to its own rocks weakness and passivity.
S/o for Porygons in PUCL for carrying my ass (one day it would have to happen) and putting me into top 1 pu hof, s/o Tack and Akir for all these years of bw pu work and talk and a big special s/o to my brother Fakee , this dude was one of my first ever Smogon friends and back when I started this whole bw pu heat project Fakee was the guy that spammed bw pu games the most with me and many discoveries and adaptations and such are also thanks to him, loved all the talks and fun and mockery between us during our time bro, te extraño muchísimo
Anyways this may be my only bw pu post this year yall so enjoy it and hope you learn something from allat, bye
Last edited:
This is like, a month late, but finally here are the combined stats of PUCL! I'll also go over some of the trends we can see in these stats.
To start off, Monferno is in the lead by 13 uses, and sports a solid 58% winrate. It has over 50% usage on teams which I think shows that Monferno is back to being S tier.
Zebstrika and Bronzor are 2nd and 3rd respectively in usage, coming in at 23 and 20 uses. Bronzor being the only good steel (mawile barely counts and klang I pretend doesn't exist before I get sad) makes the usage understandable but Zebstrika despite seemingly falling off compared to Swanna meta is still high in usage. Wonder what innovations it will see in PUPL since it picks up something new every tour.
Now onto the fun part, the niches mons that saw good usage. These are Leavanny, Staryu and Eelektrik with 3 uses and above. Staryu actually got 5 uses, which is quite high for a Pokemon in the C ranks. Spin is always going to have a niche and it looks like it has gotten a good amount of people to consider it on teams, especially since it can also absorb status with natural cure. Leavanny actually isn't ranked on the VR, but it was used with a Sub SD set utilising Salac Berry and Swarm, trying to setup and sweep through teams, mostly trying to take advantage of teams utilising Bronzor I would assume since its neutral to Bug. Eelektrik got used primarily early in the tour and is an interesting mon to see since its got a lot of utility but doesn't have great stats in general. Still effectively having no weaknesses unless you face Rampardos or Fraxure is a good toll to have.
Torterra, Pelipper and Zweilous all had double digit usage while also having 60% wr or higher. Torterra has become one of, if not the best, ground types in the tier, due to its ability to be the single best check to marowak in the tier aside from solrock (barring fire punch burns ofc). Its ability to 1v1 one of the best physical breakers is amazing, and it also can be annoying to switch into for certain teams due to having to watch out for wood hammer, stone edge or eq coming from it. It can also check mons such as zebstrika (with occa berry or yache berry), stunfusk, arbok etc. It does struggle more into monferno but thats not the hardest thing in the world to cover. Pelipper had an amazing showing this tour, proving that a water flying type will be good in BW PU no matter what (though fuck swanna). It can use primarily scarf, agility or the occasional defensive set to not only check a lot of important pokes like monferno, leafeon, torterra etc, but also be an annoying pokemon to switch into due to its STABS alongside either the burn from scald or the confusion from hurricane. This allows it to carve out a great place in the tier despite the fact it has a rocks weakness. In a tier with a multitude of top tier psychics, darks are obviously going to find a great place in the tier, and zweilous is probably one of the most reliable (which is funny when it has the ability hustle). Despite the fact that rest talk is a horrible recovery method in BW due to sleep turns resetting on switch out, zweilous is so good that it can get away with it, as it completely counters most psychics, with signal beam does pitiful damage and focus blast doesn't threaten enough and is focus blast (its not hitting). From this, zweilous can threaten great damage with crunch or use roar to phaze out sweepers, which paired with spikes can be nasty. It also helps into Pokemon such as frillish, zebstrika, golduck, huntail etc. I've even used phys defense which while much more niche, even lived a quick feet +2 facade from ursaring and killed it, and it also easily lives CB CC from monferno.
Tentacool, Marowak and Golduck had below 40% wr while having double digit usage. Tentacool being a spinner means it will always have good usage, but its def tough for it. The rise of Frillish does it no favours, as while it can use Toxic on the switch, as long as Frillish is alive it can never spin for progress. Other trends like Shiftry rising in usage aren't also great, since they can threaten it for massive damage. Dropping Tspikes also makes it a lot less scary against certain structures. If only mirror coat and rapid were compatible... Marowak is kinda shocking to see at 25% wr, the second lowest wr outside of the 0% guys (which are mainly 1-2 uses, and the lowest wr mon is jumpluff). This is especially the case since marowak is deadlier then ever, with its ability to utilise eq+double edge to hit a large chunk of the meta hard, with the few things that can take it getting hit by fire punch. Well, if you look at the tort wr, its easy to see why. Tort is the best check to marowak as it can take even two fire punche's and heal off the damage, while threatening large damage (if not an OHKO) with wood hammer. Bronzor is also high which while it doesn't have reliable recovery outside of rest, can usually take a hit and toxic it to put it on a timer or deal good damage with psywave. Its just really tough for marowak to break effectively though ofc is amazing when it can. Golduck is tbh a bit weird too? While it doesn't appreciate frillish, it has options like encore to pressure it if needed, and especially with people experimenting options such as water gem+hydro pump. IDT there is anything in particular that makes it super bad rn, but its def low.
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Monferno | 36 | 52.94% | 58.33% |
| 2 | Zebstrika | 23 | 33.82% | 52.17% |
| 3 | Bronzor | 20 | 29.41% | 40.00% |
| 4 | Tentacool | 19 | 27.94% | 36.84% |
| 5 | Torterra | 17 | 25.00% | 64.71% |
| 5 | Stunfisk | 17 | 25.00% | 41.18% |
| 7 | Beheeyem | 16 | 23.53% | 43.75% |
| 8 | Shiftry | 13 | 19.12% | 46.15% |
| 9 | Marowak | 12 | 17.65% | 25.00% |
| 10 | Arbok | 11 | 16.18% | 54.55% |
| 10 | Golduck | 11 | 16.18% | 36.36% |
| 12 | Pelipper | 10 | 14.71% | 60.00% |
| 12 | Zweilous | 10 | 14.71% | 60.00% |
| 12 | Leafeon | 10 | 14.71% | 40.00% |
| 15 | Gabite | 8 | 11.76% | 75.00% |
| 16 | Maractus | 7 | 10.29% | 71.43% |
| 16 | Solrock | 7 | 10.29% | 57.14% |
| 16 | Simisage | 7 | 10.29% | 57.14% |
| 16 | Ursaring | 7 | 10.29% | 42.86% |
| 16 | Stoutland | 7 | 10.29% | 42.86% |
| 16 | Swoobat | 7 | 10.29% | 28.57% |
| 22 | Clefairy | 6 | 8.82% | 66.67% |
| 22 | Whiscash | 6 | 8.82% | 66.67% |
| 22 | Pikachu | 6 | 8.82% | 50.00% |
| 22 | Glalie | 6 | 8.82% | 50.00% |
| 22 | Scraggy | 6 | 8.82% | 50.00% |
| 27 | Frillish | 5 | 7.35% | 80.00% |
| 27 | Mr. Mime | 5 | 7.35% | 60.00% |
| 27 | Rapidash | 5 | 7.35% | 40.00% |
| 27 | Muk | 5 | 7.35% | 40.00% |
| 27 | Vileplume | 5 | 7.35% | 40.00% |
| 27 | Natu | 5 | 7.35% | 40.00% |
| 27 | Simisear | 5 | 7.35% | 40.00% |
| 27 | Jumpluff | 5 | 7.35% | 20.00% |
| 35 | Huntail | 4 | 5.88% | 75.00% |
| 35 | Audino | 4 | 5.88% | 50.00% |
| 35 | Duosion | 4 | 5.88% | 50.00% |
| 38 | Articuno | 3 | 4.41% | 100.00% |
| 38 | Staryu | 3 | 4.41% | 100.00% |
| 38 | Purugly | 3 | 4.41% | 66.67% |
| 38 | Leavanny | 3 | 4.41% | 33.33% |
| 38 | Dragonair | 3 | 4.41% | 33.33% |
| 38 | Eelektrik | 3 | 4.41% | 33.33% |
| 44 | Klang | 2 | 2.94% | 50.00% |
| 44 | Banette | 2 | 2.94% | 50.00% |
| 44 | Sneasel | 2 | 2.94% | 50.00% |
| 44 | Grumpig | 2 | 2.94% | 0.00% |
| 44 | Mawile | 2 | 2.94% | 0.00% |
| 44 | Mantine | 2 | 2.94% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Volbeat | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Dwebble | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Regigigas | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Rampardos | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Magmar | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Mightyena | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Walrein | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Abra | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Murkrow | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Krokorok | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Lampent | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Raichu | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Victreebel | 1 | 1.47% | 100.00% |
| 50 | Mienfoo | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Mothim | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Vanilluxe | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Machoke | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Kingler | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Vibrava | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Dunsparce | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Raticate | 1 | 1.47% | 0.00% |To start off, Monferno is in the lead by 13 uses, and sports a solid 58% winrate. It has over 50% usage on teams which I think shows that Monferno is back to being S tier.
Zebstrika and Bronzor are 2nd and 3rd respectively in usage, coming in at 23 and 20 uses. Bronzor being the only good steel (mawile barely counts and klang I pretend doesn't exist before I get sad) makes the usage understandable but Zebstrika despite seemingly falling off compared to Swanna meta is still high in usage. Wonder what innovations it will see in PUPL since it picks up something new every tour.
Now onto the fun part, the niches mons that saw good usage. These are Leavanny, Staryu and Eelektrik with 3 uses and above. Staryu actually got 5 uses, which is quite high for a Pokemon in the C ranks. Spin is always going to have a niche and it looks like it has gotten a good amount of people to consider it on teams, especially since it can also absorb status with natural cure. Leavanny actually isn't ranked on the VR, but it was used with a Sub SD set utilising Salac Berry and Swarm, trying to setup and sweep through teams, mostly trying to take advantage of teams utilising Bronzor I would assume since its neutral to Bug. Eelektrik got used primarily early in the tour and is an interesting mon to see since its got a lot of utility but doesn't have great stats in general. Still effectively having no weaknesses unless you face Rampardos or Fraxure is a good toll to have.
Torterra, Pelipper and Zweilous all had double digit usage while also having 60% wr or higher. Torterra has become one of, if not the best, ground types in the tier, due to its ability to be the single best check to marowak in the tier aside from solrock (barring fire punch burns ofc). Its ability to 1v1 one of the best physical breakers is amazing, and it also can be annoying to switch into for certain teams due to having to watch out for wood hammer, stone edge or eq coming from it. It can also check mons such as zebstrika (with occa berry or yache berry), stunfusk, arbok etc. It does struggle more into monferno but thats not the hardest thing in the world to cover. Pelipper had an amazing showing this tour, proving that a water flying type will be good in BW PU no matter what (though fuck swanna). It can use primarily scarf, agility or the occasional defensive set to not only check a lot of important pokes like monferno, leafeon, torterra etc, but also be an annoying pokemon to switch into due to its STABS alongside either the burn from scald or the confusion from hurricane. This allows it to carve out a great place in the tier despite the fact it has a rocks weakness. In a tier with a multitude of top tier psychics, darks are obviously going to find a great place in the tier, and zweilous is probably one of the most reliable (which is funny when it has the ability hustle). Despite the fact that rest talk is a horrible recovery method in BW due to sleep turns resetting on switch out, zweilous is so good that it can get away with it, as it completely counters most psychics, with signal beam does pitiful damage and focus blast doesn't threaten enough and is focus blast (its not hitting). From this, zweilous can threaten great damage with crunch or use roar to phaze out sweepers, which paired with spikes can be nasty. It also helps into Pokemon such as frillish, zebstrika, golduck, huntail etc. I've even used phys defense which while much more niche, even lived a quick feet +2 facade from ursaring and killed it, and it also easily lives CB CC from monferno.
Tentacool, Marowak and Golduck had below 40% wr while having double digit usage. Tentacool being a spinner means it will always have good usage, but its def tough for it. The rise of Frillish does it no favours, as while it can use Toxic on the switch, as long as Frillish is alive it can never spin for progress. Other trends like Shiftry rising in usage aren't also great, since they can threaten it for massive damage. Dropping Tspikes also makes it a lot less scary against certain structures. If only mirror coat and rapid were compatible... Marowak is kinda shocking to see at 25% wr, the second lowest wr outside of the 0% guys (which are mainly 1-2 uses, and the lowest wr mon is jumpluff). This is especially the case since marowak is deadlier then ever, with its ability to utilise eq+double edge to hit a large chunk of the meta hard, with the few things that can take it getting hit by fire punch. Well, if you look at the tort wr, its easy to see why. Tort is the best check to marowak as it can take even two fire punche's and heal off the damage, while threatening large damage (if not an OHKO) with wood hammer. Bronzor is also high which while it doesn't have reliable recovery outside of rest, can usually take a hit and toxic it to put it on a timer or deal good damage with psywave. Its just really tough for marowak to break effectively though ofc is amazing when it can. Golduck is tbh a bit weird too? While it doesn't appreciate frillish, it has options like encore to pressure it if needed, and especially with people experimenting options such as water gem+hydro pump. IDT there is anything in particular that makes it super bad rn, but its def low.
How come :duosion: isn't even on the list? Unless I missed a tier shift or something, I feel you need to prepare for this (similar to NU) as it can potentially destroy particular teams.
IMO I would rate it around B+.
IMO I would rate it around B+.
Got deleted during a vr update by accident probably, if memory serves its supposed to be either A or A- based on last votes
yep that's my bad, it apparently fell off. ill repent by adding some thought about the mon
Duosion really feels like it has a toolkit to completely wreck the tier and in the past it absolutely did, but the main problem with it is the question of why use this if you could also use Beheeyem. Obviously there are differences, like the extra bulk and Magic Guard are incredible, but the sheer raw power that Beheeyem has even uninvested makes it much easier to slot on to teams and much more effective in games. Honestly I think it is a good mon but Beheeyem does something similar with much better results.
Posted this in the latest PUPL dump thread but I like how organized of a space this thread is, figured I'd repost things here. Hope that's okay, enjoy.
Beheeyem @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Recover
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
Put some speed on this and tweak the spread as you wish but yeah, the idea behind this one is to serve as an absolute stopgap to opposing Beheeyems and Duosions. Imprison + either Recover or Signal Beam can have other slight applications vs the likes of Grumpig, Frillish, etc so it isn't just a funky exclusive tool vs other boosting Psys. The usual pairing of Clefairy + Helm Beheeyem works well with this set, just be sure to have a way to punish Bronzor and the few others that Beheeyem can't really dent on its own.
Leafeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Synthesis
- Leaf Blade
+
useless manager (Kingler) @ Splash Plate
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Crabhammer
- Fling
- X-Scissor
or
Dodrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Drill Peck
- Flail
- Knock Off
Baton Pass is broken yet quite unexplored in this tier, use it whenever and however you can. Leafeon's an easy fit on lots of teams too which helps since you aren't really going out of your way to include it through a Baton Pass based offense as is the case on other BP teams in other formats.
Emolga @ Leftovers
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Roost
- Air Slash
Elec-immune that Subs and BP's out on Stunfisk in particular while having a decent speed tier (hits 335 so outspeeds Simisage/sear and below).
Mawile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Iron Head
Okay last Baton Pass mention I promise. Good role compression + slow Baton Pass that can enable others, pretty ideal on paper.
Victreebel @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sunny Day
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
Really good if you dont expect something like a Golduck or Shiftry from your opp. Timid is an option if you want to outpace most Shiftrys, although they can still Sucker you of course which is why I prefer Modest. Used this on a HO team to great effect this PUPL.
Graveler @ Eviolite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Atk / 24 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sucker Punch
- Smack Down
- Earthquake
Cool role compression as you get a check to Normals and Electrics that also serves as a rocker. The HP and SDef ensure that you live 2 HP Ices from Zebstrika after rocks. I personally like having Smack Down to annoy floaters like Bronzor, Solrock, etc that think they have a free pivot into you. It was nice using this one week and seeing fellow players in the pool cook with it immediately afterward.
Sneasel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
- Beat Up
- Low Kick
Amazing lead on HO teams, akin to the same set Weaviles run in BW UU. Sneasel doesn't really have much as far as physical Dark moves go (I think Punishment is unironically it's strongest option??), and Beat Up remedies that on a team with lots of high base Attack mons.
Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Looks like a meme but I swear it snowballed in a few tests. You need to find ways past the non-frail Grasses but +2 lets it outspeed base 80 +Spe scarfers while Rain Dance + Hydration can give you openings vs something like a Toxic Bronzor.
Simisear @ Flying Gem
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Work Up
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Acrobatics
Credit to TyCarter, think he used this vs me in week 1 and I built with a lot since then. Pretty good idea on paper, Flying Gem Acro lets it nuke a lot of its supposed checks like Monferno, Tentacool, etc. especially at +1. Unfortunately, it's pretty limited to doing things once per game but it is a fantastic breaker nonetheless.
Wormadam-Trash @ Leftovers
Ability: Anticipation
EVs: 248 HP / 224 Def / 36 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Metal Sound
- Signal Beam
- Psychic
Probably familiar-looking to any BW ZU enthusiasts, but it has some slight applications in BW PU. Gets rocks up, checks Normals and Psychics = good role compression. I think the SAtk evs ensure a 2hko vs Arbok?
Maractus @ Occa Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Spikes
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Flying]
The last slot's filler but I've quite liked HP Flying here as a way to dissuade Monferno from switching in for free while still hitting opposing Grasses so you totally dont miss having HP Ice. Speed's good for Jolly Marowak so you absolutely retain the option to outpace it and hit it for big damage with Giga Drain, came in clutch in my PUPL semis game.
Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
Flavor of the week sorta Scarfer, Tricks all of the right stuff and hits harder than you think it would because base 100 SpA is very high for this tier's standards.
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Moonlight
- Drain Punch / Seed Bomb
- Nature Power
Perhaps someone braver than me will manage to successfully wield this set. Nature Power converts to Earthquake and the choice between Drain Punch and Seed Bomb is yours based on what you need the rest of your team to be favorable vs.
Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Discharge
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
Hey grasses can't switch in or heal up for free anymore that's kinda useful right? Also breaks Zeb balloons and fishing for poisons isn't the worst thing in the world for a passive mon to do.
Monferno @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Fire Punch
- Close Combat
You've seen this set before. I wouldn't really use any other Monferno set besides this and maybe Scarf or Rocks if some teams need that, but this has THE highest ceiling and I wanted to reassert that opinion.
Dwebble @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off
252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 0 HP 0 IVs / 4- Def 0 IVs Dwebble: 170-201 (80.9 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dwebble: 130-153 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You now pop Custap vs CB Dog lead which nets you an extra layer. These are the small things that can make a world of a difference for HO teams.
Thanks for reading and I hope this inspires people to build cool shit. bw pu cya maybe in a future pu team tour accel out.
Beheeyem @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Recover
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
Put some speed on this and tweak the spread as you wish but yeah, the idea behind this one is to serve as an absolute stopgap to opposing Beheeyems and Duosions. Imprison + either Recover or Signal Beam can have other slight applications vs the likes of Grumpig, Frillish, etc so it isn't just a funky exclusive tool vs other boosting Psys. The usual pairing of Clefairy + Helm Beheeyem works well with this set, just be sure to have a way to punish Bronzor and the few others that Beheeyem can't really dent on its own.
Leafeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Synthesis
- Leaf Blade
+
useless manager (Kingler) @ Splash Plate
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Crabhammer
- Fling
- X-Scissor
or
Dodrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Drill Peck
- Flail
- Knock Off
Baton Pass is broken yet quite unexplored in this tier, use it whenever and however you can. Leafeon's an easy fit on lots of teams too which helps since you aren't really going out of your way to include it through a Baton Pass based offense as is the case on other BP teams in other formats.
Emolga @ Leftovers
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Roost
- Air Slash
Elec-immune that Subs and BP's out on Stunfisk in particular while having a decent speed tier (hits 335 so outspeeds Simisage/sear and below).
Mawile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Baton Pass
- Iron Head
Okay last Baton Pass mention I promise. Good role compression + slow Baton Pass that can enable others, pretty ideal on paper.
Victreebel @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sunny Day
- Solar Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
Really good if you dont expect something like a Golduck or Shiftry from your opp. Timid is an option if you want to outpace most Shiftrys, although they can still Sucker you of course which is why I prefer Modest. Used this on a HO team to great effect this PUPL.
Graveler @ Eviolite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Atk / 24 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sucker Punch
- Smack Down
- Earthquake
Sneasel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Ice Shard
- Beat Up
- Low Kick
Amazing lead on HO teams, akin to the same set Weaviles run in BW UU. Sneasel doesn't really have much as far as physical Dark moves go (I think Punishment is unironically it's strongest option??), and Beat Up remedies that on a team with lots of high base Attack mons.
Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Rain Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Looks like a meme but I swear it snowballed in a few tests. You need to find ways past the non-frail Grasses but +2 lets it outspeed base 80 +Spe scarfers while Rain Dance + Hydration can give you openings vs something like a Toxic Bronzor.
Simisear @ Flying Gem
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Work Up
- Overheat
- Superpower
- Acrobatics
Credit to TyCarter, think he used this vs me in week 1 and I built with a lot since then. Pretty good idea on paper, Flying Gem Acro lets it nuke a lot of its supposed checks like Monferno, Tentacool, etc. especially at +1. Unfortunately, it's pretty limited to doing things once per game but it is a fantastic breaker nonetheless.
Wormadam-Trash @ Leftovers
Ability: Anticipation
EVs: 248 HP / 224 Def / 36 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Metal Sound
- Signal Beam
- Psychic
Probably familiar-looking to any BW ZU enthusiasts, but it has some slight applications in BW PU. Gets rocks up, checks Normals and Psychics = good role compression. I think the SAtk evs ensure a 2hko vs Arbok?
Maractus @ Occa Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Spikes
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Flying]
The last slot's filler but I've quite liked HP Flying here as a way to dissuade Monferno from switching in for free while still hitting opposing Grasses so you totally dont miss having HP Ice. Speed's good for Jolly Marowak so you absolutely retain the option to outpace it and hit it for big damage with Giga Drain, came in clutch in my PUPL semis game.
Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
Flavor of the week sorta Scarfer, Tricks all of the right stuff and hits harder than you think it would because base 100 SpA is very high for this tier's standards.
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Moonlight
- Drain Punch / Seed Bomb
- Nature Power
Perhaps someone braver than me will manage to successfully wield this set. Nature Power converts to Earthquake and the choice between Drain Punch and Seed Bomb is yours based on what you need the rest of your team to be favorable vs.
Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Discharge
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
Hey grasses can't switch in or heal up for free anymore that's kinda useful right? Also breaks Zeb balloons and fishing for poisons isn't the worst thing in the world for a passive mon to do.
Monferno @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Mach Punch
- Fire Punch
- Close Combat
You've seen this set before. I wouldn't really use any other Monferno set besides this and maybe Scarf or Rocks if some teams need that, but this has THE highest ceiling and I wanted to reassert that opinion.
Dwebble @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Def / 0 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off
252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 0 HP 0 IVs / 4- Def 0 IVs Dwebble: 170-201 (80.9 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dwebble: 130-153 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You now pop Custap vs CB Dog lead which nets you an extra layer. These are the small things that can make a world of a difference for HO teams.
Thanks for reading and I hope this inspires people to build cool shit. bw pu cya maybe in a future pu team tour accel out.
Last edited:
:bw/shiftry: LPZ'S STANCE ON THE VIABILITY SHIFTS IN BW PU 2026 :bw/whiscash:
My BWPL team is out if BWPL thus it means there is no BW PU left for me for the remaining of this year, so it is time to yap the fuck out of this thread cuz I have a LOT of shit to talk about.
:monferno: - It is ranked S already but last time I wrote one of these I ranked it A+ due to it disliking the meta shift towards Frillish spikestack, however not only Monf has kept hitting usage rates almost double the 2nd and 3rd most used mons for tours but also it has reclaimed my heart with how good it is if you just slap TPunch on it, I really like TPunch on SD and CB and it functions extremely well, sure it still suffers from 4MSS due to that but it is undeniable for me that it has a foot over the other top tier mons and it is just solid in everything it does.
:marowak: - Still as great as it was last year, it caused the uptick in Solrock usage which checks it p well unless you run the very fake Iron Head but it still gets so much value every game simply through sheer pressure, decimates fat builds singlehandedly while having just enough bulk to softcheck some stuff (mainly if ur using my spread wink wink)
:shiftry: (A to A+) - If youve scouted me this year in bw pu you have noticed how much I've been using Shiftry, simply amazing breaker and the set versatility is just crazy, I've recently just been loving mixed Shiftry which has very few switch-ins while providing offensive utility with prio and u can even slot Synthesis on it to let it come in on a few stuff like some Ground mons or Frillish, it has just been a pleasure using it this year
:torterra: - Still looks valuable being able to check Marowak and Stoutland among other neutral Phys mons, while still being able to lure stuff with a certain Berry and still being a solid offensive mon, on the offensive mon side I honestly prefer Scarf for it nowadays despite the low speed being slightly slower than Jumpluff, but still able to answer stuff like the Simis, Rapidash, Monferno, non-Scarf Golduck and Pikachu, setup sets and CB have not been looking as hot with just how omnipresent Bronzor is, I still value how flexible this mon is though.
:bronzor: - Talking about the devil, it might sound crazy but out of my A+ mons this one has the biggest potential to go to S one day, the mon is almost a perfect wall, the typing is something that just cannot be replicated (at most you can do Solrock to improve the Wak or Dash mu), the bulk is just beyond comprehension and it is really annoying to switch in on this thing, there are few mons that are immune to both Psywave and Tox or is immune to Tox while having recovery, this mon legit checks like 70% of the tier and it is like everywhere. The two things keeping it out of S contention so far are how unreliable spamming Psywave can be cuz of the accuracy and basically the nature of its moves making it passive enough where it can get be used as fodder (for example vs a Subs Shiftry).
:zebstrika: (A to A+) - Alright I gotta admit this mon deserves a raise atp, being consistently the #2 most used mon throughout the year and Balloon + Lightning Rod basically makes its life so much easier vs Stunfisk, and Fisk used to be its biggest problem basically, the Speed is just absolutely necessary for many teams to answer offensive threats and just being a consistent pivot overall, cuz with Balloon allowing Zeb to be much better into Fisk, you have no other great Volt absorber since Tort and Gabite take x4 from HP Ice and Marowak is not that bulky and cannot heal itself at all, so for reliable blockers you would need to dig further through options like the goat (Whiscash), Palpitoad, Seaking...
:beheeyem: - Simply the best setup mon in the tier still, and this year I've enjoyed running NP Custap once again, BUT with HP Fire as I've posted on my set dump post months ago, and I can confirm that not only it is very real, it is VERY good, in fact I even feel it is a bit hard for me to build offenses that do not feature that Beh set, but still a top tier dog with its classic NP Recover set, and while I myself have not explored it, I can still see Specs being a headache provided u run HP Fire on that too.
:clefairy: (A- to A) - Idc I will die on this hill, Clefairy is really really really good, the main point against it is that it is not too easy to fit it on teams due to the typing, but the mon is more of the kind to be built around despite not being an offensive mon, the versatility overall is great but if you manage to run TWave Encore on your team ur gonna see how absurdly oppressive this thing can get, I swear to yall just give this a try and ur gonna get what Im saying.
:golduck: (A- to A) - Clefairy has always been worthy of A rank imo but Golduck has gotten stuff to back up a rise this year, it finally got a good amount of exploration I've suggesting for years, Scarf has been common as always but I've seen multiple instances of sets like Specs, CM with Gem or Custap and non-choice AoA sets (like AJet Plate), every single one of its sets work great and the mon actually feels hard to switch into, it is a shame tho that you kinda need to be hitting Hydro Pumps with it.
:tentacool: - Bla bla bla its our removal thing, the one thing I can say about it is that it should always ensure being faster than Marowak in 2026
:stoutland: It could be a S rank mon (for Tack s pleasure) if Bronzor just didnt exist, Bronzor is prob the most used defensive mon in the tier rn and it is the bane of Stoutlands existance despite not being the only mon capable at checking it. Other than that still a good mon and still sees solid usage.
:simisear: - Nothing that would warrant a rise or anything but I found really interesting how people finally started experimenting with this mon as well with Scarf and mixed sets, Specs is still as good as its always been (also being prob one of the VERY few mons capable at ohkoing Bronzor) and NP sets on HO still work as they used to.
:maractus: (A- to A) - Imo an easier spiker to fit than Glalie and that alone justifies it a subrank higher, Accel mentioned a really cool tech with HP Flying and damn aint it actually p good? But please START using Occa on your Cactuses, it fucking doubles your opportunities to have a layer up instead of having to switch all the time, just run the damn item on it and thank me later.
:duosion: - I just dont know, I dont like it as much as the other A rank mons but I also still think its considerably better than everything in A-, Magic Guard is great and it is one of the best mons at abusing Bronzor but it takes a lot longer than Beheeyem to get going.
:stunfisk: (A+ to A) - This mon has just not felt that good anymore, it is still the best Ground into Monf and Static can get really fucked up but it is not a good Zeb check anymore and it is really hard to build a team with it that wont suffer a lot vs Wak and Stoutland.
:zweilous: - I love its EV spread versatility tbh, still a key component vs psychics, still one of the best special sponges in the whole tier and still being one of my favorites.
:arbok: - I was unsure about A- or B+ here but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, it does the same stuff with a decent set versatility but it just feels so easy to answer this defensively, it doesnt have great stats anywhere and Coil can sweep yea but it still needs requirements to be followed, both deciding which moves its gonna run and what do you need to accomplish in-game to pull a sweep with it, Scarf has ok tools to act a rkiller and decent utility but its so easy to wall it which can only be fixed in any sense by Switcheroo, I havent been feeling it too much.
:pikachu: - The best prio in the entire tier and just absurd power, most likely as hard to wall as like Marowak, but contrary to Marowak it just cannot take a fucking move at all, still a great option that is surprisingly splashable despite being seen many times as a Zeb sidegrade.
:vileplume: - Nothing has really changed for it at all, it is a check to a lot but it is not good at fully handling anything, good tspike absorbing still and with a bevy of options to be annoying or supportmaxxing with Aromatherapy. I will say tho that more offensive Plumes need more attention, it is super annoying to switch into it.
:mr-mime: - I still appreciate how useful HWish is for the many offenses that like having it and also how useful it is still at outspeeding +2 Huntail, hard to justify non-Scarf sets tho ngl just because its unimpressive overall and it is not easy to fit scarfers on teams.
:ursaring: - Quick Feet set is good as always as well as the more recent uptick of non-QF SD sets with either Normal Gem, Chople or Custap Berry, the BU Resttalk set tho is now a bit fishy cuz not only it mandates a cleric but also Frillish is a thing, idr if I said it last VR post but yea.
:pelipper: - Scarf is still p useful despite being bad at answering speed boosting mons and having to deal with some inaccurate moves, but there has been a wave of Agility sets recently, sometimes with TG Pass Volbeat, it does look alright but it dislikes how it needs a turn to really get something going with Agility.
:glalie: - Really good offense spiker, I just feel like Maractus fits on more teams than Glalie rn thus why I ranked Maractus a subrank higher.
:huntail: - Totally depends on not facing a scarfer faster than it being +2, sometimes its the diff between a full sweep or a full failure, but its still demanding of respect in the builder being one of the scariest sweepers.
:leafeon: - I even considered putting this in A this time, I feel like it is already a really good mon and I have experimented a lot with it between diff SD sets, Scarf, defensive Wish, but it is also a VERY consistent SD passer due to its bulk, speed and many good recipients to pass to, but I will be talking about it in a sec.
:simisage: - I havent been feeling the mixed set as much cuz it does feel a bit weak sometimes, but Ive been loving choiced sets or NP, all of these are high risk high reward sets as grass stab is not really spammable, mainly considering Bronzor is the defensive mon to beat, but the slight decrease of Zwei usage helps it and specs can fit HP Fire just fine to hit it decently hard and make grass moves better to be clicked. I considered dropping it to B+ cuz of competition with Shiftry tho.
:frillish: (A to A-) - I think people just started running more resilient stuff into it and learned to deal with it better and the more recent builds have been more offensive which gives less turns for spikes to go up and thus decreasing the necessity of spinning and falling victim to Frillish, on top of (at least how I deal with) TPunch Monf and Shiftry being top dogs and many other grasses being able to scare it out. It still beats Tenta tho and it still owns every remotely fat team in the tier so I dont see it going lower than this.
:machoke: - Really annoying mon that is unfort (or fortunately) ranked not that high cuz it fits very few teams reliably, but it is great on the ones it fits, I suggest you to use this on spikestack fat teams or paraspam ones, on top of the stall its used on.
:rapidash: (B to B+) - I alr thought it deserved to be B+, but imo this is a fire u just go all-out with abusing all the coverage it has to offer, like literally use Wild Charge and Megahorn and maybe even Drill Run (imo u can still fit Morning Sun or Flame Charge over this one if u prefer), those bulkier Wisp sets are fucking larp sets atp.
:muk: - Hates facing Marowak but its p cool otherwise, same deal with Curse 3A sets other than having to really invest more in Def to tank Wak at +1, however I think this mon really sets itself apart as a SD recipient, imo it is the best one, great bulky, great coverage and access to prio makes it ideal at receiving +2.
:sneasel: - The beat up set on that one avarice (?) team kinda gave it new life as it didnt use to have meaningful roles on a popular team, and it has changed and yea I really like the Beat Up set whether its with Sash or Gem. Pursuit is still a thing but its still a bit unimpressive for how it wanted a good dark move click so Pursuit pick things off more easily.
:grumpig: (B to B+) - I will still insist on this one, I know im the sole Grumpig user and thats fine, I just refuse to ignore its defensive and supportive perks as a scarfer with Thick Fat and Heal Bell, mainly now that Jumpluff is kinda ass, which would be the other fast cleric option.
:solrock: (B to B+) - This is just fair, great usage across the year and a very unique defensive profile being check to the scariest phys threats, its usage alone should prob be used as material to warrant this rise.
:whiscash: (B to B+) - "Lpz mon" yea yea whatever, you wouldnt get it. Really you should be trying this one more often, its super versatile and all of its sets are nice, Specs still clicks quite a lot and has its best entry point vs Zeb (second most used mon btw) and it also likes Zwei being less common, defensive with lefties is great too being capable of fully using its defensive profile from its typing to be annoying spreading burns or Toxic, and my favorite recent adaptation on Accel 's set of DD Rain Dance, it makes so much sense Im baffled about never thinking about that one, as he stated, Rain Dance not only boosts the water damage but also lets it bypass any attempt at being crippled by status vs stuff like Frillish, Solrock and Bronzor.
:rampardos: (A- to B+) - Idg why a suicide lead mon is ranked A- despite being good at it, its not really THAT better than other HO leads and also its other sets have just not proven to be functional enough with all its problems of being a sluggish mon with the absolute worst typing for the tier.
:gabite: - I doubt we seeing this one escape B ranks hell, offensive sets just cannot touch Bronzor and are also p bad into Torterra while defensive lets your team struggle to Zeb inevitably, the extra fire resistance is very useful for some teams with an improved Arbok mu and Scarf sets at least have good typing to rk the offensive mons (ngl i wouldnt even bother with CB anymore)
:swoobat: (B to B+) - Yea it feels weak a lot of the time but this mon has been feeling really easy to fit onto teams as of lately with decent set versatility to boot, Specs, non-choice pivot sets and CM Simple. Its pivot set kinda took over Jumpluffs role in the tier as Jumpluff improved bulk barely matters when Torterras have been using Stone Edge and its so easy to wall Jumpluff with a simple Bronzor while Swoobat threatens Bronzor with Heat Wave. This mon even has the potential to rise further but the lack of power is still a problem for it (I will never forget a Plume eating Specs Swoobat Psychic).
:audino: - Despite Clefairy being a better bulky Normal with a giant movepool and diff roles to go for, Audino is still the superior Wish passer out of the 2, Regen insures that u can keep passing wishes without caring much about the chip ur taking in the process, something Clef wouldnt do as easy, and the role is very desireable in fatter teams.
:dodrio: (B- to B) - The one reason I can see this a subrank higher is due to avarices phys spam team which fits Dodrio really well here and the speed and prio makes it more useful than Stoutland on that team, a bit specific but it has found a team to thrive on at least while its teammates wear Zor and Fisk down for it or the other way around since the team has many shared checks.
:staryu: (C+ to B) - Actually consistent spinner that can be adapted to check diff type of stuff depending how u EV it, deals much better with Frillish than Tenta and fits on teams that wanna run other poison types other than Tenta while still appreciating spin. Ofc dont use it to WALL things or ur gonna be disappointed.
:jumpluff: (B+ to B) - Yea this is a bit sad but its the reality, Jumpluff is just not part of the meta anymore, very easy to wall it, U-turn bot while being rocks weak is not ideal and its single most notable defensive profile of checking Tort doesnt work anymore ever since Tort has started to run Edge often. It is still usable due to its utility assets of fast Encore and Aromatherapy and I still think it can do a comeback if it manages to figure a way at fitting Leech Seed somehow as part of a set it can use.
:articuno: (B- to B) - I think that it can be a bit higher cuz for the high maintenance of a mon it is, if you managed to clean the path for it Articuno is just a raid boss, ginormous stats thats hardly ohkod by anything even with no bulk investment while being fast enough tying with Golduck for how fat it is, while packing solid punch with high powered moves in Ice Beam and Hurricane, all of that with the bonus of pressure stalling coupled with Subs. Dont fall for the Stallcuno trap tho, I have the take of that set being ass for 6 years now.
:volbeat: (C+ to B) - I might be overshooting this one but TG Pass is REALLY good, broken even, the prospect of passing a 150% spatk boost to anything willing to make use out of it is insane and can work on anything that can boost speed in some way or that reminds of a spatk Muk type of recipient, I dont rate other sets high at all but TG Pass def feels deserving of B imo.
:banette: (B- to B) - Ive seen a decent amount of Banette offenses here and there and it has really putting in work as an offensive spinblocker on those, it doesnt feel as niche as mons in B-.
:purugly: - I have the take that if ur not running Knock on this ur just trolling. Sucker is not bad on it but it just doesnt do anything to defensive shit without Knock, its speed is alr p high and its alr clicking Fake Out so i dont see why u wouldnt want Knock to cripple walls.
:dwebble: - Easy to negate double hazards, but functional enough lead.
:scraggy: (B+ to B) - I wouldnt be too surprised of it pulling a comeback but imo it is def not on the level of the B+ mons on terms of usefulness. Its still annoyed by the same stuff and it still uses the same stuff as fodder, if anything it likes the fact Swoobat is more common than Jumpluff now.
:abra: - Has not changed a bit, fits on the same type of teams.
:victreebel: - The one thing making sun even usable, solo sunny day sets in HO are ok, Scarf sets are ok too from my experience being able to compress tspike absorbing + mach resist + ground hitting as a poison, just nothing crazy about it and its not really that easy to pull crazy mus with it.
:kingler: (B to B-) - Good power and set versatility, but this mon is just too frail to find entries as a not-so-fast breaker, while also competing as a water breaker with Golduck which has been doing quite hot lately. Ur also playing 5v6 vs Frillish.
:dragonair: - Ive seen sets with Draco and honestly idk what to make out of it, but I still rate DD DTail on spikes stall really good for what is worth, very specific thing and thats why its not higher but it gives it SOME type of viability.
:natu: (B to B-) - Extremely cheesy mon that beats rocks Bronzor and Gabite and thats it? I mean u dont even beat Tort that easily now as its been running Edge, both popular spikers annoy it, Stunfisk demolishes it, Marowak doesnt even need Edge to blow this up, every dedicated HO lead beat it. Its just very unreliable and B- reflects that nature better.
:mantine: (C to B-) - A lil bit of defensive profile as a Rain Dance sweeper while also having access to STAB Air Slash which might seem not much but it can bs past a check or another with that and rain makes so u can fish for flinches more safely.
:mawile: (B to B-) - Mawile is cheeks, SD suffers massive 4MSS and its just so easy to get revenged cuz of low speed and bulk and being weak to not only Monfernos both STABs but also Mach, Steel is just a bad offensive typing. Defensive is also not great and mostly outclassed by Bronzor, but it has a couple utility options that can be considered like access to slow BPass, being it a drypass to assure momentum or act as a slow SD pass to get the recipient in safely, it also has Taunt and Knock.
:walrein: (UR to B-) - Proven mon atp, people have experimented with it and found decent effectiveness, fully abusing passive stuff like Frillish and Tentacool to get a sub up and being really annoying to remove cuz of the fat stats.
:regigigas: (C to B-) - Another Tack mon, but its been proving itself throughout the past 2 years too, very fat subs paired by TWave making it much more practical to burn through Slow Start turns and it actually pairs p well with hazards.
:leavanny: (UR to B-) - Actually ok breaker, the Bug typing despite giving it a rocks weakness also gives it a way to hit Bronzor and Vileplume stronger on top of destroying Zwei, I actually think this is a nice CB mon cuz it also outspeeds Golduck and it resists Mach and u wanna make use of both STABs and a way at hitting Monferno. It has SD but I feel like its p hard to pull off a sweep or even find safe turns to set up.
:krokorok: (C+ to B-) - Not too worse than Dwebble as a lead imo, its not bad speed lets it prevent hazards from most setters before getting up its own, paired with the utility Intimidate and even Bulldoze can provide to support the mon getting sent on after Kroks done its job.
:vanilluxe: (C+ to B-) - Could also be overshooting this one cuz ppl just havent been using it but i swear this mon is super heat, competes directly with Glaceon but it trades its lower power level for access to Taunt and better speed, albeit still not being too fast, it gets the jump over Modest/Ada Shiftry and Adamant Stoutland which I actually think is very valuable to do, Taunt lets it be even more oppressive as a breaker, sometimes Weak Armor can be clutch to be harder to get rkilled after it take a neutral hit (its not really too frail so thata feasable).
:eelektrik: (C to B-) - This one im sure im not overshooting its rise, imo it is Klang but BETTER, lemme explain, this mon works as a very fat slow pivot, and despite not resisting as much as Klang its also not weak to anything, and also U-turn guarantees ur acquiring momentum and you dont need to be gambling vs ground or Zeb switching in, Discharge is also really cool to fish for para on offensive mons that will try to break it and it gets access to a lot like Knock and Super Fang, but imo the best set is Discharge Uturn Resttalk, excellent in offensive teams to let frail threatening mons in safely.
:fraxure: - What a sad death huh, I wouldnt even be opposed for a C+ drop anymore, SD Taunt theorethically 6-0s Stall and thats kinda where its value stands imo, easy to rk, too slow of a CB mon and DD gets goobed by Bronzor.
:slaking: (C to B-) - Found home in phys spam teams since it is very good at wearing phys walls down for its teammates and it also is the strongest Pursuit user in the tier.
:glaceon: - Still solid and makes use of Baton Pass to pivot out and has Ice Shard to pick off weakened faster stuff, not a fan of its speed issue but I wont say I can confirm this is worse than Vanilluxe.
:raticate: (B to B-) - I think B was a bit exaggerated ngl, it found its niche and the speed feels nice for a Guts mon and Uturn + prio lets it set apart from Ursaring, but it is still not that easy to build with it and it still has a Bronzor problem, imo its still slightly worse than Purugly.
:vullaby: (B- to C+) - As the Vull ambasador in the past I need to admit defeat on this one, this mon still walls quite a bit but the rewards are just not too big for how big of a maintenance mon it is, unlike Articuno which has a great time clicking buttons and havinga big pile of stats, this mon is just not that threatening rn, it can still mess those type of BOs in the right circumstance tho but its really hard to make it work.
:luxray: (B- to C+) - Super hard to fit onto teams rn and as an elec pivot I still kinda prefer Eelektrik since this mon also struggles doing damage if going for the bulky pivot set, although the Beat Up Sneasel teams do have this sometimes so it still has its niche and if its usage on that team is enough to keep it in B- thats actually fine for me. Guts remains ass
:raichu: (C to C+) - Its hella hard to justify this over Zeb and Pikachu but C is doing this dirty, this mon still has a few things up its sleeve like Nasty Plot and Encore, I wouldnt use both on the same set but I like the pressure it can present with those tools, while just like Zeb being able to abuse Fisk with Balloon Rod.
:drilbur: (UR to C+) - P interesting spinner and actually unique one, being able to not only compress Rocks with Spin but also being able to both bypass Natu and being able to hit Bronzor because of Mold Breaker, stats are a bit lackluster as you gotta choose between it dealing no damage or eating no move which imo is its biggest problem. I also believe a little bit that Scarf can maybe do something good, considering it has the typing to answer the popular Monferno and Zeb while also screwing with teams relying on Bronzor as ground immune.
:trubbish: (UR to C+) - Super role compression boogaloo, being a Spikes (and/or TSpikes) setter that absorbs opposing TSpikes while also having more longevity and some flexibility. Both Sticky Hold and Aftermath are useful and it can also click Explosion to deny a spin while being decently bulky.
:seviper: (UR to C+) - Aight lemme tell you, this mon is actually unwallable with all the coverage it gets and it also has priority in Sucker to not be completely useless vs offensive threats, while Arbok is a much better scarfer and Coil sweeper Seviper can break MUCH more reliably with Flame and Giga Drain.
:meganium: - Still the same stall mon its always been, please do not fall for the SD trap, it doesnt beat ANY TEAM with SD, stick with support sets making good use of access to DTail and Aroma while being THE stall mon that saves you from Marowak.
:klang: (B- to C+) - It managed to drop this far down for me, this time not only people ceased to use it completely but also the meta kept going to a real bad direction for it AND imo Eelektrik just does its job better than it, Klang literally just beats Beheeyem and thats it, its p bad into anything else, even Stoutland.
:pawniard: (UR to C+) - Shouldve been ranked before, Im not even the only person to have used it before and its typing can actually be p valuable, completely blanking Bronzor which might not seem much since Zor is a defensive mon but it is that much cuz its hella annoying to switch into it, while having plenty of good utility options to serve what the team needs from it and also prio and Pursuit access, being a solid Beh/Duo check. Its stats and mu into Monferno will always be a problem for it but its not like Monf is gonna switch in totally unpunished since it can eat a TWave and its also not supposed to wall anything other than Bronzor.
:persian: (UR to C) - A sidegrade of a mon thats already not doing hot (Purugly) but it has access to Limber so it doesnt need to worry about Static procs and has more freedom to stay in vs a Clefairy for example, but for me what warrants its rank is its niche on sun, p cool secondary setter with access to U-turn and Taunt thats kinda integral for those teams.
:slowpoke: (UR to C) - Usable regen pivot that completely blanks Monf and can softcheck stuff like Stoutland, Kingler and Rapidash while spreading paralysis and Scald burns.
:seaking: (UR to C) - Unironically a bit better than Chinchou as a water thats elec immune, not great bulk but enough to be softchecking stuff and being able to go either defensive with Knock and Resttalk spreading either Scald burns or Tox or you can act as a worse Kingler with the added elec immunity and go for offensive sets like in the Guille team with its access to Megahorn and Agility.
:lampent: (UR to C) - The big old potential mon, with Flash Fire walling both Monf stabs, this mon actually appreciates Zwei usage decrease quite a lot, Zwei is like the one thing defensively checking it well enough, the typing is nuts offensively and honestly scarf and Eviolite Wisp PSplit sets can still do work, but yea ofc this mon has serious problems with its speed and rocks weakness, but not bad enough to be just unranked.
:togetic: - Worse than Clef and Audino in about anything, however it has BPass over it which can be used to either slow drypass into something or NP Pass which has the perk of letting recipients in safely, if you go with min speed you can even underspeed BRONZOR which is crazy.
:mightyena: (UR to C) - Moxie sweeper that pairs really well with Spikes as you put stuff into range for Crunch or Sucker while also having tools to go for like Taunt (which lets you wall Bronzor) and Super Fang and you can also do DEdge to have a neutral hit vs dark resistances, Ive swept multiple times with it and it has proven its worth.
:meditite: (UR to C) - Another successful experiment of mine, only works with scarf ofc but it has at least enough speed to outspeed every non-scarfer while hitting very hard with HJK backed up by STAB Zen to hit the many poisons and Frillish, the typing also being cool to resist Mach as a scarfer, Trick gives it utility vs bulky psychics and it can even run BPass to drypass to something to abuse the bulky psychics. Ofc it dies to a snooze but so does Pikachu and well yea if u miss HJK goodbye.
:murkrow: - Something about skrimps idea makes me wanna keep this ranked at all, at the very least it has a p cool mixed coverage for offensive sets and some interesting and unique assets for a possible bulkier Eviolite set, still to this date a potential mon.
:carvanha: (UR to C) - Another successful experiment, really damn good offensive typing with Speed Boost that can clean teams with Spikes up with the added bonus of having Aqua Jet to not let it get picked off by Monfernos Mach Punch.
:vibrava: (UR to C) - Gabites typing which leads for the same problems as Gabite itself like the Zeb weakness but it has U-turn and recovery to compensate the lack of hazards, checks stuff like Arbok, Rapidash and Simisear p decently but it wished it had more bulk to be consistent vs Monferno and Marowak.
:servine: (UR to C) - Ill admit that if it actually gets ranked it would be so fucking funny but its a grass that can compress setup with CM + Glare to not let stuff come in for free like the fires and poisons, a bit too specific but it is unique at what it can do.
:palpitoad: (UR to C) - A Whiscash with no lefties and no aura but enjoys the free entry vs Zeb to get rocks up while also being able to check fires and waters combined on the slot, it can also guarantee rocks vs Tentacool as it walls Scald and it can Refresh the poison off. Hard to fit tho.
:whirlipede: - Does the same shit and its big ass bulk lets it actually get hazards up with ease.
:mienfoo: (UR to C) - Another regen pivot that can act more proactively with U-turn and Knock while also being able to ditch off damage with HJK and flexing last slot between Tox or Taunt for added utility, remarkably good vs Clef as it threatens to 2hko it while being able to either Knock its Eviolite and shrug SToss off with regen. Surprisingly bulky with investment too, try it out!
:chinchou: (C to UR) - End its misery once and for all, no one uses it, in fact as I said, people prefer to run Seaking over this and this mon not only can feel really passive but also its extremely one dimensional and too frail on the phys side, Volt Switch is literally the one thing it has going for at any value.
:dustox: (C to UR) - Pains me to say this cuz I fucking love this mon, its era is gone, it feels much harder to pull off sweeps with QD ID, it prefered when Klang was much more common to abuse it, it prefered when Marowak wasnt a thing, it prefered when Spikes were more rare, it prefered when Frillish was more rare. The meta just isnt friendly at all to this and it hasnt pulled a sweep for at least the last 2 years unless I missed something.
:hypno: (C to UR) - It seems like the type of mon that can actually do something, but it just doesnt. As a BPasser Mime is just better, as a screens setter u have not only small demand but also better options over this, as a wishpasser its really hard imagining this has a niche over Audino or like Leafeon. I could say Wish + Taunt lets it be disruptive into passive walls as a wishpasser but you can also say the same for Clefairy which has similar tools and also doesnt mind status or hazards at all. Idk its just that this mon doesnt stand out at all on any role possible.
BUT IM NOT DONE
:bw/volbeat: BATON PASS :bw/leafeon:
I was absent of this years PUPL but I took the opportunity to have some more BPass playtime on the latest BWPL (s/o the Mountaineers btw) because I have started to see more and more experimentation and talks about the mechanic as a whole and the tier doesnt seem to have the easiest time to fit universal bpass counterplay like phazing, most mons with BPass are very flawed and most can even be telegraphed on what they are about to do but there are some outliers like I did some mentiones on my VR stances about some of these mons and I wanna talk about them briefly.
:volbeat: - My no1 BPass villain in the tier rn, Im sure as time passes and the set gets more usage people start expecting whats about to do but its still p hard to stop it doing its thing. First thing is Prankster, since it has that its just impossible to straightup remove it on the following turn it clicks Tail Glow, its p much assured its gonna be able to pass it to something while it can also either keep itself healthy with Roost to pull off multiple passes or even use Encore to have more utility outside of passing + creating itself more entries. Second thing is the bug typing, which in any other sense would just be a detriment to it due to the number of weaknesses and vulnerability to rocks, but it has a big advantage over other passers which is to actively threaten the best phazer Zweilous with a +3 STAB Bug Buzz. Its a pretty hard passer to stop and the tier has many good recipients to the boosts it provides.
:leafeon: - Another great passer but works on the other side of the offensive spectrum, very consistent at passing SD boosts due to how good its stats are overall, the fact its not as telegraphed of a passer as Volbeat also works wonders in its favor since it would also be able to use the SD boost itself p well and it has done it for years, its hard to play around it just hitting hard with a move AND passing the SD boost, and as in Volbeats case there are also great SD recipients in the tier. It doesnt have the prankster BPass to assure the SD is getting passed onto something but its bulk lets it have comfortable opportunities at doing so, on top of absolutely nothing offensive being a remotely good switch-in to Leafeon, which hits neutral targets really hard even at +0.
:mr-mime: - Another tried and true passer, but mostly a do or die passer since its passing to a single mon and just isnt able to do it more than once, however it gets 2 really good things going for it to let it pull off its job successfully, being able to pass 2 boosting moves in Calm Mind and Iron Defense, which lets an otherwise frailish sweeper get really bulky and difficult to get removed, and Soundproof, which is literally useless in 99% of the cases but it blocks Roar from phazing its boosts away.
:mawile: - This starts a relatively mid category of bpassers. This mon is almost totally outclassed by Bronzor as I said, but it has a few utility moves as sources to stand out. It uses its typing and Intimidate to create entries to pass SD, what sets it apart from Leafeon is that it can do it slowly, making so its able to let teammates take the boost safely. A bit tough to let it pull that off multiple times though but unique enough where it does it once very effectively at least.
:togetic: - Worse Clefairy otherwise, but it can act as a very fat slow NP passer, it is actually really damn hard to 2hko this mon just from its sheer bulk, for context Stunfisk struggles to 3hko it. Basically a special Mawile in that sense, what makes it more difficult to use is its rocks weakness, and as I said above at min speed it can underspeed ANYTHING to assure the teammate gets the boost safely.
Other probably usable bpassers: :rapidash: :dodrio: :leavanny: :solrock:
I feel like with more experimentation on this mechanic we can find a conclusion on whether its fine to keep it around as the meta could adapt better vs those or if we need to get rid of it with a full BPass ban or a stat + pass restriction (since from my understanding we havent had any problems with Subpass or drypass), I encourage and welcome everyone that has been playing the tier to discuss about this further and perhaps try it out more often to find a solution Tack skrimps EviGaro Accel TyCarter Tizio Potente Ao Tizio sky Cielau Bughouse zoowi neomon Wesleyy Indulge in dreams seraphz Alkione Feaniix SEROO hex
Btw this is just the first post of the 2 I planned to make so stay tuned for part 2 which is coming out real soon, until then!!!11!!
Unfortunately, my BWPL team did not finish the job although I was satisfied with the season I had and trying to live up to a 31k? price tag. I've been playing this tier for the better part of 2 years now give or take so I would think my opinion is fairly informed.
Re: Baton Pass
When I saw LpZ show tailglow pass off and Accel show sd pass leafeon that has Kingler as a recipient in one of his posts. I realized that we were not experimenting with this enough and that statpass when u build it with branching abusers actually is absurd. I found some of the more underutilized abusers to be aforementioned bulkier threats that were already good by itself like Scraggy and Duosion where statpassing basically lets them not need as many turns to get setup and just brute force the opponent.
But when u pair it with faster abusers such as silk scarf Dodrio with QA, Simisear, Arbok, etc. This is where I think its potency is at its highest as u basically can just make ur opponent choose how they want to lose. The counterplay is so iffy I genuinely considered running haze murkrow with suit and bb since murkrow can nail both volbeat and leafeon. Dtailers Arbok, Nair, Gabite, can be “counterplay” but they're likely taking a big amount of chip that allows them to do it once a Match tops. (Ok I guess shed skin arbok could rest up and try again but playing shed skin lottery is asking a lot)
The dumbest part is that u can easily design the statpass teams to not need bp to function and still find ways to win without it (in some cases disguise the BP). These teams with bp can make some MUs comically lopsided. A couple examples of what I am talking about is building around a formula of statpasser that is inherently scary with a boost (Leafeon who btw also still has ambiguity on SD sets like normal gem dedge) and then surrounding it with 2 passers who cover different defensive cores like scraggy and silk scarf dodrio for example.
Example of SD Pass in action - My opp didn't necessarily bring the best team to be frank. While the scraggy didn't outright sweep, it still did a huge chunk to my opponent's team and the shiftry RK gave leafeon a free chance to baton pass or deal damage. By the time Leafeon has been KO'ed my opp just lost multiple defensive parts holding the team together and thus opened up a pretty easy endgame for me.
Bulky variations like vol pass or togetic pass is also pretty stupid when u can farm this. My BWPL finals game is an example: my opp on paper is actually adequately equipped to stop a potential statpass with roar zwei but with a boost from togetic it’s still taking a lot and is gonna be forced out if it roars the wrong mon in cuz sleep mechanics are absurd. You can also see how even if zwei rolled crunch, it wasn't koing a fully healthy zebra and likely would still lead to a favored endgame for me.
Akir can probably attest to how restrictive counterplay can be from the tests we ran all season in this past bwpl. I rmr I genuinely discussed haze murkrow as an option with Bughouse and Akir to potentially deal with statpassing since it can at least deal with volbeat and leafeon on paper. (It’s somewhat viable tbh but really hard to build a functional squad around it. I don’t think skrimps was actually that crazy about Krow being usable, just for a different reason altogether)
I’ll note down some abusers of SD Pass and Plot pass recipients that is either proven or could work. For the record I’ve mostly experimented with leafeon, togetic and some variations of volbeat pass.
Side Note: Agility Pass is probably viable but works better on stuff that appreciates the speedboost like Marowak or a slow breaker. Rapidash might be able to use it just cuz of the base speed it has being excellent but I digress.
The point I at least wanted to highlight is that the amount of branching paths for abusers is probably so comically large that being prepared to reasonably take on various combinations is borderline if not outright unreasonable. The list I had of stuff I labbed out or looked into is not even fully exhausted.
Counterplay options I found that works best vs BP is either an inherently threatening breaker like CB Stout (works vs volpass, questionable effectiveness vs leafeon who can just crit leaf blade, and must be weakened for it to even work) Fast mons that can break right away or force the BPer to make a tough decision (Simisear) which works vs stuff like toge pass or leafeon pass, but fails vs volpass if the team constructed can actually handle sear. Scarfers can beat the pass provided they can KO it but BPers can tech for this with resist berries, or bulk spreads to live, however this has questionable effectiveness vs volpass. Haze Murkrow as stated earlier (bruh) should shut most bp options down although Mawpass prob makes its life miserable and also Murkrow is kinda tough to build around cuz its bulk stats with eviolite also is asscheeks. Beheeyem ironically is probably the most consistent option that's done well vs bp I found in tests. Encore mons have limited effectiveness. Roar Zwei can work but as I mentioned before, you can easily exploit this in the builder by forcing it to rest and play stalk lotto.
As fun as statpassing is, I believe this is not particularly healthy for the tier, again I started playing this tier after the Swanna ban so idk how much that was a factor in statpass's visibility if any older players want to inform me on that. (and was surprised to find out it was legal this whole time) At the very least, I do think a vote should be held before the year wraps up or whenever the next major PU tour to feature the tier is. I would like to hear other opinions for sure.
Re: Baton Pass
When I saw LpZ show tailglow pass off and Accel show sd pass leafeon that has Kingler as a recipient in one of his posts. I realized that we were not experimenting with this enough and that statpass when u build it with branching abusers actually is absurd. I found some of the more underutilized abusers to be aforementioned bulkier threats that were already good by itself like Scraggy and Duosion where statpassing basically lets them not need as many turns to get setup and just brute force the opponent.
But when u pair it with faster abusers such as silk scarf Dodrio with QA, Simisear, Arbok, etc. This is where I think its potency is at its highest as u basically can just make ur opponent choose how they want to lose. The counterplay is so iffy I genuinely considered running haze murkrow with suit and bb since murkrow can nail both volbeat and leafeon. Dtailers Arbok, Nair, Gabite, can be “counterplay” but they're likely taking a big amount of chip that allows them to do it once a Match tops. (Ok I guess shed skin arbok could rest up and try again but playing shed skin lottery is asking a lot)
The dumbest part is that u can easily design the statpass teams to not need bp to function and still find ways to win without it (in some cases disguise the BP). These teams with bp can make some MUs comically lopsided. A couple examples of what I am talking about is building around a formula of statpasser that is inherently scary with a boost (Leafeon who btw also still has ambiguity on SD sets like normal gem dedge) and then surrounding it with 2 passers who cover different defensive cores like scraggy and silk scarf dodrio for example.
Example of SD Pass in action - My opp didn't necessarily bring the best team to be frank. While the scraggy didn't outright sweep, it still did a huge chunk to my opponent's team and the shiftry RK gave leafeon a free chance to baton pass or deal damage. By the time Leafeon has been KO'ed my opp just lost multiple defensive parts holding the team together and thus opened up a pretty easy endgame for me.
Bulky variations like vol pass or togetic pass is also pretty stupid when u can farm this. My BWPL finals game is an example: my opp on paper is actually adequately equipped to stop a potential statpass with roar zwei but with a boost from togetic it’s still taking a lot and is gonna be forced out if it roars the wrong mon in cuz sleep mechanics are absurd. You can also see how even if zwei rolled crunch, it wasn't koing a fully healthy zebra and likely would still lead to a favored endgame for me.
Akir can probably attest to how restrictive counterplay can be from the tests we ran all season in this past bwpl. I rmr I genuinely discussed haze murkrow as an option with Bughouse and Akir to potentially deal with statpassing since it can at least deal with volbeat and leafeon on paper. (It’s somewhat viable tbh but really hard to build a functional squad around it. I don’t think skrimps was actually that crazy about Krow being usable, just for a different reason altogether)
I’ll note down some abusers of SD Pass and Plot pass recipients that is either proven or could work. For the record I’ve mostly experimented with leafeon, togetic and some variations of volbeat pass.
SD Pass (Leafeon)
:Rapidash: Rapidash - this guy is actually a really good partner for leafeon since flash fire is a very useful ability and +2 megahorn actually takes out a lot of ‘would-be’ checks like Solrock, duosion and Zweilous just to name a few and cripple or KO non-scarf golduck comfortably just to name a few.
:Dodrio: Dodrio - yes I'm shilling silk scarf 3A roost but this is good as one of the sd passer routes on sd pass teams. QA at +2 also takes up zebra which is nuts and can teabag teams if u say have taken out the bronzor or solrock. But this is why I advocate for running at least 2 possible recipients on an sd pass team.
Dodrio @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Quick Attack
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Roost
:Monferno: Monferno - Monferno has so many sets and is a natural leafeon partner typically that almost any set whether scarf or SD or just AoA all benefit from this.
:Scraggy: Scraggy - a scraggy entering the game at +2 or even +4 if ur opponent fucks up hard enough? Congratulations you just successfully solved one of scraggy’s biggest problems and made it borderline banworthy when this guy is already hard enough to kill, and god forbid u let this thing bulk up.
:Arbok: Arbok - good pokemon somehow now has not only intimidate but a free sd boost on entry and potential priority. Yeah what the fuck dude. Scarf variants also
:Kingler: Kingler- Accel highlighted this combo before so I won’t repeat too much but SF boosted attacks go off.
:Mightyena:/:pawniard: Mightyena/Pawniard - this one is bit more of an honorable mention but Beheeyem is generally one of the “better” options to stop the pass. Yena has moxie to snowball and pawniard has a decent typing and built in sd. Both get folded by the monferno tho which is annoying.
:Raticate: Raticate - Guts user with priority obviously loves having even more of an OD boost. Downside is hard to get into the game but works cuz it doesn't need it but the pass elevates it.
:Simisear: / :Simisage: - mixed sets don’t mind this, work up variants I think benefit a bit more but awkward to pull off in practice, diff type profile but both serve similar roles.
:Sneasel: Sneasel - can somewhat use it but I hate the typing on this guy tbh even if that speed is very good in this tier.
:Stoutland: Stoutland - on its own u already have to account for this. Leafeon pass works OK on it and chople sets might synergize from leafeon pass more. Maybe Maw pass works better building wise tho.
:Ursaring: Ursaring - either bu rest talk, gem sd bulky sets, Quick Feet sets etc would do well to varying degrees, a bit awkward to use. 4mss is tough on this guy but there is a very real chance u have to pay the price of finding out the coverage by losing a mon.
:Rapidash: Rapidash - this guy is actually a really good partner for leafeon since flash fire is a very useful ability and +2 megahorn actually takes out a lot of ‘would-be’ checks like Solrock, duosion and Zweilous just to name a few and cripple or KO non-scarf golduck comfortably just to name a few.
:Dodrio: Dodrio - yes I'm shilling silk scarf 3A roost but this is good as one of the sd passer routes on sd pass teams. QA at +2 also takes up zebra which is nuts and can teabag teams if u say have taken out the bronzor or solrock. But this is why I advocate for running at least 2 possible recipients on an sd pass team.
Dodrio @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Quick Attack
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Roost
:Monferno: Monferno - Monferno has so many sets and is a natural leafeon partner typically that almost any set whether scarf or SD or just AoA all benefit from this.
:Scraggy: Scraggy - a scraggy entering the game at +2 or even +4 if ur opponent fucks up hard enough? Congratulations you just successfully solved one of scraggy’s biggest problems and made it borderline banworthy when this guy is already hard enough to kill, and god forbid u let this thing bulk up.
:Arbok: Arbok - good pokemon somehow now has not only intimidate but a free sd boost on entry and potential priority. Yeah what the fuck dude. Scarf variants also
:Kingler: Kingler- Accel highlighted this combo before so I won’t repeat too much but SF boosted attacks go off.
:Mightyena:/:pawniard: Mightyena/Pawniard - this one is bit more of an honorable mention but Beheeyem is generally one of the “better” options to stop the pass. Yena has moxie to snowball and pawniard has a decent typing and built in sd. Both get folded by the monferno tho which is annoying.
:Raticate: Raticate - Guts user with priority obviously loves having even more of an OD boost. Downside is hard to get into the game but works cuz it doesn't need it but the pass elevates it.
:Simisear: / :Simisage: - mixed sets don’t mind this, work up variants I think benefit a bit more but awkward to pull off in practice, diff type profile but both serve similar roles.
:Sneasel: Sneasel - can somewhat use it but I hate the typing on this guy tbh even if that speed is very good in this tier.
:Stoutland: Stoutland - on its own u already have to account for this. Leafeon pass works OK on it and chople sets might synergize from leafeon pass more. Maybe Maw pass works better building wise tho.
:Ursaring: Ursaring - either bu rest talk, gem sd bulky sets, Quick Feet sets etc would do well to varying degrees, a bit awkward to use. 4mss is tough on this guy but there is a very real chance u have to pay the price of finding out the coverage by losing a mon.
:Beheeyem: Beheeyem - yea u prob could run a TR set on this guy off a pass and then proceed to pick a ko or 2 and give ur opponent a horrible time.
:Duosion: Duosion - I talked abt it earlier in my post about this guy already being good without it. With a boost, it can borderline jump up to being banworthy threat. It was only ever held back by needing setup turns to get going since it wants bulk evs. While I didn't bring a 6 with it as an abuser, it's not hard to see how this can farm shit.
:Exploud: Exploud - ok this is a bit of a funny one but yes u can do soundproof on this guy to “prevent” roaring. I'm only mentioning this because its probably something u can do “in practice”. I personally have not found the right team for it just yet.
:Glaceon: Glaceon - potential cleaner on scarf sets that can just pop off and even bronzor suddenly can't take ice beams. Thank god you can not run bp on this legality wise to keep the chain going.
:Golduck: Golduck - yes rd good. Hell even water gem or something like sub encore etc all love the boost and is picking something off.
:Mr. Mime: Mr.Mime / :Grumpig: Grumpig- ok this one is a two-fold matter. Hwish on Mime and the speed tier makes it a good cleaner but also allows another abuser to get a second breath of life. Grumpig gives better typing but having the hbell option to cure status that tries to cut longevity goes a long way and also a solid cleaner as a scarfer when u factor in thick fat too. Not fully sold on plot pass mime tho that said.
:Simisear: Simisear - this in theory can work but in practice its a bit awkward to pair with togetic or volbeat. But Specs or Plot both suddenly become absurd when u can bypass the need to set up while its on the field or elevate its power even more.
:Victreebel: Victreebel - I think lpz mentioned this in pucord but he can elaborate on this more. Sday user not needing a turn to set up or scarfer being a cleaner sounds kinda dumb to deal with.
:Walrein: Walrein - I've probably been a big fan of this guy but could work on togetic pass teams and then u run roar on this guy to phaze out other phazers. Probably could work on a spike stack of sorts.
:Zebstrika: Zebstrika - top 3 mon unsurprisingly gets even better and probably elevates to banworthy threat off a boost when it doesn't even need it to begin with and just reduces the amount of possible defensive counterplay.
Note - even shit like Tentacool or vileplume can use it to have more teeth to their ability to check stuff while fulfilling its defensive duties.
:Duosion: Duosion - I talked abt it earlier in my post about this guy already being good without it. With a boost, it can borderline jump up to being banworthy threat. It was only ever held back by needing setup turns to get going since it wants bulk evs. While I didn't bring a 6 with it as an abuser, it's not hard to see how this can farm shit.
:Exploud: Exploud - ok this is a bit of a funny one but yes u can do soundproof on this guy to “prevent” roaring. I'm only mentioning this because its probably something u can do “in practice”. I personally have not found the right team for it just yet.
:Glaceon: Glaceon - potential cleaner on scarf sets that can just pop off and even bronzor suddenly can't take ice beams. Thank god you can not run bp on this legality wise to keep the chain going.
:Golduck: Golduck - yes rd good. Hell even water gem or something like sub encore etc all love the boost and is picking something off.
:Mr. Mime: Mr.Mime / :Grumpig: Grumpig- ok this one is a two-fold matter. Hwish on Mime and the speed tier makes it a good cleaner but also allows another abuser to get a second breath of life. Grumpig gives better typing but having the hbell option to cure status that tries to cut longevity goes a long way and also a solid cleaner as a scarfer when u factor in thick fat too. Not fully sold on plot pass mime tho that said.
:Simisear: Simisear - this in theory can work but in practice its a bit awkward to pair with togetic or volbeat. But Specs or Plot both suddenly become absurd when u can bypass the need to set up while its on the field or elevate its power even more.
:Victreebel: Victreebel - I think lpz mentioned this in pucord but he can elaborate on this more. Sday user not needing a turn to set up or scarfer being a cleaner sounds kinda dumb to deal with.
:Walrein: Walrein - I've probably been a big fan of this guy but could work on togetic pass teams and then u run roar on this guy to phaze out other phazers. Probably could work on a spike stack of sorts.
:Zebstrika: Zebstrika - top 3 mon unsurprisingly gets even better and probably elevates to banworthy threat off a boost when it doesn't even need it to begin with and just reduces the amount of possible defensive counterplay.
Note - even shit like Tentacool or vileplume can use it to have more teeth to their ability to check stuff while fulfilling its defensive duties.
Side Note: Agility Pass is probably viable but works better on stuff that appreciates the speedboost like Marowak or a slow breaker. Rapidash might be able to use it just cuz of the base speed it has being excellent but I digress.
The point I at least wanted to highlight is that the amount of branching paths for abusers is probably so comically large that being prepared to reasonably take on various combinations is borderline if not outright unreasonable. The list I had of stuff I labbed out or looked into is not even fully exhausted.
Counterplay options I found that works best vs BP is either an inherently threatening breaker like CB Stout (works vs volpass, questionable effectiveness vs leafeon who can just crit leaf blade, and must be weakened for it to even work) Fast mons that can break right away or force the BPer to make a tough decision (Simisear) which works vs stuff like toge pass or leafeon pass, but fails vs volpass if the team constructed can actually handle sear. Scarfers can beat the pass provided they can KO it but BPers can tech for this with resist berries, or bulk spreads to live, however this has questionable effectiveness vs volpass. Haze Murkrow as stated earlier (bruh) should shut most bp options down although Mawpass prob makes its life miserable and also Murkrow is kinda tough to build around cuz its bulk stats with eviolite also is asscheeks. Beheeyem ironically is probably the most consistent option that's done well vs bp I found in tests. Encore mons have limited effectiveness. Roar Zwei can work but as I mentioned before, you can easily exploit this in the builder by forcing it to rest and play stalk lotto.
As fun as statpassing is, I believe this is not particularly healthy for the tier, again I started playing this tier after the Swanna ban so idk how much that was a factor in statpass's visibility if any older players want to inform me on that. (and was surprised to find out it was legal this whole time) At the very least, I do think a vote should be held before the year wraps up or whenever the next major PU tour to feature the tier is. I would like to hear other opinions for sure.
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Y’all are tagging me about Murkrow as if Volbeat isn’t my actual son (but yes, keep Murkrow ranked).
I’ve experimented with stat-passing during the last however-many BW PU tours I’ve played, but I only pulled the trigger to bring it for PUCL. I also lost more that season than I ever have in the tier. So did sky. I do not think any changes should be made regarding Baton Pass.
SDPass Leafeon sounds better than it is — offensive sets sacrifice the bulk needed to pass, bulky sets sacrifice the speed needed to pass, both forfeit important moves, and its best recipients share its checks. SDPass Mawile pretended to be helpful when I used it. You’d have to pay me to lose to that attackless-Mime-into-Simisear team. I agree that Volbeat is the best passer, but it’s still pretty inconsistent. Prankster Baton Pass is telegraphed (and actively detrimental to fat sets sometimes). I favor offensive sets, but they require precise turns, knowing the opponent's Scarf, and a choice between utility or coverage. Like dude, it’s a Volbeat. Stealth Rock exists, and so does Monferno.
I ran through BWPL replays to catch up. There are 6 games with Baton Pass (5-1), and 3 games that I'd wager have unrevealed Baton Pass (2-1). If 7-2 overall gets you banned these days, then I’m scared for your 7-1 LpZ.
The losses to stat-passing here are sequencing problems and building problems. Players are getting knowledge-checked right now because it’s unexpected, but time with Baton Pass in the spotlight will lead to smoother turns from the defending players. It's like Huntail. You’ll get punished if you don't account for it or you get caught out of position, but good play lets you choke out its opportunities.
Each BP team also has 2-3 recipients, not all 12 of Typhoon's Most Wanted. Pushing that to 4 recipients becomes too fragile to be consistent.
We shouldn’t ban something just because LpZ and TyCarter are winning with it. These guys usually win anyways. Any action would be jumping the gun. Give the players time. Baton Pass is already nerfed well with no Speed + stat. Please don’t be like DPP PU. Long live Volbeat.
I’ve experimented with stat-passing during the last however-many BW PU tours I’ve played, but I only pulled the trigger to bring it for PUCL. I also lost more that season than I ever have in the tier. So did sky. I do not think any changes should be made regarding Baton Pass.
SDPass Leafeon sounds better than it is — offensive sets sacrifice the bulk needed to pass, bulky sets sacrifice the speed needed to pass, both forfeit important moves, and its best recipients share its checks. SDPass Mawile pretended to be helpful when I used it. You’d have to pay me to lose to that attackless-Mime-into-Simisear team. I agree that Volbeat is the best passer, but it’s still pretty inconsistent. Prankster Baton Pass is telegraphed (and actively detrimental to fat sets sometimes). I favor offensive sets, but they require precise turns, knowing the opponent's Scarf, and a choice between utility or coverage. Like dude, it’s a Volbeat. Stealth Rock exists, and so does Monferno.
I ran through BWPL replays to catch up. There are 6 games with Baton Pass (5-1), and 3 games that I'd wager have unrevealed Baton Pass (2-1). If 7-2 overall gets you banned these days, then I’m scared for your 7-1 LpZ.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-967152
Alkione brought an old sample, said “I forgot you can do that,” then set a TSpike to give LpZ his second Tail Glow (or a free BP if he wanted).
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-969293?p2
Alkione tried to copy LpZ’s BP team that beat them and lost. Volbeat’s only angle was a Tail Glow on Stunfisk, but Clefairy was too healthy to lose to a recipient for the entire game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-969345?p2
Tizio brought BP Mawile without SD, plus a regular Volbeat. This is a fake example.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-974624?p2
LpZ used NastyPass early to punch a hole with Rain Golduck, but really his opponent fumbled the sequence into an obvious Togetic set, sacked their best Shiftry answer (Monferno — Knock Maractus isn’t packing HP Ice), then lost to a Shiftry.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-977200?p2
TyCarter won against Toxic Dunsparce by SDing in its face, then passing to a BU Scraggy. Even then, his BP engine was gone by Turn 14 with only two kills to show for it.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-984308?p2
Indulge used Tentacool Scald to try defeating a clear NastyPass Togetic instead of taking the free Vanilluxe turns. This was another instance of BP only having two kills to show.
Alkione brought an old sample, said “I forgot you can do that,” then set a TSpike to give LpZ his second Tail Glow (or a free BP if he wanted).
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-969293?p2
Alkione tried to copy LpZ’s BP team that beat them and lost. Volbeat’s only angle was a Tail Glow on Stunfisk, but Clefairy was too healthy to lose to a recipient for the entire game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-969345?p2
Tizio brought BP Mawile without SD, plus a regular Volbeat. This is a fake example.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-974624?p2
LpZ used NastyPass early to punch a hole with Rain Golduck, but really his opponent fumbled the sequence into an obvious Togetic set, sacked their best Shiftry answer (Monferno — Knock Maractus isn’t packing HP Ice), then lost to a Shiftry.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-977200?p2
TyCarter won against Toxic Dunsparce by SDing in its face, then passing to a BU Scraggy. Even then, his BP engine was gone by Turn 14 with only two kills to show for it.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-984308?p2
Indulge used Tentacool Scald to try defeating a clear NastyPass Togetic instead of taking the free Vanilluxe turns. This was another instance of BP only having two kills to show.
These two teams from LpZ seem like SDPass Leafeon because he just glazed Muk as a recipient. The teams are also eerily similar.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-978901
LpZ's best line is to not pass. He’d have to chip down Monferno, Zebstrika, and remove Pelipper or Slaking based on Mach vs Thunder Punch for his own Monferno to sweep after receiving, but he can only do that cleanly on Bronzor (and if Toxic misses). Muk could receive after an Occa proc on non-Gem Overheat, but it gets revenged by Slaking every time.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-970657
LpZ won this game by Turn 3. Leafeon never even saw the field.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-972797
This team from GUZOT is probably SDPass Leafeon? If so, then Leafeon with only STAB is getting blanked by any Vileplume, Zweilous, etc. (or in this case, Shiftry) with no safe switch-in from a recipient. They also had no clean line to pass stats, thus losing to LpZ. It's always him...
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-978901
LpZ's best line is to not pass. He’d have to chip down Monferno, Zebstrika, and remove Pelipper or Slaking based on Mach vs Thunder Punch for his own Monferno to sweep after receiving, but he can only do that cleanly on Bronzor (and if Toxic misses). Muk could receive after an Occa proc on non-Gem Overheat, but it gets revenged by Slaking every time.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-970657
LpZ won this game by Turn 3. Leafeon never even saw the field.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5pu-972797
This team from GUZOT is probably SDPass Leafeon? If so, then Leafeon with only STAB is getting blanked by any Vileplume, Zweilous, etc. (or in this case, Shiftry) with no safe switch-in from a recipient. They also had no clean line to pass stats, thus losing to LpZ. It's always him...
The losses to stat-passing here are sequencing problems and building problems. Players are getting knowledge-checked right now because it’s unexpected, but time with Baton Pass in the spotlight will lead to smoother turns from the defending players. It's like Huntail. You’ll get punished if you don't account for it or you get caught out of position, but good play lets you choke out its opportunities.
Each BP team also has 2-3 recipients, not all 12 of Typhoon's Most Wanted. Pushing that to 4 recipients becomes too fragile to be consistent.
My brother in Arceus, that is teambuilding.
We shouldn’t ban something just because LpZ and TyCarter are winning with it. These guys usually win anyways. Any action would be jumping the gun. Give the players time. Baton Pass is already nerfed well with no Speed + stat. Please don’t be like DPP PU. Long live Volbeat.
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So over the course of this last PUPL and BWPL, I was running support for TyCarter (it was a great time). During this time, I was there to watch Baton Pass come up as a potential issue and had a large variety of BP teams thrown at me in testing. To be honest, I always figured that it would come up eventually as a talking point but no one fully invested into the strategy to make it really work yet. Now here it is, labbed and back at the discussion table.
As for BP teams, I will be blunt in saying that I think dedicated BP teams - teams where the primary goal is to pass stats - are just bad. Sure, depending on certain matchups and player decisions it can get a win, but this strikes me primarily as a MU fish on the same level as weather teams. The pace of the tier, especially now that it is leaning back towards solid offense, makes BP less profitable due to the amount of turns that have to be sunk into the action. Why spend 2 turns passing a SD with Mawile when Mawile is perfectly capable of using that SD itself to wallbreak one turn earlier? Asking for an additional turn to use the move BP is asking a lot.
Moving parallel to that point is the common trend that a lot of BP teams struggle to work under strong offensive pressure such as a Stoutland spamming Return. Forcing the BP team to choose between passing the stat or stopping the opponent's momentum is usually the part where these kinds of teams start to fall apart. So I believe that teams that don't need the BP but are better for it are the immediate future for the strategy.
If you look at the most recent Tycarter BP team, as an example:
This is just a balance team that just so happens to have a BP option. If the Togetic were to be replaced by another glue option that doesn't have BP, it would still be a fairly solid team that could get plenty of wins. The BP is not an active factor into what makes this a good team, it is simply a cherry on top. I think this variety of BP team is the only viable way to run the strategy as of writing, but then it asks the question of how much is BP actually factoring into the viability of the team. This is where my personal stance lands: even with these PL wins, I still have not seen enough to make me feel like it is immediately broken. It needs more time to cook.
For now though, BP is in that very annoying growing pain spot where I have to tweak an otherwise-great team into a slightly worse version just so it doesn't get bopped by BP. So I definitely agree with the frustration and concern, and I think that this conversation has been a long time coming, but even after getting drilled for weeks of playing into these kinds of teams I am still not 100% sold on it being broken and requiring immediate action. Still going to add anti-BP strats into next year's PL teams though, and if people want a suspect then I am in support. But I would vote No if I had to right now. The threshold just has not been met for me yet, and would rather wait and see if it gets bad than crush yet another aspect of PU's original tier.
I am still going to make a usage breakdown but it will come a bit later than I was hoping. Trying to put more effort into it this year. I'm also hoping more people weigh in on this, since it seems like an even split right now.
As for BP teams, I will be blunt in saying that I think dedicated BP teams - teams where the primary goal is to pass stats - are just bad. Sure, depending on certain matchups and player decisions it can get a win, but this strikes me primarily as a MU fish on the same level as weather teams. The pace of the tier, especially now that it is leaning back towards solid offense, makes BP less profitable due to the amount of turns that have to be sunk into the action. Why spend 2 turns passing a SD with Mawile when Mawile is perfectly capable of using that SD itself to wallbreak one turn earlier? Asking for an additional turn to use the move BP is asking a lot.
Moving parallel to that point is the common trend that a lot of BP teams struggle to work under strong offensive pressure such as a Stoutland spamming Return. Forcing the BP team to choose between passing the stat or stopping the opponent's momentum is usually the part where these kinds of teams start to fall apart. So I believe that teams that don't need the BP but are better for it are the immediate future for the strategy.
If you look at the most recent Tycarter BP team, as an example:
This is just a balance team that just so happens to have a BP option. If the Togetic were to be replaced by another glue option that doesn't have BP, it would still be a fairly solid team that could get plenty of wins. The BP is not an active factor into what makes this a good team, it is simply a cherry on top. I think this variety of BP team is the only viable way to run the strategy as of writing, but then it asks the question of how much is BP actually factoring into the viability of the team. This is where my personal stance lands: even with these PL wins, I still have not seen enough to make me feel like it is immediately broken. It needs more time to cook.
For now though, BP is in that very annoying growing pain spot where I have to tweak an otherwise-great team into a slightly worse version just so it doesn't get bopped by BP. So I definitely agree with the frustration and concern, and I think that this conversation has been a long time coming, but even after getting drilled for weeks of playing into these kinds of teams I am still not 100% sold on it being broken and requiring immediate action. Still going to add anti-BP strats into next year's PL teams though, and if people want a suspect then I am in support. But I would vote No if I had to right now. The threshold just has not been met for me yet, and would rather wait and see if it gets bad than crush yet another aspect of PU's original tier.
I am still going to make a usage breakdown but it will come a bit later than I was hoping. Trying to put more effort into it this year. I'm also hoping more people weigh in on this, since it seems like an even split right now.
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