Metagame 350 Cup

good work on taking what i said out of context as usual u missed the point.
u always made this statement and dodge my actual points made
u dont understand what is going on nor what overpowered means, no one was talking about how many checks/counters it has
im talking about the state of the meta atm how much of an impact ruffet has on everything, WHEN ARE U GOING TO REALISE THAT RUFFET ISNT JUST OVERPOWERED.
ohh now ur going to compare crandios AND RUFFET by putting them in the same "OVERpowered" circle.
"Because this is Ubers based meta, the standard of power-level that's considered as overpowered"
"Yes I am not treating it as Ubers"
make up ur mind, just because they are ubers in the meta doesnt mean the standard of power level is overpowered thats literally treating it like ubers and a very gullible way of thinking IF UR NOT TREATING IT LIKE UBERS, NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE STARDARD POWER LEVEL OF UBERS, IF NOT EVEN HALF OF THEM ARE USED. every other uber-based meta, has never done something like this NEVER, when something is broken/unhealthy its banned, do u actually believe they consider the standard power level of ubers?? this is such a dull way of doing things and its just sad
why do u think ubers are even a factor in all of this when not even a half of dozen is used in 350 cup?
what a joke that is, really shows how hypocritical u really r

just saying this suspect is a waste of time and these mons should just be banned
ofc u need to wait for them to be "proven" broken/unhealthy i have already explained how little the people who lead this meta actually play 350 cup its really bad like really bad, u dont even know the state of the meta right now just going by ur statements alone "JUST OP/BROKEN/OVERPOWERED". i dunno whats so hard about PROVING RUFFET BROKEN????? DO U ACTUALLY NEED A SUSPECT FOR THAT?
have u even seen ruffet/stag/trapinch/diglet in action at all? i dont think so. if u have, u really have no idea whats up.


THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY knows its broken and wants to be banned immediately but because of ur lack knowledge of the meta, u have to wait until its proven broken????
So I'm new here. Everyone month it's the same for voting "get 350 Cup/Tier Shift/some other overplayed tier". Luckily, Linked and 350 were chosen. So I have joined 350 Cup hoping to enjoy it. And then I find this guy. One thing I learned from a certain previous meta is that quick banning is not really good. You could say it's more "unhealthy" than Rufflet. Now, Rufflet I would keep. Why? Well you just said it has counters, therefore, it's manageable. Cranidos is the same. I mean, if you're that worried, run Pdon. If you're complaining about either, maybe you should just rebuild your team. I'm doing that because I suck at teambuilding and battling. You might also, and therefore are complaining. Wait. Forget that.
Screenshot 2018-04-11 at 11.07.00 AM.png

Why are you doing this? You're complaining about a meta that you haven't even laddered. Also explains why he talks like an OU player. Meanwhile, I suggest you ladder a bit, maybe get reqs for that Rufflet + Arena trap suspect you're so worried about. I think this makes everything you said disreputable. Mostly because your only experience is in ROM and not in the new ladder.
 
Listen. Right now, we've decided that there's going to be a suspect for Rufflet and that our ongoing policy will be to continue to hold suspects. You can complain about our ban policy, which is unlikely to change, or you could do your best to go and get it banned. The suspect is lasting a few days. You're complaining about a few days extra of having it on the ladder (assuming the people who want it banned bother to complete the suspect, that is.)
 
So I'm new here. Everyone month it's the same for voting "get 350 Cup/Tier Shift/some other overplayed tier". Luckily, Linked and 350 were chosen. So I have joined 350 Cup hoping to enjoy it. And then I find this guy. One thing I learned from a certain previous meta is that quick banning is not really good. You could say it's more "unhealthy" than Rufflet. Now, Rufflet I would keep. Why? Well you just said it has counters, therefore, it's manageable. Cranidos is the same. I mean, if you're that worried, run Pdon. If you're complaining about either, maybe you should just rebuild your team. I'm doing that because I suck at teambuilding and battling. You might also, and therefore are complaining. Wait. Forget that. View attachment 110515
Why are you doing this? You're complaining about a meta that you haven't even laddered. Also explains why he talks like an OU player. Meanwhile, I suggest you ladder a bit, maybe get reqs for that Rufflet + Arena trap suspect you're so worried about. I think this makes everything you said disreputable. Mostly because your only experience is in ROM and not in the new ladder.
sorry to bust ur fragile bubble but i have laddered on this ladder more than anyone in this thread because i literally have more than 5 alts sitting between top 20 and top 10(including my main Jeran) and i literally never lost once on the ladder i dont think this is a factor but yes i have been playing this meta more than anyone atm, i am extremely active on it if not the most active one, which is why i can tell u that the people who leads this
meta hardly ever play and not to mention very mediocre at best so u should tell them to ladder alot more.

i like what ur saying about not liking quick banning its ok, ruffet has no counters bulk up/hone claws beats every wall if u arent aware and pdon cant check/counter ruffet but if ur quick banning uncompetitive elements why are stuff like arena trap and ruffet still allowed, there's nothing to prove here. my experience goes from gen 6 not just rom.

and im not akashi on main its jeran.
 
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anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
1523473392629.png

Rufflet: Ban.

why did you quickban stag and not this smh

Here are the (supposed) defensive switch-ins to Rufflet.
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippopotas (136/156): 304-358 (63.8 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(no one uses Life Orb or Choice Scarf, they're unviable)
(also Rock Slide is unviable)
4 Atk Hippopotas Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Rufflet: 148-176 (35.1 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Giratina (150/120): 369-435 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Spritzee (156 / 120): 369-435 (71.5 - 84.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane (97/127 + Prism Armor): 207-244 (52 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Arceus-Fairy (120/120): 373-439 (84 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Arceus-Steel (120/120): 249-293 (56 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Staravia (110/100): 388-457 (107.4 - 126.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cranidos (136/80): 350-412 (85.5 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rhyhorn (160/190): 350-412 (66.7 - 78.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowpoke (180/130): 348-411 (61.7 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Honedge (80/200): 196-232 (51 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Rufflet Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Bronzor (114/172): 220-260 (50.9 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


One might say that it's all about prediction, but the fact that this monster needs good prediction to defeat is a red flag. Basically if the opponent is good, you're screwed from the start once Rufflet is in the team preview. And sure, it may kill itself due to recoil, but that's after it knocks out half your team. Additionally, Choice Band isn't its only viable set. Hone Claws patches up its nasty accuracy debuff, and the set that I used to achieve reqs is this:

Rufflet (M) @ Leftovers / Flynium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Roost

Passive mons like Honedge, Bronzor, and Ferroseed rely on residual damage to beat Rufflet, so using SubRoost both blocks status and mitigates the damage of Brave Bird. Maximum HP and Speed with a Jolly maximizes Rufflet's bulk while still being fast to set up Substitutes. You could also run max attack and Jolly for more offensive sets.

edit: here was the team that i used
1523585788462.png
Bronzor is my main rocks setter, EQ is there to lure Magnemite and 2HKO on the switch-in, as well as Toxic + Protect to stall out Rufflet. Bold Staryu may appear strange, but uninvested Staryu already outspeeds Pawniard so I can hope for get a burn on it. Impish Grimer-Alola minimizes damage from Rufflet and Hippopotas, though you could run max Special Defense for Abra and Gastly's coverage moves and offensive Clefairy. Pawniard is a nice offensive check to Staravia and Rufflet, while also deterring Spritzee's and Clefairy's Moonblast, as well as Vibrava's Defog. Spritzee completes the team, providing Wish support to Grimer-Alola and Bronzor. Both Spritzee and Bronzor are minimum Speed to minimize Gyro Ball damage from Ferroseed.


Arena Trap: Abstain.

Arena Trap is annoying to deal with, due to the prevalence of Groudon-Primal and the reliance on Grimer-Alola to Pursuit trap Abra and Gastly. However, Trapinch is incredibly slow and not bulky enough to be amazing, and Diglett's power can be underwhelming at times. I haven't seen or used either enough to have a strong opinion on this.
 

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drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
reqs

I'm voting BAN on both.

I started out very pro-Rufflet ban and rather ambivalent about Arena Trap. I find that after playing on the suspect ladder I feel that Rufflet, while still obviously broken, is not quite as much so as I had initially perceived it to be, and Arena Trap is more broken than I had thought.

On Rufflet:
In using and playing against Rufflet I found that it was rather easy to wear down due to the constant recoil and hazard damage it's taking. It also lacks the extreme speed tier of some of the other top tier offensive mons like Gastly, Abra, and Staravia.

On the other, much larger and heavier hand, the only things that are avoiding even OHKOs in this meta are very physically bulky mons, most of which cannot reliably do much back thanks to Rufflets good bulk for an offensive mon. Praying it misses and waiting for recoil to mount up is not sufficient counterplay in my view.

The ladder also hasn't seemed to have learned that other sets besides band exist yet. Scarf and Sub Setup are equally terrifying to my mind as band, albeit to different archetypes.

tl; dr: Bird hits too hard and it p bulk, pls ban

On Arena Trap:
To be frank, I only really have a problem with Diglett. Trapinch has just proven too slow and not bulky enough to really threaten me, even when I was playing stall.

Diglett however is capable of trapping a number of very important mons on all playstyles, notably Pdon, Grimer-Alola, and Pawniard. It has the third highest speed in the meta and the other two mons are shit (Luvdisc and Voltorb), and it is basically never in a disadvantageous matchup. It can remove vital members of a defensive core for mons like Gastly and Abra, act as a revenge killer u can't swap out of, and basically does what trapping always does, which is shift the prediction game heavily in the trappers favor.

Honestly while Trapinch doesn't strike me as OP I hate trapping in any meta as it heavily punishes the use of the mons that can be trapped, and I'd be happy to see it off alongside Diglett (by which I just mean Arena Trap, making them both p unviable)

tl; dr: screw trapping and Diglett in particular, pls ban

Lemme know if u have any problems with my thoughts, my thought process for these bans wasn't the most sophisticated ;P
here's my real reqs don't judge

also damn Jeran calm down we ain't in that much of a rush and tbh the Arena Trap suspect at least is definitely worth it.

edit: Oh yeah teams
HO feat Sticky Web Bdrum Swirlix. Kill the Ferroseed/Woobat/Bronzor with Delibird and go to town. Careful using Thief, you lose Unburden. I slapped this together to ladder quickly.
https://pokepast.es/5d31e79a891e40e3
Stall feat a bunch of boring stuff and Rhyhorn. Once Rufflet is banned it can probably be replaced by something else like Hippopotas altho STAB Rock Slide is nice for all the birds. This is more reliable than the other team but nowhere near as fun and a lot slower to ladder with.
https://pokepast.es/7f74f4aec350f846
 
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Sorry for my "bad" english.

Reqs :
Suspect 350.png


For me the 350cup meta is defensive but had good offensive threats, like Cranidos, Ruffet, Pdon, Gastly, Abra, Swirlix...

Rufflet : NOT BAN

Ruffet is a great wallbreaker, can 2HKO easily with Brave Bird a lot of pokemon. 3 versions, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, and Hone Claws Zmove.
Hustle is strong, but you can miss your moves. A lot of people said Rufflet and Cranidos are broken because huge capacity to break wall... But it is true?

Personally, i don't have a problem with Rufflet, Hippopotas can tank Choice Band if it spam Slack off, and the Rufflet die by recoil. Rufflet don't use recovery, can be out speed by a lot of pokemon. But I see, it is very hard to have a switchin in Rufllet...

But can be killed easily, just use faster pokemons. use Destiny Bond, is not hard to kill Rufflet, i think, and it is why I think the 350cup no need a ban of Rufflet. It is strong, but you can kill him easily with faster pokémon.

And if we ban all offensives threat (like Rufflet, Cranidos Gastly...), the meta will be unstable because too defensive.

Arena Trap: NOT BAN

Arena Trap is an strong ability, but Diglett and Trapinch are bad.
Trapinch is too slow and weak.
Diglett has only 110 attack, and is weak too.
They can trap only few pokemon (Grimer-Alola, Pawniard...) and is often useless against stall team.
Why ban something who is bad in the meta?

Team : Stall Stack hazard
https://pokepast.es/16bbe07c513feeab
Just stall the team and when you could stack hazard, do it.
The meta lack good Rapin Spinner ou Magic Bouncer and a lot of teams haven't a defogger, because HO or stacking hazard.
Ditto is underestimate.
 
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Sadly, I took a small break from showdown and only got back on the last day of this suspect, so I don't have enough time to get reqs, but I thought I'd share my opinion for the people who will vote. I have been very involved in this meta since the beginning of April, and I hope my experience is enough.

Rufflet: I would be voting ban for rufflet if I had reqs. If banded, which it almost always is, it can 2hko the entire metagame, leaving it no safe switch-ins. It is killable, whether it's by destiny bond, recoil, or scarfed offensive threats like magnemite or staravia, but I believe it is overcentralizing because every team needs a check to it.

Arena Trap: I would vote No Ban for arena trap. I think that even though it lets you trap and kill anything you want, predicting trapinch/diglett switches is not particularly hard, and bisharp can even kill the trappers if boosted. Another reason to not ban is that without trapinch, pdon will increase in popularity and lose its best check.

Welp, that's it. Wish I could have had time to get reqs.
 
I think it's time to announce the result of the suspect.

Rufflet: 4 Ban 1 Do not ban (80% pro-ban)
Arena Trap 2 Ban 1 Do not ban (66.6 % pro-ban)

Rufflet and Arena Trap is now banned in 350 Cup. Tagging The Immortal

That concludes the suspect. Now here's a viability rankings. Credits to Funbot, drampa, clail and all the people involved. I changed some things on my part, but feel free to comment if there's any suggestions

350 Cup Viability Rankings:

S-Rank:


Spritzee
Groudon-Primal


A-Rank:

A+
Abra
Cranidos
Gastly
Hippopotas
Clefairy
Slowpoke
Pawniard

A
Drilbur
Darumaka
Honedge
Mienfoo
Smeargle

A-
Arceus-Water
Arceus-Steel
Ferroseed
Ho-Oh
Magnemite
Scraggy
Doduo
Staryu
Shroomish
Salandit
Mareanie
Foongus
Vibrava
Grimer-Alola

B-Rank:

B+
Arceus-Ground
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
Necrozma-Ultra
Staravia
Snivy
Stufful
Carvanha
Meditite
Cubone
Bronzor
Xerneas
Clamperl

B
Houndour
Krabby
Pancham
Timburr
Zygarde-C
Delibird
Natu
Woobat

B-
Pikachu
Shellder
Sandygast
Yveltal
Crabrawler
Frillish
Cutiefly
Corphish
Koffing
Giratina-O

C-rank

C
Axew
Growlithe
Sableye- Mega
Buneary
Mantyke
Chinchou
Blissey
Skrelp
Dwebble
Pidgeotto
Drifloon
Skiploom
Rhyhorn
Ditto

C-
Zorua
Shellos
Binacle
Shieldon
Teddiursa
Voltorb
Lombre
 
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Cubone @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Getting hit by a Cubone is like getting hit by a truck. 598 attack with jolly Nature and swords dance with a rock head double-edge destroys.
 

Ivy

resident enigma
is a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributor
Cubone @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Getting hit by a Cubone is like getting hit by a truck. 598 attack with jolly Nature and swords dance with a rock head double-edge destroys.
FYI, you can achieve a stronger effect with a better Speed tier with Cranidos. Plus, it can hold an actual item. It does lose out on Rock Head in favor of Sheer Force, so you could run Rock Slide and such.
 
FYI, you can achieve a stronger effect with a better Speed tier with Cranidos. Plus, it can hold an actual item. It does lose out on Rock Head in favor of Sheer Force, so you could run Rock Slide and such.
Honestly, Cubone and Cranidos has lots of competition with each other. Cubone gets STAB Equake and no recoil on Double Edge, while Cranidos gets Sheer Force with STAB rock slide, with an actual item.
 
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There have been a few recent bans which were definitely well founded. However I'd like to revisit the stag ban. Most people are in agreement that shadow tag gothita was a cancer in the tier. I believe this is entirely true. However, banning stag was the wrong move as it also killed mega gengar and wynaut who the community does not find overwhelmingly overpowered. You could make the lame argument that "trapping is uncompetive" and ban it everywhere, but that is a faulty and weak argument. Mega gengar's only real niche was trapping spiritzee who is a cancer mon and is exceedingly bulky. Even grimer a traps more mons than mega gengar as mega gengar only traps spiritzee or nothing against almost all teams whereas grimer a traps gastly and abra with access to poison touch and bulk that makes him better than gengar even if he doesnt trap anything. I call for an unban of stag and a ban on gothita.
 
Here is a really good set that I want to share. Snubbull can easely take hits, he can come against a lot of physical attackers!

Snubbull @ Normalium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Heal Bell
- Play Rough
- Thunder Wave
- Earthquake
 
bronzor.jpg

Bronzor can be pretty fun:

Bronzor @ Choice Band
Ability: Heavy Metal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Heavy Slam
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Heavy Slam / Gyro Ball do a ton of damage in this meta because nearly all of the pokemon are super light, additionally, Bronzor's Heavy Metal ability doubles his weight making him even heavier. I'm not sure how much actual potential this has, but it sure is a fun set.
 

drampa's grandpa

cannonball
is a Community Contributoris a Community Leader Alumnus
View attachment 111842
Bronzor can be pretty fun:

Bronzor @ Choice Band
Ability: Heavy Metal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Heavy Slam
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Heavy Slam / Gyro Ball do a ton of damage in this meta because nearly all of the pokemon are super light, additionally, Bronzor's Heavy Metal ability doubles his weight making him even heavier. I'm not sure how much actual potential this has, but it sure is a fun set.
Bronzor has 48 Attack in 350 Cup. It's not denting anything besides like maybe Abra? It's much more suited to a defensive role.
 
Another cool metagame that needs some love

Nuzleaf
New Stats:
140 / 140 / 80 / 120 / 80 / 120

Nuzleaf @ Life Orb
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Fake Out
- Giga Drain / Energy Ball
- Low Kick

Honestly Nuzleaf is such an underrated mixed attacker with a very usable HP stat helping to forgive its frailty. Low Kick was such a wonderful addition to its movepool to help with the slew of super heavy Ubers running around. It has multiple other options as well, Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, Leech Seed, Defog, and plenty of offensive options on both sides of the spectrum. Let's bring more love to Nuzleaf.
 

G-Luke

Sugar, Spice and One For All
is a Community Contributoris a CAP Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Just dabbling into the meta of 350 cup and I’ve noticed spritzee been really dominant (idk if this is true but it’s S rank) so what’s the most viable counter(s) to it?
Pdon is a great example, and very fat steels can do the job too. Examples like Ferroseed, Bronzor and Honedge can wall most standard sets. Other than those, the meta's powerful wallbreakers should be able to soften it up
 
So I love this metagame, and I'd like to also share some interesting niche options in the metagame.

Ditto

New Stats: 96 Across the Board

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
(Speed Boosting Nature Of Your Choice)
- Transform

Thanks to Ditto getting his stats doubled due to having a measly BST total of 288, Ditto is now far better in this than it is in any other metagame due to his now acceptable 96 base HP. Meaning that set-up sweepers have a massively hard time due to Ditto outspeeding them, but now Ditto's HP allows it to actually take a hit compared to before. Nothing really else to say about this guy.

Shedinja

New Stats: 1 (HP is Hardcoded to Be 1) / 180 / 90 / 60 / 60 / 80

Shedinja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- X-Scissor / Leech Life
- Sucker Punch / Shadow Claw / Will-O-Wisp

Holy shit, 180 attack? Making Mega Heracross blush. While Shedinja still has the same problems as it did before, STAB Shadow Sneak coming off of that monstrous new attack stat will maim just about anything. It has key resistances, but requires heavy hazard control support. After a Swords Dance, it will maim just about everything that doesn't resist it. Bug STAB in X-Scissor or Leech Life is also wonderful, and the last slot is filler depending on specific needs. Sucker Punch for additional priority, Shadow Claw for more strong STAB, or Will-O-Wisp to cripple Physical attackers.

Cyndaquil

New Stats: 78 / 104 / 86 / 120 / 100 / 130

Cyndaquil @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Eruption
- Flamethrower / Fire Blast / Burn Up
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Extrasensory

It basically does what its evolution does but far better. STAB Eruption coming off of 120 attack with a base 130 speed is nothing to scoff at, and being able to come in on a predicted fire type attack and boost up Eruption to even higher levels is an absolute boon. If your health is full, spam STAB Eruption. If it isn't (which you want to keep it high with proper hazard control support), use either Flamethrower or Fire Blast depending on your need for power or accuracy. You could use Burn Up to have a dedicated move that still does massive power as well, but losing your Fire type while helpful defensively also removes your STAB. Third slot is for a HP move of your choice, Grass is more or less recommended but you could also run Ice. Last slot is for Extrasensory. Alternatively you could run a physical set with moves like Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and Return, but its attack is lacking and isn't recommended.

Grimer-Alola

New Stats: 160 / 160 / 100 / 80 / 100 / 50

Grimer-Alola @ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot / Poison Jab
- Knock Off / Crunch
- Ice Punch / Thunder Punch / Fire Punch
- Thunder Punch / Fire Punch / Rock Slide

This thing is a defensive menace, and while not having reliable recovery hurts it's still a powerful threat with a fantastic typing. This thing is incredibly hard to take down without Ground type coverage, and while this makes it vulnerable to Pokemon like Primal Groudon, it's still capable of taking on other potent threats. First two slots are a STAB of your choice, while the last two slots are entirely dependent on coverage you would need. Grimer-A has other niche options like Shadow Sneak for priority, Power-Up Punch for boosting, and Explosion to... well... explode.
 
Man, Its been a long time since I played 350 Cup and I kinda missed it. Anyways I would like to share my opinion on this pokemon.



Stats: 134 HP / 250 Atk / 80 Def / 60 SpA / 60 SpD / 116 Spe.
Whoa!250 Atk!? that's broken and hard to stop! No, its not that broken by any means. It also had a fair amount of checks to it, that's why i liked to
post what are Cranidos' checks or should I say, soft-check.
Note: checks is not something you bring it out right away, that's counter and they are different.

:
Arguably one of its biggest check, being able to check most of its sets like avoiding 2HKO from Choice Band and SheerForb and also surviving a hit from SD set. It can phaze out if its SD or RP or just hit back hard with Earthquake.

: Support Arceus(Water,Ground and Steel) is also another check, but wait doesn't Arc-Water dies to +2 Rock Slide?doesn't Arc-Steel dies to Eq?Choice Band Head Smash can 2HKO Arc-Ground dude. Yes, i know that, but i'm not using 252/252+ Def in attempt of walling Cranidos or switch-in reliably. If your having hard time taking on Cranidos, but you have one of these 3 Arceus formes, then used this spread: 252 HP / 32 Def / 224 Speed and Timid nature. That speed investment allows them to outspeed Cranidos and OHKO it with super-effective STAB Judgment. You guys should used this spread to be quite honest.

: Outspeeds Cranidos and can OHKO it with Iron Head,High Jump Kick and Hydro Pump respectively.

: Vibrava is another check,both Offensive and Defensive Vibrava variants.
: Zygod is another one, 2HKOing it with Tarrows, crippled it with Glare or phazed out with Dragon Tail.
: Ferroseed only checks non-Fire Punch / Superpower variants.

To be honest, I haven't encountered this Cranidos set yet.

Cranidos @ Groundium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake / Superpower
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

A double dance variants with z-boosted coverage to heavily damage bulky mons after a Swords Dance, although certain walls tanks it most of the time.

Anyways, thats all i have to say. I know its too early to say this and should just posted this when its omotm/lcotm, but i really wanted to posted this early.
#Bring back 350 Cup :)
 

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