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Gen 3 ADV NU Discussion
- Thread starter Rabia
- Start date
I'm no expert at ADV NU, but I do think the VR could really use an update. A couple of thoughts I want to throw out:
Rises
Hitmonchan -> S
Chan is one of the strongest leads and physical attackers in general, not to mention the utility it can bring as the sole rapid spinner of the tier. Everyone I talk to seems to agree that it's one of the tier's best mons.
Octillery -> A+/A
Another one of the most powerful leads in the tier with few to no bad matchups - it can trade into pretty much anything, and Twave is usually a very safe click no matter what.
Pupitar -> A
One of the absolute scariest win conditions - outspeeds everything after one DD and has an amazing STAB combo. Shed Skin is also a great at shutting down status-reliant counterplay.
Pidgeot, Arbok, Kecleon -> Rise
I think these could all be bumped up a rank from where they currently are - Pidgeot has seen success thanks to its great speed and Spikes Immunity and is at least as good as Murkrow. Arbok pretty much exists solely because of Hitmonchan, but its omnipresence gives Arbok a solid place in the meta as well. Kecleon is just a nice blanket check to special attackers like Haunter and can actually trade back quite well or spread easy Twaves.
Drops
Flareon, Chimecho, and Wailord-> A+ (?)
These mons are very good, but not S tier good like the top four mons (Glalie, Haunter, Hitmonchan, and Metang), and should be in a separate tier. May want to bump down some of the A+ ranks if it gets too crowded.
Mawile -> B-
Why is Mawile A-
Roselia -> A-
I'm sure Roselia is fine but Glalie is such a dominant Spiker, and I'm not sure its any better than Cacturne.
Crawdaunt -> B-
Do people actually use Crawdaunt? There are so many better choices for a Water.
Pikachu -> A-
I like Pikachu but I think that Plusle's versatility, improved bulk, and access to Baton Pass give it the edge over Pikachu right now.
Rises
Hitmonchan -> SChan is one of the strongest leads and physical attackers in general, not to mention the utility it can bring as the sole rapid spinner of the tier. Everyone I talk to seems to agree that it's one of the tier's best mons.
Octillery -> A+/AAnother one of the most powerful leads in the tier with few to no bad matchups - it can trade into pretty much anything, and Twave is usually a very safe click no matter what.
Pupitar -> AOne of the absolute scariest win conditions - outspeeds everything after one DD and has an amazing STAB combo. Shed Skin is also a great at shutting down status-reliant counterplay.
Pidgeot, Arbok, Kecleon -> RiseI think these could all be bumped up a rank from where they currently are - Pidgeot has seen success thanks to its great speed and Spikes Immunity and is at least as good as Murkrow. Arbok pretty much exists solely because of Hitmonchan, but its omnipresence gives Arbok a solid place in the meta as well. Kecleon is just a nice blanket check to special attackers like Haunter and can actually trade back quite well or spread easy Twaves.
Drops
Flareon, Chimecho, and Wailord-> A+ (?)These mons are very good, but not S tier good like the top four mons (Glalie, Haunter, Hitmonchan, and Metang), and should be in a separate tier. May want to bump down some of the A+ ranks if it gets too crowded.
Mawile -> B-Why is Mawile A-
Roselia -> A-I'm sure Roselia is fine but Glalie is such a dominant Spiker, and I'm not sure its any better than Cacturne.
Crawdaunt -> B-Do people actually use Crawdaunt? There are so many better choices for a Water.
Pikachu -> A-I like Pikachu but I think that Plusle's versatility, improved bulk, and access to Baton Pass give it the edge over Pikachu right now.
ADVPL won, went 7-1, here is teamdump
MeEsSm vs Stories
So Sitrus Berry functions differently (worse) in ADV, only healing 30 HP, but that's enough to survive Choice Band Sky Uppercut from Hitmonchan, survive two non-Choice Band thanks to Sitrus, and survive two HP Electrics from opposing Octillery. Basically the logic here was if Octillery is only going to be around for 2-3 turns, Sitrus Berry heals more than Leftovers will in that span. Skill Swap Haunter is a tech used to beat Flareon, which the scout said MeEsSm spammed a lot. You can even get a Flash Fire boost to let you 2HKO incoming Metang and offensive Glalie. Skill Swap can also let you check Bellosom in a pinch but the utility doesn't go too far after that. This was also when I discovered how amazing Kecleon was in this metagame. 152 atk Shadow Ball always OHKO's Haunter and Counter lets you nuke physical attackers and Hidden Power users (yes Counter works on any Hidden Power). Cute little Para Spam team to support Bulk Up Hitmonchan and CM Chimecho.
shiloh vs Stories
As ADV NU takes a turn to become more offensive, I really wanted a boom spam team to minimize the variables of not being able to see team preview. Lead Swalot's only job turn one is to explode. Playing vs only 4 unrevealed Pokemon by turn 2 is a lot easier for offense to handle, and Swalot beats pretty much everything 1v1 anyway if I need it in the back for later. Torkoal and Wailord are your standard run-of-the-mill bulky offense mons, making favorable trades with their high BP moves and good bulk, and just exploding when they can't get the job done. Glalie of course helps with this too, but it's job first is to set up Spikes and Light Screen for Pupitar. 128 Atk always OHKO's Haunter with Shadow Ball, and Light Screen goes a long way with helping Pupitar. Modest Haunter is uh.. idk it's just a good attacker, I didn't really have a specific purpose for it here other than it's a top 3 Pokemon. Focus Band Pupitar is funny and I didn't think it needed an item, but throughout the tournament I've come to find that Sub + Liechi Berry is probably the best set.
Bughouse vs Stories
I'm typically not fond of lead Glalie but it definitely has its matchups, notably vs Octillery and Wailord, but Light Screen gives it ~2 Spikes vs Torkoal and I was honestly fine just exploding turn one vs Hitmonchan for the same reason I used Swalot last week. I know Bughouse as someone comfortable using a bulky team because he can outplay most opponents in a long-term game, so I went with a team style that dunks on bulky stuff. Lead Spikes, Sub Whiscash, Toxic Hitmonchan for Sableye, and Metang and Flareon who serve as cleaners and sweepers in the right situations. Nothing really fancy here but I opted for physically oriented Whiscash with HP Ghost instead of the standard Surf, because Surf doesn't really hit much compared to HP Ghost hitting Haunter and Chimecho.
Real FV13 vs Stories
This Haunter is similar to the lead boom Pokemon I've been bringing but with Taunt to stop early Spikes and also letting me keep Glalie in the back. Lum Berry is for the stray lead Venomoth but also if Octillery opts to go for Thunder Wave instead of Surf, but Modest Thunderbolt does a great chunk to lead Waters anyway. The speed is for Jolly Glalie, with the rest being into Special Attack, although a spread that lives HP Ghost from Hitmonchan is probably better. Dewgong, Golbat, and Chimecho work really well with Spikes up, with Dewgong bringing in bulky Waters to trade or Hitmonchan, which the other two take care of easily. Endure + Flail Flareon is an old but gold set that thrives on teams like this, but Golbat is the main star of this team and has proven to be incredibly overrated this far in the tournament.
Django vs Stories
This team was made for Rabia's scout but he subbed Django in because the week was already over at the time we scheduled for. Rabia is a boomer so I wanted to hit him with all the newgen technology all at once; Choice Band HP Flying Hitmonchan lead (for opposing Hitmonchan), Soft Sand Glalie, and SDef Bellossom. Sableye and Bellossom are great together and I hadn't used it yet. Flareon breaks massive holes alongside Hitmonchan for Salac Haunter to clean up. Light Screen Glalie also helps Sableye get going. Sadly it got crit twice in a row this game but I think the team still showed that a combination of amazing defense and amazing offense with little in-between can be good.
I didn't play week 6 because Triangles and I did not schedule
week 7 I didn't prep because we were locked for playoffs, I brought a team I have since deleted because Stox quite easily smoked me
Stories vs Real FV13
Lead Glalie again with a slightly more refined spread, surviving two Fire Blasts from Octillery after Light Screen and still outpacing Hitmonchan. This team is centered around CB Relicanth, who I found to be incredibly underrated from my tests for the week. With high BP moves and great stats, Relicanth can often find itself spamming Rock Slide even against resisted targets like Whiscash and Metang, as they can't immediately threaten it back and still take decent damage from Rock Slide. I struggled a lot making this team secure against Pupitar because I had two Water-types that couldn't check it, so Lum Berry Hitmonchan was my revenge killer for that and any other speed boosters like Salac Flareon or Liechi Raticate. Kecleon again walls every single special attacker, this time I actually brought STAB and Focus Punch to help break for my Haunter and Pelipper to clean up shop. This Pelipper was something Violet River put me onto, and it's REALLY good if you don't run into Grasses, but Haunter can lure them out and explode on them or Relicanth can bait them out and just kill them straight up.
Stories vs Bughouse
Again I'm expecting a bulky structure from Bughouse so I'm going all-out on offense here; lead Hitmonchan with Toxic to apply early pressure on Wailord, Chimecho, and Sabeleye (he brought all three of these lol) and a Water spam core featuring max Speed Substitute Wailord, which I've convinced is the best set you can run on it right now. In testing I ran into two issues: CM Sableye and Hitmonchan in general. For Hitmonchan I gave Haunter 196 Defense, which allows it to survive a Hidden Power Ghost and either Rain Dance, Psychic, or explode on it. Sableye was a bit trickier if it got going with Calm Mind safely (albeit this is very hard for it to do). Firstly I gave my Metang a bit of speed, so I could always pressure it with Meteor Mash spam + Toxic to force it to Rest. I also put Taunt on Glalie which was an idea Kaboom gave me. The matchup played itself, Wailord broke holes and Huntail cleaned up shop as god intended, and it secured a tie for finals.
I want to thank so many people for their help here, I'm worried I may forget a few but
ima Amity Django Shengineer Kaboom Charmriah Shing Plague violet river
MeEsSm vs Stories
So Sitrus Berry functions differently (worse) in ADV, only healing 30 HP, but that's enough to survive Choice Band Sky Uppercut from Hitmonchan, survive two non-Choice Band thanks to Sitrus, and survive two HP Electrics from opposing Octillery. Basically the logic here was if Octillery is only going to be around for 2-3 turns, Sitrus Berry heals more than Leftovers will in that span. Skill Swap Haunter is a tech used to beat Flareon, which the scout said MeEsSm spammed a lot. You can even get a Flash Fire boost to let you 2HKO incoming Metang and offensive Glalie. Skill Swap can also let you check Bellosom in a pinch but the utility doesn't go too far after that. This was also when I discovered how amazing Kecleon was in this metagame. 152 atk Shadow Ball always OHKO's Haunter and Counter lets you nuke physical attackers and Hidden Power users (yes Counter works on any Hidden Power). Cute little Para Spam team to support Bulk Up Hitmonchan and CM Chimecho.
shiloh vs Stories
As ADV NU takes a turn to become more offensive, I really wanted a boom spam team to minimize the variables of not being able to see team preview. Lead Swalot's only job turn one is to explode. Playing vs only 4 unrevealed Pokemon by turn 2 is a lot easier for offense to handle, and Swalot beats pretty much everything 1v1 anyway if I need it in the back for later. Torkoal and Wailord are your standard run-of-the-mill bulky offense mons, making favorable trades with their high BP moves and good bulk, and just exploding when they can't get the job done. Glalie of course helps with this too, but it's job first is to set up Spikes and Light Screen for Pupitar. 128 Atk always OHKO's Haunter with Shadow Ball, and Light Screen goes a long way with helping Pupitar. Modest Haunter is uh.. idk it's just a good attacker, I didn't really have a specific purpose for it here other than it's a top 3 Pokemon. Focus Band Pupitar is funny and I didn't think it needed an item, but throughout the tournament I've come to find that Sub + Liechi Berry is probably the best set.
Bughouse vs Stories
I'm typically not fond of lead Glalie but it definitely has its matchups, notably vs Octillery and Wailord, but Light Screen gives it ~2 Spikes vs Torkoal and I was honestly fine just exploding turn one vs Hitmonchan for the same reason I used Swalot last week. I know Bughouse as someone comfortable using a bulky team because he can outplay most opponents in a long-term game, so I went with a team style that dunks on bulky stuff. Lead Spikes, Sub Whiscash, Toxic Hitmonchan for Sableye, and Metang and Flareon who serve as cleaners and sweepers in the right situations. Nothing really fancy here but I opted for physically oriented Whiscash with HP Ghost instead of the standard Surf, because Surf doesn't really hit much compared to HP Ghost hitting Haunter and Chimecho.
Real FV13 vs Stories
This Haunter is similar to the lead boom Pokemon I've been bringing but with Taunt to stop early Spikes and also letting me keep Glalie in the back. Lum Berry is for the stray lead Venomoth but also if Octillery opts to go for Thunder Wave instead of Surf, but Modest Thunderbolt does a great chunk to lead Waters anyway. The speed is for Jolly Glalie, with the rest being into Special Attack, although a spread that lives HP Ghost from Hitmonchan is probably better. Dewgong, Golbat, and Chimecho work really well with Spikes up, with Dewgong bringing in bulky Waters to trade or Hitmonchan, which the other two take care of easily. Endure + Flail Flareon is an old but gold set that thrives on teams like this, but Golbat is the main star of this team and has proven to be incredibly overrated this far in the tournament.
Django vs Stories
This team was made for Rabia's scout but he subbed Django in because the week was already over at the time we scheduled for. Rabia is a boomer so I wanted to hit him with all the newgen technology all at once; Choice Band HP Flying Hitmonchan lead (for opposing Hitmonchan), Soft Sand Glalie, and SDef Bellossom. Sableye and Bellossom are great together and I hadn't used it yet. Flareon breaks massive holes alongside Hitmonchan for Salac Haunter to clean up. Light Screen Glalie also helps Sableye get going. Sadly it got crit twice in a row this game but I think the team still showed that a combination of amazing defense and amazing offense with little in-between can be good.
I didn't play week 6 because Triangles and I did not schedule
week 7 I didn't prep because we were locked for playoffs, I brought a team I have since deleted because Stox quite easily smoked me
Stories vs Real FV13
Lead Glalie again with a slightly more refined spread, surviving two Fire Blasts from Octillery after Light Screen and still outpacing Hitmonchan. This team is centered around CB Relicanth, who I found to be incredibly underrated from my tests for the week. With high BP moves and great stats, Relicanth can often find itself spamming Rock Slide even against resisted targets like Whiscash and Metang, as they can't immediately threaten it back and still take decent damage from Rock Slide. I struggled a lot making this team secure against Pupitar because I had two Water-types that couldn't check it, so Lum Berry Hitmonchan was my revenge killer for that and any other speed boosters like Salac Flareon or Liechi Raticate. Kecleon again walls every single special attacker, this time I actually brought STAB and Focus Punch to help break for my Haunter and Pelipper to clean up shop. This Pelipper was something Violet River put me onto, and it's REALLY good if you don't run into Grasses, but Haunter can lure them out and explode on them or Relicanth can bait them out and just kill them straight up.
Stories vs Bughouse
Again I'm expecting a bulky structure from Bughouse so I'm going all-out on offense here; lead Hitmonchan with Toxic to apply early pressure on Wailord, Chimecho, and Sabeleye (he brought all three of these lol) and a Water spam core featuring max Speed Substitute Wailord, which I've convinced is the best set you can run on it right now. In testing I ran into two issues: CM Sableye and Hitmonchan in general. For Hitmonchan I gave Haunter 196 Defense, which allows it to survive a Hidden Power Ghost and either Rain Dance, Psychic, or explode on it. Sableye was a bit trickier if it got going with Calm Mind safely (albeit this is very hard for it to do). Firstly I gave my Metang a bit of speed, so I could always pressure it with Meteor Mash spam + Toxic to force it to Rest. I also put Taunt on Glalie which was an idea Kaboom gave me. The matchup played itself, Wailord broke holes and Huntail cleaned up shop as god intended, and it secured a tie for finals.
I want to thank so many people for their help here, I'm worried I may forget a few but
ima Amity Django Shengineer Kaboom Charmriah Shing Plague violet river
okay it's probably better to call Soft Sand Glalie "a relic that I'm bringing back" than something new but it's definitely uncommon currently, same with non-Sunny Day Bellossomdid I just read "soft sand glalie" and "spdef bell" as new technology
have no fear poggy woggy I just wanted to meme a lil 
to avoid being a one-liner owen, spdef bell is certainly a god rn and is better than sunnybeam i'd wager. main reason is you don't really wanna run the defensive sets on water-types like wail/gong anymore because they're too exploitable, whereas bell has a lot of utility ie sleep/stun to avoid giving free turns too easily. pretty natural glalie partner too because you don't really want it as your only check to the water-types, and it makes haunter's life a lot harder
to avoid being a one-liner owen, spdef bell is certainly a god rn and is better than sunnybeam i'd wager. main reason is you don't really wanna run the defensive sets on water-types like wail/gong anymore because they're too exploitable, whereas bell has a lot of utility ie sleep/stun to avoid giving free turns too easily. pretty natural glalie partner too because you don't really want it as your only check to the water-types, and it makes haunter's life a lot harder
plznostep's
NUFL ADV ADVenture.
Hello! I wanted to share my experience playing ADV for NUFL. I went 4-3 and I'm pretty happy with how I did, but more importantly, I enjoyed playing this tier a lot and I am looking forward to playing it again.
Thank you to ExguardiaN and MemphisDepay for drafting me and being lovely managers to work with and test with. I would also like to thank THE_CHUNGLER, Sirwings, and SEROO for helping me test. Without further ado, let's get started.
NUFL ADV ADVenture.
Hello! I wanted to share my experience playing ADV for NUFL. I went 4-3 and I'm pretty happy with how I did, but more importantly, I enjoyed playing this tier a lot and I am looking forward to playing it again.
Thank you to ExguardiaN and MemphisDepay for drafting me and being lovely managers to work with and test with. I would also like to thank THE_CHUNGLER, Sirwings, and SEROO for helping me test. Without further ado, let's get started.
Week 1: Magcargo's Embargo (Loss vs hammer798)
Going into ADV for this tour, I wanted to add some spice to my teams. For almost every week, I wanted to try a different Pokemon that I haven't been able to use, or Pokemon that I think have untapped potential. The Pokemon for this week was Magcargo. I knew Magcargo wasn't going to be great, but it has some niche uses that I thought it would be fun to use for. Notably, it's typing is perfect for answering Flareon due to resisting both Fire- and Normal-type moves. Additionally, its ability Flame Body means on a correct predict, a bird like Pidgeot can be burned and be crippled pretty badly. I went offensive to give my Magcargo threat potential, as it already struggles to get on the field, so I need to make its turns count. This set allows it to OHKO Metang after Spikes and has enough Speed to get the jump on Pokemon such as Octillery. I paired it with Golbat, as it adds a crucial Ground-type immunity to aid Magcargo while also acting as a great answer to Hitmonchan. Wailord also seemed like an obvious choice, as I do not need the extra speed from Dewgong and appreciated the extra bulk as opposed to Octillery to check opposing Water-types for Magcargo. Sadly, Magcargo did not get the right matchup here and I lost the week.
Going into ADV for this tour, I wanted to add some spice to my teams. For almost every week, I wanted to try a different Pokemon that I haven't been able to use, or Pokemon that I think have untapped potential. The Pokemon for this week was Magcargo. I knew Magcargo wasn't going to be great, but it has some niche uses that I thought it would be fun to use for. Notably, it's typing is perfect for answering Flareon due to resisting both Fire- and Normal-type moves. Additionally, its ability Flame Body means on a correct predict, a bird like Pidgeot can be burned and be crippled pretty badly. I went offensive to give my Magcargo threat potential, as it already struggles to get on the field, so I need to make its turns count. This set allows it to OHKO Metang after Spikes and has enough Speed to get the jump on Pokemon such as Octillery. I paired it with Golbat, as it adds a crucial Ground-type immunity to aid Magcargo while also acting as a great answer to Hitmonchan. Wailord also seemed like an obvious choice, as I do not need the extra speed from Dewgong and appreciated the extra bulk as opposed to Octillery to check opposing Water-types for Magcargo. Sadly, Magcargo did not get the right matchup here and I lost the week.
Week 2: Piloswine's Pilgrimage (Loss vs Shengineer)
Piloswine was my second pick. I have used it before but I thought it would be fun to use once again. Piloswine isn't great but has some nice traits, like being a good Plusle and Haunter answer. It's good physical bulk allows it to take a hit from Choice Band Pokemon like Pidgeot and check Golbat. It also hits like a truck with that base 100 Attack. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end for Piloswine as it's typing isn't favourable into the meta. A lot of top Pokemon hit it really hard super effectively due to the added weaknesses the Ice-type gives it. Still, it has a place so I used it here with a pretty bog standard team. Unfortunately, Piloswine's holy journey to prove itself didn't work the way it thought it would, and I lost the week once again.
Piloswine was my second pick. I have used it before but I thought it would be fun to use once again. Piloswine isn't great but has some nice traits, like being a good Plusle and Haunter answer. It's good physical bulk allows it to take a hit from Choice Band Pokemon like Pidgeot and check Golbat. It also hits like a truck with that base 100 Attack. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end for Piloswine as it's typing isn't favourable into the meta. A lot of top Pokemon hit it really hard super effectively due to the added weaknesses the Ice-type gives it. Still, it has a place so I used it here with a pretty bog standard team. Unfortunately, Piloswine's holy journey to prove itself didn't work the way it thought it would, and I lost the week once again.
Week 3: Swalot Supremacy (Won vs bydy)
Before this week, I had never used Swalot before in this tier. I wanted to change that. Swalot lead seemed pretty appealing as a decent lead into Hitmonchan while it's good special bulk helps stave off Water-types and Explosion so Glalie never feels too safe to try and get 3 layers up. A bulky attacker set made the most sense. Through my experience in this tier, it's all about making use of your turns here, and Swalot can certainly do this well with great trading power due to it's combined bulk and Explosion. Pelipper seemed to be the perfect partner. It is a Ground-immune to cover Swalot and one more check to Hitmonchan if needed. If Hitmonchan has Earthquake, Pelipper can deal with it and if it has Rock Slide, then Swalot can. Huntail was last as I thought the trading power on this team would make it a good fit for the last slot, as Huntail is an expert at picking off weakened teams. In hindsight, I was very weak to Pikachu but I managed to beat bydy anyway, netting me my first win.
Before this week, I had never used Swalot before in this tier. I wanted to change that. Swalot lead seemed pretty appealing as a decent lead into Hitmonchan while it's good special bulk helps stave off Water-types and Explosion so Glalie never feels too safe to try and get 3 layers up. A bulky attacker set made the most sense. Through my experience in this tier, it's all about making use of your turns here, and Swalot can certainly do this well with great trading power due to it's combined bulk and Explosion. Pelipper seemed to be the perfect partner. It is a Ground-immune to cover Swalot and one more check to Hitmonchan if needed. If Hitmonchan has Earthquake, Pelipper can deal with it and if it has Rock Slide, then Swalot can. Huntail was last as I thought the trading power on this team would make it a good fit for the last slot, as Huntail is an expert at picking off weakened teams. In hindsight, I was very weak to Pikachu but I managed to beat bydy anyway, netting me my first win.
Week 4: Magby Moment (Won vs Zcarlett)
Magby has always been someone in the back of my mind that I've wanted to use but never knew how to fit onto a team. However, I finally managed to make something I was proud of with this team. Magby looks like it would be unviable trash, but it has some rather cool traits. For example, it is a Fire-type who outspeeds Glalie. That is pretty rare, but not enough reason to use it. The real reason is access to one coverage move in particular that opens it's options; Thunder Punch. This allows Magby to OHKO the increasing popular Pelipper while also allowing it to run coverage for opposing Fire-types in Hidden Power Water. Combine this with passable offenses that can be boosted using a Petaya Berry, and you certainly can do worse in this tier. Dewgong seemed like a pretty good partner; being able to outspeed Flareon and thus checking it better than Pokemon like Wailord seemed important. Magby proved itself this game as it got a really good matchup into the opposing team, and I was very glad I used it.
Magby has always been someone in the back of my mind that I've wanted to use but never knew how to fit onto a team. However, I finally managed to make something I was proud of with this team. Magby looks like it would be unviable trash, but it has some rather cool traits. For example, it is a Fire-type who outspeeds Glalie. That is pretty rare, but not enough reason to use it. The real reason is access to one coverage move in particular that opens it's options; Thunder Punch. This allows Magby to OHKO the increasing popular Pelipper while also allowing it to run coverage for opposing Fire-types in Hidden Power Water. Combine this with passable offenses that can be boosted using a Petaya Berry, and you certainly can do worse in this tier. Dewgong seemed like a pretty good partner; being able to outspeed Flareon and thus checking it better than Pokemon like Wailord seemed important. Magby proved itself this game as it got a really good matchup into the opposing team, and I was very glad I used it.
Week 5: Dunsparce's Destruction (Won vs vaporends)
Dunsparce. I love them. I haven't used them. You get it by now. Dunsparce has good stats I would say. They aren't superb but they are passable, and the bulk is pretty good. The main draw of Dunsparce is Serene Grace and it's great coverage. Dunsparce's Body Slam has a 60% chance to para on a STAB move. Normal-types are already really good in ADV lower tiers, and that extra para chance for Dunsparce makes matchups such as Glalie lead way more dicey for Glalie considering Paralysis ruins it. Dunsparce also gets Earthquake, so Metang isn't a great check into it as it takes a big chunk from it. It even gets Shadow Ball so Haunter gets OHKO'd. There isn't much that takes hits from Dunsparce and it's good bulk makes it really nasty if you don't have specific answers like Sableye. For the set, it hits a Leftovers number for Protect recovery and then hits Octillery Speed so on lead you can usually beat it, with the rest in Attack and SpD. Golbat was a very good pair adding some much needed Speed and answers Hitmonchan, which can be a problem for Dunsparce lead wise. Dunsparce did really good here. It carried the game, I love Dunsparce, and I think more people should consider it.
Dunsparce. I love them. I haven't used them. You get it by now. Dunsparce has good stats I would say. They aren't superb but they are passable, and the bulk is pretty good. The main draw of Dunsparce is Serene Grace and it's great coverage. Dunsparce's Body Slam has a 60% chance to para on a STAB move. Normal-types are already really good in ADV lower tiers, and that extra para chance for Dunsparce makes matchups such as Glalie lead way more dicey for Glalie considering Paralysis ruins it. Dunsparce also gets Earthquake, so Metang isn't a great check into it as it takes a big chunk from it. It even gets Shadow Ball so Haunter gets OHKO'd. There isn't much that takes hits from Dunsparce and it's good bulk makes it really nasty if you don't have specific answers like Sableye. For the set, it hits a Leftovers number for Protect recovery and then hits Octillery Speed so on lead you can usually beat it, with the rest in Attack and SpD. Golbat was a very good pair adding some much needed Speed and answers Hitmonchan, which can be a problem for Dunsparce lead wise. Dunsparce did really good here. It carried the game, I love Dunsparce, and I think more people should consider it.
Week 6: Vigilante Vigoroth (Won vs hammer798)
Despite Vigoroth being really good, I've never actually used it. This seemed to be the perfect time to try it out. I started with a really bad Substitute + Bulk Up set and then I changed it to a way better fast offensive Bulk Up set. It's textbook Vigoroth; really good coverage, good bulk, hit's really hard, and has Vital Spirit as the cherry on top to stop Pokemon like Bellossom. It's overall really good. Pelipper seemed like an obvious pairing, I needed something that limited Hitmonchan, and Pelipper happened to be perfect for the job. Bellossom also pairs amazingly with Pelipper so it was an obvious choice to use it alongside. Vigoroth did excellently, it cleaned the endgame well and I was very happy I used it.
Despite Vigoroth being really good, I've never actually used it. This seemed to be the perfect time to try it out. I started with a really bad Substitute + Bulk Up set and then I changed it to a way better fast offensive Bulk Up set. It's textbook Vigoroth; really good coverage, good bulk, hit's really hard, and has Vital Spirit as the cherry on top to stop Pokemon like Bellossom. It's overall really good. Pelipper seemed like an obvious pairing, I needed something that limited Hitmonchan, and Pelipper happened to be perfect for the job. Bellossom also pairs amazingly with Pelipper so it was an obvious choice to use it alongside. Vigoroth did excellently, it cleaned the endgame well and I was very happy I used it.
Week 7: Furret's Final Gambit (Loss vs bydy)
Originally, I was not planning on using Furret this week and had two entirely different teams I could have loaded. However, I woke up and saw my team won the tour. So, I decided to switch last minute to a funny furret team. This team is similar to the team I loaded the week before. That's because Furret is a weaker version of Vigoroth, so naturally to support it, the team is going to be really similar. There are only two reasons I can see anyone using Furret; Trick and Quick Attack. Vigoroth does not get both of these moves. I chose Trick and I already had a Hitmonchan, mainly for Pupitar. Unfortunately, Furret couldn't get the win although it tried valiantly; I misplayed and expected my Hitmonchan to outspeed Wailord and I should have kept my Pelipper over Glalie.
Originally, I was not planning on using Furret this week and had two entirely different teams I could have loaded. However, I woke up and saw my team won the tour. So, I decided to switch last minute to a funny furret team. This team is similar to the team I loaded the week before. That's because Furret is a weaker version of Vigoroth, so naturally to support it, the team is going to be really similar. There are only two reasons I can see anyone using Furret; Trick and Quick Attack. Vigoroth does not get both of these moves. I chose Trick and I already had a Hitmonchan, mainly for Pupitar. Unfortunately, Furret couldn't get the win although it tried valiantly; I misplayed and expected my Hitmonchan to outspeed Wailord and I should have kept my Pelipper over Glalie.
General Thoughts
I think ADV NU is in a pretty good place. Sometimes team structures can get a bit repetitive but I feel as if they are changing more lately to be more bulky in nature. I like the rise of Pokemon like Arbok and Pelipper in the tier as a great Hitmonchan check. I also think that Pokemon like Haunter, while they are still really good, are not as needed anymore on teams as Pelipper defensively does do a lot of what Haunter does and bulky special walls seem to be on the rise, which can give Haunter some trouble.
I think the best two Pokemon in tier are Glalie and Hitmonchan. I can't put any one higher than the other, they both offer so much to a team and while Glalie may be more splashable, Hitmonchans traits are truly unique as a wallbreaker and I think it keeps them competitive for top spot in the tier.
Lastly, here is a little Viability Ranking to get my general consensus on what I think is good in the tier. Nothing is set in stone on the list, my opinion on Pokemon in this tier can change a lot overtime and it's more a general ranking on how I feel Pokemon are in the tier.
I think ADV NU is in a pretty good place. Sometimes team structures can get a bit repetitive but I feel as if they are changing more lately to be more bulky in nature. I like the rise of Pokemon like Arbok and Pelipper in the tier as a great Hitmonchan check. I also think that Pokemon like Haunter, while they are still really good, are not as needed anymore on teams as Pelipper defensively does do a lot of what Haunter does and bulky special walls seem to be on the rise, which can give Haunter some trouble.
I think the best two Pokemon in tier are Glalie and Hitmonchan. I can't put any one higher than the other, they both offer so much to a team and while Glalie may be more splashable, Hitmonchans traits are truly unique as a wallbreaker and I think it keeps them competitive for top spot in the tier.
Lastly, here is a little Viability Ranking to get my general consensus on what I think is good in the tier. Nothing is set in stone on the list, my opinion on Pokemon in this tier can change a lot overtime and it's more a general ranking on how I feel Pokemon are in the tier.
BYDY IN NUFL 1
Hello, I am bydy. I played ADV NU for the Nefarious Ball in NUFL this season and went a surprising 5-2 as a 5000 point draft, putting me top of the ADV pool and helping my team reach finals. This is my first ever really good result in a team tour, so I thought I'd add my thoughts on how my games went.
Big thanks to Teh and az for the draft and the chance to start every week, and big thanks to BP for teambuilding support.
To start off I wanted to use an aggressive Huntail sweeper set. Since Hydro Pump is a terrible move that always misses, I went with a sub petaya berry set that banks on getting hit into range while setting up and firing off sweet +1 Surfs that can't miss! The rest of the team is taken from an old tournament paste: Torkoal is the anti-Glalie lead of choice, alongside a fire-water-grass core, the mandatory Glalie and a Bulk Up Hitmonchan.
The game gets into a classic ADV NU explosion guessing game, out of which I emerge with a 4-3 Pokemon lead with 2 spikes on each side. Unfortunately, a Substitute Liechi Golbat appears and threatens to tear apart my Metang-less team. I get my Huntail in position and even get the Petaya boost off, but the opposing full spdef Metang tanks a rain-boosted +1 Surf, takes out the Huntail and their Golbat gets the reverse sweep on me. I swore to never leave home without a full spdef Metang again, as this game proved it can handle any attempted sweep thrown at it.
With Metang in tow as my new protector, I enter preparations for week 2. Hammer's scout showed a high reliance on water leads, so this was the time to pull out an evergreen Pikachu lead which I heavily abuse in ADV RU anyway, so it should do the same job a tier lower. With Hammer using plenty of Metang + Plusle previously, I decided on a more defensive team to outlast these threats. Roselia is a great electric check with access to spikes and more longevity than Glalie. T-wave + three attacks Kecleon acts as a special wall that can return the damage on Wailord and Haunter as well as checking all weather threats, Rest Talk Pelipper is a perfect answer to opposing Metang and my own Metang can stand in the way of any pure physical attackers. With two paralysis spreaders and a passive team, Chimecho was an obvious 6th choice which I armed with Yawn + Calm Mind to break through any defensive stalemates.
Their Glalie and my Roselia share a spike each as Pelipper and Kecleon enter walling duties, allowing the opposing offensive Seadra and sub Pelipper no way through. I rather haphazardly switch in my Pikachu into a Pelipper Ice Beam, thankfully living the hit and threatening to throw out a big attack. I successfully HP Ice on the incoming Bellossom and it drops to a critical hit, making my life a lot easier. However, I don't think their Bellossom was long for this world anyway in face of my great walls. Rest Talk Pelipper absolutely shines and takes out the last 4 mons by itself. The match-up was perfect.
A concept I heavily used in my run to the ADV NU Open 1 finals was using a fake spiker lead. CB Glalie threatens to take out any counters with Explosion, after which Roselia, the real spiker, comes in and gets to business. I decided this week was the time to use it. Step's heavy Golbat usage required my trusty full spdef Metang, while CB Rock Slide Hitmonchan threatened to take out the many rock weakness present in the scout. I wanted to keep using the Pikachu from last weak, and opted for Swalot as an all-purpose wall. I use it a bunch in ADV RU and pretty much never see it in NU, so I thought why not? With Yawn and Explosion it forces switches and can eventually trade itself down.
CB Glalie immediately makes a great impact. A crit EQ on Swalot blows it to smitherines, and I immediately pivot it back in to blow up a Metang. My Swalot yawns their Glalie, and I pivot in my Pikachu expecting them to switch out and preserve their spiker, however step blows up immediately and takes out the Pikachu. In hindsight, and absolutely terrible move to be risking my Pikachu like that because it was threatening to win the game on the spot. My CB Hitmonchan agonisingly misses a Rock Slide on their Pelipper, as I believe they were offensive and that it was possibly going to be a one hit KO. Instead, my Hitmonchan takes a big hit, misses another Rock Slide on their Huntail as it sets up, and it proceeds to take out my entire team. A rough 1-2 start to the season, but I remained confident as I thought I didn't actually do that bad overall, and that if I kept up my form I was going to start winning more.
Depite what happened, I liked the sheer carnage choice banded Hitmonchan could bring and decided to bring it again alongside a classic Glalie/Metang core. BP's magic ADV NU tome contained a team just like that supported by Wailord, Flareon and Chimecho, which would become the base of my teambuilding. I decided to debut as custom Flareon set with 252 spatk, a modest nature, charcoal and both Flamethrower and Overheat as I wanted a strong fire breaker akin to the ADV RU legend that is Rapidash. Hp Electric and an uninvested Return round out the set. The main benefit of this powerful Overheat is that it absolutely fries full spdef Metang, which can usually eat a hit and throw an Earthquake right back.
CB Hitmonchan and full spdef Metang instantly open up the team. Rock Slide is a great mid-ground against incoming ghosts, and Metang catches their Flareon on an overpredict (I'm fairly sure Metang lived the Fire Blast and I was actually just trying to trade it down). My Chimecho and Metang keep their Glalie to minimum spikes and they bring out their Metang afterwards. Perfect food for my Flareon, which summons a theoretical maximum power Overheat and burns the Metang alive. It killed without the crit, but the crit allowed me to disguise the true nature of what my Flareon was capable of. A solid win to restore equity to my record.
Throughout the previous four weeks I have completely left Haunter to the wayside. It is one of the very best Pokemon in the tier, so it was about time I actually utilised its qualities for myself. I decided on a Octillery lead to deal with the myriad of weird leads in Shengineer's scout as I can always use yellow magic in a pinch. A spikeless old tournament build caught my eye which fit exactly into what I wanted, and I rolled with a Golbat Raticate Haunter unrelenting offense.
Shengineer brings huge threats in the form of a choice band Relicanth and Jerry the Trapinch, which takes out my Metang for their Golbat. However, Haunter proves to be too much of a threat, with a clutch Will-o-wisp absolutely crippling their Kecleon, which left no counters for Tbolt. I struggled to get chip on the sleeping Relicanth before it woke back up, but it ended up barely being in range of a Haunter Tbolt at 77% (possibly a roll). My Golbat ended up handling their Golbat well enough to bring it into Haunter kill range.
With the Flareon getting the KO with a critical hit Overheat in the last game with Vaporeonds, it's possible they believed my Flareon to be a regular physical set with the Overheat KO being a piece of hax. So I decided to bring the exact same set again, in the hopes that they'll just leave the Metang in on Flareon again should the exact same situation arise. The team is actually very similar to the first one, just with switched up leads, a different choice band user and Haunter over Metang to give the team a bit more offensive sting. Should an opposing Golbat appear, I believe I am now able to handle it after the last 5 weeks of gaming. Haunter carries a Magnet to just to give those Thunderbolts a bit more sting, as last week showed how important even a tiny damage increase can be.
I gamble with a very early Self-Destruct on my Wailord lead and catch an incoming Glalie, resulting in 3 uncontested spikes for myself. Vapo reveals an incredibly threatening Calm Mind Sableye. With no Toxic user on my team, I sac Chimecho to put it to sleep and decide my best option is to bludgeon it with as many attacks as possible, and I land a crit Flamethrower from Flareon almost immediately. I kind of carelessly let my Haunter fall asleep with a Yawn to land a KO as my arch-nemesis sub Golbat comes straight in, but I wake up just in time to open up a winning path for CB Pidgeot.
Since finals is a week you want to bring your best, I decided to go with a team with the entirety of the big 4 of Hitmonchan, Glalie, Metang and Haunter. CB Hitmonchan, Metang and offensive Haunter have served me incredibly well this tour, while Glalie is probably busted. After searching through a wide catalogue of teams containing these four, a Rabia team with sub toxic protect Wailord and Raticate seemed like a cool team to try. For Raticate I decided to go with a Choice Band Facade set, with the intention to switch it in aggressively on a predicted Toxic and start destroying stuff.
ONLY FOR THE TOXIC TO MISS! That was infuriating after getting the play right, however I do manage to get Raticate toxiced later on and force Big Stepper to sacrifice mons to it. With the finals already being decided when we played, step decided to go for a Choice Band Furret which actually ended up pretty threatening and he landed big reads on me with it and Hitmonchan to pull well ahead. I end up barely winning the game thanks to getting up 3 spikes quickly and due to my Wailord somehow being faster than their Hitmonchan, allowing it to get a 1v3 finish.
METAGAME THOUGHTS
ADV NU is a very centralised tier. Glalie gets up spikes very easily, and the entire metagame revolves around killing it before it can get up all 3 layers. Hitmonchan and Metang are automatic top tiers for being able to handle Glalie the best, and dealing with Glalie gives you a niche in the metagame.
Explosion is also very free in the tier. If you have a lead, it often becomes possible to simply trade down. Haunter does not like coming into Glalie, the most prolific Explosion user, and guessing when Glalie will explode on its answers makes dealing with it uncomfortable if you don't have a Metang to throw in its way.
Haunter itself is probably the best abuser of spikes. Thunderbolt and Psychic are very hard to switch into and dealing with Haunter can require uncomfortable coverage choices.
I believe Glalieless NU is worth considering. With Roselia you actually have to earn your spikes and Roselia can't just decide to instantly trade 1 for 1 once it decides it's done enough for the day. I also personally don't believe in freezing old metas when they are actively played in many tournaments, and Glalie and Haunter are viable all the way up to UUBL. I'd like to see the Neverused metagame use never used Pokemon.
I am very positively impressed by Golbat and Pelipper. Golbat has a great defensive profile and can overwhelm teams that lose their Metang (or read it coming in with a banded HP Ground), and Pelipper has great walling capabilites in the face of some of the most threatening Pokemon with Rest Sleep Talk or Sub Toxic. Spike immunities are also an automatic plus in a Glalie-dominated metagame. Both are A+ Pokemon.
Overall, ADV NU is a tier I enjoy playing a lot. I tend to be good in centralised metagames like this, and a centralised ADV metagame makes me a doubly strong player. While I would like to see Glalie go, I would not really complain if the powers that be decide everything should remain untouched as the meta is still fun to play.