Don't do shrooms
[Overview]
<p>A combination of great mixed bulk, Regenerator, and Spore make Amoonguss both a key player in many teams and one of the most used Pokemon in the NU metagame. Its bulk and access to crippling status moves—including the coveted Spore—allow it to take on many prominent threats such as Samurott, Cinccino (provided Amoonguss has Rocky Helmet), Choice Scarf Sawk, and Pinsir. Amoonguss's access to Regenerator allows it to fit on a wider variety of teams than the former bulky Grass-types of choice, Tangela and Vileplume, forcing both into obscurity. Spore—with BW's sleep mechanics—is capable of putting a Pokemon out of commission for the entire match, making it a godsend for a defensive Pokemon such as Amoonguss. Base 85 Special Attack, while not outstanding, is passable and allows Amoonguss to do decent damage with just its STAB moves; it is also just strong enough to warrant the use of a Life Orb set. However, Amoonguss's defenses aren't impenetrable, and it is weak to many common threats in NU, particularly Emboar. Amoonguss's Speed is also absolutely pathetic, leaving it outsped by even the likes of Regirock and Golem. Moreover, once Spore is used, Amoonguss can have a hard time accomplishing much else. Despite these flaws, Amoonguss is one of the best defensive Pokemon in the tier and should be considered for a spot on every NU team.</p>
[SET]
name: Pivot
move 1: Spore
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Synthesis / Stun Spore
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
ability: Regenerator
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the most commonly seen Amoonguss set in NU, and with good reason. It checks a wide variety of common threats, is an amazing pivot with Regenerator, and forces opponents to play carefully with its mere presence, lest one of their Pokemon fall victim to crippling status. Spore is the crux of the set, capable of either crippling an opposing Pokemon or luring sleep fodder into switching into one of Amoonguss's moderately powerful attacks. Giga Drain is an irreplaceable STAB move, as it is not only capable of dealing a lot of damage to Golem, Golurk, and Samurott but also of healing Amoonguss in the process. Sludge Bomb is a powerful secondary STAB move, getting a super effective hit on Grass-types that would otherwise wall Amoonguss entirely, particularly Sawsbuck, which is immune to everything else in its moveset. Sludge Bomb also hits a lot of Pokemon that resist Giga Drain, such as Rotom-S, Emboar, and Swellow, for neutral damage. Synthesis and Stun Spore are both great options in the last moveslot. Synthesis lets Amoonguss recover without switching out, which can come in handy in a pinch. On the other hand, Stun Spore allows Amoonguss to remain a threat after Spore has been used; paralysis can be amazing for an offensive team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Physical bulk is maximized so that Amoonguss can take on a variety of physical attackers such as Samurott and Absol. Leftovers provides passive recovery, allowing Amoonguss to heal without having to switch out or use Synthesis. On the other hand, Rocky Helmet's damaging effect can significantly hurt Pokemon such as Sawk, Gurdurr, Kangaskhan, and Cinccino when they attack Amoonguss with contact moves. In particular, Cinccino is demolished by Rocky Helmet, as its Skill Link-boosted Tail Slap incurs almost 85% damage on it in a single turn. Substitute can be used over Stun Spore or Synthesis, allowing Amoonguss to scout switch-ins and use Spore more selectively; it works particularly well with Regenerator, which allows Amoonguss to restore the HP lost to Substitute by simply switching out. Clear Smog can be used to deter set up, but Spore and Sludge Bomb are not only sufficient in doing this but generally do the job better. Hidden Power Ice and Ground respectively hit Dragon- and Poison-types super effectively, but their situational usefulness is usually outweighed by the general utility of Amoonguss's other moves. Protect can be used to scout the attacks common Choice item users, such as Braviary and Emboar, lock themselves into, but has little use otherwise. A specially defensive set is very viable, allowing Amoonguss to check specially based Water-types a lot easier. However, the metagame's bias towards physical attackers make it the inferior set. Alomomola is an incredible teammate, pairing with Amoonguss to form one of the most well-known cores in NU: the Regenerator core. This core is capable of walling the majority of the metagame, each member resisting the other's weaknesses and being largely undeterred by entry hazards. Sweepers that struggle with Gurdurr and Swords Dance Samurott, such as Klang, Cradily, Armaldo, Cacturne, and Pinsir, are great teammates, as Amoonguss can handle them fairly easily. Amoonguss appreciates support from Pokemon that can beat Flying- and Fire-types; Rock-types perform this role very well, making Regirock and Golem great teammates. One should always keep in mind that Amoonguss should never be the center of a team, as its job is to fix weaknesses that a team might have.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Spore
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Giga Drain
move 4: Hidden Power Ground / Stun Spore
item: Life Orb
ability: Regenerator
nature: Modest
evs: 216 HP / 156 Def / 124 SpA / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Amoonguss's base 85 Special Attack hits surprisingly hard when invested and boosted by Life Orb. Spore is a staple on all Amoonguss sets, as it almost always guarantees that a Pokemon will be crippled for the rest of the match. Sludge Bomb is the primary STAB attack, as it is very strong and has solid neutral coverage in the tier, hitting many Pokemon that would normally switch into a defensive set with little fear, such as Emboar and Magmar, extremely hard. Giga Drain complements Sludge Bomb's coverage, hitting Ground- and Rock-types super effectively, and it also recovers lost HP and offsets Life Orb recoil all at the same time. Additionally, this set's Giga Drain is also noticeably stronger than that of a more defensive set, capable of OHKOing Marowak and Samurott. Hidden Power Ground allows Amoonguss to hit Steel-types, such as Klang, and 2HKOes offensive Skuntank, both of which would otherwise set up on it. Stun Spore's use is generally outweighed by Hidden Power Ground's, but paralysis helps cripple faster threats, allowing Amoonguss to both outspeed said threats, and support one's team.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread allows Amoonguss to survive a Megahorn from +2 Samurott and retaliate with Giga Drain. A faster EV spread running 164 Speed EVs is possible if you want to outspeed and Spore defensive base 50s such as Regirock. A more offensive EV spread is usable if Samurott isn't a concern. Synthesis can be used in the last moveslot to recover Life Orb damage, but the loss of utility or coverage is off-putting. Hidden Power Ice can be used to hit Dragon-types, such as Altaria, hard, but does little else. Gorebyss is a great partner, as this set can lure and defeat Choice Scarf Rotom-S, making it easier for Gorebyss to sweep. This set lures in and defeats most Fire-types, so offensive Grass-types that struggle with them, such as Sawsbuck, Leafeon, and Torterra, make good partners. When running Hidden Power Ground in order to defeat Skuntank, Psychic-types, such as Musharna and Gardevoir, become great partners, as they struggle to remove it themselves. Zangoose is a good partner, as Amoonguss handles most of the best ways to defeat it, primarily Regenerator cores and Rock- and Steel-types. The removal of these threats makes a Zangoose sweep incredibly easy. Rock-types, such as Regirock, make good partners because they lure in Fighting- and Water-type Pokemon that Amoonguss can take advantage of.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Amoonguss can use Choice Specs instead of Life Orb on the offensive set, but the inability to switch attacks limits its offensive presence. Body Slam is an option to spread paralysis while doing damage, but the damage is largely negligible, and the paralysis chance unreliable. Foul Play is a very interesting move; it hits some Pokemon with high Attack stats harder than Amoonguss would be able to hit them otherwise. Unfortunately, many Pokemon with high Attack stats also resist Dark-type moves, making it an inferior option. Growth can be used to boost Amoonguss's Special Attack, but Amoonguss doesn't have the offensive presence or the Speed to sweep. Amoonguss makes a surprisingly good weather setter; it can use Rain Dance or Sunny Day very well, its bulk and Regenerator often allowing it to set up weather multiple times in a match. Toxic is nifty to hit Pokemon on stall teams, but Amoonguss would much rather use Spore or Stun Spore against most targets. Worry Seed is a cool move to incapacitate Pokemon that rely on their ability, such as Duosion, but most of the time won't accomplish much because the opponent can just switch out.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Magmar is Amoonguss's best check, as it has Vital Spirit to be immune to Spore, Eviolite to take the more defensive set's Sludge Bombs, and STAB Fire Blast to handle Amoonguss; however, Magmar does not appreciate the offensive set's Sludge Bomb, nor does it like being paralyzed or poisoned. Hypno and Electabuzz cannot be slept, courtesy of their abilities, but, like Magmar, are impeded by Amoonguss's other moves. Sap Sipper absorbs Stun Spore, Giga Drain, and Spore, so Pokemon such as Miltank, Sawsbuck, or even Zebstrika and Girafarig, can stand up to Amoonguss. Due to Spore, the best course of action when facing an Amoonguss is often to sacrifice your least useful Pokemon as sleep fodder, then work from there. Bulky Substitute users, such as Lickilicky, Klang, and Braviary, can set up on the pivot set with ease. Arbok sets up on all of Amoonguss's sets without Hidden Power Ground courtesy of its resistance to Amoonguss's STABs and its ability, Shed Skin, which gives it a pseudo-immunity to status. After Spore has been used, Fire-types, such as Emboar, Charizard, Torkoal, and Rapidash, check Amoonguss quite well. Flying-types, such as Braviary, Rotom-S, and Swellow, also do quite well if they can avoid Spore. Ice-types, such as Glaceon, Regice, and Articuno, although also vulnerable to Spore, destroy Amoonguss with their STAB, particularly if they use Substitute to protect themselves from status. Even Psychic-types, such as Beheeyem, Gardevoir, and Musharna, can defeat Amoonguss after it has used Spore, though they can't risk switching into it. Amoonguss is actually very difficult to counter, as very few Pokemon can switch into Spore; however, once Amoonguss uses the move it becomes quite easy to take advantage of. Due to Regenerator, it is almost impossible to wear down Amoonguss over the course of the match, so if you want to defeat it, you'll have to take it out in one strong hit!</p>
