Lower Tiers DPP NU Viability Ranking

[Bughouse]

eh I just think Slowking is more replaceable, whereas Skuntank is in a league of its own. Entire teams can be invalidated due to a weakness to trapping, a phenomenon that's hardly unique to DPP NU, and Skuntank is just miles ahead of any other option in the tier.

Depending on the team you can often replace Slowking with a similar mon and may not even need to shift another mon to compensate for the change. I mean, notably, Regirock itself is such a good special sponge at this point too that Slowking has become less essential for checking fires, though obviously there's nothing wrong with running the two together so long as the rest of the team makes sense with it.

But there are teams where replacing Slowking with Politoed or Mantine will most definitely improve the team because the weakness to Skuntank is a problem. (Or frankly teams that forgo a water type at all, and just rely on Regirock.) It's a lot harder to think of teams that have a Skuntank on them that are improved by replacing the Skuntank.
I think a similar argument can be made about Regirock and I would also rate Regi above Slowking, though there at least have been phases in the past where Cradily was considered more on par with Regirock than it is today.

 

[Oglemi]

Btw if someone wants the OP they're free to it, just have an roa mod give you the OP, I'm too out of the loop to make a decision on ranking placement

 

[Honko]

Hypno should drop to B+ or B. It's basically a matchup pick now; if I think my opponent will use an offensive team without Skuntank, Hypno is still potentially a great choice, but otherwise it's just not worth it. The meta has too much Skuntank and too much Toxic nowadays for Hypno to be worthy of A.

I was one of the last couple people who still used Hypno somewhat regularly in NUPL/Classic matches, but I think what I said here is still accurate. It has terrible matchups against most of the current meta that make it really hard to justify. Another more recent thing working against it has been Medicham's drop in strength due to the rise in usage of Toxic+Protect, especially on Regirock, and of Ghost-types other than Haunter, which both mean it has a really hard time finding chances to use High Jump Kick. One of Hypno's biggest selling points was that it was one of very few true counters to Medicham (unlike Slowking who gets wrecked by Thunder Punch, and obviously unlike Lickilicky) while also countering a lot of special attackers. With most teams now just kind of soft-countering Medicham naturally, that selling point has mostly disappeared. I support Hypno dropping to B, and I also think Medicham should drop to A+.

I also agree entirely with Bughouse about Slowking being more replaceable than either Regirock or Skuntank, though I think those three are all very clearly S-rank material so it doesn't really matter.

 

[darkness_poke2]

RISES

C＋→B＋
they are very handy attackers. they can stop opponent's sweeper by fake out. their only shortcoming is walled by rock-types easily, but it is not so significant. also, they can be a good lead of crimate party with sunny or rain, taunt, u-turn.

C＋→B＋
recommend sets：flare blitz/sunny day/will-o-wisp/morning sun@heat rock
He is a great check of fire-types by fantastic ability of flash fire. also, he can cripple many physical attackers by will-o＋morningsun. with the ability of check opponent's fire types, and great speed, he can be the greatest sunny day inducer in the tier, I think. the set above is very useful, so l recommend adding him to all sunny-parties.

C＋→B＋
he is a fantastic wall breaker with great psysical bulk and speed. After attacking, the opponent get a free-turn, so maybe threat like berrydrum lioone can be hell, that is shortcoming fore sure, so we should use him defensive party. even if so, we should not underestimate this 'monster'.

C→B＋
Choice-band relicanth is one of the greatest wall breaker in the tier, I think. and rock polish＋life orb relicanth is one of the greatest sweeper. also, with fantastic physical bulk and resistance to normal, he is a good counter to physical normals. he should not be underestimated.

C-→B
choice-scarf rampardos exspeeds tauros, so great as a fast normal-resist attacker. choice band is also good. he should be ranked higher.

C→B-
He is great as a stealth-settler. he have a niche as a rock type that immune to earthquake, and not weak to hitmonchan, the most common spinuser, by powerful zen-headbutt. He also has the option sets such as rockpolish＋batonpass, dual screen＋explosion.

C-→C＋/B-
Girafarig is a great baton supporter. After reflect＋lightscreen＋agility＋batonpass , many attacker( for exsample, marowak) goes hell.

B→A-
A great defensive pokemon, great spin blocker. he can wall medicham and hitmonchan completely, and tauros, slaking as well. and the greatest thing is 'not weak to pursuit', unlike other ghost- and psychic-types. in fact, he is a only pokemon that can wall fighting-types and not weak to pursuit in this tier, i guess. He can be a good choice as a greatest fighting- and normal-types counter for many teams.

B-→B＋
duskrops is as well a good spin blocker, with completely walling hitmonchan, so should be ranked higher.

C＋→B
His toxic＋sub set is very powerful and annoying, with fantastic special bulk and great recoverly of roost, powerful ice beam and super-annoying ability of pressure.

DROPS

A-→B/B＋
I think that he is inferior to tauros with less speed, less coverage (he can't touch rock- and steel-types) less bulk, more damage by stealth rock. His only good point compared to tauros is powerful brave bird, neutral damage to ghost. but only this thing can't rise him so much, I think.

A→B＋
I don't agree with gligar ranked so high. his niche is that strong to ground types, and can set up stealth rock, with blocking opponent's stealth rock with taunt, but thats all. we definitely can't say he is strong to fighting-types (hitmonchan usually curry ice punch), and he is weak to jynx, an major lead. B＋ maybe suitable.

B＋→B-
I can't understand rhydon's niche in this tier. as a rock type wall-breaker, relicanth or rampardos will be much better. He can't have significant role in this tier, because most electric- and fire- types carries HP grass. Golem is somewhat better, with sucher punch and explosion.

B＋→B-/C＋
Just fast ball. he is not so strong as a special attacher. He is not bad as a rain dance inducer, but at best 'not bad'. I think pokemon like skuntank is better as a rain dance inducer, because he can not only rain＋explosion, but also damaging opponent's slowking (one of the solidest counter to rain-party) by pursuit.

A→A-/B＋
I understand that hypno is good wish-supporter, but it is too weak of skuntank.

A→A-/B＋
lickylicky is also a great wisher, but he has no resistance so he is difficult to counter someone, and weak to fighting-types, very common sweepers in this tier. Because most available stealth-rock-settlers in this tire weak to fighting types, adding one more weak-to-fighting supporter tend to be a bit difficult.

 

[Expulso]

Big VR update! After NUSD, Classic, and many of the more recent tours, Meri Berry thought it would be appropriate to organize a full overhaul. (I wrote reasonings so it was easier for me to post it, but thanks so much to her for taking the lead and organizing this!). The sheet can be found here.

Voters for this slate:
Ara
Beraldinho
Bughouse
Expulso
Heysup
HSOWA
LpZ


RISES:

rises

S- -> S
S- -> S
A- -> A+
A- -> A+
A- -> A
A- -> A
A- -> A
B+ -> A
B+ -> A-
B+ -> A-
B -> A-
B -> B+
B- -> B+
B- -> B+
B- -> B
C+ -> B
C -> B
C+ -> B-
C -> B-
C -> C+
C -> C+

reasoning

Regirock: S- -> S - Regirock was the most-used Pokemon in the recent NeverUsed Snake Draft. It is an incredible blanket check, able to set Rocks while trading with almost every Pokemon in the tier and packing a threatening Explosion. Resist (Chople/Shuca/Passho), Lum, and Custap berries are all usable, allowing it to cut off some of the few ways it can be shut down, while Lefties (especially with Protect) make Regirock stick around forever. Defensive Rock types are very important for top threats such as Charizard, Drifblim, and Tauros, and nothing does the job better than Regirock.

Slowking: S- -> S - Slowking also rises from S- to S. It is consistently top 3 in usage and simply does more than other defensive Water types. Its reliable recovery makes it much more durable than Politoed or Mantine, and it is able to annoy counterplay with moves like Thunder Wave, Signal Beam, or just Psychic (eliminating the great Grass-type Vileplume from its list of answers). Its weakness to Pursuit has been held against it in the past, but it can easily afford to run Physical defense investment and a Colbur Berry, making Pursuit bounce off. Its Surf 2HKOs non-bulky Skuntank, and most of the Pokemon that threaten it -- Magneton, Manectric, haunter and CB Tauros for instance -- fail to switch in directly.

Hitmonchan: A- -> A+ - Hitmonchan is able to do two roles very well. It can remove hazards with Rapid Spin, threatening all Stealth Rock setters with its powerful CC while also threatening to OHKO Drifblim and Haunter with a strong elemental punch. It can also provide Speed control through either Scarf of Life Orb Mach Punch. The Life Orb set has taken off in recent tours -- LO CC/Mach/TPunch/Ice Punch has no answers besides the ultra-passive Sableye and Dusclops. Its lack of direct switch-in opportunities and susceptibility to be worn down through recoil hold it back from S, though.

Drifblim: A- -> A+ - Drifblim has become one of the most popular win conditions in the tier. Sub / CM / Sball / HP Fighting or Ground is extremely difficult to answer long term, particularly since many diverse Pokemon can be paired up with Drifblim to weaken and/or eliminate Skuntank, letting it sweep with Unburden. Utility sets with Wisp and/or Rest are also quite usable, and it is one of the best spinblockers in the tier.

Cradily: A- -> A - It's really annoying to take down without Toxic, which isn't that common right now. It can outlast the things that pressure it (Hitmonchan/Medicham, offensive Charizard) pretty well.

Nidoqueen: A- -> A - Toxic Spikes have seen a rise in prominence with the rise in double-Skunk weak teams designed to eliminate it; the usually pair Nidoqueen with a defensive Ghost like Dusclops or utility Drifblim and slowly suffocate opposing teams ill prepared to handle long battles. There aren't many other Poisons that can absorb TSpikes either.

Vileplume: A- -> A - Sleep is super good and Plume is able to annoy p much any team due to the many great matchups its typing gives it. Covering for Slowking with it can be annoying due to the anti-synergies created by adding another Grass or Skuntank (another Poison), but it's worth it when u can do it.

Cacturne: B+ -> A - Spikes are really good -- good enough to offset the lack of Sucker caused by using this over Shiftry or Skunk -- and it hits hard.

Shiftry: B+ -> A- - LO Leaf Storm / Dpulse / Sucker / Explosion is p much guaranteed a kill in every game ever due to its raw power, but it doesn't do much for you defensively and is kind of a nuke. SD sets are also viable.

Venomoth: B+ -> A- - see above comments on sleep and tspikes

Sharpedo: B -> A- - One of the best leads in the tier due to its typing advantage against SR users and priority Aqua Jet / Rough Skin for other leads, Sharpedo is able to keep hazards off while preying on the increase in Slowking with its powerful Water/Dark coverage -- especially with an Ice Beam for Vileplume.

Lightning round...
Golem: B- -> B+ - Nice offensive Rock- and Ground-type who does generally similar things to Regirock but trades a lot of special bulk (and lack of quad weaknesses) for Rock Blast to break SubTox Zard's Sub.
Dusclops: B- -> B+ - Surprisingly hard to break without Toxic, like Cradily; great on TSpikes teams; one of the few answers to LO Chan
Linoone: B- -> B+ - yall know what linoone does, less haunter -> less usable answers once your rock type dies

Marowak: B- -> B - Offensive Grounds are good since Regirock is so common -- benefits from Slowking too because it is faster and can KO
Rapidash: C+ -> B - SubTox is good, faster than Charizard and thus wins that lead mu. Used by Heysup in one game this NUSD (though it got unlucky and didnt do as much as it could have)
Solrock: C -> B - Used in TR? Cant say i get this one tbh

Articuno: C+ -> B- - used in some semistalls / stalls by TDK/Staxi, such as this one (nusd - find better replay?)
Ampharos: C+ -> B- - Nice attacking lead that punishes teams who rely on Regirock as a soft check to electrics with a powerful Focus Blast. Here is an NUSD replay where Bughouse wielded it to insane success.

Armaldo / Relicanth also rose, good for them

DROPS:

drops

S -> S-
S- -> A
A+ -> A
A+ -> A
A+ -> A-
A -> B+
A -> B+
A- -> B+
A -> B
B+ -> B
B+ -> B
B+ -> B-
, , , , , B -> B-
, B+ -> C+
, B- -> C+
B -> C
, , , , B- -> C
, , , , , , C+ -> C
B- -> C-
, , C+ -> C-
, C -> C-

reasoning

Charizard: S -> S- - Still strong and useful af but removing is a little harder, the game is faster-paced, and the lead metagame has evolved to almost universally threaten lead Zard. It's a great mon but needs a little more support and good positioning than it did before.

Medicham: S- -> A - Medicham is generally les useful than Hitmonchan: the utility of Spin is superior to Medi's Trick and Mach Punch > Bullet Punch. It can hit extremely hard but is even more difficult to bring into battle. Locking into Psy move on Choiced sets is an additional unique difficulty it faces due to the omnipresence of Skunk -- it's still a good mon but just a bit harder to fit onto a team than its Fighting-type rival.

Gardevoir: A+ -> A - Skuntank is extremely good and Garde struggles to get past it. It's also slower than most other Scarfers which limits its upside. Trace is rly clutch and HWish, Wisp Colbur, others can do cool things but it is not an easy mon to fit.

Haunter: A+ -> A - Haunter can be rly good since LO HP Ground KOs non-fat Skuntank after Rocks, but it's incredibly frail, struggles to force things out 1v1 or switch into anything, and is usually limited to trades -- all traits we believe better describe an A-rank mon.

Magmortar: A+ -> A- - Rocks weak and kinda slow breaker with a high upside, esp on structures like Fire spam, but struggles to break past Slowking. Regirock gets difficult too since Focus Blast becomes v telegraphed. Today, it generally only comes onto field once and then usually requires lots of work to get a kill.

Gligar: A -> B+ - Gligar doesn't wall all that many relevant mons and doesn't do much back to anything. Fast Taunt is good and it effectively answers Electric-types that don't run Ice coverage, Scarf Fighting-types, etc., but it generally finds itself doing less damage back to the opponent than it takes -- and there's no shortage of special attackers to exploit this.

Lickilicky: A -> B+ - Curse and utility sets can be cool but struggle with hazards, fighting-types, rock-types, etc. Especially since mono-attacking is total setup bait for Ghosts, it struggles to justify a Cleric set of Wish+HBell. More offensive/win-con-y sets like Curse also find themselves stymied by Boom and the inability to run a mono attacker set.

Dodrio: A- -> B+ - It only got used once in the most recent DPP NU teamtour, so it could have dropped further honestly. However, its nice Speed and power makes the rankers wary to dismiss the possibility of Normal spam, with one or more Regirock lures, as an archetype in the future.

Hypno: A -> B - Jynx is not ultra-common and it faces competition from Slowking in the special wall slot. It also generally finds that the metagame is much more physically oriented than specially oriented, and special attackers can often hit it super effectively (Haunter, Drifblim, Shiftry) or Trick it (Manectric, Gardevoir).

Ninetales: B+ -> B - kind of a worse Magmortar and the same reasons that apply to its fall apply here

Rhydon: B+ -> B - To be honest I'm surprised by this drop, since I've seen Rhydon be a very successful offensive Ground -- here's a replay from NUSD week 1 where SD cleans up well. However,. perhaps people think it's on the same level as Golem/Marowak instead of above them.

Lightning round:</p><p>Victreebel: B+ -> B-
Lapras, Piloswine, Pinsir, Porygon2, Regice, Sableye: B -> B-
Grumpig, Whiscash: B+ -> C+
Gastrodon, Mantine: B- -> C+
Misdreavus: B -> C
Gabite, Golduck, Gorebyss, Machoke, Sneasel: B- -> C
Crawdaunt, Diglett, Metang, Persian, Purugly, Roselia, Torkoal: C+ -> C
Flareon: B- -> C-
El;ectabuzz, Probopass, Raichu: C+ -> C-
Mr. Mime, Raticate: C -> C-

 

[Bughouse]

Also (finally) the entirety of D and most of C- and Huntail (who was C for some reason) -> UR
A lot of these are cool mons in PU though and DPP PU is pretty fun so you should play that too!

 

[Cubic Skunk]

Glad to see my boi electrode is good :D

Out of curiosity why did whiscash drop so far?

 

[Bughouse]

Glad to see my boi electrode is good :D

Out of curiosity why did whiscash drop so far?

whiscash was never particularly good and was just ranked too highly before. that's all.

 

[Rabia]

For the interested, I've compiled an updated VR OP based on the slate done two months ago. Something to keep in mind is the Final Rankings column of the slate document is inaccurate, so some of the C rank may be wrong. Fortunately, the more relevant Pokemon I was able to just reference Expulso's update post for. I was also told C- rank is just being nuked entirely, so there's that.

---

S Rank

S

Regirock
Skuntank
Slowking

S-

Charizard
Tauros

A Rank

A+

Drifblim
Hitmonchan
Jynx

A

Cacturne
Cradily
Gardevoir
Haunter
Manectric
Medicham
Nidoqueen
Sandslash
Vileplume

A-

Floatzel
Magmortar
Magneton
Sharpedo
Shiftry
Typhlosion
Venomoth

B Rank

B+

Dodrio
Dusclops
Electrode
Gligar
Golem
Lickilicky
Linoone
Meganium
Politoed
Poliwrath
Quagsire

B

Glalie
Hypno
Jumpluff
Marowak
Ninetales
Rapidash
Rhydon
Solrock

B-

Ampharos
Articuno
Camerupt
Lapras
Muk
Piloswine
Pinsir
Porygon2
Regice
Sableye
Victreebel

C Rank

C+

Armaldo
Gastrodon
Grumpig
Mantine
Relicanth
Slaking
Whiscash

C

Banette
Crawdaunt
Diglett
Flareon
Gabite
Glaceon
Golduck
Gorebyss
Machoke
Metang
Misdreavus
Persian
Purugly
Roselia
Sneasel
Torkoal
Walrein
Xatu

 

[Amity]

Just a public FYI for people checking here during DPP NU being ROA Spotlight, the VR has been updated again! You can see the VR here and see explanations here.

For a TL;DR of the important stuff, Hitmonchan moved up to S-, Charizard moved down to A+, Sharpedo and Magneton moved up to A+, a bunch of important pokemon moved down in the A ranks, Poliwrath and Dusclops moved up to A-, Ampharos and Articuno moved up to B+, and Typhlosion and Magmortar moved down to B+.

Also a bunch of unmons got URed lmao

 

[BeatsBlack]

NUCL DPP Overview

​

As I did in a previous post about NU, I just wanted to do another short retrospective of stuff brought/used for this tour. Was pretty fun to play again and the format of the tour made it much more interesting when considering multiple slots.

Week 1 vs Ninja (Wising Tides) -

Desc.

Was really interested in using Dodrio since Ninja seemed to have a good amount of Cradily usage when compared to Regirock, in addition to occasionally using Ghosts as the sole normal resist. Seeing that, I wanted to abuse this via CB Dodrio as neither max Phys bulk Cradily or Dusclops can switch into back-to-back Brave Birds. In addition, Dodrio's natural typing gives it good defensively utility vs Haunter and Drifblim, as it is immune to both Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Ground. Magneton would be waiting in the wings as a way to abuse Regirock with Substitute + Magnet Rise, a dangerous combination if provided the opportunity to get rolling. Since opposing Magneton could be an issue for my Skunk, Dodrio, and Regi, I slotted Trace HP Ground Gardevoir to trap it. I could've used Magnet Pull on my own Magnets, but I opted to go with pre-buff Sturdy to avoid being trapped via Trace myself. Skuntank may seem out of place, but I slotted it as insurance to offensive ghosts (given Dodrio's tendency to die fast due to BB recoil) and access to a fast boom.

Week 3 vs Hubriz (Melodic Milotics) -

Desc.

As long as I play in tours, I will use Rhydon if possible. It seemed very good here, as the initial response was to leave Regirock in vs it. This had happened last time I used Rhydon as well, so if this is a common line then maybe I should start bringing CB Tauros or something with it idk lol. Twave Slowking, while a nuisance to deal with, also leaves it unable to threaten fatter mons like opposing Slowking, Cradily, and Regice as meaningfully. I don't use Haunter much because of easily it can be picked off, but I believe it works as a good partner with Rhydon. If Skunk or a Choiced Tauros Pursuit Haunter, this provides a rock polish opportunity for the Don. Manectric is nice as an offensive check to Charizard, so Tauros or some variant of Floatzel can work here as well. This game is also why I've stuck to using Life Orb Medicham over anything else, since (at least in this game) Scarf HJK feels too risky to use whereas Life Orb would excel.

Week 4 vs vivalospride (Starabias) -

Desc.

Life Orb lead Shark is a fun bring over the standard Sash sets, and gives you an extra oomph to Poison Jab (Cacturne, Shiftry, opposing Sash Sharks) or Zen Headbutt (Poliwrath, Vileplume, Hitmonchan). Relying on Cradily as a rocker blows because you have to give up one of its STABs or Toxic, and you don't want to be giving up Toxic since Cradily is passive as shit. This leaves dropping Grass or Rock STAB; dropping the former prevents you from dealing with Waters and Grounds as easily (ie Sub Poliwrath or Sandslash) while forgoing Rock STAB means you cannot touch Charizard, Drifblim, and other fliers. I consider Cradily's ability to check Fliers way more valuable and thus almost always keep Rock Slide when using a single attack. Because of the sole reliance on Rock Slide, I deemed it necessary to have a bulky ghost to get in the way of Hitmonchan, which is the reasoning for Dusclops here, aside from being a great counter to every Tauros.

Week 4 Slice vs neomon (Starabias) -

Desc.

Poliwrath is one of the best leads into standard Shark, which was a key MU we wanted to get ahead on. SD Meganium is great at threatening RegiKingSkunk cores, though I'd argue it almost requires Regirock and Skuntank as partners. The latter is especially important for SD sets since Drifblim and Haunter can easily abuse the Grass/Ground combo, so having a way to remove those goes a long way in dealing with one of SD Meganium's biggest issues. Because keeping Rocks up is extremely important to limiting Charizard (and other Fires), Dusclops fit nicely on to hopefully prevent any Spin attempts from going off. Skunk runs Poison Jab here since Cacturne or Shiftry can be extremely dangerous to most of the other team members. Scarf Tauros is great at revenging a ton of offensive threats, in addition to outpacing non-Speed boosting nature sweepers like Shiftry and Drifblim.

Week 5 vs dunoks (Let Flygons be Flygones) -

Desc.

I spent the entire week building with the intention of bringing Life Orb Magmortar, which unfortunately did not pan out due to various reasons regarding defensive integrity. It was originally in the Venomoth slot (as the lack of a nickname may indicate) but made the change for Venomoth's ability to stomach Fighting-type attacks with a x4 resistance and threaten back with Sleep Powder, backed by a good speed tier. I brought back the Lum 3 Atk Tauros because it offers positive MUs or trades into almost anything, and it did more than I ever could've asked here. I wanted to give physical Floatzel a try and went with a 4 attack Life Orb spread as my set. Crunch can be considered unnecessary if you think Slowking can be dealt with the rest of the team, but I like having the option in case I ever DID need it for King (FOMO mentality). Gastrodon checks every Electric-type and especially stonewalls Magneton, which would've been a nasty issue to deal with otherwise. It also blocks Thunder Wave from Slowking without fear of being popped by Surf.

Week 5 Drud vs Hubriz -

Desc.

The concept of this team spawned during the 15 minute intermission of The Brutalist, in which skimmed Hubriz's scout and deemed Ninetales to be the offhand bring. Spikes looked good here, so we went with Glalie since it's the most reliable mon to get Spikes down (imo) and can boom. On paper, Ninetales looked good into the slower, bulky teams Hubriz had played up to that point, and access to Nasty Plot + Energy Ball was appealing as a potential sweeper. Generally, I would run Ninetales with HP Rock or Water, but went with Overheat in this specific case since we felt we had enough options for dealing with Fire-types already (offensively). Overheat's power can also be useful for picking up KOs, boosted or not, since Ninetales lacks in firepower compared its peers. Reused the same Floatzel set from above since it helps whittle down Ninetales checks, though we slotted Low Kick > Ice Punch since it hit more relevant targets. Chople Regirock shores up the Hitmon/Medi MU a little bit, potentially allowing you to boom on them. Sitrus Berry was swapped with Petaya, which makes sense for mitigating Rapid Spin attempts as demonstrated against Sandslash. Scarf Bull is a good cleaner, especially with Spikes support, which rounds out the team here.

Week 6 vs HSOWA (Hunky Doris Monkidoris) -

Desc.

Lead Gardevoir was something used against me back way back when I first started playing NU, and it left an impression on me. It can run a bevy of sets between its offensive coverage and utility like Wisp, Taunt, or Encore so safely switching into it is easier said than done. I still went with the Colbur 3 Atk set I've ran in the past since it has the best coverage of moves imo. Trace comes into effect here as well since, with Colbur, it can flip the MU against physical lead Sharpedos by copying Rough Skin, breaking their potential Sash if they attack into Garde. As mentioned, SD Meganium poses a threat to RegiKing cores with support from Skunk trapping and Rocks. Toxic > HP coverage on Mane is primarily for Cradily since much of the team didn't have much breaking power into it.

Week 6 Drud vs neomon -

Desc.

This is the team's second showing, the first time being in DPP PL finals vs the same opponent it was used against here. Some changes were made, like Leftovers > Lum on Cradily and the Drifblim HP type being changed, but it otherwise remains the same.

Week 7 vs Drud (Flamigo Amigos) -

Desc.

Specs Articuno (and Articuno in general) without a spinner is not something many people would willingly use, but I wanted to bring something that would catch Drud completely off guard. This set has performed pretty well in tests previously against teams that don't use Slowking or SpDef Regi, and Drud hadn't used much of either. I pulled a great matchup for it here, with Drud using Cradily for his rocker and Magneton as the sole Ice-resist (which gets 2HKO'd, so it can't switch in). Thunder Wave support on Amphy and Regirock slow down opposing offense to allow Medi and Cuno to fire off their attacks, while Floatzel was natural speed control and extra priority. Nidoqueen acts as a primary Electric resist since Ampharos will usually be worn down at lead and frees up SR from being used on Regi. Unfortunately, I got hasty with my endgame and gave up what would've been a Specs Articuno W. We agreed to a money match as well, so I had to pay this bozo $18 USD to compensate for his EU currency which sums up the worst part of this game: losing to a European.

Week 7 Slice vs Alice Kazumi (Flamigo Amigos) -

Desc.

Glalie had positive lead matchups for the scout and Spikes help chip down defensive walls for CB Dodrio to break easier. Given it's speed, it can often prevent Rocks from going up via Taunt, which helps extend Dodrio's minimal longevity. SubPass Floatzel gives Shiftry an easier time switching into Pokemon like Slowking without fear of status or a stray Signal Beam. For this specific bring, our Shiftry was Swords Dance/Synthesis but it can just as easily be Nasty Plot.

Semi-finals Drud vs Hubriz -

Desc.

If you hadn't noticed the title of the paste, the team originally had a Vileplume > Cacturne plus a scarf Manectric > Tauros, but Drud altered the team for another Spikes stack-esque build, since it worked fairly well vs Hubriz previously, and slotted Tauros > Manec since it's a more reliable revenge killer. Like the Glalie team above, it follows the same idea of Spiker with Spinblocker + Flier check, breaker, speed control, and set-up sweeper.

Was a pretty fun tour format, occasionally having 2 DPP slots was a lot of fun to build for both. Thx to my managers Pokeslice Danny for picking me up, and Drud skrimps for bouncing ideas off and testing with. Going to head into some nominations/discussion points I'd like for others to weigh in on.

- I think it goes without saying that Dusclops is very, very good in the current metagame. It is without question the best defensive answer to Hitmonchan and Tauros, two of the best mons in the tier. There are a variety of sets that people use, but RestTalk with Stoss and Wisp easily triumphs over anything else. Dusclops defensive profile is far too valuable to just let a single Toxic ruin it's longevity, unless you have one of the few status clerics that don't have trouble fitting Heal Bell/Aromatherapy. This set does have issues, notably being completely stuffed by Ghosts w/ Sub like Drifblim and Haunter, but these are much easier to trap than it is to trap Dusclops. Fire-types can pivot in on Will-o'-Wisp and threaten, but Rocks heavily limit the freedom of this option.

Pain Split offers you the ability to heal your hp while only taking up 1 move slot, but it is inconsistent and doesn't remove status, so I'm not too fond of it. Shadow Sneak is cute for picking of Endure Drifblims or weakened Haunters and Jynxs, but it's an incredibly weak option otherwise and requires too much to go right for it to be worthwhile, when you could just run Skunk or another Pursuiter instead. I've seen Earthquake which can hit some targets harder like Fire and Electric-types, especially Magneton, but drops the consistent damage of Seismic Toss into targets that you'd otherwise pressure much easier. Running Earthquake to hit Skunk feels unnecessary when you could just Will-o' and Rest on it instead.

There are other options that go with a more aggro approach, mainly Focus Punch to nail Shiftry/Cacturne, two mons who are otherwise safe into Dusclops' other sets and options. Everyone has their preferences on which set they prefer, which makes dealing with it that tiny bit more annoying. Dusclops was B+ before the last update, but A- still feels too low for the influence it has. Would like to see it rise and I hope others comment on it as well.

- I'm a Zard hater so I'm glad this thing fell down the VR, but honestly it needs to drop more. I haven't used it myself so my words can't really be taken that seriously, but I feel like 80% of the time I just watch this thing Roost a bunch, get 1 attack off, then die. I haven't played much NU, but the two tours I've taken part in it hasn't performed well. It does have its moments, but the Rocks tax is such a put-off for me. I recognize SubTox for it's ability to mess with standard checks, my discontent mainly lies with the Lorb set, but SubTox also lacks the firepower you'd want in exchange for a Mon with such a crippling weakness. I cannot in good faith say Zard is on the same level as Drifblim as the VR would suggest, but that might just be a "rank Drifblim higher" discussion. This should also correlate with Dusclops' rise as a consistent, defensive spinblocker (which was noted previously, but I believe Clops rising higher should have Zard reflect that).

- Extremely difficult to answer defensively, as most checks can be at the mercy of the user's ability to predict. There's a few Mons that this doesn't apply to but become questionable switch-ins when factoring Stealth Rocks. That said, Medi's frailty allows it to be fairly simple to revenge kill with any Mon faster than it. Access to Bullet Punch is a great tool to mitigate this weakness against frailer or very weakened Mons, while also giving Medi reliability in taking down Endure Drifblim sets. I'm high on it atm since it's a physical breaker that doesn't give up momentum into much, specifically being able to hit a Mon like Dusclops fairly well compared to Tauros or Hitmon. I'm sure sitting in A rank where it is right now is fine, but I think this may warrant a rise in the future.

- I was a bit sad to see this drop last VR update since I think it has some nice traits as a lead Stealth Rocker. It sits at a nice speed tier of 85, which sets it just above a huge speed tier chokepoint between Hitmonchan (76) and Skuntank (84). The combination of X-Scissor and Earthquake/Close Combat can occasionally be an annoyance for some defensive cores, notably those lacking a Ghost-type. On lead sets, Quick Attack gives Pinsir a way to break sashes after setting Stealth Rocks or picking off Pokemon that have already dropped down to their sashes, like Jynx or Sharpedo. I wanted to try more offensive sets since X-Scissor, Close Combat and Rock Slide hit a ton of mons in the tier, but the influx of Dusclops is a huge deterrence. Can't really push for any movement yet given lack of general tour use, but I will want to revisit Pinsir at some point.

Rapid fire suggestions
as potential drop. Both too frail and trap weak for their power, with Jynx especially reliant on hitting LK usually. Have their moments but feel unreliable.
as potential rise. Offensive Meganium, whether SD or special sets, brings it defensive profile to the table that a Mon like Shiftry lacks. Cradily is an alternative normal-resist/rocker, with access to the amazing Recover and some notable resistances/neutralities that Regirock lacks. More passive, but can be experimented with as SD sets show. Ninetales' access to Eball and Plot is def notable for hitting Rocks/Waters without the use of Hidden Power and giving it a way to threaten bulkier, more passive mons. Outright immunity to Fire is also nice.

 

[Jhall99]

View attachment 719067 NUCL DPP OverviewView attachment 719066
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As I did in a previous post about NU, I just wanted to do another short retrospective of stuff brought/used for this tour. Was pretty fun to play again and the format of the tour made it much more interesting when considering multiple slots.

Week 1 vs Ninja (Wising Tides) -

Desc.

Was really interested in using Dodrio since Ninja seemed to have a good amount of Cradily usage when compared to Regirock, in addition to occasionally using Ghosts as the sole normal resist. Seeing that, I wanted to abuse this via CB Dodrio as neither max Phys bulk Cradily or Dusclops can switch into back-to-back Brave Birds. In addition, Dodrio's natural typing gives it good defensively utility vs Haunter and Drifblim, as it is immune to both Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Ground. Magneton would be waiting in the wings as a way to abuse Regirock with Substitute + Magnet Rise, a dangerous combination if provided the opportunity to get rolling. Since opposing Magneton could be an issue for my Skunk, Dodrio, and Regi, I slotted Trace HP Ground Gardevoir to trap it. I could've used Magnet Pull on my own Magnets, but I opted to go with pre-buff Sturdy to avoid being trapped via Trace myself. Skuntank may seem out of place, but I slotted it as insurance to offensive ghosts (given Dodrio's tendency to die fast due to BB recoil) and access to a fast boom.

Week 3 vs Hubriz (Melodic Milotics) -

Desc.

As long as I play in tours, I will use Rhydon if possible. It seemed very good here, as the initial response was to leave Regirock in vs it. This had happened last time I used Rhydon as well, so if this is a common line then maybe I should start bringing CB Tauros or something with it idk lol. Twave Slowking, while a nuisance to deal with, also leaves it unable to threaten fatter mons like opposing Slowking, Cradily, and Regice as meaningfully. I don't use Haunter much because of easily it can be picked off, but I believe it works as a good partner with Rhydon. If Skunk or a Choiced Tauros Pursuit Haunter, this provides a rock polish opportunity for the Don. Manectric is nice as an offensive check to Charizard, so Tauros or some variant of Floatzel can work here as well. This game is also why I've stuck to using Life Orb Medicham over anything else, since (at least in this game) Scarf HJK feels too risky to use whereas Life Orb would excel.

Week 4 vs vivalospride (Starabias) -

Desc.

Life Orb lead Shark is a fun bring over the standard Sash sets, and gives you an extra oomph to Poison Jab (Cacturne, Shiftry, opposing Sash Sharks) or Zen Headbutt (Poliwrath, Vileplume, Hitmonchan). Relying on Cradily as a rocker blows because you have to give up one of its STABs or Toxic, and you don't want to be giving up Toxic since Cradily is passive as shit. This leaves dropping Grass or Rock STAB; dropping the former prevents you from dealing with Waters and Grounds as easily (ie Sub Poliwrath or Sandslash) while forgoing Rock STAB means you cannot touch Charizard, Drifblim, and other fliers. I consider Cradily's ability to check Fliers way more valuable and thus almost always keep Rock Slide when using a single attack. Because of the sole reliance on Rock Slide, I deemed it necessary to have a bulky ghost to get in the way of Hitmonchan, which is the reasoning for Dusclops here, aside from being a great counter to every Tauros.

Week 4 Slice vs neomon (Starabias) -

Desc.

Poliwrath is one of the best leads into standard Shark, which was a key MU we wanted to get ahead on. SD Meganium is great at threatening RegiKingSkunk cores, though I'd argue it almost requires Regirock and Skuntank as partners. The latter is especially important for SD sets since Drifblim and Haunter can easily abuse the Grass/Ground combo, so having a way to remove those goes a long way in dealing with one of SD Meganium's biggest issues. Because keeping Rocks up is extremely important to limiting Charizard (and other Fires), Dusclops fit nicely on to hopefully prevent any Spin attempts from going off. Skunk runs Poison Jab here since Cacturne or Shiftry can be extremely dangerous to most of the other team members. Scarf Tauros is great at revenging a ton of offensive threats, in addition to outpacing non-Speed boosting nature sweepers like Shiftry and Drifblim.

Week 5 vs dunoks (Let Flygons be Flygones) -

Desc.

I spent the entire week building with the intention of bringing Life Orb Magmortar, which unfortunately did not pan out due to various reasons regarding defensive integrity. It was originally in the Venomoth slot (as the lack of a nickname may indicate) but made the change for Venomoth's ability to stomach Fighting-type attacks with a x4 resistance and threaten back with Sleep Powder, backed by a good speed tier. I brought back the Lum 3 Atk Tauros because it offers positive MUs or trades into almost anything, and it did more than I ever could've asked here. I wanted to give physical Floatzel a try and went with a 4 attack Life Orb spread as my set. Crunch can be considered unnecessary if you think Slowking can be dealt with the rest of the team, but I like having the option in case I ever DID need it for King (FOMO mentality). Gastrodon checks every Electric-type and especially stonewalls Magneton, which would've been a nasty issue to deal with otherwise. It also blocks Thunder Wave from Slowking without fear of being popped by Surf.

Week 5 Drud vs Hubriz -

Desc.

The concept of this team spawned during the 15 minute intermission of The Brutalist, in which skimmed Hubriz's scout and deemed Ninetales to be the offhand bring. Spikes looked good here, so we went with Glalie since it's the most reliable mon to get Spikes down (imo) and can boom. On paper, Ninetales looked good into the slower, bulky teams Hubriz had played up to that point, and access to Nasty Plot + Energy Ball was appealing as a potential sweeper. Generally, I would run Ninetales with HP Rock or Water, but went with Overheat in this specific case since we felt we had enough options for dealing with Fire-types already (offensively). Overheat's power can also be useful for picking up KOs, boosted or not, since Ninetales lacks in firepower compared its peers. Reused the same Floatzel set from above since it helps whittle down Ninetales checks, though we slotted Low Kick > Ice Punch since it hit more relevant targets. Chople Regirock shores up the Hitmon/Medi MU a little bit, potentially allowing you to boom on them. Sitrus Berry was swapped with Petaya, which makes sense for mitigating Rapid Spin attempts as demonstrated against Sandslash. Scarf Bull is a good cleaner, especially with Spikes support, which rounds out the team here.

Week 6 vs HSOWA (Hunky Doris Monkidoris) -

Desc.

Lead Gardevoir was something used against me back way back when I first started playing NU, and it left an impression on me. It can run a bevy of sets between its offensive coverage and utility like Wisp, Taunt, or Encore so safely switching into it is easier said than done. I still went with the Colbur 3 Atk set I've ran in the past since it has the best coverage of moves imo. Trace comes into effect here as well since, with Colbur, it can flip the MU against physical lead Sharpedos by copying Rough Skin, breaking their potential Sash if they attack into Garde. As mentioned, SD Meganium poses a threat to RegiKing cores with support from Skunk trapping and Rocks. Toxic > HP coverage on Mane is primarily for Cradily since much of the team didn't have much breaking power into it.

Week 6 Drud vs neomon -

Desc.

This is the team's second showing, the first time being in DPP PL finals vs the same opponent it was used against here. Some changes were made, like Leftovers > Lum on Cradily and the Drifblim HP type being changed, but it otherwise remains the same.

Week 7 vs Drud (Flamigo Amigos) -

Desc.

Specs Articuno (and Articuno in general) without a spinner is not something many people would willingly use, but I wanted to bring something that would catch Drud completely off guard. This set has performed pretty well in tests previously against teams that don't use Slowking or SpDef Regi, and Drud hadn't used much of either. I pulled a great matchup for it here, with Drud using Cradily for his rocker and Magneton as the sole Ice-resist (which gets 2HKO'd, so it can't switch in). Thunder Wave support on Amphy and Regirock slow down opposing offense to allow Medi and Cuno to fire off their attacks, while Floatzel was natural speed control and extra priority. Nidoqueen acts as a primary Electric resist since Ampharos will usually be worn down at lead and frees up SR from being used on Regi. Unfortunately, I got hasty with my endgame and gave up what would've been a Specs Articuno W. We agreed to a money match as well, so I had to pay this bozo $18 USD to compensate for his EU currency which sums up the worst part of this game: losing to a European.

Week 7 Slice vs Alice Kazumi (Flamigo Amigos) -

Desc.

Glalie had positive lead matchups for the scout and Spikes help chip down defensive walls for CB Dodrio to break easier. Given it's speed, it can often prevent Rocks from going up via Taunt, which helps extend Dodrio's minimal longevity. SubPass Floatzel gives Shiftry an easier time switching into Pokemon like Slowking without fear of status or a stray Signal Beam. For this specific bring, our Shiftry was Swords Dance/Synthesis but it can just as easily be Nasty Plot.

Semi-finals Drud vs Hubriz -

Desc.

If you hadn't noticed the title of the paste, the team originally had a Vileplume > Cacturne plus a scarf Manectric > Tauros, but Drud altered the team for another Spikes stack-esque build, since it worked fairly well vs Hubriz previously, and slotted Tauros > Manec since it's a more reliable revenge killer. Like the Glalie team above, it follows the same idea of Spiker with Spinblocker + Flier check, breaker, speed control, and set-up sweeper.

Was a pretty fun tour format, occasionally having 2 DPP slots was a lot of fun to build for both. Thx to my managers Pokeslice Danny for picking me up, and Drud skrimps for bouncing ideas off and testing with. Going to head into some nominations/discussion points I'd like for others to weigh in on.

- I think it goes without saying that Dusclops is very, very good in the current metagame. It is without question the best defensive answer to Hitmonchan and Tauros, two of the best mons in the tier. There are a variety of sets that people use, but RestTalk with Stoss and Wisp easily triumphs over anything else. Dusclops defensive profile is far too valuable to just let a single Toxic ruin it's longevity, unless you have one of the few status clerics that don't have trouble fitting Heal Bell/Aromatherapy. This set does have issues, notably being completely stuffed by Ghosts w/ Sub like Drifblim and Haunter, but these are much easier to trap than it is to trap Dusclops. Fire-types can pivot in on Will-o'-Wisp and threaten, but Rocks heavily limit the freedom of this option.

Pain Split offers you the ability to heal your hp while only taking up 1 move slot, but it is inconsistent and doesn't remove status, so I'm not too fond of it. Shadow Sneak is cute for picking of Endure Drifblims or weakened Haunters and Jynxs, but it's an incredibly weak option otherwise and requires too much to go right for it to be worthwhile, when you could just run Skunk or another Pursuiter instead. I've seen Earthquake which can hit some targets harder like Fire and Electric-types, especially Magneton, but drops the consistent damage of Seismic Toss into targets that you'd otherwise pressure much easier. Running Earthquake to hit Skunk feels unnecessary when you could just Will-o' and Rest on it instead.

There are other options that go with a more aggro approach, mainly Focus Punch to nail Shiftry/Cacturne, two mons who are otherwise safe into Dusclops' other sets and options. Everyone has their preferences on which set they prefer, which makes dealing with it that tiny bit more annoying. Dusclops was B+ before the last update, but A- still feels too low for the influence it has. Would like to see it rise and I hope others comment on it as well.

- I'm a Zard hater so I'm glad this thing fell down the VR, but honestly it needs to drop more. I haven't used it myself so my words can't really be taken that seriously, but I feel like 80% of the time I just watch this thing Roost a bunch, get 1 attack off, then die. I haven't played much NU, but the two tours I've taken part in it hasn't performed well. It does have its moments, but the Rocks tax is such a put-off for me. I recognize SubTox for it's ability to mess with standard checks, my discontent mainly lies with the Lorb set, but SubTox also lacks the firepower you'd want in exchange for a Mon with such a crippling weakness. I cannot in good faith say Zard is on the same level as Drifblim as the VR would suggest, but that might just be a "rank Drifblim higher" discussion. This should also correlate with Dusclops' rise as a consistent, defensive spinblocker (which was noted previously, but I believe Clops rising higher should have Zard reflect that).

- Extremely difficult to answer defensively, as most checks can be at the mercy of the user's ability to predict. There's a few Mons that this doesn't apply to but become questionable switch-ins when factoring Stealth Rocks. That said, Medi's frailty allows it to be fairly simple to revenge kill with any Mon faster than it. Access to Bullet Punch is a great tool to mitigate this weakness against frailer or very weakened Mons, while also giving Medi reliability in taking down Endure Drifblim sets. I'm high on it atm since it's a physical breaker that doesn't give up momentum into much, specifically being able to hit a Mon like Dusclops fairly well compared to Tauros or Hitmon. I'm sure sitting in A rank where it is right now is fine, but I think this may warrant a rise in the future.

- I was a bit sad to see this drop last VR update since I think it has some nice traits as a lead Stealth Rocker. It sits at a nice speed tier of 85, which sets it just above a huge speed tier chokepoint between Hitmonchan (76) and Skuntank (84). The combination of X-Scissor and Earthquake/Close Combat can occasionally be an annoyance for some defensive cores, notably those lacking a Ghost-type. On lead sets, Quick Attack gives Pinsir a way to break sashes after setting Stealth Rocks or picking off Pokemon that have already dropped down to their sashes, like Jynx or Sharpedo. I wanted to try more offensive sets since X-Scissor, Close Combat and Rock Slide hit a ton of mons in the tier, but the influx of Dusclops is a huge deterrence. Can't really push for any movement yet given lack of general tour use, but I will want to revisit Pinsir at some point.

Rapid fire suggestions
as potential drop. Both too frail and trap weak for their power, with Jynx especially reliant on hitting LK usually. Have their moments but feel unreliable.
as potential rise. Offensive Meganium, whether SD or special sets, brings it defensive profile to the table that a Mon like Shiftry lacks. Cradily is an alternative normal-resist/rocker, with access to the amazing Recover and some notable resistances/neutralities that Regirock lacks. More passive, but can be experimented with as SD sets show. Ninetales' access to Eball and Plot is def notable for hitting Rocks/Waters without the use of Hidden Power and giving it a way to threaten bulkier, more passive mons. Outright immunity to Fire is also nice.

I definitely agree with Meganium, an all around solid BST Pokemon in NU similar to Blastoise, but Grass. I had a few challenges on Showdown testing my teams & Meganium definitely pulled its weight.

I guess me motivated to build DPP NU teams with Meganium gaining appreciation has to do with JImothy Cool lol.