XY NU eins zwei oder drei

[ium]

eins zwei oder drei
a collaborative xy nu grand slam team
team built with sebixxl
art by Bummer​

introduction

hallo, i'm piecing together a final nu rmt for a while. this is intended for the xy nu metagame and will be presented as such, but it somewhat works in the oras metagame with a few changes to some of the sets which will be noted at the end of the rmt. no matter how much i tried to stray away from this subpar metagame, i kept getting reasons to go back to it. in this case, i was trying to put together ideas with sebixxl for Lowgock to help him prepare for grand slam playoffs. most of the time, i wasn't able to help out much because our schedules conflicted and i'm never in the mood to play a lot of nu anymore, so i ended up just giving general advice and adjustments for his teams. however, when it came down to the finals, Lowgock really wanted to use zweilous stall. like many people, i barely play with stall, but i looked back at an old bw nu set that involved rest + sleep talk zweilous with double phaze, which ebeast made a great team with when he was inspired by me using a similar set back then. it was and still is a fairly formidable defensive threat when paired with spikes. from that, i made the initial version of this team then slept on the idea, but when i woke up the next day, sebixxl already changed half the team of course... after that, i suggested a few moveset tweaks, some of which reasoned out to be better, and so the final team that Lowgock used to clinch a win in the grand slam finals was created

__

we all had major parts in contributing to the creation of this team, and although it wasn't really done together simultaneously, we still ended up collaborating on a team that is actually pretty cool tbh

team process

my original team was: zweilous / garbodor / xatu / regirock / audino / politoed

then i adjusted it to: zweilous / garbodor / xatu / regirock / audino / tangela

sebixxl finalized the members to: zweilous / garbodor / xatu / steelix / leafeon / kabutops

my team was solid in its own right, and was literally going to be an evioliters v2 (based on this), but dazzling gleam (or signal beam) psychic-types, which are not seen on every set but are still common enough, posed a problem because it then became a matter of "who gets up two calm minds first?" against my xatu. sebi fixed this issue for the most part and also tried to remove some of the passiveness that audino brought. this resulted in the addition of steelix, kabutops, and leafeon. it added a check to calm mind psychic-types that bypass zweilous, buffered the team a bit more against slurpuff, and gave a solid alternative method of hazard control and slight offensive presence alongside xatu

team in-depth

zweilous @ eviolite
ability: hustle | evs: 248 hp / 8 def / 252 sdef | nature: careful
rest / sleep talk / roar / crunch

lowgock wanted zweilous for good reason. it has ridiculous typing in dark / dragon which means that typhlosion and ninetales literally do nothing, and super effective coverage moves from the likes of lilligant are handled comfortably. most psychic-types really need a fairy-type move to muscle past zweilous, which means that it's a good answer to many of their sets after you scout them safely with steelix. as a sleep talk user, zweilous also absorbs status nicely, and fairly safely too since most users, like lilligant and lanturn, are checked by this pokemon fairly well. this set used to have dragon tail over crunch to increase chances of forcing out pokemon and accumulating hazards damage, but any psychic-type pokemon that can get past steelix (and xatu depending on the situation) are terrible in a last-pokemon situation. crunch gives more reliable damage against these pokemon. the resistances to water, grass, fire, and psychic are really appreciated from a single pokemon that can utilize roar, and zweilous capitilizes on this while receiving spikes and heal bell support from garbodor and leafeon, respectively

garbodor @ rocky helmet
ability: aftermath | evs: 248 hp / 204 def / 44 sdef / 12 spe | nature: impish
spikes / gunk shot / toxic spikes / pain split | drain punch

garbodor was the go-to pokemon for supporting zweilous and the entire team as a whole because of its ability to set up spikes and toxic spikes, checking belly drum slurpuff (which is banned in oras), and being able to absorb toxic spikes in a pinch in case something happens with xatu. it also brings down many physical attackers, like fighting-types, to manageable levels with rocky helmet and aftermath since it's not worth risking xatu to a coverage move when it's an important win condition. in tandem with spikes, many pokemon like kangaskhan, hariyama, and sawk eventually get worn down to a point where they become less of an issue. in general, this set is fairly straightforward with a bias towards physical bulk to work well with rocky helmet and aftermath and some speed to creep on invested seismitoad. major speed creep is unnecessary on garbodor because zweilous stops exeggutor really well. the last slot is a tossup between pain split and drain punch; use drain punch to punish opposing kabutops for spinning and pain split to help against bulky grass- and/or poison-types

xatu @ leftovers
ability: magic bounce | evs: 248 hp / 204 def / 56 spe | nature: bold
psyshock | dazzling gleam / heat wave / calm mind / roost

this xatu is simply a win condition for the team because it breaks past a lot of common pokemon found on opposing stall and balance teams, while only losing out to specific pokemon that dislike hazards anyway. it also serves as an extra check to fighting-types since garbodor is susceptible to earthquake. although it wasn't the main intention, xatu has the extra benefit of helping to control hazards better which will ultimately allow this team to be a little more aggressive despite being very defensive. in addition, it blocks obvious status moves and most importantly prevents ferroseed from troubling the team since it sets up spikes on every other member. with this spread from sebi, the speed is for outspeeding neutral base 70 speed pokemon, although a little more is preferred for some feraligatr that use a similar speed benchmark. i sometimes like a faster spread with a timid nature so that i can work around fast qwilfish, kangaskhan, and/or rotom better but other team members can handle these pokemon to a decent extent. the use of dazzling gleam in exchange for a psychic-type stab is for two huge threats: pangoro and malamar, and is explained in my threats section

leafeon @ leftovers
ability: leaf guard | evs: 248 hp / 204 def / 56 spe | nature: impish
wish / protect / leaf blade / heal bell

leafeon plays the general role that the typical audino does on other stall teams, but it's far less passive because of its decent attack and speed stats. additionally, the natural physical bulk alongside some defensive investment makes leafeon a great check to some water-pokemon like feraligatr and poliwrath. it's also nice to have something to absorb earthquake in case the opponent tries to be clever with choice band sawk or pangoro, as if you predict wrong with leafeon, you're taking 60% at worst from a close combat or superpower. the speed evs are for neutral base 70 speed pokemon, but i recommend more in case you run into some faster feraligatr. 136 speed is good for neutral-nature kabutops in case you are worried about swords dance variants or want to use leaf blade before it can rapid spin, but you lose out on a lot of bulk

steelix @ leftovers
ability: sheer force | evs: 252 hp / 4 def / 252 sdef | nature: careful
stealth rock / iron head / earthquake / roar

steelix is very straightforward on bulkier teams. it checks nearly any physical threat, especially swellow and kangaskhan, thanks to its resistances. however, its steel typing is very important because it serves as a hard counter to most psychic-types like mesprit, xatu, uxie, and musharna. this is crucial because they can break through the entire team with calm mind and dazzling gleam, so having a secondary check to these pokemon is great so i don't lose zweilous in these situations. because of this, steelix is the first switch-in to these pokemon to attempt to scout their movesets a little bit, then later on zweilous may be safe to switch in to take their hits instead. sebi thinks that crunch is important to have on steelix for any dazzling gleam + calm mind xatu since they are capable of recovering efficiently with roost, but i think the roost mindgame with earthquake can deplete its pp decently and make it easier to wear down. however, i think crunch over earthquake is a passable option, except facing pawniard would suck so maybe over iron head if you really hate calm mind xatu that much, but not over roar since it is a necessity for this team

kabutops @ assault vest
ability: swift swim | evs: 76 hp / 180 atk / 252 spe | nature: adamant
stone edge / knock off / aqua jet / rapid spin

probably the odd addition to the team, kabutops serves several important roles. rapid spin is obviously the first benefit that comes to mind; even though xatu deters most spikes users, stealth rock can still be easily laid down against this team which will cut into the team's survivability against strong attackers. also, since steelix is an important for checking a lot of threats, kabutops is an alternative albeit less reliable way to handle normal- and flying-type attacks. additionally, the use of steelix over other stealth rock setters means that zweilous is the only fire-type resist which can make magmortar or choice specs typhlosion or pyroar difficult to handle. kabutops has the typing to help against these pokemon and can scare them out with the threat of aqua jet. assault vest makes it more capable of handling their attacks, but also allows kabutops to take stray attacks from pokemon such as mismagius. knock off is also a really nice addition since some poison-types like weezing and vileplume can prolong matches if xatu is gone already, and removing their black sludge can benefit the team in the long run. knock off is also great for wearing down bulky water-types like seismitoad so that it becomes a non-issue later on

threats

pangoro can potentially ruin this team. the only way to wear it down is through garbodor but the occasional earthquake can be troublesome. if i face something like taunt with swords dance or bulk up, then it's much more dangerous and i may almost always lose a pokemon to this. spikes, especially toxic spikes, are necessary to help minimize its opportunities, and its increasing popularity in oras means that for the team's use in that metagame, i would have to give up a psychic-type stab on xatu just to use dazzling gleam

mismagius with the stallbreaker set is one of the biggest threats to this team and there is no good way to handle this. the best bet is to land hits with kabutops, but it takes a will-o-wisp in exchange. alternatively, there can be a one-for-one situation between steelix and mismagius, but the opponent can easily switch mismagius out after burning steelix so this doesn't happen favorably too much

malamar is a pain and an extremely huge threat if it's some type of rest variant, but any other set is handled pretty easily. it's ideal to have spikes and toxic spikes early on to add a little pressure so that it's forced to rest without accumulating too many boosts, and having dazzling gleam over psyshock on xatu is also helpful in this scenario although it kind of does zero damage without a calm mind. steelix can shrug off +1 hits easily so it can roar if needed

no surprise that ghost and dark are too strong!! luckily these pokemon, or rather their specific sets i have trouble against, were uncommon in the xy nu metagame

jynx is also problematic as steelix is the best check and can be hampered by lovely kiss. again, hazards are the best way to limit its opportunities. fortunately, jynx does not get easy opportunities to come in for free, which means that it's somewhat easier to handle than other threats

to use in the oras nu metagame

steelix: sturdy > sheer force, heavy slam > iron head, steelixite > leftovers

xatu: dazzling gleam > psyshock

jynx becomes less of a threat, but the weaknesses to the ghost- and dark-types remain. this is especially more pronounced with pangoro since it should be more popular in oras and can do more work with its newly-acquired knock off and drain punch, which is why i think dazzling gleam is mandatory now. mega camerupt is also a new threat for this team as zweilous is 3HKO'd and nothing else can switch in without greater risks, but fortunately it's outsped by everything and dislikes aqua jet from kabutops

considerations for threats: mega audino, granbull, togetic, uxie with dazzling gleam
obviously a fairy-type is the best approach but the problem is that they don't fit too well. they also make bulky poison-types a little more annoying which is why substitute + calm mind uxie with dazzling gleam is another option since it has amazing bulk, but xatu's utility helps so much more against a majority of match-ups and opposing steelix would still be annoying either way

if you rate with oras nu in mind even though this team was not originally built for it, then take the changes i listed into consideration. i barely played any games of oras nu though so i don't even know what's going on

import

xy nu version

Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Crunch

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 44 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Toxic Spikes
- Pain Split

Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Heat Wave
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Roost

Kabutops @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Rapid Spin

Leafeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Heal Bell

Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Roar

oras nu version

Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
- Crunch

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 44 SpD / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Toxic Spikes
- Pain Split

Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Heat Wave
- Calm Mind
- Roost

Kabutops @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Rapid Spin

Leafeon @ Leftovers
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Leaf Blade
- Heal Bell

Steelix @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Roar

conclusion

fun team that sebixxl made with me. idk what else to say. someone needs to give lowcock his trophy already

 

[Karane]

Solid team ium, but have you tried Cryogonal>Kabutops? The current team looks kinda weak to water types like Samurott with Ice beam which solidly 2HKOes Zweilous. It spins, checks Mismagius and Jynx and pretty much what your Kabutops does right now. Haze also makes Sub Cm uxie a non issue :] It makes you a little weaker to Fire Spam though.

 

[sebixxl]

hey karane. Yeah certain water types are really a problem for this team, like samurott and the waterape Afro Smash used in finals.
To be quite honest: we couldnt test the team on the ladder, since at that time ps was down and after the downtime oras was installed. So we had fun fighting megalopunny, megaglalie, megasceptile and so on...

To your suggestion: yeah cryo + firepsam or kabu + watertypes... idk how the other nu players feel, but for me it was quite hard to build teams that are 100 percent sure against almost all the metagame. Almost every team i did was kinda relying on matchup - so does this.
IUM made a cool oras team out of it, just give it a quick try!

 

[marilli]

Yeah I kind of agree with having to just leave yourself open to some rarer threats on xy nu stall, especially Pangoro. Also Taunt Samurott kind of poops on any stall not running Cryogonal, Lickilicky, Lanturn, or the like, so I guess it makes sense that if you're not gonna run Cryo you might as well completely give up the Samurott matchup. I guess just giving up on a matchup like that gives me a gut reaction 'no' but I guess it makes a lot more logical sense trying to strengthen your matchup against stuff you could possibly beat instead of kind of flailing about trying to be perfect and making the team worse. Fortunately Samurott is indeed underused for how good it is. Pangoro, however, is no longer a matchup you can just 'give up' anymore in ORAS so that's really troublesome. I guess in ORAS trying Colbur on CM Xatu is an OK idea, letting you switch into fighting moves while taking a Knock Off if you really have to, but I guess the problem might be that he has no reason to not spam knock off, especially against your team setup because they'll be thinking the best switch-in you have is Garbodor, and thus spam knock off.

You probably can use Clear Smog on Garbodor and win 100% against Resttalk Malamars but again, they're not common enough to make your matchup against everything else worse. Similarly you could jam in Toxic on Garbodor to lure in Missy, which seems to be the best possible switch missy can get, with Toxic over Pain Split. Personally I never really needed pain split on stall Garbodor but then I guess you don't run Audino so that's probably significant enough of a downgrade to make the change not worth it.

Those two above changes are more of a "cover 1 specific threat and make your team worse against everything else" but I think this last one's a strict upgrade. You're a stall team with Spikes + Steelix so I feel you don't ~really~ need the Heat Wave on CM Xatu. You have solid switch-ins for Pawniard so you don't need to risk the Sucker Punch mindgames anyways, and Steelix isn't exactly a pressing concern. I'm sure I'm missing something else that Heat Wave hits, but if you really want Dazz Gleam putting it instead of the Heat Wave might be better than trying to skip Psyshock.

Good team =) Makes me regret not using Zweilous ;_;

 

[ium]

i found it to be alright to keep kabutops instead of adding cryogonal because it became a matter of trying to pick out what threats i need to cover more and to what extent i can handle ones that are problematic. while samurott is definitely difficult to switch into, it's outsped by half the team funny enough (unless it runs timid which i don't really come across at all) which allows me to most likely force it out and hopefully get more residual damage on it through hazards. and of course, samurott being less common helps too. with a lot of choice specs fire-types around, having an extra check is very helpful, especially when they're typically much faster and outspeed the entire team, so i have to play more defensively

i've been attached to heat wave on xatu because this team barely does anything to steel-types outside of spikes and our own steelix, which hates other steelix and ferroseed. ferroseed does nothing to any bulky xatu either way, but steelix is kind of a pain, particularly in oras where it hits pretty hard with heavy slam with its mega evolution now. being able to fire off quick damage with heat wave may be helpful because leafeon can be pressured by heavy slam doing over 40%. i also don't know what mega steelix runs at the moment, but if it has roar then i can't exactly recover on leafeon. psyshock is obviously useful in more cases though, so removing heat wave isn't a terrible idea outside of that one case

clear smog and toxic are cool ideas on garbodor, although the latter comes down to prediction and select scenarios. it still has wish support which can still compensate a bit, especially since poison-types switch into leafeon a lot which gives wish-passing opportunities

for the purposes of this team and what we expected to face, it did what it needed. these ideas are pretty interesting and helpful in general though, so thanks