Exploud [QC: 0/3]

indian

Overview
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  • Very powerful stab in boomburst which has no drawbacks
  • good wallbreaking capabilities with a choice specs
  • good coverage
  • scrappy lets it hit ghost-types with its stab
  • only one weakness
  • very low speed makes it easy to revenge kill
  • poor bulk


Choice Specs
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name: Choice Specs
move 1: Boomburst
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Overheat
ability: Scrappy
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 108 SpD / 148 Spe


Moves
========

  • Boomburst hits hard against most mons and Scrappy lets it hit Ghost-types
  • Flamethrower is used mainly for Aegislash, though it can be used for other Steel-type mons
  • Focus Blast is a guaranteed OHKO on 252 HP / 252 SpD TTar after SR
  • Overheat is Exploud's only good 4th move as everything else is overpowered by Boomburst



Set Details
========

  • 252 spa with modest makes it hit as hard as possible. 148 spe evs outspeed uninvested rotom-w. rest is put into special defense to help it take special hits a little better.
  • choice specs gives it the much required boost to its attacks as its special attack stat is quite underwhelming
  • scrappy is obvious

Usage Tips
========

  • Boomburst can deal a lot of damage against quite a few special walls, so don't feel forced to switch
  • Flamethrower should be used against most Steel-types, but if they are insanely bulky, use Overheat. 2 consecutive overheat is more powerful against two consecutive flamethrowers.
  • Boomburst should be spammed whenever possible without it being in serious danger
  • Double switches or Voltturn should be used to get it in so it doesn't get KO'd easily
  • If the opponent has a bulky Steel-type or Rock-type, predicting the switch is a viable option




Team Options
========
  • Teammates that threaten mons that carry Fighting-type moves. talonflame is a very good option as it can soften up the special walls that would try to switchin on exploud
  • Entry hazard carriers such as Forretress or Ferrothorn can help it score OHKO's or 2HKO's it may not normally get
  • scolipede can pass speed boosts to exploud to help it sweep easiely
  • Sticky Web support is also appreciated
  • Trick Room users could be used with no speed invested on Exploud

.



Other Options
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  • Hammer Arm can be used over Overheat for Chansey and Blissey, though it won't do enough without investment



Checks & Counters
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  • Mons that resist Normal-type moves such as AV-Ttar and Aegislash can hurt Exploud from lack of damage although they should be wary of switching intofocus blast and overheat/flamethrower respectively
  • Sweepers with Fighting-type such as Keldeo or Terrakion can kill Exploud before it can deal any sort of damage
  • Priority Fighting-type users such as breloom and Conkeldurr can force it to switch quickly with Vacuum Wave and Mach Punch
  • Special walls such as Blissey and Chansey wall it hard
  • faster pokemon with strong STAB attacks can easiely knock iy out

  • Boomburst hits hard against most mons and Scrappy lets it hit Ghost-types
  • Flamethrower is used mainly for Aegislash, though it can be used for other Steel-type mons
  • Focus Blast is a guaranteed OHKO on 252 HP / 252 SpD TTar after SR
  • Overheat is Exploud's only good 4th move as everything else is overpowered by Boomburst
  • Boomburst hits hard against most mons and Scrappy lets it hit Ghost-types
  • Flamethrower is used mainly for Aegislash, though it can be used for other Steel-type mons
  • Focus Blast is a guaranteed OHKO on 252 HP / 252 SpD TTar after SR
  • Overheat is Exploud's only good 4th move as everything else is overpowered by Boomburst
  • Boomburst can deal a lot of damage against quite a few special walls, so don't feel forced to switch
  • Flamethrower should be used against most Steel-types, but if they are insanely bulky, use Overheat
  • Boomburst should be spammed whenever possible without it being in serious danger
  • Double switches or Voltturn should be used to get it in so it doesn't get KO'd easily
  • If the opponent has a bulky Steel-type or Rock-type, predicting the switch is a viable optio
 
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Maybe a mixed set COULD work. Test it a bit and give your opinion.
 
gamer boy said:
Maybe a mixed set COULD work. Test it a bit and give your opinion.
Click to expand...

Not QC, but I don't think a mixed set is viable in the slightest. Earthquake doesn't do enough to Heatran to justify using it over Specs Focus Blast, Hammer Arm gets nowhere near 2HKOing Chansey even with maximum investment, and none of Exploud's other physical options hit anything harder than they would be with Specs.

indian said:
move 4: Overheat
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I haven't playtested with Exploud yet, but I'm not really seeing how Overheat is the best move here. Not only is it redundant with Flamethrower, but after checking out the damage calculator, it doesn't really get any notable KOs or 2HKOs over Fire Blast other than a chance to OHKO 0/0 Aegislash, although that's not really a good enough reason to dedicate an entire moveslot to it. Even in the case of Fire Blast, it doesn't really hit that much harder than Flamethrower, not enough for me to justify giving it a slash. Flamethrower still 2HKOs 244/0 Aegislash and roasts Skarmory/Ferrothorn/Scizor.

I would definitely put one of Exploud's other options, such as Ice Beam or Surf, in that slot.
 
Mixed set are bad. You need a Life Orb and pretty significant Atk investment to even have a shot at 2HKOing Blissey with Hammer Arm, and it can still stall you out with Wish + Protect. Meanwhile, you need max Atk and boosting nature to even have a shot at 2HKOing Chansey at all. You're much better off just spamming Specs Boombursts and letting something else deal with the blobs.

As for Ice Beam and Surf, they're pretty much useless. The only common Pokemon Surf hits that Boomburst doesn't are Tyranitar, Heatran, and Terrakion, each of which are hit harder by Focus Blast. In fact, Surf can't even 2HKO 248/8 Tyranitar in Sand, while Focus Blast is a guaranteed OHKO (and it still 2HKOs even the most specially bulky Assault Vest Tyranitar). Focus Blast also 2HKOs specially defensive Heatran where Surf would usually fail, and it's a guaranteed OHKO against Terrakion whereas Surf only has a 6.3% chance to OHKO from full health. Ice Beam is really only helpful against the handful of Pokemon 4x weak to it, but even then, most of these are already OHKOed by Specs Boomburst after Stealth Rock (which you should be spamming 90% of the time anyway).

Of the two Fire moves, Overheat is probably the better one overall. Generally, if you're going to use a Fire coverage move, it's going to be Overheat. It outdamages Flamethrower over two turns even counting the SpA drop, and it gets a handful of KOs that Flamethrower cannot. Specifically, it can OHKO specially defensive Skarmory, OHKO 4/0 Aegislash and even have a shot at OHKOing 252/0 sets once they have dropped to ~90% health, and guarantee the OHKO on specially defensive Ferrothorn and most Klefki, each of which Flamethrower fails to do. Sure, you'll be forced out due to the SpA drop, but you'd generally be forced out anyway if you trapped yourself into an unSTABed Flamethrower. Still, Flamethrower is there as the "safer" option for when you really don't need the extra power but absolutely cannot afford to have the opponent survive the attack due to an untimely miss. It's pretty situational, but its uses are there.

Maybe if Surf didn't miss out on those 2HKOs/OHKOs against Tyranitar, Heatran, and Terrakion that Focus Blast could get, it could be another "safe" option for taking care of them, but that's just not the case.
 
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This was discussed a ton with the previous Exploud analysis, but there really isn't any other notable move to use in the last moveslot. Boomburst, Flamethrower, and Focus Blast cover everything Exploud needs to cover, so the last slot isn't particularly necessary. Overheat at least has some use when it comes to having a good chance at OHKOing Aegislash, one of the premier Boomburst sponges. A dead or significantly weakened Aegislash also means more Boomburst spam with less drawbacks. So yeah, keep the original moveset. There's nothing else that should be used.
 
People have made it clear the last move is pretty pointless, but if that's true, why not use something like Surf for Mega Aerodactyl, HP Rock for Volcarona, or (lol) Shock Wave for Gyarados. (doesn't get Thunderbolt, unfortunately)

252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Aerodactyl: 153-181 (50.6 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Surf vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Aerodactyl: 264-312 (87.4 - 103.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 283-334 (90.7 - 107%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Hidden Power Rock vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 324-384 (103.8 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Boomburst vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 295-348 (88.8 - 104.8%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Exploud Shock Wave vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 340-400 (102.4 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Everyone has said Aegislash is 2HKOd by either, so Overheat is useless, these are literally the only other sort of usable options. (yes, Gyarados can mega evolve and Shock Wave is stupid to get locked into, I just listed because it can live a Boomburst, has a 4x weakness allowing something to overpower Boomburst against it, and it is viable in OU, so ignore it unless you really hate Gyaradoos or something)
 
Surf, Shockwave, and Hidden Power Rock are pointless coverage moves and terrible to be locked into really. They will never be used because Boomburst hits most of the targets extremely hard regardless. Extrasensory is in the same boat, there's no point.

The only other remotely viable alternative would be Sleep Talk, but then you're not using Exploud to its full potential, which is mindlessly spamming Boomburst.
 
Fuzznip said:
Surf, Shockwave, and Hidden Power Rock are pointless coverage moves and terrible to be locked into really. They will never be used because Boomburst hits most of the targets extremely hard regardless. Extrasensory is in the same boat, there's no point.

The only other remotely viable alternative would be Sleep Talk, but then you're not using Exploud to its full potential, which is mindlessly spamming Boomburst.
Click to expand...
Extrasensory can cover fighting weakness and handle poison types
you don't need 2 fire type moves
 
mikelos said:
Extrasensory can cover fighting weakness and handle poison types
you don't need 2 fire type moves
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the thing is, everything that Extrasensory hits is hit harder by Boomburst, making it a pointless endeavor

on another note, wouldn't Fire Blast be better than Flamethrower?
 
Just mention Sleep Talk in OO but state why you shouldnt use it (mainly denies spamming of Boomburst).

Im sure Fuzznip and co. took care of Overheat but seriously - nothing, and I repeat, nothing else is noteworthy to use over Overheat and Flamethrower. Do not suggest anything else. Seriously this should stop everyone:

- Boomburst has 210 BP after STAB.
- Extrasensory only does 160 SE.
- Surf, the only possible noteworthy addition, does 180 BP SE - which means Surf is only good for Rock-types and Heatran. Focus Blast does much more.
 
Agent Gibbs made it pretty clear that Overheat is superior to Flamethrower despite the special attack drop, so why not drop Flamethrower for something like Surf or Toxic? Surf has the benefit of hitting things such as Tyranitar, Terrakion, and Heatran which resist Boomburst without a 30% miss (Focus Blast). This is sorta redundant but not as redundant as Flamethrower and Overheat, as Overheat is way more consistent than Focus Blast and outdamages Flamethrower after two turns factoring in the special attack drop. Toxic could also be used for similar reasons as to why Will-O-Wisp is used on banded Talonflame, because both have nothing better to run and these status moves cripple/wear down their checks and counters.

At least mention that on rain teams Surf should be used over Flamethrower. Also, wouldnt it be better to put the remaining evs in HP opposed to Special Defense?
 
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MilkyWay01 said:
At least mention that on rain teams Surf should be used over Flamethrower. Also, wouldnt it be better to put the remaining evs in HP opposed to Special Defense?
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exploud already has good hp stat so it makes sense to put the rest in special defense as its only weakness is generally a physical stab.

also bumping this as it has been on hold for some days...
 
Man okay.

Exploud hits hard, but there just isn't much reason to run it in the metagame where stuff like Specs Keldeo and Band Rak reign supreme. It's not that frail, but it's not bulky enough to take hits like it needs to due to its crappy Speed. It has one STAB that is strong, but there are better hard hitters with STABs that have better coverage, Speed, bulk, typing, or a combination thereof. For these reasons, I don't think Exploud is worth using in OU.

QC Rejected 1/3
 
What why is this being rejected? It still has a completely valid niche in the metagame. STAB Scrappy Boomburst is insanely strong, stronger than Keldeo's Hydro Pump (31.9 - 37.5% vs 28.9 - 34.1% against Blissey just for reference) and a relatively safe spam attack to use. A Ghost immunity is also nice, making it a good check to Aegislash. It was approved before so I don't know what changed to make it unviable. It just needs a good deal of support to make it do serious work.
 
That's mainly my issue with it - the amount of support it needs is a lot. And sometimes even that isn't always enough.

Now I grant you that Exploud hits really fucking hard. Like to the point where my ears bleed hard. But even Sticky Web support only does so much and most defensive teams will pack at least the pink blobs and shit. But the EV spread barely makes sense (seriously wtf does that spread do nothing is mentioned in the analysis for it) and switching into opponent's like Aegislash is dicey as Sacred Sword does a lot of damage too.

I guess my ultimate question is the same as Jukain's - why should I think about using Exploud as a Choice Specs user when there are so many other options that are, 9 out of 10 times, superior to Exploud? I get that Exploud hits really hard but lacking Speed and bulk really hurts. It's a glass cannon in some ways.

EDIT: Okay I found out the reason the EV spread is. But why not just run max Speed? 235 can actually outspeed no Speed invested Gliscor. If it is allowed just allow max Speed IMO - you can outspeed threats like Terrakion after Sticky Web.
 
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Toxiderp said:
Thing is most Gliscor sets these days run at least 56 speed evs to outspeed max speed adamant Bisharp so that point is somewhat moot.
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Aye, even so there's like 0 point to just stopping at Rotom-W as even Rotom-W will sometimes run Speed EVs.
 
Assuming that this will continue through QC check, I would like to put this in Locked / Outdated. I'm sorry OP but I need someone that has extensively and successfully used Exploud and is knowledgeable enough to use it.

Also I believe the set should seriously be this:

Choice Specs
########
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Boomburst
move 2: Flamethrower
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Overheat / Surf
ability: Scrappy
item: Choice Specs
nature: Modest
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Please consult me before taking this analysis only because Exploud is a very niche mon that needs precise explanation and needs specific details outlined.
 
Yeah i'm inclined to agree with Colonel_M. Unfortunately this analysis just isn't acceptable. In the future, work on your format and organization.
 
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