I remember facing you on ladder and getting beaten by that very same Riolu, so I'm glad I wasn't one of the replays LOL. It was a big wake-up call, and I haven't lost to one since then, but man, it's scary each time I face one.Riolu is basically a "guess the move I'm gonna click, and if you guess wrong you'll be phased.", which is what makes it uncompetitive. Even dark types aren't really safe, as you can predict the switch, go for sub and then just click drain punch for decent chip. Here is the set with replays:
Riolu @ circlethrow
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Copycat
- Protect
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-2482142254
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-2482070097
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-2482061999
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9fortemons-2481570551
Another interesting mon that makes good use of phasing is Milotic. It can elevate the negative priority to 0 with Rest/talk, while making good use of its Marvel Scale buff, in addition to getting a double switch with Flip Turn. Here's a set that worked for me so far:
Milotic @ dragontail
Ability: Marvel Scale
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Flip Turn
- Alluring Voice
Hardly needs exp. Can phase behind subs, or help you gain massive momentum with Flip Turn.
Also, I'm such a huge fan of Dragon Tail Forte Milotic to the point that it has helped me build a few sets around the premise of Phase Turning. Currently, I have been using Mew as my go to phase turner since it has access to a plethora of setup and hazards. My favorite use so far is having it set Trick Room, then using the massive momentum you get to bring in the right Abuser( particularly
).Mew @ dragontail
Ability: Synchronize
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Trick Room / Taunt / Will-o-Wisp / Thunder Wave / Pain Split
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock / Taunt / Spikes / Toxic Spikes
- Alluring Voice / Volt Switch / Misty Explosion
As a TR setter, it does have a few flaws, mainly being its Ghost, Dark, and U-turn weaknesses, so it does need to pick the right time to come in cause it really struggles with mons like Pult, Gambit, and Darkrai. Alternatively, it can run 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 Spe with a speed boosting nature so that it can outspeed and taunt other taunters or hazard setters such as Landorus, no boosts Excadrill, and Tinkaton. Losing the bulk does mean your match-ups become stricter, but this spread does give it some survivability, as it can always survive 2 EQs from Jolly Landorus or Excadrills, letting you always set up TR on them after a taunt. For the last move, Alluring Voice is always great for the same reasons detailed in your post, but you can also elect to run Volt Turn so that you don't proc Toxic Debris with Phase Turning or Misty Explosion for Retaliate fortes and even better chip versus Dark types.
And the best part, you can take everything I said about setting trick room and apply it to other strategies like hazard setting or status spreading. You can even keep the same EV spreads I mentioned or change them around, like going full Spdef. I've even used it as a gravity and rain setter with mixed results, but that shows just how much it can do.
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Corvi@Body Press seems like an alright defogger- it can still do the exact same idef set with monoattacking air slash since steel only offers a way through clef and nothing otherwise, but if youre looking for haz removal its greedy to expect it to also be the top sweeper in the tier.
Hatterene@Draining Kiss also seems like good prevention of hazards, as long as you once again dont go greedy and expect it to also be an insane sweeper- saving it for the haz matchup it seems to have a pretty good matchup into a lot of setters and able to outlast them.
With unblockable rapid spin on Exca and Tentacruel it seems like there is actually more hazard removal options here than in OU, not to say that the options are exciting or varied but it seems to be there.. Id list a couple more mons too but I think theyd prob get picked at for being even less exciting than the above 2. If you got rid of them for Great Tusk I think you'd end up with less removal options and also Great Tusk seems to have a harder time against ghost type walls like Sinistcha or Houndstone here, so it might end up harder. I dunno.
