In what world is 65 Def 'reasonable bulk'?
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Pokémon Grimmsnarl
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With 95 HP and priority defense boosting backing it up, yeah it is pretty decent bulk overall
Fair enough. I've never really been great at calculating how the HP works with it.
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Yes, it is still blocked by other dark types. That said, his fairy typing comes in handy. Bisharp aside, a fully bulky set with Drain Punch should be able to live T-tar Stone edge at +1 after rocks. Hydreigon gets its stab completely walled, so without flash cannon an altered spread could live and Spirit Break or Drain Punch. Dark types being the only weakness to this idea (other than enemy mons not setting up) is not terrible as a team mate can cover said weakness. In a generation where most mons can set up in Dynamax, at the very least Grimmsnarl can steal those attack buffs so that way your late game cleaner can come in safely.
While I doubt it can have much utility, Grimmsnarl has its own, unique variation for a SwagPlay set.
Spectral What? (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swagger
- Power Swap
- Spirit Break / Darkest Lariat
- Thunder Wave / Darkest Lariat / Spirit Break
It's not too different from something Marshadow could do - you use Swagger on them, and then steal their boosts with Power Swap instead of making them explode on their face with Foul Play.
It looks too unreliable compared to, say, a Bulk Up set, though.
In general, Grimmsnarl has no competition as a Prankster. A lack of Klefki means it's also the only fully-evolved Prankster, apart from Whimsicott, that can deal super-effective STAB damage to Dark-types.
Spectral What? (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swagger
- Power Swap
- Spirit Break / Darkest Lariat
- Thunder Wave / Darkest Lariat / Spirit Break
It's not too different from something Marshadow could do - you use Swagger on them, and then steal their boosts with Power Swap instead of making them explode on their face with Foul Play.
It looks too unreliable compared to, say, a Bulk Up set, though.
In general, Grimmsnarl has no competition as a Prankster. A lack of Klefki means it's also the only fully-evolved Prankster, apart from Whimsicott, that can deal super-effective STAB damage to Dark-types.
To make things worse for Whimsicott, it can't even use its Prankster-effected moves against Grimmsnarl thanks to the latter's Dark-typing granting it an immunity. Plus, a SpDef-invested Grimmsnarl or a Light Screen variant can come out on top against Whimsicott thanks to Spirit Break lowering Special Attack with each use.
I also think that with Prankster, if anyone wishes to use any of the weather teams, Grimmsnarl might not make a bad addition. Since each of the weather moves count for his ability, he wouldn't be a bad idea for any weather teams. More specifically, Rain. Weather teams may not be as powerful as they once were, but considering how much weather played an impact in the games, it is possible, it's stronger in this gen than any previous gens from before (not counting when it was in it's prime).
I should hate this Pokemon; by all accounts. The lack of Spe, the mediocre defenses, but I really can't find myself hating it. Grimmsnarl is one Pokemon that is major threat to not be underestimated. Prankster is deadly on it, it gains priority on Bulk Up and Taunt; the only Pokemons that can be a real threat to this ability are anyone with Mold Breaker (Excadrill being the common threat) and Liepard due to both abilities nullifying themselves and its spe and Toxtricity. Corviknight may have the stats and type advantage, but it isn't a Dark Type, so Sub Bulk Ups will be shutdown. Grimmsnarl's movepool is nothing to sneeze at as well it has the type coverage: Fire Punch (Excadrill, Corviknight, etc.), Ice Punch (Dragon, Ground, etc.), Thunder Punch (Barrskewda, Corviknight, and every other flying and water type), Shadow Claw for Ghost types (Dragapult and Gengar), Power Whip, Power-Up Punch. Grimmsnarl can be a beast in the battlefield both metaphorically and literally, but you need another to help it with it's flaws my highest recommendation is
Xatu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spe 4 Hp
-Calm Mind
-Heat Wave (Excadrill and Covriknight)
-Psychic (Toxtricity)
-Air Slash (For Appletun)
I know many could recommend Hatterene, BUT it has the same counters as Grimmsnarl, so you might as well get Xatu or say 'Be Gentle,' while they spam Steel and Poison moves.
Xatu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs 252 Sp. Atk 252 Spe 4 Hp
-Calm Mind
-Heat Wave (Excadrill and Covriknight)
-Psychic (Toxtricity)
-Air Slash (For Appletun)
I know many could recommend Hatterene, BUT it has the same counters as Grimmsnarl, so you might as well get Xatu or say 'Be Gentle,' while they spam Steel and Poison moves.
Power Swap does indeed go through Substitute, at least on Showdown. I much prefer it to Ditto for this reason. It truly lives up to its name as the Gains Goblin. Dark-type immunity is a problem, but I guess you could still run Ditto anyway.
I've been using Grimm and Hatt together; weakness double-ups aren't ideal but there's other Pokémon to handle that. Duraludon in particular has been a good choice. It forces a lot of switches so you can make good use of that time to set up or drop rocks. It's also a great switch-in against Toxtricity. Gengar is a threat, but it's a threat to Xatu, Duraludon, Grimmsnarl and Hatterene either way.
Another Hatt bonus is dealing more damage to Ferro than Xatu thanks to her beefy SpA, and due to her extremely low speed, Gyro Ball is barely even a scratch. If your opponent doesn't know or remember this and tries to go for the hit, you can deal a huge chunk of damage to Ferro basically for free. It's not a one-shot unless you're maxing SpA and Ferro is running no SpD, but it's still anywhere between 50-90% — defensive Hatterene with no SpA investment gets at least 52.2% against max SpD Ferro. I've never seen or heard about Corvi running Steel coverage so she's probably safe against that as well. Exca is a problem though, so Xatu probably has the edge in that matchup.
On one hand, Xatu has Recover, which Hatt would kill for...and on the other hand, Hatt gets Aromatherapy, which non-ResTalk Grimm sets will appreciate to get rid of Scald burns, T.Spikes poison and the like (or even stray status moves you didn't have time to Taunt). She gets Healing Wish though.
I'm not biased at all.
edit: I keep getting Kommo-o mixed up with Duraludon lol
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Only fire punch for coverage? no Mystical fire? no Cross poison? where Dig? No Magnet Rise?
Lets hope for it getting Glare here.
Pickpocket and Frisk so lame... hoped for better here.
Knowing oponents item and stealing them whats better when activating?
At least 2 immunities.
Snore, Yawn and G-Snoze should all be sound moves for sake.
Lets hope for it getting Glare here.
Pickpocket and Frisk so lame... hoped for better here.
Knowing oponents item and stealing them whats better when activating?
At least 2 immunities.
Snore, Yawn and G-Snoze should all be sound moves for sake.
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I've been using this set on hyper offense to stall out dynamax's after theyve been baited out.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spirit Break
- Darkest Lariat
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
the general idea is to just spam sub to stall out the three dynamax turns, then cripple with thunder wave and then take them out with the next mon. Barraskewda and excadrill are two partners of choice. the former handles all grounds and all electric types suck balls this gen. you need some offensive pressure to prevent subs, which often means trading two mons for one. But on HO i find that usually worth it since when the opponent dynamax's offensively, theyre usually trying to close out the game.
Max damage is to keep pressure high which i feel is more important than tankiness. speed is to be faster than a paralyzed banded darm which isnt too important but kinda nice. Spirit break is an awesome gimping move, but play rough's damage could be justifiable. sucker punch could be more useful than darkest lariat but i spanked an AA reuniclus with it so i like it (also fuck corsola).
admittedly a lot of this sets success feels to come from people not expecting prankster substitute to waste their dyna. but even when that doesn't come into play, the mon still has good typing, stabs, and prankster t-wave which makes it really easy to put work in any game.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spirit Break
- Darkest Lariat
- Thunder Wave
- Substitute
the general idea is to just spam sub to stall out the three dynamax turns, then cripple with thunder wave and then take them out with the next mon. Barraskewda and excadrill are two partners of choice. the former handles all grounds and all electric types suck balls this gen. you need some offensive pressure to prevent subs, which often means trading two mons for one. But on HO i find that usually worth it since when the opponent dynamax's offensively, theyre usually trying to close out the game.
Max damage is to keep pressure high which i feel is more important than tankiness. speed is to be faster than a paralyzed banded darm which isnt too important but kinda nice. Spirit break is an awesome gimping move, but play rough's damage could be justifiable. sucker punch could be more useful than darkest lariat but i spanked an AA reuniclus with it so i like it (also fuck corsola).
admittedly a lot of this sets success feels to come from people not expecting prankster substitute to waste their dyna. but even when that doesn't come into play, the mon still has good typing, stabs, and prankster t-wave which makes it really easy to put work in any game.
Spirit Break has 75 base power, not 80, as listed in your intro for new moves. That isn’t terribly significant, but does make the power gap between it and Play Rough 15 points and not 10, which might sometimes matter.
I think the offensive utility set can run Bulk Up in the last slot, due to it pretty much get a free turn when you Taunt the likes of Ferrothorn. Also it directly counters Corvi's BU set, since Darkest Lariat goes through Def Boost and Corvi doesn't usually carry Steel moves (so far I only see Brave Bird and Body Press).
also the pp of the new moves are actually 16 (not 15 as mentioned in ur list)
Offensive Substitute:
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Substitute
-Drain Punch
-Sucker Punch
-Spirit Break
You can stall dynamax and chip dangerous life orb attackers until they are within range of sucker punch. It also works pretty well against Ferrothorn.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Substitute
-Drain Punch
-Sucker Punch
-Spirit Break
You can stall dynamax and chip dangerous life orb attackers until they are within range of sucker punch. It also works pretty well against Ferrothorn.
When Spirit Break is the only physical fairy move instead of Play Rough, you trade less damage, more accuracy and utility (always drop spa) for some dmg. Spirit Break is better in utility set like assault best and screens, when PR is good in offensive set like bulk up and choice band.
This mon have to much for him to stay in OU, Prankters- move and inmunity, unique typing, good bulk, isnt pasive like other utility mon. He will be a staple in OU all the time, maybe A/A+ in viability bc no one can outclassed him in what he do.
One of the Pokemon I like seeing the least on my opponent's team preview. It can run a lot of sets and most are pretty great with the right support/team composition. I think it may calm down a little once Dynamax is (hopefully) banned though.
Favourite two sets are screens and bulk up thus far, but will definitely try Power Swap & others at some point
Priority screens/T-Wave/Taunt is great and will always be viable, but incredible when matched with dynamax set up sweepers.
Bulk Up sets are really scary and especially viable thanks to Grimmsnarl's versatility, I've found that my opponents may make the misplay of switching out to potential set up fodder.
Favourite two sets are screens and bulk up thus far, but will definitely try Power Swap & others at some point
Priority screens/T-Wave/Taunt is great and will always be viable, but incredible when matched with dynamax set up sweepers.
Bulk Up sets are really scary and especially viable thanks to Grimmsnarl's versatility, I've found that my opponents may make the misplay of switching out to potential set up fodder.
Why not something like this as an anti-metagame utility Pokemon?
Grimmsnarl @ Leftovers / Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 176 Def / 64 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Reflect
- Spirit Break
- Taunt
- Power Swap
It may not do a particular role as well as other sets but role compression is key here. It functions more similar to the dual screen set with much more flexibility at acting as a barrier against setup sweepers. 308 attack is plenty to pass along some hurt with Spirit Break.
Grimmsnarl @ Leftovers / Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 176 Def / 64 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Reflect
- Spirit Break
- Taunt
- Power Swap
It may not do a particular role as well as other sets but role compression is key here. It functions more similar to the dual screen set with much more flexibility at acting as a barrier against setup sweepers. 308 attack is plenty to pass along some hurt with Spirit Break.
This really isn't the place for these kinds of questions. He doesn't get Assurance, and we just have to work with that. Also, that's not even how Assurance works. It doubles in power if the TARGET has taken damage earlier that turn, including indirect damage like hazards.
Assurance gets boosted if the opposing pokemon got damaged already that turn, not Grimmsnarl. Its pretty much exclusively a doubles move, but if it worked the other way around itd be pretty good on Grimmsnarl
Grimmsnarl @ assault vest
Ability: frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Spirit Break / Play Rough
- Darkest Lariat
- Sucker Punch
in my opinion bulk up sets are not really good the time it takes to increase your stats is ridiculous you can use a maximum of one bulk up before the counter comes and one bulk up is nothing
with my set i was quite successful until now, many of the usual dangers like durengard, mimikuy, dragapult and others are easy to outplay
Spirit Break and Play Rough are both very good
Spirit Break does less harm than Play Rough but reduces the spa. and Play Rough always goes wrong when you really need it xD
Drain Punch is not bad for healing and in dynamax you can increase your Atk.stats with Max Knuckle
actually pretty simple but still evective
I apologize for my bad english
Ability: frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Spirit Break / Play Rough
- Darkest Lariat
- Sucker Punch
in my opinion bulk up sets are not really good the time it takes to increase your stats is ridiculous you can use a maximum of one bulk up before the counter comes and one bulk up is nothing
with my set i was quite successful until now, many of the usual dangers like durengard, mimikuy, dragapult and others are easy to outplay
Spirit Break and Play Rough are both very good
Spirit Break does less harm than Play Rough but reduces the spa. and Play Rough always goes wrong when you really need it xD
Drain Punch is not bad for healing and in dynamax you can increase your Atk.stats with Max Knuckle
actually pretty simple but still evective
I apologize for my bad english
Instead of darkest lariant would foul play be better??
No, higher BP, plus it naturally has high attack
I've been absolutely loving this Sub Bulk Up set. It takes a lot of prediction to get any mileage out of, but it can check threats like Dragapult and tear through a lot of defensive teams.
If you value its midgame presence more, you could run taunt instead of substitute, and if you value it setting up more, you could probably figure out a more Special-defense focused spread to make setting up on special attacking walls easier (There might be value in making scalds from Toxapex or Seismitoad not break your subs as easily, but I haven't done calcs).
Sucker punch is such a cool move with access to priority sub (or taunt) since you can revenge kill a lot of sweepers and predict your way our of holes that you have no business getting out of.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Sucker Punch
- Spirit Break
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Sucker Punch
- Spirit Break
If you value its midgame presence more, you could run taunt instead of substitute, and if you value it setting up more, you could probably figure out a more Special-defense focused spread to make setting up on special attacking walls easier (There might be value in making scalds from Toxapex or Seismitoad not break your subs as easily, but I haven't done calcs).
Sucker punch is such a cool move with access to priority sub (or taunt) since you can revenge kill a lot of sweepers and predict your way our of holes that you have no business getting out of.
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