Gen 2 GSC OU Piloswine (DONE)

[StupidFlandrs48]

[OVERVIEW]

Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-types. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as a check to Electric-types and Gengar that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch out. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB move that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense, since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. In addition, Ice Beam's chance to freeze foes gives Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counters such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber, since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.

Team Options
========

Zapdos is a great teammate, since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect. Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of a mixed coverage option such as Thunder or Fire Blast. Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and Tyranitar is serviceable here as well.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and 3HKOes Skarmory; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake to make it more threatening when paired with paralysis support, but this once again lacks the consistency provided by Sleep Talk. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how difficult it is to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Piloswine struggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.

**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against them.

**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Machamp takes considerable damage from Earthquake, but it outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage in return with Cross Chop.

**Forretress and Skarmory**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily tanking its hits and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to do whatever it wants in front of Piloswine unless it lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy.

**Fire / Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts.

**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.

**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any one-on-one in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO Snorlax with a critical hit, preventing it from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or Rest, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break its Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse boosts, and even an unboosted Double-Edge can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jorgen.53302/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/conflict.37399/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/

 

[Conflict]

Looks pretty decent, some small changes to make:

Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as an Electric-type and Gengar check that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check than Quagsire, and its lack of a Rock resistance also means it's the only Ground-type that's completely inept against Tyranitar.

I honestly dont like the word "completely" here. Change it to the word "somewhat" because the TTar MU honestly comes down to TTars coverage moves and/or if RS flinches (EQ pretty comfortably 2hkoes TTar back).

Move the mention of Blizzard and its upsides from the set comments to other options. Blizzard is kinda ok to try but shouldnt ever be the standard just a more risky "other option". Could also slash Blizzard with Ice Beam on the set but Pilo being kinda passive/weak more Ice Beam PP to fish for freezes seems just way better in general than Blizzard....

Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Snorlax and especially Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Ice Beam or Sleep Talk, both of which make it significantly easier to play around in other ways.

Remove the mention of dropping Ice Beam here - Piloswine without Ice Beam is not worth using at all. Toxic as well as other miscelleanous moves like Roar should only ever be considered over Sleep Talk.

Looks good otherwise. If you implement these changes I'll give QC.

 

[StupidFlandrs48]

Looks pretty decent, some small changes to make:



I honestly dont like the word "completely" here. Change it to the word "somewhat" because the TTar MU honestly comes down to TTars coverage moves and/or if RS flinches (EQ pretty comfortably 2hkoes TTar back).

Move the mention of Blizzard and its upsides from the set comments to other options. Blizzard is kinda ok to try but shouldnt ever be the standard just a more risky "other option". Could also slash Blizzard with Ice Beam on the set but Pilo being kinda passive/weak more Ice Beam PP to fish for freezes seems just way better in general than Blizzard....



Remove the mention of dropping Ice Beam here - Piloswine without Ice Beam is not worth using at all. Toxic as well as other miscelleanous moves like Roar should only ever be considered over Sleep Talk.

Looks good otherwise. If you implement these changes I'll give QC.

Implemented!

 

[Jorgen]

LGTM, QC 1/2. I think if I were to play editor I'd mostly just cut down on the text, as this analysis has a slight tendency to get lost in the weeds:

OVERVIEW:

Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-type picks in the tier. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as an Electric-type and Gengar check that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check than Quagsire, and its lack of a Rock resistance also means it's the only Ground-type that struggles to pull its weight against Tyranitar. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.

Cut the mentions of Quagsire and Tyranitar in the intro imo. You're already comparing to Raikou so you don't need to resort to a contrast to Quagsire. Devoting the time to say Pilo is especially bad against Ttar is also a little odd when most Ground types fold to the right coverage move.

SET:

name: The FuzzRestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers

Use a more descriptive set name.

SET DESCRIPTION:

Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch outand Nidoking with a 2HKO and OHKOing Gengar after Spikes damage. Earthquake also 3HKOes Misdreavus and Steelix, making it impractical for the former to stall Piloswine out with Toxic and costly for the latter to rack up Curse boosts against it. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense, since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. Ice Beam's 10% chance to freeze foes is also valuable, as it allows Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counterspotentially valuable as well, making it a good move for Piloswine to throw out against a switch-in that it has no hope of KOing, such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. Piloswine's great STAB combination and decent bulk make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set, especially since Earthquake and Ice Beam always give it a useful Sleep Talk roll against common Ground-types, Tyranitar, and to a lesser extent Snorlax. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.

Just cutting out what seem like superfluous details, and adding relevant details pertaining to Snorlax and Skarmory.

TEAM OPTIONS:

Since it can easily become a momentum sink for offensive teams, notably letting Snorlax and every Spikes and Rapid Spin user bar Golem take the field with little risk, Piloswine is best suited to slow-paced stall builds that make full use of its defensive profile. Zapdos is a quintessentialstrong teammate since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdiersturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect.

Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and various Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of an alternative coverage move such as Thunder or Fire Blasta mixed set with Thunder or a Fire-type move if you prefer another win condition like Curse Tyranitar.

Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike most Ground-typesGolem, Rhydon, or Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and the aforementioned Tyranitar is serviceable here as well. Opposing Tyranitar is a difficult foe for Piloswine to face, so a Water-type teammate like Starmie or Suicune is appreciated to keep it at bay.

Piloswine is also useful to niche structures built around sandstorm as a sand-immune Electric-type check, where it can feature alongside other defensive Pokemon like Forretress, Skarmory, and Omastar. However, Piloswine still competes for this niche with Quagsire, which has the added benefit of resisting Fire- and Rock-type attacks and acting as a win condition with Curse or Belly Drum.

I don't agree that Piloswine is a stall Pokemon. If anything, a primarily offensive set of 5 like Snorlax / Zapdos / Skarmory / Cloyster / Gengar is the kind of team that cries out for Piloswine in my eyes. So I'd suggest ditching that note. Sand is also fun to mention but is probably getting a bit too far in the weeds.

OTHER OPTIONS:

Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and can 3HKO Skarmorylets it pressure Steelix and Skarmory more reliably; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Snorlax and especiallyCloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Roar is a decent filler option for Sleep Talk-less sets with cleric support, but it's made harder to justify by Piloswine's inability to take a boosted hit from common sweepers like Curse Snorlax, Swords Dance Marowak, and Growth Vaporeon. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake and make it harder for physical attackers like Steelix and some Snorlax to deal withto make it more threatening when paired with Paralysis support, but this once again drops the consistent availability offered by Sleep Talk. but attempting this gets Piloswine much closer to being fully outclassed by Steelix. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how passive it becomes withoutas it would need to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.

Just tweaking precision here and there. And getting rid of Roar. If it's a "filler" option, it's not an option. IIRC, even on Ice monotype, Articuno is the Phazer of choice.

CHECKS AND COUNTERS:

**Snorlax**: Piloswine is unable to break Snorlax's Rest cycle with Earthquake barring critical hits, which leaves it with very little to discourage Curse boosting aside from Toxic or Ice Beam freezes. Snorlax doesn't really need Curse to threaten Piloswine either, as an unboosted Double-Edge will easily score a 3HKO.

**Water-types**: Piloswine is hopelessly walled bystruggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and VaporeonVaporeon, and Kingdra. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.However, Piloswine can at the very least threaten a freeze against them (barring Cloyster) as they switch in or put them on a timer with Toxic.

**Forretress and SkarmorySteel-types**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily wallingtanking it and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to stack Curse boosts in front of Piloswine quite easily unless it unless Piloswine lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy. Steelix take super effective damage from Earthquake unlike the other two, but Curse and its monstrous Defense help mitigate this and let Steelix get into a groove with Roar, racking up Spikes damage against Piloswine's team.

**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against these two.

**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Meanwhile, Machamp takes good damage from Earthquake, but outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage with Cross Chop. and easily sets up on Piloswine with Curse, blasting past it with a 2HKO from Megahorn after a boost. Machamp takes significant damage from Earthquake and fails to OHKO Piloswine with an unboosted Cross Chop, but Piloswine has little to discourage it from simply using Curse once and blowing it away afterward.

**Blissey**: Blissey is surprisingly adept at exploiting Piloswine's presence despite its physical frailty, as it is never 2HKOed by Earthquake from full health, effortlessly heals off Piloswine's damage with Soft-Boiled, and takes the opportunity to use Heal Bell, set up Light Screen, or 3HKO Piloswine with Flamethrower.

**Fire-and-Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts. Less common picks like Houndoom, Entei, and Typhlosion must fear Earthquake, but they still threaten a clean OHKO on Piloswine if they maneuver in as it uses Ice Beam or Rest.

**Tyranitar**: Tyranitar isn't a big fan of STAB Earthquakes being aimed at it, but its one-on-one matchup against Piloswine is surprisingly favorable due to its Rock Slide neutrality and Tyranitar's tendency to run super effective coverage for it such as Fire Blast, Surf, and Dynamic Punch.

**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.

**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any 1-on-1 in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO with a Critical Hit, preventing Snorlax from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or a non-attacking move, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break Snorlax's Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curses, and even an unboosted Double-Edge from a Sleep Talking Snorlax is going to smart.

Got rid of most of the things that aren't really counters. Kept Snorlax and HP Water, though, because they are notable shortcomings of Piloswine's game, even if they don't constitute checks & counters per se. Altered the Snorlax description though, as the caveats that make Snorlax a less-than-ideal Pilo answer should probably be front-and-center. Also tried to order things by importance.

 

[StupidFlandrs48]

LGTM, QC 1/2. I think if I were to play editor I'd mostly just cut down on the text, as this analysis has a slight tendency to get lost in the weeds:

OVERVIEW:


Cut the mentions of Quagsire and Tyranitar in the intro imo. You're already comparing to Raikou so you don't need to resort to a contrast to Quagsire. Devoting the time to say Pilo is especially bad against Ttar is also a little odd when most Ground types fold to the right coverage move.

SET:


Use a more descriptive set name.

SET DESCRIPTION:


Just cutting out what seem like superfluous details, and adding relevant details pertaining to Snorlax and Skarmory.

TEAM OPTIONS:


I don't agree that Piloswine is a stall Pokemon. If anything, a primarily offensive set of 5 like Snorlax / Zapdos / Skarmory / Cloyster / Gengar is the kind of team that cries out for Piloswine in my eyes. So I'd suggest ditching that note. Sand is also fun to mention but is probably getting a bit too far in the weeds.

OTHER OPTIONS:


Just tweaking precision here and there. And getting rid of Roar. If it's a "filler" option, it's not an option. IIRC, even on Ice monotype, Articuno is the Phazer of choice.

CHECKS AND COUNTERS:


Got rid of most of the things that aren't really counters. Kept Snorlax and HP Water, though, because they are notable shortcomings of Piloswine's game, even if they don't constitute checks & counters per se. Altered the Snorlax description though, as the caveats that make Snorlax a less-than-ideal Pilo answer should probably be front-and-center. Also tried to order things by importance.

Implemented, thanks for your efforts. Conflict sorry in advance for basically making you check two different versions of the same analysis

 

[Conflict]

Looks good now.

[QC 2/2]

 

[StupidFlandrs48]

Looks good now.

[QC 2/2]

Thank you! GP Team

 

[autumn]

1/1 GP Team done

Hide

[OVERVIEW]

Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-type picks in the tier. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as an Electric-type and Gengar a check to Electric-types and Gengar (so it doesn't read like its an electric-type itself) that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch out. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB move that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense (not really clear), since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; (idt this moves section needs to reference explosion, which pilo doesn't have, when the comparison was made in overview. making the make sections just about pilo is easier to understand) the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. Ice Beam's 10% chance to freeze foes is also valuable, as it allows chance to freeze foes gives Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counters such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber, (AC; comma before since is the same rule as comma before as) since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.

Team Options
========

Zapdos is a great teammate, (AC) since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect. Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of a mixed coverage option such as Thunder or Fire Blast. Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and Tyranitar is serviceable here as well.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and lets it 3HKO 3HKOes Skarmory; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake to make it more threatening when paired with Paralysis paralysis (status conditions aren't capitalised) support, but this once again lacks the consistency provided by Sleep Talk. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how difficult it is to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Piloswine struggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.

**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against them.

**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Machamp takes considerable damage from Earthquake, but it outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage in return with Cross Chop.

**Forretress and Skarmory**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily tanking its hits and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to do whatever it wants in front of Piloswine unless it lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy.

**Fire / Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts.

**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.

**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any one-on-one in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO Snorlax with a critical hit, preventing Snorlax it from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or Rest, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break its Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse boosts, and even an unboosted Double-Edge can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jorgen.53302/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/conflict.37399/
Grammar checked by:

 

[StupidFlandrs48]

1/1 GP Team done

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[OVERVIEW]

Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-type picks in the tier. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as an Electric-type and Gengar a check to Electric-types and Gengar (so it doesn't read like its an electric-type itself) that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.

[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========

Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch out. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB move that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense (not really clear), since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; (idt this moves section needs to reference explosion, which pilo doesn't have, when the comparison was made in overview. making the make sections just about pilo is easier to understand) the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. Ice Beam's 10% chance to freeze foes is also valuable, as it allows chance to freeze foes gives Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counters such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber, (AC; comma before since is the same rule as comma before as) since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.

Team Options
========

Zapdos is a great teammate, (AC) since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect. Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of a mixed coverage option such as Thunder or Fire Blast. Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and Tyranitar is serviceable here as well.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and lets it 3HKO 3HKOes Skarmory; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake to make it more threatening when paired with Paralysis paralysis (status conditions aren't capitalised) support, but this once again lacks the consistency provided by Sleep Talk. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how difficult it is to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Water-types**: Piloswine struggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.

**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against them.

**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Machamp takes considerable damage from Earthquake, but it outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage in return with Cross Chop.

**Forretress and Skarmory**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily tanking its hits and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to do whatever it wants in front of Piloswine unless it lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy.

**Fire / Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts.

**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.

**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any one-on-one in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO Snorlax with a critical hit, preventing Snorlax it from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or Rest, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break its Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse boosts, and even an unboosted Double-Edge can 3HKO it.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jorgen.53302/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/conflict.37399/
Grammar checked by:

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