5Dots
Chairs
I've compiled the Kickoff Tour Usage for the tier. Here it is:
Kickoff Tour Usage
Thoughts on the four horsemons of the apocalypse:
These four Pokemon I anticipated occupying these slots. These Pokemon are so good at what they do that not running any of these Pokemon causes your team to miss out on a lot of defensive and offensive perks.
Piloswine is an absolute beast as an offensive tank, as Thick Fat, great offenses and all-around bulk causes it to be very hard to take on without risking huge damage from its powerful Ice and Ground STABs. Choice Band's power makes it even harder to switch to, and it still does a decent job in its defensive profile, able to come in on threats like Qwilfish-Hisui and Gligar and discourage them from setting up hazards. Other than Quaxwell and Levitate Koffing, it's very hard to come up with checks to deal with Piloswine - all Gurdurr variants can get worn down quickly, and Piloswine can come back later and finish it off, and revenge killers like Frogadier and Raboot can never switch into it.
Gurdurr taking the #1 slot particularly stands out, since its versatility is undoubtedly phenomenal. The great physical bulk and having utility in Knock Off and Defog makes it consistent at removing hazards; while Dartrix and Fletchinder also did an adequate job, the former's passivity and the latter's shaky typing, combined with both of them being very susceptible to Knock Off and Stealth Rock makes them very hard to justify. Dartrix isn't even a safe check to Gurdurr because it folds to Ice Punch! Bulk Up sets are even scarier to face off, as not only does Gurdurr have its great physical bulk and attack enhanced, but the variety in coverage through Knock Off, Ice Punch, Mach Punch, and Poison Jab leave few consistent answers. Neutralizing Gas Koffing is the best option, but it can get worn down quickly when tasked with handling other physical powerhouses like Piloswine and Gligar, not to mention residual damage is everywhere. While other Poison-types like Mareanie and Weepinbell are good checks as well, they are far less common than Koffing since Mareanie's passivity (and lack of options like Knock or Scald) and Weepinbell's four-moveslot syndrome makes them hard to fit on teams, not to mention they don't sport as good of physical bulk. Following that, there's Clefairy, but it fears Poison Jab and can often get overwhelmed if not running physical bulk investment. While Girafarig and Hattrem are both faster than it, their vulnerability to Knock Off can make it shaky to switch in. And if you're not running the options above, strong special attackers, or super effective ones, good luck getting through its physical bulk - it's going to be challenging to get it through without using something like your own Gurdurr.
After being unbanned, Qwilfish-Hisui has once again established itself as a dominant Swords Dance sweeper and Spikes user. While not as offensively imposing as Piloswine or versatile as Gurdurr, Qwilfish-H still is a force to be reckoned with on both offense and defense. Even though the new DLC added Pokemon like Magmar and Electabuzz to make the Speed benchmarks more contestable, Qwilfish-H is still able to outrun many trends like Thwackey, Girafarig (an emerging force in the kickoff), and Servine. While the lower power of Crunch makes it not as immediately threatening as both of the Pokemon I mentioned above, it's still dangerous and its good bulk alongside Intimidate makes it hard to match it one-on-one without having defensive stalwarts like Gligar, Piloswine, and Tinkatuff. Liquidation and Waterfall in its coverage makes the former two less reliable as checks, and Tinkatuff itself can find itself overwhelmed by the large swathes of threats it has to deal with in NFE. Spikes sets complement its defensive utility and pair really well with Pokemon like Quaxwell and Misdreavus (the former has also been a star on many builds recently), and combined with the fact most of our hazard removers can get overwhelmed easily, it almost feels impossible to ward off Spikes.
This is a utility monster. U-turn, Knock Off, all hazards (minus the niche Sticky Web), Toxic, and Swords Dance makes this so hard to prevent doing its job. Complementing this is excellent physical bulk and a mean offensive movepool (Earthquake, Acrobatics, Knock Off, Crabhammer). Its offensive prowess is the least remarkable of the four giants, but the utility more than makes up for it, and Swords Dance can immediately turn things around. Whether you're running bulky or all-out Swords Dance variants, Gligar's good bulk is guaranteed to take out a Pokemon assuming it doesn't face Piloswine or Frogadier. Also, unlike Piloswine, Gligar checks Electabuzz and Raboot, whereas Piloswine has trouble taking these coverage moves (especially after switching into Knock Off). Funnily enough, Gligar without an item may be MORE menacing than without, as that triggers Acrobatics that can easily flip the script on a Servine or Thwackey looking to set up on it.
Overall, the Pokemon are so dominant that they warp NFE to feature around them. It's been exciting to try and play with their tools, but at the same time, I fear facing them. It's been fun playing the Kickoff Tour, so here are a few replays I thought were interesting featuring those Pokemon:
1 2 3 4
Thank you for reading this and have a great day!
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Gurdurr | 53 | 66.25% | 45.28% |
| 2 | Piloswine | 45 | 56.25% | 42.22% |
| 3 | Qwilfish-Hisui | 40 | 50.00% | 57.50% |
| 4 | Gligar | 30 | 37.50% | 60.00% |
| 5 | Magmar | 27 | 33.75% | 62.96% |
| 6 | Electabuzz | 22 | 27.50% | 54.55% |
| 7 | Quaxwell | 20 | 25.00% | 65.00% |
| 8 | Girafarig | 16 | 20.00% | 62.50% |
| 8 | Drakloak | 16 | 20.00% | 50.00% |
| 8 | Thwackey | 16 | 20.00% | 37.50% |
| 11 | Wartortle | 15 | 18.75% | 60.00% |
| 11 | Clefairy | 15 | 18.75% | 46.67% |
| 13 | Frogadier | 13 | 16.25% | 38.46% |
| 14 | Tinkatuff | 12 | 15.00% | 50.00% |
| 14 | Duosion | 12 | 15.00% | 41.67% |
| 16 | Servine | 9 | 11.25% | 33.33% |
| 17 | Naclstack | 8 | 10.00% | 75.00% |
| 17 | Koffing | 8 | 10.00% | 62.50% |
| 17 | Sneasel | 8 | 10.00% | 25.00% |
| 20 | Ivysaur | 7 | 8.75% | 57.14% |
| 20 | Misdreavus | 7 | 8.75% | 28.57% |
| 22 | Glimmet | 6 | 7.50% | 83.33% |
| 22 | Vulpix | 6 | 7.50% | 66.67% |
| 22 | Hattrem | 6 | 7.50% | 50.00% |
| 25 | Weepinbell | 5 | 6.25% | 60.00% |
| 26 | Dipplin | 4 | 5.00% | 100.00% |
| 26 | Dusclops | 4 | 5.00% | 75.00% |
| 26 | Morgrem | 4 | 5.00% | 75.00% |
| 26 | Metang | 4 | 5.00% | 50.00% |
| 30 | Dunsparce | 3 | 3.75% | 66.67% |
| 30 | Fraxure | 3 | 3.75% | 33.33% |
| 30 | Gabite | 3 | 3.75% | 33.33% |
| 30 | Raboot | 3 | 3.75% | 33.33% |
| 30 | Vullaby | 3 | 3.75% | 33.33% |
| 30 | Eelektrik | 3 | 3.75% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Pikachu | 2 | 2.50% | 100.00% |
| 36 | Cosmoem | 2 | 2.50% | 50.00% |
| 36 | Pignite | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Hakamo-o | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Dartrix | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Arctibax | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Cutiefly | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Krokorok | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 36 | Marshtomp | 2 | 2.50% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Marill | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Quilladin | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Dewott | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Combusken | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Sliggoo-Hisui | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
| 45 | Mareanie | 1 | 1.25% | 0.00% |
These four Pokemon I anticipated occupying these slots. These Pokemon are so good at what they do that not running any of these Pokemon causes your team to miss out on a lot of defensive and offensive perks.
Piloswine is an absolute beast as an offensive tank, as Thick Fat, great offenses and all-around bulk causes it to be very hard to take on without risking huge damage from its powerful Ice and Ground STABs. Choice Band's power makes it even harder to switch to, and it still does a decent job in its defensive profile, able to come in on threats like Qwilfish-Hisui and Gligar and discourage them from setting up hazards. Other than Quaxwell and Levitate Koffing, it's very hard to come up with checks to deal with Piloswine - all Gurdurr variants can get worn down quickly, and Piloswine can come back later and finish it off, and revenge killers like Frogadier and Raboot can never switch into it.
Gurdurr taking the #1 slot particularly stands out, since its versatility is undoubtedly phenomenal. The great physical bulk and having utility in Knock Off and Defog makes it consistent at removing hazards; while Dartrix and Fletchinder also did an adequate job, the former's passivity and the latter's shaky typing, combined with both of them being very susceptible to Knock Off and Stealth Rock makes them very hard to justify. Dartrix isn't even a safe check to Gurdurr because it folds to Ice Punch! Bulk Up sets are even scarier to face off, as not only does Gurdurr have its great physical bulk and attack enhanced, but the variety in coverage through Knock Off, Ice Punch, Mach Punch, and Poison Jab leave few consistent answers. Neutralizing Gas Koffing is the best option, but it can get worn down quickly when tasked with handling other physical powerhouses like Piloswine and Gligar, not to mention residual damage is everywhere. While other Poison-types like Mareanie and Weepinbell are good checks as well, they are far less common than Koffing since Mareanie's passivity (and lack of options like Knock or Scald) and Weepinbell's four-moveslot syndrome makes them hard to fit on teams, not to mention they don't sport as good of physical bulk. Following that, there's Clefairy, but it fears Poison Jab and can often get overwhelmed if not running physical bulk investment. While Girafarig and Hattrem are both faster than it, their vulnerability to Knock Off can make it shaky to switch in. And if you're not running the options above, strong special attackers, or super effective ones, good luck getting through its physical bulk - it's going to be challenging to get it through without using something like your own Gurdurr.
After being unbanned, Qwilfish-Hisui has once again established itself as a dominant Swords Dance sweeper and Spikes user. While not as offensively imposing as Piloswine or versatile as Gurdurr, Qwilfish-H still is a force to be reckoned with on both offense and defense. Even though the new DLC added Pokemon like Magmar and Electabuzz to make the Speed benchmarks more contestable, Qwilfish-H is still able to outrun many trends like Thwackey, Girafarig (an emerging force in the kickoff), and Servine. While the lower power of Crunch makes it not as immediately threatening as both of the Pokemon I mentioned above, it's still dangerous and its good bulk alongside Intimidate makes it hard to match it one-on-one without having defensive stalwarts like Gligar, Piloswine, and Tinkatuff. Liquidation and Waterfall in its coverage makes the former two less reliable as checks, and Tinkatuff itself can find itself overwhelmed by the large swathes of threats it has to deal with in NFE. Spikes sets complement its defensive utility and pair really well with Pokemon like Quaxwell and Misdreavus (the former has also been a star on many builds recently), and combined with the fact most of our hazard removers can get overwhelmed easily, it almost feels impossible to ward off Spikes.
This is a utility monster. U-turn, Knock Off, all hazards (minus the niche Sticky Web), Toxic, and Swords Dance makes this so hard to prevent doing its job. Complementing this is excellent physical bulk and a mean offensive movepool (Earthquake, Acrobatics, Knock Off, Crabhammer). Its offensive prowess is the least remarkable of the four giants, but the utility more than makes up for it, and Swords Dance can immediately turn things around. Whether you're running bulky or all-out Swords Dance variants, Gligar's good bulk is guaranteed to take out a Pokemon assuming it doesn't face Piloswine or Frogadier. Also, unlike Piloswine, Gligar checks Electabuzz and Raboot, whereas Piloswine has trouble taking these coverage moves (especially after switching into Knock Off). Funnily enough, Gligar without an item may be MORE menacing than without, as that triggers Acrobatics that can easily flip the script on a Servine or Thwackey looking to set up on it.
Overall, the Pokemon are so dominant that they warp NFE to feature around them. It's been exciting to try and play with their tools, but at the same time, I fear facing them. It's been fun playing the Kickoff Tour, so here are a few replays I thought were interesting featuring those Pokemon:
1 2 3 4
Thank you for reading this and have a great day!