Project NU Research Week [Week 7: Gigalith and Indeedee-F]

[Elias PSY]

Final thoughts about the knight duck sirfetch'd !

Pros

135 base attack,scrappy and strong coverage/utility options in knock off,defog and first impression make sirfetch'd a decent wallbreaker and good revenge kill option vs offenses .Thus he has many opportunities to defog by forcing switchs.

Cons

Despite his offensive potential,sirfetch'd seem outclassed by others popular fightings types as a wallbreaker.Pangoro and bewear got better bulk,defensive utility in dark type and fluffy respectively and don't rely on bad coverage move to hit fairy.Mienshao is faster and can pivot well.

Set/teams/replays

Sirfetch’d @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- First Impression
- Defog

Defog and first impression prevent sirfetch'd being discount pangoro.It wons vs most rockers and doesn't get worn down quickly thanks to boots.
Still need voltturn or wish support because of it's middling bulk.

https://pokepast.es/d3911280cc05b88b (pre-linonne etc.. ban)
3 status and spikes support gives to sirfecth'd more wallbreaking potential and and put offensive mons in range of first impression.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240186107-jy09oxwwcbh74nsf7yx087md7mifbr0pw
suprisingely taking toxtricity's boomburst and revenge kill it later
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239815045-soas262wpu2z894mzk46uqratzm9h74pw
S

Conclusion

Sirfecth'd isn't bad itself,he has good positive traits but it's hard to justify using it with better fightings in the tier.Could shine with future tier shifts but i wouldn't use it more now.

 

[Catalisador]

​

PROS:
- Access to setupping move Shift Gear that dramatically boosts Toxtricity's mediocre base Speed and Attack (opening up the possibility of mixed sets);
- Nearly unresisted special coverage moves boosted by Punk Rock ability, all of which bypass substitute, coupled with solid 114 base Special Attack;
- Decent defensive typing with key resistances to allow for good setup opportunities, specially coupled with dual screens support;

CONS:
- 4x weakness to the common Ground-type makes Toxtricity a vulnerable target to the likes of Rhyperior;
- Frailty difficults setup opportunities;
- Mediocre speed tier makes Choice Specs overall harder to pull off.

The team (click the sprites for importable):

A standard(ish) Inteleon screens team with Ghost-type spam. Overall very solid: thanks to multiple setuppers, Toxtricity can act as a late-game cleaner or an early-game breaker.

High ladder gameplay against fat balance: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240608517-iulqbmhxtkvuz6p4vge59xnvy87iqfepw
Gameplay against balance feat. draft league star Pepeduce: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240591145-yjndvxpjqn59cecuzn0nduc3hvfhytmpw
High ladder gameplay against standard Inteleon screens: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240206321-6eprovpcvg5pf4zkaoxwrrehz5nbrkcpw
High ladder gameplay against standard Inteleon screens, but Tyrantrum makes a cameo: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240202470-uj6e8sq3vx7fiy6b1rkv5lfswwaaygqpw
Toxtricity sweep 1: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239712551-2ogvwcwnw6q3zuf5fotc3znwzbvrkuapw
Toxtricity sweep 2: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239719709-zhkhs4guslysgr4tx42469w05h52avipw

​

I wanna point out that I haven't personally tried out the duck a lot, but I think it is extremely mediocre right now.

PROS:
- Swords Dance coupled with Scrappy;
- Strong priority First Impression.

CONS:
- Choice Banded sets are entirely outclassed by Pangoro, with its superior Dark-type STAB, even if First Impression gives the duck a strong priority option;
- Meme Swords Dance Leek sets are outclassed by Bewear, with its superior Dual STAB combination, superior bulk and access to an actual item to boost its damage potential, even if Scrappy allows the duck to spam Close Combat freely.

EDIT: reached 1411 just to reclaim the no. 1 @stepbro stole (>:c) with a new Inteleon screens. Toxtricity swept (:3).
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1243985341-7kfd9u2t3sxvvim09znlvn41etigmjfpw

 

[roxie]

Week 3 Update: Heya, me and corthius has decided to extend this week until December 15th, 2020 (Tuesday) due to the expected shift rumor and recent bans. Thank you for participating inside of this project, and once again discussion is required if you plan on being crowned the winner of the cycle! Research Week will be taking a break also because of Christmas break after this week ends and planned to return on December 27th. You can still participate inside of this cycle with a fresh RW alt (such as NURW3 Roxiee or NURW3 Corthius) and the name(s) of the Pokemon you will be using. Happy Laddering and Happy Holidays!

 

[Pokeslice]

Sirfetch'd+Future Sight

​

When I was looking at potential options for Sirfetch'd support, my first thought was to test out the potential of Future Sight coupled with it's wallbreaking power. In theory, the combo would threaten/OHKO the entire tier, and because I was testing with FS+Pangoro earlier (a FIRE combo), using Sirfetch'd seemed like a more than justifiable replacement.

Sets

Sirfetch’d @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- First Impression

Slowbro-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 128 SpA / 88 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Psyshock
- Flamethrower
- Future Sight

Sadly, I wasn't able to ladder a ton this week, only doing 9 games on the NURW3 Slice alt. I had a ton of work and did most my battles on a testing alt accidentally (oops), but I still did more than enough battles to get a real feel for this mon.

PSA: These are all pre ban analysis, and I'll touch on that later.

PROS:

• When you set it up, this mon paired with Future Sight has no counters. Defensive fairies, like Sylveon, are getting 2HKO or OHKOed by CC after a Future Sight, Poison's are forced to come in and get smacked, and Sirfetch'd CC's or Knocks can warp entire gameplans.
• First Impression in general is amazing and can pick off weaked threats with ease. A lot of times, teams don't want to switch in checks when paired with Future Sight, as Dark's will still be blown back and steels get chipped really hard for future teammates, taking a minimum of 35%.
• 135 base attack in general is nothing to laugh at. Some games, this mon will clean through teams without breaking a sweat, even when Future Sight doesn't activate.

CONS:

• In theory, Dark types and Steel types should HATE to have to be, or come, in on this combo, but in reality, that never was the case here. The Dark types, Umbreon and Sharpedo primarily, just protect, wasting Future Sight or First Impression so that they could Flip Turn or switch into common counters such as Slowbro-G, Sylveon, etc.
• The lack of a dark typing of its own, compared to Pangoro, means that a ton of mons who would in theory fear Knocks, don't really care. The amount of times I've been entirely underwhelmed, and thus overwhelmed, by the Knock power are too many to count. Stuff like Bronzong, who in theory should hate taking a strong knock into Future Sight, will take effectively nothing from the pair, and for many, weak Knocks become setup fodder. The mono typing also loses out on a crucial Dark, Ghost, and Psychic resist, both of which my FS partner Slowbro-g needs and, in theory, can shut down Indeedee, who's terrain shafts Sirfetch'd really hard, as the First Impression meant to smack faster Psychics now does nothing.
• First Impression also becomes a free set up in endgames, where Sirfetch'd usually shines. I've lost more than 3 times because I was forced to First Impression one HO mon, but let in another. It also makes game play very predictable, and when playing good players, Sirfetch'd goes from a weapon to a liability.

CONCLUSION: As of right now, I see no reason to run this mon. In my eyes, it's entirely outclassed by both Pangoro and Mienshao when it comes to speed/power, typing, and pairing with Future Sight. With the ban of Sharpedo, Poltea, Linoone, and Slurpuff, this mon does get way better, as First Impression doesn't allow the myriad of threats in like it used to. The problem for it is, the aforementioned Fighting types also get way way better and Indeedee is still here, something that's way less threatening to the other two. I know it's a ladder favorite, and more than usable, but it's situational 90% of the time and deserves to drop to *shudder* PU where it'll shine.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1241797207-yvx223vsh09r46ysnezexf0ajev3kaxpw
In this one, Future Sight+CC demolished his entire late game plan, as when Sirfetch'd came in with Future Sight in the back, my opponent was forced to sack one of the 3 mons he needed to win, because the normal stay/switch ins weren't available. P.S. - Ignore that 2nd turn choke by my opponent lol

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1241822685
Here, Sirfetch'd show cased his insane breaking power against slower teams, taking down 2 mons and heavily crippling the third in a tight endgame.

Sorry for the lack of replays. Without the free time to truly ladder and me forgetting to save things, very few replays made it out. Sadly, I had a few that really showed off the power of this combo, but those are lost to time :(

 

[roxie]

​

Ok, lemme explain, I lost to 5 Galarian Slowbros with Belly Drum/NP + Quick Draw sets and i choked 2 matchups but I won't have enough time to ladder more sadly so I am going to voice my thoughts on both Toxtricity and Sirfetch'd since I build a team with both of them.

=================================================================================================

​

Sets

Toxtricity

Toxtricity @ Choice Specs
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Snarl
- Volt Switch

Toxtricity is a nice wallbreaker in my opinion as it punishes teams that tend to not run any Ground-type Pokemon but even then, Ground-types can still be damaged/chipped with Boomburst or Snarl from Toxtricity. The need for Sludge Wave on Toxtricity, Choice Specs at least seems not needed considering Boomburst and Overdrive already KOs or chipped Fairies quite well. I also thought, why would a Fairy-type Pokemon just say well let's get hit by a Sludge Wave, long story short, its not likely they are going to stay in if it plays an important role throughout the match. Snarl hits Palossand and Golurk, I originally had Toxic because running no Toxic on a team seems weird but using Snarl on those mons instead of Toxic'ing them just seems way better. Volt Switch for momentum as usual as it can pair nicely with other pivoters on the team like Celebi, Silvally-Steel, or Vaporeon.

Sirfetch'd

Sirfetch’d @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- First Impression
- Knock Off

Sirfetch'd is probably one of the underrated mons IMO..y'all asked for Farfetch'd to have a evo and here it is! This mon is a wallbreaker just like Toxtricity, Leek is usable but direct power from Choice Band is just amazing considering only defensive Pokemon like Sylveon or Weezing can switchin. Poison Jab is nice for those Fairy-switchins and should only be used if there is an opposing fairy tho tbh. First Impression hits faster Psychic and Grass Pokemon like Celebi, Starmie, and Sceptile and having this priority for how slow Sirfetch'd is, is nice. Knock Off is a progress maker and gets rid of items although CC hits Ghost mons already, Knock is one of the best moves in the game and it helps vs slow bugs like Centiskorch or Golisopod also. 216 Spe outspeeds 50 base speed tiers I believe and the rest is dumped into HP. Steel Wing seems like a niche for Diancie but PJAB is more reliable also.

Pros & Cons


Pros
+ Great wallbreaker
+ Isn't walled by Ground/Ghost Pokemon like Golurk and Palossand thanks to Snarl
+ Sludge Wave isn't needed thanks to its STABs threatening pretty much every type except for Ground
+ Can bring teammates in with Volt Switch while doing a great amount of chip in the process
+ High SpA + Punk Rock makes up for its slow Speed

Cons
- Shift Gear seems hard to pull off especially since it takes a few turns to get +1 making CP better
- Occasional Goodra can be a pain for Toxtricity

:sirfetch
Pros
+ Higher Atk stat than Pangoro
+ Great wallbreaker
+ Can revenge Psychic threats with First Impression or Knock Off
+ Has Poison Jab to hit Fairy-switchins
+ High Atk makes up for its slow Speed (somewhat)

Cons
+ Pangoro seems favored more because of its Dark-type STAB and Parting Shot
+ 50/50s into using Poison Jab or Close Combat on Sylveon switchin can be risky

Calculations

252+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Boomburst vs. 52 HP / 196+ SpD Lanturn: 270-319 (66.8 - 78.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 237-280 (60.1 - 71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Punk Rock Toxtricity Boomburst vs. 236 HP / 252+ SpD Dragalge: 185-218 (56 - 66%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 278-328 (70.5 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Poison Jab vs. 232 HP / 8 Def Comfey: 320-378 (106.3 - 125.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Jellicent: 316-373 (78.2 - 92.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Replays: 1 | 2 | 3

Teambuilding:
(Steel)

Toxtricity and Sirfetch'd were featured inside of the NU Research Week Project (You should check it out!) but Toxtricity and Celebi paired nicely together as Celebi helped with Ground-type Pokemon Toxtricity could not hit. Snarl is ran over Toxic on Toxtricity for Ground-type switchins like Golurk or Pallossand while running no-poison move because Boomburst hits fairies (and OG Silvally-Steel is in the back). Silvally-Steel and Talonflame formed a nice core, Talonflame being a setup-sweeper with Will-O-Wisp for Pokemon it cannot hit effectively like Rhyperior or Gigalith, and Silvally provides Defog and STAB for Fairy-type Pokemon like Sylveon and Ribombee. I despise Ninjask and Scyther(battling it at least) so Flame also helps with that. Sirfetch'd add another wallbreaker to the team with Poison Jab to predict Fairy-switchins and Special Zoroark Scarf to provide the team Psychic-type immunity so Sigilyph won't be spamming Psychic so easily. Talonflame is a very situational Speed Control but Zoroark also helped with Polteageist when it was here.

​

I do not feel like Sirfetch'd or Toxtricity are bad based off experience. However, it(sirfetch'd) does face plenty competition from Pokemon like Pangoro, Meinshao, and Scrafty in the tier. Thanks for reading, as I said I didn't do too well on ladder because of Glowbro shenanigans!

 

[Oathkeeper]

Alright, I've had enough with ladder and its shenanigans this week

Played 34 games and saw stuff that really shouldn't be existing like scarf Jolteon, but anyway.

Let's go over what I saw starting with

Banded Duck

Sirfetch’d @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird
- First Impression

/

https://pokepast.es/47e2d084adeffc58

This thing just hits hard with a Choice Band and there's no other way of looking at it. CC just dents anything, including stuff that resists it to make way for stuff to finish them off. I did choose Brave Bird over something like Poison Jab for that extra power and it shows. Scrappy is by far the better of the 2 abilities which lets CC hit everything. Knock is there for standard item removal and hitting Ghosts/Psychics hard. Lastly, First Impression exists for revenge-killing purposes since The Duck Knight isn't exactly the fastest at 229 Speed with Adamant, but that's why I paired it with a Sticky Web user like Ribombee or Araquanid. Now, let's move onto replays:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1242569903 (Golisopod just dies Turn 1)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1242576896 (Rime dies to an FI, revenge kills Aerodactyl on T25)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1242584946 (Golurk just drops on Turn 1)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1243803183 (Pinsir bites the dust T26, revenge kills Unburden Hitmonlee T29, drops Dhelmise T31)

PROS
+ Heavy-hitter with Choice Band
+ Little-to-no safe switch-ins
+ Scrappy
+ Revenge-killer with First Impression

CONS
- Not best Speed tier
- If locked into the wrong move (especially FI), it becomes setup fodder
- Can't pivot unlike Pangoro (a similar heavy-hitter to Sirfetch'd)


And now we come to this thing

LO 4 Attacks

Toxtricity @ Life Orb
Ability: Punk Rock
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Overdrive
- Boomburst
- Sludge Bomb

Fairy
https://pokepast.es/6249c93c5cd3a72a

Toxtricity did actually about what I expected for the set I gave it. There are a few mons that wall this thing completely like Gigalith, Porygon2 (due to tracing Punk Rock), and Rhyperior among others. It can serve as a Fairy check with Sludge Bomb / Wave, can pivot, and its SpAtk is very nice by hitting 359 with +SpA nature. Punk Rock gives Overdrive and Boomburst more power in their moves and I've seen Boomburst delete a Slowbro-G from 80% in my time laddering with this team. Ground and/or Rock types just pose problems with this moveset and it's possible that a mixed set with Shift Gear and Drain Punch > Volt Switch could prove more useful overall. I did not save any replays with this team in action, which is a bummer but I did enjoy using it!

PROS
+ Shift Gear gives it mixed set potential as well as sweeping capabilities
+ Punk Rock-boosted Overdrive and Boomburst
+ Able to pivot via Volt Switch
+ Potential for a Specs set exists

CONS
- 4x weakness to Ground can end up being more of an issue than not
- Special walls like Gigalith, Porygon2, Rhyperior, and even SpDef mons like Goodra just pose problems for it



Conclusion:

I like them both. I feel Sirfetch'd is way more of an issue that Toxtricity imo. Sirfetch'd just hits so hard with Choice Band. It can even run Leek for extra critical hits but CB gives it guaranteed immediate power. On the other hand, Toxtricity is good for the meta imo. There are answers for it.​

 

[Danny]

Sirfetch’d is fun ig


Haven’t done one of these fun little ladder experiments since BOTS(Aawin bring it back already), so this seemed like a fun chance to try some new mons. Unfortunately I procrastinated until today and only got to develop and ladder with one team.

It might be surprising but I decided to try Sirfetch’d stall ;). Started out using max SpD Curse Sirfetch’d which although sounded really fun, failed to do anything in the 3 games I used it in so I switched to the Crit Magic set.


lord farquad (Sirfetch’d) @ Leek
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance / First Impression
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab


After the dumb attempt to be creative, I took a hard look at my team and realized what I needed.

The Team

panda is lame (Umbreon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Foul Play
- Heal Bell
The cleric and a necessity on any stall, umbreon is here to not lose to psychic types and as a blanket SpD wall. Basic ass set, nothing fancy here.

junior H (Quagsire) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Recover
The GOAT, beats a ton of scary things like rhype riot, also throws off Toxic into annoyances like Virizion and other Special attackers that try and take advantage of Quag.

lord farquad (Sirfetch’d) @ Leek
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance / First Impression
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
Will expand more on its role on this team in the Pros and Cons section, and even though sometimes the supporting cast tries and outshines him, he remained helpful in certain matchups.

budget steelix (Stunfisk-Galar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Rock Slide / Foul Play
The rocker and flying resist, no team is complete without a steel type. Stunfisk still has merit in this meta, as it compresses a ton of roles, flying resist, Toxtricity counter, rocker, secondary psychic resist. Has saved me many times against Indeedee, and eases the prediction game that mon requires.

no cap (Vileplume) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Strength Sap
- Moonblast
Grounded poison and decent physical wall, Vileplume is really good. Love Vileplume a ton right now, it has decent offensive pressure, comes in on a lot of prominent mons, and it adds a foghting resist. Opted for Moonblast last over Synthesis because the fighting types are a pain and I wanted to just nuke a greedy Pangoro or Scrafty that wanted to stay in and Knock me off.

cuco (Mantine) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Roost
- Defog
- Haze
The defogger, Mantine is a pretty good defogger at the moment, it is a decent fighting resist, and it serves as a way to not lose to Golisopod(barely). Opted for typical set and added Haze because some Calm Mind or Bulk Up users are annoying to this team, and other

His role: Sirfetch’d does for this team what Aerodactyl did for UU stall last gen, no it doesn’t pursuit trap, but it gives the team offensive pressure. Every stall team needs a way to beat opposing fat, and Sir does that perfectly. It breaks through fat easily, and also revenge kills fast threats with First Impression. Depending on which role your team needs more, SD or First Impression should be used.

Pros:
- Stronk
- Faster than panda. Able to rkill it and threaten it out
- Great breaker, have a replay of it wrecking opposing stall, which otherwise would have been really difficult as they had three Regenerator mons.
- If you opt for First Impression( which I decided was not necessary with Umbreon and Galarfisk) you can rkill even faster Pokémon.
- Scrappy CC need I say more?
Cons:
- Slow; Ik I just said it was fast but it is slow compared to something like Mienshao, which I also experimented with on stall
- Less potent as Panda. I hate Panda so much, but it has STAB Knock so that’s a point away from Sir
- Useless in some match ups. Since I opted for the SD set, when I was facing Offense it stayed off the field most of the time.

Threat list to the team:
BU Braviary. With Stunfisk as your only flying resist, Braviary is a HUGE issue, especially if equipped with a LO. Still beatable though.
Panda. it’s stall and there is a panda.
Opposing Sirfetch’d. Oathkeepre taught me a lesson in our match on ladder, which I will link below: Max defense Vileplume does NOT live a CB Sirfetch’d BB.
Articuno Galar. A menace to all teams, Stunfisk Foul Play or Rock Slide doing negligible damage, and the ability to freeze or confuse with Freezing Glare and Hurricane respectively are pretty scary. Umbreon usually deals with it, but I faced a scary defensive Art, which ate Foul Plays all day.

REPLAYS

Good game versus Oath, he kinda made some over predictions which cost him, but he definitely showed me that Sirfetch’d is not to be trifled with.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1243789667-7ojfacy2sr67x0vgl3hxwwa04wzl1iqpw

Sirfetch’d wrecks opposing stall in 25 turns
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1243832978-ef7eah2cknaal4a2bwblie23gguraqqpw

The team doing stall things against HO. Quick game and Sirfetch’d KO’d a scary so that’s cool.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1243838317

Pokepaste
https://pokepast.es/c7e40e95e477889f

Conclusion:
Sirfetch’d is fun. Stall is fun. Sirfetch’d stall is fun. Like panda more just because it pressures a lot better, but the Leek set is really good, honestly better than CB. The ability to switch moves and then have a chance to crit is so good to guarantee those KO’s that you miss out on. AoA Leek is probably better, since it gives you some leeway against fast homies, but SD can get out of hand really fast. Hope you guys liked the team!

BONUS

Sirfetch’d @ Leftovers
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
Fun set, someone better at team building pls try this out, seems pretty fire. Could replace Knock or CC with PJab so you aren’t walked but idk just came to mind so...

 

[xerovis]

Sir Fetch'd of Galar reporting in

Been extremely busy with work these past weeks so finding time to build, and play some games was tough. Much like Pokeslice had mentioned in his case, I played around a fair bit on testing alts at first, just to experiment with different options to help Sirfetch'd excel at laying the hurt, and probably did the bulk of my investigation there. Managed to at least get 10 matches in on the official alt.

your____bro had a great point above in that this reminded me of how fun BOTS was and how its interesting to just jump in and try some things that you wouldn't normally try. Without wanting to go full bots-level crazy though, I only ran one questionable set in offensive rocks zong, and the rest of the team was pretty standard fare:

(click to see paste)

The idea of the team is a volt-turn balance with a focus on getting hazards up relatively early to assist getting more things in range for Sirfetch'd to KO, and things in range for Scarf flygon to clean up late game. The multitude of pivoting options allow Sirfetch'd as many opporunities to come in as possible. Goliso's physical bulk and fighting resistance was mostly enough to stave off opposing fighting sweeps, and P2 was the catch-all special wall that can still answer most special attackers with ease while using teleport to maintain momentum after defensive plays.

As always on ladder you're met with some unexpected shenaningans - one that stood out was a team with 3 scarfers (inteleon, passimian and toxtricity) where my ability to predict speed matchups was put to the test lol. Overall most teams were pretty standard fare but did showcase the multitude of available options to NU right now.

​

Lots of good points have been brought up already and so some of this may be repetitive at this point but such is the way with Research week!

To sum up : Sirfetch'd is a cool pure fighting type with massive wallbreaking potential, but while choice band makes its scrappy close-combat a complete wrecking ball of a move, NU's current multitude of fighting checks some of which are 4x (sigiliph, glowbro, scyther, xatu) make it still difficult to reliably spam. Furthermore Sirfetch'd finds itself in the shadow of options like Pangoro (Stab Knock, Parting Shot, Similar Power), Meinshao (Regenerator and pivoting, excellent speed tier), Scrafty (bulky setup capabilities), Machamp (Guts set has Similar power but not locked into moves) and Hitmonlee (unburden shenanigans with terrain). Sirfetch'd differentiates itself with access to the excellent move First Impression, however relying on choice band for power means that FI use can be risky.

With all that being said I don't really want to give fetch'd pro points for things other mons can accomplish too in the same slot.

Neutral points
Scrappy CC is an abusable move and when paired with knock and poison jab provides good coverage.


Positives:
- Sirfetch'd can make wonderful use of choice banded first impression if it is played right, winning many matchups it would otherwise lose.
- Sirfetch'd has some cool coverage options like Brave Bird which can be better than P jab in some circumstances.
- Sirfetch'd is just slightly faster than Pangoro, which allows it to win against opposing Pangoros when it comes down to 1v1s.
- Sirfetch'd has enough physical bulk to often survive higher power physical moves from full as seen in calcs here:

252 Atk Flygon Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sirfetch’d: 171-202 (64.5 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flygon: 399-471 (132.5 - 156.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Tauros Body Slam vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sirfetch’d: 207-243 (78.1 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tauros: 692-816 (237.8 - 280.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Virizion Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sirfetch’d: 208-246 (78.4 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Virizion: 433-511 (133.6 - 157.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO



Negatives:
- In the current meta spamming scrappy CC actually isn't as easy as it usually is and makes sirfetch'd have to pick many CC vs Knock-Off 50/50s.
- Sirfetch'd is still quite slow and is not fast enough to keep up with the majority of offensive mons in the tier.
- Sirfetch'd special bulk is low enough that it can be OHKO'd by certain neutral hits.
- Sirfetch'd needs to be brought in safely in order to threaten things without it getting clipped.


A couple of Replays

First match - showed one of the difficult 50/50's of CC vs Knock, but also showed First Impression coming in clutch ftw also F for P2's many paralyses.

Another match -shows Sirfetched getting OHKO'd by Galvantula's thunder... honestly I made some bad plays in this one but also probably coulda taken the win, but got a shite roll on that Thunder too lol. Still goes to show Sirfetch'd has exploitable lack of special bulk.

252+ Atk Choice Band Sirfetch’d Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Galvantula: 250-295 (88.9 - 104.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO (at 91% HP galve)
252 SpA Life Orb Galvantula Thunder vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sirfetch’d: 226-266 (85.2 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO ; _ ;


Overall, sirfetch'd was some fun to use but I doubt it will be an NU staple unless there is a large shifting around of available fightings that results in the loss of Pangoro, Meinshao and Machamp... We'll see tomorrow!

 

[Corthius]

I am happy to announce the winner of Research Week 3: your____bro with an Elo of 1405 wins, with Catalisador being close behind! Congratulations!

I want to take the time to talk about an issue I faced with determining the winner for NURW. First of all, I don't suspect anyone to cheat or whatsoever but I originally wanted to list every person by Elo from top to bottom. So I hopped onto PS! and checked every rank with /rank. I noticed that some of you (not naming anyone) laddered after they posted their ladder score in here. Now I can't really do much if you guys do so, it is your account in the end but for further Research Weeks we will decide who won with the ladder score you have at the end of the dead line, so not necessarily the one you posted in here! If you decide to stop laddering and post your score in here that is totally fine, there is just no way for me to proof that you weren't laddering before the deadline ended and posted a better score in here even tho you might played some games and lost Elo. For this week I decided to rly on your honesty and used the Elo you posted in here! To ensure a fair project we spare no effort.

Whoever has the highest ladder score at the end of the week will be declared the winner

This concept also matches the rules so I don't say this because I am bored but rather because I want a fair project.
Nothing else changes tho and if you really want to you can post your ladder peak but make it clear that it is not your final score to make our work easier. You can always use your NURW alt but keep in mind that it will affect your score at least for the week that is currently ongoing; just to be safe wait until we announce the winner, after that you are free to ladder without any consequences. Thank you very much!

 

[Corthius]

Week 4 (Virizion and Sigilyph):

Heya, welcome to NU Research Week after our short holiday break. The two Pokemon we will be featuring are Virizion and Sigilyph. The first 3 days is basically "Introduction" to signups and theorizing. The late period refers to the last four days of the research week, where raw evidence and discussion should become the basis of the thread. Discussion is mandatory in order to be considered as a winner of Research Week.
Please make sure you read the post above me!

Virizion

Virizion @ /
Ability: Justified
EVs: /
/ Nature
- /
- /
- /
- /

Virizion is a true underdog fighting type that dropped with many other pokemon to the PU tier. We decided to shine some light on this Grass/Fighting type and give you guys the opportunity to get creative with the movesets. Virizion has a rather shallow movepool on the special side but can still function as a breaker due to Calm Mind. Swords Dance allows it to become a lategame cleaner/sweeper or a wallbreaker. Its ability allows it to absorb Knock Off with the benefit of getting an +1 attack boost. There is more to this pokemon that it seems at first glance!

Sigilyph

Sigilyph @ /
Ability: /
EVs: /
/ Nature
- /
- /
- /
- /

Another pokemon that dropped undeservedly (in my opinion) to PU. With the access to two great abilities and a wide move pool, Sigilyph can be pretty tough to play against and with a serviceable speed stat of 97, revengekilling is not necessarily easy all the time. Not having to wear Heavy Duty-Boots (at least with Magic Guard) opens up the item slot on Sigilyph for some fancy items other pokemon can not make use of without getting worse. We hope the mother of all Unknown will provide good and new experience for you!

In order to participate you must do the following:

• Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as NURW4 Roxiee or NURW4 Corthius) and the name(s) of the Pokemon you will be using.
• Use at least one of the Pokemon being researched!
• Post your experiences with the Pokemon you're using; participate in the discussion!
• Post logs of this Pokemon in action against other teams - show rather than just tell
• The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown NU ladder with their RW alt at the time the challenge ends.
• Winners will also receive a permanent spot in this thread's Hall of Fame.

sample discussion template

[Sprite/Video/Banner/Image/(Not mandatory]
Introduction (Doesn't need to be long)
Set(s)
Discussion(Pros/Cons/Replays/Calculations)
Conclusion

 

[Oathkeeper]

NURW3 Oath (Sigilyph and Verizon Wireless)

 

[roxie]

NURW4 Roxiee both

 

[Pokeslice]

NURW4 Slice Sigi mostly

 

[Corthius]

NURW4 corth Sigi and hopefully Viri too

 

[Elias PSY]

NURW4 ElPsy
Mainly Sigilyph

 

[Danny]

Nurw4 Badfish virizion only bc I think I’m in love w it.

 

[Catalisador]

NURW4 Kanon

 

[Mystras]

NURW4 Mystras, planning on playing virizion more

 

[Expulso]

nurw4 seraph

 

[Abejas]

nurw4 star (think im going to use both)

 

[Elias PSY]

peak

I stop now for this week(final one)

While unfortunately dropping to PU,Sigilyph shouldn't be underestimated.
While pursuit no more a thing,sigilyph has definitely many opportunities to shine

Pros

-2 powerful abilities;Magic guard make him great cleaner with calm mind,allowing it to run lo over boots when tinted lens increase his wallbreaking potential
-Wide offensive AND support movepool
-97 speed is fast enough for a wallbreaker allowing it to revenge kill threats like , or

Cons

-Mediocre 103 special attack prevent it to freely get ride of bulkier teams without calm mind/spikes support.
-Suffers from 4mss,it cant acomplish all it want with one set.
-Flying stab is good but it stuck with low base power move in Air slash.
-Awful defensive typing coupled with 72/80/80 bulk prevent sigilyph for coming freely on the terrain without voltturn/tp support.
-Suffers from competition as a fast psychic wallbreaker with starmie which botter better speed,more defensive utility in water type and can pivot as well though calm mind give it a notable niche over starmie

Sets

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Energy Ball
- Heat Wave

Standard AoA set.This set is better suited for revenge killing and clean agaisnt bulky offenses.It struggle at lot vs wish users and spdef walls
so i've tested calm mind variants.

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Air Slash / Psychic
- Energy Ball / Heat Wave
- Calm Mind

Probably his best set imo.Thanks to magic guard sigilyph can threaten defensive without having to fear toxic.He has less coverage than AoA set but he doesn't need much support.Removing leftovers from opponent psychic resist can result on sweeping.

Replays

https://pokepast.es/3aab3b9def0a1922
Shiftry removes leftovers and revenge kill weakened fasters threats so sigilyph can prepare a sweep.
The rest of team is suited to face threatening wallbreakers.Arcanine provide slow pivot to safely bring sigilyph.

1.(AoA set tears appart bulky offense builds...)
2.(...but struggle against bulkier builds)
3.(Cm get a lot of setup opportunities...)
4.(...and can 6-0 teams from preview)

Miscellaneous

With new item in heavy-duty-boots,a double dance set with both calm mind and cosmic power could have potential with tinted lens though being weak to toxic should hinder this set viability
Sigilyph @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Cosmic Power
- Calm Mind
- Roost

I didn't liked that much flame orb sets,heat wave and energy ball seem good enough to break his checks.

Conclusion

Funny mon to use,sigilpyh definitely has his place on current metagame.It has tough match-ups but there isn't games with sigilyph being a deadweight.Being one of the few wallbreakers who can switch moves is very valuable.Perhaps his defensive typing could be hard to justify on some teams but overall you couldn't go wrong by using it.Try it!​

 

[Danny]

5G LTE: Virizion is too good

Final ELO

So this week has been awesome. I kind of got obsessed with Virizion and it’s sauciness, and built/used 5 teams with it, as you can see here:

So needless to say I got a little carried away. One team is garbage(stall v1), one I gave to skierdude101 so he will explain the thought process behind it, and another one I just wanted to test for a few games since I saw it in NU Snake. I will be going over the team I used the most, and then explain the Pros and Cons of using Virizion in general.

Verizon Stall

5G LTE (Virizion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Synthesis
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Sacred Sword
So this set is amazing. When I first looked at Virizion, I noticed that huge base 129 SpD and knew I had to try and use it as a defensive Pokémon. I found out that it has Synthesis, so recovery check, and the amazing move Taunt, and I was sold. This spread is meant to maximize SpD bulk while still out speeding Specs Exploud(it takes around 40 from Boomburst FYI). The move set is really cool, Synthesis for instant recovery, Toxic to put things on a timer, and Taunt to shut down fatter walls. Taunt is really useful, because it allows this set to serve as a stall breaker, stopping fat weaker mons from recovering or trying to disturb my team. Chose Fighting STAB over grass because I’d like to be able to touch Copperajah or Zong. It’s bulk is amazing, and this set works well on Balance teams as well, as shown in the post made by Elias PSY where it helped wear down his team. Really cool set, and worth exploring.


glizzy gobbler (Guzzlord) @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 96 Atk / 252 Def / 160 SpD
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Dragon Tail
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
I’ve been a Guzzlord fan for awhile now, and love its utility on my stall/spikestack teams. The ability to shuffle opponents around, and Knock off Sylveon’s leftovers hinder opposing teams longevity, making them more susceptible to my team. Chose Resttalk because I wanted a way to keep this boy healthy, and as you will see I didn’t fit wish support on this team, so I needed a way to reliably keep this guy alive. Has a near perfect typing for the tier at the moment, and can counter/check a lot of common mons like Bronzong and Copperajah. Speaking of copper, Guzzlord is the only mon besides Mantine(ew) that switches into Copper’s coverage+Hslam.

bussin (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Toxic
- Protect
A staple on any team right now, prefer it over Copperajah because Ground Immune. Rocker, blanket Special wall, Fairy/Psychic/Flying resist. Zong is the best. SR/Hslam/Toxic are standard, Protect over EQ which I usually use because I don’t have wish support and I need the extra recovery.


ye ye (Comfey) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Synthesis
- Aromatherapy
- Dazzling Gleam

Needed a way to not get 6-0 by Panda. Hence Comfey.I chose Comfey because I needed removal and a cleric, and it just compressed so much. Honestly really mid mon, but it did what it needed to do for this team, and I honestly rarely clicked Defog. The EVs are just enough speed for Jolly Bewear. Prefer Natural Cure to absorb status. Also wanted to use DGleam because it does more to Bewear which just wrecks this teams.


Junior H (Quagsire) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Haze
Quag. My fav mon. What else can I say. Spread is standard, has the Timbs bc tspikes and hazards are annoying. The best way to deal with DD flygon( which I met a TON of), and other annoying physical threats. If I had more time, I probably could have optimized this team to where I didn’t need to use Quag, but it’s just such a good glue mon to secure yourself from physical set up mons. Haze for BU Braviary and CM Cress(even though Virizion actually beats it w taunt >:)


Irish (Garbodor) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Corrosive Gas
- Gunk Shot
- Pain Split/Toxic Spikes/ Rest
Mandatory Spiker, what’s a shuffler stall without spikes, Garb is honestly one of the best spikers atm. Didn’t want Goli, because it doesn’t provide me with a reliable Mienshao answer, same thing with Rose. Also didn’t want Rose because stacking fire weaks is not fun when your resists are Quagsire and Guzz. Spikes are better than Tspikes against better players, but Tspikes shred low ladder bs. Stuck with Pain Split most of the run, and then switched to Rest last minute but it did nothing so who cares. Cgas is knock off but sexier. Also the only way to force Zong to stop recovering lefties against my team because what sane person would leave their Zong in on Guzz.

THREATS:
Fun team, struggles with what you’d expect it to. Mienshao is annoying-ish, but when is it not. Make sure to NOT knock off its scarf. That makes it more annoying.
DD Flygon still is a bitch to deal with, but with Comfey and Quag you should be fine.
Bewear counterplay includes catching it with a Toxic/Knock on Guzz or Zong, and then trading Garb with it. If that doesn’t work, you rkill with Virizion or Comfey.
Golurk is a mon. Used No Item Viriz for a fat minute just bc I was scared but proper play and a Guzzlord should deal with it.

POKEPASTE:


https://pokepast.es/c0cfe8a7edb6872f




PROS:
Big ass SpD
Great Moveset, offensive and defensive sets have a lot of variability in what they can use.
Justified is a good ability

CONS:
Weird Typing-Grass Fighting leaves you with a ton of weaknesses and neutralities which aren’t that helpful.
Kinda weak- Base 90 Atk is kinda mid in this tier
Outclassed as defensive Grass by Plume and Dhelmise.
Walled by poisons( yeah you could run zen on offensive sets but still)

​

Set Dump

5G LTE (Virizion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Synthesis
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Sacred Sword

Already explained this set

Virizion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Megahorn/ Zen Headbutt
- Stone Edge

Scarfer faster than Mienshao. Great speed tier, and good coverage. Megahorn for Celebi, or Zen for Plume. CC KOs Shao so that’s really good, also a good surprise set, no one expects scarf Virizion.

Samsung 5G LTE (Virizion) @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 116 Def / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance
- Synthesis

Fun ass set, the EVs are to outspeed Braviary and those guys in that speed tier, 252 in HP for more bulk, 8+ Attack is a good jump point to hit 239 attack w no boosts, and rest in defense. Tried No Item as well, pseudo Lurk check.

Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Air Slash

Someone’s gonna use this so won’t go too in depth, just tested with it a bit.

​

Replays: MUST WATCH TO SEE WHAT SPD VIRIZ DOES ;)

Virizion and Guzzlord put a lot of pressure on opposing fat
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1251914608-jsnc1vnqugcbp9bgrrywkud55bop2s0pw

Against opposing spikestack
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252530249-4aj8khj7edlhgqfhnm373b25w8c155jpw

Against some whack Offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1251882566-c44zr1ktctxv3cd7ptl1rmrad3u1hvrpw

CONCLUSION:
Virizion is dope ash. Definitely an underrated Pokémon which is at least worth considering in the builder. Would I have ever thought of using it before this project, probably not, it nonetheless it has opened my eyes to the cool ass thing called Virizion.​

 

[Mystras]

Ok, I did not get much laddering done cause I was with my family for New Years celebration and cause I had some other things to take care of; I only got one set but I think I got all the replays I need for the one set I wanted to showcase Virizion with. I knew people were going to go CM, and SD so I did not want to bother so much with those as much as another set that as much as I wanted to cover, the mixed set.

Aramis (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty/Naive Nature
- Air Slash
- Leaf Storm
- Close Combat
- Synthesis

This is not really focused on setting up so much as it is just easy pivoting in on Ground and Water and threatening to break with Virizion's good stab combination and decent coverage. Full SpAtk investment ensures that its Air Slash will 2HKO non SpDef invested Vileplume with Stealth Rocks down, and even with no attack investment it still has a great chance to OHKO non Def Copperajah, which is really nice when they mostly go for SpDef anyways. Synthesis is to make sure it comes in and out as much as possible after threatening something out and healing off the damage. Honestly for how much damage this takes from EQ on Hasty, I think Naive is the better nature to go on this to make sure it doesn't have to as often.

- 252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Air Slash vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Vileplume: 182-216 (51.4 - 61%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
- 252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Air Slash vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Vileplume: 182-216 (51.4 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

- 0 Atk Life Orb Virizion Close Combat vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Copperajah: 416-494 (97.1 - 115.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
- 0 Atk Life Orb Virizion Close Combat vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Copperajah: 416-494 (97.1 - 115.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

https://pokepast.es/2a5b764dbc98565a (look at noivern hogging all the space with those fat wings)
SUMMARY:
Virizion was not really a superstar on my team as often as I'd like it to be but I definitely found it to be pretty useful for its ability to sponge hits from Mudsdale and Gastrodon, which is where having the benefits of Leaf Storm come into play as this set is not as bothered by Scald Burns. Zoroark ended up being a really fun partner for it, with how much Viriz can be kept at high health thanks to Synthesis it can make telling the difference more annoying for the opponent, and Zoroark hits switchins such as Celebi hard with U-Turn/Dark Pulse and cripples Defensive Sylveon hard with Trick.

Gastrodon and Diancie are both nice partners since they cover most of what Virizion is weak to and for being a solid core in general. especially against mons like Talonflame and Noivern (which moved up at the time of me creating this) though I still like a Steel type to cover Dragalgae which is why Escavalier was here as well as being a solid check to Cresselia while being knock off support. This team did like using Noivern for a Fairy/Dragon/Steel core, but since that was stolen by the RU Tier I replaced it with Talonflame; how it functions compared to Noivern don't ask me, it just felt like the closest thing to replicating what Noivern did, a fast defogger that also has some nice stab to throw around.

REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252062380-grxh64lbvi3mrdoo6qfe08890rqovoqpw
This replay is the simplest way to showcase making the opponent think they can get a free entry for their Scale Shot Tyrantrum after throwing a Leaf Storm, only to then destroy them with CC. Don't ask me why I stayed in on Araquanid with Diancie, I was very tired.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252072819-q0xec3v6p4kqe3e6rrgdtpro0e1zm1wpw
I understand Vileplume is appreciated for coming in on EQs repeatedly and threatening them away with super effective hits and status, but Virizion can still fulfill the same purpose, just needs a bit more support from Diancie to Heal Bell the poisons away. If it wasn't for Synthesis I would not have been able to make it last throughout the game as I did and the additional speed and power made throwing off its grass stabs more easier.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252441925-z4j44h9s26cu3f078i3ue52zpglcqkppw
Ok this match was painful for a good number of reasons but I managed to pull out with a bit of luck and Virizion literally carrying me to victory on this. The bizarre sets from my opponent just really threw me for a loop but it was only thanks to Virizion being able to threaten all of them by finishing that damn Toxicroak set with Air Slash and being able to threaten everything else with what it had on its move pool that I was able to squeeze out the win from the barrel of nonsense that was that game. Dear god, I never want to go through that again.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252670565-40iptdkd64t5jwh0vqe7y8m8f9f7n8epw
Oh boy this was just me kind of being a bit bad since I didn't make the most optimal punishes and partly because Pangoro is a piece of crap mon that should leave ASAP. Virizion just cannot threaten Sigiliph in general too well without Stone Edge and me giving him the scarf with my Zoroark did not help my case whatsoever.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252674136-1vro3oddffsy2zy5xd2qqc0o526mlmppw
I am ending this on a brighter note by showcasing some Zoroark trickery with Virizion, tricking a Sylveon a choice scarf as was the intention and faking out a Thieval who probably would have killed me if he guessed right followed by what I mentioned at the beginning, even with no investment Close Combat can still OHKO the elephant which is always NEAT.

Conclusion:
After playing this, I can comfortably say that its worth considering making a team with, it certainly has qualities that make it stand out among the other grasses in the tier, and its really fun to pull off.

 

[Corthius]

Sadly, my time to ladder was quite rare this week so I couln't get that much games so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I only used Sigilyph this week

the set

Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psycho Shift
- Roost
- Air Slash

the team I used: https://pokepast.es/f4134641eebb6427
the only replay I saved: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252890029-d743tu824d4863aiocms6rqldyqmsxopw - Sigilyph 6-0

Opinion:
For what I saw and experienced Sigilyph is one of the best pokemon to have right now. It is pretty hard to prepare for Sigilyph as Flame Orb Psycho Shift can easily set up on normal checks like Copperajah and Diancie. I agree that it is pretty frail, even with the max HP investment but after enough boosts it can easily steamroll more passive teams like the one my replay shows. On the other side, this more 'passive' Sigilyph set can struggle against VoltTurn teams as they can easily bring in the omnipresent Zoroark (at least from what I've seen) which can threaten Sigilyph out.
Sadly I can not speak for the Roost + 3 Attacks set as I only played like two games with it.

Sorry for the short post but my days were pretty busy and I didn't had much time to form a strong opinion.

 

[Pokeslice]

Hey everyone! I spent majority of my laddering this week based around CM Roost LO Sigi on a para spam squad designed to get flinches and clear up faster mons for a powerful endgame sweep from the main event. So without further ado, here's how it went.

The Set

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Heat Wave

The Squad

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Heat Wave

Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- Bullet Punch

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Teleport

Comfey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Draining Kiss
- Synthesis
- Defog
- U-turn

Druddigon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 228 Def / 24 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Glare
- Gunk Shot
- Fire Punch

Silvally-Steel @ Steel Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Flamethrower
- Thunder Wave
- Parting Shot

https://pokepast.es/c3c94bfb6facd0e3

In the end, I didn't get to ladder as much/as high as I wanted (dumbass hax), but I still put in more than enough work with this mon to get a good picture of its strengths and weaknesses with this set.

PROS

• Powerful endgame potential with CM Roost
• Able to set up for free on a lot of more passive mons, especially bulky waters/teams who rely on toxic for set up sweeper
• Magic Guard? More like busted
• Phenomenal coverage
• Solid speed tier

CONS

• Really middling bulk, like really middling bulk
• Hard to get in a lot of the time
• Revenged by anything that doesn't die in 1 hit or faster
• Some games just does nothing because of those traits
• 4MSS can't be understated sometimes

THOUGHTS
As you can tell from my Pro/Con list, in my mind a lot of the problems with Sigi could be solved with paraspam, slowing down every faster mon for the endgame sweep and letting para+flinch hax save games at times. In practice though, this rarely would happen. The team easily accomplished its goal of paralyzing everything. Glare+T Wave spam+pivots made it so that, game in and game out, 3-5 mons would continuously get paraed, setting up endgames for Sigi. The problem was, Sigi barely came out, and when it did, it barely swept end game. Often, it would seem like it could 6-0 at preview, or easily clean up, but because of it's frailty and eh typing defensively, it had a lot of trouble actually getting in to set up, and when I did, it often didn't get much opportunity to do it. Now don't get me wrong, Sigi is still very very good. Some games, when the stars aligned, it straight up 6 or 5-0's entire teams, with access to fantastic coverage, a great ability, and some beautiful flinch luck, but I found this mon really really overrated.

CONCLUSION
This mon is very good, but this set just isn't it. LO CM Roost has too many ways to play around it, frail af, 4MSS because you really want psychic, air slash, and heat wave sometimes, and just a lack of setup opportunities that allows it to win. Still highly recommend and I'm going to play around with some more sets, such as Flame Orb, but as for now, not the suspect worthy demon people imagined it was.

REPLAYS
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252691242-1gqvakrmf9kipnfll3o014x3w1jdun1pw
This probably shows off the best example of paraspam, and how it can warp entire games, shoutout Steelvally, and how Sigi is usually better at a late game cleaning role, like here where it won in the end game, but notice it never set up

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252519397-a63hb49cwuzvrmaf55w0zko8nlsmidvpw
Very short replay, but shows a big problem I often had with Sigi. You could set up easily on slower, bulky mons, such as gastro here, but once that mon went down, it was easily revenged by Shao, a faster scarfer who every move, bar CC ko's

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252553195-yyja3130n6wdti0duj3ifi0r4vtd9wmpw
This was a really really annoying game because Sigi 6-0ed everything, but as it was set up, this guy had specs p2 and froze me with ice beam. I got frozen a LOT this ladder session, and this game was just another example of it. I like how this replay shows how Sigi, in theory, can win 5-10 turns into a battle, or even from preview, with CM sets.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252670565-40iptdkd64t5jwh0vqe7y8m8f9f7n8epw
Another fun one of mine that shows just how destructive Sigi can be in the late game regardless of the item. Somehow Sigi was tricked a scarf in there, and when it came down to the endgame, scarf Sigi beat out the faster threats and secured the dub.

Bonus Replay: The worst game I have ever played and it's not even close really
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1252539020-jfc4q2j72rk28cdycxemf2pj5c3g9ytpw
Just watch...I can't. Shoutout to Preppy Dude for making my life hell for those 20 minutes and for having some of the greatest luck I have ever seen in my life.