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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Project OU Next Best Thing: Cycle 87 - Not hosted anymore
- Thread starter BT89
- Start date
- Status
Let's vote! We got 6 submissions so far:
Choice Band by Katy
Choice Scarf by nameless90
U-Counter by Xaviere
Sun Sweeper by ReadTheMango
Special by majority
Assault Vest by kalifguest22 The deadline is Wednesday 14th of October.
Always a fan of Counter
Scarf
I vote for Choice Band by Katy because I think that this pokèmon can run effectively a set with a Choice item. I think that Scarf is more suited because Zarude doesn't want to take hits (bad defensive typing + Close Combat is a thing) and wants to clean threats with one of its moves, but Band is still worth using in my opinion.
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I really like U-Counter!
U-Counter
U-Counter
u-counter
Alright, the voting phase is over! By its results, the winner of cycle 34 is U-Counter by Xaviere. Congratulations! Your submission will be added to the Hall of Fame soon. Now, let's move on to the next cycle!
Cycle Thirty-Five - Primarina
A great typing, high Special Attack stat, and very decent bulk make Primarina one of the scariest Calm Mind users out there. It forms a solid potential win condition for any team it finds itself on, as after a few boosts it's hard to put a stop to. Substitute means it doesn't have to worry about being crippled by status or Knock Off from passive Pokemon like Clefable and Toxapex. Scald burns mean physical attackers need to be wary about taking a hit. This set generally chooses between Moonblast for more power or Draining Kiss to regenerate health and get past Blissey. There's also a much more niche Choice Specs set, which can surprise Pokemon that could otherwise come in relatively safely, like Amoonguss and Toxapex, with a Choice Specs-boosted Psychic, though this one's been heavily falling out of favor compared to the Calm Mind set. Do you have any other cool set ideas? Time to show them!
Banned Sets
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The deadline is Monday 19th of October. Good luck!
Note: This is the last cycle before the release of the Crown Tundra expansion, when we'll be taking a little break to let the metagame settle.
Katy
Banned deucer.
Primarina @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 168 Atk / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
Mild Nature
- Work Up
- Draining Kiss
- Scald
- Waterfall
Work Up boosts both the Attack and the Special Attack, which means Primarina can break through Pokemon, which it could not do before, like Blissey due to a boost to its Attack provided by Work Up. Primarina also gains the health back at +1, which Seismic Toss does damage. so Primarina out-recovers the damage it'll took due to Blisseys Seismic Toss, which is shown here: 18.6 - 21.9% (33.2 - 39.2% recovered).
Furthermore Primarina still outspeeds Blissey with that EV-spread and it still outspeeds other defensive Pokemon such as Clefable and Pelipper. Waterfall also has a chance to flinch Blissey and Clefable, which makes Primarina even more annoying to deal with for them.
This Set can also be used under rain, making Primarina even harder to deal with for defensive Pokemon, especially when Primarina is boosted due to Work Up:
+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Primarina Scald vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey in Rain: 317-374 (44.3 - 52.3%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO
+1 168 Atk Life Orb Primarina Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey in Rain: 438-516 (61.3 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Primarina Scald vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 298-352 (75.6 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
In overall, this Primarina-Set can catch the usual defensive Pokemon, most notably Blissey off guard and it has a chance to better combat it. If you don't wanna lose health due to Life Orb Mystic Water can also be an option as an Item.
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Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Sparkling Aria / Surf
- Psychic
- Flip Turn
Flip Turn gives you the option to grab momentum on top of being able to nuke stuff. I went with Sparkling Aria / Surf (ignore subs vs PP) as a middle ground between Hydro Pump and Scald, since there isn't room to run both, but you could easily run Hydro or Scald instead.
Also inb4 someone posts Liquid Voice as if that ability is ever useful in singles.
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Sparkling Aria / Surf
- Psychic
- Flip Turn
Flip Turn gives you the option to grab momentum on top of being able to nuke stuff. I went with Sparkling Aria / Surf (ignore subs vs PP) as a middle ground between Hydro Pump and Scald, since there isn't room to run both, but you could easily run Hydro or Scald instead.
Also inb4 someone posts Liquid Voice as if that ability is ever useful in singles.
Trapper Prim 
Primarina @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Encore
- Psychic
- Scald
Prim kinda just sucks without specs or leftovers but I found something interesting it could do without them. Common switch-ins to this thing are Haze Pex, Amoonguss, Ferro, and Blissey. Unfortunately this can't touch Ferro besides burning on the switch, but it can usually kill or generate momentum out of the rest. EVs are conserved so that it can get its maximum chance of 2HKOing Pex (88% after Black Sludge).
On the Pex switch:
Whirlpool --> Encore --> Psychic Spam
On the Amoonguss switch (can't beat AV):
Whirlpool --> Psychic twice hoping for a Spore/Sludge Bomb
On the Blissey switch:
Whirlpool --> Encore on the Toxic/Twave/Soft-boiled --> Switch to an immunity/physical nuker if soft-boiled
This would be a great partner for something like Volcarona which needs something to take out threats like these for it to sweep
Primarina @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Encore
- Psychic
- Scald
Prim kinda just sucks without specs or leftovers but I found something interesting it could do without them. Common switch-ins to this thing are Haze Pex, Amoonguss, Ferro, and Blissey. Unfortunately this can't touch Ferro besides burning on the switch, but it can usually kill or generate momentum out of the rest. EVs are conserved so that it can get its maximum chance of 2HKOing Pex (88% after Black Sludge).
On the Pex switch:
Whirlpool --> Encore --> Psychic Spam
On the Amoonguss switch (can't beat AV):
Whirlpool --> Psychic twice hoping for a Spore/Sludge Bomb
On the Blissey switch:
Whirlpool --> Encore on the Toxic/Twave/Soft-boiled --> Switch to an immunity/physical nuker if soft-boiled
This would be a great partner for something like Volcarona which needs something to take out threats like these for it to sweep
Reserving Perish Trapper (holy shit I thought the above guy reserved it, lucky me)
Primarina @ Chesto Berry / Leftovers / Grip Claw
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Rest
Perish Trapper Primarina is easy to describe as there is something with the same defensive typing who also runs this set, Azumarill. This set is slightly bulkier than that one on both sides, however it doesn't have the benefit of Sap Sipper. If you've ever used that set, this one should be pretty self explanatory. Whirlpool on standard Primarina switch-in to trap it (e.g. Toxapex or something like Amoonguss); use Perish Song if successful in trapping said mon. Utilise a mix of Protect and Rest to stall out the 3 Perish Song turns. Then switch on the final turn into something which leaves you in a neutral position once that mon dies.
Primarina does have some cool tools which it can use to differentiate itself from Azumarill further like Encore, Flip Turn (to allow safe switches), Sleep Talk if you want to be funny, Sing if you are a menace to society.
Chesto is the preferred item to allow you to reliably heal up without much penalty from Rest. Leftovers is another decent option if you instead opt to run a cleric on your team. Grip Claw is an interesting choice which lets you trap for 7 turns consistently, allowing you to play around with the extra 2 turns using one of the other potential tools, like Encore more easily. I would more generally recommend this option with other, non perish-variants of whirlpool.
Overall a fun set, which relies heavily on surprise, but can remove a Pex from the game. The hard counter to this set are Gastrodon and Mantine, both of which just laugh at this thing.
Primarina @ Chesto Berry / Leftovers / Grip Claw
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Protect
- Rest
Perish Trapper Primarina is easy to describe as there is something with the same defensive typing who also runs this set, Azumarill. This set is slightly bulkier than that one on both sides, however it doesn't have the benefit of Sap Sipper. If you've ever used that set, this one should be pretty self explanatory. Whirlpool on standard Primarina switch-in to trap it (e.g. Toxapex or something like Amoonguss); use Perish Song if successful in trapping said mon. Utilise a mix of Protect and Rest to stall out the 3 Perish Song turns. Then switch on the final turn into something which leaves you in a neutral position once that mon dies.
Primarina does have some cool tools which it can use to differentiate itself from Azumarill further like Encore, Flip Turn (to allow safe switches), Sleep Talk if you want to be funny, Sing if you are a menace to society.
Chesto is the preferred item to allow you to reliably heal up without much penalty from Rest. Leftovers is another decent option if you instead opt to run a cleric on your team. Grip Claw is an interesting choice which lets you trap for 7 turns consistently, allowing you to play around with the extra 2 turns using one of the other potential tools, like Encore more easily. I would more generally recommend this option with other, non perish-variants of whirlpool.
Overall a fun set, which relies heavily on surprise, but can remove a Pex from the game. The hard counter to this set are Gastrodon and Mantine, both of which just laugh at this thing.
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Caesarr
formerly CaesarzeppeliXD
Primarina @ Assault Vest
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 52 SpA / 208 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Draining Kiss
- Flip Turn
- Psychic
This set can beat defensively all the special atackers on the tier excepting clefable calm mind, toxtricity, gengar and magnezone.
Scald is for get burns and hit rotom heat and volcarona draining kiss is for get more hp, psychic is for gengar and flip turn is for pivot.
+2 8 SpA Rotom-Heat Discharge vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 32.4% chance to 2HKO
+2 228 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 175-207 (48 - 56.8%) -- 88.3% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Volcarona Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 124-148 (34 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 170-204 (46.7 - 56%) -- 75.4% chance to 2HKO
I dont make calcs with hydreigon and dragapult because is obvious that they cant touch primarina
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 52 SpA / 208 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Draining Kiss
- Flip Turn
- Psychic
This set can beat defensively all the special atackers on the tier excepting clefable calm mind, toxtricity, gengar and magnezone.
Scald is for get burns and hit rotom heat and volcarona draining kiss is for get more hp, psychic is for gengar and flip turn is for pivot.
+2 8 SpA Rotom-Heat Discharge vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 164-194 (45 - 53.2%) -- 32.4% chance to 2HKO
+2 228 SpA Life Orb Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 175-207 (48 - 56.8%) -- 88.3% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Volcarona Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 124-148 (34 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 204+ SpD Assault Vest Primarina: 170-204 (46.7 - 56%) -- 75.4% chance to 2HKO
I dont make calcs with hydreigon and dragapult because is obvious that they cant touch primarina
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In the second episode of Kalif's Next Best Thing Submissions We Have:
LEAD Primarina
Primarina @ Focus Sash
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Magic Coat
- Misty Explosion
- Surf
This is a "dedicated lead" Primarina, and unlike most leads, it doesn't have a single hazard to lay. Think of this as a mixture of an Araquanid lead, and some of those Explosion leads you would see in earlier gens, such as Metagross in DPP OU. Misty Explosion lets it sacrifice itself to KO threats such as Dragapult, and Urshifu. This set could surprise people due to Magic Coat, but after they see it once they'll probably go for rocks again once Primarina is down. It's a good concept IMO, but not very viable. For example, Surf --> Misty Explosion doesn't KO Clefable, not even the physically defensive variants. Just use a different lead like Lycanroc, Shuckle, or Araquanid in my opinion. Hazard stack isn't even good anyway due to the prominence of Heavy-Duty Boots.
LEAD Primarina
Primarina @ Focus Sash
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Magic Coat
- Misty Explosion
- Surf
This is a "dedicated lead" Primarina, and unlike most leads, it doesn't have a single hazard to lay. Think of this as a mixture of an Araquanid lead, and some of those Explosion leads you would see in earlier gens, such as Metagross in DPP OU. Misty Explosion lets it sacrifice itself to KO threats such as Dragapult, and Urshifu. This set could surprise people due to Magic Coat, but after they see it once they'll probably go for rocks again once Primarina is down. It's a good concept IMO, but not very viable. For example, Surf --> Misty Explosion doesn't KO Clefable, not even the physically defensive variants. Just use a different lead like Lycanroc, Shuckle, or Araquanid in my opinion. Hazard stack isn't even good anyway due to the prominence of Heavy-Duty Boots.
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Offensive Calm Mind
Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss / Moonblast
- Scald
- Psychic
An offensive take on the Calm Mind set. 176 speed evs hits 200 speed, the rest goes to HP. Instead of remaining behind Substitute, this set goes for more immediate damage and can 2HKO Toxapex with +1 Psychic. Moonblast can be used over Draining Kiss if the extra damage is that important.
Primarina @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss / Moonblast
- Scald
- Psychic
An offensive take on the Calm Mind set. 176 speed evs hits 200 speed, the rest goes to HP. Instead of remaining behind Substitute, this set goes for more immediate damage and can 2HKO Toxapex with +1 Psychic. Moonblast can be used over Draining Kiss if the extra damage is that important.
Offensive Screener Primarina
Primarina @ Light Clay
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flip Turn
- Moonblast
- Light Screen
- Reflect
Here we have a Primarina with Screens + Light Clay and Flip turn, as a slowish move to keep the momentum in our favour.
This set uses both the offensive prowess and the bulk of this pokemon that has a good typing, both defensively and offensively.
Moonblast is the chosen STAB in order to avoid being too passive (it is enough to kill weakened threats) and has a useful defensive effect.
This set is good but this Primarina is not self-sufficient by any means, so teammates are mandatory.
Primarina @ Light Clay
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flip Turn
- Moonblast
- Light Screen
- Reflect
Here we have a Primarina with Screens + Light Clay and Flip turn, as a slowish move to keep the momentum in our favour.
This set uses both the offensive prowess and the bulk of this pokemon that has a good typing, both defensively and offensively.
Moonblast is the chosen STAB in order to avoid being too passive (it is enough to kill weakened threats) and has a useful defensive effect.
This set is good but this Primarina is not self-sufficient by any means, so teammates are mandatory.
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