Project OU Next Best Thing: Cycle 87 - Not hosted anymore

[astralydia]

Assault Vest Keldeo



Keldeo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Icy Wind / Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Endeavor

This set looks extremely jank, and I'll have to agree there - since Keldeo's movepool is about as barren as any sort of variance in this metagame, but Keldeo's moderately effective speed and its decent defensive typing allow it to pull off a pretty powerful Assault Vest set. It is capable of switching into Hydreigon, Aegislash and Dragapult without much of an issue and responds back with some fairly powerful attacks, enough to actually pose a threat to teams unlike most switchins to these Pokemon. However, the big thing that makes this set at least somewhat usable is Endeavor, which can cleave Toxapex and Clefable. Just make sure to have Dragapult eliminated by this stage in the game, otherwise it will likely be ineffective.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

You know what sucks? Getting inflicted with status. Let's fix that.

Keldeo @ Lum / Pecha Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Calm Mind
- Secret Sword
- Scald / Hydro Pump

Like a few other sets here, this set aims to finagle its way past Toxapex. While it's all well and good to shut down Pex's recovery with Taunt and set up in its face, getting poisoned by Toxic Spikes or a stray Toxic can make things difficult. That's where the berry comes in. Lum has the advantage of also curing paralysis in matches where poison isn't really an issue, while Pecha means you can more freely switch into Toxapex, as it won't waste itself curing a semi-beneficial burn.

Shout out to my hero robopoke, who enlightened me to Pecha's worth with a Necrozma set last gen.

 

[2bainz]

Keldeo @ Eject Button
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Taunt

Keldeo's biggest nemesis is Toxapex. So, pair it with Dugtrio, get hit with an errant Scald to get switched out, and then trap it to get rid of it (as long as no Shed Shell). Otherwise just a fairly standard Calm Mind set.

 

[nameless90]

Offensive Light Clay Keldeo

Keldeo @ Light Clay
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Safeguard
- Reflect
- Surf
- Secret Sword


General idea
Here we have a different way to use Keldeo.
Thanks to its high Spe stat, this pony can set-up easily Reflect and/or Safeguard during the good number of switches this pokemon provides to its owner. Unluckily, Keldeo doesn't have Light Screen, but it doesn't really matter.
5 turns of Safeguard are still a good thing to have in order to protect Keldeo and our teammates from detrimental status, although 8 turns of Reflect are much more impactful.
The dual STAB combo is necessary to have a good offensive presence: this is why Surf is picked over Scald and has perfect accuracy unlickily Hydro Pump.

For example:

Hide

252 SpA Keldeo Surf vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Heat: 276-326 (91 - 107.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Heat: 246-290 (81.1 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Keldeo Surf vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Hippowdon: 384-452 (91.4 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Hippowdon: 338-402 (80.4 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Keldeo Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 320-378 (99 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO without SR
252 SpA Keldeo Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 288-338 (89.1 - 104.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

With this Keldeo you can't sweep, but you can have a fast supporter with a strong offensive presence.

EVs (spread) and item
A basic offensive spread is chosen in order to keep pressuring the opponent and avoid being hurt badly by a Taunt.
The item chosen is Light Clay because it has a natural affinity with Reflect, a status move that gives you more turns to spread damage.

Team(mates support)
Fast attackers that love Reflect and/or Safeguard support are perfect partners for Keldeo, especially if they are able to get past Fairy-type pokemons with ease. Poison types are a problem if they still have most of their hp.

 

[Ruft]

DrPumpkinz, your submission is too similar to Jhonx~'s, with the sole difference being a different item (and a move slash). This isn't sufficient enough to set your submission apart, so please make it more unique; otherwise, it will not be considered in the voting phase.

EDIT: After some consideration, Eject Button makes Keldeo different in use, making your set sufficiently unique, 2bainz.

 

[galarian darmanitan]

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
- Substitute

Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo's pretty cool in this metagame. Though it can struggle to get going against Clefable, it can overwhelm Toxapex quite handily and can take advantage of Mandibuzz. It's worth noting that you need to manage to remove Toxapex's Black Sludge, and once you manage to burn it, you can generally outlast it.

I have experimented with this set as well. What I like about it is how easy and safe to play with it is. There is a pretty decent amount of ghost usage and water absorbers and being able to bypass the choice lock safely behind a sub can help wear down teams with both.

Gengar is a pretty noteable teammate. He can pressure fairy types, offer the speed control you would lose out on by ditching scarf on keld (at least until trick is used), throw out status, and cripple walls with trick so you can freely set up and muscle through. Can lure mandi for a double into keld.

Clef can also offer trick support, and can also lure drill/ferro/sometimes bisharp and teleport out into keld.

Edit: not having access to air slash or icy win makes it critical you have a venasaur counter on your team, because he can go in on you freely.

 

[readytolose]

Physically Defensive

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk / Calm Mind
- Scald
- Secret Sword

Fuck Bisharp, fuck Cloyster. Rest gives you a lot of PP to stick around against Toxapex, also heals you from status. Running CM is much worse for actually walling things but gives you some agency against real fat teams. If you pair it up with a cleric it could work to heal the sleep.

 

[JinLong88]

Offensive Light Clay Keldeo
...
8 turns of Safeguard are still a good thing to have in order to protect Keldeo and our teammates from detrimental status.
...

Sadly, Light Clay doesn't boost Safeguard turns, it only boosts veil & dual screens.
Still I think 5 turns of status immunity could be useful for many team builds, so cool idea.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

DrPumpkinz, your submission is too similar to Jhonx~'s, with the sole difference being a different item (and a move slash). This isn't sufficient enough to set your submission apart, so please make it more unique; otherwise, it will not be considered in the voting phase.

I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do about this, as Keldeo's movepool is incredibly restrictive. The only difference may be the item, but while it may not play as differently as Eject Button, it still plays differently.

 

[Ruft]

I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do about this, as Keldeo's movepool is incredibly restrictive. The only difference may be the item, but while it may not play as differently as Eject Button, it still plays differently.

It's not a personal jab against you, or even a command. It's just means of avoiding a slippery slope situation where people would take other people's sets, slap a (different) berry onto it and that's that. I'm not saying that's what you did - I definitely see the merit of your set - but we have to draw the line somewhere as a countermeasure.

 

[JinLong88]

It's not a personal jab against you, or even a command. It's just means of avoiding a slippery slope situation where people would take other people's sets, slap a (different) berry onto it and that's that. I'm not saying that's what you did - I definitely see the merit of your set - but we have to draw the line somewhere as a countermeasure.

Sorry but I have to intrude and comment my opinions, beginning with that this drawn line is still stifling creativity unacceptably.

It's one thing when someone changes the item to Pecha and pretty much says/implies, "I can't think of a tech that could improve/create Keld's role in the meta, so I'm throwing on a pecha because many things can carry toxic." I think that's not a good enough reason and should definitely not be accepted.

But here in this case, this is about Keld having a significant increased chance in breaking through one specific common check that can find many opps to tSpikes throughtout the average battle in this meta. And Keld doesn't have to rely as much on a teammate/certain builds to remove said hazard. Again it's a significant strategy.

Also, I looked through Keld's possibilities to help beat Pex and I didn't even think of Pecha as something that could work.
While I haven't submitted anything, I don't think the other submitters here thought of that as well. To me, Pecha is an intentional thought-out choice, not a random one (which I think you agree with). And I agree that future randomly changing things out of laziness should never be rewarded.

I sincerely wish I could offer a quality better standard, because I usually don't like to complain about something without offering an attempt at a viable solution. I can't think of a solution at this very moment except for maybe the standard should only be case-by-case (But I feel there could be a more creative wholesome standard than that). I'll think about it and if I come up with something I may PM you Ruft.

 

[HiddenPower23]

Keldeo @ Expert Belt
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Air Slash
- Icy Wind

Expert Belt Keldeo for maximum coverage.

 

[ReadTheMango]

I had no idea what to do with this mon, then I saw a meme.
Rawr-xd

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roar
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Scald / Secret Sword

This set is to be paired with hazards as a phazer. Fast Taunt is also pretty funny. Nobody will ever expect this, so when their Pex switches in to laugh at your Keldeo, you can roar on the switch to rack up that hazard damage. Toxic is just really good in this meta, so throwing it in there to deal with other switch-ins not named Pex is solid. 4th move is up to personal preference as usual, but I prefer scald > secret sword because of the lack of sp atk investment.

 

[Egor]

Yeah Keldeo was kinda tough, but you guys did well! The voting starts now, and we have 15 submissions so far:
Swords Dance by RottenInfernape
Focus Blast by JTD783
SubTaunt by Katy
Endeavor + Aqua Jet by Acey - Danse Macabre
EndReversal by James2464
SubCM by Jordy
CM RestTalk by analysis geek
SubToxic by zbr
CM + Taunt by Jhonx~
Assault Vest by Chazm
CM + Eject Button by 2bainz
Safeguard + Reflect by nameless90
Phys Defensive by readytolose
Expert Belt by HiddenPower23
Roar by ReadTheMango

DrPumpkinz your set was not included because it is too similar to Jhonx~'s one; you haven't fixed this even despite us notifying you about the issue. The deadline is Wednesday 18th of March.​

 

[astralydia]

SubCM

 

[JTD783]

CM + Taunt

 

[Zneon]

CM + Taunt

 

[Katy]

subtox

 

[Rotten]

SubCM

 

[DrPumpkinz]

DrPumpkinz your set was not included because it is too similar to Jhonx~'s one; you haven't fixed this even despite us notifying you about the issue.

The second part of this sentence was uncalled for. You don't need to talk to me like you're a teacher or parent chastising me for not turning in homework or taking out the trash.

You notified me, and I said my protest in response. I don't really mind that y'all stuck to your original decision to deem it too similar, but I take offense to you wording it as if I ghosted you.

 

[Pro_Hybrid]

CM + Eject Button. That’s a cool tech until AT is banned

 

[nameless90]

Phys Defensive by readytolose

 

[Kabilapok]

CM + Taunt

 

[spatula]

Cm taunt

 

[ReadTheMango]

Phys Def

Edit: The endure reversal set it pretty cool too