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

[JTD783]

Low Kick Bisharp

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick

If Zamazenta-Crowned ends up being unbanned then this will probably be Bisharp's best set. It trades the power of Swords Dance sets for the ability to actually touch Zamazenta, and hits Ferrothorn, Heatran, and Melmetal hard without needing to set up first. Life Orb is necessary to make up for the lack of power. I think the first calc is correct if Dauntless Shield is still bugged.

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. +2 0 HP / 0 Def Zamazenta-Crowned: 177-208 (54.4 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 226-268 (64.2 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 346-408 (89.6 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Melmetal: 265-315 (64.4 - 76.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Katy]

screech + swords dance


Bisharp @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Screech
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Knock Off​

this double status set can lure in tankchomp, kyurem, hippowdon, and mandibuzz, with the aim to drop their defense stat and then setting up a swords dance on them, with the help of shuca berry it can survive ground-type attacks such as earthquake from garchomp and hippowdons earthquake; furthermore it can survive choice specs kyurems erath power and after stealth rocks-chip iron head claims a kill against it. bisharp can also lure in melmetal with screech and it can set-up on it and knock it off, which also claims a KO.

 

[nameless90]

Scary Face Bisharp

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Scary Face
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Brick Break


General idea
This is a variation of the Thunder Wave & Rock Polish set: why is Scary Face better than TW and RP in my opinion?
Scary Face can hit Ground types and this makes this move much more spammable even because it has 100% accuracy. Rock Polish is a close call, but Bisharp is often forced out anyway towards targets that is unable to KO, so Scary Face seems the safe option between these three ones.
If you switch out, the opponent's threat is still at -2 Spe and this is useful to revenge kill it with another teammate.

Too bad that Bisharp doesn't have U-turn, but it has some staying power thanks to the typing and to the ability Defiant.

Sucker Punch is dropped because it is much less needed with Scary Face and this fact leaves us free to run a Fighting move (to complement perfectly the dual STAB combination) in the form of Brick Break, which is good to break annoying screens (really underrated and game-changing). This move has a middling base power, but it is enough to work with.

• The EVs spread and the item is pretty standard.

 

[escarlata]

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch / Swords Dance
- Thunder Wave

With Zamazenta potentially dropping into OU, Knock Off has become a move that is much easier to punish, especially in the case of Bisharp who is complete setup bait for the dog. Incidentally, Thunder Wave punishes a lot of thing that deals semi-decently with Knock Off. With CB Bisharp being the most popular set, threats on the rise such to deal with Zamazenta like Skarmory, Corviknight, and Volcarona really like to set up over a Bisharp “locked into” Sucker Punch, with the former 2 not even minding Knock Off, but Bisharp could permanently cripple them with Thunder Wave; and other rising threats like Dragonite and Urshifu-R who otherwise deal rather well with normal Bisharp sets are ruined completely and permanently by an untimely paralysis.

 

[Dr Ya Yeet]

THE STORY OF A PSYCHOPATH​

It all started right here, in this thread. I Someone was out of ideas, and hence the situation became dire, till they could take no more and had to become a PSYCHOPATH.
Bisharp @ Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Psycho Cut
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
This version of bisharp lures in and destroys mainly toxapex(who could haze away the sd set with ease otherwise), but also works vs niche options like amoongus, who're looking to spore you on sd, amd instead catch a nasty deep cut, straight from the hand-blades of a psychopath.It can lure and damage zamazenta too, but not too much. Another notable mu is Urshifu, who resists both stabs and lives +2 , but gets bopped by psycho.

It works well in conjunction with zamazenta ,luring and destroying pex, killing slowbro naturally, amd setting up on non press corv, also weakens checks/counters like buzzwole,zapdos, etc.
Another option for item is lum berry, which can help you with scald burns as well as sleep powder tang/spore amoongus.
Sometimes the gods can bless you with a crucial crit too so that's nice

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Psycho Cut vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 226-268 (74.3 - 88.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Psycho Cut vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Amoonguss: 419-494 (97.2 - 114.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

(All these calcs are worthy in the case the opponent's pex or amoon is already knocked)

 

[Abhi]

Bisharp @ Chople Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Screech
- Mean Look
- Iron Head
- Knock Off​

Basically the idea of this set is to bait in pokemon and trap them, survive a hit to use Screech and dent them and make way for fellow pokemon, basically a progress maker. The idea is taken from the Block Metal Sound Aegislash set and it works pretty similarly, although is definitely worse. The main targets for this set are Toxapex, Hippowdon, Skarmory and Corviknight. Chople Berry is to take a hit to allow it to use Screech once after it traps things like Body Press Corviknight and Skarmory while they switch in. The EVs are made to survive one Earthquake from Hippowdon to allow it to get a Screech off. Zamazenta-C is a great partner for this, since Bisharp can trap a lot of stuff that tries to check it, and can also allow it to run Ice Fang over Wild Charge.

 

[incorolla]

Reserving Choice Scarf Bisharp

Bisharp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Low Kick
- Psycho Cut



Simple set. People dont expect Bish to outspeed anything, this changes that and acts as a neat revenge killer.

Adamant is chosen so you still hit like a truck. STABs are STABs. Low kick hits Heatran, Psycho Cut wrecks pex.

 

[SLDR]

Reserving assault vest

Bisharp @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 192 Atk / 124 SpD / 192 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick

Bisharp is one of only two viable mons in OU () that resists Dragapult's STAB combination: this alone is enough to make a Pokémon defensively interesting due to how prominent Specs Dragapult is. The issue with Bisharp is that its bulk is garbage, which is why AV is the item of choice as it allows Bisharp to have some defensive utility and play as somewhat of a tank.
This set is absolutely not splashable, but it fulfills a unique role that can benefit specific builds: STAB Knock Off to displace items, Ghost, Dragon, Flying and Ice resist ( ), Future Sight absorber, Defog deterrent and even strong priority to combat offense. This combination of traits is entirely unique to Bisharp and they are all quite useful in this current metagame.

MOVESET: pretty straightforward, Knock Off and Iron Head as obvious STAB moves, Sucker Punch is a powerful tool against frailer offensive threats, while Low Kick rounds out the set as a powerful attack against Zama-C, Heatran and Ferrothorn, while OHKOing Tyranitar, which Iron Head can't do. Other options include Assurance, although that's better on a Choice Band set, Low Sweep, Stone Edge and Psycho Cut.

EVs: those are pretty customizable, especially Speed EVs. 192+ Atk guarantees that Iron Head OHKOs Kyurem after a round of Stealth Rock. 192 Spe outspeed 128 Spe Heatran (if you can outspeed it and hit it, go ahead, you can never have enough Heatran answers in your team). The rest is put into SpD because it maximises the effect of AV thus improving his special bulk.
Other speed benchmarks are: 210 and most BP - 201 56 Spe - 197 0 Spe .
I don't know if there are specific calcs that makes it worth to invest something in HP, otherwise you are better off pumping its special defense, again, to maximize the boost from AV.

 

[Banbadoro]

Suicide Lead Bisharp

Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant / Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe or 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature or Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Steel Beam
- Knock Off / Taunt
- Rock Polish / Taunt

Bit of an anti-lead set here, Bisharp is blessed with hazards and a recoil-inflicting move. Rocks provide an entry hazard, Steel Beam allows you to keep momentum up, particularly if you aim to play a fast & offensive game, and a Focus Sash allows you to live a hit so Bisharp can do something. The final 2 moveslots are a matter of choice. Knock Off is probably Bisharp's best move, and can also fully capitalise on the Defiant boost if your opponent leads Landorus-T as well as smacking lead Mew. Rock Polish is also worthy of a slot, as if you do have a Defiant boost, suddenly you have a double dance with your hazard lead. Taunt is also a very good move on leads, as it prevents opponents setting-up or setting their own hazards.

If you include Knock Off, use the first set of EVs and Naughty; otherwise use the second set and Modest. Inner Focus is also worth mentioning as Bisharp isn't really fast to begin with, and would absolutely guarantee you your hazards.

 

[airfare]

Bisharp @ Chople Berry / Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch

This set somewhat deals with Corviknight and Skarmory, letting you escape after eating a single Body Press and either 2HKOing with +2 Knock Off or Taunting their Roost to clear the way for another sweeper, like Rillaboom or Kartana, in the back. Lum Berry is also optional to eat a Scald burn while killing a Toxapex. I had created a similar set back in pre dlc to deal with the omnipresent Hippowdon utilizing Air Balloon, but that's less necessary now. Taunt lets you break past most Dark-type resists in the tier, but this set still enjoys some team support helping it break past things like Clefable and Mandibuzz.

 

[I'mKindaTrashTho]

Reserving King's Rock Bisharp
ParaFlinch Lead Bisharp
Bisharp @ King's Rock
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Beat Up
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Sucker Punch

I'm a VGC player, so I'm pretty familiar with Beat Up. The idea with this set is to lead with Bisharp. You set up Stealth Rock turn 1, then use Beat Up and Thunder Wave to make it nearly impossible for your opponent to move. Between the 25% Paralysis chance and the 60% flinch chance from Beat Up+ King's Rock, I usually end up chipping the opposing lead mon down to 0 without Bisharp taking any damage. If they decide to switch, you can read it, click Thunder Wave, and start the ParaFlinching all over again. If the opponent gets lucky and breaks through the ParaFlinch wall, you either survive a hit thanks to its decent physical bulk, or worst case scenario you set up Stealth Rock while also doing good damage to and paralyzing one or two of the opposing mons. All in all, the only way this Pokemon doesn't pick up at least 1 kill is if the opponent gets lucky 2 or 3 times in a row, or if I badly misread a switch. Hope you enjoy!

 

[toaster04]

jacoba payback

click 4 revenge plot

Bisharp @ Jaboca Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 216 HP / 252 Atk / 40 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Payback
- Swords Dance
- Beat Up
- Sucker Punch

jacoba + payback bish is a goofier version of the regular sd sets. loses the merit of knocking off items, steel stabs and such, but beat up allows you to make your team customizable - thus making bish tough to switch into after an sd. what makes this set so threatening is that bisharp is a slower but more powerful breaker, switchins you lure such as corv, clef and such get mauled by +2 beat up depending on your team, or sucker for faster target. as a misc piece of advice when building around this set, beat up formula is base atk stat divided by 10 + 5 >= constant = total bp. with rocks up, the set becomes even more threatening, allowing you to get guaranteed sucker rolls on mons such as sd chomp, kartana 1v1, etc.

point of payback is to eat a hit which is exactly what the evs are tailored for. example situation: corv takes chip from jacoba, opp makes a switch-in if the corv uturns and you can dish out a nice +2 payback / beat up if corv clicks. sucker mindgames are a bother for faster mons and so are not knocking off items but you can partner it with a different defensive knock off user that can dish out chip, as well as removing mons' lefties. it's even better to nuke defensive mons below 130 spe. even stronger with spikes chip.

edit: added more info regarding bish, made post cleaner + added calcs

relevant calcs (sr)

beat up calcs archetype (featuring laser focus zama :)): bish + zama + lando + zera + tang + mandi

+2
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Payback (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 261-307 (65.2 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 252-297 (71.5 - 84.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 148-175 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zeraora: 307-363 (96.8 - 114.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

+3
+3 252+ Atk Bisharp Payback (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 325-384 (81.2 - 96%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 313-370 (88.9 - 105.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 241-285 (93 - 110%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 185-218 (46.9 - 55.3%) -- 16.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+3 252+ Atk Bisharp Payback (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Clefable: 280-330 (71 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 (hard to get if you chip your wincon lategame)
+4 252+ Atk Bisharp Payback (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 390-460 (97.5 - 115%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+4 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 379-447 (94.7 - 111.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+4 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 348-411 (90.1 - 106.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+4 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 376-444 (106.8 - 126.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Bisharp Beat Up vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 222-262 (56.3 - 66.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[glava222]

Magnet Rise
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Magnet Rise
- Knock Off
- Low Kick/Sucker Punch
- Iron Head

A lot of bisharp answers depend on EQ to threaten bisharp, and otherwise cannot really harm it. This set attempts to magnet rise on the switch which makes a lot of bisharp answers incapable of touching it, for example hippo cannot touch it at all, swampert has to rely on flip turn, lando either on u-turn or stone edge, exca has to go for a resisted rock slide, while chomp without fire fang has to rely on resisted moves like stone edge and scale shot, and fire fang cannot OHKO, which leaves it open to a nasty knock which leaves it without an item, and too damaged to sweep. Some other threats like melmetal without superpower also become much weaker against it. Some other less used threats that struggle against this set are nidoking without flamethrower and mamoswine, since they cannot revenge kill it.

The idea is that teams that rely on such threats to check bisharp become hard pressed after a magnet rise, which allows bisharp to pretty much just click buttons.

Low kick and LO is used to lure and OHKO heatran after rocks, as well as kill zama-c from half health, allowing it more luring power.

 

[Corumba]

Double Dance King's Rock

Bully (Bisharp) @ King's Rock
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Beat Up
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish

Bit of a combination of many of the above, but I think it's the best in terms of overall sweeping potential, and definitely the most fun set. It requires a team with high attack stats across the board to boost the power of Beat Up, but a large quantity of the OU tier has 100+ base attack so this isn't too difficult to put together. A cleric is also perferable, as you lose a Beat Up hit if a mon is statused, so Heal Bell Dragonite or Mew are good partners with their high base attack stats. Your team also has to be built around it sweeping, and going for a 6-0, as if you lose a mon you're stuck with one less Beat Up hit and may have to rely more on Iron Head. The great thing about Beat Up is it's non contact so you can just truck your way through things like non Press Ferro and Corv as well as Chomper, Moltres, Zapdos and Volcarona. Not to mention the flinch chance after 6 hits is pure filth and allows you to win matchups you ought not to in practice.

Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1315012268 - victory
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1315143717 - victory
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1315424719-8ocvh7d2gfxy50ofggh4rd7tm2ljwospw - loss

 

[Contrary Servine]

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Power-Up Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Rock Polish Bisharp

Bisharp’s main weakness as a setup sweeper is its reliance on Sucker Punch to hit revenge killers, leaving it weak to mons that outspeed and resist Dark. Rock Polish solves this issue by allowing Bisharp to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame bar Regieleki, making it a deadly threat. 224 speed allows Bisharp to outspeed Scarf Lando after a Rock Polish, 252+ attack maximises power with LO and the remaining evs are dumped in defense to increase Bisharp’s physical bulk. Utilising Power-Up Punch gives this set an advantage over Double Dance sets by increasing coverage while also allowing Bisharp to setup while attacking, reducing the number of turns it has to just sit there taking hits. Fighting coverage enables Bisharp to hit many key physical walls harder, such as Ferro, Melmetal, and Heatran (Also Zama-C if it drops). Knock Off is Dark STAB + Item Removal, while Iron Head hits Fairies like Clef and Fini. This set thrives on HO, particularly screens, which can protect Bisharp while it sets up.

 

[toaster04]

tagging Egor to begin voting phase prior to half a week latency

 

[Egor]

Sorry for the delay! Time to start the voting! We got 17 submissions so far, good job guys:
Stealth Rock by TailGlowVM
Glasses Double Dance by VTaxi
Low Kick by JTD783
SD + Screech by Katy
Scary Face by nameless90
Thunder Wave by escarlata
Psycho Cut by Dr Ya Yeet
Screech Trapper by Abhisdn417
Choice Scarf by incorolla
Assault Vest by SLDR
Suicide Lead by MalMoonsault
Taunt by airfare
Paraflinch by I'mKindaTrashTho
Payback by t045t3r
Magnet Rise by glava222
King's Rock Double Dance by Corumba
Rock Polish by Contrary Servine

A small note to incorolla: you've made a mistake in your set, having an Assault Vest in your item slot instead of a Choice Scarf. Please pay attention to your importables everyone! The deadline is Saturday 1st of May.​

 

[Groudon ex]

Rock Polish by Contrary Servine

 

[JTD783]

Taunt by airfare

 

[Katy]

Screech Trapper by Abhisdn417

 

[SLDR]

Thunder Wave by escarlata

 

[VTaxi]

Psycho Cut by Dr Ya Yeet
Lots of good submissions this week

 

[Dr Ya Yeet]

Screech Trapper by Abhisdn417

 

[TailGlowVM]

Psycho Cut by Dr Ya Yeet

 

[Contrary Servine]

Glasses Double Dance by VTaxi