Project OU Weekly Research | v2 hosted by Terrakion. coming soon!

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tagging the people that signed up:
thanks everyone that signed up! you guys have between now and monday (2/29) night (EST) to write up your posts about whichever pokemon you took (tangrowth / mega aerodactyl / entei). as a reminder:
If you take a test subject, it is expected that you'll post. Your posts don't need to be super lengthy & detailed, but they shouldn't be super short and simple. I'm not gonna put some arbitrary regulation on how many sentences you should have, but you should have at least a small paragraph.
and as a reminder to those unsure of what to post:
Things you can post include (but are not limited to):
  • strategies used
  • how you went about building with this Pokemon
  • general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
  • if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
  • sets you used with the Pokemon
remember: you aren't limited to these guidelines; they're just here to help in case you aren't sure what to post. if you'd prefer to focus on 1 specific aspect of the pokemon you selected rather than a broad overview, that's totally okay! if you're still lost, try checking out this post by Infernal.

if you didn't sign up but you'd like to post, feel free to do so, but just don't post if you haven't used the pokemon in awhile / at all. also, if you signed up, but you cannot find the time to post, don't worry about it! just please don't do it regularly :x.

once again, thanks everyone & have fun posting!
 
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Thankfully i got two very good teams around tangrowth and mega aero so this was easy.


Aerodactyl-mega

Aka Sonic if he was a pterodactyl

Strategies used:

When using mega Aerodactyl i tried to use him as a nice late game cleaner. Naturally due to mega aero's Speed he excels at cleaning up weakend teams while also really annoying offense. I tried a few sets including hone claws+roost, roost 3 atks and then Pursuit. The biggest issue i had when using aero was that vs more defensive teams it was fairly hard to use him but vs offense mega aero put in a ton of work thanks to having a strong stab in stone edge+speed tier. So for this reason i stuck to the pursuit set due to serperior+mega aero being a fantastic offensive core due to how aero beats flying and fire types which allows serperior to sweep. Naturally mega aerodactyl is nothing like the other tough claw users in the tier such as mega charizard-x and mega metagross as instead of breaking walls Mega aerodactyl acts as a revenge killer/pursuit trapper/revenge killer.

How i went building around the pokemon:

When building around mega aerodactyl several things had to be accounted for. I needed somthing to take out steel types, a way to break stall and a way to break really fat ground and water types. For this reason i went with Serperior for breaking ground and water types. To be more specific a sub glare set which is great at crippling potential scarfs that would out speed mega aero such as zam and tornadus. When it came to removing steel types i found that magnezone was the best choice for this because zone is pretty effective at removing Ferrothorn, skarmory and Scizor which are some of the most annoying steel types for mega aerodactyl overall. As for breaking stall i went with a calm mind clefable with psyshock for really annoying stall. It beats opposing clefable in a cm war which is rather useful considering how clefable really annoys Mega aero. Another thing i had to take into account was Hazard removal due to that rock weakness which is why i used Starmie.
strengths and weaknesses:

Pros:

Fantastic speed tier
Big movepool
Tough claws
Decent bulk
Nice typing letting it check talonflame
Decent utility options

Cons:

Rock weak
Lacks a strong tough claws boosted stab to abuse
Coverage option while big lack actual power which means mega aerodactyl has trouble breaking down fatter pokemon
Weak to most priority moves


Does the meta favour this pokemon?

The meta and mega aerodactyl are definitely weird. Overall mega aerodactyl preforms great vs offense but struggles vs stall. Despite this that crucial speed tier and coverage as always made mega aerodactyl a anti meta pokemon of sorts. However things such as landot, fat chomp, hippowdon, skarmory, scizor and ferrothorn have proven to be a huge pain in the ass for mega aerodactyl. Despite this i feel like the meta will always favor mega aerodactyl thanks to these unique traits it has as a revenge killer.

Sets used:

Roost 3 atks:



Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Roost

This set can heal off damage while also taking advantage of Tough claws. Nothing special.

Hone Claws:



Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Roost
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Hone Claws

This set aims more at cleaning with hone claws / wallbreaking It lacks coverage however which is the main flaw with this set and misses out on the tough claws boost.


Pursuit Trapper:



Aerodactyl-Mega (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Aerial Ace
- Pursuit

This sets main job is to take advantage of mega aerodactyls high speed tier letting it trap pokemon such as latios, hoopa, Starmie, Latias and other psychic types.

Team used:

Mega Aerodactyl Balance



Leafa (Serperior) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 48 HP / 208 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
- Substitute

Kirito (Aerodactyl-Mega) (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Aerial Ace
- Pursuit

Silica (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Psyshock

Yui (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Reflect Type
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Cardinal (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Klein (Landorus-Therian) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance


Solid balance team that has magnezone to trap steel types such as ferrothorn, skamory and mega scizor for mega aerodactyl. Sub glare serperior to cripple tornadus and annoy stall which mega aerodactyl hates. Rocky helmet landorus for punishing pokemon such as Excadrill and talonflame while also setting rocks. Sd helps with with beating mega scizor and clefable. Defensive starmie checks keldeo and mega metagross with ice punch. Calm mind psyshock clefable for beating stuff such as opposing clefable, mega venusaur, amoongus. Also hits talonflame for decent damage. This team takes full advantage of mega aerodactyls cleaning abilities by effectively weakening all of his checks allowing aerodactyl to clean with more ease.


Tangrowth

Aka Vinesauce AD impish john :]
Strategies used:

Tangrowth makes for a solid AV tank in the tier thanks to its great mixed offensive stats giving it a offensive presence and also have solid coverage options letting it lure in quite a few pokemon. Combined with the regenerator ability its really hard to take out tangrowth. When using tangrowth i used it in order to check crucial threats such as keldeo and excadrill as well as alakazam. Taking advantage of tangrowths coverage you can also use it to lure in heatran charizard x and y as well as Talonflame thanks to how tangrowth learns both earthquake and rock slide. Knock off adds to this providing solid utility letting it cripple pokemon such as tornadus-t and even latios thinking it can take you out with a draco meteor. Solid tank overall.

How i went building around the pokemon:

I actually didn't build around tangrowth but instead wanted it on a team due to how the av set can take on quite a few pokemon that my team had troubles with. However i made sure that i had ways of luring it typical switch ins such as hidden power fire for mega scizor as well as using fast heatran for beating steel types and clefable which otherwise would use tangrowth as set up food.

strengths and weaknesses:

Pros:

Great defensive typing
Solid natural physical bulk, this is taken further with the AV making it a nice mixed pivot.
Has a offensive presence
Huge coverage movepool
Re-generator

Cons:

Slow
Has a bit of 4mss as without earthquake its walled by heatran
Grass typing while being nice defensively coming with nice resists is weak to common types
If tangrowth loses the av it can no longer take special moves
Can be taken advantage of by fire types like charizard-x and volcarona without rockslide/earthquake and even then still is taken advantage of by them.

Does the meta favour this pokemon?

Despite having quite a few issues tangrowth is really effective in the current meta thanks to it solid bulk,utility and coverage making is a solid AV tank if not one of the better av users currently. It checks massive threats such as manaphy , excadrill, keldeo and also takes on rain teams fairly well. The meta certainly favors this pokemon currently.

Sets used:

AV tank:



Leafa (Tangrowth) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

This is probably tangrowths best set allowing it to take on a plethora of threats thanks to the assault vest. Coverage lets it hit fairy types like azumarill without being forced to Leaf storm while also hitting clefable while hp fire hits steel types such as ferrothorn and scizor. Hp ice can also be run for hitting garchomp and landorus-therian. Earthquake/rock slide can be run over sludge bomb for hitting heatran/talonflame respectively. Giga drain can be used over Leaf storm for recovery in exchange for lower roles on manaphy. Spread lets it avoid the 2hko from lo excadrills iron head.

Note: Tangrowth Also has a physically defensive set but i really dont like that set due to not having the coverage+special bulk av tangrowth offers.

Team used:

Mega Diancie Offense:



Asuna (Diancie-Mega) @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Protect

Lisbeth (Heatran) (F) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Klein (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 56 HP / 220 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

Kirito (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Pina (Latios) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Roost

Leafa (Tangrowth) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]


I actually rmt'd this team a while ago. Click this link for a in depth explanation of this team: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sleeping-knights-mega-diancie-offense.3564693/
 

p2

Banned deucer.

thoughts

mega aero is a pretty solid offensive mon in oras right now, with a great speed tier only matched by mega alakazam, which means it outspeeds everything up to +1 gyarados which is really good. on top of its great speed, access to tough claws and 135 attack make it a really threatening mon to offensive teams too and when you throw in coverage options or roost, it can be a huge pain to beat. even though its got great offensive stats, it's still not cut out very well for wallbreaking because even after tough claws, its moves are still a bit weak, but they suffice when it comes to late-game cleaning rather than wallbreaking.

mega aero is so threatening to offense teams right now because it outspeeds a ton of relevant threats and picks them off easily. it's not just limited to beating keldeo, serperior, talonflame, alakazam, mega pinsir, +1 gyara/dnite, and torn-t. the biggest threat being talonflame because it cuts through a ton of teams that rely on lando-t easily because of how easy it can be to wear down or lure, so yeah, its really nice to fall back on especially against birds.

problems with aero:
it's weak to common priority in aqua jet, ice shard, and bullet punch and stuff like mach punch can do a number too. its bulk also isn't great so its struggling to switch into moves a lot and its weak to rocks which also screws it over a lot. and like i previously mentioned, it lacks raw power so it struggles at making holes in teams.

building

i don't think much of aero when building but it's most effective on offensive teams that are in need of a check to stuff like lop, zam, torn-t, pinsir, zam etc. it can mostly reliably revenge kill the mentioned mons which make it a fantastic option if the mega slot is still open and needs fast threats checked. i also think its better to throw on a team rather than build around because the team becomes so focused on aero it ignores other important components.


Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 228 Def / 28 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Explosion
- Hidden Power [Steel]
- Taunt

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 32 HP / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Calm Mind

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind
- Secret Sword

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Claw

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aerial Ace
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
- Roost


i'm in love with this team and its probably my favourite recent build. kinda generic hyper offense with hp steel azelf in order to lure mega diancie and try get rocks on it, ev spread avoids the 2hko from lopunnys fake out+return and 28 spa evs has a 50% chance to ohko naive diancie which is pretty cash. i just kinda threw a bunch of mons together because they work together on ho and ended up with this. its obviously a little slow and weak to shit sitting in the 111-145 speed tiers which aero covers perfectly because it revenges them really easily. i like taunt + roost because you deny stuff like skarm, ferro and hippo hazards and help maintain momentum so you're not fighting an uphill battle against hazard stack. also stops clef from spamming twave as much as it wants to and helps keep control of that aids. the teams a little weak to stall but leading keld against sab instead of azelf usually puts you in a solid position because its an easy burn.
conclusion

so yeah, mega aero is a really neat mon, it's been a decent mon throughout xy and oras but unfortunately opportunity cost of being a mega evo hurts it and prevents it from being used more. it's a really solid anti meta threat which has only gotten better recently because there's less stall. it's a nice mon to throw onto a team when you can because its a nice emergency button for stuff in the 111-145 speed tier that a lot of teams struggle with. id say that roost variants whether its 3 atk + roost or taunt roost are the most effective in the meta right now because aero really appreciates the recovery and ability to consistently switch into birds.
 
Name: Mega Aerodactyl
Type: Rock/Flying
Ability: Tough Claws
Role (XY-ORAS): Hyper Offense breaker/Cleaner/Revenge-Killer
Stats: 615 BST
HP: 80
Atk: 135
Def: 85
Sp.Atk: 70
Sp.Def: 95
Speed: 150

Small Overview: This Pokemon is able to use its decent coverage to do chunks to fast Offensive teams or Revenge-Kill/Clean well.

Accomplishments:
-Pokeaim was able to use my MAero team in his video
-https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zGv-YHgTAs8

Is Metagame in favor of Mega Aerodactyl?
-Absolutely, since Hazard Stack can be used since Mega Sableye gets pressured a lot, And since Hyper Offense is quite often, this dude shines very powerfully.

Competition with Mega Alakazam:

Despite having same 150 speed, they have different targets but similar roles. But Mega Aerodactyl has somewhat bulk and the utility of tough claws and cleaning up well late game. And to be honest Mega Alakazam is hard to keep until late game. Usually dies mid-game.

Weaknesses: Stall annoys this, especially stuff like Skarmory Slowbro Lando Ferro Scizor Ttar etc. So Wallbreaker/Balance breaker mons are a boon.


Team Used: This is the team I used and Pokeaim used in his episode. Based on Hazard Stack + Mega Aero + Dark Spam

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Stone Edge
- Roost
- Crunch

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 88 Atk / 168 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psychic
- Hyperspace Fury
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise
- Foul Play

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Roost

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


Have fun n_n
 

Aerodactyl

Traits:
Mega-Aerodactyl sports some nice Stats, with a solid 135 Attack Stat boosted by tough claws, a blistering 150 Speed and a usable 80/85/95 Bulk. Its Typing offers some nice offensive Utility, with Stab for Flying and Rock Type Attacks, both being good offensive Typings. It's Rock Type also allows Aerodactyl to get a SpDef Boost from Sandstorm. At the same Time Rock/Flying isnt a good defensive Typing for the most Part, making Aerodactyl weak to Stealth Rock, and most importantly the common water, electric, and ice types.
Its Speed lets it outspeed the entire unboosted Metagame and speedtie with Alakazam, Aerodactyl also outspeeds everything up to +1 Mega-Gyarados.
Its Movepool offers some nice Coverage Options in Aqua Tail, which offers good neutral coverage with Stone Edge, Ice Fang, which hits the omnipresent Landorus-T and Garchomps, Fire Fang, which hits Ferrothorn that otherwise walls Aerodactyl, and Earthquake.
The available Stab-Moves are somewhat Lackluster, Stone Edge is it's hardest hitting Stab and is mandatory on every Set, but doesnt get a tough Claws Boost. Aerodactyls flying type Stabs are limited to Base 60 Moves, being Wing Attack, Aerial Ace and Sky drop, or Fly, which needs a turn to charge up.
Aerodactyl also has access to a nice support and utility movepool, with Taunt and roost, which let it stallbreak, stealth rock and defog, and most importantly Pursuit.
Aerodactyls Pre-mega Abilities arent great, Pressure could be used with a Taunt + Roost Set, to PP Stall, while Unnerve can offer Utility in some Lead-Situations. Tough Claws on the other hand helps it solve the problem of having mostly low BP moves.

Competition

Aerodactyls Stats greatly support its role as a cleaner and revenge killer. In this role it faces some serious Competition by the other high-speed Megas, the most similar being Lopunny. Aerodactyl suffers from not having the hard hitting Stab coverage Lopunny has, and therefore cant abuse its Movepool as well as it would want, while Lopunny can afford to run Utility Moves like PuP or Baton pass to bypass its checks. Aerodactyls main niche over other Revenge Killers seemed to be the superior speed tier and its Access to Pursuit.

How i built with this Pokemon:

After realizing that 150 Speed Pursuit was Aerodactyls main edge over other mons, and since i am more of a bulky Player, i decided to build some spike-stacking semistall with Aero. The most obvious partner for this approach is Hippowdon, boosting Aero's SpDef and making its pursuittrapping job easier.
Lord of Flies (Aerodactyl-Mega) (M) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sky Drop
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Roost

Modern Media (Hippowdon) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Slack Off

Guns and Germs (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Iron Head
- Whirlwind

In my Veins (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 28 SpD / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes

Kein Tanzverein (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 80 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunder
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled

In the Eye (Tornadus-Therian) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 176 HP / 80 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Heat Wave
- U-turn

Toxic Spikes + Sky drop is a nice combo, since Tspikes allow Aerodactyl to break down bulky teams easier, which it usually struggles to do, and Skydrop basically lets you rack up 18% extra residuals with sand + poison. In general Pursuit trapping is a great strategy in this meta, especially for bulky builds, trapping dangerous balance breakers like Zard y and Hoopa, while also offering great utility to the hazard stacking core. Hippo + Aero work really well for that regard, since hippo baits in some special attackers like tornadus and serperior and sets up Sand, so that Aero can easily switch into the attack and Trap it.
Mons trapped by Aerodactyl: gengar, Zard Y, Talonflame, Pidgeot, Tornadus-T, Starmie, Latios, Hoopa. Alakazam.

Good Partners:

Mons that Check Stuff threatening to Aerodactyl:
Hippowdon, Amoongus, Clefable (Lure for Skarm is appreciated), Heatran, Starmie, Tentacruel

Mons That break down Aeros Checks:
SD Gliscor, SD Landorus, Serperior, Keldeo, Rotom-W, Breloom

Most of those Mons also appreciate Pursuit Support or offer some extra utility like hazard Removal.

Conclusion:

Aerodactyl is a strange Mon, because on the one hand, Pursuit Trapping and hazard stacking are really good and successfull in this metagame, on the other hand its suffers from severe 4MSS, and not being able to run all coverage moves it wants to. Its Checks are also omnipresent in lando, garchomp, slowbro, skarmory and Hippowdon, all of which are really common. It also faces severe Competition from Lopunny and TTar, But it has the edge over the latter of being able to outspeed and therefore more reliably trap Tornadus, Alakazam and Pidgeot. It also provides bulky builds with the much needed speed to revenge kill Balance Breakers like Kyurem or Manaphy and has access to recovery and better coverage than TTar. In General the Meta is in Favor of Aerodactyl, but it needs a more specific team support than Ttar or Lopunny for their respective Roles.
 
Tangrowth!

Tangrowth, is a tanky grass type who makes an excellent pivot. With an assault vest he has incredible mixed defenses, and his offensive stats are no joke either, making him able to take advantage of switches with moves like knock off and earthquake. He also has high power leaf storms that he can toss out, but probably his greatest asset are two of his abilities. Regenerator makes him very durable, and suits well for an AV user, getting him valuable HP back. His other ability is Chlorophyll which despite it's lesser utility, is immense when combined with growth, the setup is almost like a 2 turn shell smash without the defensive drops. If he can be properly setup, Tangrowth can be an offensive monster as well as a defensive one. It does take some time to set this up though, so it's not quite as useful as assault vest.

It's not as if he only had good traits, there are some disadvantages. Tangrowth is weak to both fire and flying, which makes Talonflame and Charizard his mortal enemies. He has few options to hit them on the switch as well, rock slide is mediocre, and hidden power? no, no way. Hidden power also fails to OHKO specially defensive ferrothorn, and there's a good number of sweepers who can just punch holes in him despite his high defenses, either forcing him to switch or to sacrifice himself to put some damage on. Without his body armor, Tangrowth has relatively low special defenses, so losing the assault vest really hurts. Tangroth also doesn't hit all that hard, his saving grace is more against offensive teams that can't plow through him, defensive teams are a real problem for him, as he doesn't have the stats of a wallbreaker and can't really do anything to a similarly defensive pokemon. Also, tangrowth is pretty slow, even the chlorophyll set is slow without the sunlight.

There's only one set that really works well for him, and that's the Assault vest set. It can take hits and dish them out, though the special side is up to you, Tangrowth almost always ends up with some kind of hidden power, but Rock Slide can also be nice to hit certain things, I went with HP fire simply because I hate dealing with ferrothorn.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]


The only other set I used was the Chlorophyll set. I used Growth because of the immense boost it provides in sun, I think I could use some work on the team I chose to use this set in, but it was fun to use, and it could obliterate teams as long as the sun was up, I think if you really wanna abuse this set though, you can't just rely on Zard-Y to setup the sun, you really need a heat rock user, just to have that prolonged sweep.

Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Note: I did decide to lean more to the physical side, but you can roll this set however you want, no matter what though I reccomend Giga Drain as it will let Tangrowth stay alive the longest.


For strategy, I zeroed in on two ideas. One was to use him as a sweeper with Charizard-Y to setup the drought, the other one was to use him with Slowbro to form The most annoying core in the world! Two regenerators and a heal bell/wish passer.

Teambuilding!

Super Pivots!

I began with a core of AV Tangrowth, defensive slowbro, and Sylveon for heal bell and wish passing.

Then I added heatran to deal with Zard, and I wanted some other cool pokemon, so I used a SD Megachomp and choice Raikou

Eventually I went with a scarf lando instead of Raikou, and changed my mega to Latias as a fat wincondition. It played like a stall team, which is fine but it didn't really suit my style.

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Toxic

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 192 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock

Latias @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Recover

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off


I had lots of problems with hazzards so I went with Lando as a rocker, and an Excadrill as my spinner, then I had one pokemon left, and I didn't have a mega yet. I was thinking of using talonflame but I thought, 'is there any reason not to use Charizard-X'?

and I had the final team, sadly, I feel like it still needs work, fat teams stall me, and I don't really have a surefire way to deal with them. Also, with my spinner scarfed there's not a lot of opportunity for him to get in. I honestly am starting to thing he'd be better off as just a revenger and someone else can get rid of hazzards.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Toxic

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake



Chlorophyll SMASH!

This team was fun to build, I started with Tangrowth LO Analytic Starime and Zard-Y

Starime was to serve as my rapid spinner, then I added Tankchomp to setup my rocks, and Skarmory to setup spikes to give even more pressure, then I added clefable as an alternate wincon.

OK, its not great but it can suprise some people!

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Focus Blast
- Roost
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
- Thunderbolt
- Scald
- Recover
- Rapid Spin

Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Giga Drain
- Growth
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Garchomp @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail

Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight
- Heal Bell

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 SpD / 24 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Taunt


The meta: I do think Tangrowth can make it in ou. He's tough enough to take hits, and he's strong enough to dish them out. He has some solid advantages, and all sorts of teams can use him, just be wary though, he really appreciates a cleric of some kind, as it helps him stay free of status, enhancing his staying power.

tldr? Tangrowth is strong right now!

pivots v1
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-334712590
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-334714059
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-334717161 <-this is probably the best replay of the bunch, my opponent is fairly good and his team, though pretty fat, has it's own issues with my tangrowth.

pivots v2
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-335638136
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-335639329

Sunny Day
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-336628910
it was really late when I recorded this one, I only post it because Tangrowth got some good hits in.
 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
well i gotta keep this up another day because we have 0 entei posts :x

just post by tomorrow if you guys can ofc. especially the people who have entei ;~;
My appologies. My week ended up being hell, so I've struggled to find time for this unfortunately. If I find some time tomorrow I'll try and make a post about what time I was able to find, but I can't promise anything.
 

TPP

is a Tournament Directoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
Head TD
Entei





Thoughts:

Personally, I find Entei a very overlooked, as no one prepares for it, and the best switchins you'll have are bulky water types like Slowbro and Rotom-Wash, and then other stuff like Mega Alt. Sacred Fire is an extremely dangerous move, since it's very powerful, and has a high chance to burn the opponent, so switch ins like Tank Garchomp aren't always the best, as they can get worn down quickly. Same goes for Hippowdon, Lando-T and other bulky grounds. They just won't work as well for Entei as they would for Talonflame or Victini. That's just Sacred Fire, so let's not forget about Extremespeed, Stone Edge and Bulldoze. Extremespeed lets Entei help KO faster threats or do major chunks to opponents like Keldeo (does around 50%). Stone Edge and Bulldoze are just coverage options, so I won't go into great detail over those, and Bulldoze is primarily run to hit Heatran, which otherwise walls Entei thanks to Flash Fire. Overall, it's a very powerful wallbreaker no one prepares, so it's definetely fun to use.

Strategies used:

Entei's got 1 set with a Choice Band, so I just used that one to let it be a wallbreaker with Sacred Fire, and at times a late game cleaner with Extremespeed being able to outspeed and finish off some weakened opponents. You click Sacred Fire, and watch things get 1HKO'd if they're not a bulky water or if they don't resist. I don't use it that much, but it's definitely a nice mon that can help wear down stuff like Hippowdon, Rotom-Wash, or Tank Garchomp for mons like Mega Manectric.

How I went building with the Pokemon:

The 1st time I used Entei, it was as part of a core for the team building shop with Mega Manectric. As mentioned above, I liked how Entei could help soften up some fatter mons for Mega Manectric to potentially clean up everything late game, or at least help it against fatter teams. Bulky waters, Zard X, Mega Alt, Sand Offense and hazard removal are most of the general things to worry about when running Entei, so adding stuff like Lando-T and Scizor can help with that. So far, I've had a good amount of success running it on Volt-Turn teams, since having a lot of momentum can help find a perfect opportunity for something powerful like Hoopa-Unbound or Entei to come in and snag a free kill. I've tried running it with Sand and some fat mons that end up a balance team, but volt turn always seems to work out, so that's the kind I recommend. Entei's not meant to switch into anything barring Scizor I guess, but volt turn is a playstyle that excels at providing opportunities to get mons in safely, so that's something Entei will definitely appreciate.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Pros:

- Sacred Fire burns everything to the ground - very powerful, nothing barring a few mons will want to switch into this thing
- Decent Speed tier (forced to run Adamant with Extremespeed, so 299 speed isn't bad at all)
- Powerful priority with Extremespeed lets it revenge kill or clean up late game if necessary
- Decent amount of bulk to take some hits if necessary
- No one prepares for it

Cons:

- Needs hazard removal since it's weak to rocks
- Can't do anything to it's switchins (Bulky Waters, Mega Alt, Zard X)
- Not too hard to force out thanks to it's speed tier
- Rocks weak means it has limited switchins, or in other words, limited opportunities to wallbreaker
- Limited move pool which basically has the standard moves, Flare Blitz and then Iron Head, so while it works well, it'd be cooler if it had a bigger movepool

Does the meta favour this Pokemon?

This one's a bit weird, because while fat grounds may be the most used mon in the tier, they don't wanna switch into Entei, but that also means that bulky waters have a reason for more usage, and those are mons that Entei actually hates. Rotom-Wash is the most used bulky water, so it's not too bad, since it's actually possible to wear it down with Sacred Fire (still does like 20 or 30%) and rocks. Pain Split isn't the best recovery unlike Slack Off for Slowbro, so it's not necessarily the end of the world for Entei. Rotom-Wash is gaining a lot of usage thanks to Sand Offense and Torn-T everywhere atm, so you could say the metagame is a bit unfavourable to Entei, but it's not that bad. It's really matchup dependent, cause if they don't have a bulky water, Entei will be netting kills all game long, but if they got something like Slowbro, it won't be able to do much at all until that Slowbro's gone (and getting rid of Slowbro isn't easy thanks to Regenerator).

Sets Used:

Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Bulldoze
- Stone Edge

The only set that's used in OU, and for a good reason, since this maximizes the potential it has with Sacred Fire and wall breaking.

Teams Used:


Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze

Manectric-Mega (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat / Toxic
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]

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

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Defog
- Draco Meteor

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- U-turn

Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Superpower

This one's an old team I made in October for the teambuilding workshop, and it was my first opportunity at using Entei. Mega Manectric was part of the requested core, so I didn't actually choose it, but it's something I'm glad happened, since that made using Entei a whole lot easier. Keldeo was added to help out with fat grounds like Hippowdon, since Entei won't always get a chance to hit them, and it's also something that can work with Entei in overloading their shared switch ins like Slowbro (I managed to PP stall a Mega Slowbro out of Slack Offs one game and ended up killing it with 2 U-Turns from Scizor). Latios gave the team a much needed Keldeo switch in, and also gave hazard removal, which is something you'll definitely wanna have when running Entei. Lando for checking physical stuff like Mega Lopunny and Excadrill, giving Stealth Rocks and finishing the Volt Turn core. There's not much to explain about that, since Lando-T's used a ton after all. Finally, Mega Alt was a big pain to deal with, and Mega Diancie is another threat that's annoying for Entei teams imo, so CB Scizor was a nice addition, and as mentioned before, can deal a good amount of damage to Slowbro, so that's something that can help Entei in the long run.

Here's an old replay of the team in action against a good friend of mine: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-283492626

Conclusion:


Entei's a fun mon that hits extremely hard and is able to burn everything in the process. It's got power, priority, and a few switchins, but it's also got a handful of issues including the Stealth Rock weakness, and the inability to do anything to it's checks/being forced out easily. You could sorta see it like a physical Zard Y, with the whole powerful fire attacks and the limited switch ins thanks to Stealth Rock, so you gotta play a bit carefully with this one, and volt turn's a great way to do so, as it's able to help get Entei in safely at good times.
 
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closing now. thanks to everyone who participated!

the posts being added to archive are this post on tangrowth by BlazeLatias, this post on mega aerodactyl by p2, and this post on entei by Team Pokepals.

thanks FookMi? for helping me decide on the posts to archive. also, remember: the archived posts are simply the posts that best summarize the pokemon for future reference. not every post needs to summarize the pokemon; some people may just want to center their posts around one aspect, and that's totally okay. you don't need to follow the guidelines perfectly to post here; they're just there to guide you a bit if you're unsure of what to post.

~​

week #7

hydreigon | mega pinsir | reuniclus
REMEMBER: you simply pick 1 one of these 3 (or 2 / 3 of them if you want :p) and post here saying which one you're taking. also, you can use any set you want!


the discussion period will start on 3/5; those of you who want to participate have between now and then to play around with one of these pokemon.

have fun n_n
 
I'll do mega pinsir, I may also make a post on reuniclus if I have time (BTW, I may not, but I used mega p in the past so I should be able to do a good post on it.)
 
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