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

[Dr Ciel]

Feraligatr - The Big Jaw Pokemon
​

• strategies used​

While I was looking at Feraligatr, I noticed two things that it needed in order to be successful in OU. One thing was its speed. Feraligatr's base 78 speed is by no means bad, but for OU, it's considered well below average, with Hyper Offense being the dominating playstyle in the current meta, so I wanted something that could slow other Pokemon down, so obviously, the way to go was to use Thundurus. Thanks to Prankster Thunder Wave, Thundurus easily slows down faster Pokemon so Feraligatr can safely set up on them without taking buckets of damage. Second thing I noticed about Feraligatr was that it only has three moveslots to work with, and as such, it's going to be walled by one thing or another no matter what two coverage moves it chooses, so some partners that could fix the coverage issues it has could allow it to set up relatively safely on some Pokemon.
​

• how I went about building with this Pokemon​

I didn't actually build the team cause ain't nobody got time for that. But I can attempt to explain how the builder went about building this team. Like I said, Feraligatr needs something that can provide Speed control, and Life Orb Thundurus was the answer, thanks to having Prankster T-Wave. Thundurus was also added to take care of Water and important Dragon types, most notably Garchomp. From what I can see, Nasty Plot Celebi was added to provide a solid check to Electric types & the builder went with Hidden Power Fire in order to lure in Ferrothorn and Scizor, doing buckets of damage to the former while OHKOing the latter after a Nasty Plot. Next, Mega Lopunny was the Mega of choice in order to do well vs. offense, as outside of Prankster Thunder Wave from Thundurus, the team was relatively slow. Finally, Life Orb Sand Rush Excadrill was added along with Tyranitar, as the former provided a solid check to Fairies while also shares similar checks and counters to Feraligatr, making them excellent partners.
​

• general strengths / weaknesses​

Feraligatr's strengths lie in three places; its Attack stat, its Ability, and its movepool. With a relatively high Attack stat of 105, Feraligatr is a pretty damn powerful Pokemon & when you combine that with high Base Power moves along with Sheer Force & Life Orb, Feraligatr becomes a fearsome physical attacker in th OU meta & it only gets better from there. Dragon Dance allows Feraligatr to boost its already high Attack stat along with its below average Speed stat, allowing it to out-speed a good majority of the metagame while also powering through bulkier Pokemon with its relatively high-powered STAB moves. Sadly, Feraligatr's mediocre Speed make it prone to faster attackers before a Dragon Dance & it's still being out-sped by relevant scarfed Pokemon. Mediocre bulk on the special side is also a huge downfall, leaving it prone to taking buckets of damage from powerful special attackers. Finally, and probably the most damning of all, is its slight case of 4 moveslot syndrome. Feraligatr has only two coverage moves that it's able to use, & despite that this will allow it to hit some common switch-ins, it will also be walled by common switch-ins depending on what coverage moves it chooses to use.
​

• if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not​

As much as I wanna say yes, I'm gonna have to say otherwise. The meta is simply way too fast and powerful for Feraligatr to thrive.

• sets you used with the Pokemon

Wally (Feraligatr) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Crunch

All in all, Feraligatr is a pretty solid Pokemon, that, despite its weaknesses, can be a very solid Pokemon in OverUsed.

 

[TheNegativeOne]

Dragalge: The Mock Kelp Pokemon​

>Strategies used
Dragalge has been best used as a great defensive check to top tier threats like Keldeo, Clefable, Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard Y, Breloom, Gengar, Raikou, Thundurus, Heatran, and Rotom-Wash. While either switching this in to block these pokemon or coming in after something dies, the idea is to either drop a draco or set up a layer of Toxic Spikes, whittling down opponents every turn while pressuring most water, grass, and fire types, making it a great mon for beating most FWG cores while dropping strong Draco Meteors and Sludge Waves thanks to Adaptability. An important aspect to using Dragalge is to know when attacking is more beneficial than setting Toxic Spikes and vice versa.

>How I went about building with it
I decided to use Dragalge in a two mon core with Offensive Landorus-T set, which helped with multiple things: Steel types, Ground types, adds Stealth Rocks to the hazard stack, which punishes flying types for thinking they can come in for free on Toxic Spikes. It also relieved some of the pressure than physical attackers can put on Dragalge. These two were quite weak to Weavile and other Ice types, so I decided to add on a Bulky SD Mega Scizor, able to switch into and pick off all of them. This proved to be a decently effective three mon core.

>Strengths and Weaknesses I noticed while using Dragalge
One thing I noticed is that a lot of players simply don't know how powerful Dragalge is, and try to switch in a pokemon to take a neutral Draco Meteor, and depending on said pokemon, like Manaphy, they would get OHKO'd after Stealth Rock (While using Draco Plate), or be dealt substantial damage, like Utility Mega Sableye takes about 78% on average from Draco Meteor. However, the pokemon that can outspeed it and threaten it are aplenty on Offense, such as Weavile, Hoopa Unbound, (Mega)Alakazam, Lati@s, Garchomp, Excadrill, and Landorus-T. And while true, none of them can switch in (Excadrill gets smacked by Focus Blast or Scald), if they are already in, they can give Dragalge a hell of a time. Excadrill can either OHKO it or remove the hazards you set up, TankChomp can OHKO you (37.5% chance from full) with Earthquake and set up his own hazards, and the rest can straight up outspeed and kill you. However, I noticed that Dragalge has a much easier time against slower builds like on Balance.

>Is the meta in favor of Dragalge?
No, it's not. While yes, the meta is taking a bit slower of a turn with many teams now being Bulky Offense and Balance, Offense is still as powerful as ever, and Dragalge isn't exactly great against Offense.

>Sets I used
Dragalge @ Draco Plate (Black Sludge can work as well)
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast / Scald
- Toxic Spikes

All in all, Dragalge is a really solid choice in the meta. However, it's not something you can just typically throw on a team. You need to have your team support it and have it support your team in return.

 

[ethanlol]

The Armor Pokemon​

• strategies used

I wanted to build a team where Tyranitar would have the necessary support that would help it sweep. In Mega form it gains a speed upgrade which helps vs. threats like Weavile and Tornadus which helps in it's sweeping. But for it to effectively get to +2, I needed support that would help against strong priority users like Breloom, Azumarill, and Scizor which cause Tyranitar trouble. Breloom was clearly the biggest threat as it could easily check Tyranitar. The majority of Dark types resisted the set I had in mind for Tyranitar which was Iron Tail, Crunch, Ice Punch, Dragon Dance. I needed Keldeo to get rid of this dark types. To be honest I felt like Tyranitar would be a tank that would be able to destroy after 1 DD. It packs the power, but it's important to know when to setup (setup when Breloom is alive is not a good idea LOL)

• general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon

-Great movepool
-Base 164 Atk
-GODLY Defenses (Base 100 HP, Base 150 Def, Base 120 SpD with 50% Sand Stream Boost)
-Access to Dragon Dance
-Weak to Priority (Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, Mach Punch)
-Poor Defensive Typing
-No reliable recovery

• if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not

To be honest I think that the meta is not very kind to it with all the priority and of course Keldeo running around. But with the rise of M-Latias and Latias it finds easy setups. With a movepool so large Tyranitar can prove to be really effective. M-Tyranitar may find it difficulty to setup. It's outstanding stats can prove to be really threatening vs a lot of things. I think M-Tyranitar is a dark horse but the meta doesn't seem to be in favor of it. I think the meta shifting away from HO could prove to make Tyranitar more effective but I think Keldeo will be a huge problem for it. Idk

• sets you used with the Pokemon

Sets

Tyranitar-Mega (M) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Iron Tail
- Dragon Dance

Tyranitar-Mega (M) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance

 

[Phantom Me]

How does this Mon keep its jaw open all time

• Strategies Used

Two problems are there for feraligatr to be an OU threat.It's base 78 speed is far below ou standard.So,good speed control is required for it to function effectively.Thunderous in particular stands out,because it also kills keldeo and Azumarill.Second thing I noticed is Feraligatr has some four-moveslot syndrome as well because it does not have perfect coverage between Waterfall and two coverage moves.Thus partners are to be selected according to the set it uses.

• How I went teambuilding with this Pokémon

It is hard to give arbitrary rules for teambuilding,especially from a noob like me.So I will just give simple framework
Slot 1

The first slot is for a fast pivot.Thundurus and manectric are good choices,since they kill keldeo and Azumarill,in return feraligatr kills ground types.Raikou can also do this and checks opposing Mega Manectric and Thundurus as well.
Slot 2

The next slot is for hazard setter.Ground-types such as Landorus-T, Garchomp, and Hippowdon can set up Stealth Rock and wear down opposing fast offensive threats such as Mega Lopunny and Talonflame.Hippowdon in particular checks opposing Electric-types bar Rotom-W very well,but is only recommended in BO teams.
Slot 3

The third slot is for a spikes setter and speed control.Among these Spikers, Klefki can help to check Latios and provide speed control with Thunder Wave, while Skarmory provides an answer to revenge killers such as Excadrill and Bisharp,and also gives defog if you have one of the stealth rock weak Mon listed below. Ferrothorn makes use of its Grass typing to check Rotom-W and Azumarill and can utilize Thunder Wave to help provide speed control as well,but is only recommended with BO.
Slot 4

The next slot is for a grass
check.Tornadus-T can threaten all Grass-types with its STAB moves and bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Ferrothorn with Fire- or Fighting-type coverage.
Slot 5

The fifth slot is for a mega,if not chosen manectric already.Mega Altaria is able to take on Grass- and Electric-types such as Serperior and Mega Manectric for Feraligatr while it can take Ice-type attacks aimed at Altaria. Mega Gardevoir makes a good partner for Feraligatr (particularly non-Superpower variants) because it lures in and weakens Ferrothorn, as well as softening up the other team with its general wallbreaking prowess.Zard-x is a good partner because they help each other out by softening physical walls,specially if feraligatr is running crunch since it kills Slowbro.Talonflame and bisharp are also options if the Mega slot is already taken.Ice Punch on Feraligatr can remove Garchomp for Talonflame and Bisharp.
Sample Team
Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Force
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Stone Edge

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

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 96 HP / 160 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Altaria @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast

• General Strength and weaknesses I noticed about the Pokémon

Strength

• solid setup sweeper in the OU tier thanks to the move Dragon Dance and an excellent ability in Sheer Force, which boosts the power of many moves, including its main STAB move.
• solid mono-Water typing, Feraligatr resists common Water-, Ice-, and Steel-type priority moves that might hinder a sweep
  
• Niche over gyarados for not being weak to stealth rock.

Weakness

• suffer competition as a Dragon Dance sweeper from Gyarados, which has a secondary STAB type and Intimidate to help it set up more easily
  
• has a mediocre Speed tier before setting up, though, so it often has to tank a hit in order to set up, which often puts it in range of a priority attack or a move from a Choice Scarf revenge killer
  
• mediocre special bulk
  
• some four-moveslot syndrome as well because it does not have perfect coverage between Waterfall and two coverage moves
• If the meta is in favor of the Pokémon

Absolutely not.The Oras Ou meta is simply too fast and powerful for Feraligatr

• Sets I've used

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch/Crunch
- Crunch/Superpower/Aqua Jet

Dragon Dance simultaneously boosts Attack and Speed, setting Feraligatr up to sweep. Waterfall is a mandatory STAB move that gets a Sheer Force boost. Ice Punch hits Grass- and Dragon-types like Serperior, Amoonguss, Mega Altaria, and notably bulky Garchomp. Crunch hits Psychic-types like Mew and Slowbro while sharing coverage with Ice Punch on Latios, Latias, and Celebi. Superpower hits Ferrothorn and Dark-types such as Mega Gyarados, but it does not receive a Sheer Force boost. Aqua Jet can be used to outprioritize Talonflame at +1 Speed, and it also hits faster Pokemon such as Mega Alakazam and Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Hoopa-U.

Lastly,I'd like to say that feraligatr is a pretty niche Pokemon.Although it's raw power makes it good against defensive teams,there are better options out there.However,if you're confident about it,then give it a try.Teambuilding with this Pokémon is definitely hard,but the end is rewarding.

 

[StarBomber109]

Tyranitar-Mega

Mega Tyranitar has a blanket stat increace over his non-mega counterpart. However, there are some major disadvantages that carrying a megastone brings with it for tyranitar. Tyranitar is already a very strong pokemon even non-mega, it's Sand Stream will only create a 5 turn sandstorm, which is a bigger deal if you're trying to use it as a support. Tyranitar hits harder with a Choice Band and max attack than Mega-Tyranitar does. There is another issue and that is that mega tyranitar is kinda eclipsed in power by many megas, and loses to some of the more popular ones like Metagross and Lopunny. He also can be countered or checked by Keldeo. Not to mention he has no recovery move so without leftovers he will get whittled down slowly over time. He also has an annoying set of weaknesses making him weak to most of the popular attacking types like water, fighting, fairy, and steel.

Mega Tyranitar does have advantages over his non-mega self, and the biggest one is an increase in speed and a significant increase in bulk. Mega Tar is way stronger and faster than normal tyranitar. One of the old-school tyranitar sets was dragon dance, but Mega-tar outclasses his non-mega self for this set. This mega can also go mixed (aka mystic tar) slightly better due to the overall higher stats. Even in a more supportive role the sand still gives him extra special defense, and his bulk, as mentioned, is much better while mega. He makes an excellent bird-check and can also check prominent special attackers like Lati@s, trapping them and taking them down with Pursuit.

Sets Used:

Tyranitar has a lot of possibilities, the one set that shines is Dragon Dance. I tested a couple of support sets but it turns out that normal tar is a little better (especially since you usually want your mega to be someone not tyranitar on a sand team) Mysitc Mega Tyranitar was another option I experimented with, Tyranitar is one of those first two generation pokemon who for some reason or another can learn a bunch of really good special attack TM moves. He gets Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam to name a few.

Dragon Dance

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

This set is raw power, however, it requires setup, and preperation. Also your fourth move could be a number of things. I wanted to use Ice Punch but I'm starting to think Fire Punch might be better (that way Ferro can't just switch into me). After 1 Dragon Dance he reaches a much higher speed than normal ttar could hope for, and he can even outrun weavile provided Tyranitar is jolly. These moves do have solid neutral coverage, but you miss out on some super effective hits. Like many dragon dancers he's vulnerable to priority, especially mach punch. Also even at +1 he's still outspeed by lopunny. It's important to take these threats into account during teambuilding, and that you counter them.

Mystic

Tyranitar (F) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Ice Beam
- Crunch/Pursuit
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge/Thunderbolt/Superpower

A bait set, this has the advantage of even greater defensive prowess and a slightly better attack stat. Though tyranitar doesn't have the best special attack stat (mega you don't gain any, but you don't lose any either), invested it's enough to punch holes in it's normal switchins. I went with a more phsycial bent on this, as that exploits tyranitar's strengths more. I may need to optimize this set more as I feel like this set is still possibly 'outclassed' by his normal self as you would normally use mystic tyranitar to bait in threats that would stop some other mega from sweeping.

Teambuilding with Tyranitar

I'll focus more on dragon dance as that's a solid wincon that you can build on. I knew I wanted to take out other steal types, especially heatran since I wasn't planning on running EQ, I decided that Magnezone would be a good inclusion since he also blasts holes in fairy types with flash cannon. I did opt for HP ground but I'm starting to regret that, I wanted to be able to catch more defensive heatrans with it. Also I added Latios as it hits really hard, can destroy most phsyical walls that might otherwise annoy Tyranitar (Garchomp and Lando) and it provides Defog support. Gliscor has good defenses and can counter or check a couple of threats like Excadrill and some variants of Lopunny. Gliscor also gives me my Stealth Rocks. At this point I pretty much had everything I needed, so I added two pokemon I like. Togekiss can setup on most defensive pokemon and really annoys stall. Serperior can blast through many bulky water types or Keldeo. I eventually switched the Magnezone for Heatran, but my results weren't that great with him either.

Squad

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Earthquake

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Nasty Plot
- Heal Bell
- Roost

Serperior @ Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]

replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-349951279
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-350266078 <- A replay where I should have lost, but I post it because tilt or lack of knowledge prevents my opponent from beating me. The lesson to take away is always observe the damage you take from opponent's pokemon as it can help you figure out what set they're running. I donno if he thought my Heatran was scarf, but it wasn't. It was specs.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-350281068 <- A game where I have no response to thund, there were a few more hax than I would like...but it was a fun battle, back and forth. Tyranitar would have cleaned house if not for hax :P

The Metagame:

Honestly I'm not sure what to think. Tyranitar has a lot of weaknesses and when you build around him as an offensive set he tends to be really hard to setup. Since mach punch is so prevalent right now as well he finds problems once he gets setup actually knocking everything down. Also since Band and Scarf are such popular (and good) item choices on him, the megastone is right now kinda reserved for those who actually want to use Dragon Dance. And since dragon dancers are all kinda outclassed by Charizard X right now, I'm just gonna say that for now, the metagame doesn't exactly favor Mega Tyranitar, it does favor Tyranitar though, and if your team is pretty much finished and you're searching for a mega, Mega Tyranitar can be a solid pick if you're already using normal tyranitar.

 

[AM]

Teambuilding with Mega TTar

Team

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
- Dragon Dance

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

Skarmory @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 52 Def / 172 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Spikes

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled
- Calm Mind

Mega TTar always needs Spikes to me. Some of the best answers to it like Quagsire, Breloom, Hippowdon are all spike prone so it only makes sense to include the entry hazard into any M-TTar build. The end game in mind will normally just be a Tyranitar sweep but hazards + CM Clefable also provided another good win condition for bulkier builds. Pack a Latios set that can pressure some grounds along with Ferrothorn a bit more easily to help M-TTar, put Spikes in the form of Skarmory who can phase opposing sweepers and mons out into spikes. SD Chomp + Specs Hoopa provides help in cushioning up defensive builds more easily. Mostly with any Dragon Dance sweep in mind you'd pick off targets to put everything in range of said sweep. Different lures here and there to make M-Ttars job easier not some crazy fantastic team but the general idea is there.

Meta doesnt feel in favor of M-TTar. I guess certain teams will keel over if they wear down their Lando-T or checks to it too much but Lando-T being everywhere doesnt help it at all. Its also prone to most of the viability priority in the tier such as M-Scizors Bullet Punch, Azus Aqua Jet, Brelooms Mach Punch, along with being prone to Spikes. Takes a lot of support to build an effective team around it granted it can pose a threat in certain scenarios.

As far as Mystic Tar goes which I saw above, the set itself is weird but is definitely niche. It's good for counterteaming though since a lot of people assume DDance right off the bat.

 

[Cheryl.]

Reptar!

• strategies used

Mega Tyranitar has a slow 71 base Speed, meaning it's necessary to run speed control for it to function effectively as a sweeper. Good thing it has two good boosting moves in Dragon Dance and Rock Polish, and along with a powerful 164 Base Attack stat, it's plenty powerful as well, and it's coverage is suprisingly unprepared for by a lot of teams in this current meta. Sadly it has a bit of 4MSS since it can't run all the coverage it wants to run, so the partners had to be picked accordingly due to it's coverage.

• how you went about building with this Pokemon

I decided to build around TTar y supporting it so it has the ability to sweep late-game more effectively. I decided to run an Adamant Rock Polish set over Dragon Dance due to it's ability to outspeed and beat Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny and Mega Alakazam after a boost and still have a lot of power due to the Adamant Nature. Due to not running Crunch however, I did need a Slowbro check, so I decided to not copy my Mega TTar RMT run Serperior because it could help wear down bulkier Pokemon that Mega TTar can't break through, such as Quagsire, and also provided a Water check. Then I basically added more support for Mega Tar as I teambuilt.

• general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon

Mega Tar is VERY bulky, with 100/150/120 bulk, making set-up a lot easier than other sweepers, as it can set up on mons like Latios and offensive Electric types. Also thanks to it's amazing coverage options in it's STABs, Ice Punch, Superpower, and even more niche options like Thunder Punch and Fire Punch can work well on Mega Tar, and it makes him underprepared for by a lot of teams. Sadly, it's typing is bad defensively, as it is threatened by Water, Grass, Fighting, etc. types and is weak to a lot of priority moves in OU, like Aqua Jet and Bullet Punch, and Breloom's Mach Punch can OHKO it, stopping a sweep.

• if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not

As much as I love the mon, the meta isn't very much in favor of Mega Tyranitar, as priority moves that are effective against it, such as Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, and Mach Punch, are very popular right now, and checks to it like Keldeo are everywhere as well. It also is outsped by Scarfers and fast mons like Mega Lopunny at +1 if it's the Dragon Dance set as well, and Adamant Rock Polish is still stopped by priority.

• sets you used with the Pokemon

Sets

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch / Crunch
- Superpower

Standard Dragon Dance set, with STABs or coverage to hit a variety of Pokemon and is pretty powerful as well.

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch / Crunch
- Superpower

Adamant Rock Polish, outspeeds Mega Lopunny and Mega Alakazam and kills them, and still has a lot of power with Adamant, and good bulk with the investment as well.

The Team I Used:

The Team

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
- Superpower

Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Glare

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Poison Jab

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Heat Wave
- U-Turn

Mega TTar needed a Slowbro check because he couldn't break through it without Crunch, so Serperior was added as a secondary win condition and a Water check, as well as wearing down some of their checks, such as Skarmory. Slowbro was added as a Fire and Fighting check, as well as a Keldeo check and a good pivot and status spreader with Thunder Wave. Now I decided to be a bit more creative and added Sheer Force Conkeldurr, who checks Darks, but can also lure in and take down some of Mega Tar's checks, such as TankChomp and Lando-T with Ice Punch, and Fairies with Poison Jab. Heatran is the Rocker here, and checks Fairies as well as Talonflame and Kyurem-Black if the Air Balloon is intact. I wanted another Grass check so Heatran isn't overloaded, and another momentum grabber was nice as well, so I slapped on a Torn-T with Heat Wave to beat Skarmory for Mega TTar, as well as adding another Grass and Fighting check. Overall it's a pretty cool team, is a bit weak to Sand if Slowbro is dead, so try to play carefully around it, especially if there's something like mixed MegaChomp on the field.

 

[Eclipse]

Dragalge

Strategies used:

Right off the bat, Dragalge certainly doesn't look all too appealing stats-wise. 65/90/123 bulk with Dragon/Poison typing is certainly decent, but that base 44 Speed does not look very good at all. When you look past that, you see some great things about Dragalge, mainly its Ability (Adaptability) and its wide movepool with great offensive options as well as great support options such as Haze, Dragon Tail, and Toxic Spikes, which Dragalge is one of the more viable users of. Dragalge plays more of a bulky hazard setter role with great power due to its STAB moves having x2 power because of Adaptability. Its typing allows it to check many of OU's biggest threats, such as Clefable, Keldeo, and Azumarill. Now the EV spread I made for Dragalge looks very awkward, but that's because its stat spread is awkward to work with, lol. Given its low base speed, I found it important to give it some help in that department, mainly by outspeeding Clefable and 92 Speed Azumarill. The spread also specifically takes one Choice Band Play Rough from Azumarill should it be running more speed than that:

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 84 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Scald
- Sludge Wave

This spread maximizes its HP for overall bulk, and the Defense/Speed EV's were given to reach the benchmarks that I listed above, and the rest goes into its special attack mainly to bolster its STAB attacks, as STAB Sludge Wave/Draco Meteor hurt really bad regardless, as a Sludge Wave will always KO Azumarill, which is why I chose to invest in enough speed to outspeed it. Scald is the best move in the game is good for burning common switchins to Dragalge. And of course Toxic Spikes (which quite honestly, is the only reason why you should use Dragalge), which is great for crippling grounded foes on the opposing team.

Building with Dragalge:

Dragalge fits well on teams that desire its Toxic Spikes support to slowly weaken checks. Hazard stack offense is pretty great for Dragalge, even though that type of team isn't necessarily my style. This team I made right here is quite honestly pretty much standard ass Sand Offense with Dragalge kinda thrown in there, lol. But it does actually gel well with the rest of the team, as it helps eliminate annoying mons on the opposing team, mainly Azumarill, who would otherwise have a field day with the rest of the team:

Hide

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 84 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Scald
- Sludge Wave

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

Tornadus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Taunt
- Hurricane
- Grass Knot
- Superpower

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam

Excadrill @ Earth Plate
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

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

This next team was a Bulky Offense team I created about three months ago, and while not necessarily the most optimal team for Dragalge to work on, uses its Toxic Spikes support to great use:

Hide

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 224 HP / 32 Def / 196 SpA / 32 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Blastoise-Mega @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SpA / 72 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Healing Wish
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch

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

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Strengths:

Dragalge's unique typing helps it check a great amount of threats. And its bulk is also not terrible, letting it take hits surprisingly well. Of course hard hitting STAB moves help differentiate it from other Toxic Spikers while also being able to take hits from many pokemon that other Toxic Spikers would usually crumble to. Dragalge certainly has a lot more longetivity than other T-Spikers thanks to its typing, bulk, and Black Sludge, which allow it to come in more times in a match to try and set up one or two layers of Toxic Spikes.

Weaknesses:

To be honest, Dragalge has quite a lot of issues. There were many times in a match where Dragalge just seemed to be complete dead-weight, as it was usually too pressured by the enemy team (especially in a ground-infested meta) to set up any more than one Toxic Spike at a time, as it is usually forced out pretty easily because of its terrible speed and weaknesses to moves like Earthquake, Ice Beam, Psyshock, for example. And given that one T-Spike is usually not too great given that teams would usually prefer to have the second Spike up to inflict Toxic damage as opposed to regular Poison (which is why I don't find T-Spikes all too great IMO), it was quite irritating to see Dragalge be so pressured in a match. And especially considering its stats are going to be underwhelming no matter how you distribute its EV's due to its mediocre HP and awful Speed stats (its Speed being, at least in my eyes, the deal-breaker with Dragalge. 44 Speed is simply too irritating to work with) which really need EV's meaning that you can't really distribute them to its other stats very easily, Dragalge usually just fell flat in a number of matchups. While checking Clefable, Azumarill, and Keldeo is nice and all, I found myself a lot of the time wondering if Toxic Spikes was worth having this pokemon on the team, especially with the prevalence of pokemon like Hoopa in the meta. VoltTurn teams also eat this thing alive, as it simply has no way of relieving itself of pressure outside of throwing out its STAB moves (which don't really have great coverage, so Dragalge will usually be walled by something), and given that its recovery is nonexistant outside of Rest and Black Sludge, Dragalge will find itself worn down very easily. The rising usage of Amoonguss is also insanely frustrating for Dragalge teams, as you pretty much have to get rid of opposing Amoonguss before you can even attempt to set up T-Spikes.

Verdict:

Overall, while Dragalge is definitely a fun and unique mon, I found it extremely frustrating to use in a meta dominated by high-pressure offense which Dragalge simply cannot deal with very well. Certainly if you want a bulky-ish T-Spike setter who can hit hard while checking very specific top threats in the metagame, Dragalge is the mon for you. But the meta right now is EXTREMELY unkind to Dragalge. Especially with mons like Hoopa running amok in the tier at the moment, it is not a fun time to be Dragalge. Overall, I can easily say that the meta is NOT in favor of Dragalge.

 

[RedxThree]

I fucking love seahorses

Dragalge - Dragon / Poison
​

Strategies Used

Dragalge is, if nothing else, intriguing to examine. While having crippling Speed and a seemingly subpar offensive presence, the Mock Kelp Pokemon's best qualities are a combination of unique typing and impressive Special bulk as well as access to the rare Adaptability, one of the best abilities in the game. These traits allow Dragalge to serve as a tank on bulkier teams that can switch in on Special attackers and hit back hard. Toxic Spikes further carves out Dragalge's niche in OU, allowing it to support its team by wearing down foes with status.

Sets Used

Offensive Toxic Spikes

seahorses 4eva (Dragalge) @ Draco Plate / Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 120 HP / 248 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast / HP Fire / Dragon Tail

This set maximizes Dragalge's offensive tanking potential. Speed EVs are to outspeed Clef and uninvested TTar. Galge really appreciates Focus Blast b/c its a Steel magnet and can OHKO TTar but HP Fire is helpful for Sciz, Ferro and not getting walled by Klefki and Dragon Tail is an option for phazing.

Specially Defensive

SeahorseSeaHell (Dragalge) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Scald / Venom Drench

This set gives Dragalge much more bulk and staying power to switch into threats and set up Toxic Spikes. Speed EVs are for Hippo. Even defensive Galge appreciates the power of Draco so it hits decently hard. Sludge Bomb is preferred for the chance to poison and works well with Venom Drench if you choose to use it, though it leaves you walled by Steels.

How I Went About Building with Dragalge

Balance

Dragalge @ Draco Plate
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 120 HP / 248 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Rapid Spin

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Protect

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Substitute

Garbage balance team I threw together to test Galge. Ferro makes a nice defensive partner, as their type synergy is on point and Ferro's Leech Seed helps mitigate Galge's lack of recovery. Heatran was picked next to patch up weaknesses and round out the core. I added Clef and MGyara as a pair of bulky sweepers that would appreciate the TSpikes Galge brought to the team and finally added Bulky Mie for hazard support.

Findings

(+)
As stated, Dragalge's typing and Special bulk offers it frequent opportunities to switch in on common Electric-types such as Rotom-W, Mega Manectric, Raikou and Thundurus, as well as metagame threats such as Keldeo, Mega Charizard-Y and Mega Venusaur. It also gets a great matchup versus common Rotom-W leads, giving a free opportunity to set up Toxic Spikes or fire off a Draco Meteor. Between Adaptability, Draco Plate and Draco Meteor, Dragalge more than makes up for its low SpA and its type coverage makes it difficult to switch into, especially for hazard control Pokemon tempted to remove its Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes themselves are also helpful; even a single layer pressures fast threats like Mega Lopunny, Specs Keldeo, Mega Manectric, Garchomp and Weavile, making them much easier to deal with and chip low enough for sweepers to KO.

(-)
Being slower than Chansey's speed tier, weak to Ground and lacking reliable recovery are all still a problem for Dragalge. It gets forced out a lot and is worn down by hazards. Ideally you'd want a Spinner alongside Dragalge as to control hazards and not blow away your own Toxic Spikes, but every viable spinner in OU compounds your weakness to Ground-types (including Starmie) so it puts a lot of strain on teambuilding. Klefki is also more popular now and Dragalge can't touch it for the most part while Klefki can status/set up Spikes at will. But the huge detriment to Dragalge this time around is the advent of the based lord Specs Hoopa. Other than having a worse defensive typing, Hoopa is a superior Specs user, leaving Dragalge's viability tethered to its use of Toxic Spikes, an already pretty match-up based hazard. As a result, this reduced niche now faces competition from bulky users with better support options such as Tentacruel and Cofagrigus and faster, more offensive users such as Roserade and Scolipede.

Is the Meta in Favor of Dragalge?

No. I think Dragalge's hype came about when the meta was desperate for Keldeo and Mega Charizard-Y switch-ins and its Dual-STAB and ability were intriguing to try out. Specs was half of its viability but there's not a lot of reason to fear it with the set's appeal waning. So you're left with a non-Choice user that has to play like a Choice user and the only upside is your typing and Toxic Spikes. Regardless, Dragalge is still a fun Pokemon to use and I enjoyed researching it.

Seahorses Forever

​

 

[Vert]

mono water typing and beautiful sweeping potential, but set up feraligatr finds itself easily crippled or revenged with a dragon dance set. i have never used swords dance, so i saw potential in it and its ability to complete maul stall teams, so i decided to try it out here. however, i grew attraction to special feraligatr. "nigga it loses scald burn" - i will elaborate more later, but don't matter, it hits hard af.
- lures in normal checks like ferrothorn, garchomp, cobalion, amoonguss, skarmory,...
- pairs terrifically with mega physical attackers like lopunny, metagross, scizor, aerodactyl, gyarados,...

sample team

sample team

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
- Swords Dance

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Aqua Jet

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 232 Def / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 48 Def / 72 SpA / 132 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
- Flash Cannon

a team i was able to get to around 1800s with until you see shit like chansey, cofagrigus, alomomola, and suicune...typically fat shit that is too fat for balance breaking feraligatr to break which is why i had to use sd gatr when i hit 1700 due to the prevalence of fat. however, that does not diminish the balance breaking abilities of feraligatr. i know a lot of people have told me "oh you lose scald burn chance" but who cares. it lacks any recovery, so it will never be a "wall". the chance of burn is completely eclipsed by the superior damage output and its great coverage. because this set breaks past its normal checks, off. sd scizor abuses the removal of garchomp, phys-def. skarm, landorus-t, and cobalion. i needed to pair some hazards because of how well the core functions by itself, so landorus-t and klefki is fairly self explanatory while the latter provides speed control. klefki is a much more effective utility 'mon with special feraligatr luring in its counters. scarftar is the best pokemon on balance right now, so why not, while latios provides me a keldeo check and secondary balance breaking. overall, i have had a good run with it.

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Aqua Jet / Hidden Power [Grass]

innovative cash that hits like a truck and lures things. scald and ice beam hit pretty much everything and focus blast 2hkoes rotom-w if you catch that off the switch. aqua jet can pick off fast 'mons switching in, or hidden power [grass] takes out typical gastrodons plus a weaker alternative of focus blast to hit water types, though 100% accurate.

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Ice Punch / Superpower
- Dragon Dance

i have tried this many times, and you are never sweeping with this with thunder wave, unaware clefable, scarfers, and bulky checks omnipresent. and that is considering you even get the chance to set up. if you do have double healing wish, this set can do work, but my research has told me the special and swords dance sets are best right now.

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature / Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet / Superpower
- Swords Dance

this set is the definition of destruction. one swords dance and watch you opponent's balance drop into pieces. aqua jet aids against offense, but i honestly prefer superpower because it just bops the crap out of ferrothorn after and sd and most people expect aqua jet (garbage move on sd btw). adamant nature lets you send quagsire and clefable to another dimension.

conclusion
its niche lies in its wall breaking sets and it was fun doing some work with feraligatr. definitely very good, but just eclipsed. there are so many wall breakers out there and the only niche feraligatr has is boosting move + coverage and a luring special set. dragon dance simply cannot sweep at the moment.

 

[Phantom Me]

I thought about trying dragalge,since it would be injustice otherwise to the mock kelp

• Strategies Used

When adaptability was realised,dragalge was considered as a Wallbreaker.But now,everyone knows that it a good Toxic spikes setter.Dragalge is able to find a place on many teams as a tank, capable of handling many common threats, including Mega Charizard Y, Keldeo, Gengar, Clefable, Manaphy, Mega Manectric, Rotom-W, Thundurus, and Mega Venusaur.Thus,dragalge should be used a offensive or defensive Toxic spiker.

• How I went teambuilding

Like I did before,I'm just going to give simple framework.
Slot 1

The 1st slot is for a trapper,since Magnezone and Dugtrio trap Steel-types such as Jirachi, which are very troublesome for Dragalge to face, even considering its access to Focus Blast.
Slot 2

Grounded Poison-types, such as Amoonguss and Tentacruel, remove Dragalge's Toxic Spikes, so Reuniclus, which can set up on them, and Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mega Alakazam, which can revenge kill them, make for good teammates.
Slot 3

Physical wallbreakers such as Victini and Heracross can also prove to be spectacular teammates for their ability to demolish Chansey.
Slot 4

Because Psychic-types such as Mega Gardevoir and Latios can easily revenge kill Dragalge, a Pursuit trapper such as Tyranitar can make for a great teammate. Mega Metagross can also be a great teammate because it can check many of these bulky Psychic-types, including Gardevoir and Latios.
Slot 5

Th most flexible slot.Ferrothorn can prove to be a spectacular teammate, as it resists or can usually switch in on the Dragon-, Ice-, and Ground-types moves Dragalge is weak to, while Dragalge can switch into the Fire- and Fighting- type moves Ferrothorn is weak to. Add this to Ferrothorn's access to Spikes and Stealth Rock, and the two can make a great entry hazard-setting defensive pair for balanced and bulky offensive teams. Dragalge is prone to being revenge killed by Ground-types, such as Excadrill, Landorus-T, and Landorus, so to remedy this weakness, Rotom-W, Mandibuzz, and Manaphy can serve as great teammates. Teams that this Dragalge variant is a part of often rely, to a varying degree, on Toxic Spikes to function. If these entry hazards get Defogged or spun away, the team loses a substantial part of its wincon. Bisharp can add offensive pressure in an effort to prevent Defog, and it also boasts a fair matchup against two premier Defoggers, Latios and Latias, while Ghost-types such as Mega Sableye can act as Rapid Spin blocker.
Sample Team
Dragalge @ Draco Plate
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Memento
- Stealth Rock

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Recover

Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
General Strength and weakness
Strength

• capable of handling many common threats, including Mega Charizard Y, Keldeo, Gengar, Clefable, Manaphy, Mega Manectric, Rotom-W, Thundurus, and Mega Venusaur.
  
• Dragalge's ability Adaptability (which bolsters the power of its STAB moves by a total factor of 2), is a great boon.
  
• able to differentiate itself from other Dragon-types thanks to its access to STAB Sludge Wave, which powers through many common Fairy-types, including Clefable, as well as its secondary Poison typing, which renders it neutral to Fairy-type moves to which Latios or Latias would fall
  
• utility with Toxic Spikes, which allows it to cut into the longevity of foes such as Substitute Calm Mind Keldeo
  
• can also use a devastating Choice Specs set capable of achieving feats such as OHKOing Mew, Keldeo, and Zapdos.

Weakness

• mere base 97 Special Attack
  
• slowest fully evolved Dragon-type in the game.
  
• has to worry about being revenge killed by many top-tier threats, including Mega Charizard X, Excadrill, Landorus-T, Mega Alakazam, Mega Medicham, and Latios.
  
• If the meta is in favour of it or not

Not really.However,dragalge's quality somewhat outweighs it's weaknesses.It's also one of the best Toxic spikes user in the tier.

• Sets I've used

Dragalge @ Draco Plate/Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast/Hidden Power Fire
- Toxic Spikes
Draco Meteor is an obscenely powerful STAB move that hits everything except Fairy- and Steel-types neutrally. If setting Toxic Spikes isn't ideal at the time, you should generally use this move, because it'll hit almost all switch-ins very hard. Sludge Wave complements Draco Meteor, as it hits Fairy-types super effectively. Additionally, Dragalge is neutral to Fairy-type moves, and thus can switch in on many Fairy-types and destroy them with Sludge Wave. Focus Blast covers the Steel-types that Dragalge's STAB moves cannot, such as Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Bisharp. However, Hidden Power Fire can be used if you'd prefer having better accuracy and the ability to hit Mega Scizor and don't mind not being able to handle Heatran. Toxic Spikes spreads the poisoned or badly poisoned status to all grounded foes, which greatly benefits your team by inhibiting opposing setup Pokemon, including Unaware Clefable and Substitute Keldeo.
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
- Draco Meteor/Dragon Pulse
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Despite not running Special Attack EVs, Dragalge still can hit very hard with Draco Meteor, which has great neutral coverage and OHKOes Gengar after considering Stealth Rock or Life Orb damage. Dragon Pulse is another viable option, which is substantially weaker but doesn't force Dragalge out after its use. It relegates Sludge Wave as Dragalge's most powerful move, if chosen over Draco Meteor, and therefore Dragon Pulse should only be used against Dragon- and Ground-types on the switch, as well as on Gengar. Be wary that unlike Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse can never OHKO Gengar. However, Dragon Pulse performs better against Substitute variants of Gengar and is overall more consistent than Draco Meteor. Sludge Wave is a complementary STAB move to Dragalge's Dragon-type STAB move of choice, as it hits Fairy-types such as Clefable. The move is also useful for stinging Grass-types such as Celebi and Serperior much more than Draco Meteor. Scald hits Steel-types, which resist or are immune to Dragalge's STAB moves, neutrally and has a very useful burn chance, which can allow Dragalge to stay in relatively comfortably on physical attackers that would otherwise force it out. It's also a good move to use on a predicted switch, as almost nothing can switch into Scald without risking a burn. Toxic Spikes spreads the poisoned or badly poisoned status to all grounded foes and is especially useful for stopping setup sweepers such as Quiver Dance Volcarona, Calm Mind Keldeo, and Calm Mind Unaware Clefable.
Dragalge @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast/Hidden Power Fire
- Scald
Draco Meteor is the move Dragalge will be using the vast majority of the time. Thanks to the move's massive 130 Base Power, Adaptability boost, and Choice Specs boost, it is able to do a massive amount of damage to anything but Fairy-types, Chansey, and Blissey. It's able to OHKO frailer Steel-types such as Bisharp as well as 252 / 0 Mew after Stealth Rock damage. Fairy-types, the absolute best switch-ins to Draco Meteor, are, barring Klefki, annihilated by Dragalge's secondary STAB move, Sludge Wave. Sludge Wave also gives Dragalge a much more reliable STAB move with which it can hit both Grass-types and neutral targets hard without having to suffer from Draco Meteor's Special Attack drop. Focus Blast allows Dragalge to hit common Steel-type switch-ins, such as Ferrothorn, Bisharp, and Heatran as well as Tyranitar. However, if you don't mind being worse off against Heatran, and would much rather have better accuracy and the ability to demolish Mega Scizor, Hidden Power Fire can be used in lieu of Focus Blast. Scald lets Dragalge check Heatran, mostly if Dragalge isn't running Focus Blast. Scald doubles as a move with almost no drawbacks, and it can be used early-game to fish for a burn on some of Dragalge's most common switch-ins, such as Klefki, Jirachi, and Mega Metagross.
Conclusion:Dragalge is actually a fun Pokémon. I enjoyed a lot researching it, specially the specs set.So yeah,it's underrated, not unviable.

 

[Skarmx2]

m00ns didnt tag me, must have thought i wldnt submit this one D:

Dragalge​

• Strategies used - Going off base stats and typing, its stats are alright and its typing offers nice resists. I wanted to pair it with something that appreciated stuff like Slowbro, Hippo and and fat shit badly poisoned and also something that could rack up toxic damage through flinching. I thought about using specs but alas, toxic spikes seemed a lot better as opposed to nuking shit. Also droppin dracos is spicy too.
• How you went building with this Pocket Monster - As stated above, i wanted to use tspikes + racking up damage from tspikes via flinching. So i ended up pairing it with Mega Lopunny. Next, i wanted a sweeper who could take advantage of tspikes so i ended up going with dd lando-t (dont ask me why...). Team looked weak to Weavile and Bisharp, so i slapped on RestTalk Keld with a twist. Also Max Speed Scizor was threatening, need rocks + insurance v clef so tran was added and then a juicy ferrothorn for anther water resist and complete the hazard core. (fuck webs)
• General Strengths/Weakness of this Pocket Monster - Being able to nuke shit with an Adaptability Draco is amazing and is truly where this mon shines. However, low speed + lackluster defense. However, offensive teams are booming rn and this thing really struggles v those type of teams. Tspikes are pretty cool as well and the specs set is insane, allowing it to OHKO standard Mega Sableye after rocks.
• If the metagame is in favour of this Pocket Monster - As much as I enjoy using drag and think its a cool mon, it really struggles atm. Mentioned above and by many other analyzers of said Pocket Monster, offense is booming and Drag struggles to keep up in this fast paced meta.
• Sets you used with this Pocket Monster -

Dragalge @ Black Sludge/Draco Plate
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast

The main set i used. Speed outspeeds non invested Clef, max spA and rest dumped into hp.
Focus Blast is for ferro, heatran, the like etc.

The Squad

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- High Jump Kick
- Quick Attack

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

Keldeo-Resolute @ Coba Berry
Ability: Justified
EVs: 32 HP / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
- Leech Seed

EDIT: RIP Gatr

 

[paper dreams]

hiya! i'll be posting the slate with permission from m00ns, she's busy on vacation so she asked me to do update this for her!

oki dokes, the posts being archived are this post on dragalge by RedxThree, this post on mega tyranitar by AM, and this post on feraligatr by Vertex.

s/o Nedor for helping me pick posts to add to the archive! uh and just a quick reminder: 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 #11

nidoking | m-sharpedo | mew
​

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 sets you want; have fun! n_n

the discussion period will start on 4/1; those of you who want to participate have between now and then to play around with one of these pokemon.

 

[Cheryl.]

Reserving the cute Mew

 

[StarBomber109]

M-Sharpedo and the king

 

[RedxThree]

MPedo

 

[Vert]

yung shark

 

[Phantom Me]

Mega Sharkpedo

 

[Dr Ciel]

Mega Sharpedo, please.

 

[ethanlol]

spooky shark

 

[zbr]

i'll take nidoking if that's coooool

 

[paper dreams]

i'll be posting for m00ns again as she's busy; stuff will probably return back to normal by the time the next slate starts! also signups are closed. thanks everyone who signed up!

BrandonBeast StarBomber109 RedxThree Vertex Phantom Me Dr Ciel ethanlol ZANBAKUResh

thanks everyone that signed up! you guys have between now and monday (4/4) night EST to write up your posts about whichever pokemon you took (nidoking | m-sharpedo | mew). also a little 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. 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

have fun~

 

[ethanlol]

The Brutal Pokemon


strategies used
​

When I first saw Sharpedo I wanted to use it as a late game cleaner. I decided to make the team an HO combined with Hazard Stack to put things in range for Sharpedo. I really wanted the team to be HO which Sharpedo, being a frail fast mon, would hopefully excel with.

how you went about building with this Pokemon
​

I definately wanted a hazard stacking core to support so I prompted for 2 common mons that are seen on HO, Klefki and Garchomp. Klefki is a good switchin to the common Lati's which it can exploit for ez spikes setup. Garchomp can switch-in to common physical attackers to put things in range of Sharpedo's attacks with Rocky Helmet/Rough Skin. Klefki functioned as a blanket check to setup mons like Dragonite, Charizard-X, and a switchin to other things like Weavile. I now wanted a fighting resist that could get rid of things like Breloom (which is a must for a Sharpedo sweep) so I added Thundurus. I then added Tangrowth as an electric resist and also help vs. Breloom and water-types like Keldeo and Azumarill that stop Sharpedo's sweep. Keldeo as a dark resist and helps vs Chansey and p2. Idk i think it's a nice.

general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
​

First off I wanted to say that Gyarados is more bulky and hits hard after boosts. It is better vs. Balance/Bulky Offense teams while Sharpedo works well by killing weakened foes and/or HO. Sharpedo is praised with two amazing abilities. Speed Boost which is Pre-Mega boosts it's speed by 1 each turn it is on the field which is what makes it a good cleaner. At +2 it outspeeds the whole unboosted metagame including premier weather sweepers such as Kingdra and Excadrill. It's ability after Mega Evolving is Strong Jaws which boosts it's Crunch and Ice Fang by 1.5. Crunch is the main thing, it nukes things that don't resist it. Sharpedo boasts a base 140 attack.

the dank shark squad

Sharpedo-Mega @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Protect

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 152 Def / 116 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Endure

Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise
- Flash Cannon

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic

Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
​

I had a lot of fun using Sharpedo and I think it's a threat. But it's frailty and weakness to Mach Punch hinders it. Definately unprepared for like Gyarados is. It's just a dark horse to me. It's very simple to use. When paired with Hazard Stack it can demolish teams. For Example, I faced a team that consisted of Medicham, Rotom-W, Tornadus, Excadrill, Latios, and Garchomp. The team was so weak to Sharpedo that all I had to do was weaken Rotom-W. It is definately worth a shot in the OU tier and I think teams not preparing for it can make it a threat at times. Of course things like Keldeo, Azumarill, and Breloom are really prevalent checks.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-352957481

sets you used with the Pokemon
​

Sharpedo-Mega @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Protect

I chose Crunch since it is Strong Jaws boosted STAB and Waterfall for secondary stab that hits a lot of the meta for nuetral damage. Ice coverage for dragons like Hydreigon and Dragonite which are uncommon, but are threats. Ice coverage is just amazing. Protect to help Sharpedo build up speed. Adamant for maximum damage output. People like to use Mixed Sharpedo, but I don't really think it's good.

​

 

[StarBomber109]

This week I'll be doing both Sharpedo and Nidoking. Both of them are simple but oh so powerful.

Nidoking!

The return of the king.

Read more

What does he do?
Nidoking is a powerful special attacker. With his hidden ability of sheer force he's able to dominate the metagame. He also has perfect really good coverage, having a super effective move for nearly every prominent defensive threat except chancey. Nidoking obliterates physically defensive walls and can also punch holes in offensive teams if they don't have a solid switchin. Mostly Nidoking functions as a wallbreaker, punching holes in teams for his teammates to sweep later on.

Strengths:
+Incredible power, sheer force can be combined with life orb to create a power boost that rivals choice specs. Of course you could also use choice specs, but the power increase isn't that much, and you'd lose the ability to switch moves, which is another strength Nidoking has.

+Awesome coverage, Nidoking's most well known move is Earth Power, but he also knows Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Sludge Wave, Thunderbolt, and much more. Nidoking has a move for everything pretty much. The only thing he can't really nail is Chancey.

+Cool immunities, Nidoking is immune to Toxic and Thunder Wave, as well as all electric moves. His coverage also gives him an edge over steel types, the normal counter to poison.

Weaknesses:
-Not the greatest defensive typing, Nidoking is weak to a lot of things, psychic, water, ice, the list goes on. Nidoking might be able to take 1 hit, but after that you'd be taking a lot of risks letting him eat attacks.

-Slow, Nidoking is not on the fast end of the spectrum, though he can outrun most defensive pokemon, as well as things like Azumarill, he's never going to outspeed things like Weavile or Latios.

Strategies: Rely on Nidoking to obliterate balanced or stall teams. Switch him in when you have a chance and watch him obliterate something. It's best to use him to try and take out your opponent's walls. Nidoking is strong enough that even special tanks can get KO'd by him if you hit them enough times. Against offensive teams just remember, no one wants to switch INTO nidoking.

What moves to use?

nidoking set

Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave

Nidoking is best used as a special wallbreaker. The most common partner for this is some steel or dark type who benefits from the general destruction of steels and fairies that Nidoking provides. Max speed ensures you outrun jolly base 70s and other base 80s, max special attack makes you hit all the harder. Nothing can really afford to switch in on you unless it's a dedicated special tank.

How do you build a team around him?

I started my first team based on a volt turn core

then I added

to defog and

as another pivoting volt switcher, lastly I kinda tacked on

as a means to setup rocks.

This team worked out ok, but I also heard about the old Megazor Nidoking core from early on, it was used as a counter to fairy spam, so I thought I would try it out. I started out with M-Scizor and Nidoking. To put up rocks I wanted something more offensive, so I chose Gliscor. I was using an old set from early on, Fling Acrobatics. I used Zapdos as my defogger, CB Talonflame offers me the U-Turn aspect, and Azumaril punches holes in special walls, it's also Assault Vest so it serves as a counter to Latios.

importable

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Nidoking @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 184 HP / 252 Atk / 72 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fling
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 68 SpA / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Volt Switch
- Roost
- Heat Wave

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Flare Blitz
- Steel Wing

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Would you say the metagame is in favor or nah?

Nidoking is overlooked as a wallbreaker. It's hard to say with the suspect test going on, but I definitely think Nidoking has some potential. He may not be fast, but he hits like a truck and is able to hit everything on even the most scary teams.

SHARPEDO

Yar har shiver me T being a pirate is alright with me~

Read more

What does he do?
Mega Sharpedo is a fast physical sweeper who can clean up lategame...and that's pretty much it.

Strengths

+Speed Boost, he's like a slightly worse blaziken. You gotta take care though, as you only get a speed boost if you stay normal for one turn. Sometimes you can get away with attacking on that turn instead of protecting, but most of the time, you'll protect to net a speed boost.

+Fast, Sharpedo is quick, but Mega Sharpedo is even faster! Not to mention that at +1 (or 2) he outruns many things that would scare normal dark types.

+Strong Jaw, Though it's mostly applied to Crunch, Ice Fang also benefits just in case you wanted to use it. It's a small boost overall, but it makes crunch hit hard enough that its worth mentioning as a point.

+Split stats, I'll count this as a strength. Though his attack is stupid high, his special attack isn't bad, and is worth using.
Weaknesses

-Frail, Sharpedo blows up to a lot of moves, mach punch is the big killer here, as even someone without technician can KO sharpedo without too much trouble.

-Needs that speed boost, You'll almost always protect on the first turn, so your opponent can work around that.

-Lacks a bit in strength, Even with Strong Jaw, often times you'll struggle to KO full health or tanky pokemon. You've gotta take care as a missed calculation can end your torpedo run.

Strategy: Avoid switching in Sharpedo too early. Sharpedo is a lategame cleaner, and should be reserved until the end of the match when either everything is weak or you've eliminated his counters. Once the torpedo is in the water there's not really a chance to setup again. If you feel the need to switch him in early, sometimes it's better to hold off on mega-evolving him unless your impatient like me and just want to click that mega evolve button.

What moves to use?

TORPEDOES

Torpedo (Sharpedo) @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 224 Atk / 32 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Hydro Pump
- Poison Jab

Sharpedo's best set IMO. I ran some calculations with Ice Fang and found that Hydro Pump is pretty much the better move overall. You could also use Surf or Scald but if your going to split stats you need the most power you can muster. I sometimes went with Aqua Jet just to have priority, but you could still use Ice Fang or Poison Jab if you need it. Ice Fang is better against Dragons and Gliscor, but Poison Jab works better against Fairy types. For the team I built, I thought Poison Jab would be best.

How did you build a team around him?

I mean, obviously I just went with the pirate shark core :P

. To be perfectly honest I picked garchomp because I wanted to make a shark team. On a serious note, Garchomp is not too bad of a partner for sharpedo, he sets up rocks, he can wear down teams with Rough Skin damage, he's got dragon tail to shuffle, I also decided he would be a good bird-check so I put stone edge on him. I wanted spikes as well so I added in

and

gets through bulky water types and throws out spores.

beats Lati@s if it's scarf and again AV

deals with rotom decently well (well enough for me) but also serves as a check to special sweepers like Keldeo and Volcarona. Basically, everything exists to ensure that my torpedo run doesn't get stopped.

importable

Torpedo (Sharpedo) @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 224 Atk / 32 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Hydro Pump
- Poison Jab

Left Shark (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 240 HP / 176 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Stone Edge

Treasure Keys (Klefki) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magnet Rise
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes
- Foul Play

Luffy (Breloom) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mach Punch
- Swords Dance
- Rock Tomb
- Spore

Darth Helmet (Bisharp) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Pursuit

Captain BoH (Azumarill) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Is the metagame in favor?

I don't wanna discourage people from using sharpedo because he's a cool pokemon that's actually not too bad, however, I don't feel like the metagame is in favor of him. There's too much mach punch out there right now, and keldeo is actually a solid check to him too. Even with that said, I had a lot of fun using this team, and sharpedo is fun to use, there's no doubt. It's just that you have to make the planets align for you to have a good sweep.

 

[Cheryl.]

The New Species Pokemon, Mew.

• strategies used

I decided to build a balanced team with Mew, as that is what I think is the playstyle Mew fits on best. I used the stallbreaker set, as it's really nice at breaking stall and also checking a ton of special attackers in OU, including Latios and Mega Manectric (Spreading burns is awesome too). Defog Mew is also a set I thought of using, but after testing I decided that the stallbreaker set was the one I liked using best, so I decided to build around that. Mew also has access to a very niche offensive lure set, but I see no reason to run that over Mega Gardevoir other than the surprise factor.

• how you went about building with this Pokemon

Mew has trouble breaking stall if there's things like Mega Sableye and Clefable around, so I added Nasty Plot Togekiss as a partner, as it beats everything Mew has trouble stallbreaking with except Heatran, and also provides Heal Bell to cure any Scald burns or anything. Together, these two can really fuck up stall teams, which I enjoy massively. Since the core was weak to Heatran and Lum Berry Bisharp, I added Keldeo to break holes into teams and check the two threats, as well as Weavile and Dark-types in general. Now I wanted a Talonflame check as it was immune to Mew's Will-O-Wisp and could set up in Mew's face, and I also wanted a Rocker, so Heatran was added to help with Talon and Torn-T, as well as being a good Stealth Rocker. Since I had two stallbreakers already, I just went with good ol' SR + 3 Attacks Heatran. Now I wanted to complete the FWG core and needed a Keldeo check, so I added Mega Venusaur because I hate Amoonguss, and I had the Mega slot open already. Also adds a good Ground and Fairy check, as well as a Breloom check. Since Togekiss had a SR weakness which limited her ability to be a win condition, I needed a hazard remover. Sadly, there really wasn't any that didn't expand weaknesses on the team, so I decided to add a Double Dance Lando-T as another win condition, and as a check to Sand teams. Overall, it's a pretty decent balance team, not the best, but a pretty cool one that showcases Mew's stallbreaker set.

• general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon

Well, Mew has really nice special bulk, letting it check Pokemon such as Latios and offensive Electrics, all the while spreading burns and Knocking Off items, or breaking stall. Sadly, it gets absolutely walled by Mega Sableye, reducing it's ability to break stall, and sometimes has trouble fitting on teams due to it's bad defensive typing, and competition as a stallbreaker from Pokemon like Heatran, and competition as a Defogger from Pokemon like Latios or Mega Scizor. It also doesn't like being statused, as it makes it more suspectible to 2HKOs from the likes of Pokemon like Latios after the burn or Toxic damage, although Taunt helps allievate this a bit.

• if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not

I'd say the meta isn't in favor of Mew at the moment, as the amount of Dark-types out there make it really hard to use Mew without being in fear of Pursuit. Will-O-Wisp helps allievate this problem a bit, however, but it's still heavily pressured by Dark-types and Bug-types like Scizor, and is also sort of bait for Hoopa-U to come in if you count that (Not bait for Hoopa-C however, as Knock Off OHKOs it). Also the aforementioned problems above still affect Mew, making it a support-reliant mon to fully work. But overall, Mew can be a solid Pokemon in OU with the right support, and really shines on balance and bulky offense teams that support it the right way.

• sets you used with the Pokemon

Sets

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Knock Off / Psychic

A simple and effective stallbreaker set, used to break stall and still be effective against other playstyles by checking a ton of special attackers and spreading burns. Easily Mew's best set overall.

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Will-O-Wisp / Taunt
- Roost
- Knock Off / Psychic

Defog Mew, an okay hazard remover with the bonus of checking shit and spreading burns or Taunt, something other Defoggers can't do. Has a case of 4MSS however.

Mew @ Expert Belt
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Superpower
- Dazzling Gleam
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt / Psychic / Knock Off

Offensive lure set, pretty much a worse Mega Gardevoir with surprise factor and ability to hit Chansey with Superpower. I don't see why you would use this over Mega Garde, who already hits Mega Sableye with Hyper Voice, and can handle Chansey with Taunt, but I guess if you like luring stuff, this might be the set for you.

The Team I Used:

Importable

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Knock Off

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Heal Bell

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

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 232 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Soft Sand
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

And that is my current-meta analysis for the cute Pokemon, Mew.

< - - Cute mon

EDIT: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-353577435 This here is a replay showcasing how effective Mew can be against certain teams, Taunting and wearing down a ferrothorn to death and shutting down a Suicune and Mega Metagross, all the while keeping itself healthy.