Project Pokémon Matchmaking - Not hosted anymore

[Random Passerby]

Urshifu @ Life Orb
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
- Bulk Up

Bulk Up Urshifu appreciates that Hex Dragapult will be able to force some damage on Clefable, Toxapex and Mandibuzz which can threaten its sweep. In addition, it pressures Bisharp and Blissey who are baited in by Dragapult while also being able to revenge kill a weakened Zeraora (or a full health Zera if Urshifu is at +1).

 

[SpookMÆN]

Reserving Toxtricity

Toxtricity @ Life Orb
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 144 Atk / 180 SpA / 8 SpD / 176 Spe
Mild Nature
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Drain Punch
- Overdrive

This set takes advantage of the mons dragapult lures in, such as mandi, bliss, and clef, to abuse and set up a sg (be wary of foul play tho). Mixed offenses was to allow it to lure ttar, one of the more effective counters to pult.

 

[Tysonslayer]

Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Roost

Hydreigon forms a very nice offensive core with Dragapult that can overwhelm fairies and Blissey, as well as providing great defensive utility in checking thing like Rotom-H. Hydreigon heavily enjoys Dragapult on bringing it in with U-Turn and can set up on things that give Dragapult a hard time like Mandibuzz, Toxapex , and Clefable, as well as acting as a soft check against opposing ghost types thanks to it's dark typing. Dragapult in return can revenge kills Volcarona and Alakazam for Hydreigon which both can outspeed and have the coverage to break past it. Though it does have good defensive utility , does struggle in breaking against the likes of Primarina and Tyranitar , and can get revenge killed by Zeraora and opposing Dragapults, so having proper defensive backbones are important like Amoonguss or Calm Mind Clefable to help covering with there struggles can be beneficial for them.

 

[Martin]

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb / Clear Smog
- Toxic / Stun Spore

Amoonguss helps to keep Zeraora (one of the few Pokemon that can revenge kill Dragapult without fearing Will-O-Wisp) in check while acting as a very consistent status spreader, which is important for making sure Dragapult can spam Hex consistently mid–late-game, and it also checks Clefable thanks to its typing, eptitude as a Knock absorber, and ability to either hit it hard with Sludge Bomb (as well as potentially poison it for a bolstered Hex later) or by clearing its CM boosts with Clear Smog. It can also pivot through Urshifu in the short term thanks to Regenerator, which is useful as it can threaten Dragapult with Sucker Punch if you aren't in a position to justify taking a risk with Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave versus it, though obviously it doesn't do this as well as Toxapex does. Additional partners who can pressure Blissey, such as Zeraora, Shift Gear Toxtricity, and Urshifu are important because it can otherwise shut the core down between its typing, bulk, and access to Natural Cure. Furthermore, Pokemon like Clefable, Slowbro, Mandibuzz, and Togekiss are important to make Amoonguss actually functional as a pivot vs Urshifu.

 

[Martin]

Alright lads I'm wrapping it up this week. I discussed this with Tyson earlier and we decided to archive everything as it was sorta teetering on whether there are enough subs+most of our disagreements were with parts of sets rather than with the specific partners. We did go through and discuss them though, so for I'm gonna leave a few comments here for stuff that I don't personally agree with even tho they're going in the archive.

Comments

Toxapex is an extremely common Dragapult partner for good reason, acting as an excellent defensive pivot and status spreader/knock utility to complement Dragapults high speed. However, I don't think that Toxic Spikes is a good option in the current metagame between the abundance of HDB and Amoonguss/Pex—you're realistically never going to net a poison on a relevant target by using it (not even Clef). Scald/Knock+Toxic is just far more consistent at the whole status spreading thing, which is what you seem to be selling as an advantage of TSpikes on Pult teams. If you do still run TSpikes, I feel like you either need to carry Knock yourself or pair with a Pokemon that can Knock Off Blissey's boots, as it is is one of the few targets that TSpikes actually serves to keep poisoned long-term.

Magnezone+Dragapult is a core I've used a few times and I don't really think the set listed complements Dragapult very well when compared to Choice Specs. The ability to just maul Clef+Pex+Corv/Buzz/Skarm builds that lack Blissey is just a very good selling point of Zone when paired with Pult, and Iron Defense sets just feel kinda tepid in that role due to just how much firepower is being sacrificed to do it. Sure, you can trap Excadrill and have Body Press to better pressure Blissey, but you're not a long-term response to Blissey by any stretch and there are still 4 other slots to cover or otherwise overwhelm it regardless.

I don't have any concerns with Craw; it's a very simple mon that pairs well with Pult, though not one I tend to use due to my playstyle (I know Tyson likes it tho).

Weezing once again just has the issue of TSpikes not being very good in the current meta. I also find slashing Will-O with another move somewhat questionable—if you needed to mention TSpikes, I think you should've slashed it with Aroma rather than slashing Wisp with Aroma—though once again I think something like Sludge+Wisp+Split+Aroma/Toxic would be better than TSpikes wrt consistent status spreading.

My gut tells me CB Urshi is better with Pult but I must confess that I've not used BU Urshi enough to really justify that claim. One thing worth noting with it is that it just doesn't pressure Clef all that well compared to CB—you'll need to work extremely hard to not just be used as Soft-Boiled fodder if the aim is to chip it down into boosted Hex range, which is compounded by the LO recoil, although the flipside is that u pressure Mandi far better than you would otherwise. Regardless Urshi+Pult is good so it's whatever lol.

Shift Gear Toxtricity is another straight forward partner; pressures Blissey in a way that other special wallbreakers can't and mauls teams that rely on Pex pivoting to counteract Urshifu.

Thank you for your continued support for this project, and please let me know if you like/dislike me going through and making comments like this—I can't promise to do it every round, but if people think it's useful/otherwise good I'm happy to try and do it more. Next round will be up shortly.

 

[Martin]

Round 10: Skarmory

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet / Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind / Toxic
- Body Press / Counter

Skarmory saw an uptick in usage during OLT and IIRC WCoP thanks to the potency of vanilla Spikes in the current metagame. It otherwise does a lot of the same stuff as Corv, trading quite a lot of special bulk for a stronger Body Press (due to how its physical bulk is weighted) and access to Toxic, Whirlwind, Counter, and the aforementioned Spikes. Now, what are some good partners?

 

[SpookMÆN]

Reserving hatterene


Hatterene @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Draining Kiss
- Mystical Fire

Skarm appreciates having Hatt on the team, as she can help win the hazard war, bouncing them off the field and in general has a good mu against the tiers setters (Toxapex can be muscle through after a few CM boosts, Ferrothorn dislikes fire coverage while Kommo gets easily OHKO'd) and scares most hazard setters like Corvi/ Mandi. The only hazard remover/setter that deals with Hatt is Excadrill, who gets walled by skarm. They can both form a defensive core similiar to SkarmBliss, with Skarm's defensive bulk and Hatt's impressive numbers on its SPDEF stat, especially after a few cms.

 

[Martin]

Reserving SkarmBliss bby

God I've waited 2 whole generations to say SkarmBliss again and it feels good


Blissey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Teleport
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave / Toxic / Stealth Rock

SkarmBliss is a historic core that thrives thanks to the former's titanic physical bulk and the latter's titanic special bulk, and it's more potent than ever thanks to the excellent synergy between Spikes and Teleport when pivoting. I'd add more detail, but that really is all there is to it: natural physical bulk+natural special bulk makes for very good natural synergy without falling back onto type synergy too heavily.

With that said, one big drawback to using this core is its susceptibility to Urshifu, which means having a core that can handle it consistently is important for SkarmBliss teams whether you're running this on stall or balance—this usually means Toxapex cores. Toxtricity can also pose as a problem if you lack something like Dragapult that helps to cover it, as can physical Zeraora if you don't have a consistent response in the back. Furthermore, cores like Excadrill+Magnezone are able to effectively nullify Skarmory until Magnezone is removed from the picture, so if your team lacks adequate counterplay to Driller beyond Skarmory it's potentially worth considering carrying Shed Shell for that specific matchup so that you can pivot out to Blissey if Zone tries to trap you when you're laying down spikes.

 

[Random Passerby]

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic / Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Body Press

Magnezone can pressure Defog users like Corviknight (watch out for Body Press!) and Mandibuzz while being able to punish opposing balance teams hard with Analytic-boosted attacks. It is also able to force out Hatterene who will attempt to bounce off hazards to your side of the field. Body Press is a viable move to punish a reckless Excadrill switch-in or Rapid Spin. Magnet Pull is an alternative to Analytic to trap opposing Skarmory and Ferrothorn for your team if required.

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain / Sticky Hold
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earthquake

While Gastrodon is often over looked by Toxapex, Gastrodon has a lot going for it in this meta. Gastrodon spreads status in the form of Scald and Toxic, and checks a plethora of top threats, including, Zeraora, Primarina, and Toxtricity. Type wise, Gastrodon and Skarmory have great synergy, as Gastrodon can easily absorb Electric and Fire-type attacks aimed at Skarmory, while Skarmory quad resists Grass-type attacks aimed at Gastrodon. Gastodon also has two great abilities in the form of Storm Drain and Sticky Hold. Personally I prefer Storm Drain for the immunity to Water-type attacks, but Sticky Hold certainly has its uses for the ever common Knock Off. Some Pokemon to watch out for if using this core, since 2 Pokemon alone can't cover everything: Safeguard Volcarona, Specs Kyurem, Hatterene, and Hydreigon. Blissey does very well against all of these mentioned threats, so its certainly another team member to consider

 

[Martin]

Heya, we’re looking to close up later today, so if u want to get a sub in before then plz do

 

[Martin]

Veeeery slow week again so everything will be archived again.

Gonna go thru and catch up on this+the other missed archives tomorrow when I have PC access

 

[Martin]

Round 11: Specially Defensive Tyranitar

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rock Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Thunder Wave
- Rest / Protect

Specially defensive Tyranitar has seen usage recently thanks to its role compression between Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, and ability to shut down special attackers like Volcarona with its collossal sand-boosted special bulk. Now, what Pokémon does it pair well with?

 

[ImperialGamer517]

Reserving Excadrill



Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin

Excadrill seems like a mandatory partner for Tyranitar, since it appreciates Sand Stream being able to boost its Speed thanks to Sand Rush. Excadrill also appreciates Tyranitar's role compression so that it can be freed a moveslot and freely run Swords Dance. In return, Excadrill can beat threats to Tyranitar such as Clefable and Togekiss.

 

[Steel With It]

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb / Clear Smog
- Spore
- Toxic / Stun Spore

The Grass/Poison-types have always had underrated type synergy with defensive TTar - resisting four of its weaknesses and removing TSpikes - and this gen, Amoonguss kicks it up a notch by completing the "Bulky Dark resist + Regenerator" core. Run whichever status TTar doesn't.

 

[Random Passerby]

Aegislash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak / Toxic

Aegislash can come in on Clefable, Corviknight, Hatterene, Rillaboom and Choice-locked Close Combat from Urshifu aimed at Tyranitar. From there, it can fire off powerful Shadow Ball and Flash Cannons to wear down Ferrothorn, Skarmory and Tangrowth that will prevent a clean Excadrill sweep. Shadow Sneak allows Aegislash to pick off weakened enemies while Toxic is an alternative to wear down Specially Defensive Hippowdon, Kommo O and Mandibuzz. Also, Tyranitar is able to weaken Pokemon that trouble Aegislash such as Rotom-H (watch out for Wisp!), Volcarona and Mandibuzz. You can also pivot into a Wicked Blow from Urshifu although Tyranitar can only Thunder Wave it.

Note: The Leftovers + Substitute set is a viable alternative and can ease prediction especially against Urshifu. However, it lacks the immediate threatening power that the Choice Specs set here offers.

 

[Shaymin Sky]

reserving skarmory

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 23 Spe
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind/toxic
- Body Press/Brave Bird

BEFORE YOU READ
Firstly before I go over anything I just want to explain the speed IV's being at 23, the reason being so is for U-turn Corviknights that can potentially U-turn into threats like Magnezone. The 23 IV's are there to make sure you don't out speed their U-turns and get the body press chip on incoming magnezone's as this can chip it down heavily, or net the kill. It is also important to note that being slower allows Skarmory to hit super effectively against Corviknight, and other Skarmory off their roost.

About the set
Going down into the meat of the set we have the moves. Roost is practically needed to be able to maintain Skarmory's longevity, and allows it to wall other Pokemon effectively without getting severely worn down. Spikes is what the real deal breaker when it comes to Skarmory's viability, as the extra layers spikes punish Pokemon for switching in. This is especially useful against HO(Hyper Offense teams) as they typically don't have hazard control to remedy spikes. Next up we have Whirlwind which when added with spikes, it gives offensive teams a very difficult time. Whirlwind can also create prevent Magnezone from trapping it, while stacking on spike damage in the process. This slot can be switched for toxic to be able to cripple things that it otherwise couldn't such as Dragapult, which likes to switch into Skarmory since most lack a move to hit it. Lastly we have the attacking moves Body Press and Brave Bird. These are really Skarmory's decently strong hitting moves with body press packing quite a punch when you factor in its 416 defense stat. Body press can also catch incoming Magnezones, as well as hit the previous Roost users I mentioned before(including Mandibuzz who is already faster by default). Brave bird allows Skarmory to hit those bulky grass types such as Amoonguss, and Tangrowth it otherwise couldn't have which makes it a decent option instead. Lastly rocky helmet just prevents U-turn from being used due to the 1/16 contact damage it has.

The synergy with Tyranitar
There are a multitude of reasons why I believe Skarmory is a top teammate for Tyranitar. First off they both cover each other very well. Tyranitar is exceptional at walling special attacking monsters such as Volcarona, and Togekiss. While on the other hand Skarmory can just abuse a lot of the physical competition such Excadrill, and Rillaboom. It is also important to note that Tyranitar can allow Skarmory to effectively counter Venusaur by setting up sand against the sun, and switching into Skarmory to threaten it with Brave Bird. Not only that the item of choice on Skarmory is key, as it pretends U-turn as said before which is something that Dragapult likes to do as a way to abuse Tyranitar's for coming in. Lastly the hazard stacking combo of Stealth rock and Spikes can just outright end teams, and make it impossible to switch around freely. Skarmory is a great fit for the green monster, and I believe there wont be much of a stop to the combo anytime soon.

 

[ImperialGamer517]

Excuse me but when is this slate supposed to end?

 

[Martin]

Excuse me but when is this slate supposed to end?

Sorry for not closing this sooner. It’s been a Really rough week for me and it totally slipped my mind.

Everything’s getting archived, next round goes up shortly.

 

[Martin]

Round 11: Nasty Plot Togekiss

Togekiss @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / Def / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Heal Bell

Togekiss is useful as a potent stallbreaker and useful role compression vs Urshifu. You know the drill.

 

[Dreadfury]

Necrozma @ Power Herb
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Meteor Beam
- Photon Geyser
- Heat Wave

Togekiss and Necrozma are a match made in heaven. Togekiss beats Urshifu, which both outspeeds and OHKOs Necrozma with Wicked Blow, while Necrozma just nukes the living daylights out of Toxapex so Togekiss doesn't have to theoretically RNG it to death instead.

 

[Random Passerby]

I know I nominated Aegislash at first but after playing more, I like Zeraora more so

Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Knock Off

Zeraora is able to help improve Togekiss's poor matchup with opposing fast threats such as Dragapult, Alakazam and Gengar while also being helpful to hunt good match-ups for Togekiss with Volt Switch. Togekiss also benefits from Pokemon that likes to switch into Zeraora such as Tangrowth and Hippowdon.

 

[Martin]

Given the low activity and imminence of DLC 2, the next round won’t start until maybe a week after it drops. Bumping now to try and get a few more submissions on this round before then.

 

[ChoiceScarfed]

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin
Almost all Togekiss's checks are weak to Earthquake or Iron Head, so...

 

[KiruxOnTheFlux]

Kaido (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rock Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Crunch

Tyranitar is I think a really good partner. Togekiss can check Rillaboom, Urshifu Dark. And Tyranitar is a good good answer to ditto.

calcs

+6 0 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 90-107 (22.2 - 26.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery