Hi this is my first RMT, and I've been playing NU for quite a while. I'm currently at 1592 on Ladder with about a 65% win rate, and I'd appreciate any help to get it up to 70% (besides relying on hax, which by the way saved my ass in two games today).
Before the ladder reset after the DDos attack, I did really well in UU (probably my best tier), but I never "got the hang" of NU.
While I was building the team, I read the article about "NU cores."
Basically I use two "two cores." They are
+
The first two are strong because Golurk hits like a truck and can come in on resisted/immune hits that Cinccino can U-Turn away from, while Cinccino handles faster threats and can OHKO quite a few of them.
Amoonguss and Alomomola form the "Dual Regenerator" core, meaning unless they take catastrophic (> 87.5%) damage with stealth rock on the field, I can switch them in, and switch them out without fearing much. Even against hyper-offensive Pokemon like SS Gorebyss I can sometimes stall them out with some prediction, which I believe I'm fairly good at.
And then I needed a reliable SR pokemon and a Wallbreaker, so here's my team.
Cinccino @ Life Orb
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Tail Slap
- U-turn
Cinccino functions to stop fast sweepers such as Kadabra, and this skillset takes advantage of his ability Skill Link, which breaks Focus Sash and Substitute. If there are still steel types and/or physical wall(s) on the other team, U-Turn guarantees a good switch in (since no frail sweeper slower than Cinccino would want to stay in, except for Pokemon with priority moves that can OHKO a weakened Cinccino).
Golurk @ Choice Band
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Shadow Punch
Golurk has relatively good offensive synergy with Cinccino, hitting certain foes much harder (such as Grass types) but requires decent prediction. That being said, Ice Punch is usually the safest move since it has 0 pokemon immune to it outside of the extraordinarily rare Shedinja. Also, the EVs allow me to survive an unboosted Life Orb Sucker Punch/Night Slash from Absol and KO with Drain Punch/Earthquake, in case the opponent thinks he can get a free Swords Dance.
Alomomola @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Waterfall
- Toxic
- Wish
Alomomola forms one of the 2 regenerator cores, and is extremely frustrating to deal with unless you pack a Special Attacker/Sweeper. Even then, Toxic nails certain switch-ins very hard and it's possible to outstall them. I also have nothing to fear from Choice Band Emboar because Wild Charge is a 2HKO with Stealth Rock up, and I can simply switch into another Pokemon to take the second Wild Charge. Physical Sweepers without Taunt/Substitute and a setup move will have no chance of breaking Alomomola.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Clear Smog
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Amoonguss functions as the second part of my regenerator core, taking Grass and electric type attacks with ease and putting dangerous threats to sleep with Spore. Hidden Power Ice hits offensive Altaria very hard (which is why I've opted for HP Ice over Sludge Bomb). Clear Smog negates the effectiveness of pokemon like Butterfree and other Dragon Dancers while Giga Drain is a good STAB move for extra healing. I alternate between Amoonguss and Alomomola to get the most out of their longevity.
Golem @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Blast
I chose Golem over certain other SR pokemon because of Rock Blast + Sucker Punch. Sturdy lets me survive anything bar multi-hit moves that are super effective, so I'm almost always guaranteed to get SR up. Sucker Punch is an excellent move that deals significant damage to frail sweepers such as Sunny Day Charizard, Shell Smash Gorebyss, etc. Rock Blast punches holes through weak substitute users such as Haunter and destroys Ninjask, which people still use for some reason.
Emboar @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Head Smash
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
Emboar is my wallbreaker. Send him in, hit a move (chances are, it'll hit neutrally or super effectively), and hopefully score a KO. Unfortunately, smart play by an opponent means Alomomola will never be knocked out by Emboar (see above), while every other Pokemon in NU is in danger of being destroyed after Stealth Rock, but usually if I can whittle down Alomomola's HP low enough, even Regenerator won't let the oversized luvdisc tank another hit.
I usually lead with Golem, who can survive anything bar multi-hit super effective moves such as Bullet Seed. Golem can also score kills on pokemon who think they can set up on it (such as Substitute Ninjask and Substitute Haunter).
Usually if Golem is < 25% hp, I leave it in to take the hit especially if the pokemon is specially based, since I have the 2 physically bulky walls to alternate.
I bring in Emboar on pokemon such as opposing Amoonguss and spam a move, hopefully hitting super-effectively on the switch-in (or if they stay in) or at least neutrally for massive damage.
Despite what you may think, opposing Alomomola (and for that matter, stall teams) have fared quite poorly mainly because I spam toxic whenever they try to switch out into something to take it. 70% of the time I'm switching onto either Regenerator Pokemon so unless they have those 2 as well, or Heal Bell, I have absolutely no problem dealing with Stall.
THREATS:
Here are the pokemon I'm having trouble with. (Red means Very Dangerous, Orange means Moderately Dangerous)
Gardevoir
Basically if Gardevoir has good coverage moves, such as a Choice Specs/Life Orb set consisting of Thunderbolt/Focus Blast/Psychic/Shadow Ball, I'm pretty much going to lose at least 1. Only Cinccino outspeeds it, and Golem is usually crippled/dead so it cannot be relied upon to check it. If Gardevoir has a Choice Scarf I'm in even more trouble. Emboar cannot take a Psychic at all, and the same can be said for Cinccino (who hates everything except Shadow Ball and Trick if it's a Choice Scarf).
Exeggutor
Nothing makes me more annoyed than an Exeggutor user who comes in and spams Leaf Storm/Psychic, which at worst 2 OHKO's every Pokemon on my team. If Exeggutor packs Substitute as well, it's guaranteed an OHKO, with no question.
Setup Sweepers:
Musharna
If Musharna gets Baton Passed somehow and sets up 2 calm minds, I'm in big trouble. Flare Blitz is a 2HKO on Bold Musharna (which is the set they're usually running) and Golurk is the only one who can take a hit and can still manage to cripple Musharna.
Butterfree
I've only seen Butterfree in like 1 out of every 15 games I've played, but it's usually a pain to deal with. If Golem is still alive I can send it in to absorb sleep and then send out Amoonguss to use Clear Smog, but if Amoonguss is weakened then I might have problems.
Rain Sweepers:
Gorebyss + Ludicolo
Basically I have to outpredict them to win. Ludicolo is a thorn since Giga Drain mitigates Life Orb Recoil allowing him to stay in longer, and Gorebyss can deal massive damage to everything on this team after a Shell Smash. If it's Baton Passed a sub, it can switch in on Alomomola easily, and then it's game over.
Reliable Heal Bell Users such as Audino, Leafeon, and the rare Articuno can be very annoying, since they can erase Spore/Toxic which I rely on to keep dangerous threats at bay.
Anyways this is about all I can come up with, if I missed something let me know.
Before the ladder reset after the DDos attack, I did really well in UU (probably my best tier), but I never "got the hang" of NU.
While I was building the team, I read the article about "NU cores."
Basically I use two "two cores." They are
+
The first two are strong because Golurk hits like a truck and can come in on resisted/immune hits that Cinccino can U-Turn away from, while Cinccino handles faster threats and can OHKO quite a few of them.
Amoonguss and Alomomola form the "Dual Regenerator" core, meaning unless they take catastrophic (> 87.5%) damage with stealth rock on the field, I can switch them in, and switch them out without fearing much. Even against hyper-offensive Pokemon like SS Gorebyss I can sometimes stall them out with some prediction, which I believe I'm fairly good at.
And then I needed a reliable SR pokemon and a Wallbreaker, so here's my team.
Cinccino @ Life Orb
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Tail Slap
- U-turn
Cinccino functions to stop fast sweepers such as Kadabra, and this skillset takes advantage of his ability Skill Link, which breaks Focus Sash and Substitute. If there are still steel types and/or physical wall(s) on the other team, U-Turn guarantees a good switch in (since no frail sweeper slower than Cinccino would want to stay in, except for Pokemon with priority moves that can OHKO a weakened Cinccino).
Golurk @ Choice Band
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Shadow Punch
Golurk has relatively good offensive synergy with Cinccino, hitting certain foes much harder (such as Grass types) but requires decent prediction. That being said, Ice Punch is usually the safest move since it has 0 pokemon immune to it outside of the extraordinarily rare Shedinja. Also, the EVs allow me to survive an unboosted Life Orb Sucker Punch/Night Slash from Absol and KO with Drain Punch/Earthquake, in case the opponent thinks he can get a free Swords Dance.
Alomomola @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Waterfall
- Toxic
- Wish
Alomomola forms one of the 2 regenerator cores, and is extremely frustrating to deal with unless you pack a Special Attacker/Sweeper. Even then, Toxic nails certain switch-ins very hard and it's possible to outstall them. I also have nothing to fear from Choice Band Emboar because Wild Charge is a 2HKO with Stealth Rock up, and I can simply switch into another Pokemon to take the second Wild Charge. Physical Sweepers without Taunt/Substitute and a setup move will have no chance of breaking Alomomola.
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Clear Smog
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Amoonguss functions as the second part of my regenerator core, taking Grass and electric type attacks with ease and putting dangerous threats to sleep with Spore. Hidden Power Ice hits offensive Altaria very hard (which is why I've opted for HP Ice over Sludge Bomb). Clear Smog negates the effectiveness of pokemon like Butterfree and other Dragon Dancers while Giga Drain is a good STAB move for extra healing. I alternate between Amoonguss and Alomomola to get the most out of their longevity.
Golem @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Blast
I chose Golem over certain other SR pokemon because of Rock Blast + Sucker Punch. Sturdy lets me survive anything bar multi-hit moves that are super effective, so I'm almost always guaranteed to get SR up. Sucker Punch is an excellent move that deals significant damage to frail sweepers such as Sunny Day Charizard, Shell Smash Gorebyss, etc. Rock Blast punches holes through weak substitute users such as Haunter and destroys Ninjask, which people still use for some reason.
Emboar @ Choice Band
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 128 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Head Smash
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
Emboar is my wallbreaker. Send him in, hit a move (chances are, it'll hit neutrally or super effectively), and hopefully score a KO. Unfortunately, smart play by an opponent means Alomomola will never be knocked out by Emboar (see above), while every other Pokemon in NU is in danger of being destroyed after Stealth Rock, but usually if I can whittle down Alomomola's HP low enough, even Regenerator won't let the oversized luvdisc tank another hit.
I usually lead with Golem, who can survive anything bar multi-hit super effective moves such as Bullet Seed. Golem can also score kills on pokemon who think they can set up on it (such as Substitute Ninjask and Substitute Haunter).
Usually if Golem is < 25% hp, I leave it in to take the hit especially if the pokemon is specially based, since I have the 2 physically bulky walls to alternate.
I bring in Emboar on pokemon such as opposing Amoonguss and spam a move, hopefully hitting super-effectively on the switch-in (or if they stay in) or at least neutrally for massive damage.
Despite what you may think, opposing Alomomola (and for that matter, stall teams) have fared quite poorly mainly because I spam toxic whenever they try to switch out into something to take it. 70% of the time I'm switching onto either Regenerator Pokemon so unless they have those 2 as well, or Heal Bell, I have absolutely no problem dealing with Stall.
THREATS:
Here are the pokemon I'm having trouble with. (Red means Very Dangerous, Orange means Moderately Dangerous)
Gardevoir
Basically if Gardevoir has good coverage moves, such as a Choice Specs/Life Orb set consisting of Thunderbolt/Focus Blast/Psychic/Shadow Ball, I'm pretty much going to lose at least 1. Only Cinccino outspeeds it, and Golem is usually crippled/dead so it cannot be relied upon to check it. If Gardevoir has a Choice Scarf I'm in even more trouble. Emboar cannot take a Psychic at all, and the same can be said for Cinccino (who hates everything except Shadow Ball and Trick if it's a Choice Scarf).
Exeggutor
Nothing makes me more annoyed than an Exeggutor user who comes in and spams Leaf Storm/Psychic, which at worst 2 OHKO's every Pokemon on my team. If Exeggutor packs Substitute as well, it's guaranteed an OHKO, with no question.
Setup Sweepers:
Musharna
If Musharna gets Baton Passed somehow and sets up 2 calm minds, I'm in big trouble. Flare Blitz is a 2HKO on Bold Musharna (which is the set they're usually running) and Golurk is the only one who can take a hit and can still manage to cripple Musharna.
Butterfree
I've only seen Butterfree in like 1 out of every 15 games I've played, but it's usually a pain to deal with. If Golem is still alive I can send it in to absorb sleep and then send out Amoonguss to use Clear Smog, but if Amoonguss is weakened then I might have problems.
Rain Sweepers:
Gorebyss + Ludicolo
Basically I have to outpredict them to win. Ludicolo is a thorn since Giga Drain mitigates Life Orb Recoil allowing him to stay in longer, and Gorebyss can deal massive damage to everything on this team after a Shell Smash. If it's Baton Passed a sub, it can switch in on Alomomola easily, and then it's game over.
Reliable Heal Bell Users such as Audino, Leafeon, and the rare Articuno can be very annoying, since they can erase Spore/Toxic which I rely on to keep dangerous threats at bay.
Anyways this is about all I can come up with, if I missed something let me know.
