ok, i'll post at least a couple things myself. will save some for a lil bit tho :p
Glalie @ Glalitite
Ability: Inner Focus
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 120 Atk / 148 SpA / 240 Spe
Naive Nature
- Double-Edge
- Freeze-Dry
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake
this set strives to overcome two of my bigger gripes with glalie: the ease with which offense or bulky offense suppress glalie via durant or escavalier, and the inability to push through alomomola consistently without becoming too prediction-heavy of a tool. i know that i personally have exhibited a habit of utilizing durant to restrict just how much leeway glalie can get in a game, and have seen the same from a lot of offense (which is fair, given the pool of alternative offensive glalie checks), and this exploits this particular structure to death, while validating a stronger freeze dry in turn, making hitting almomola much more straightforward (120 hp / 136 def+ / 252 spd takes 50% min, while 4 spa variants absolutely cannot 2hko that same alomomola w/o prior damage). i have never been absolutely in love w/ice shard as a move, given it really just boils down to rk'ing virizion (who is very rarely a must-cover for offense), avoiding a tie w/flygon, and picking off something at less than 20% or something to that effect, so i found it mildly forgo-able here. the given spread will also 2hko av escavalier @ a 95% rate, in addition to dealing a minimum of 95% to the standard qwilfish (contrasted to the standard set's 40-50% w/eq), which all find moderate use.
this set has been utilized to decent success in the ongoing slam thus far via a few teams i ended up passing around, including
the very first game of the open, wherein its ability to keep pokemon alomomola and escavalier suppressed (including a nice use of hypnosis delphox haha) allowed user: luigi to win handily. another example that i unfortunately have only caught word of second-hand (so if you could fish up that replay, major cool points to whomever :p), was during the
galbia v. ajna series, wherein [allegedly] galbia's ability to catch durant w/hp fire on the switch resulted in a major momentum switch that allowed him to take the game.
broadly speaking, this set can be played in various fashions. i have found that it can be quite proficient in setting pokemon like meloetta to go ham on balance, or at least bulkier offense, as that ability to draw in the steel / bug's just goes miles here. it can also pair off rather nicely w/fighters, both in applying that constant pressure on their qwilfish, even momo if the situation mandates, or (mostly in the case of virizion) popping off durant to set up its partner for the bulky offense mu. spikes aren't the most mandatory thing in the world, and if anything this set de-emphasizes the utility presented by qwilfish support, but at the same time, qwil can still be a useful-ass fallback should you require it.
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 136 Def / 168 SpA / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Bug Buzz
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Bomb / Hidden Power [Ice]
i have a deep-seated dislike for the "standard" accelgor lead. i believe profoundly that is a terrible, terrible set. why? it has a bad lead match-up v.almost everything on offense, and final gambitting to bring their smeargle / qwilfish / archeops down to their sash as they get the layer they want, lix just heavy slams to bring it down to sash then sr's w/o worry or goes to the defogger if they're sweating spikes that badly. what's more, it is a set that never has mid-game value, which i think is absolutely abhorrent for a spiker on offense in this tier. it's not like we have something like froslass that can disrupt, self-spinblock, force switches, and just rock everything, so if you're going to focus a pokemon on offense exclusively for spiking (thereby restricting yourself to a dedicated sr mon and having only four 'mons to hone an offensive 'goal' for the team), then that pokemon sure as hell better have some ulterior value. the "standard" lead accelgor has never once done that for me, so i decided to mess w/alternatives.
accelgor is still a pokemon that is plenty fast and acceptable for mid-game play, so i figured i would diversify it as such. this set has the capacity to play as a typical offensive set if need be, albeit weaker due to the use of sash. as for its lead match-up itself, it has a much more active function than the buzz only variant; you can threaten lix with the 2hko outright, prevent free defogs from all but golbat given proper coverage, and even keep hitmontop from clicking rapid spin a bunch and ensuring spikes don't go down. the given def investment is actually really cool, not only buffing this out a ton v.priority if you choose to conserve it midgame (lo lee's sucker punch never ko's after sr, where it always would w/o it), but also helps v.both defensive gonner (who cannot 3hko w/eq) and top (who, in throwing cc, loses 1v1 w/o tox). it can even hilariously mess w/gurdurr, who cannot ko w/2 knocks + mach punch due to sticky hold, which can be dope given how much of a pain that 'mon can be to offense (trust me, it is great haha).
the one thing that i sorta danced around here, which i will address now, is that accelgor does concede layers to opposing spikes lead, regardless of these techs. to this end, it is worth some mild consideration to be pairing with something that can restrict these pokemon, like a faster lum berry 'mon (virizion stuffs smeargle, but qwilfish can get difficult w/o something mediocre, like lum meloetta), or even a spinner like kabutops in the back to lessen the impact of this issue. as for further partners, it all becomes rather broad, as is often the case w/spike-stack offense, so it's probs best that you just try it for yourself, huh?
Hidden Power Fire Glalie ⎮ 49
Assault Vest Hariyama ⎮ Punchshroom
hurricane shiftry ⎮ fran17
Sash 3 Attacks Accelgor ⎮ 49
