Feel free to leave any kind of suggestions, but keep in mind that I WANT TO KEEP THE DEFENSIVE AUDINO-QWILFISH CORE, SINCE I LOVE IT AND I FIND IT WORKING GREAT, ASIDE FROM THE LACK OF DEFOG/SPIN :)
Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Encore
Why did I choose Audino as my special wall? Everyone's running Aromatisse, and I'm honestly not that enthusiastic about using already tested stuff: Aromatisse is surely good, but I like to try something different. Audino seemed an interesting choice: surely it lacks the offensive presence of Aromatisse (and her stabbed Moonblast), but it's able to wish pass and heal itself up thanks to Regenerator. For this reason, I'm not running Protect - why do that, when a switch already heals me? Besides, I've heard tons of complaint for the fact Audino is a setup bait... And what about Encore? If you predict someone to set up, assuming you're slower than it (and that's quite possible, since Audino base Speed is only 50), you can lock that pokemon into a three turns sub/setup-move, and force it to switch.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT AUDINO
- Wish/Regenerator.
- Only one weakness, totally covered by its partner Qwilfish.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Set up bait (partially removed by Encore).
- Taunt destroys it.
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Qwilfish @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Pain Split
- Taunt
- Waterfall
When I first came to battle a Qwilfish in gen5 UU (yes, somone was using him in that tier), I've been honestly impressed by its bulk. Now in gen5 RU there are tons of Poison walls to core with Audino (Drapion, Skuntank, Weezing), but Qwilfish seemed to me the best one - tied up with Drapion. The reasons are:
1) Compared to Weezing, Qwilfish can set up Spikes and is a faster taunter
2) Compared to Skuntank, Qwilfish can set up Spikes, is a faster taunter, is not netural to Fight, has intimidate to match up the lack of bulk, and while it doesn't get defog it gets Pain Split for quick "recover"
3) Compared to Drapion, I guess the only reason is the total resistance to Fight, since Drapion quite outclasses it even without Intimidate.
So I've decided to go for it: I was already happy with my first set (which had Haze instead of Taunt), and after I've discovered the power of taunt to stops other walls, well... I've freaking loved it.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT QWILFISH
- Intimidate is a beast - inb4 Defiant.
- Fast taunter even without investment in Speed.
- Quite guaranteed to set up Spikes, against Fight types (which are the only weak point of Audino).
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Pain Split works, but it's a little tricky.
- Spikes can't touch most of the defoggers in the tier.
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Gallade (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Zen Headbutt
Standard and awesome set: really. Gallade is the pokemon I had run since my first try in this new tier, and he's great. I like the AV set, 'cause it makes him basically uncrashable on the special side, evene without investment, allowing you to run 252 in Atk and Adamant to deal high damage with stabbed Drain Punch, or with another move of your movepool (which is impressive from a coverage point of view).
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT GALLADE
- Great bulk, combined with AV.
- Drain Punch might be my favourite competitive move ever.
- Such a coverage!
- Justified matches up your loss of AV due to a Knock Off with an attack boost.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Amazingly weak to flying types (an uninvested Golbat has like 37% chance to OHKO him with BB).
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Heliolisk @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Another standard set: Heliolisk with its Scarf is just fast, fast, fast, and with Modest Nature it still hits pretty hard. Of course the immunity to water is amazing (Jellicent is totally countered by it), and also the access to Surf to deal with Ground Types: Dark Pulse fucks up Doublade pretty well - it's a solid 2HKO, if you hit it on a switch in.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT HELIOLISK
- Fast-yet-hard hitter.
- Great ability
- Good coverage for Ground types, which is hard to find in an Electric type.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Frail as fuck, even against move which it resists.
- The Normal typing makes me mad, 'cause if it gives you immunity to ghosts it also gives you weakness to Fight, which my team already suffers.
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Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 212 Atk / 252 SAtk / 44 Spd
Rash Nature
- Defog
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Extrasensory
Here is where things get a little tricky. I'm not honestly too sure about this set. What I do know, is that Shiftry seems the only Spinner/Defogger useful for my team: it's offensive, since I don't like to have more than two walls; it's Grass, which resists to Ground; it's not Hitmonlee/Chan (since I've already a Fight type) or Kabutops (already have a Water type).The problem is I'm not good at create mixed attacker: after some tries, I've decided for a full special investment (for a powerful Leaf Storm). The rest of the spread is based on Extrasensory: I've found out that a great stop to Shiftry has the name of Toxicroak, which is very used in RU. Well, if Toxicroak isn't invested in Speed, 44 Spd EV's allows me to outspeed him, and kill it with Extrasensory (at least 97,7% of the times, with the AV on). So then I put the rest in Atk, and I've decided to add a priority move in Sucker Punch: but I was also thinking of Knock Off, since Eviolite and AV are very common in the tier...
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SHIFTRY
- Good offensive Defogger.
- Combined with LO, he's a very better mixed attacker then what I expected.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Frail + Tons of weaknesses.
- If only it was a little faster!
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Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 148 SAtk / 110 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Razor Shell
- Facade
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
Another Mixed Attacker, this time with full investment on the Physical side. I already know what you're going to say me... MEGAHORN! Yes, but I wanted a mixed attacker, honestly, and the problem with Samurott is that its stats are good for this role, but not its movepool: it has only Water and Ice viable moves on the special side. But then it comes to my mind that Ice Beam, surely weaker than Megahorn for breaking Grass types, could be useful against Flying types - which threaten both Gallade and Shiftry, and which can defog with easy since they're not touched by Qwilfish's spikes. That's the explanation of the Ev's spread: with 148 in SpAtk and LO, my Ice Beam 2hko even Eviolite Golbat (252 HP and 4 SpDef). I'm not sure about the physical movepool: I'd like to have facade, so if they burn me or toxic me I get a boost, but I don't know if it's that worthy (maybe I should run Megahorn the same, specifically for Grass types). Same goes for Superpower: would Knock Off or Night Slash be better? And it's good that I've decided to put the remaining 110 Ev's in Speed, or should I put them in HP?
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SAMUROTT
- Good movepool for coverage.
- Very effective against Flying defoggers - a true pain in the ass for my Spikes.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Is Clawitzer a better option? (obviously turning Shiftry in a Physical-oriented Attacker)
Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Encore
Why did I choose Audino as my special wall? Everyone's running Aromatisse, and I'm honestly not that enthusiastic about using already tested stuff: Aromatisse is surely good, but I like to try something different. Audino seemed an interesting choice: surely it lacks the offensive presence of Aromatisse (and her stabbed Moonblast), but it's able to wish pass and heal itself up thanks to Regenerator. For this reason, I'm not running Protect - why do that, when a switch already heals me? Besides, I've heard tons of complaint for the fact Audino is a setup bait... And what about Encore? If you predict someone to set up, assuming you're slower than it (and that's quite possible, since Audino base Speed is only 50), you can lock that pokemon into a three turns sub/setup-move, and force it to switch.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT AUDINO
- Wish/Regenerator.
- Only one weakness, totally covered by its partner Qwilfish.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Set up bait (partially removed by Encore).
- Taunt destroys it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qwilfish @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Pain Split
- Taunt
- Waterfall
When I first came to battle a Qwilfish in gen5 UU (yes, somone was using him in that tier), I've been honestly impressed by its bulk. Now in gen5 RU there are tons of Poison walls to core with Audino (Drapion, Skuntank, Weezing), but Qwilfish seemed to me the best one - tied up with Drapion. The reasons are:
1) Compared to Weezing, Qwilfish can set up Spikes and is a faster taunter
2) Compared to Skuntank, Qwilfish can set up Spikes, is a faster taunter, is not netural to Fight, has intimidate to match up the lack of bulk, and while it doesn't get defog it gets Pain Split for quick "recover"
3) Compared to Drapion, I guess the only reason is the total resistance to Fight, since Drapion quite outclasses it even without Intimidate.
So I've decided to go for it: I was already happy with my first set (which had Haze instead of Taunt), and after I've discovered the power of taunt to stops other walls, well... I've freaking loved it.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT QWILFISH
- Intimidate is a beast - inb4 Defiant.
- Fast taunter even without investment in Speed.
- Quite guaranteed to set up Spikes, against Fight types (which are the only weak point of Audino).
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Pain Split works, but it's a little tricky.
- Spikes can't touch most of the defoggers in the tier.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallade (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Poison Jab
- Zen Headbutt
Standard and awesome set: really. Gallade is the pokemon I had run since my first try in this new tier, and he's great. I like the AV set, 'cause it makes him basically uncrashable on the special side, evene without investment, allowing you to run 252 in Atk and Adamant to deal high damage with stabbed Drain Punch, or with another move of your movepool (which is impressive from a coverage point of view).
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT GALLADE
- Great bulk, combined with AV.
- Drain Punch might be my favourite competitive move ever.
- Such a coverage!
- Justified matches up your loss of AV due to a Knock Off with an attack boost.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Amazingly weak to flying types (an uninvested Golbat has like 37% chance to OHKO him with BB).
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Heliolisk @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Dark Pulse
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
Another standard set: Heliolisk with its Scarf is just fast, fast, fast, and with Modest Nature it still hits pretty hard. Of course the immunity to water is amazing (Jellicent is totally countered by it), and also the access to Surf to deal with Ground Types: Dark Pulse fucks up Doublade pretty well - it's a solid 2HKO, if you hit it on a switch in.
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT HELIOLISK
- Fast-yet-hard hitter.
- Great ability
- Good coverage for Ground types, which is hard to find in an Electric type.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Frail as fuck, even against move which it resists.
- The Normal typing makes me mad, 'cause if it gives you immunity to ghosts it also gives you weakness to Fight, which my team already suffers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 212 Atk / 252 SAtk / 44 Spd
Rash Nature
- Defog
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Extrasensory
Here is where things get a little tricky. I'm not honestly too sure about this set. What I do know, is that Shiftry seems the only Spinner/Defogger useful for my team: it's offensive, since I don't like to have more than two walls; it's Grass, which resists to Ground; it's not Hitmonlee/Chan (since I've already a Fight type) or Kabutops (already have a Water type).The problem is I'm not good at create mixed attacker: after some tries, I've decided for a full special investment (for a powerful Leaf Storm). The rest of the spread is based on Extrasensory: I've found out that a great stop to Shiftry has the name of Toxicroak, which is very used in RU. Well, if Toxicroak isn't invested in Speed, 44 Spd EV's allows me to outspeed him, and kill it with Extrasensory (at least 97,7% of the times, with the AV on). So then I put the rest in Atk, and I've decided to add a priority move in Sucker Punch: but I was also thinking of Knock Off, since Eviolite and AV are very common in the tier...
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SHIFTRY
- Good offensive Defogger.
- Combined with LO, he's a very better mixed attacker then what I expected.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Frail + Tons of weaknesses.
- If only it was a little faster!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 148 SAtk / 110 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Razor Shell
- Facade
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
Another Mixed Attacker, this time with full investment on the Physical side. I already know what you're going to say me... MEGAHORN! Yes, but I wanted a mixed attacker, honestly, and the problem with Samurott is that its stats are good for this role, but not its movepool: it has only Water and Ice viable moves on the special side. But then it comes to my mind that Ice Beam, surely weaker than Megahorn for breaking Grass types, could be useful against Flying types - which threaten both Gallade and Shiftry, and which can defog with easy since they're not touched by Qwilfish's spikes. That's the explanation of the Ev's spread: with 148 in SpAtk and LO, my Ice Beam 2hko even Eviolite Golbat (252 HP and 4 SpDef). I'm not sure about the physical movepool: I'd like to have facade, so if they burn me or toxic me I get a boost, but I don't know if it's that worthy (maybe I should run Megahorn the same, specifically for Grass types). Same goes for Superpower: would Knock Off or Night Slash be better? And it's good that I've decided to put the remaining 110 Ev's in Speed, or should I put them in HP?
THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SAMUROTT
- Good movepool for coverage.
- Very effective against Flying defoggers - a true pain in the ass for my Spikes.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
- Is Clawitzer a better option? (obviously turning Shiftry in a Physical-oriented Attacker)
