VGC 21 SC Thundurus/Nihilego/Gothitelle

[zee]

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Wild Charge
move 2: Fly
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Lash Out / Protect
item: Assault Vest / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Defiant Thundurus is an excellent Pokemon to use in the face of common Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T. Its high Speed and Attack coupled with decent defenses make it hard to counter easily.

* Fly is used to give Thundurus access to Max Airstream, acting as both a powerful STAB move and a reliable means of speed control.

* Superpower lets Thundurus pummel Incineroar and Tyranitar, gives it a strong move to click in the face of Lightning Rod and allows it to boost its Attack with Max Knuckle.

* Lash Out is a solid filler option on Assault Vest sets, as it lets Thundurus use Max Darkness to lower foes' Special Defense, something special attacking teammates like Venusaur and Calyrex-S can capitalize on.

* Assault Vest is helpful for letting Thundurus better check prominent special attackers such as Calyrex-S and Kyogre. Life Orb will allow Thundurus to notably OHKO Incineroar with Max Airstream at +1. Generally, Life Orb sets will want to run Protect, as they lack the bulk to go without it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]


[SET]
name: Meteor Beam
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Power Gem / Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Nihilego makes use of its good Speed tier and solid offensive typing to be a potent special attacker. It can quickly accrue Special Attack boosts and start a sweep thanks to the combination of Meteor Beam and Beast Boost.

* Meteor Beam is a powerful nuke option, capable of OHKOing Incineroar, Rotom-H, and Dynamaxed Thundurus. Power Herb is required to make sure Nihilego can use it instantly.

* Power Gem is a back up Rock-type STAB move, letting Nihilego continuously pressure Fire- and Flying-types after it has already used Meteor Beam. Trick Room on Nihilego is normally used to reverse opposing Trick Room, but it can also support slower attackers like Calyrex-I and Necrozma-DM.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]


[SET]
name: Trapper
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Trick Room
move 3: Helping Hand
move 4: Protect / Psychic
item: Focus Sash / Mental Herb / Lum Berry
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

* Gothitelle makes use of Shadow Tag and its wide range of supportive moves such as Helping Hand and Fake Out to aid partners like Zacian-C, Gigantamax Charizard, and Thundurus.

* Gothitelle can set up Trick Room fairly easily if it traps passive foes like Gigantamax Lapras, Porygon2, and Amoonguss. Offensive partners like Necrozma-DM and Calyrex-I appreciate this burden being placed upon Gothitelle, as they can potentially drop Trick Room for more aggressive movesets.

* Protect is important on Gothitelle, as it allows for it to keep the Shadow Tag trap. Generally, it will want to use Protect very often in order to keep itself safe for as long as possible. Psychic allows Gothitelle to generate some offensive pressure of its own.

* Focus Sash lets Gothitelle guarantee Trick Room in the face of powerful attacks like Astral Barrage from Calyrex-S. Mental Herb allows it to avoid being completely crippled by stray Taunt or Encore, while Lum Berry keeps it safe from status like Torkoal's Yawn and Amoonguss's Spore.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Estronic, 240732]]

 

[Light Sanctity]

These were the only things I could notice... apologies if they do not add much. comments are in yellow.

Puffy Cloud, Jelly Fish, and Goth [AM QC]

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Wild Charge
move 2: Fly
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Lash Out / Protect
item: Assault Vest / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Defiant Thundurus is an excellent Pokemon to use in the face of common Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T. Its high Speed and Attack coupled with decent defenses make it hard to counter easily.

* Fly is used to give Thundurus access to Max Airstream, acting as both a powerful STAB move and a reliable means of speed control.

* Should a mention about Wild Charge be put here along with it setting Electric Terrain via Max Lightning? (probaly mentions on which Pokemon it can hit hard along with preventing sleep and Yawn).

* Superpower lets Thundurus pummel Incineroar and Tyranitar, gives it a strong move to click in the face of Lightningrod, and allows it to boost its Attack with Max Knuckle.

* Lash Out is a solid filler option on Assault Vest sets as it lets Thundurus use Max Darkess to lower foes' Special Defense, something special attacking teammates like Venusaur and Calyrex-S can capitalize on. Generally, Life Orb sets will want to run Protect as they lack the bulk to go without it.

* Assault Vest is helpful for letting Thundurus better check prominent special attackers such as Calyrex-S and Kyogre. Life Orb will allow Thundurus to notably OHKO Incineroar with Max Airstream at +1.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]


[SET]
name: Meteor Beam
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Power Gem / Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Nihilego makes use of its good Speed tier and solid offensive typing to be a potent special attacker. It can quickly accrue Special Attack boosts and start a sweep thanks to the combination of Meteor Beam and Beast Boost.

* Meteor Beam is a powerful nuke option, capable of OHKOing Incineroar, Rotom-H, and Dynamax Thundurus. Power Herb is required to make sure Nihilego can use it instantly.

* I feel a mention about Sludge Bomb could be mentioned? (possibly along with it boosting its SpAtk should it Dynamax with Max Ooze, though I am not sure if it does lol)

* Power Gem is a back up Rock-type STAB move, letting Nihilego continuously pressure Fire- and Flying-types after it has already used Meteor Beam. Trick Room on Nihilego is normally used to reverse opposing Trick Room, but can also support slower attackers like Calyrex-I and Glastrier.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]


[SET]
name: Trapper
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Trick Room
move 3: Helping Hand / Fake Out
move 4: Protect / Heal Pulse / Taunt
item: Focus Sash / Mental Herb / Lum Berry
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Gothitelle makes use of Shadow Tag and its wide range of supportive moves to aid partners like Zacian-C, G-Max Charizard, and Thundurus. Options like Helping Hand and Fake Out create more immediate openings for offensive allies, while Heal Pulse can be used to help bulkier teammates like G-Max Lapras and Calyrex-I stick around longer.

* Psychic is mandatory on Gothitelle as it can often become deadweight without an attack of its own to click.

* Gothitelle can setup Trick Room fairly easily if it traps passive foes like G-Max Lapras, Porygon2, or Amoonguss.

* I feel a point on Taunt could be mentioned and on which Pokemon dislike it, could possibly be combined with the above one. Along with maybe a quick mention about Mental Herb on how it can shrug off Taunt. Since I am not sure on how many new players' are aware of how it works, but ultimately up to you of course.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

 

[yuki]

ADD REMOVE COMMENT HIGHLIGHT
I'm also gonna address some of what Light has said, just as a means of feedback for you both.

QC

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Wild Charge
move 2: Fly
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Lash Out / Protect
item: Assault Vest / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Defiant Thundurus is an excellent Pokemon to use in the face of common Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T. Its high Speed and Attack coupled with decent defenses make it hard to counter easily.

* Fly is used to give Thundurus access to Max Airstream, acting as both a powerful STAB move and a reliable means of speed control.

(Addressing Light's comment: I agree with zee. No real point mentioning Wild Charge due to lack of other options and the fact that the Terrain literally does nothing for Thundy most of the time)

* Superpower lets Thundurupummel Incineroar and Tyranitar, gives it a strong move to click in the face of Lightningrod Lightning Rod, and allows it to boost its Attack with Max Knuckle.

* Lash Out is a solid filler option on Assault Vest sets as it lets Thundurus use Max Darkess to lower foes' Special Defense, something special attacking teammates like Venusaur and Calyrex-S can capitalize on. Generally, Life Orb sets will want to run Protect as they lack the bulk to go without it. (I would move this to the point below as a sorta caveat, lack of a better word, of using Life Orb)

* Assault Vest is helpful for letting Thundurus better check prominent special attackers such as Calyrex-S and Kyogre. Life Orb will allow Thundurus to notably OHKO Incineroar with Max Airstream at +1.

(I have considered Iron Tail, the defense boost from Steelspike is decent. I don't think it makes any matchups significantly worse (I say this as I think that NDM doesn't matchup well into Thundy anyway), and it still hits Calyrex-I fine. But given its low usage, totally fine with omitting it.)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]


[SET]
name: Meteor Beam
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Power Gem / Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Nihilego makes use of its good Speed tier and solid offensive typing to be a potent special attacker. It can quickly accrue Special Attack boosts and start a sweep thanks to the combination of Meteor Beam and Beast Boost.

* Meteor Beam is a powerful nuke option, capable of OHKOing Incineroar, Rotom-H, and Dynamax Thundurus. Power Herb is required to make sure Nihilego can use it instantly.

(Addressing Light's comment: a point about Sludge Bomb here doesn't feel super necessary, I'm a bit skeptical of good targets for it that aren't already hurt by Meteor Beam. Also Max Ooze is nice but so is just boosting with Meteor Beam.)

* Power Gem is a back up Rock-type STAB move, letting Nihilego continuously pressure Fire- and Flying-types (Might be scope for more examples here, but I know they were mentioned in the previous example, so not 100% necessary) after it has already used Meteor Beam. Trick Room on Nihilego is normally used to reverse opposing Trick Room, but can also support slower attackers like Calyrex-I and Glastrier. (Personally I feel like one implies the other, if there's an alternative example that would probably be preferred. Even NDM?)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]


[SET]
name: Trapper
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Trick Room
move 3: Helping Hand / Fake Out
move 4: Protect / Heal Pulse / Taunt
item: Focus Sash / Mental Herb / Lum Berry
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe (I'd probably like to contest 0 Spe, just because sometimes it's nice to have a faster Fake Out than Grimmsnarl, and some Incineroar spreads. Seeing as the most common sets from my memory run only moves with a priority element, Speed like this is honestly not worth dropping)

[SET COMMENTS]

* Gothitelle makes use of Shadow Tag and its wide range of supportive moves to aid partners like Zacian-C, G-Max (I don't know if we have to write it out as "Gigantamax", I'll let GP handle it.) Charizard, and Thundurus. Options like Helping Hand and Fake Out create more immediate openings for offensive allies, while Heal Pulse can be used to help bulkier teammates like G-Max Lapras and Calyrex-I stick around longer.

* Psychic is mandatory on Gothitelle as it can often become deadweight without an attack of its own to click. (Honestly, I don't agree. I think the fact that it has Shadow Tag and a plethora of supportive options makes this thing a target. More susceptible to Taunt yes, but I don't like giving up one of Fake Out or Helping hand when both are so good - maybe that's my bias talking because I only use Psychic on teams that don't really need TR.)

* Gothitelle can setup Trick Room fairly easily if it traps passive foes like G-Max Lapras, Porygon2, or Amoonguss. (Maybe an ideal teammate mention, up to you)

(Addressing Light's comment: Yeah, I'm considering if I even care about Heal Pulse or Taunt, given their lowish usage on this thing (I think <4% and <11% respectively). Taunt I don't mind because it's decent utility, so if we do keep it then a point about what it punishes isn't amiss.)

(I feel a slashed Fake Out doesn't do it justice, considering it's Gothitelle's most popular move by quite some margin. Honestly, I might rework the set in general, to have Psychic slashed somewhere rather than a standout move. Seems so counterintuitive, but I have my points above.)

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[Raineko, 294287]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

You know where I am!

 

[yuki]

Yeah that's all good now! QC 1/1

 

[Astra]

add remove (comments)

Hide

[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Wild Charge
move 2: Fly
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Lash Out / Protect
item: Assault Vest / Life Orb
ability: Defiant
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Defiant Thundurus is an excellent Pokemon to use in the face of common Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T. Its high Speed and Attack coupled with decent defenses make it hard to counter easily.

* Fly is used to give Thundurus access to Max Airstream, acting as both a powerful STAB move and a reliable means of speed control.

* Superpower lets Thundurus pummel Incineroar and Tyranitar, gives it a strong move to click in the face of Lightningrod, (RC) Lightning Rod and allows it to boost its Attack with Max Knuckle.

* Lash Out is a solid filler option on Assault Vest sets, (AC) as it lets Thundurus use Max Darkness to lower foes' Special Defense, something special attacking teammates like Venusaur and Calyrex-S can capitalize on.

* Assault Vest is helpful for letting Thundurus better check prominent special attackers such as Calyrex-S and Kyogre. Life Orb will allow Thundurus to notably OHKO Incineroar with Max Airstream at +1. Generally, Life Orb sets will want to run Protect, (AC) as they lack the bulk to go without it.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

[SET]
name: Meteor Beam
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Power Gem / Trick Room
move 4: Protect
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Nihilego makes use of its good Speed tier and solid offensive typing to be a potent special attacker. It can quickly accrue Special Attack boosts and start a sweep thanks to the combination of Meteor Beam and Beast Boost.

* Meteor Beam is a powerful nuke option, capable of OHKOing Incineroar, Rotom-H, and Dynamaxed Thundurus. Power Herb is required to make sure Nihilego can use it instantly.

* Power Gem is a back up Rock-type STAB move, letting Nihilego continuously pressure Fire- and Flying-types after it has already used Meteor Beam. Trick Room on Nihilego is normally used to reverse opposing Trick Room, but it can also support slower attackers like Calyrex-I and Necrozma-DM.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

[SET]
name: Trapper
move 1: Fake Out
move 2: Trick Room
move 3: Helping Hand
move 4: Protect / Psychic
item: Focus Sash / Mental Herb / Lum Berry
ability: Shadow Tag
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]

* Gothitelle makes use of Shadow Tag and its wide range of supportive moves such as Helping Hand and Fake Out to aid partners like Zacian-C, G-Max Gigantamax Charizard, and Thundurus.

* Gothitelle can set up (space) Trick Room fairly easily if it traps passive foes like G-Max Gigantamax Lapras, Porygon2, or and Amoonguss. Offensive partners like Necrozma-DM and Calyrex-I appreciate this burden being placed upon Gothitelle, (AC) as they can potentially drop Trick Room for more aggressive movesets.

* Protect is important on Gothitelle, (AC) as it allows for it to keep the Shadow Tag trap. Generally, it will want to use Protect very often in order to keep itself safe for as long as possible. Psychic allows Gothitelle to have generate some offensive pressure of its own.

* Focus Sash lets Gothitelle guarantee Trick Room in the face of powerful attacks like Astral Barrage from Calyrex-S. Mental Herb allows it to avoid being completely crippled by stray Taunt or Encore, while Lum Berry keeps it safe from status like Torkoal's Yawn and Amoonguss's Spore.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[zeefable, 501951]
- Quality checked by: [[username1, userid1]]
- Grammar checked by: [[username1, userid1]]

1/1