SM OU Weekly Research

[Wally The Bully]

​

General Thoughts

First and foremost, let's weight the pros and the cons. Unfortunately, Keldeo wasn't that popular at the beginning of the SM OU metagame due to its lack of power and the pressure given by new threats such as Tapu Fini, Koko and ultra beasts in general. On the one hand, Keldeo has a really good potential with a great typing and decent stats in a meta where bulky ground-types are prominent. On the other hand, its lack of priority moves, common weaknesses and average speed tier also means that Keldeo is hard to use and needs support to appreciate the offensive meta we're in.

Movesets

The usage statistics from the latest tier update and the viability ranking thread show that Keldeo is gaining popularity and viability. Keldeo can be a great answer to a large part of the SM OU metagame since its choice scarf moveset excels against offensive teams that have poor speed control. Choice scarf Keldeo is the most reliable moveset in the current metagame and can deal with various threats such as landorus and greninja. Keldeo is a pretty solid mon right now and can be considered as the best choice scarf user with garchomp, pheromosa and tapu lele. Keldeo can also learn Stone Edge in gen 7 which means that it could potentially be a Pinsir-mega/Volcarona/flying-type answer. That being said, I would personally prefer hidden power electric on Keldeo since it's a very good revenge killer.

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Surf

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Electric]

Teambuilding and Conclusion

I had built a number of teams, however my two preferred teams were a Metagross Mega Offense and a Charizard X Hyper Offense. I thought that the combination of steel types with Keldeo would make a decent core and both teams sounds particularly great. Keldeo isn't the strongest mon in the metagame and is far from being broken but it require you to provide some specific team support. Metagross Mega is a good teammate and can get rid of keldeo's checks (Tapu Fini, Lati@s, Venusaur Mega...). As a conclusion, I'd say that the metagame is in its favour, however its lack of power (choice scarf) can be a problem if you don't maneuver around your weaknesses well especially when you're bringing offensive cores. To finish with, Keldeo is a very good mon to use, but it should be used very rigorously.

Metagross Mega Offense

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Thunder Punch

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 4 SpA / 16 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Keldeo-Resolute @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Surf
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind
- Stone Edge

Pheromosa @ Poisonium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 24 HP / 216 Atk / 16 Def / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab

Ferrothorn (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Band
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Zen Headbutt

Charizard X Hyper Offense

Tapu Lele @ Terrain Extender
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stone Edge
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Surf

Excadrill (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

Pheromosa @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Ice Beam
- Bug Buzz
- Focus Blast

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage
- Beat Up

 

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sorry i'm nearly a week late with this. i waited until there was a keldeo post, but then i wanted to wait a bit longer to let mawile sit in a bit because that will be the research subject for this week.

the posts being added to archive are this post on keldeo by Wally The Bully, and this post on gengar by AbrarWasee.

week 6

mega mawile
​

mega mawile was just released recently, and it'll probably have a pretty big impact on them meta, so i figured it'd be cool to devote a week to just mawile.

those of you interested in posting can either post between now and 3/19 (nighttime EST), or you can reserve to post between now and 3/17 (nighttime EST).

 

[ethanlol]

i like this week, many options :]

 

[TURBODERP]

Well, it had to happen eventually.

 

[AbrarWasee]

Interested in Mawile.

 

[zCheshrye]

Doing mawile

 

[Wally The Bully]

taking mawile mega

 

[matthewc20090]

taking mega beedrill

 

[zCheshrye]

General Thoughts:
Pros: Mawile is an offensive powerhouse, that has a great defensive typing
Cons: In a tier full of ground types, it can be hard to set up. Sucker Punch doesn't hit as hard as it used to, which means +2 252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 128 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 255-301 (81.4 - 96.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO the magnet lives.

Teambuilding:
Sub-punch Mawile has the fewest counters, Focus punch slams Heatran and 50/50s with sucker punch aren't as troublesome, especially with stuff like alohan marowak, which can't wisp the sub.

Here are some sets for mawile to use:

SD:
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off


All out attacker:
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Fang

Sub punch:
Mawile (F) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Focus Punch
- Substitute



So this is a mega mawile balance. I like stallbreaker greninja paired with sup-punch mawile, as it bashes stall and wears down mega venusaur. Ferrothorn is my secondary fairy check and hazard setter, while alohan marowak ckecks volt-turn. Pheromosa provides hazard removal and hits hard. Lastly, Garchomp provided revenge killing, which is manditory in this meta.

heres a sample team to use for mawile: http://pastebin.com/iaQ4CK65

 

[Wally The Bully]

​

General Thoughts and Metagame Analysis

On the one hand, it is one of the OU metagame's top wallbreakers with an incredible ability in Huge Power since it doubles its Attack stat. With its great offensive pressure, its coverage and its excellent typing it is commonly found on offensive, bulky offensive and hyper offensive teams as it puts pressure. Its access to Swords Dance makes switching into it an extremely difficult task and the support provided by some offensive cores such as VolTurn cores is ideal to help pivot Mega Mawile into more passive mons it can easily take advantage of. Mega Mawile can be saved as a late-game sweeper while another teammate breaks walls, as a consequence, this mon requires support and offensive teammates in order to easily run through other offensive teams.

On the other hand, Mega Mawile's speed tier is really bad in the OU metagame we're in. Its reliance on Sucker Punch can also be a problem when a lot of Will-O-Wisp users are faster. Its common weaknesses (ground and fire) makes it a really hard mon to deal with but some popular physically defensive ground-types such as Landorus can easily avoid the OHKO from +2 Sucker Punch and retaliate with a powerful Earthquake. Mega Mawile is also revenge killed by a lot of offensive sweepers resistant or immune to Sucker Punch such as Tapu Koko, Keldeo or Terrakion.

That being said, as said earlier, its impressive offensive potential allow it to to find a niche on a wide variety of cores such as Trick Room teams given its low Speed. It's also able to punish Landorus with Ice Punch (please note that this move should be used depending on the team and the mons you are building around since it's really specific). Its passable bulk and immense breaking power also means that Mega Mawile could be considered as one of the most reliable Mega Evolution in the current SM OU tier since it compete with other Mega for that specific slot on a team, especially with the best Mega Evolution in the tier (Mega Metagross).

Movesets

Mawile Mega is a relatively versatile Pokemon with a range of set options to choose from, the thing is that its coverage is really important but its steel STAB (Iron Head) isn't used in many movesets considering the fact that Thunder Punch, Fire Fang and Knock Off allow it to be an answer to a large part of the metagame. Play Rough is Mega Mawile's powerful STAB move, it will often take sizable amounts of damage even on mons resistant to Fairy-type attacks. Knock Off also allows Mawile to hit Alolan Marowak and Focus Punch can punish predicted switches to Heatran.

1. (4 atk moveset)

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Fang / Knock Off / Focus Punch

2. (SD moveset)

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off / Thunder Punch / Fire Fang

Teams and Conclusion

Mega Mawile + Ash Greninja Offense

Tapu Lele @ Shed Shell
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Swords Dance

Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane
- Knock Off

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
- Stealth Rock

Greninja-Ash (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump

Pheromosa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- U-turn
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin

Mega Mawile + Scarf Pheromosa Offense

Tapu Lele @ Twisted Spoon
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Pheromosa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- U-turn
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Beam
- Poison Jab

Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP / 132 SpD / 128 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon

Garchomp (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Fly
- Rock Polish

Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Fang

Mega Mawile can easily pressure teams but it needs support such as teammates that can take care of Ground and Fire types moves. With hazards support, it can find it easy to sweep offensive teams and more balanced cores. Offensive teammates that appreciate Mega Mawile's wallbreaking potential, such as Pheromosa, Tapu Koko and Greninja help maintain momentum and Ferrothorn can use Spikes and Stealth Rocks to place opposing mons in range of Mawile's attacks.

As a brief conclusion, Mega Mawile gets checked by specific Pokemon depending on the coverage moves that it runs, that's why you have to be very careful when you're building teams around this excellent mon. Mega Mawile shouldn't get suspected since it isn't really suspect worthy (it's slow, it has frail SpD stats and Landorus, top #1 in usage can check it and easily get rid of Mega Mawile with its ground STAB move, Earthquake). To finish with, Mawile Mega is a strong wallbreaker due to Huge Power, an amazing ability and its good movepool giving it great coverage to hit a number of different Pokemon.​

 

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i'm pretty late clearly, but the post that is being added to the nonexistent archive is this post on mega mawile by Wally The Bully.

this project is a lot deader than last gen's iteration that i hosted, and i think it's mostly due to me not being as active of a host and a general lack of a lot of the presences that enjoyed this thread last gen. looking back i think the reason it did well last gen was that there was a good handful of posters who enjoyed participating a lot (in addition to those occasional presence people). regardless, me being inactive has not helped at all, so i think it's time to close this down.

if anyone is interested in hosting this (and a mod approves it of course), i suggest shifting something up to help it be less dead...

i guess that archive will never go up either, my bad D: