NahRunning out of subjects to discuss, maybe spice things up and ban Weavile?
For a first post its great! Its a pretty funny coincidence because I've been experimenting with Bulky Bulu myself, and was starting to prep a VR nom. SubSeedToxic is great, but Ferro becomes a HUGE issue imo. You literally do absolutely nothing to the man. Heatran can also be a small problem in the long run with it being immune to toxic, and it just recovers off leech seed damage with Lefties + Terrain.Been experimenting with a Defensive Tapu-Bulu set for a while.
Bulu's shear bulk and threat from STAB boosted Horn leech can often create an opening to place a sub during a switch. This can lead to some leech seed shenanigans which is very difficult to answer.
With grassy terrain and leftovers generating a base 12.5% HP recovery, and a possible addition of leech seed/ Hornleech recovery makes Bulu very difficult to phase out. Thus usually requiring Poison attacks, or super effective/choice specs SpA's to do enough damage to threaten Bulu, making switch in predictions very easy to account for. In my experience, few sets carry the poison attacks needed to stop Bulu, making Bulu a very safe switch in for most matches. For the Poison/ Kartana threats, Magnezone clears these checks with ease, leading to a very effective Def core.
Further research of EV's may improve SpD capabilities but I haven't done any.
TLDR
A defensive Tapu-Bulu makes for a good check to prominent physical attackers and can out heal damage from a majority of SpA Mons. Very difficult to safely check once a sub is up.
Fails to check Kartana, and anything carrying Poison Attacks, IE (Magnezone Time)
Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Horn Leech
- Substitute
First post so apologies anything I do wrong.
That team looks really fun! If you don't mind, could you drop the paste?Got back to playing OU again after like six to seven months. During that time, I was mainly playing old gen OUs and lower tier Gen 8 stuff. To me, the meta doesn't really feel like it changed too much in that time span. Just became a lot more physically-oriented. I did like seeing some new stuff pop off like Volcanion and Air Balloon Heatran, just to name a few of these. Overall with the pacing of the meta, it feels almost like the early Crown Tundra stages except there's still a lot of repetitive cores (e. Weavile BO, rain, balance, HO etc) Don't see as much stall these days but yeah the meta feels kind of fun. But the Pokemon that has surprised me the most recently has been Regieleki. That thing is a monster once the ground type has been removed. This meta has so many different ways to dismantle ground types that Regieleki sweeps are practically guaranteed in most cases. Not even just that but the fact it outspeeds all the common choice scarfers making this one of the most dangerous sweepers in the game. Of course, since Regieleki is incredibly frail, it is easy to revenge kill it so its sweeps can be stopped if played well or you just don't let your ground type die lol. Been enjoying the boots set so far and definitely want to try some other sets with this.
Another Pokemon, more typing that I think was underrated throughout this whole generation, was Normal types. I was thinking back on how the very start of SWSH, there was very little thought about Normal types being used which makes sense since the early stages of SWSH had threats on threats on threats (Dracovish, G-Darm, Dmax all that bs). Stuff like Conkeldurr was extremely popular too at that time. At that time though, Ghost were very popular as well. The main counter measure to them was mainly Dark types like Mandibuzz for example. I just think looking at it now, wouldn't it have been interesting to experiment more with immunities at that time? There were fairly strong Normal types at that point like Diggersby and Obstagoon for example, even Bewear was around during that time too. I get why Normals never really had a place in the meta anyways cause they're neutral to everything and are hit super effectively by one of the most common typings right now, but that Ghost immunity just seemed too good to miss out on. I definitely regret not using the Normal types more in this metagame as a whole.
That's why I've been experimenting with Bewear recently. Same typing as Mega Lop minus all the good stuff it has like priority, speed etc. That fact that its ability Fluffy allows it to cut damage from contact moves just feels great in this meta. The mon can take on a large majority of the physical attackers like Kart/Weavile/Melm etc and just smack 'em hard with CC. Another cool thing about Bewear is that its STAB hits everything and its coverage options hit its checks (Ghost/Rock/Steel). I've tried two sets so far with it from Life Orb SD to Choice Band and they've all worked fairly well. Life Orb SD has been fairly easy to set up with. Had the most success setting up early game or in a mid-game position, but a lot of the time, I just hit whatever comes in lmfaooo! Really this mon just hits hard af! Choice Band is just a nuke! I run Darkest Lariat to cover for the Pult/Blace switch on all of my Bewear sets. Ice Punch is good as well for covering Lando/Chomp but Double Edge is just enough overall in those cases.
Gonna share replays of Bewear. I'll probably update this with more Bewear stuff, but yeah definitely I encourage more people to try out Normal types before the metagame ends.
Choice Band
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1574316120-v3renza4ykht8nm7nsb4qw1xgx8amvtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1574311903-v9psnsog2s8dfo8ux3alseio6uv18wspw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1577795472-jupmwoqbitqfch116jw9gtbtm8p847wpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1574311903-v9psnsog2s8dfo8ux3alseio6uv18wspw
Life Orb
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1428575915-okczwoi99kufrzqnrt3nvbuq4hxpnippw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1428543347-5ezsm6o3ctuamjsrn56yl12woegzoumpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1577804175-ebhie98tiz3jbwcz10m3ca3t0cwfbkdpw
Hey there! This was a fantastic first post, keep up the good work! Tapu Bulu is an underrated mon; the problem why people keep saying Rillaboom outclasses it is because people keep trying to use it like Rillaboom. Subseed sets like yours are the way to go, and the Dragon immunity / Fighting resistance is especially notable. Taking advantage of its bulk and defensive profile is something that Rillaboom can't do properly.Been experimenting with a Defensive Tapu-Bulu set for a while.
Bulu's shear bulk and threat from STAB boosted Horn leech can often create an opening to place a sub during a switch. This can lead to some leech seed shenanigans which is very difficult to answer.
With grassy terrain and leftovers generating a base 12.5% HP recovery, and a possible addition of leech seed/ Hornleech recovery makes Bulu very difficult to phase out. Thus usually requiring Poison attacks, or super effective/choice specs SpA's to do enough damage to threaten Bulu, making switch in predictions very easy to account for. In my experience, few sets carry the poison attacks needed to stop Bulu, making Bulu a very safe switch in for most matches. For the Poison/ Kartana threats, Magnezone clears these checks with ease, leading to a very effective Def core.
Further research of EV's may improve SpD capabilities but I haven't done any.
TLDR
A defensive Tapu-Bulu makes for a good check to prominent physical attackers and can out heal damage from a majority of SpA Mons. Very difficult to safely check once a sub is up.
Fails to check Kartana, and anything carrying Poison Attacks, IE (Magnezone Time)
Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Horn Leech
- Substitute
First post so apologies anything I do wrong.
Focus Punch is a really underrated tech, I'm going to give this a try myself. I had honestly completely forgotten that Bulu got access to Focus Punch.For a first post its great! Its a pretty funny coincidence because I've been experimenting with Bulky Bulu myself, and was starting to prep a VR nom. SubSeedToxic is great, but Ferro becomes a HUGE issue imo. You literally do absolutely nothing to the man. Heatran can also be a small problem in the long run with it being immune to toxic, and it just recovers off leech seed damage with Lefties + Terrain.
A much more interesting, and absolutely HILARIOUS option is this:
Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 132 SpD or 132 Def
Careful or Impish Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Focus Punch
- Horn Leech
THATS RIGHT BAYBEE. SUB-SEED-PUNCH. Have you ever wanted to catch a Heatran off guard and absolutely obliterate its very soul, well boy do I have the set for you. With just 124 attack investment you can absolutely decimate Offensive Tran, and unlike Toxic sets, you can also smack a Ferrothorn off the face of Galar.
Now I know what you are saying, "Isn't Close Combat just better in this scenario?" and Funny story. Nope. In this very specific scenario, I believe Focus Punch is justified over CC because you have to invest a lot more into attack to kill Tran, and even the 2HKO is missed by 124 ATK Bulu on Ferro. With Focus Punch all you need is rocks chip and Heatran falls in 1 hit, and Ferro will fall in 2, but Ferro never gets 2HKOd by CC, and Heatran avoids the OHKO. Crazy stuff. Using Focus Punch also allows you to run more defensive investment, letting you live more hits.
With that 132 Defense, you can actually live a Weavile's non-banded Triple Axel, and fire off an up to 87% Horn Leech in return, healing 1/3rd of your health back, then recovering with lefties and grassy terrain before swapping. That interaction could nullify Weavile as a Pult swap in setting up a clean for later. Alternatively, 132 Special Defense lets you feel a lot safer around Pult shadow balls, actually being a roll to 3HKO with the SpDef investment, which is otherwise a roll to 2HKO. Although both of those are still not full checks since you don't want to have to check Weavile or Pult with Bulu, it becomes a backup option in a scary scenario.
Despite seeming like a meme on the surface this set has brought me some great moments, as it just jukes its "checks". Zapdos' will come in, and while it can break your sub and quickly kill you, just click leech seed, recover to full, and swap out like nothing happened. Sub is amazing for scouting choice users while still allowing bulu to heal back the damage it took from Sub with the Lefties + Grassy + Leech. Once Bulu is behind a sub it really doesn't have to worry unless its Weavile's triple axel, Pults infiltrator, or Cloysters Icicle spears. Otherwise just come in on something that can't break your sub, sub up on the swap, leech seed as they break the sub, then just swap like nothing happened with leech seed healing comin to whoever is comin in.
TL:DR: Despite seeming fringe, Focus Punch helps Bulu break through Tran and Ferro while keeping decent offensive pressure without sacrificing too much defensive investment. SubSeed Bulu in general is really strong, and great at stallbreaking, or just making your opponent hate your entire existence.
In general I find Bulu underrated and it has more positive qualities, but with the rapidly increasingly aggressive and offensive nature of the meta right now I wonder how well it could fit onto structures atm. I dunno. I've tried AV sets and it kinda works sometimes (and it's funny when opponents expect a free kill with their Volcarona or Blacephalon and get stone edged). But... I dunno. Maybe I'm missing something and if so please do share. I'd love to work more with it. On the subject of the more offensive metagame...Been experimenting with a Defensive Tapu-Bulu set for a while.
Bulu's shear bulk and threat from STAB boosted Horn leech can often create an opening to place a sub during a switch. This can lead to some leech seed shenanigans which is very difficult to answer.
With grassy terrain and leftovers generating a base 12.5% HP recovery, and a possible addition of leech seed/ Hornleech recovery makes Bulu very difficult to phase out. Thus usually requiring Poison attacks, or super effective/choice specs SpA's to do enough damage to threaten Bulu, making switch in predictions very easy to account for. In my experience, few sets carry the poison attacks needed to stop Bulu, making Bulu a very safe switch in for most matches. For the Poison/ Kartana threats, Magnezone clears these checks with ease, leading to a very effective Def core.
Further research of EV's may improve SpD capabilities but I haven't done any.
TLDR
A defensive Tapu-Bulu makes for a good check to prominent physical attackers and can out heal damage from a majority of SpA Mons. Very difficult to safely check once a sub is up.
Fails to check Kartana, and anything carrying Poison Attacks, IE (Magnezone Time)
Tapu Bulu @ Leftovers
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Horn Leech
- Substitute
First post so apologies anything I do wrong.
I've touched on it a bit before but it's not something that I'm particularly fond ofIn general I find Bulu underrated and it has more positive qualities, but with the rapidly increasingly aggressive and offensive nature of the meta right now I wonder how well it could fit onto structures atm. I dunno. I've tried AV sets and it kinda works sometimes (and it's funny when opponents expect a free kill with their Volcarona or Blacephalon and get stone edged). But... I dunno. Maybe I'm missing something and if so please do share. I'd love to work more with it. On the subject of the more offensive metagame...
There's been a noticeable uptick in various types of HO teams lately on ladder, particularly screens offense teams which are most commonly spearheaded by Alolan Ninetales. Depending on the kind of team you run, it can be pretty challenging to actually stop it from getting up aurora veil and getting its teammates in position. Its utility toolkit and great typing serve it well, from encore and hypnosis to using its dual stabs to deter certain defoggers. And it supports a lot of amazing wincons/sweepers in general. So with that in mind I pose the question:
Are these types of screens teams common in your experience?
What teams do you usually run, and do they have any struggles vs these teams?
And lastly what do you think about the increase in such teams?
Aight I'll take a crack at this:The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
I changed mine from the last time I posted something like this since I've played quite a bit. From one to ten, mine areHello everyone, a very interesting discussion prompt came up in the SS OU Viability Rankings thread; I mentioned that it was a discussion not meant for there, but it is one we 100% would love to see more of, so here's me bumping it here instead!
The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
These top 10 are some of if not the best mons in the tier, you can even consider them titans of how good and meta-defining they are as of right now.Hello everyone, a very interesting discussion prompt came up in the SS OU Viability Rankings thread; I mentioned that it was a discussion not meant for there, but it is one we 100% would love to see more of, so here's me bumping it here instead!
The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
I think I should give it a shot...The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
I started this discussion in the VR thread and now I’m in it again.Hello everyone, a very interesting discussion prompt came up in the SS OU Viability Rankings thread; I mentioned that it was a discussion not meant for there, but it is one we 100% would love to see more of, so here's me bumping it here instead!
The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
1- HeatranHello everyone, a very interesting discussion prompt came up in the SS OU Viability Rankings thread; I mentioned that it was a discussion not meant for there, but it is one we 100% would love to see more of, so here's me bumping it here instead!
The question in particular was: what, in your eyes, are the tier's current top 10 Pokemon?
We encourage that you explain your thought process with your decision making! So, when explaining your placements, consider questions such as:
1: Why do you feel this Pokemon belongs in the top 10?
2: Why does this Pokemon deserve its particular placement? How about compared to its competition?
3: How does this Pokemon operate in the SS OU metagame, and what attributes does it have that make so particularly effective?
Fellow Blacephalon and Lele enjoyers uniteima actually go all in on a top 10 rather than a top 5 this time
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