Project SS OU - Victim of the Week - Not hosted anymore

[Katy]

The Winners of the Melmetal Victim week are:

for checks
by agslash23
by avg

for counters
by HydreigonTheChild
by Monky25

thanks for your submissions everyone, I really do appreciate it.

Now up to the next steam which erupts recently in OU:

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave​

With its Choice Specs set this Pokemon has been thriving recently in OU. Its wallbreaking potential is great with a Modest nature coupled with a Choice Specs and an amazing Basestat from 130. This Pokemon can be run on the famous Ox the Fox Hail Team and is a great wallbreaker on such team structures and with its amazing coverage in Earth Power where it is able to hit Toxapex and Sludge Wave to not get walled by Tapu Fini it is a scary wallbreaker for sure. What are checks and counters to this erupting case? Lets submis these and help newer people out.

Submission Deadline will end on upcoming Friday. Happy submitting and have fun :)​

Also: I will be stepping down as a co-host from this project but I would like to thank Fusion Flare for his trust in me as a co-host and would like to welcome the new co-host ironwater please give him a warm welcome and a great time amazing people <3
Also: I would like to thank adem for taking my spot for that one day. Thanks alot guys and I hope you have fun with future suggestions. Was an amazing time here with y'all!

 

[Tysonslayer]

Gastrodon-East @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Recover
- Toxic

Gastrodon is a counter against Volcanion you resist Flamethrower and Sludge Wave, while Storm Drain gives you full immunity to Steam Eruption meaning the only thing you look out for is Earth Power or potential drops. With that being said this gives Gastrodon some oppurtunties such as being able to Recover some health or spread poison with Toxic as Volcanion switches out. Earth Power is ran over Earthquake since you deal more damage against Volcanion for a sweet 2HKO.

 

[ralts_boy]

Slowking @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Toxic / Scald
- Teleport
- Slack Off​

When properly supported, Slowking can be a counter to Volcanion. Thanks to the boots, Slowking can always switch in freely to any of specs Volcanion's attacks; the most damaging of which is Sludge Wave:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 115-136 (29.1 - 34.5%) -- 5.6% chance to 3HKO

However, all of Volcanion's moves, despite resistance or not, do around 20-30%. Sludge Wave's 10% of poison is annoying, but is rather low, and Slowking is more likely to be burned by Steam Eruption anyways. Another consideration is Earth Power's 10% chance to lower Sp.Def, which if the opponent gets lucky enough to nab it, could prove problematic over the course of multiple turns when combined with burn:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Earth Power vs. -1 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 164-193 (41.6 - 48.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Thus, this Slowking set favors Toxic over Scald in order to dissuade a Volcanion from staying in to fish for secondary effects. If another teammate can set up TSpikes or get a Toxic on a switch-in (e.g Buzzwole), then Scald is once again the preferred move. As long as Slowking can Slack Off spam while the Volcanion loses health passively, there is basically nothing the Volcanion can do. If Stealth Rocks are on the field, all the better, since then the Volcanion is even less useful at that point.

If the team has a faster mon that deals with Volcanion, e.g. Zeraora or Landorus-T, then the Slowking can alternatively Teleport out and forgo dealing with the Volcanion directly; and, since Regenerator heals 30%, it will basically come back in from full every time.

 

[SLDR]

specially defensive toxapex as a check

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 172 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze
- Light Screen / Toxic Spikes

CHECK ​

ok hear me out, I can read posts, I know my type charts and I can read earth power on volcanion's set. that being said, i can also see steam eruption, flamethrower, sludge wave and no hdb. pex kinda blanks these moves, easily pivoting in and regenerating the damage off with black sludge and a specially defensive spread. furthermore, pex always runs knock off which weakens volcanion and has space for light screen and tspikes, which effectively reduce volcanion's damage output against your whole team and limit its lifespan, respectively. the main draw of pex is basically forcing a stealth rock weak pokemon to lock non-stab earth power to produce meaningful progress (steam eruption burn sucks but it is what it is - also black sludge and regen compensate for it) and ground type attacks are not the best to lock yourself into when landot is #1 usage and corviknight is high up as well.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 172+ SpD Toxapex: 192-226 (63.1 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 172+ SpD Toxapex: 87-103 (28.6 - 33.8%) -- 98% chance to 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 172+ SpD Toxapex in Rain: 131-155 (43 - 50.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery

earth power is the only reason why pex isn't a counter, but for common in-battle situations it's gotta be one of the better defensive checks to it.

this is not my spread, the original one is 252 / 76 / 180 and I don't know who came up with it, but I put 8 in speed to spread (lol) awareness that, since some pokemon are evd to creep pex, pex can do the same thing and ruin their days

 

[Zeno420]

Hydreigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 232 HP / 24 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Roost
- Nasty Plot

Hydreigon as a check, although it can avoid a 2hko from both steam eruption and flame thrower. Just 1 burn from steam eruption will make it close to a 2hko. Sludge wave also has a 50% to 2hko upon switchin. But it can beat volcanion 100% of the time if it’s alrdy in vs it. With access to roost, it can effectively out stall steam eruption while earth power being a guaranteed 2hko.
Properly pairing this with another steel such as or can make the volcanion mu vs doable. Although it is not a long term counter it can always switchin once to scout the move so you can switch to ur steel type.

Calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 232 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 187-220 (48.8 - 57.4%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 232 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 161-190 (42 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Flamethrower vs. 232 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon: 132-156 (34.4 - 40.7%) -- 55.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[ironwater]

Hey there, I’m submitting Dragonite as a Volcanion counter.

Dragonite @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Def / 184 Spe
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Heal Bell / Defog
- Ice Beam

Dragonite is a popular choice for teams in need of a Bulky Flying type as it brings a lot of role compression. With the ability to check a lot of threatening breakers like Heatran, Urshifu-R, Rillaboom, Démétéros-T lacking Stone Edge and somehow Kartana, defensive Dragonite is often a solid pick in balance kind of teams. Earthquake + Ice Beam allows him to threaten most of the Pokémon it can switch into. Indeed, Earthquake threaten hardly Heatran and can catch some Steel Types like Magnezone and Melmetal while Ice Beam can 2HKO Garchomp and Landorus-T even with a minus Spa nature. The last move could be Defog which greatly helps against Stealth Rock Heatran or Heal Bell, which not only allows him to heal its teammates but also prevent him from being wear down by Toxic or a Burn from Pokemon like the star of this week namely Volcanion.

I chose this kind of Dragonite set because it’s probably the best one to check Volcanion, but most Dragonite sets can reliably beat the steam god. Indeed, Dragonite resists both Volcanion STAB and takes very little damage on them thanks to Multiscale. Moreover, Volcanion’s coverage move don’t threaten him either as Sludge Wave only do a few more than Steam Eruption. You are only scared of a potential Steam Eruption Burn which will prevent you to restore your Multiscale with Roost. However, thanks to Heal Bell, Dragonite can still recover from a burn and try to find an opportunity to Roost afterwards. The Speed investments allow Dragonite to outspeed Modest Volcanion (but also some defensive Landorus-T variant) and Earthquake threaten Volcanion decently well giving a guaranteed 2HKO and thus forcing him out pretty easily. Thus, Dragonite completely counters Volcanion, being able to beat 1v1 extremely reliably while also being a Pokemon that can easily be fit in a team du to its amazing defensive utility.

Some interesting Calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 74-87 (19.2 - 22.5%) -- possible 5HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 85-100 (22 - 25.9%) -- 5.9% chance to 4HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite: 148-174 (38.4 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

0 Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 158-188 (52.4 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Thank you for reading (also a big thank to Katy and Fusion Flare for letting me co-host this project).

 

[Monky25]

Zeraora @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Knock Off
- Close Combat

Check, you don’t want to switch into volcanion but you outspeed and OHKO with plasma fists
252 Atk Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 254-300 (84.3 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

 

[Sole Survivor]

Thank you Katy for being a great Co-host. Welcome and good luck, ironwater!
reserving Seismitoad

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 108 HP / 80 Def / 188 SpA / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Knock Off
​

Seismitoad is a very bulky Pokemon with access to Water Absorb which makes it immune to Volcanion's Steam Eruption and is resistant to its Flamethrower so it is a handy Pokemon to have vs Volcanion. Earth Power is its STAB Ground-type move of choice which cleanly 2HKOs Volcanion if Stealth Rock isn't up and OHKOs if it is. Stealth Rock is well, Stealth Rock. Scald is used as its secondary STAB move which can grab crucial burns on Pokemon like Landorus-T, Garchomp, etc. Knock Off is used to cripple Pokemon like Toxapex in the long run. One big thing to note in the case of Volcanion is that it isn't holding a pair of Heavy-duty Boots, meaning Stealth Rock instantly cuts 1/4th of its HP. With that in mind, the given EV spread helps it hit some specific benchmarks:

Spread Accomplishments

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Earth Power vs. 108 HP / 132+ SpD Seismitoad: 159-188 (42 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
188 SpA Seismitoad Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 228-270 (75.7 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

I am submitting this as a check since Seismitoad cannot always switch into Earth Power and may also take a Special Defense drop from Earth Power should the opponent lock into that predicting Seismitoad coming in.

 

[Dr Ya Yeet]

ty Katy for being wonderful as a co-host! Welcome Ironwater

big fat blob to the rescue

deez eggs (Blissey) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave/Toxic
- Teleport
COUNTER
can come in everything, has reliable recovery, can port to a revenge killer, can cripple with status, can toss it to death, etc.
something worth mentioning is that this is not reliable if volc is supported by rain, idt that warrants it being a 'check' instead, imo it doesn't but if the host/co-host thinks so then this is a check.

calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 228-268 (31.9 - 37.5%) -- 89.9% chance to 3HKO

Blissey Seismic Toss vs. 0 HP Volcanion: 100-100 (33.2 - 33.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey in Rain: 340-402 (47.6 - 56.3%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO (big rip)

have a good day everyone

 

[TGA]

Latias (F) WeaKness policy
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 128 SpA / 128 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Root
- Aur Sphere
latias having great bulk and typing allows it to come on volacanion stabs multiple times and setup calm mind. levitate makes it immune to volcanionsearth power. its a counter as it can come on volcanion multiple times and roost the damagte off.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 0 HP / 128 SpD Latias: 106-126 (35.2 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 128 SpD Latias: 123-145 (40.8 - 48.1%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. +1 0 HP / 128 SpD Latias: 82-97 (27.2 - 32.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO [after sludge wave and sr damage and setting up one cm]
Also ty to amazing user katy for hosting welcome waterwater

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

@ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

"suicune cant touch volcanion" yeah you would be right but with rest talk it PP stalls volcanion out of its moves since it can boost and be basically unbreakable since at +1 volcanion barely ever 4hko's. If it is given an opportunity to set up such as on a free switch on steam eruption or flamethrower it can easily set up and burn through the low PP of its moves and force it to struggle. Volcnion spams steam eruption 90% of the time so it will generally have a free switch and free setup on it since volcanion rarely ever uses its coverage

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 151-178 (37.3 - 44%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 131-154 (32.4 - 38.1%) -- 28.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Suicune: 101-119 (25 - 29.4%) -- 3.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[D5405]

Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- U-turn/Grass knot/Defog etc
Obiviously koko can not switch into any of volcanions attacks because its gonna get fried by steam eruption but koko can easily revenge kill or scare out volcanion.Heres the calc:252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Volcanion in Electric Terrain: 500-590 (137.7 - 162.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO. So i will submit it as a check.

 

[agslash23]

Garchomp @ Leftovers
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Scale Shot

How it beats the Victim?

Garchomp can usually OHKO Volcanion with STAB Earthquake. It can also switch into Flamethrower or Sludge Wave, 2 of the 4 moves Volc is locked into. Further, Garchomp can force Volc out to set up an SD or Scale Shot to boost its speed.

Check/Counter?

Garchomp can't switch into Steam Eruption and Earth Power (OHKO and 2HKO rolls respectively), which makes it a Check

Calcs

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Volcanion: 282-332 (93.6 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 339-400 (94.9 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 185-218 (51.8 - 61%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Steel With It]

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 SpD
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Hex / Fire Blast / Thunderbolt
- U-Turn

Continuing what I can see being a running theme with this week's checks, here's another Dragon-type that can take any one hit thanks to its resistances and blow Volc back to the power plant. Infiltrator is nice here since it ignores the AVeil support Specs Volc is usually paired with, and it also dicks on the occasional Substitute Volc outside of hail. *thumbs up*

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 204-240 (64.3 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 288-340 (95.6 - 112.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock)

 

[Plushietran]

reserving Slowking-Galar

 

[romanji]

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 28 SpA / 220 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Pain Split​

Rotom-W is a good check to Volcanion, as it is one of the few Pokemon to resist the Fire Water STAB combination, while also being immune to Earth Power and neutral to Sludge Wave. The EV spread allows Rotom to survive 2 Sludge Waves after Stealth Rock and outspeed Adamant Crawdaunt. The way to beat Volcanion is by switching in and taking 2 Sludge Waves or Steam Eruptions (if no rain) and pivoting with a slow Volt Switch safely as a faster teammate outspeeds and KOes it afterwards. Rotom-W can also paralyze Volcanion with Thunder Wave so it neuters it’s Speed so it isn’t as threatening to bulky teams.

calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 220+ SpD Rotom-Wash: 120-142 (39.4 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 220+ SpD Rotom-Wash: 120-142 (39.4 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 220+ SpD Rotom-Wash in Rain: 156-185 (51.3 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

28 SpA Rotom-Wash Volt Switch vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 176-210 (58.4 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[InvisibleWater]

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Roost
- Mystical Fire / Aura Sphere

Latios is a check. It can switch in on Earth Power thanks to Levitate, or any of Volcanion's other attacks once from full health. From there, it can Roost off the damage or threaten an OHKO with Draco Meteor. Psychic also has a chance to OHKO if Stealth Rock is up.

If Latios is running Mystical Fire, it can use the Sp. Attack drops to reduce Volcanion's damage output, allowing teammates to switch in more safely on whatever it's locked into.

Calcs

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 300-355 (99.6 - 117.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 208-247 (69.1 - 82%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Mystical Fire vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 29-34 (9.6 - 11.2%) -- possible 9HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Aura Sphere vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Volcanion: 125-147 (41.5 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO


252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 135-160 (44.8 - 53.1%) -- 32% chance to 2HKO
-1 252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 90-107 (29.9 - 35.5%) -- 28.6% chance to 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 111-131 (36.8 - 43.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 74-87 (24.5 - 28.9%) -- 99.7% chance to 4HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 157-185 (52.1 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 105-124 (34.8 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

 

[ironwater]

Hey everyone, hope you're doing great. First I wanna thanks Katy for all her contributions, you did an amazing job co-hosting this!

I'm gonna close the submission phase this evening (in my timezone: GMT+2), so people who want to submit something still have a bit more than 10 hours to do so. Plushietran and YoruNoxx, try completing your submission in this time window. Also HydreigonTheChild do you want to submit Suicune as a check or a counter? I'm assuming it's a counter, but feel free to rectify this in your post.

Have a nice day!

 

[ironwater]

Submission period is now closed, so let's move on to the voting phase. The Victim of the week was the steam Pokemon . Here are the submissions, we've got:

Checks

by SLDR

by zeno420

by Monky25

by Dawn Greninja

by The gaming attack

by D5405

by agslash23

by Steel With It

by avg

by InvisibleWater


Counters

by Tysonslayer

by ralts_boy

by ironwater

by Dr Ya Yeet

by HydreigonTheChild



You need to vote for 2 checks and 2 counters, voting phase will end on Sunday, good luck to everyone! ​

 

[romanji]

Checks:
Counters:

 

[D5405]

Checks:Zeraora and Latios
Counters:Gastrodon and Blissey

 

[Tysonslayer]

Counter: Pink fat blob Blissey and worse slowbro
Checks: Warts Toad and Washer

 

[Sirwings]

Checks: hydreigon latias
Counter: gastrodon dnite

 

[Maktyum]

Check:
Counter:

 

[KiruxOnTheFlux]

Check: Toxapex and Latias
Counter: Ironwater pokemon because it’s just my personal choice ... really and Blissey