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

[RaikouLover]

GOAT Crawdaunt.

Crawdaunt @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Crabhammer
- Crunch / Swords Dance

Y’all know what this does. (Check)

252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 360-428 (119.6 - 142.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 317-374 (105.3 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Latias]

Defensive Landorus-Therian

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Toxic​

Submitting Lando as a check to Blaziken. It resists Close Combat, immune to Thunder Punch and can switch into Flare Blitz while ohko'ing it back.

-1 252 Atk Life Orb Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 164+ Def Landorus-Therian: 134-160 (35 - 41.8%) -- 81.2% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blaziken: 396-468 (131.5 - 155.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[ironwater]

Hey, I'm gonna close the submission phase tomorrow. avg, Tysonslayer pinging you in case you want to fill your submissions.

 

[ironwater]

Hey there, submission period is now closed, so let’s move on to the voting phase. The Victim of this week was .

Here are the submissions, we’ve got:

Checks

by avg

by Tysonslayer

by Sirwings

by SDK03
(counting this as a check because it can get 2HKO by Close Combat)

by SLDR

by oliVes

by Katy

by RaikouLover

by Haail

Vote for your two favorite checks (you can’t vote for your own submission).
Voting phase ends on Sunday.​

 

[Katy]

the slow bro, and the quaggy

 

[Sirwings]

 

[Cratersmash]

:god:

 

[SLDR]

The sir and the goat

 

[SDK03]

and

Wait a minute

No one could actually find a good counter to Blaziken? Maybe it’s much better than we give it credit for.

 

[oliVes]

and

 

[InvisibleWater]

and

 

[D5405]

and

 

[Plushietran]

landorus and slowbro

 

[RaikouLover]

 

[ironwater]

Ending the voting phase. Here are the winners for the Blaziken Victim week:

Checks:

by Tysonslayer and by RaikouLover

Full Results

Proof for the second check:

Checks:
6
4
4
3
2
1
0
0
0

Congratulations to our two winners and thanks to everyone who made a submission.


I’m gonna take a one-week break for Christmas, see you next Sunday, merry Christmas to all of you!

 

[SDK03]

Ending the voting phase. Here are the winners for the Blaziken Victim week:

Checks:

by Tysonslayer and by RaikouLover

Full Results

Proof for the second check:
View attachment 392876
Checks:
6
4
4
3
2
1
0
0
0

Congratulations to our two winners and thanks to everyone who made a submission.


I’m gonna take a one-week break for Christmas, see you next Sunday, merry Christmas to all of you!

 

[Cratersmash]

Ending the voting phase. Here are the winners for the Blaziken Victim week:

Checks:

by Tysonslayer and by RaikouLover

Full Results

Proof for the second check:
View attachment 392876
Checks:
6
4
4
3
2
1
0
0
0

Congratulations to our two winners and thanks to everyone who made a submission.


I’m gonna take a one-week break for Christmas, see you next Sunday, merry Christmas to all of you!

God lost in a coinflip

 

[oliVes]

God lost in a coinflip

against the crawgoat though

 

[ironwater]

Hey everyone, hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

To resume Victim of the Week after this short break, let’s try to find checks and counters for an increasingly popular sweeper: Nihilego.

Nihilego @ Power Herb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Meteor Beam
- Sludge Wave
- Grass Knot
- Pain Split

With Meteor Beam, Nihilego is a threatening sweeper in OU, able to fire a strong Rock STAB attack while boosting its Special Attack thanks to the Power Herb. The given spread allows it to boost its Speed after each kill, making it an even more threatening sweeper. Sludge Wave is a secondary STAB that do not need a charge turn when its Power Herb is consumed, and Grass Knot is a nice coverage move to hit some annoying Ground and Water types. Lastly, Pain Split allow it to take advantage of some Special walls like Blissey to heal most of its life while weakening them.

Submission phase will end on Friday, January7th, good luck!​

 

[Red Raven]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Knock Off
- Body Press
- Leech Seed

Does this even need an explanation? Unless Ferrothorn royally screws up, ain't no way in hell Nihilego is ever gonna break thru it and of course, this durian is the single most irritating pokemon that was ever released. Whoever thought adding this thing into the game is probably at the top of the most wanted list of every government agency

 

[romanji]

Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 128 HP / 116 Atk / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Careful Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch​

Melmetal easily counters Nihilego due to it resisting all of its moves, and OHKOing it with Double Iron Bash and Earthquake. It also deals with Magnezone, Nihilego's most common partner to boot.

calcs

Nihilego Sludge Wave vs. Melmetal: 0-0 (0 - 0%) -- possibly the worst move ever
176 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Melmetal: 38-45 (8.5 - 10.1%) -- possibly the worst move ever
+1 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Melmetal: 86-102 (19.4 - 23%) -- possible 5HKO
+1 176 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Melmetal: 57-68 (12.8 - 15.3%) -- possible 7HKO

116 Atk Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 840-988 (221.6 - 260.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
116 Atk Melmetal Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 772-912 (203.6 - 240.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[SLDR]

Kartana

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 228 Atk / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Sacred Sword
- Smart Strike

CHECK

Choice Scarf Kartana is a great offensive check to Nihilego due to being immune to Sludge Wave and being basically immune to Grass Knot, while outspeeding even Speed boosting Nihilego after a kill. One needs to play very carefully around Nihilego's common partner Magnezone, against which Choice Scarf is the worst Kartana set you can have, however Meteor Beam's two turn gimmick allows Kartana to still be effective and not needing to click Smart Strike. You can easily click Sacred Sword, safely 2HKOing Nihilego and preventing Magnezone from trying to catch Kartana slipping with the wrong move. Even if Speed boosting Nihilego doesn't run Pain Split and instead uses either Power Gem or Thunderbolt, it still won't OHKO Kartana at +1 and with Stealth Rock up, which means it WILL get KOd in the process.

Choice Band Kartana works in a similar way, but trades speed with the ability to OHKO after Rocks with either Knock Off or Sacred Sword.
Timid Kartana works as well thanks to the special defense investment allowing it to safely stay in and setup against unboosted Nihilego, although it can lose the 1v1 against a +1/+1 Nihilego.
Jolly Swords Dance Kartana is just a worse Choice Band in this matchup, having at best less favorable odds at KOing Nihilego with Life Orb, which means usually useless recoil, because a Choice Band Kartana can just click Sacred Sword or Knock Off.
At the end of the day, however, if the Nihilego user doesn't also have Magnezone, Choice Scarf Kartana is easily the best set Kartana can have to check Nihilego, so here's my sumbission.

+1 176 SpA Nihilego Power Gem vs. 0 HP / 28 SpD Kartana: 204-241 (78.7 - 93%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
228 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 80 Def Nihilego: 196-231 (54.5 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO​

 

[InvisibleWater]

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Toxic

Magnezone is a check. Its typing allows it to avoid the 2HKO from most of Nihilego's attacks, with the only one consistently able to do so being the two-turn Meteor Beam. In return, Magnezone can threaten an OHKO with Flash Cannon, or a 2HKO with Thunderbolt.

Calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 192-226 (50.6 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Flash Cannon vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 342-404 (90.2 - 106.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Volt Switch vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Nihilego: 150-177 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO


176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 99-117 (35.2 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 149-176 (53 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 55-65 (19.5 - 23.1%) -- possible 5HKO
+1 176 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 83-98 (29.5 - 34.8%) -- 13.7% chance to 3HKO

 

[SDK03]

Reserving Aegislash

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Sassy Nature
- Substitute / Shadow Ball
- Toxic
- King’s Shield
- Gyro Ball / Iron Head
​

SubToxic Aegislash is a Counter to MeteorHerb Nihilego. Thanks to its wonderful defensive typing and maxed out HP and SpD, none of Nihilego’s moves can reliably 2HKO or 3HKO, even with 2 Meteor Beam boosts. Leftovers gives Aegislash a way to brush off any scrapes it gets. Substitute allows Aegislash to sit on Nihilego without being damaged all that much itself, although Shadow Ball can be opted for instead to give Aegislash a better time against Nihilego’s teammates, such as Magnezone, which Aegislash also excels against due to sponging Thunderbolt and being immune to Body Press. King’s Shield takes this further to prolong the glass jellyfish’s suffering. Both Gyro Ball and Iron Head OHKO Nihilego, with Gyro Ball hitting faster switchins hard and Iron Head doing consistent damage.

Defensive Calcs

176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 51-61 (15.7 - 18.8%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery

+1 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 78-92 (24 - 28.3%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 103-122 (31.7 - 37.6%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+3 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 129-153 (39.8 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Why and how would it have even boosted itself this much at this point anyways? The calcs below are just to show how painfully long it takes to even get a 2HKO with Meteor Beam, not factoring in the extra turn the move takes, so just skip that tbh)

+4 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 155-183 (47.8 - 56.4%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+5 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 181-213 (55.8 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+6 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 207-243 (63.8 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Offensive Calcs

0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Gyro Ball (75 BP) vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 392-464 (103.4 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 420-494 (110.8 - 130.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[powergo1]

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin
- Toxic

Utility Excadrill is a Counter to this Nihilego set, with +1 Meteor Beam into Grass Knot doing at most just over half to Excadrill, whereas Excadrill can OHKO back with either EQ or Iron Head

Calcs

+1 176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Excadrill: 70-83 (19.3 - 22.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 176 SpA Nihilego Grass Knot (60 BP) vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Excadrill: 95-112 (26.3 - 31%) -- 9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

4 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 1020-1200 (284.1 - 334.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Nihilego: 408-480 (113.6 - 133.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO