The REAL Reign of Gigas
Greetings, Smogon Community! AhhhhhhClefable here with my second ever RMT! I recently discovered that Regigigas, while slightly crippled by its ability, is an absolute BEAST in the NU environment (when supported properly.) He is bulky and has just enough power and speed to not be completely useless when Slow Start is in effect. Upon my realization of how incredible the potential that lies within Regigigas is, I decided to experiment with him, and built the following team around getting the most out of him. Here we go!
The Team:
Golurk @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- DynamicPunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Shadow Punch
Golurk is a crucial member of this team. He's powerful even without Attack investment, and is a welcome recipient of Ninjask's Speed and Attack boosts. DynamicPunch and No Guard are a wonderful combination, and the confusion caused by this attack is incredibly useful (albeit unreliable) when it comes time for Ninjask to set up or Alomomola or Ampharos to heal the team. EdgeQuake provide wonderful coverage for Golurk, and Stone Edge is much more reliable thanks to No Guard. Shadow Punch is great to catch Misdreavus and any levitating Psychic-types, which admittedly are not super-common. I'm considering switching Shadow Punch out for Stealth Rock just to provide some passive damage against the opponent. The EV's, Leftovers, and nature help turn Golurk into a defensive boss; he takes hits like a champ with this spread, and often surprises me (let alone the opponent) with his survivability.
Alomomola @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Protect
- Wish
- Toxic
- Scald
Anyone who has ever played an NU battle knows exactly how frustrating and durable Alomomola is. I have used it since the very start of my NU exploration, and it continues to impress me. It takes physical hits better than anything else in NU, and its ability to pass gigantic Wishes to my team is invaluable. Protect helps stall for Wish and Leftovers recovery and provides me with a useful scouting tool. Wish is mandatory; passing 267 HP per Wish completely revitalizes Ninjask, almost completely recovers Charizard, and heals a hefty amount of everyone else's HP. Toxic and Scald are Alomomola's best ways to deal damage; Toxic works best against opposing walls, and Scald helps further cut back physical damage thanks to its burn rate. Regenerator is what really helps keep my favorite fish alive; healing 33% of its HP when switching around really prolongs Mola's lifespan.
Ampharos @ Leftovers
Trait: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Heal Bell
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power (Ice)
Ampharos is the specially-defensive pivot on my team and the second half of my clerical core. Thanks to the EV spread, nature, Leftovers, and a general lack of weaknesses on the Special side (strong Earth Powers are very uncommon in NU), Ampharos winds up sticking around for a good majority of my battles. Amphy is also blessed with a very useful Special Attack stat for a defensive Pokemon, and is my most reliable check to opposing Alomomola, special Ludicolo, Charizard, and other such mons that this team would otherwise struggle against. Heal Bell rids the team of nasty status afflictions and keeps Regigigas and Golurk healthy for their sweeps. Thunderbolt is powerful STAB, and Hidden Power (Ice) gives me a pseudo BoltBeam combo and a reliable way to handle Grass- and Ground-types. Thunder Wave helps cripple opposing sweepers, and ParaHax combines beautifully with Regigigas' flinch attacks and Golurk's DynamicPunch confusion.
Charizard @ Fire Gem
Trait: Solar Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power (Rock)
- Roost
Charizard exists as my team's counter to dedicated Sun teams, who otherwise obliterate us to shreds. Fire Gem boosted Fire Blast hits really unexpectedly hard and has literally won me games. Fire Blast and Air Slash are solid STAB options, hitting especially hard if the opponent has launched a Sun assault against me. Hidden Power (Rock) is a nasty little surprise for opposing Charizard and other Fire-types who think they can get an easy switch-in against my fiery lizard. Roost helps increase Zard's survivability, especially if the opponent gets sun up. The nature and EV's help make Charizard as fast and powerful as possible.
Ninjask @ Focus Sash
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Baton Pass
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
Ninjask is incredibly useful to this team. Focus Sash and Protect almost guarantee that Ninjask can get a Swords Dance and two Speed Boosts, then Baton Pass out to either Regigigas or Golurk, who turn into sweeping FIENDS thanks to the extra speed and power (especially Gigas after Slow Start wears off.) X-Scissor and Attack investments allow Ninjask to do some damage should the need arise, especially if its still alive after a Swords Dance boost. Alomomola's Wish completely restores Ninjask, often giving it a second chance to come in and pass at least a Speed boost. Ninjask is really fun to use, and few things are as satisfying in life as sweeping with Regigigas who has been passed some of this beetle's boosts.
Regigigas @ Leftovers
Trait: Slow Start
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Headbutt
- Substitute
- Zen Headbutt
Here it is, the reason for making this team! Regigigas base stats are incredible; a huge HP and Special Defense help it tank some pretty mighty hits, and despite Slow Start, its Attack and Speed aren't completely useless, especially if Ninjask can sneak Gigas some boosts. Substitute, Leftovers, and Regigigas' bulk make it surprisingly easy to stall out Slow Start, after which Regigigas turns into a complete MONSTER in NU. Drain Punch helps get some health back and does decent damage. I use Headbutt over Return for the extra flinch rate, which helps get rid of Slow Start. After Slow Start is gone, the power difference doesn't matter quite as much. Zen Headbutt might seem odd, but the flinch rate can be useful, and gives Regigigas a way to damage Ghost-types and hit Fighting-types hard. I absolutely LOVE Regigigas; it takes teams by surprise and really gives me an incredible edge because of how unprepared teams are for it.
Conclusion
All-in-all, this team is really fun to use. It has its weaknesses and takes a little bit of luck and incredible prediction to use properly, but really wipes things out when given the chance. I'm winning about 65% of my fights on Pokemon Showdown with this team right now, so any advice on how I can tighten the gap on that extra 35% would be wonderful! Thanks for the read; any advice and criticism are certainly welcome!!
Greetings, Smogon Community! AhhhhhhClefable here with my second ever RMT! I recently discovered that Regigigas, while slightly crippled by its ability, is an absolute BEAST in the NU environment (when supported properly.) He is bulky and has just enough power and speed to not be completely useless when Slow Start is in effect. Upon my realization of how incredible the potential that lies within Regigigas is, I decided to experiment with him, and built the following team around getting the most out of him. Here we go!
The Team:
Golurk @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- DynamicPunch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Shadow Punch
Golurk is a crucial member of this team. He's powerful even without Attack investment, and is a welcome recipient of Ninjask's Speed and Attack boosts. DynamicPunch and No Guard are a wonderful combination, and the confusion caused by this attack is incredibly useful (albeit unreliable) when it comes time for Ninjask to set up or Alomomola or Ampharos to heal the team. EdgeQuake provide wonderful coverage for Golurk, and Stone Edge is much more reliable thanks to No Guard. Shadow Punch is great to catch Misdreavus and any levitating Psychic-types, which admittedly are not super-common. I'm considering switching Shadow Punch out for Stealth Rock just to provide some passive damage against the opponent. The EV's, Leftovers, and nature help turn Golurk into a defensive boss; he takes hits like a champ with this spread, and often surprises me (let alone the opponent) with his survivability.
Alomomola @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Protect
- Wish
- Toxic
- Scald
Anyone who has ever played an NU battle knows exactly how frustrating and durable Alomomola is. I have used it since the very start of my NU exploration, and it continues to impress me. It takes physical hits better than anything else in NU, and its ability to pass gigantic Wishes to my team is invaluable. Protect helps stall for Wish and Leftovers recovery and provides me with a useful scouting tool. Wish is mandatory; passing 267 HP per Wish completely revitalizes Ninjask, almost completely recovers Charizard, and heals a hefty amount of everyone else's HP. Toxic and Scald are Alomomola's best ways to deal damage; Toxic works best against opposing walls, and Scald helps further cut back physical damage thanks to its burn rate. Regenerator is what really helps keep my favorite fish alive; healing 33% of its HP when switching around really prolongs Mola's lifespan.
Ampharos @ Leftovers
Trait: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Heal Bell
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power (Ice)
Ampharos is the specially-defensive pivot on my team and the second half of my clerical core. Thanks to the EV spread, nature, Leftovers, and a general lack of weaknesses on the Special side (strong Earth Powers are very uncommon in NU), Ampharos winds up sticking around for a good majority of my battles. Amphy is also blessed with a very useful Special Attack stat for a defensive Pokemon, and is my most reliable check to opposing Alomomola, special Ludicolo, Charizard, and other such mons that this team would otherwise struggle against. Heal Bell rids the team of nasty status afflictions and keeps Regigigas and Golurk healthy for their sweeps. Thunderbolt is powerful STAB, and Hidden Power (Ice) gives me a pseudo BoltBeam combo and a reliable way to handle Grass- and Ground-types. Thunder Wave helps cripple opposing sweepers, and ParaHax combines beautifully with Regigigas' flinch attacks and Golurk's DynamicPunch confusion.
Charizard @ Fire Gem
Trait: Solar Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power (Rock)
- Roost
Charizard exists as my team's counter to dedicated Sun teams, who otherwise obliterate us to shreds. Fire Gem boosted Fire Blast hits really unexpectedly hard and has literally won me games. Fire Blast and Air Slash are solid STAB options, hitting especially hard if the opponent has launched a Sun assault against me. Hidden Power (Rock) is a nasty little surprise for opposing Charizard and other Fire-types who think they can get an easy switch-in against my fiery lizard. Roost helps increase Zard's survivability, especially if the opponent gets sun up. The nature and EV's help make Charizard as fast and powerful as possible.
Ninjask @ Focus Sash
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Baton Pass
- Protect
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
Ninjask is incredibly useful to this team. Focus Sash and Protect almost guarantee that Ninjask can get a Swords Dance and two Speed Boosts, then Baton Pass out to either Regigigas or Golurk, who turn into sweeping FIENDS thanks to the extra speed and power (especially Gigas after Slow Start wears off.) X-Scissor and Attack investments allow Ninjask to do some damage should the need arise, especially if its still alive after a Swords Dance boost. Alomomola's Wish completely restores Ninjask, often giving it a second chance to come in and pass at least a Speed boost. Ninjask is really fun to use, and few things are as satisfying in life as sweeping with Regigigas who has been passed some of this beetle's boosts.
Regigigas @ Leftovers
Trait: Slow Start
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Headbutt
- Substitute
- Zen Headbutt
Here it is, the reason for making this team! Regigigas base stats are incredible; a huge HP and Special Defense help it tank some pretty mighty hits, and despite Slow Start, its Attack and Speed aren't completely useless, especially if Ninjask can sneak Gigas some boosts. Substitute, Leftovers, and Regigigas' bulk make it surprisingly easy to stall out Slow Start, after which Regigigas turns into a complete MONSTER in NU. Drain Punch helps get some health back and does decent damage. I use Headbutt over Return for the extra flinch rate, which helps get rid of Slow Start. After Slow Start is gone, the power difference doesn't matter quite as much. Zen Headbutt might seem odd, but the flinch rate can be useful, and gives Regigigas a way to damage Ghost-types and hit Fighting-types hard. I absolutely LOVE Regigigas; it takes teams by surprise and really gives me an incredible edge because of how unprepared teams are for it.
Conclusion
All-in-all, this team is really fun to use. It has its weaknesses and takes a little bit of luck and incredible prediction to use properly, but really wipes things out when given the chance. I'm winning about 65% of my fights on Pokemon Showdown with this team right now, so any advice on how I can tighten the gap on that extra 35% would be wonderful! Thanks for the read; any advice and criticism are certainly welcome!!
