Project Undiscovered NFEs [REPLAYS REQUIRED]


Guys you might know of the recent restriction put on the PU VR thread since the talk of NFE Pokemon of dubious effectiveness really hampered the discussion of relevant metagame matters and really just cluttered the thread.

This thread is for discussing NFEs that don't have place on the Viability Rankings and have undiscovered niches in the metagame that other Pokemon really don't have with the best ones arising that will be nominated for discussion in the actual Viability Rankings by the VR team every once in a while.

So basically go wild here with discussion about your favorite LC Pokemon Pokemon such as Staryu and Chinchou and Porygon to try and justify their use in the actual metagame.

This thread is also place for Effective/Underrated sets on Pokemon that don't have a place in the Viability Rankings.

Rules:
-Be reasonable and don't overhype stuff that is obviously bad (I mean they should be better than Lunatone which isn't hard at all)
-No stuff that has an evolution in the tier pls
-No obvious gimmicks like Belly Drum Magmar
-No posting things that were already ranked in the past unless the meta has significantly changed
-NO "I WANTED TO FIND A NICHE FOR [INSERT POKEMON] AND THIS IS THE BEST IT CAN DO" POSTS, when you post it there it needs to have legit use against some of the metagame's most prominent threats and it should be at least an option when teambuilding a team to use in a tournament.
 
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Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Encore
- Memento
- Taunt
- Stun Spore / Knock Off

Cottonee is a Pokemon that is mainly known for its access to great utility moves combined with its ability in Prankster allows Cottonee to support its teammates in multiple ways while having a unique typing in Grass/Fairy giving it 6 resistances and an immunity to Dragon. As for the set itself, Encore is a great move for Cottonee, provoking opposing foes into their last move for 3 turns. Combined with Memento, setup sweepers appreciate coming in and not having to worry about taking damage while the foe switches out. Taunt stops foes from getting up hazards or setting up themselves, while Stun Spore adds to Cottonee's support by crippling faster threats for its teammates. Knock Off is mainly for utility, as getting rid of a foe's held item can work in your favor.


Snubbull @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Play Rough
- Earthquake / Heal Bell / Thunder Wave / Roar

So when it comes to running something to check Fighting-types, mainly Machoke, you have your choice of options such as Pelipper, Tangela, and Arbok, however Snubbull can perform a similar role in regards to being a Fighting check or counter in this regard. Backed by a solid Fairy typing and a great ability in Intimidate, it can easily withstand any attack Machoke wants to throw at it. Even if it loses its Eviolite from Knock Off, a -1 Machoke still does pitiful damage to Snubbull and in turn Snubbull can retaliate with Play Rough. Of course Snubbull lacks recovery, so Rest and Sleep Talk on this set is manditory. As for the last move it is interchangle, so it mostly depends on what you want Snubull to work as. Earthquake can hit Poison- and Steel-types on the switch predicting a Play Rough, Heal Bell rids its teammates and itself of status which any team can appreciate, Thunder Wave slows down faster threats such as Floatzel and Jumpluff for its teammates, while Roar works great with hazard support as it stops opposing Pokemon such as BD Linoone and non Taunt Vigoroth from setting up on it while racking up entry hazard damage.


Sliggoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Sap Sipper
248 HP / 188 Def / 72 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Outrage
- Curse

I've been using Sliggoo as a SpD wall and was needing a little more offense on a team, so I ran this set. I've seen it before so I cant take credit for it. This has brought me a solid amount of success in checking a lot of threats in the tier. It has a lot of opportunities to set up on common Defensive mons in the tier such as Tangela, Roselia, Gourgeists, Probo, Swalot. It does struggle against any thing carrying Taunt or Encore and, of course, Fairies.


Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Destiny Bond

Carvanha was often overshadowed and was walled severely back in the time when Poliwrath, Carracosta, and Barbaracle were in the metagame. However, once they were banned, Carvanha gained a bit of potential as a speedy, physical Water-type, with the added bonus of Destiny Bond which can come in handy to get off a clutch kill. Carvanha works best late-game as a cleaner, and appreciates entry hazard support from teammates to quickly break down an opposing team.

However, Carvanha faces competition from Huntail, which can use Shell Smash and boost its Speed, as well as both of its attacking stats and has access to Sucker Punch. Carvanha doesn't really have to spend a turn setting up and having to take a hit, as it can just Protect, although it always leaves the risk of the foe setting up Substitute or boosts while doing so. Carvanha is also extremely frail, although it can actually help out a bit when paired with Destiny Bond. Carvanha finds its niche over Huntail in Destiny Bond, which allows it to net a surprise kill on a foe if they aren't suspecting it, and can help take out a foe that it cannot KO.

tl;dr: While Carvanha isn't the strongest Pokemon, it finds its niche as a Speed boosting cleaner, which can still get a kill with Destiny Bond if it needs to.


Diglett @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Memento
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Sucker Punch

Diglett Suicide lead for Hyper-Offense

Diglett at one point was somewhat used on other playstyles however with the discovery of Trapinch it has become rather outclassed as a trapper due to Trapinch having higher attack which even an adamant diglett cant reach, usable defense with an Eviolite and can take on other threats that even Diglett can't, such as Grumpig.

Diglett however still posesses its own notable niche with its Suicide Lead set for Hyper-Offensive teams, allowing it to remain viable despite not being ranked.


Honedge @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 92 HP / 216 Atk / 120 Def / 80 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Iron Head / Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance

"Isn't that just like a PU player? Brings a sloth to a sword fight."

Alright, so Honedge isn't quite as undiscovered as other NFE's might be, but I've taken some time out of my busy spread crunching schedule and optimized our Excalibur Jr. here. While looking for niche checks to Vigoroth and other assorted NFE's, it hit me like a brick in the face. Ghost can counter Vig. Sacred Sword counters Vig. From there it logically followed that a Ghost with access to Sacred Sword must hard counter. Everyone say hello to Honedge, Vigoroth's bane.

Going into further depth on Honedge's ability to counter Vigoroth, let's take a look at the move that is this sword's saving grace against said sloth, Sacred Sword.

  • Sacred Sword
  • Power 90
  • Accuracy 100%
  • PP 24
  • Ignores the target's stat stage changes.
Vigoroth's main set, consisting of Taunt, Slack Off, Bulk Up, Frustration/Body Slam, is known for its ability to Taunt most Ghost out of their utility options and force attacking moves to be used and PP stalled, eventually resulting in struggle induced death. This ability to boost on and beat mon's with immunity to its only attacking slot is a big part of why Vigoroth is a force to be reckoned with in the current meta. Sacred Sword's ignorance of said Bulk Up boost and super effective damage against Vig make it almost too coincidental in its effectiveness to deal with Vigoroth, considering a Ghost has access. With Slack Off's PP being 16 and Sacred Sword's being 24 and, with the given spread, Honedge being able to reliably 3HKO Vigoroth, Vigoroth either has to spend atleast 2 Slack Off's for every 3 Sacred Sword's or die trying to taunt Honedge every time it has a chance to Swords Dance. Vigoroth is either alive and out of Slack Off PP, Dead, or is faced with a boosted Honedge that has no problem in taking a weakened Vig out and has the potential of dealing massive damage to other members of the team once Vig is gone. Also, Substitute variants of Vigoroth are nothing but setup fodder for Honedge, making Honedge a true counter in every sense of the word.

But wait, let's not think I only came here with my blade to counter Vig. That would be absurd behavior, unfitting of a swordsman of my calibur!

With the given spread this Honedge also has a decent amount of setup oppurtunties on some very notable threats in the tier due to its unique typing and very respectable bulk when holding an Eviolite.
Honedge avoids:
-The 4HKO from Roselia's Giga Drain
-The OHKO from Kadabra's Shadow Ball after Stealth Rocks
-The OHKO from Probopass's Earth Power after Stealth Rocks
-The 3HKO from CB Stoutland's Return and ~32% to avoid the OHKO from its Superpower
-The OHKO from CB Dodrio's Knock Off after Stealth Rocks
-The 3HKO from +2 Jumpluff's Acrobatics after Stealth Rocks

All listed above are OHKO'd after an SD from either of Honedge's attacking options, bar Roselia (2HKO), Kadabra (2HKO due to Focus Sash) and Jumpluff, who has a 50/50 shot at surviving +2 Iron Head.

I could see this doing well on a hazard stacking team (DOESN'T EVERYTHING!?!?!?!?) as an offensive spinblocker against the likes of Armaldo and Avalugg. (Armaldo is a little harder to switch into for Honedge, but can be done well enough on a predicted spin. Just be careful, Knock Off and Earthquake hurt D:). Hazards also help Honedge secure KO's on fast offense, such as Floatzel And Zebstrika, with +4 Shadow Sneak.

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Vigoroth: 122-144 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 92 HP / 120 Def Eviolite Honedge: 72-85 (28.3 - 33.4%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Stoutland: 166-196 (53.3 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Kadabra Shadow Ball vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 200-236 (78.7 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 SpA Roselia Giga Drain vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 49-58 (19.2 - 22.8%) -- possible 5HKO

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Eviolite Roselia: 216-255 (71 - 83.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 180-214 (70.8 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 220-260 (72.3 - 85.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zebstrika: 220-259 (75.6 - 89%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Floatzel: 241-285 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Jumpluff: 201-237 (69 - 81.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Ninjask: 186-220 (70.7 - 83.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 241-285 (92.3 - 109.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Simipour: 220-259 (75.6 - 89%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Grumpig: 288-338 (79.1 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Stoutland: 328-388 (105.4 - 124.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


To conclude, be careful not to cut yourself when using this set, it hurts D:


Lampent @ Life Orb/ Eviolite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 27 HP / 0 Spe, 0 Spe
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick Room

So this is a really cool mon to run because it really abuses things like Roselia and Monferno which is the main reason you'd run it over say TR Beheeyem. It's typing allows it to resist both of Roselia's STAB attacks and with the bulk of Eviolite it lets it come in again and again even after Stealth Rcoks damage. After that you also have a really cool ability in Flash Fire which allows you to deal with fire types. The most notable being Monferno as you're completely immune to both STABs it runs.

Fire Blast + Shadow Ball + Energy Ball has amazing coverage, being able to hit all the normal fire resists such as Grumpig, Relicanth, and Politoed. Life Orb vs Eviolite is a toss up as LO gives you more upfront damage which lets you pull out sweeps easier due to more damage, whereas Eviolite lets you switch into things like Roselia easier. Over all this is a really interesting mon with a few cool uses, so I highly recommend giving it a shot!

0 SpA Roselia Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Lampent: 49-58 (15.1 - 17.9%) -- possible 6HKO
252+ SpA Lampent Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Roselia: 188-224 (62 - 73.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Roselia Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Lampent: 73-87 (22.6 - 26.9%) -- 33.7% chance to 4HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Lampent Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Roselia: 244-291 (80.5 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Sort of had fun with this (a little too much - Grovyle is aesthetically pleasing so I just went with it lol). It's really not the most viable, but Grovyle has a decent matchup against most leads - it's able to Leaf Blade, break sturdy, then finish off with QA before your opponent Explodes via Custap or hits you with Sucker Punch.

It also functions very similarly to Drifblim in that you use Unburden + a boost to do some damage, but their movepool and typing are different enough to the point that this is as far as the comparisons between the two can go.

It's also in the same Speed tier as Leafeon / Sawsbuck, which lets it outspeed a lot of potent threats in PU and do some things like SubSeed like Sceptile did in older gens.

Lead set:

Grovyle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden / Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Toxic
- Endeavor
- Quick Attack

Endeavor if you predict an attack incoming, and Quick Attack on the following turn to pick up a kill. Toxic is filler, but it allows you to hit Ghosts other than Dusknoir (due to its access to Shadow Sneak) at 1 HP with Toxic. Overgrow can activate after your Sash has been broken, letting Leaf Blade hit surprisingly hard. I tested both abilities, and they seemed to work well enough.

Here are some replays of Grovyle putting in work:

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289099614 - Takes down a Jumpluff with Endeavor + QA
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289130518 - Kills a Zeb with Endeavor + QA + LO recoil
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289122682 - Beating Mightyena with a combination of Toxic and QA
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289102603 - Kills a Ninetales with Endeavor + LO recoil
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289096986 - Takes down a Raichu with Leaf Blade + QA

Next is more of a snub to Water-types like Simipour, Gorebyss, and Golduck, but its use is more situational:

Grovyle @ Absorb Bulb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 64 HP / 152 SpA / 140 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Protect
- Substitute
- Leech Seed

Switch into a predicted Water attack from something like Gorebyss' or Golduck's Hydro Pump, barely survive with the EVs provided, your +1 activates thanks to Absorb Bulb, using up Absorb Bulb activates Unburden and brings you to 580 Speed total, then +1 STAB Giga Drain OHKOes and refills a decent portion of your HP. Timid 152 also outspeeds max Speed Gabite (289) by +1, which allows you to hit it with HP Ice. Other slower threats in the meta can be stalled out with a combination of SubProtect + Leech Seed if you decide to go that route.

+2 252+ SpA Gorebyss Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle: 211-249 (82.1 - 96.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gorebyss: 318-374 (126.6 - 149%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Simipour Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle: 113-133 (43.9 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Simipour: 408-482 (140.2 - 165.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Golduck Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle in Rain: 182-214 (70.8 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Golduck: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This next set is more or less what you'd expect from a Grovyle:

Grovyle @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Blade
- Substitute / Drain Punch

It's pretty obvious what you do here: Substitute down to Liechi as you set up Swords Dance, eat the Berry and activate Unburden / increase Acrobatics damage as you no longer have an item, then sweep with STAB Leaf Blade or Acrobatics. You're walled by Steels, so Drain Punch is a final option here.

The last 2 sets function similarly, and are self-explanatory for the most part. You use an odd number of HP ending in 9 for LO, and an even number divisible by 4 to activate Petaya (hence the 12 EVs in HP):

Grovyle @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Substitute

Grovyle @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Endeavor



Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Or

Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Now, Yes Gastly has been on the Vr before however a lot has changed since then and it has gotten a lot better and is fairly usable in PU right now.

Gastly is one of the most frail pokemon in the entire game however it makes up for this in Pu with its sheer power with its base 100 SpA,Neutral Coverage and usable speed at base 80. Gastly has contributed numerous times for me however i only have this replay to show of its capabilities.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-292071452 - Here you see Gastly taking out half of my opponents team in 3 turns.

Gastly also marks itself as being a fine check to many of PU's threats such as Linoone,Monferno,Stoutland,Machoke,Exeggutor,Pawniard,Gorebyss the list goes on and branches out depending on Scarf or Lo. Destiny Bond is also fairly huge and life saving and Gastly uses it perfectly due to its pre mentioned terrible bulk allowing it to be killed easily.


Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt/Tri Attack
- Trick Room
- Recover

I've been playing around with this guy quite a bit on the PU Ladder lately, to pretty good success. With the listed EVs and Eviolite, it's nearly impossible to OHKO this guy bar Fighting-Type coverage from the likes of Stoutland, Machoke, etc. and powerful special attacks such as Specs Leaf Storm from Exeggutor. Without Rocks, to my knowledge only Banded Stoutland, Banded Zweilous, or like a random Rampardos or something can 100% ensure the OHKO. Ice Beam is a must, giving Porygon a good matchup against most of the tiers more popular rockers, bar Monferno. Additionally, many of them tend to have better Phys. Def than Sp.Def, netting you an easy +1 just for switching in. Thunderbolt rounds out your offense, but Tri-Attack can work as a solid alternative that provides consistent damage, and works better when you can't come in on something that gives you the +1 Download boost. I prefer TBolt however, as many things that resist Ice Beam are weak to TBolt, and vice versa. Trick Room allows Porygon to support its team, as well as itself to deal some major damage under the right conditions. Remember, at +1 its modest (no pun intended) 295 Special Attack score is boosted to a very respectable 443, so those Ice Beams, TBolts, and Tri-Attacks are going to HURT anything that doesn't resist or is a dedicated special wall. Recover rounds out the set, allowing Porygon to stay healthy and more or less shrug off hits from anything that can't hit it super-effectively. Some caution must be used around dedicated wallbreakers however, as this set does not invest in Porygon's defenses.

There are a few reasons you'd want to use this guy over an alternative Trick Room setter such as, say, Carbink. The first, and perhaps the most important, is reliability. Carbink has a hard time doing everything it wants to do. It would like to set up rocks, possibly prevent your opponent from doing the same via Magic Coat or set screens if that's your thing, and set Trick Room before exploding so you can bring in a threat. Realistically, you'll manage maybe two of those things in a given match, if you're lucky, and you lose a Trick Room setter in the process nine times out of ten. With Porygon only having one real job and far fewer weaknesses defensively (just one, and Knock Off I guess), it can set Trick Room with ease and have freedom to fill other roles throughout the match as it's necessary. This leads me to the second advantage of Porygon: staying power.

With reliable recovery at its side, Porygon is capable of setting Trick Room multiple times throughout a match with relative ease. Porygon has an easy time setting TR and recovering off any damage against many defensive mons that can't immediately threaten it. Once you've revealed some of its coverage, many players will be hesitant to leave frailer threats such as Floatzel in on you for fear of being OHKOd, or in the case of Zebstrika simply losing 1v1, so it should be noted that Porygon can create many opportunities to do its thing even against offensive threats. This brings me to the final main advantage of Porygon: an actual offensive presence.

While Porygon's Sp.Atk is nothing too impressive, a mere Base 85, it can easily patch itself up to threatening levels via Download. While in theory, Download can be somewhat unreliable, in practice there are actually several staple defensive mons that are all but guaranteed to give you the +1 Sp.Atk boost such as Stunfisk, Gabite, Golem, Solrock, Pelipper, Gourgeist-Super, Baby Hippo, Tangela and Avalugg. Most of these mons can do relatively little to you, bar Toxic/Will-o-Wisp, though Golem is to be feared if Sturdy has not been broken and you run Bolt/Beam, due to the prevalence of Weakness Policy. Additionally, it can snag a +1 boost from offensive threats such as Floatzel, Relicanth, Exeggutor, Dodrio, Chatot, Gorebyss, Mightyena, and potentially many more in the case of mons with equal defenses. And of course, its worth mentioning again that you want to be careful on what you switch directly in to when dealing with the most powerful of these threats, they're threats for a reason. Even without the +1 boost however, Bolt/Beam is fantastic coverage in any metagame, particularly PU if I might add, and with full investment is going to cripple or KO anything it can hit super-effectively that isn't a dedicated special wall. Tri-Attack is also usable, dealing moderate damage with a 20% chance to royally screw your opponent via burn/para/freeze.

All in all, I'd say Porygon actually stands a cut above most Trick Room setters here in PU. While its true that there are other capable users such as Exeggutor, Carbink, and Duosion to name a few, Porygon is the only one capable of condensing everything it wants to do into a single moveset, leaving its user wanting for little. Exeggutor hates giving up a coverage move, Sleep Powder, or one of Giga Drain/Leaf Storm. Carbink has a hard enough time as is, and usually isn't doing its job more than once. Duosion is in a similar position as Exeggutor, in that it would like to fit Trick Room, all of its coverage, Recover and Calm Mind on one set, but it simply can't. Without coverage, you have to give up HP Fighting and lose to Dark Types or Shadow Ball and lose to other Psychic types, neither of which Duosion can afford. Mono-Attacking, while theoretically dangerous, is too situational, and would just end up as dead-weight in most match-ups with an opposing Dark-Type. None of this is a problem for Porygon, however. With Bolt/Beam you hit many things hard, leaving ample room for both Trick Room and Recover without giving much of anything, really. Basically, I never find myself saying "I wish I had used x coverage move instead!" when using this guy. Additionally, with its typing Porygon actually provides some decent synergy with other Trick Room setters such as the aforementioned mons, Gourgeist-XL (probably the best partner as it is immune to Fighting and can even shrug off Knock Off, the only Dark attack Porygon really cares about, if running Colbur + Synthesis), and Missy.

I also think that a defensive duck is probably viable, something like Discharge/Foul Play/Recover/Toxic for the moveset, with EVs being customizable to the needs of your team (either Phys.Def or Sp.Def), but that's just speculation because I haven't actually used this or found an optimal spread. It's something to think about, however.

TL;DR don't sleep on this duck


Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish / Careful Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch

I discovered Scraggy by drafting it in PUCL, and it didn't disappoint, instead it actually surprised me on how efficient it was in battle. I won't talk about the Dragon Dance set, because I think it is outclassed by other set up sweepers in the tier, but I want to introduce you to a more tanky set and focused on utility, which I found success in playing. Anyway, before going into the set, I want to point out that Scraggy isn't incredible or anything, and can actually be not great in most cases, but I thought it would've been still ok posting this here as no one mentioned Scraggy yet. Scraggy actually doesn't carry horrible defensive stats, and with Eviolite + Intimidate it can be decent at tanking hits especially from physical attackers(iirc -1 Rampardos with Superpower deals like 55%, which is not bad for Scraggy considering Rampardos has an high as hell attack), while its typing can come in hand against Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Grumpig, and basically this is the only reason for why you would need to run Careful, otherwise I would always run Impish. Knock Off provides large utility and hits most of the metagame, while Drain Punch still hits decently and works as the only recovery tool, however it can recover a large portion of the HP if hitting something frail or weak to Fighting-moves. Ice Punch is there for coverage purposes, also tbh Fake Out is replaceable with something else that provides even more coverage but I've been comfortable running that so yeah. You could run an Adamant nature if you want to go on a more offensive route, but I think there are better offensive tanks than Scraggy atm, namely things such as Machoke, so it will be only worth running with a defensive nature most of the time. Also don't bother investing EVs in Speed unless extremely needed, its base Speed will bee terrible anyway and the EVs in HP are fundamental to keep tanking.
 
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Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Encore
- Memento
- Taunt
- Stun Spore / Knock Off

Cottonee is a Pokemon that is mainly known for its access to great utility moves combined with its ability in Prankster allows Cottonee to support its teammates in multiple ways while having a unique typing in Grass/Fairy giving it 6 resistances and an immunity to Dragon. As for the set itself, Encore is a great move for Cottonee, provoking opposing foes into their last move for 3 turns. Combined with Memento, setup sweepers appreciate coming in and not having to worry about taking damage while the foe switches out. Taunt stops foes from getting up hazards or setting up themselves, while Stun Spore adds to Cottonee's support by crippling faster threats for its teammates. Knock Off is mainly for utility, as getting rid of a foe's held item can work in your favor.
 

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Snubbull @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Play Rough
- Earthquake / Heal Bell / Thunder Wave / Roar

So when it comes to running something to check Fighting-types, mainly Machoke, you have your choice of options such as Pelipper, Tangela, and Arbok, however Snubbull can perform a similar role in regards to being a Fighting check or counter in this regard. Backed by a solid Fairy typing and a great ability in Intimidate, it can easily withstand any attack Machoke wants to throw at it. Even if it loses its Eviolite from Knock Off, a -1 Machoke still does pitiful damage to Snubbull and in turn Snubbull can retaliate with Play Rough. Of course Snubbull lacks recovery, so Rest and Sleep Talk on this set is manditory. As for the last move it is interchangle, so it mostly depends on what you want Snubull to work as. Earthquake can hit Poison- and Steel-types on the switch predicting a Play Rough, Heal Bell rids its teammates and itself of status which any team can appreciate, Thunder Wave slows down faster threats such as Floatzel and Jumpluff for its teammates, while Roar works great with hazard support as it stops opposing Pokemon such as BD Linoone and non Taunt Vigoroth from setting up on it while racking up entry hazard damage.

-1 252+ Atk Machoke Dynamic Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Snubbull: 36-43 (11.1 - 13.3%) -- possible 8HKO
-1 252+ Atk Machoke Dynamic Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Snubbull: 54-64 (16.7 - 19.8%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
8 Atk Snubbull Play Rough vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Machoke: 146-174 (41.2 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

-1 252+ Atk Monferno Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Snubbull: 111-132 (34.3 - 40.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO Monferno needs Life Orb to 2HKO Snubbull after Stealth Rock damage, however if it runs Life Orb over Eviolite:

8 Atk Snubbull Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Monferno: 202-238 (75 - 88.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock The recoil from Flare Blitz and Life Orb recoil can be enough to KO Monferno with Earthquake.

-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Snubbull: 118-139 (36.5 - 43%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
-1 252 Atk Choice Band Dodrio Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Snubbull: 127-150 (39.3 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
 
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Sliggoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Outrage
- Curse
I've been using Sliggoo as a SpD wall and was needing a little more offense on a team so i ran this set. I've seen it before so i cant take credit for it. I don't have an optimal EV spread so feel free to help me with that if one is needed. This has brought me a solid amount of success in checking a lot of threats in the tier. It has a lot of oppertunities to set up on common Defensive mons in the tier such as Tangela, Roselia, Gourgeists, Probo, Bastiodon, Swalot. It does struggle against Seismic Toss users and any thing carrying Taunt or Encore. And of course Fairies. Sorry for not the best post. Im still pretty noob at writing these. Open to suggestions on Set and Posting on threads haha :]
PS i know calcs are nice to provide.
 

Kushalos

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Trapinch @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
- Protect

Why Trapinch you might ask, let me tell you why.

1. Arena Trap+100 base attack+Mono-Ground typing makes it very capable of trapping threats like Probopass, Zebstrika, Rapidash and Arbok with Earthquake.
2. Eviolite lets it tank moves before it takes out the trapped pokemon.

Lives:
252+ SpA Probopass Flash Cannon vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Trapinch: 123-145 (41.9 - 49.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Zebstrika Overheat vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Trapinch: 164-194 (55.9 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Kills:
252+ Atk Trapinch Earthquake vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Arbok: 270-320 (103.4 - 122.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO, (Knocks out even after a Coil)
252+ Atk burned Trapinch Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rapidash: 199-235 (73.4 - 86.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, (Still 2HKOs while burned after a Morning Sun like 90% of the time, however, theres a 50% chance it dies to Flare Blitz if Dash is LO)



Toxic and Ptect is there so it can cripple certain walls when nothing is left to trap and its not like it has any coverage it needs anyway.

252+ SpA Chatot Boomburst vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Trapinch: 244-288 (83.2 - 98.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO, oml pls have my babies trapinch
252+ Atk Trapinch Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Chatot: 278-328 (94.8 - 111.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
 

Twix

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So I figure I'll start this thread off with a semi-strong Pokemon that can work pretty well late game: Carvanha.

Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Destiny Bond

Carvanha was often overshadowed and was walled severely back in the time when Poliwrath, Carracosta, and Barbaracle were in the metagame. However, once they were banned, Carvanha gained a bit of potential as a speedy, physical Water-type, with the added bonus of Destiny Bond which can come in handy to get off a clutch kill. Carvanha works best late-game as a cleaner, and appreciates entry hazard support from teammates to quickly break down an opposing team.

However, Carvanha faces competition from Huntail, which can use Shell Smash and boost its Speed, as well as both of its attacking stats and has access to Sucker Punch. Carvanha doesn't really have to spend a turn setting up and having to take a hit, as it can just Protect, although it always leaves the risk of the foe setting up Substitute or boosts while doing so. Carvanha is also extremely frail, although it can actually help out a bit when paired with Destiny Bond. Carvanha finds its niche over Huntail in Destiny Bond, which allows it to net a surprise kill on a foe if they aren't suspecting it, and can help take out a foe that it cannot KO.

tl;dr: While Carvanha isn't the strongest Pokemon, it finds its niche as a Speed boosting cleaner, which can still get a kill with Destiny Bond if it needs to.

Kushalos This thread is for NFEs that aren't on the VR rip
 
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Also an underrated mon imo

Lairon @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Superpower/Toxic
- Earthquake
- Head Smash
- Iron Head

So Banded Lairon is a HUGE threat that not many things can really switch into. Many physical walls or walls in general don't appreciate a Banded Head Smash. The only thing that can reliably come in is Tangela but even then takes a chunk.

252+ Atk Choice Band Lairon Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Tangela: 136-162 (40.7 - 48.5%) -- 67.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Other tanks such as Torkola and Avalugg can not switch into a Head Smash

252+ Atk Choice Band Lairon Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 288-342 (73.2 - 87%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Lairon Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 356-422 (103.7 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Now Stunfisk can switch in quite easily to a Head Smash it can not switch into an Earthquake without being killed the following turn.

252+ Atk Choice Band Lairon Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Stunfisk: 226-266 (53.5 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

A little explanation on the set and EV's. The Ev's are set to out speed base 50s that way u don't get caught with an earth power from Carbink and allows you to out speed Lickilicky. I have tried Heavy Slam in replace for of iron head but honestly iron head is more consistent and you don't lose any OHKO's that i know of. Lastly, actually probably like Toxic over Superpower that way u can catch an incoming Tangelas. And Superpower doesnt hit a lot that Earthquake/Head Smash wouldn't.
 
upload_2015-10-22_19-41-52.jpeg

Diglett @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Memento
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Sucker Punch

Diglett Suicide lead for Hyper-Offense

Diglett at one point was somewhat used on other playstyles however with the discovery of Trapinch it has become rather outclassed as a trapper due to Trapinch having higher attack, which even an adamant Diglett can't reach, usable defence with an Eviolite and can take on other threats that even Diglett can't such as Grumpig.

Diglett however still possess its own notable niche that with its Suicide Lead set for Hyper-Offensive teams, allowing it to remain viable despite not being ranked.
 
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Honedge @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 92 HP / 216 Atk / 120 Def / 80 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Iron Head / Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance

"Isn't that just like a PU player? Brings a sloth to a sword fight."

Alright, so Honedge isn't quite as undiscovered as other NFE's might be, but I've taken some time out of my busy spread crunching schedule and optimized our Excalibur Jr. here. While looking for niche checks to Vigoroth and other assorted NFE's, it hit me like a brick in the face. Ghost can counter Vig. Sacred Sword counters Vig. From there it logically followed that a Ghost with access to Sacred Sword must hard counter. Everyone say hello to Honedge, Vigoroth's bane.

Going into further depth on Honedge's ability to counter Vigoroth, let's take a look at the move that is this sword's saving grace against said sloth, Sacred Sword.

  • Sacred Sword
  • Power 90
  • Accuracy 100%
  • PP 24
  • Ignores the target's stat stage changes.
Vigoroth's main set, consisting of Taunt, Slack Off, Bulk Up, Frustration/Body Slam, is known for its ability to Taunt most Ghost out of their utility options and force attacking moves to be used and PP stalled, eventually resulting in struggle induced death. This ability to boost on and beat mon's with immunity to its only attacking slot is a big part of why Vigoroth is a force to be reckoned with in the current meta. Sacred Sword's ignorance of said Bulk Up boost and super effective damage against Vig make it almost too coincidental in its effectiveness to deal with Vigoroth, considering a Ghost has access. With Slack Off's PP being 16 and Sacred Sword's being 24 and, with the given spread, Honedge being able to reliably 3HKO Vigoroth, Vigoroth either has to spend atleast 2 Slack Off's for every 3 Sacred Sword's or die trying to taunt Honedge every time it has a chance to Swords Dance. Vigoroth is either alive and out of Slack Off PP, Dead, or is faced with a boosted Honedge that has no problem in taking a weakened Vig out and has the potential of dealing massive damage to other members of the team once Vig is gone. Also, Substitute variants of Vigoroth are nothing but setup fodder for Honedge, making Honedge a true counter in every sense of the word.

But wait, let's not think I only came here with my blade to counter Vig. That would be absurd behavior, unfitting of a swordsman of my calibur!

With the given spread this Honedge also has a decent amount of setup oppurtunties on some very notable threats in the tier due to its unique typing and very respectable bulk when holding an Eviolite.
Honedge avoids:
-The 4HKO from Roselia's Giga Drain
-The OHKO from Kadabra's Shadow Ball after Stealth Rocks
-The OHKO from Probopass's Earth Power after Stealth Rocks
-The 3HKO from CB Stoutland's Return and ~32% to avoid the OHKO from its Superpower
-The OHKO from CB Dodrio's Knock Off after Stealth Rocks
-The 3HKO from +2 Jumpluff's Acrobatics after Stealth Rocks

All listed above are OHKO'd after an SD from either of Honedge's attacking options, bar Roselia (2HKO), Kadabra (2HKO due to Focus Sash) and Jumpluff, who has a 50/50 shot at surviving +2 Iron Head.

I could see this doing well on a hazard stacking team (DOESN'T EVERYTHING!?!?!?!?) as an offensive spinblocker against the likes of Armaldo and Avalugg. (Armaldo is a little harder to switch into for Honedge, but can be done well enough on a predicted spin. Just be careful, Knock Off and Earthquake hurt D:). Hazards also help Honedge secure KO's on fast offense, such as Floatzel And Zebstrika, with +4 Shadow Sneak.

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Vigoroth: 122-144 (33.5 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Return vs. 92 HP / 120 Def Eviolite Honedge: 72-85 (28.3 - 33.4%) -- 0.1% chance to 3HKO

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Stoutland: 166-196 (53.3 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Kadabra Shadow Ball vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 200-236 (78.7 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 SpA Roselia Giga Drain vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 49-58 (19.2 - 22.8%) -- possible 5HKO

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Eviolite Roselia: 216-255 (71 - 83.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Probopass Earth Power vs. 92 HP / 80 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 180-214 (70.8 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 220-260 (72.3 - 85.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zebstrika: 220-259 (75.6 - 89%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Floatzel: 241-285 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Jumpluff: 201-237 (69 - 81.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Ninjask: 186-220 (70.7 - 83.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Raichu: 241-285 (92.3 - 109.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+4 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Simipour: 220-259 (75.6 - 89%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Shadow Sneak vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Grumpig: 288-338 (79.1 - 92.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes

+2 216+ Atk Honedge Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Stoutland: 328-388 (105.4 - 124.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


To conclude, be careful not to cut yourself when using this set, it hurts D:
 
Alright, just wanted to give a small overview on the recent burst of activity in this thread.

Trapinch is already ranked and it doesn't really belong in this thread, but that's already been stated by Twix. Also, after a lot of testing in the past, others and myself came to the consensus that SpD was the better set overall vs a tank option. Rock Slide doesn't really hit much considering you aren't trapping levitators/flyers and Quick Attack is a needed slot if you've already trapped ,say, Zebstrika and are too low to switch into Kadabra. With Quick Attack you are guaranteed to break the sash on dabra, which could mean the difference between a win or a loss in many games.

Towards Lairon, It was also ranked in a previous meta and I don't really see what this does over CB Relicanth. Slow, lack of meaningful Dual-Stab, and just underwhelming, in all honesty. Not trying to dishearten you or deter you from posting here in the future, but this thread is for NFE's possesing some kind of discernible niche in the meta, not ones that are generally outclassed. Sorry friend :[

I've always liked Snubbull and always wished we had some usable physical Fairy presence in the tier (lol Dedenne). And Sliggoo has been a favorite of mine, and apparently others, for quite awhile now. It's nice to see this thread picking up though, I do love me some Broken Item: Eviolite™ holders.

P.S.-Please read the OP more closely next time you consider posting here, thanks :]
 
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Lampent @ Life Orb/ Eviolite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick Room

So this is a really cool mon to run because it really abuses things like Roselia and Monferno which is the main reason you'd run it over say TR Beheeyem. It's typing allows it to resist both of Roselia's STAB attacks and with the bulk of Eviolite it lets it come in again and again even after Stealth Rcoks damage. After that you also have a really cool ability in Flash Fire which allows you to deal with fire types. The most notable being Monferno as you're completely immune to both STABs it runs.

Fire Blast + Shadow Ball + Energy Ball has amazing coverage, being able to hit all the normal fire resists such as Grumpig, Relicanth, and Politoed. Life Orb vs Eviolite is a toss up as LO gives you more upfront damage which lets you pull out sweeps easier due to more damage, whereas Eviolite lets you switch into things like Roselia easier. Over all this is a really interesting mon with a few cool uses, so I highly recommend giving it a shot!

0 SpA Roselia Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Lampent: 49-58 (15.1 - 17.9%) -- possible 6HKO
252+ SpA Lampent Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Roselia: 188-224 (62 - 73.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Roselia Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Lampent: 73-87 (22.6 - 26.9%) -- 33.7% chance to 4HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Lampent Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 180+ SpD Eviolite Roselia: 244-291 (80.5 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
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2xTheTap

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Might post Grovyle soon. :v

E:

Sort of had fun with this (a little too much - Grovyle is aesthetically pleasing so I just went with it lol). It's really not the most viable, but Grovyle has a decent matchup against most leads - it's able to Leaf Blade, break sturdy, then finish off with QA before your opponent Explodes via Custap or hits you with Sucker Punch.

It also functions very similarly to Drifblim in that you use Unburden + a boost to do some damage, but their movepool and typing are different enough to the point that this is as far as the comparisons between the two can go.

It's also in the same Speed tier as Leafeon / Sawsbuck, which lets it outspeed a lot of potent threats in PU and do some things like SubSeed like Sceptile did in older gens.


Lead set:

Grovyle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden / Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Toxic
- Endeavor
- Quick Attack

Endeavor if you predict an attack incoming, and Quick Attack on the following turn to pick up a kill. Toxic is filler, but it allows you to hit Ghosts other than Dusknoir (due to its access to Shadow Sneak) at 1 HP with Toxic. Overgrow can activate after your Sash has been broken, letting Leaf Blade hit surprisingly hard. I tested both abilities, and they seemed to work well enough.

Here are some replays of Grovyle putting in work:

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289099614 - Takes down a Jumpluff with Endeavor + QA
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289130518 - Kills a Zeb with Endeavor + QA + LO recoil
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289122682 - Beating Mightyena with a combination of Toxic and QA
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289102603 - Kills a Ninetales with Endeavor + LO recoil
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-289096986 - Takes down a Raichu with Leaf Blade + QA

Next is more of a snub to Water-types like Simipour, Gorebyss, and Golduck, but its use is more situational:

Grovyle @ Absorb Bulb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 64 HP / 152 SpA / 140 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Protect
- Substitute
- Leech Seed

Switch into a predicted Water attack from something like Gorebyss' or Golduck's Hydro Pump, barely survive with the EVs provided, your +1 activates thanks to Absorb Bulb, using up Absorb Bulb activates Unburden and brings you to 580 Speed total, then +1 STAB Giga Drain OHKOes and refills a decent portion of your HP. Timid 152 also outspeeds max Speed Gabite (289) by +1, which allows you to hit it with HP Ice. Other slower threats in the meta can be stalled out with a combination of SubProtect + Leech Seed if you decide to go that route.

+2 252+ SpA Gorebyss Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle: 211-249 (82.1 - 96.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gorebyss: 318-374 (126.6 - 149%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Simipour Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle: 113-133 (43.9 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Simipour: 408-482 (140.2 - 165.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Golduck Hydro Pump vs. 64 HP / 140 SpD Grovyle in Rain: 182-214 (70.8 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 152 SpA Grovyle Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Golduck: 302-356 (100.3 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This next set is more or less what you'd expect from a Grovyle:

Grovyle @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Blade
- Substitute / Drain Punch

It's pretty obvious what you do here: Substitute down to Liechi as you set up Swords Dance, eat the Berry and activate Unburden / increase Acrobatics damage as you no longer have an item, then sweep with STAB Leaf Blade or Acrobatics. You're walled by Steels, so Drain Punch is a final option here.

The last 2 sets function similarly, and are self-explanatory for the most part. You use an odd number of HP ending in 9 for LO, and an even number divisible by 4 to activate Petaya (hence the 12 EVs in HP):

Grovyle @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Substitute

Grovyle @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Endeavor
 
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Most defoggers have a rock weakness but Nuzleaf doesn't. It also has an immunity to psychic and a resistance to water. It also takes both STABs from Exeggutor which is pretty nice because its a common mon. Nuzleaf also has a decent match-up to common rock setters like Golem, Relicanth and Solrock. I'd like to hear you guys opinion about this mon.

Nuzleaf @ Eviolite
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Toxic
- Synthesis
 

ShuckleDeath

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Most defoggers have a rock weakness but Nuzleaf doesn't. It also has an immunity to psychic and a resistance to water. It also takes both STABs from Exeggutor which is pretty nice because its a common mon. Nuzleaf also has a decent match-up to common rock setters like Golem, Relicanth and Solrock. I'd like to hear you guys opinion about this mon.

Nuzleaf @ Eviolite
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Toxic
- Synthesis
1. are you the player i battled on ladder, because if so i'm glad to see you post. 2. i tested this out after facing it on ladder, and i will say it does decently against Eggy, but not against most water types, it also takes a stupid amount from +2 pawn's knock off
 
Yes thats me, maybe a physical defensive spread cud work for pawniard and to beat relicanth and golem more reliably.
 
Most defoggers have a rock weakness but Nuzleaf doesn't. It also has an immunity to psychic and a resistance to water. It also takes both STABs from Exeggutor which is pretty nice because its a common mon. Nuzleaf also has a decent match-up to common rock setters like Golem, Relicanth and Solrock. I'd like to hear you guys opinion about this mon.

Nuzleaf @ Eviolite
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful nature
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Toxic
- Synthesis
To be honest, this seems like a neat idea, but I don't know about its effectiveness. I don't see why you would use this over Vullaby, which is our best Defog user at the moment. Not being SR weak is cool and all, I just don't see that coming anywhere near close to the utility that Vullaby provides teams.
 

Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Or

Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Now, Yes Gastly has been on the Vr before however a lot has changed since then and it has gotten a lot better and is fairly usable in PU right now.

Gastly is one of the most frail pokemon in the entire game however it makes up for this in Pu with its sheer power with its base 100 SpA,Neutral Coverage and usable speed at base 80. Gastly has contributed numerous times for me however i only have this replay to show of its capabilities.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-292071452 - Here you see Gastly taking out half of my opponents team in 3 turns.

Gastly also marks itself as being a fine check to many of PU's threats such as Linoone,Monferno,Stoutland,Machoke,Exeggutor,Pawniard,Gorebyss the list goes on and branches out depending on Scarf or Lo. Destiny Bond is also fairly huge and life saving and Gastly uses it perfectly due to its pre mentioned terrible bulk allowing it to be killed easily.
 
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ManOfMany

I can make anything real
is a Tiering Contributor

Gastly @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Or

Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Sludge Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Now, Yes Gastly has been on the Vr before however a lot has changed since then and it has gotten a lot better and is fairly usable in PU right now.

Gastly is one of the most frail pokemon in the entire game however it makes up for this in Pu with its sheer power with its base 100 SpA,Neutral Coverage and usable speed at base 80. Gastly has contributed numerous times for me however i only have this replay to show of its capabilities.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-292071452 - Here you see Gastly taking out half of my opponents team in 3 turns.

Gastly also marks itself as being a sure fire check to many of PU's threats such as Linoone,Monferno,Stoutland,Machoke,Exeggutor,Pawniard,Gorebyss the list goes on and branches out depending on Scarf or Lo. Destiny Bond is also fairly huge and life saving and Gastly uses it perfectly due to its pre mentioned terrible bulk allowing it to be killed easily.
Gastly isn't bad. However it isn't a "sure fire check" at all to Stoutland, Pawniard, and Machoke.
 
Gastly isn't bad. However it isn't a "sure fire check" at all to Stoutland, Pawniard, and Machoke.
Aye, one liners that don't really add much to the thread or the post in question are unneeded ManOfMany. Also, MaroGod, why you take my set after I told you I was gonna post ?_?

Anyway, good post, and I agree that Gastly is rather effective in this meta. Being able to revenge a lot of the faster offensive meta from decently high health when packing a Choice Scarf and immunities to both Linoone's E-Speed and Monferno's Mach Punch are very notable attributes right now. I like the Life Orb set(my set zzzz) a little better then Scarf, but both are viable options on teams that appreciate Gastly's dual STAB over Misdreavus' ability to boost and actual bulk. Destiny Bond really is Gastly's saving grace as, while it isn't weak, it does fail to catch some KO's on slower, bulkier teams even with some whittle from hazards. Clicking D-Bond on a Lickilicky, for example, could mean the difference between a loss or a win if the team member you needed to break Lickilicky has already gone down. And, of couse, clicking D-Bond on Linoone's Shadow Claw is SOO helpful in the current meta for more offensive teams. I also like Wisp, Taunt, and Perish Song as options, but they are generally worse then the sure fire martyrdom that is Destiny Bond. I mean, this isn't anything new, it's basically a slower, weaker Haunter with the added bonus of having your opponent most likely underestimate Gastly's offensive output, lulling them into switching in mons with usable bulk to tank a hit. Gastly realistically gets atleast ONE kill a game (often two or three) regardless of matchup, which is a key point when discussing Gastly's role on a team. Aye, it's also hilarious on spike stack, just throw Gastly at Armaldo and your precious hazards are still there and the little phantom ball may or may not be alive to give its snide looks to the tier's best spinner. I'll supply some replays I was going to use in my post showing that, if played well, Gastly pulls its weight on teams.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-291869452
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-291564120
 
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Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt/Tri Attack
- Trick Room
- Recover

I've been playing around with this guy quite a bit on the PU Ladder lately, to pretty good success. With the listed EVs and Eviolite, it's nearly impossible to OHKO this guy bar Fighting-Type coverage from the likes of Stoutland, Machoke, etc. and powerful special attacks such as Specs Leaf Storm from Exeggutor. Without Rocks, to my knowledge only Banded Stoutland, Banded Zweilous, or like a random Rampardos or something can 100% ensure the OHKO. Ice Beam is a must, giving Porygon a good matchup against most of the tiers more popular rockers, bar Monferno. Additionally, many of them tend to have better Phys. Def than Sp.Def, netting you an easy +1 just for switching in. Thunderbolt rounds out your offense, but Tri-Attack can work as a solid alternative that provides consistent damage, and works better when you can't come in on something that gives you the +1 Download boost. I prefer TBolt however, as many things that resist Ice Beam are weak to TBolt, and vice versa. Trick Room allows Porygon to support its team, as well as itself to deal some major damage under the right conditions. Remember, at +1 its modest (no pun intended) 295 Special Attack score is boosted to a very respectable 443, so those Ice Beams, TBolts, and Tri-Attacks are going to HURT anything that doesn't resist or is a dedicated special wall. Recover rounds out the set, allowing Porygon to stay healthy and more or less shrug off hits from anything that can't hit it super-effectively. Some caution must be used around dedicated wallbreakers however, as this set does not invest in Porygon's defenses.

There are a few reasons you'd want to use this guy over an alternative Trick Room setter such as, say, Carbink. The first, and perhaps the most important, is reliability. Carbink has a hard time doing everything it wants to do. It would like to set up rocks, possibly prevent your opponent from doing the same via Magic Coat or set screens if that's your thing, and set Trick Room before exploding so you can bring in a threat. Realistically, you'll manage maybe two of those things in a given match, if you're lucky, and you lose a Trick Room setter in the process nine times out of ten. With Porygon only having one real job and far fewer weaknesses defensively (just one, and Knock Off I guess), it can set Trick Room with ease and have freedom to fill other roles throughout the match as it's necessary. This leads me to the second advantage of Porygon: staying power.

With reliable recovery at its side, Porygon is capable of setting Trick Room multiple times throughout a match with relative ease. Porygon has an easy time setting TR and recovering off any damage against many defensive mons that can't immediately threaten it. Once you've revealed some of its coverage, many players will be hesitant to leave frailer threats such as Floatzel in on you for fear of being OHKOd, or in the case of Zebstrika simply losing 1v1, so it should be noted that Porygon can create many opportunities to do its thing even against offensive threats. This brings me to the final main advantage of Porygon: an actual offensive presence.

While Porygon's Sp.Atk is nothing too impressive, a mere Base 85, it can easily patch itself up to threatening levels via Download. While in theory, Download can be somewhat unreliable, in practice there are actually several staple defensive mons that are all but guaranteed to give you the +1 Sp.Atk boost such as Stunfisk, Gabite, Golem, Solrock, Pelipper, Gourgeist-Super, Baby Hippo, Tangela and Avalugg. Most of these mons can do relatively little to you, bar Toxic/Will-o-Wisp, though Golem is to be feared if Sturdy has not been broken and you run Bolt/Beam, due to the prevalence of Weakness Policy. Additionally, it can snag a +1 boost from offensive threats such as Floatzel, Relicanth, Exeggutor, Dodrio, Chatot, Gorebyss, Mightyena, and potentially many more in the case of mons with equal defenses. And of course, its worth mentioning again that you want to be careful on what you switch directly in to when dealing with the most powerful of these threats, they're threats for a reason. Even without the +1 boost however, Bolt/Beam is fantastic coverage in any metagame, particularly PU if I might add, and with full investment is going to cripple or KO anything it can hit super-effectively that isn't a dedicated special wall. Tri-Attack is also usable, dealing moderate damage with a 20% chance to royally screw your opponent via burn/para/freeze.

All in all, I'd say Porygon actually stands a cut above most Trick Room setters here in PU. While its true that there are other capable users such as Exeggutor, Carbink, and Duosion to name a few, Porygon is the only one capable of condensing everything it wants to do into a single moveset, leaving its user wanting for little. Exeggutor hates giving up a coverage move, Sleep Powder, or one of Giga Drain/Leaf Storm. Carbink has a hard enough time as is, and usually isn't doing its job more than once. Duosion is in a similar position as Exeggutor, in that it would like to fit Trick Room, all of its coverage, Recover and Calm Mind on one set, but it simply can't. Without coverage, you have to give up HP Fighting and lose to Dark Types or Shadow Ball and lose to other Psychic types, neither of which Duosion can afford. Mono-Attacking, while theoretically dangerous, is too situational, and would just end up as dead-weight in most match-ups with an opposing Dark-Type. None of this is a problem for Porygon, however. With Bolt/Beam you hit many things hard, leaving ample room for both Trick Room and Recover without giving much of anything, really. Basically, I never find myself saying "I wish I had used x coverage move instead!" when using this guy. Additionally, with its typing Porygon actually provides some decent synergy with other Trick Room setters such as the aforementioned mons, Gourgeist-XL (probably the best partner as it is immune to Fighting and can even shrug off Knock Off, the only Dark attack Porygon really cares about, if running Colbur + Synthesis), and Missy.

I also think that a defensive duck is probably viable, something like Discharge/Foul Play/Recover/Toxic for the moveset, with EVs being customizable to the needs of your team (either Phys.Def or Sp.Def), but that's just speculation because I haven't actually used this or found an optimal spread. It's something to think about, however.

TL;DR don't sleep on this duck
 

Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt/Tri Attack
- Trick Room
- Recover

I've been playing around with this guy quite a bit on the PU Ladder lately, to pretty good success. With the listed EVs and Eviolite, it's nearly impossible to OHKO this guy bar Fighting-Type coverage from the likes of Stoutland, Machoke, etc. and powerful special attacks such as Specs Leaf Storm from Exeggutor. Without Rocks, to my knowledge only Banded Stoutland, Banded Zweilous, or like a random Rampardos or something can 100% ensure the OHKO. Ice Beam is a must, giving Porygon a good matchup against most of the tiers more popular rockers, bar Monferno. Additionally, many of them tend to have better Phys. Def than Sp.Def, netting you an easy +1 just for switching in. Thunderbolt rounds out your offense, but Tri-Attack can work as a solid alternative that provides consistent damage, and works better when you can't come in on something that gives you the +1 Download boost. I prefer TBolt however, as many things that resist Ice Beam are weak to TBolt, and vice versa. Trick Room allows Porygon to support its team, as well as itself to deal some major damage under the right conditions. Remember, at +1 its modest (no pun intended) 295 Special Attack score is boosted to a very respectable 443, so those Ice Beams, TBolts, and Tri-Attacks are going to HURT anything that doesn't resist or is a dedicated special wall. Recover rounds out the set, allowing Porygon to stay healthy and more or less shrug off hits from anything that can't hit it super-effectively. Some caution must be used around dedicated wallbreakers however, as this set does not invest in Porygon's defenses.

There are a few reasons you'd want to use this guy over an alternative Trick Room setter such as, say, Carbink. The first, and perhaps the most important, is reliability. Carbink has a hard time doing everything it wants to do. It would like to set up rocks, possibly prevent your opponent from doing the same via Magic Coat or set screens if that's your thing, and set Trick Room before exploding so you can bring in a threat. Realistically, you'll manage maybe two of those things in a given match, if you're lucky, and you lose a Trick Room setter in the process nine times out of ten. With Porygon only having one real job and far fewer weaknesses defensively (just one, and Knock Off I guess), it can set Trick Room with ease and have freedom to fill other roles throughout the match as it's necessary. This leads me to the second advantage of Porygon: staying power.

With reliable recovery at its side, Porygon is capable of setting Trick Room multiple times throughout a match with relative ease. Porygon has an easy time setting TR and recovering off any damage against many defensive mons that can't immediately threaten it. Once you've revealed some of its coverage, many players will be hesitant to leave frailer threats such as Floatzel in on you for fear of being OHKOd, or in the case of Zebstrika simply losing 1v1, so it should be noted that Porygon can create many opportunities to do its thing even against offensive threats. This brings me to the final main advantage of Porygon: an actual offensive presence.

While Porygon's Sp.Atk is nothing too impressive, a mere Base 85, it can easily patch itself up to threatening levels via Download. While in theory, Download can be somewhat unreliable, in practice there are actually several staple defensive mons that are all but guaranteed to give you the +1 Sp.Atk boost such as Stunfisk, Gabite, Golem, Solrock, Pelipper, Gourgeist-Super, Baby Hippo, Tangela and Avalugg. Most of these mons can do relatively little to you, bar Toxic/Will-o-Wisp, though Golem is to be feared if Sturdy has not been broken and you run Bolt/Beam, due to the prevalence of Weakness Policy. Additionally, it can snag a +1 boost from offensive threats such as Floatzel, Relicanth, Exeggutor, Dodrio, Chatot, Gorebyss, Mightyena, and potentially many more in the case of mons with equal defenses. And of course, its worth mentioning again that you want to be careful on what you switch directly in to when dealing with the most powerful of these threats, they're threats for a reason. Even without the +1 boost however, Bolt/Beam is fantastic coverage in any metagame, particularly PU if I might add, and with full investment is going to cripple or KO anything it can hit super-effectively that isn't a dedicated special wall. Tri-Attack is also usable, dealing moderate damage with a 20% chance to royally screw your opponent via burn/para/freeze.

All in all, I'd say Porygon actually stands a cut above most Trick Room setters here in PU. While its true that there are other capable users such as Exeggutor, Carbink, and Duosion to name a few, Porygon is the only one capable of condensing everything it wants to do into a single moveset, leaving its user wanting for little. Exeggutor hates giving up a coverage move, Sleep Powder, or one of Giga Drain/Leaf Storm. Carbink has a hard enough time as is, and usually isn't doing its job more than once. Duosion is in a similar position as Exeggutor, in that it would like to fit Trick Room, all of its coverage, Recover and Calm Mind on one set, but it simply can't. Without coverage, you have to give up HP Fighting and lose to Dark Types or Shadow Ball and lose to other Psychic types, neither of which Duosion can afford. Mono-Attacking, while theoretically dangerous, is too situational, and would just end up as dead-weight in most match-ups with an opposing Dark-Type. None of this is a problem for Porygon, however. With Bolt/Beam you hit many things hard, leaving ample room for both Trick Room and Recover without giving much of anything, really. Basically, I never find myself saying "I wish I had used x coverage move instead!" when using this guy. Additionally, with its typing Porygon actually provides some decent synergy with other Trick Room setters such as the aforementioned mons, Gourgeist-XL (probably the best partner as it is immune to Fighting and can even shrug off Knock Off, the only Dark attack Porygon really cares about, if running Colbur + Synthesis), and Missy.

I also think that a defensive duck is probably viable, something like Discharge/Foul Play/Recover/Toxic for the moveset, with EVs being customizable to the needs of your team (either Phys.Def or Sp.Def), but that's just speculation because I haven't actually used this or found an optimal spread. It's something to think about, however.

TL;DR don't sleep on this duck
Can confirm this thing is problematic for common team archetypes in the current meta. Faster, frailer offensive teams have become the norm as of late, and TR surely takes advantage of this trend. I've played Deltre twice and went 1-1. I will have to admit that most of my struggles against him were due to Porygon's reliability as a TR setter for his team. Porygon has been looked at in past metas as a SpD wall that abused its ability, Trace, to wall pokemon such as Ninetales but I think this set is more effective, in all honesty. Good post! Thank you for contributing this little gem :]
 
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Can confirm this thing is problematic for common team archetypes in the current meta. Faster, frailer offensive teams have become the norm as of late, and TR surely takes advantage of this trend. I've played Deltre twice and went 1-1. I will have to admit that most of my struggles against him were due to Porygon's reliability as a TR setter for his team. Porygon has been looked at in past metas as a SpD wall that abused its ability, Trace, to wall pokemon such as Ninetales but I think this set is more effective, in all honesty. Good post! Thank you for contributing this little gem :]
I thought I recognized you! I'd be interested in the tiebreaker, now that we have a feel for how we play :p

If I could add a little more to what was alluded to in my previous post and Tect's post as well, Trick Room as a playstyle, though unpopular as always, is really good right now in general and far from unviable thanks to the large amounts of fast, but relatively frail threats running around. I'll be honest, most of my playtime in ORAS PU has come from this Suspect Test (I'm mostly an NU guy) so I may not be the best person to talk about metagame trends, but I do know a thing or two about Trick Room, and in general Trick Room is to Offense as Stall is to Balance. That is to say, a giant pain in the ass haha. So to anyone thinking of taking this set for a spin, be sure to partner him up with mons that can take advantage of that (most of the new drops come to mind, being that many are relatively slow but very powerful). Porygon itself has just enough offensive potential in combination with Download to be annoying to many offensive cores (after taking a closer look, Bolt/Beam is only resisted by Rotom-F, Seaking, and lolshedinja for anyone looking for a more exact analysis), but where it really shines is in what it can do for its teammates. After all, something like Exeggutor or Bouff is a EVEN MORE threatening when it can't just be forced out after a single KO.
 
I thought I recognized you! I'd be interested in the tiebreaker, now that we have a feel for how we play :p

If I could add a little more to what was alluded to in my previous post and Tect's post as well, Trick Room as a playstyle, though unpopular as always, is really good right now in general and far from unviable thanks to the large amounts of fast, but relatively frail threats running around. I'll be honest, most of my playtime in ORAS PU has come from this Suspect Test (I'm mostly an NU guy) so I may not be the best person to talk about metagame trends, but I do know a thing or two about Trick Room, and in general Trick Room is to Offense as Stall is to Balance. That is to say, a giant pain in the ass haha. So to anyone thinking of taking this set for a spin, be sure to partner him up with mons that can take advantage of that (most of the new drops come to mind, being that many are relatively slow but very powerful). Porygon itself has just enough offensive potential in combination with Download to be annoying to many offensive cores (after taking a closer look, Bolt/Beam is only resisted by Rotom-F, Seaking, and lolshedinja for anyone looking for a more exact analysis), but where it really shines is in what it can do for its teammates. After all, something like Exeggutor or Bouff is a EVEN MORE threatening when it can't just be forced out after a single KO.
I agree, but this post is more suited for the np: PU Stage 4 - October All Over (Throh Retest!) thread (bar the Porygon and likely team mates section) I think it would get more appreciation and a greater audience there. Once again, thank you for such an informative and comprehensive post :]
 
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Raiza

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Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Impish / Careful Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch

I discovered Scraggy by drafting it in PUCL, and it didn't disappoint, instead it actually surprised me on how efficient it was in battle. I won't talk about the Dragon Dance set, because I think it is outclassed by other set up sweepers in the tier, but I want to introduce you to a more tanky set and focused on utility, which I found success in playing. Anyway, before going into the set, I want to point out that Scraggy isn't incredible or anything, and can actually be not great in most cases, but I thought it would've been still ok posting this here as no one mentioned Scraggy yet. Scraggy actually doesn't carry horrible defensive stats, and with Eviolite + Intimidate it can be decent at tanking hits especially from physical attackers(iirc -1 Rampardos with Superpower deals like 55%, which is not bad for Scraggy considering Rampardos has an high as hell attack), while its typing can come in hand against Psychic-types such as Kadabra and Grumpig, and basically this is the only reason for why you would need to run Careful, otherwise I would always run Impish. Knock Off provides large utility and hits most of the metagame, while Drain Punch still hits decently and works as the only recovery tool, however it can recover a large portion of the HP if hitting something frail or weak to Fighting-moves. Ice Punch is there for coverage purposes, also tbh Fake Out is replaceable with something else that provides even more coverage but I've been comfortable running that so yeah. You could run an Adamant nature if you want to go on a more offensive route, but I think there are better offensive thanks than Scraggy atm, namely things such as Machoke, so it will be only worth running with a defensive nature most of the time. Also don't bother investing EVs in Speed unless extremely needed, its base Speed will bee terrible anyway and the EVs in HP are fundamental to keep tanking.
 

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