Project USUM UU Research Week v2 (On a break)

USMRW9 Daiyaga

Gonna try at the very least Sceptile-Mega, might try the others too.

I need to make a small erratum about SD Necrozma though, 'cause I overlooked one big thing about it and no one will notice it if I just edit my post.

When I talked about this set, I said that there was no reason whatsoever to use it over an offensive Calm Mind set except for the surprise factor. I thought there was no Match-up where SD Necro would outclass CM Necro. Turns out I was wrong, as there is one MU where SD is the better set : the stall MU. The reason for that is, that SD Necrozma is a physical set-up breaker that can break Quagsire because Photon Geyser bypasses Unaware. Coupled with the surprise factor that I mentioned earlier (most people expect Necrozma to be special and will switch Blissey in), and you can easily get a boost (or two if you decide to SD and it switches out) and break through Quagsire and Alomomola.
All of this is something CM Necrozma can't do at all. Even the bulky Calm Mind set that I shared struggles against stall because this set can be phazed while it's sleeping, or Quagsire can just keep Hazing your boosts away.
The only 'mon that can pose a problem breaking through is Gligar, but the flying scorpion actually can't do enough damage to force Necrozma out, meaning you can get to +6 and OHKO it without any problems (except maybe getting pursuit trapped by Aerodactyl-Mega after you killed Gligar)
+1 252+ SpA Necrozma Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 204-241 (28.5 - 33.7%)
+2 252+ Atk Necrozma Photon Geyser vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 261-307 (54.2 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Necrozma Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 250-295 (63.4 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+2 252+ Atk Necrozma Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Filter Aggron-Mega: 268-316 (77.9 - 91.8%)
+2 252+ Atk Necrozma Photon Geyser vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Gligar: 159-187 (47.6 - 55.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Gligar Earthquake vs. 112 HP / 0 Def Necrozma: 84-100 (23.1 - 27.5%) -- 69.2% chance to 4HKO
 
160336


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

159888


One Punch Magneton, that's how i felt using Z Thunder set. When we talk bout Magneton, there're two sets that comes in mind : the regular scarfed and this one. Based on its poor SPAtk, the scarf often lack damages to score kills you want it to do. That's where the Z Thunder(bolt) shine the most, scoring kills where the scarf can't. First of, i've used this team to test (it was an old tournament build hence why it can be a bit weak to ladd but it worked fine) :

GuessWho'sBack (Aerodactyl-Mega) @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Ice Fang

BackAgain (Hippowdon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Klefki'sBack (Klefki) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 200 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Magnet Rise
- Play Rough
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave

TellYourFriend (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Haze

FIREDOWNMYLASER (Kyurem) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Draco Meteor
- Focus Blast
- Earth Power

BaNsCiZoR :Teuteu: (Magneton) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flash Cannon

Alright so, most teams built with Magneton are, on purpose, a bit weak to Scizor as you're supposed to force it out, trap and kill it. In this team, Magneton was helping to take down any steel type that could block Kyurem from causing havoc in the team (Empoleon / Aggron / Klefki / Scizor....). That's why the Z Thunder was more usefull than a scarfed, i needed something that could obliterate Kyurem's resistance (but also Aerodactly). Was testing Sub as Moute told me it was cool but wanted to add HPIce to lure Gligar, being a regular Magneton block.

Now, why am i calling this Magneton a One Punch Mag set. This set is here only for steel types but got pretty much no other purpose (compared to the scarf). You basicly punch the steel and then wait to die. Your poor bulk and speed doesn't allow you to do anything else but killing slow steel (you can't even threaten things like Cobalion while the scarf can). The only other thing you can threaten with this set are slow bulky water like Primarina / Jellicent. Its poor bulk doesn't even allow you to be a good fly check as most of fly Pokemon run a fire coverage.

From my POV, both sets are as strong as the other one. They just don't have the same role. The scarf is cool thanks to the speed control it offers but the Z Thunder offers a capacity of wallbreaking things like Aggron which is pretty handy.

TLDR :
- Better than the scarf to nuke bulky steel but can only nuke one and then got almost no use
- Too slow to do anything else / Bulk is way too bad
- You can only nuke one steel (and not even Steelix) which is a problem against teams with several steel.


Replays :
Magneton pressuring opponent and forced him to take hits from Kyurem without sending a proper steel answer
Magneton picking up a kill (but what else can it do)



159887

I've been using Sceptile quite oftenly by the past cause i frikking love it but it always had to same pros and convs in the tier.
First thing, i"ve tested the classical AOA special set in this team :

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Scizor @ Buginium Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Zeraora @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 168 Atk / 148 SpA / 192 Spe
Naive Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Close Combat

Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Healing Wish
- Defog
- Psychic

Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt

Primarina @ Metronome
Ability: Liquid Voice
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Echoed Voice
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Scald

Main targets were to cheap down Amoonguss / fairies with the combination of Z Bug Zor and Primarina Metronome (that way i could get this set to work too). After testing a few builds, i've came to the conclusion that Sceptile was better in HO team, bringing an Electric immunity while not being weak Water which is quite cool but also able to pressure things that other Electric immunity can't like Gligar / Hippo.
First pros for Sceptile is his movepool. Drake + Grass + Steel coverage is pretty strong, specially in UU where the Grass resist will usually be Scizor / a dragon or some Grass that can't do much to Sceptile.
2nd pro, Sceptile offers an awesome MU against offensiv teams cause they'll often lack switch-in to it. The combination of Volt-turn and Sceptile does an amazing work (shotout to Rotom-H being an awesome partner), allowing you to abuse its Speed and strong STABs that are Leaf Storm and Dragon Pulse.

Now onto the convs (god there's not much but those are overwhelming compared to his pros...). First thing, even thought Sceptile doesn't have a lot of good counters, those are toptiers in UU : Amoonguss / Altaria / Togekiss / Blissey as the 4 big. Also, in offense you'll likely have some good checks like Empoleon / Tentacruel / Klefki. Having any of those against you makes Sceptile's work almost impossible as it gots no way to lure them properly (talking of the AOA set and the counters, checks can be cheaped pretty easily, specially Tenta and Empo as they won't be able to directly threaten Sceptile unless rare Sludge Bomb and Ice Beam).
Having that in mind, your MU against bulkier teams or just offenses having a fairy to sponge Sceptile is a pain for it to shine bright. As i continued testing it on 3 differents team, i've came to the conclusion that Sceptile relies too much on his mates to work.

2nd set i've tested afterwards was a physical set (i'll only post the set not the entire team) :

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Earthquake
- Iron Tail

Like i said, fairies are a sponge for Sceptile hence why i've wanted to test an SD Iron Tail set. This set relies on luring your counters thanks to the combination of Earthquake and Iron Tail, keeping Leaf Blade as the unique STAB.
1st pro is that it's a cool lure, allowing you to beat down 3 of your 4 most seen counters aka Altaria / Togekiss / Blissey. It also helps luring in a better way some checks like Klefki, Empoleon or Tentacruel.

On the other hand, your lure is based on a 75 precision move, making it unreliable from time to time considering the Pokemon you're supposed to lure threaten you back of an OHKO. You're also losing the amazing pressure AOA set can offer as you've got to setup to be threatening. More importantly, you can't hit Hydrei and Lati properly (unless dropping Iron Tail for Outrage).

TLDR :
- Pretty awesome MU against offenses...
- ... only if they don't have a Togekiss / Amoonguss / Altaria

- Takes the Mega slot but relies too much on its mates to work unlike other Megas

Replays :
Sceptile does a good offensive pressure in late but relies too much on others to shine
Another replay showing it can pressure well some teams
Sceptile with an awesome MU against offense putting a lot of work


159889


Last but not least, god it was a pain to get replays of you Primarina.
While i love Primarina, this set made me hate it. It was a pain to test, god it was so frustrating. Each match i was like "specs Prim would have done such holes in this team but here i am with this set". On the other side, it was such a joy to shred appart Blissey and Alomomola with Echoed Voice. I've tested the set with the same team as i did with Sceptile.

Primarina @ Metronome
Ability: Liquid Voice
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Echoed Voice
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Scald

Scald on Hpump to get some utility for the team other than just being a fancy chansey breaker.

Alright so, this set is cool ok. It offers a cool MU against stalls and fat builds ok. But it relies too much on MU to shine. Against offenses, you'll likely be a sponge for Dark and Drakes but you won't do much more considering you either lack recovery or pure damages compared to its other sets. Just having a phazer like Empo can destroy this strategy and your Echoed Voice will at best ticckle it.

On the bright side, we got a Pokemon that can lure almost every counters it gots (unless Roar Empoleon), offering a brand new way to play the Pokemon but also openning opportunities that Specs Prima couldn't offer to its mate. On the dark side, i feel like it's just a stallbreaker that fails to offer anything else but being here to break walls while other stallbreakers can offer much more. I mean, yeah you got almost no switch in but hey, you got to use several turns to be threatening. Like, you can compare it to Haxorus, awesome stallbreaking and wallbreaking potential but what else can it do (at least it doesn't take a Z slot like Haxorus does).

As for me, using recovery being Rest and Sleep Talk makes you kind of pretty passiv. While defensiv Primarina got a strong bulk and Leftovers, Metronome Primarina would rely on Moonblast to do damages being asleep (unless being pretty lucky getting Echoed Voice twice). Not only this, it won't have the bulk defensiv Primarina got, making it a pretty passiv non hitting Pokemon.

I feel like this set got its niche and that's something you can't denie but it's too hard to setup against MU that aren't stalls or semi-stalls. I can see the potential it gots against offenses as it requires a strong hitting move to get OHKO but as i experienced it, it never shined much.


TLDR :
- Awesome stallbreaking power
- Too hard to setup against teams that aren't stalls or fat
- Fails to do a good work against offenses as it lacks power and / or recovery.


Replays :
Fancy Chansey gets yelled at
Alomomomomomomomola gets yelled at too
Primarina putting an awesome work at wallbreaking for Scizor to sweep
 
Last edited:

Estarossa

moo?
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Battle Simulator Moderator
C&C Leader
Played a little with mega-sceptile, but I decided I didn't like it pretty early on so didn't wanna keep wasting my time with it. Did a few games with magneton, but there wasn't really much to test with it so didn't feel like spending ages on it honestly. Only one I honestly liked this week is echoed voice primarina, and I knew coming into this that i'd like that one at least cause i've used it before. Starting with my favourite down to my least favourite.

Going to add replays at a later point when I find some suitable ones. Will add elo closer to end of week once I've had time to ladder up a bit more.


Echoed Voice Primarina


159919

Primarina @ Metronome
Ability: Liquid Voice
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Echoed Voice
- Rest / Psychic
- Sleep Talk / Energy Ball

This one is probably my favourite of the three, though tbh I find it quite hard to use compared to just dedicating another mon on team to stallbreaking and going either fully defensive rest talk or specs, instead of the weird hybrid you have that can't really do either unless against very defensive teams. But against heavily defensive teams it is an insane breaker no-one can deny that. Not really much to say about it though, but summed it up below really.

Pros:
  • Amazing stall-breaking potential.
  • Gets easy kills against teams that play a defensive answer like empoleon/florges expecting specs, since it becomes incredibly hard to swap into once they've made that error.
  • Gets to run rest talk for recovery since it's not choice locked, this will come into cons too though, or some coverage instead if you wish.
Cons:
  • Has to sacrifice bulk for power, yet it's power builds up gradually so kind of stuck with its fairy stab only against heavily offensive teams.
  • Hates being knocked off cause it'll lose power from metronome.
  • Rest talk interrupts it's stacking damage, but it doesn't have the bulk to keep echoed voicing without it, or if you don't run rest talk the lack of bulk and power build up makes it hard to do anything against offensive teams.
Tldr: amazingly strong stallbreaker, but the gradual build up in power makes it very hard to use against offensive teams, and i believe in general you are better off running specs or the defensive set and simply using another stallbreaker in team instead, as it is way too MU dependent, unlike stallbreakers such as taunt hydreigon, crawdaunt, mixed clanger, dd refresh m-alt etc which do well in all matchups irregardless.

Z-Electrium Magneton


159921

Magneton @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunder/Thunderbolt/Zap Cannon/Electric Terrain

This was the one i was going in expecting to be the worst, as to me specs just seemed generally more useful. In hindsight, z-electrium has a powerful advantage due to this assumption though, in that everyone else will be assuming it's scarf/specs too.

Pros:
  • Can blag a choice locked set and surprise stuff.
  • Can do a bit more damage to mega aggron than you would with specs.
  • If you are really desperate can run electric terrain as one of moves, with z-electric terrain boosting your speed by 1 allowing you to have scarf and specs boosts (though only on electric moves) at same time briefly as a sweep, but not a good choice imo unless you were being forced to run z-electric magneton.
Cons:
  • Doesn't have the power of specs, and therefore struggles to do it's job when multiple steels are present on same team.
  • Does pathetic damage to mega steelix since it isn't running specs hp fire.
  • Flash cannon is fairly weak compared to the specs set, so can't do anything outside of its standard steel trapping role.
  • Even scarf would be better since it at least allows you to outspeed a bunch of stuff.
Tl;dr - Pulls off the standard steel trapping role of specs, has the same ohkos as it, but can't hit things as hard with its steel stabs. However in return it gets to run hp grass and potentially trick pokemon into thinking its choice locked. Pairs well with dd altaria as always, but I honestly think specs is better because it can actually do stuff outside of its primary role if needs be. Also takes z-move for a set which is honestly questionably better than specs at best, instead of a pokemon which could benefit from it much more, such as a moltres that you also pair with altaria on same team.

The main problem to me however, is that a magneton basically needs specs hp fire now due to m-steelix, and is a waste of a z-move, considering it's uses over specs are quesitonable at best.



Mega-Sceptile


159920

Went in expecting this to be my favourite of the 3 this week, after hearing good things about it recently. Can quite happily say however that I was left utterly disappointed. While on the surface it seems a decent pokemon, with a nice speed tier and good special attack, it is slightly slower still than threats such as mega-aero, and only speed ties with beedrill, and has coverage that means it just can't deal with mega-altaria at all. I think it'll be easier to summarise my thoughts about this one in bullet points, since I have quite a lot honestly.

Pros:
  • Great vs offensive teams who have a hard time outspeeding it and/or switching into it.
  • Powerful stabs when they are resisted.
  • Electric immunity after mega, however a lot of these mons will still be able to hit it with powerful attacks, such as overheat (rotom/manectric) close combat (zeraora), hp ice (manectric) etc.
  • Nice set of coverage moves, although horrible 4mss.
  • Ability to run special/mixed/physical sets, however needs SD boost to actually have any power with physical ones, outside of earthquake as coverage on special sets for mons weak to it.
Cons:
  • Grass/Dragon leaves it 4x weak to ice type moves, eg. ice shard from mamo. In general weak to priority too, since only priority it resists is crawdaunt.
  • Dragon typing just gives it a host of new weaknesses a la ice, dragon, fairy etc. While it does give it 4x resist to water, most of these mons will have some form of coverage in ice/fairy etc, so it's not that helpful unless they are choice locked.
  • Little to no stall or cleric balance counterplay, needs an SD set to break these, but it has horrible 4mss on these sets since really it wants to run leaf blade, earthquake, iron tail, dragon claw, rock slide and drain punch, since earthquake/drain punch is needed for steels, iron tail for fairies, dragon claw for latias, and rock slide for moltres, and no matter which 3 it chooses it's going to be hard walled by a lot of stuff, and it will always be hard walled by scizor on an sd set.
  • Takes up a mega slot, preventing you from using better mega pokemon in the team, and from using items.
Taking up a mega-slot is imo the biggest issue, and if it didn't and could use an item instead it would be so much better, like z-groundium would stand a much better shot at breaking steels on the SD set, or just a life orb for generally more powerful attacks on the all out attacking set.

Tl;Dr - Powerful all out attacker, but just a little too slow against some of the relevant stuff ie. mega-aero. Badly walled by (non-primarina) bulky fairies, and especially by mega-altaria, which can use it as set up fodder. Nice coverage moves, but very big 4MSS. Quite frail, which it can make up for with restoring hp through giga drain, but this means giving up a coverage slot, and it suffers a lot to unresisted priority moves because of it. Takes up a mega-slot, and has no stallbreaking capabilities whatsoever, making it quite hard to build into an balance team, as it is a liability and puts much more pressure on the other offensive members in bulky matchups and a questionable choice over other megas in tier, which each bring defensive/offensive roles outside of merely just firing off powerful hits, with the defensive utility of aggron/steelix/m-alt, the stallbreaking/sweeping potential of m-alt or the general presence that is mega-aerodactyl, with its ability to pursuit trap and its huge moltres resistance, its ability to roost and arguably better offensive coverage, and mega-blastoise which is similar in that it fires off powerful special attacks, but has the utility of rapid spin and the ability to defeat all spinblockers along with it, and has a far better bulky matchup.

Overall, a pokemon which shines in a more offensive matchup that isn't running m-alt, but due to it's 4mss is utterly helpless vs teams with pokemon that can easily sponge its hits. Too matchup dependent and hard to build around for my liking, and nothing about it justifies choosing it over a different mega in tier.

-----------------------------------------------------

Echoed voice prim: 2.5/5 -
insanely powerful stallbreaker, but spend most of your games wishing it was specs instead.

Electrium-Z magneton: 1/5 - does it's job i guess, but specs is just better. total waste of a z-move

Mega-sceptile: 1/5 - might be good against hyper offence and hippo/empo core, but useless against any teams that are remotely defensive and takes up a mega-slot, and honestly the other megas are just better.
 
Last edited:
Another fun week as usual and another pretty long post, though I didn't explore nearly as many sets as I did with Meloetta. So I did end up testing all three out and I won't be ranking them in any order this week either. Yes, I am aware that as you scroll through this you will see each time has Mega-Sceptile on it lol. It actually works really well with both Primarina and Magneton I felt it to be rather easy to utilize with both of the other sets. So I played about 35 games this week: 10 with Prima, 12 with Magneton and obvs all of them with Mega-Sceptile. In doing so I tested a total of three sets on Sceptile. I peaked just under 1500 before tilting so I'm gonna stop here lol.

Primarina

<Click Sprites for Importable>

This is the squad I used for Primarina which I partnered with AoA Sceptile. I went 9-1 with this one. Added Rotom-H as a Scizor check and Defog user. Scizor was added as a Lati check and wincon. Krook gives me some speed control and another electric immunity. Finally Empoleon as my SR setter and check to Prima etc. I am using Roar to phaze set-up sweepers out and in case I ran into you guys using this set :]

Primarina @ Metronome
Ability: Liquid Voice
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Echoed Voice
- Moonblast
- Sparkling Aria
- Psychic
Okay, just as I thought I found very little merit with the move Echoed Voice. I have used a lot of Metronome Primarina which I'm actually Cash introduced me to and I do love the set, but I just didn't ever find myself wanting to press Echoed Voice. It is so weak and requires multiple turns to ramp up that most of the time it wasn't worth it. If I came across Stall or Semi-Stall (Which I didn't) then sure there is potential to actually pull the purpose of this set off. However, against any normal offense and even some balance teams there is basically no reason to press it over Sparkling or Moonblast. I'd rather Prima just abused the crazy 126 SpA stat it has by firing off its strong stab moves. Giving up Hydro for this was kinda annoying as I missed out on some OHKOs which Sparkling can't pick up, especially when it is unboosted by Specs. The reason I didn't give up Psychic is because hitting and beating Amoonguss is way too important. The only other thing I can see Echoed Voice breaking through is potentially Empoleon, but it puts you on a timer and Toxic stalls it. So, unless you are fine with basically trading the Mon for Empoleon it probably isn't worth doing so. Just like the other sets I've tested such as Adrenaline Latias, I think it's just too situational and in this case 95% of the time you'll never want to use the move lol. For this reason, I have no replays of it working.
Magneton

<Click Sprites for Importable>

Here is my Magneton squad which I went 9-3 with. Again it works really well with Sceptile imo. Used SD Scizor which likes Magneton removing steel types. Scarf Ape for speed control. Empoleon + Gligar as my defensive core to provide rocks + defog support.

Magneton @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Signal Beam
- Substitute
Electrium-Z Magneton was really nice tbh, and I think I prefer it over Specs or Scarf. Purpose of this set was to forgo HP [Fire] as Moutemoute informed me. But, I genuinely don't see much merit in running HP [Grass] when Swampert, Gastrodon and Seismitoad aren't very common right now. This is why I opted for Signal Beam as it actually lets you kill Celebi and hit Latias + Hydreigon slightly harder. While my opponent never went hard into Celebi from the two games I ran into it, I still think it is a very decent option in the third slot. I also used Substitute cos fck Volt Switch, Sub was so nice for making you have more freedom firing off an attack as well as fishing for a Flash Cannon SpD drop. It usually let me get a lot of chip off on something which was really nice for this squad. I also went with a Modest nature as I'd rather just absolutely nuke something than be faster than some stuff. This set was still able to successfully trap Scizor, but thanks to Elec-Z it can remove Aggron which is amazing imo. Unfortunately, you can't touch MegaLix which kind of blows tbh. I also hate being reliant on Thunder once you blow the Z-move, cos you damn well know if I be missing every Hurricane on Moltres this Mon isn't going to be any different. It also can't trap all the steel types it wants to like Cobalion etc without a Scarf. It has very poor defences meaning it also can't eat a hit well in even if it is resisted. There isn't much else to say, it traps steel types it would normally trap like Scizor and Empoleon but Elec-Z lets you remove Aggron.
252+ SpA Magneton Gigavolt Havoc (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aggron-Mega: 261-307 (75.8 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Magneton Signal Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celebi: 340-400 (99.7 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Magneton Signal Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 186-220 (57.2 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Magneton Signal Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latias: 136-160 (45.1 - 53.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-861341014 - Magneton actually put in a decent amount of work this games.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-861361745 - He sacked his Scizor to Mag, but shows how annoying Substitute on it can be.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-862170983 - Eventually traps Scizor. Shows how Sceptile has issues breaking Sylveon.
Mega Sceptile

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature / Hasty Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 31 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Earthquake
Before I get into the SD Sceptile and the one below I am going to talk about the AoA sets I used in the first two squads. Imo Mega-Sceptile is actually amazing right now when the tier is littered with Primarina and Terrakion. Sceptile abuses the heck out of them and gets so many free turns to fire off its shit. Imo the AoA sets are by far the best out of anything it can run. I used a very standard set with HP [Fire] in the last slot which I think is much more useful than Focus Miss because fck Scizor. Once it was in, you could pretty much fire off Leaf Storm without too much care unless they had things like Moltres or Rotom-H up in which case you just bop them with Dragon Pulse. Its speed tier and ability make it fantastic for dealing with Zeraora and Manectric. I removed so many Manectric for this reason making it much easier to handle especially for the second team. Manectric basically drops to Leaf Storm unless you miss which I had happen twice... Anyways, I also tried Earthquake but it was pretty useless tbh. I think EQ is definitely viable in the last slot, I just never ran into Klefki or Alolan-Muk that often. Overall, I'd say is a lot more situational because you'll obvs run into Scizor maybe every other team unlike the other two I mentioned. It will have a lot of freedom vs offensive teams, but against some Balance and Stall squads it doesn't have the power to muscle through them without an extensive amount of help. As for replays it put in work in the ones provided above, but this one also shows how it takes advantage of teams reliant on Prima as a dragon check.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-862156956 - Nukes Primarina and forces out Kommo-o early. Using a squad Cash made me a few weeks ago.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-862187685 - Sceptile EQ could have 2OHKO'd Klefki. Magnezone then traps and removes it. We be hitting raw Thunders out here too.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-862242406 - AoA was reall threatening in this game applying a lot of pressure. On my main in a tour but w/e.

(Fairy)
<Click Sprites for Importable>

Basically the team I built for the Team Building Competition except I swapped Pert out for some speed control. I am not sure whether Doublade was on the original either, but I swapped this in as the new Maero + Terrakion answer. Sceptile + Nihi + Moltres is a great core imo so I built off that. Silvally-Fairy is the Defog user and needed Hydra check. I went 4-1 with this squad and stopped as I ran out of time.

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
SD Sceptile isn't all that amazing in comparison to AoA, but it is still decent imo. It does suffer from some 4MSS which sucks as it can't hit everything it wants to like Fairies or Scizor. This set also has to be more wary about switching into Scald as it fears the burn. In most cases I just fired off my stabs without setting up as I ran into a lot of offense. I've tested this set out a lot before where it puts in a lot of work against Balance and Stall that don't have Togekiss or Malt. Unlike the AoA set, I'd say this one is very situational and against most offensive squads it won't find the opportunity to SD to look to break or sweep. It's poor defences don't help with this either. Another downside of this set was it being harder to just remove Manectric as you are actually affected by Intimidate meaning you can't just OHKO it from full.

-1 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 156-184 (55.5 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I think the set has a lot of potential under the right situations, otherwise you'll usually just wish you were using the AoA set imo. I'll give some examples of calcs which SD Sceptile can pick surprise OHKOs against or deal some big damage too below as I have no replays to prove it:

+2 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cobalion: 312-368 (96.5 - 113.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Moltres: 255-300 (79.4 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Dragon Claw vs. 236 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 220-259 (73.3 - 86.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 76 Def Empoleon: 396-468 (106.4 - 125.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Sceptile-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 112 Def Tentacruel: 472-556 (129.6 - 152.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-861706596 - Physical Sceptile, didn't have a chance to SD but it had a lot of pressure


<Click Sprites for Importable>

Shoutout to I'm actually Cash for building this team for me because I was too lazy to build anymore squads lmao. Therefore, no thought process behind this one, but Kyurem is actually a threat. Overall was a really solid team from testing. I went 4-1 with this one too. You'll probs be better off using AoA or maybe SD Sceptile on this team as HC wasn't all that good lol.

Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Leaf Blade
- Iron Tail
- Dragon Claw
Yeah, this set wasn't very useful especially in comparison to SD. I just wanted to try and lure in several fairies in and bop them with Iron Tail without as much risk of missing. Unfortunately, I just didn't run into any Malt or Togekiss on ladder for this set to work. Guess it just boiled down to me being a bit unlucky with the Mons I ran into. This set also had very few opportunities to set-up because it is so weak at +1 when it comes to breaking through walls. Just like SD it suffers from some 4MSS. I think it really isn't worth running over the SD variant even if I am basing this off only 5 games. No replays sadly as this set was hella useless, but yeah that is what RW is for testing stuff out.

TL DR;

- I think Metronome Primarina is very good, but I think Echoed Voice isn't worth it. In most cases I just wished I had Hydro Pump. I think it is way too situational to make work as you'll probably only pull it off against Stall or Semi-Stall.

- I really like this Magneton set with Elec-Z as it helps removes Mega-Aggron which is amazing. Having the ability for more coverage options is pretty nice. It still has issues with trapping faster steel types ofc as it is so slow and has piss poor defences. I personally prefer it over Specs or Scarf.

- I think AoA Sceptile is super good right now especially against offense. Teams are so reliant on Primarina that it can put a lot of work in. Struggles breaking the bulky fairies we have tho. The SD set is pretty situatuional and hard to make work as it struggles to find the chance to set-up. If it does and the team lacks Malt or Togekiss it can hit really hard. Hone Claws was just me not wanting to miss, but the set sucks in comparison to SD lol. The AoA set imo is the best set you can run on this Mon.

Thanks for reading my posts as usual, I had a pretty poor week laddering so sorry for the lack of replays for all of these sets. I just wasn't invested enough to want to keep spamming ladder for example till I ran into some really fat team for Primarina to work and for Sceptile to find a good oppurtunity to SD and actually put in work rather than killing one Mon and dying. See you guys next week as usual ^_^
 
it's already thursday wtf
Didn't play much this week, but I don't think playing more will change my opinion on this week's selection so might as well post now. Did 49 games total, but I might play a bit more just to reach a somewhat higher ELO and get actual replays (sitting at 1446 with 74.2% GXE). Anyway let's get started.
Sceptile-Mega
Didn't expect too much from it, and it turned out to be an okay mon. Not great by any means, but it did what it was supposed to do, aka hit fast and hard. I'd say Sceptile is a decent anti-offense mon thanks to its combination of speed and power, but its inability to do anything against bulkier teams really set it back and make it not that great of a pick in the current metagame. Sceptile simply struggles breaking defensive cores atm, notably the oh-so common mega Steel-type + Wish passer (Steelix-M + Florges being the one I encountered the most). Altaria-Mega gaining traction recently doesn't help it either, as AoA Sceptile is setup fodder for this fucking fluffy beast. There's also other common roadblocks roaming around in the tier, namely Amoonguss, Klefki, AloMuk (not as common as it used to, I'll admit), Cobalion (if you don't use Focus Blast), Scizor (if you don't use HP Fire), AV Bisharp, Aerodactyl-Mega (doesn't hard switch, but forces it out and can Pursuit trap it), Beedrill-Mega (same as Aerodactyl, except it's a speed tie)

But when these roadblocks are out ? Boy is this thing a pain to handle. 145 base speed alongside either a neutrality or resistance to most priorities make it pretty hard to revenge kill, especially considering one of the most common scarfers, Krookodile, is utterly helpless against Sceptile-M (Knock Off and Stone Edge only deal around 50%, which is completely offset by Giga Drain). combined with a extremely strong Leaf Storm, switching into it for offensively-inclined teams can be a real pain, and most of the time it can easily claim several important kills, if not outright clean on its own. It also really appreciates people spamming Primarina, 'cause even if Sceptile can't hard switch on it, it can scare it out and take advantage of some people relying on Primarina as their main dragon-type counterplay. Also Lightning Rod is a pretty cool ability even with a double resistance to Electric, as it prevents Manectric and Rotom from pivoting around, and getting that +1 SpA boost can sometimes help breaking teams
Sadly, Leaf Storm isn't too spammable because of the SpA drop resulting in huge momentum losses, which means I spent most of my games clicking either Giga Drain or Dragon Pulse, and their lower power is really noticeable (Dragon Pulse doesn't even 2HKO Amoonguss after rocks smh).
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-861779515Didn't want to risk the roll on Manectric, but this is one of the instances where Sceptile basically won on team preview, as it could get free switches on Hippowdon and wasn't forced out by anything bar a potentiel scarf Latias
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-861780892Same concept, Sceptile basically cleaned alone once Crobat and Houndoom-Mega got chipped

Echoed Voice Primarina
160231
I didn't like it in any way. The problem was not Primarina itself, that thing is still broken as hell. I simply hated how this set relied on facing very fat teams to put in work, and even against fat teams it didn't manage to shine. First time I got introduced to this set it was shown as some ultimate stall countermeasure, but whenever I used it it hasn't won a single 1v1 against the pink blob, and even if Primarina did win the 1v1 then it would be at 2% health so what's even the point. Yeah, having an offensive Primarina that can switch moves is cool and all, but I legit stopped clicking Echoed voice because getting it to a point where it actually deals damage is goddamn impossible against anything remotely offensive. Honestly Metronome Primarina isn't too bad, but I simply fail to see the times when Echoed Voice is any useful. Maybe I somehow didn't use that set correctly, idk.

Electrium Z Magneton
It did Magneton things, and that's about it. Honestly, Specs is probably an overall better set, as the opportunity cost of running the Z on Magneton and not on anything else is way too big, especially considering you have to play Magneton in the first place (Did I mention I hate Magneton ?). It does a slightly better job at trapping Aggron-Mega (Volt Switch + Z-Thunder kills Aggron 100% of the time, and since you're not locked you can run Magnet Rise to wall it non-Fire Punch variants all day. Didn't give it a try though, it litteraly popped up while writing this) and not letting Klefki set several Spikes up before going down. But the thing is, against multiple Steel-types (let's say, your opponent has a Klefki and a Scizor) you have to choose which one you want to trap and quickly remove, and which one you want to either risk dying to (in this case Scizor)/ let it do its job (Klefki). Also not having to run HP Fire is nice to catch stuff like Gligar off-guard with HP Ice, but not running HP Fire means you're not getting past Steelix-Mega any day.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-862609151Only replay I saved where Magneton did something the Specs couldn't, aka removing Klefki in one turn and getting some chip on AloMuk before going down, letting EQ Altaria clean up afterwards
tl;dr
- Metronome on Primarina is a cool item, but Echoed Voice is a bad move. It can probably do some things against fatter teams, but it never did anything when I used it.
- Sceptile-mega is okay as an anti-offense mon, but it struggles a lot against bulkier teams.
- Z-Elec Magneton is basically Specs Magneton with a bigger opportunity cost.
Best way to describe this week's selection would be "MU-reliant" tbh.
 
Last edited:
Mag-kun takes me I take Mag-kun to low 1400s, which is pretty much my skill limit atm.
160420

Electrium Z Magneton

Magneton @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
I opt for Thunder-Z because it is guaranteed kill on Scizor, Doublade (but can not trap Doublade) and hits Mega-Aggron, Bisharp and Klefki hard af. Flash Cannon for fairies because Magneton outspeeds them. Volt Switch for Momentum/ when there are 2 steel-types on the opposing team and I can not use Thunder-Z yet. Toxic to punish common switch-ins like Fat Rotom-H, Latias, Krookodile.
When Scizor pops the cherry
Pros
  1. Thunder-Z offers the niche of instantly nuke Steel-types with little chips and not giving up momentum.
  2. With an extra slot, Magneton can bother common checks with, HP Ice/ Grass, Signal Beam, Toxic, and threatens set-up users such as Mega-Alt, Lucario, Infernape with its STABs.
Cons
  1. Against the glorious ladder with various teams and sets, the extra slot's effectiveness is inconsistent.
  2. When facing multiple Steel-types, instead of thinking Hell Yes, I often lean towards the thought of nuking which mon (Thunderbolt-Z feels like bootleg Specs and just misses important KOs).
  3. MegaLix walls this set.
  4. With the sole reason of using Mag to trap Steel-types, it sucks that Cobalion and Lucario both blow Mag away.
  5. With low bulk, unless Magneton can still outspeeds or Toxic something, I usually sack it after the nuke to keep momentum.
Overall, Choice Specs would do the same job without the cost of the Z-move and I believe this is a better set than the Electrium Z if you want to hit Steel-type hard.
Mag pressures Scizor + Toxic Latias+ hit Florges
Otherwise, there are lots of popping Ches's nut and trapping which are familiar.

I start with the Mega-Altaria + Magneton + Eject button core. I opt for Chesnaught as my Eject button(er?) because the Altaria + Mag duo has a lot trouble with Steel-type mons like Bisharp, Cobalion, Mega-Steelix,... Next, the core have massive weaknesses to Kyurem, Nidoking, Celebi,... so Bronzong is the next thicc boi to join the squad( which is also my Altaria counterplay). I then opt for the Bronzong + Tentacruel core with Tentacruel covers Bronzong weaknesses and offers RP support. Finally, the squad need a Ground-type to stop Volt-turn. I then opt for Nidoking because my team was having trouble dealing with bulky Fairy-type.
tl;dr
Overall, Choice Specs is the better set if you want to hit Steel-types hard. Though, Elec-Z offers the niche of not giving up momentum.
Magneton-Z: 2/5 (did have fun tho)

Thank you for reading! Though the squad lacks real speed control and has many weaknesses, such as Moltres, it suits my playstyle overall. Feel free to RMT. I'd appreciate it.
Kiss&MakeUp RMT by Scizorphobic.
Electrium-Z Magneton adjustments in the same RMT by Twilight, thus inspiring me to participate this week.

 
Last edited:
Sceptile-Mega @ Sceptilite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Knock Off
- Roar

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Nihilego @ Electrium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Sludge Wave
- Power Gem
- Thunder

Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Mach Punch

Togekiss @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 92 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Cutter
- Flamethrower
- Roost

Mega Sceptile was fun, as far as 4 MSS personified goes. There will always be something that walls you (non Primarina Fairy types, probably) whichever coverage move you run (HP Ice, HP Fire, Iron Tail, Earthquake). I tried 2 different version of Mega Sceptile, the one i posted above did not use Giga Drain in favor of 2 coverage moves to be sorf of a lure. When it worked, it worked beautifully, which is kind of the primary state of Mega Sceptile in the metagame. Overall, its a fun anti-meta Pokemon that enjoys the high usage of Primarina but is plagued by 4MSS really badly. 3.5/5


Magneton @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Substitute

Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Scald

Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 240 HP / 156 Atk / 112 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Curse

Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Sludge Bomb
- Foul Play

Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Mach Punch

Electrium-Z Magneton was... mediocre at best. Yes its a great lure for Scizor (or Mega Aggron, didn't managed to find it during the games that I played with Magneton) without using HP Fire, but outside of that Magneton is just not a good pokemon. Using Electrium-Z means Magneton is not fast enough to gain momentum via Scarf Volt Switch, or strong enough with Specs. I figured I just don't click with this Pokemon. There's also the fact that there are plenty of Pokemon that is better with the Z slot. Not a fan 2/5.
 
Magneton @ Electrium Z
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Toxic
- Volt Switch

Klefki @ Eject Button
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Toxic
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock

Hydreigon @ Dread Plate
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Taunt

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Toxic
- Slack Off

I only made one team this week since Scept and Magneton go together and I was short on time. Anyways, lets go over them, shall we?
Electrium Z Magneton:
This thing is a demon with electrium. It blows so many steels to the freaking moon. It cripples their ability to check Magneton's teammates or downright KOs them. Its an absolute monster. That said......I really really really wish I could use a Latias on this team. Magneton with Z is a far more fearsome trapper, but a lot of the things that want steels trapped tend to want their own Z-moves, like Celebi, Latias, Terrakion to a degree, Nihilego, Moltres most things that benefit from Magneton removing a key threat like a Scizor or Empo tend to want their own Z-move, creating a conundrum. That said, if you can find the right mons to build around it, you'll notice an immediate improvement over choiced magnets.
Sceptile:
This mon is fairly underrated. It has some very notable niches over other grasses and dragons, for one being the one mon to combine the two types. Its not as weak to Rotom-H as some grasses, and it's not as weak to Prim as some dragons. Its also the fastest grass in the tier. This an especially notable trait with no Serperior, as it's the only grass to jump the fearsome Terrakion. Jumping other incredibly fast threats like Zydog, Latias, Gengar, Manectric-Mega, and Zeraora makes Sceptile very handy for picking them off with minimal chip. Its power can fall a little short of the mark, but Sceptile was never going to break a balance that Hydra or Lati couldn't. Unless they're relying on Prim to battle dragons, in which case Sceptile is going to eat them alive. Sceptile does enjoy Prim being one of the most common fairies right now, however it doesn't quite enjoy Altaria being the other dominant one. Such a matchup can be workable though. 4MSS can also be a bit present with this mon. That said, the other mon I used this week actually alleviated this, as Magneton's ability to remove various steels lowered the need for Sceptile to warp it's moveset around things like Scizor, so it's a combo that I'd recommend to anyone wanting to take a swing with Sceptile. Some other good partners I tested in other renditions of this team are things like Rhyperior and Mamoswine, as the secondary electric immunity can be a big help against Mega Mane, ensuring it's in a lose/lose situation no matter if it's using HP Ice or Signal for Sceptile, or using HP grass for other volt immunities. I absolutely recommend a second volt immunity if you can slot it, preferably one that has defensive synergy with Sceptile.
 
Last edited:
don't snipe me Moutemoute

I got hammered this week by the ladder. I don't have any replays because well...

I played 4 games and went 2-2 and ended at 1000 gxe, cleared my w/l ratio, and proceeded to cry myself to sleep. Might ladder with it for like 2 more games though and try and fish for replays.


Anyways, I used Electrium Magneton and it played pretty well imo. as long as you can snatch a free sub, you click buttons without being punished for it. Heres the team: https://pokepast.es/9f9ff59f7c31d0a5

I think it has some potential. I've used it before this week, and this week was no different (besides me being shredded by low ladder). You get in for free, click Substitute, and click buttons. The only real issue I see is the lack of power after using your Z, as you don't have much power and you're still fairly slow. tl;dr: Z Mag is nice until you use it's Z or unless you can get behind a substitute

Overall, I give it a 2.4/5
 

Darksafadao

best of the second options
With this we finish our week, congrats to Mapplle for winning.

Here are what we've found out on this week:

Mega Sceptile was researched this week and we had many consensus by our researchers. Estarossa, Twilight, Smallsmallrose, Mapplle, Lazadamn, and Daiyaga point out how the current meta is what really brings a niche to Mega-Sceptile: The huge presence of Primarina makes it one of the few Dragons that can actually threaten it, and it can also threaten Terrakion, a very important mon right now. Also, as many pointed out, Mega Altaria and Togekiss are a pain to deal with and such mons coupled with its frailty is what really holds it back. Such weakenesses made some participants test out its SD set, on which they agreed that it suffers from a 4MSS, although hitting fairies was somewhat useful with the aid of Iron tail; Twilight also points out that this makes Sceptile become a Grass-type that fears Scald, as it hates being burned. Estarossa points out how it's useful as an Electric immunity and how annoying it can be for offense, while Smallsmallrose complements saying that another volt immunity is a good support to annoy those even more. Mapplle also adds that it's a different immunity than the common Ground-types or Zeraora, as it also has the ability to threaten Pokémon such as Gligar and Hippowdon.

Magneton was tested by some people as well. People have found positive traits on it, such as Estarossa mentioning it can bluff being one of the more standard sets which run choice items, bukemon123 mentioning how it doesn't give up the momentum like the most common sets do and how the coverage it can run over HP Fire is appreciated, and Smallsmallrose calling it a demon. However, many flaws were also spotted: Mapplle and Daiyaga mention how trapping more than one Steel-type is a troublesome task, Twilight explains how it lacks trapping faster Steels like Cobalion like Scarf Magneton would, and as many pointed out, trapping Mega Steelix without HP Fire isn't really trapping and that is rather annoying. Other problems like relying on Thunder to hit after using the Z and Smallsmallrose telling us that many of the mons that appreciate Magneton's support dislike it stealing the Z from them were also brought up. Overall, I think it's fair to say this set got some love and is now something to consider.

The opinions on Primarina pretty much converged this week. Our researchers Estarossa, Twilight, Mapplle, and Daiyaga agree on how situational it is and how they would prefer Specs or Bulky most of the time. However, most also pointed out it has superb stallbreaking potential and is pretty tough for bulky builds to stop it once it gets going. Twilight also mentions not running Hydro Pump can be annoying as Sparkling misses some kills. Also basically they all agree that Echoed Voice, the main gimmick of the set, is almost never clicked, as it's not helpful in most situations.

Now, this week's picks:


Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe doesn't really matter where the other 4 go
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Plasma Fists
-
-
-




Amoonguss @ Filler Item
Ability: Regenerator
+Spdef/+Def Nature
Bulky EVs
- Stun Spore
-
-
-




Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: No Guard
252 SpA / 252 Spe doesn't really matter where the other 4 go
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
-
-
-

Zeraora has been the most recent legendary introduced in USM and quickly joined UU after a short period in OU. Although it has a great speed tier with 143 base statistic speed and a nice moveset, its offensive stats are a bit short overall. Even if it can annoy some defensive staples, it struggles to beat a lot of cores since it doesn't hit that hard. For this week, we would like to see if a Choice Band could compensate for its gaps and make it better.

Amoonguss is one of the best defensive staple in the Underused thanks to its typing and to the ability Regenerator that allows to check a plethora of threats. Thanks to Spore it can irritate Pokemon by putting them to sleep. Most of the time, the opponent will choose a sleep fodder and then will bring his check to Amoonguss to threaten it. With Stun Spore, Amoonguss may annoy even more by crippling some threats which would like to come in for free on Amoonguss.

Mega-Pidgeot is a Pokemon that is not at its peak in the current metagame because of Pokemon like Rotom-Heat and Mega-Aerodactyl. However thanks to its great speed and Special Attack paired with a 100% accuracy Hurricane, Mega-Pidgeot is free to spam its STAB as much as it wishes. It also has access to Fire+Flying coverage, Work Up, and even Defog, which can be of good use on its hands. Let's see if it can still shine!

Sign up with a fresh USMRW10 alt, and post your results, as well as your own thoughts on the Pokemon in question. You are free to edit your signup post if your post count is a concern. For this week, the deadline will be Sunday, Feb 24th, at 11:59 pm GMT+1. My co-host moutemoute or I will check everyone's ladder scores then and decide the winner. Good luck everyone and happy researching!
 

Estarossa

moo?
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Battle Simulator Moderator
C&C Leader
USMRW10 Estarossa. Gonna try all 3, but especially mega pidgeot because it's always been one of my favourite pokemon and it saddens me greatly that it isn't good in the current meta tbh.

I am thinking of mainly researching the work up refresh set, as it has the ability to stallbreak, while still performing normal roles decently since it still has its fast 100% accurate hurricane, just no heat wave. my biggest gripe with pidgeot is normally that while it has heat wave, it still gets killed by banded scizor anyway, and obviously the popularity of aero, rotom etc. Work up refresh should have the ability to sort of set up on rotom-heat at least, since as long as it makes sure it doesn't have fuull hp it can roost on volt switches and refresh any toxic's, and i don't imagine it will miss heat wave much since anything it didnt ohko with it would jusut ohko it back anyway, eg. heavy slam aggron / gyro ball steelix etc. Gonna look at other sets too though ofc.
 
Last edited:
161492

Taking back what i said, they ain't that cool.
I've firstly tested both Pidgeot and Zeraora in the same team as they both complete each other (Zeraora offering a welcomed Electric immunity and Pidgeot a Ground immunity) :

160963

Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Roost
- U-turn


Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Knock Off
- Close Combat


Kommo-o @ Life Orb
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Close Combat
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt


Primarina @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Psychic


Scizor @ Buginium Z
Ability: Technician
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Swords Dance
- Roost


Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- U-turn
- Defog

161195

Frustration. That's the word i'd use at first to describe this set. It was frustrating to test it. So far i've done 30 games using Zeraora and i couldn't enjoy even 10% of them. This is exactly the same feeling as using Primarina. All the time i was telling myself "If only i had Life Orb and Grass Knot or HpIce". From time to time i would even check if i really had a Choice Band cause i was doing no damages to the likes of Celebi, Sylveon or Rotom-H.
I didn't find much positiv things to say about Zeraora to be honest. I hope i'll find some good replays showing that it can actually work but... I feel like if you got any regular Zeraora counter in the team facing you, you'll just be an Electric immunity and you won't do more until you manage to break the counter. But that's supposed to be Zeraora's job to open up the opponent team for his mates to sweep. Like, just having Amoonguss, Chesnaught, Hippowdon, Altaria, Swampert, Rotom-H or Celebi and you game with Zeraora was pretty much done.

Pros :
  • Pretty cool breaking potential for a fast Pokémon
  • Offers a welcomed Electric immunity in offensiv teams while also being able to break bulky waters unlike most Ground
Convs :
  • Locking yourself on a move is frustrating as Zeraora, you can't make use at all of its awesome special movepool
  • Poor damages for a Choice Band (struggling to kill Scizor with a 100 BP STAB or Krookodile with Close Combat for exemple)
  • Even tho you got Volt Switch, U-Turn would have been more than welcomed (I've almost never clicked it)
  • Where is Ice Punch ? The lack of Ground coverage is awefull
  • Some Pokemon can setup on you while they shouldn't be able to (E.g : Altaria)
Replays :
Zeraora managed to tanked a +4 bibarel and rk it
Even tho oppo had no Electric immunity or resist, Zeraora poor damages did nuts and tilted me
Zeraora putting a cool offensiv pressure (but did only 80% on suicune being band tf is this no damage)

161174

Well, so far Pidgeot is the only Pokémon i enjoy playing this week. It's fun, you just got to wake your inner DPP player and click properly on Hurricane.
Jokes appart, Fly STAB always been cool in UU back in time. We've always had poor resist, most of the times it just didn't fit. Then meta turned pretty bad for Fly Pokémon. Rotom-H came in, Aerodactyl became even stronger, Diancie rised, Rhyperior became a thing, Zeraora dropped and Manectric is still strong. This meta surely isn't smiling at Pidgeot.
But, there's always hope. Depending on the MU, Pidgeot can shine pretty well. If the opponent team only gots offensiv checks he'll struggle to switch into your Hurricane. Steel types can't be considered as checks since Heat-Wave is pretty much always there. Pidgeot offers a cool Volturn and he can even break some bulky team thanks to his Work-up set.

Pros :
  • Awesome MU against offensiv teams
  • Strong offensiv STABs paired with a Fire coverage and Volturn
  • It's common switches in got poor recovery or no recovery at all (mostly talking about not having recovery moves but relying on items), making it easier for Pidgeot to cheap them
Convs :
  • Flying resist are pretty common now in UU and Pidgeot fails to lure them appart with Toxic or U-turning on them
  • His speed is poor compared to his offensiv checks. Most of his offensiv checks (Manectric, Zeraora, Aerocatyl) can switch in at least 2 time on Hurricane, outspeed it and can OHKO
  • Feels like the Méga slot it's taking can be used by another Pokémon, like you could also just run Moltres

As you can see i've found the same amount of Pros and Convs but as i experienced it, the convs are overwelhming compared to the pros. Main reason is that your poor speed comapred to other Megas just annilihates hopes of doing anything good enough to be worth the Mega slot. Yeah it gots a cool niche but i don't find it good enough to shine in UU as for now.

Replays :
Pidgeot offering an awesome work when the fly resist is doublade


Amoonguss
Alright so, i've tested it a bit (around 5-6 matches) and here's what i've found about it. First thing of, it does nothing more than regular Amoonguss but having one more status inducer move. Like, it's pretty cool to be able to paralyse some special targets but as i experienced it, i've almost never clicked Stun Spore. Main reason was that i wanted to Burn the common switch Amoonguss had instead of paralysing them. For exemple the likes of Scizor or Gligar.
I won't do any Pros / Convs part cause i don't have much to say about it. Like i said it's like a regular Amoonguss but this set is more of a setup invitation for Scizor than anything else. It's pretty cool to be able to para things like Hydreigon / Infernape (mostly scarfs or common offensiv checks like Kommo-o) but missing HpFire is pretty damn annoying (Chesnaught / Scizor / some other steels are annoying while they shouldn't).
 
Last edited:
USMRW10 Fireworks
Mega Bird
Edit:Played close to 20 games on low ladder and while I might revisit later, I've had enough of the bird as , even in low ladder, it didn't feel useful
Findings: Mega Pidge has a few distinct things that set it apart from the other offensive birds in the tier.
1) better revenge killer to doublade since its normal typing makes it immune to shadow sneak. 2) its nice speed tier allow it to get some chip damage on non-scarf dragons like lati and Hydreigon by throwing out a hurricane and then U-turning which other offensive birds cannot do. All in all I really don't think that the mega bird is worth considering in a spot on a team as it is outclassed in stall breaking by togekiss, as a breaker by moltres and as an offense counter mon by Mega-Aero.
 
Last edited:
Cool week again with another long post by me. I tested a total of three different Pidgeot sets, CB Zera and Stun Spore Amoonguss where i 'tried' to play about 10 games with each. I also played a few games in tours for some extra replays as usual. No particular order this week either in terms of which sets/mons I liked more. I've played about 40 games as of right now, but no more games are needed for me to change my opinion on some of these sets. I still plan to ladder through the week to peak higher as I'm on a break from uni, but I may as well make my post now. Hope you enjoy reading as usual.

Mega Pidgeot

In general, Mega Pidgeot is in a super awkward position. It just hates the fact that Maero is the most consistent mega right now and Rotom-H is being spammed everywhere, though Rotom-H is pretty easy to break through. Other things like Empoleon or Diancie are still pravelant too. I don't think the Mon is bad by any means, but the meta just isn't in its favour. The BIGGEST reason I like the bird is because I don't die a little inside when I see the Hurricane animation whiff to the side, unlike Moltres who deadass never hits when I want it to. 100% accurate Hurricanes are so nice for this Mon to just spam its stab which leads to my first point. As Estarossa mentioned it really doesn't need Heat Wave and I agree with this. In most cases you'll probably just spam Hurricane as it chips most steel types pretty hard. Heat Wave also only OHKOs Scizor which forces you out anyways. Also, almost every steel type in the tier has no form of recovery meaning any chip from Hurricane usually racks up.

It has a decent speed tier letting it outpace the base 115s, but it really sucks being slower than a lot of other offensive threats, worth noting they are mostly other Megas, such as Manectric, Sceptile, Beedrill and Aerodactyl. This is where I think it hurts Pidgeot quite a lot, as it takes up your mega slot and is slower than all these other Megas. I'm not saying it does the same thing as them, but it defo needs a lot more support and in some cases it won't be doing anything at all due to meta trends unlike the listed Mons. The other bad thing is it having such a depressing movepool. Sure, you can run some cool things like Hyper Beam but you may as well be sacking the thing. Other than that, it has nothing else in its arsenal other than status moves or being reliant on Hidden Power. I've mentioned this before, but legit give this thing Focus Blast and I'd nom it straight to A lmao.


<Click Sprites for Importable>

Here is the first team I built around Whirlwind Pidgeot. Idea was to phase its checks out and rack up hazard dmg. It went poorly lol, idk maybe the team sucks or I am absolute trash with Balance (Probs both), I went 4-4 before giving up lol. My mental deteriorated after the first game as Haxorus 6-0'd me by getting the role with Iron Tail and sending my Florges to hell. I did play a few more in a few tours though, with more success. Anyways, I added Nidoqueen to provide T-spikes + SR, while Chesnaught gave me Spikes. Latias as a wincon + I legit never use the Mon. Staka cos I needed a Lati + Flying check. Finally, Florges gave me Wish support + a cleric.


Pidgeot-Mega (M) @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Big Pecks
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Whirlwind
- Roost
Honestly, while I didn't have the most success with the team I don't think Whirlwind Pidgeot is that bad. It worked out really well in about one game in low ladder (I lost the game but forgot to grab the replay >.<) where I kept phasing Aggron + Rotom-H out and taking chip dmg. However, I have another example where it phased a sweeper out reliant on Sucker Punch. The biggest issue was once this thing was put on a timer and the team having no Defog user means dmg racked up against it pretty quickly. Sure I have a cleric, but not in every case could I get it off vs offense. Leaving it less opportunities to Whirlwind stuff out rather than wanting to Roost. In most games as you'll see in the replay it just spammed Hurricane like you are expected to do. I think this set genuinely has some potential, but I think I went about the wrong way of trying to support it. I recommend you guys give it a try as I think it has potential to work well tbh.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864306620 - Pidgeot abusing hazard stack. Does decent amount of work.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864455038 - Whirlwind Pidgeot came in clutch vs Honchkrow, kills Scizor and eats an outrage from Haxorus.


<Click Sprites for Importable>

Here is my second team utilizing Work Up Mega Pidgeot. I partnered it with Fight-Z Scizor to lure steel types for it. Krook gives some speed control. Tentacruel as a hazard remover + pressures fairies. Sylveon gives Wish and Cleric support to the rest of the team. Finally, Kommo-o as my rocker and breaker. I went 6-0 with this team.


Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Work Up
- Hurricane
- Refresh
- Roost
Personally, I think this is one of Mega Pidgeot's best sets right now. I'd rather use this over the standard set as it becomes extremely deadly once its revenge killers are gone especially against offense. Even things like Rotom-H are fairly easy to break once it gets the chance to set-up. It also gives it a very good match-up against bulkier squads thanks to it being able to support itself with Refresh. It still achieves what any other set does which is chip at its checks slowly with Hurricane so there really is very little discrepancy between all its sets. At +1 it breaks a lot of SpD bulky Mons which I value more than pivoting around with U-turn. It has more leeway to break through its checks, but just like its standard set it needs a bit of support to work.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864332330 - Work Up Pidgeot allowing it to break Sylveon.


Pidgeot-Mega @ Pidgeotite
Ability: Big Pecks
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Just to make you happy Darksafadao I tried Defog Pidgeot. It wasn't as bad as I expected, it was really nice knowing it could get a Defog off easily thanks to its speed tier, in most cases it felt pretty ensured. On an offensive team like the one below it was very nice for this reason, though I only found myself wanting to press it unless Spikes started going up. It has multiple chances to Defog as it forces out a lot of things. In most cases you'll probably find the check coming in to be Empoleon or Rotom-H, which tend to just Defog for you. Idk not much else to say, it just compressed the need for hazard removal onto a strong threat without giving up much in exchange imo. Again it is another set I prefer over the standard Heat Wave + U-turn set tbh. Biggest downside I can think of is it being kinda frail defog user, which isn't helped by its typing, and in some cases you may just use it as a suicide hazard removal. This could be a good or bad thing depending on how early into the game it is.

Overall I was pleased with Mega Pidgeot, but I don't see myself using it that much unless I explicitly want to build around it. I liked pretty much every set I tried which is rare, but current meta trends just aren't in its favour. In most of my games I just didn't have too many good opportunities to bring it out to do what it wanted for this reason. Maybe when Rotom-H or Maero start seeing a little less usage it might have more room to shine.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864323514 - Defog Pidgeot removing hazards.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-865115558 - Pidgeot put in a ton of work this game holy

Choice Band Zeraora


<Click Sprites for Importable>

Here is my CB Zera team which I paired with Defog Pidgeot, because I didn't want to build two separate teams. Buginium-Z Scizor lets it break Hippo and stuff which Zera now can't do. Specs Prima as another breaker and likes the Pivot core I had. Scarf krook for speed control and Cobalion as my SR user. I went 9-1 with this team on ladder, but I wasn't the biggest fan of banded Zera in most cases.


Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
Choice Band Zeraora isn't the best set this Pokemon can be running as being locked really blows for this Pokemon, especially in this tier anyways. It has a phenomenal speed stat which it wants to be abusing, but being CB really holds it back as in almost every scenario you will be forced out the following turn. It becomes so reliant on prediction, even more so than the standard AoA, but once you miss predict then it forces you to swap out when you would normally have the coverage to threaten said Mon. As Mapplle mentioned if it had U-turn it could probably help with this. An example being switching out on a bulky ground coming in to get initiative. However, this set already has some poor 4MSS like every set so this could just hurt it even more in terms of the coverage it can have. Choice Band was nice for the extra breaking power as you can 2OHKO MegaLix or Amoong. Then you are left with an awkward 50/50 of whether you double or fire off another attack. In most cases staying in would just lose you unnecessary momentum. Even things like MegaLix would normally just get 2OHKOd after minimal chip by AoA anyways. Fire Punch felt necessary to punish Scizor + Amoong. Dropping Knock could be an option, but you risk not hitting Lati and losing all form of support to the team by removing items from Hippo and Gligar. As Mapplle also mentioned, if it had Ice Punch this set might be decently viable. It could hit Amoong, Malt, Gligar, Lati and Hippo in one slot which is great for a Mon with such a bad 4MSS. I also opted for an Adamant nature because it is so weak even with a CB. Like doing about 30% max to Hippo and Gligar is depressing as fck lmao. The best thing it achieved was revenging due to its speed tier and maybe sweeping if I lured the ground type and they lost their scarfer.

It requires way too much prediction for what little you get out of it. Having the freedom to switch moves is way too important for this Mon imo. Too many scenarios where my opponent had their own Zera or a bulky ground, meaning it can't even spam its strongest stab move freely. I don't think the set is completely unviable, but for me I see absolutely no reason to run it over the standard AoA sets with whatever coverage you choose to run on it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864320300 - One of few games I use Defog on Pidgeot. If my opp played it better Zera would have done nothing. Didn't want to risk Plasma shows it needs so much prediction.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864329138 - Zera kills Lati on the prediction and nukes Empoleon.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864416033 - Only game Banded Zera did a lot of work as my opp had no ground type.

Stun Spore Amoonguss


<Click Sprites for Importable>

Here is my Amoonguss squad for this week which I shamelessly stole from Scizorphobic RMT based on the rate 'sei. did (I guess the double Ice Fang freeze was karma for this smh). I changed a few sets though and swapped one regenerator mon out for another so lets just pretend it is an original squad I made. Amoonguss has to give up HP [Fire] so I'm going to cheat and just partner it with Magneton. Kommo-o gives me a rocker. Scarf Krook for speed control and helps with the Lati match-up. Mega Altaria likes Magneton trapping steel types for it to sweep. Rotom-H as my Scizor check and Defog user.


Amoonguss @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 80 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Stun Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
Legit I have nothing to say about this set lol. It basically does the same thing it always does with pivoting around with the broken ability known as Regenerator into Terrakion, Primarina etc, except it can't beat Scizor and Coba anymore. Don't get me wrong this kinda sucks, but you could still chip them down if you use Rocky Helmet or simply Spore them. However, I personally wouldn't swap out HP [Fire] for Stun Spore ever, unless I run it with Magneton. The Stun Spore theoretically slows Coba down enough for Magneton to actually trap it. It is also nice for paralysing ground types which is kinda neat. Replacing it over Spore just seems unjustifiable, I'd rather run both together as Spore is way too valuable on this Mon for rendering something useless for a few turns. As far as the effectiveness of Stun Spore went, it caught a few things off guard expecting to get a free switch in the next turn. They then proceed to get paralysed. This set can work, but it just requires more help to handle Scizor and Cobalion now. However, this can be tough to do on certain squads meaning it comes down to how much role compression you can achieve to make up for this. I don't have many good replays tbh, as I normally just used it to sponge hits and Spore. So most only show me using Stun Spore after Spore expecting a double.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864410581 - Stun Spore incoming target, unfortunately it was Heracross...

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864412684 - Again opponent doesn't expect you Stun sporing their next switch in after Spore.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7uu-864671868 - Stun Spore Amoonguss status so many things this game and pivoting around as usual.

TL DR;

- Pidgeot has a tough time solidifying itself thanks to current meta trends like Maero and Rotom-H. I think it has a lot of viable sets though ranging from Whirlwind to Refresh sets and I think the ones I tested are pretty good. It has a decent speed tier, but it is slower than most common Mega Pokemon in the tier which sucks for it. Needs a lot of support as it is solely reliant on Hurricane , due to its bad movepool. I enjoyed using it and god bless for 100% Hurricanes.

- CB Zera just isn't the set you want to run on it. Super weak even with the CB so I felt forced to use Adamant. So much unnecessary prediction for it to work for very little reward in most cases. I ran into too many bulky ground types or other Zera meaning it can't spam its primary stab move let alone touch those ground types. As usual it suffers from 4MSS and you just lose too much momentum from this set, I'd rather use AoA over it any day.

- Legit does the same thing it normally does. Just can't check and hit Scizor and Coba anymore, though you can still Stun / Spore them. It does kinda suck and tbh I wouldn't give up HP [Fire] unless I was using Magneton with it. Stun Spore catches some stuff off guard expecting to be safe once something else is put to bed. Really isn't much to distinguish between this and the normal set imo as it is a nuisance regardless thanks to Regenerator.

Fun week as usual trying stuff out. I'll probs stick to getting people to build me bulkier Balance squads till I get better at it lol. Regardless I enjoy building the teams each week and testing them out. Thanks again for reading my posts, as I know they are quite long, but there is usually one Mon that just makes me want to try multiple sets out. Thanks for reading and see you all next week ^_^
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top