Tournament ZU Low-Budget Tournament: [Won by Aaronboyer]

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Noteworthy D / UR Picks:

Being that they only cost a single dollar, anything D rank or unranked surely has merit when teambuilding. Out of them, here are my predictions / suggestions for what to run and how to use them:

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Grimer-Alola
Grimer-Alola @ Eviolite
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Pursuit / Rest
- Shadow Sneak / Sleep Talk
Grimer-Alola is likely the go-to UR mon for most teams, as it has obvious and applicable traits that are appealing for most playstyles. It is a decent enough Exeggutor check, resisting its dual STAB while also having either Pursuit and Knock Off for it. Being a Dark-type is also a rarity now that Shiftry is gone, and having this Knock Off support to punish defensive teams and hit decently hard actually when fully invested. Its grounded Poison-typing is its last huge bonus, as it can absorb Mareanie’s Toxic Spikes for teams that would be weak to them. Its Poison Touch ability with Poison Jab give it a nice option to status walls, and can even combo with Shadow Sneak when Grimer is low. Grimer-Alola is awesome for punishing the threatening Psychics of the tier like Bronzor, Kadabra, Beh, and Egg, and has good enough general bulk to trade neutral hits well thanks to Knock Off and / or spreading Poison.

Onix
Onix @ Custap Berry / Heat Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Explosion
- Rock Tomb / Sunny Day
Onix can be a passable suicide lead with its access to a midspeed SR, Taunt, Explosion, and Sturdy. It has a good matchup against other possible leads like Golem, Crustle, and Shuckle, and can potentially prevent SR while setting up its own. Defog users like Silvally-Water and Swanna can be put down a notch thanks to Rock Tomb, making it easier to secure SR or for them to be revenge killed. Lastly, Onix is the premier lead for Sun teams, and should be a no brainer if that play style os being built.

Gumshoos
Gumshoos @ Choice Band / Assault Vest
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Earthquake
- Crunch / Pursuit
- Ice Punch / Fire Punch
Description:
Other wallbreakers or bulky Normals like CB Golem, Toucannon, Kecleon, and Boufflant usually are the better pick over Gumshoos, but maybe not at the low-low price of 1 dollar. Gunshoos has a lot of power and a unique ability in Stakeout, meaning switch ins take double the damage. Its coverage is great, allowing it to break walls or be a decent tank with AV. Its general bulk is just okay, but again Gumshoos is just so cheap that it can be a worthy alternative.

Gougiest-Large
Gourgeist-Large @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spe
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Seed Bomb
- Synthesis
- Leech Seed
Here’s a quick fix: replace gourg-XL with just gourg-large. Large actually has one niche over XL with its speed, allowing it to be comparably bulky while now outspeeding threats like Golem, Crustle, Beh, and Kecleon to name a few. Usually that doesn’t matter, but it is a nice bonus to have, and Gourg can now potentially tie or beat Sandslash and Sub Bouf. The set provided is right at that competitive 190 speed, and more speed creeping is also plausible.

Alternative Weather Options
Illumise (F) @ Damp Rock / Hear Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rain Dance / Sunny Day
- Encore
- U-turn
- Defog

Lunatone @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rain Dance
- Explosion
- Ice Beam

Maractus @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Growth
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Knock Off

Amaura @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Blizzard
- Encore
- Thunder Wave

Ivysaur @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Sleep Powder
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Illmuse is one of the biggest winners in this format, as it is a significantly cheaper version of Volbeat with the only tradeoff of having a weaker U-Turn. Lunatone is notable for having a fast SR and Explosion to compliment it as a Rain Dance user. Maractus had a small cult following at the end of the 7th gen for being a super strong Chlorophyll user with unique offensive qualities. Ivysuar is a weaker sun sweeper but has Sleep Powder + Growth to back it up. Amura is the best Hail setter around now thanks to SR, and can pair with another cheap pick in Beartic to be a scary Ice offensive sweeper. All in all, weather totally has some cheap alternatives that compete with the usual main choices, and even in general can be an affordable way to build teams.

Other Silvally Forms
Silvally-Rock @ Rock Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- U-turn
- Ice Beam

Silvally-Psychic @ Psychic Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Flamethrower
- Defog
- U-turn

Silvally-Bug @ Bug Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Multi-Attack
- Ice Beam
- Defog
The Silvally formula has been very successful in ZU, and most teams have some form of it. There are still three that are UR, and they really do have some problems. I’m not the most confident with the sets, but I do expect to see some of these thanks to their well rounded stats and key movepool options for such a low price.

TL;DR: I predict that weather will be decently popular this tournament with its affordable options and support. Substitutes for high-priced mons can easily be made for inferior form changes or NFEs / LCs, and sometimes the opportunity cost isn’t much. Past that, some really cheap picks like Grimer-Alola, Onix, and Gumshoos can stick out as their own identity on less niche playstyles.
 
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Round 1

Shwiftry vs. Spook
TectonicDestroyer vs. Charles A. Theist
SputnikGT vs. Chokepic
Funbot28 vs. Fissure
Calucha vs. yovan33321
Descending vs. tlenit1
MonkeySniper vs. Tack
AntaresLN vs. Rubicon
DurzaOffTopic vs. Quagg
Graceclaw vs. Ho3nConfirm3d
TJ vs. Aidou
Shing'n Streets vs. Grandchamp1
Velvet Blood vs. yedla
sombradeguerrero vs. Aaronboyer
Czim vs. agenS
Rav3ndan vs. The Thunderbirds
275p vs. Oathkeepre
a fruitshop owner vs. Celever
Sieeeffmon vs. LPY
sketchy ecchi vs. 5gen
Cigtar vs. BloodAce0107
crucify vs. 24lid
TheJ3estPenguin vs. Adrift and Alone
twitch.tv/Bag_of_Trixx vs. Michael213

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Deadline is Sunday January 26 at 11:59pm CST (GMT-5). Also, I'd like to give a friendly reminder to everyone that these matches are a BEST OF 1. Post your replay publicly or PM them to me please!
 
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