Underrated RU Movesets

Introduction

The RU tier is a place where there's a lot of room for creativity. This is especially true now that Nidoqueen has just recently left the tier; this means there's a lot more Pokémon that are viable in the tier now. While the good old standard sets are always great, it's never a bad thing to step away from those and maybe try something new for a change. Many NU Pokémon can excel in RU despite being lesser used Pokémon, and even some of the common Pokémon have undiscovered sets. This article will present from very effective but underrated sets in RU that can really do well; give them a shot while you're at it!

Bulky SD Scyther

Scyther @ Eviolite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Roost / Substitute

Scyther is often known for being a Swords Dance sweeper, using its power and speed to break down teams, or a Choice item user. But that's not all Scyther has going for it. Scyther's NFE status allows it to use Eviolite to enhance its bulk, and it's got Roost and Swords Dance. Well, what does this mean? Scyther can go the bulky route and instead be a bulky boosting sweeper that can be hard to stop once it gets going. This thing sports incredible bulk with the Eviolite in hand; it can even survive super effective hits such as Rotom-C's Thunderbolt and Sceptile's Hidden Power Rock! This great bulk means Scyther will very often have an easy time setting up Swords Dance, and it can hit fairly hard after some boosts. U-turn is a pretty good STAB move, and allows Scyther to scout and make it hard to play around, while Aerial Ace serves as a reasonably strong STAB move to hit pretty hard with, and makes Scyther a good check to a lot of the Fighting- and Grass-types in the tier. Scyther can use recovery in Roost or Substitute to serve as a strong corebreaker that makes stall teams cringe. It does have a crippling weakness to Stealth Rock, but spinning is relatively to pull off in RU, not to mention its excellent synergy with the tier's premier spinner, Kabutops. And most of all, just how awesome do Scyther and Kabutops look together in Team Preview?

SubCM Uxie and Mesprit

Uxie @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 96 HP / 188 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt

Mesprit @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt / Ice Beam

Uxie and Mesprit generally have always been condemned to the lower tiers while their brother Azelf goes for bigger and better things in the tier higher (in this case, UU). That said, these two can make for surprisingly threatening sweepers with a SubCM set, threatening all kinds of teams with their nice coverage and using defensive Pokémon such as Slowking and Clefable as setup fodder. This also catches their common switch-ins such as Absol off guard, as they usually run Stealth Rock sets. Uxie is faster and bulkier and usually sets up more easily. Mesprit on the other hand isn't as bulky and is slower, but it also hits notably harder, which can come in handy, while its access to Ice Beam can come in handy at times if Steelix and Rhydon pose significant threats. Substitute allows them to avoid status and Trick while it allows them to avoid damage, which can be helpful to grab Calm Mind boosts more easily. Psyshock and Thunderbolt provide solid coverage overall, hitting the majority of the tier neutrally, but Mesprit also has Ice Beam as an option, and it can nail the aforementioned Steelix and Rhydon if that is needed.

SubSalac Scolipede

Scolipede @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail

Although Scolipede may have recently made the fall to NU, that doesn't mean it isn't a threat. This set in particular is very threatening; while Scolipede is commonly seen as a fast Spikes lead, it can go for the sweeping route with a SubSalac + Swords Dance set, which combines a lot of Scolipede's positive points, namely its access to Swords Dance, a good ability in Swarm, a high Speed tier, and great coverage, and decimate teams. Swords Dance boosts Scolipede's decent Attack to formidable levels, while Substitute protects it from annoying status; by weakening itself , Scolipede can activate Salac Berry and Swarm, adding to its potential. The fact that Scolipede outspeeds practically every Psychic-, Dark-, and Grass-type bar Sceptile only sweetens the deal. Megahorn is a powerful STAB move while Aqua Tail provides great overall coverage, nailing Fire-types, Steelix, and Rhydon, which makes Poliwrath this set's only true stop. Overall, this set is criminally underused and effective; give it a shot and you may very well be impressed.

Offensive Tauros

Tauros @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide / Zen Headbutt
- Fire Blast

It's amazing people haven't caught on to how good this thing is. Although it finds itself in the BW NU tier, Tauros is certainly a threat to contend with in RU. Sheer Force boosts the power of its Rock Climb while negating Life Orb damage, which means Tauros can pack an immense amount of power with its STAB alone. Earthquake is for coverage, while Rock Slide nails Moltres and Zen Headbutt is useful for Poliwrath. Fire Blast might seem stupid because Tauros's Special Attack is abysmal, but Sheer Force gives it enough power that he can nail Tangrowth, Steelix, and Escavalier. In fact, thanks to this along with Tauros's immense power, he is very difficult to wall without bulky Ghost-types, one of which doesn't do well in the tier as of now. Tauros is also quite fast, which helps as far as wallbreaking goes. Overall, Tauros is a vastly underrated and effective Pokémon; give it a shot, you won't be disappointed.

Mixed Samurott

Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass
- Megahorn / Superpower

Samurott is an often overlooked Pokémon in RU, but even then, it can function very well in the tier. It makes for an awesome mixed attacker—with its great offensive stats and coverage, it's pretty difficult to wall and even to switch into. Samurott's Speed isn't ideal, but it's good enough to outspeed most walls, which is a good benchmark to hit. Access to great coverage moves allow it to break common defensive cores such as Roselia + Alomomola, Tangrowth / Steelix + Slowking, and some others too. Hydro Pump serves as a strong STAB move that hits pretty hard, while Ice Beam nails Grass-types and Druddigon. Hidden Power Grass hits Water-types such as Feraligatr for super effective damage, and is chosen over Grass Knot in order to hit Lanturn notably harder considering Lanturn is extremely light. Megahorn allows it to pummel Slowking on the switch-in, while Superpower outright murders Clefable and dents Ferroseed, the two only otherwise real counters to this set.

Conclusion

Even in the lower tiers, there's always room for creativity. The metagames will be extremely repetitive if no one steps out there and shows off a new set, so give something a shot; it might end up being the next best thing! So get out there, get out of the old standard sets for a change, be creative, and try new things in the metagame. However, let me be clear that by this I am not promoting the use of garbage such as Sandslash and Dusknoir. Anyways, get out there, and be creative; maybe you'll find a set that becomes a dominant force in the metagame.

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