Resource Ask a simple question get a simple answer: RU edition

- what are the biggest differences between NU and RU?
not a big NU player so i wouldn't know the exact details. i do know that unlike nu we have dragon types which are pretty influential (in fact one of them, tyrantrum, currently has a pretty large part of the community hoping it is re-suspect tested). mega steelix also makes a huge difference, as it + a bulky water is a really common core.

- What archetypes are the most popular right now?
what azelfie said above, BO and balance. stall is interesting, I haven't really seen it pulled off in a way that's is super impressive. hyper offense is pretty much dead because of Tyrantrum, tho there are ways like Mawile to get around it.

- How harshly is the tier centered around a handful of mon?
Its pretty centered around Mega Steelix, Tyrantrum, Alomomola, Virizion and Venusaur, I'd say these are the 4most influential mons atm.
**5 things I never learned numbers
- What do I definitely need to account for in teambuilding to get a good RU team?
This dope thread might be helpful (its a work in process, my apologies i have a life irl). I would say if you are going to go for BO/balance make sure you have:
-Steelix + bulky water breaker (Virizion, Meloetta, Slowking, etc)
-Fighting type check (we have a lot so gl covering them all)
-Psychic type check (see the fighting check part)

I suggesting building a team and heading to the lovely rarelyused room on pokemonshowdown and someone look at it for you! welcome to ru and good luck man!
Wow, thank you so much for the in-depth reply.
Since balance and bulky offense are my favourite archetypes, I will give this tier a try.
Also shoutouts to the community, you guys have an amazing amount of helpful threads and this tier seems to be much easier to get into because of those than others.
 
Hydro Pump hits harder than waterfall, even after the higher attack, because of it's higher base power (110 vs 80). A lot of threats in the metagame are either extremely frail (like Hitmonlee), or have naturally lower special defense (Drapion, Tangrowth). In addition, Ice Beam is widely considered one of Sharpedo's best coverage moves, and it hits harder than Ice Fang.

Here's some relevant physical vs special calcs

252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Drapion: 263-309 (93.5 - 109.9%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Drapion: 164-192 (58.3 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Gurdurr: 134-160 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Gurdurr: 238-281 (63.6 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 216 HP / 200+ Def Seismitoad: 161-191 (39.7 - 47.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Dark Pulse vs. 216 HP / 0 SpD Seismitoad: 191-226 (47.1 - 55.8%) -- 19.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (phys def Seis is for Tyrantrum btw)

252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Durant: 368-434 (143.1 - 168.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Durant: 160-188 (62.2 - 73.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ambipom: 247-292 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Ambipom: 290-343 (99.6 - 117.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 248 HP / 232+ Def Granbull: 105-125 (27.4 - 32.6%) -- 67% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Granbull: 312-368 (81.4 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Steelix: 172-203 (48.5 - 57.3%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Steelix: 307-367 (86.7 - 103.6%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 132 HP / 0 Def Tangrowth: 73-86 (19.5 - 22.9%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Tangrowth: 179-211 (47.8 - 56.4%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO


252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Dark Pulse vs. 232 HP / 4 SpD Venusaur: 149-177 (41.5 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 232 HP / 0 Def Venusaur: 207-243 (57.6 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Virizion: 116-136 (35.8 - 41.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Dark Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 60-71 (18.5 - 21.9%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Zen Headbutt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Virizion: 309-364 (95.3 - 112.3%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 182-216 (56.1 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Hitmonlee: 290-343 (120.3 - 142.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Hitmonlee: 191-226 (79.2 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Meloetta: 242-289 (70.9 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Meloetta: 439-517 (128.7 - 151.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Crunch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Slowking: 296-351 (75.3 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Slowking: 281-330 (71.5 - 83.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Eelektross: 165-196 (44.1 - 52.4%) -- 16% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eelektross: 212-251 (56.6 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Sharpedo Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Escavalier: 169-200 (49.1 - 58.1%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sharpedo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Escavalier: 133-157 (38.6 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO


I'm sure there's more, but hopefully that helps make it clear why special is the preferred set for many people. It's also worth keeping in mind that it's also really easy and somewhat popular to support special shark with nasty plot pass togetic, while the best swords dance passers just aren't as reliable.
To add to this, most of the big-time walls in the tier (M-Steelix, Alomomola, etc.) are physically based, meaning Hydro Pump>Waterfall, Dark Pulse>Crunch more often than not. Of course there may be specific things you want to hit harder, but usually these are preferred.

I also have a question of my own: is Flash Cannon boosted by Mega Launcher (i.e. can Clawitzer use it to hit Aromatisse harder?)
 
To add to this, most of the big-time walls in the tier (M-Steelix, Alomomola, etc.) are physically based, meaning Hydro Pump>Waterfall, Dark Pulse>Crunch more often than not. Of course there may be specific things you want to hit harder, but usually these are preferred.

I also have a question of my own: is Flash Cannon boosted by Mega Launcher (i.e. can Clawitzer use it to hit Aromatisse harder?)
Sharpedo has been banned two months ago so I don't see how that first tidbit is applicable :s

And regarding your question, no. Mega Launcher only boosts the power of Aura and Pulse moves (Aura Sphere, Dark | Dragon | Water | Heal | Origin Pulse).
 
So I remember a fairly large amount of people asking to have regular Abomasnow suspected alongside it's Mega and Sharpedo during the suspect test. Do any people still think it's broken? I'm pretty sure they don't since I've seen pretty much no discussion on it since, but I was just curious.
 
So I remember a fairly large amount of people asking to have regular Abomasnow suspected alongside it's Mega and Sharpedo during the suspect test. Do any people still think it's broken? I'm pretty sure they don't since I've seen pretty much no discussion on it since, but I was just curious.
In the end, it's hard to gauge what Abomasnow does because very few people actually use it. In essense, it's a faster but weaker Meag Abomasnow that can hold Life Orb, so it's not quite as broken but still very good.

Forgive my spelling English is only my first language
 
I actually believe that LO snow is slightly more powerful than mega Snow.

252+ SpA Life Orb Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 203-239 (59.5 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
252+ SpA Mega Abomasnow Blizzard vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 201-237 (58.9 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage

It's really negligible damage. However, mega snow's very solid bulk but it ahead of snow, in my opinion, it was much more efficient at switching into scalds and generally taking weaker attacks from the stall oriented mons that it walked all over. It also didn't take LO recoil, which drastically increased its staying power throughout the game.
 

EonX

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Another key difference is that Mega Abomasnow could switch into most defensive Pokemon using Knock Off, most notably Alomomola. However, regular Abomasnow is obviously incapable of doing this and it not going to be hitting nearly as hard as it needs to without its Life Orb. It's still a good Pokemon, but it isn't nearly as splashable or centralizing as its Mega counterpart was.
 

MrAldo

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Scarf drapion is a really odd scarfer, wont really recommend it unless you want the specific role compression this mon provides. The main aspect is being a really nice psychic check while being a toxic spikes absorber. Pursuit trapping every hoopa, sigilyph without resorting to a 50/50, delphox which it cannot pursuit trap with any other set and having a better against every virizion variant.

Spirit´s sample team is an example of a team that perfectly justify the use of scarf drapion: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ru-sample-teams-thread-3-0.3551316/#post-6784998

Definitely not that notable of a scarfer compared to others but it gives a nice glue to defensively oriented teams, like the one provided in that link.
 
I have two simple questions

why is rocks/spikes and forcing switches the main strategy I see in RU?

How can I shake up the meta?
 
I have two simple questions

why is rocks/spikes and forcing switches the main strategy I see in RU?

How can I shake up the meta?
Hmm I think it's pure luck, hazard stacking isn't escesssively common. My recommendation is to always carry Flygon, Blastoise, Hitmontop or other niche hazard removers. Flygon especially makes hazard stack without Glalie difficult.
Trying new mons that are actually good is always fun, but my recommendation if you're new is to just build good teams with viable Pokemon. Stuff like Arifeen's RMT awhile ago have changed the meta to make Gurdurr more common and didn't make use of anything unviable.
 
thanks kableye. Although im still going to experiment anyway. I dont even care if it works or not because its fun trying something new
 

Take Azelfie

More flags more fun
I have two simple questions

why is rocks/spikes and forcing switches the main strategy I see in RU?

How can I shake up the meta?
Here are some really cool Pokemon you can try'

Vivillon - HO Power sweeper, excellent early and late game
Mega Audino - An odd one but it is a decent Calm Mind sweeper and can even pull of an effective lure set
Mawile - Gained a lot of popularity in a short amount of time but it can pass Swords Dance boost to a teammate and check Dark-types.

Those are just a few and I can give out more to
 

MANNAT

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Is there a separate thread to post reqs for each portion of the suspect? (only familiar with one ladder suspects, sry)

On a less important note, why the hell is cincinno on the rupl banner when it's in D rank lol
 

feen

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Is there a separate thread to post reqs for each portion of the suspect? (only familiar with one ladder suspects, sry)

On a less important note, why the hell is cincinno on the rupl banner when it's in D rank lol
The thread will be up soon. There will be 2 threads most likely

Outdated banner lmao. The new one is being used from Week 2 onwards.
 

feen

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If you want to check Virizion and Medicham then you could go Scarf too. Sub NP / 3 Atks is the most common set with Lefties or Salac Berry (only 3 atks). You can also go 4 atks with knock off to catch melo and escav off guard, but the Sub set is superior. Be very careful vs Spiritomb cuz that p.much beats every hoopa set if played well.
 

MANNAT

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Lately, I have been laddering trying to get into RU more and I have been trying to use offense to ladder up to get reqs so far, but this team has been facing consistency issues on ladder lately. If you guys could suggest like small changes that don't change the basic premise of the team, that would be smell, thanks and have a nice day: http://pastebin.com/FP77nCEd (it's basically a goonsquad HO that centers around using hw mesp+emboar to break down fatter builds+anti-offense rkillers)
 
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When will the current round of suspect testing be complete? For tyrantrum and m steelix that is.

Also, what is the deal with the suspect test where they are both absent/banned? I thought this would involve testing them individually.
 

Take Azelfie

More flags more fun
When will the current round of suspect testing be complete? For tyrantrum and m steelix that is.

Also, what is the deal with the suspect test where they are both absent/banned? I thought this would involve testing them individually.
It is a two ladder suspect since MLix has been influential since or as and ttrum were already suspected. You have to get reqs on both ladders since this is a very important suspect. Both are mons that shape RU into what is.
 
It is a two ladder suspect since MLix has been influential since or as and ttrum were already suspected. You have to get reqs on both ladders since this is a very important suspect. Both are mons that shape RU into what is.
Are there actually two separate ladders? The last I checked the RU ladder told me both Pokemon on my team were banned.
 
What Pokémon would you say benefit the most from Steelixite and Tyrantrum's bans? I'm thinking of doing an article on that, and while I have played a fair bit of RU more opinions are always a good thing. At the moment, Rhyperior and Druddigon spring to mind.
 

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