Lower Tier Threats

[Prosecutor Godot]

I think Swords Dance is a must if you intend to use it outside of a late-game sweeper actually, at +0 I find Sawsbuck lacking a lot of power.

jolly over adamant was my mistake however, i think I looked at the analysis page for Nature and accidentally looked at NU.

 

[dadoux]

Sadly for Tangrowth, he got the "bronzong treatment", every other pokemon of his type is better, amoon got spore and can handle Keldeo way better, Breloom is a top-notch wallbreaker, Venusaur is a way better sun sweeper, and celebi got NP / Recover... It's really hard to find a useful way of seeing Tangrowth doing a better work than them even though he is good.

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Sadly for Tangrowth, he got the "bronzong treatment", every other pokemon of his type is better, amoon got spore and can handle Keldeo way better, Breloom is a top-notch wallbreaker, Venusaur is a way better sun sweeper, and celebi got NP / Recover... It's really hard to find a useful way of seeing Tangrowth doing a better work than them even though he is good.

I couldn't disagree more to be honest. Tangrowth is fantastic in countering Garchomp, Terrakion, and Dragonite. I can't think of any grass type (or Pokemon for that matter) that can claim this. Regenerator also sets it apart from most Grass types, apart from Amoonguss, which is more of a special wall.

Saying Breloom is a top notch wall breaker or that Venusaur is a way better sun sweeper doesn't mean anything. Tangrowth isn't trying to fill these roles. It's like saying Snorlax hits much harder than Blissey therefore it's better.

 

[dadoux]

I'm not saying that, but in a team you hardly got room for 2 grass type, and more often mons like Landorus-T and Skarmory can check them pretty well, so the grass type room is often the role of "rotom-w/keldeo/rain check" and Tangrowth can't do that. English is not my main language so I got hard time being understood, sorry ahah.

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Mew @ Leftovers
Trait: Syncronize
EVs: 252 HP/ 224 Def / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
- Taunt
- Softboiled
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psyshock

Mew has a special place in my heart (because its so fricking cute!), but this set is legit regardless of whether you love Mew or not. Mew's movepool is insanely good, allowing it to run a number or viable sets, including this Stall Breaker set. Mew has solid bulk, and can easily wear down Pokemon on balanced and stall based teams. Taunt if used to keep hazards off the field, status from ruining Mew, and set up sweepers trying to use Mew as set up bait. Softboiled keeps Mew nice and healthy, and allows Mew to easily survive until late game. Will O Wisp cripples physical attackers that Mew is trying to switch in on, like Breloom, Terrakion, and Lucario. It also allows Mew to wear down common stall Pokemon like Hippowdon, Ferrothorn, and Jirachi. Psyshock also stops Scizor and Tyranitar from switching into Mew, as without Will O Wisp, these two would be great counters to Mew. Psyshock is STAB and hits Fighting types for great damage.

 

[psVoltage]

Wow Nobody has done Sableye yet?

Sableye @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SDef
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Will-O-Wisp/ Confuse Ray/ Toxic/ Swagger
- Taunt
- Foul Play/ Night Shade

This is a very interesting pokemon to say the least, You might be asking why would you use this pokemon in ou? The answer my friend is The ability prankster. This transforms the once horrible pokemon Sableye into an intimidating stallbreaker with priority moves out the ass. On top of all this he has not a single weakness, Its Dark Ghost typing makes it a spinblocker too. This pokemon just screams utility so his best Fit would be on stall teams. The set is made to be as annoying and effective as possible, you can toxic stall with recover, Swagger foul play things too. Overall if you are tight on space for your stall team Sableye is the perfect pokemon for you.

 

[alexwolf]

I think Swords Dance is a must if you intend to use it outside of a late-game sweeper actually, at +0 I find Sawsbuck lacking a lot of power.

jolly over adamant was my mistake however, i think I looked at the analysis page for Nature and accidentally looked at NU.

As i said again, Swords Dance is not a must at all. With a moveset of Double Edge / Horn Leech / Nature Power / Megahorn the only Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Sawsbuck are Forretress, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Landorus-T, and Gliscor. And in offensive teams only Landorus-T is commonly used out of those (Skarmory and Forretress are always used as suicide leads on such teams) and most offensive Pokemon are outright OHKOed by Sawsbuck, making it a fantastic cleaner if priority users are taken care of.

 

[Grimsly]

Laugh at me while you can, but I actually believe Bisharp to be a pretty lethal late game sweeper, or potent revenge killer (considering he could force them out in a sense, being choiced sweepers or w/e). One awesome trait about him, is in fact Defiant, which surprisingly lets him take on Landorus-T...who is pretty common in the OU metagame nowadays. Of course though, it takes a deal of prediction to use effectively, as they say, sucker punch or die lol. Lastly, he can do a pretty cool job in setting up on Blissey/Chansey/Ferrothorn, while offering some nice resistances to lati-twins, also not to mention his moves pack a punch when they hit!
Bisharp

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

again, he has his downsides, but when used correctly, he can cause devastating effects!

 

[Spinda]

Laugh at me while you can, but I actually believe Bisharp to be a pretty lethal late game sweeper, or potent revenge killer (considering he could force them out in a sense, being choiced sweepers or w/e). One awesome trait about him, is in fact Defiant, which surprisingly lets him take on Landorus-T...who is pretty common in the OU metagame nowadays. Of course though, it takes a deal of prediction to use effectively, as they say, sucker punch or die lol. Lastly, he can do a pretty cool job in setting up on Blissey/Chansey/Ferrothorn, while offering some nice resistances to lati-twins, also not to mention his moves pack a punch when they hit!
Bisharp

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

again, he has his downsides, but when used correctly, he can cause devastating effects!

Seconding this, I've seen it in action and it's amazing in the current metagame, and it'll be more amazing if when Keldeo gets banned

 

[MikeDawg]

As i said again, Swords Dance is not a must at all. With a moveset of Double Edge / Horn Leech / Nature Power / Megahorn the only Pokemon that avoid the 2HKO from Sawsbuck are Forretress, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Landorus-T, and Gliscor. And in offensive teams only Landorus-T is commonly used out of those (Skarmory and Forretress are always used as suicide leads on such teams) and most offensive Pokemon are outright OHKOed by Sawsbuck, making it a fantastic cleaner if priority users are taken care of.

Given how frail Sawsbuck is, though, if you don't 1hko the opponent, you either switch or die. :/

And that is a rather large list of 3hkos given that at least one of them is on pretty much every team and all of them can 1hko/come close sawsbuck.

 

[Shurtugal]

Bisharp needs to hit 195 to outpace Jellicent, which isn't that much speed investment (like 80 something if I remember correctly). Also give credit where credit it due; that Bisharp is seeing more usage because of Smores.

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Okay since we're getting a few Pokemon that are mentioned twice (Mew, Kingdra, etc), I've updated the OP with a tiny description of what the Pokemon does. This makes it easier for the viewer to find what set they're after. The OP has been updated to Grimsly's Bisharp post. Thanks everyone!

 

[alexwolf]

Given how frail Sawsbuck is, though, if you don't 1hko the opponent, you either switch or die. :/

And that is a rather large list of 3hkos given that at least one of them is on pretty much every team and all of them can 1hko/come close sawsbuck.

I was talking about offensive teams, where only Landorus-T is used out of those Pokemon (Forretress and Skarmory will be dead by mid/late-game as they will be suicide leads). And just check out the list of offensive Pokemon that Sawsbuck OHKOes and you will understand how difficult to stop is, even without a SD under its belt.

 

[G-Von]

Just curious but how is Alakazam even relevant to this discussion? It's about lower tier threats and not only is Alakazam in OU, it sees a fair amount of usage.

 

[ShootingStarmie]

Just curious but how is Alakazam even relevant to this discussion? It's about lower tier threats and not only is Alakazam in OU, it sees a fair amount of usage.

You're completely right. Alakazam will not be included in the OP.

 

[Meteorr]

I'm quite surprised nobody mentioned Zoroark actually, since it has the potential to really mess with the opponent's head.

Zoroark @ Choice Specs
Trait: Illusion
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse / Night Daze
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Trick / U-Turn

Zoroark can be a bit difficult to use since it generally requires the opponent's team to be worn down a bit, and entry hazards can be a pain when you're using U-Turn on Zoroark, but nonetheless, it can still be devestating when used properly. STAB Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs and base 120 Special Attack is going to hurt a lot and thanks to Illusion, it can often use this move to gain quick surprise KO's, but the merits of Illusion will be covered in a moment. Anyway, Flamethrower catches out bulky Steel-types that try to switch in on Zoroark, including Jirachi, Ferrothron and Scizor. Focus Blast can be frustrating, but it is needed to be able to KO pesky Tyranitar or Terrakion that may try and switch into you. Illusion is what makes Zoroark unique, as it lets it masquerade as another Pokémon on your team, and this can cause the opponent to very easily lose one of their key team members. Say for example you send out Zoroark disguised as Keldeo, your opponent is going to have to think very carefully, lest they predict wrong and end up with a KO'd/heavily crippled Pokémon, and baiting like this can often let the real Keldeo sweep if Zoroark successfully removes one or more of Keldeo's counters. U-turn and Trick are interchangeable depending on what you want Zoroark to do. U-turn can allow you to do some damage to Tyranitar, while maintaining some momentum, however, Tricking whilst under Illusion can completely throw the opponent of track, as they would not be expecting a Scizor to give them a pair of Choice Specs.

 

[Spinda]

I'm quite surprised nobody mentioned Zoroark actually, since it has the potential to really mess with the opponent's head.

Zoroark @ Choice Specs
Trait: Illusion
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse / Night Daze
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Trick / U-Turn

Zoroark can be a bit difficult to use since it generally requires the opponent's team to be worn down a bit, and entry hazards can be a pain when you're using U-Turn on Zoroark, but nonetheless, it can still be devestating when used properly. STAB Dark Pulse backed by Choice Specs and base 120 Special Attack is going to hurt a lot and thanks to Illusion, it can often use this move to gain quick surprise KO's, but the merits of Illusion will be covered in a moment. Anyway, Flamethrower catches out bulky Steel-types that try to switch in on Zoroark, including Jirachi, Ferrothron and Scizor. Focus Blast can be frustrating, but it is needed to be able to KO pesky Tyranitar or Terrakion that may try and switch into you. Illusion is what makes Zoroark unique, as it lets it masquerade as another Pokémon on your team, and this can cause the opponent to very easily lose one of their key team members. Say for example you send out Zoroark disguised as Keldeo, your opponent is going to have to think very carefully, lest they predict wrong and end up with a KO'd/heavily crippled Pokémon, and baiting like this can often let the real Keldeo sweep if Zoroark successfully removes one or more of Keldeo's counters. U-turn and Trick are interchangeable depending on what you want Zoroark to do. U-turn can allow you to do some damage to Tyranitar, while maintaining some momentum, however, Tricking whilst under Illusion can completely throw the opponent of track, as they would not be expecting a Scizor to give them a pair of Choice Specs.

I'd like to add that bluffing goes both ways, it's perfectly viable to switch your keldeo in on a celebi and bluff the zoroark, throwing a powerful hydro pump at their zoroark check

 

[Jukain]

@Meteorr: I'm actually very interested in using Zoroark, but this is better imo:

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Trait: Illusion
EVs: 32 Atk / 244 SAtk / 232 Spd
Naive Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power Ice

This is mixed Zoroark. Zoroark gets a strong priority in Sucker Punch, which even with 32 Atk EVs still OHKOes Latios. It can pick attackers off very easily, especially stuff like Double Dance Landorus that is at like 40-50ish after setting up and taking some other hit. Low Kick nails Tyranitar and Heatran without Focus Blast's accuracy. Flamethrower gets Steel-types. HP Ice gets Dragons.

Zoroark is really cool simply because Illusion is such a great ability; your opponent has to guess what you have out, which you can take huge advantage of; i.e. disguising yourself as Keldeo and killing Jellicent. It takes luring to a whole other level, and that's what's so great about it.

 

[Schpoonman]

I know G-Von posted Victini, but his was a wallbreaker, not the Trick Room set, which is quite possibly the most vicious sweeper possible for a sun team.

Victini @ Life Orb
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Def or 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
Ability: Victory Star
- Trick Room
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Brick Break

You ever OHKO Latios with a resisted attack before? If not, then you've obviously never popped him in the dome with a V-create under harsh sunlight. Some damage calculations for the good people.
252+ Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios in sun: 316-372 (104.98 - 123.58%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion in sun: 287-337 (88.58 - 104.01%) -- 31.25% chance to OHKO (same spread versus Keldeo with V-create, but Bolt Strike is a clean OHKO)
252+ Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp in sun: 274-322 (76.53 - 89.94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite in sun: 274-322 (84.82 - 99.69%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock (obviously he lives with Multiscale up, but he's dying to the next one and Choice Band ESpeed only does up to 63.77% to -1 Victini)
-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Victini V-create vs. 200 HP / 244 Def Landorus-T in sun: 298-352 (80.75 - 95.39%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (with a small chance to OHKO after Rocks)

Bolt Strike and Brick Break are almost entirely superfluous. Bolt Strike does do some ugly damage to Water-types that try to switch in, and Brick Break OHKOs any Tyranitar that doesn't invest in Defense after Rocks as well as 2HKOing any variant of Heatran. But really, sun-boosted V-create is awesome.

 

[Flygoner818]

Cobalion @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
Naive Nature (-SpD,+Spe)
Evs: 28 Atk / 228 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Close Combat
~ Hidden Power Ice
~ Volt Switch
~ Stealth Rock / Thunder-Wave

The last used musketeers but still a really fun pokemon to play in today's metagame. Cobalion act as a nice pivot and a Stealth rock user, he keeps the momentum with volt switch and can do some damage to a switching Skarmory to finish him later. With this Spread, Cobalion can do the following damages :

• Hidden Power Ice vs. 252/0 Gliscor 100.28 - 119.2%
• Hidden Power Ice vs. 200/0 Landorus-T 102.71 - 120.86%
• Hidden Power Ice vs. 0/4 Dragonite (without Multiscale) 86.06 - 102.47%
• Hidden Power Ice vs. 0/0- Salamence 114.5 - 134.74%
• Hidden Power Ice vs. 4/0 Breloom 80.53 - 95.41%
• Volt Switch vs. 56/0 Gyarados 82.02 - 97.39%
• Volt Switch vs. 252/0 Skarmory 56.88 - 66.76%
• Volt Switch vs. 0/4 Starmie 62.45 - 74.32%
• Close Combat vs. 4/252 Blissey 88.65 - 104.9%
• Close Combat vs. 4/0 Terrakion 100 - 117.9%
• Close Combat vs. 0/0 Heatran 86.99 - 102.47%

Notice that he can be a fantastic partner for a Terrakion or Lucario sweep, wrecking most of their checks / counter and giving them the really important Stealth Rock. If you already got a Pokemon to do that, you can use thunder-wave to cripple some of Cobalion's check like Lati@s, Latios or Gengar ( the last one is kinda important for Lucario's 4 slot, the choice between bullet punch and crunch is usually hard )

Oh jeez, this thing is one of my favorite offensive pivots in the game. He works so well with other Fighting-types, and makes perfect defensive synergy with the Latis or Salamence/Dragonite. You should also mention that Taunt works very well in the last slot. It destroys Skarmory/Forretress leads that try to set up on you, ruins Ferrothorn even more, and can actually catch a lot of defensive Pokemon (Jellicent, Celebi, Rotom-W) by surprise who anticipate a switch.

 

[X5Dragon]

My good friend and PO beast zzazzdsa enlightened me about how good this set is, and interestingly enough a version of this set was used in the VGC Masters final for anyone who watched today:

Tornadus @ Flying Gem
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Acrobatics
- Superpower
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind

Unlike his Hurricane spamming breathen this can come in at anytime or any weather it pleases and managed to do hard damage straight away. Flying gem for the double benefit of hitting hard with Acrobatics then the same move doubling to 110 BP afterwards, Superpower to handle TTar and Heatran switches and the surprise move Heat Wave to roast naive Ferrothorns and Forretresses and Scizors if you must. But arguably this pokemon and set's biggest attraction is the prankster Tail Wind, use it right and especially late game and you can put your opponent at extreme disadvantage and maybe save yourself from a jam...

Edit: I'm seeing similarity with what Chou boasted and his set is also great and fulfills nearly the same purpose. I guess this set differs on relying more on physical power, suprise factor and ability to operate well outside of rain.

 

[Chou Toshio]

Both physical and special tornadus are legit. IMO, I'd never use either w/o tailwind though

 

[Schpoonman]

Speaking of Tailwind Tornadus, I have a rain team that uses Specs Moltres (also in this thread) with a Tornadus that drops Tailwind late-game that carried me pretty high on the ladder, as Hurricane is hitting mindbogglingly hard and with the speed boost you're basically impossible to take down. I've actually considered putting Scarf Moltres on a sand team and just abusing opposing sun and rain with Fire Blast and Hurricane.

 

[Moonclawz]

Although Mew has been mentioned already, I'd like to point out Nasty Plot Mew.

Pokemon @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 4HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Aura Sphere
- Fire Blast / Shadow Ball

Nasty Plot Mew is a great Pokemon that can surprise and KO some common switch-ins. After a Nasty Plot with a Modest nature, Mew's special attack reaches an enormous 656, and its good bulk allow it to set-up against many defensive Pokemon. Psychic is Mew's STAB and hits extremely hard against Pokemon that don't resist it, allowing Mew to a guaranteed KO (with a NP boost) on Gliscor and Landorus-T after Stealth Rocks, as well as doing severe damage to Pokemon like Gastrodon and 252 HP / 0 SpD Jellicent, while Psyshock hits the pink blobs and other specially defensive Pokemon. Aura Sphere gives Mew good coverage and gives it about an 80% chance to fully specially defensive Ttar, while it's good bulk allows it to avoid a 2HKO from Scarf Tar's Pursuit, and barely survive a Crunch. Fire Blast scorches Ferrothorn, Forretress, and especially Scizor. I often use Mew as a lead when I feel the opponent will lead with Scizor, as I can net a free KO as my opponent feels like safely spamming U-Turn. Shadow Ball allows Mew to hit Starmie, Latias, as Latios. Mew is also great paired up with Ttar, as Ttar can help eliminate some of Mew's most common checks such as Latias, Latios, specially defensive Jellicent, and Blissey.

 

[Legitimate Username]

I'm suprised that this wasn't mentioned yet.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SDef
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Toxic / Thunder Wave
- Recover

Porygon2 is one of the best tanks in the game, being able to easily wall a huge number of OU threats. With good bulk that's boosted sky-high with Eviolite, it can hold its own against almost everything that lacks Fighting STAB. Just to show exactly what it takes to OHKO Porygon2:

Choice Band Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 320-378 (85.56 - 101.06%) -- 6.25% chance to OHKO

Realize that attack is super effective, STAB boosted, Choice Banded, and coming off base 129 Attack, yet it can only OHKO with a maximum damage roll. Most other attacks in OU can't even 2HKO it. In my experience, it usually only dies when an opponent manages to hit it with Toxic. Speaking of Toxic, it allows Porygon2 to cripple opposing walls, although Thunder Wave is another good option for threatening offensive teams. Recover is the final move to make its life as eternal as possible. While it may seem to be a bit outclassed by Chansey, Porygon2 has many advantages. Besides a defense stat that's higher than 5, it has usable offenses, allowing it to wear down many opponents with Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. The other great thing is Trace, which lets it steal abilities such as Multiscale, Intimidate, Storm Drain, Volt Absorb, Water Absorb, Flash Fire, Natural Cure, or Poison Heal to make even harder to kill.