Metagame NP: NU (beta): Welcome to the NU Age (Combusken Banned)

[HispanicPanic]

I agree. Rain is pretty darn good with Ludicolo and Floatzel in the tier along with Meowstic-M to set up with Prankster Rain Dance. Sand has already been mentioned a couple times with Sandslash, Stoutland, etc.

Don't forget Armaldo as a spinner. With the buff to Knock Off and access to Aqua Tail, Armaldo is rain beats most of the relevant spin blockers besides Doublade and even then after an SD Knock Off does this: +2 252+ Atk Armaldo Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 212-250 (65.8 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Hazards are kind of annoying for rain team, so the option of Armaldo as a spinner is pretty nice.

 

[GlassGlaceon]

Don't forget Armaldo as a spinner. With the buff to Knock Off and access to Aqua Tail, Armaldo is rain beats most of the relevant spin blockers besides Doublade and even then after an SD Knock Off does this: +2 252+ Atk Armaldo Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 212-250 (65.8 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Hazards are kind of annoying for rain team, so the option of Armaldo as a spinner is pretty nice.

I still disagree with armaldo as a spinner. getting knock off was nice this gen, but it's main problem still remains. It's weak to SR and all entry hazardsm making it sub-par. I'd rather use all i do is spin *cryogonal :]

 

[rob.]

Masquerain @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 148 Spd
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Baton Pass
- Roost
- Bug Buzz

Since the dragon slayer was banned I've been using Masquerin and I've been getting pretty good results (10-1 streak so far). One major downside is its severe weakness to stealth rock. So you'll have to ensure rocks are not on your side of the field. The spread of 248 HP / 112 Def / 148 Spe gives it some bulk and allows Masqerain to outspeed positive base 95 pokemon after a Quiver Dance. It may seem like a waste of a team slot but this little bug is useful, take advantage of it if you feel like being creative and not just slapping Dragalge and Typhlosion on every team.

 

[Yellow Cheese]

Sun is also pretty cool, Specs + Sun boosted Eruptions from Typhlosion wrecks. Victreebel is also cool.

EDIT: wrote Typhlosion wrong

 

[HispanicPanic]

I still disagree with armaldo as a spinner. getting knock off was nice this gen, but it's main problem still remains. It's weak to SR and all entry hazardsm making it sub-par. I'd rather use all i do is spin *cryogonal :]

I wouldn't say being weak to hazards was its main problem as a spinner, but rather not being able to beat any of the spin blockers was. Granted, being weak to hazards was a big problem. I do have to agree that Cryogonal in general has more utility as it even has Freeze Dry to beat the bulky waters like Seismitoad(Ludicolo still beats this but it's just an example) and Ludicolo that normally trouble rain teams.

 

[AM]

So I've been giving Trick Room a shot in NU and it's probably just me being a subpar battler and all but it seems a bit harder than I thought. A lot of good stuff to work with but can be a tad bit difficult and it isn't like weather where they have boosting items to prolong the effects. Thoughts?

 

[EV]

So I've been giving Trick Room a shot in NU and it's probably just me being a subpar battler and all but it seems a bit harder than I thought. A lot of good stuff to work with but can be a tad bit difficult and it isn't like weather where they have boosting items to prolong the effects. Thoughts?

Who are you using it to set up? What offensive threats are you using to take advantage of it? Give us some idea of what you've tried first.

 

[AM]

Who are you using it to set up? What offensive threats are you using to take advantage of it? Give us some idea of what you've tried first.

Uxie, Dusclops, Beeheyem for trying to set up. Uxie is great, Dusclops was ok, beeheyem is back up and is kinda meh for setting it up. Granbull, Marowak, Dragalge are usually the offensive threats. The offensive threats do really well, Beeheyem from what I can tell will do much better utilizing trick room than actually setting it up. Dusclops has been set up fodder for the most part, and last thing you want is that. Uxie is great cause it has some cool stuff to work and pretty diverse. Granbull is definitely one of the more dangerous ones, sweeping a lot of things. Marowak is pretty strong but sometimes a bit redundant in a lot of situations I find myself in. Raseri's Dragalge set that was provided, with a minor change for TR and stuff, works beautifully in trick room. That's about it so far. Work in progress basically.

Edit: Made some changes in movesets and replaced Marowak with Rampardos. Changes were for the better.

 

[viol and bass]

So one threat I've been using that I haven't seen much discussion on is Murkrow. With the offensive and (implicit) defensive buffs to dark-types in XY (Steel no longer resists dark and ghost, which makes dark more valuable defensively for having those resistances), Murkow is very good now. One thing is that it's so damn versatile: Prankster Thunder Wave, Roost, Haze, Perish Song, Taunt, Tailwind, etc. make a defensive set extremely effective, while Brave Bird and Sucker Punch would make an offensive defogger set quite formidable (although it has to forgo Prankster for this). But here's my favorite set:

Murkrow @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Substitute / Taunt
- Roost
- Calm Mind
- Dark Pulse

Despite how its stats look, Murkrow is a bulky fucker when fully invested, because it has no need to invest in speed. For instance, it initially seems like the Knock Off buff would hurt it, but I would argue that the Knock Off buff actually helps Murkrow, because if Murkrow carries Substitute, Knock Off will not break the sub, which provides it with many opportunities for setup. So it's very easy to get a few Calm Minds in, and after about 2, special attackers won't be able to break your subs either. Basically, sorta like SubBU Braviary from last gen's NU, Murkrow can set up on a whole bunch of defensive shit.

0 Atk Lickilicky Body Slam vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Murkrow: 63-75 (19.5 - 23.2%) -- possible 5HKO (Knock Off does about 8%)

Edit: oh yeah prankster Featherdance is cool. Also, Kacaw.

 

[Marxman]

Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Relaxed / Lax Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Circle Throw

This thing is so good against the current meta. The only physical mon it's even slightly afraid of is Virizion, and even then it wins easily with a lucky Scald burn. Circle Throw is awesome for phazing or just racking up Rocks damage, and hits surprisingly hard. I was actually surprised at just how effective this big ass tadpole was.

I want to look into a Bulk Up set for Poli, but I have no idea what to give up. I feel like RestTalk is really, really important for him. Scald is the obvious move to drop then, but I'm not sure it's worthwhile since the burn chance is incredible.

 

[AM]

Beheeyem @ Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spd
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Energy Ball
- Dark Pulse / Shadow Ball
- Trick Room / Thunderbolt

This bad boy has a lot of sets it can work with but this is the pretty standard offensive set, optional sets are all dependent on your own team builds/preference. Psychic or Psyshock is strong STAB where Psychic will hit Poliwrath harder, while Psyshock will hit things like Dragalge and Verizion better. Energy Ball handles Seismitoad, Sandslash, basically useful coverage overall. Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball handle Sigilyph, Doublade, among other Psychic and Ghost threats in the tier. Trick Room is to take advantage of it's slow speed with the IVs and Nature correlating to that. If you're utilizing it with a Choice Specs set, taking full advantage of Analytic, or not using it as set up for Trick Room, you can opt to put Thunderbolt or another coverage move your team could take advantage of. Analytic is preferred for getting boosts on switch ins and situations where you're not in or able to utilize Trick Room.

 

[SotheBlacKnight]

Malamar @ Leftovers/Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 HP / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Facade

So I'm sure this guy has been talked about enough (and he's so broken down here) but I just want to present what I've been using for a while. Most of the set is pretty standard, the same three moves you see on every Malamar of course and I have Facade as his 4th move so that I can hit things neutrally and powerfully even when burned. Leftovers I think is the best item for him to use as it helps with his physical bulk after a Superpower but I think Assault Vest is a viable option if you want to take special hits better. The Evs are as so in order to be able to outspeed 0 speed Sigilyphs and if he's hit with Sticky Web his speed becomes an amazing 360 which can outspeed even Virizion.

Recommend you use this with Shuckle for Sticky Web support and something that can bulk Bug and Fairy moves.

 

[Golemman]

I would just like to bring up Golem. Here he is doing quite well in an NU battle I recently had:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nualpha-122391500
Golem, unlike rhydon, has priority, recovery, and sturdy. Those are honestly his only advantages, but they are pretty useful. He walls the same things rhydon does (flying, electric, poison, normal, and fire [although +1 superpower from flareon hurrrrrts]). My spread is basic, max at and hp with sr, stabs and sucker punch.

Try him out for guaranteed rocks and tanking ability!

 

[SotheBlacKnight]

I would just like to bring up Golem. Here he is doing quite well in an NU battle I recently had:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nualpha-122391500
Golem, unlike rhydon, has priority, recovery, and sturdy. Those are honestly his only advantages, but they are pretty useful. He walls the same things rhydon does (flying, electric, poison, normal, and fire [although +1 superpower from flareon hurrrrrts]). My spread is basic, max at and hp with sr, stabs and sucker punch.

Try him out for guaranteed rocks and tanking ability!

As an NU veteran I have to say that IMHO you should never put Max Hp on any Golem set. Since he's weak to 6 common types and has Sturdy he's always been good as a suicide lead, but I feel he's best used as a Weakness Policy user this Gen and in either of those cases I think Max speed w/adamant is his best spread.

 

[DopestDope]

I used to use a max atk/spdef set with AV and it was able to tank non-STAB scalds. Don't think it was very useful but it was pretty fun to use with PuP

 

[Evilfaic]

As an NU veteran I have to say that IMHO you should never put Max Hp on any Golem set. Since he's weak to 6 common types and has Sturdy he's always been good as a suicide lead, but I feel he's best used as a Weakness Policy user this Gen and in either of those cases I think Max speed w/adamant is his best spread.

This is my favorite Golem set:

Golem (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch / Brick Break / Fire Punch
- Sucker Punch / Rock Slide / Thunder Punch
- Rock Polish

Pretty common set, but the idea is to set up Rock Polish on something that can knock you down to Sturdy, which shouldn't be too much of a problem as Golem is weak to Water, Ground, Fighting, Ice, Grass, and Steel. From there, Weakness Policy goes off, and you proceed to sweep. Golem gets some decent coverage options, with some priority in the form of Sucker Punch. Ice Punch would be nifty, but it doesn't get it, sadly.

 

[Brawlfest]

As an NU veteran I have to say that IMHO you should never put Max Hp on any Golem set. Since he's weak to 6 common types and has Sturdy he's always been good as a suicide lead, but I feel he's best used as a Weakness Policy user this Gen and in either of those cases I think Max speed w/adamant is his best spread.

Not true at all. You often need to keep Golem around to continuously check normal and flying types throughout a match, and so EV Spreads such as 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd (The most common) help it outpace many common leads and uninvested base 50's, put hurt onto opponents, and yet check scary sweepers. The reason it needs not run so much speed is Sucker Punch, one of the key selling points of most Golems, which allows them to bypass the speed issue to tackle quick sweepers.

I do agree the Rock Polish Weakness Policy set is cool, although I disagree in your statement that Golems should all run max speed, as most of the best Golems use somewhere between 40 and 200 speed EVs.

ERRYBODY KNOWS SHUCKLE IS BEST THOUGH SHUCKLE HYPE SWAGGA.

Oh also this set is better than cheesecake please try it! :] It makes a really great offensive pivot on both Bulky Offense and Balance, and tanks tons of shit. Obviously if you want to AV use TBolt or HP Grass.

Lanturn @ Leftovers / Assault Vest
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 HP / 12 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Heal Bell / Toxic / Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [Grass]

 

[Golemman]

I like the Golem sets! I ran max hp to tank the resisted hits that he can, with lefties and forced switches to be able to get back to sturdy, or sturdy only being useful for guaranteed rocks. Max hp is for tanking, max speed works with the offensive sets. I have to try your set though, DFB3636 it looks great!

 

[Punchshroom]

Malamar @ Leftovers/Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 HP / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Facade

So I'm sure this guy has been talked about enough (and he's so broken down here) but I just want to present what I've been using for a while. Most of the set is pretty standard, the same three moves you see on every Malamar of course and I have Facade as his 4th move so that I can hit things neutrally and powerfully even when burned. Leftovers I think is the best item for him to use as it helps with his physical bulk after a Superpower but I think Assault Vest is a viable option if you want to take special hits better. The Evs are as so in order to be able to outspeed 0 speed Sigilyphs and if he's hit with Sticky Web his speed becomes an amazing 360 which can outspeed even Virizion.

Recommend you use this with Shuckle for Sticky Web support and something that can bulk Bug and Fairy moves.

Lately I've been threatened by Malamar since it can easily build up boosts against slower, bulkier teams. However, Malamar is still pretty prone to being worn down by status. Which is why this particular Malamar is pretty underrated imo.

Malamar @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Rest

This works particularly well on Malamar since it has already done quite a bit of damage to rack up boosts while the opponent wears away at it. Then you can drain all their hopes away with one click of a button, so this Malamar can feasibly set up in the face of burns and Toxic. I also cut down the Speed EVs because 0 Spe Sigilpyh doesn't exist, but still outspeeds the fastest relevant grounded threat which is Virizion if Sticky Web is in play (either your or your opponent's side).

Edit: Zebraiken Upped the Speed for Ant, though Malamar cannot OHKO even at +2 >:( so you probably want to get rid of it first.

 

[jake]

This works particularly well on Malamar since it has already done quite a bit of damage to rack up boosts while the opponent wears away at it. Then you can drain all their hopes away with one click of a button, so this Malamar can feasibly set up in the face of burns and Toxic. I also cut down the Speed EVs because 0 Spe Sigilpyh doesn't exist, but still outspeeds the fastest relevant grounded threat which is Virizion if Sticky Web is in play (either your or your opponent's side).

Silly as it seems, I'd up that just a little for Durant. Being able to outspeed and potentially KO a weakened Durant before it OHKOes you (it has a guaranteed OHKO with no item even if you're at +2...) would be a great boon for Malamar. Otherwise, sounds plenty interesting. :O

edit 4 ur edit: biggest reason i suggest it is because speed is easily the most important stat in the game; being able to outspeed durant at +1 is almost always going to be more important than whatever bulk you get from the extra 4 or 8 EVs in HP.

 

[tennisace]

Oh also this set is better than cheesecake please try it! :] It makes a really great offensive pivot on both Bulky Offense and Balance, and tanks tons of shit. Obviously if you want to AV use TBolt or HP Grass.

Lanturn @ Leftovers / Assault Vest
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 244 HP / 12 Spd
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Heal Bell / Toxic / Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [Grass]

I used a similar set in Stage 0 last generation, with Life Orb and enough bulk to guarantee it wasn't 3hko'd by Magmortar Grass Knot. If you're going that offensive I'd recommend it, since you have an ability that can heal you and the extra power is neat to surprise special defense deficient Pokemon. Right now though I've been using 140 HP / 116 SpA / 252 SpD Calm, which is enough special attack to break Magmortar's subs 100% of the time with Volt Switch. It was originally to counterteam ium but the special attack investment is still pretty nice and Lanturn doesn't need all that bulk to be effective. My spread is set up like this because I don't want Lanturn taking many Physical attacks regardless, and it increases its special bulk by 5% over 252 HP / 140 SpD.

 

[jake]

hi! set dump of a few pokemon i really like!!

Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Zen Headbutt
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake

someone prob already posted and idc because bull is king and deserves to be heralded as such. it's got a fantastic speed tier, solid coverage, and super strong STAB. also, it 2HKOes doublade which makes it a soft check to the swordmon, as well as being another check to the ominous durant. steelix is also lured and 2HKOed. tauros is just a super strong option for teams looking for a fast, powerful attacker to try out.

Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Final Gambit
- Encore
- Bug Buzz

welcome to the new era of spikestacking. i love this guy, pretty easy to nab at least two layers with him and block spin / defog attempts with final gambit (then go into a strong pokemon that threatens said spinner or defogger and appreciates hazard support). it's just so easy to grab momentum between final gambit / encore that if you play well, it's almost impossible to slow down a team with this kind of lead since the hazards are so easy. also, it's a soft check to stuff like omastar since it still outspeeds it when it's at +2.

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

frankly, i hated bulk up on gurdurr last gen because it made it so much worse off against so many pokemon, but i -love- bulk up gurdurr right now. it nabs a boost against so many pokemon and just lays on the pressure with a couple of boosts. i was dealing more damage than i was taking when i was fighting a granbull and i was at +1/+2 (intimidate). it's such a good teammate and glue pokemon that you can still slap it onto a great number of teams and perform well.

okay that's all for now bye!!

 

[Marxman]

Lately I've been threatened by Malamar since it can easily build up boosts against slower, bulkier teams. However, Malamar is still pretty prone to being worn down by status. Which is why this particular Malamar is pretty underrated imo.

Malamar @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 48 HP / 252 Atk / 208 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Psycho Cut
- Rest

This works particularly well on Malamar since it has already done quite a bit of damage to rack up boosts while the opponent wears away at it. Then you can drain all their hopes away with one click of a button, so this Malamar can feasibly set up in the face of burns and Toxic. I also cut down the Speed EVs because 0 Spe Sigilpyh doesn't exist, but still outspeeds the fastest relevant grounded threat which is Virizion if Sticky Web is in play (either your or your opponent's side).

Edit: Zebraiken Upped the Speed for Ant, though Malamar cannot OHKO even at +2 >:( so you probably want to get rid of it first.

One thing in favor of this set against Durant is that many Durants are foregoing X-Scissor in favor of an extra coverage move, since Malamar is literally the only mon in NU which is hit harder by X-Scissor than a coverage option or Iron Head. I dropped X-Scissor for Crunch on my ant.

I've always liked Malamar, but needing Sticky Web support really turns me off of him.

 

[Raseri]

time for my own fun set drop, these aren't metagame breaking sets at all, but just a few of the fun things I've used that are surprisingly viable.

Mightyena @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Fire Fang

Really fun cleaner that is surprisnigly effective. Moxie + Sucker Punch makes it really hard to revenge kill without a bulky dark resist. Play Rough hits Fighting-types and other Dark-types, which both wall its STAB options, and is the big boost Mightyena got this gen. Fire Fang is mainly filler, but it hits things like Vileplume and Steelix. Though you can always use something like Substitute, Taunt, or even Ice Fang in that slot. Works great with Hazards support, because Mightyena's Crunch is strong enough to force switches pretty easily. Fun to play with, and geting the +3 or +4 Moxie boost is a lot of fun.

Dodrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- Return
- Quick Attack

Is bird. Dodrio is really weird, it still can't really touch Rock or Steel-types, though Knock Off at least hits them neutrally. Its still a pretty good wallbreaker, as it 2HKOs almost everything that doesn't resist Flying or Normal. Knock Off 3HKOs Doublade, which at least stops it from countering you. Quick Attack can revenge kill some frail threats after a bit of damage, like Zangoose. Definitely not an A-rank threat or anything, but it's a lot of fun to play with, because its more viable than it has been in the last 2 generations right now.


Might dump a few more later, but I just want to get these out there so you guys can try them out :D

 

[Vivmeister10]

Curious, on offensive Gogoat sets, should Gogoat be running more bulk or speed?
I'm trying to find a good spread for one and can't find much. Any suggestions?