Project NU Research Week [Week 7: Gigalith and Indeedee-F]

[Spacial]

NURW2 with my boi Tootsie Pop Noctowl

 

[xerovis]

NURW2 xero noctowl

 

[xerovis]

In an annoying turn of events, I'm going to have to resign a bit early from week 2 - Expulso I'll send you a PM with details.


Anyway I was trying out Specs Noctowl on rain to see how gnarly hurricane is when it can't miss and at least have some replays to share:


https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1120488244 - really shows off the damage that modest specs Noctowl can dish out. Hurricane does a remarkable 88% to quag and ohko's Klinklang. After some deliberating though I switched to timid and I still recommend timid mainly to outspeed Sanda and Abomasnow and speed tie with Flapple and Butterfree.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1121253396 - hurricane powering through sanda, wishi and easily OHKO'ing eldegoss.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1121339568 - another Klinklang switchin gets hurricaned as well as another quag taking 80%.


Positives:
-Noctowl's decent power and tinted lens when paired with specs can be immediately threatening. As shown in the replays it is hard to pick a switch in to hurricane due to tinted lens.
-Has access to some good coverage moves like heat wave for ferrothorn and moonblast for a bit of extra damage against Malamar.
-Fits well on a rain team and can really enjoy not worrying about the miss rate of normal Hurricane.
-Decent HP and special bulk will let noctowl tank a special attack to retaliate.

Negatives:
-Noctowl suffers from a weird speed tier that even with full investment only hits 262, speed tying with Flapple and Butterfree.
-Noctowl has terrible physical bulk
-Speed paired with its frail physical bulk makes it easy to check with any one of NU's fast physical attackers of which there are plenty. Especially unfortunate is also being outsped by both rotoms who have a great matchup against noctowl and can volt switch out to grab momentum.


Overall I can say it would be fun to use on a rain team devised to patch up Noctowl's shortfalls and allow it some opportunities to come in and threaten with a fat hurricane or two, but despite this Noctowl will be held back from truly shining as an offensive force in NU due to its middling speed and frailty to physical attacks.

 

[pattek]

Here is my experience with Noctowl for this week:

I was able to peak 1504 at the start of the week, which overtime decayed to 1499.

Set/Team:

Noctowl and his buddies

Noctowl @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Hyper Voice
- Air Slash

Persian-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Parting Shot
- Foul Play
- Taunt

Hattrem (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Mystical Fire

Silvally-Fire @ Fire Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Multi-Attack
- U-turn
- Grass Pledge
- Defog

Stunfisk-Galar @ Leftovers
Ability: Mimicry
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Yawn

Wishiwashi @ Leftovers
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Protect

The Noctowl I used was a simple yet effective specs set. The team I used had rest talk Hattrem that helped keep rocks off for Silvally-fire and Noctowl to break more effectively. G-Stunfisk helped provide rocks and stop any Rotoms/Togedemarus that could revenge kill Noctowl. A-Persian was something I wanted to try out and could taunt/knock off on ghost types that Hattrem wouldn't be able to prevent hazards against. Wishi was there as a pivot that helped against opposing Fire-Vallies and water types like Drednaw.

Positives / Negatives:

Its Specs set allows it to deal great damage and 2hko a lot of things in the tier with its stabs, as well as its heat wave coverage that 2hkos spdf togedemarus and stunfisk-galars.
Its natural bulk on the spdf side helps it come in hard on Appletuns and Wishiwashis, threatening them back with hurricane.
This mon is very frail on the physically defensive side.
Annoying speed tier that allows it to be revenge killed easily.
M i s s i n g H u r r i c a n e s.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1118063950 (Not much to say about this one lol)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1118065131 ( Kills drampa, PIloswine, and Alcremie)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1118168719 (A lot of potential had I clicked hurricanes + avoided sacking it to rapidash)

It's an overall fun pick that definitely gets out shined by other specs users while also having annoying flaws. However, I wouldn't consider unusable and it can definitely have its moments of destruction.

 

[Oathkeeper]

Golurk @ Yache Berry
Ability: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Dynamic Punch

Strengths: Golurk hits hard and has 2 great abilities in Iron Fist and No Guard. Its movepool is good and can run various coverage. Works well as a rocker and a spinblocker at the same time. Above average Attack stat means it has wallbreaking potential. Choice Band appears to be its second best item. Can deal with threats like Togedemaru, Firevally, Lanturn, etc. It also can 2HKO SpDef Appletun with Ice Punch even w/o Iron Fist. Good way to deal with Steels for teammates like Alcremie and Indeedee-F.

Weaknesses: Despite the great attack prowess, it is slow for a wallbreaker by only hitting 209 Speed with Adamant. Its bulk is ok, but not the greatest. It does lose to Eldegoss if it predicts wrong and comes in on Giga Drain when it bluffs Rapid Spin. As with any Ghost type, it is susceptible to Knock Off and it's not carrying Colbur Berry for a reduced hit.

Takeaways: Great as a spinblocker. Great as a rocker (but better ones are available in Sandaconda, Galarfisk, and Piloswine). Works well as a wallbreaker.

 

[Expulso]

OK, it's been a while but time to go over Week 2 of NU Research Week :)

Thanks to all who participated. Congratulations to pattek for winning the week!

Overall, the consensus seems to be that these mons don't need to be used much more than they currently are, due to their low Speed and mediocre bulk limiting their opportunities. Without speed, these wallbreakers can be easily taken out by the common mons that hit them super effectively, making it hard for them to do much more than trading one-for-one with the opponent.

 

[Expulso]

WEEK 3: ALL THE DROPS

NU got a ton of interesting drops in the recent tier shifts, and I know I'm curious to try them out! For this Research Week (actually more like 10 days, until next Sunday), ladder with at least two of the new drops and post your thoughts here. [also post them in the Metagame Discussion Thread!]

Below are sample sets for each mon. You can run whatever you want, though!

SAMPLE SETS:
Silvally-Ghost

Swords Dance

Silvally-Ghost @ Ghost Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Multi-Attack
- X-Scissor
- Flame Charge

Silvally-Steel

Mixed Wallbreaker

Silvally-Steel @ Steel Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Work Up
- Multi-Attack
- Surf
- Grass Pledge / Thunderbolt / Flamethrower

Avalugg

Physical Wall

Avalugg @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD OR 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Avalanche
- Recover
- Rapid Spin / Curse / Earthquake

100+ Def lets you avoid the 2HKO by Rapidash and Silvally-Fire, and the extra SpDef makes a big difference due to its very low base SpDef.
252 Atk Rapidash Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Avalugg: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Silvally-Fire Multi-Attack vs. 252 HP / 100+ Def Avalugg: 158-188 (40.1 - 47.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Morpeko

Physical Attacker

Morpeko @ Life Orb
Ability: Hunger Switch
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aura Wheel
- Seed Bomb
- Parting Shot
- Protect / Psychic Fangs / Crunch

* Morpeko can also do Rapid Spin, although its poor bulk leads me to believe that is a bad idea

Gurdurr

Bulk Up

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

Defogger

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Defog
- Mach Punch / Poison Jab

*Gurdurr can also invest in bulk more than it does in the above spreads; I like its power, but u can def run bulky Gurdurr too

Rotom

WispHex

Rotom @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex
- Volt Switch
- Nasty Plot

Choiced

Rotom @ Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Volt Switch
- Trick

Defogger

Rotom @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Ball
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp / Pain Split

Boltund

dog

Boltund @ Choice Band / Life Orb
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature / Adamant Nature
- Thunder Fang
- Psychic Fangs
- Fire Fang
- Crunch / Volt Switch

POST YOUR LADDER ALT & INTENDED POKEMON IN THIS THREAD!
Use the prefix NURW3 on your ladder alts this week.

This week will last until Sunday, June 14 at 11:59 PM GMT-4.

 

[Expulso]

NURW3 Expulso
Rotom-N + Silvally-Ghost
(then probably Silvally-Steel + Gurdurr)

 

[Clementine]

NURW3 Pujo
Gurdurr + GhostVally

 

[pattek]

NURW3 pattek
Rotom-N + Silvally-Steel

 

[Oathkeeper]

Gonna go with the Good Boy Boltund and Steelvally using NURW3 Oath

 

[roxie]

Update: Morning! me Pokeslice and Corthius will be taking over the Research week thread and thanks to Expulso for introducing this thread to the community! Hopefully we get this up in a while until stuff like NUSD and NUCTT settles down, so see you soon!!

 

[roxie]

Week 3 (Sirfetch'd and Toxtricity):

Heya, welcome to the return of the NU Research Week that was originally hosted by Expulso and is now hosted by me and corthius. The two Pokemon we will be featuring are Sirfetch'd and Toxitricity. The first 3 days is basically "Introduction" to signups and theorizing. The late period refers to the last four days of the research week, where raw evidence and discussion should become the basis of the thread. Discussion is mandatory in order to be considered as a winner of Research Week.

Sirfetch'd is one of the December drops fresh off the RUBL as it has access to the ability Scrappy which enables it to attack Ghost-type Pokemon with Close Combat. I feel like the lack of speed of course allows this Pokemon not to be a threat but its wallbreaking capabilities with Close Combat + Choice Band/Leek alone makes this Pokemon a force. Sirfetch'd also has access to First Impression which can revenge chill Pokemon like Alolan Raichu and Arctozolt. What other 3 moves you feel is best on Sirfetch'd?

Toxtricity was corthius's pick and on paper it has a number of possible sets on both the physical and special side so I decided to make both Punk Rock and Technician for Ability options. I do feel like this can fulfill quite a few offensive roles depending on the team~ What Toxtricity set are you most interested in?

Sirfetch'd

Sirfetch’d
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: any
- Close Combat
-
-
-

​

Toxtricity

Toxtricity
Ability: Punk Rock / Technician
EVs: any
-
-
-
-

In order to participate you must do the following:

• Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as NURW3 Roxiee or NURW3 Corthius) and the name(s) of the Pokemon you will be using.
• Use at least one of the Pokemon being researched!
• Post your experiences with the Pokemon you're using; participate in the discussion!
• Post logs of this Pokemon in action against other teams - show rather than just tell
• The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown NU ladder with their RW alt at the time the challenge ends.
• Winners will also receive a permanent spot in this thread's Hall of Fame.

Sample Discussion Template

[Sprite/Video/Banner/Image/(Not mandatory]
Introduction (Doesn't need to be long)
Set(s)
Discussion(Pros/Cons/Replays/Calculations)
Conclusion

 

[roxie]

NURW3 Roxiee (Both)

 

[Corthius]

NURW3 Core, for sure using Toxtricity, maybe using Sirfetch'd too

 

[Pokeslice]

NURW3 Slice probably sirfetch'd, maybe both.

 

[Oathkeeper]

NURW3 Oath (both)

 

[Elias PSY]

NURW3 ElPsy (sirfetch'd)

 

[TJE Spectre]

NURW3ThisChicanery Toxtricity and maybe Sirfetch’d?

 

[Zangoose5000]

NURW3 Zang (Sirfetch'd)

 

[xerovis]

NURW3 Rex (Sirfetch'd)

 

[Catalisador]

NURW3 Kanon (Toxtricity, maybe Sirfetch'd...)

Edit: Toxtricity seems rather situational? But super good.

Replays vs. high ladder Inteleon screens:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240206321-6eprovpcvg5pf4zkaoxwrrehz5nbrkcpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240202470-uj6e8sq3vx7fiy6b1rkv5lfswwaaygqpw

Some of the first Toxtricity matches:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239719709-zhkhs4guslysgr4tx42469w05h52avipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239712551-2ogvwcwnw6q3zuf5fotc3znwzbvrkuapw

 

[Danny]

nurw3 down bad I’m using both

 

[roxie]

Heya, we have now entered the discussion phase of the Research Week! Signups are still allowed and as a reminder Discussion is required as stated in the OP! Don't hesitate, you have from now until Sunday! Here is a sample discussion template if you are stuck on how to format your post:

Sample Discussion Template

[Sprite/Video/Banner/Image/(Not mandatory]
Introduction (Doesn't need to be long)
Set(s)
Discussion(Pros/Cons/Replays/Calculations)
Conclusion

 

[Corthius]

I don't think that I will be able to ladder more on the weekend so I am done with laddering for this week.

I used both Toxtricity and Sirfetch'd for laddering and I try to split this post in two parts, starting with my emo lizzard.

set(s)

Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Snarl
- Shift Gear

Toxtricity @ Choice Specs
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Volt Switch
- Overdrive
- Snarl

These are the two sets for Toxtricity I used for laddering with the first one being my favorite; even to my surprise. The first one is easy to use and straight forward. Set up broken screens (only broken because of abuser) and get (rock 'n-)rolling. Throat Spray allows you to get your one time boost in special attack while still being able to change your moves which, in conjunction with Shift Gear, lets Toxtricity act as an effective sweeper.

Pros/Cons:
Toxtricity itself has amazing damage output with specs or after Throat Spray (obviously the same damage multiplier) and hits everything that doesn't resist its STABs for massive damage. Compared to other wallbreaker like Pangoro and Exploud it's still decently fast and offers offensive momentum in Volt Switch which can be useful to ease predictions. It competes with Exploud as a Boomburst user but from my experience, even tho Exploud has a way easier time with predictions, Toxtricity actually having this strong Boomburst + a unique typing means that it can defensively threaten stuff like Sylveon that only runs Moonblast etc. It's also always nice to carry a grounded poison type.
Sadly, even with being faster than many other wallbreaker, Toxtricity finds itself still being outrun by common other breakers, mainly psychic types like Sigilyph or Indeedee-F. I also feel like even tho it has the tools to break most of its checks with the right coverage (like Snarl/Hex for Palosand and Dhelmise) or by overpowering them (like Rhyperior) it still heavily relies on 50/50s when the opponent has multiple solid answers to either Overdrive or Boomburst. I am the kind of person that really enjoys these 50/50s, that's why Im a huge fan of Indeedee-F as a breaker but its still a big downside of Toxtricity because its not as powerful as other breaker that relied on 50/50s like Drampa or Alolan Exeggutor.

Conclusion:
Toxtricity is definitely one of the more balanced wallbreaker we got with the latest shift and it's for sure manageable to play around it and its powerful attacks. But don't get me wrong, it is still a really powerful breaker especially if you only rely on checking it with Colbur Berry Palosand so don't think it's underwhelming or anything; you just have to predict.

Team(s) & Replay(s):
Choice Specs-Toxtricity: https://pokepast.es/d002bed0c6bef3d5
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239022924-iwtzjvjbft4l2bp4dh7ac46xhk5u4eqpw - I only have this replay of me fighting some semi-hail in low ladder; I changed pretty soon to set up Toxtricity.

Shift Gear-Toxtricity: https://pokepast.es/e0a3be3716b96a05
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239824427-ouadbfy5csfat6cqpad2f3ocap6b9jupw - First replay shows an interesting interaction. Once my Toxtricity used its Throat Spray it was able to kinda check Dhelmise which was supposed to check Toxtricity.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1240300723-rr9lxcfapi3440g1asnjc2le54zf3r7pw - Probably the only replay that shows that I can use my brain in a battle too lol. Went against a pretty high ladder player; got a bit lucky with the three turns of sleep but I deserved that W.

set(s)

Sirfetch’d @ Leek
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- First Impression
- Steel Wing

Funnily enough, I haven't used Choice Band Sirfetch'd at all. The Leek set is the only one I build and laddered with. Leek allows Sirfetch'd to land a crit 50% of the time which means you technically have a Choice Band 50% of the time but you can switch moves which I feel is really useful especially with First Impression on the set.

Pros/Cons:
135 base attack, is there really much else I need to say? Sirfetch'd hits like a freaking truck. STAB Close Combat is no joke and threatens even ghost types like Palosand. Knock Off and First Impression is used to hit Psychic types like Celebi and in First Impression's case make up for its middling speed stat. I opted for Steel Wing over other Coverage options like Brave Bird for pokemon like Vileplume because I like hitting Fairy types super effectively.
Even with an higher attack stat and more speed to outspeed more pokemon, Sirfetch'd always feels a bit lacking over Pangoro. Sirfetch'd doesn't add half of the utility Pangoro adds due to Polteageist running the tier. Even with a more spammable Close Combat, it feels outclassed by other Fighting types we have e.g. Mienshao/Passimian are faster; Pangoro adds more utility and a useful secondary typing; Bewear has more bulk. Despite being the fastest of the slow fighting breaker, it still lacks a good speed tier which means pokemon like physdef Cresselia can easily wall it with running minimal speed investment.

Conclusion:
Sirfetch'd has the potential to really go in with a powerful Fighting STAB and good coverage options. It still feels a bit underwhelming sometimes but with the right team support im sure it can rip through teams. Choice Band is probably more consistent but I hate locking my pokemon in First Impression.

Team(s) & Replay(s):
Leek Sirfetch'd: https://pokepast.es/1e58041920f4fe76
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nu-1239811585-b6yvxmxx6jmq32uap8zhpt0tv5stynbpw - high level gameplay; I got lucky with four hits on Vileplume but that was a great way of showing my secret heat Kingdra set
Sadly I only safed one replay but I fought Elias PSY with this team (he won in a close gg) so maybe he has the replay :).


Final thoughts:
I really enjoyed this week and I actually liked laddering (besides the hax) because Research Week gave me a good reason to. It also strengthens my understanding for the meta games so its a W in every way.
Im looking forward to posts from you guys!