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Alright, I haven't tested out the specific Lapras set but SubDD Lapras is decent. It can't set up on many pokemon bar Alomomola and such. I have been using Exeggutor a lot and it is amazing. I've been using a LO set with Sleep Powder/ Leaf Storm/ Psychic/ Synthesis. It can easily feint a Choice Specs set when it uses Sleep Powder and it can catch the switch with a Leaf Storm or Psychic. It also has great average bulk and his typing is very unique to my teams. Does anyone think a Trick Room set is viable?
Okay, so after having a ridiculous amount of fun with the Exeggutor set I posted, I've decided to return to the typical Choice Specs set as it fits my new team better. Stun Spore abuse was extremely fun though, and it definitely won the match for me quite a few times (as my entire team really enjoyed the paralysis support). Exeggutor is still one of the best members of my team, except now he's a larger offensive threat. Honestly, I think Eggy is one of the best Pokemon in the tier right now (top 5 at least), and he should be seeing ridiculous amounts of usage.
Lapras ended up being pretty lame for me, although I did enjoy that BoltBeam coverage (part of the reason I'm now running Romtom-F). Substitute has little value without Dragon Dance, as Lapras can otherwise only boost with Curse. Curse isn't that bad, but the defense boosts seem to be pretty useless considering Rock and Fighting Pokemon typically don't care how much physical bulk an offensively weak Ice type has. I really don't know what else I could have done with her, but having a bulky Pokemon with Heal Bell was nice.
Rain-abusing sets are probably much more viable.
At this point I really just don't want to try Magmar, as Emboar is doing everything I want in a Fire Pokemon.
With something almost close to the power of specs eggy, with all the more speed, exeggutor is infinately difficult to handle. Even if you can choke up something to wall it, it can put it to sleep and proceed to wear it down. And if you run synthesis, then it becomes more difficult to wear down.
Lapras, I need to try a bit more to have a solid opinion on, but its a fairly awkward poke to use sometimes.
Ok, the conclusion I've reached thusfar in regards to my Lapras set is that it's a good special wall, but Substitute can be problematic. On the one hand it protects you from status as well as attacks, but on the other the 25% from Substitute really takes its toll since you have no reliable recovery. It really needs wish support to work well.
I've been meaning to post about Exeggutor for a while now, but I haven't really found the time to do it. Normally I would just slap on Choice Specs Exeggutor since that thing doesn't require much support and has great synergy with a lot of Pokemon thanks to its nice bulk and typing. However, since DTC introduced Pokemon Challenges, I wanted to use a more interesting Exeggutor set to earn points. What I came up with was this:
The idea of offensive Substitute Exeggutor is simple: come in on something that it forces out—such as Amoonguss—or something that can't touch it—such as Alomomola—and set up a Rhydon doll. Then, you can proceed to paralyze the opponent's switch-in. The opponent will most likely anticipate Leaf Storm and switch to a Fire or Flying-type or switch to a Dark-type in fear of Psychic. Most of the Pokemon in those categories hate being paralyzed and it really throws off the opponent's game.
Giga Drain and Psychic are used as reliable, consistent STAB moves which hit most neutral targets very hard. Giga Drain is what I usually spam since it helps Exeggutor regain HP lost from making Substitutes. Psychic hits most Grass-type resisters hard and can cause switches if it manages to drop the opponent's Special Defense, allowing me to set up another Substitute.
The Speed EV's are to outrun Alomomola and block its attempts to Toxic Exeggutor. This makes Exeggutor a great weapon against defensive teams since Alomomola is one of the faster walls out there. Max special attack is used to hit as hard as possible, and is very important since this set lacks Life Orb or Choice Specs. 172 HP EV's gives Exeggutor huge bulk, which allows it to survive even super-effective attacks such as Rotom-S' Air Slash, Ludicolo's Ice Beam, or Skuntank's Pursuit when switching out.
On my team, I used powerful sweepers that could take advantage of paralyzed opponents such as Special Samurott and Mixed Emboar. In return, they broke down special walls such as Lickilicky and Regice, making Exeggutor's life a lot easier. As a whole, the team was very offensive and every Pokemon did their share of damage. I managed to win most of my matches on Pokemon Showdown, going 51-11 on my alt "Furi Kuri". About four or five of the losses were from my internet disconnecting; some of you guys on IRC have witnessed my rage when that happens.
So yeah, Exeggutor is great in this metagame with all the Regenerator cores running around. If you have space for it on your team (i.e. you're not using Amoonguss or Tangela), then you should be using Exeggutor.
FLCL's Exeggutor set is really good right now. When I first saw it used Substitute, I thought it was another SubSeeding set or a SubSynthesis set but it really surprised me when it used Stun Spore against my SubDisable Haunter and it can really cripple offensives teams with hard-hitting attacks and paralysis.
I will be testing out a Bulky Attacker Lapras set since physical sets are really bad right now with all the Regen cores and Substitute sets aren't the best with Cinccino around.
Well, I'm completely new to NU, but it looks really fun and this thread kinda got me wanting to try it out. Looking at the three, Lapras really stood out to me. It's always just been a personal fave of mine, and I love bulky 'mons in play. Didn't want to really try the others in a same team or just alone, only because I wanted to focus just on Lapras, maybe I'll try Exeggutor though.
It didn't take me long at all to know what set I wanted to run. I wanted to go with a Curse + 3 atk set. It's main problem are fighting types, and I found Weezing to be a great partner for Lapras because it takes fighting type moves amazingly well and can cripple other Physical attackers allowing Lapras to set up Curses in front of them. Because of it's amazing Special Defense it is able to set up in front of many other special attackers too. It's weakness to T/Spikes and especially SR is really a downer on it, so of course it needs Spin support. I haven't been running a spinner though, but it's still been working surprisingly well.
Toxic Spikes is also amazing for Lapras. It allows it to Curse while the opponent is getting slowly losing HP to the TS. Of course, there are a lot of poison types in NU so you have to be sure to get rid of those and the spinner. Garbodor has been pretty effective of setting up hazards quickly for Lapras.
Is the set I've been running with a pretty decent amount of success. Since Lapras got Aqua Tail I've been thinking about using it, but I kinda don't want the lack of accuracy hurting me. Ice Shard is just perfect in this set, the prio has helped me secure some KOs I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Return is really just coverage, and I've probably used it like once. It gets Drill Run and Zen Headbutt which can hit poison types for SE damage, but really Waterfall handles them well enough. EVs just came from the standard ResTalkCurse Set, I wanted it to have as much Bulk as possible to sponge hits while it sets up.
I've tested many Lapras sets with Rain Dance, but I think this is the best one. (btw the whirlpooltrapper Lapras set is terrible) This set uses a combination of Lapras's great bulk and decent special attack. Rain Dance + Rest + Hydration is an amazing combo that allows it to break stall apart. Instant recovery, nullifying any status, and boosting one of it's STAB moves allows Lapras to do a lot of damage. Surf and Ice Beam are two high base power STABs that allow Lapras to break through many teams. Max Special Attack and a Modest nature is used to attain as much power as possible. The 16 Speed EVs are honestly just for speedcreeping on Tangelas and such. The rest is put in HP so Lapras can take some hits as it sets up Rain Dance. Leftovers is much more beneficial in the long run than other items such as Damp Rock since Lapras would rather prefer the gradual recovery than a longer Rain Dance.
The main idea of this set is to set up Rain Dance on a wall such as Miltank or Alomomola as they try to status you or do pitiful damage. Proceed to flood teams with Rain-boosted Surfs or Ice Beams. This set ironically works really well with FLCL's Exeggutor set since it provides paralysis for Lapras to overcome its middling speed. The two also have great synergy together. Toxic Spikes also help Lapras break through teams but Toxic Spikes aren't great right now with poison types such as Skuntank, Garbodor, and Amoonguss everywhere. An offensive Lapras set with Rain Dance is much more viable than a defensive one because Rain Dance doesn't last long enough to abuse it defensively while Lapras can abuse the rain offensively while still maintaining survivability.
This log shows how powerful and irritating this Lapras set is as it basically cleans a whole team on its own. It also showcases FLCL's Exeggutor cleaning in the end. http://pastebin.com/7xCSG0X6
I will definitely say, this set on a team with Exeggutor is able to take down teams. It's some serious business. I will also say that Lapras with Hydration shouldnt exist. Like srsly. Rotom-S does -okay- against the core, but I don't think it can ohko Lapras(?) without specs, in which case a proper prediction can be made to switch in Exeggutor. And anyway, there are still four other members on your team . So. Lapras should die. kbai.
Ive been taken down by the team, and much applause to you.
For the Lapras set, Damp Rock should definitely be used sometimes, especially if its a part of a full rain team. Also, with Rest+Hydration Leftovers isn't missed too much.
I've tested out Damp Rock before but the extra rain turns aren't as beneficial as the Leftovers recovery that it provides. Leftovers lets it recover HP as it sets up Rain Dance against walls. Against offensive teams, Lapras isn't guaranteed to set up a Rain Dance so Damp Rock would be a useless item. I do agree that Lapras should run Damp Rock if it's on a full-fledge rain team, but I'm not using Lapras on a rain team. This Lapras set works like a stand-alone sweeper unlike other sets that are based on its special bulk.
Alright guys, this Research Group has lasted long enough. I will now award points to the people that earned them. Before I do, note that I decided to change the amount of points you get by completing the Pokemon challenges from 1 to 3.
I will post the next Research Group in a few hours probably. Feel free to vm me Pokemon suggestions because I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the next Research Group yet.
Note: Because the PS ladder is still funky, there will be no ladder-based points next round either. :(
