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Aegi's boring set is back ! Just using full SpD to come upon defensive dragons with flamethrower such as
and
while the 0ivs are here for avoid a roll with
foul play on blade form
0 SpA Salamence Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 80-96 (24.6 - 29.6%) -- 12.5% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Kommo-o Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 74-88 (22.8 - 27.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery.
0- Atk Amoonguss Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 258-304 (79.6 - 93.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0- Atk Amoonguss Foul Play vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 284-336 (87.6 - 103.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Conclusion: Aegislash Sub Toxic is still an excellent set in the tier but I think it is less powerful than before
Overall rating: A+ / A
Aegislash SD Spell Tag:
Aegislash @ Spell Tag
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
Team:
(click a pokemon for paste)
SD Aegi + screens is cool ! I play it full speed for tie against choice specs
or
while the attack and adamant nature are there to prioritize damage. Spell Tag allows to bait CB aegi. Close Combat is a great option on Shadow Claw or Iron Head for
on the switch or
+2 252+ Atk Spell Tag Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 331-391 (94.3 - 111.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Spell Tag Aegislash-Blade Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 382-451 (112 - 132.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Conclusion: Aegislash SD is a pretty good set but I think Life Orb is more appropriate bacause I haven't seen any CB Aegi in the ladder so you can’t bait with spell tag.
Drops are here !
Week 32 ! Congratulations to Rawbifor winning the week31 !
The summary of the pokemon tested this week :
Aegislash is a very versatile and hard hitting pokemon. Many posts have already been made to show that the classic choices and sd sets are very strong. Fathiryxi tested the full spdef + sub toxic set of Aegislash so that the sub can tank non stab attacks of pokemon like Kommo-o or Salamence. Rawbi showed us a funny set of Aegislash with Solar Blade in a sun team in order to lure bulky water. I could also personally test a trap set of Aegislash to lure bulky grass. Only the very low speed of Aegislash seems to stop it in a very offensive tier like the UU.
Moltres
Ability: any
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
Buzzwole
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
The new drops have arrived! Moltres is a very interesting pokemon offensively, with its type flight + fire little resisted in the tier but is also an excellent check a scizor.
Buzzwole is a defensive wall with a double type very interesting to tank physical breakers like Krookodile, Conkeldurr ... But it is also a good wincond with its Bulk up set and its very high attack satistics.
New :
We've made Research Week easier than ever to participate now! All you need to do is copy the optional template below when you make your research findings post. Just copy, plug in your findings, and you're done! WOW so easy! (You are not obligated to use this template, you can still post in your own way however you feel).
INTRO: (write a little blurb here, w/e you want)
ZAPDOS-GALAR
SETS USED:
Zapdos-Galar @ z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Zapdos shows it is the bravest bird")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Zapdos fails to be anything more than fried chicken")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
-
SETS USED:
Nidoqueen @ z
Ability: x
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Nidoqueen ascends to the throne")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Nidoqueen has truly abdicated the crown")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
In order to participate you must do the following:
Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as SSRW30 Draconic or SSRW30 Cake) 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 - don't just tell us, show us
The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU 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.
This week will end on April 11 at 11:59 PM GMT+0. Have fun everyone!!
I'll use both this weekend since the only team I've made (and yet to use) has both of them anyway, which is why I figure I'll do this again so lazily not.
INTRO: I was going to try to play more today after finally starting last evening, but it looks like I'll be busier than I thought today night as far as other stuff I need to do--ugh, more cleaning--so 20 battles is all I could do. Hell, I'm like four hours behind in posting this due to two other obligations that came up (and yet am still somehow double posting).
...Well, no. I'll be clearer. 20 battle is all I wanted to do right now given how many screen times I kept running into on ladder one after the other. I won all my matches against them and all my matches in general--where is this luck during suspect tests I care about?--except for one, but even winning against Aurora Veil or Screens, I still find it miserable to play against. Yay.... (That said, the ladder at least seems far healthier overall despite all of the screen teams predictably sticking around and UU still suffering from the infestation of Amoonguss and Scizor, the latter of which is probably the best mon in the tier once again.)
HE WHO LIFTS
SET USED:
Buzzwole @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
SUMMARY: Buzzwole hits stuff hard if that stuff has the audacity to be slower it and often even if it has the audacity to be faster than it but not specially oriented. Said stuff dies of shame because it didn't lift enough in life. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. [/drops mic despite knowing that's really bad for mics]
....
...You're still here? Ugh. Fine. I'll do a real summary.
Buzzwole hasn't changed much from last gen, at least in terms of the sheer power it has to access even before Choice Band. With Choice Band, however, it gets even more power while maintaining a casual bulk is still so good on the physical side that it becomes one of the easier Choice Band mons to use as long as you make sure the only hits it's taking aren't super effective special ones (or even strong neutral STAB ones) or Flying STAB physical ones--a pox upon both your houses, Magikarp and Scyther. As such, I built my team with those obvious weaknesses in mind.
The first mon that I put with He Who Lifts was the first non-new drop I was knew I was going to use as soon I saw the new tier shifts: She Who Shines a.k.a. Diancie. I feel like she's lowkey really good in this meta in general despite Scizor only getting better with everything that left. Due to Scizor only getting better, that's part of why I also quickly decided to give Moltres a try on this team since one of the things that has changed this gen is that Buzzwole is a much shakier defensive check to Scizor since Scizor unfortunately has (Technician) Dual Wingbeat now. At least last gen Aerial Ace from Scizor wasn't quite enough to OHKO He Who Lifts, but alas, Scizor only keeps growing in its also monstrous strength because it totally needs the help apparently. (I, personally, can't wait for Double Iron Bash Scizor in Gen 9.)
Given that I just added two Water-weak mons and Buzzwole wants to avoid even weak Scalds as much as possible, I knew I had to add either a non-physical Water or Grass mon (or special Salamence) next. I eventually decided on another good mon that I had neglected for about a year in the form of Tentacruel, which I wanted to use for Rapid Spin anyway so that I can try something out on Moltres that I will detail later. After that, I quickly decided on Umbreon given I figured there would be a bunch of random Stored Power still running around & I wanted a more dedicated special wall to support Diancie (& since I apparently always must have a Wish crutch [due to rarely using Regenerator]). Then I took a while to decide on what Grass mon I wanted to finish the team due to Amoonguss unfortunately still being here; why couldn't OU take Amoonguss too for three months? I initially had Tangrowth, but then I realized I had absolutely no Speed control, so I finally decided to give Choice Scarf Celebi a try given I haven't used poor Celebi in over year either due to how unkind the UU meta has been to it for most of Gen 8:
Heracrossfit (Buzzwole) @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
Chiropractic Scam (Diancie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Stealth Rock
- Mystical Fire
SAUNA 2000 (Moltres) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 28 SpD / 144 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mystical Fire
- Scorching Sands
- Air Slash {initially was Ancient Power}
- Roost
Sanitation Issue (Tentacruel) (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 8 SpD / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
Life Insurance (Umbreon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
The Before Times (Celebi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Leaf Storm
- Earth Power
- U-turn {initially was Earth Power}
Nothing to say about anyone's EVs besides Buzzwole's, who is set up to just outspeed even the likely still rare max Speed Jolly Scizor (not that Bullet Punch cares about your being faster, sigh). Hell, Moltres's stats are just the OU Defog ones and thus can doubtless be more optimized for UU.
Not being Webs (which I almost never play anyway) or using Paralysis (which still has too much hax for me to not feel guilty over and I have more than enough guilt already thank you) quickly made Buzzwole's unique speed tier issue clear, but when He Who Lifts got to freely hit stuff, boy did he hit stuff.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319202938 = Not really a match where either SSRW32 mon make any impact, but since it was just the fourth match in a row where I run into a Thundurus-Therian, I figured I would show how decently Diancie stands up to Nasty Plot.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319204516-9acetykomy5xig4ggz6qt01byomrqa7pw = Ugh. Given this was a super haxy match (on both sides) against one of those stupid Aurora Veil teams, I only bothered to upload it because it both shows Buzzwole's sheer power with Choice Band, able to blow through Chople Berry's halving effect on a relatively bulky mon, and how little Buzzwole can freely come in against this type of team due to its lack of Speed and weakness to Flying.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319209544 = Ugh. Why is Imprison Block Mew still a thing? It's such a griefer set. I suppose I should be glad it isn't the just as obnoxious Cosmic Power set, but it still is super unfun to get trapped against given how rarely I use pivot mons. Anyway, this is another match where neither Buzzwole or Moltres do much, though Moltres burning Scizor off the bat was of course vital.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319214153 = Moltres-Kanto continues to be a bit of dead-weight that still earns its place by just being able to scare Scizor out so effectively while Diancie continues to make opposing Moltres-Galar dead-weight, especially if they're more defensively oriented and not critting you. Meanwhile, Buzzwole just woke up for a bit at the beginning to break Cobalion over its knee like Bane and then went back to sleep.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319217373 = Buzzwole finally gets to go wild again after weakening a certain stubborn Egyptian artifact enough, with this match also showing the rare interaction between Beast Boost and Mummy. That said, I got a bit lucky with a Scald burn and with Cresselia, which I was rudely reminded mid-battle has 85 base Speed for some reason, still being slower than Buzzwole--that crit Foul Play likely helped too.
==================== DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319507365-w7hkh9k0bel8kgmpkp0qfsf3wmgyb9lpw = My first match of Sunday has me test out U-Turn on Celebi over Aura Sphere after finally realizing after midnight how lackluster Aura Sphere actually is right now when the only Dark types being used are either weak to Grass or Grimmsnarl; my usual luck had me surprised I didn't immediately run into Obstagoon due to that change. As it is, U-Turn helped here even if Moltres continued to be unhelpful with not burning anything and even if Ancient Power continued to be disappointing since this was only the second or third opposing regular Moltres I've seen, which Diancie already covers anyway. So it's here I decide to at least try out Air Slash and that Buzzwole gets to clean up after finally hitting Stone Edge.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319522249-40g9knq6mr5tcc0kp9szopml486c9wupw = More proof that Buzzwole can't really come in against these hyper offense screen teams by just looking at one of their more typical team compositions. The change to Air Slash already pays off since apparently Celebi only does like 33% max to +1 Sp. Def behind that stupid Aurora Veil screen: 252 SpA Celebi Psychic vs. +1 0 HP / 4 SpD Kommo-o with an ally's Aurora Veil: 79-94 (27.1 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO [EDIT #2: Whoops. For some reason that second sentence applies to the replay after the next one. In this one, neither Buzzwole and Moltres come in at all, and it's Tentacruel's Liquid Ooze that saves me again this particular set-up Kommo-o.]
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319537903-1dpcsrjo70sxtuaw33n902kqypgyzntpw = Oh hey, Moltres actually does something other than die after being cheap jumpscare for Scizor and Buzzwole is naturally faster than the main opposing wincon that isn't named "Scizor" or "Hatterene". I would have pinched myself, but Hail constantly hitting me in the face the entire match basically did that for me. (Gods I hate Aurora Veil.)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319551381-9t14rv8wbu1v3rcwc3exzwudufh3a5jpw = Even before other obligations, I was tempted to stop here just because hitting Stone Edge twice in a row seems like it would be the apex of my luck given my past bad luck. Air Slash also once again proves to the superior choice (on this team at least) given it practically OHKOs the otherwise irksome Conkeldurr who otherwise laughs at Moltres since it doesn't care about burns. (Also Sand Tomb Choice Band Scizor is...interesting and proves that Scizor stupidly gets to run whatever the hell it wants and still be effective. Yay....)
CONCLUSION: Buzzwole's Speed tier is a bit awkward, even if you went max Speed and Jolly, but it hits very, very hard with Choice Band and basically makes the opponent have to guess for something to not die even more so than a lot of Choice Banders do. This is especially true given it has such great physical bulk that it can take most Flying physical hits quite easily even with little to no investment. Additionally, despite Scizor having Dual Wingbeat now, Buzzwole can still naturally outspeed it and takes Bullet Punch quite well even with Choice Band, being able to OHKO back with CB Close Combat, which is weird to say of Scizor as much as people tend to act like Scizor is frail. Bug STAB is also weirdly nice in the current meta given that it chunks all of the remaining Regenerator mons rather well (and would murder Slowking if it was still here making us miserable with Future Sight), even Amoonguss.
All of that noted, the fact that Buzzwole was somewhat deadweight against faster offensive teams was frustrating, which is perhaps why Screens felt even more miserable to play against despite not losing to them with this team (yet). So I vaguely considered going Choice Scarf even though I never tested it out. I did happen, however, to ghost another match where Choice Scarf Buzzwole cleans up: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1319591070. [/not my replay]
OVERALL RATING: I'm still not a VR person, but I'm guessing B+ is fair. I imagine it might be a bit higher up in rank than that given both its bulk and surprisingly good physical coverage, but its Speed (thankfully) holds it back as does a number of opposing cleaners and set-up mons that are still popular in the current meta even with everything else that left. (That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bulk Up set of last gen and of other tiers this gen is bad in this current meta though, at least outside of a very specific team or outright stall.)
======================= HE WHO BURNED THE SKY FIRST
SETS USED:
Moltres @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 28 SpD / 144 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mystical Fire
- Scorching Sands
- Air Slash | Ancient Power
- Roost
SUMMARY: See Buzzwole's entry above.
NOTABLE REPLAYS: See Buzzwole's entry above.
CONCLUSION: Moltres-Kanto's spot in the meta is...odd to me. It obviously "checks" Scizor and is one of the best checks to it...until you realize that you're probably just getting Knock Off'd half the time, U-Turn'd on the other half of the time, and that Flame Body "only" activates 30% of the time. Moltres is still a good check to Scizor, don't get me wrong. It's just immensely frustrating and stupid that there's basically no real counterplay to Knock Off this gen, which makes Moltres still somewhat bad to me as a Defogger even now that Heavy-Duty Boots exist; expecting Knock Off from half of the Scizors I fight was also part of the reason I wanted to try out something other than U-Turn in the fourth spot beyond using Tentacruel to clear hazards instead. Ancient Power seemed like a reasonable check to other Moltres, but I never really got to test it out. Given Ancient Power is still a 2HKO at best, Air Slash is probably the overall better choice though. Despite Air Slash technically hitting less super effectively, Moltres gets STAB on it, and the things Air Slash hits super effectively are overall more dangerous arguably such as Conkeldurr, which would otherwise laugh in your face, and Kommo-o, which has shifted from being a support mon to more commonly a set-up mon in this new meta.
OVERALL RATING: I currently want to say it's B since it's one of the best Scizor checks in the tier, and that alone would put it relatively high up when Scizor is doubtless S tier again now--sigh. It's just difficult to say what else it does in the current meta that's actually relevant besides that especially given the amount of mons that actually force it out, especially if it's not carrying Air Slash. I am perhaps being overly harsh against it given that I was using the only Diancie currently in UU existence on this team, which also basically laughs even at the insane Moltres that would try to go Specs, to say nothing of the defensive ones. Given Rain is also making a bit of resurgence on top of everything and given Hurricane has such crap accuracy outside of Rain, I don't think I am though. Moltres-Kanto is, oddly, in a way outclassed by itself offensively now by way of Moltres-Galar, which doesn't lose half of its life to Stealth Rock, has a more offensively oriented ability, and has the more spammable STAB combination. So B seems fine, but take my assessments with pillars of salt as always.
Whew. That's finally done. I wish I could have tested more, especially since I didn't even get to test against Nihilego like I wanted and since I think I only saw one Aegislash, but what's done is done. Have a good night. Stay safe everyone.
Mystras LeoxsesDaiyagaPokeseba try to get your reports in soon please, we are discussing atm what to use for the next mons, but would love to see your reports for this.
INTRO: This was something I was waiting on for quite a while; the shifts so far have made playing much less stressful which made doing this a lot easier. I decided not to focus on defog sets since I knew more people would be focusing on that and instead wanted to work on the SubSet
SUMMARY: What I wanted the most was to make sure that Amoonguss couldn't try to break Sub as I try to set up, and what I ended up with was a spread that not only let me do that but also outspeed Modest Nidoqueen. I tried it on Balance and Stall, but it really showed itself when playing on the former mostly because I had more things to bring in Moltres. Try a more speedy Moltres instead if you want to outspeed Rotom-W to land Toxic.
CALC:0 SpA Amoonguss Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 184 SpD Moltres: 79-94 (20.6 - 24.5%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
https://pokepast.es/9214a83912f9de63 TEAM: Cobalion is a great check to Nihilego and sponges Knock Off from Scizor so Molt doesn't risk its boots. Rotom-W is there because it pressures Cruel, it helps bring Moltres on the Grasses, and removal is generally solid in this sort of team. I wanted to use Umbreon but Syl is just overall better when Keldeo is rising in popularity. Heal Bell support is what I like to have for Moltres though it rarely happens for Molt as much as the others. Zarude is my answer to Krookodile; losing Scarf to Knock Off isn't ideal but its better than nothing. Gastrodon is actually here because I initially tested this with Mamoswine but Mamo does not help whatsoever when Rotom-W is one of Moltres's worst enemies, and can't even do anything to it on a predicted Volt Switch. Gastrodon just patches that up while being another pivot to Keldeo so Sylveon doesn't have to hold all the weight.
SUMMARY: Ok, so I looked at the builder, remembered Moltres got Weather Ball and decided to try it out cause why not. Weather Ball just functions as a pseudo STAB when rain is up, but without it Moltres is pretty miserable against Steel-types. U-turn is literally the only reason why you would ever run Moltres over Mantine on rain if I'm being honest, otherwise you are handicapping yourself by not running the Swift Swimmer that shares Hurricane and Roost but has actual STAB on top of the rain boost. It is a wee bit gimmicky, but absolutely not the worst gimmick to try.
https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/teambuilder TEAM: The first half looks like it was ripped from BW. The only reason why I use Seismitoad with Water Absorb is that I had a bone to pick with Rotom-W and rain doesn't handle it particularly well without a grass or something like this. I try Protect in those rare moments where I want to reset rain, but have to wait a turn and don't want to risk a teammate.
CONCLUSION: This is a good mon to put some time into, especially the sub set since it is very hard to play around without a Nihilego and Tentacruel, and even the ladder can get pp stalled 1v1. From what I played, the growing amount of Sylveon and Buzzwole lacking rock coverage means Molt has quite a few opportunities to set up. Rain Molt is also something fun to try out if you want to go for it. I am gonna give it a firm A
Flying + Fire stab duo it's hella hard to wall and it's typing helps it to check stuff such as Scizor, Amoonguss, Kommo-O on a 1v1 scenario, Hatterene and Sylveon in one slot, while it's able to pivot out on resists such as Rhyperior, Washtom/Heatom, Diancie or Milotic, Flame Body is pretty annoying as well, due to being able to burn stuff such as Sciz using Knock Off/U-Turn, switching into a Kommo-O's Close Combat/Poison Jab and then Moltres burns Kommo-O or Milotic using Flip Turn and getting burned, those are some examples of how annoying could be Flame Body.
I
252 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 40 SpD Kommo-o: 320-380 (90.3 - 107.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Salamence: 208-246 (52.9 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 201-237 (52.4 - 61.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Nidoqueen: 199-235 (61.9 - 73.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Moltres Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Primarina: 154-183 (51.1 - 60.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Buzzwole @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Leech Life
Band Buzzwole has been pretty fun, it can actually clean a weakened team thanks to it's good atk stab and Beast Boost makes it a BEAST, however it's slow and it has a bad SpDef, making it hella inconsistent as well.
Despite all, it's dual stab makes it virtually impossible to switch-in (prediction reliant tho) because who walls Fighting-Rock-Bug-Ground?, so yeah it can put some work, pretty short because this mon it's pretty simple to understand.
-- Replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1323044638-0zlw139826vc4dupilbznumuluh7vvypw Conclusion: Hella inconsistent but it can be a menace if played right, it's specially good vs fat teams, i give it a B.
Week 33 ! Congratulations to The Damnedfor winning the week32 !
The summary of the pokemon tested this week :
Moltres was successful for most testers. The Sub + Toxic, Offensive, Defensive and even Offensive Rain sets with wheather ball showed their usefulness. The double stab of moltres with access to Flame Body + roost make it the best check in Scizor, but be careful not to get knocked ! Generally speaking, the Flight + Fire combo is very difficult to resist in the tier, so moltres is a threat to take seriously in the tier.
Band Buzzwole is the only set tested, a bit of a shame, but let's move on. Cb Buzz hits very hard (139 BS + Stab CC) and has many moves to lure pokemons like Salamence/Moltres with Stone Edge, Earthquake for Aegislash and even Dual Wingbeat for the other Buzzwole. Other existing sets such as the Bulk up set or the sub toxic set are viable options but may come up against the 2 main weaknesses of Buzzwole, the lack of speed and a very bad Spdef.
Buzzwole has become the best offensive check to pokemons like Krookodile.
Grimmsnarl (M)
Ability: Any
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
Tentacruel
Ability: Any
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
Grimmsnarl is the best pokemon to set up the screens, but do you know other sets of this pokemon? Its double type, its access to Bulk up + Prankster with an attack base of 120 can make this pokemon very threatening for the tier
With the recent shifts, primarina and keldeo have become very threatening pokemons for the tier. Tentacruel allows to check these 2 pokemon and also brings the spin, very useful against the stack hazard, more and more popular. His speed and his double type allow him not to remain passive and to threaten pokemons like Mamoswine and Chandelure.
New :
We've made Research Week easier than ever to participate now! All you need to do is copy the optional template below when you make your research findings post. Just copy, plug in your findings, and you're done! WOW so easy! (You are not obligated to use this template, you can still post in your own way however you feel).
INTRO: (write a little blurb here, w/e you want)
ZAPDOS-GALAR
SETS USED:
Zapdos-Galar @ z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Zapdos shows it is the bravest bird")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Zapdos fails to be anything more than fried chicken")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
-
SETS USED:
Nidoqueen @ z
Ability: x
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Nidoqueen ascends to the throne")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Nidoqueen has truly abdicated the crown")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
In order to participate you must do the following:
Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as SSRW33 Draconic or SSRW33 Cake) 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 - don't just tell us, show us
The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU 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.
This week will end on April 28 at 11:59 PM GMT+0. Have fun everyone!!
It feels weird to win, especially when I feel like I did the bare minimum for SSRW32 and more just won by default. Oh well.
For this week, I'll try for at least 40 matches (and hope not to run screens teams 50+% of the time), though I will at the very least be busy tomorrow and, unless a certain verdict possibly to come this week makes things super stupid around here, Friday as well. I plan to focus on non-degenerate Grimmsnarl since I just used Tentacruel, but I won't count using Tentacruel out completely. Fingers crossed and such.
Intro: Huh. I somehow both ended up having less time this week than I thought I would despite nothing much going wrong--knock on wood and such--and did better than I thought I would despite Grimmsnarl being...challenging, especially when I felt even more like an addle-brain than usual when trying to make both a set and especially a team, and despite actually getting in 40 matches. Apologies to iceblazer for ghosting you for three matches in a row on Friday night after I personally called it quits that day. I was merely curious if you were having more luck with Grimmsnarl than I was when I saw you.
(Also, if Game Freak finally could get rid of full paralysis next gen or even in the upcoming Gen 4 remake, then that would great, thanks.)
HE WHO NORMALLY SCREENS YOUR CALLS:
SET USED #1: Choice Band Grimmsnarl
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Spirit Break
- Fire Punch
- Trick
SUMMARY: Without the obvious crutch of Screens, which I have personally almost never used, Grimmsnarl was quite tricky to think about functioning set for given its low Defense & Speed and odd typing; no, this wasn't a pun on it getting Trick instead of Switcheroo for some reason, especially since Choice Band Trick I initially thought was too bad to use.
These are merely ideas I considered without adjusting them, two of which aren't even mine.
Trick? (Prob. Bad) (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Choice Band [Haha. "Prob. bad" turned out to be a bit prophetic...]
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Play Rough
- Fire Punch
- Trick
bandkrook's old Bulk Up set (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Life Orb [I had tried this before and felt it was likely worse without Alakazam, Bisharp, Latias, Victini, or Zeraora around to predate upon]
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Drain Punch
Rest Talk Dark (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Bulk Up
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
NP? (Prob. Bad) (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Pixie Plate [doubtless the worst set I vaguely considered, this was more of a joke consideration than anything]
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Draining Kiss
- Burning Jealousy
- Nasty Plot
CB Pickpocket? (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Choice Band [it's a bit annoying that Grimmsnarl doesn't have Magician since it takes Knock Off so well, especially since Pickpocket seems like it fits Klefki better anyway--oh well]
Ability: Pickpocket
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Spirit Break
- Fire Punch
- Play Rough
[REDACTED: SEE SET #2]
[REDACTED: SEE SET #3]
As it stands, given I decided rather quickly I didn't want to try out a Bulk Up set again given usually avoid set-up sets and seeing no better options for Grimmsnarl before I finally started playing on, I decided to try out Choice Band Trick anyway despite my reservations. I figured that if nothing else was useful about it, then Prankster Trick was likely still degenerate enough to win me at least some games given Game Freak so graciously left us without basically any counterplay to it or Knock Off or Switcheroo. Thanks for that, Game Freak. Good foresight on your part.
With that finally decided, it seemed obvious to automatically include Moltres given Scizor is back on top again (sigh) and of the slow, offensively oriented Fairy mons, Grimmsnarl is the weakest against it since somehow even Hatterene has way more Defense even if Grimmsnarl has way more HP. I also decided early on that I wanted to finally give Spikes a try again despite how absolutely awful it was last time I tried it two (?) months ago. I wanted to see if the meta was at least somewhat kind to it now that all of the top threats--Alakazam, Victini, and Zeraora--didn't basically automatically negate them since for all of Scizor's might and ease of use, it basically never uses Boots at least.
Despite wanting to use Spikes, I was rather quickly reminded both how difficult it is to include a non-suicidal Spikes user on a UU team unless its Mew, whom I considered, and how difficult it is to get a decent Rapid Spinner if you didn't want to use Tentacruel, which I didn't for this test since I had already used Tentacruel coincidentally in the last research week. I mean, I did still at least initially consider Tentacruel, but given that I put Rhyperior as my Stealth Rocker for reasons I already don't remember, I wanted to avoid too much weakness to Ground given initially Moltres was the only thing off the ground. I rather quickly decided that I would give Golisopod another whirl as my Spikes user after briefly considering Roserade, who had only made the "I need actual Ground resists" problem worse.
As for the Rapid Spinner, Dhelmise is what I initially decided, with Kommo-o being quickly decided on as the last mon due to being the basically surest check to both Amoonguss and (SubToxic) Aegislash that isn't named Chansey (or, I guess, Snorlax) in addition to Chandelure. That said, I ended up never using that version of the team after I realized how badly at least Gyarados would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Here is where I feel I should explain that my initial weird looking EVs for Grimmsnarl were just me trying to be a bit too cute and merely speed creep other Grimmsnarls. Also, I just realized I apparently never made Kommo-o Shiny again as intended given its nickname after whatever happened with the importing that also screwed up Safety Googles as "safetygoogles" and distracted me. Huh. Shows how out of it I have been to not notice for 40 entire games.
I Miss Palm (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Spirit Break
- Fire Punch
- Trick
All Thumbs (Rhyperior) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Heat Crash
- Stealth Rock
With Gyarados being the most obvious problem for the team and wanting more Speed control while also still needing a way to get rid of hazards, I very begrudgingly replaced the already "why are you using this?" Dhelmise with a mon that most of Gen 8's UU meta has also not been kind to at all: Rotom-Mow. Lawnmower Mon's addition finished up the first version of the team I actually used for all of Friday:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327585442-mzf9cnxikcqrc749pllxxjqo7ft7i6gpw = Skipping an uneventful third match (where I missed Leaf Storm on a Primarina off that bat thankfully Flips Turns since Rotom-Mow otherwise mowed down that team), I fight a Stall team and am reminded that Prankster Trick won't work against Dark types (which is why I'm using Spirit Break to not risk missing Play Rough on Dark types) despite explicitly remembering this when coming up with the CB Grimmsnarl set. Sigh. Grimmsnarl was otherwise worthless this match.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327598049-427icgssbsb245ekkbosng9b77x4zecpw = Another match where Grimmsnarl isn't all that useful directly, though it weirdly scares out Haxorus, which should have run all over me otherwise. I do wonder, given how the opponent's team seemed to actually be, if switching Grimmsnarl into the expected Dragon Dance and Tricking Choice Band would have been as horrible as I expected it would be--probably.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327601780-8csvf8x79ho1nikyrmzxzb4j83lisgipw = This match helps confirm that Rhyperior really needs more SpD in this meta as well as has something hilarious with Trace happen. CB Grimmsnarl's Trick actually came in handy here once again, though it feels more and more like that's all I'm actually using Choice Band for, though that's why I also decided to just go max Speed Adamant here. Who knows. Maybe I could have Speed tied that Primarina, which seems important. (Also here is where figure that I'll try Toxic over Heat Crash on Rhyperior while I'm changing things, especially since it's not like Heat Crash does much to Celesteela and since I have Moltres for Scizor.)
[CB Grimmsnarl's EVs were 32 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 220 Spe until here.]
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327741719-tshbjx84g53bwdio36m4d0ygj8dt9ggpw = CB Grimmsnarl still continues to be worthwhile mostly due to Trick, though it here at least ensures that Stealth Rock ends up staying up. This match is more one where Golisopod gets to shine more than anything, especially since the Rain ended up helping me more in the end.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327748933-uoyiy4c885ebrlido6w12ucx4s5zj0npw = CB Grimmsnarl surprises/disappoints me by surviving what's apparently a roll on Specs Secret Sword from Keldeo with no defensive EVs and murdering it back with Spirit Break, which is only guaranteed to OHKO with Choice Band (or Life Orb) even after Adamant. This mon is so weird.... (For the record, I just expected a Flip Turn since almost everyone else loves pivoting.)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1327785861-ysyiv0pik2uvocfecrrgou2jvltg76epw = A crit murder by Nidoqueen from the start of one match and an instant forfeit from my opponent in the "match" right after that later, I run into the gracious Eyasluna--unsure what their Smogon alias is if they have one--while listening to "Clavar La Espada", which feels appropriate as I eventually finally get (more) validated on my initially begrudging inclusion of (Scarf) Rotom-Mow as it effortlessly cleaves Gyarados in half after a Dragon Dance. Also CB Grimmsnarl's Trick of Choice Band still feels like that's all it does most of the time, though in its defense that does usually help win the game even with my stupid focus on Spikes; in this game Grimmsnarl at least finished off Nidoqueen too, which definitely helped win me the game. Either way, I decide to call it a day here and use something other than CB Grimmsnarl for at least Saturday...which ended up being today (read: Sunday 2021/04/25) after another horrible night of sleep.
(Also also, this finally made me realize that I should maybe guarantee that Moltres outspeeds Max Speed Timid Nidoqueen, at least if it's going to be such a pain. Shame that you need either 244 EVs for that if you want to keep a non-Speed nature or are forced to use a Speed+ nature and still use up 144. Sigh. The latter is probably the lesser evil...which is why I didn't bother changing it, clearly.)
========
SETS USED #2 & #3: SubTorment Grimmsnarl Twins
SubTorment I (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Spirit Break
- Substitute
- Torment
SubTorment II (Grimmsnarl) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 84 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Spirit Break
- Taunt
- Substitute
- Torment
SUMMARY (FOR SUBTORMENT SETS): Given I am a degenerate, one of the things I used to like to do when I played OU (which I haven't touched for two gens) was use that almost never used SubTorment Heatran set that I couldn't find the EVs for when I looked for it so lazily this morning. As such, I had to make up my own EVs--zounds!--for once after using the calculator a bit. It took a while of try to figure out what I was even EVing this Grimmsnarl for, however, given how mediocre-at-best my grip on the meta tends to ultimately be. This especially since Grimmsnarl and Heatran are completely different mons that couldn't have much less in common.
I ultimately decided that I would just EV Grimmsnarl so that its Subs would withstand the pivoting Rotom-form(e?)s Volt Switches since that seemed to be the clearest thing to EV against between all of the pivoting going on--sigh--and people's tendency to bring in the Defog-having, Thunder Wave-immune mons in against Grimmsnarl despite their would-be Defog still being blocked by Prankster Taunt. Shrug. I was basically out of ideas from the beginning, which is why I kept it on the same, likely somewhat ill-suited team to abuse such a thing despite Spikes.
Ironically, it was this more slothful version of the team that I both got more matches in with today and that did overall better, in the sense that Grimmsnarl felt like it contributed something besides just Trick-or-Die.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328721450-fwvv2hxb7bn45ttygy5cim7ef0kjev2pw = I played this very poorly, but it at least confirmed I was correct to EV Grimmsnarl enough for its Sub to always withstand Volt Switch from Rotom-Wash, and I at least now know that even after Intimidate, Arcanine still gets 2HKO'd by Golisopod. Good to know.
[Ignore a replay that was here that I didn't even mean to make a replay as it is since nothing really happened in that loss.]
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328734901-4ndpxbwb8byjclkugyjk8hi5yx62gu7pw = I hax the hell out of this poor person from the start, who basically loses as soon as the first move of Play Rough misses. I really need to actually use Torment, but this at least shows how easily Grimmsnarl can somewhat snowball if it gets a Sub up for free.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328742557-vdhy7ajnk0549hyq6mvuijthvyy6wb1pw = Run into another Grimmsnarl right after, but I get to actually get off Sub since they start out with Azelf. Also a weird bit about Sheer Force comes up here that I had forgotten about given how rare it is, reconfirming that it is indeed the weirdest ability in the game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328747059-2a0de61x4j8xb9shz2vk7aoo9l6b4r2pw = I feel like this is a premature forfeit on my opponent's part and also a bit annoyed since a more aggressive use of SubTorment Grimmsnarl might have actually done work here given all of the status flying around. Oh well. At least I confirmed that the Smogon-Standard Rhyperior comfortably lives Scald from Tentacruel.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328760274-szjydavobpqxnxjoc5thvdd3x48d5ulpw = This feels like another early forfeit on my opponent's part, but at least SubTorment Grimmsnarl gets to go off against Chansey. Given how little I feel like I use Darkest Lariat, however, this is where I decide to switch out for Taunt for a bit to give that a try.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328776753-kgodxqdvm2hi9ofuafwyjhwe17cgxbgpw = Another set-up-heavy team that simultaneously makes me tempted to use enough Speed on Grimmsnarl to outspeed Crawdaunt again and made me laugh when I realized towards the end that my Grimmsnarl got to set up for free against the other Grimmsnarl and could Sub stall its screens out if I really, really wanted to do so.
[Nothing interesting happened in this match right after since my opponent gave up way too quickly, and then I got walled by Weezing-Galar in my next match after a bit of crappiness with Moltres that I've already forgotten.]
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1328820164-keb14kktln03ozvflb4bg4imwugyngcpw = ...Or at least I intended to. Due to being distracted and out of it (like always), I apparently didn't change teams for this last match. That ironically ends up being for the best since keeping Taunt on Grimmsnarl actually helped in this match to prevent Autotomize from Celesteela since what else would it be on a Screens team. That made it extra fitting to end on this match, especially since I won due to Scarf Rotom-Mow, arguably the most valuable mon on this team overall in the end, cleaning up.
CONCLUSION (FOR CHOICE BAND): Despite having 120 Attack, power creep has made it so that Grimmsnarl is somehow at best tenth most physically powerful of just the UU mons. To make matters worse, almost all of those more powerful mons are both naturally faster and tend to have better bulk overall. So it's arguably only good for Trick and having good enough coverage with its STABs that only one move is needed to cover them, which is not...great. Honestly the most frustrating thing about trying to use non-screens Grimmsnarl is that it has such low Speed and low Defense(s).
That said, it's probably correct to use Play Rough over Spirit Break even though Spirit Break's guaranteed SpA drop definitely helped me at times & Bisharp isn't around to abuse it and even though you've all seen just how easily I miss everything that isn't 100% accurate.
CONCLUSION (FOR SUBTORMENT): SubTorment still has the same issues as of the above set since it's still Grimmsnarl but gets to play a more supportive role that isn't necessarily as one-and-done at the price of not being as automatically crippling (or prone to backfiring). I think the non-Taunt version is probably better overall, and both sets would likely be better on a different team I used, like one with more innate typing immunities, likely of the Ghost variety.
That said, about the only good thing I can say about its bulk that isn't tied to its resistances is that with these EVs it takes +2 Boomburst from Clangorous Soul Throat Spray Kommo-o "well" in the sense that it doesn't get OHKO'd and generally OHKOs it back or at least helps finish it off from behind Screens.
OVERALL RATING (FOR CHOICE BAND):C seems the highest this could really be rated, and its effectiveness (with Trick) would be inversely proportional to how much the opponent expects it. That's why even if it was actually good, which I don't think it is, I don't think I could rate this above C+ at best.
OVERALL RATING (FOR SUBTORMENT): Given this ended up performing better than I expected despite thinking that the team I slapped it on was ill-suited for it, I think this is actually like a B- maybe. Shrug. Like I've constantly said, I barely look at the VR, and given my other rankings thus far compared to other people's in here, I ironically tend to be harsher about grading mons despite that. This set would need a lot more testing and likely EV optimizing even after changing up the team for me to be "sure", especially since SubTorment is so difficult to use as it is, even at Prankster speed.
P.S. This took like five hours to scrape together, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are still typos I have to fix tomorrow. Yay!
[EDIT (#2 technically): Ugh. I fixed like 40 mostly small typos as well syntax in some places and clarified things. It's always annoying to miss things (repeatedly) after proofreading, but they're all fixed now (maybe).]
I apologize, as I had midterm tests and other real life stuff going on.
My experience with Tenta was largely the same when I last used it; a spinner that acted as a nice kind of glue. With Prim and Keldeo rising in viability and Amoonguss’ drop, the meta was kind to it. One annoying thing about it though was that it was a spinner that couldn’t really beat other rockers, with the only threatening thing it could do to them was either a Sludge Bomb poison or a Scald burn. Another thing was how squishy it was on the Physical side. This thing hates taking physical hits, as even resisted attacks still chunk it a good bit, and with no reliable recovery, it gets chipped down fast. Prim running Psychic and Secret Sword were also problems, as those two preyed on Tenta’s weaknesses, making it harder for Tentacruel to check them. It still faces a bit of competition from Starmie, as Star has Recover, can scare away common rockers and can check Prim and Keld with Tbolt and Psychic STAB, respectively. Overall rating: 7/10
Oh god, this thing. This was absolute hell to test without Screens, and I’d gladly pay money to never try this again.
Here’s the short version: offensive sets suck. Despite Dark/Fairy being a great offensive typing, Grimmsnarl falls flat on its face due to three key issues: speed, bulk, and switching opportunities.
It’s speed is terrible for starters, sitting at a measly 60. It outspeeds few mons with max speed investment, and with its bad bulk, that’s practically a death sentence for it. But wait, it gets worse.
Uninvested, Grimm’s bulk is very underwhelming despite an OKish 95 HP stat. It can‘t take many hits at all during the course of a game, and so, you have to play carefully with it. Not exactly ideal for a wallbreaker, I must say.
Lack of opportunities to switch in is the final nail in the coffin for me. It must be brought in via either double switches or pivoting moves, which wouldn’t be too bad if this thing had the bulk or speed to back it up. This thing gave me headaches while trying to use it, so no hope for the wicked with this one.
I tried two sets: a Choice Band and a Sub set. For band, despite being strong enough to score OHKOs, I beg you people to use Azu or Scizor instead, please don’t do this to yourselves unless you want priority Trick. For Sub, it was a bit better, as Sub acted as a nice lure for me to KO Scizor with Fire Punch, but it still faced the problems I outlined above. Overall rating: -10/10 (just kidding, I rate it 4/10)
Oh, and I couldn’t get replays for this piece of trash. Use it yourself, and you’ll understand.
I'm really sorry for the delay, anyways, i should be leaving my thoughts (this post is going to be kinda wack and i'm not going to mention Tentacruel because i didn't had time for test it, even tho i can mention a little of theorymon about it)
So, i just tested the same set than The Damned but with a little desviation in form to Fire Punch over Trick and Frisk over Prankster, Fire Punch is here for lure Sciz (i don't have replays of that :c) and Frisk is kinda good given that it can scout the item of the opponent, so if your opponent runs a ''lure'' or something like that, you can scout it.
But what makes me trust on it a little, it's the typing + Sucker Punch, it can just destroy most Psychic and Dragon types while also having a lot of power, that's imo the niche of Grimm over Azu (Azu doesn't have the Psychic-Inmunity). Replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1335033280-7ot7uxqh8y31m4pz4yyw2sbz3xg7krdpw
I didn't tested a lot but i think that it can work. Conclusion: It can carve a small niche over Azu, in form to Sucker Punch + Good typing as i said, but overall, i'll not slap this mon on most of my teams, i give it a C or a 3/10
I'm going to theorymon a bit, i think that it is going to be a decent prim and keld check with some annoying moves such as Knock Off + Sludge Bomb and access to Rapid Spin, that's it.
Week 34 ! Congratulations to The Damned(again ^^) for winning the week33 !
The summary of the pokemon tested this week :
Tentacruel was a good pokemon in a general way. Its dual type allows it to tank Keldeo and primarina attacks but also, Tentacruel has many useful moves like Knock Off, Rapid Spin and Sludge Bomb.
On the other hand, Grimmsnarl and its offensive sets did not work for most testers. Grimmsnarl doesn't hit hard enough, has too little speed and too much bulk.
Zygarde-10%
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
Starmie
Ability: Any
EVs: Any
Any Nature
-
-
-
-
zygarde-10 is a very dangerous pokemon because it can OHKO many pokemons in the tier. With its excellent speed base, its interesting dual type and its not bad attack base, it is able to come on pokemon like Rotom-Heat and threaten to kill a pokemon with its "Thousand Arrows" attack. Will its poor bulk be a problem?
Starmie is also a very interesting pokemon for the tier, despite the fact that it is NU. Defensive with rapid spin, recover, Twave or Offensive with Hpump, ice beam, tbolt, which set is better?
New :
We've made Research Week easier than ever to participate now! All you need to do is copy the optional template below when you make your research findings post. Just copy, plug in your findings, and you're done! WOW so easy! (You are not obligated to use this template, you can still post in your own way however you feel).
INTRO: (write a little blurb here, w/e you want)
ZAPDOS-GALAR
SETS USED:
Zapdos-Galar @ z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Zapdos shows it is the bravest bird")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Zapdos fails to be anything more than fried chicken")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
-
SETS USED:
Nidoqueen @ z
Ability: x
EVs: x
x Nature
-
-
-
-
(Any other sets used, list those too)
SUMMARY: (include good cores, good matchups, bad matchups, etc.)
NOTABLE REPLAYS:
(link) - (add commentary, such as: "See here how Nidoqueen ascends to the throne")
(link) - (add commentary, e.g. "Here Nidoqueen has truly abdicated the crown")
(more replays - put as many as are relevant!)
CONCLUSION: (final thoughts)
OVERALL RATING: (w/e you want, D through S is standard but you can use whatever scale you prefer)
In order to participate you must do the following:
Post here with a fresh RW alt (such as SSRW34 Draconic or SSRW34 Cake) 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 - don't just tell us, show us
The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU 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.
This week will end on May 30 at 11:59 PM GMT+0. Have fun everyone!!
INTRO: I have to say, I’m impressed by Zydog. I thought it would be rather underwhelming in a tier full of bulky Ground resists and mons that hit hard enough that Zydog couldn’t use its unique typing to boot, but I was pleasantly proven wrong.
SUMMARY: Everyone knows what Zydog does: it clicks Thousand Arrows and clicks Toxic when it needs to cripple something. Though, recent meta trends have helped it a lot, those being a solid check to Nihilego and Electrics, its speed tier having become much more valuable in an increasingly offensive metagame, and its decent-ish defensive typing letting it come in on mons such as Rhyperior and Heattom. Zydog also pairs well with many metagame staples, ie Scizor to help circumvent its Ice & Fairy weakness, Primarina can spread burns to help cushion blows for Zydog, Mew provides Spikes & general support with WoW/Knock/Heal Bell, etc. And finally, Zydog has a nice MU against the aforementioned Nihilego, both Thundy forms, Kantonian Molt, and Glowbro, if you’re bold enough to risk status.
On the downside, Zydog is terribly frail, with even resisted attacks doing a a fair chunk of damage. In particular, Nihil’s Meteor Beam and Heattom’s Overheat are still crippling enough to be avoided, as seen by these calcs:
176 SpA Nihilego Meteor Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde-10%: 104-123 (41.7 - 49.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Rotom-Heat Overheat vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde-10%: 83-98 (33.3 - 39.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This puts a huge damper on Zydog’s otherwise neat typing, as its relegated purely to either an early-game breaker or a late-game cleaner. Zydog also struggles to break past stuff like Tang and Offensive Buzz, and while CB Outrage 2HKOs both of these, its very risky to do so in a tier filled with Steels and Fairies. Zydog is very susceptible to priority as well, making the removal of mons such as Azu, Sciz, and especially Mamo necessary.
Overall, I give our zygote puppy a 8/10. It’s frail as heck, has a couple of terrible MUs vs top threats and requires quite a bit of support to shine, but it’s very decent once you get the hang of it, and has enough advantageous MUs and perks to make up for its flaws.
This is Zydog’s most basic set, and by far the most consistent one. While Zydog has an unimpressive Attack stat, it can deal surprisingly high damage with Band by virtue of how spammable Thousand Arrows is. The rest of the moveset is fairly self-explanatory; Outrage deals good damage to foes that resist T Arrows, while Superpower nukes Zarude & Chansey. The fourth moveslot is rather flexible and can easily be customized to fit your team’s needs; Toxic cripples Tangrowth, Zarude without Jungle Healing & Buzzwole, while Extreme Speed can be chosen if you need priority. Iron Tail is an option to lure in Fairies and even Sleep Talk can be used to turn Zydog into a sleep absorber.
There’s other sets like DD and Coil + Thousand Waves (neat set btw Kitten Milk), but I’ve found Zydog to be much more effective as a breaker rather than a setup sweeper, and it’s too frail to use DD/Coil in any case.
INTRO: So Starmie was a mon I had a bit of an interest in because of the speed tier and decent typing but didn't really bother with, so this provided a good excuse. I did want to try offensive Starmie more, but as I was talking about it on discord with everyone else, Lily pointed out that it scares out the Stealth Rockers and beats out Spikes Mew which got me to try it out. I tried offensive Starmie for a bit beforehand, and its still a pretty good threat with some nice defensive utility, but expect this to be more about the bulky set.
SUMMARY: I wanted to make a Sub Molt team for the longest and Starmie sort of fit on this since the common mons that take a crack at breaking Molt's subs are not ones that really want to deal with Starmie. I got a lot of help from Panther and it worked out pretty nice, only thing is that its kind of weak to Scizor even with the Cobalion in all honesty. Even after the clay ban I still think I need Taunt so that Scizor can't Roost up on me even if dropping Volt Switch is annoying.
NOTABLE REPLAYS: Disclaimer that a couple of these don't have the current team, cause I was still testing it out.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1343144145-1ljw4zqtb5f0gx9ywj01wixybwuc6uqpw - Ok this was at the start when I was playing Starmie, still trying offensive sets and it was really good, until it missed Hydro Pump which wouldn't be the first or last time it happened at an important moment. Regardless at least it left enough battered for Rotom-H to pick up the pieces. My lesson from this is that if you don't have to risk it you probably shouldn't.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1343723562 - Starmie did a good job of keeping away hazards from Slurpuff and Jirachi even if I let it die along the way. Yeah crit mattered on Slurpuff to keep webs off but by the end I don't think it mattered when Cobalion would have still killed Nihilego anyways and Crawdaunt wouldn't have been able to deal with the rest of my team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1345746386-7b9s5om9ft1v4n5fm88xzipcj0ogix6pw - Look I get my opponent was running a Claydol, I was already down 7-6 basically, but Starmie pulled through. It was a very effective answer to Keldeo especially when it doesn't threaten it with anything like the other hazard removers, Starmie doesn't fear either STAB nor Icy Wind or even a burn with Natural Cure. Even if Lycanroc-D did not die to poison, Starmie would have still been a good check with the speed tier and cause Lycanroc is frail as shit.
CONCLUSION: I don't think bulky Starmie is exactly splashable, as it requires to go more offensive when building to make up for the drop in power, but its something I think more people should at least try with since Spikes Mew is a large pain in the ass and Starmie doesn't fear much out it. It still has some good things going for it like scaring the crap out of Lycanroc and Keldeo and being more resilient than Tentacruel as a spinner, and its not like there are a dozen other options in UU to chose from for removal, so why the hell not try it?
while the 0ivs are here for avoid a roll with
foul play on blade form
or
while the attack and adamant nature are there to prioritize damage. Spell Tag allows to bait CB aegi. Close Combat is a great option on Shadow Claw or Iron Head for
on the switch or
+ weaken
