Project OU Weekly Research v2 | Week 6- Infernape / Mega Gardevoir / Raikou

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zbr

less than 99% acc = never hit
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
holla at my boi terrakion and kidmagic. im gonna take up mttar.


The Armor Pokemon
"A Tyranitar is so overwhelmingly powerful, it can bring down a whole mountain to make its nest. It roams in mountains seeking new opponents to fight."
Mega Tyranitar is an extremely interesting mon for us to study. Despite being utterly outclassed by it's base form due to it's ability to run
,
and even
which allows it not only act as a great support mon to remove the omnipresent psychic types of the tiers such as MZam, Lati@s and the likes, the (MEGA) Armor Pokemon's best qualities are a combination of unique offensive typing and strong specially defensive bulk as well as access to Dragon Dance, SR and an assortment of mixed movepools that allow it act reliably as not just a lure but also as an amazing cleaner. These traits mean that Mega Tyranitar assumes a much more offensive role compared to it's base form.

When I built my team, I literally thought "Hey, Memento Block latios is pretty cool! Lemme search for some meme-esque set up mons that can abuse it / give me some fun on the ladder". This in turn spawned the horrendous team that took a lot of my friends by storm! It consisted of DD MTtar, Lure HP Ice Balloon Tran, Sub TG Salac Mana, Babiri Counter Clef, Mixed Thundy with Knock Off and Memento Block Latios. It was the bombz and it was really fun to play with.

Of course the team I built was just for fun. To take on a much more competitive stand point, MTTar teams should always be choked full of hazard users. Common switch ins to this beast are grounded (bulky grounds, waters in general, fat steels like ferro) and hence it stands to reason that hazards are extremely incredible when it comes to allowing MTTar to function more effectively. NP Thundy and Latios are good supporters since they help loosen up the soil so that either a) hazards stay on the field for longer durations or b) threats to MTTar are weakened so that MTTar can easily pick up the kill. Common Spikers like Ferro and Skarm are interesting choices for MTTar support since they act as a good glue to switch in as MTTar can easily eat hits but you don't want to allow it to eat up successive hits. NP Thundy and Taunt Tran helps a lot with bulkier builds.

I'll be honest. MTTar is fun but not really in favor of the meta. with builds that surround around dangerous mons who carries appropriate moves such as fatmzor's Bullet Punch, Azu's Coverages, Loom's Mach, Offensive Ground types that MTTar cannot tackle without a +1 as well as the inclining popularity of MZam, means that it takes a lot more substantial support that what is preferred to deal with MTtar's threats and most of the times in games, you'd end up letting MTTar sit out an entire game because it's team mates do the job of supporting it so well to the point that there is not much left for it to do because itself can't get a safe switch in.

To end off, here are the teams:

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Punch

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Flash Cannon
- Lava Plume

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Memento

Manaphy @ Salac Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Substitute

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 68 Atk / 188 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Clefable @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Moonblast
- Counter
- Soft-Boiled
red comet (Heatran) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Lava Plume

freedom (Latios) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Memento
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Roost

destiny (Thundurus) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

strike rouge (Clefable) @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Counter
- Soft-Boiled

hi nu rx-93 (Tangrowth) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Knock Off

unicorn awakened (Tyranitar-Mega) @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
 
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does anyone think taunt could be viable over coverage options such as Ice Punch. I feel like punishing people who think Thunder Wave counters everything. talking bout Ttar btw.
 

AM

is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
LCPL Champion
does anyone think taunt could be viable over coverage options such as Ice Punch. I feel like punishing people who think Thunder Wave counters everything. talking bout Ttar btw.
The only viable prankster wave users that aren't floored by its STABS is Klefki. Thundurus would be an emergency at the cost of losing it while every other relatively viable Twave user is hurt tremendously or cleaned out by a +1 TTar. The only practical scenario is Hippowdon removing its ability to Slack Off. Even then in a Hippo V M-Ttar matchup it's better for Hippowdon to go on the offensive so worst case scenario a partner can pick it off afterwards with priority. I don't believe there is a practical use on a more consistent level seeing as how its coverage option is what defines a team and what is required to make the ease of sweeping more effective, instead of relying on the entirety of the team solely.

Edit: By all means experiment with w/e though.
 
closing week 2 signups!

thanks to those who signed up!
you guys have between now and monday (6/27) night EST to write up your posts about whichever pokemon you took (Diggersby / Mega Tyranitar / Kyurem-B).
HailFall Cheryl. JTD783 StarBomber109 Martin. (if that was a sign up lool) Punching Spagetti thesecondbest ethanlol ZANBAKUResh

as a reminder:
If you take a test subject, it is expected that you'll post. Your posts don't need to be super lengthy & detailed, but they shouldn't be super short and simple. I'm not gonna put some arbitrary regulation on how many sentences you should have, but you should have at least a small paragraph.
and as a reminder to those unsure of what to post:
Things you can post include (but are not limited to):
  • strategies used
  • how you went about building with this Pokemon
  • general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
  • if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
  • sets you used with the Pokemon
remember: you aren't limited to these guidelines; they're just here to help in case you aren't sure what to post. if you'd prefer to focus on 1 specific aspect of the pokemon you selected rather than a broad overview, that's totally okay! if you're still lost, try checking out [URL='http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ou-weekly-research-week-5-volcarona-mega-gallade-gastrodon-see-p-5-post-116.3562076/page-2#post-6633358']this post[/url] by Infernal. if you didn't sign up but you'd like to post, feel free to do so, but just don't post if you haven't used the pokemon in awhile / at all. also, if you signed up, but you cannot find the time to post, don't worry about it! just please don't do it regularly :x
 
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HailFall

my cancer is sun and my leo is moon
aah okay so i actually had most of this written already but it disappeared and i dont have a lot of time to write rn so this isnt gonna be super detailed srry
Diggersby


Strengths and Weaknesses

Huge power is no misnomer, as Diggersby certainly is the most powerful Ground-type breaker in the game, outdamaging even Primal Groudon with a Life Orb or Choice Band equipped. It has quite useful Ground-type STAB along with Normal-type STAB giving it excellent neutral coverage. Having next to no switchins, Diggersby does a great job of demolishing defensive teams. That being said, Diggersby is held back by poor defensive stats and middling speed, limiting its effectiveness against offensive teams.

Sets I Used

Swords Dance
Diggersby @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Earthquake
- Return
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
Earthquake and return are mandatory STAB moves for diggersby to run. Swords Dance lets it boost its attack to insane levels, having a chance to 2HKO even physically defensive skarmory at +2 with return. Quick attack is the final move which lets diggersby hit faster mons. Quick attack is also very powerful at +2, having a chance to OHKO latios after rocks. Jolly nature should be used to outspeed heatran.

Choice Band
Diggersby @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- U-Turn
- Fire Punch / Quick Attack
This is the only other set diggersby should run imo, as the scarf set is for the most part outclassed by stuff like lando-t imo. Earthquake and Return are STAB, same as before. U-turn eases prediction and lets you pick up momentum on predicted swithces. Fire punch lets you 2HKO skarm, but quick attack is an option to revenge kill faster mons.


Building Around Diggersby
Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Shiny: Yes
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- Feint
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat

Diggersby @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- Fire Punch
- U-turn

Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Landorus-Therian @ Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 8 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit
Went for a duo of Mega Pinsir + Diggersby which work pretty nicely together, doing a number on the majority of more defensive teams in this metagame with Diggersby destroying stuff like steels and just doing some general hole punching for mega pinsir to come in later on and wreak havoc. Next slot went to scarf magneton as it helped me handle stuff like weavile and talonflame while also trapped skarm for those two. lando-t was added to handle stuff like mlop while also setting rocks. yache berry so i could beat thundy and other electrics without relying entirely on latios. latios gave me a switchin to keldeo and again, electrics while also providing defog support to pinsir. finally zor gave me a check to clef as well as a switchin to latis and way of beating rarer stuff like mega alt.

Diggersby Vs the Metagame

I'd say the metagame is in favor of diggersby right now. It can really tear down fatter teams and even bulky offense doesnt particularly enjoy dealing with it. Its not amazing by any means due to mediocre speed and bulk, but this certainly isnt a bad time to use it.
 

thesecondbest

Just Kidding I'm First
Diggersby - the Ground Bunny


Offensive Prowess: 56 base attack with huge power, which is equivalent to about 162 base attack without huge power.
Access to great dual stabs in return/frustration and earthquake, both with 100+ base power. Also fantastic neutral coverage with the stabs, only resisted by Gengar, Aerodactyl, and Skarmory in OU. Also has access to great moves like Ice Punch, Wild Charge, Knock Off, U-Turn, Foul Play (which works with Huge Power! good to know fact), Stone Edge, Superpower, and even Spikes, but I wouldn't run that.

Defensive Stats: 85/77/77 bulk, which means it's about 25% less bulky than an uninvested Mew. For some more perspective, LO Excadrill has a 50% chance to kill Diggersby with EQ after Stealth Rocks. So not bulky by any means, but not like Gengar levels of frail. The typing isn't great, but it does mean you resist stealth rocks.
Speed Tier: 78 base speed, so just faster than Heatran, and if scarfed, faster than M-Loppuny if Jolly, and just slower than Weavile if Adamant.
Sets:
Choice Scarf

Like I noted, Diggersy's access to U-Turn makes it a good scarfer. Think of it as a Lando-T that has a second stab. Normal type attacks in the late game can kill a lot of mons. Calcs:
252 Atk Huge Power Diggersby Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 300-354 (100.3 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Huge Power Diggersby Return vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 262-309 (87.6 - 103.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Diggersby @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 220 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Return
- U-turn
- Knock Off
Speed EVs just outrun MLopunny. Max attack, rest in HP.


Swords Dance
Diggersby @ Life Orb/Lum Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack
Stronger than bisharp, but with a weaker priority attack. Great against fat teams. Obvious EVs are obvious. Calcs:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 308-364 (101.3 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Pretty damn strong. Bad vs offense teams since +2 quick attack is still weak compared to Bisharp's sucker, but very powerful vs stall.
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 239-282 (79.9 - 94.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Huge Power Diggersby Quick Attack vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 218-257 (67.4 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock


Other Options
Diggersby learns spikes, but I would not recommend that. Agility is another option, which would make Diggersby faster than the whole tier, but it's very susceptible to priority, so probably not the best.

So what do I think of Diggersby? The scarf set is a great late game cleaner, and SD is great at tearing through fat teams. Definitely a good choice right now.

RecEdit: Resized giant picture
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Cheryl.

Celesteela is Life

Delicious Kobe Beef

  • strategies used
Kyurem-Black is mostly used as a wallbreaker, using his amazing mixed offensive stats and his decent coverage to break through common balanced and stall teams alike. While the LO mixed set is the most common set due to it's mixed coverage and recovery in Roost, Choiced sets have also been receiving popularity lately, mostly the Choice Banded set, using Kyurem-B's massive 170 Attack stat to break through almost every wall in OU, bar some like Ferrothorn. Choice Scarf sets are also decent cleaners with Outrage, although they need a bit more support than Kyu-B's other sets due to the drop in power.
  • how you went about building with this Pokemon
Kyurem-Black fits best on bulky offensive or offensive teams that appreciate his wallbreaking potential and can support him due to his many weaknesses. My current Kyu-B team, built with my friend Take Azelfie, uses the Choice Band set, which is an amazing wallbreaker right now that can lure in would-be checks like Chansey and Clefable and completely crush them with his powerful attacks, while also acting as a nice offensive Electric check. Starmie helps Kyurem-Black with faster opponents and Spins away Stealth Rock that annoy Kyu-B to no end, while also acting as an offensive Fire check and a secondary wallbreaker with Analytic, while also packing HP Fire to lure in Ferrothorn, a check to CB Kyu-B. Heatran is the team's Rock setter and checks a variety of threats including Fairy-types, Zards, and offensive Mega Scizor. Stone Edge is chosen to do great damage to Zard-Y, who is a big problem for the team. Originally, the team used Double Dance Lando-T as a win condition and a way to break apart bulkier teams, but I decided to run the Scarf set instead after some test runs because I needed a better way to beat Electric-types and I just really needed something to revenge Zard-Y and just be a good revenge killer and cleaner in general. It also acts as a soft check to Sand teams, which is nice. Mega Heracross was chosen as another way to fuck up bulkier teams with it's Substitute set while also acting as a secondary check to Chansey and a check to Ferrothorn, which Kyurem-Black hates to fight without LO Ice Beam. Amoonguss acts as a glue mon, checking threats like Keldeo and Tangrowth while also just pivoting around and Sporing things so Kyu-B or Mega Hera can come in and wallbreak easier.
  • general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
Kyurem-B's strengths come in it's great mixed attacking stats of 170 and 120, respectively, which with it's great offensive typing in Ice and Dragon, along with awesome coverage moves like Fusion Bolt and Iron Head, make him a great wallbreaker and a scary threat for defensive teams. He also has respectable bulk, which along with reliable recovery in Roost, can help him stay alive longer and helps him act as a nice Electric check for offensive teams. Sadly, Kyurem-Black does have some big flaws. His 95 Speed stat, while good, allows him to be outsped by a lot of the offensive Pokemon of OU, including threats like the Zards and Mega Gardevoir. It's typing, while decent defensively, does give it some big weaknesses to types like Fighting and Rock, which are pretty big right now in OU. It's lack of a physical Ice STAB move also forces it to run LO mixed most of the time, which while powerful, isn't as juiced up like the CB set is. It also faces competiton right now with some other OU wallbreakers, like Nidoking, who has decent utility in countering Clefable and having amazing coverage, although it isn't as powerful as Kyurem-Black.
  • if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
I'd say the meta isn't in favor of Kyurem-B right now, as it's utility factor in checking Electric-types is dimisinshed when usage of offensive Electrics are falling, and common special walls like Chansey can check the LO mixed set if it doesn't run Outrage. The CB set is still very good at wallbreaking and putting massive dents into defensive teams, but it can still be checked by some Pokemon, like Ferrothorn or any other Steel-type if it is locked into Outrage. Like I said above, Kyu-B also has some competition with other wallbreakers, like Nidoking and CB Tar, due to their utility factors coming into action more often than Kyu-B checking Electric-types. However, despite these flaws, Kyurem-Black is still a decent choice
  • sets you used with the Pokemon
Kyurem-Black @ Choice Band
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Iron Head
- Dragon Claw / Ice Beam

This is the main Kyu-B set I used, the Choice Band set, which is a great wallbreaker right now due to Kyu-B's juicy 170 base Attack stat and STAB Outrage and coverage to break through most OU physical walls, while also luring Chansey who can check the LO set. Fusion Bolt is great coverage, hitting Skarmory and bulky Water-types, while having good neutral coverage in general, and is quite powerful with CB. (It does 60% to Rotom-W, which is really nice) Iron Head hits Fairies and Dragon Claw is a more reliable yet less powerful STAB than Outrage. Ice Beam is an option to hit Ground-types like defensive Lando-T which can check this set sort of.


The Team I Used:

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Band
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fusion Bolt
- Iron Head
- Dragon Claw

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Toxic

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe (Putting some Attack and Speed EVs into HP or Defense to better check Excadrill is not a bad idea, so go for it if you want)
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-Turn
- Knock Off

Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Substitute

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Sludge Bomb
 


Ice Cube

Kyurem-Black is something I never really used before now. I was basically just wanting to have a fresh perspective on something. I have been wrecked by Kyurem-b in the past so I know it's at least somewhat good. Despite how powerful it is it sometimes falls by the wayside for other, faster dragon-types. It's huge stats and relatively unique typing however ensure that it hits like a truck and cannot be underestimated.

Strengths
+High attack
+Being half Zekrom means it inherits Zekrom's ability, signature moves and some of it's stats (hence the 170 base atk)
+It has amazing stats all around, its tanky and hits incredibly hard.

Weaknesses
-Slower than most dragons in teir, making it vulnerable to being revenged by Lati@s draco meteors
-Physical sets can be annoying to construct due to a reliance on Outrage for wallbreaking
-Weak to some common types like Rock and Steel, also has a fairly large list of checks and counters despite it's huge offensive power.

Building a team
Kyurem-B is a powerhouse, but it can't operate on its own. Kyurem has too many checks and counters and must rely on team-mates to eliminate them. Azumaril while it can't take a Fusion Bolt is very scary for choice sets as it can absorb a dragon move or ice move and scare Kyurem out. Similarly Breloom Scizor and Metagros scare Kyurem out. On the defensive side, Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn and Chancey are capable of taking almost anything a mixed Kyurem can throw at them. Kyurem pairs well with pokemon like Latios and Keldero. Kyurem can break through walls that give Latios and Keldeo trouble, or if you prefer you can work the other way around, as cube tends to break through the pokemon that Keldeo hates to face.

Building the team I used
(also just realized something, the cube I was using on ladder had 252 def instead of spa due to a typo :/ fixed in import but it made him a lot tankier....though a lot less hard hitting, than he should be)
Kyurem-Black @ leftovers
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
Rash Nature
- Substitute
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam

Keldeo-Resolute @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Substitute

Magnezone @ choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- thunderbolt
- hidden power [fire]
- Flash Cannon

Amoonguss @ black sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- sludge bomb
- giga drain
- clear smog

Landorus-Therian @ leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- U-Turn
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Roost
- Defog
- Heat Wave


Building this team was pretty fun, I started out with Sub Kyurem and CM Keldeo (Originally had HP Electric but switched to sub) The idea was that Kyurem broke down things that CM Keldeo hated to deal with, and similarly Keldeo could come in on things that Kyurem hated and setup on them. To support this duo my first thought was to answer scizor, so I brought Magnezone to trap and eliminate it. Next up Lando T forms a Volt Switch team to pivot in my two sweepers and also gets rocks up. Amoonguss deals with Clefable, Zapdos provides defog support and another answer to Talonflame. All in all I was really proud of this team, and it did good work

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-390670894 <-First Battle with the team. I have a lot to learn
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-390878917 <-A somewhat better battle overall, really fun
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-391965890 <-I fight a Ninjask team.

I did make another team with a scarf Kyurem but it wasn't quite as good in my opinion.

My thoughts on the metagame, outrage and BST a billion pokemon

Kyurem-B is a pokemon I was never really happy with being OU. It always looked too powerful to me. Having used it myself, I can see now that it's not quite as strong as I thought it was. Even though it's stats are impressive, there are solid answers to it. I think that special and mixed sets are going to be the best sets going forward. Dragon type STAB moves are not as spamable as they were in the past, and a choiced set can easily be ruined by a good switch. Kyurem-B overall is a powerful OU threat, but due to it's weaknesses, it still struggles to compete against certain other dragons (and wall-breakers) in the OU tier.
 
closing!

the posts being added to archive are this post on diggersby by HailFall , this post on mega tyranitar by ZANBAKUResh , and this post on kyurem-black by Cheryl. . (dw im making the archive shortly!)

thanks starry blanket for helping me pick the posts to archive. remember: the archived posts are simply the posts that best summarize the pokemon for future reference. not every post needs to summarize the pokemon; some people may just want to center their posts around one aspect, and that's totally okay. you don't need to follow the guidelines perfectly to post here; they're just there to guide you a bit if you're unsure of what to post.

Week 3

Lucario | Slowking | Mega Aerodactyl
Upon multiple requests Lucario was chosen. Strong cleaner with Swords Dance which has some nice coverage behind it. Personally, I've been building quite a lot with Slowking and have about 10 teams with it. Even though its been used in the previous thread (all mons would eventually be reused anyway) I wanted to see the communities approach onto it as the meta has changed a little bit since then. Mega Aerodactyl was the mega of choice this week because starry blanket told me to.

REMEMBER: you simply pick 1 one of these 3 (or 2 / 3 of them if you want :p) and post here saying which one you're taking. also, you can use any set you want!
the discussion period will start on 6/30 (at night in EST--sorry for being late); those of you who want to participate have between now and then to play around with these pokemon.

enjoy!

 
Just missed putting in my write up on Mega TTar, oh well, the tl;dr is neat shock value, but weakness to tons of priority and unimpressive speed after only 1 Dragon Dance kills his chances at being usable in the metagame.

I'll take slowking this week and get my analysis in earlier :)
 
closing!

Punching Spagetti Camilas StarBomber109 -Magic- ZANBAKUResh Monkey Smurf

thanks everyone that signed up! you guys have between now and monday (7/4) night EST to write up your posts about whichever pokemon you took (Lucario / Mega Aerodactyl / Slowking). as a reminder:
If you take a test subject, it is expected that you'll post. Your posts don't need to be super lengthy & detailed, but they shouldn't be super short and simple. I'm not gonna put some arbitrary regulation on how many sentences you should have, but you should have at least a small paragraph.
and as a reminder to those unsure of what to post:
Things you can post include (but are not limited to):
  • strategies used
  • how you went about building with this Pokemon
  • general strengths / weaknesses you noticed about the Pokemon
  • if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
  • sets you used with the Pokemon
remember: you aren't limited to these guidelines; they're just here to help in case you aren't sure what to post. if you'd prefer to focus on 1 specific aspect of the pokemon you selected rather than a broad overview, that's totally okay! if you're still lost, try checking out this post by Infernal. if you didn't sign up but you'd like to post, feel free to do so, but just don't post if you haven't used the pokemon in awhile / at all. also, if you signed up, but you cannot find the time to post, don't worry about it! just please don't do it regularly :x for those of you who post about politoed / rain, please mention in your post whether you enjoy focusing more on a playstyle as a whole or just a single pokemon n_n
 

AM

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LCPL Champion


Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
- Dragon Dance

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 76 Atk / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot (insert hidden power of choice here depending on matchups)
- Superpower
- Knock Off

Ferrothorn @ Occa Berry / Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SpD
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
- Swords Dance

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Introduction:

I built this team for some pals almost a week ago. It was based on putting a lot of offensive pressure through the use of Spikes and utilizing offensive pressure by Life Orb Starmie and Thundurus, with Char-X and Lucario as its supposed end-game. Hazards and utility provided by Ferro and Lando-T theoretically allows the wall-breaker and sweeping cores to supplement their breaks and sweeps. The conventional checks to the two main win-cons are weakened by Spikes or in the case of something like Heatran that annoys Char-X, comes in on Ferrothorn most times while it proceeds to Thunder Wave on the Switch in.

Strategies Used:

Lucario teams will normally follow a pretty basic structure of two versions, at least if you were to ask me my team-building philosophy around building a team based on Lucario. It will look like this centered around offensive pressure and mandatory Spikes, taking the more aggressive approach, or it will be mandated as a final win condition on bulkier teams using its pivots and long term such as the team here where I built with Lucario end game in mind. The first team showcased here focuses on the more offensive side of a team with Lucario in it, the second is a more bulkier offense. You will, or at least you should, provide yourself cores and build upon providing Lucario set up opportunities. On the first team an example is the susceptibility of playing Pursuit mind-games with Scarf Tyranitar against Thundurus, Starmie punishing a locked pursuit to give Lucario an opportunity to SD. The second build mentioned prior uses Latios to a lesser extent Volcanion to pull this off.

How you went about building with this Pokemon:

Already stated more or less but normally it's implementing mons that appreciate Lucarios support while they can help Lucario out with issues it has. On this team for example the combination of Spikes, Thundurus, Starmie, and Char-X's tendency to bring Slowbro out to slow down a sweep helps Lucario break the bulky water that would normally wall it to help supplement a clean. On the other hand Lucarios access to Extremespeed helps clean up certain threats on offense that rely on +1 priority that can be annoying such as Talonflame, or in the case of wall-breaking helps with stall teams who normally can only take 1 hit from Lucario while dancing around its coverage moves. Envisioning a game plan to work instead of getting overly worked up about certain checks and counters is how these teams are normally built, most ORAS anyways.

Strengths / Weaknesses:

Mentioned already, Slowbro is an issue for the standard set of CC, Espeed, IronTail, SD. Gengar to an extent doesn't care about Espeed but won't switch in. Outside of certain specific mons and scenarios, Lucario is also a kill or be killed mon due to its frailness which is the biggest downfall you'll notice and particularly why it'll seen a lot more on offensive based teams. Its coverage move in the 3rd slot dictates a lot on what it can be effective against or fall flat with. Normally they'll run Iron Tail as a necessity to break defensive teams and the omnipresent Clefable easily.

Meta in Favor:

Not really but this is and always has been kind of a stupid question since the meta changes all the time and sometimes it's subjective based on who you're asking. One person can think Serp is great another person can think it's ass. More of a question to judge for yourself.

Sets you used:

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail
- Swords Dance

Standard

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance

When there was a huge Diancie craze

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Ice Punch
- Swords Dance

Good to lure all the defensive Lando-Ts

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Extreme Speed
- Crunch
- Swords Dance

Better during the M-Slowbro era but still something to consider if you know you're facing an opp who uses Slowbro a lot.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Flash Cannon
- Vacuum Wave / Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot

Add something to trap Chansey and chances are you're probably gonna 6-0 most defensive teams with this. A lot of amateurs like to switch in Skarmory to Whirlwind Lucario after set up cause reactively they'll think it's SD. If you're using it for stall Focus Blast is the way to go. If for something like Sand balances Vaccuum Wave.
 
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zbr

less than 99% acc = never hit
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus

The Aura Pokemon
"By catching the Aura emanating from others, it can read their thoughts and movements."
  • Preface
    Being a popular icon in Pokemon history, Lucario is not only a fan favorite that got the honor of being the first batch of Pokemons to receive a Mega Evolution, but also an overwhelmingly strong standalone mon ever since it's introduction in gen 4. Lucario is one of those mons that have access to everything: Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Agility, Calm Mind, Bulk Up, Aura Sphere, Vaccum Wave, Extreme Speed, Bullet Punch, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse.. And the list goes on! It's powerful offensive typing backed up by the fact that it has so many of these booster moves and a phletora of good and useful offensive coverages and STABs make this mon a highly touted sweeper / wallbreaker. It's typing gives it a resistance to the most common utility move in the game: Knock Off and it also allows it to get a +1 boost from it. Steadfast means that you can lure in Fake Outs from mons like M-Lop, proceed to outspeed it with +1 then smash it's head in with it's STABs. Amazing as this mon sounds, it suffers from a strategic 4mss that ailes it with a problematic position in this everchanging metagame coupled with an extremely sad 90 base speed and frail defenses (70 on both ends), making this mon much more harder to tame and pilot.
  • strategies used
    It's an exciting pokemon to use on teams no doubt but with the current metagame, many variants of Lucario can be used due to it's versatility as well as type coverages. The more common sets that are used include SD 3 Attacks, Agility 3 Attacks, NP 3 Attacks, Double Dance, Sub NP and AOA. I decided that I would try the first 4 sets and decide if they were worth mentioning on this report / experiment. SD LO, being the one with access to the highest power priority and STAB priority which allows it to bypass it's meager speed stat, was the first one I tested out with. It was insane and as usual, capable of breaking apart bulky and offensive teams alike. The raw power that Adamant LO provides you with (speed stat can be forgone to an extent due to the prevalence of priority) is amazing and helps to soften a lot of checks and physical walls such that other behemoths can come in to clean up (M-Pins, M-Hera, Terrak, Scarf Lando.. Etc). It also makes the end game a lot more easier as access to dual priority means that you worry less about those stray Dnites with banded espeed and being a mon that is faster than Loom, Azu, Msciz and is capable of outprioritisingMCham, it is an amazing mon to use in this metagame if you play it well to it's strong traits (which is the access to dual hard hitting priorities and it's important steel / fighting typing which allows it to come in on the omnipresent dark type moves). NP and Agility were much less appealing as they were not as capable of establishing a strong field compared to the SD set but the surprise factor helps a lot in games where common switch ins to the physical sets were demolished by the special set (interestingly enough is the reason why MLuke got itself banned hehe)
  • how you went about building with this Pokemon
    There isn't much way to go about building with Lucario. It's simple. You either use it to weaken stuff up so that another monster can deal with it, or vice versa. Hence, for that to happen, it would be more appropriate if you coupled it with a team that is able to provide pressure by constantly applying spikes and other variable type of hazards onto the field that forces your opponent to lose a turn by dealing with said hazards. This in turn provides opportunities for Lucario to either come in and break the opposing team into two, or for it to clean up opposing teams. Build it like as if you would build the team with a Bisharp.
  • if the meta is in favor of the Pokemon or not
    I'd say just give it a shot. There's no real way of deciding if it's in favor or not but I just feel that as long as you have fun with the mon in a competitive fashion then yes it is in favor. Overall, I just think that luke is one of those underappreciated mons that takes a fair bit of skill to play but is extremely fun whenever you get it to work [:
  • sets you used with the Pokemon
    -standard spread-
    Lucario @ Life Orb
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Close Combat
    - Extreme Speed
    - Iron Tail
    - Swords Dance

    -dual priority-
    Lucario @ Life Orb
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Close Combat
    - Extreme Speed
    - Bullet Punch
    - Swords Dance

    -special variant-
    Lucario @ Life Orb
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Modest Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Dark Pulse
    - Flash Cannon
    - Vacuum Wave / Focus Blast
    - Nasty Plot / Hidden Power Ice*

    *use this only if you are really desperate to deal with lando-T / chomps on switch ins and you don't want to use another mon to deal with it

    -Choice Scarf-
    Lucario @ Choice Scarf
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Close Combat
    - Extreme Speed
    - Iron Tail
    - Crunch

    -Choice Specs-
    Lucario @ Choice Specs
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Modest Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Dark Pulse
    - Flash Cannon
    - Vacuum Wave / Focus Blast
    - Hidden Power Ice

    sets to catch people by surprise and for you to have fun with [:
  • Team used
    lastly, here are some teams that I stole / made and just enjoyed using them on the ladder / against friends.
    credits to FV (iirc this team is his)
    Absol-Mega @ Absolite
    Ability: Pressure
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Jolly Nature
    - Knock Off
    - Play Rough
    - Sucker Punch
    - Swords Dance

    Azumarill @ Choice Band
    Ability: Huge Power
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 162 HP / 252 Atk / 94 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Waterfall
    - Aqua Jet
    - Knock Off
    - Play Rough

    Garchomp (F) @ Rocky Helmet
    Ability: Rough Skin
    EVs: 232 HP / 156 Def / 120 Spe
    Naive Nature
    - Dragon Tail
    - Earthquake
    - Fire Blast
    - Stealth Rock

    Gengar @ Life Orb
    Ability: Levitate
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Shadow Ball
    - Sludge Wave
    - Focus Blast
    - Taunt

    Alakazam @ Life Orb
    Ability: Magic Guard
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Encore
    - Psychic
    - Focus Blast
    - Shadow Ball

    Lucario @ Life Orb
    Ability: Justified
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Close Combat
    - Swords Dance
    - Extreme Speed
    - Bullet Punch
    this is a slightly older fun team i built ard spikes luke. play this team aggressively.
    Manectric-Mega @ Manectite
    Ability: Lightning Rod
    EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    - Volt Switch
    - Thunderbolt
    - Hidden Power [Ice]
    - Flamethrower

    Keldeo-Resolute @ Lum Berry
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Hydro Pump
    - Scald
    - Secret Sword
    - Calm Mind

    Latios @ Life Orb
    Ability: Levitate
    EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
    Timid Nature
    IVs: 0 Atk
    - Draco Meteor
    - Psyshock
    - Calm Mind
    - Recover

    Ryucario (Lucario) @ Life Orb
    Ability: Justified
    EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
    Adamant Nature
    - Close Combat
    - Swords Dance
    - Extreme Speed
    - Bullet Punch

    Garchomp (F) @ Rocky Helmet
    Ability: Rough Skin
    Shiny: Yes
    EVs: 192 HP / 168 Def / 148 Spe
    Naive Nature
    - Dragon Tail
    - Earthquake
    - Fire Blast
    - Stealth Rock

    Klefki @ Leftovers
    Ability: Prankster
    EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
    Calm Nature
    - Thunder Wave
    - Magnet Rise
    - Spikes
    - Flash Cannon / Dazzling Gleam
 
Aerodactyl Mega.



None of you probably remember my Hawlucah research where I complained about missing HJKs, well this stuff keeps happening to me just like then though, I'll keep it as objective as I can...despite missing all the time or just, making a team with him on it, and never switching him in.


Who is he?

Aerodactyl's mega is essentially a better version of its normal self. It gains the ability tough claws which improves a few of it's non-STAB attacks (sadly stone edge is not boosted) and it gains even more speed and attack. It still has all its old flaws however, it can't boost its attack in any way, so it doesn't hit all that hard. Still, it is one of the fastest pokemon in the tier and it's certainly the fastest non-uber mega (tied with M-Alakazam).


Strengths

+SUPER FAST, it is literally the fastest mega by base speed.

+Decent attack, backed up by tough claws making it a late-game threat

+Useful resists to things like Brave Bird and EQ


Weaknesses

-stealth rocks, you should find a way to clear them

-it takes your mega slot for honestly not a whole lot of gain over regular areo (or other fast cleaner-role pokemon)

-Best flying STAB is Aerial Ace, no rock STABs to get boosted by Tough Claws, normally good 'edge/quake combo' also not boosted by tough claws.

-Ice Shard and Bullet Punch (meaning Weavile and Scizor respectively)

-relatively frail.


Sets used

Mega Aero tends to be really one dimensional. There's two things it's really good at, pursuit trapping and speed control/revenging. You could use it like a suicide lead but there's way better pokemon for that (and it would also lose to Lando-T, ya know, the most popular stealth rocker in the game right now.) Of those two sets, I think the cleaner is the one I liked the most. It outruns pretty much everything in the tier, is one of the few pokemon that can outrun M-Loppuny without some kind of boosting item, and is decent enough at it's role of countering fast frail sweepers.

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Roost
- Aerial Ace
- Stone Edge
-Aqua Tail

Note: you can use taunt if you want, I like roost because it lets him gain some momentum if he has to eat an attack or two.



Building a Team Around it?

This was the hardest part. Mostly because I built a lot of teams with Mega Aero on them and even when I won it was when I never switched in Mega Aero, so I really wasn't sure what it could really do.




This was the first team I put together. Serperior and Aero form a kind of high speed threat core, the rest of the team was just trying to cover weaknesses. Team ended up being super weak to magnezone and scizor which I had no answer to. Mega Scizor could setup for free on most of the team and the only thing Magnezone feared was Gliscor, which could be 2-shot by Flash Cannon if it was specs. It could volt-switch for free on everything else...so I went back to the drawing board.





the second team I made was more balanced, and a little more of a rush-down. It still had some weaknesses thought, Mag took care of the scizor weakness. It still had a few issues, and one thing I did notice was that playing this team, I never got to use Mega Aero, the battle got decided by the other team members one way or the other, Aero didn't really feel useful. Hanging out on the bench with nothing to do.





This is my latest team. Again, I began with Serp/Aero, Latios removes rocks and is extremely offensive with Life Orb, Jirachi sets up stealth rocks and can U-Turn to pivot. The Rotom set is Sub/Split, it's an experiment, it's fast and hits harder than people might expect. Lastly Thund offeres some speed control from prankster and packs a punch.




Serperior @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Dragon Pulse
- Taunt

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Roost
- Aerial Ace
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail

Latios @ Draco Plate
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Roost
- Psyshock

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- U-turn

Rotom-Wash @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Pain Split
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump

Thundurus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Grass Knot


http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-394640651 ← a rare replay of me actually switching in Aero, and doing it's job! Beating M-Lop 1v1, something VERY few frail megas can do.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-394650743 ← game I probably could have won if I was using a real Thund set :P Also shows that, Lop can beat Aero if it mega evolves first. That's one advantage that Lop has over Mega Aero, it can mega evolve relatively safely, Aero cannot unless it runs protect (and there's no real reason to) BUT AS MY OPPONENT SAYS, try not to forfeit games as you never know what your opponent might do :P


Mega Aero vs the metagame: As I said above, there are plenty of fast cleaner pokemon that are not megas (some that are) that do as good or a better job than Mega Aero does. It does have surprise value, as people don't normally see it, but most people are aware that it's super fast and super easy to KO. It's also really frustrating to build a team around it as every time I do I feel like I have a dead weight holding my mega stone. I can't switch it in safely, so I have to double switch or bait something, or get something really weak and then switch it in to revenge. It is actually really good at its role, its just not better at that role than certain other pokemon. Certainly still strong, just not as strong as certain other picks. If you wanna make kinda a sub optimal team then sure, you can use it, someone who's better at battling than me can probably find the most optimal team to put it on, but I still don't feel like it's the most optimal choice if your goal is dominating the metagame.
 
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Mega Rock Beard



Aerodactyl has always been a very intriguing mon due to its speed tier and access to strong support moves like Tailwind and Stealth Rocks. But when Gen 6 came along, Aerodactyl finally got to take a bit of the spotlight (except not really because no one uses it) as an offensive mon, with a Mega Evolution that gave it Tough Claws, along with boosted attack and speed.


Strengths
-
Incredible Speed tier that outpaces the entire unboosted metagame (barring a speed tie with Mega Alakazam)
- Tough Claws, which makes up for the low base power of most of its moves
- A multitude of coverage moves to choose from (including Wing Attack, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Pursuit, Aqua Tail, Iron Head, and the Fangs)
- Solid support options like Stealth Rock, Tailwind, Taunt, and even Defog if you're really, really desperate.
- Access to reliable recovery in Roost

Weaknesses
-
Offensive moves have either high base power or a Tough Claws boost, but not both, so Aerodactyl's power is a bit lacking
- No way to boost attack outside of Hone Claws, which is decent but not stellar
- Stealth Rocks weakness means sets lacking Roost get worn down very quickly
- Middling bulk means it often needs a safe switch-in
- Bad case of 4MSS, since it really wants STABS + coverage + Pursuit + Roost at the very least.
- It's a mega, so there's some opportunity cost to using it.


Strategies Used / Teambuilding
Since Aerodactyl has tons of coverage, but not a lot of power, it functions best in one of two roles- a late-game cleaner, once everything is weakened (especially with a 4-attacks set) or a glue mon that checks/lures certain threats to a team. I tried to surround it with wallbreakers to soften up the opposing team, creating ideal opportunities for Aerodactyl to sweep. Wallbreakers also have a tendency to force switches, and Aerodactyl can come in on these for free, and they put offensive pressure on the opposing team, helping Aerodactyl's team control the hazard game. To go with these wallbreakers, Aerodactyl needs strong hazard control. Winning hazard wars is vital for Aero because it helps with everything Aero needs- opposing hazards wear down their team, while keeping hazards away lets Aero switch in more freely.




The first team I built using Aerodactyl was not built around it. Instead, I began with a pair of wall-breakers, then used Aerodactyl as a glue mon to complement the two.



Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Superpower

Dragalge @ Assault Vest
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald

Magneton @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Low Kick
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash

Aerodactyl @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Stone Edge
- Roost
- Aqua Tail

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 56 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dragon Tail
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast

My initial core (Azumarill + Dragalge) struggled with mons such as Amoonguss, and the whole team was weak to Talonflame. It also really benefited from a weakened Landorus-T and Heatran (Heatran made Azumarill really hesitant to click Play Rough, stopping it from really checking Dragons). Aerodactyl is used in this team to support my primary breakers and keep up momentum. Between Dragalge and Magneton, I'm a bit weak to ground, so it's nice to have a decent switch-in (even though Aero is frail). I gave my Aerodactyl Roost on this team, since it needs to be able to switch in a bit more frequently. Wing Attack beats SpDef Grass types that Azumarill and Dragalge hate, and Stone Edge is just a nice STAB. Aqua Tail is the only move Aero gets that hits Heatran and Landorus-T super effectively, letting it weaken them easily and take advantage of their lack of reliable recovery.

The combination of Aerodactyl + Magnet Pull is very effective because Ferrothorn and Scizor both give this Aerodactyl trouble once my set is revealed, but Magneton can trap and remove both of those threats. In addition. Scarf Magneton beats Weavile extremely effectively, providing more support for Aerodactyl.

It's worth noting that this team lacks hazard removal, but since Aerodactyl is my only Rocks-weak pokemon, it's not that much of a concern. Aerodactyl still functions well with rocks up if you play it well.

The second Aero team I built (which was thrown together fairly quickly because I totally forgot about this) but showcases 4 attacks M-Aero.


Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Fang
- Fire Fang
- Wing Attack
- Stone Edge

Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Rapid Spin

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Rash Nature
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Soft-Boiled

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower


This team was built specifically for 4-attacks Mega Aerodactyl, showing off the coverage that Aerodactyl can get. Fire Fang lures in things like Jirachi and Ferrothorn, helping out Latios and Clefable. Ice Fang is a guaranteed 2HKO even on Defensive Lando-T after Intimidate, which is very useful. Again, the team can take advantage of the coverage that Aerodactyl lacks. It lacks a way to hit opposing Heatran, but since Heatran is a free switch for Starmie, I can fire off an Analytic Hydro Pump to punch a hole in the opposing team.
This team doubles up on hazard removal, since it runs both Aerodactyl and Kyurem-B, and offensive Starmie isn't the most reliable of long term spinners, while Clefable is my stealth rocker, because it tends to stick around a while too.

Metagame Matchup
Aerodactyl does okay in this metagame, but it struggles against a lot of common threats like sand, Azumarill, Weavile, and steel-types. It can run coverage for these (Tailwind + Earthquake actually beats Sand Rush Excadrill with a bit of prior damage if you want that), and these mons do have fairly common checks that can support Aerodactyl. It's coverage does work against balance teams, since it can be tailored to hit whatever your team needs, and balance teams have become more prevalent.

I think the meta actually does favor it just a little bit, because it has options to beat a lot of what it wants to. It can't do everything with one set, of course, but it can tailor itself to fit its team. It definitely earned its place on my team, and I think it's good enough to hold its own in OU.
 
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Infernal

Banned deucer.

Overview

The main advantage Slowking has over Slowbro is higher special defense. This allows Slowking to handle special attackers like Keld, Volcanion, and Latios more reliably. The increased special defense also proves useful in CM wars versus threats like Clefable. The higher special defense is also nice to have in situations where you are already +1 and need to cushion blows from Pokemon like Mega Venu and Mega Manec. One cool thing with Slowking is its ability to viably run a physically defensive spread to better handle threats like Mega Lop. Combined with its naturally high special defense, this allows Slowking to take hits relatively well from both sides from Pokemon like Mega Diancie. Regardless, Slowking still faces competition from Slowbro. The loss in overall physical defense compared to Slowbro means Slowking is more easily overwhelmed by the various physical attackers in OU, examples being Exca, Lando-T, Talon, and Terrak. Pursuit is also everywhere in OU, and Slowking is more vulnerable to this because of its lower physical bulk. Because these things are all so dangerous and common, Slowbro is generally the more attractive option unless a team needs the extra special defense.

Besides the above, there are a few other interesting things Slowking has over Slowbro. In my opinion, the main two are NP and Trick Room. Slowking is surprisingly powerful and has good coverage (Psyshock, Scald, Fire Blast), so it's able to use NP and TR effectively to act in a more offensive capacity. Although far from common, AV is another way Slowking can be used on teams. As said earlier, Slowking's special defense is good. With AV, its special defense is amplified and allows Slowking to now switch into threats like Char-Y and Mega Zam with less fear. Coupled with Regenerator, this makes Slowking a nice Pokemon to use for pivoting purposes. Dragon Tail is another move Slowking has over Slowbro and can be used on AV sets to phaze boosters in a pinch.

Building

Given the nature of Slowking, it's normally going to be found on balanced builds alongside Pokemon like Tangrowth and Tran, who provide your basic FWG synergy. Sand builds are another place I often see Slowking. It's able to help these archetypes deal with Pokemon like Keld and appreciates having Tar as a partner to eliminate various threats, examples being Mega Manec, Mega Latias, Gengar, and so on. Here are some teams I made around Slowking recently:

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Version 1

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Slowking @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Toxic

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 80 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch

____

Version 2

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Slowking @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Toxic

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 80 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 240 HP / 136 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Substitute

____

Version 3

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Slowking @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt
- Toxic

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 28 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 80 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Clear Smog
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch

____

Version 4

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 32 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Toxic

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off

Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 216 Def / 48 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Powder

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Return
- Ice Punch

  • Version 1: CB Tyranitar + TR Slowking was the original core, which I submitted here. The speed on CB Tar is for Rotom-W, who can be annoying to deal with for this team. Because the original core is really weak to Mega Sciz and is threatened by Grass types in general, Tran was quickly added to address these issues and provide SR. Lando-T quickly followed, providing a mandatory Ground immunity and much needed speed to help an otherwise slow team check threats like Mega Cham and Mega Gard better. Amoonguss was then added to provide a check to Keld and Clefable. Because Slowking is offensive rather than bulky CM, this was necessary. Handling Loom, Azu, and Rotom-W is another reason Amoonguss was added. Mega Lop was the final member to check Pokemon like Bisharp and provide more speed overall to help the team versus numerous offensive threats.
    Version 2: Version with Mega Hera and some differing sets from version 1. Rather than focusing on using CB to wall break, Tar is running Scarf here to check more threats like Mega Pinsir and friends. Mega Hera then becomes the wall breaker of the team to make up for the loss in CB Tar and check similar things Mega Lop did for version 1, like Weavile. The ground resistance Mega Hera provides is a notable advantage over Mega Lop too, especially with Lando-T opting for Choice Scarf on this team to provide further necessary speed control. Threatening Slowbro and Rotom-W more than Mega Lop can is also nice considering they can both be annoying for version 1.
    Version 3: Same Pokemon and building process as version 1 with differing sets. Tar is packing Scarf for much of the same reason as version 2. Lando-T is the SR setter and takes a more defensive approach here to make Pokemon like Exca less problematic than the above versions. Tran became the 'stall breaker' with Magma Storm to slightly make up for the loss in CB Tar in version 1 and Mega Hera in version 2.
    Version 4: Overall, this version will deal with things better than the others because it's using a more standard approach with CM Slowking to handle Pokemon like Clefable, Mega Diancie, and Keldeo better. This gives me flexibility to use physically defensive Tangrowth over Amoonguss to make Ground types like Excadrill less threatening, which is again useful considering Lando-T is using Scarf here.
The teams follow a basic framework with Slowking honestly, with the fourth version showing how you can tailor its sets to fulfill certain roles and cover certain threats. FWG is standard for Slowking teams, backed by a solid offensive backbone to apply your own pressure and avoid being passive.

Conclusion

Slowking is a cool Pokemon and has some unique advantages over Slowbro, namely a higher special defensive and access to moves like NP. I think it's a perfectly fine Pokemon in this metagame as a bulky Water type and is a good choice for many teams. Use the advantages and strengths Slowking has over Slowbro and it's more than likely going to serve your team well.
 
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Slowking


Set Details:


I only worked with the assault vest pivot set below, so that's what my analysis is based around.

Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psychic
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

This set works well on a balance team that needs checks to powerful special attackers that can also get the jump on switch-ins with its numerous coverage moves. This set can come in on Specs Keldeo and LO Latios with no problems and threaten them out with the appropriate move. With the moves listed, Slowking can easily hit switch-ins hard with the appropriate coverage move. Regenerator is Slowking's best ability and allows him to forgo slack off and leftovers recovery for all attacking moves. Unfortunately, Slowking is identical to Slowbro in every aspect besides special defense, making it difficult to argue using him. Slowbro and Slowking's typing helps more on the physical side than special, and Slowbro's physical bulk helps him to take common moves like knock off and u-turn much better than Slowking. However, Slowking can fill an important niche in teams that need a blanket cover for the threats described above.

The Good:
+ Wide movepool with great coverage
+ Really solid special bulk + Regenerator lets it handle dangerous threats (Latios, Keldeo, etc)
+ Decent support options with status moves, boosting moves, and recovery

The Bad:
- Knock off weakness is difficult to deal with
- Relies heavily on prediction to be effective for pivot set
- Not particularly bulky on the physical side

Metagame Favorability:

Slowking is certainly viable in the current metagame, with the ubiquity of Keldeo, Latios, Heatran, and other special attakers. While he may not be as splash-able as Slowbro, his special bulk makes him a great fit for balance teams requiring an answer to some of the special powerhouses in the metagame currently.
 
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