Research Week v2 #5

[Sam]

I have been asked to handle week 5 of Research Week on behalf of Mazz. On that note:

Keep the following things in mind during every Research Group:

• Be open-minded, don't just say something is terrible and walk away; look at its stats and typing and think something up!
• Feel free to theorymon early in the research period, but make it clear you're doing so. Later in the period though, you will be expected to back up your posts with hard evidence like logs, actual sets, perhaps even teams.
• Just because an analysis has been done for a Pokemon doesn't mean there isn't more to explore; it's very likely that something has gone unnoticed.
• Do not post in this thread complaining about the Pokemon or movesets I choose and / or suggesting ones we should do for future weeks. Feel free to VM / PM me these suggestions, but don't expect me to always listen to you..

A few things to clarify:

• Sign-ups can be as late as you want, but cut-off days will be on Tuesday (also the day that I post a new thread)
• Early period means the first three days of the Research Week, so let's keep the theorymoning to a minimum after. The late period refers to the last four days of the research week, where raw evidence and discussion should become the basis of the thread.
• The prizes for Research Week have been decided; winning a Research Week will grant you half-ops on our IRC channel, #xyuu. You'll also get put in the UU Hall of Fame. Don't forget, participation in projects like Research Week help towards earning the Community Contributor badge!
  
• I'm implementing a mandatory discussion in order to be considered as a winner of Research Week. If you do not post one somewhat-coherent post that describes the pokemon that you're using, their roles, and their niche in the metagame, you will be disqualified from winning this week. Please post about your experiences no matter if you think you've got a chance to win or not.
• Finally, I'd like to implore you to all please remember to post and save your replays. Often, these replays are the most informative sources of information about RW pokemon - you can write a full two paragraphs about the role of a pokemon, but often that can all be summed up with a video and an explanation of it.

This Week's Research Pokemon:

CurseLax / Specs Yanmega / Froslass / Doublade
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Curselax

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Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs:
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Crunch / Sleep Talk / Earthquake

Specs Yanmega

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Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain
- U-turn / Sleep Talk

How useful are these Pokemon in XYUU? What gives them trouble? What advantages do they have over other Pokemon? How well do they work in the metagame? If you have anything to say about any of these Pokemon, please post about them! It doesn't matter if you've used them or have just faced them in battle, anything is fine (but please, do try them). Just be sure to back up your posts with good competitive reasoning. Remember, discussion is not limited to this topic, you are encouraged to talk about these Pokemon in #xyuu as well!

The Research Group Challenge:

In order to participate you must do the following:

• 
  
  
  • Post here with a fresh alt 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 first stage of the challenge will be very relaxed so theorymon will be allowed as long as its backed up by good reasoning. During the later stage, discussion will be expected to be backed up by hard evidence, such as teams, actual sets, and logs. The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU ladder on the alt they registered at the time the challenge ends. Winners will also receive a permanent spot in the XYUU Hall of Fame (found in the Resource Thread).

 

[YABO]

in Froslass

alt: fight to the death

 

[Colbrushie]

in: Froslass

alt: Colfrosty

What's there to research on this thing :[

in: Doublade/Specsmega

 

[Sleepless]

I personally think CurseLax fairs better with Return>Body Slam.

 

[lucariomaster2]

I'm in with Froslass. Alt: Froslassmaster2

 

[Venduria]

Not the best player by any means, but I'll give it a shot.

Alt: ResearchAngles
Gonna give Specs Yanmega and Curselax a swing.

Edit: I'm assuming since no EVs are entered in the Curselax set that we are able to tweak however we want?

Edit: Ok, I'm 9/1 (lost my first game lol) with a team, here are my initial thoughts.

Yanmega: This thing really hurts. Tinted Lens Choice Specs means any switch in will get dented pretty bad. I've noticed that people just expect the Protect Speed Boost set, and will either stay in and try and set up, or switch to a resist and get 2HKOed. 4x SR weakness is a huge turnoff, but Giga Drain was providing enough sustain to help get around it. Still can't do anything about Blissey and the like, but U-Turn the predicted switch in can really keep the momentum in your favor. Haven't tried Sleep Talk at all (partly because Snorlax absorbs sleep for me), but U-Turn seems to be a better choice in most cases.

Snorlax: I have mixed feelings about Curselax. He's a great win condition, provided you have the support to deal with anything that walls him to high hell and back (which is enough to be frustrating). If you run Sleep Talk, every Ghost type ever will just make you cry, let alone the Steels and Rocks that will still wall you. Run Crunch, and you are a sitting duck while you are resting, although your coverage will become decent enough. I've tried both options, and Sleep Talk has given me much more success. Curselax definitely needs team support to be worth the team slot; I've found Toxic Spikes and Pursuit trappers to really help Snorlax get the opportunity to set up and sweep.

Again, this is all coming from someone who is not in high ladder by any means. I look forward to seeing how they continue to do as I climb. Thus far, I have them being supported by Scarfrachi, Pursuit M-Aerodactyl, Heal Bell Vaporeon, and T-Spikes Nidoqueen.

Edit: 20/3 now, and Curselax is better than I originally thought. This thing gets impossibly bulky after a few Curses, and Thick Fat means you can switch in on special Fire and Ice moves with little drawback (252+ SpA Choice Specs Delphox Overheat vs. 144 HP / 176+ SpD Thick Fat Snorlax: 115-136 (23.1 - 27.3%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery). The biggest issue I see is the difficulty in actually getting to that win condition; any Ghost type will wall it forever, phazers will come in and wreck your day if you can't OHKO (which you shouldn't be able to without multiple boosts), and Taunt can be difficult to deal with at a bad time.
Yanmega is great if you can keep rocks off, but honestly it seems like with proper prediction, Giga Drain can keep you healthy for multiple switch ins. Tinted Lens deals with common resist switch ins like M-Aggron (2HKOed with Bug Buzz) and M-Aerodactyl (62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock with Bug Buzz), and this is with Timid nature. Generally pleased with the two of them so far.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181446115 (Curselax and Specs Yanmega going ham)

 

[Sam]

Yes, you can use any EVs you'd like on CurseLax. The one on the analysis is outdated so I figured you can use whatever you like

 

[glock in my toyota]

I am SOOOOOOO in.
Hyper Offense is my favorite playstyle, so this is my element, lets go.
Pokemon: Froslass of Course
Alt: Elsa Though

 

[Pokemoon]

in (hopefully i don't just end up like last week)
name: GhostsRFun
pokemon: Doublade and Froslass

EDIT: 19/8 (my team is doing the work not the research week pokemon :( froslass like is a suicide set up normally and doublade isn't doing anything)

EDIT 2: will post some replays here later, but for now i'll share the sets i'm using, and explain them later when i've used them more

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Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
- Swords Dance

Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Icy Wind
- Spikes
- Taunt

 

[YABO]

I think the real research behind Froslass was finding out just how viable Hyper Offense is atm and I have to say, I think it's extremely viable. I've been using a fairly gimmicky team with 3 fighting-types + Froslass and it has been tons of fun and a fairly successful team thus far. The real heavy hitters in the tier appreciate Spikes a ridiculous amount and a clutch cursed body can hand you a game within the first 2 turns.

Replays

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Low Ladder
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180760398 (Mienshao Wall breaks and cleans)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180763000 (3 Spikes allow for easy Wall breaking)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180764749 (Guts Champ weakens team for Mienshao)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180775490 (Hazards set up easy Mienshao clean)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180778137 (Played Lass horribly but luckily his team just loses to Luc)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180782819 (Lass gets hazards and a kill)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180815418 (Lass becomes a shaky Zygarde check)

Mid Ladder
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180818089 (Hazards allow for easy Mienshao clean up)

High Ladder(?)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-180900807 (3 Spikes, Taunt, and Cursed Body allow for a free SD and clean sweep)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181574018 (Use my favorite strategy of just hitting things)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181580671 (Get outplayed early but still get my hazards up)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181746936 (Aero cleans up lategame)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181775755 (Hazards wear down team for Luc clean up)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uu-181020747 (Foddering Lass gives me a free Spin Block to keep up hazards and offensive pressure