Project SM OU Weekly Research [Round 16: Greninja & Mega Latios]

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Gengar

Overview

Gengar is a pokemon that has been a fan favourite for many years, and has been pretty much exclusively in the overused tier throughout all 7 generations. But, can it stand up to today's OU metagame?
Gengar has a number of workable sets, however most (except for zmove lure sets and some more obscure ones) share the same set of counters and checks. Specs is a powerful breaker that can threaten many teams, but falls short to a few common defensive threats and is easily trapped thanks to it being forced to lock moves. Life Orb and Ghostium sets trade this immediate power for the ability to switch moves, which can in certain scenarios make Gengar harder to play around. Lure sets can eliminate specific threats for teammates too, which can be extremely helpful for powerful pokemon such as Magearna and Ash-Greninja. However, most of these sets come with some form of opportunity cost, whether it's using a zmove or simply not being able to run a more powerful or "comprehensive" breaker.
So what's changed for Gengar? Over the generational shift, this Pokemon lost its ability levitate in favour of cursed body. This can prove to be both a curse and a blessing. On the negative side, pokemon such as scarf and defensive landorus-t have a far easier time against it, being able to kill with STAB attacks, and losing such an important immunity is never a good thing. However, more positively, Gengar now has the incredibly useful ability to absorb toxic spikes, which is extremely helpful against offensive and balanced teams alike that may utilise the hazard. Cursed Body can also come in clutch against choice-locked pokemon. In addition to the ability change, several new checks to Gengar were introduced, including Toxapex, Celesteela and the omnipresent Magearna, although this is somewhat balanced against the introduction of some slower fairy-types which it has a good matchup against (eg. bulu). Gengar also suffered from the arena trap ban, which led people to increasingly turn toward pursuit trapping- a technique that Gengar is incredibly weak to.
Sets
(n.b. some of these are bad and probably not worth using this is just every set i tested)
@

Gengar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Trick
- Focus Blast

So the first set i decided to try was specs gar. I figured that it'd be a cool breaker that pressured fat teams and wasn't completely dead against more offensive teams due to it's decent speed tier. While that was true to an extent, I found it to be quite underwhelming as it still struggled to break specially defensive pex variants, mega venusaur and assorted other bulky mons. Additionally, it struggles to no end with bandtar and other pursuit trappers thanks to the fact that it can't switch moves. It's also held back by poor bulk meaning it can't come in on much of its own accord. Admittedly, the mons it pressures are kinda cool for something like ashninja to capitalise on, but the fact that against a lot of teams running either ttar or the other mons mentioned above it struggles to even get a kill is kind of a letdown.

@

Gengar @ Electrium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Thunder
- Focus Blast / Taunt

After using specsgar and pretty much only using it to pressure pex/steela/etc, Webcamparrot alerted me to this gengar set that actually rails on a number of traditional checks to the specs set. It also has the freedom to switch moves which is helpful against ttar, at the cost of the power of its other attacks. This set actually worked surprisingly well playing a lure role in a team and I actually prefer using this set to the specs set. While the lack of power in it's coverage moves is noticeable it doesn't make a huge difference as you muscle past a number of checks with electrium while others remain uneffected.

@

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 224 HP / 32 SpA / 252 Spe (or just run max/max)
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute / Sludge Wave (only run sludge if you're running max spa)
- Taunt / Sludge Wave
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp

I was thinking about old gengar sets and hexgar came to mind and after screwing around with the calc double switches pointed out that max HP gengar has a sub that isn't broken by toxapex's scald and isn't broken by anything mvenu can throw at it, and allows you to mess with pursuit trappers and revenge killers by clicking sub on passive things/things that are obviously switching out to get a wisp or a hex. The spread was later optimised to allow for some SpA investment while achieving the same benchmarks. Haven't done enough testing to confirm whether this is just a bad gimmick but in the testing sessions we've done so far there are 2 alts sitting at about 1700 and climbing with it so that's something. Don't think that this has a good offensive presence however as with very little investment it doesn't do much against fatmons although this is made up for by the power of a boosted hex, and this is remedied by running max spa if you're feeling less risky but bear in mind that it loses the cool defensive stuff that it had going on.

@
/

Gengar @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

The last set was just All-out attacker Gengar, which is ok. Ghostium is cool to bust through a number of checks while LO can give boosted damage output while maintaining the ability to switch moves. It still falls prey to similar issues as the specs set, however, as ghostium struggles to break pex etc. while LO has a lower damage output than specs so has the same counters + some extra. The ability to change moves does it make it harder to play around, however, which is a positive.


Teambuilding
(click the team preview to get the importable)

teams with names in square brackets were shamelessly stolen because i couldn't figure out how to build for that version of gengar / didn't have time


This team was built with Anish and utilises Electrium-z gengar to lure and eliminate toxapex for ashninja and keldeo. Grasses are pressured by the dual water core and stuff like tangrowth doesn't appreciate being knocked off by Lando, which was added to break fat teams. Ferro brings rocks and mew checks half the meta, running volt switch to get some momentum on w.e wants to come in.



The team began with Specs Gengar + Fairium Gearna, which work well to pressure each other's checks, which makes the team particularly threatening when Magearna is given the chance to sweep. What checks these guys can't beat, however, such as venusaur, give free switchins to Reuniclus which really enjoys the ability to setup a CM or w.e. Bandtar is also tempted to come in on it, but can't KO thanks to colbur and is trashed so long as focus blast actually hits. Scarf kart also benefits a lot from what these mons pressure. Mantine and Lando just form a defensive backbone. Team isn't perfect, struggles a bit with koko and you pretty much have to play perfectly to beat stall, but specsgar was a pain in the ass to build around and this is the best I could come up with.



Bit of an odd team but I figured I'd put it in here for context regarding the gengar set. Team uses gengar to actually beat venu and pex 1v1 while chipping like half the metagame and being generally annoying. Ashninja abuses both the chip and the fact that gengar beats its checks, bulu breaks fat teams and hates venu, mew is mew and gearna is gearna. Infernape was added to beat opposing gearna and revenge kill zard y and volc, you can use lati for a better zardy matchup at the cost of losing half your team to bandtar unless you can wisp it and also struggling slightly more against opposing gearna. It's a cool team, worked alright during testing but might be ehh who knows


Mons that share checks-

All of the above are mons that share checks with gengar that are pressured until they cannot perform defensively any more. Ashninja can set spikes to assist gengar with breaking, while magearna can act as an incredible wincon and setup on a number of gengar revenge killers. Koko lets gengar pivot into fat grasses etc.

Pivots-

These all allow Gengar to come in without risking it dying thanks to mediocre bulk. As mentioned above Koko allows gengar to come in on grasses, and scizor + lando are just generally good at grabbing momentum.

"Lures"-
etc.
These mons can all beat gengar's checks and just make the game easier. Koko can run zcharge to dunk on gearna and chansey for specs sets, gren can run esense, lati electrium-z, heatran groundium-z, etc.

Hazards-

Aside from rocks, additional hazards like spikes and tspikes really benefit gengar, making wallbreaking much easier. Unfortunately tspikes are absorbed by pex and venu which are 2 of the best gengar checks so you need a setter that beats them, pretty much only leaving some esense gren variant.

Mons punishing defensive checks-
etc.
Pokemon that either conclusively beat the majority of gengar checks are cool to have, for obvious reasons, such as reuniclus and lele. Additionally, strong breakers that can come in on one or more common gengar check are nice to have as they punish defensive play. These include breaker lele variants, subtox and offensive tran, and multiple kyurem-b sets.

Defensive backbones-
etc.
Gengar has pretty garbage defenses and is prone to revenge killing despite it's decent speed tier. A defensive backbone helps to remedy this, but bear in mind that gengar also struggles with a number of similarly defensive mons so one cannot solely rely on said backbone

Cleaners-
etc.
Gengar hits hard, these mons capitalise on that late game. Pretty simple.


Conclusion
While Gengar may not be super effective as a stand-alone mon, it can pull it's weight and clearly maintains a niche in today's metagame. Although it suffers from pursuit trapping and several defensive threats, it can still be of use to many a team. Additionally, I was quite frankly surprised at the potency of gengar as a supporting pokemon to many of OUs top threats, whether it be through a z-move lure set of through the pressure of specs. While some may not find it easy to build around, it is certainly a pokemon worth trying in one way or another.
 
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Indigo Plateau

is a Community Leaderis a Top Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past SCL Champion
UU Leader
Apologies guys, this has been a busy week with exams. We'll be adding this post by Qplaz on Gengar and this post by Riddikulusness on Tyranitar to the HoF.


This week, we'll be looking at two potentially underrated threats in the metagame. Garchomp can be a very effective offensive rocker and can afford to run things like LO or Z move to threaten a lot of balance/BO squads. Ice stab is always appreciated in this meta, and Weavile also possesses incredible utility with Knock Off + Pursuit to help this out. It can even afford to run things like Low Kick or Groundium Z. Let's see some more participation and replays this week! Deadline is Saturday, October 14 @ 11:59 PM EDT GMT -4.
 
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I have NOT laddered for this project but i surely have been enjoying my time using Garchomp lately.


Garchomp

Overall thoughts.
Garchomp has been a very consistent in the meta game since it got introduced in gen 4, it also got banned in gen 4 due to its power and above average speed tier. Right now in the sun and moon OU metagame it's a great wallbreaker, being able to blast through many of the fat mons in this tier with access Swords Dance and Devestating Drake. It's typing is one of the best, having Ground STAB is amazing in this metagame and arguably the best typing too, having Dragon STAB allows it to hit most if not all things that resist or are immune to its Ground STAB such as; Tangrowth, Landorus-Therian, Rotom-Wash etc. Having access to Stealth Rock allows this mon to pressure both offensive builds as well as bulkier builds too. This mon can also check some stuff due to its decent defensive typing and fat hp stat of 108. What is mostly holding this mon back are the fat/fast fairies in the tier that are able to eat any +2 hit or outspeed and fire off a very hard hit with a STAB Moonblast such as: Clefable, Tapu Fini, Mega Diancie and Scarf Lele. Ice types such as Weavile and Mamoswine (which are rarely used) can OHKO Garchomp with their priority STAB Ice Shard. Some other notable mons include: Mimikyu, Protean Greninja, Celesteela & Skarmory, Tapu Bulu, Both Scarf Lati's and Mega Latias.

What Changed for Garchomp since last gen?
In gen 7 Garchomp got access to z-moves, which means it doesn't have to lock itself into outrage to bop certain things that Earthquake cannot touch, thus not inviting in fairies for free. Ice Types are less spammable then they were in gen 6, Weavile and Mamoswine being the premier ice types of gen 6 got a lot worse. In gen 6 Tank chomp was arguably its best set, but the fall of things like: Talonflame, Bisharp and Breloom have overall made this set a lot worse. With the introduction of all Tapu's and Mimikyu means that Garchomp has more mons to watch out for.

Teambuilding with Garchomp.
@

Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 20 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stun Spore

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Fire Punch

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Stone Edge
- Scald


At first this team looks sorta wack but let me explain, the main mon i wanted to build around was Garchomp it's the main breaker of this team and the stealth rock setter. I added Rotom-Wash because it's able to take on every ice type in the tier even the legendary LOKB (4 Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-Black Fusion Bolt vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Rotom-Wash: 109-129) it's also quite a good switch in to mons such as Heatran, Latias, Defensive Landorus-Therian etc. I decided to use Amoonguss alongside Rotom-Wash as my defensive backbone due to it having good type synergy with Rotom-Wash being able to resist Grass types while Rotom-Wash resists both Ice and Fire for Amoonguss. I also considered using Mega-Venusaur but having access to Spore, Stun Spore and Regenerator made me feel like Amoonguss fit better then Mega Venusaur. I decided to add Tyranitar because it clicks Stone Edge 6 times vs stall and wins, it also Pursuit traps some mons that r pretty annoying to this team such as: Latios, Psychic Locked Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam and Gengar. I decided to use Fire Punch for Ferrothorn because it can be really annoying. I added Celesteela as my Pinsir check as well as my Tapu Lele and Tapu Bulu check since every team needs one. I chose Keldeo as my last slot because Tyranitar basically pursuit traps everything that can stand in Keldeo's way, Stone Edge can revenge kill Volcarona with a Hasty Nature, Scald is the filler move because it can annoy the opponent with burns.


@

Garchomp (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Stone Edge

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Greninja (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Ice Beam

Tapu Lele @ Mind Plate
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Ferrothorn (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball


This team is based around Choice Scarf Garchomp, it's overall pretty powerfull and can revenge stuff like Volcarona with Stone Edge which is pretty rare to find in a mon, just normal dual STABs. Rockium Z Landorus-Therian can setup rocks and bop mons like Celesteela and Skarmory which Choice Scarf Garchomp can really struggle versus. Ash-Greninja was added because it has good matchup versus opposing Psychic types and Ground types Ice Beam can lure Tapu Bulu that sometimes wants to switch in. Tapu Lele was added to beat stall, Taunt prevents it from being statused and opposing mons to heal up, normal dual STAB Psyshock instead of Psychic to beat Chansey and Moonblast as a secondary STAB Focus Blast is for Heatran and Ferrothorn. Added Mega Diancie because it shreds through Zapdos, Mega Pinsir and Mega-Charizard-Y, it also has generally good match up against Dragon, Dark and Fighting types. Hidden Power Fire gives good coverage against Mega Scizor if predicted that it will not Bullet Punch. Ferrothorn was added lastly for checking Ash-Greninja and Tapu Lele it can also stack Spikes as well as be annoying via spreading Leech Seeds.

Final Thoughts
Garchomp has been one of the most consistent mons throughout the gens, it is still effective in gen 7 and has definetly gotten better because of the addition of z-moves, currently people are sleeping on its breaking potential.
 
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Ktütverde

of course
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
I have NOT laddered for this project but i surely have been enjoying my time using Garchomp lately.


Garchomp

Overall thoughts.
Garchomp has been a very consistent in the meta game since it got introduced in gen 4, it also got banned in gen 4 due to its power and above average speed tier. Right now in the sun and moon OU metagame it's a great wallbreaker, being able to blast through many of the fat mons in this tier with access Swords Dance and Devestating Drake. It's typing is one of the best, having Ground STAB is amazing in this metagame and arguably the best typing too, having Dragon STAB allows it to hit most if not all things that resist or are immune to its Ground STAB such as; Tangrowth, Landorus-Therian, Rotom-Wash etc. Having access to Stealth Rock allows this mon to pressure both offensive builds as well as bulkier builds too. This mon can also check some stuff due to its decent defensive typing and fat hp stat of 108. What is mostly holding this mon back are the fat/fast fairies in the tier that are able to eat any +2 hit or outspeed and fire off a very hard hit with a STAB Moonblast such as: Clefable, Tapu Fini, Mega Diancie and Scarf Lele. Ice types such as Weavile and Mamoswine (which are rarely used) can OHKO Garchomp with their priority STAB Ice Shard. Some other notable mons include: Mimikyu, Protean Greninja, Celesteela & Skarmory, Tapu Bulu, Both Scarf Lati's and Mega Latias.

What Changed for Garchomp since last gen?
In gen 7 Garchomp got access to z-moves, which means it doesn't have to lock itself into outrage to bop certain things that Earthquake cannot touch, thus not inviting in fairies for free. Ice Types are less spammable then they were in gen 6, Weavile and Mamoswine being the premier ice types of gen 6 got a lot worse. In gen 6 Tank chomp was arguably its best set, but the fall of things like: Talonflame, Bisharp and Breloom have overall made this set a lot worse. With the introduction of all Tapu's and Mimikyu means that Garchomp has more mons to watch out for.

Teambuilding with Garchomp.
@

Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 20 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Stun Spore

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Fire Punch

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower

Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Stone Edge
- Scald


At first this team looks sorta wack but let me explain, the main mon i wanted to build around was Garchomp it's the main breaker of this team and the stealth rock setter. I added Rotom-Wash because it's able to take on every ice type in the tier even the legendary LOKB (4 Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-Black Fusion Bolt vs. 248 HP / 180+ Def Rotom-Wash: 109-129) it's also quite a good switch in to mons such as Heatran, Latias, Defensive Landorus-Therian etc. I decided to use Amoonguss alongside Rotom-Wash as my defensive backbone due to it having good type synergy with Rotom-Wash being able to resist Grass types while Rotom-Wash resists both Ice and Fire for Amoonguss. I also considered using Mega-Venusaur but having access to Spore, Stun Spore and Regenerator made me feel like Amoonguss fit better then Mega Venusaur. I decided to add Tyranitar because it clicks Stone Edge 6 times vs stall and wins, it also Pursuit traps some mons that r pretty annoying to this team such as: Latios, Psychic Locked Tapu Lele, Mega Alakazam and Gengar. I decided to use Fire Punch for Ferrothorn because it can be really annoying. I added Celesteela as my Pinsir check as well as my Tapu Lele and Tapu Bulu check since every team needs one. I chose Keldeo as my last slot because Tyranitar basically pursuit traps everything that can stand in Keldeo's way, Stone Edge can revenge kill Volcarona with a Hasty Nature, Scald is the filler move because it can annoy the opponent with burns.


@

don't use this it sux lol.


^^

Final Thoughts
Garchomp has been one of the most consistent mons throughout the gens, it is still effective in gen 7 and has definetly gotten better because of the addition of z-moves, currently people are sleeping on its breaking potential.
Tho zygarde wallbreaks pretty well but cannot do this: garchomp has 100+ speed and is an amazing check (sometimes counter!) to speedboosting stuff, scarfrocks is also perfectly viable, scarf fireblast and scarf stone edge are extremely useful since gyarados DD zygarde SD scizor and unstoppable/random movesets kokos are extremely common. Why would you focus on chomp's Z set? The scarf one deserves more than "it sux lol" cmon ^^
 
If everybody wants me to add a scarfchomp team i'll be sure to do that gimme some time :)
edit: added the team.
 
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i'll attempt weavile [wr10 ttarzann]
Giving up early on Weavile this week. Frustration with trying to make it useful + personal matters being more important, this didn't seem worthwhile to continue.

Weavile is a relic from a time when +1 Salamence and ScarfChomp were two of the most broken sweepers, and the Lati twins didn't have Fairies to compete against. But with the advent of Fairy types, it doesn't seem useful to devote a whole team slot to a Pokemon with such a specialized role anymore. It still has a sort-of niche with having one of the fastest STAB Knock Offs, coupled with a decent 125 base ATK. This lets it smack Mew and Reuniclus and Jirachi pretty damn hard...if they ever stayed in to take the hit. Most times, opponents just switch in Scizor or Mawile or Magearna, all of whom shut this thing down pretty easily and are common enough. If it's Choice locked, bold players will send out Landorus-T, who can nail the usual Ground switchins with SSSS or Gravity, or just go for EQ and hope for the best. The old Ice Shard targets--fast Dragon types--seem to be out of fashion now. Zygarde is the most relevant, and at +1 it need not worry about it's Ice weakness. Overall, Weavile has just enough bulk to occasionally survive some neutral hits, and not much more:

252 Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Weavile: 104-123 (37 - 43.7%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Medicham-Mega: 225-265 (86.2 - 101.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Weavile: 211-249 (75 - 88.6%)
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 192-228 (68.3 - 81.1%)
252+ Atk Choice Band Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Weavile: 170-201 (60.4 - 71.5%)
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 126-149 (44.8 - 53%)
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 60-72 (21.3 - 25.6%)

On the other hand, it would be an understatement to say STAB Knock Off from 125 base ATK with 125 base SPE is "decent". Having the power to out-right maim certain targets and severely cripple checks makes it a deadly weapon against balance and offense, who lack more than 1-2 checks to certain mons. I think better team builders might have emphasized this positive and focused on complementing Weavile with Pokemon that share some of its checks, like SG Magearna (my strategy), Mega Lopunny, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Gyarados. I'll leave some relevant calcs below. I never found myself able to rationalize Icicle Crash given the abundance of Steel and Water types, so I don't think it's necessary, especially on Choice sets. Ice Shard feels compulsory, and Pursuit is fun if you have a big hunch and want to take advantage of hazards. I think Low Kick and Focus Punch are justifiable, although they don't really kill what they're intended to. Band is the item that lets you milk Knock Off, but I've often wished I had LO since I don't like having to switch around with this thing. As cool as a Z crystal would be in theory, your unboosted hits are going to be pretty weak. Focus Sash and Taunt have their places, though Protean Gren does this wayyy better.
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 140 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 199-235 (62.9 - 74.3%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (65 BP) vs. 140 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 135-159 (42.7 - 50.3%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 213-252 (55.3 - 65.4%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 151-178 (42.8 - 50.5%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 132+ Def Celesteela: 177-208 (44.4 - 52.2%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 126-148 (41.4 - 48.6%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 297-351 (42.2 - 49.9%)
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Chansey: 298-352 (42.3 - 50%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Zapdos: 255-300 (66.5 - 78.3%)

Realistically, I'm not sure I can endorse using Weavile in the current OU environment. But if you insist, these are some cores that I found effective:
This was one of the first cores that I tried, and it was really dangerous on the lower-mid ladder. I used a Choice Specs Keldeo with HP Psychic to cheese on Poison type switchins. It was a great switch in to Scizor and Celesteela, and could usually muscle through them or open the door for Weavile. Ultimately, it's a very Fairy-weak core, so it probably won't fly in most circles.

Though it has a lot of the same problems as Keldeo, it has great Dark-Spam synergy with Weavile, and can actually beat the big Steels 1v1. Running it with Spikes helps you rack up residual damage for double-priority later on, and is pretty safe to set up against passive opponents. You've gotta run something for Tapus or you won't get very far. And cover Mega Lopunny while you're at it.

Role compression becomes essential when you use a Pokemon that does so little for your team like Weavile. Excadrill can do it all pretty well. I ran the Standard Sash set and used him as my SR setter to ensure that 1) I got Rocks up almost every time. 2) I could get a spin probably 70% of the time. It's typing meant it could switch in on Lele and Koko, meaning you could be a little freer with Weavile if you wanted to scout an opponent's lead set. It also covered some grounded Steels like Magnezone and Magearna, who would otherwise threaten most teams.

Here we have old-school and new-school Dragon Slayers side by side. Weavile is actually a great partner to Mag because it keeps Landorus from switching in all willy-nilly and can help break AV Tangrowth, who is still relevant. It also helps with Magnezone and Heatran, and can give Ferrothorn the nudge it needs to get cut to the quick by Mag. My favorite use was Knock off on Chansey and then pivoting into Magearna to hit it with AAP. Mag makes a great switch in to Lele, who is a particular problem since it negates all forms of priority. This can turn a sour lemon into a lemonade sweep.


Yuppie (Weavile) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit

Nouveau-Riche (Greninja-Ash) (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes

Golddigger (Excadrill) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic

Hipster (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot
- Volt Switch

Bad and Boujee (Pinsir-Mega) (F) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack

Socialite (Magearna) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shift Gear
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast
- Flash Cannon


Weavile @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Psychic]
- Secret Sword

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed

Slowbro-Mega @ Slowbronite
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 40 SpD / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch
- Bone Rush

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Trick

Overall, I'd say it's not really worthwhile to run in OU unless you're feeling nostalgic and want to try and win with 5 Pokemon. It's premium death fodder and makes team building frustrating because you always find yourself wanting to use a different Pokemon in its place. Try at your own risk.
 
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Serperior

Overview
Everyone's second favourite snake in the OU metagame returns for another bout in Sun and Moon, and still remains a threat not to be underestimated. Despite many of its checks gaining popularity, such as the myriad of steels that now inhabit the OU metagame, Serp is still certainly usable and can put in work against a number of builds. The dugtrio ban has been a double-edged sword for serperior: on one hand, many steels, particularly heatran, have increased in usage, however on the other hand stall has practically disappeared from OU which allows serp to have a better matchup against more teams.
Serp has the unique characteristic in which it can beat practically any mon that is both slower than it and without a recovery move (that isnt a grass type) thanks to its subseed set, all the while forcing the opponent to play extremely well to drain PP (which is certainly possible, however), lest serperior gain +2/4/6 special attack and destroy anything that could possibly wish to switch in. It is unfortunate, however, that serperior finds itself extremely weak when unboosted, as well as being strapped for moveslots. Additionally, Leaf Storm's PP is very low, and leech seed can be played around, so a competent opponent can easily drain Serperior's PP. That being said, serp is still quite threatening to face, and is a great choice to build around.

Sets
This week is quite different to the other weeks because there is one serp set that is objectively, unequivocally the best:
@

Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Leech Seed

So basically this just beats p much any mon with that is either a) neutral to grass and slower than serp, b) weak to grass, or c) with a fat HP stat and lacks reliable recovery while being slower than serp (assuming the other mon switches into serp). It's really good at wearing down certain balance and offense builds thanks to serp's surprisingly good speed tier and bulk. For example, it actually wins the 1v1 against mons like steela from full, as it can take the flamethrower and seed back while subspamming to recover HP. Although it can admittedly be dead weight vs a number of teams, it does have a lot of fairly good matchups.

I tried like some z-lure set (normalium w/ hyper beam) and scarf but both were kinda garbage whereas subseed was not only usable but actually had a surprisingly good matchup vs a lot of teams

Teambuilding


So I wanted to build around serp + specs lele, which is an absurdly good partner for it thanks to its ability to abuse many of serperior's common checks while pressuring others greatly. Pex is for tspikes which are really good atm and just put a lot of shit on a timer, gearna + lando to cover the rest of the metagame, and scarf gren to RK psychium volc in particular while adding an extra pivot and some good speed control to have. Overall, the team really enjoys serp's presence and it's quite a fun build to use



This is just an offense build that utilises serp's ability to pressure steels, which is helped by the presence of gravity lando, to allow Nihilego to clean late-game. Nihilego is an odd choice admittedly but it gives tspikes, a way of RKing volc and zardx, and a cleaner that can abuse how hard steels are pressured. Ashgren sets spikes and enjoys having the opposition team weakened, while mew and gearna complete the defensive core


(n.b. these are of kinda bad don't expect too much, none really showcase high-quality play but it was a big week so I kinda ran out of time but replays were asked for so here goes nothing)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-643692505 Serp has a crazy matchup and basically wins at preview
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-644664964 Serp puts in some work
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-645042919 GOD HIMSELF forfeits when serp comes in


Good Teammates
Breakers that abuse Mvenu-

Basically mvenu is the best serp check going around, so obviously, the first thing people will do is switch in the best check, right? These mons can all abuse that by allowing the serp user to double into something that you really don't want to be giving free switchins to. Of particular note are specs lele and specs lati, both of which can put a dent in every mon in the tier and aren't things you want to be letting in easily. These are of note because they appreciate Serp's ability to pressure steels like heatran and steela which simply allows them to break more easily. These also break super fat teams which serp can struggle with at times

Hazards-

Wew who'd have thought another mon that enjoys hazards. Tspikes are great at helping serp by just weakening threats so it has an easier time shredding opposition teams, while putting a further timer on shit like tangrowth or w.e. Spikes just help to wear shit down as per usual, pretty standard thing bc I'd be hard-pressed to name a mon who doesn't love hazards. Also pressures a lot of offensive checks, particularly zard-x and pinsir

AV Magearna-
@

AV gearna is actually a really good partner for serp, making up for what the green snake lacks defensively. While one may be tempted to use serp as the main ashgren / koko check, this isn't wise as it takes about a billion from both. Gearna can comfortably switch in against both, while being able to pivot to bring serp in against a myriad of threats. Additionally, gearna enjoys the fact that serp can function defensively to an extent so that it gets less worn across the course of a game.

Mons that dislike steel types-
etc.
Generally speaking, wincons, cleaners / scarfers and breakers that dislike steel types are all good partners for serp given its ability to pressure the majority of said steel types.

Defensive backbones-
etc.
Serp is quite prone to being revenge killed, this can amend that. Be wary, however, as serp is from my experience more effective on BO type builds than fatter balances, so don't get too carried away.

Conclusion
Serperior can be a surprisingly effective mon to use in the OU metagame. Despite only having one set, serp can pressure many builds in the tier and is a force to be reckoned with in the right hands. I was entirely caught off guard by how easy, fun and effective it is to use in this metagame, and I highly recommend that you try it.
 
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Indigo Plateau

is a Community Leaderis a Top Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past SCL Champion
UU Leader
Gonna conclude this round and add this post by Qplaz on Serperior and this post by Flygoner818 on Weavile to the HoF. We'll wait for Martin's post on Garchomp to decide between his and ThiccTornadus's. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

This round, we have two pokemon who have gained a bit more traction as of late. The slight rise in Volcarona again and the Duggy ban can warrant Nihilego some use as a scarfer or a mon that has great utility with hazards, while Gyarados can still sweep with its threatening stab, and Sub/Taunt Mega variants can quickly snowball vs balance builds. Please note that you can choose to do either Mega or regular Gyarados. Deadline is Thursday, October 26 @ 11:59 PM EDT GMT -4. Have fun!

 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus

Garchomp
Garchomp is, in my opinion, one of the most fun Pokemon to use in this metagame, alongside Kartana and Mega Charizard X. Speaking as someone who is kinda falling off a bit when it comes to enjoyment within the setting of this tier due to... a number of reasons (*cough* Toxapex *cough*), being able to fall back on Pokemon like this while still having a laugh in the process is certainly indicating something. And it is no surprise either: Garchomp is versatile, easy to integrate onto teams, and puts in work on a near-gamely basis. It’s high speed and excellent typing, which gives it plenty of utility both offensively and defensively, pair up with its superb Attack stat and a movepool that contains everything that Garchomp needs to be a top tier threat makes it splashable, and it pairs very nicely with a number of good Pokemon while also benefitting from a few metagame trends—including, but not limited to, the omnipresence of Heatran and Toxapex and the declining usage of Tangrowth and Skarmory. It always feels like it has a lot of game presence, but it never feels like it is so overbearing that it takes the fun out of using it. I’m not that good with the flaws side of things (it struggles with Bulu, Koko, amd Ash Greninja’s omnipresence I guess), especially for great Pokemon like Garchomp that can circumvent most (keyword) of its flaws in one way or another, so instead of focusing on an all-round look at Garchomp I am going to put a big focus on the positive sodemof things.

What Sets Feel Solid on Garchomp?
Offensive Stealth Rock Variants:

Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Draco Meteor
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Garchomp’s most common use is for its ability to lay Stealth Rock consistently. Its excellent matchup versus both Excadrill and, with Fire Blast, Mega Scizor while also being able to consistently bait and remove opposing setters like Landorus-T and Ferrothorn makes it a very compelling choice for the role. Pre-mega’d Mega Diancie can’t switch in on Garchomp safely either, playing a mondgame between its Ground-type STAB and Stealth Rock every time it attempts to switch in on Garchomp, and with Swords Dance it is able to leave Mega Sableye under immense pressure should it be unfortunate enough to switch in as Garchomp boosts, which in turn can generate Stealth Rock opportunities when they are forced out into Clefable or Quagsire.

Purely Offensive Variants
Garchomp @ Dragonium Z / Firium Z / Groundium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe OR 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Fire Fang
This takes a more all-out approach versus its opponents, aiming to boost up and function as a potent and versatile wallbreaker. While Lando-T can acheive a lot of what Garchomp does with its access to stuff like Gravity and STAB Supersonic Skystrike alongside a higher Attack stat, Garchomp sets itself apart by being faster than things like Timid Zapdos, unboosted Zygarde, and unboosted Volcarona and is able to capitalise on a few dofferent Pokemon due to both this and its typing.

What Sets Are Getting Better in the Metagame?
Choice Scarf

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly / Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw / Fire Blast
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide
This set is always in a bit of an awkward spot in that it is usually a momentum sap when it is out of favor and it still is when the metagame does favor it. However, one big thing that ScarfChomp has going for it in the current metagame is that Volcarona usage is on the climb. The fact that Garchomp resists Fire Blast and can move before it gets hit by a +1 Bug Buzz is a very useful thing in a metagame where teams are typically very under-prepared for a boosted Volcarona.

What Are Garchomp’s More Niche Options?
Focus Sash sets are probably the most solid of its niche options. These allow Garchomp to function as a consistent suicide lead, always surviving a turn versus its opponent in the lead slot while still exerting a good degree of offensive presence. However, these do face heavy competition from Excadrill, which can also clear the entry hazards that its opponent lays. Defensive sets with Rocky Helmet are an option to allow Garchomp to put Pokemon like Mega Lopunny under a lot of pressure while also punishing Scarf Lando-T who want to spam U-turn and stopping Tapu Bulu’s attempts to use Garchomp for healing fodder, but the set doesn’t really achieve that much in this metagame, is mostly outclassed by Landorus-T, and is generally more favorable when stuff like Bisharp is extremely common, which isn’t the case right now. Yache Berry allows Garchomp to take on random HP Ices from Koko and to KO in return with EQ (as well as punishing Weavole who try to revenge kill a healthy Chomper), but with more and more Tapu Koko are running Dazzling Gleam nowadays to the point that it isn’t usually worth it. Roseli Berry checks Gleam variants of Tapu Koko while also allowing it to ne fearless versus Mega Diancie, but the lack of a nuke is generally not favorable when it can’t RK Volcarona comsistently.

What is my favorite Garchomp core in the current metagame?

Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Outrage

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Roost / Dragon Dance
Double dragons baby! By “favorite” I mean “find most fun” rather than strictly its best core. Mega Charizard X is a very interesting Pokemon in the current metagame, but one Pokemon it absolutely loathes is defensive Landorus-T. This is where Garchomp comes in. In addition to it helping Charizard wallbreak with Stealth Rock, one check these two Pokemon have in common is physically defensive Landorus-T. There is also Tapu Fini that they help each other wear down I guess, but who the fuck runs Tapu Fini anymore? Anyway, Garchomp’s ability to weaken Landorus-T with Devistating Drake is a godsend for Zard X, who no longer has to deal with being pressured by this fucking Pokemon once Garchomp has done its thing, allowing it to wallbreak more effectively. I’ve also listed DD because it also be efits from Garchomp’s ability to lure and weaken/remove Lando-T and because, contrary to popular belief (for some dumb reason (probably boils down to a misconception of the way set viability works)), DD Zard isn’t an unviable set!

In Conclusion
Garchomp is a fun ‘mon. … What? You thought I’d make a big conclusion where I basically repeat the entire post in one paragraph? I ain’t about that life, man.
 
Ill do my post on weavile for this week, if that is ok. I was super busy last week and the small amount of free time I did have was spent studying for tests I had coming up. Im so sorry I keep being late on my posts, I know I keep saying this but I really am, I'll try to be more consistant going forward.
 
Nihilego

(before I start, sorry if this post comes off as overly negative, Nihilego is just really infuriating to try to use)
Despite being popular in early Sun and Moon, Nihilego has lost a lot of traction since then, and it's easy to see why. Cursed with a typing that offers little utility both offensively and defensively, leaving it walled by basically every steel and weak to prominent types such as Water, Psychic, Steel and Ground, Nihilego has dropped to UU and is being nommed for a drop in the OU VR on a weekly basis. That being said, it does maintain a small niche in OU thanks to its unique typing and access to both toxic spikes and stealth rock. Additionally, its decent speed tier and high Special Attack have led to the creation of a number of (barely) passable offensive sets.

Sets
@

Nihilego @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 180 SpA / 80 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power Ice
- Toxic Spikes

Scarf Lego is an ok scarfer, being able to revenge kill Volcarona and eat any hit it can throw at it at +1 which is really cool, as it allows you to beat pretty much every variant. It's also decent at cleaning if you have a very reliable way to remove steels (we're talking zone + gearna lure reliable) as beast boost allows it to snowball really easily, but apart from that it suffers from having not particularly spammable STABs. Toxic Spikes are cool, but you really don't get too many chances to set them because a) lego has the physical bulk of a wet sheet of tissue paper and b) most teams are super prepared for tspikes and have a really good way of getting rid of them. Its not a great set, but is probably the best nihilego set that I tested.


@

Nihilego @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes

This set is kinda cool because you can punish a lot of defoggers (particularly mew as rockium + sludge wave KOs, skarmory and msciz on the switch, as well as the less common mantine, tapu fini and zapdos) while setting toxic spikes. This set, however, struggles to set tspikes for the same reasons that scarf does, admittedly not as as it can switch moves. Its speed tier also isnt super so it wont do too much against offense, and is walled by common steels as well as venu against balance so again not particularly great.


@
/

Nihilego @ Life Orb / Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt / Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Toxic Spikes / Hidden Power Fire

This set is an ok cleaner, better than scarf if you can actually get a kill because it can change moves. Power Gem and sludge wave are essential, the other moves are pretty much teammate dependant. Psychic is also an option, smacking pex and venu for significant damage and 2hkoing after some chip. Life Orb is the better item imo as changing moves is hot, but specs are workable too. Either way this variant actually has a higher damage output than scarf thanks to the damage boosting item. the spare 80 evs can be slapped pretty much anywhere. Spdef lets you beat volc more reliably, but if you put them in HP you can have a decent chance to live a msciz bullet punch after intimidate from a teammate (probably lando-t).


@

Nihilego @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes

Ripped this from a post by Baloor in the teambuilding comp (with his permission ofc). Basically, Nihilego is the only OU-relevant mon bar Nidoking to get both tspikes and rocks. Given it has a decent speed tier it can work semi-effectively, although it normally struggles to get 2 tspikes and rocks.

@
/

Nihilego @ Psychium Z / Electrium-Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic / Thunder
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Just some generic z-move lure sets which every mediocre OU mon has a few of. Psychium-Z can lure Mega Venusaur and Toxapex while chunking various ground types that it might otherwise struggle with, while Electrium-Z beats most fat waters including pex, as well as Steela and Skarm. It also can do a decent amount of damage to a lot of other steels. However, these sets force you to go without tspikes which are one of the main drawcards of this mon so they're not super good.


Teambuilding
Before I begin, just a quick rant:
So I'm going to get this out of the way early: Nihilego is not a good pokemon. It has a shit offensive typing and a shit defensive typing so its basically just there on any team you want to put it on.
Nihilego's offensive typing is so trash, in fact, that you're basically at forced to sacrifice a second teamslot just for something to get rid of steels, whether it's in the form of Magnezone, various lures, some meme offensive clefable, whatever. Basically what that means is that on any team where Nihilego plays a significant role, you have four slots to work with max. So, not only is it super fiddly trying to fit answers to the majority of the metagame in 4 slots while building a usable team, but it also means that the majority of Nihilego teams look rather similar (Nihilego / dedicated steel remover / defensive backbone / breaker / scarfer or generic pivot or w.e or Nihilego / breaker walled by steels / breaker walled by steels / backbone / pivot).
Furthermore, everytime you put Lego on a team you just can't justify it after about halfway through teambuilding. I personally always find myself asking "Hey, why not use a mon that has better stats/coverage/typing/defensive utility/role compression?". This is the case for basically every role you can use it in. All of this makes building around Nihilego really unenjoyable and generally not a pleasant experience, so try at your own risk.




This team aims to pressure steels instead of outright trapping them, through a combination of CM-zmove lati + CM clefable + Nihilego. SubDD zygarde can abuse the tspikes that nihilego sets, tran punishes switchins to steels that are tougher to break (particuarly msciz and steela) and ferro is just there to tie together a few weaknesses. Pretty much as close as I came to a usable nihilego team.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-648184199



Initially just me fuckin around with unsets, this team kind of evolved into something vaguely usable. Zone really holds the entire build together, lele is there to smash balance teams while lego hits offense and BO hard. Rest of the team is pretty self explanatory, if you wanted to delve further into unset territory you could fuck around with tapunium lele for gearna, or alternatively if you want to remove yourself from unsets you could make nihilego scarf and run something else instead of keld.



Lego + Bulu can really pressure steels well, while Bulu running Sub with tspikes allows it to circumnavigate a couple of its checks and counters. Koko is a generic offensive pivot, lop benefits from tspikes a lot, keld is a scarfer and backup rain check. Rachi is used in the last bc i found the team a bit prone to getting worn down, but there's no reason why you cant use any other steel that gets stealth rock.


Teammates for Nihilego
Ways of disposing of steels-
etc.
No matter how you build your team, you're going to need ways of getting rid of steels, in particular lures or trappers. Magnezone is obviously the most effective but limits building somewhat, while random offensive clefable variants can be great lures but lose a lot of defensive capability. Lele isn't a lure so much as a mon that just brings in steels and shreds them with zmove or specs sets, while lati can use various zlure sets or trick an item to most steels.
Mons that can abuse tspikes-
etc.
Nihilego can be a reasonable tspikes setter so these mons abuse that, pretty simple
Other hazards-

If you want to clean with Nihilego, the oppositon team needs to be weakened severely, and spikes are great for this.
Mons with defensive utility-
etc.
I'm not going to say straight backbones, but mons that can make up for Nihilego's godawful defensive typing and check the things that it brings in are generally good partners.
Pivots-
etc.
Nihilego has a very hard time getting in thanks to it's poor bulk, so these mons amend that by providing free switches. The precise pivot really depends on the lego set, and scarf can even go without, but they're always cool to have.

Conclusion
While Nihilego looks reasonable on paper, it's a huge pain in the ass to build around and use. It has a hard time setting toxic spikes, can't do much thanks to the prevalence of bulky steels, and is overall really frustrating when it's on your own team. Scarf sets lose to too much, speed boosting sets still lose to what the scarf sets do but can't revenge kill, and hazard sets practically reward teams that don't prepare for tspikes by being so inefficient at setting them. I can't say that I recommend using it but, if you're looking for a challenge, I suppose you could try it.
 
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gyaraaa yes this has been one of my favorite mons this gen, used on probly more than half my serious teams. will write him up.

oh damn it ends tomorrow. well i may still be able to get in a number of games tonight and do this as I know the mon very well already.
 

Baloor

Tigers Management
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PUPL Champion
Gyarados and Mega Gyarados (Yes I'm doing both)
I stole Qplaz's format because fuck you Qplaz & I lack creativity



Gyarados and Mega Gyarados are two really fun sweepers in the OU Metagame, With multiple coverage options that allow it to muscle through its different checks. It's good offensive typings and strong offensive stats do nothing but compliment it. Regular Gyarados can use moxie which makes it very threaten vs bulkier builds without much speed control. Mega Gyarados has the ability Mold Breaker which can threaten stall, getting past Mega Sableyes Magic Bounce and hitting it with a taunt as well as hitting past Unaware which threatens Clefable and Quagsire. However some downsides to Gyarados is its speed tier which even after one boost, sees it outsped by common choice scarf users that can easily revenge kill it and super fast pokemon like Mega Alakazam. Stealth Rocks is also very annoying for the pre mega form as Gyarados doesn't get reliable recovery so it just gets chipped upon coming in. Fat Grasses and Waters such as Tangrowth, Ferrothorn and Toxapex can switch into Gyarados and take a couple of hits which in turn could pressure Gyarados out, however due to the different coverage moves Gyarados can run it can potentially eliminate some of these mons that like to switch in.

Sets
Gyarados only really has two sets but with an array different coverage moves, these moves should be picked based on what fits on your team and what you want to cover.

@
/

Gyarados @ Flyinium Z / Waterium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall / Aqua Tail
- Earthquake / Taunt / Substitute

This is the standard DD Sweeper Gyarados set. Z-Bounce hits common grasses that like to come in on Gyarados like Tangrowth, Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn. While Z-Aqua Tail can hit Zapdos and Celesteela which threaten Gyarados more offensively than what Z-Bounce hits. You use Aqua Tail for more overall damage output with Waterium. You can use Earthquake to hit Toxapex and Magnezone more reliably. You can also choose from either Taunt or Substitute, Taunt can cripple things that use recovery moves and/or status moves like Mew, Toxapex, Celesteela, Skarmory etc... While Substitute lets Gyarados set up a bit more safer, being able to take Scald and not worry about a burn as well as ignoring moves that'd cripple Gyarados such as Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave and Leech Seed.

@

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall / Earthquake
- Taunt / Substitute / Earthquake

Very similar explanation to the Z User Gyarados set with some differences. Crunch is a lot more reliable spammable STAB move than Waterfall/Aqua Tail so the necessity of Bounce is negated. Taunt and Substitute is a lot more recommended on this set to break through bulkier builds as Mold Breaker ignores certain abilities such as Magic Bounce. Substitute prevents Mega Gyarados from being revenge killed as easy. The new found Water/Dark typing allows it to come in on Psychic moves and set up. Mega Gyarados also acts a check to Ash Greninja as it now resists Ash Greninjas STABs. However lacking Flying Coverage makes Mega Gyarados weaker to Bulky Grasses unlike its non mega counter part.


Some Example Teams
(Click on the sprites for the importable)


Qplaz had mentioned this team in his Nihilego Analysis and here it is. I'm just going to copy and paste the reasoning from that thread and post it here because I'm lazy.

So this round was a based around nihilego. I thought Nihilego would make a cool suicide lead with its alright speed tier and the access it has to Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes, so I threw together this HO team in like 5 minutes. I thought SubDD Zygarde would be a cool start as it really likes toxic spikes being on the field to break through stuff like Tang. Then I added Mega Gyarados as it too likes Toxic Spikes and can provide a check to Ash Gren, as well as helping vs bulkier teams and stall. Sub is for setting up on stuff like pelipper and things that'd normally spam scald or status ex. Toxapex, Also has a good matchup vs webs. I needed a z user and a revenge killer so mimikyu was the choice as it fits well on HO and can cover some matchups. The team was needing a special sweeper and a steel so I added Magearna, I opted for the SG + 3 Attacks set because I needed to deal with faster threats rather than bulkier. Shuca baits lando and zygarde, Flash Cannon is for magearna and lele. Finally Kartana was added as the rain (and waters in general) matchup was looking poor and is a fairly good scarfer atm. Kartana can potentially clean up late game with the attack boost it'd get from its ability. Did some playtesting mid ladder and faired alright. Not the best HO team but it definitely is fun to use.


The idea around this Squad is that Crawdaunt and Gyarados share checks so they beat down their shared checks for each other. I added Mega Lopunny for some immediate speed control and to beat down steels like Ferrothorn. I then added the core of AV Magearna + Defensive LandoT for the VoltTurn combo. Magearna switches into Latios, Lele, Koko, and Greninja which would threaten the team and LandoT switches into Physical Threats such as Zygarde and Offensive LandoT, It also prevents Specs Tapu Koko from spamming volt switch as well as providing Stealth Rock. I lastly needed a revenge killer, something to removal hazards, Volcarona answer and a Mega Venusaur answer so I added Scarf Latios.


This one was built around Mega Gyarados. I added SubSD Darkinium Kartana as it brings in a lot of Mega Gyarados' checks (Such as Zapdos and Ferrothorn) and can eliminate them with the z move. I added Toxapex to provide Toxic Spikes as Gyarados really appreciates Toxic Spike support. Toxapex can also act as an answer to fighting types not named Mega Medicham. Lele, Koko and SG Magearna were looking scary so I added AV Magearna. I added Lando-T to switch into Zygarde, offensive Lando-T and other physical offensive threats. I lastly needed a revenge killer, something to removal hazards, Volcarona answer and a Mega Venusaur answer so I added Scarf Latios.

Yes I do like Magearna + Lando-T


Good Teammates
(Generalized to apply to both forms as much as possible)

Pokemon that Share Checks -

Pokemon that share checks with Gyarados can typically wear them down together to the point where one of the two are put in a position to sweep. Quite self explanatory, Kartana can bring in checks and wear them down with a Z-Move, Zygarde is a powerful breaker and can chunk grasses on the switch in, Ash Ninja and Keldeo can also chunk the shared checks upon switch in such as Grasses and Zapdos. There are plenty of options that fit here but I just named some of the top ones.

Hazard Removal -

Gyarados really hates the chip from hazards as in order to sweep it needs to be as healthy as possible. Pokemon that remove hazards are really appreciated.

Hazard Setters -

Additionally, Gyarados also really appreciates all forms of hazards. Weakening walls as much as possible is important to enhance Gyarados' sweeping potential. A downside is that a strong Gyarados check in Toxapex adsorbs Toxic Spikes which makes that match up a tad more annoying.

Pivots -

Pivots allow Gyarados to come in as safely as possible so it doesn't get too annoyed coming in. Again preventing Gyarados from getting worn down is like, the number one priority so anything that assists that game plan is ideal.

Speed Control / Revenge Killers -

This is a really broad catergory because of the wide array that can work. Due to Gyarados' mediorce speed tier, faster pokemon are almost a must when making a team with Gyarados. Pressuring offensive builds is great, especially if you can get ride of the offense core so Gyarados isn't as stressed on coming in.

Conclusion
In conclusion, Gyarados is quite a fun sweeper in the current metagame. Being a great late game cleaner and snowballing vs bulkier builds are some of the upsides to Gyarados. However be wary of its poor speed tier as its probably the biggest downfall to this mon. I personally believe that this is a very underrated mon in the current metagame and with the right support, Gyarados can be extremely scary to face.
 
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Sorry this post is a week behind, just have been way too busy for the past month. But I guess better late than never, so here is Weavile!



Overview:
Weavile is a decent Pokémon in the SM OU meta. Its great speed allows it to outspeed things like Latios, Mega Diancie, and Hawlucha. Weavile boasts a pretty solid offensive typing in Dark/Ice, giving it coverage vs. a good chunk of the tier. It also has access to Pursuit, and that in combination with its speed lets it trap things like Latios, Lele, and Mew. While its initial power is pretty lackluster, it has items like Choice Band or Z-moves to back it up. It has access to Knock off, which is an insanely spammable move due it its lack of immunities and its ability to remove an item. It has start to find a way onto stall builds now as it did last gen as a Pursuit trapper to remove threats to stall. Its not without its downsides though, as it is weak to rocks, which of course are on basically every team. It is incredibly frail, and that in combination with its horrible defensive typing makes it so Weavile dies to pretty much any hit. As stated before, it needs a band or z-move to actually have some power behind it. But still, its a fun mon to use.

What changed for it from last gen?:
Weavile has gotten a bit worse from last gen. Magearna and Mawile are very relevant threats this gen, and Weavile cant hit these hard without a Groundium Z Dig. Bulky Pokémon like Toxapex, Mega Venusaur (thick fat makes it so it can beat weav 1 on 1), Celesteela, and Clefable can make Weavile's life much harder. Weavile is very much an offense breaker rather than a balance breaker. Keldeo is a bit less common now than last gen, making its life a bit easier. Weavile now faces competition from other fast offense killers like Gren and Koko.

Teambuilding:
This is the best team I made with Weavile in my time testing it...
Weavile @ Groundium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dig
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Rock Polish
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast

Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Trick

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Volt Switch
- Fleur Cannon
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 208 Def / 24 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Earthquake

Ground Z Weavile sounds like a meme at first, but in reality it lures things like Magearna, Mawile, and Toxapex to let Diancie sweep easier. Bulu helps vs stall and is the main breaker. Scarf Lati is a hazard remover who also can rkill stuff like Volc. AV Mage helps vs gren, lele, and koko. Iron head lets it beat cm clef 1v1, which my team cant do otherwise. Defensive lando is there to help vs Zygarde, Maw, and other Lando. It is also the rock setter.

(will do the other good teammates when I get back home, pressed for time now)


Conclusion:
Weavile has been fun to use overall. It has gotten a bit worse from last gen, but it is still a decent mon overall. It is really nice vs offense, but hates bulky teams, which have been popular for a while now. I'd rank it as either B or B+ on the OU VR.

(will finish this up later, have to leave home for a bit)
 
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