I decided to name all the pokemon after Nuclear Throne characters because I thought it was cute or something idk. I enjoy roguelites. I prefer Isaac to NT though.
Originally this was a bulky offense team but is now more stall-oriented, not intentionally but that's just the way things have seemed to go. It's not very good at it (see: peak at 1300). To be fair I haven't played Pokemon since high school and a lot of things have changed. But I sucked in high school too as far as I can remember
Plant (Exeggutor-Alola) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Draco Meteor
This is more defensively oriented than most Exeggutor sets because I need it to keep coming in and out to set TR. Sleep is valuable because it gets me at least one free turn if it hits. However, its typing is problematic for me because it's mega glal ice shard and whimsicott weak, important as exeggutor is the switch-in to subseed whims. While regular exeggutor is a better counter to whimsicott, it stacks weaknesses with slowking and has a worse typing in general.
Fish (Slowking) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Scald
- Psyshock
Slowking has been here since the first version of this team and is pretty strong as a late-game cleaner with Nasty Plot and Trick Room despite 0 offense investment, but vulnerable to status, esp Toxic. I considered giving it Magic Coat for this reason but there's no room to cut out one of either STAB considering many pokemon in the tier are immune to water (Blastoise, Seismitoad, Vaporeon) and psychic-type moves (dark-types). It has max Def to help it take Knock Offs and U-turns better at the cost of becoming a riskier Clawitzer check.
I enjoy TR the most out of all NU strats but one thing about it that bothers me teambuilding-wise is that most carriers in this tier that are slow enough to take advantage of the move are psychic-type, so any team ends up having a lot of common weaknesses.
I considered replacing Slowking with Jellicent since it doesn't have the bug weakness and it can block spin, but it doesn't have the crucial offensive presence Slowking has.
Eyes (Weezing) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic Spikes
- Clear Smog
- Pain Split
Weezing is a new addition and mostly exists as a fairy and ground-type counter. Clear Smog had to be taken over Sludge Bomb because otherwise the team is very weak to bulky setup sweepers like Scrafty. However, it has basically no offensive presence thanks to this. Entry hazards discourage switching which is a very common way to deal with TR.
Steroids (Gurdurr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Taunt
Gurdurr is surprisingly really good for a PU mon and the consistently highest performer on this team. Priority is essential once TR ends and it is also a great status sponge thanks to Guts. Bulk Up increases Gurdurr's already stellar Eviolite-boosted physical defense and after a few boosts it can easily pick off many pokemon with Mach Punch.
The fourth slot is largely unimportant because gurdurr doesn't have many good coverage options. Knock off is a good way to discourage ghost-types from switching in but then it is defenseless against fairy-types, and vis versa for Poison Jab. Substitute goes well with mach punch but gurdurr often doesn't have enough time to set up. Taunt doesn't improve gurdurr's coverage but it can buy it a turn to switch out against a setup sweeper that counters it.
Crystal B-Skin (Torkoal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
I don't really like Torkoal. Mostly resorted to using it because I needed both a hazard remover and a SR setter that didn't have common weaknesses with other teammates (Silvally-Steel is too fast). It is a decent sponge for physical attacks despite a poor defensive typing, but Earth Power and Flamethrower are weak, even against super-effectively-hit targets, and it doesn't have reliable recovery, so it relies on Aromatisse to send it Wishes. Sp Def is maxed because its physical defense uninvested is already good enough to take non-super effective physical hits, and even weaker super effective physical hits, well.
Crystal (Aromatisse) @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Wish
- Aromatherapy
- Draining Kiss
I used mega Audino here originally but then I learned that Aromatisse existed. A cleric is required for Slowking to not get worn down over the course of the game. Aroma Veil is useful because it blocks Taunt. Draining Kiss is picked over Moonblast for health recovery.
However, since aromatisse only has one (fairly weak) attacking move, it is forced to switch out against fire-, poison- and steel- types. Toxic may be a better replacement but it is still hard-walled by poison.
List of other pokemon I have used on this team:
Pokemon my team struggle with the most currently:
Togodemaru: Togodemaru is basically invulnerable to anything Weezing or Aromatisse can do to it and can threaten it with its STAB moves. Exeggutor resists its electric moves but isn't a reliable switch-in due to U-turn. Torkoal and Gurdurr can both check togo sort of but that's when that fucking thing u-turns again and switches to another pokemon.
Comfey: Thanks to Triage Comfey is not affected by TR. If it's not KOed before it gets a few Calm Minds in it will nuke the entire team.
Dhelmise: Most of my pokemon are 2HKOed by either power whip or anchor shot after SR. It also can "outspeed" some of my pokemon under tr, and blocks rapid spin obv. Due to the weakness of Torkoal's flamethrower, Dhelmise can often stall it out with repeated use of Synthesis
Incineroar: Has the bulk to take a Mach Punch from Gurdurr if it's not already weakened and has good coverage + can hit most of my team super effectively. It doesn't care about burn or a poison move from Weezing either.
Sigilyph: Doesn't care about status or hazards and can set up with Cosmic Power pretty easily against this team. Since no one on my team right now resists flying it's basically open season for Sigilyph.
Malamar: Destroys team after a couple uses of Superpower. The resttalk set is particularly nefarious since it doesn't care about poison.
Gallade: Hits hard, and Slowking doesn't appreciate taking Knock Off. KOs entire team after Swords Dance.
Whimsicott: Is Whimsicott. Fuck Whimsicott.
Originally this was a bulky offense team but is now more stall-oriented, not intentionally but that's just the way things have seemed to go. It's not very good at it (see: peak at 1300). To be fair I haven't played Pokemon since high school and a lot of things have changed. But I sucked in high school too as far as I can remember
Plant (Exeggutor-Alola) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Draco Meteor
This is more defensively oriented than most Exeggutor sets because I need it to keep coming in and out to set TR. Sleep is valuable because it gets me at least one free turn if it hits. However, its typing is problematic for me because it's mega glal ice shard and whimsicott weak, important as exeggutor is the switch-in to subseed whims. While regular exeggutor is a better counter to whimsicott, it stacks weaknesses with slowking and has a worse typing in general.
Fish (Slowking) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Scald
- Psyshock
Slowking has been here since the first version of this team and is pretty strong as a late-game cleaner with Nasty Plot and Trick Room despite 0 offense investment, but vulnerable to status, esp Toxic. I considered giving it Magic Coat for this reason but there's no room to cut out one of either STAB considering many pokemon in the tier are immune to water (Blastoise, Seismitoad, Vaporeon) and psychic-type moves (dark-types). It has max Def to help it take Knock Offs and U-turns better at the cost of becoming a riskier Clawitzer check.
I enjoy TR the most out of all NU strats but one thing about it that bothers me teambuilding-wise is that most carriers in this tier that are slow enough to take advantage of the move are psychic-type, so any team ends up having a lot of common weaknesses.
I considered replacing Slowking with Jellicent since it doesn't have the bug weakness and it can block spin, but it doesn't have the crucial offensive presence Slowking has.
Eyes (Weezing) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Will-O-Wisp
- Toxic Spikes
- Clear Smog
- Pain Split
Weezing is a new addition and mostly exists as a fairy and ground-type counter. Clear Smog had to be taken over Sludge Bomb because otherwise the team is very weak to bulky setup sweepers like Scrafty. However, it has basically no offensive presence thanks to this. Entry hazards discourage switching which is a very common way to deal with TR.
Steroids (Gurdurr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Taunt
Gurdurr is surprisingly really good for a PU mon and the consistently highest performer on this team. Priority is essential once TR ends and it is also a great status sponge thanks to Guts. Bulk Up increases Gurdurr's already stellar Eviolite-boosted physical defense and after a few boosts it can easily pick off many pokemon with Mach Punch.
The fourth slot is largely unimportant because gurdurr doesn't have many good coverage options. Knock off is a good way to discourage ghost-types from switching in but then it is defenseless against fairy-types, and vis versa for Poison Jab. Substitute goes well with mach punch but gurdurr often doesn't have enough time to set up. Taunt doesn't improve gurdurr's coverage but it can buy it a turn to switch out against a setup sweeper that counters it.
Crystal B-Skin (Torkoal) @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
I don't really like Torkoal. Mostly resorted to using it because I needed both a hazard remover and a SR setter that didn't have common weaknesses with other teammates (Silvally-Steel is too fast). It is a decent sponge for physical attacks despite a poor defensive typing, but Earth Power and Flamethrower are weak, even against super-effectively-hit targets, and it doesn't have reliable recovery, so it relies on Aromatisse to send it Wishes. Sp Def is maxed because its physical defense uninvested is already good enough to take non-super effective physical hits, and even weaker super effective physical hits, well.
Crystal (Aromatisse) @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Wish
- Aromatherapy
- Draining Kiss
I used mega Audino here originally but then I learned that Aromatisse existed. A cleric is required for Slowking to not get worn down over the course of the game. Aroma Veil is useful because it blocks Taunt. Draining Kiss is picked over Moonblast for health recovery.
However, since aromatisse only has one (fairly weak) attacking move, it is forced to switch out against fire-, poison- and steel- types. Toxic may be a better replacement but it is still hard-walled by poison.
List of other pokemon I have used on this team:
Different SR setters I have used
Druddigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage / Dragon Tail
- Dragon Tail / Roar / Taunt
- Earthquake
OK lead, can set up rocks even against Xatu which is neat, but due to its typing it lacks real offensive presence until late game. It also suffers from four moveslot syndrome.
Rhydon @ Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Roar
Also ok but its lack of reliable recovery, lefties and dependence on eviolite to tank hurt its survivability in-game along with its double weaknesses to grass and water. Seismitoad in particular is a hard counter, as well as Dhelmise, which could fuck over most of my switch-ins with Anchor Shot.
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: No
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 HP
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Roar
I was pretty happy with Steelix's performance and have been considering putting it back in. Even with no EVs in Def or HP it can survive virtually any unboosted physical hit, and thanks to invested attack it can usually hit back. I picked gyro ball over heavy slam on this set because its BP is often significantly higher (gyro maxes out at 150 while HS at only 100). But it's easily walled by Seismitoad, Passimian and other common NU leads, and it is easily made a lame duck by burn condition. Sp Def is maximized to help it better survive Scald and other common defensive moves.
Hazard removal
Avalugg @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
Despite a horrid Ice typing, Avalugg had a lot of good attributes, including reliable recovery (not common in NU rapid spinners), some offensive presence, being slow and stellar physical defense. Even super effective STAB physical hits usually struggle to 2hko avalugg. However Avalugg's special defenses are subpar so it struggled against a lot of SR setters and spinblockers in NU like Palossand. Plus Avalanche is pretty weak thanks to having only 60 bp.
Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Synthesis / Aromatherapy
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
Meh. It's actually pretty frail before it sets up with Superpower, so it struggles to take the two hits it often needs to take to use Defog. It did have good typing synergy with my team at the time though.
Braviary @ Flyinium-Z
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Roost
Defogger and physical attacker. Flyinium Z helps one-shot particularly pesky opponents.
Braviary suffers from a bad case of four-moveslot syndrome. While it would really appreciate a move that didn't cause stat decrease or recoil to increase its survivability, considering that it is unboosted it needs the extra power of Brave Bird. It was also SR-weak, and its defenses are only decent, which made it often hard to switch in to use Defog. Those were the primary reasons I removed it.
Sweepers
Vikavolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball / Flash Cannon / HP Fire
This thing was a fucking beast.
Most pokemon in the tier can't take either two thunderbolts or bug buzzes in a row so the fourth move didn't really matter. However, Vikavolt needs to switch out as soon as TR is up because its bulk is mediocre and it can't take many hits. That combined with SR weakness really cut into its effectiveness at sweeping.
So I replaced it with
Guzzlord @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpD / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Outrage
- Crunch
- Heavy Slam
- Hammer Arm
First off this thing looks awesome and is the best NU stand-in for Horror. It is sorely missed.
Choice band is kind of unorthodox for Guzzlord but I wanted to use its (slightly) better physical attack and I preferred being Outrage-locked to Draco Meteor when it came to late-game sweeping (once all steels and fairies were gone ofc). Guzzlord wasnt very strong at the outset but it could sweep easily once it had a +1 from the beast boost. Max SpD because it increases its odds of surviving Specs Clawitzer Aura Sphere after SR to over 50%. It could tank hits well but was easily crippled by burn and other status (probably why I shouldn't have gone with a physical set to begin with honestly). It also shared too many common weaknesses with Exeggutor and Slowking for me to justify its place on the team after I added Exeggutor which led me to replace it again
Incineroar @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Brave Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Darkest Lariat
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Everybody in NU loves Tony the tiger. However, despite good bulk and a typing with good synergy with the rest of the team it's worn down easily by SR + repeated use of Flare Blitz. I have used a more defensive build before with Figy Berry and Will-O-Wisp instead of Darkest Lariat, but while it still has decent power it's significantly lessened.
Druddigon @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage / Dragon Tail
- Dragon Tail / Roar / Taunt
- Earthquake
OK lead, can set up rocks even against Xatu which is neat, but due to its typing it lacks real offensive presence until late game. It also suffers from four moveslot syndrome.
Rhydon @ Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Roar
Also ok but its lack of reliable recovery, lefties and dependence on eviolite to tank hurt its survivability in-game along with its double weaknesses to grass and water. Seismitoad in particular is a hard counter, as well as Dhelmise, which could fuck over most of my switch-ins with Anchor Shot.
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: No
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 HP
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Roar
I was pretty happy with Steelix's performance and have been considering putting it back in. Even with no EVs in Def or HP it can survive virtually any unboosted physical hit, and thanks to invested attack it can usually hit back. I picked gyro ball over heavy slam on this set because its BP is often significantly higher (gyro maxes out at 150 while HS at only 100). But it's easily walled by Seismitoad, Passimian and other common NU leads, and it is easily made a lame duck by burn condition. Sp Def is maximized to help it better survive Scald and other common defensive moves.
Hazard removal
Avalugg @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
Despite a horrid Ice typing, Avalugg had a lot of good attributes, including reliable recovery (not common in NU rapid spinners), some offensive presence, being slow and stellar physical defense. Even super effective STAB physical hits usually struggle to 2hko avalugg. However Avalugg's special defenses are subpar so it struggled against a lot of SR setters and spinblockers in NU like Palossand. Plus Avalanche is pretty weak thanks to having only 60 bp.
Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Synthesis / Aromatherapy
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
Meh. It's actually pretty frail before it sets up with Superpower, so it struggles to take the two hits it often needs to take to use Defog. It did have good typing synergy with my team at the time though.
Braviary @ Flyinium-Z
Ability: Defiant
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Roost
Defogger and physical attacker. Flyinium Z helps one-shot particularly pesky opponents.
Braviary suffers from a bad case of four-moveslot syndrome. While it would really appreciate a move that didn't cause stat decrease or recoil to increase its survivability, considering that it is unboosted it needs the extra power of Brave Bird. It was also SR-weak, and its defenses are only decent, which made it often hard to switch in to use Defog. Those were the primary reasons I removed it.
Sweepers
Vikavolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball / Flash Cannon / HP Fire
This thing was a fucking beast.
Most pokemon in the tier can't take either two thunderbolts or bug buzzes in a row so the fourth move didn't really matter. However, Vikavolt needs to switch out as soon as TR is up because its bulk is mediocre and it can't take many hits. That combined with SR weakness really cut into its effectiveness at sweeping.
So I replaced it with
Guzzlord @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpD / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Outrage
- Crunch
- Heavy Slam
- Hammer Arm
First off this thing looks awesome and is the best NU stand-in for Horror. It is sorely missed.
Choice band is kind of unorthodox for Guzzlord but I wanted to use its (slightly) better physical attack and I preferred being Outrage-locked to Draco Meteor when it came to late-game sweeping (once all steels and fairies were gone ofc). Guzzlord wasnt very strong at the outset but it could sweep easily once it had a +1 from the beast boost. Max SpD because it increases its odds of surviving Specs Clawitzer Aura Sphere after SR to over 50%. It could tank hits well but was easily crippled by burn and other status (probably why I shouldn't have gone with a physical set to begin with honestly). It also shared too many common weaknesses with Exeggutor and Slowking for me to justify its place on the team after I added Exeggutor which led me to replace it again
Incineroar @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Brave Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Darkest Lariat
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
Everybody in NU loves Tony the tiger. However, despite good bulk and a typing with good synergy with the rest of the team it's worn down easily by SR + repeated use of Flare Blitz. I have used a more defensive build before with Figy Berry and Will-O-Wisp instead of Darkest Lariat, but while it still has decent power it's significantly lessened.
Pokemon my team struggle with the most currently:
Togodemaru: Togodemaru is basically invulnerable to anything Weezing or Aromatisse can do to it and can threaten it with its STAB moves. Exeggutor resists its electric moves but isn't a reliable switch-in due to U-turn. Torkoal and Gurdurr can both check togo sort of but that's when that fucking thing u-turns again and switches to another pokemon.
Comfey: Thanks to Triage Comfey is not affected by TR. If it's not KOed before it gets a few Calm Minds in it will nuke the entire team.
Dhelmise: Most of my pokemon are 2HKOed by either power whip or anchor shot after SR. It also can "outspeed" some of my pokemon under tr, and blocks rapid spin obv. Due to the weakness of Torkoal's flamethrower, Dhelmise can often stall it out with repeated use of Synthesis
Incineroar: Has the bulk to take a Mach Punch from Gurdurr if it's not already weakened and has good coverage + can hit most of my team super effectively. It doesn't care about burn or a poison move from Weezing either.
Sigilyph: Doesn't care about status or hazards and can set up with Cosmic Power pretty easily against this team. Since no one on my team right now resists flying it's basically open season for Sigilyph.
Malamar: Destroys team after a couple uses of Superpower. The resttalk set is particularly nefarious since it doesn't care about poison.
Gallade: Hits hard, and Slowking doesn't appreciate taking Knock Off. KOs entire team after Swords Dance.
Whimsicott: Is Whimsicott. Fuck Whimsicott.
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