Let's get one thing out of the way: NU is still in it's very early stages, and people are still discovering awesome new stuff seemingly every day. However, after a couple hundred games I think I've come up with a team that utilizes some of the strongest threats while also dealing with some of the craziest stuff in this metagame.
There aren't exactly a ton of people on the ladder, but I've gotten pretty close to the top with multiple accounts using this team or similar variations of it. I haven't quite gotten to 1400, but my peak was around 1370 which I'd say is pretty good and is top 25 or so right now. Anyway, let's just get on to my team:
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Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature
- Earth Power
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
The God Frog. This is one of the strongest sets in the metagame, and chances are you're not going to be able to kill this guy without a strong grass attack. He's absurdly bulky and a complete menace. I often lead with him if I don't see a grass type that I feel my opponent will drop immediately to scare me off, and if that's the case I will 100% get rocks up, knock off some items, and maybe leave a burn or two along the way. You don't want to try and tank some hits from this guy either, because his strong STABs hit pretty hard coming off of his decent base stats. With Water Absorb he can easily single-handedly shut down almost every water sweeper in the tier that doesn't carry HP Grass. Feraligatr? Carracosta? Yeah, right. Even a +2 Earthquake from Feraligatr is barely gonna scrape the Toad, and I can go for the burn or knock off in return to completely cripple you with whichever way I feel like. This guy is the MVP in most of my games, as he consistently tanks and cripples key threats and gets up the ever-important Stealth Rock in basically every game.
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Acrobatics
- Rock Slide
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Yeah, no item. If Flying Gem were released I fully believe Archeops would be too much for the metagame, and every team would be forced to run Rhydon or something to even have a chance against this monster. Having no EVs in HP ensures you can switch into Stealth Rocks twice without activating Defeatist, which gives Archeops several chances to come in and launch off an outrageously strong Acrobatics or Rock Slide. There are times I wish I had Earthquake, but there have been more times where I've had a 30% Archeops ready to revenge kill something, but I go for the Roost on the switch and am back to dealing massive damage. Heat Wave gives me a guaranteed OHKO on Durant which is extremely important. I'm pretty sure that it maims the little bug even with Defeatist activated because that thing's special defenses are laughable. Archeops has one more base speed than Durant, meaning I have a guaranteed outspeed as long as he's not running SubSalac (which is pretty much guaranteed to sweep me) or Scarf (which I can outplay). Overall he's one of the most monstrous Pokemon in the tier and gives me all kinds of strategic advantages.
Hariyama @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
I've tried all kinds of things in this slot, and there are several excellent fighting Pokemon in the tier to try. Machoke, Gurdurr, Sawk, Throh, and Primeape are all really strong options, but I always come back to Hariyama. The ability is really a tough choice; there's status all over this tier and Guts can actually give this sumo a fast-track to a sweep. I've settled with Thick Fat, however, to give myself a more comfortable switch-in to the likes of Typhlosion and Magmortar. Lots of Typhlosion are (smartly) running Hidden Power Grass lately with the popularity of Seismitoad and Carracosta. I don't feel good about switching the Toad into Typhlosion anymore, but Hariyama on the other hand has no problem taking anything from those guys except the unlikely Extrasensory. Hariyama is a tanky mofo, and Thick Fat ensures that I can comfortably switch into an Eruption and then Fake Out to permanently weaken it, and then I'll likely get to fire a free Knock Off on the inevitable switch. Having a double priority combo in Fake Out and Bullet Punch is absolutely invaluable and gives me a fix in several panic scenarios. This guy would be even better if he got Mach Punch instead of Bullet Punch, but I can't complain too much. Overall a great mon.
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Pyroar here is very similar to Typhlosion, but there are a few reasons I prefer Pyroar. For starters, I appreciate the Ghost immunity, and a lot of Mismagius I've ran into run Shadow Ball/Energy Ball as two of their moves, so Pyroar is an emergency possibility against her. Pyroar also has a speed advantage while not sacrificing very much bulk and having the exact same Special Attack stat and an extra powerful STAB. So it's really up to preference, and I find Pyroar to be extremely cool. Rivalry is way too risky of an ability since everybody tends to keep their Pokemon's gender at random, so I've gone with Unnerve which actually kind of has some uses since their are some cheese Sitrus Berry Harvest strategies that I've run into. There really isn't any other options in terms of moves: Fire Blast is obvious, Hyper Voice hits like a truck through subs, Dark Pulse nails all the strong ghosts and psychics in the tier, and HP Grass is to nail Seismitoad/Golem/Carracosta/etc on the switch-in for a clutch OHKO that can easily turn the tide of a battle.
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Protect
One of my favorite Pokemon of all-time ever since I first saw it. I even got him to work relatively well in OU back when X and Y first came out, but now that he's dropped to NU he's an absolute menace. Many, many teams out there are completely swept by this guy because they simply can't do anything to him. I strongly believe specially defensive is the way to go, what with Will-O-Wisp being available to burn any physical threats. This guy can easily take random non-STAB Ice Beams and get a Leech Seed going in return. As with many Pokemon, this guy suffers from some serious moveslot syndrome; if I could have Seed Bomb, Substitute, Pain Split, and Toxic on this set it'd be the greatest Pokemon of all-time haha, but I have to make sacrifices. I often wish I had Seed Bomb, but the extra priority move is just too important to me even if it's weak. How many times have I activated Sturdy while a Carracosta gets off a Shell Smash that would otherwise finish off the rest of my team? The answer is quite a few times. Protect is better than Substitute imo because the pumpkin is just so damn slow, it's better to get the guaranteed Lefties+Leech Seed recovery.
Weezing @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Bomb
An old favorite and someone I've always used in the lower tiers because he's just so damn good at countering fighting types and most physical Pokemon in general. He's not a great Durant check, but he can take a couple +1 Iron Heads and KO the bastard back with Flamethrower. Gurdurr, Sawk etc are essentially hopeless against this guy, although I have to be careful with giving Gurdurr a Guts boost in combination with a couple Bulk Ups, because a really strong Mach Punch can easily finish off most of my team. I've considered HP Grass or even Toxic over Thunderbolt and Sludge Bomb because they actually don't see a whole lot of use, but Tbolt has still gotten me some Feraligatr KO's while Sludge Bomb can hurt Granbull quite a bit. Overall this guy can completely dominate a team that relies too heavily on physical threats, with Will-O-Wisp being the main thing that screws them over. My team has a lot of burn and Weezing is part of what helps spread it.
Major Threats:
Durant - SubSalac is pretty much a guaranteed victory as long as you bring it out at the right time. If it's brought out against Gourgeist it's gg, there's basically nothing I can do. Other sets like basic Hone Claws and Scarf are beatable but still monstrous.
Mismagius - Big trouble. Gourgeist can generally take an unboosted Shadow Ball but can't exactly do a whole lot in return. Archeops outspeeds and destroys it of course but absolutely cannot switch in to anything. Chances are a Mismagius will take out a couple mons.
Archeops - No one really wants to switch into anything, but I have plenty that can crush it. Weezing can take an Acrobatics and burn in return, Seismitoad can also Scald, Hariyama can Fake Out/Bullet Punch to get it into Defeatist range, but something is definitely going to take a lot of damage from it before I get it down regardless.
There are obviously more threats but those are the three that scare me the most in general when I'm playing. I know this team is quite good but there are definitely improvements that can be made, and I'm seeking your help for those improvements! Rate away! :) <3
There aren't exactly a ton of people on the ladder, but I've gotten pretty close to the top with multiple accounts using this team or similar variations of it. I haven't quite gotten to 1400, but my peak was around 1370 which I'd say is pretty good and is top 25 or so right now. Anyway, let's just get on to my team:
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Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Relaxed Nature
- Earth Power
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
The God Frog. This is one of the strongest sets in the metagame, and chances are you're not going to be able to kill this guy without a strong grass attack. He's absurdly bulky and a complete menace. I often lead with him if I don't see a grass type that I feel my opponent will drop immediately to scare me off, and if that's the case I will 100% get rocks up, knock off some items, and maybe leave a burn or two along the way. You don't want to try and tank some hits from this guy either, because his strong STABs hit pretty hard coming off of his decent base stats. With Water Absorb he can easily single-handedly shut down almost every water sweeper in the tier that doesn't carry HP Grass. Feraligatr? Carracosta? Yeah, right. Even a +2 Earthquake from Feraligatr is barely gonna scrape the Toad, and I can go for the burn or knock off in return to completely cripple you with whichever way I feel like. This guy is the MVP in most of my games, as he consistently tanks and cripples key threats and gets up the ever-important Stealth Rock in basically every game.
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Acrobatics
- Rock Slide
- Roost
- Heat Wave
Yeah, no item. If Flying Gem were released I fully believe Archeops would be too much for the metagame, and every team would be forced to run Rhydon or something to even have a chance against this monster. Having no EVs in HP ensures you can switch into Stealth Rocks twice without activating Defeatist, which gives Archeops several chances to come in and launch off an outrageously strong Acrobatics or Rock Slide. There are times I wish I had Earthquake, but there have been more times where I've had a 30% Archeops ready to revenge kill something, but I go for the Roost on the switch and am back to dealing massive damage. Heat Wave gives me a guaranteed OHKO on Durant which is extremely important. I'm pretty sure that it maims the little bug even with Defeatist activated because that thing's special defenses are laughable. Archeops has one more base speed than Durant, meaning I have a guaranteed outspeed as long as he's not running SubSalac (which is pretty much guaranteed to sweep me) or Scarf (which I can outplay). Overall he's one of the most monstrous Pokemon in the tier and gives me all kinds of strategic advantages.
Hariyama @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
I've tried all kinds of things in this slot, and there are several excellent fighting Pokemon in the tier to try. Machoke, Gurdurr, Sawk, Throh, and Primeape are all really strong options, but I always come back to Hariyama. The ability is really a tough choice; there's status all over this tier and Guts can actually give this sumo a fast-track to a sweep. I've settled with Thick Fat, however, to give myself a more comfortable switch-in to the likes of Typhlosion and Magmortar. Lots of Typhlosion are (smartly) running Hidden Power Grass lately with the popularity of Seismitoad and Carracosta. I don't feel good about switching the Toad into Typhlosion anymore, but Hariyama on the other hand has no problem taking anything from those guys except the unlikely Extrasensory. Hariyama is a tanky mofo, and Thick Fat ensures that I can comfortably switch into an Eruption and then Fake Out to permanently weaken it, and then I'll likely get to fire a free Knock Off on the inevitable switch. Having a double priority combo in Fake Out and Bullet Punch is absolutely invaluable and gives me a fix in several panic scenarios. This guy would be even better if he got Mach Punch instead of Bullet Punch, but I can't complain too much. Overall a great mon.
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Pyroar here is very similar to Typhlosion, but there are a few reasons I prefer Pyroar. For starters, I appreciate the Ghost immunity, and a lot of Mismagius I've ran into run Shadow Ball/Energy Ball as two of their moves, so Pyroar is an emergency possibility against her. Pyroar also has a speed advantage while not sacrificing very much bulk and having the exact same Special Attack stat and an extra powerful STAB. So it's really up to preference, and I find Pyroar to be extremely cool. Rivalry is way too risky of an ability since everybody tends to keep their Pokemon's gender at random, so I've gone with Unnerve which actually kind of has some uses since their are some cheese Sitrus Berry Harvest strategies that I've run into. There really isn't any other options in terms of moves: Fire Blast is obvious, Hyper Voice hits like a truck through subs, Dark Pulse nails all the strong ghosts and psychics in the tier, and HP Grass is to nail Seismitoad/Golem/Carracosta/etc on the switch-in for a clutch OHKO that can easily turn the tide of a battle.
Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Protect
One of my favorite Pokemon of all-time ever since I first saw it. I even got him to work relatively well in OU back when X and Y first came out, but now that he's dropped to NU he's an absolute menace. Many, many teams out there are completely swept by this guy because they simply can't do anything to him. I strongly believe specially defensive is the way to go, what with Will-O-Wisp being available to burn any physical threats. This guy can easily take random non-STAB Ice Beams and get a Leech Seed going in return. As with many Pokemon, this guy suffers from some serious moveslot syndrome; if I could have Seed Bomb, Substitute, Pain Split, and Toxic on this set it'd be the greatest Pokemon of all-time haha, but I have to make sacrifices. I often wish I had Seed Bomb, but the extra priority move is just too important to me even if it's weak. How many times have I activated Sturdy while a Carracosta gets off a Shell Smash that would otherwise finish off the rest of my team? The answer is quite a few times. Protect is better than Substitute imo because the pumpkin is just so damn slow, it's better to get the guaranteed Lefties+Leech Seed recovery.
Weezing @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Bomb
An old favorite and someone I've always used in the lower tiers because he's just so damn good at countering fighting types and most physical Pokemon in general. He's not a great Durant check, but he can take a couple +1 Iron Heads and KO the bastard back with Flamethrower. Gurdurr, Sawk etc are essentially hopeless against this guy, although I have to be careful with giving Gurdurr a Guts boost in combination with a couple Bulk Ups, because a really strong Mach Punch can easily finish off most of my team. I've considered HP Grass or even Toxic over Thunderbolt and Sludge Bomb because they actually don't see a whole lot of use, but Tbolt has still gotten me some Feraligatr KO's while Sludge Bomb can hurt Granbull quite a bit. Overall this guy can completely dominate a team that relies too heavily on physical threats, with Will-O-Wisp being the main thing that screws them over. My team has a lot of burn and Weezing is part of what helps spread it.
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Major Threats:
Durant - SubSalac is pretty much a guaranteed victory as long as you bring it out at the right time. If it's brought out against Gourgeist it's gg, there's basically nothing I can do. Other sets like basic Hone Claws and Scarf are beatable but still monstrous.
Mismagius - Big trouble. Gourgeist can generally take an unboosted Shadow Ball but can't exactly do a whole lot in return. Archeops outspeeds and destroys it of course but absolutely cannot switch in to anything. Chances are a Mismagius will take out a couple mons.
Archeops - No one really wants to switch into anything, but I have plenty that can crush it. Weezing can take an Acrobatics and burn in return, Seismitoad can also Scald, Hariyama can Fake Out/Bullet Punch to get it into Defeatist range, but something is definitely going to take a lot of damage from it before I get it down regardless.
There are obviously more threats but those are the three that scare me the most in general when I'm playing. I know this team is quite good but there are definitely improvements that can be made, and I'm seeking your help for those improvements! Rate away! :) <3