PokéBase - Pokémon Q&A
11 votes
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The title should be able to explain what the point of this thread is all about, but if you need me to put it on the chalkboard and spell it out for ya- What Pokemon in the NU and RU tiers have a viable role in the OU tier? I have excluded UU as it is almost a gateway into OU.

I'm just gonna go ahead and put up an obvious choice.

Amoonguss
http://images.wikia.com/es.pokemon/images/d/df/EP716_Amoonguss.png

Amoonguss: Amoonguss is a Pokemon that you just can't help to like. Although it's movepool is relatively small, it still gains Spore giving Breloom a bit of competition for most annoying Spore Pokemon (although Breloom wins that match anyday). It also has a whopping 114 base HP stat. What makes Amoonguss so much better is the fact that it has become one of the best defensive pivots in the game, thanks to it's Dream World ability Regenarator. Now Amoonguss can now almost shrug off hazard damage and switch in almost willy nilly.

Abilities-

Effect Spore- 30% chance to paralyze, poison, or sleep when struck by a contact move.
This could've been a viable ability, even if Regenerator wasn't there, but, still. It's probably gonna put something to sleep anyways.

Regenerator- Wielder heals 1/3 of its maximum HP on switching out.
Now, this is where its at. Hazards are almost nothing. Thought you killed Amoonguss? Switch it out and you can try again.

Type Analysis: Grass and Poison are a common pair amoong some (see what I did there?). It gains a resistance to common move types like Fighting, Water, and Electric. It's Poison type allows it to avoid being poisoned, but also allows it to get rid of Toxic Spikes. The typing isn't perfect though. It still has a weakness to common attacking types like Fire and Ice.

The Set
Amoonguss
Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 28 SpA / 228 SpD
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- HP [Fire] / HP [Ice] / Sludge Bomb
- Stun Spore

Item: Being a Poison type, it has admittance to Black Sludge. Black Sludge is normally used on Poisons to screw over Trick users. Like Leftovers, Black Sludge gives Poison type Pokemon 12.5 HP per turn and anything other than that loses 12.5 HP.

EVs: 252 HP gives Amoonguss supreme bulk and 228 SpD gives it the gift to wall special attackers along with a Calm Nature. 28 SpA EVs allow it to break +2 Keldeo Substitutes each and every time.

Moves-

Spore- This move needs almost no explanation if you've been reading the whole way through. Spore, so simply, puts a Pokemon on your opponent's team to sleep almost 100% of the time. Its one of the few Pokemon who get it, so you might as well use it.

Giga Drain- Gaining back HP to go with your Regen heal? Sounds great. It also gives Amoonguss a good STAB.

HP [Fire] / [Ice] / Sludge Bomb- Personal preference here. For hitting Ferro and Forry, use Fire. For hitting Gliscor, Lando, and Thundy use Ice. For a second STAB attack, use Sludge Bomb.

Stun Spore / Clear Smog- For getting off a Dual Spore and spreading status like wildfire, use Stun Spore. For ensuring that you don't get set up upon, use Clear Smog.

Conclusion-

Why should I use Amoonguss?

With the ubiquitous presence of Rain teams, Amoonguss is there. Amoonguss can counter threats on a rain team such as Politoed and Thunderus-T. It loses it's Fire weakness. But, why is it really used. It could be one of the best defensive pivots right now. It can put just about whatever it wants asleep, and heal off any damage it takes on the switch. It absorbs Toxic Spikes which is almost invaluable to any style off team.

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edited by
Exeggutor and Jumpluff in the sun?
That's for you to post.
naw.C:
There you go, Once (the tags which you said) :3
Thanks, much.
Me thinks weather Pokemon will continue to dominate this list.

15 Answers

3 votes

enter image description here
Charizard
Charizard is not only an absolute monster in NU but it can deal obliterating damage in OU as well when it sun is present killing many that look down on it. This is only made possible because of it's new ability, Solar Power and a choice item

Abilities

Solar Power-Wielder's Special Attack is doubled in sun at the cost of some HP it turn
In sun and with Solar Power Charizard can destroy prominent OU-threats including Keldeo since Keldeo's water attack do pathetic damage once in sun and as a result of it's weakened state, Air Slash grants you a guaranteed KO.

Blaze- The Power of fire attacks is increased when the wielder's HP is at half and lower
Although this isn't as dazzling as Solar Power, it is still a nice ability for a physically attacking Charizard

Type Analysis: Fire/Flying is Charizard's biggest downfall especially due to the omnipresence of Stone egde, Charizard can easily get KO'd stopping it's sweep. It isn't all bad since it strengthens the Solar Sweep.

Moveset

Charizard @ Choice Specs/Choice Scarf
Trait: Solar Power
Timid Nature
EV Spread: 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Moves
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power[ICE]
- Air Slash
- Solarbeam

Item:Choice Scarf is an excellent item that can aid Charizard in mercilessly demolishing everything that planned to stop it, including it's greatest OU rival, Landorus who can stop Charizard before it can unfold it's wings. With Choice Scarf Charizard can laugh in Landorus's face while it demolishes it if it isn't a Incarnate variant of course. Choice Specs is just to literally destroy everything, those who resist and those who take neutrally. If you don't know what l doom is, I will tell you that choice specs Solar Power Charizard in sun is doom in person.

Moves-

Fire Blast: Fire Blast is your main STAB move that can scorch everything to death that doesn't resist it( when holding chouce scatf). There us nothing more to say..

Air Slash: Is your Keldeo, Breloom and co killer. It also gives you great STAB meaning that even the top OU-threat must think twice before switching into him.

Solarbeam: Is to hit all the funny water types that think it is safe to switch into Charizard, including Jellicent, who's Bulk can be a madness lure.

Hidden Power[ICE]: Is to show the dragon who is boss, then I am looking at Mixmence and Multinite in particular. Although it doesn't get STAB, when you are running specs, this can hit really hard

Why should you use Charizard?

Often Charizard is belittled for it's horrible typing. But even with this Charizard as I mentioned earlier can completely demolish teams that are not prepared for it, scorching are slashing the most prominent OU-threat. Charizard is a force to be reckoned with. Although a Scarfed Terrakion can make everything a little harder

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I guess I will restart....
Eh, leave it for now.
oops, was editing everything away when you typed that...
Charizard in OU... All the Rocks.
Most Sun teams carry spin support anyway.
3 votes

If anyone was surprised by my choice, well, you deserve to be surprised

Ludicolo: Ludicolo at first seems to be a lackluster Pokemon. Its best stat is its decent base 100 special defense, with rest being subpar at best. However, there is one thing that makes Ludicolo a terror to face: rain. Ludicolo's two great rain abilities allow it to function both in rain stall and rain dance hyper offense. Don't underestimate this mad rad lilypad, because it will destroy you with its array of physical and special options.

Abilities-

Rain Dish-The Pokemon recovers 1/16 HP at the end of each turn while it is raining
Rain Dish essentially provides free Leftovers recovery. Combine leech seed and leftovers with this, and Ludicolo create endless substitutes the majority of the time. This makes for a great Subseed set.

Swift Swim-The Pokemon's speed is doubled under rain.
So good that it had to be banned, this ability is, and Ludicolo is one of the great abusers of it. Thanks to its diverse movepool and decent offensive typing, Ludicolo makes a fearsome rain sweeper.

Own Tempo- The Pokemon can not be confused
Ludicolo does not have much use for this ability. The only common moves that induce Confusion are Machamp's dynamic punch, which will severely dent Ludicolo, and Hurricane which will likely ko it. Stick to its other rain-related abilities.

Type Analysis: Ludicolo's unique Water/Grass typing is fitting for the odd pineapple platypus. From it it gains only three weaknesses to Bug, Flying and Poison, of which only Bug is a common offensive type. It also is among a handful of Water types to not have a weakness to Grass or Electric. It also has a 4x resistance to water, which combined with its Grass STAB make it one of the best bulky water counters around. It also resists the rather common ground and steel, which is nice.

The Set
Ludicolo
Ludicolo@Life Orb/Damp Rock
Trait: Swift Swim
Evs: 4 hp 252 sp atk 252 spd
Modest Nature (+Sp Atk, -Atk)
-Rain Dance
-Hydro Pump/Surf
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam

Item: Do you want power or reliability?That's what this comes down too. Life Orb gives Ludicolo immediate power. Life Orb boosted STAB Hydro Pump in the rain is no joke. However, as rain only lasts five turns, you may have your sweep cut short. Therefore, damp rock is also a suitable item.

EVs- Ludicolo's special attack is not superb, and as such it needs maximum investment in Special Attack to succeed. Max speed is also advised to ensure that Ludicolo is not outsped to often under rain, as at base 70 speed some of the faster scarfers will already be able to keep pace with or outspeed it.

Moves-

Rain Dance: As Drizzle and Swift Swim are banned, Ludicolo must provide its own rain support. It is advised that other members of the team carry rain dance as well, in case Ludicolo is unable to set it up on its own.

Hydro Pump/Surf- Power vs. Reliability is the matter here. As said above, STAB Life orb Hydro Pump in the rain is ludicrous. However, surf remains quite powerful as well, and I would say is the superior option, as Ludicolo's sweep has a turn limit, and you don't want to waste turns missing.

Giga Drain- Giga Drain's decent power combined with its recovery makes it an excellent secondary STAB. It also removes Water types, most notably Gastrodon, who resist or are immune to Water. The recovery can also help in dealing with Life Orb recoil as well, and extend Ludicolo's sweep.

Ice Beam- Ice Beam provides required coverage against grass and dragon types, rounding out Ludicolo's set. Its decent power allows it to take down most offensive threats in one try and most defensive in two

Other Options-As said above, Ludicolo runs a nice Subseed set of say substitute, leech seed giga drain and scald. Focus Blast may be used if Ferrothorn is your primary concern. Ludicolo gets swords dance a good physical movepool, but its attack is only base 70, and it will find it hard to set up a swords dance considering how its sweeping time is limited already.

Conclusion-

Why should I use Ludicolo?

Ludicolo is a wonderful check to rain teams. Its ability to take out the water types and flying types that abuse rain with its wide offensive movepool is impressive. It is also one of the best bulky water counters around. Not to mention the fact that Ludicolo is among the best of the special rain dance sweepers, and is the only one who is not walled by Water types, and if it carries Focus Blast is one of the few that can bypass the omnipresent Ferrothorn. It also is immune to leech seed and neutral to power whip to boot. In the end, one should use Ludicolo if they want to abuse the rain, rather with a stall set under drizzle or an offensive set under rain dance, as Ludicolo is a wonderful rain abuser.

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3 votes

Cinccino: Cinccino is not unlike Mienshao. Fast with good attack and frail, along with a small movepool (plus elegant design), it's pretty much a one trick pony. However, it's a pony that performs one trick very well. Cinccino has a base 115 speed stat, meaning it can out speed the ever present threats for Mienshao... namely Archeops. At base speed 115, it's tied with Pokemon like Starmie, Raikou, Ambipom and Azelf.

Cinccino also out speeds a lot of common OU mons, namely Gengar, Espeon, Jumpluff (without sun), Tornadus & Thundurus (incarnate), Lati twins, Froslass, Infernape. all 4 of the swords of justice, Thundurus & Landorus (therian), Ninetales, Zapdos, etc. etc.

Out speeding Froslass is a really crucial point, since so many Froslass carry Destiny Bond and hold Focus Sash, along with being immune to the ever prevalent Mach Punch. Even if it can't deal with a Pokemon, it can switch out with U-Turn to something more suitable.

Abilities

Cute Charm - 30% chance of infatuating Pokemon of opposite gender when a contact move is made.
Eh. Yea. This is useful when it happens (and in-game, we all know 30% is really 90%), but competitively, you can just switch out & the effect is gone. Lets face it, the Pokemon that have this ability all have better/ more useful secondary abilities they could be using full time, rather than hoping on the 30% chance of infatuation.

Technician - Increases the Base Power of moves with 60 or less by 50%.
Good ability for Cinccino. Much like Breloom, it has quite a few low powered moves, e.g. Bullet Seed, Wake Up Slap, Rock Blast, Tail Slap, that could use the extra boost. Sad thing about it is, Chinccino doesn't have access to Swords Dance like Breloom does, nor the STAB Breloom enjoys with Mach Punch and Bullet Seed.

Skill Link (hidden ability) - Multi-hit moves will always hit the maximum number of times.
Now this it the one we want. Cinccino has 3 (or 4 if you count Double Slap) multi-hit moves. Tail Slap, Rock Blast and Bullet Seed. This ensures that, with its base 95 attack, it will do maximum damage each turn.
Each hit of a multi-hit move also has its own separate chance of scoring a crit, meaning Cinccino has ~30% chance of scoring a crit whenever it uses its 5 hit moves.

Type Analysis: Normal

The Set
image
Cinccino @ Life Orb/ Choice Scarf/ Choice Band
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -Sp.Atk)/ Admant (+Atk, -Sp.Atk)
- Tail Slap
- Rock Blast
- Bullet Seed
- U-Turn

Items

Life Orb - 30% boost on each move used, and recoil only activates once for all 5 hits of the same move. Immediate power, but recoil can mean Cinccino is short lived.

Choice Scarf - at max speed, the Scarf will mean Cinccino is at a 541.5 speed, outspeeding a lot of OU (and Uber) Pokemon. Downside is that it's locked into one move, and Scarf means attack is sacrificed, when Cinccino is already lacking in attack compared to a lot of OU mons, at only base 95.

Choice Band - when banded, its max attack will reach 475.5, which is really something for a Pokemon with a mediocre base 95 attack. The same problem as the Scarf though, is that Cinccino is locked into one move and will need to switch out when facing something resistant to its locked move.

Cinccino also has the benefit of being your "Trick" absorber, since most Trick items usually have Choice Scarves, so if you're facing, say Rotom-W, send out a Pokemon with Protect just to gauge what it's going to do, and if it's trick, send out Cinccino.

EVs - self explanatory sweeper EVs, nothing to add.

Moves

Tail Slap - Consistant STAB for Cinccino, as well as abusing its Skill Link ability.

Rock Blast - Coverage, Skill Link abuse; nothing's immune to Rock, so this move is guaranteed to do some damage, even when switching to a resisted Pokemon.

Bullet Seed - Coverage, Skill Link abuse; what with Rain so common in OU, not having a grass type move is going to cause some trouble for you.

U-Turn - when facing something that it can't deal with (namely steel types), Cinccino is fast enough to switch out using this move to something that has better chances of dealing with it new opponent. Again, nothing's immune to U-Turn, unlike Volt Switch, so it ensures escape.

Conclusion

Why should I use Cinccino?
Sometimes coverage is hard to come by, and Cinccino kinda just fills the gap in a team with its Rock and Grass moves. Additionally, with Sun, Rain and Sand being so prevalent in OU, Rock Blast and Bullet Seed cover all three starters. Admittedly it needs some help if the lead Pokemon are bulky, but I can only assume that Cinccino isn't your only Pokemon. It works brilliantly with Pokemon like Forretress or Skarmory, since Cinccino works best when hazards are set, so its opponent is weakened and allows it to OHKO with 5 hits.

Don't forget the added bonus that Skill Link breaks substitutes & Focus Sashes, so Pokemon like Smeargle and Frosslass will can be OHKO'd, in addition to access to Rock Blast meaning the ever annoying Shedinja can just faint on the battlefield without doing anything.

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Also, you sound like this will be used in UU. Its OU btw.
Idk why it's not viable in OU. It's stats aren't actually that much different from Gengar's. Base 470 Cinccino vs. base 500 Gengar. Frail defences, high speed & high in one attack. Normal typing is not optimum since it's weak to Mach Punch, but Gengar is weak to Pursuit. Skill Link Cinccino is trashes RU and UU.
I get what your saying, but you still sound like you're talking UU. >.>
I'm not talking UU... I'm comparing it with staple OU mons. If you don't agree, then just don't use Cinccino in OU.
Hey, maybe it is viable in OU. I've never seen it.  Earlier though it had many UU threats who aren't even in the OU metagame, so I could only assume you tried to make me look like the true jackass I am.
3 votes

Sceptile

enter image description here

Despite being quite frail, and lacking any physical power that would be deemed OU worthy, Sceptile is a terrifying physical sweeper in OU. Despite only having base 85 Atk, there are 3 things that allow Sceptile to be the underrated beast that it is. The first being....

Unburden

Since it already has base 120 speed, Sceptile is basically faster than every single (relevant) scarfer in the entire metagame, meaning it is pretty much impossible to revenge kill without priority. This is a huge blessing, and since Sceptile is so widely disregarded by many OU players, they will often forget it even has Unburden and bring in something like their scarfed Keldeo or Terrakion, only to give Sceptile another kill.

Typing

Grass typing isn't great, but it's not bad either, and while it may deny Sceptile some set-up chances what with it's weaknesses, it gives it a resistance to common water and ground attacks.

Moveset

Sceptile @ Flying Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant/Jolly Nature

- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Blade
- Drain Punch

The moveset then reveals the other 2 reasons Sceptile can be so threatening. Those being Swords Dance, which gives Scepty a decent boost and elevates him to a formidable little lizard thing. The last reason being his movepool. Leaf Blade is a solid STAB, while Acrobatics gets nice coverage on Fighting, Bug, and other Grass types, as well as hitting quite hard on things Leaf Blade and Drain Punch won't, such as fire types, and activating Unburden what with the Flying Gem. Lastly, Drain Punch serves as a way to punch through Steel types like Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Heatran. Sceptile is perfectly capable of 6-0'ing entire teams should they be unprepared for his wrath.

Good Sceptile teammates

Outside of Pokemon that can support it through status and other such things, there are two Pokemon that stand out as certified Sceptile freinds, those being Magnezone and Heatran. You see, despite having access to a +2 Drain Punch, Ferrothorn can't be OHKO'd by Sceptile unless it's at +4, and that means it can rip off a Thunder Wave and stop Sceptile in it's tracks. Magnezone and Heatran, which both synergize fairly well with out green lizard, both turn Ferrothorn into a puddle of molten steel and singed grass.

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2 votes

I exceeded the character limit

Victreebel: Another seemingly lackluster grass type that takes advantage of weather, Victreebel is a fearsome sun sweeper rivaling even Venusaur. The difference? Without sun Victreebel is completely useless. Don't let this deter you however. With the sun above it, Victreebel can tear through teams with ease with its decent movepool and good mixed offensive stats

Abilities-

Chlorophyll- The Pokemon has its speed doubled in sun
This is the sole reason for using Victreebel. With its speed doubled and its attack stats at base 105 and 100, Victreebel is quite a good mixed sun sweeper. It allows Victreebel to bypass its low base 70 speed and take out most non-scarfed opponents, and even some scarfed ones

Gluttony-Pinch berry consumed at 50% Hp or less
Although this is not a bad ability by any means, Victreebel depends on Chlorophyll for its success. It is for this reason is it not used.

Type Analysis- Grass/Poison is a rather boring typing, but it has its uses. First it makes Victreebel resistant to fighting, water, and grass, rather common offensive types. Offensively neither are outstanding, but with them come powerful moves such as solarbeam, power whip and sludge bomb that make up for this. It should be noted that Victreebel ha rather poor defenses, so even resisted hits will do decent damage.

The Set
Victreebel
Victreebel@Life Orb
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 124 atk 132 sp atk 252 spd
Naive Nature (+Spd -Sp Def)
-Growth
-Leaf Blade/Giga Drain
-Weather Ball
-Sludge Bomb/Sucker Punch/Hidden Power [Ground]

Item- Life Orb is used for the immediate power it provides, and the recoil is trivial as Victreebel won't survive that long anyway

EVs-EVs are spread roughly even between atk and sp atk to ensure that Victreebel maintains prowess in both Stats. Maximum investment is required in speed as Victreebel is rather slow and need sit to keep pace with certain fast scarfers and opposing chlorophyll sweepers, such as Venusaur.

Moves:

Growth- Growth is what makes this set so dangerous. Under the sun it doubles both attack and special attack. With one Growth and Chlorophyll, Victreebel essentially has a Shell Smash boost without lowered defenses.

Leaf Blade/Giga Drain- The primary grass STAB. Power whip is banned with growth and illegal with weather ball, so Leaf Blade is the primary physical choice at a nice base 90 power. Giga Drain is also a nice option, as it provides a means of recovery from Life Orb recoil and reliable special STAB.

Weather Ball- *This is essentially a base 150 power fire type move under the sun, and it is needed to bypass Steel types bar Heatran. It also nails grass and bug types which is helpful.

Sludge Bomb/Sucker Punch/Hidden Power [Ground]: Sludge Bomb is a good neutral secondary STAB that allows Victreebel to beat Dragon types head on, while Sucker Punch provides priority. Hidden Power Ground may be used if one wants to handle Heatran, though it is advised that a Dugtrio partner perform this task.

Conclusion-

Why should I use Victreebel?

Victreebel, thanks to growth and its mixed attack abilities, is nearly unstoppable under the Sun. Combine this with its good movepool, immunity to poison ability for the most part handle its checks with the appropiate coverage move and Victreebel is quite dangerous. If you desire a Pokemon that can take full advantage of the sun, then Victreebel is your pitcher plant. Also, Team Rocket.

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2 votes

Quagsire enter image description here


Review: So okay, this is one of my favourite Pokemon of all time, and in competitive it is a beast. It functions exceptionally well as a defensive tank, and helps teams in OU get resistance to Starmie, a Pokemon which poses threat to a massive amount of teams. It has the movepool which helps it to do its role effectively, and is a very unique RU Pokemon, not only dominating its own tier, but also tiers above it. I have used Quagsire successfully many times in OU.

Items: Ok, being a defensive and stally Pokemon, Leftovers is usually the best item, and is the most standard. However, you might like to try and use a Choice Band one, which requires the surprise factor to function effectively, which works because of the moves Quiagsire learns.

Abilities: To use Quagsire effectively in OU, Unaware is the ability you should be using, which allows it to successfully tank stuff like a Boosting Dragon or a CM Pokemon, however, if your team is open to be threatened by Water Type attacks, Water Absorb can work decently as well.

EVs and Nature: Quagsire doesn't really need a complex spread to be effective, and a standard 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD is what I use, and works very well, max HP and max Def make it absolutely beast on the physical side, where it should be used.

Quagsire (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Waterfall

This is my favourite set, and works really well, Recover is for recovery... duh, Toxic is for staling the opponent, Earthquake is the attacking move of choice, although Body Slam or Stone Edge can be used to, and Waterfall is for more attacking, and STAB. This is the full set.
___

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WILL FINISH
quagsire is ou
2 votes

Why would anyone do drugs when they could just mow a lawn?

Rotom-C (or Rotom-Mow): None other than the lawnmower Pokemon, Rotom-C is statistically identical to its more famous, washing machine counterpart. Rotom-C is more adventurous however, daring to dawn four weaknesses, a special attack lowing STAB, and to venture outside. Take advantage of Rotom's adventurousness, and its sure to satisfy.

Abilities- Seeing as Levitate is Rotom's only ability, there's not much up to debate, but Levitate is a very good ability. Although Rotom-C would have been neutral to ground type moves, its still nice to have an immunity, and its also nice to avoid the damage from spikes and toxic spikes.

Type Analysis: Grass and Electric is a decent typing defensively, with only three commonly used weaknesses, all of which are covered by a fire type as well as some dual water types. It is also among a handful of electric types with does not have issue with ground types or their typical rock coverage. Resistances to the common grass, steel, water and electric and decent bulk to back it also give Rotom-C defensive merit. Offensively, Electric and Grass are not to shabby, but they are resisted by prominent threats such as Thundurus-T, Latios and Ferrothorn, so one must choose their coverage wisely.

The Moveset-
Rotom
Rotom@Choice Scarf/Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 hp 252 sp atk 252 spd
Modest Nature (+SpA, -Atk)
-Leaf Storm
-Thunderbolt/Volt Switch
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Trick/Volt Switch

Item: As this is a choice set, these choice items are your best item choices, and you should choose your choice item wisely. Use a choice specs if you desire some immediate power, and a choice scarf to make Rotom an effective revenge killer. There is not a whole lot of depth here.

EVs: As Rotom is not the fastest nor strongest special attacker around, it should carry maximum investment in both. However, on the specs set one may invest in bulk as opposed to speed, but keep in mind that Rotom-C has weaknesses to the common ice, fire and bug, and threats such as Mamoswine may outspeed Rotom-C without investment. A Timid nature may also be used if you have a need for speed.

Moves-

Leaf Storm: Rotom's required Grass STAB takes the first slot. Base 140 power (210 after STAB) is awesome, and its your only option. You don't have much of a CHOICE. Get it? I'm sorry.

Volt Switch/Thunderbolt: The electric STAB, Volt Switch is always handy on a choice user, as it facilitates switching and allows for scouting. However, thunderbolt provides consistent, reliable power.

Hidden Power [Ice]: As said above, Rotom is completely walled by dragon and grass types, so hidden power ice is highly useful. It also forms a pseudo BoltBeam combo.

Trick/Volt Switch: Trick is always useful when it comes to facing walls or physically offensive Pokemon, as it will severely hinder both.

Other Options- Thunder may be used on a rain team. Hidden Power Fire is the other good hidden power option, as it hits ferrothorn and magnezone for supereffective damage, who wall Rotom, as well as Scizor and Abomasnow, two prominent offensive threats. Hidden Power Ground or rock may be used if you have a specific fear of Heatran or Volcarona, but its rather impractical otherwise. Rotom may also run a bulky attack set including will o wisp and pain split, but in Ou Rotom-C should stick to choice attacking

Conclusion-

Why should I use Rotom-C?

Rotom-C is a unique Pokemon with a unique movepool and a unique role. Amazingly powerful moves and all it needs to succeed as a choice user. Whether your looking for pure water type destroying power, an awesome revenge killer, or just an effective choice user most competitors come unprepared for, give Rotom-C a try.

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2 votes

Crustle

enter image description here

When you see a Cloyster on the opposing team you can make a pretty safe assumption that is's a Shell Smash sweeper. But can you do that for a Crustle?

Sturdy

With spinning support, Crustle is an absolute monster when it comes to Shell Smashing, not only because he is weak to Stealth Rock, but because his Sturdy ability acts as a free Focus Sash, allowing him to use an item that can help elsewhere, which is something Cloyster can't do.

Typing

Bug/Rock is decent typing for a Shell Smasher. It doesn't have too many weaknesses and it has the ability to hit a lot of OU top threats for Super Effective damage. Besides it's weakness to Bullet Punch and it's somewhat hindering Stealth Rock weakness, Crustle's typing isn't too shabby.

Moveset

Crustle @ Salac Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature

- Shell Smash
- X-scissor
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

I've used this set once or twice in OU and honestly it's not bad. Salac Berry lets Crustle use Sturdy to the max, putting him at +3 Spd after a Shell Smash, allowing him to ouptace fast scarfers such as Latios and Terrakion. X-scissor and Stone Edge act as powerful STAB moves, while Earthquake covers a crap-ton of Pokemon that Crustle might otherwise fail to bring down even at +2 attack.

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1 vote

Obvious one: Smeargle

Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Smeargle
Trait: Own Tempo / Moody (not allowed)
EVs : 4 Def / 252 HP / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

  • Spore
  • Baton Pass
  • Shell Smash / Belly Drum / Quiver Dance / Shift Gear
  • Shell Smash / Belly Drum / Quiver Dance / Shift Gear

Another One is Butterfree with Compoundeyes it's raises stun spore and sleep powder to almost 100%

Butterfree (F) @ Leftovers
Butterfree
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)

  • Sleep Powder
  • Stun Spore
  • Subsitute
  • Bug Buzz

You could also choose Scyther

Scyther (M) @ Life Orb
Scyther
Trait: Technichian
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)

  • Swords Dance
  • Aerial Ace
  • Bug Bite
  • Quick Attack

Ditto maybe?

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ditto
Trait: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature (+SpD, -Spe)

  • Transform
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Volcarona and even Venomoth do a much much better job.
Don't forget Lilligant!
Lilligant is very great and I know a Pokemon can't be able to hold itself against every single Pokemon and I understand that Lilligant can resist this after a few quiver dances but I find it quite disappointing that it can't take a choice specs boosted shadow ball from a timid Gengar, something Volcarona is capable of whiles countering hard with a stab Fire Blast and likely OHKOing Gengar.
Well, how common are Specs Gengars anyway? Most are SubDisable and Trick variants using a Scarf.
LO variants too
1 vote

It is appearant that the analysis won't fit in the character limit. So each Pokemon will get its own answer.

Gorebyss: When it comes to pink Pokemon, none are scarier than this carnivorous deep sea eel. Base 114 special attack already makes it intimidating, and it has decent bulk to boost. Really the one issue it has is its base 52 speed, but as you will soon learn this can be managed in fashion. Watch out for this monster, because once it gets rolling not much can stop it.

Abilities-

Swift Swim-The Pokemon's speed is doubled in rain
Once again, this would be even more effective if it was allowed with Drizzle, but it remains useful on rain dance teams, where it can help deal with its speed issue

Hydration-The Pokemon has status healed at the end of each turn in rain
Hydration is also a wonderful ability, as it makes it a great status absorber and prevents thunder wave and toxic from hindering its sweep.*

Type Analysis - Two words can describe Gorebyss: Basic and Effective. This is true of its typing as well. Two weaknesses, which are easily covered by a grass or dragon partner, and resistances to the common ice, water, fire and steel make it rather hard to hit hard, especially combined with its decent bulk. Offensively the typing also isn't too shabby, as fire, rock and ground are rather common types, and grass and dragon can be handled.

Moveset
Gorebyss
Gorebyss@White Herb/Life Orb
Trait:Hydration
EVs: 4 hp 252 sp atk 252 spd
Modest Nature (+SpA -Atk)
-Shell Smash
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power [Grass]/Hidden Power [Fire]
-Ice Beam

EVs: As this is a sweeper set, max special attack and speed is used. However one may invest into Gorebyss's defenses, especially its special defense. If they don't mind losing speed or power. It should be noted that even after a shell smash boost, Gorebyss is still slower than fast scarf Pokemon, and this grows to some non-scarf Pokemon as well if it doesn't fully invest in speed.

Moves-

Shell Smash-
This is the move that brought Gorebyss out of the shadows. Double speed and special attack after one turn of set up? Ludicrous. The one downside is the lowered defenses, but thats what white herb is for. However, life orb may be used if power is more your thing.

Hydro Pump/Surf-
Power vs. Accuracy, you decide. This move serves as the obligatory STAB. I would personally go with surf, as with a shell smash and perhaps a drizzle rain boost it is plenty powerful.

Hidden Power [Grass]/ Hidden Power [Fire]-
This is coverage. Pure and simple. Hidden Power Grass nails bulky water types, most notably Gastrodon, while Hidden Power Fire nails the biggest fear Rain teams have: Ferrothorn.*

Ice Beam-
The final slot goes to the standard coverage move for all specially offensive water types (except for you Keldeo, you stinking pony)

Why on Arceus's green earth did you not mention the SmashPass set?
Good question. Smash pass is a highly useful set where it is allowed, especially on rain teams. However, I always though of it to be a little overpowered, but if you wish to use it, be my guess. The set should consist of substitute, shell smash, baton pass and a STAB, but you may run coverage over substitute if you desire. It is advised you invest in bulk, especially special defense, and carry a white herb when using this set.

-Conclusion

Why should I use Gorebyss?
Gorebyss is is good at what it does, simply put. It is a reliablle rain dance sweeper, shell smash sweeper, and shell smash passer. It is exceptional at taking advantage of the rain, and it has both offenses and bulk. In the end, if you need a Pokemon to reliably provide a shell smash boost or a rain dance sweep, then Gorebyss is your guy

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1 vote

I guess I should put my ideas in here :)

enter image description here
Lapras (Rain)
While Vaporeon stands out as the far superior Rain wall, Lapras shouldn't be overshadowed. It's Hydration ability plus it's great access to Curse makes it a great wall, and Curse is one thing Vaproeon can't learn. Lapras has great stats, with 130 HP / 80 Def / 95 SpD. However, as said above, Lapras can boost it's terrible Defense stat with Curse. (Who needs speed, anyway)

Abilities

Water Absorb- Water Absorb while is a great ability to use, since water type moves are fairly common, can't exactly make Lapras a great wall, However, outside of Rain, this is by far the superior option to use.

Shell Armor- Many people hate hax, and critical hits are hax. However, Shell Armor prevents critical hits. How awesome is that? Unfortunately, Water Absorb and Hydration both shadow this ability.

Hydration- Lapras got a great gift in Dream World. The Hydration ability. Curing all statuses at the end of the turn in Rain, Lapras can use Rest to it's full extent.

Type Analysis
Water and Ice might not be the best typing out there, mostly because of the popularity of Stealth Rocks. Ice means that it takes 25% HP off whenever it switches in to Rocks! While that might not seem like a lot, the powerful moves that dominate OU can really make you see it under a different light.

Moveset

Lapras @ Leftovers
enter image description here
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Atk
Careful (+SpD, -SpA) / Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)

  • Curse
  • Rest
  • Waterfall
  • Avalanche

>Item:
Leftovers is the obvious choice to run under rain, as no other item can beat it. Free HP? Heck yeah, sign me up!
Moves:
Curse is great because it can boost Lapras's not as good defense and attack to amazing levels. Lapras is so slow that basically everything in OU can outspeed it, anyway, so the speed drop shouldn't be a drawback.
Rest takes full advantage of Hydration and Rain. Because Lapras is slow, it usually moves last, and therefore get a full HP regain plus no status.
Waterfall is the main attacking move that Lapras will use, getting a rain power boost pluys a curse power boost makes a usually regular move pretty powerful.
Avalanche is a secondary STAB that can screw over dragon types, and also grass types.

Why is Lapras good?
Lapras is useful in OU as not only a surprise for people seeing it there, but also because of it's amazing defensive abilities. It can get access to pretty much everything in Rain. Healing, power, defense. If you set him up right, Lapras will become one heck of a super tank.

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Unlinke Vaporeon, Lappy has a crippling Fighting type weakness.
And a weakness to SR.
However, fighting can't do much after a couple of Curses.
It seems you've bested me my good man.
1 vote

Stoutland

enter image description here

At first glance Stoutland seems fairly underwhelming. Nothing really special about it, but wait, what's that?

Sand Rush

Yep, you saw that right. Sand Rush. With Sand Rush, Stoutland is a force to be reckoned with my freind. It is now faster than Scarfed Terrakion when Jolly and under sand (with maxed Evs ofc), and has an acceptable base 100 attack stat.

Typing

Sadly enough it's STABs are not super effective to anything, but on the bright side, it only has 1 defensive weakness, and there are only 3 types it can't hit for neutral damage when using a STAB move.

Moveset

Stoutland @ Choice Band/Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature

- Return
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit/Ice Fang/Fire Fang

The Sand Janitor. Why call it a janitor? Because it cleans up like a boss. Eliminate or weaken opposing physical walls and steel/rock types, and then bring Stoutland out. His moveset is fairly simple, Return acting as a powerful STAB, Crunch covering Ghost types, Superpower breaking rock and steel types, and your choice of Pursuit for better revenging capabilities, Ice Fang to hit bulky Landorus and Gliscor, or Fire Fang to help take down Ferrothorn and Forretress. I wouldn't recommend using Stoutland to take any hits, but using him to bring the fight late game is more than advisable.

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Don't use Crunch. Use Pursuit and either Fire or Ice Fang.
The issue with not using Crunch is that Pursuit loses crucial KO's, allowing Stoutland to be hit back, or crippled my Status.
Actually, I recant my statement only because Fire Fang seems redundant.
1 vote

Okay, I have a few.

This is a cincinno

Cincinno: Cincinno has great speed, and some decent attack. You probably have already seen this moveset, but I will say it anyways.

Cincinno@Kings Rock. Skill Link
Tail Slap
Bullet Seed
Rock Blast
Sing/Wake up Slap

This set works great, because of the chance of flinching. Skill link, Multi-Strike moves, and Kings Rock work great toghether. Sing and wake up slap are mostly for Ferrothorn. Next!

Cincinno@Kings Rock/Focus Sash. Skill Link
Tail Slap
Encore/Sing
Work Up
Bullet Seed/Rock Blast

Encore or sing, your choice. Encore is all about switching in and using the moveat the right time, while Sing will almost always stop the opponent for a few turns, but 55 accuracy isn't exactly reliable. Work up is for when they are Encored or Asleep.

Cincinno@Focus Sash/Leichi Berry. Skill Link
Flail
Tail Slap/Rock Blast/Bullet Seed
Tail Slap/Rock Blast/Bullet Seed
Endure

This is a fair moveset. The only problems are coverage and Ferroseed.
miltank

Miltank: There is one moveset that works great for this Pokemon, which has great defences. If you have battled Whitney in the pwt, you can see that it has good speed too.

Miltank@Leftovers. Scrappy (or Or Thick Fat if your willing to take a risk)
Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave
Milk Drink
Seismic Toss

Amazing moveset. This moveset puts the tank in Miltank. Thunder wave so they have lowered speed, Stealth Rock as an entry hazard to stop their focus sash, Milk Drink to just annoy your opponent, and Seismic Toss to do a good amount of damage.
scyther

Scyther: It has the same base stat total as Scizor, 500. It is amazing with eviolite and technician. Now for movesets.

Scyther@Eviolite. Technician
Bug Bite
Aerial Ace
Endure
Reversal

Has good coverage, stab, and that awesome technician boost.

Scyther@Eviolite. Technician
Quick Attack
Bug Bite
Aerial Ace
Swords Dance

Great moveset. Send out Scyther when opponent has a wall Pokemon out.

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I will finish later.
1 vote

Sawsbuck

enter image description here

Yes I'm answering this again. Deal with it. Sawsbuck is a complete monster under the sun, able to 1HKO pretty much the entire tier (save Ferrothorn) after a Swords Dance.

Chlorophyll

Did someone say quick? No? Well either way that's what Sawsbuck is under sun. With a decent attack stat and already acceptable speed, Sawsbuck's ability renders it wicked fast and thus gives it deadly sweeping potential.

Typing

Grass and Normal is okay typing. It has a lot of weaknesses, but some nice resistances, such as Water, Grass, Ground, and Ghost. It's normal typing gives it a nasty weakness to fighting, meaning that Ice Shard and Mach Punch can generally bring it down, which is a pain but not enough of a pain to keep Sawsbuck off of the OU threatlist.

Moveset

Sawsbuck @ Life Orb/Lum Berry
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature

- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Return/Double-Edge
- Nature Power

I have used this set so very often <3
With the exception of Ferrothorn and maybe a few other OU mons, there is precious little that can withstand Sawsbuck after a Swords Dance.

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1 vote

Cradily
You know, that old Pokemon in NU that also got storm drain? To be honest, cradily fits better on sand teams that gastrodon in my opinion, being able to absorb water attacks courtesy of storm drain, fighting back with grass STAB, gaining access to recover, and receiving a special defense boost in sand. It can take several special attacks (even ice beams) and retailiate back, or recover back damage.

The set:
Item: Leftovers/ life orb
Ability: Storm drain
Nature: Modest/ +spd -atk
EVs: 252 HP/ 200 SP attack / 52 SP defense
Giga drain
Earth Power
HP Fire/ Ice
Recover

The goal of this set is to come on in a water type attack and retailiate with the appropriate move. Giga drain is the best reliable STAB, healing back a nice amount of damage. Earth power is to get the surprise kill on any heatran or magnezone, adding to the coverage. HP fire is good for skarmory or forretress, but HP ice has good coverage with ground and ice. Recover helps you heal off any damage or life orb recoil.
However, when using Cradily, that rock typing comes back to haunt him. Numerous fighting types are able to force cradily to switch, as it can't take close combats at all. It could be nice if you pair it with hippowdon, one of the best physical walls in OU and appreciates cradily's storm drain and provides sand.

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