Gen 3 [ADV] Natu (GP 1/1)

[Monai]

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Timid
evs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Despite seemingly being outclassed due to Spoink's superior base stats and defensive utility, Natu has some key traits that allow it to carve out a niche as a Substitute and Toxic user. Psychic is a solid STAB-type with few checks in the tier. Notably, a super effective hit on Poison-types like Dustox and Grimer narrows the pool of Pokemon that can check Natu. Thanks to Natu's solid base 70 Speed, it can use Substitute in front of Pokemon that could tank a Psychic such as Spoink and Chinchou, while at minimum Speed tying Castform, which regularly does not fully invest in Speed. Toxic racks up damage on the many special tank checks to Natu like Castform and Lileep, particularly synergizing with Substitute due to the free turns it provides. Protect primarily allows Natu to stall more turns while the opponent is badly poisoned, but the extra turns of recovery from Leftovers and scouting it provides are appreciated as well. Hidden Power Grass is an alternative that allows Natu to immediately KO even specially defensive variants of Rhyhorn and pressure defensive Staryu without expending Psychic PP, although it becomes easier to force Natu out when it can't Protect to force additional Toxic damage. Maximum Speed and a Timid nature are used so that Natu can confidently outspeed Pokemon like Seaking, Chinchou, and Cyndaquil. 12 EVs HP are used to maximize Leftovers recovery, while the rest are dedicated to Special Attack. Both of Natu's abilities can be useful; Early Bird allows Natu to switch directly into Butterfree's Sleep Powder and wake up relatively quickly, while Synchronize can punish the very common Thunder Wave, Will-O Wisp, and Toxic at the cost of crippling Natu.

Natu should be used on balance and offense teams which can take advantage of the pressure it applies, and Pokemon that serve as reliable switch-ins to faster attackers that threaten to OHKO Natu are ideal teammates. Spikes have excellent synergy with Natu, as the damage dealt to foes switching in combined with Toxic's increasing damage makes it very difficult to answer. Snorunt stands out as a Spiker with a strong offensive profile, although Pineco's Explosion can also get the ball rolling for Natu. Elekid sits in a nearly uncontested Speed tier, allowing it to clean up teams Natu has weakened and revenge kill targets like Pidgeotto and chipped Aipom. Swift Swim attackers like Horsea are similarly effective, running through teams once roadblocks like Chinchou and Bayleef have been put into KO range. Natu isn't powerful enough that it can threaten immediate KOs for offense teams, so other Pokemon that can such as Wailmer, Choice Band Aipom, and Seaking are great partners. Natu provides very little defensive utility, so it requires partners that can swap into attacks directed at it. Magnemite is a great partner, resisting many common Rock- and Normal-type attacks, keeping up offensive pressure, and even potentially trapping the other Steel-types that wall Natu. Koffing is another great pairing thanks to its mix of offense and defense. Its great physical bulk allows it to easily switch into unboosted physical attacks and threaten foes with Will-O-Wisp or its strong attacking movepool.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Calm Mind allows Natu to directly take advantage of switches and potentially allows it to retain a Substitute against weak and resisted Special Attacks. Alongside Early Bird, Reflect, and Rest, Natu is able to become a relatively bulky sweeper. However, this set takes many turns to become a threat and Natu is still susceptible to being overpowered even through Reflect and Calm Mind. Any other variant of Calm Mind is mostly outclassed by Spoink, which has much better defensive use and a wider movepool. Wish can be used as a foe is switching out to recover health on Natu or a teammate, but Natu's poor defenses make this a risky option to use. Night Shade can deal damage for very percentages of health in the very low HP stat metagame of ZU. But Natu's main STAB attack, Psychic, has good neutral coverage and power already and many of its checks don't even resist it, although Night Shade does hit Steel-types harder. Baton Pass could be used to generate momentum for powerful wallbreakers as foes switch out, but this would force it to drop Substitute.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Steel-types have the bulk and resistance to take Psychic while also being immune to Toxic. Magnemite and Aron can comfortably take any move Natu commonly uses and force it out.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Natu's Speed tier is quite good, but it's not elite. Faster offensive Pokemon like Pidgeotto, Elekid, and Delibird can outrun and threaten to OHKO Natu if it is not behind a Substitute. Aipom deserves special mention, as it has the natural bulk to comfortably take a Psychic.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: If they manage to avoid a Toxic, specially bulky Pokemon like Chinchou and Lileep can switch into a Psychic and threaten Natu with their STAB attacks. However, they can be stalled out by Natu if they swap directly into a Toxic or Substitute. Delcatty is especially good in this role; it has the special bulk to tank Psychics, can 2HKO Natu with Body Slam, and can even remove status from itself and its teammates with Heal Bell.

[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/monai.482455/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bp.272450/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/clouds.356215/

 

[Monai]

Ready for qc1

 

[BP]

Check

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
ability: Sychronize
nature: Timid
evs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

Despite seemingly being outclassed due to Spoink's superior base stats and defensive utility, Natu has some key traits that allow it to carve out a niche as a Substitute and Toxic user. Psychic is a solid STAB-typing with few resists in the tier. Notably, a supereffective hit on Poison-types like Dustox and Grimer narrows the pool of Pokemon that can check Natu. Substitute alongside Natu's solid base 70 speed allows Natu to Substitute in front of Pokemon that could tank a Psychic such as Spoink and Chinchou, while at minimum speed tying Castform, which regularly does not fully invest in Speed. Toxic racks up damage on the many special specially tank checks to Natu like Castform and Lileep, particularly synergizing with the free turns Substitute provides. Protect primarily allows Natu to stall more turns while the opponent is poisoned, but the extra uses of Leftovers and scouting it provides is appreciated as well. Hidden Power Grass is an alternative that allows Natu to immediately KO even Specially Defensive Rhyhorn and pressure bulky Starmie Staryu without expending Psychic PP, although it becomes easier to force Natu out when it can't Protect to force additional Toxic damage. Maximum Speed and a Timid Nature is used so that Natu can confidently outspeed mid 60's Pokemon like Seaking, Chinchou, and Cyndaquil. 12 EVs are put into HP to maximize Leftovers recovery while the rest is dedicated to Special Attack. Both of Natu's abilities are somewhat specific but have good use; Early Bird allows Natu to switch directly into Butterfree's Sleep Powder and wake up relatively quickly, while Synchronize can punish the very common Thunder Wave, Will-o Wisp and Toxic at the cost of crippling Natu.

Natu should be used on balance or offense teams which can take advantage of the pressure Natu applies, while providing reliable swaps to the faster attackers that threaten to OHKO Natu. Spikes have excellent synergy, as the damage upon switching combined with Toxic's ramping damage makes Natu very difficult to answer. Snorunt stands out as a spiker with the best offensive profile, although Pineco's Explosion can also get the ball rolling for Natu. Elekid sits in a nearly uncontested speed tier, allowing it to clean up the teams Natu has weakened and revenge killing targets like Pidgeotto or chipped Aipom. Swift Swim attackers like Horsea are similarly effective, running through teams once roadblocks like Chinchou and Bayleef have been put into KO range. Natu isn't so powerful that it can threaten immediate KO's for offense, so other Pokemon that can such as Wailord Wailmer, Choice Band Aipom, and Seaking are great partners. Natu provides very little defensive utility, so it requires partners that can swap into attacks directed at it. Magnemite is a great partner, resisting many common Rock- and Normal-type attacks, keeping up offensive pressure, and even potentially trapping the other Steel-types that wall Natu. Koffing is another great pairing also thanks to its mix of offense and defense. Its great physical bulk allows it to easily switch into unboosted physical attacks and threaten the opponent with Will-O-Wisp or its strong attacking movepool.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Calm Mind allows Natu to directly take advantage of switches and potentially allows it to retain a Substitute against weak and resisted Special Attacks. However, it is mostly outclassed by Spoink which has much better defensive use and a wider movepool. Wish can be used as an opponent is switching out to recover health on Natu or a teammate, but Natu's poor defenses makes this a risky option to use. Night Shade can do very high percentages of health in the very low HP stat metagame of ZU. But Natu's main STAB has good neutral coverage and power already, and many of its checks don't even resist Psychic, although it does hit the Steel-types harder. Refresh or Rest help make the most out of Natu's abilities, but they're rarely worthwhile to use. Baton Pass could be used to generate momentum on the opponent's switch out for a powerful wallbreaker, but this would force it to drop Substitute.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Steel-types have the bulk and resistance to take Psychic, while also being immune to Toxic. Magnemite and Aron can comfortably take anything Natu commonly does and force it out with their STAB.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Natu's Speed tier is quite good, but it's not elite. Faster offensive Pokemon like Pidgeotto, Elekid, and Delibird can outrun and threaten to OHKO Natu if it is not behind a Substitute. Aipom deserves special mention, as it has the natural bulk to comfortably take a Psychic.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: If they manage to avoid a Toxic, specially bulky Pokemon like Chinchou, Lileep, and Delcatty can switch into a Psychic and threaten Natu with their STABS. However, they can be stalled out by Natu if they swap directly into a Toxic or Substitute.
Give Delcatty its own sentence as it removes Toxic from its allies.

Excellent work! QC 1/2 once implemented

 

[Monai]

Qc1 implemented waiting on qc2

 

[Gangsta Spongebob]

Excellent job, QC 2/2 when implemented

QC 2/2

Add Remove Comment

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
ability: Sychronize
nature: Timid
evs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]
Despite seemingly being outclassed due to Spoink's superior base stats and defensive utility, Natu has some key traits that allow it to carve out a niche as a Substitute and Toxic user. Psychic is a solid STAB-typing with few resists "resists" cannot be used as a noun, replace it in the tier. Notably, a supereffective super effective hit on Poison-types like Dustox and Grimer narrows the pool of Pokemon that can check Natu. Substitute alongside Natu's solid base 70 speed allows Natu to Substitute in front of Pokemon that could tank a Psychic such as Spoink and Chinchou, while at minimum speed tying Castform, which regularly does not fully invest in Speed. Toxic racks up damage on the many special tank checks to Natu like Castform and Lileep, particularly synergizing with the free turns Substitute provides. You might as well talk about Substitute and Toxic alongside each other, special tanks are the main checks to a Pokemon that likes spamming Psychic, and Substitute guards against them while Toxic damages them. Protect primarily allows Natu to stall more turns while the opponent is poisoned, but the extra uses of Leftovers and scouting it provides is appreciated as well. Hidden Power Grass is an alternative that allows Natu to immediately KO even Specially Defensive specially defensive variants of Capitalization, plus there is no Rhyhorn set at the moment called "specially defensive", so "variants of" is added to encompass all of them Rhyhorn and pressure bulky defensive Staryu without expending Psychic PP, although it becomes easier to force Natu out when it can't Protect to force additional Toxic damage. Maximum Speed and a Timid Nature is used so that Natu can confidently outspeed mid 60's Pokemon like Seaking, Chinchou, and Cyndaquil. 12 EVs are put into HP to maximize Leftovers recovery while the rest is dedicated to Special Attack. Both of Natu's abilities are somewhat specific but have good use; Early Bird allows Natu to switch directly into Butterfree's Sleep Powder and wake up relatively quickly, while Synchronize can punish the very common Thunder Wave, Will-o-Wisp Add hyphen and Toxic at the cost of crippling Natu. Early Bird should be slashed if it's genuinely good here, otherwise it should be listed as an oo. Imo, it should be slashed

Natu should be used on balance or offense teams which can take advantage of the pressure Natu applies, while providing reliable swaps to the faster attackers that threaten to OHKO Natu. Spikes have excellent synergy, as the damage upon switching combined with Toxic's ramping damage makes Natu very difficult to answer. Snorunt stands out as a spiker with the best offensive profile, although Pineco's Explosion can also get the ball rolling for Natu. Elekid sits in a nearly uncontested speed tier, allowing it to clean up the teams Natu has weakened and revenge killing targets like Pidgeotto or chipped Aipom. Swift Swim attackers like Horsea are similarly effective, running through teams once roadblocks like Chinchou and Bayleef have been put into KO range. Natu isn't so powerful that it can threaten immediate KO's for offense, so other Pokemon that can such as Wailmer, Choice Band Aipom, and Seaking are great partners. Natu provides very little defensive utility, so it requires partners that can swap into attacks directed at it. Magnemite is a great partner, resisting many common Rock- and Normal-type attacks, keeping up offensive pressure, and even potentially trapping the other Steel-types that wall Natu. Koffing is another great pairing also thanks to its mix of offense and defense. Its great physical bulk allows it to easily switch into unboosted physical attacks and threaten the opponent with Will-o-Wisp Add hyphen or its strong attacking movepool.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Calm Mind allows Natu to directly take advantage of switches and potentially allows it to retain a Substitute against weak and resisted Special Attacks. However, it is mostly outclassed by Spoink which has much better defensive use and a wider movepool. Wish can be used as an opponent is switching out to recover health on Natu or a teammate, but Natu's poor defenses makes this a risky option to use. Night Shade can do very high percentages of health in the very low HP stat metagame of ZU. But Natu's main STAB has good neutral coverage and power already, and many of its checks don't even resist Psychic, although it does hit the Steel-types harder. Refresh or Rest help make the most out of Natu's abilities, but they're rarely worthwhile to use. Why? Mention Natu's low bulk. Baton Pass could be used to generate momentum on the opponent's switch out for a powerful wallbreaker, but this would force it to drop Substitute.

Checks and Counters
===================

Steel-types: This is bolded in your post, make sure to un-bold it when pinging GP Steel-types have the bulk and resistance to take Psychic, while also being immune to Toxic. Magnemite and Aron can comfortably take anything Natu commonly does and force it out with their STAB.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Natu's Speed tier is quite good, but it's not elite. Faster offensive Pokemon like Pidgeotto, Elekid, and Delibird can outrun and threaten to OHKO Natu if it is not behind a Substitute. Aipom deserves special mention, as it has the natural bulk to comfortably take a Psychic.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: If they manage to avoid a Toxic, specially bulky Pokemon like Chinchou and Lileep can switch into a Psychic and threaten Natu with their STABS attacks. However, they can be stalled out by Natu if they swap directly into a Toxic or Substitute. Delcatty is especially good in this role; it has the special bulk to tank Psychics, can 2HKO Natu with Body Slam, and can even remove status from itself and its teammates with Heal Bell.

 

[Monai]

Implemented, tagging GP Team

 

[Clouds]

add / remove / comment

1/1

[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Protect / Hidden Power Grass
item: Leftovers
ability: Sychronize Synchronize
nature: Timid
evs: 12 HP / 244 SpA / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Despite seemingly being outclassed due to Spoink's superior base stats and defensive utility, Natu has some key traits that allow it to carve out a niche as a Substitute and Toxic user. Psychic is a solid STAB-typing type with few checks in the tier. Notably, a super effective hit on Poison-types like Dustox and Grimer narrows the pool of Pokemon that can check Natu. Substitute alongside Thanks to Natu's solid base 70 Speed, (+comma) it can use Substitute allows Natu to Substitute in front of Pokemon that could tank a Psychic such as Spoink and Chinchou, while at minimum Speed tying with Castform, which regularly does not fully invest in Speed. Toxic racks up damage on the many special tank checks to Natu like Castform and Lileep, particularly synergizing with the free turns Substitute due to the free turns it provides. Protect primarily allows Natu to stall more turns while the opponent is badly poisoned (phrasing due to Toxic use), but the extra uses of turns for recovery from Leftovers and scouting it provides is are appreciated as well. Hidden Power Grass is an alternative that allows Natu to immediately KO even specially defensive variants of Rhyhorn and pressure defensive Staryu without expending Psychic's PP, although it becomes easier to force Natu out when it can't use Protect to force additional Toxic damage. Maximum Speed and a Timid nature is are used so that Natu can confidently outspeed mid 60's Pokemon like Seaking, Chinchou, and Cyndaquil. 12 HP EVs are put into HP used to maximize Leftovers recovery, (+comma, needed here because "while" is used to create contrast as opposed to being temporal) while the rest is are dedicated to Special Attack. Both of Natu's abilities are somewhat specific but have good use can be useful; Early Bird allows Natu to switch directly into Butterfree's Sleep Powder and wake up relatively quickly, while Synchronize can punish the very common Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, (+comma) and Toxic at the cost of crippling Natu.

Natu should be used on balance or and offense teams which can take advantage of the pressure Natu it applies, while providing and Pokemon that serve as reliable swaps switch-ins to the faster attackers that threaten to OHKO Natu are ideal teammates. (let me know if i'm not understanding your intention with the second half of this sentence) Spikes have excellent synergy with Natu, as the damage dealt to foes upon switching in combined with Toxic's ramping increasing damage makes Natu it very difficult to answer. Snorunt stands out as a spiker Spiker with the best a strong offensive profile, (if you do want it to be "the best", then it'll need to be "the Spiker" not "a Spiker" for congruency) although Pineco's Explosion can also get the ball rolling for Natu. Elekid sits in a nearly uncontested Speed tier, allowing it to clean up the teams Natu has weakened and revenge killing targets like Pidgeotto or and chipped Aipom. Swift Swim attackers like Horsea are similarly effective, running through teams once roadblocks like Chinchou and Bayleef have been put into KO range. Natu isn't so powerful that it can powerful enough to threaten immediate KO's (-apostrophe) for offense teams, so other Pokemon that can such as Wailmer, Choice Band Aipom, and Seaking are great partners. Natu provides very little defensive utility, so it requires partners that can swap into attacks directed at it. Magnemite is a great partner, resisting many common Rock- and Normal-type attacks, keeping up offensive pressure, and even potentially trapping the other Steel-types that wall Natu. Koffing is another great pairing also thanks to its mix of offense and defense. Its great physical bulk allows it to easily switch into unboosted physical attacks and threaten the opponent foes with Will-O-Wisp or its strong attacking movepool.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Calm Mind allows Natu to directly take advantage of switches and potentially allows it to retain a Substitute against weak and resisted special attacks. Alongside Early Bird, Reflect, and Rest, Natu is able to become a relatively bulky sweeper. However, this set takes many turns to become a threat and Natu is still susceptible to being overpowered even through Reflect and Calm Mind. Any other variant of Calm Mind is mostly outclassed by Spoink, (+comma) which has much better defensive use and a wider movepool. Wish can be used as an opponent a foe is switching out to recover health on Natu or a teammate, but Natu's poor defenses makes this a risky option to use. Night Shade can do deal damage for very high percentages of health in the very low HP stat metagame of ZU. But Natu's main STAB attack, Psychic, has good neutral coverage and power already, (-comma) and many of its checks don't even resist Psychic it, although it Night Shade does hit the Steel-types harder. Baton Pass could be used to generate momentum on the opponent's switch out for a powerful wallbreakers as foes switch out, but this would force it to drop Substitute.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Steel-types**: Steel-types have the bulk and resistance to take Psychic, (-comma) while also being immune to Toxic. Magnemite and Aron can comfortably take anything move Natu commonly does uses and force it out.

**Faster Offensive Pokemon**: Natu's Speed tier is quite good, but it's not elite. Faster offensive Pokemon like Pidgeotto, Elekid, and Delibird can outrun and threaten to OHKO Natu if it is not behind a Substitute. Aipom deserves special mention, as it has the natural bulk to comfortably take a Psychic.

**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: If they manage to avoid a Toxic, specially bulky Pokemon like Chinchou and Lileep can switch into a Psychic and threaten Natu with their STAB attacks. However, they can be stalled out by Natu if they swap directly into a Toxic or Substitute. Delcatty is especially good in this role; it has the special bulk to tank Psychics, can 2HKO Natu with Body Slam, and can even remove status from itself and its teammates with Heal Bell.

GP Team Done

 

[Monai]

implemented Tuthur Gangsta Spongebob