Know Your Niche - Round 19 (see: page 12, post 279)

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Martin

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Yeah ^ didn't end up happening so I'm gonna go dictator on this.

Winners are Dugtrio by Kutscher, AWak by me, and Heatran by david0895. Also special mention to Eclipse for thinking to lure it instead, but the aim was to take advantage of Magnezone's tendency to switch into Steels instead of the other way around. Fuck formatting this lol I'm tired.

Round 16: Find a Pokemon which can lure Chansey so that Volcarona can sweep.

Condition: to prevent this being a race to see who can get Dugtrio first, for the purpose of this week trapping is not interchangeable with direct luring.
 

Tapu Koko @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 250 HP / 16 SpA / 24 SpD / 218 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Nature's Madness
- U-turn

Not sure of the EV spread, but ppl would send in chansey 1st to the tapu. U taunt/ NM and the Chansey gets cucked. They think they're smart with seismic until the iapapa berry is revealed and then it wins.
 

Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psyshock
- Knock Off

This is a nice little set that lures Chansey pretty well since it removes Eviolite on the switch-in then comes pretty close to 2HKOing it with Psyshock. Even if Alakazam can't beat the Chansey itself, a Knocked Off Chansey takes upwards 74% from +1 Z-Fire so it can actually beat it with a little prior damage which can be attained from Rocks + aggressive play to pressure it from recovering.
 

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
yeah honestly i don't even know anymore


woke snowflake (Cryogonal) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Ice Beam
- Freeze-Dry
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin / Hidden Power [Ground]

martin said that cryogonal was unviable. martin was wrong.

now for the explanation. cryogonal benefits from the popularity of stuff like medi+koko, which pressures stall to run max defense on sab/clef. because of this cryogonal can 2hko all mons commonly seen on stall with modest specs ice beam/freeze-dry allowing it to pressure chansey to switch in. thanks to cryogonal's strangely expansive movepool (poison jab??????) it can knock off chansey's eviolite on a correct prediction (or clefable's leftovers if your opponent is running a more specially defensive spread). additionally its levitate ability grants it an immunity to dugtrio's arena trap while allowing it to switch into more passive ground types against balance/bulky offense teams. the best part is that even if volcarona gets ko'd by toxic damage, cryogonal can just clean up as long as chansey has been eliminated. spin support for volcarona is pretty awesome too

ues
 

Latios @ Psychium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Block
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power Fire

This set is more of a meme set but it is able to help Latios shut down Pokemon with recovery (such as Chansey) while also being able to bypass Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Jirachi, Clefable and a 50% AV Magearna. What happens is after Latios attacks, these Pokemon will use their recovery moves but since Latios is faster, it will be able to boost while shutting down their recovery, allowing Latios another chance to hit them with a +2 attack.
 

Martin

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KOff Zam wins. Tapu Koko is a runner up, although I'm not quite sure what's going on with those EVs (why have you wasted 4 O_O)

Round 17: A Pokemon which can help a setup sweeper attain boosts

I'll let you use your imagination for this. This is a purely supportive week, so I want to see what you come up with. The method of setup can be whatever you want; the point here is the support that the partner provides.
 

Leo

after hours
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MPL Champion

Tapu Koko @ Light Clay
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Nature's Madness

Double Screens is an old gimmicky strat that gives set up sweepers a lot more breathing room to set up. Koko is imo the best double screens setter rn because of how fast it is and how it naturally forces some switches. Because of this, it is usually guaranteed to get both Screens up and can even get them later if healthy enough. Some good partners for this are bulky set up sweepers that only need a couple of free turns to cause a lot of trouble such as DD Zygarde, DD Mega Tyranitar, SD Landorus-T, SG Magearna, etc. Nature's Madness+Taunt also wears down a lot of common passive switches such as Chansey and AV Mage, thus supporting its teammates even more.
 
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david0895

Mercy Main Btw


Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 120 Def / 124 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Bullet Punch
- Roost

Mega Scizor is a great teammate for a setupper, not only for the slow U-turn that gives it a safe entry, but because it can even remove the hazards that troubles pokémon like Mega Pinsir or Volcarona.
SpD EVs are for taking two Focus Blast from Mega Alakazam
 

Deleted User 400951

Banned deucer.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power Ice
- U-turn
This set can be extremely helpful to set-up sweepers. It provides not only an Intimidate to cushion physical blows, but also a slow U-Turn to get the sweeper in safely - this is extremely helpful for frailer sweepers like Volcarona. Earthquake coming off of the powerful attack stat also can get rid of obstructive Steel-types like Magearna and Heatran, which is great for things like Mega Pinsir and Mega Tyranitar that can struggle to get rid of some steels. On a final note, Stealth Rock can make it hard for certain opposing mons that threaten your sweeper to switch in. It also makes it easier to obtain more KOs for your sweeper (which doesn't help obtain boosts but is nice).

The speed lets it outspeed everything up to Admant T-Tar, the Sp Def for Latios's Draco, and the rest is to increase physical bulk.
 

Attachments

Reserving alolan ninetales




Ninetales-Alola @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Freeze-Dry
- Moomblast/Hidden Power Fire
- Encore/Hypnosis

This is obviously the best friend of every set-up sweeper, A-ninetales have 3 forms of helping the team, 1-setting up screens, the main reason to use this in the first place, both screens in one turn is really OP, pair this with a decent speed tier and you can set-up against most part of the tier, any kind of set up will apreciate this help, things like ttar, double dance magearna and mega gyara can easily get a lot of boosts behind aurora veil. 2- stopping rain(and sand) rain can be very annoying to deal with when using an HO, a lot of fast and very powerfull mons spamming attacks against your paper thin mons isn't that good, so having a mom that not only interrupt rain, but have the ability to OKO pelipper and the swift swimers while also doing a lot of damage against other rain mons that try to switch(tornt, koko, a-gren, ferro), you can also stop exca sweep, but it's not that relevant. 3- you can help even more a sweeper with encore/hypnosis, if double screens wasn't enough, you can lock the enemy on a bad move or take the hax chance and put the enemy to sleep, giving a free switch to your mon, and even if the enemy switchs too, you have double screens
 
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Klefki @ Red Card / Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold / Impish Nature
- Foul Play / Play Rough
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave / Spikes

Of all the screeners, I maintain that Klefki is the best one. Prankster, further support in either paralysis or hazards, a prodigious defensive typing - my boo-boo keys has it all. Red Card is a nifty little tech I use to pull double duty as an emergency button against opposing setup or simply buy extra turns for my own, while Light Clay is the standard option for screeners. You could also run both TWave and Spikes for maximum support, or a SpDef spread to more easily paralyse and phase Volcarona, but with Taunt Tapus and Lando-T everywhere, I wouldn't recommend either.

(As a side note, screens and Spikes aren't affected by Psychic Terrain or the Dark-type buff.)
 
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Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-boiled
- Encore
- Moonblast

Yeah so I used this set when building a team with a sweeper that can take advantage of Steel-types and bulky Grass-types (even passive mons like Defensive Lando) such as Volcarona, Landorus-T, Zygarde, and straight up wallbreakers like Mega Zard Y. Pretty cool and straightforward. Lock something into Stealth Rock or a move with little consequence to switch into and there's your free switch-in opportunity and more often than not setup opportunity. Cool tech overall.
 
Reserving Azelf



Azelf @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt/ Stealth Rocks
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Explosion

The favorite gen 6 set up walls and then blow up set. 1 of the redeeming factors it has over Koko is explosion which allows momentum for the mon u want to sweep with. The bad thing is Ninja.
 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Gonna make a submission of a bad 'mon then close the week.


Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe OR 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Timid Nature
- Encore
- U-turn
- Moonblast / Memento
- Stun Spore / Memento

Whimsicott isn't a particularly good Pokemon... in fact, it's pretty bad in the current metagame due to how there are a lot of unfavorable metagame trends. That said, when it comes down to it Whimsicott has all the tools that a Pokemon needs to be at least decent in a supportive role courtesy of its high speed, access to Prankster, and access to good utility moves like Encore, Stun Spore, Memento, and U-turn. The big issue that it has is how it is generally overshadowed as a supporter in OU, but back when Baton Pass was popular it was able to very easily carve a niche for itself on the archetype due to how it eased Scolipede's ability to set up while functioning as a solid anti-lead which could preserve itself to stop setup sweepers in their tracks later on in the match. While this set doesn't have the same anti-lead qualities that the set which was semi-relevant at the time did, it is still able to help setup Pokemon with its access to Encore and U-turn while discouraging the setting up of Pokemon like Garchomp, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T with its mere presence in the back. Encore ultimately generates free turns by locking Pokemon into moves that it and/or its teammates resist/take no damage, and with the correct locks these free turns can be used to either generate momentum or to help teammates set up.
 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Alolan Ninetales and Screens Koko win.

Round 18: Find a Pokemon which can act as an obstacle that stands in the way of a Shift Gear Magearna sweep.

Self-explanatory. Best of luck!
 
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david0895

Mercy Main Btw


Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Fire Punch / Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock / Will-O-Wisp

Alolan Marowak is pretty good way to stop Shift Gear Magearna since it can enter in almost every its move (especially Thunderbolt) and then every move it want without problems.
252 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 78-93 (29.8 - 35.6%) -- 28.5% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Magearna Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 78-93 (29.8 - 35.6%) -- 28.5% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 127-150 (48.6 - 57.4%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Magearna Corkscrew Crash (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Marowak-Alola: 156-184 (59.7 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 344-408 (114.2 - 135.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

As you can see, only Fleur Cannon and Z-Flash Cannon do heavy damage to A-Marowak, but they're not much used on this set

Alolan Ninetales and Screens Koko win.
If I can ask, why did you choose these over the others?
 
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Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
If I can ask, why did you choose these over the others?
Screens Klefki and Screens Azelf are bad Screens setters imo. Encore Clef has a lot of the same issues as Whimsicott in that even if it does force the correct lock with Encore the opp can switch, and unlike Whimsi it is neither able to Encore on the turn it goes down nor able to use U-turn to grab momentum when they do opt to switch; Encore doesn't quite serve the purpose of generating free turns due to Clef's low speed, instead aiming to punish Pokemon that generally force it out for setting up on it. Lando-T was solid but I felt that its ability to ease setup is somewhat more dependent on the what the opponent brings. Zor just feels inferior to Lando with regards to the "setup easing" side of things even if it plays a different role on a team outside of that aspect. Koko and Ninetales both have things going for them over one another to warrant both winning this week together imo.
 
reserving SpDef Rachi


Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 196 SpD / 64 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Wish
- Protect
- U-Turn

Jirachi is a fantastic Magearna counter, Iron Head can 4HKO it most of the time, and Rachi just eats pretty much any hit Mag wants to go for. Even Calm Mind is taken into acount, since Magearna can't 3HKO Rachi with any of its moves at +1, so even if Magearna doesn't get finched a single time Jirachi will always beat it down even if it is switching in on a Calm Mind, which is the best option for the Magearna player to do. The only possibility of Calm Mind Mag beating Jirachi is if it is Z-Focus Blast + Calm Mind, which isn't a even used actually, but even then it either has no Shift Gear, which means Magearna can get RKilled by a faster teammate (meaning Magearna won't sweep) because it's extremely stupid to have a team with no Pokémon reaching more than 251 Speed; or it means that it has CM, FBlast, Shift Gear and another coverage move, and since pretty much any other move Magearna can have in the coverage spot pairs poorly with Focus Blast, it is likely that a teammate will be able to tank a hit. However, even if it indeed is CM + Focus Blast Magearna, there's a big chance it'll get flinched or Jirachi would be able to deal with it thanks to Wish + Tect, meaning the Magearna player has to pretty much perfectly predict the Jirachi player for Magearna to bypass it.
0 Atk Jirachi Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 76-91 (25.2 - 30.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Magearna All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 204+ SpD Jirachi: 155-183 (38.4 - 45.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Magearna All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 196+ SpD Jirachi: 234-276 (58 - 68.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Magearna Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 196+ SpD Jirachi: 111-131 (27.5 - 32.5%) -- 66% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
tl;dr - SpDefJirachi is the perfect counter :)
 
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Reserving Heatran


Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power

Heatran resists both Magearna's stabs, can tank boltbeam. Has to beware of Z Fight Focus Miss. Using the smogdex spread, Aura Sphere 3HKO's tran and Magma Storm 2HKO's.

252 SpA Magearna Aura Sphere vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 168-198 (44.6 - 52.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
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6ft Torbjorn

formerly JoycapJoshST
Reserving Gastrodon

Gastrodon-East_XY.gif

Gastrodon-East @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Memento
- Recover

  • 252 SpA Magearna All-Out Pummeling (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 142-168 (33.3 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252 SpA Magearna Twinkle Tackle (195 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 261-307 (61.2 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 174-205 (40.8 - 48.1%) -- 6.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  • 4 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Magearna: 162-192 (53.8 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
I'm aware Fairium isn't used on SG atm (if at all), but it shows one of the few ways Magearna can actually break Sp.Def Gastrodon. We'll come back to that later.


Now, I'll bet you guys are wondering what Darkinium Z is for. To that, Z-Memento (alongside potential Scald burns) can be used to not just stop an SG Mag sweep, but can be used to cripple its offensive presence, turning it into a liability and potentially giving a teammate a form of setup fodder if need be (and yes, I'm aware Z-Meme only lowers 1 stage of Sp.Atk instead of 2 due to Soul-Heart).

Scenario:

Obviously, Gastrodon can switch into its Fighting/Ice/Electric coverage no sweat (see calcs above) - so I'm not going to go into that any. Then again... what if it was running Fairium?

Well, by the looks of the calcs, TT -> Fleur Cannon looks like it could take out Sp.Def Gastro. However, if this was not caught on the switch, Gastro' can easily recover off the damage, wasting it's Z-move, and forcing it to Fleur Cannon later on (which drops it's Sp.Atk 2 stages without killing Gastro). If there was a Fairy resist in front of Magearna before Gastrodon comes in, one would not likely go for the Z-move, allowing Gastrodon to come in safely and 1v1 Magearna. Not much else to it then that tbh.

A standard set with Leftovers works too, but you don't get as much flexibility out of it.

SHAKING MY HEAD

^
Who said this?
 
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