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Nihilego took a fall since the beginning of the gen, but I've been seeing arguments on Discord about what exactly Nihilego does best. Most people say its best set is Scarf, others say Specs, and others have explored with Sash lead sets as well as Z-move sets like Rockium Z Nihilego. This is a very unexplored mon so I figured I'd feature it this round to see what everyone can make it do. This round will end on Sunday, October 15th, good luck!
Edit: imma update the hall of fame soon my friends (here so I dont forget again lul)
Classic Nihilego set, opted for Hidden Power Fire > Hidden Power Ice because u bop most common hazard setters with it. Sub DD Zygarde because this can abuse Toxic Spikes that Nihilego sets up really well because it means it can beat its common grass types checks. Tapu Koko benefits from Sub DD Zygarde because as i mentioned before it beats grass types which are 1 of the main things that stop Tapu Koko from spamming electric moves. Mega Venusaur was the mega of choice because it checks Tapu Koko and mons such as Mega Charizard X, Heatran and Magearna. Skarmory is used as a substitute for Celesteela because it has access to Defog and Stealth Rocks, Iron Head is for Tape Lele and Mega Diancie which can threaten this team. The EV spread is used to live Wild Charge from Tapu Koko after rocks and the Sp.Def investment is to take attacks from Tapu Lele a bit better. Reuniclus is the secondary Toxic Spike abuser and it can take advantage of Mew which is otherwise a pain, it also walls Mega Medicham.
Btw Eclipse weekly reminder to update the hall of fame :P
So this round was a based around nihilego. I thought Nihilego would make a cool suicide lead with its alright speed tier and the access it has to Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes, so I threw together this HO team in like 5 minutes. I thought SubDD Zygarde would be a cool start as it really likes toxic spikes being on the field to break through stuff like Tang. Then I added Mega Gyarados as it too likes Toxic Spikes and can provide a check to Ash Gren, as well as helping vs bulkier teams and stall. Sub is for setting up on stuff like pelipper and things that'd normally spam scald or status ex. Toxapex, Also has a good matchup vs webs. I needed a z user and a revenge killer so mimikyu was the choice as it fits well on HO and can cover some matchups. The team was needing a special sweeper and a steel so I added Magearna, I opted for the SG + 3 Attacks set because I needed to deal with faster threats rather than bulkier. Shuca baits lando and zygarde, Flash Cannon is for magearna and lele. Finally Kartana was added as the rain (and waters in general) matchup was looking poor and is a fairly good scarfer atm. Kartana can potentially clean up late game with the attack boost it'd get from its ability. Did some playtesting mid ladder and faired alright. Not the best HO team but it definitely is fun to use.
So Nihilego is a weird mon overall, but I wanted to work with Rockium Z as Nihilego has a great matchup against just about all hazard removers with this set such as Mantine, Zapdos, and even Mew which is pressured with the combination of Sludge Wave + Continental Crush. In general, Z-Power Gem is nice for its great overall nuking power to blow back common hazard setters such as Heatran and Lando with a bit of prior damage. It allows Nihilego to serve as a solid Toxic Spikes user to support the rest of the team. I wanted to pair it with Vincune as Tspikes + Suicune = GGs so long as there's not a Toxapex on the field. To pressure Toxapex, Mega Venusaur and other Toxic Spike removers, I added Specs Lele for its wallbreaking capabilities which give me the greatest chance at beating stall. Celesteela was thrown in as a mandatory Psychic resist because opposing Lele's are pains to fight against since this is my only switchin. It also helps me handle offensive Lando sets the best as it is my only Flying resist (no Nihilego does not count). Next, this team was looking REALLY weak to Tapu Koko and Magearna, so I added in Mega Camerupt as my Rocks setter + another wallbreaker. Speed outspeeds Pex so you can Earth Power that. Finally Scarf Latios provides another Water/Fire resist to act as a secondary Ash-Gren check (basically my only Ash-Gren check but thats okay because that mon is broken) while also providing emergency hazard removal while providing me with Trick support to cheese past walls like Chansey. Team is basically not very good; Rain matchup is shit and my Dark resist is Celesteela but Nihilego is weird to build with in general so ohhh wellll.
This is a team around scarf Nihilego :) latios switchs in to heatran and keldeo and supports the team with defog while celesteela checks a lot of the metagame and gives us a nice ground resist. M-Camerupt can fire off fire blast and earth power while also setting up rocks for the team. M-Camerupt also checks and counters most Tapu Koko sets which is nice for this team. Clefable can knock off Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn etc to limit there health in the future and CM up in order to clean or sweep late game. And the last member is the standard Ash-Greninja with spikes to rack up hazards to make the entire team break through. Everyone knows what scarf Nihilego does already so we don't really need to explain that but i will anyways. Nihilego checks +1 Volcarona and can force it out or KO it with Power gem while Power gem is a nice move to spam if the other team does not have great rock resists while Nihilego can also switch in to Charizard Y if needed which is nice if your team has no Charizard Y switch ins.
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
Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Nihilego scarf is redoutable in late game. Charizard X for Steel type with nihilego are good core Charizard X sweepe and nihilego finish the game. Bulu can pressure Gastrodon and Quagsire and can make lots of damages. Mew is here for deffog. Landorus for sr and magearna because her bulk + Assault vest is redoutable for Lele/Ash Greninja/Latios/Koko.
Classic Nihilego set, opted for Hidden Power Fire > Hidden Power Ice because u bop most common hazard setters with it. Sub DD Zygarde because this can abuse Toxic Spikes that Nihilego sets up really well because it means it can beat its common grass types checks. Tapu Koko benefits from Sub DD Zygarde because as i mentioned before it beats grass types which are 1 of the main things that stop Tapu Koko from spamming electric moves. Mega Venusaur was the mega of choice because it checks Tapu Koko and mons such as Mega Charizard X, Heatran and Magearna. Skarmory is used as a substitute for Celesteela because it has access to Defog and Stealth Rocks, Iron Head is for Tape Lele and Mega Diancie which can threaten this team. The EV spread is used to live Wild Charge from Tapu Koko after rocks and the Sp.Def investment is to take attacks from Tapu Lele a bit better. Reuniclus is the secondary Toxic Spike abuser and it can take advantage of Mew which is otherwise a pain, it also walls Mega Medicham.
Team 2
Nihilego @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes
So this round was a based around nihilego. I thought Nihilego would make a cool suicide lead with its alright speed tier and the access it has to Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes, so I threw together this HO team in like 5 minutes. I thought SubDD Zygarde would be a cool start as it really likes toxic spikes being on the field to break through stuff like Tang. Then I added Mega Gyarados as it too likes Toxic Spikes and can provide a check to Ash Gren, as well as helping vs bulkier teams and stall. Sub is for setting up on stuff like pelipper and things that'd normally spam scald or status ex. Toxapex, Also has a good matchup vs webs. I needed a z user and a revenge killer so mimikyu was the choice as it fits well on HO and can cover some matchups. The team was needing a special sweeper and a steel so I added Magearna, I opted for the SG + 3 Attacks set because I needed to deal with faster threats rather than bulkier. Shuca baits lando and zygarde, Flash Cannon is for magearna and lele. Finally Kartana was added as the rain (and waters in general) matchup was looking poor and is a fairly good scarfer atm. Kartana can potentially clean up late game with the attack boost it'd get from its ability. Did some playtesting mid ladder and faired alright. Not the best HO team but it definitely is fun to use.
Team 3
Nihilego @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 8 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic Spikes
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 24 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Protect
So Nihilego is a weird mon overall, but I wanted to work with Rockium Z as Nihilego has a great matchup against just about all hazard removers with this set such as Mantine, Zapdos, and even Mew which is pressured with the combination of Sludge Wave + Continental Crush. In general, Z-Power Gem is nice for its great overall nuking power to blow back common hazard setters such as Heatran and Lando with a bit of prior damage. It allows Nihilego to serve as a solid Toxic Spikes user to support the rest of the team. I wanted to pair it with Vincune as Tspikes + Suicune = GGs so long as there's not a Toxapex on the field. To pressure Toxapex, Mega Venusaur and other Toxic Spike removers, I added Specs Lele for its wallbreaking capabilities which give me the greatest chance at beating stall. Celesteela was thrown in as a mandatory Psychic resist because opposing Lele's are pains to fight against since this is my only switchin. It also helps me handle offensive Lando sets the best as it is my only Flying resist (no Nihilego does not count). Next, this team was looking REALLY weak to Tapu Koko and Magearna, so I added in Mega Camerupt as my Rocks setter + another wallbreaker. Speed outspeeds Pex so you can Earth Power that. Finally Scarf Latios provides another Water/Fire resist to act as a secondary Ash-Gren check (basically my only Ash-Gren check but thats okay because that mon is broken) while also providing emergency hazard removal while providing me with Trick support to cheese past walls like Chansey. Team is basically not very good; Rain matchup is shit and my Dark resist is Celesteela but Nihilego is weird to build with in general so ohhh wellll.
Team 4
Camerupt-Mega @ Cameruptite
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 56 SpA / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Water Shuriken
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Knock Off
- Soft-Boiled
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Flamethrower
This is a team around scarf Nihilego :) latios switchs in to heatran and keldeo and supports the team with defog while celesteela checks a lot of the metagame and gives us a nice ground resist. M-Camerupt can fire off fire blast and earth power while also setting up rocks for the team. M-Camerupt also checks and counters most Tapu Koko sets which is nice for this team. Clefable can knock off Heatran, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn etc to limit there health in the future and CM up in order to clean or sweep late game. And the last member is the standard Ash-Greninja with spikes to rack up hazards to make the entire team break through. Everyone knows what scarf Nihilego does already so we don't really need to explain that but i will anyways. Nihilego checks +1 Volcarona and can force it out or KO it with Power gem while Power gem is a nice move to spam if the other team does not have great rock resists while Nihilego can also switch in to Charizard Y if needed which is nice if your team has no Charizard Y switch ins.
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
Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Nihilego scarf is redoutable in late game. Charizard X for Steel type with nihilego are good core Charizard X sweepe and nihilego finish the game. Bulu can pressure Gastrodon and Quagsire and can make lots of damages. Mew is here for deffog. Landorus for sr and magearna because her bulk + Assault vest is redoutable for Lele/Ash Greninja/Latios/Koko.
Voting will last until Friday, may the best team win!