SM NU At Least It Was Here

lax

cloutimus maximus
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnuswon the 10th Official Ladder Tournamentis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
RBTT Champion

Introduction

So the idea for this team came about when meepsvictory and I were theory crafting a team to use again Rodriblutar. Looking at his past teams, RestTalk Malamar seemed to be very effective vs his fatter style builds so I started with it. The issue with Malamar in NU is that a ton of teams run Whimsicott which resists both of its attacking moves and threatens it out easily with Moonblast. We were talking about how dumb Whimsicott is and ideas on a better counter to it when meeps jokingly suggested WishTect Delphox. I didn't take it seriously at all until we discussed how it actually beats a ton of annoying stuff for Malamar like Whimsicott while also being able to switch in to stuff like Specs Vanilluxe with ease... and voila. I finished off the rest of the team and it became a success.

Team


Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

The entire team was built off of this set because its what we found to be most effective vs Rodriblutar. The set itself is super explanatory and nothing out of the ordinary. It pressures a lot of fatter teams because Contrary SuperPower adds more bulk and power. Knock off is a really threatening move in general as well. The most consistent way to beat Malamar is to have a Bug-type or a mon with a strong Bug move, both of which aren't typically meta right now.


Delphox @ Leftovers
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Flamethrower
- Toxic

One of my favorite NU sets right now and very effective. Delphox beats a plethora of Pokemon - Vanilluxe, Whimsicott, Vikavolt (to an extent), and Rotom-Mow to list some of the major mons it counters. The EVs have 252 HP for Wish passing and bulk of course. Timid Nature and 112 Speed are able to outspeed Max Jolly Hitmonlee as well as Max Timid Rotom-Mow, notably. At first I only had 108 Speed just for Mowtom but after my snake game vs sorry where I realized his Lee outsped, I had to change it. The rest of the EVs were slapped into defense to help it tank a bit better because its spdef is already solid. This set can also serve as a pseudo Emboar check as long as they don't Head Smash/EQ you. Standard Wish + Protect, Flamethrower the highest PP Fire STAB and Toxic for mons like Bro and Seismi.


Hitmonlee @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge

Scarf Hitmonlee is just a really solid set. I already knew I wanted to pair Malamar + Phox with Xatu but the team felt quite passive at the time. As a result, I added Hitmonlee so I could play a bit safer with Xatu and to add solid offensive presence. Standard set, could replace Edge with Mach but that's not really needed with Barb gone.


Xatu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 16 SpD / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Grass Knot
- Roost
- U-turn​

Resident S+++++ rank mon pulling in. Xatu is practically a necessity when paired with the Delphox set because they cover each other really well. Some examples would be Xatu preventing hazards for Delphox, allowing Phox to reach its highest potential as a wall. Delphox switches into all the special attacking threats that force Xatu out such as Vanilluxe and Whimsicott. Standard moveset on Xatu, 104 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant offensive Garbodor as well as Jolly Emboar. 16 SpDef so it always lives 252 SpA Froslass Ice Beam and U-turn out. Xatu is seriously the best Pokemon in NU right now so if it leaves due to metagame monthly shifts... it'll be a sad day.


Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Seed Bomb

Garbodor has a lot of synergy with Malamar as it covers Bug moves and helps Malamar deal with the threat of strong physical attacks from Pokemon such as Emboar before it manages to get defense boosts off. Offensive Garbodor is pretty self explanatory but in short, assuming you hit all your gunk shots, you should be able to 2OHKO any incoming Xatu while still being able to outspeed. Toxic Spikes is very nice for a more balanced team that can utilize Tspikes to their full potential with the Roost, Wish Tect, and Rest Talk stall. Seed Bomb is a nice last move that hits Toad and Rhydon but Boom is also an option.


Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

The first 5 ended up with no rocker and Seismitoad was simply the best possible choice for the last slot. The team was in dire need of a Water resist (immune in this case) as well as a Rocker, so there was no other viable option. Really standard set, the most basic for sure. Not much to explain with Toad but it does its job very well.

Threatlist

Sneasel
- Sneasel spamming Knocks can get pretty annoying. It also can trap Xatu if played correctly and that breaks apart the team quite well. Best answer is to switch in with Toad or let it take a lot of damage from Garbodor.

Vikavolt - Specs, to be exact. Specs Bug Buzz just dents a whole right through the team. The best way to deal with this is go into Delphox and threaten it out with a Fire move while wishing as it leaves the field, pretty tough especially because its built around Malamar. That being said, if you manage to get a Knock Off on the Vikavolt it's pretty smooth sailing.

too late now (Delphox) @ Leftovers
Ability: Blaze
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Flamethrower
- Toxic

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect
- Stealth Rock

Xatu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 140 Def / 16 SpD / 104 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Grass Knot
- Roost
- U-turn

Hitmonlee @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Seed Bomb

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Replays

Debut vs Rodri in Grand Slam Playoffs R1, was a huge success and I'm pretty proud of it.

I used it again vs imsosorrylol in snake. Misplayed a lot but the Malamar and Delphox put in a lot of work and pulled a win for me.

Funnily enough meeps also used it vs Rodri and won

meeps played AWFUL vs sorry but still a funny match

Conclusion

I recommend anyone that finds the team interesting to give it a go because it's pretty fun and uses some whack but effective sets. By far my favorite team that I built for NU and would love to see Wish Tect Delphox spread.​


edit 11/21: xatu evs were incorrect, fixed​
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top