Project Creative / Underrated Sets and Teams (AKA heat thread)

[aVocado]

stolen from GMars in OU // approved by funbro

banner by Datsplashtho

Post your heat - things that aren't the best options when building but are fun and really out there

• Include replays of your mon/set actually doing something
• Write a quick blurb about what you made
• Can highlight either one out-there mon or a full team structure if you'd like
• If you post LC mons or something that makes 0 sense we will probably delete it

Example:
Flame Charge Charizard (Click for sets)

Piloswine for rocks, also surprisingly anti-meta. Flame Charge Charizard outspeeds scarf indeedee at +1 speed, silvally fairy to catch sableye, double fighters kill everything and then alolan raichu for good measure.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1096415049

 

[aVocado]

reserved

 

[aVocado]

more heat:


Ninetales @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Foul Play
- Solar Beam

The only mon I found that can don a scarf to outspeed indeedee, seriously fuck that mon btw, and overheat in sun is deceptively strong. u only really need fire stab and the other moves don't matter but I have foul play for random things and solar beam in case i ever needed it, but it's horrible to be locked into it.


Stonjourner @ Life Orb
Ability: Power Spot
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Heat Crash

fast rock, very strong and can set up surprisingly easily vs a lot of physical mons. too many teams are weak to this thing cuz the only thing that resists everything is claydol

 

[413X]

Ninetales @ Eject Pack
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Solar Beam
- Toxic
- Memento

Ninetales is officially the most heat mon of all time. The only threat are faster mons because they can do damage. Nothing faster can even ohko except eq on scarf Rillaboom and Pass and prob stone edge on Viri and maybe Cinc but its still broken I swear. U get 2 free suns, but only 2 which makes this mon need fast sweepers like zard or RAPIDASH(hes next cuz that mon is broken on sun) and not growthers like stupid Plume.
Side Note: Overheat nukes so many mons its insane.

 

[viol and bass]

Gallade (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Teleport
- Zen Headbutt / Knock Off

There's been a lot of discussion in OU recently about Wishport Clefable being broken, and whether Teleport + Wish is a broken combination. It's not, because on anything that isn't Clefable it's pretty exploitable. So off the bat, I just want to say that this set is far worse than Clef in OU, because it doesn't have Magic Guard and Clef's defensive typing. It can't switch in with impunity on like the entire metagame and pass wishes all day. But it's fun and kind of usable, and this is the heat thread so fuck it.

Gallade has a very overlooked monster SpDef stat, which allows this set to do things like easily eat a hit from stuff like +2 Salazzle or NP Toxicroak and KO back with Zen, tank a Specs Draco Meteor from Drampa in a pinch, and sort of check Indeedee that's not locked into Specs Psyshock. This set is EVed to tank one Psyshock though and it does a decent chunk back. The defense investment also helps it kind of check shit like Hitmonlee and Gurdurr. This set can usually switch in and pass wishes on stuff like Galvantula, Vileplume, Gastrodon, Coalossal, etc.

For the fourth moveslot, I prefer Zen Headbutt to threaten poisons like Vileplume (Gallade hits pretty hard even uninvested), but Knock is always pretty solid. Teleport is a fantastic move that allows you to get mons in unscathed, so it's probably best paired with shit that hits hard but has trouble switching in.

I'm bad but here's a replay. Eat me alive.
Edit: and another

Edit2: take back what I said, Knock is the truth

 

[Mavis]

uh oh, im on my bullshit again


Flapple @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Ripen
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Grav Apple
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance

subripen flapple takes a bit of a different spin on the regular ddance flapple, as it forgoes a coverage move like sucker punch for substitute, allowing you to get one dragon dance up and then sub down to essentially what amounts to a free swords dance boost. from then, if everything is sufficiently chipped, that's curtains. perhaps the best part of this set is that liechi keeps all the power of hustle flapple, but takes away the 20% chance to just whiff on something you'd otherwise blow to pieces. there's also substitute, which allows you to chance more boosts vs stuff that can miss or status moves to potentially get another dragon dance up. not having sucker punch can suck at times, but it isn't like it does anything to the two most relevant scarfers in the tier, so not having it isn't too much of a consolation.

ive found this works best under veil as flapple's bulk isn't actually as dogshit as it seems, and it can set up af on anything defensive not named vileplume. you're still dying to sludge, glhf. hail chip plus Vani blizzard can also chip down steel types not terribly, to give flapple a fighting chance at getting it's boosts off.

love this mon, use it lads

promise I'll get some replays soon but here's a pic I took to laugh about because I got two free dragon dances on some dudes megahorn misses

 

[Loom]

Work Up Zweilous Bulky Offense

Teambuilding Process

My starting point for this build was of course Zweilous. I decided to use this Pokemon due to the lack of offensive dark-types the tier has to offer. Zweilous is able to deal significant damage onto anything with Outrage at +1. Zweilous also has the ability to stomach hits from even a boosted Vileplume, Ninetales (3HKOd by +2 Fire Blast with this spread), and Salazzle at neutral. The speed investment on this spread is able to outpace pokemon like Adamant max speed Rhydon and speed creeping Vileplume / Jellicent.

+2 0 SpA Sludge Bomb vs. 88 HP / 244 SpD

: 141-166 (45.9 - 54%) -- 49.2% chance to 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Fire Blast vs. 88 HP / 244 SpD

in Sun: 130-153 (42.3 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+
Being that I need a fairy-type and ice type answer, I decided to add Salazzle as a my main special sweeper. Salazzle is also able to ease specific match-ups like Steelix and other steel-types for Escavalier.

++
Virizion pairs very well with Salazzle, due to Salazzle providing a fairy type and ice type answer for Virizion, while Virizion checks pokemon like Rhydon and other assorted ground-types / water-types that would get in Salazzle's way.

+++
Rotom benefits greatly from being paired with Virizion due to its Justified. Rotom also provides a Choice Scarfer, hazard removal, and a secondary ground immunity which Salazzle greatly appreciates. Rotom is immune to fighting as well meaning it's able to switch into strong fighting STABs from pokemon like Passimian and gain momentum with Volt Switch.

++++
I decided to add Escavalier to the team due to it slightly easing the Indeedee matchup by scouting with protect. Escavalier also handles notable pokemon such as Vileplume and Snorlax.

+++++
Lastly Mudsdale functions as my Stealth Rocker. Mudsdale can also pressure pokemon like Salazzle which can come a bit overbearing for this build being you dont play around it right.

importable

https://pokepast.es/3420fc2d4bbd0932

replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1103515670

​

 

[Expulso]

rotom-hoot (Noctowl) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Hyper Voice
- Heat Wave
- Air Slash / Shadow Ball

rotom-hoot (Noctowl) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Nasty Plot
- Roost
- Heat Wave / Hyper Voice / Substitute / Agility


Noctowl gets Tinted Lens and Nasty Plot this generation; these underrated buffs and RU's lack of offensive Flying types make Noctowl effective in RU. If you saw a Flying-type like Noctowl, your first response would likely be to switch in your Flying resist; common Flying resists include Steelix, Rhydon, Copperajah, Rotom-N, Silvally-Steel, and Drednaw. All of these mons get absolutely DESTROYED by Tinted Lens Hurricane ... oh my lord they get blown back hahaha time for the CALCS:
[in order of increasing bulk]

specs hurricane calcs! 90% to rhydon! 70% to steelix!

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Rotom: 276-326 (114.5 - 135.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Drednaw: 306-360 (95.3 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Silvally-Steel: 234-276 (70.6 - 83.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Rhydon: 280-330 (79.7 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Steelix: 230-272 (64.9 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Copperajah: 180-212 (46.7 - 55%) -- 66% chance to 2HKO

You may be thinking that the odds of hitting 1 or 2 Hurricanes makes these calcs an inaccurate reflection of what would really happen in a match, since nobody hits a 70% move every time (not even someone as lucky as me!). That's true. Tinted Lens Hurricane is ridiculously strong, but Tinted Lens Hyper Voice has comparable damage output with 100% accuracy, and a super-effective Heat Wave can weaken steel types [which can easily be predicted] while still doing ~50% to Rhydon thanks to Tinted Lens if you predict incorrectly.

specs tinted lens hyper voice calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Rhydon: 228-270 (64.9 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Steelix: 188-222 (53.1 - 62.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Copperajah: 146-174 (37.9 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Noctowl Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Drednaw: 250-294 (77.8 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

heat wave calcs v steelix/copperajah/silvsteel

252+ SpA Choice Specs Noctowl Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 92 SpD Assault Vest Copperajah: 206-244 (53.5 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Noctowl Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Steelix: 266-314 (75.1 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Noctowl Heat Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Silvally-Steel: 270-318 (81.5 - 96%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Choice Specs Noctowl can destroy all of its resists, but neutral targets with great special bulk, such as Snorlax, can still take its attacks pretty well. This is where Nasty Plot + Boots can be useful; at +2, Hurricane has a chance to 2HKO CurseLax after Rocks. Noctowl's Base 100 HP + Boots + Roost gives it the bulk needed to stay healthy throughout the match, preventing Snorlax from KOing you back:

+2 252+ SpA Noctowl Hurricane vs. 188 HP / 168+ SpD Snorlax: 216-255 (42.5 - 50.1%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Snorlax Body Slam vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Noctowl: 171-202 (50.1 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Moves such as Substitute (to avoid status) help it out, as does secondary coverage with Heat Wave / Hyper Voice. Agility can let it outspeed offensive teams and nuke everything

Snorlax is definitely the biggest defensive obstacle Noctowl faces, but it's easy to take advantage of with a teammate like SD Rhydon/Bewear.


Overall, Noctowl seems awesome here and I hope you all use it and have fun doing 90% to Rhydon with a resisted attack :-)

I'll update this with replays once I get the chance to play around with it more in tests!

 

[Katy]

hello guys,

here are some effective sets i thought about today and i wanna share them here.

first and foremost one of the new drops for the ru-tier - rapidash:


Rapidash @ Choice Band
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Horsepower
- Wild Charge
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic

rapidash is fast enough to bypass many pkmn in the ru-tier so i think you can easily get away with this set, choice band-rapidash.
choice banded-boosted flare blitz will hit everything pretty hard including salazzle, indeedee, mudsdale and different silvally-forms.
what flare blitz doesnt hit for super effective or neutral damage high horsepower its coverage-option can take care off as it hits the likes
of rhydon for decent damage output and also togedemaru without taking any kind of damage, it also hits lanturn as otherwise you'll get walled
by it, whereas wild charge is for bulky waters like jellicent and can also hit drednaw for super effective damage.
the last slot is reserved for either wisp or toxic depends on what you like more. wisp is a counter measure for physical attackers and toxic
can be used to whittle down opposing pkmn faster.


Rapidash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Horsepower
- Wild Charge
- Morning Sun

ths set can be run with sun or can abuse the opposing sun - rapidash has a lot of good high abse power moves but it takes a lot of recoil with them
therefore there is the option of having morning sun in the last slot to tackle the recoil-damage rapidash took during the game. morning sun has the nice advanatge of getting boosted while sun is up meaning rapidash can recover more.

second set i wanna share here is our fav-fox ninetales:


Ninetales @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Solar Beam
- Nasty Plot

ninetales has a decent speed-tier already with 100 base means it hits 328 with timid nature, but it is forced out by a lot of scarfers in the tier like indeedee, passimian and rillaboom due to its access to a strong earthquake and choice scarf-rotoms. with flame charge (which also is able to dent out some damage) it bypasses these threats and is able to stay in and instead dish out some nice damage with a strong sun-boosted fire blast or the coverage in solar beam for the likes of jellicent, gastrodon and rhydon.
it takes advantage of many steel-types which are in the tier therefore either of these boosts are guaranteed. furthermore a flame charge-boost in combination with a nasty plot makes ninetales a much more deadly sweeper in the late game.

last mon is the opposite of hot, its cool, here is our new addition frosmoth:


Frosmoth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Ice Beam
- Quiver Dance
- Substitute

frosmoth one of the new additions in the tier is a good quiver dancer with a nice dual-typing with ice being always one of the most dangerous offensive typing in the game.
with the addition of the new item in heavy-duty-boots it is guaranteed that it avoids the 4x stealth rocks weakness overall and is able to have a cleaner path with setting up for
a late game sweep. i added substitute as the last slot since frosmoth is able to substitute on some pkmn in the tier to have a way of pressuring threats even more because they are forced to break its substitute means it either gets another quiver dance off or it can safely 2hko the mon, which is trying to break its sub.

have fun trying these sets out!​

 

[aVocado]

hello guys,

here are some effective sets i thought about today and i wanna share them here.

first and foremost one of the new drops for the ru-tier - rapidash:


Rapidash @ Choice Band
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Horsepower
- Wild Charge
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic

rapidash is fast enough to bypass many pkmn in the ru-tier so i think you can easily get away with this set, choice band-rapidash.
choice banded-boosted flare blitz will hit everything pretty hard including salazzle, indeedee, mudsdale and different silvally-forms.
what flare blitz doesnt hit for super effective or neutral damage high horsepower its coverage-option can take care off as it hits the likes
of rhydon for decent damage output and also togedemaru without taking any kind of damage, it also hits lanturn as otherwise you'll get walled
by it, whereas wild charge is for bulky waters like jellicent and can also hit drednaw for super effective damage.
the last slot is reserved for either wisp or toxic depends on what you like more. wisp is a counter measure for physical attackers and toxic
can be used to whittle down opposing pkmn faster.


Rapidash @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- High Horsepower
- Wild Charge
- Morning Sun

ths set can be run with sun or can abuse the opposing sun - rapidash has a lot of good high abse power moves but it takes a lot of recoil with them
therefore there is the option of having morning sun in the last slot to tackle the recoil-damage rapidash took during the game. morning sun has the nice advanatge of getting boosted while sun is up meaning rapidash can recover more.

second set i wanna share here is our fav-fox ninetales:


Ninetales @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Solar Beam
- Nasty Plot

ninetales has a decent speed-tier already with 100 base means it hits 328 with timid nature, but it is forced out by a lot of scarfers in the tier like indeedee, passimian and rillaboom due to its access to a strong earthquake and choice scarf-rotoms. with flame charge (which also is able to dent out some damage) it bypasses these threats and is able to stay in and instead dish out some nice damage with a strong sun-boosted fire blast or the coverage in solar beam for the likes of jellicent, gastrodon and rhydon.
it takes advantage of many steel-types which are in the tier therefore either of these boosts are guaranteed. furthermore a flame charge-boost in combination with a nasty plot makes ninetales a much more deadly sweeper in the late game.

last mon is the opposite of hot, its cool, here is our new addition frosmoth:


Frosmoth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Ice Scales
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Ice Beam
- Quiver Dance
- Roost

frosmoth one of the new additions in the tier is a good quiver dancer with a nice dual-typing with ice being always one of the most dangerous offensive typing in the game.
with the addition of the new item in heavy-duty-boots it is guaranteed that it avoids the 4x stealth rocks weakness overall and is able to have a cleaner path with setting up for
a late game sweep. i added roost as the last slot since frosmoth is able to roost on some pkmn in the tier to have a way of more longevity and reliability.

have fun trying these sets out!​

great sets all around and rapidash (both kanto and galar) is smth i've been meaning to try out for a while

but frosmoth doesn't get roost mate :p

 

[Hot N Cold]

Specially Defensive Charizard

Charizard @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 240 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Roost
- Toxic
- Defog

SpD Zard maximizes their bulk with a great typing to deal better with certain threats such Ninetales, CM Virizion, Specs Decidueye or Growth Plume. You can beat in 1vs1 scenario, Gastrodon and even some Vaporeon sets depending on last move. Flamethrower for more PP than Fire Blast as well as better accuracy. Enough speed to outrun Bewear. Paired it with grass types that can switch into Rhydon and Heal Bell Vaporeon. A bulky water such Clear Smog Gastrodon or Vaporeon to switch into Nasty Plot and Knock Off Salazzle are highly recommended as well.

general calcs

+1 252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 121-142 (33.7 - 39.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Virizion Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Charizard: 242-286 (67.4 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 0 SpA Vileplume Sludge Bomb vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 127-151 (35.3 - 42%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 SpA Ninetales Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard in Sun: 159-187 (44.2 - 52%) -- 16.8% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Decidueye Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 133-157 (37 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Indeedee Psychic vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard in Psychic Terrain: 135-159 (37.6 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Indeedee Psychic vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 103-123 (28.6 - 34.2%) -- 2.3% chance to 3HKO
--
0 SpA Gastrodon Scald vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 132-156 (36.7 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 248 HP / 240+ SpD Charizard: 152-180 (42.3 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

 

[PooperScoopr]

ToxiCrit

Alright ladies and gentlemen, this is some serious heat.

Toxicroak @ Scope Lens
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Cross Chop
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Cross Poison

Its literally so much fun using scope lens with Toxi's two high crit moves almost every hit feels like a crit.

 

[HailFall]

I'm gonna revive this thread with...

Restochesto Klefki

Klefki @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Rest
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes

I tried this set recently and its awesome. Rest allows klefki a lot of extra longevity compared to the more standard lefties. Very rarely is keys going to stay in for enough turns that lefties will outheal a single use of rest for free. Prankster full heal is especially powerful on a mon like this which tends to get worn down over the course of the game. Even after using its chesto heal, klefki can still get value out of rest, PP stalling a number of defensive mons and almost turning into a mini stallbreaker lol. Rest is quite powerful and i advise you guys to give it a shot if you have a free move slot on klefki (which happens very often).

A replay of this set doing stuff:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1167130533-vm9r0wogc325hqk0mz0z9nah0bb0gsdpw

 

[Hot N Cold]

Substitute + 3 Attacks

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Scald
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power

This set is exploits some popular very popular threats such Slowbro-Galar, Klefki, Salazzle, Dragalge or Rotom-Mow thanks to their excellent typing + ability. More exactly this set is made to abuse and counter Slowbro-Galar and lure Rotom-C with Sludge Bomb, as well as other Water types such Inteleon.

0 SpA Slowbro-Galar Sludge Bomb vs. 48 HP / 0 SpD Seismitoad: 61-72 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Seismitoad Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro-Galar: 296-350 (75.1 - 88.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Seismitoad Earth Power vs. +1 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro-Galar: 200-236 (50.7 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Seismitoad Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Mow: 140-166 (58 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Seismitoad Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge: 186-222 (68.6 - 81.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

 

[FALCOWNPAUNCH!]

Since I recently picked up this tier to try and mess around with fun sets, I'll revive the thread with something that's been working well for me.



Heracross @ Expert Belt
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Spikes

Since Heracross only uses basically the two sets it's had since B/W, people usually assume it's one or the other. If Flame Orb doesn't kick in at the end of the turn, it's almost always Choice Scarf with Moxie. This is where this set comes in. Expert Belt, at the cost of the Speed gained from an actual Choice Scarf, has been a really fun bluff set over the past few days I've used it. Togekiss comes into CC or Knock thinking, "OK, he's locked into that move: I can pressure with Air Slash/Defog away Rocks/etc.", and then gets blown back by an EBelt-boosted Stone Edge.

The set's EVs are straightforward, with a Jolly nature used for maximum Speed. Close Combat is your STAB move of choice, hitting everything that doesn't resist it for good damage. Knock Off hits most CC resists super-effectively and is the best move in the game removes the target's item. Stone Edge is mostly there for Togekiss, the most prominent Fairy-type at the moment, but it hits other Flying-types super-effectively as well. Spikes don't get used that often, but they're still nice for additional entry hazards, and you don't really need EQ since G-Weezing runs Levitate.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1258660629

Here's a replay, in which Heracross does its job early on. My opponent's Scarfed Chandelure switches out to Umbreon to take the Knock, on the threat of Heracross also being Scarfed, and then Umbreon gets knocked out by CC on the next turn. Assuming it was the standard Wish set, this probably helped greatly with the endgame, since nothing else I had at that point did enough to Umbreon at all.

So yeah, this is a pretty fun set, and I hope you enjoyed it!

 

[A Very Gay Girl]

Belly Drum GBro

Slowbro-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Belly Drum
- Shell Side Arm
- Earthquake
- Trick Room

Galar Slowbro is often infamous for its Calm Mind sets as well as with Quick Draw & Quick Claw antics, but this is a set that completely undermines expectations for either of those sets. Galar Bro has the mostly unique trait of learning both Belly Drum and Trick Room, and when paired with its signature move Shell Side Arm, this can lead to some pretty dang threatening Poison-type STAB attacks if it sets up properly. Additionally, Galar Bro carries Earthquake for extra coverage against opposing Steel and Poison-types, and the two combined form very solid coverage against the majority of the tier. The only notable threats in RU that resist both of these moves are Flygon, Crobat, and Levitate Bronzong. Air Balloon Steel-types or any Steel-type immune to standard Ground-type attacks completely wall this set, but that can be fixed with team support from the likes Marowak-A, Zygarde-10%, or other powerful wallbreakers with a good matchup against Steel-type Pokemon. Enough rambling though, let's see what this thing can actually do after setting up.

+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Registeel: 558-658 (153.2 - 180.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Shuca Berry Cobalion: 318-375 (98.4 - 116%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Metagross: 634-748 (174.1 - 205.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Crobat: 321-378 (85.8 - 101%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flygon: 323-381 (107.3 - 126.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Steelix: 430-508 (121.4 - 143.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing-Galar: 340-402 (101.7 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shuca Berry Slowbro-Galar: 296-349 (75.1 - 88.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Glastrier: 429-505 (106.1 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ Atk Slowbro-Galar Shell Side Arm vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Suicune: 378-445 (93.5 - 110.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Needless to say, that's a lot of damage. Of course, the main problem is actually getting the opportunity to set up in the first place, but if Galar Bro gets the chance to come in on a stall Pokemon that can't hurt it much such as Milotic or Seismic Toss Registeel, it can set up to +6, get Trick Room up, and proceed to slaughter entire offensive and balance teams lacking unaware users.

Edit: Added additional damage calculations

 

[A Very Gay Girl]

I refuse to let a good heat thread die, so I'm back at it again, and this time I've brought an entirely new set.
Speed Swap Body Press Bronzong

Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Heatproof | Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Psychic | Earthquake
- Speed Swap

This set is pretty dumb, but by God, if it works, it's an absolute blast to use. The basic idea behind it is to abuse speed swap and either severely cripple an opposing offensive mon, boost your own speed, or do both at the same time. After switching speed stats with the opponent, you have a couple of choices:
1. Kill them immediately with a Body Press/Psychic/Earthquake, depending on which move you're running and which would be most effective. This is usually more consistent for taking out individual threats, but will typically switch out after getting the job done.
2. Click Iron Defense and proceed to blow up an entire team if you get the right speed and defense stats.
Yeah, it might sound a little bit crazy, but believe it or not, a fast Bronzong clicking Iron Defense and Body Press can be pretty scary under the right conditions. Let's say you send out Bronzong against something like a Weezing-Galar, Klefki, or other Fairy-type Pokemon. Looking at the opponent's team, they'll probably have something like an Incineroar or Zygarde-10%. Click Speed Swap when they switch out. Now, their threat is sitting at an abysmal speed stat of 63, while you're free to outpace them and set up as many Iron Defenses as you're comfortable with. Then you can just start clicking Body Press until Bronzong dies, and of course, don't forget to Speed Swap again if you see a Pokemon with a better speed stat than the one you've already stolen. As for the choice between abilities and moves, it comes down to whether or not you have Grassy Surge Thwackey on your team. If you don't, then run Levitate and Earthquake. However, if you do, run Heatproof and Psychic. The reason for this is that Bronzong on Grassy Terrain already takes half damage from Earthquake, so there's no need for Levitate as it doesn't really help with anything else. Since G Terrain halves the power of Earthquake, running Psychic is better. Additionally, Heatproof makes Bronzong neutral to Fire, which can help it set up against a greater variety of Pokemon like a Darmanitan spamming Flare Blitz. Lastly, a grounded Bronzong holding Leftovers while on Grassy Terrain gets double the Leftovers recovery every turn that G Terrain is active, meaning that you can restore 12% HP at the end of every turn, and when you're spamming a very fast iron defense, this can make Bronzong extremely difficult to kill for many Pokemon. Personally, I've seen more success with this set by having Grassy Terrain active, but in the end, it comes down to player preference.

Edit: Added blurb about choice between abilities/moves

 

[A floor Mat]

Hold up my boy aVocado has a thread for Heat mons! I gotta share some heat!


Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 132 HP / 72 Atk / 252 Def / 52 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Seed Bomb
- Pain Split

Seed Bomb Garbodor is such a great set, I have noticed many players on ladder like to lead with Seismitoad and click rocks so I decided to bring back Garbodors SM defensive set with a cool EV spread. With 72 Atk Garbodor has 83% chance to 2HKO Seismi after leftovers. This is great for either hitting toad hard turn 1 or punishing a switch in from it or Gastrodon. 52 Spe Evs allow Garbodor to outspeed defensive seismitoad and shoot out the seeds (where does Garbodor get all these seeds?). The rest is dumped into HP and Defense so the trash heap mon can take more hits. Pain Split is used to give Garbodor a (kind of) recovery move. Rocky Helmet is used to punish U-turn spam and chip common physical attackers such as Darm and Mienshao.

I think Garbodor is a cool mon and Spikes being so good rn is a good reason to give Trash Lord a shot. I wanna know if u guys like trash as much as I do XD.

A few calcs
72 Atk Garbodor Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Seismitoad: 208-248 (50.2 - 59.9%) -- 83.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
72 Atk Garbodor Seed Bomb vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Seismitoad: 304-360 (86.6 - 102.5%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
72 Atk Garbodor Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 220-260 (51.6 - 61%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
72 Atk Garbodor Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 204+ Def Togekiss: 206-246 (55.2 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[carbonlifeform]

A couple of "Heat" sets that I've been having fun with for a bit and that synergize well together:

Flygon @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw / Stone Edge

Bulky DD Flygon is a something I started running in NU when the tier was in the grips of the Bewear/Pangoro/Mienshao trio. The value of defensive Flygon is now well known, and this set takes the surprising bulk, amplifies it a bit, and uses it to create setup opportunities.

All you really need to know calc-wise is this:
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Flygon: 298-351 (99 - 116.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
vs
252 Atk Life Orb Mienshao Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 220-261 (60.4 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

But here are some more, anyway:

Moar Defensive Calcs

252 Atk Zarude Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 165-195 (45.3 - 53.5%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Guts Obstagoon Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 237-279 (65.1 - 76.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 119-141 (32.6 - 38.7%) -- 6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Cobalion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 271-319 (74.4 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Crobat Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 105-124 (28.8 - 34%) -- 99.4% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Golisopod First Impression vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 139-165 (38.1 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 220-261 (60.4 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
248+ Atk Dhelmise Poltergeist (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Flygon: 177-208 (48.6 - 57.1%) -- 44.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

So, with reliable recovery, Bulky Flygon can act as a semi-sponge to buy time against some of the tiers strongest attackers and often times find room to boost up to dish out some reasonable damage of its own because STAB EQ is STAB EQ. Even without investment, it chunks stuff at +1, which is super easy to get to.

Speed EVs are specced to outrun Scarfed base 105s at +2 (which, again, surprisingly common). Dragon Claw is the choice if you want something to bop opposing Flygon/Noivern at +1 and that is more reliable overall. Stone Edge is an option if you'd rather be able to actually hit Togekiss or Gardevoir on the switch -- especially since Toge tends to not run Fairy STAB -- and hit more things SE overall.

My other favorite set is one I started running in Bug Mono in the pre-DLC days and which has served me well everywhere else I've tried to run it:

Golisopod @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Sucker Punch

There's not much to say except AV Pod is bulky AF, and this set is always a lucky prediction away from ruining your opponent's whole day. There's nothing better than clicking Leech Life against a Celebi who thinks their Psychic will trigger Emergency Exit. Sucker Punch gives you secondary priority.

In NU, I specced this 128 HP/252 Atk/128 SpD to take a LO Starmie Thunderbolt from full without triggering emergency exit. I haven't found a similarly notable benchmark in RU, so I'm back to 252 HP/252 Atk.

Here's a replay of both sets putting in work:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1363871548

My opponent badly mis-played turn three, but you can still appreciate how both 'mons helped me find/create openings that wouldn't have been there with standard sets.

Here's another one that mostly features Flygon:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1363867156