StupidFlandrs48
World’s sweatiest casual
[OVERVIEW]
Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-types. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as a check to Electric-types and Gengar that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch out. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB move that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense, since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. In addition, Ice Beam's chance to freeze foes gives Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counters such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber, since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.
Team Options
========
Zapdos is a great teammate, since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect. Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of a mixed coverage option such as Thunder or Fire Blast. Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and Tyranitar is serviceable here as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and 3HKOes Skarmory; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake to make it more threatening when paired with paralysis support, but this once again lacks the consistency provided by Sleep Talk. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how difficult it is to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Piloswine struggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.
**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against them.
**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Machamp takes considerable damage from Earthquake, but it outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage in return with Cross Chop.
**Forretress and Skarmory**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily tanking its hits and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to do whatever it wants in front of Piloswine unless it lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy.
**Fire / Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts.
**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.
**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any one-on-one in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO Snorlax with a critical hit, preventing it from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or Rest, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break its Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse boosts, and even an unboosted Double-Edge can 3HKO it.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jorgen.53302/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/conflict.37399/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Piloswine is an oddity among oddities in OU, possessing a one-of-a-kind list of attributes that are mixed together from more common Ground-types. It most prominently borrows from Steelix and Nidoking, combining the former's Ice neutrality and the latter's ability to threaten Zapdos and Exeggutor while packing a stronger Earthquake than both. However, Piloswine's inability to check Snorlax and threaten Explosion like Steelix or pressure Cloyster and inflict sleep like Nidoking means it also lacks many of the selling points that form the bedrock of their respective places in the tier. Piloswine is also similar to Raikou as a check to Electric-types and Gengar that threatens Zapdos, and Piloswine has the added benefit of beating opposing Raikou; however, this benefit comes with an asterisk due to Piloswine's Hidden Power Water weakness, making it less consistent as a dedicated Electric-type check. Piloswine is capable of solving problems for certain teams by compressing a check to Electric-types, some Ground-types, and Gengar into one team slot, but its defensive flaws and mediocre stats are glaring enough to ensure that its niche remains very small and somewhat at the mercy of metagame trends.
[SET]
name: RestTalk
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Ice Beam
move 3: Sleep Talk
move 4: Rest
item: Leftovers
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Piloswine's great STAB combination, decent bulk, and unique defensive typing make it a good candidate for a RestTalk set. Earthquake gives Piloswine a potent STAB move for its respectable Attack stat, threatening tier staples like Raikou, Tyranitar, Nidoking, and Gengar. Earthquake also does enough damage to prevent Snorlax from safely switching into Piloswine, although Piloswine cannot reliably switch into a Snorlax and force it to switch out. Ice Beam is a great secondary STAB move that lets Piloswine efficiently play offense while on defense, since it can threaten major damage against Zapdos after switching into Thunder without being forced to KO itself; the move also 2HKOes other crucial threats like Exeggutor, Golem, Rhydon, and Marowak. In addition, Ice Beam's chance to freeze foes gives Piloswine a means to threaten otherwise sturdy counters such as Skarmory, Umbreon, Miltank, Blissey, and most Water-types. It's worth noting that Piloswine is a poor dedicated sleep absorber, since it can't reliably switch into Jynx, Exeggutor, or Lovely Kiss Snorlax, so don't solely rely on it for that purpose.
Team Options
========
Zapdos is a great teammate, since it can punish Skarmory, Forretress, and Water-type switch-ins that take advantage of Piloswine, and it enjoys Piloswine acting as a sturdy check to Gengar and Nidoking. Piloswine's ability to absorb sleep from those two is especially useful, making it easier for Zapdos to drop Sleep Talk and fit a different move in its place like Reflect. Any variant of Snorlax with Sleep Talk is a great asset to Piloswine teams, providing a sturdy backup sleep absorber and checking Hidden Power Water Electric-types with aplomb. Since Piloswine can help deal with Gengar and Rock-types, a mono-attacking Snorlax set with Curse is entirely feasible, as is the use of a mixed coverage option such as Thunder or Fire Blast. Piloswine doesn't pack a Normal resistance unlike Golem, Rhydon, and Steelix, so a teammate that can switch into Snorlax is crucial; Skarmory and Misdreavus are a great pairing that can combine to wall every possible Snorlax set, and Tyranitar is serviceable here as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Blizzard is an alternative Ice-type STAB option that notably 2HKOes Zapdos and 3HKOes Skarmory; however, its low PP is a major issue in longer games even with help from Sleep Talk, and this combined with low accuracy makes it inconsistent. Toxic is a feasible option to give Piloswine a method of punishing Cloyster switch-ins, but this would force Piloswine to drop Sleep Talk, making it significantly easier to play around in other ways. Curse can power up Piloswine's Earthquake to make it more threatening when paired with paralysis support, but this once again lacks the consistency provided by Sleep Talk. In general, most deviations from Piloswine's standard set are hard to justify due to how difficult it is to drop Sleep Talk, which is made worse by the fact that both of OU's viable Heal Bell users stack a Fighting-type weakness with Piloswine.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Piloswine struggles to deal with every Water-type in the metagame, including Cloyster, Starmie, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Cloyster and Vaporeon can also take advantage of Piloswine to generate offensive pressure with Spikes and Growth, respectively.
**Umbreon and Miltank**: Umbreon and Miltank are two prominent mixed walls that Piloswine struggles to get past. They both take negligible damage from Piloswine's attacks and can weaken it further with Charm and Growl, respectively. However, nothing outside of a Mean Look stall tactic on Umbreon's part can punish Piloswine for playing for a freeze against them.
**Fighting-types**: Heracross resists Earthquake, takes paltry damage from Ice Beam, and threatens heavy damage in return with Megahorn. Machamp takes considerable damage from Earthquake, but it outspeeds Piloswine and threatens major damage in return with Cross Chop.
**Forretress and Skarmory**: Forretress welcomes the sight of Piloswine on the field, easily tanking its hits and exploiting its presence to set up Spikes or threaten Rapid Spin. Skarmory is similarly good as a check despite its lack of an Ice resistance, being immune to Earthquake and able to do whatever it wants in front of Piloswine unless it lands a freeze or gets lucky with Blizzard accuracy.
**Fire / Flying-types**: Moltres and Charizard are immune to Earthquake, lack a weakness to Ice Beam, and threaten to incinerate Piloswine with their terrifying STAB Fire Blasts.
**Hidden Power Water**: Piloswine's ability to check Zapdos and Raikou is greatly hindered by their tendency to use Hidden Power Water on many teams instead of Hidden Power Ice. While neither of them can 2HKO a healthy Piloswine with the move even after a round of Spikes damage, it doesn't take much further chip damage for Piloswine to become unable to switch in safely.
**Snorlax**: Snorlax is mentioned primarily for its ability to gain the upper hand in just about any one-on-one in the game. However, Piloswine's Earthquake guarantees a 4HKO on the switch after Spikes and can 3HKO Snorlax with a critical hit, preventing it from switching in comfortably. That said, if it manages to switch into Ice Beam or Rest, Snorlax can dare Piloswine to exhaust Earthquake PP trying to get the critical hit needed to break its Rest loop. Moreover, Piloswine cannot prevent Snorlax from setting up Curse boosts, and even an unboosted Double-Edge can 3HKO it.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stupidflandrs48.633500/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jorgen.53302/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/conflict.37399/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Last edited: