Project SM RU Creative and Underrated Sets

[johnqtunnel20105]

Beartic @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet

 

[HypnoEmpire]

Golem-Alola @ Choice Band
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge
- Rock Blast / Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Explosion

I honestly think Golem-A is pretty legit right now. I used it for like 50+ games on the ladder and had good results with it. It traps Registeel, Bronzong, and Escavalier, 3/4 of our bulky Steel-types (4th being Doublade, you can't trap it because it's a Ghost). You pair it up with Pokemon like Gardevoir, Espeon, Swellow, w/e gets walled by these bulky Steel-types. Not being able to trap Doublade is okay because it's really easy to wear down anyway. I prefer Rock Blast over Stone Edge to quickly remove Froslass and, if you get lucky, KO Shuckle through Sturdy. When I used Golem-A I never clicked Stone Edge so may as well get some added utility with Rock Blast. Jolly lets it outpace 0 Speed Gligar and everything below it. You 2HKO what you need to without Adamant, so may as well outspeed stuff like Milotic. Explosion is strong af even without Galvanize, doing a bit above half to stuff like Cresselia and Gligar while giving you a free switch to something.

Matchup vs Steels

252 Atk Choice Band Golem-Alola Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Registeel: 216-256 (59.3 - 70.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Seismic Toss only 4HKOes, so Golem-A can hard switch into Registeel and trap it.

252 Atk Choice Band Golem-Alola Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Bronzong: 183-216 (54.1 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Gyro Ball does even less than Seismic Toss, so this is also an easy trap unless Bronzong is running Earthquake. However, Earthquake doesn't do enough:
0 Atk Bronzong Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Golem-Alola: 208-248 (68.8 - 82.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

so Golem-A can still trap Dongzong.

252 Atk Choice Band Golem-Alola Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Escavalier: 201-237 (58.4 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

This one is shakier. Golem-A can't switch into Escavalier's attacks, as even RestTalk Escavalier without any boosts can 2HKO with Megahorn. You have a hard time trapping Choice Band Escavalier as it OHKOes Golem-A with Megahorn after Wild Charge recoil. However, if you want a better chance to trap Escavalier, you can run Stone Edge with 48 EVes taken out of Atk and put into HP. You narrowly dodge the OHKO range from Escavalier and you 2HKO it without the recoil from Wild Charge.

0+ Atk Escavalier Megahorn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golem-Alola: 147-174 (48.8 - 57.8%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Escavalier Megahorn vs. 48 HP / 0 Def Golem-Alola: 264-312 (84.3 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Really fun Pokemon that I think has some potential. Give it a try!

 

[Gatorboy]

I got two sets, that, if you've played me you will know these very well.

first we got the best anti/suicide lead, Aurorus.

Aurorus @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Blizzard
- Encore
- Freeze-Dry

Yea, its the same set as was ran in the Aveil meta (rip). Aurorus is still a great suicide lead imo. It will almost always get rocks up, has decent power in Blizzard, and can hit the water type switch ins like Milotic for decent damage, and ofc, Encore so its not set up bait, and punish mons who set up rocks. What makes this great is Snow Warning, which will break sashes and Sturdy, so it will beat all other suicide leads not named Froslass.

Next We got the replacement for Aurora Veil, Meowstic

Meowstic @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 86 Def / 174 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Safeguard
- Psychic

Meowstic is here to set up screens, and tank hits. Since it doesn't need any speed, it greatly increases its bulk. I have Safeguard in the third slot to set up without fear of scald burns, Toxic, or any secondary hax. Other moves can be used, such a yawn, to force switches to get in your mon for free, T wave, to spread status, Heal Bell is another option to be a cleric, etc. Psychic is necessary to have some offensive presense, and deals decent damage. The Ev spread is flexable, run whatever you like, this specific spread avoids the Ohko from Fera crunch, and Nidoqueens Sludge Wave does around 50-60.

 

[teachable]

O.O (Flygon) (F) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 108 Atk / 88 SpD / 64 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Hazard control is pretty bad at the moment and I really don't like using Scarf-Defog Flygon so I came up with this pretty cool set that I've been liking. Speed investment beats Timid Queen, while the Attack investment + Earth Plate is to guarantee an OHKO on it (also lets you bluff Scarf). Leftovers works as well, probably preferable on more defensive/stall builds using this where you don't gain anything from bluffing a Choice item. Defog is the main reason I'm using this, resisting Rocks + immunity to spikes + good speed/typing means its actually a somewhat reliable Defogger. HP + Spdef investment is to check Non-HP Ice Salazzle (since HP Grass is standard now) even with some chip; paired with something like Rhyperior or whatever that beats non-HP Grass Salazzle variants means Salazzle is (usually) a non-issue. You can invest a bit more into defense to handle Wood Hammer Chesnaught a bit better. I use Toxic because Flygon baits in a lot of mons like Cress/Chesnaught/Gligar, especially when you bluff a DD/Choice variant which usually means they can't scout you out without risking losing the game. U-turn works as well though, to further help bluffing scarf + for some offensive momentum.

 

[aVocado]

Archeops @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Endeavor
- Head Smash


Archeops is always gonna be a nice suicide lead imo because it can generally do at least 2 of the following and sometimes all 3 together: prevent hazards, set stealth rock, incredibly weaken a Pokemon. You can pick and choose what you want to do between preventing hazards from opposing hazard leads if they go for it, or the other two. Another nice thing about it is that it beats Xatu which is flavour of the month right now and does alright vs Espeon though it ties and in general not a favourable matchup cuz it's mostly a 50/50 of you outspeeding and killing it vs it outspeeding you and putting archeops in defeatist range while the recoil makes it kill itself (and espeon lives), and you end up without rocks.

Espeon @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Morning Sun
- Grass Knot
- Reflect

People might think this is a meme but imo fat espeon is worth looking into and is fairly underrated. It has very comparable bulk to Xatu (65/70/70 vs espeon's 65/60/95), but there are a few key differences. Xatu has U-turn, grass resist (which is nice vs Chesnaught), and Roost having double the PP of morning sun. On the other hand Espeon has speed, power, and the ability to more reliably beat Roserade and Nidoqueen, while not being /as/ reliable vs Registeel as Xatu is. Reflect is there to make it so Espeon can handle Rhyperior and Chesnaught much better cuz their STABs can hurt. Speed is for Timid Roserade. Psyshock over Psychic to deal more damage to roserade and nidoqueen. Mind Plate is an option to ensure OHKOs on queen and rose but rocky helmet lets you pester registeel and in general I found it to be pretty helpful vs some random mons/attacks. Grass Knot beats Rhyperior but you can use something else over it, like Toxic perhaps.

 

[HypnoEmpire]

Here to bring some more innovative sets, first one was inspired by Fabio. I admired how Fabio could 2HKO all of our Grounds (bar SpD Gligar) with Dragon Pulse, thus being able to Volt Switch more often after these Ground-types are removed. However, what if there was an Electric-type that threatened to OHKO Nidoqueen and Gligar with its STAB and could even switch into them? I bring to you: Rotom-Frost.

Rotom-Frost @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

I think this Pokemon is actually very solid right now because our most common Ground-types get demolished by Blizzard, so getting Volt Switch off with this Pokemon is not difficult to do at all. I like using Choice Specs because its Volt Switch is way more threatening with it, though you could run Scarf or a Z-move I guess. You outpace Timid Kommo-o and everything below that, like the other Rotoms. It has Boltbeam with Blizzard and Thunderbolt so its coverage is solid. It's also not too bad defensively despite being an Ice-type since it checks Nidoqueen well, which is pretty cool. I don't think Rotom-Frost is much worse than our other Rotoms honestly, cool mon.

For the next Pokemon, I was trying to find neat ways to make use of a Rapid Spinner since our hazard removal options are so poor right now, so I decided to unearth a relic from last gen.

Hitmonlee @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Mach Punch / Earthquake / Toxic

This probably would have been better if Shark was still around, but whatever. Hitmonlee is strong af, like you 2HKO Nidoqueen with a Fighting-type move kind of strong. It puts a lot of pressure on ghosts with its strong Knock Off, doing about 40% to Doublade and at least 2HKOing our other ghosts. It isn't too fast, but it's faster than all of our other Fighting-types, which is pretty neat. Mach Punch is priority, that's always nice to have. Earthquake is a neat tech since it gives Hitmonlee an almost guaranteed KO vs Doublade if you hit it with Knock Off first and you have a good chance to OHKO Nidoqueen with it. Toxic is nice vs Cresselia and Defog Gligar. Powerful Pokemon and it Spins in a meta lacking many hazard control options.

For the last innovative Pokemon, after trying out Hitmonlee I was in the mood to try out stuff I liked from last gen, and I found this monstrosity.

Sigilyph @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 64 HP / 228 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Psycho Shift
- Calm Mind
- Roost

Sigilyph was an amazing stallbreaker last gen and it can still stallbreak this gen. This Pokemon is so annoying to face, I'm just glad it's nonexistent right now. For real, I don't think there's much at all that can reliably wall this set. The best answer I found is Calm Mind Meloetta, which is a good answer for sure, and then there's niche stuff like Rotom-Heat. A lot of Sigilyph's other answers are niche beyond reason or can't take more than one or two Air Slashes. Sigilyph can cheese through all of its answers on stall easily, making it an excellent stallbreaker. Psycho Shift with Flame Orb makes Umbreon's Foul Play weak, Gigalith's Stone Edge weak, Doublade's Shadow Claw weak, etc., and it's especially fun to burn Honchkrow's since there isn't a whole lot they can do to you while burned and you can just spam Roost until it KOes itself. HP investment makes Registeel's Seismic Toss a 4HKO, Speed outpaces Jolly Bruxish though you could run enough for Drapion if you wish, and the rest is put into SpA so you can be as immediately threatening as possible, which is especially helpful in non-stall matchups, though I'm sure running more bulk over SpA is fine if you'd like. For instance, you can't set up on Roserade with this spread, but with 104 HP EVes it's doable. I wish I had replays with this Pokemon but I'm lazy. It's good, trust me.

 

[MrAldo]

A couple of interesting creative things I have tried.

Zygarde-10% @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Extreme Speed

Ngl, this isnt even my idea. I literally took this idea from some guy I faced on the ladder once, and it got me thinking it has potential. See, some people are geniuses on that rough environment. Choice Band Superpower let you hit Umbreon for an easy 2hko without locking yourself into Outrage, and can 2hko standard porygon2 after rocks after a drop, 2 potential thousand arrows switch-ins that it can remove on its own so thats dope. This obviously needs more support against the like of Chesnaught and Cresselia, so something like a Calm Mind Xatu makes for a great partner. Speaking of that mon...

Xatu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Grass Knot / Hidden Power Ice
- Heat Wave
- Psychic

YEAH, the Ojoni special! God bless his soul. This thing actually has really useful characteristics as a scarfer for this metagame like being able to always revenge kills salazzle, a pivoting move in u-turn, and a good matchup against opposing scarfers like Shaymin and Roserade. Another added bonus is being able to improve the odds of dealing with sticky web users such as Galvantula, and thats pretty neat on a metagame with few hazard control options and where Galvantula basically beats all of them. Ojoni's legacy lives on.

Cheers and stuff. You know the drill!

 

[KW]

Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Pain Split
- Toxic

So I think this is a really cool set which makes use of the seldom seen Cofagrigus. Physically defensive Cofagrigus carves out a niche in this meta imo thanks to its ability to check top threats like durant, bewear, and kommo-o somewhat effectively. Mummy in general is a surprisingly versatile ability to make use of, one of the many uses being to stop durant from getting the hustle boost after its first contact. HP fire makes this thing a somewhat solid durant stop as far as something which is practically nonexistant goes and lets you hit sub bewear and beat it 1v1. Shadow ball is your solid source of STAB which is fairly strong for a defensive pick. Pain Split keeps Cofag healthy/ 1v1s alot. The last slot could be willo- but i think toxic is much better allowing this thing to really hurt stuff like milo on the switchin and making it easier to 1v1 a bunch. Overall I think Cofag is somewhat underrated as a defensive pick and hp fire is really good on it... so yeah.

 

[Cloud_IX]

Noivern @ Choice Specs
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Switcheroo
- U-turn
- Draco Meteor
- Hurricane

Works as an anti-lead/Scout. 123 Base speed comes out to 379 so pretty quick!
-Specs Draco drops most 'mons that don't resist and are not specially defensive. Can scout with Frisk to check for Scarf/Sash to avoid being dead weight.
-U-turn/Switcheroo on unfavourable match-ups/anticipated switches/Hazard setters that resist Draco.
-Hurricane is for any emergency situations Noivern may find itself in and should be avoided using unless necessary.
-If opportunities to KO cannot be found, Noivern can also U-turn repeatedly while using Frisk+Switcheroo to disrupt opposing Pokemon (Eviolite/Hazard setters/Setup Sweepers). Be wary that Draco drops considerably in potency without specs.

As with many mons, Ice beam+Stealth Rocks should be avoided.

Underrated Set from XY UU era. -2 Specs Draco can still drop Cloyster :D

 

[HypnoEmpire]

Yo, I was looking for a way to use Decidueye now that Mandibuzz is here and I found a fire set.

Decidueye @ Normalium Z
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Spirit Shackle
- Giga Impact

Z-Giga Impact isn't as strong as Z-Leaf Blade, but it still has a chance to OHKO Umbreon at +2 and it OHKOes Mandibuzz after Stealth Rock. You lose Substitute, which definitely sucks against Milotic because it can Scald burn you, though another target for Substitute, Registeel, has been falling out of favor recently. It's also weaker against Mega Steelix without the neutral STAB Z-move, though +2 Leaf Blade into +2 Overgrow Leaf Blade does a huge chunk (Heavy Slam doesn't OHKO Decidueye unless it has a lot of Attack investment, so it's likely to take it down to Overgrow range). This set is a cool lure to combat the introduction of Mandibuzz, which otherwise hard counters. I'm finding it a lot harder to justify using the standard Decidueye set right now when Mandibuzz exists, to the point where I'd much sooner choose a set like this. Give it a try!

calcs

+2 252 Atk Decidueye Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Mandibuzz: 364-429 (86 - 101.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Decidueye Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Umbreon: 349-411 (88.5 - 104.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Decidueye Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Steelix-Mega: 123-145 (34.7 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 Atk Overgrow Decidueye Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Steelix-Mega: 183-216 (51.6 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 Atk Steelix-Mega Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Decidueye: 198-234 (66.6 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO