Project Pokemon Matchmaking (Closed, Check Post #267)

[DarkNostalgia]

Creator of Chaos, Mentalist Swag, and Sablenite wins this erm... fortnight! I apologize for completely neglecting the project because it frankly just slipped my mind completely :(

Week 11 - Quiver Dance Volcarona

Volcarona @ Passho Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz

Discuss!​

 

[Random Passerby]

Quoting myself from the OU Cores thread:

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance

Explanation

Terrakion and Volcarona share a lot of offensive synergy. Besides providing Stealth Rock, Terrakion helps out Volcarona by taking out it's #1 enemy Heatran as well as scaring out Flying and Fire types which take very little damage from Volcarona (such as Tornadus-T, Gyarados, Charizard and Mega Pidgeot). Furthermore, Terrakion can set-up on Chansey and deal huge damage to Mega Altaria (even the DDD set dies to +2 LO Stone Edge after Rocks). In return, Volcarona can set-up on Slowbro, Quagsire, Mega Sableye, Mew, Tangrowth and other bulky Pokemon which wall Terrakion. It also acts as a one-time Water-type (read: Starmie, Keldeo, Rotom-W) lure with Passho Berry and can Quiver Dance and Giga Drain to regain a lot of health back. Bug Buzz also allows it to defeat Lati@s, which troubles Terrakion while it's Fire / Bug typing allows it to check Scizor, Chesnaught and Breloom for Terrakion.

 

[Fire-breather Richard]

Mega Manectric.

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power Ice

Mega Manectric helps to check Tornadus-T, Mega Charizard-Y, Talonflame and Water-types which trouble Volcarona by threatening them with a Super Effective Thunderbolt. It can also help to weaken Gliscor and Garchomp which can be annoying for Volcarona to take down. In return, Volcarona can take on Grass-types (such as Mega Sceptile, Celebi and Ferrothorn), Clefable, Reuniculus, Mega Sableye and defeat Lati@s which is often used to check Mega Manectric.

EDIT: I accidentally clicked "Post" while in the middle of typing and was in the middle of editing it when you quoted me, DarkNostalgia

EDIT 2: I feel that if you are using this, you can change Volcarona's Item to Life Orb and replace Giga Drain with Hidden Power Ice or Hidden Power Ground (as Mega Manectric already deals with Water-types). This allows it to either lure Specially Defensive Gliscor for Mega Manectric and helps to hit Mega Altaria (OHKO offensive variants at +1 after Rocks!) OR remove Heatran which both Volcarona and Mega Manectric dislike.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

Mega Manectric.

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power Ice

Do you mind adding in an explanation as to why Manectric works with Volcarona? Of course I know lol but this is a resource for newer players as well who may not know about the synergy they share.

e: no worries lol

 

[Albacore]

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Calm Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play / Toxic / Metal Burst

Mega Sableye's ability to bounce back entry hazards reliably and beat most setters obviously makes it a nice partner for the most hazard-weak Pokemon in the tier, but that's not all there is to it. Volcarona provides good support for Sableye by dealing with its main weakness, Fairy-types, and thanks to Passho Berry can "lure" Azumarill. Sableye can also remove Leftovers off Heatran making it a lot easier to wear down for Volcarona. The core is obviously super weak to Talonflame and the Zards, so so it needs support from a couple of bulky Ground and Waters like Slowbro or Hippowdon.

 

[bludz]

Tyrantrum @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake

So everybody knows about Volcarona + Mega Diancie but the fact is that Volcarona actually just loves rock types, since they take care of the flying and fire types that can wall it. Tyrantrum abuses Talonflame (can even switch in on SpDef variants thanks to its Lum Berry) for safe switches and fires off a Head Smash. It also puts in work against Heatran, Tornadus-T, Dragonite, Gyarados, and Chansey all of which are quite difficult for Volcarona to muscle past. In return Volcarona threatens Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, Jirachi, Skarmory, Chesnaught and can weaken mons like Hippowdon or Keldeo for a Tyrantrum sweep. While Azumarill is threatening to this duo with its STABs, Tyrantrum outspeeds and Head Smash does a serious amount of damage which puts Azumarill in easy range of Volcarona which can take 1 Aqua Jet as well thanks to its Passho Berry. Mega Altaria also takes a ton from Head Smash and most variants (see: Adamant) are outsped by Tyrantrum.

Anyway the duo still loses to some overwhelming offensive presence like Rain or Sand sweepers and Mega Diancie but otherwise they complement each other very well. By having two setup sweepers the opponent has to play pretty carefully not to get swept by one or the other since they do a good job of forcing out each others checks and counters to wear them down (especially Volcarona's, most of which are weak to Stealth Rocks) until they are weak enough to be overpowered.

 

[p2]

Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 21 HP
- Earthquake
- Reversal
- Stone Edge / Sucker Punch
- Memento

Volcarona hates Heatran as it is immune to Fire Blast and 4x resists Giga Drain and Bug Buzz. Dugtrio helps this problem as it can easily trap and OHKO Heatran and can weaken other offensive Volcarona checks such as Charizard X and Mega Diancie, with EQ and it can also weaken other Pokemon with Memento so Volcarona can have an easier time Quiver Dancing

 

[Jaroda]

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head

Volcarona's offenses still give it problems with defensive Fire types and certain Poison types (Tentacruel, Dragalge, etc). Excadrill's role is three-fold. It spins hazards away, which is crucial with Volc's 4x SR weakness, and Spikes and Toxic Spikes are bad news for it two. With Ground/Rock/Steel coverage and a scarf it handles basically every Fire type in Volcarona's way like Char-Y and Heatran, and STAB EQ great for Poison types. Defensively it also laughs at Rock attacks with a 4x resistance, and resists Flying too. This lets it lure and check things like Talonflame and Tornadus-T, and surprise them with a fast Rock Slide. Problems for the core would be physical Water attackers like Azumaril and Rain teams in general, although if Volc can get a boost it can still put up a fight with Giga Drain when so many Rain stars are 4x weak to it.

 

[micahclay]

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-Turn
- Knock Off

The things that I think about when I think about Volcarona counters/checks are: Heatran, Char X + Y, Talonflame, Mega Altaria, and Chansey. Scarf Landorus provides intimidate support against Char X and physical Mega Altaria, as well as OHKOing (Char X + Heatran with earthquake, Char Y + Talonflame with stone edge), 2HKOing (Mega Altaria with EQ), or crippling (Chansey with Knock Off). It also forces a lot of switches, so it can then U-Turn out and provide lots of momentum or a free set up for Volcarona.

Edit: I'm on mobile so I'm not sure where to get the picture.

 

[Fredrick1]

Garchomp!!!

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 76 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Swords Dance

Standard Tank Chomp + SD. Simply putting it, it lay rocks to Assist Volcarona's sweep, deals with Heatran and helps with Talonflame too. SD allows it to break some vital walls such as Chansey for its sweep and whittle down teams for Volc w/Dragon Tail. Shuffling teams with Dragon Tail means alot since it could bring down mons such as Gliscor, Torn-T or even Clefable with Earthquake to a good HP range for Volc to murder teams by spamming Fire Blast. Not the most perfect Core, but it beleive it's a really good partner for Volcarona.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

Random Passerby, Albacore, and Fire-breather Richard wins this week!

Week 12 - Mixed Wallbreaker Kyurem-B

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Mild Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost​

Discuss!​

 

[Albacore]

Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Kyu-B and Talonflame have great synergy by virtue of dealing with each other's counters. Kyurem-B has trouble dealing with Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Clefable, all of which Talonflame effortlessly beats. In return, Kyu-B destroys Electric-, Ground- and Water-types which Talonflame struggles against. Obviously needs support from a hazard remover as well as a Sand Rush Excadrill check.

 

[Random Passerby]

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off

quoting firehusky , this set has trouble getting past Rotom-W, Heatran, and Zapdos, all of which can be defeated easily by Kyurem-B. Kyurem-B also beats bulky Garchomp and can lure Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire (yes, I know the listed set doesn't have it but DarkNostalgia , we are allowed to modify the sets a bit, right?), both enemies which can be very annoying for Mega Scizor to face. In return, Mega Scizor can beat up Fairy-types while also checking Mega Metagross. It can also take on Bisharp, Lati@s and Terrakion. Be wary of Keldeo if you're going with this core though.

EDIT: Ferrothorn is annoying for Mega Scizor to face because of Leech Seed+ Rocky Helmet+ Thunder Wave + Iron Barbs. Therefore, HP Fire Kyurem-B can be used to solve the problem with minimum fuss while also getting rid of opposing Mega Scizor.

 

[p2]

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Rapid Spin

HP Fire Starmie can take on KyuBs checks such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, while providing hazard removal for KyuB, while KyuB handles grass type checks like Serperior and Celebi and bulky waters like Slowbro.

 

[Dr Ciel]

Excadrill is mine, all mine.

Here is the mole.

Excadrill @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Sand Rush Excadrill is a pretty amazing partner to LO Kyurem-B, providing much needed Rapid Spin support, while making for an excellent cleaner on Sand Offense teams. Kyurem-B is weak to common attacking types, Dragon, Fairy, sometimes Rock, and Steel. While not being able to directly switch into these attacks due to no bulk investment, Excadrill can easily eliminate the types respective Pokemon with his STAB. On the other hand, Kyureb-B can switch into Fire, Water, and most Ground types, and eliminate them with his STAB and coverage.

 

[Random Passerby]

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Rapid Spin

HP Fire Starmie can take on KyuBs checks such as Scizor and Ferrothorn, while providing hazard removal for KyuB, while KyuB handles grass type checks like Serperior and Celebi and bulky waters like Slowbro.

Why not Psyshock instead of Psychic? The main targets of Psychic such as Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss and Rotom-W gets owned by Kyurem-B. Also, Psyshock deals more damage to AV Conkeldurr and deals with Calm Mind Keldeo better.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off

quoting firehusky , this set has trouble getting past Rotom-W, Heatran, and Zapdos, all of which can be defeated easily by Kyurem-B. Kyurem-B also beats bulky Garchomp and can lure Ferrothorn with Hidden Power Fire (yes, I know the listed set doesn't have it but DarkNostalgia , we are allowed to modify the sets a bit, right?), both enemies which can be very annoying for Mega Scizor to face. In return, Mega Scizor can beat up Fairy-types while also checking Mega Metagross. It can also take on Bisharp, Lati@s and Terrakion. Be wary of Keldeo if you're going with this core though.

Yeah you're allowed to modify the set a little. Not sure why HP Fire on Kyurem-B is necessary though when Mega Scizor hard counters Ferrothorn anyway as Ferrothorn has nothing to deal damage to Mega Scizor, and Mega Scizor heals off Leech Seed damage with Roost and boosts up with Swords Dance effortlessly, then KOes with Knock Off.

 

[micahclay]

Defog Mew

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SpA
- Taunt
- Roost
- Defog
- Flamethrower

Mew gets rid of rocks (that Kyu-B hates), as well as taunting walls, potentially allowing a free switch-in to Kyu-B. The biggest reason for using this, though, is the ability to 2HKO Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, which otherwise wall Kyu-B to Neptune and back. Due to being physically defensive, they can do nothing back to it. For example:
84 Atk Mega Scizor Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mew: 112-134 (27.7 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
84 Atk Mega Scizor U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mew: 182-216 (45 - 53.4%) -- 32.8% chance to 2HKO

 

[bogoljubow]

Klefki @ Leftovers
Abilitry: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature / Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Magnet Rise / Toxic
- Play Rough / Flash Cannon

Spikes wear down grounded steel types, such as Jirachi and Ferrothron, and generally punishes defensive cores pivoting around Kyurems attacks. Klefki itself acts a pivot for dragon- and fairy-types that force Kyurem out most of the time: Thunder Wave cripples offensive checks to Kyurem so that Kyurem can fire off attacks against Latios, Gengar, Keldeo etc. On the last slot, Flash Cannon is a nice option to actually hit Mega-Diancie as well as other fairies.

 

[jpw234]

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 12 HP / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Shadow Ball

Raikou lures Ferrothorn for Kyurem-B and sets up on several other Kyu-B checks such as Mega-Scizor, Keldeo, Mega-Metagross and Talonflame. Kyurem-B also breaks down Raikou's checks and counters including Grounds like Hippo/Land-T/Gliscor and Unaware Clefable.

 

[p2]

Why not Psyshock instead of Psychic? The main targets of Psychic such as Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss and Rotom-W gets owned by Kyurem-B. Also, Psyshock deals more damage to AV Conkeldurr and deals with Calm Mind Keldeo better.

I suppose I should. The only thing Starmie really hits is AV Conk because Psychic still handles CM Keldeo pretty well, but Conk is pretty threatening for KyuB, I'll change it to Psyshock.

 

[DarkNostalgia]

Random Passerby, fleggumfl, and FalseHopes wins this week! Also congratulations to all of them for going into the Hall of Fame n_n

Week 13 - Specially Defensive Pivot Jirachi

astroboy (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Body Slam

Discuss!​

 

[p2]

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost

Charizard X doesn't like Fairies at all and that's where Jirachi comes in. Jirachi is probably the best fairy counter in the game and can beat the Fairies such as Gardevoir, Clefable, and Altaria that deter Charizard from setting up.

 

[Dr Ciel]

Reserving Slowbro.

Hax + Derp = Best combo.

Slowbro @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Slack Off
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

This particular variant of Jirachi is extremely threatened by the likes of Landorus-T, Charizard-X, and Keldeo. Slowbro has all the tools to defeat or cripple all of them. In exchange, Jirachi pivots into everything that threatens Slowbro, including Celebi, and especially Dragon types.

 

[Albacore]

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Substitute
- Calm Mind

Typing-wise, Keldeo has great synergy with Jirachi, dealing with Fire-types and especially Dark-types, which are a massive problem for Jirachi. It also fares quite well against Ground-types.
Jirachi, in return, handles Fairy-types, Grass-types and certain Flying-types which are pretty trheatening for Keldeo. It also doea a good job of chekcing Electric-types, which are also annoying for Keldeo. It can also lure bulky waters like Slowbro via its SubToxic set. It'salso ablme tocan open up possibilities for a Fighting/Psychic/Dark core.