OP stolen from OU and UU
Approved by MrAldo
Banner by Kableye
RU Next Best Thing is here for Sword and Shield! This project tasks the most creative of participants with finding underexplored sets for familiar Pokemon, in order to let them function in a new and useful manner. This project is meant to encourage exploration of a Pokemon in the RU Metagame. With this in mind, not every set will become a metagame staple, and that's ok! We're here to discover what each Pokemon can do, so no matter the purpose of the set you make, your contribution is valuable. We're doing this both for research and for fun, so don't be afraid to give it a shot!
So, how's this going to work?
Each week, a Pokemon with the potential to have many options for sets will be selected. Participants must try to create a new set for it that is not already considered one of its main sets (either already in the Smogon Strategy Pokedex or in the process of being added).
On my signal, a vote will be held in order to choose which set is the most creative and viable in the current Gen 8 RU metagame. Once the votes are tallied and a winner is selected, the set will be listed in the Hall Of Fame below this post and the process will start over with another Pokemon.
VERY IMPORTANT RULES
Approved by MrAldo
Banner by Kableye
RU Next Best Thing is here for Sword and Shield! This project tasks the most creative of participants with finding underexplored sets for familiar Pokemon, in order to let them function in a new and useful manner. This project is meant to encourage exploration of a Pokemon in the RU Metagame. With this in mind, not every set will become a metagame staple, and that's ok! We're here to discover what each Pokemon can do, so no matter the purpose of the set you make, your contribution is valuable. We're doing this both for research and for fun, so don't be afraid to give it a shot!
So, how's this going to work?
Each week, a Pokemon with the potential to have many options for sets will be selected. Participants must try to create a new set for it that is not already considered one of its main sets (either already in the Smogon Strategy Pokedex or in the process of being added).
On my signal, a vote will be held in order to choose which set is the most creative and viable in the current Gen 8 RU metagame. Once the votes are tallied and a winner is selected, the set will be listed in the Hall Of Fame below this post and the process will start over with another Pokemon.
VERY IMPORTANT RULES
- - Feel free to be as creative as you want, just make sure that you can prove that your set stands apart from the standard sets, especially if yours does not appear much different from the standard ones. It is also important that you understand the difference between a creative set and a gimmicky set- this project is meant to use creativity to maximize a Pokemon's potential, not produce gimmicks. We have a Heat Mons Thread for a reason! I may disallow sets if I deem them too gimmicky, situational, or unoriginal.
- - Avoid using single move/item changes, as they do not explore untapped potential of a Pokemon, but rather augment what we already understand of a Pokemon.
- - Feel free to post replays of your set in action! This is a great way to show how your set can be game-changing in certain situations.
- - I appreciate suggestions for Pokemon to cover in the future, but please send those directly to me rather than posting them in this thread!
- - Do not change your set after voting phase has started- doing so will result in disqualification.
- - You may not vote for your own set or persuade people to vote for you- these will also result in disqualification.
- - You may reserve a set, but if you haven't properly filled it in within 2 days of your reservation it may be taken by someone else. Additionally, sets that haven't been filled out by the time voting starts will not be included in voting until they are filled out. This isn't done to be mean, it's just to make things easier for both myself and other thread participants by ensuring that there aren't any blank submissions up for voting.
- - Don't be a jerk! We're here to make innovative Pokemon sets, not trash talk each other. If I see that you've been insulting other users because you don't like their set, I reserve the right to disqualify your set at a moment's notice. Constructive criticism is allowed and actually encouraged, but don't actively go out of your way to hate on people! That's just rude.
- - Nicknaming your sets is allowed and welcomed, but please use common sense and refrain from giving your sets vulgar or excessively edgy nicknames for the sake of a cheap laugh. The NBT thread and Smogon forums on the whole are not the places for things like that.
- - You are required to have fun!
• Q: I submitted my set, but it wasn't included for voting. What happened?
A: Your set was probably disqualified for either a lack of originality or for breaking the rule on set changes during the voting phase. Please refer to rules #1, #2, and #5.
• Q: Have you done an NBT week for [Pokemon] yet?
A: Good question! In the blurb above, I have the older RU NBT threads linked with their respective Halls of Fame. While most of these Pokemon aren't even relevant in the current metagame a select few are, so I probably will not be including them again unless their role in the metagame changes drastically. Additionally, in the second post of this thread is the current RU NBT Hall of Fame. If a Pokemon is listed here, I will not be covering it again. However, if you wanted to share a creative set for a Pokemon, don't worry! The heat mons thread has been mentioned throughout this post, and it's the best place to post any off key sets that wouldn't fit in the NBT thread.
• Q: You said in the rules that gimmicky sets aren't the point of the thread, but there are gimmicky sets in the Hall of Fame. What gives?
A: For context, this rule was added explicitly to avoid having more gimmicky sets show up. If you know me, you know that I'm more than down for a good meme set, but this just isn't the place for those and I didn't want the NBT thread to be cluttered with sets like these so I've decided to be significantly more strict with them since. Now, if a set that would otherwise be considered heat actually has some practical applications, I'll usually allow it, but that's because I think it falls more under creative thinking than flat out heat sets.
This FAQ section will be updated over time. If you have any other questions that haven't already been answered here or need clarification on one of the rules, please contact me directly through either Discord or private messaging on the Smogon forums.
A: Your set was probably disqualified for either a lack of originality or for breaking the rule on set changes during the voting phase. Please refer to rules #1, #2, and #5.
• Q: Have you done an NBT week for [Pokemon] yet?
A: Good question! In the blurb above, I have the older RU NBT threads linked with their respective Halls of Fame. While most of these Pokemon aren't even relevant in the current metagame a select few are, so I probably will not be including them again unless their role in the metagame changes drastically. Additionally, in the second post of this thread is the current RU NBT Hall of Fame. If a Pokemon is listed here, I will not be covering it again. However, if you wanted to share a creative set for a Pokemon, don't worry! The heat mons thread has been mentioned throughout this post, and it's the best place to post any off key sets that wouldn't fit in the NBT thread.
• Q: You said in the rules that gimmicky sets aren't the point of the thread, but there are gimmicky sets in the Hall of Fame. What gives?
A: For context, this rule was added explicitly to avoid having more gimmicky sets show up. If you know me, you know that I'm more than down for a good meme set, but this just isn't the place for those and I didn't want the NBT thread to be cluttered with sets like these so I've decided to be significantly more strict with them since. Now, if a set that would otherwise be considered heat actually has some practical applications, I'll usually allow it, but that's because I think it falls more under creative thinking than flat out heat sets.
This FAQ section will be updated over time. If you have any other questions that haven't already been answered here or need clarification on one of the rules, please contact me directly through either Discord or private messaging on the Smogon forums.
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