RU Kidding Me? Ladder Staples To Avoid In RU

Introduction

Anyone who's been on the RU ladder can tell you that there's a very large number of Pokémon and sets that are outclassed, nonviable, gimmicky, or just bad. While subpar players and sets are commonly seen on the low ladder of other tiers, the RU ladder is notorious for consistent low quality deep into the upper ranks. While this issue may be a bit overblown, it does have root in truth— the RarelyUsed ladder is really, really gunked up with these underwhelming sets and Pokémon, so much that these Pokémon are actually in the tier. In OU, players don't see, say, Simisear in the OU section of the teambuilder. In RU, however, several very bad Pokémon see enough usage to be in RU, despite not being good at all. While there are still good players present on the RU ladder, the ladder needs some cleaning up. If you're thinking about starting out in RU, it might be a good idea to stay away from these Pokémon and sets.

Ambipom

Why It's Bad

Many novice players are quickly drawn to Ambipom due to its high base 115 speed stat and access to Technician-boosted Fake Out. Some players using Ambipom on the lowest depths of the RU ladder run a set of consisting Last Resort and Fake Out only, believing that it will give them good priority along with a STAB move with 130 Base Power. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes abundantly clear that Ambipom is merely fools gold, worth nothing in competitive play. While a powerful Fake Out seems alluring, it quickly becomes predictable, allowing the opposing player to switch into any physically bulky Pokémon, such as metagame staples Rhyperior, Diancie, Alomomola, and even ones with potent attacking power such as Aerodactyl. This is especially debilitating due to Ambipom's extremely high reliance on Fake Out to actually revenge kill threats. The flaws in using a Last Resort set are apparent: the very existence of Ghost-types and Rhyperior makes such a set unusable in a competent competitive environment. The four attacks set doesn't fare much better. Fake Out and Return are two moveslots taken up by moves that hit no Pokémon super effectively, leaving Ambipom with a mere two moveslots to cover every single Rock-, Steel-, and Ghost-type Pokémon in the entire metagame. In fact, Ambipom sometimes has even less room than that since many players choose to run U-turn, leaving one slot for real coverage. Any physically bulky Pokémon not hit super effectively and even a few that are can quickly shut it down. This problem can get so bad that Ambipom will actually deal more damage to itself with Life Orb recoil than it does to the opposing Pokémon. Finally, Ambipom's pitiful bulk and lack of resistances leave it open to just about any Pokémon that can fire off an attack against it.

What Should be Used Instead

The first answer that many seasoned RU players would give is Sneasel. Sneasel has the same amazing Speed stat as Ambipom while having an excellent dual STAB combination that allows it to reliably revenge kill a far larger pool of threats than Ambipom could ever dream of, including Virizion, Meloetta, and Flygon, have much more utility against bulkier Pokémon such as Jellicent, Slowking, and at least be much more annoying to Diancie and Alomomola— all without potentially letting in a very bulky threat for free. It also can use Pursuit to majorly support its team. Choice Scarf users like Medicham, Flygon, and Delphox are all much more adept at revenge killing a much larger pool of threats. Medicham in particular packs more power than even Life Orb Ambipom. Fletchinder can revenge kill almost any offensive Pokémon not resistant to Flying as well as deny free switches into fat Rock- and Steel-types with Will-O-Wisp. Finally, both Accelgor and Jolteon are naturally faster than Ambipom, while the former has much better coverage and the latter has pivoting abilities, better offensive typing, and more power with Choice Specs equipped. I suppose there's a reason Ambipom's on-site set is titled "DON'T USE AMBIPOM"

Cinccino

Why It's Bad

Many of the things that were said about Ambipom could also apply to Cinccino. Like Ambipom, Cinccino has a high base 115 Speed as well as the subpar Normal-type STAB. While it doesn't have a Technician-boosted Fake Out, Cinccino is often chosen by newer players due to it being able to utilize a Tail Slap, Rock Blast, and Bullet Seed that always score five hits with Skill Link. Many Cinccino run U-turn as a pivoting move, when Knock Off would make Cinccino slightly more useful. While Cinccino may seem decent, upon closer inspection, you'll notice it is even worse at damaging Steel-type Pokémon that Ambipom, which is saying something. Almost any Steel-type, like Mawile or Registeel, can completely shut Cinccino down. Like Ambipom, it has the bulk of a wet paper bag and a severe lack of resistances. Finally, since Cinccino is normally seen toting a Choice Band, it can't hope to get locked into Tail Slap if a Ghost-type or a decently fat Rock- or Steel-type exists on the opposing team, which most of the time it will. Finally, some novice players attempt to use King's Rock Cinccino in an attempt to flinch foes repeatedly, which is almost as common as the Choice Band set and about as good. However, such a set is very luck-based and can almost never pick up enough flinches to defeat any reasonably bulky Pokémon.

What Should be Used Instead

Most good substitutes for Ambipom also make good ones for Cincinno. Once again, Sneasel works very well as a direct substitution, having the same Speed tier and a wicked STAB combination that allows it to cut down many offensive Pokémon, such as Virizion, very easily. Access to Pursuit also makes it a solid trapper. Jolteon and Accelgor make good direct replacements as well, Jolteon having a better STAB, good pivoting abilities, and the ability to actually chip away at most Steel-types with Volt Switch. Accelgor has a very good coverage movepool that allows it to revenge kill and break through many of the threats that Cincinno can, with the added bonus of having higher speed and a move to target Steel-types with in Focus Blast. Many Choice Scarf users, like Flygon, Delphox, and Medicham, have much better offensive STAB moves and can outspeed and revenge kill a much larger pool of threats. Finally, Aerodactyl has a better Speed tier than Cinccino as well as much better STAB moves. Many priority users, such as Fletchinder and Hitmonlee can all pick off weakened threats effectively while still having good sweeping or wallbreaking abilities.

Typhlosion

Why It's Bad

Typhlosion is in a slightly different boat than Ambipom in Cinccino. Instead of suffering from being an awful Pokémon in RU, it's terribly outclassed by almost any other Fire-type in the tier. Many novice players choose Typhlosion because they see an opportunity to spam fast and strong Eruptions by using a Choice Specs or an even more subpar yet more common Choice Scarf set. While this may appear good on paper, it tends to miserably fail in battle. This is due to many things, but chief among them are entry hazards. Stealth Rock or even Spikes quickly cut into Typhlosion's HP and slice the power of Eruption down to a point where using Fire Blast would be more efficient. Similarly, priority moves from Pokémon such as Absol, Hitmonlee, Honchkrow, and Fletchinder can swiftly put Typhlosion into a position where it fails to deal any significant damage with Eruption, which it tends to get locked into. This makes it extraordinarily easy for almost any Pokémon to set up on Typhlosion, whether it be boosts or hazards. Typhlosion also has horribly predictable coverage, with only Focus Blast, Hidden Power Grass, and Extrasensory being used in the last two moveslots not reserved for a Fire-type STAB move. While a Choice Specs set might look like a potent wallbreaker against slower teams that lack priority, the prevalence of Alomomola and Diancie usually makes this futile, as they are both common and durable Fire-type checks. Against offensive teams, Typhlosion simply cannot switch in on any attack that actually does damage to it, as it will gimp the power of Eruption and leave Typhlosion dead weight, Finally, decently bulky Pokémon that resist Fire are present even on offensive teams, where Rhyperior and Flygon can consistently keep Typhlosion from being any real threat to the team.

What Should be Used Instead

A better Fire-type. The two Fire-types that can assume a role most similar to Typhlosion's would be Delphox and Houndoom. Delphox is both faster and stronger than Typhlosion and also has a useful secondary STAB move. It also has access to sets like Substitute + Calm Mind + Salac Berry, Life Orb, and Choice Scarf. Houndoom, on the other hand, has an excellent secondary Dark-type STAB, STAB priority in Sucker Punch, and access to a very useful boosting move in Nasty Plot. Both of these options are far superior to Typhlosion in almost every single way. If your team is in need of an offensive Choice Scarf user with wicked power, the first thing many offensive players would recommend is Medicham, which can hit much harder than Typhlosion and isn't nearly as crippled by entry hazards as Typhlosion is. Emboar also retains Fire-type STAB moves while consistently packing much more of a punch than Typhlosion. Meloetta and Exploud make very good replacements to Choice Specs Typhlosion, as they can nuke the opposing team much more reliably with their STAB moves. While slow, Mega Camerupt can wallbreak much more effectively than Typhlosion due to not relying on Eruption and having better offensive STAB moves.

Cosmic Power Sigilyph

Why It's Bad

The standard set that Cosmic Power Sigilyph runs consists Cosmic Power, Stored Power, Psycho Shift, and Roost, holding a Flame Orb. The idea is to set up numerous Cosmic Powers to increase Sigilyph's bulk and burning any physical attacker in the process with Psycho Shift. However, this set tends to flop in comparison to other, better sets because Sigilyph struggles immensely to set up meaningful boosts against anything but the most passive of teams, which will usually have a phazer to deal with it. It can easily be OHKOed before it gets the chance to set up by Jolteon, Houndoom, and Manectric. Even some slower wallbreakers can smash Cosmic Power Sigilyph with an attack, as many ladder players squander its solid Speed tier by running overly large amounts of bulk instead. It should be noted that this particular Sigilyph set cannot do any damage to Houndoom whatsoever, and it can only hope to burn other Dark-types. Finally, this set easily crumbles to one critical hit that, thanks to the long time it takes for Sigilyph to set up, will usually happen.

What Should be Used Instead

A good replacement for Cosmic Power Sigilyph is, well, Sigilyph. Sigilyph is an excellent Pokémon in RU so long as it's running the correct set. A set consisting of Calm Mind, Air Slash, Roost, and Psycho Shift holding a Flame Orb can basically do everything that the Cosmic Power set can, but better. It can still cripple most foes with burns while being much more threatening with fewer boosts up. Air Slash also possesses a neat flinch chance that can allow Sigilyph to muscle past certain foes much more easily as well as actually beat Dark-types without resorting to burns. Sigilyph's other good set, Roost with three attacking moves, is an efficient wallbreaker and is very customizable to suit your team's needs. Focus Sash Sigilyph with Hypnosis or Thunder Wave can also be used as a way to keep almost any setup sweeper in check. If your team is in need of a Psychic-type setup sweeper, Calm Mind Meloetta also makes a much better sweeper than Cosmic Power Sigilyph for many of the same reasons that Calm Mind Sigilyph is; more offensive presence before and after setting up. It's an especially good direct replacement for it, since it can set up on the same group of passive threats. If your team feels the need for a bulky, burn-spreading setup sweeper, Calm Mind Spiritomb makes a much better choice that Cosmic Power Sigilyph, as it has less exploitable weaknesses, more bulk, and a more spammable STAB move. Calm Mind Slowking can attempt to spread burns with Scald and has more bulk and Sigilyph.

Harvest Trevenant

Why It's Bad

Harvest Trevenant, usually with a set of Substitute, Will-O-Wisp, Horn Leech, and Shadow Claw holding a Sitrus Berry, is not a good Pokémon in RU. The thought behind the set is to set up Substitutes to shield Trevenant from status, in the process whittling it down to a range where it is healed by Sitrus Berry and ideally gains the Berry back due to Harvest. However, this strategy falls flat for quite a few reasons, the first of which being Trevenant's very lacking bulk. Trevenant's defenses are simply too low to pull such a set off. Any powerful wallbreaker, including Meloetta, Houndoom, and especially Exploud, can simply crush through Trevenant's meager defenses with their powerful attacks. Exploud can even hit past Substitute with Boomburst, usually knocking out Trevenant. While a Substitute ideally shields Trevenant from status, it's too painfully slow to actually get one off before it gets smacked with Toxic, not even outspeeding Alomomola. Harvest Trevenant tends to be setup bait for Houndoom, Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary, and Shed Skin Scrafty. It also has subpar offensive presence without investment, which makes it reliant on Leech Seed and Will-O-Wisp to do damage to targets. While this might be acceptable on bulkier Pokémon such as Alomomola, Trevenant's average bulk makes this hard to pull off.

What Should be Used Instead

If you are intent on using Trevenant, the only viable set in RU is an offensive one, usually with Choice Band. Such a set, consisting of Wood Hammer, Shadow Claw, Earthquake, and Rest or Horn Leech, functions as an effective spinblocker and attacker on Spikes-stacking offense. This is due to Trevenant's Water resistance and access to Natural Cure, allowing it to switch in on Scald from the likes of Blastoise and Alomomola without significant fear of a burn. However, Hoopa usually makes a better choice as an offensive spinblocker, as it can still pressure Blastoise while being an overall better wallbreaker. If you're looking for something to perform Trevenant's defensive role, Gourgeist is essentially a better defensive Trevenant. Unlike Trevenant, it has very solid Defense as well as reliable recovery in Synthesis, allowing it to take on a large number of physical attackers, such as Medicham and Virizion, much more easily than Trevenant can. However, more common defensive Grass-types, such as Tangrowth, usually make even better choices unless you are in dire need of an extremely tough Fighting-type stop. Other burn-spreading Ghost-types, like Jellicent, Cofagrigus, and Spiritomb, all make sturdier and more effective bulky Ghost-types. Rotom, while not very bulky, can easily spread burns and easily take advantage of them with Substitute and Hex.

Conclusion

So, hopefully, I've made it clear what not to use in RU. While I doubt this article is single-handedly going to make you an excellent RU player (I'm sure some folks on the RU forums would be willing to help you with that), it should help you to not make any stereotype newbie mistakes.

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