SV LC Spotlight: Nymble

By HanPyol. Released: 2023/05/09.

Introduction

Welcome to the first spotlight of Generation 9 Little Cup! The Paldea region has introduced us to a multitude of new Pokémon to use in the tier. One of the premier debutants is Nymble, the Grasshopper Pokémon! While its true rank in the tier is still up for debate and it lacks set diversity, there is no doubt that this little insect can decimate teams that are not sufficiently prepared for it. Boasting a respectable 15 Attack with investment, priority in the form of First Impression, and a great ability in Tinted Lens, Nymble is ready make its mark in SV LC!

Set

Nymble @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Level: 5
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 228 Atk / 36 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
- Leech Life

This is Nymble's bread and butter set that allows it to tear holes into the opposing team. First Impression allows Nymble to bypass its mediocre Speed stat and almost always get the jump on opposing Pokemon during its first turn, forcing faster foes such as Toedscool to switch out. Nymble's ability, Tinted Lens, further amplifies its offensive prowess by helping it deal respectable damage to opposing Pokémon that resist Bug-type moves and hope to switch in for free, such as Crabrawler. Sucker Punch is another priority move that does not have the drawback that First Impression does and it allows it to KO Pokémon hoping to revenge kill it. U-turn is a great move to maintain tempo and apply pressure on the opposing team whenever they switch in a passive answer such as Mareanie. With Life Orb being the item of choice, Leech Life is the perfect move to help keep Nymble healthy so that it can continue wreaking havoc. Tera Bug takes Nymble's offensive power to another level, limiting the number of times checks such as Drifloon can switch in on First Impression. After Tera, Nymble becomes an even more fearsome wallbreaker and is able to 2HKO Mareanie, a common answer to the bug.

Partners

Life Orb Diglett is a great partner for Nymble, coming in after a U-turn and handling common switch-ins like Mareanie and Glimmet without forcing Nymble to use its Tera to power through these targets. Diglett is a great answer to Larvesta as well, trapping defensive variants and scoring an OHKO with Rock Blast. Air Balloon Diglett is an option to trap opposing Diglett hoping to revenge kill Nymble.

Toedscool and Quaxly are very welcome on any team with Nymble on it due to its weakness to Stealth Rock. Nymble's playstyle requires it to switch in and out in order to fully take advantage of First Impression, so having Pokémon that remove hazards are crucial to its success. Toedscool and Quaxly, being the two premier users of Rapid Spin in the tier, are fantastic partners. Nymble is also susceptible to being trapped by Diglett, which these two Pokémon can check.

Voltorb can form a potent VoltTurn core with Nymble due to both of their ability to force switches. Voltorb is able to take advantage of common Nymble switch-ins such as Mareanie and Drifloon.

Hazards are greatly appreciated on any team with Nymble because of it being able to force switches. Having Stealth Rock on the field puts pressure on Pokémon like Drifloon and Larvesta, hampering their ability to effectively check Nymble. Pawniard and Glimmet are some of the best setters of Stealth Rock in the tier, with Glimmet in particular being able to take advantage of Drifloon and Larvesta.

Counterplay

While Nymble may seem like an intimidating force to answer to, there are several measures and Pokémon that halt its onslaught. Maintaining hazards, especially Stealth Rock, is a great way to minimize the number of times it can come into play and deal damage with First Impression. Diglett is the Pokémon that poses the biggest threat to Nymble due to its ability to trap and revenge kill the bug with Rock Blast. Mareanie, Glimmet, and Drifloon are able to switch into Nymble's First Impression, although the latter two must be wary of coming in too many times due to their lack of reliable recovery. Drifloon in particular is able to avoid huge Sucker Punch damage by opting to burn Nymble with Will-O-Wisp, as well as being relatively unaffected by Tinted Lens due to it's 4x resistance to Bug. Larvesta is also capable of burning Nymble with Will-O-Wisp or Flame Body while tanking its attacks with ease. Despite Nymble packing a punch offensively, it does struggle powering through teams on its own while being quite frail itself. Any Pokémon that is able to avoid being KOed by Nymble's first attack is likely to KO it in return due to its paper-thin defenses. Protect is a general albeit hard to justify solution to thwarting Nymble that sees limited usage on would-be targets of First Impression such as Shellder.

Finishing Thoughts

With the SV LC meta slowly taking more shape, Nymble has certainly established itself as a premier priority user in the tier, with its wallbreaking capabilities currently being hard to match. Despite its appearances, this little bug packs quite the punch and is worthy of consideration on your team!

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