Other Metagames [BH] Golisopod Gets By - Peaked #1 on suspect ladder with 84.4% GXE

[cityscapes]

Proof of Peak

Introduction​

Something I've noticed during my time on Showdown is that it's fun to succeed with Pokémon you like. Everyone knows this-- new players tend to gravitate towards the prized Pokémon that carried them through a game's story line.

On the other hand, think about the Pokémon that you started to like after a playthrough. Did you choose them based on their design alone? Maybe that happened in a few cases. However, sometimes we just add a Pokémon onto our teams because "it looks like a good fit" not knowing that in future playthroughs, we'd go out of our way to catch it.

If we like a Pokémon, then we use it. But the inverse can also be true: if the Pokémon becomes an amazing team player, then we have little choice but to like it. That's why Golisopod, a Pokémon that I added almost completely arbitrarily, is one of my favorite Pokémon today.

Teambuilding Process​

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Every BH team has to have a concept, and this one revolved around Choice Specs Xurkitree. Galvanize Boomburst can OHKO even defensive Pokémon like Registeel. This strong wallbreaker looked really fun to use, so I added it.

Xurkitree can't sweep offense teams; in fact, it loses to them pretty quickly. Scarf Kyurem-Black helps this by beating Dazzling users who expect the Extreme Speed set. At first I used Refrigerate with Frustration, but then I switched to Skill Link because the only redeeming quality Refrigerate had was Scarf Fake Out which is b a d.

Registeel provided me with a good defensive pivot that could set rocks. I chose a specially defensive spread to help Registeel switch into -ate Boomburst which is still a prominent threat.

The original reason I added a Golisopod was to deal with opposing Imposters. It was the best Bug/Water-type available with Araquanid having lost its niche, and with Volt Absorb, it walled everything Xurkitree and Kyurem-Black had.

I was getting really annoyed by all of the Shell Smash spam around, and my team pretty much lost to CB Desolate Land Primal Groudon, so I decided that it was time to add a spicy I N N H A R D S O U T user. Drifblim was my pick because Sturdy Shedinja, despite having declining popularity, threatened my team immensely.

I tried to use a bunch of other defensive pivots in the last slot but I always lost to something. Prankster Haze users couldn't switch in on anything besides Shell Smash, slow bulky Spectral Thief users lost to Regigigas, etc. The Blob was the only thing I could really use to beat users of Shell Smash, Contrary, and any other kind of setup.

The Team​

Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 64 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Earth Power
- Sunsteel Strike
- Ice Beam
​

This set OHKOs pretty much everything neutral to Boomburst that doesn't have an Assault Vest.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Galvanize Xurkitree Boomburst vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Audino-Mega: 342-403 (83.4 - 98.2%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Of course, Boomburst can't handle everything; in fact, the other moves are used surprisingly often. Ice Beam 2HKOs most Giratina and hits Ground-types like Zygarde-Complete, while Earth Power is used to OHKO offensive Primal Groudon on the switch and beat other targets neutral to Ice Beam like Mega Steelix. Sunsteel Strike hits Shedinja and does nothing else.

The Speed investment is for uninvested Base 90s like defensive Primal Kyogre, while 4 Defense causes Red Orb Groudon, the only viable Download user, to get a Special Attack boost. Everything else is put into HP to allow Xurkitree to hopefully take a hit or two against offense teams.

Some people suggested that I use a Shell Smash set, but not only would it be much harder to imposter-proof, it would lose out on immediate power. This is important because there's a big difference between "Let me switch in my Unaware Giratina and not care about anything this thing does" and "I hope my Unaware Giratina doesn't get 2HKO'ed on the switch".

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 24 HP / 232 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- Bolt Strike
- Knock Off
​

Kyurem is the only Pokémon I have with which I can semi-reliably take on offense. Icicle Spear, while by no means powerful, is enough to OHKO threatening opponents like Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar. Bone Rush threatens Steel-types somewhat, but its main purpose is this:

232 Atk Kyurem-Black Bone Rush (1 hit) vs. 252 HP / 0- Def Chansey: 597-703 (84.8 - 99.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Bolt Strike OHKOs offensive Kyogre, but that might not be a thing anymore if Water Bubble is banned. Knock Off is less for damage than it is for knocking off Assault Vests on the switch for Xurkitree.

232 Attack ensures that max HP Chansey is never OHKO'd by a single Bone Rush; the rest of the investment is in Speed and HP.

Registeel @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Dragon Tail
- Heal Order
​

A Registeel without U-Turn might be an uncommon sight in BH, but it works well in a world where there's sweepers that nothing on your team can handle if they get set up. Dragon Tail does its best to prevent opponents from setting up on Registeel, and it pairs well with Stealth Rock. Defog is used on Registeel because it doesn't require you to switch out if the opponent switches to a Magic Bounce user (or worse, an Imposter, which could potentially shuffle through the team otherwise).

Safety Goggles, although somewhat redundant with Magic Bounce, are important because Registeel absolutely needs to get rocks up against teams that use suicide leads like Turboblaze Deoxys-Speed.

FREE FROM BLACKLIST (Golisopod) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- U-turn
- Liquidation
​

Golisopod isn't the core of the team or anything; its role is to hold the team together.

By virtue of typing, it's resistant to all of Xurkitree and Kyurem-Black's attacks, and having Leftovers knocked off is bad but w/e. Another user suggested that I use Volt Switch and Anchor Shot over U-Turn and Liquidation to trap imposters, but Liquidation is necessary for what would otherwise be a huge threat: Assist Groudon teams, for which Golisopod is the only hope I have of beating them. My team isn't very threatened by Imposter anyway, with Chansey providing a backup Xurkitree check even if Golisopod is KO'd.

Besides imposter-proofing my team, Golisopod is also a respectable wall-- 75/140/90 is surprisingly good bulk. It can take hits such as:

252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Golisopod: 132-156 (37.2 - 44%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

U-Turn does decent damage even without any investment:

0 Atk Golisopod U-turn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mewtwo-Mega-Y: 246-290 (69.6 - 82.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Drifblim @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Innards Out
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Mild Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- U-turn
- Metal Burst
- Moongeist Beam
- Recover
​

Drifblim is a good Innards Out user because the only multi-hit move it resists is Bullet Seed, carrying either a weakness or an immunity to the others. This means that multi-hit moves will usually either fail completely or outright KO it, allowing Innards Out to deal tons of damage.

Safety Goggles is the item because Y'ALL TRYIN' TO SLEEP MY INNARDS OUT USER. If an offensive mon tries to Spore you, the amount of damage you can do back is actually hilarious:

252+ SpA Drifblim Moongeist Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mewtwo-Mega-Y: 240-284 (67.9 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

PHYSICALLY DEFENSIVE GIRATINA IS NOT SAFE

252+ SpA Drifblim Moongeist Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Giratina: 240-284 (47.6 - 56.3%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Final Gambit
- Recover
- Roar
​

Yeah this is just a pretty standard Imposter mon. It's this team's switchin for countless mons like Mega Diancie, Primal Groudon with V-Create, Primal Kyogre, etc so if any of these are imposter proof then SWITCH IN THE BALLOON

Conclusion​

The reason why I'm putting this team up for rate is so I can take the final step with it. I want to be confident enough in this team to use it in important battles knowing that I have a way to handle every common threat.

Importable

Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 64 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Earth Power
- Sunsteel Strike
- Ice Beam

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Skill Link
Happiness: 0
EVs: 24 HP / 232 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- Bolt Strike
- Knock Off

Registeel @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Dragon Tail
- Heal Order

FREE FROM BLACKLIST (Golisopod) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- U-turn
- Liquidation

Drifblim @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Innards Out
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Mild Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- U-turn
- Metal Burst
- Moongeist Beam
- Recover

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Final Gambit
- Recover
- Roar

No EV limit Importable

Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Galvanize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 248 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Earth Power
- Sunsteel Strike
- Ice Beam

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Skill Link
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Bone Rush
- Bolt Strike
- Knock Off

Registeel @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Dragon Tail
- Heal Order

FREE FROM BLACKLIST (Golisopod) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- U-turn
- Liquidation

Drifblim @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Innards Out
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Mild Nature
IVs: 0 Def / 0 SpD
- U-turn
- Metal Burst
- Moongeist Beam
- Recover

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Imposter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpD / 248 Spe
Impish Nature
- Fake Out
- Final Gambit
- Recover
- Roar

Replays​

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-527189998
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-526882055
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmons-526884441
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmonssuspecttest-534184892
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7balancedhackmonssuspecttest-534198317

Thanks for reading!

 

[T.I.A.]

This is a nice team, but I'm going to say replace Sunsteel Strike with Moongeist Beam on your Xurkitree. Not only it takes advantage of it's higher Special Attack, but also has better coverage and doesn't waste that much movepool. Other than that, good team.

 

[cityscapes]

This is a nice team, but I'm going to say replace Sunsteel Strike with Moongeist Beam on your Xurkitree. Not only it takes advantage of it's higher Special Attack, but also has better coverage and doesn't waste that much movepool. Other than that, good team.

The main reason I chose Sunsteel Strike is because of this spooky calc here:

252+ SpA Xurkitree Moongeist Beam vs. 252 HP / 72 SpD Golisopod: 150-177 (42.3 - 50%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

This means that I'd have to play very conservatively with my Xurkitree and be forced to constantly keep hazards off the field. Besides, Giratina is the only Pokémon that I'd hit harder than I would with the other moves (although being locked into Sunsteel Strike can be dangerous at times).

 

[RNGIsFatal]

Good team, but the first replay looks like pure luck with Ice Beam freeze. (Galvanize -> Serene Grace)
That guy had counter for Xurkitree and was chipping your team down. Why did yah tell him to bring a counter? Maybe you meant Comatose Giratina that never freezes?
Wouldn't really say the first replay is a good example but
Anyways,

Probably the only downfall of your team will be if you fail to eliminate offensive Pdon with Driftlim or get tons of low dmg roll on Kyurem-B's Icicle Spear and fail to KO MMY.

 

[cityscapes]

Good team, but the first replay looks like pure luck with Ice Beam freeze. (Galvanize -> Serene Grace)
That guy had counter for Xurkitree and was chipping your team down. Why did yah tell him to bring a counter? Maybe you meant Comatose Giratina that never freezes?
Wouldn't really say the first replay is a good example but
Anyways,

Probably the only downfall of your team will be if you fail to eliminate offensive Pdon with Driftlim or get tons of low dmg roll on Kyurem-B's Icicle Spear and fail to KO MMY.

Yeah the first replay was kind of dumb. The funny thing was that I'm pretty sure I faced the same guy later. This time, he did bring a counter (AV regen Mega Swampert) but I froze it with Ice Beam :/ I felt kind of bad for him.

I can sort of handle MMY with Registeel (especially with access to mixed bulk after removal of the EV limit), and Primal Groudon is forced into a 50/50 between V-Create and Thousand Arrows vs. Chansey and Golisopod but yeah the matchup starts to look a lot less certain if I make a misplay.

(Side note: if you want to ct this team, just bring your own Volt Absorb Golisopod. I can't touch it lol)

Anyway, the removal of the EV limit means that Kyurem-B can't OHKO stuff like MMY/Mega Gengar anymore, so you'll need to switch the new and improved Registeel into those mons. (A maximum EV version of the team has been added to the OP.)

Thanks for the feedback!