Metagame PU Pokemon of the Week

[Dundies]

Approved by galbia and WhiteDMist
OP stolen from firehusky
Art by Tazonite

​

Hi there! I'm starting a Pokemon of the Week Project for ORAS PU. For those of you who do not know what Pokemon of the Week is, we have one victim Pokemon each week, and the goal of the thread is to spark discussion of that Pokemon one by one. Not only do we hope to bring some underrated sets and Pokemon out into the exposure of the PU community, but we hope to bolster discussion of well established threats at the same time. I will post every Saturday, and we eventually seek to make this a good resource for new players to refer to in order to look at how certain pokemon fair in the current metagame, and create serious discussion amongst ourselves!

What Topics Do We Talk About?​

In general, some topics that I hope will be discussed are:

1. • The Pokemon of the Week's current role in the PU metagame, and the niches that it fulfills.
   • What sets the Pokemon of the Week has that are most viable or popular in the current state of the metagame.
   • Underrated or underused sets on the Pokemon of the Week, which are still viable.
   • How the Pokemon of the Week is fares against other Pokemon in the tier.
   • What advantages and disadvantages it has compared to Pokemon of the Week with a similar niche.
   • What Pokemon are able to check, counter, threaten, or stop the Pokemon of the Week.
   • What Pokemon does the Pokemon of the Week check, counter, threaten, or stop.
   • What Pokemon make for good teammates for the Pokemon of the Week.
   • How the Pokemon of the Week should be played.
   • To what extent does the Pokemon of the Week influence the current metagame.
   • What misconceptions people often have about the Pokemon of the Week.

What Are the Goals of This Thread?​

1. • Spark deep analysis of a Pokemon to fully explain how it functions, what sets it can run, its viability in the tier, etc.
   • Generate more exposure to Pokemon or sets not commonly seen in the current metagame.
   • Develop a resource which newcomers can reference in order to gain knowledge and understanding of PU.
   • Little side note, try and keep away from one-liner posts :]
   • Please note that this is not just a thread for posting sets for the Pokemon of the week.

[Pokemon of the Week Archive]
Week 1 - Poliwrath
Week 2 - Mr. Mime
Week 3 - Articuno
Week 4 - Grumpig
Week 5 - Rapidash
Week 6 - Chatot
Week 7 - Stoutland
Week 8 - Simipour
Week 9 - Meowstic-F​

 

[Dundies]

I usually will be doing these every week on Saturday, but I figured I would get it started so I'm doing this now. Our first Pokemon of the Week is Poliwrath!

Poliwrath
Base Stats: 90 HP / 95 Atk / 95 Def / 70 SpA / 90 SpD / 70 Spe
Abilities: Damp / Swift Swim / Water Absorb
​

Poliwrath fits so well in the PU tier because of it's versatility and how many sets it can run and it's ability to check so many top tier threats. It has the ability to run Special Tank sets, Choice Specs, Physically Defensive, SubPunch, and a few Rain Sweeping sets. It's dual STABs compliment it's offensive play so nicely and the ability Water Absorb allows it to be a great defensive Pokemon. Now that I've opened this up for discussion, let's get started!

​

 

[Anty]

Was saving this for a surprise sweep but i havent been bothered to build well around it:

Poliwrath @ Salac Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Belly Drum
- Waterfall
- Return
This is an interesting set which has a huge potential as if you get to +6 there is only like 3 mons you dont KO w/ rocks (tangela/gourg/avalugg) and resists pretty much every priority so in theory you just kill scarfers and sweep. It isnt too hard to set up as you just need to force something out as you get a sub up, and then unless its like jumpluff (but who brings that on poli) you can drum as they break the sub, and you just sweep.


Regarding poliwrath in the current metagame, the most common set is definitely special tank since it is so easy to splash on any team as well as being pretty easy to play with. Sadly i have barely ever seen rain dance on the ladder, despite that being possibly the best as well as being borderline broken (but apparently the ladder dont use broke mons), as despite the recent spike in usage of rose (my puns are amazing) it is still pretty easy to sweep late game considering how great poliwraths coverage is.

 

[Twix]

Poliwrath is God.

Poliwrath is one of the key Pokemon in the PU meta which is a strong answer to so many other Pokemon in the tier. It is in the "S rank" on the Viability Rankings due to it's various potential sets and ability to take on a large sum of the tier. Poliwrath can run sets from Restalk Defensive with Scald and Circle Throw to Choice Specs so you never know which Poliwrath to expect until it shows a move or two. Poliwrath really epitomizes the extreme diversity of the PU tier and is one of the major mascots for the tier. As Stated before by Dundies:

Poliwrath fits so well in the PU tier because of it's versatility and how many sets it can run and it's ability to check so many top tier threats. It has the ability to run Special Tank sets, Choice Specs, Physically Defensive, SubPunch, and a few Rain Sweeping sets. It's dual STABs compliment it's offensive play so nicely and the ability Water Absorb allows it to be a great defensive Pokemon.

This already is a basic viewpoint of what Poliwrath really is; mostly a guessing game. Poliwrath is sort of like Greninja when it was in OU, so diverse that you need to wait until you see which set it is before you can fully deal with it. Poliwrath's stats may not 'Stand Out', but in the tier they are solid to accomplish the purposes that it does.

Poliwrath's Abilities:

Water Absorb: Water Absorb is very great for Poliwrath to be able to take Several Water Moves from around the tier as well as offer potential health regeneration to help it survive even longer. Even having a Poliwrath on a team makes a smart opponent second guess going for a water move and is sort of like a Shedinja in that sense.

Swift Swim: Swift Swim allows Poliwrath to become an even larger threat to the tier by giving it massive speed and Rain Boosted Water STAB moves. Self Explanatory Beast.


Good Moves: Scald, Hydro Pump, Substitute+Focus Punch, Ice Beam, Vacuum Wave, Focus Blast, Circle Throw, Brick Break(meh)

Typing:

Poliwrath:
Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy(not that common in PU), Flying, Grass, Psychic
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Fire, Ice, Rock, Steel, Water(?)
Immunities: Water(?)

Good Partners: Jumpluff, Zebstrika, Pawniard etc.

 

[Raiza]

​

Poliwrath is one of the most common and without doubt more slot efficient Pokemon in PU at the moment, thanks to being one of the few good Fighting-types and able to check a large variety of threats thanks to its dual typing in Water / Fighting and good Bulk overall, while being versatile and able to run myriad of sets, from a bulky RestTalk to Rain Dance sweeper.
Poliwrath can choose among a lot of sets to use, but the most common Poliwrath set is the RestTalk, thanks to being splashable in like every team, as it's mainly used to plug team holes. Other viable sets are the Special Tank, SubPunch, and Rain Dance Sweeper, which I think it's the better, as it makes Poliwrath an almost complete Pokemon, with a good bulk, sky high damage output and speed for PU, good coverage and a lot of possibilities to set up a Rain Dance.A set that I can see rising is the Belly Drum + Salac Berry, the one that Anty posted if I'm right, and I also think it is viable, as it has a few possibilities to set up, can catch off guard special tanks that usually switch on Poliwrath and there are really few Pokemon that can take on a +6 Attack Poliwrath with a Speed Boost, especially in PU, where the tier is heavily offense focused.
As I already said, Poliwrath is a Pokemon that can check a lot of threats in PU, therefore can get plenty of switch ins during a game, and should be used differently depending from the set it's running and the opponent. For example if it is running a RestTalk set, it should be used to switch as much as possible, of course when possible, to spread Scald burns or rack up residual damage with Circle Throw early on.
Differently, when using a Rain Dance Sweeper set, even if it has decent bulk, Poliwrath should be wary about not taking too much damage, as it lacks a recovery and Life Orb recoil is really annoying, all of that sometimes prevent it from setting up, and should set up a Rain Dance in late game, when its counters and checks are possibly weakened down.
Poliwrath just has the niche of being versatile, while keeping its bulk, that puts it on another level if you compare it to other Water-types or Swift Swim sweepers. Though it might get walled by special walls, it can still surprise the opponent with a Belly Drum set, that's what I mean, the possibility to just easily screw up the opponent, thanks to the possibility to choose among a myriad of possible sets, with a bulk and dual typing that keeps Poliwrath durable enough to also get more set up opportunities than other sweepers.
Even if there are really few counters or check to Poliwrath, it mainly struggles against special walls such as Togetic and Bulky Grass-types such as Roselia, which have a reliable recovery and can constantly switch on it, and are also easily able to bring it down. Therefore, wallbreakers can weaken or break through common walls, to ease the job of Poliwrath in sweeping, while Electric-types such as Zebstrika can also deal with Grass-types such as Jumpluff, which trouble Poliwrath. Entry hazards support is also nice to both the Rain Dance Sweeper and RestTalk set, as the first appreciates hazards, especially Toxic Spikes, to soften up the opposing team, getting walls and troublesome checks in range of Poliwrath's coverage, while of course the RestTalk along with hazards can switch in and phaze the opponent racking up residual damage or spread scald burns, which will eventually stack up with entry hazards damage too.

 

[Dundies]

Politoed @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Scald/Hydro Pump
- Psychic

The 104 speed allows this poke to outspeed poliwrath, roselia, & golem. If you can get off an icy wind on an incoming switch, it can outspeed base 86 speed pokes. The 152 EVs allow it to live a lot of hits. 252+ SpA Choice Specs Aurorus Freeze-Dry vs. 152 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Politoed: 210-248 (58.4 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO ,
252+ SpA Choice Specs Poliwrath Focus Blast vs. 152 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Politoed: 144-169 (40.1 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO ,
252+ SpA Life Orb Heatmor Giga Drain vs. 152 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Politoed: 135-161 (37.6 - 44.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO .
252+ SpA Roselia Giga Drain vs. 152 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Politoed: 152-180 (42.3 - 50.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO ,
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Ninetales Energy Ball vs. 152 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Politoed: 250-294 (69.6 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
It can do some nice damage to a lot of pokes with hydro pump or get off that burn if ya need it with scald. Raichu, Zebstrika, Avalugg, Ursaring, Mr.Mime, or Gourgeist are great team mates for Politoed. If you feel I should add something, let me know.

err, i do think this set is pretty cool (as i have said before), but the goal of this thread is to have a discussion moreso about Poliwrath than Politoed. this set is a pretty cool check to Poliwrath, which is definitely nice.

 

[Dundies]

Our Pokemon of the Week for week two is Mr. Mime!

Mr. Mime
Base Stats: 40 HP / 45 Atk / 65 Def / 100 SpA / 120 SpD / 90 Spe
Abilities: Soundproof / Filter / Technician

Mr. Mime is a very prominent threat in the PU tier due to it's high Special Attack stat and it's relatively high Speed, along with two powerful STAB moves in Psychic and Dazzling Gleam and great coverage in Focus Blast. Healing Wish is Mr. Mime's main niche, as it adds a very helpful, yet uncommon utility move that makes it a great fit for offensive teams due to it's ability to revive a teammate that lacks recovery. With that being said, let's get this discussion started!​

 

[tmacbalanced]

I feel like Mime's healing wish works really great with tanks. Poliwrath & Politoed are two tanks that comes to mind. Any other suggestions as to what other tanks it can work well with?
My reason for toed, by the way, is that Politoed can eat up hits from special Wrath & Ninetailes NP, but it'll obviously get worn down. This is where Mime works its magic with Healing Wish.

 

[gasquakee]

Standard Mime
Mr. Mime @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish
Mr. Mime's main ability in PU is to support sweepers by replenishing their health and being a prominent revenge killer for offensive teams. The moves are two standard stabs with a coverage move, focus blast, being used for threats like Pawniard and Probopass. Soundproof lets mime come in on moves such as Boomburst, Bug Buzz, etc with ease remotely removing that pokemon's whole use until Mime is dead. Mime is one of PU's best and most used scarfers and plays a great role on offense. Definitely worth using along with a sweeper or to increase survivability for your team!

 

[tmacbalanced]

another cool set that was discovered by Dundies for MrMime is
Mr. Mime @ Life Orb
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Future Sight
Future Sight can be used with Pawniard for a combo. If you're versing a team that has Poliwrath & Grumpig; what you can do is send out Mr.Mime to revenge kill Poliwrath. Of course the Poliwrath will switch to Grumpig in order to take the special hit; at this moment though, you want to use Future Sight & afterwards switch to Pawniard to take on the Grumpig. Poliwrath of course will come out to take the knock off & the future sight as well from the Mr.Mime a couple turns back, which will revenge kill the Poliwrath.
This MrMime set can also be used with a fighting poke that is physical to take on Lickilicky, who might be used to take on the Future Sight attack.

 

[gasquakee]

another cool set that was discovered by Dundies for MrMime is
Mr. Mime @ Life Orb
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Future Sight
Future Sight can be used with Pawniard for a combo. If you're versing a team that has Poliwrath & Grumpig; what you can do is send out Mr.Mime to revenge kill Poliwrath. Of course the Poliwrath will switch to Grumpig in order to take the special hit; at this moment though, you want to use Future Sight & afterwards switch to Pawniard to take on the Grumpig. Poliwrath of course will come out to take the knock off & the future sight as well from the Mr.Mime a couple turns back, which will revenge kill the Poliwrath.
This MrMime set can also be used with a fighting poke that is physical to take on Lickilicky, who might be used to take on the Future Sight attack.

Just want to clarify Scorpdestroyer used Future Sight first.

 

[Raiza]

Mr. Mime is an interesting Pokemon, despite being criticized for being relatively weak and frail, it is still able to be game-changing, because of its access to Healing Wish, which is a great niche and allows it to support sweepers and increase durability of the team, and pull off decent damages thanks to its good typing, which provides it a great type coverage along with Focus Blast, making it a good revenge killer to deal with against offensively-oriented teams, and both Soundproof and Filter are great abilities to check threats, all of that makes Mr. Mime a step ahead if you compare it with other Healing Wish users in the tier, such as Clefairy, which lack damage output and are sort of a sitting duck. Obviously, Mr. Mime best set is the Choice Scarf one, that got already posted, as it gives to Mr. Mime and appreciate Speed boost, which can be made use of for utility purposes by set upping Healing Wish without being stopped, to just revenge kill a threat or sweep the opponent if its team is weakened enough, but in general this set is underwhelming when against special walls, as Mr. Mime will be most of the time forced to double switch into a favorable matchup, predicting the opponent, or it would be locked and forced to switch, giving a free turn to the opponent, and that's why it is also underwhelming against defensively-oriented teams in general. Other decent sets are the Nasty Plot sweeper, which is able to break through special walls that commonly find themselves switching into Mr. Mime, therefore can be useful as a sort of wallbreaker, as it still won't be able to sweep through an offensive or at least fast paced team, because of its bad speed and mediocre physical bulk. A Life Orb set is also usable, but differently from the one that got posted, I suggest it to use it with Healing Wish as a last moveslot, to be at least useful to the team a little more, but Future Sight can be decent too. Mr. Mime typing and abilities allow it to be a decent revenge killer and check of plenty of special attackers in the tier, such as Chatot if running Soundproof, but I would rather suggest to not switch Mr. Mime into attacks, as its special bulk could be underwhelming against strong attackers, and it is incredibly susceptible to entry hazard damage and priorities.

 

[Dundies]

Our Pokemon of the Week for week three is Articuno!

Articuno
Base Stats: 90 HP / 85 Atk / 100 Def / 95 SpA / 125 SpD / 85 Spe
Abilities: Pressure / Snow Cloak

Articuno is a very interesting Pokemon that at first glance, seems amazing. It's stats are very strong across the board, it has two great STAB moves in Hurricane and Ice Beam / Freeze Dry, and access to Agility and Roost as well. What holds it back is it's 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, often making it a hindrance for teambuilding. Let's try to discuss Articuno's role in the current metagame, how it fares against certain Pokemon, and maybe suggest sets as well.​

 

[Fissure]

I always see more offensive Articuno and never defensive ones. So I tried to think of a set for defensive Articuno.

Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Heal Bell / Toxic / Tailwind / Roar
- Freeze-Dry
- Roost
I thought of haze for two reasons: That one guy who uses curse munchlax or croclops or nasty plot Missy. Haze will let you get rid of those stat boosts and hopefully handle the situation afterwards. I originally thought of having this be physically defensive, but physical attackers who boost their attack like Pawniard or Barbaracle can handle a physically defensive articuno pretty easily so we're going with special defense for Missy. I have heal bell on here because I thought if this set is meant to help the team, it could also heal them of any status. But in the end, Lickilicky and Grumpig can do this better. Also, the PU Role Compendium lists Togetic, Missy, Flareon, and Leafeon as other heal bell users. You could run toxic to wither down things that you can't through your attacks. Tailwind for helping a mon sweep or just out speed a choice scarf user. Roar could be run on hazard stack teams or to ruin a baton pass sweep or in case someone is running substitute. I don't see phasing moves used as much anymore and they are still very useful. Freeze-Dry as the only attacking move because it hits threats such as poliwrath, jumpluff, and Carracosta. Finally roost is for hp recovery since that is what you want on defensive mons. If you're using an articuno, you might want to consider running a defogger or rapid spinner to remove rocks. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day or night~
P.S. It was so hard not saying weakness policy articuno. Apparently it is bad or something.
P.P.S. 248 and 252 in SpD are basically the same. Feel free to put the extra 4 EVs in either speed or Sp.attack.

 

[tmacbalanced]

Maybe run a bit more speed to outspeed missy. Missy does run thunderbolt as well, so if you come in on missy nasty plotting, you'll end up getting hit massively by a super effective thunderbolt before you can haze

 

[Fissure]

Maybe run a bit more speed to outspeed missy. Missy does run thunderbolt as well, so if you come in on missy nasty plotting, you'll end up getting hit massively by a super effective thunderbolt before you can haze

In case of worst case scenario: +6 252 SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Articuno: 362-428 (94.5 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
We don't live modest though. +6 252+ SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Articuno: 398-470 (103.9 - 122.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Also, I'm not really knowledgeable on nasty plot Missy speed, but Missy and articuno have the same base speed and if it turns into a speed creep war, we aren't as bulky anymore. But if np Missy runs very little speed, then sure speed creep a bit.
Just realized I put 248 instead of 252 in Spd. But it doesn't really make a difference for modest. New calc for 252: +6 252 SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Articuno: 362-428 (94.5 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
Never mind, they are still the same. Feel free to add the extra 4 EVs to speed or sp.attack.

 

[tmacbalanced]

In case of worst case scenario: +6 252 SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Articuno: 362-428 (94.5 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
We don't live modest though. +6 252+ SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Articuno: 398-470 (103.9 - 122.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Also, I'm not really knowledgeable on nasty plot Missy speed, but Missy and articuno have the same base speed and if it turns into a speed creep war, we aren't as bulky anymore. But if np Missy runs very little speed, then sure speed creep a bit.
Just realized I put 248 instead of 252 in Spd. But it doesn't really make a difference for modest. New calc for 252: +6 252 SpA Misdreavus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Articuno: 362-428 (94.5 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Never mind then. Articuno sure does live them special hits like a Blissey

 

[Dundies]

The Pokemon of the Week for Week 4 is Grumpig! I have added the week number into the title just for future reference.

Grumpig
Base Stats: 80 HP / 45 Atk / 65 Def / 90 SpA / 110 SpD / 80 Spe
Abilities: Thick Fat / Own Tempo / Gluttony
​

Grumpig is a great Pokemon that can fit many roles, but usually as a Specially Defensive wall or a Bulky Attacker because of it's access to utility and it's good defensive stats along with a great ability in Thick Fat. It might be good to discuss Grumpig's role in the current meta, with sun teams everywhere. Let us get started!

 

[Fissure]

Tried to think of the most gimmicky set that is still viable.

Grumpig @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Snatch / Whirlwind
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Heal Bell / Seismic Toss / Mirror Coat / Focus Blast

When I think of annoying stuff currently in the meta, I think of weather and smash pass. So I decided to focus more on smash pass. I would first like to start by saying that even though snatch seems situation, it can still come in very handy. Snatch can steal you those heal bells and wishes from Lickilicky, it can steal shell smash and baton pass from Huntail, it can take substitute, swords dance, bulk up, curse, healing wish from Mr.Mime, etc... Another option against smash pass if you don't want to be man enough to steal the set up is to just whirlwind them out and ruin the pass ( Maybe more safe, just not as cool ). Standard t-wave and psychic. The last slot can be really anything you want, Grumpig is just that much of a good mon. Heal Bell to be a cleric, seismic toss for just constant and reliable damage, or Mirror coat for those unexpected kills. Also focus blast for stuff like probo I guess. I will list some mirror coat calcs against poliwrath below. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I hope you have a wonderful day!

1. 252+ SpA Life Orb Poliwrath Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Grumpig in Rain: 175-207 (48 - 56.8%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
   
   252+ SpA Life Orb Poliwrath Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Grumpig: 117-138 (32.1 - 37.9%) -- 0.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
   
   4 SpA Grumpig Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Poliwrath: 194-230 (60.4 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
   
   252+ SpA Life Orb Poliwrath Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Thick Fat Grumpig: 32-39 (8.7 - 10.7%) -- possibly the worst move ever
   
   252+ SpA Life Orb Poliwrath Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Grumpig: 62-74 (17 - 20.3%) -- possible 7HKO after Leftovers recovery

1. Mirror Coat is a guaranteed kill if hit by a hydro pump in the rain because the poliwrath will lose some hp due to life orb and then take twice what grumpig took. Mirror Coat just falls short by around 5-18% without rain up.

EDIT: The calcs have an extra 4 EVs in HP. Just ingore that and make it 248.

 

[Ranbu No Melody]

Grumpig @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Trick
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Grass Knot/Energy Ball

136 speed outspeed Adamant/modest full speed 65 bases, when 252 special atk maximizes his special power and 120 HP gives him some bulk
Besides he being outclassed by other special attackers, he can take some hits before dying.

calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Grumpig Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Flareon: 252-297 (92.9 - 109.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Flareon Flare Blitz vs. 120 HP / 0 Def Thick Fat Grumpig: 229-271 (69.1 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Grumpig Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Aurorus: 720-848 (185.5 - 218.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Aurorus Dark Pulse vs. 120 HP / 0 SpD Grumpig: 220-260 (66.4 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Dundies]

Grumpig @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Trick
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot

136 speed outspeed Adamant/modest full speed 65 bases, when 252 special atk maximizes his special power and 120 HP gives him some bulk
Besides he being outclassed by other special attackers, he can take some hits before dying.

calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Grumpig Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Flareon: 252-297 (92.9 - 109.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Flareon Flare Blitz vs. 120 HP / 0 Def Thick Fat Grumpig: 229-271 (69.1 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Grumpig Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Aurorus: 720-848 (185.5 - 218.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Aurorus Dark Pulse vs. 120 HP / 0 SpD Grumpig: 220-260 (66.4 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

cool set Ranbu No Melody . I have actually used specs Grumpig before but i ran Psychic > Psyshock and Shadow Ball > Grass Knot. I also ran max speed, but the point of this thread is to try to spark up discussion about the pokemon, not just post a new set. Explaining how this set is good in this meta would be nice, since it's pretty cool and hits hard.

 

[WakafLUKEaflame]

Some things that Grumpig has going for it over other Psychics is the ability in Thick Fat, which allows it to be a great check to threats such as Ninetales, Aurorus, and Simisear. In addition, Grumpig sits in a speed tier that allows it to outspeed Pawniard, Poliwrath, and Roselia. Some downsides however are: lack of reliable recovery which Hypno has in Wish+Protect, as well as lower speed and power when being compared to Kadabra. On top of all of this, stall and defensive teams are becoming less and less viable in a tier that revolves around offense and spike stacking. Despite these drawbacks, Grumpig is still a great mon in PU, as it has an offensive utility set that works wonders and is a great mon on offense or balance to check dangerous threats such as the ones mentioned above.

Grumpig @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave

This is a great set in PU at the moment that has good utility in Thunder Wave, which cripples fast mons that are running rampant in PU right now like Simipour, Ninetales, and Victreebel (sun). In addition to having good utility, Grumpig also has great coverage that hits many common pokes in PU for good damage such as Piloswine, Poliwrath, Roselia, Barbaracle, and many others. Colbur Berry lets Grumpig take less damage from Pawniard and Simisear Knock Off, as well as Ninetales' Dark Pulse, making it a great lure for Pawniard and a better answer to Tales and Sear. All in all, Grumpig provides great offensive utility to teams that struggle with faster threats, has great offensive coverage, and fits well on offense and balance, two dominant playstyles in PU at the moment.

 

[Dundies]

Pokemon of the Week for Week 5 is Rapidash!

Rapidash
Base Stats: 65 HP / 100 Atk / 70 Def / 80 SpA / 80 SpD / 105 Spe
Abilities: Run Away / Flash Fire / Flame Body
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Rapidash is a big threat in the current meta because of its high Speed along with high Attack and great coverage that allow it to tear through a lot of teams. Its Speed tier is one that is above a lot of others, which gives it a great niche over Flareon. Lets discuss how Rapidash fits in the current meta at the moment. Do you think it's sort of weak in the current meta because of all of the bulky Water-types? Remember, you don't have to post a set. This isn't just a thread to dump innovative sets. Lets get started. :]

 

[tmacbalanced]

I like how this is a nice answer to Ninetailes. It has nice recovery with Morning Sun (if you can pull it off). I've seen some experienced players use choice scarf with this, so I wonder how it would fair with an adamant nature & scarf. I have tried it but, those times were low ladder (it did work pretty well though). It has a nice movepool too:
252 Atk Rapidash Wild Charge vs. 160 HP / 0 Def Poliwrath: 172-204 (47.6 - 56.5%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Rapidash Drill Run vs. 176 HP / 0 Def Probopass: 212-252 (69.5 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

 

[Twix]

tmacbalanced Adamant Scarf Rapidash will be pretty bad in some aspects including it not outspeeding Scarf Mime, Chlorophyll Victreebel, Swift Swim Poliwrath etc. The extra damage just doesn't seem like as much as a gain as you lose running Adamant.