Simisear & Friends

[Riles]

Team Preview

Wow, okay. So this is my first post on Smogon. So I figured, why not I post one of my favorite tier team on here to see how bad it is. Lol. But really. This is one of the few teams that I made and actually still use because it's been doing fairly well for me, I know it can be way better though. The main reason I made this team is because I really wanted to try out Simisear. Who can actually put in work if used correctly. I also don't really have an answer for scarfed rotom-s I really just have to hope SR's are up, or I've already set up a rain dance with ludicolo so I can out speed and OHKO with ice beam, or just spam ice moves with piloswine. So yeah, let's get into it.
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Ludicolo || Swift Swim || Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
- Rain Dance​

Ludicolo is hands down one of my favorite NU pokes. He can really rip wholes in an unprepared team. I've made him Timid nature and not Modest because a Timid Ludicolo can out speed an Adamant Samurott, and even take a +2 Aqua Jet with ease, then proceed to revenge kill with Giga Drain. Life Orb is obviously my item of choice because Ludicolo really does need that extra boost in order to try and get a mini sweep going on. And I can always recover most of my HP lost by life orb with giga drain. He's a nice Anti-Lead since Golem's not taking 2 Giga Drains so it keeps SR's off my side of the field so Simisear can switch in whenever he needs to start to set up.​

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Piloswine || Thick Fat || Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 172 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard​

If you haven't noticed Piloswine is really my only defensive Pokemon, so I really count on him to hold the team up by tanking physical hits. I don't even have a special wall, so sometimes if i'm desperate I just have to fodder off piloswine if he,s already did his job and got rocks up so I don't have to deal with sturdy sawk, which can really be a pain to my team if it's scarfed because it can out speed everything except Simisear if it already has the salac berry speed boost, and also Pinsir speed ties with it. Piloswine IMO is one of the most solid def walls in NU, it's also very nice that he gets priority move ice shard, so I don't have to worry about a Pokemon hanging on for dear life.​

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Absol || Super Luck || Fighting Gem
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower​

Next we have NU's superstar, absol. I'm going to be pretty sad when this guy leaves to RU. This is a set I saw one of my friends use, and it's pretty effective. Basically you sub up predicting a switch, or status move, then you're free to set up a +2 and spam sucker punch, or you can go for a Fighting Gem boosted super power, which even musharna doesn't want to take. I realize that he isn't all that beneficial to the team as a whole, but he's a real hard hitter which can really just fit onto any team. Again he has priority sucker punch for revenge killing.​

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Pinsir || Moxie || Choice Scarf
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- X-Scissor
- Stone Edge​

It was a toss up between either sawk or Pinsir, and since I don't have a spinner (namely armaldo since he,s the only good spinner in the tier) I chose Pinsir so I don't have to worry about SR breaking my sturdy etc. Also the moxie boosts are nice for late game sweeps although I'll be a lot happier when Ditto gets out of the freaking tier because it's just so annoying. I realize that close combat is really easily spamable on sawk and it gets STAB, but I'd rather just try and get as much threats out of the way with pinsir, so simisear can come on in and sweep.​

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Simisear || Gluttony || Salac Berry
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Flamethrower
- Grass Knot
- Focus Blast​

Next up we have the star of she show, Simisear. I think he's really underestimated in this tier, along with simipour. The three monkeys are very fast which most people don't realize and are shocked when I set up a +2 nasty plot in their face, then get my salac berry boost and most likely out speed there whole team unless they have a priority move. Grass knot is really great on this guy since Regirock likes to switch in on this guy to try and tank a potential flamethrower. By the time I send him out, I'd hopefully already gotten rid of all his potentially threats so I can come in and clean up.​

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Kadabra || Magic Guard || Life Orb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam​

lastly we have kadabra, I figured that since alakazam is a beast in OU, why can't kadabra be a beast in NU? Life orb magic guard is genius, Substitute is so I'm not completely raped by sucker punch. And the rest of his moves are just coverage. Behind a sub kadabra is really going to get some Pokemon to low health. I've considered adding bulky musharna so I can use this spot to have a special wall, but idk haven t really tested it out. I've also considered running encore so I can stop people from setting up etc. But that's pretty much it.​

​

 

[Riles]

Please rate this, Sorry if this broke any rules, this is my first post.

 

[watashi]

Hello, I got your request to rate this team.

As you mentioned, Musharna would be a better choice over Kadabra since powerful Fighting-types such as Sawk and Gurdurr currently have a pretty easy time with this team. Kadabra cannot take their attacks whatsoever and your other Fighting resist—Pinsir—is generally beaten by them one-on-one. I would suggest running a Calm Mind Musharna since it fits the offensive nature of this team better than a Specially Defensive set.

Since Musharna can now tank most Physical hits for this team, Piloswine can afford to run 252 Atk EVs. This is crucial since Piloswine needs all the power it can get to beat down Pokemon such as Golem, Regirock, and Golurk.

Lastly, I would suggest changing Absol to the standard Swords dance set with Night Slash over Substitute and Life Orb over Fighting Gem. Most Pokemon that attempt to status Absol, such as Alomomola and Amoonguss, also have a way of breaking Absol's Substitutes. In fact, you will actually lose to them if Superpower is your only reliable attack against them. Night Slash allows you to fare better against them since you can try to land the 25% critical hit. It would also help against Misdreavus and Musharna, both of which can stall out your current set.

Summary of changes:

Kadabra —> Calm Mind Musharna
252 Atk EVs on Piloswine
Absol —> Standard Swords Dance Set

Set(s)

Absol @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Night Slash
- Swords Dance

Musharna @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Moonlight

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock

 

[WhiteDMist]

Hey, I got your VM and PM! FLCL already made a good point about Absol and a great idea with the combo of Piloswine and Musharna tanking moves together.

As a follow up to FLCL's recommendations, I would now recommend Scarf Sawk over your Pinsir. Who cares if you lose Sturdy? You still beat opposing Dark types very well, and as a bonus you can actually spam your STAB move more often than you can with Pinsir. It gives you a helpful Dark-Psychic-Fighting core to work with, as well as a last ditch resort to handling Scarf Rotom-A if you have Sturdy active (or if it is locked into Thunderbolt maybe).

Now, you mentioned that Ditto is a bit of a nuisance to your team, especially since you now have to deal with it without Absol's Substitute. So I would recommend Substitute over Grass Knot on Simisear for that and a couple of other reasons. Substitute allows you to bring yourself down to Gluttony Salac range after a single switch in to Stealth Rock, block status and Imposter Ditto, and give you a buffer against opposing Water-types in case you miss Focus Blast. Truthfully, the only Pokemon you would want to use Grass Knot against are opposing Water-types who either have Aqua Jet(Samurott), are on a Rain team and thus outspeed you anyways (Seismitoad), or are still too bulky and/or light to be defeated by it (Alomomola and Mantine).

Now, if you don't want to consider FLCL's ideas (why?), there are still a few things you can do to improve your team's survivability. I'd still say Sawk is better than Pinsir just to let you know. Also, Focus Sash over Life Orb on Kadabra is much more effective. At full HP, you will survive any move your opponent throws at you except multi-hit moves. You can also replace Substitute for another move, like the move Encore that my good friend Sweet Jesus loves to use. I would also still use FLCL's Absol and Piloswine ideas even if you keep Kadabra.

Horrifyingly enough, as it is currently, your team is dismantled by SS MANtine in the rain (woo!). You also have a terrible time against Scarf Braviary/Dodrio, Quick Attack Swellow, and max Speed SS Seimitoad. You may be better off replacing Piloswine with Tank Carracosta. It has decent synergy with SS Ludicolo and would be able to abuse Rain boosted Aqua Jets. You would gain a reliable Flying resistance while also having Sturdy to take on Rotom-S. Of course, this is the least helpful of my recommendations, and thus easily ignorable.

Changes:

With FLCL's Changes:

Sawk>Pinsir
Simisear: Substitute>Grass Knot
Optional:
Carracosta>Piloswine

Without FLCL's changes:

Kadabra: Focus Sash>Life Orb; Encore>Substitute
Sawk>Pinsir
Simisear: Substitute>Grass Knot
Optional:
Carracosta>Piloswine

Sets

Sawk @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake/Toxic

Carracosta @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall

Hope that these changes help you out! Welcome to Smogon and the NU tier!

 

[Gengan]

You said that Ludicolo can take a +2 Aqua Jet. You do realize that Samurott will use Megahorn against Ludicolo for the KO, right? Just figured I point that out.

Otherwise, love the team. Any changes I can think of have already been suggested. I love the use of Simisear! Might have to try Simipour soon.

 

[Riles]

You said that Ludicolo can take a +2 Aqua Jet. You do realize that Samurott will use Megahorn against Ludicolo for the KO, right? Just figured I point that out.

Yeah but it can only out speed if it's jolly. Otherwise I'll out speed it before he can use megahorn on me.

 

[WhiteDMist]

Yeah but it can only out speed if it's jolly. Otherwise I'll out speed it before he can use megahorn on me.

Actually, if the opposing Samurott is Jolly, then it becomes a Speed tie, which isn't the safest thing to bet on. That's the reason why Rocky Helmet Carracosta could be very useful as well (also helps against Cinccino who tries to Tail Slap most of your team).

 

[jake]

hey there,

your current build struggles mightily with many water-types, as others have pointed out. sd samurott, rd seismitoad with sludge wave, rd mantine, and a few others really just have their way with your team in its current state. whitedmist's suggestion of rocky helm carracosta is definitely a step in the right direction, but by no means does it directly solve all of your problems. i think part of this is simply the fact that your entire team doesn't have the tools to hit them hard at all. simisear is ohkoed by +2 aqua jet and is outsped in the rain by the swsw users, kadabra stands no chance against anything, piloswine is cleanly ohkoed, pinsir can't OHKO any of them (except with a high roll with stone edge against mantine), and ludicolo is smashed by their coverage moves. unfortunately, there's no magic hard counter to all three that you can just slap on, since something that beats 2/3 is badly destroyed by the last.

one possible solution is to replace something (ideally kadabra, but possibly also ludicolo) for physically defensive amoonguss. amoonguss keeps samurott in check easily, while also checking seismitoad and giving you a vital fighting-type resist that you currently lack. it's one of your best options to deal with stuff like gurdurr and sawk (save your spore!), and actually works extraordinarily well when paired with the carracosta that whitedmist posted about before, giving you a very solid core to work the rest of your team around, and greatly lessens your worries about samurott ruining a simisear sweep.

i agree with flcl's suggestions of swapping your absol to the standard set, as the extra power from life orb can really make or break a last-ditch sucker punch against a rampaging threat, like swsw mantine. i'm also gonna definitely agree with dropping sub over grass knot in simisear, although in general i think simipour does the job much better thanks to lack of an SR weak, better typing, and much better / more reliable coverage, but that's entirely up to you. if you want to continue using pinsir, i'd give it an adamant nature over jolly, since jolly scarf doesn't outspeed anything else notable aside from jolly scarf braviary, who is beaten by carracosta anyway.

summary

physically defensive amoonguss > kadabra

amoonguss @ leftovers | regenerator
bold nature (+def, -atk) | 252 hp / 252 def / 4 spdef
giga drain / sludge bomb / spore / stun spore or synthesis​

rocky helm carracosta > piloswine

carracosta @ rocky helmet | sturdy
adamant nature (+atk, def) | 252 hp / 252 atk / 4 spdef
stone edge / aqua jet / stealth rock / aqua jet​

swords dance and life orb > substitute and fighting gem, respectively, on absol

adamant nature > jolly on pinsir

optional

simipour > simisear

simipour @ salac berry | gluttony
modest nature (+spa, -atk) | 4 hp / 252 spa / 252 spe
substitute / surf or hydro pump / ice beam / nasty plot or hidden power grass
​

hope i helped a bit and gl with your team!