Metagame SM PU Alpha (playable on PS!)

[Twix]

Skuntank @ Firium Z
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Defog
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Poison Jab

This has been a cool set I've been using to take out some Pokemon which are problematic to my team. It's a pretty solid lure that's able to use a 185 BP Fire-type move to take out Pawniard, Mawile, Sandslash-Alola, Ferroseed, while at the same time doing massive damage against Vileplume, Klinklang, and Rotom-Frost, among others. Poison Jab also allows it to take on Fairy-types such as Togetic, while Sucker Punch is effective to clean up the mess and revenge kill. Skuntank is a very good offensive Defog user in the tier, and has some pretty solid matchups in most matches. This set probably won't be effective for most teams, but works very well when you need a Steel-type lure to allow the rest of your team to set up.

edit: it can OHKO Sandslash-Alola even under Aurora Veil which is pretty amazing

Calcs

Assume Fire Blast is the 185 BP Inferno Overdrive

4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 300-356 (103 - 122.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mawile: 324-382 (106.5 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 128 HP / 0 SpD Sandslash-Alola: 568-672 (175.8 - 208%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Frost: 190-224 (78.8 - 92.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Vileplume: 218-258 (61.5 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery (Gets killed by Poison Jab next turn)
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Pawniard: 272-320 (117.7 - 138.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 SpA Skuntank Fire Blast vs. 80 HP / 0 SpD Klinklang: 230-272 (81.8 - 96.7%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Skuntank Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Togetic: 122-146 (38.8 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Skuntank Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Hariyama: 171-202 (39.8 - 47%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

 

[cowpieface]

Here is a visual tier list based on usage stats (by type)

Other:

(all forms)

PS: If you detect any mistake just tell me here or in PS and i'll edit it.

electabuzz is in there twice

 

[dibs]

Right since we're close to beta I think it's time to bring light to 2 mons that are being largely overlooked.

Magmortar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 12 Atk / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Mild Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt / Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Psychic
- Earthquake

Magmortar has a large movepool with good split offensive stats to help it abuse these options. This makes it a great fire spam partner, since the coverage hits the common fire checks that are being used (Focus blast for Miltank, HP grass for Quagsire and Gastrodon, Psychic for Hariyama and Earthquake for Lanturn). Magmortar also helps give teams a reliable Lilligant check since it's able to live a neutral z-hyper beam and has vital spirit to absorb sleep powder.

+

Typhlosion + Magmortar

Magmortar @ Expert Belt
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 12 Atk / 252 SpA / 244 Spe
Mild Nature
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Earthquake

Typhlosion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Relevant calcs

252+ SpA Expert Belt Magmortar Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Charizard: 286-338 (96.2 - 113.8%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Magmortar Thunderbolt vs. 96 HP / 0 SpD Poliwrath: 230-272 (66.6 - 78.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Magmortar Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 180 SpD Miltank: 298-352 (75.6 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Magmortar Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 475-562 (120.5 - 142.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Magmortar Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Gastrodon: 292-348 (68.5 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Magmortar Psychic vs. 0 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Hariyama: 182-216 (42.4 - 50.3%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
12 Atk Expert Belt Magmortar Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lanturn: 259-307 (66.2 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Electivire @ Life Orb
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Earthquake

Electivire has similar coverage to Manectric but with the addition of earthquake, allowing it to pressure the tiers premier electric check Lanturn. Whilst Alolan-Raichu is also able to do this with Psyshock, Electivire is able to keep the electric immunity with Motor Drive to help stop volt-turning.

Relevant calcs

252 SpA Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 276-328 (94.5 - 112.3%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Vileplume: 224-265 (63.2 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Shiinotic: 205-244 (63.2 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Electivire Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Gastrodon: 291-343 (68.3 - 80.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Electivire Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 390-463 (98.9 - 117.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
4 Atk Life Orb Electivire Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Lanturn: 346-408 (88.4 - 104.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

A core that i've been playing around with to try and exploit Electivires advantages is Swanna + Electivire. Swanna's proven to be good in the metagame since our hazard removal options are limited, but the main difficulty Swanna faces is breaking Lanturn. Electivire covers the x4 weakness to electric whilst still being able to lure and pressure Lanturn.

+

Electivire + Swanna

Electivire @ Life Orb
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Earthquake

Swanna @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost

e: fixed life orb over ebelt 'cos Galbia made me realise it's bad

 

[Inferno Monferno]

So there's stall ;-;. Damn you slowbroth. Anywho Taskr must have said eelektross was a good stall breaker because for electric, grass and fire coverage, so i decided to expand on this to find a spread that beats this stall.

Eelektross @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 124 HP / 132 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Flamethrower
- Focus Punch

So we have some unorthodox options. z-focus punch ohkos audino, thunderbolt 2hkos togetic, pyukumuku and sableye and grass knot 2hkos mudsdale. bronzor plays around with flamethrower but with some chip it can 2hko, or if u knock it off

Calcs:
128 Atk Eelektross All-Out Pummeling (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Audino: 410-484 (100.2 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Eelektross Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mudsdale: 282-334 (69.9 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Eelektross Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mudsdale: 178-210 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- 11.7% chance to 2HKO this is why Grass Knot> Giga Drain
252+ SpA Eelektross Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Sableye: 198-234 (65.3 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Eelektross Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Togetic: 180-212 (57.5 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Eelektross Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 200 SpD Pyukumuku: 192-228 (61.1 - 72.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Eelektross Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 112 SpD Eviolite Bronzor: 124-148 (39.1 - 46.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

You could use z-superpower>z-focus punch for a move more useful outside of the z-move, but you need more attack investment for it. This set is probably useless outside of breaking stall, but eh the best stall breakers are always useless outside of breaking stall ignore the fact that lurantis and np alolan raichu destroy it

 

[Anty]

I think by now we have explored p much all of the metagame making it fairly obvious what should get banned and what will be great mons during alpha, but I've got more stuff to share.

I think others have talked about Klinklang before, but its received a very noticeable increase since the start of alpha. Being able to abuse all of Scyther, Vileplume, Miltank, Cincinno, Lycanroc, Granbull, Mesprit, Musharna and more make it probably the easiest set up mon to set up with in the tier. Additionally, shift gear lets it outspeed every choice scarf user in the tier with only 188 EVs while allowing it to still run Adamant. Without it being item reliant Z-moves are perfect for it, and despite it having 3 usable offensive moves, z-moves all it to be slightly versatile as all of those z-moves are viable. Corckscrew Crash seems to be the most common, breaking through Gurdurr, Torterra and most physically defensive pokemon, Gigavolt Havoc mostly deals with Water- and Steel-types like Poliwrath and Klinklang, whereas Breakneck Blitz breaks through Lanturn and Gastrodon, though this looks to be the least useful one. Quagsire seems to be the only defensive check capable of taking on all its sets, though there are others which can check it based on what move it drops (return most likely, as wild charge hits more and sub is too useful to drop imo). Mach Punch users do a good job taking it on but aside from that the only priority which hurts it is Sucker Punch.

Hide

Mudsdale @ Choice Band
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 SpE
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat

As much as I would like it to be, horse isnt a particularly good mon, despite it being decently powerful and able to 2HKO 95% of the tier with 2 moves. Being slow as fuck is extremely crippling for a potential wallbeaker, as despite it being able to comfortably 2HKO a bunch of walls, a good portion can force it out with SE hit/status/recovery stall in certain cases (it kinda feels like when Sableye switches in to your physical attacker and takes 60% but you cant stay in). STAB EQ is very good rn as the 2 most common grass types take neutral damage, and common ground resists aren't particularly bulky (sans torterra). Heavy Slam hits p much every ground resist as mudsdale is fat as fuck, with Close Combat hitting remainders like torterra, a-eggy, ludicolo, and stops miltank and vullaby from recover stalling. Rock slide is only useful to get the OHKO on stuff like Scyther/Swanna, as no1 uses rotom-fan and the electric oricorio is 2hko'd by heavy slam, and it has no need for any other move (ig toxic for geist?). Speed is just to get 0 speed gurdurr, you can creep more but the loss of bulk is really noticeable. The most useful part about Mudsdale over other breakers is its physical bulk and Stamina, which not only lets it take p much every physical attack, but also allows it to more comfortably pivot into weaker moves like Kangas/Hariyama's Fake out, especially helping vs Cincinno. Personally I had difficulty fitting it into a team, as pure ground doesnt provide particularly useful resists atm, and most of the time Torterra seems nicer, but it isnt as strong and is worse vs scyther. Restalk also useable, but it seems too passive to use on playstyles other than like full stall, especially as like i said, pure ground isnt especially useful.

Hide

Tauros @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Return / Stone Edge

I thought scarf would be an expected item on tauros given it was a thing last gen, but it seems to be surprisingly unexpected (on the ladder at least). Basically Tauros is the best Scarfer which can outspeed Jolly Barbaracle and isnt ass (raichu lul), and in general is strong enough to revenge kill most other set up mons:
252 Atk Tauros Earthquake vs. -1 0 HP / 4 Def Barbaracle: 242-286 (84.9 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Tauros Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lilligant: 207-244 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Tauros Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lycanroc: 258-304 (88.6 - 104.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
Double Edge is stronger and more reliable than SF Rock Climb/Body slam, plus scarf tauros doesn't need health as much as regular tauros as there is nothing faster to RK it (aside from priority), and intimidate helps it vs priority users such as carracosta and lycanroc. EQ is obviously needed to RK carracosta and deal damage to rocks, and the last two moves are just fillers. Special moves are too weak without sheer force and DE is stronger then zen headbutt, so the only useful moves are Pursuit to ensure the KO on weakened mons, return for no recoil, and edge to RK scyther. Scarf is easily walled by ghosts and most physical walls, but its a nice RKer and decently scary to offense.

Lastly has anyone used weezing? Its obviously not gonna be easy to fit on teams in such an offensive metagame w/ better poison types, but its the only new viable mon which i dont think i have seen once

 

[earl]

Lastly has anyone used weezing? Its obviously not gonna be easy to fit on teams in such an offensive metagame w/ better poison types, but its the only new viable mon which i dont think i have seen once

I've been using Weezing a fighting check that isn't A. Holding a Colbur Berry or B. Sableye. This set works decently:

Weezing @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp

It makes a pretty good catch-all physical check with high physical bulk and pain split, but it's also a free switch in for stuff like Musharna or Typhlosion. Also pain split sucks to use as a recovery option lol

As a fighting check I'd still stick to Sableye most of the time, prankster is jut that good, but Weezing is still a pretty great wall. Too bad stuff like Qwilfish, Vileplume, and Poison Silvally can do basically the same job while either having more utility or more offensive presence.

 

[Sugarbear]

If you don't like Pain Split you could use Z Haze as that fully restores HP. Also gives you a Knock Off switch in and stops stuff like Musharna and Bulk Up Gallade setting upon you, so it's not necessarily a wasted slot.

 

[TONE]

Weezing @ Icium Z / Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Taunt / Flamethrower
- Haze / Flamethrower / Pain Split / Toxic Spikes

Last 2 slots are interchangeable, but mainly I only find ways to fit Weezing onto my team that need a ground immunity and a Malamar check which is why I have 108 Speed EVs to outspeed 0 Speed Malamar and Taunt it before it can go for Rest. The other nice thing about Z-Haze is that not only does it restore your health to full, but it also lets you remove Z-Happy Hour Malamar's boosts as well (sadly it's still 2 Shot by Psycho Cut, but non-rest vairiants get crippled by Will-O-Wisp, so it isn't that bad in theory). I have Flamethrower slashed with Taunt only in the event that you have a Malamar response and you don't wanna be walled by Substitute variants of Klinklang.

 

[5FingerMachPunch]

Okay so while I've basically stopped playing Alpha and am patiently waiting on Beta to drop, I figured I'd make one last post before beta does drop in about a week or so basically to give my final thoughts on the mons/things in Alpha that stood out to me and/or to a lot of people playing the Alpha and getting the full experience for themselves.

Gallade/Sawk: Initially, I was going to put Malamar first, but frankly after experiencing the ladder for myself and seeing the opinions of others, I think I just have to put Gallade (and Sawk which I'll explain in a sec) as #1 for me. With the combination of coverage and raw power, it's basically near impossible to outright counter Gallade and Sawk, which basically means everytime they come in, you basically have to either pick a sack or just try to play the odds and try to get 50/50s right. Gallade and Sawk are fairly similar with exactly the same base Attack and similarly good coverage. Gallade trades off a bit speed and better abilities for a sick Psychic-typing alongside its Fighting-type, allowing it to be a check to Fighting-types in itself, and SD which makes it a great wallbreaker considering Quag is still 2HKO'd by LO CC. Sawk on the other hand is slightly faster and has better abilities (Mold Breaker/Sturdy) which allow it to either break past abilities or survive one hit that it otherwise wouldn't have from full which could be crucial. Either way, I think I've said enough, I am to believe that Gallade is absolutely the #1 most broken mon to pop up in beta, not Malamar, but Sawk is on a fairly similar level to Gallade.

Malamar: I think everyone knew this mon was probably gonna pop up somewhere. The fact that it can either RestTalk or set up late game with Z-Happy Hour and win from there is just absolutely insane. Unless your team has a Quagsire/Pyuku, faster Bug, or a Fairy to check it, you may as well consider clicking x everytime you see Malamar on the opposing team cause chances are it'll be almost an insta loss everytime you encounter it.

Typhlosion: At the start of beta I thought that Typhlosion was merely nothing more than a threat that needed to be prepared for, rather than something that actually broke the tier, but as time went on I begun to realize just how stupid this mon was with the poor selection of Fire resists that existed in the tier that could actually take an Eruption coming in on it at least once while also being able to tank any of its possible coverage moves. Specs Eruption basically 2HKO'd everything not named AV Hariyama or AV Lanturn (or a fire immunity but lol).

Aurora Veil: Ah, the last thing that I wanted to talk about, and a fairly well-known problem at that at this point. NU is finally catching onto just how retarded and broken this shit is, and I think it goes to show that some people think that A Veil will still be broken even after the next tier shift where Alolan Sandslash might be potentially moving up, but honestly while it's pretty wild and bonkers right now, i don't see it being broken once A-Slash leaves (IF that's what does inevitably end up happening) the tier but we'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

And that about covers what I personally think are the most broken things down here based on my experience on the ladder over my time playing it and from what everyone liked to complain about commonly. I wanna say though a lot of cool sets were used in this time, such as Flyinium Z Swanna and NP Z-Dark Pulse Alolan Persian. With all of that said and done, I think it's time for me to wait in anticipation for the launch of PU beta here in August, enjoy the rest of the Alpha while you can everyone. I did enjoy playing the Alpha, but the amount of crazy things that litter the tier (especially Aurora Veil, that just put a really bad taste in my mouth for playing the ladder) honestly fsr made it kinda boring halfway through for me.

 

[PenguinAssault]

Hey guys! With Alpha almost at an end for PU, I think we can all agree if anything that it's been quite volatile and constantly shifting. This is why I wanted to bring light to a mon that I don't see too many people talking about, a couple of cool cores with it, and the difference between the sets.

JYNX

Stats

On top of looking like it is going to inconspicuously sweep your team, this mon has proved to be quite a monster. It's horrid defensive stats are very clear and obvious. Base 35 defense is not going to protect you from anything, as it takes around 45% just from a Hariyama Fake Out. Where this mon shines though is not at all as a defensive pivot (although it can afford to take some special attacks with a pretty impressive base 95 Special defense), but rather as a pure offensive glass cannon. Ice+Psychic actually has near perfect coverage, with the only thing even resisting it being Steel, and you can adapt your team to deal with those threats. Let's get into the sets of Jynx :)

Z-LOVELY KISS JYNX:

Importable Set

Jynx (F) @ Normalium Z

Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lovely Kiss
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Nasty Plot

...Ahhh Z-Lovely Kiss Jynx. This set is scary on top of downright powerful, but you are playing with quite some odds. On top of a 75% chance to actually land Z-Lovely Kiss, you will most likely be Nasty Plotting right after, so you need to hope that they do not get the lucky first turn wake up. Other than the odds though, I do think that this is quite possibly Jynx's premier set. With 317 speed, you become faster than all mons below a 109 uninvested speed tier, which can help quite a bit against some faster mons. Jynx's already impressive 95 BST Speed definitely helps with outspeeding for the Z move, and when you get it off, you become faster than the whole tier including a positive nature Ninjask. With this set though, I firmly believe that it should be used as a late game cleaner or a pivot into water types almost exclusively. One of the main things that kills Jynx off is priority more so than anything, and in order to avoid that you need to be able to have teammates that can not only dampen the effects of that, but also keep your jynx alive. The usual turn order with this set goes for a Z lovely Kiss, into a Nasty Plot, into the stab move of your choice to KO the opposing mon, however do not be afraid to only go for the Lovely Kiss (non z-move), as sometimes you will have to switch out right after due to a Hariyama or Monferno coming in. For the set, I prefer to use Psyshock as it allows Jynx to hit specially defensive mons (such as Yama on the switch in, Clefairy, Gallade, Regice, any Assault Vest mon) much harder than an ice beam.
Let's talk mons to Instant switch on though, you will not want to stay in against these mons in any situation (unless they are switching into it after another one of their mons just got put to sleep):

And that's about it. Without a boost up, there are a lot more pokemon that you will want to switch out of, but with the Z lovely kiss 1.5x speed, you can outspeed all of them, bar choice scarf users such as Scyther that will absolutely decimate you. All of these mons bar Klinklang and Magmortar present a threat as they can reliably OHKO you (Metang and Zangoose with rocks up) before you have a chance to kill them. Klinklang is here as he can reliably set up on you as you don't have the best coverage for him and then outspeed you after 1 turn. Jynx does hold somewhat of a niche though in it's ability Dry Skin, which allows it to heal from any water attacks. If you are sure that they are locked into a specs/scarf Water Move, switching to Swanna can be a great bet, and opposing mons with Aqua Jet cannot do a thing to you. I did not include any pokemon with sucker punch on here though, as you CAN outplay them if you can utilize Jynx's set. If the opponent does not switch out from the asleep mon, you can easily go for the 75% accuracy on Lovely kiss and just put them to sleep, and then sweep from there. However, Jynx can be countered by about 10 more pokemon with sucker punch if you do switch out the current mon that is asleep so that none of your team can fall asleep (but most people don't do that for some reason). Magmortar here is just to remind everyone that the ability Vital Spirit does exist, and you can be taken out easily if you don't remember it :).

CALCS WITH +2

+2 252 SpA Jynx Psyshock vs. 96 HP / 0 Def Poliwrath: 500-590 (144.9 - 171%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Jynx Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Swanna: 390-460 (134 - 158%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Jynx Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Miltank: 361-426 (91.6 - 108.1%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Jynx Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gallade: 339-399 (122.3 - 144%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Jynx Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 168+ SpD Probopass: 76-90 (23.4 - 27.7%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery (Probo walls us)
+2 252 SpA Jynx Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 132 SpD Skuntank: 333-393 (95.9 - 113.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

SUB-NASTY PLOT JYNX

Importable Set

Jynx (F) @ Life Orb or Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Lovely Kiss/Focus Blast/Psyshock

This thing can honestly turn into quite the effective wallbreaker while staying safe from one hit. Effectively, this set functions much like the Focus Sash set in that you can still afford to take a hit, but this one only sacrifices 25% of your health instead of all but 1%. This set is super useful for mons with Sucker Punch, as you can sub up, boost, and then start attacking all without ever losing more that 25% health. I also believe this set offers more coverage if you with the focus blast route, however it can work just as well with Mono ice beam, just be prepared to switch out more. I don't think this set is the strongest, and in fact it might be one of it's weakest, but it helps if the meta turns into Sucker Punch spam to be able to just sub up and then kill things with Nasty Plot boosted Focus Blast/Ice Beam. Life Orb also helps you decimate mons at the cost of recovery while Leftovers ensures you get some nice recovery while under the sub, although you are getting one-shot by most things so I actually prefer Life Orb a lot more.

Other Notable Jynx Sets

Other Notable Jynx Sets

Focus Sash:

Jynx @ Focus Sash
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Lovely Kiss
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast/Nasty Plot

Choice Scarf:

Jynx @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA/4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Trick/Energy Ball

Don't Ever use this Set:

Jynx @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 SpA/4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Timid Nature
-Counter
-Ice Beam
-Psychic
-Lovely Kiss

The other sets here are pretty self explanatory, with Focus Sash being able to take one hit and dish back some serious damage even without boosts thanks to it's 115 special attack stat, and usually outspeeding mons that will break it, so scoring quite a few KO's in before the opponent has time to react. Also, just as a note, the Focus Sash and the SubNP builds of Jynx are actually seriously threatening as leads, as the opponent will usually start off with a hazard setter and you can make quick work of them by bulking yourself up and turning into an unbreakable glass cannon. Choice Scarf allows you to outspeed the whole unboosted tier, however I feel that the Z-Nasty Plot set allows you to do this as well as boost your special attack, so I would only run Choice Scarf Jynx on teams that need a fast Ice/Psychic mon off the bat.

Finally, I wanted to talk about some of Jynx's best partners to pair up with on your team.

Analysis of Partners

Jynx appreciates a lot of things in life. Fine dining. Long walks on the beach. But nothing compares to Jynx's love of Hazard Removal and Mach Punch Pivots. Hitmonchan is PU's premier rapid spinner at the moment, and it's clear to see why. Sporting good base Attack and added special defense if running an AV set, this mon is rather slow but can effectively take out Jynx's threats in Hariyama, Lycanroc, Zangoose, and Steel types very well, which Jynx has a pretty hard time hitting. On top of that, Hitmonchan scares out the Sucker Punch mons in the tier such as Liepard and A-Raticate, and appreciates Jynx's ability to deal with fast flying types in the tier that pressure Hitmonchan out. Qwilfish is a very good partner as well, as it allows Jynx to OHKO anything that used to be a close 2HKO after just one layer of spikes, but after 3 can lead to Jynx getting some very clean KO's off (#JynxSpikes). Qwilfish also serves as one of the premier fighting type pivots as well as a bulky counterpart to the bulk that Jynx is missing. Qwilfish also respects the support Jynx brings in outspeeding and KO'ing almost all the grass types in the tier outside of a few like boosted lilligant. Finally, Silvally-Fairy can be quite a nice fighting check as well, can paralyze fast mons like Scyther so that Jynx can afford to be brought in and outspeed, and can Parting shot to give Jynx a better shot at pivoting in.

Okay, so that just about does it for my post. Hopefully it wasn't to much of a pain to read, and I really hope people start giving Jynx a try because it is one of the most fun play styles I have tried in PU, and I think a lot of the times it is severely overlooked as a special attacker only due to it's poor defensive typing and bulk in general, but who needs HP/DEF when you are a glass cannon, right? ;). Have a nice day everyone!

Hidden Jynx Tech

*I will be adding a list of all calcs on this post against the viable mons to see what you can and cannot OHKO with Jynx

 

[Slowbroth]

these teams probably will be outdated very soon, but I wanted to post some of my more creative teams here in a squad dump, abusing the broken shit while i can.

Typhlosion VoltTurn

importable

So here's a team I built, wanting to abuse Typhlosion's ability to wallbreak or simply OHKO half the tier. Typhlosion suffers vs bulky Waters like Lanturn and Poliwrath, as well as Thick Fat Hariyama, which is why it's paried with Klinklang, a great set up sweeper and can really abuse z-moves well. The idea is to use Klinklang to lure in its checks and weaken them with boosted Frustration or to simply Volt Switch out, giving its teammates a free switchin and momentum. Simply put, Typhlosion and Klinklang both share similar counters so using one of them to wallbreak for another is rather effective. Volt Switch Klinklang may seem weird, but I found myself not needing sub or wild charge, and preferred the momentum that it generated with volt. Mesprit is there for rocks and a fighting / malamar check, along with Liepard to stop set up sweepers and give a bit of speed control + u-turn support. Lurantis is for defogging to help Typhlosion and can also eat +2 barbarcle stone edges. gastrodon was the bulky water and volt immunity of choice, with the custom spread by someone on discord but credit to them. i found myself using this in roomtours with great success and matches went by super quickly.

Banded Golem Bulky Offense

importable

Banded Golem is something that came up in ORAS and has resonated with me ever since as one of the best wallbreakers. i wanted to try building with it because i found people simply were not running EdgeQuake resists and were using things like Piloswine or Gastrodon to blanket check them. Fire Punch is for hitting Bronzor and Sucker for powerful priority, rather self explanatory. Ferroseed paired well, as it checks Waters and Grasses for Golem, and can set up hazards. Between these two mons, there needed to be a fighting check, so calm mind 2 atks z-move musharna was fit here. It's one of my fav mons in the meta because of its incredibly high bulk and ability to blanket check certain threats like Kangaskhan and Gallade. the next two mons are from Taskr's post. hitmonchan spins for scyther and scyther takes on opposing psychics. i used a bulkier sd set because i felt the team needed some more set up to take advantage of golem's wallbreaking. finally scarf tauros works well thanks to scyther and golem's ability to pressure and chip normal resists. the team is pretty weak to typhlosion so playing vs it requires good attention and proper double switching, use of priority and use of hazards. i suppose you could try av hariyama with something else over scyther (liepard or malamar)

Specs Drampa Bulky Offense

importable

As you can see i enjoy building around strong wallbreakers and Drampa is no exception. it really threatens balance teams as specs draco nukes anything unresisted, while it can also utilize its other STAB hyper voice. tbolt hits Togetic and Fire Blast hits steels like Ferroseed and Bronzor. Drampa often lets Fighting types come in and revenge kill so Vileplume and Mesprit were added to check them. Vileplume also checks fairies for Drampa while Drampa soft checks Fire types like Pyroar and Typhlosion (although it really doesnt switchin). The rest of teh team focuses on speed and offense with a simple sub shift gear klinklang set, standard scarf primeape and sd rockium z lycanroc which adds speed and priority.

 

[Glaci4444]

I have more sets.

Gallade (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
- Leaf Blade

Gallade is just the physical offensive Pokemon PU needs. This set is what Gallades probably need. Fire Punch get the Ferroseeds out of the way, Close Combat for STAB, Knock Off for other Scarf users, and Leaf Blade for crits and coverage.

Plusle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nuzzle
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I feel like Plusle is overlooked. It's better than Minun because you're just adding defense to an already frail Pokemon, yet people still use Minun more. Well, this is a set for Plusle fans like myself out there! Nuzzle for paralysis, Thunderbolt for STAB, and Grass Knot and HP Ice for coverage. Why do people use Minun over Plusle? Can someone let me know?

Weezing @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Destiny Bond
- Toxic Spikes

Weezing can be used in this set as either a suicide lead or trick room counter. Toxic Spikes will most likely annoy people, making them use weak moves like Rapid Spin and Defog. Explosion just does too much damage, killing itself. If you don't know, Weezing is known for exploding. Destiny Bond is for countering trick room and when your Weezing is either at low health or can be one shotted.

Vanilluxe @ Leftovers / Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Substitute

Frankly, I'm surprised Vanilluxe hasn't left PU. It's an amazing Snow Warning setter, since it gained the ability. You can run Leftovers for extra bulk or Icy Rock for longer lasting hail. Blizzard has 110 base power and 70% accuracy. However, it can't miss in hail. RestTalk and Substitute are mainly for added bulk.

Yeah, those are my sets! Let me know your thoughts!

 

[TJ]

I have more sets.

Gallade (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
- Leaf Blade

Gallade is just the physical offensive Pokemon PU needs. This set is what Gallades probably need. Fire Punch get the Ferroseeds out of the way, Close Combat for STAB, Knock Off for other Scarf users, and Leaf Blade for crits and coverage.

Plusle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nuzzle
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I feel like Plusle is overlooked. It's better than Minun because you're just adding defense to an already frail Pokemon, yet people still use Minun more. Well, this is a set for Plusle fans like myself out there! Nuzzle for paralysis, Thunderbolt for STAB, and Grass Knot and HP Ice for coverage. Why do people use Minun over Plusle? Can someone let me know?

Weezing @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Destiny Bond
- Toxic Spikes

Weezing can be used in this set as either a suicide lead or trick room counter. Toxic Spikes will most likely annoy people, making them use weak moves like Rapid Spin and Defog. Explosion just does too much damage, killing itself. If you don't know, Weezing is known for exploding. Destiny Bond is for countering trick room and when your Weezing is either at low health or can be one shotted.

Vanilluxe @ Leftovers / Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Substitute

Frankly, I'm surprised Vanilluxe hasn't left PU. It's an amazing Snow Warning setter, since it gained the ability. You can run Leftovers for extra bulk or Icy Rock for longer lasting hail. Blizzard has 110 base power and 70% accuracy. However, it can't miss in hail. RestTalk and Substitute are mainly for added bulk.

Yeah, those are my sets! Let me know your thoughts!

To start off, Scarf Gallade isn't very good. If you are using Scarf then I could just imagine how piss weak Gallade is, since it doesn't have a boosting item. Not to mention, base 80 speed for a scarfer is very mediocre in general. Your Gallade set is pretty weird tbh, I don't really understand the random Fire Punch as Close Combat does a chunk to Ferroseed anyway. (252 Atk Life Orb Gallade Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Ferroseed: 252-299 (86.5 - 102.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock) So, you might as well use Zen Headbutt over Fire Punch since it has good coverage with CC hitting Poison types like Qwilfish, Weezing, Vileplume etc. Gallade is very versatile which means it can run a ton of viable sets such as Swords Dance 3 attacks with Life orb, Choice Band Trick, Bulk Up, Sub Wisp etc, all which are better than Scarf. If you wanted to use a scarfed Fighting-type, I would suggest using Sawk or Primeape.

Minum and Pluse are overlooked for reason because they arent viable. In fact, they are both outclassed by the other offensive Electric-types such as Zebstrika, Raichu-A, Manectric, Electivire, Rotom-Frost, and Electrode. People might use Minum over Pluse for personal preference but they both aren't viable and they should probably be using one of the Electric-types I mentioned.

This Weezing set seems to be all over the place if I'm being honest. I would suggest using Venipede or Qwilfish as a suicide lead. Not really sure how this set counters Trickroom either.. If you are gonna use Weezing then I would suggest using the standard physically defensive set with Will-O-Wisp, Sludge Bomb, Tspike/ Taunt/ Pain Split/ Haze/ or Flamethrower.

The reason why Vannillxe hasn't risen in usage is because everyone is using Aurorus. Aurorus has better utility in Steath Rocks and Encore, while also having Ice STAB and a way to hit Steel-types with Earth Power. And even if we were to lose Aurorous, I'm sure people will use Abomasnow > Vanilluxe anyway.

But anyway, these are just my thoughts and I hope you give it a read.

 

[Deleted User 400951]

I have more sets.

Gallade (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Knock Off
- Leaf Blade

Gallade is just the physical offensive Pokemon PU needs. This set is what Gallades probably need. Fire Punch get the Ferroseeds out of the way, Close Combat for STAB, Knock Off for other Scarf users, and Leaf Blade for crits and coverage.

Plusle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nuzzle
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I feel like Plusle is overlooked. It's better than Minun because you're just adding defense to an already frail Pokemon, yet people still use Minun more. Well, this is a set for Plusle fans like myself out there! Nuzzle for paralysis, Thunderbolt for STAB, and Grass Knot and HP Ice for coverage. Why do people use Minun over Plusle? Can someone let me know?

Weezing @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Explosion
- Gyro Ball
- Destiny Bond
- Toxic Spikes

Weezing can be used in this set as either a suicide lead or trick room counter. Toxic Spikes will most likely annoy people, making them use weak moves like Rapid Spin and Defog. Explosion just does too much damage, killing itself. If you don't know, Weezing is known for exploding. Destiny Bond is for countering trick room and when your Weezing is either at low health or can be one shotted.

Vanilluxe @ Leftovers / Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Substitute

Frankly, I'm surprised Vanilluxe hasn't left PU. It's an amazing Snow Warning setter, since it gained the ability. You can run Leftovers for extra bulk or Icy Rock for longer lasting hail. Blizzard has 110 base power and 70% accuracy. However, it can't miss in hail. RestTalk and Substitute are mainly for added bulk.

Yeah, those are my sets! Let me know your thoughts!

I think there some edits that could be made. For one, I'd use a set of CC/Zen Headbutt/Knock Off/Trick on Scarf Gallade. That's because Ferro is hit hard enough by CC and hates having its Eviolite knocked off, and Leaf Blade doesn't give that much coverage outside of Quagsire. Zen Headbutt lets it have the Psychic/Fighting/Dark coverage, which is fantastic, especially in this meta. Trick alleviates its relatively poor matchup vs stall by crippling of its members. That Quagsire is gonna be a lot worse when its locked into one move and isn't outspeeding much anyways. That being said, as the person above me said, Gallade isn't a good scarf user. I'd go Sawk or Primeape myself.

As for why people use Minun over Plusle, I honestly don't know, as I'm inexperienced with both. I'd think they'd be outclassed by Raichu-Alola (and Kanto Raichu) but who knows, they just might have niche I'm missing?

As for the Weezing set, I'd go for Sludge Bomb over Gyro Ball. It doesn't do as well against TR but it synergizes with T-Spikes better by having a 30% chance to poison Flying types and levitators who switch in, meaning they aren't safe either. That D-bond vs TR is great tho, but is useless vs other playstyles. I'd say Pain Split for some kind of recovery.

Finally, I prefer a Scarfed set on Vanilluxe. It serves me as a revenge killer and it's pretty good with such a spammable STAB. It also has free moveslots to run priority, Explosion, etc. In addition, Abomasnow functions better as a defensive Hail setter because of the better utility it has in more reliably beating Water types along with sustain in Giga Drain, a stronger Ice Shard, a defensive typing with more resistances, better special bulk (physically I think they're around equal) and Leech Seed to annoy the opponent. Pure Ice defensively isn't very good for Vanilluxe. If you want a defensive set though, I'd say Freeze-Dry over Blizzard because 8 PP is rather bad for a RestTalk set and Freeze Dry hits Waters like Quagsire super effectively. In addition, maybe Toxic over Sub to cripple defensive mons that wall your Slush Rush sweeper? I still think overall Abomasnow is the better defensive Hail setter.

Aurorus ofc outdoes these two thanks to SR and Encore but it's going to go up to NU, most likely, so it'd be kind of a waste to build with it right now. I swear if it doesn't I'm gonna be really pissed - f--- AV

Here's a good set of Abomasnow:

Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Ice Shard
- Blizzard / Substitute
This set I just whipped up is designed to use Abomasnow's utility moves to the fullest. I invested in special to make the most of the Electric and Water resistances. Sassy was my chosen nature because it's not outspeeding much even with a neutral nature. Giga Drain is the main STAB that lets it recover, and Leech Seed lets it sap the opponent's HP. Ice Shard lets it revenge threats for its team. Blizzard is a powerful attack in general while Sub completes the SubSeed combo that is so cancerous. You'll want an AV seter on your team - Alolan Sandslash is gonna rise up to NU so I'd sayJynx for the speed and Lovely Kiss, along with being a good offensive threat in general.

And before I even finish writing this I got sniped. :(

 

[dibs]

Like Slowbroth said these teams are gonna be outdated fast, so I figured I'd post the only team I'm happy with from this entire month.

Pom Pom Balance

Importable

purple zebra (Skuntank) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 232 Atk / 132 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt

ban me (Sawk) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off

message me hun xox (Jynx) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock
- Nasty Plot
- Lovely Kiss

mom's mascot (Prinplup) @ Eviolite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Defog

still rly gud (Gourgeist-Super) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis

WAY WAY WAY (Oricorio-Pom-Pom) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Revelation Dance
- Calm Mind
- Roost

When building I knew I wanted to build with banded Sawk since it's ridiculously broken. I paired it with pursuit trapping Skuntank to help deal with ghost and psychic types snd Granbull to make close combat as spammable as possible. I then added Jynx to round up a dark fighting psychic core. Next was to add hazard control, so I added prinplup since it can reliably defog and also provide a fire resist. Since fighting types are so present I added Gourgeist-Super since its arguably the most reliably fighting check at the moment. Oricorio-Pom-Pom as the last mon helped with the teams Scyther and Lilligant weakness, whilst also giving a strong win condition. Jynx also helped support Oricorio-Pom-Pom since psyshock is able to beat down Lanturns who try to switch in on ice beams.

Threats

Scyther is faster than the entire team and is able to pressure Oricorio if rocks are up, meaning that the banded set and the swords dance set can both do work to the team

The teams ice resists are Prinplup, which loses to freeze dry, and Jynx, which loses to flash cannon or explosion. Snow warning also removes Sawk's sturdy, which can be crucial in hyper offense match ups.

The team relies on Gourgeist-Super to be a normal check, but Tauros's fire blast is able to threaten a 2HKO. Aside from that it outspeeds the entire team and threatens OHKOs on 4 out 6 mons.

No electric immunity means strong volt switches can bop the team. Smart Skunk play helps mitigate this but it's still a struggle. I almost ran Togedamaru over Pom-Pom because of it.

The team has no dragon resist, so going against any dragon type forces you to play aggressively to prevent sacking a mon each time they come in.

Replays

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pualpha-612373099 vs Slowbroth Stall

 

[Taskr]

Okay so PU Alpha is at an end and like Slowbroth and Dibs I want to post a couple of teams that have been successful for me whilst climbing the ladder.

Rain

Liepard @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rain Dance
- Encore
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Manectric @ Electrium Z
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Volt Switch

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
- Waterfall

Mesprit @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rain Dance
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Psychic

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance

Oricorio-Sensu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Revelation Dance

This is pretty standard Rain Offense, I've posted about some of these mons before but here is the complete team. Liepard and Mespirit set rain allowing Ludicolo and Kabutops to wallbreak and sweep. Z-Manectric can weaken specially bulky stuff so that Ludicolo and Oricorio can late game sweep. The teams is pretty decent and can work wonders vs opposing Offense but it also struggles vs Stall and doesn't handle scarf scyther too well although that can be played around.

Zangoose Webs

Manectric @ Electrium Z
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Primeape @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Gunk Shot

Masquerain @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Quiver Dance
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain

Zangoose @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Toxic Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Quick Attack

Golurk @ Colbur Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Dynamic Punch

Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

This is probably my most used team on the ladder and I managed to peak #2 with it. I posted about the main core of this team in more detail in my last post but i'll go over some stuff again. Zangoose is a beast under Sticky Web due to all of the faster threats that would usually revenge kill it are slower and die to Facade/Close Combat. The Volt-Switch/U-turn core of Manectric, Primeape and Mespirit allow Zangoose to come in for free and get it's Toxic boost and claim a kill nearly every time. Golurk was added as a rocker to check fighting types and can also spinblock pretty decently. Primeape deters defoggers and checks Malamar with U-turn. Scyther is also a pretty big threat to this team but can also be played around, another threat is Klinklang if you let it set-up.

Residual Damage Offense

Oricorio-Sensu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Revelation Dance

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

Qwilfish @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes

Togedemaru @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 132 Def / 128 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Zing Zap
- U-turn
- Toxic
- Encore

Hariyama @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Knock Off
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This is a very fun team to use and it's build around the Malamar+Togedemaru core. I was tired of struggling to play around Scyther so I wanted to use something to punish it's u-turns and that's where Togedemaru comes in. The aim of this team is to build up residual damage on your opponents mons (hence the name} and then clean up with scarf Oricorio-Sensu who has nearly unresisted STAB coverage. Piloswine is a very nice offensive rocker who can also chip stuff with Ice Shard. Hariyama was added so that I could swtich in on Typhlosion decently well and provides Fake Out support. Qwilfish is good at checking Fighting types and laying up Spikes/Toxic Spikes in the process. Lastly Malamar is another cool win con that baits a lot of U-turns. Also I managed to get to #1 on the ladder using this team!

As a final note, I just want to say that the teams really aren't perfect due to the amount of threats we have in the metagame at the moment and some being pretty hard to check. But feel free to try them out and let me know what you think!

 

[Twix]

I made around 15 teams this past week that I've been trying out on the ladder and in room tours and since the meta will probably change pretty drastically I'm going to dump the ones that I had the most success with or the most fun playing with.

AV Guzzlord + Firium-Z Skuntank Offense

This was one of the first teams I had built when I started playing the new metagame and my most successful. I was in love with Guzzlord as soon as I saw it and built around 5 teams with it, but this one was just more successful than any of the others. AV Guzzlord is an amazing Fire, Water, Psychic, and Electric check and can dish out powerful Draco Meteors and other moves. He was the primary Special Attacker of this team, and basically the only one, but he did it's job well. Skuntank was chosen to pair up with Guzzlord due to its Poison-typing, access to Defog, and ability to lure in Steel-types with Fire Blast. This is the set I posted earlier in the thread which utilizes Firium-Z, and is also a solid revenge killer with Sucker Punch. Jumpluff is an underrated pivot in this metagame which has amazing Speed and access to Sleep Powder. It's one of my Fighting checks, and to an extent, a feasible Malamar check, as it can live a Superpower and Knock Off without an item. Silvally-Fairy was the main Fighting and Malamar check on the team, as well as another pivot and, when needed, a late game cleaner with Swords Dance. At this point I felt I needed a better answer to Fairy-, Ice- and Poison-types, as well as a reliable set-up sweeper, so I decided to use Klinklang, which worked out rather well. Finally, I found that I didn't have entry hazards at all, and did not want a frail setter, so I decided upon Piloswine. It also offers another Ice-check, Poison-check, and Scyther check, among others. All in all this team was very effective and got me 12 straight wins on the PU ladder (wow!) and some success in room tours.

replay

here's the one replay I managed to save:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pualpha-610011777

importable

Guzzlord @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave

Skuntank @ Firium Z
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Defog
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Fire Blast

Jumpluff
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- U-turn
- Seed Bomb
- Sleep Powder

Silvally-Fairy @ Fairy Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Multi-Attack
- Parting Shot
- Thunder Wave
- Swords Dance

Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Gear Grind
- Return
- Wild Charge

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Spike Stack VoltTurn

So this was a pretty standard Spike Stack team that I made and used to some success. Banded Scyther is one of my favorite Pokemon in the metagame as it can just switch-in and dish out major damage. You could also use Scarf Scyther for the added Speed, but I found that Band was more effective in revenge killing and cleaning. Grassium-Z Raichu is a set that I came across when I got destroyed in a room tour by it. It's a pretty amazing Rock-, Ground-, and Water-type lure, effective against the likes of Lanturn, Golem, etc. This worked well as Scyther struggles to take on those types. Both of them work well providing momentum to this team, which is very effective in tandem with the entry hazards. Qwilfish is the obligatory Spikes/Toxic Spikes user with some solid utility in Scald (Waterfall optional) and Intimidate. It was a decent check to physical attackers, although it lacks recovery. Piloswine was the Stealth Rock user I chose to use because It's one of my favorite Pokemon in the tier, providing an Ice check, priority, an opposing Scyther check, an Electric Check, etc. Kangaskhan is pretty deadly paired with Spikes with dual priority in Fake Out and Sucker Punch, as well as coverage moves such as Earthquake and Double-Edge. Finally, Hitmonchan was a necessary spinner and an effective Fighting-type with could switch into a few Special moves with an Assault Vest. It also worked as the third priority user on the team and a Rock-type and Steel-type check. Overall, this team was fairly effective in most matchups, but struggled against Stall (especially Sableye) as it couldn't really punish Defog users.

importable

Scyther @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Aerial Ace
- Bug Bite
- Brick Break

Raichu-Alola @ Grassium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Psychic
- Grass Knot

Qwilfish @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes

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

Kangaskhan @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake

Hitmonchan @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Rapid Spin

I'll probably add more teams when I get more time.

 

[Phelgming]

Is there any sort of consensus or discussion on Raichu-A (haven't looked too hard so sorry if there has been)? I've been struggling to get very far on the ladder (recently suffered a pretty bad losing streak), but a good amount of the success I've had has been in part thanks to this set:

Raichu-Alola @ Life Orb / Aloraichium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Psyshock / Grass Knot / Hidden Power Ice
- Electric Terrain

It's very similar in concept to Kingdra's Rain Dance set with some added momentum in Volt Switch and ability to deal with special walls in Psyshock (granted at the cost of a second STAB nuke like Draco Meteor and a better typing). Might be a moot point seeing as how they're in different tiers and don't really compete with each other, but I'm genuinely surprised no one's been talking about this guy. Is there something I'm missing? He's a great sweeper after set up and once his checks are gone, he's been hard for opponents to deal with.

Alolaraichium Z generally feels less impactful than Life Orb, but will allow Raichu to bust through SOME walls (and paralyze other stuff, I guess).
Psyshock is generally the optional move I'll always go with, but you have other options. Hidden Power Ice hits Grass, Ground, and Dragon types that resist or are immune to Thunderbolt, but obviously it's pretty weak and I generally opt not to go with it. Meanwhile Grass Knot hits Ground types harder while also dealing with Quaqsire and Gastrodon

For partners, I personally like Raichu-A with Eelektross for slow Volt Switching and a ground immunity (as well as Electric Terrain synergy I guess, but it hasn't played much of a factor) and various forms of Silvally that can take care of some of its checks/counters while giving further momentum with Parting Shot when the time has come to set up. Basically momentum is the way to go and I've found a fair amount of success with Eelektross/Scyther/Silvally as teammates.

Obviously you need to watch out for priority (especially Sucker Punch and Shadow Sneak), but luckily Raichu-A resists Mach Punch and Bullet Punch. As far a mons to watch out for... There's quite a few and a fair number of them, like it, are hot off of the press from SM so they're a more common than they otherwise would be (good or bad, I mean; I don't know, but it feels like I've run into a lot of Guzzlords and Palosand while playing with Raichu-A). Otherwise you've got stuff like Scyther before setup (you can run Timid to outspeed nonScarf versions, but you fail to OHKO bulkier versions without Rocks or some prior chip) to deal with which is rough, but it can be dealt with.

I haven't got any calcs or replays on hand atm, but I was thinking about it and figured I should post. What do you all think? Personally, once the viability rankings are up, I'd place Raichu-A at B or B+. Bear in mind, this is also still just one set; Raichu-A still has access to normal Raichu's sets (I think) and then some. All-in-all, I could see it making A-tier at some point.

 

[Slowbroth]

I think Alolan Raichu is decent, but not great, in this meta due to the fact that it faces 2 major obstacles that are everpresent on pretty much any PU team being Dark types (more specifically those with Pursuit or Sucker Punch) as well as the plethora of ground types and electric immunities. Skuntank is probably one of the more common Pokemon you'll see right now, mainly for the role compression to Defog and ability to check Psychics and Ghosts like Haunter, Mesprit, Jynx, Oricorio-Sensu, and of course Raichu-A. You'll also see Liepard and Shiftry every now and then. Theres also things like Scarf Scyther, Fake Out + Sucker Kangaskhan and AV Eelektross that check it pretty well. The main reason I think electric types in general are just so-so is because Lanturn is running around everywhere (to check Typhlosion), which is funny because Lanturn is probably the most common Electric type itself. So while it's true that it can be a great sweeper after its checks are gone, there are often simply too many things to get rid of to facilitate a sweep, much less an Electric Terrain sweep, especially considering metagame trends.

that being said, i do think these sets that ive tried are also worth mentioning and viable:

Choice Specs

Choice Specs
Raichu-Alola @ Choice Specs
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast

Nasty Plot

Nasty Plot
Raichu-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast

or

Raichu-Alola @ Grassium Z
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Grass Knot

specs raichu has the ability to 2HKO lanturn on the switchin with psyshock and has a harder hitting volt switch (focus blast is best coverage imo, as it hits ferroseed, guzzlord and can 2hko quagsire). it still has the same problem as other psychic types / raichu-a sets, since it gets pursuit trapped easily, but at least this set hits hard immediately and can outspeed pyroar, typhlosion and nonscarf scyther at the same time. nasty plot is also an effective set as it is a seriously threatening balance breaker for those builds that rely on lanturn as a lazy electric check. grassium z is an especially threatening set as it deals with lanturn instantly (+2 252 SpA Raichu-Alola Bloom Doom (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 132 SpD Assault Vest Lanturn: 400-472 (102.3 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO ) as well as hitting golem, quagsire, gastrodon, piloswine, mudsdale and regirock.