The Next Best Thing - Sawk [Voting]

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sup y'all. close but annoyer wins!

dracoyoshi8: 4
HotNCold: 6
celever: 1
Raseri: 3
Infernis: 1
Annoyer: 7
FLCL: 2

now time to hopefully influence the ladder for the next mon:

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spinning bug
 
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Armaldo (is shit) @ Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor

pacoooooooo This Armaldo set is basically a take on Armaldo's offensive capabilities. Armaldo's typing is not that great but its two STABs are actually really good offensively in the metagame. SubToxic is used to cripple some of it's usual switch-ins such as Alomomola (speed evs are designed to outspeed it but you can run less if you want to), Regirock, Golurk, and others. Substitute is good offensively for Armaldo because it can force out a couple of switch-ins because many will switch into a Ghost-Type trying to block the Rapid Spin or you can force a switch out against like a Musharna and the sub makes up for its low speed allowing it to throw out really powerful attacks. Sub can also block status etc. This set also surprises people that think that Armaldo can be free set-up for something like Samurott but then they feel the power of a base 125 Attack stat which 2HKOs otter easily. It has pretty good bulk so it can take a powerful hit from like Swellow and retaliate with a Stone Edge. (Armaldo is pretty bad in general js)
 
Armaldo @ Water Gem
trait: Swift Swim
Jolly Nature
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
-Aqua Tail
-Rapid Spin
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor

If you're gonna use Armaldo, you need to fine a way to get past at least one of the spin blockers in NU. In this case, the only spin blocker that Armaldo can reasonably break past is Golurk. The Speed evs let you outspeed standard Golurk while Water Gem + Aqua Tail allows Armaldo to effectively lure out Golurk and OHKO.

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 176 HP / 0 Def Golurk: 344-406 (94.76 - 111.84%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO

It's a good amount of damage. Anyway, Rapid Spin is the whole reason you even want to run Aqua Tail. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are just there for the sake of STABs and what not. Even when Aqua Tail isn't targeting Golurk, it still does a fair amount of damage to a couple of other things. So it's not completely useless. Works even better on dedicated rain teams.

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 4+ Def Bastiodon: 166-196 (51.23 - 60.49%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Probopass: 208-246 (64.19 - 75.92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
 
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Armaldo@Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 HP
Jolly(suggested by Treecko) Nature
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail

Offensive Armaldo is usually used on rain teams as a rain sweeper, so it makes sense to give it Aqua Tail IF you aren't using it as a spinner. Rain-boosted LO Aqua Tail hits like a truck vs ground-types that usually attempt to wall Armaldo: a prime example is golurk:
252 Atk Life Orb Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Golurk in rain: 450-530 (124.3 - 146.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
whereas:

252 Atk Life Orb Armaldo Stone Edge vs. 172 HP / 0 Def Golurk: 125-147 (34.53 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Aqua Tail helps beat out some mons that otherwise wall Armaldo(beating Golurk is an impressive feat considering it's high usage in the tier).

The set also lures in Golurk(as it's a good spinblocker and walls all the usual sets of Armaldo) and then KOes with Aqua Tail, the key move.
EDIT: Ninja'd by Icecream but at least the sets are different :)
 
Armaldo (is prehistoric shit) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail

If you're using Armaldo at all, you're using it to spin and nothing more, since its defensive typing is shit and is too slow to sweep anything, so instead focus on the spinblockers, your main obstacle. With Aqua Tail you can hit Golurk, whereas Lum Berry gives you insurance against Misdreavus's Will-o-Wisp. Stone Edge seems like obvious STAB, but is needed against Drifblim and lol Shedinja, thus it is favored over X-Scissor. I know it seems a waste to give up that Bug STAB, but you signed up for this when you chose ballerina Armaldo over kickass hazard-stacking Scolipede (if you don't want to join them, it still may not be a necessarily good idea to beat them), plus Rock + Water is decent coverage anyway.

Hone Claws is used over Swords Dance for 2 reasons: 1) your attacks are pretty inaccurate Stone Miss ugh; 2) it avoids a possible 2HKO from Misdreavus's Foul Play while still 2HKOing back (first) with accurate Stone Edges, as well as OHKOing 80 HP Golurks, both guaranteed. Swords Dance can still be used if you want to KO a healthy Missy though, but be wary of that miss. After the Ghosts are taken care of, you are free to spin (if you can). 192 Speed + Jolly just overtakes 176 Speed + Adamant Golurk. Yes, I'm aware Missy can burn you twice, but now that Stone Edge has perfect accuracy, I think that would be a good time to rely on that crit rate, which you've never even considered first when using Stone Edge :P

252Atk +1 Armaldo (Neutral) Stone Edge vs 252HP/220Def Eviolite Levitate Misdreavus (+Def): 50% - 59% (162 - 192 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.
252Atk +1 Armaldo (Neutral) Aqua Tail vs 80HP/0Def Golurk (Neutral): 101% - 119% (344 - 406 HP). Guaranteed OHKO.
 
The onsite one shouldn't even try Superpower tbh, Ghosts are enough a bother as it is. It's pretty outdated.

Edit: Infernis has ballsiest set that don't give a damn~
 
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Armaldo (is #YOLOSWAG) @ Lemonade
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 Spe / 56 HP
Adamant Nature
-Swagger
-X-Scissor/Stone Edge
-Iron Defense/Substitute
-Swords Dance

Alright, we all know that Armaldo takes mad skills to use effectively. This set, on the other hand, has a tiny chance of working no matter how terrible it is. 200 Speed EVs let you outrun Punchshroom's set, and then you Swagger with your mad skills to make the enemy punch himself in the face. While he does that, maybe set up a substitute, or if you have the balls for it start getting that Iron Defense all up in there. Once you're invincible, start dancing around with swords. You don't give a damn, you're using Armaldo and fuck the world. If the enemy figures out what's happening, just Swagger some more. Kill everyone with your choice of X-Scissor or Stone Edge. Once you're at +6, sweep the world. Battle armor is for preventing terrible hax that would crit through your Iron Defense. Hax is the enemy of this set. If the opponent is wildly lucky and manages to avoid being confused for 3 turns straight, you are entirely justified in calling him/her/them a hacker. Lemonade is better than drinking expired milk while you dance around. You only live once, so why not spend it with more flavorful beverages?
 
Armaldo @ Life Orb
Trait: Battle Armor
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Aqua Tail

rock polish is strong. It isn't that hard to set up Armaldo right now due to its great bulk. At +2 you outrun everything up to but not including Swellow, so you can wreck Scolipede, Charizard and Jynx with your STABs. It also resists Fake Out so it does well against Kanga, the bane of set up sweepers. X-Scissor is to hit Grass-types like Tangela as well, and Aqua Tail > Golurk and Ground-types. Rock Polish Armaldo is a fun set to paly with, and doesn't suck like most other sets :)
 
Yeah, sure, I'll go ahead and throw a set on here, why not?

Armaldo @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

Like Raseri said before me, Armaldo has a pretty easy time setting up, so why not go with two boosting moves? Rock Polish can be used if you're facing a faster, yet weaker team, while Swords Dance can be utilized against bulkier, slower teams. The EdgeQuake combo hits everything but Torterra for at least neutral damage, so those are the two moves of choice on this set. What's great about Armaldo is that, with it's pretty good bulk, there's also a possibility of nabbing a second boost as long as you're facing down a physical attacker. The choice of items is entirely up to what you think would work best on your team, as Life Orb helps with the getting those coveted OHKO's, Leftovers is a lifesaver for those who want to grab extra boosts, and Lum Berry can be used to get a free boost if you predict that the opponent might try for a status inflicting move (which people love to use on Armaldo.)
 
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Armaldo@Lum Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- X-Scissor
- Superpower

That's the set which I often use like spinner on rain team. SR is too dangerous, so a spinner (so fast on rain) is really important. I usually use Lum Berry to put away from annoying WoW or other attempts to afflicting status. This set provides a strong synergy with Seismitoad, what is involved to put SR. Evs and nature Adamant are the same as SD's set, , Stone Edge and X-Scissor are STAB Atk.
Finally SuperPower; it is difficult for the opponent does not remain surprised, when switch on with a rock/steel pokemon and gets right coverage on Normal-type.
 
Armaldo @ Water Gem
trait: Swift Swim
Jolly Nature
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
-Aqua Tail
-Rapid Spin
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor

If you're gonna use Armaldo, you need to fine a way to get past at least one of the spin blockers in NU. In this case, the only spin blocker that Armaldo can reasonably break past is Golurk. The Speed evs let you outspeed standard Golurk while Water Gem + Aqua Tail allows Armaldo to effectively lure out Golurk and OHKO.

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 176 HP / 0 Def Golurk: 344-406 (94.76 - 111.84%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO

It's a good amount of damage. Anyway, Rapid Spin is the whole reason you even want to run Aqua Tail. Stone Edge and X-Scissor are just there for the sake of STABs and what not. Even when Aqua Tail isn't targeting Golurk, it still does a fair amount of damage to a couple of other things. So it's not completely useless. Works even better on dedicated rain teams.

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 4+ Def Bastiodon: 166-196 (51.23 - 60.49%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Water Gem Armaldo Aqua Tail vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Probopass: 208-246 (64.19 - 75.92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Wouldn't you use Battle Armor if Armaldo wasn't being used on a rain team?

Yeah, sure, I'll go ahead and throw a set on here, why not?

Armaldo @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 4 Def / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

Like Raseri said before me, Armaldo has a pretty easy time setting up, so why not go with two boosting moves? Rock Polish can be used if you're facing a faster, yet weaker team, while Swords Dance can be utilized against bulkier, slower teams. The EdgeQuake combo hits everything but Torterra for at least neutral damage, so those are the two moves of choice on this set. What's great about Armaldo is that, with it's pretty good bulk, there's also a possibility of nabbing a second boost as long as you're facing down a physical attacker. The choice of items is entirely up to what you think would work best on your team, as Life Orb helps with the getting those coveted OHKO's, Leftovers is a lifesaver for those who want to grab extra boosts, and Lum Berry can be used to get a free boost if you predict that the opponent might try for a status inflicting move (which people love to use on Armaldo.)

Isn't this almost completely outclassed by Double Dance Torterra, who is faster and has better bulk?
 
Armaldo @ Life Orb
Trait: Battle Armor / Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail

Similar to Raseri's, but with the added bonus of Substitute. The loss of Bug-type coverage isn't much as it doesn't hit too many things super-effectively. Stone Edge is STAB, Aqua Tail for coverage, Rock Polish to whatever Armaldo threatens (not many). Yeah, it seems like I'm not promoting my set but Armaldo freakin blows.
 
I'd be more inclined to vote for Raseri or vyomov is their sets were Jolly. It's basically exactly what Raseri said in his post: "At +2 you outrun everything up to but not including Swellow..."

I feel like outspeeding Swellow is pretty important, though maybe that's just because I use Swellow a lot (more than I should), and I've run into a few Swift Swim Armaldo on the ladder that I've beaten strictly because my Swellow outsped their Armaldo in the rain.

Anyways, like I said, it's just my thinking on the matter. I love Swift Swim Armaldo and even got user: the wolf, to use it on her rain team. She's loving it because of how easily it can beat Grass-types, which rain teams usually struggle against. One thing's for sure: offensive Armaldo is undoubtedly better than Rapid Spin.
 
That may be so, but considering Armaldo is basically one of the only spinners to hold its own against the Ghosts, it still has that niche to fill.
 
I'd be more inclined to vote for Raseri or vyomov is their sets were Jolly.
Edited. The reason I'd kept it Adamant is because Jolly Armaldo fails to guarantee an OHKO Golurk in Rain but I re-checked with LO and Jolly fits so yes, now my set does outspeed Swellow!
 
Before I start voting I want to post that you guys should actually try to post proper sets, that have use outside of beating their counters. A few sets posted this time weren't actually counters at all and were just stupid sets without much thought going into them. So, while I'm not going to actually link the sets again because it still doesn't link properly, I'm going to say here that you can't vote for Tagliatelle21's set or Infernis' set. Also, as an extra note, those two users are disqualified from posting a set for the next round (which will happen from now on) to deter people from posting sets without little thought competitively (but they can participate in the following one).

Anyway, you guys have two days, feel free to vote for any of the others!
 
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