Metagame NP: RU Stage -1: Message to Oglemi, Nails, and Honko (VENOMOTH STOLEN FROM US))

[Kevun]

I actually had some pretty similar thoughts to this recently but I arrived at the same conclusions you did about its glaring shortcomings. The problem isn't that Virizion is bad, it's that it isn't the best choice for most of the roles it can fill.

It has unremarkable offensive typing for the tier - fighting is solid but isn't really complemented well by grass. It's SD sets are overshadowed by Cobalion, who can afford to run substitute instead of desperately needing Stone Edge or Gallade who can recover some HP with Drain Punch (even if it is less bulky). Non SD sets can't pick up momentum like Cobalion, don't have the threat levels of Hitmonlee, has worse coverage that Emboar (who is also a solid choice for going mixed, which Virizion really isn't), isn't as good a choice user as Medicham...

It wishes it had the support options of Ammonguss or Gourgheist.

As a special attacker, it's okay... Nobody really likes using Focus Miss as their STAB option. It lets you take hits like a monster but there are a ton of things that come in safely (most notably, frickin Tornadus but also delphox, escavalier, brokenmoth, reuniclus, yanmega, moltres, cresselia, etc).


Now, don't get me wrong: it isn't bad, per se. This just isn't the tier for it to shine.

I would have to disagree with this. Virizion is a perfect fit in RU, and most of the comparisons you made were irrelevant. You seem to say that its Grass/Fighting typing is its downfall, but its quite the opposite - that's the one thing that distinguishes Virizion from its competition. Its unique typing is its greatest asset, resisting the EdgeQuake combo and giving it important resistances to Grass, Water, and Electric - meaning it counters and sets up on completely different things than, for example, Cobalion, notably Rhyperior and Sharpedo. Think As for Grass and Fighting offensively, although it has less neutral coverage than Fighting/Steel, it has better super effective coverage. Also, Cobalion definitely cannot afford to run Substitute over Stone Edge, as that would allow many things like Moltres, Delphox, Slowking, and Jellicent to counter it. Sure, it doesn't need it nearly as badly as Virizion, but almost always runs it. Plus, it has much higher speed than Gallade, which is easily revenge killed. Of course, Cobalion and Gallade have their advantages of Virizion as well, but Virizion certainly isn't outclassed in the slightest.

Plus, Delphox, Yanmega, Moltres, Veneomoth, and Escavalier definitely cannot switch into it safely. Unless Scarfed, all of them get outsped by Virizion and OHKOed at +2 with Stone Edge (CC in the case of Escavalier if SR is up). Tornadus and other Flying-types are also a gamble, since its pretty darn easy to predict the switch-in. Plus, if you're using Virizion effectively, you'd definitely have teammates that can take care of Flying-types.

The only real set you should be running is Swords Dance, as all the other sets, including Calm Mind, are pretty much outclassed, like you said. Nobody's going to run a support set, because Amoonguss and Gourgeist do it better in most regards; nobody's going to run a All-Out Attacker or a Choiced set, because like you said, there are things that outclass it. However, it is amazing at its best set - Swords Dance, and in this role, it is defenitely not outclassed. It simply is different from the others. For example, +2 Virizion gets past many things that stop Cobalion, like Alomomola and Slowbro (even Gligar, because of Leaf Blade's higher BP), thanks to its Grass-typing. I'm not saying Virizion is better than Cobalion, but you can't say that easily that Cobalion is better than Virizion.

To conclude, Virizion is a good fit in RU; it's certainly not the best, but definitely better than your description.

Btw, Amoonguss still hard counters CM Virizion, since it usually caries Clear Smog.

 

[atomicllamas]

anyone know some good checks to cobalion? does anything hard counter it? i'm seeing a ton of this thing on the ladder recently, and it can be tricky to play around since it has so many options.

Slowking is probably the best Cobalion response in the tier, resisting both STABs, having decent defenses, Fire Blast and Scald also deter set up. In general though, Cobalion has a tough time getting around bulky waters like Alomomola and Jellicent, though Jellicent is easier to wear down than Slowking and Alomomola with Volt Switch and Hazards (which Cobalion can also run). Gligar hard walls all variants without HP Ice, but it can't really do anything to Magnet Rise Cobalion which is pretty popular due too how common Rhyperior and Gligar are. Hitmontop doesn't really care about anything that Cobalion does thanks to intimidate, and usually being physically defensive, it also has STAB Close Combat which helps. Cofagrigus and Weezing are also very good options for taking out Cobalion, as Cofagrigus has incredible bulk, Will-o-Wisp, can break subs with Shadow Ball, and has access to haze if you let it get too many boost. Weezing has really good physical bulk and Flamethrower / Will-o-wisp. Qwilfish and Uxie are also decent choices although Qwilfish can't break 4/0 Cobalion subs without investing a lot in attack, so that kind of sucks. On top of this it is easily disposed of by fast special attackers such as Scarf Moltres, Scarf Delphox, Scarf Rotom-C and Heliolisk after some prior damage. Without Magnet Rise already intact, Dugtrio is a really good response because it can revenge kill it and it can't escape.

TL;DR There are a lot of ways to deal with it, its just something you have to account for in team building otherwise it will destroy you.

 

[astromund]

anyone know some good checks to cobalion? does anything hard counter it? i'm seeing a ton of this thing on the ladder recently, and it can be tricky to play around since it has so many options.

252 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Doublade: 24-29 (7.4 - 9%) -- possibly the worst move ever

Doublade resists or is immune to every one of physical Cobalion's options, being damaged more by volt switch than any other move in its arsenal. Sacred sword is a 2HKO on 4/0 Cobalion, and a 3HKO on 252/0 Cobalion. CM sets with HP dark will beat you if they CM on the switch, but outside of that particular situation Doublade beats it handily.

 

[DopestDope]

I'm looking for a decently balky special attacker that could be used with or without Av. Any suggestions? I've been trying out AV Mowtom as of late and it works okay.

 

[Kevun]

I'm looking for a decently balky special attacker that could be used with or without Av. Any suggestions? I've been trying out AV Mowtom as of late and it works okay.

You're describing an *extremely* wide category here. I mean, things like Clawitzer, Reuniclus, Meloetta, the Rotoms, Slowking, Moltres, Mesprit, and Cresslia fit your description, but they all fill vastly different roles. It really depends on your team which one fits, so more description would probably be needed.

 

[DopestDope]

Something with decent bulk and SpA with a good typing and coverage I guess is what I'm looking for. I'd probably stay away from psychic types because my team is already weak to knock off as it is. I was thinking of Rotom-F but Electric/Ice doesn't seem like it would be a very good defensive typing.

Looking through the pokemon in the tier, Eelektross seems like it might be a good candidate. If not, I'll try out Mesprit.

 

[Stellar]

I gave RU its own forum. Molk & his goons will be posting sticky threads and such soon. If you encounter any permission errors, leave me a visitor message. :]

 

[Peef Rimgar]

I was looking at the teambuilder and was wondering: What makes Golbat relevant in RU? It doesn't seem to do anything it didn't last gen, with the exception of hitting fairies SE, which is kinda irrelevant with the exception of Aromatisse and the very rarely used (no pun intended) Granbull. If someone could give me a particular set that makes it RU material that'd be great

 

[Melons-N-Soda]

The only reason that I think it's RU is because it is a decent supporter (Mainly with Defog but also Taunt) as well as it's pretty decent ability for a supporter. It's essentially a weaker Crobat that is a bit bulkier when EV'd properly. Still have no idea why it's RU. Sure it's a good Defogger/Crippler, but aside from that it's kind of useless. (Also I believe this is the first gen where the Hitmons are all in the same tier (At least for now))

I believe 2 people explained it better than I ever could IMO.

 

[viol and bass]

Fairies and Defog are the biggest difference, but the infiltrator buff is, I would think, a big deal for Golbat as well. Using Toxic and Brave Bird through subs is a big draw.

 

[Mowtom]

I'm looking for a decently balky special attacker that could be used with or without Av. Any suggestions? I've been trying out AV Mowtom as of late and it works okay.

I've been summoned. Hi. To answer your question, Exploud might work (doesn't need great coverage when it has Scrappy Boomburst). Slowking could work also. It really depends on the rest of your team.

 

[Expulso]

Heyo, I'm Expulso, here to bring you this (relatively) new core!

Choice Specs Delphox is a very powerful threat in today's meta, with very few threats able to safely switch into it. However, some, like Slowking, Cresselia, and Reuniclus, can successfully weather Delphox's assaults. What do all those Pokemon have in common? A Dark weakness.

Spiritomb provides decent type synergy with Delphox, with its sole weakness, Fairy, resisted by Delphox; the two Pokemon also share no weaknesses. Delphox can also tank burns that cripple Spiritomb, and Spiritomb can absorb Thunder Waves headed for Delphox; it's so slow that it doesn't care.

In conclusion, Delphox / Spiritomb is a very useful, fun and effective core that I urge you all to try out! A good partner for this core is a Grass-type, like Tangrowth, Rotom-Cut or Virizion, who can cover Delphox's Ground, Water and Rock weaknesses.

Importables below!

Delphox @ Choice Specs / Expert Belt
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot
- Switcheroo / Shadow Ball / Sleep Talk

Spiritomb @ Choice Band / BlackGlasses / Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
- Trick / Will-o-Wisp

 

[-Tsunami-]

Hello noble members of the RU community. Today I would like to bring you a threat so devastating that it can take down teams with only a couple of blows. This extraordinary force had been locked in chains and sealed inside the deepest walls of the community by two evil monsters known as 'the broken fish from DPP UU' and the 'I'm immune to all Water-type attacks and can KO you with Gunk Shot, Sucker Punch, and Drain Punch frog,' but with the dismissal of both of these creatures, the beast has been unleashed, and it is now time to share with the community the god so fearsome that it even has the word 'King' as part of its name. Introducing the legendary behemoth known only by one name...SEAKING.

Seaking @ Life Orb
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 24 Atk / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Rash Nature
-Agility
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Megahorn

Seaking is truly a monster to be feared in the RU metagame. Its immunity to Electric-type attacks is one of the great wonders of competitive Pokemon, and is said to bring extreme joy to the user of Seaking when Seaking is hit by an Electric-type attack from a foolish trainer using a mediocre Pokemon such as Electivire. This grave mistake will leave the opposition in the perilous position of facing a deadly +1 Special Attack and +2 Speed Seaking due to the Agility boost it has now been able to receive due to the free turn that was granted upon it. After an Agility, Seaking outruns Scarf Moltres and all of the plebeians below it, and is able to wreak terror on the metagame with the amazing coverage provided by Hydro Pump and Ice Beam. Seaking is neutral to the priority attacks in the tier, making it even harder to take down. Megahorn allows Seaking to take advantage of its most deadly asset: its horn. Psychic-types such as Cresselia truly fear the damage Seaking can inflict to it with this deadly move, and its sheer power can be enough to win games by itself. Be warned, however, as only highly skilled veteran players like myself can use Seaking effectively; the legend states that if Seaking deems its user unworthy to be in its presence, Seaking will draw lightning with its ability and its trainer will be vanquished.

 

[Molk]

I just wanted to come here and post to say that Tornadus has been officially quickbanned from the RU tier in a unanimous vote. The ban should be implemented on PS asap. This time the RU council decided to so something a little different for reasoning, once a descision was made, we used a ppad discussion to type out one, simple reasoning paragraph.

Tornadus's combination of power, speed, versatility, and lack of reliable checks and counters makes it pretty obviously worthy of a quickban, especially now that one if its few good checks (Raikou) has moved up to the UU tier. While there are still some (emphasis on some, there are very few and a lot of them aren't exactly the most viable otherwise, fucking carbink lol) checks and counters remaining in the RU tier, they are all easily worn down, and most (all barring Eelektross and the mighty Rotom-Spin) are capable of being trapped and beaten by Dugtrio, a very common teammate for Tornadus. Not to mention quite a few of these checks are only able to beat a few of Tornadus's sets, and actual counters or even hard checks are few and far between. The physical set beats down many of the specially bulky pokemon that can threaten mixed sets, and vice versa. For example, Rhyperior beats the physical sets handily, but gets easily OHKO'd by a Grass Knot from a special or mixed set.

TL;DR Tornadus has very few checks to begin with, and the majority of the ones that do exist are either garbage otherwise, capable of being easily trapped and eliminated by dugtrio, or both.

 

[Holy Dom]

The only reason that I think it's RU is because it is a decent supporter (Mainly with Defog but also Taunt) as well as it's pretty decent ability for a supporter. It's essentially a weaker Crobat that is a bit bulkier when EV'd properly. Still have no idea why it's RU. Sure it's a good Defogger/Crippler, but aside from that it's kind of useless. (Also I believe this is the first gen where the Hitmons are all in the same tier (At least for now))

It has great physical defensive typing, Infiltrator to stop Sub setup, useful support moves (Haze, Whirlwind, Taunt, Defog, Toxic), access to instant recovery, great Flying STAB to abuse (and Flying is one of the best offensive typings in the game), decent speed for a Defensive mon, and a new resist this Gen.

I don't see the point in calling it a weaker Crobat that's "a bit bulkier", when Crobat is obviously going to be stronger since it's Golbat's evo.

You argument is similar to comparing Porygon2 and Porygon-Z. Bringing up a comparison between them is pointless, especially with them being in two different tiers, since they play their roles in a different manner. And have different roles as well.

Plus saying a wall is useless outside of its role as a wall is redundant. That's like saying a sweeper is useless outside of hitting hard.

 

[EonX]

Glad Tornadus is finally gone. Although I'll have to replace it on my rain team, that's a small price to pay for removing one of the most broken mons the tier had. Now I can finally get to using Virizion without feeling like something major can hold me back at any point. Fighting- and Grass-types in general will likely benefit the most from this, but which ones will benefit the most? Virizion, Sceptile, Tangrowth, Poliwrath, Gallade? Is there one that isn't on the radar that may just very well be viable now? And the big quesion is; what can attempt to replace Tornadus? Will Moltres return to its former glory, or will some other fast Flying-type rise up to take over Tornadus's role, like, say, Braviary or Swellow?

The removal of Tornadus just raises so many questions, but none of them are bad and all of them are going to be fun to explore. Can't wait to try some stuff out (aside from Virizion of course)

 

[trc]

Yeah, Virizion was a good Pokemon before, but I think that the departure of Tornadus is really what it needs to push it up from NU levels of usage. The SD + 3 attacks set with Lum Berry is really effective, as Virizion's high Speed enables it to sweep with relative ease after a boost. Tornadus was one of the few things outspeeding it, and fortunately, it is now gone. Of course, it is still checked by things like Choice Scarf Moltres, Choice Scarf Emboar, Swellow, and Choice Scarf Braviary, but that doesnt stop it from being effective, especially since most of these Pokemon are weak to Stealth Rock. Sceptile hasn't been seeing much use in the tier recently. In BW, it capitalized on its insane Speed and ability to go special or physical to keep the meta guessing. One of the main reasons I predict it wasn't receiving much usage was because of the arrival of Shaymin, which really gave it competition. Now that it and Tornadus are gone, it may have a chance to shine.

 

[Turtleye]

Heyo, I'm Expulso, here to bring you this (relatively) new core!

View attachment 13000

Choice Specs Delphox is a very powerful threat in today's meta, with very few threats able to safely switch into it. However, some, like Slowking, Cresselia, and Reuniclus, can successfully weather Delphox's assaults. What do all those Pokemon have in common? A Dark weakness.

Spiritomb provides decent type synergy with Delphox, with its sole weakness, Fairy, resisted by Delphox; the two Pokemon also share no weaknesses. Delphox can also tank burns that cripple Spiritomb, and Spiritomb can absorb Thunder Waves headed for Delphox; it's so slow that it doesn't care.

In conclusion, Delphox / Spiritomb is a very useful, fun and effective core that I urge you all to try out! A good partner for this core is a Grass-type, like Tangrowth, Rotom-Cut or Virizion, who can cover Delphox's Ground, Water and Rock weaknesses.

Importables below!

Delphox @ Choice Specs / Expert Belt
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
- Grass Knot
- Switcheroo / Shadow Ball / Sleep Talk

Spiritomb @ Choice Band / BlackGlasses / Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
- Trick / Will-o-Wisp

Where is my credit

Looks like a cool little core Expulso. You still need something for strong Rock, Ground and Water moves but yea, now Tornadus is gone, Grass types will have a better time so that problem is solved. Speaking about Grass Types, I think Virizion might be a cool 'mon for this, since it resists all three mentioned weaknesses. Definitely going to try this out.

 

[EnerG218]

I just wanted to come here and post to say that Tornadus has been officially quickbanned from the RU tier in a unanimous vote. The ban should be implemented on PS asap. This time the RU council decided to so something a little different for reasoning, once a descision was made, we used a ppad discussion to type out one, simple reasoning paragraph.




TL;DR Tornadus has very few checks to begin with, and the majority of the ones that do exist are either garbage otherwise, capable of being easily trapped and eliminated by dugtrio, or both.

Though I agree with the ban, I feel like this reasoning can be used on other pokemon. Let's say for example Moltres, who too has great power, speed, and versatility. Though Moltres has quite a few viable counters, they are still worn down pretty quickly (252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Jellicent: 160-188 (39.6 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery, 252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Meloetta: 185-218 (45.7 - 53.9%) -- 2.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery). Though moltres can't run a physical set, it can run very bulky sets as long as it watches out for Stealth Rock, and other rock types can be taken out with a Hidden Power Grass. The only thing that really makes Tornadus better than Moltres is just its amazing speed.

and only being 2x weak to rocks
^ nice edit molk
also:
23:51 Molk moltres is strong af in general

 

[EonX]

EnerG218 , while Moltres is strong, there are quite a few things holding it back. Firstly, it's 4x weak to Stealth Rock, squandering the decent bulk it has. While removing hazards has become easier with Defog, there simply aren't many good users of the move in the tier, and most of them (bar Shiftry and Skuntank) have pretty poor defensive synergy with Moltres. As for spinners, they are all generally going to have a hard time with Cofagrigus and Dusclops. Now, every move Moltres used in bw got a slight power nerf to it. While it isn't much, it does matter a bit. There's also Assault Vest. This new item gives things like Druddigon and Slowking a much better shot at holding up against Moltres, especially the latter who has Regenerator to often outlast Moltres. Here's some calcs:

fun stuff

Moltres vs. Assault Vest Pokemon

vs. Druddigon: 252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Druddigon: 157-187 (43.9 - 52.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock. Tres wins if it hits 2 straight Hurricanes
vs. Meloetta: 252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 121-142 (30 - 35.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock. Psyshock and Hyper Voice OHKO after Rocks
vs. Slowking: 252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hurricane vs. 248 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Slowking: 134-160 (34 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock. you're causing 1-7.7% damage upon every switch-in due to Regenerator. Congratulations!

Then there's Speed. Base 90 is nowhere near what base 115 is. Delphox, Virizion, Zoroark, Cobalion, and Yanmega are just some of the notable threats capable of outspeeding and OHKOing Moltres with Rocks (Cobalion and Virizion don't even need that thanks to Stone Edge) These are all threats that Tornadus simply had no problem with demolishing with the proper move while Moltres will rarely be able to handle a hit from them if Rocks are up. Of course, Moltres is still a pretty strong Pokemon and is something you shouldn't sleep on whatsoever. But to say that Moltres is anywhere near as centralizing as Tornadus was (which is the issue i had with it rather than its lack of reliable checks and counters) is kinda stretching it.

 

[phantom]

Recently, I've been trying to find a good physical Normal-type that fits my team and nothing seems to be working right. I tried Ambipom, but it's literally outclassed by almost every Normal-type in the tier and is just a manifestation of all of their flaws put into one Pokemon... Cinccino was ridiculously frail, easy to pick off, and couldn't break past certain walls. I tried Kangaskhan and while it was bulky and had nice dual priority in Sucker Punch + Fake Out, I found it a little too weak for my tastes. Then I decided to try out this monster....

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

While it's not as fast as Cinccino nor as bulky as Kangaskhan or as mediocre as Ambipom, its power is fucking phenomenal. Zangoose gained two indirect buffs in XY: an improved Knock Off and an improved Facade. With the combination of Knock Off and a Toxic Orb-boosted Facade, Zangoose can easily OHKO Gligar after Stealth Rock. What's more, is that it can 2HKO freaking max/max defense Alomomola unboosted. Facade is also pretty cool considering if Zangoose gets burned for whatever reason, it isn't automatically dead weight, meaning it can still wallbreak to a certain extent. Close Combat is also extremely powerful, easily 2HKOing 252/0 Rhyperior, Escavalier, and Registeel with no prior damage. I found that Zangoose is a little too frail to be setting up a Swords Dance, so I just decided to go for Quick Attack in order to pick off frailer threats; for instance, it can KO Sharpedo after rocks + a bit of prior damage, which is great considering offensive teams need as many checks as they can for that thing. As for natures, I personally prefer Adamant for the extra power, but Jolly has merit in that so can outspeed +spe base 80s like Gallade, neutral 95s such as Drapion and Yanmega, and potentially speed tie with +spe Moltres or Meloetta. So yeah, this is a really nice hidden gem that I've had fun using.

So, I'm kinda curious, what Pokemon have you guys have been using that might not have been receiving the attention it should?

 

[Vratix]

I admit that I may have been a bit harsh but you're you were a bit too generous as well (although, now that Tornadus is gone, it really helps Virizion's case).

Plus, Delphox, Yanmega, Moltres, Veneomoth, and Escavalier definitely cannot switch into it safely. Unless Scarfed, all of them get outsped by Virizion and OHKOed at +2 with Stone Edge (CC in the case of Escavalier if SR is up).

Yanmega can come in on anything but the Stone Edge, protect once to outpace and then:
252+ SpA Life Orb Yanmega Air Slash vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 530-624 (163.5 - 192.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
and (so far) Speed Boost is still more common (but not necessarily better) than Specs Lens.

Whereas, you HAVE to get that +2 to net the OHKOs on the others (ignore Venomoth, not even a decent check to physical Virizion) and if you run Lefties over LO, which you should not, Escav lives a +2 CC 94% of the time and can KO back with Megahorn so you get to play prediction games-- again Tornadus leaving cuts a lot of this out. It's mere presence really changed things for Virizion. But that still leaves the bulky psychics (Reuniclus and Cress) and the bulky ghosts (Cofag, Spiritomb, and Doublade [and lol dusclops/dusknoir]) who can all come in safely and threated with either the KO or the W-o-W, and I suppose Whimsicott is a pretty safe switch too.

Not to mention all the ways it can be revenged.

The only real set you should be running is Swords Dance, ... and in this role, it is simply is different from the others. For example, +2 Virizion gets past many things that stop Cobalion, like Alomomola and Slowbro (even Gligar, because of Leaf Blade's higher BP), thanks to its Grass-typing. I'm not saying Virizion is better than Cobalion, but you can't say that easily that Cobalion is better than Virizion.

This is all fair. And you're right, I can't definitively say that SD Cobalion is better or worse than SD Virizion. I can say that Cobalion is overall better because it does not have to run an SD set to keep from being outclassed. I can also argue that Bulky SD Gallade has enough pros to cons to consider using over Virizion (recovery via drain punch, access to priority, coverage options, etc) despite Virizion being better with an offensive SD set.

To conclude, Virizion is a good fit in RU; it's certainly not the best, but definitely better than your description.

I guess this accurately sums up all of our posts on the topic. I want to point out that I never said Virizion was bad, (I specifically said the opposite), I just didn't think it was the best in any of its roles. You have rightly pointed out it is a top contender for a SD sweeper slot. Good discussion.

 

[WebBowser]

Just started playing today, and I noticed that there are a LOT of viable defensive eviolite flyers, we have vullaby, gligar, golbat, and even togetic. All of them have great typing, good support, defog, stupid bulk with or even without eviolite, reliable recovery, and slow u-turns / baton passes (I'm a volt turn player, K? that's relevent). I had to struggle to not make an entire defensive core of these guys.

 

[Capitan Bravo]

Been using Regirock for awhile now, I like the set, and can tank any physical hit that isnt Fighting, Water, Earth, Grass.
Regirock @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 170 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk / 82 SDef
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
Any suggestions for this set?

 

[g]

Been using Regirock for awhile now, I like the set, and can tank any physical hit that isnt Fighting, Water, Earth, Grass.
Regirock @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 170 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk / 82 SDef
Impish Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
Any suggestions for this set?

Use Rhyperior