Tea Guzzler
forever searching for a 10p freddo
[SET]
name: Power Herb (Defense)
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Power Gem / Stealth Rock
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Grass Knot / Thunderbolt
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Well-rounded base stats, Meteor Beam, and Beast Boost make Nihilego a potent wallbreaker and late-game cleaner. A Defense donation allows Nihilego to shed its poor physical bulk, making it difficult to revenge kill even with a lower Defense donation from the likes of Rayquaza or Yveltal. Meteor Beam + Power Herb provides an instant boost to Special Attack, giving Nihilego the strength it needs to kick off a sweep or wallbreak. Power Gem is used to hit common defensive staples like Landorus-T and Ho-Oh for high damage. Stealth Rock allows Nihilego to use its good bulk to support its team while still threatening to sweep. Sludge Bomb is necessary to stop Nihilego from being stone-walled by Unaware Clefable and Assault Vest Tangrowth and potentially offer some mid-game utility by poisoning opponents. Grass Knot hits Ground-type targets, like Groudon, Gastrodon, and Quagsire, which can otherwise stop Nihilego's sweep. Alternatively, Thunderbolt maintains super effective coverage against Water-types and has stronger neutral coverage against Steel-types, such as Bisharp, which would otherwise halt a sweep.
Nihilego's best fit is on offense teams which can give it the support it needs to sweep. Magnet Pull Magnezone and Fire-type teammates like Victini and Heatran are appreciated for their ability to pressure Steel-types, which prevent Nihilego from sweeping; Fire- and Fighting-type coverage from teammates like Mewtwo and Kartana can also contribute. Nihilego's defensive typing means it can check threats like Tapu Koko and Galarian Moltres and so it can form a strong defensive backbone with the likes of Clefable and Landorus-T until it can freely sweep. Nihilego also appreciates faster teammates like Tapu Koko and Weavile that can help pick off faster threats, as its base 103 Speed outruns most relevant gods and their receivers but isn't stellar by any means.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Nihilego can reduce its Special Attack EVs to 176, which ensures that Beast Boost boosts Speed. This helps Nihilego sweep offensive teams where it can get away with relying solely on Meteor Beam's Special Attack boost, but severely impacts its sweeping and wallbreaking ability against every other team style. A bulky utility set with Power Gem, Sludge Bomb, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off can be used as an entry hazard setter that also checks Tapu Koko; however, it faces heavy competition from Landorus-T and Tyranitar as an entry hazard setter and Rotom-H as a Tapu Koko check, all of which offer similar or better utility. Toxic Spikes is an option to harrass the opponent with poison, but hazard removal options being near-exclusively immune to them limit its effectiveness.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Common Steel-types like Necrozma-DM, Zamazenta-C, and Ferrothorn can completely prevent Nihilego from sweeping whilst also threatening heavy damage back, but the latter two lack reliable recovery.
**Ground-type moves**: Earthquake and Earth Power remove Nihilego instantly due to its 4x weakness. Faster threats like Zygarde-10%, Scolipede, and Choice Scarf users can exploit this.
**Excadrill**: Excadrill does not care for Nihilego's attacks, as it commonly receives Special Defense donations and is not very threatened by Grass Knot, so it can use Nihilego as setup fodder or clear the field of entry hazards.
**Knock Off**: Without its Power Herb, Nihilego cannot safely use Meteor Beam and thus can struggle to get the initial power needed to successfully sweep.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Tea Guzzler, 577920]]
- Quality checked by: [[beauts, 484270], [UT, 523866]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Isaiah, 375662]]
name: Power Herb (Defense)
move 1: Meteor Beam
move 2: Power Gem / Stealth Rock
move 3: Sludge Bomb
move 4: Grass Knot / Thunderbolt
item: Power Herb
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Well-rounded base stats, Meteor Beam, and Beast Boost make Nihilego a potent wallbreaker and late-game cleaner. A Defense donation allows Nihilego to shed its poor physical bulk, making it difficult to revenge kill even with a lower Defense donation from the likes of Rayquaza or Yveltal. Meteor Beam + Power Herb provides an instant boost to Special Attack, giving Nihilego the strength it needs to kick off a sweep or wallbreak. Power Gem is used to hit common defensive staples like Landorus-T and Ho-Oh for high damage. Stealth Rock allows Nihilego to use its good bulk to support its team while still threatening to sweep. Sludge Bomb is necessary to stop Nihilego from being stone-walled by Unaware Clefable and Assault Vest Tangrowth and potentially offer some mid-game utility by poisoning opponents. Grass Knot hits Ground-type targets, like Groudon, Gastrodon, and Quagsire, which can otherwise stop Nihilego's sweep. Alternatively, Thunderbolt maintains super effective coverage against Water-types and has stronger neutral coverage against Steel-types, such as Bisharp, which would otherwise halt a sweep.
Nihilego's best fit is on offense teams which can give it the support it needs to sweep. Magnet Pull Magnezone and Fire-type teammates like Victini and Heatran are appreciated for their ability to pressure Steel-types, which prevent Nihilego from sweeping; Fire- and Fighting-type coverage from teammates like Mewtwo and Kartana can also contribute. Nihilego's defensive typing means it can check threats like Tapu Koko and Galarian Moltres and so it can form a strong defensive backbone with the likes of Clefable and Landorus-T until it can freely sweep. Nihilego also appreciates faster teammates like Tapu Koko and Weavile that can help pick off faster threats, as its base 103 Speed outruns most relevant gods and their receivers but isn't stellar by any means.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Nihilego can reduce its Special Attack EVs to 176, which ensures that Beast Boost boosts Speed. This helps Nihilego sweep offensive teams where it can get away with relying solely on Meteor Beam's Special Attack boost, but severely impacts its sweeping and wallbreaking ability against every other team style. A bulky utility set with Power Gem, Sludge Bomb, Stealth Rock, and Knock Off can be used as an entry hazard setter that also checks Tapu Koko; however, it faces heavy competition from Landorus-T and Tyranitar as an entry hazard setter and Rotom-H as a Tapu Koko check, all of which offer similar or better utility. Toxic Spikes is an option to harrass the opponent with poison, but hazard removal options being near-exclusively immune to them limit its effectiveness.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Common Steel-types like Necrozma-DM, Zamazenta-C, and Ferrothorn can completely prevent Nihilego from sweeping whilst also threatening heavy damage back, but the latter two lack reliable recovery.
**Ground-type moves**: Earthquake and Earth Power remove Nihilego instantly due to its 4x weakness. Faster threats like Zygarde-10%, Scolipede, and Choice Scarf users can exploit this.
**Excadrill**: Excadrill does not care for Nihilego's attacks, as it commonly receives Special Defense donations and is not very threatened by Grass Knot, so it can use Nihilego as setup fodder or clear the field of entry hazards.
**Knock Off**: Without its Power Herb, Nihilego cannot safely use Meteor Beam and thus can struggle to get the initial power needed to successfully sweep.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Tea Guzzler, 577920]]
- Quality checked by: [[beauts, 484270], [UT, 523866]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Isaiah, 375662]]
Last edited: