All Gens Find a Niche: Kabutops

[Excal]

Poliwrath might have a bit of potential in DPP being that it is the only Water/Fighting type, which is actually a great typing for the metagame. It can do pretty decently vs Tyranitar and Heatran, notably. However, it's killed by a poor stat distribution and most importantly a shallow movepool: it is one of the only fighting types that does not have access to Close Combat or Superpower. It's funny, because if Poliwrath happened to have No Guard, it would be an incredibly good pokemon (moves like Dynamic Punch, Hypnosis, Hydro Pump, Blizzard, even Focus Blast). Water Absorb is great but not enough to compensate for Poliwrath's many issues.

Encore is a great move, and I think Poliwrath has potential to use it decently. Another classic set in like 2010 was something like Sub, Focus Punch, Ice Punch, Bulk Up. Because of its nice defenses, Poliwrath can probably use Bulk Up decently: a Rest Sleep Talk Waterfall Bulk Up set. shockproof used a Custap Poliwrath set at one point, which was pretty hilarious and has some potential as well. Those are likely the three best sets for it, but I did make this ridiculous meme set a very long time ago:

Gumby (Poliwrath) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 8 SpA / 152 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Mind Reader
- Dynamic Punch
- Hypnosis
- Hydro Pump

And to no one's surprise, it's absolutely awful. I tried my best to make Poliwrath work, but I couldn't ever justify using it over something else. Maybe someone can try innovating around it and making it slightly more useful, but that's all I've got

 

[Jorgen]

In GSC OU, Politoed is better at using the "classic" Belly Drum set (the one without Physical STAB) because it can actually 3HKO Skarm with Surf. So Poliwrath needs to leverage its fighting typing to work: primarily in terms of actually using Fighting STAB, and more subtly in terms of abusing its Rock and Dark resistances to get in unscathed against Tyranitar.

Unfortunately, Poliwrath's STAB options all kind of stink. Dpunch is whiff city. Submission also misses a lot and has recoil, too. Hidden Power Fighting drops your stats and is kinda weak, but it's probably your best bet because it still reliably 2HKOes Skarm at +6, and still leaves you enough HP and Defense to avoid being KOed by Skarm's Drill Peck after you use Belly Drum.

Then there's the issue of coverage. Nothing pairs with Fighting the same way Normal pairs with Water, so there's always going to be something you can't touch. Normal is probably your best bet, honestly, as it's your best bet at solid damage against Zapdos and Exeggutor, even if it means you can't touch Gengar or Misdreavus (but hey, at least there's Pursuit support). If you're not a coward, Hyper Beam can cleanly OHKO Zapdos and Exeggutor at +6. If you are a coward, Return lets you KO Zapdos and Egg at 70% instead of, like, 57%, so although it doesn't really get you any OHKOs from full, it's still worth using over something like Body Slam. You should be busting out Poliwrath to tear things apart, not to spread paralysis. That said, a move like Double-Edge isn't worth using because it doesn't get OHKOs and saddles you with massive recoil. Recoil is important because Poliwrath likes being able to use its bulk to tank a Snorlax Double-Edge or Skarmory Drill Peck.

Lovely Kiss rounds out the set. Earthquake might be an option here if you can't do Pursuit support, but LK lets you create way more openings to drum.

Set recommendation (no slashes because those are for cowards):

Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Belly Drum
Hidden Power Fighting
Hyper Beam
Lovely Kiss

 

[Oglemi]

Whew, lots of opinions on the frog man!

How about this one?

Dodrio was long considered one of the best, if not the best, Normal/Flying in the game for the first few gens, but has always been sub-OU since its inception. Later introductions of Staraptor and Braviary have given it some major competition. With such a large crowd of Pokemon sharing its typing, which in itself is pretty subpar, can we find a niche for the puzzling bird?

 

[Excal]

Unfortunately in DPP, there is absolutely no viable niche for Dodrio. Even Staraptor struggles to find any use because Normal/Flying is actually not great typing. This is because since fighting types are so strong in DPP and Stealth Rocks are typically difficult to get rid of, flying types really have to resist fighting to be genuinely worth a slot. Basically, there's no reason to ever use Dodrio over the likes of Gyarados, Dragonite, Zapdos, etc as your flying type. Togekiss has a much more diverse movepool and a much better stat distribution, which allows it to be a decent gar check. Dodrio gets destroyed by Gengar anyway despite having the typing for it. It's unfortunately just that bad.

Because Dodrio is almost completely outclassed by Staraptor, the only unique set is probably the super classic endure/sub ones. The way it would likely work is something clears the weather so it can stay at 1 HP and hopefully get rid of priority users along the way. Dugtrio could be good support to get rid of Tyranitar so that the weather can be cleared.

Dodrio @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Endure
- Agility
- Drill Peck
- Flail

In short, Dodrio sucks :(

 

[Eeveeto]

Strong bird is strong!

Triple Bird (Dodrio) (M)
Ability: Run Away
- Hyper Beam
- Drill Peck
- Body Slam
- Agility / Substitute / Toxic

Other optiones: Mimic ( very gimmick), Double Edge ( can,t think of any situation when it would gelp) and Rest ( will never wake up ).

Dodrio in RBY is one of the very few Mons that can use a strong Flying STAB. This means that it scares Exeggutor and Victreebel. Dodrio Normal STAB hit with more power (but slighty less crit chance) that Tauros and with the same power as Snorlax (with a lot more crit chance). As a lead, Dodrio has a reasonable chance (46,5 % without factoring Crits or Misses) to OHKO Jynx and it reliably 2HKOs Exeggutor ( who has been getting more popular as a lead as far as I know). It also 2HKOs Alakazam (but gets 2HKOd or paralyzed) while fishing for Paralisis. Due to this, Dodrio is a viable Mon in Normal SPAM teams as well as in teams that struggle with lead Exeggutor or Exeggutor in general (teams with Rhydon, for example). Swithing into Dodrio is a difficult task unless you have a rock, due to the birds high Attack and crit chance.

Unfortunately, thats where the good things end. Dodrio is really frail and gets 2HKOd or OHKOd by everything. Weaknesses to Electric, Ice and Rock annoy the poor bird even more and like Zapdos, its completely incapable of killing Rhydon and Golem.

Still, among non-OU Mons, this is one of the strongest in the Tier, especially as a Lead in Normal SPAM teams. The 4th Slot in his moveset has 3 options: Agility to negate paralisis, Sub if it manages to force a switch or Toxic to chip Rhydon and Golem.

Good Mon, in general, just not Top Tier due to his frailty.

Dodrio (M) @ Leftovers /Pink Bow
Ability: Run Away
- Drill Peck
- Double-Edge
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Bad Mon in GSC. Not the worst, but still with a low viability in OU. Totally walled by every single Rock and Steel. Can,t 2HKO Zapdos even with Pink Bow as an item. If you manage to eliminate Steels, Rocks and Zapdos, can actually do some damage... but what can,t ?

Dodrio (M) @ Pink Bow
Ability: None
- Drill Peck
- Endure
- Flail
- Return / Hidden Power Fight

If only it was legal to start the battle with 1 HP... The idea of this set is to resist a strong move with 1HP, and then do some impressive damage with Flail. Every Mon that doesn,t resist Normal gets 2HKOd by Flail and since many Mons in GSC will be sleeping, Dodrio can get some free turns to pull it of...

Still, eaiser said than done. Rocks and Steels still wall this set and at 1HP, Dodrio will die if it receives even a Scratch. Heracross with Reversal does this set better, except against Zapdos and Spikes (quite important advantages for out favourite bird).

Dodrio in GSC OU is a really bad Mon (with some cool niches) and should only be used for novelty. However, in UU its a lot stronger and both of the above sets ( with some variations) will shine there.

Triple Bird (Dodrio) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Early Bird
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Baton Pass
- Drill Peck
- Frustration
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Other options: Agility + Batton Pass ( Zapdos exists), Quick Attack for priority, Tri Attack for hax, Body Slam for more hax, Double Edge for slightly more damage, Hyperbeam for a risky nuke (opp can set-up after you use it) before dying. If you want to use Facade fearing Status, use the same set with Swellow.

Dodrio is a strong, fast but frail Normal/Flying Mon in ADV OU. You can use it in 3 types of teams:
-Flying SPAM Teams, with Salamence, Gyarados, Aerodactyl and even Band Zapdos as a partners.
-Normal SPAM Teams, with Snorlax, Tauros and Slaking as possible partners.
-Triple head teams. Aka teams with Dodrio, Dugtrio and Magneton (you can use Exeggutor too for the lols, but the strategy involves the above 3 Mons). Dodrio counters tend to be weak to at least one trapper, and Dodrio happens to learn Batton Pass. So, the idea is to atract those counters and escape from them with BP, bringing a trapper safely to eliminate the threat.

Dodrio's frailty still works against it in ADV, thats why it has so low usage. Still, a viable Mon with a definite niche that can also act as a Sleep Absorber due to having Early Bird.

Btw, is there any reason apart from preserving the locked Tiers by which Dodrio (and a few other BL Mons) is not UU? Omastar is S Rank Mon there, other Rocks (Golem, Cradily, Solrock, Lunatone) are viable, Mawile sometimes appears and all electric types except Lanturn either Speed-Tie ( Raichu) or outspeed it (Manectric, Electrode and Electabuzz) while having Static to criple it.
So, the only reason I see for not allowing Dodrio in UU is because Tiers are locked. However, other Low Gen Tiers had changes in the recept past ( see GSC UU and NU), so why the same can,t be done in Adv so that some BL Mons can finally get usage anywhere?


From DPP Staraptor appeared, stealing all the niches that Dodrio could have had in recent Gens.

 

[Jorgen]

Dodrio is OK in RBY. As aforementioned it's really really frail and has no coverage, although if your opponent isn't packing a Rock, Dodrio can do some real damage with its Snorlax-powered Hyper Beams.

In GSC it's trash in OU. In UU it's actually a reasonably dangerous attacker, but in OU it has Tauros to compete with. Tauros! As in, he-who-also-isn't-super-good Tauros.

Dodrio's main differentiating factor is STAB Flail, but the problem is that it doesn't get Substitute to set it up, it speed ties Zapdos instead of outspeeding it, and most importantly, it just doesn't OHKO anything with Flail. Reversal is good because the massive power + STAB + good SE coverage (most teams will have 3x Pokemon that are weak to fighting) mean a lot of things die in one hit. Not so with Flail. That said, Flail is probably Dodrio's best set; at least it doesn't require Spin support unlike the good Reversal users (Heracross has the big name but protip, Hitmonlee can set itself up with Substitute and outspeeds Suicune/Nidoking!), and though it OHKOs precious little from full, it could potentially go on a tear against a team struggling with chip damage and status. Maybe. If you can get your opponent in such a position when essentially playing 5-on-6 that is.

Your next best bet is probably something like

Dodrio @ Berserk Gene
- Hyper Beam
- Hidden Power Fighting
- Double-Edge
- Drill Peck

Just an all-out attacker. HP Fighting can OHKO Tyranitar from full with the +2 boost. Hyper Beam OHKOs Zapdos and everything physically frailer. Being able to actually OHKO things from full and not needing to finesse its way into setting itself up are what make this worth using over a Flail set. In other words, this thing is a wallbreaker rather than a sweeper. Double-Edge lets you go for KOs against things that have been chipped without having to resort to Hyper Beam - recoil doesn't matter because you're using Berserk Gene, you're only going to be alive for like 3 turns anyway if you're lucky, and when you do get lucky you want to be hitting as hard as possible. Drill Peck nails Egg & Ghosts and other things like Machamp and Heracross.

Tauros does this better, though, thanks to better coverage and enough Speed to outpace Zapdos. But Dodrio's better Attack guarantees an OHKO on Zapdos with Hyper Beam, so that's something I guess. It's certainly better than trying to run a more "reserved" sub + 3 attacks set with Dodrio and relying on things like Hidden Power Fire (4HKO on a sleeping Skarm) or Low Kick (!) to get past things. In the end you're probably better off using a Pokemon with Explosion than something with BG Hyper Beam though.

 

[badabing]

i tried out dodrio with choice band in gen 4 ou. it doesn't really fit because steel types 100% wall it. i basically brave birded and sacced it verse jirachi which allowed gyarados to sweep

here's the replay http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4ou-892944014

 

[morty123]

Dont see what exactly Dodrio can do in gsc onwards, i mean, doesnt Skarmory just sit there and laugh at it? Steelix isnt taking that much dmg from HP ground/fighting either.
Its a fine pokemon in UU, however.

Is gen 1 the best place for OU Dodrio, due to the lack of steel types?

 

[Dre89]

I think Dodrio is a bit underrated in RBY. I think it’s a serious option on wrap teams, because it’s one of those Pokémon that can’t switch into anything, but almost nothing likes switching into it either. Wrap let’s it get in for free, and wrappers deal with rocks well who are the only Pokémon who don’t mind switching into dodrio.

 

[Oglemi]

We'll kick it up a notch and jump to a Pokemon that was first introduced in GSC

Tragically, the best dog design-wise ended up being the worst of the trio. Entei's appearances in standard play have been nearly non-existent. What kind of niche can we find for the saber tooth?

 

[Excal]

Entei actually can be a really cool attacking lead in DPP. With access to Will-O-Wisp, a really powerful attacking stat with STAB Flare Blitz, good priority in Extreme Speed, and a Lum Berry, Entei actually can match well vs many common leads like Metagross, Machamp, Roserade, Azelf, Aerodactyl, etc. 28 Def EVs are used to always live a stone edge from Aero, using your own Stone Edge + Extreme Speed to reliably beat it. I forget if I tweaked the EVs any more than this when I tried this out like a year ago, but yeah, this is actually viable.

Entei @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 28 Def / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stone Edge
- Extreme Speed

 

[Vengeance417]

Entei @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes (since Extreme Speed is only legal on the event Shiny Adamant Entei)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Extreme Speed
- Stone Edge
- Bulldoze

ORAS has probably been the kindest to Entei out of every released Generation thus far (it has even seem some play in VGC '15). With the newly-gained Sacred Fire, and the Burn status still deducting 12% health each turn unlike in Sun and Moon, it's such a difficult Pokemon for just about anything to switch in to. Defog being a new method to remove Stealth Rock and other entry hazards off the field has also helped Entei and its other Fire-type brethren enormously.

Would-be safe switchins such as Azumarill, Tyranitar, Mega Diancie, and Garchomp are threatened by Sacred Fire's 50% burn chance. Even special attackers that resist Sacred Fire such as Keldeo, Lati@s, and Analytic Starmie hate having to deal with Burn residual this gen. Extreme Speed provides Entei with a very strong priority attack that manages to out-prioritize Gale Wings Talonflame, as well as helping it pick off weakened set up sweepers such as Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X and Quiver Dance Volcarona. Stone Edge lets it knock out bulky Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y while also being the best move it has for Rotom-W, and Bulldoze prevents Entei from being walled by Heatran and Tyranitar.

Entei does have to worry about Pokemon that don't care at all about Sacred Fire's 50% burn chance. CroCune is probably one of Entei's worst matchups due to the opposing Pressure limiting Sacred Fire to just 4 uses, and the fact that Suicune can use it as set up bait with Rest, Sleep Talk, and Calm Mind. Rotom-Wash takes next to nothing from most of Entei's attacks and threatens it back with Hydro Pump or even the rare Thunder Wave. The presence of Heatran in Team Preview also forces Entei to think twice about clicking Sacred Fire. Post-Toxic Orb Gliscor just comes in and recovers all damage dealt by Entei with ease while threatening to Earthquake it back.

 

[FriendOfMrGolem120]

GSC

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: none
IVs: 6 HP / 24 Atk / 24 Def
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Sunny Day

Unlike Moltres, Entei is not weak to electric attacks which makes its matchup vs Raikou and Zapdos better. Fire Blast is the STAB move of choice since its special attacking stat is not that high and you want as much damage output as possible. Having Spikes support is recommended as Fire Blast is unlikely to 3HKO Snorlax even in Sun and Spikes ensure that it can't reliably switch in while it still has 2 sleep turns to burn after resting earlier. Entei also has access to Solar Beam so mons like Suicune and Vaporeon don't handle it as well. Sunny Day is a rather obvious choice. Entei doesn't have as many good options for the last slot but HpFighting ensures that you would win a 1v1 vs Tyranitar as Solar Beam doesn't 2HKO it.
Charcoal could be an alternative item but I haven't theorized that as much.

 

[phosphor]

seems like a fun thread, BW

Entei @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Extreme Speed

Entei really sucks. Its niche is Extremespeed, but because it needs an Adamant nature to use it it loses beating a lot of T1 Rachi leads which really really sucks. As such, I've made into a utility stallbreaker? which tries to defend itself vs Scarftoed/ Lando/ Latios (Espeed does 46% to Toed and Latios BTW) and burns Jellicent/ Ttar... it's Heatran/ Rotom bait tho and dies really fast in sand. I tried.

 

[vapicuno]

ADV OU

Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Fire Blast
- Substitute

The canonical ADV OU Entei set is CM/Fire Blast/Hidden Power/Sub due to its ability to get 101HP subs to set up on Blissey. That set easily lures in Tyranitar, Suicune and Snorlax. Fortunately, physical Entei takes advantage of the opponent's preconceived notion of special Entei especially seeing Substitute, and has the tools to severely damage or chip those things because its high stat is Atk, not Sp.Atk. A worse Blaziken, but has the surprise factor and lack of need to do much predicting with Double-Edge. It still gets stopped cold by Milotic, but who doesnt?

 

[Oglemi]

This guy saw some love during SPL, but was it totally warranted?

The big bad bear is here! With one of the highest Attack stats in the game, especially post-ADV factoring in the Guts boost, can we find a niche for the VILLAGE CRUSHER?

 

[phosphor]

BW

Ursaring @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Quick Feet
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Facade
- Close Combat
- Crunch

There's something to say about a mon that doesn't outspeed Terrak/ Keld after a glorified DD- it fucking sucks. Needs Mag support too and hates Sand, and even in optimal conditions it gets one kill then dies to Latios. Don't use this

 

[Excal]

DPP OU

Ursaring @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 48 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Facade
- Crunch/Fire Punch

Ursaring is a unique Pokemon in DPP OU, with a large attack stat, a decent HP, and slightly below average defenses. While I would barely consider Ursaring viable, it has a really large movepool, so it's definitely something that can be fun to experiment with. I'd say the best way to potentially use Ursaring in DPP would be to use it under Trick Room and Dual Screens (Light Screen & Reflect) as a devastating Swords Dance sweeper. Quick Feet imo is out of question because it'll die too fast and its speed tier is too slow to really make use of the ability compared to Guts, which is much more threatening. The provided EVs minimize residual damages done to Ursaring via sand and burn and speed creep Clefable. Its coverage is really good but it won't be able to break through Pokemon like Skarmory and Bronzong, so Fire Punch may be a good alternative to Crunch; however, +2 Guts-boosted Facade should still do a ton of damage to basically anything.

 

[Jorgen]

GSC

The life of Ursaring is one of being outclassed. Its biggest problem is honestly that it's a Gen 2 Poke with no access to RBY TMs. This thing with Double-Edge would actually be pretty rad, but unfortunately it's stuck with Return. Its Attack stat is still high enough to manage a couple unique feats with its Roar & Mixed Attacking sets, but they're generally quite subtle.

The "classic" set is the Sleep Talk set, meant to be the hipster's Snorlax. It's the first and the worst:

Ursaring @ Leftovers
Return
Curse
Rest
Sleep Talk

Snorlax is so much better than this it isn't funny. Ursaring is quite likely to be OHKOed by crit Thunder from Zapdos/Raikou and 3HKOed by Thunderbolts. Ursaring can be 3HKOed by Snorlax Double-Edge in the full-powered conclusion of a Curse war. Simply put, Ursaring's defensive and 1-v-1 prowess just aren't up to snuff.


Okay, well what about Roar? That's something Snorlax can't do:

Ursaring @ Leftovers
Return
Curse
Roar
Rest / Earthquake

Unfortunately, Kanga outclasses this in most ways. See the aforementioned struggles with tanking Electrics: Kanga tanks them way better, in addition to loads of other random hits, so it's way better at setting up. It's also faster, so it can get the jump on Snorlax at +1, which Ursaring can't do. And in terms of STAB damage output, Ursaring is stuck with Return, wheras Kanga can run Double-Edge if you really want it to, which helps to close the gap between their Attack stats (although there's still an extra 7-9 HP of damage to be had from using Ursaring):

Ursaring Return vs. Snorlax: 171-202 (32.6 - 38.6%) -- 4.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. Snorlax: 164-193 (31.3 - 36.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

Kanga also gets access to Substitute, giving it a nice niche as a both Roar- and Growl-immune Curser.

One thing you can do to further separate Bear from Roo (because 7-9 HP of damage is pretty underwhelming) is to forego Rest for EQ coverage. Ursaring at +1 can OHKO Gengar and 2HKO Missy / Tyranitar, guaranteed. Kanga can't manage that. However, without Rest, you start comparing this to Rhydon, which actually serves a defensive niche: being able to switch into Curselax. Clearly, Ursaring is qualitatively different in terms of what it can and cannot fight (namely Waters). It's certainly more difficult to get in safely, though (gotta wait for things to be sleeping) and more difficult to justify a teamslot for it (essentially zero defensive utility, whereas Rhydon has similar offensive upside and a defensive niche to boot).


Okay, so the "Normal that's different from Snorlax" market is tough to get into, but Ursaring manages to eke out a niche by virtue of its strong Earthquakes. Those selling points are admittedly subtle, though, and its lack of defensive utility makes it tough to justify using over a more standard Poke. How about this: "being worse Sleep Talk Snorlax" may not work, but what about "being worse Mixed Snorlax"? Can we carve out a bigger niche this way?

Ursaring @ Leftovers/(No Item)
Return
Earthquake
Zap Cannon / Fire Punch
Curse / Thief

Forget about Roar, just use coverage to bully your way past Skarm & Friends! The ol' Zap Cannon + Curse combo is a strong way to try and muscle past Umbreon & Miltank, although part of Ursaring's appeal over, say, mixed Rhydon is its lack of reliance on Zap Cannon to get past Waters. For this reason you can go for Fire Punch to have a much more reliable way to get past Skarm, and simply let the rest of the team handle the problem of paralyzing/killing Miltank/Umbreon for you. The idea with this set is that it's essentially a worse Mixed Snorlax, but it's less worse than the Snorlax version than the CurseTalk set is. It even has perks such as the stronger Earthquake and enough Speed to outpace Steelix/Rhydon and tie Exeggutor.

However, a monkey wrench in all this is Tauros: why not just use the bull, who gets Double-Edge, Fire Blast instead of Fire Punch, and enough Speed to outpace Zapdos, not to mention Exeggutor even at +1! Maybe you can point to stronger Earthquake the same way you could for Kanga: Tauros' Attack stat isn't much better than Kanga's, so all the aforementioned differences between +1 Earthquakes still apply. Maybe you can try running moves such as Thief, DynamicPunch, or Counter instead of Curse. These aren't the worst ways to squeeze a little uniqueness out of mixed Ursaring, but again, they're pretty subtle.

Additionally, another more standard Poke looms over Ursaring, not unlike its situation with Rhydon when using the Roar set. In this case, the "Rhydon" is Machamp. Machamp has similar upside with a Curse + 3 Attacks set, but has the added bonus of hitting Lax for SE damage with its STAB, meaning it can actually check the big lug. As with the Roar set, Ursaring's lack of defensive utility makes it hard to justify using over a Pokemon with similar offensive upside but an actual defensive niche.


Overall, it's not that Ursaring has literally nothing going for it: if you squint, you can find scenarios where Ursaring's Attack and access to moves such as Thief & Roar give it a leg up over its Normal-type competition in a traditional, non-meme sense. It's just that you have to squint real hard to find those upsides, and even then, there are generally more standard, non-Normal types that do similar (albeit not strictly identical) things while also offering defensive utility. It ain't easy being a bear.


Bonus: Because Ursaring's "niches" are super subtle when using "regular" sets, I felt the need to meme it up and analyze yet another Berserk Gene Hyper Beam set:

Ursaring @ Berserk Gene
Hyper Beam
Return
Earthquake
DynamicPunch

+2 Ursaring Hyper Beam vs. Snorlax: 506-595 (96.7 - 113.7%) -- 79.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Compare to a Snorlax Hyper Beam, which only has an 8% chance to OHKO at +2. Also:

+2 Ursaring Hyper Beam vs. Suicune: 353-415 (87.5 - 102.9%) -- 20.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Compare to Snorlax Hyper Beam, which straight up cannot OHKO a Suicune at +2.

You could also run Bitter Berry so that you can receive a BG boost from Jolteon or something and not have to fight through Confusion. Or run Lefties and rely on a Swords Dance to be passed to you from Scizor or Smeargle. Downside there, though, is dedicating 2 whole Poke slots to a meme instead of just one. Funny set with big number, though.

 

[vapicuno]

ADV OU

Curse Jolteon + Ursaring + Wishpass is one of the techs I've had some success with.

Jolteon @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 108 HP / 220 SpA / 180 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Baton Pass
- Curse

+

Ursaring @ Leftovers
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Return
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake

Machamp generally outclasses Ursaring in ADV as Cross Chop hits Skarmory for neutral damage. The generic niche of Ursaring is the ability to get to +2 with Swords Dance instead of Machamp's Bulk Up, which I won't dispute. However, Ursaring does have a nice defensive niche in a typing that only has one uncommon weakness, making it less susceptible to Salamence, Aerodactyl, Celebi, Gyarados, and the occasional Psychic Starmie. Pair that with Curse Jolteon (it survives Swampert EQ but that's for another day), which is still faster than most things that switch on it after a speed drop (374/1.5 = 249), and allow Guts to activate from an expected Blissey Thunder Wave or Snorlax Body Slam. As Guts and Curse Stack, the boost is 1.5*1.5 = 2.25x, not merely 2x. Then, do damage.

Barring Heracross, this is the most something can do to cursed Ursaring,
252+ Atk Choice Band Salamence Brick Break vs. +1 4 HP / 0 Def Ursaring: 236-278 (73.2 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

And if you predict right you do pretty hilarious damage lots of things
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Metagross: 423-498 (116.2 - 136.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Focus Punch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Skarmory: 300-354 (89.8 - 105.9%) look at that! -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Return vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Swampert: 327-385 (80.9 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Swampert: 449-529 (111.1 - 130.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Return vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 332-391 (100.3 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ Atk Guts Ursaring Return vs. 106 HP / 252 Def Blissey: 814-958 (120.2 - 141.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

It's not good at surviving after taking hits, but people usually sack their thin mons to deal with Ursaring, so wishsacking/passing is good for taking down fat teams later on.

Not the most consistent pokemon, but can be really funny if you read your opponent like a psychic.

 

[Lavos]

Ursaring @ Leftovers
Happiness: 0
- Curse
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

This is what I used in SPL vs Earthworm to mild success. I don't endorse the use of Ursaring, but if you have to include it, I think this is the set that carves out something resembling a niche. Since it's in the Machamp/Exeggutor speed tier, it can actually threaten the standard boom offense to a decent extent, and the great Attack stat can make it a decent replacement for Curse EQ Lax when you get some freedom to set up - which allows Lax itself to use better moves. Hyper Beam is a fantastic move to round this set out, and one that perfectly complements Ursaring's strengths. The best thing about it is the surprise factor. No one expects their Snorlax or Zapdos to get nuked from over 50% with a neutral STAB attack, and with a boost under its belt, only Skarmory is safe. It's definitely something that relies a lot on matchup and a lack of respect from the opponent, but it's not entirely useless, which is as good as Ursaring is ever going to get.

And Jorgen, DynamicPunch with Berserk Gene looks absurdly fun. A clean 25% to hit and 12.4756% that they hit themselves in confusion. Will have to try it out sometime that it won't get me in trouble.

 

[Jorgen]

Ah, Curse + Hyper Beam. That makes sense. Reminds me a little of an old Belly Drum + Hyper Beam Snorlax set that WaterWizard would gimmick with years ago. Except it obviously doesn't force you to give up a dang Snorlax.

 

[Oglemi]

It's now time for everyone's favorite little annoyer and best shiny mon, Jumpluff!

Blazing Speed, a good support movepool, and a usable typing all attribute to making Jumpluff seem like a decent pick, but a complete lack of offensive stats and subpar defenses have made it very hard to use. Can we find a niche for the puffball?

 

[Excal]

DPP OU

Jumpluff @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 HP / 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Encore

Ironically, Jumpluff is better in DPP Ubers than DPP OU, because combined with Sunny Day support from Groudon, Jumpluff reaches 700 speed with max Speed and Timid Nature. In DPP OU, though, its unique typing is actually not bad, doing quite decently vs Breloom and even potentially using Encore vs SubPunch variants. Man, this set actually takes me back to the WiFi battle days when people actually used this LOL (MTGXerxes used to use this all the time, I feel old). Anyway, I messed around with Jumpluff once or twice and it definitely works best with Spikes support. Being able to outspeed threats like Infernape and potentially hitting them with a Sleep Powder is actually pretty useful, especially because Jumpluff is a Fighting-type resist, which is very desirable in DPP (it plays on its typing and resistances rather than its subpar defenses). I think Jumpluff could maybe, just maybe, work if an entire team is devoted to supporting it. I mentioned Spikes support, which would be from Skarmory, and Tyranitar would probably be necessary for sure to Pursuit trap Starmie (which Jumpluff could even potentially support). Moves like Memento, Stun Spore, Hidden Power Flying, Protect, and even U-Turn could potentially be used. But overall, this is optimistic because Jumpluff is far too passive among many other problems (notably its Stealth Rock weakness as well) and it doesn't help that Clefable is extremely popular nowadays and more Pokemon are using Sleep Talk.

 

[UD]

ADV OU:

Jumpluff (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Chlorophyll
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 56 Def / 200 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Encore
- Leech Seed
- Sleep Powder
- Substitute

Hilariously, the same set Excal posted for DPP is probably its best set in ADV as well. A "true BL Mon," Jumpluff doesn't merit much usage, but it does fill a very specific niche: fast Encore. Encore is actually really great in ADV since the large majority of boosting Mons in the tier don't boost their Speed, and only a handful of Mons outspeed you unboosted. The drawback is that Jumpluff isn't very easy to bring in. However, it's a lot bulkier than you'd think (this lives 252+ Metagross Meteor Mash from full HP after Sandstorm), even living some Pert Ice Beams and bulky Gengar Ice Punches. Not that you should be taking those attacks anyway, but the point remains. Note that similar to Excal's spread, I have neglected HP investment since it is counterproductive with Leech Seed.

Sleep Powder is amazing as always, as is Leech Seed. I guess Substitute is sort of expendable here, but I wouldn't consider it. The only move I can imagine using in its stead is HP Flying for a funny Heracross revenge killer.

Recommended partners for this guy are Skarmory and Dugtrio. Skarmory is obvious, since theoretically Jumpluff will force a lot of switches and you want to punish things. Dugtrio is nice for the Encore CM into Dugtrio kill against Celebi and Jirachi, and maybe even Suicune too. He also outspeeds all but 252+ Speed Tyranitar after one Dragon Dance, so if you're feeling ballsy, you can always try to Encore a Tar that clicked DD on your switch in.

This is also lowkey one of the greatest CurseLax counters in the tier if you can switch it in on anything but the Body Slam. Honestly I think he should be tried out a bit more because I think it has potential. I've used it in Callous Tournament 2 myself, and it sleep trapped a Metagross.

Overall not the worst Mon ever. It's definitely usable in ADV.