Hello all of my fellow ZU enjoyers. I have been seeing many questions in the chat rooms about how to handle some of these new drops we recently obtained. My goal here is to help answer those questions in one big post, that way you can have a one stop shop to figure out the Pokémon you may need to flush out your team. I will go over some common sets they can have, point out some of their weaknesses, then go into how to deal with them. Obviously, Tera is a big factor here in most cases and I can't cover every single crazy sets/scenario you may face, but I will do my best. I would like to keep this short and sweet, but no promises :)
Here are some common sets you might run into. These aren't necessarily EV'd to perfection, but most Electrode want to AT LEAST run a 427 speed stat to outrun scarf Gastly and be able to add a little more bulk for longevity.
Weaknesses - Umm, I will just refer back to
BaitWiz on this one in the post above. Electrode is a problem. It is rarely out sped, has great coverage with Tera Blast Ice, and solid natural bulk. This makes for an issue when coming up with how to deal with this thing.
Answers - It seems like we have come to 4 different answers on killing this thing: Catch off guard with Tera Ground, out speed with Scarf/boosting moves, using priority moves when it gets crippled and Pincurchin. I have had decent success with shutting down this Pokemon by catching it off guard with
Tera Ground from the likes of Stonjourner, Gumshoos, Wugtrio, etc. (basically any heavy hitter that it would feel safe using an Electric move on). You can
outspeed it with the likes of Scarf Stantler, Raboot and Dedenne, but note they don't all necessarily OHKO. However, they can deal some big damage and finish it off, if it has already taken a hit or two.
Priority moves such as a Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, etc., can share similar roles with those who can out speed Electrode in the sense that they may not OHKO, but can certainly pick it off, if it gets down to low enough HP. Finally, Special Defensive
Pincurchin is probably the best and most reliable answer. Its the only Pokémon that has the ability to stop a Volt Switch, enough bulk to take Ice Tera Blasts, and the ability to recover the damage for longevity.
Here is a common set for it.
Here are some common sets you might run into. Again, not EV'd to perfection, but you get the idea from these generic sets.
Weaknesses - Grumpig is showing to be one of the strongest threats in the meta right now. It has a great ability, solid offensive typing/coverage and terrifying stats. Its only weakness is its middling Physical Defensive stat.
Answers - Grumpig has a few solid answers offensively, but not many defensively. Due to how fast it is, offensive Pokémon who can deal with it need to come in safely if they don't out speed. Your best answers are heavy hitting Dark and Ghost type users, other Psychic types to stomach some hits and put pressure back and faster, physical attackers. As for the
Dark and Ghost type hitters, we have the likes of Murkrow, Banette, Scarf Gastly, Scarf Krokorok and in some cases, Sneasel. These Pokémon have the typing or stats to either finesse their way in safely or take a hit when coming in. As for
Psychic types, Gothitelle and Hypno can either cripple Grumpig with Trick shenanigans, carry boosting sets or hard-hitting Choice Spec sets to put on immediate pressure. They have the bulk to sustain a couple of hits from Grumpig. Oranguru is in a class of its own here because it isn't threatened with super effective moves from Grumpig unlike the other two. This has raised its stocks in the current meta. Lastly,
physical attackers can threaten Grumpig as well. Don't get me wrong, this Pokemon can stomach some tough blows. However, most of these physical attackers can either OHKO it or pick it off after some damage has been previously dealt. You have pretty much any physical scarfer (Mankey, Stonjourner, Seviper). You have bulkier mons who can take a hit (Flareon, Luxray, Gumshoos, Oinks, Dewott). Finally, those who can hit hard but outspeed without the need for Scarf (Stantler, Raboot, Leafeon, Wugtrio, Slaking, Persian, Jumpluff, Fletchinder).
DO NOT GET IT TWISTED. It seems like Grumpig might have a lot of decent answers, but it can be very difficult to switch in on or stop when it starts setting up. A lot of these picks are situational and can work in a pinch, but you need at least one dedicated check to take down this monster or it will run over your entire team. I just wanted to make sure this was clear to everyone.
Here are some common sets you might run into. Speed EVs can be changed on some of these sets to be more optimal.
Weaknesses - Stonjourner has a glaring weakness, its Special Defense. Otherwise, it has an upside in every other stat over its rival, Sudowoodo. It is very hard to muscle past its physical defense, it can hit very hard and has decent speed that can catch some people off guard.
Answers - There are some great physically defensive and specially offensive Pokémon that can take care of this thing. When it comes to
physical walls, you have the likes of Sandygast, Hippopotas, and Mudbray. Toedscool is worth mentioning because it can take a hit or two and return an OHKO Earth Power or Giga Drain. Just about any
special attacker that can out speed comfortably can kill it such as Lumineon, Seviper, Gastly, Scovillain, and all of our Psychics. Stonjourner isn't as difficult to handle as the other two. Most teams will end up having something to take care of it without purposefully building to handle it.
Here are some common sets you might run into. This Pokémon is a lot more straightforward than the previous.
Weaknesses - Wugtrio is a straightforward heavy physical hitter. It has blazing fast speed and a great attack stat, but it is very frail and nothing to speak of on the special side offensively. It lacks strong coverage as well, making its counters pretty hard to work around.
Answers - Countering Wugtrio isn't necessarily a tough task, but if you don't bring one or lose it without taking Wugtrio down, then you're going to have a problem. Wugtrio struggles to break through water, grass and dragon types. Anything that can out speed it will also be able to easily take it out. Priority moves can also put in a ton of damage.
The likes of Mareanie, Leafeon, Tropius and Zweilous can absolutely wall it. Lumineon can work well if switching in on any of its water moves.
Electrode and Scarf users over Base 65 Speed can take it out with a strong enough nuetral move. It also struggles against any sort of
priority, especially if it is STAB from the likes of Banette, Raboot, Persian, etc. Anything that can Tera Grass or Water can help in a pinch.
Here are some common sets you might run into. There are some more specified and niche sets running around, but these are the sets you need to best prepare for.
Weaknesses - Banette is a pretty solid Pokémon overall, so weaknesses can be hard to come by. It is on the slower side, but with its massive Attack and priority moves it can still cause problems for anything that out speeds it.
Answers - The best way to handle Banette is with physically defensive Pokemon that can take a hit or two with ease, or a Dark type that can resist a hit and kill back. When it comes to
physically defensive Pokémon, the likes of Hippopotas, Sudowoodo, Stonjourner, Wigglytuff, and Zweilous can stomach hits and kill it with relative ease. When it comes to
Dark types that can resist and hit back for a kill, then you're looking at using Pawniard, Krokorok, and Murkrow. Anything that can Tera Dark can also help in a pinch.
Here are some common sets you might run into. It is mostly used as a pivot or a quick physical hitter.
Weaknesses - Raboot has very middling bulk. It isn't really supposed to take hits, so when you use it, you are either pivoting out or finishing off a foe. Hazards can limit its longevity when running the Scarf set.
Answers - Raboot can be tricky if you don't know how to stop it. There are few Pokémon that can take its coverage hits with ease, so you will mostly be relying on outspeeding, hitting with priority of keeping hazards up if it runs the Scarf set.
For taking hits, physical Mareanie, Swalot, Sandygast, Hippopotas and Mudbray can eat just about any move it chooses to use. The only
Scarf user that can outrun Scarf Raboot is Dedenne, however it can only be helpful if Raboot has lost some health first. So, you will mostly have to rely on
priority moves such as Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch, etc. Lastly,
keeping hazards up is important to take down Scarf sets. The goal would be to block the spinner or punish a defogger that wants to help Raboot stay alive for more offensive oppurtunities. When it comes to the Boots set, your scarfers will have a much easier time taking this thing out.
I hope this can help people looking for quick answers during the team building process. I could have gone plenty more in depth, but didn't want this to be a TL;DR. All of the highlighted portions in the
Answers portion are to help you find answers a bit quicker. If I missed anything (a common set, an answer, a weakness or what not) then please feel free to DM me so I can add it. These drops have been very interesting to learn, but I hope others are having fun with them! Thanks for coming to my TED Talk if you got this far <3