Project NU Pokemon Matchmaking [Week 3: Aurorus]

[Evan.]

Pokemon Matchmaking

| Approved by Raseri | In dire need of a banner | Format stolen from DarkNostalgia

All Pokemon are unable to function effectively without their checks and counters gone, which is where their teammates come in. These partners are capable of dismantling multiple Pokemon proving a threat to their teammates, providing invaluable support and thus are often seen as the heart of the team.
This project aims to brainstorm various ideal and effective partners to various Pokemon that may range from metagame defining Pokemon to more underrated threats.

Procedure

Every week, I will nominate a Pokemon for discussion of potential partners and submissions. In that week, you will have the chance to submit any good partners for that chosen Pokemon, and after the course of the week I will choose the best partner(s) for that chosen Pokemon and put it into the archive. People that manage to get into the archive multiple times with good submissions will be let into the Hall of Fame.

Rules

1. Stick with things on the viability rankings. Pokemon such as Skiploom or Loudred which are not viable should not be nominated at all.
2. Reservations are perfectly welcome. However, in your reservation post you must state when you will be able to get your reservation done. This time frame must be no longer than 12 hours. After this time has expired, other users can take your reservation and do it for themselves. If you do not state a time frame your reservation expires in exactly two hours.
3. Don't theorymon. Post Pokemon that you have experience with, or have seen it have quite some use, don't pull Pokemon out of your ass that you think will work well. Have some experience first please.
4. Explain how and why the Pokemon you chose works well. For example, offensive synergy in terms of checks and counters or defensive synergy in terms of typing and checking threats.
5. Be nice to others with your posts and only post meaningful things. One-liners clutter up the thread, as do random memes.
6. Calcs are nice, but not compulsory.
7. Enjoy :)

Week 2

Mawile
Discuss!​

 

[Evan.]

Archive

Sneasel

Lilligant by Bolts and Bombers

Lilligant (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Nature Power

Tauros by Pokedots

Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Climb
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
- Endeavor

Garbodor by Hollywood

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet | Aftermath
248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe | Impish
Gunk Shot | Spikes | Toxic Spikes | Haze / Drain Punch / Seed Bomb

Exeggutor by Raiza

Exeggutor @ Choice Specs
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire / Sleep Powder

Samurott by Adaire

Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature/Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Aqua Jet/Hidden Power Electric

Malamar by Sir Kay

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Xatu by Raseri

Xatu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Calm Mind / Thunder Wave

Gurdurr by Karane

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off

Rhydon by Drum n' Bass

DRS (Rhydon) @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Earthquake

 

[Evan.]

reserved

 

[boltsandbombers]

Lilligant (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Nature Power

or

Lilligant (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Leaf Storm
- Petal Dance
- Healing Wish

Lilligant is an excellent teammate to Sneasel for a few reasons. First, Sneasel can Pursuit trap Xatu which is a major thorn in Lilligant's side as it blocks its Sleep Powder and resists it's STAB moves. In addition, Sneasel checks Flying-types such as Archeops, Rotom-S, and Scyther which Lilligant also struggles with. In return, Lilligant puts pressure on bulky Water and Rock types which are occasionally issues for Sneasel. Choice Scarf Lilligant pairs better with Swords Dance Sneasel as it provides Healing Wish support so Sneasel can play a bit more aggressively.

 

[Pokedots]

can I change my thing lol

Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Climb
- Zen Headbutt
- Substitute
- Endeavor

Tauros hits very hard and wears down physicall walls like Weezing, Garb, Mega Audino, Gurdurr, Granbull, Seismitoad, etc. with repeated attacks. Substitute+Endeavor also helps immensely in this, taking away a lot of health from Regirock, Rhydon, Carracosta, defensive Mawile (the regular set with Fire Blast does this too), Quagsire, Mega Audino, among others to the point where Sneasel can get past them. Sneasel can in return Pursuit trap Ghosts, if it's the LO or Band set

 

[ryan]

Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet | Aftermath
248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe | Impish
Gunk Shot | Spikes | Toxic Spikes | Haze / Drain Punch / Seed Bomb

Sneasel is really good against offensive teams but struggles a bit against bulkier teams. In particular, Sneasel struggles to break bulky Fighting-types (Gurdurr, Hariyama) and Mega Audino. Garbodor can use those Pokemon to get up free Spikes, which are huge for Sneasel, or damage them with Gunk Shot. With Haze, Garbodor can also eliminate free Bulk Ups that Gurdurr can get against Sneasel, but it's not quite as necessary because Gurdurr's matchup against Garbodor is poor anyways and you should have something else on your team to handle a boosted Gurdurr if you're using Sneasel. Drain Punch can hit Klinklang, which can also get a boost against Sneasel, while Seed Bomb can do decent damage to Seismitoad, which can live any hit from even +2 Sneasel and threatens to burn it with Scald.

 

[ajadanje]

Garbodor with a SpD Seismitoad make for good teammates because Sneasel not only appreciates hazards but both mons cover Sneasel's key weaknesses. Depending on the opposing team you could have Garbodor set Toxic Spikes or have Seismitoad go for burns with scald. Alternatively you could use Weezing for the ground immunity and Will-O-Wisp at the loss of regular spikes. A problem for this core would be Energy Ball Mesprit which was consistently giving me a hard time.

 

[Raiza]

Exeggutor @ Choice Specs
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power Fire / Sleep Powder

Exeggutor is a really good special wallbreaker, but struggles a bit against Psychic-types due to its coverage not being excellent and special walls in general, there's when Sneasel gets put in work. Sneasel not only is able to pursuit trap threatening Psychic-types, but can also punch through and weaken special walls that trouble Exeggutor, letting it run Psychic, other than having a decent typing synergy and making use of Exeggutor to break through physical walls. Sleep Powder support from Exeggutor is also a good option to open the possibility to run a Swords Dance set on Sneasel, losing pursuit trap for a chance to tear through teams, especially offense, after a boost.

 

[Adaire]

+

Sneasel and samurott

Samurott @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature/Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Aqua Jet/Hidden Power Electric



Sneasel is a very strong mon, with the help of samurott it can hit the things that sneasel can't and vice-versa. Checks and counters to sneasel include Audino, Weezing, Seismitoad, Regirock, Quagsire, Miltank, Granbull and Mawile which with the help of special samurott you can put major damage to all of these threats.

Hide

252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Audino: 196-231 (47.8 - 56.3%) -- 86.3% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Weezing: 302-356 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mawile: 386-456 (127.3 - 150.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 200 HP / 56 SpD Seismitoad: 520-614 (129.6 - 153.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Granbull: 341-402 (89 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Regirock: 328-385 (90.1 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Miltank: 302-356 (76.6 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Life Orb Samurott Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 619-733 (157.1 - 186%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Fairly obvious calcs but just to get my point across :]

These two make a very effective offensive core with great synergy, things that counter samurott are also hit very hard by sneasel like mantine, frillish (lol) and AV muk. Just abusing these two threats is just so nice and amazing :D

 

[kay]

Malamar @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk​

​

So Sneasel and Malamar make a very cute dark core when you pair them together. The plan is kinda simple, Sneasel pursuit traps the psychic types that can kill Malamar, and then Malamar can sweep. Teams don't often prep for Malamar out side 1 mon, so Sneasel being able to get rid of most of the common ones is really neat for synergy

 

[Raseri]

When im looking for a Sneasel partner, there are a few things that I think are really important for it to have.

1) The ability to threaten Mega Audino

• Sneasel is unfortunately huge megadino bait, so an ideal partner has some way to threaten that. Threatening other fairys like Granbull is a bonus too

2) A way to handle entry hazards, as Sneasel is hurt by them significantly more than most other Pokemon, so a Pokemon that can either deter hazard set up, or remove hazards would make a good partner
3) An ideal partner would also benefit from Sneasels presence, so something that appreciates Ghosts and Psychics being weakened / eliminated would be ideal

I think Garbodor and Tauros are both great partners, but I also think Xatu can do a good job as a partner for Sneasel, with this set:

Xatu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Psyshock
- Roost
- Calm Mind / Thunder Wave

U-turn out of Psychics into Sneasel and hurt them
CM Psyshock to hurt mega dino
or T wave for mexican xatu


try it out :) not 100% perfect partner, but i think it does a fairly good job

 

[Karane]

Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off

Classic Fighting + Dark core not really much to say. Sneasel eliminates psychics and ghosts that give gurdurr trouble by swiftly trapping them (eg. Mesprit, Mismagius) while Gurdurr can set up on bulky shit like Regirock, Carracosta etc sneasel struggles to get past. Both have a similar check in fairies like Mawile which can be lured nicely by Iron tail Sneasel and 2HKOed as demonstrated below;
252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Iron Tail vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mawile: 131-155 (54.3 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The core is still gonna struggle with Defensive Mawile / Granbull / Weezing so pair it with a powerful special attacker like Mega Camerupt which eats them for breakfast.

 

[DnB]

DRS (Rhydon) @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance
- Rock Blast/Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Dub Phizix (Sneasel) @ Choice Band
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit/Low Kick
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash/Low Kick



i am currently testing this core on the ladder and had an insane winrate, going straight up from ~top 500 to #2, then lost to allstar124 because sleep talk hates me (and i hate u allstar :[ )

the idea of this core: sneasel beats things like musharna, vileplume and other physical defensive grass/psychic types that can normally take hits from rhydon. everyone should know how big of an threat rhydon can be, most of the time, against offensive teams, its enough to just get 1 RP up in the lategame and clear the game, against stall, SD can be devastating and if you can get both up, its GG anyways. as i said, im currently testing this core, combined with mesprit + rotom for a little bit of voltturn action, its pretty easy to break threw the opposing team with sneasels strong stabs.

ofc, there are some mons in the tier that are still good against this core, like mega audino or weezing, but everyone should know that its impossible to beat every wall in the tier with just 2 mons :[

 

[Evan.]

hey i updated the archive with everyone's suggestions and they all look good!

next mon up is Mawile, i'm excited to see what you guys come up with!

 

[Punchshroom]

Two major obstacles that stand in Mawile's way are Fire-types which resist both STABs and thus check it nicely, and bulky Ground-types which can take a hit from Mawile and easily KO right back with their STAB. Even certain bulky Poisons such as Weezing and Rocky Helmet Garbo can impede its progress considerably. Most of all, Mawile lacks the speed to concern healthy offensive teams as all it has is its unSTAB Sucker Punch. So what Mawile needs in a partner is a wincon that can plow through Fires and Grounds (and physically bulky walls in general) while severely threatening offensive teams, weakening them enough for Mawile to finish off.

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

Ludicolo is not only a fearsome offensive partner to Mawile, but even manage to decently synergize from a defensive standpoint; in the event Ludicolo is threatened by Flying moves, Bug moves, Poison moves, or even Freeze-Dry, Mawile has it covered, while Ludicolo resist Ground moves with ease, though sadly it is only neutral to Fire. You can even pull off cheeky stuff like switching Mawile into Hariyama's Fake Out or priority users in general. If there are too many walls that make it too tough for Ludi to sweep, Mawile can take Ludicolo's place in holepunching.

This duo even extends into full-blown Rain teams: Mawile can function as a more defensive Rain Dance setter with Stealth Rock, and while its offensive potential is diminished it still retains all the defensive benefits that make this core solid. If that weren't enough, Mawile can either soften up foes with Super Fang or give Ludicolo safe switches with a slow Baton Pass.

 

[Pokedots]

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild / Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Sucker Punch
- Spikes

Cacturne lures in Poison-types such as Weezing, Garbodor, and Vileplume and smacks them with Dark Pulse, 2HKOing all of them and giving Mawile the ability to sweep. It also destroys the Ground-types that plague Mawile, such as Seismitoad, Quagsire and Sandslash, and sets up Spikes as they switch out. On that note, Spikes are really useful for Mawile, as they let it accomplish feats such as OHKOing max def Seismitoad with Play Rough at +2 and 2HKOing Quagsire after Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes. In return Mawile can help Cacturne against the Ice- and Fighting-types it struggles against, especially Sneasel and Yama.

 

[Evan.]

hey i'll update this when I get home but the next mon is...

AURORUS

 

[Karane]

Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: NaN Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Baton Pass
- Psychic
- Moonlight

When I saw Aurorus, one of its main flaw was slow speed. So I paired it with Thunder Wave Musharna. Aurorus's specs or band set loves slow baton pass bringing it safely to dish out massive damage. Musharna also checks Hariyama nicely which is annoying for Aurorus.

Suggestions for the op

Hey Evan I was wondering if it would be better to mention the pokemon with its set? Because pokemon like Aurorus has two different sets in specs and lead snow warning set. so its team mates might be different. for eg. mushy helps aurorus with the specs set but hates snow warning due to moonlight. That also saves us from guessing whether the set of the pokemon is standard or not.

 

[Raseri]

nightmare vampire is taking this over