Molk
Godlike Usmash
Heres a quick theorymon i thought of while i was out!
What if Poliwrath had No Guard?
Looking at Poliwrath's movepool a little bit, i think that No Guard would improve Poliwrath quite a bit, and possibly make it one of the most frustrating Pokemon to face in the entire tier. Like the two other main abusers of No Guard already available: Machamp and Golurk, Poliwrath has the ability to use DynamicPunch: a decently powerful Fighting-type STAB with a 100% chance to confuse the opponent, but terrible accuracy. Because of Poliwrath's STAB on the move and good defensive typing, i think it'd make a fine user of the move with No Guard taken into account, giving common switch ins a 50% chance to hurt themselves whenever they came in on the move, possibly turning a loss into a win or buying Poliwrath free turns. However, unlike Machamp and Golurk, Poliwrath has another, potentially incredibly frustrating move that could be boosted by No Guard, Hypnosis. Hypnosis usually isn't used competitively because of its terrible accuracy, but with No Guard, Hypnosis essentially turns into Spore, except it can't be stopped by Sap Sipper Pokemon such as Bouffalant, making it slightly more annoying. This means Poliwrath could essentially take any Pokemon out of the match when it safely switches in, which is once again relatively easy to do because of its good defensive typing. Hell, Poliwrath has access to some decently powerful but inaccurate Special moves such as Hydro Pump, Focus Blast, and Blizzard, so i could see some kind of Choice Specs set being at least somewhat viable with No Guard, especially with Vacuum Wave put in the mix (although this set would be hard walled by Slowking :/). Anyways, heres an example set of Poliwrath that i think might become quite effective with No Guard.
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Hypnosis
- DynamicPunch
- Waterfall
This set would make full use of Poliwrath's new toys given to it by No Guard's perfect accuracy, and would definitely make it a very annoying threat to face. Basically, Poliwrath would be able to force a lot of switches between its good defensive typing and alright bulk, as well as the threat of No Guard Hypnosis and DynamicPunch, giving it perfect opportunities to set up a Substitute. After Poliwrath's Substitute has been set up, its free to use Hypnosis to immediately take out an opposing Pokemon, or simply confuse things with a decently powerful DynamicPunch, all behind the safety of its Substitute. Furthermore DynamicPunch Confusion and Hypnosis Sleep would give Poliwrath even more opportunities to set up a Substitute, continuing the cycle of Substitute and Confusion. Waterfall is used in the last slot as a solid secondary STAB move that would give Poliwrath a bit more PP to make up for the low 8 PP of DynamicPunch, and would also give Poliwrath an effective way to damage Ghost-types such as Spiritomb and Rotom, who are immune to DynamicPunch. The given evs give Poliwrath enough Speed to outpace Misdreavus, Qwilfish, and Max speed Bouffalant, while the rest of the evs maximize Poliwrath's power and bulk, although more could be placed into either hp or speed depending on whether you want to take hits better or be able to Dynamicpunch before more Pokemon could move. Of course, this set would struggle with common threats such as Slowking, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth, which could be potentially annoying, but Poliwrath can always put them to sleep, or simply wear them down with DynamicPunch confusion, forcing them to regenerate.
So, how threatening do you think No Guard Poliwrath would be if at all? Would it make Poliwrath any more viable on teams other than say stall or defensive balance? What might players use to combat the combination of No Guard Hypnosis and DynamicPunch?
What if Poliwrath had No Guard?
Looking at Poliwrath's movepool a little bit, i think that No Guard would improve Poliwrath quite a bit, and possibly make it one of the most frustrating Pokemon to face in the entire tier. Like the two other main abusers of No Guard already available: Machamp and Golurk, Poliwrath has the ability to use DynamicPunch: a decently powerful Fighting-type STAB with a 100% chance to confuse the opponent, but terrible accuracy. Because of Poliwrath's STAB on the move and good defensive typing, i think it'd make a fine user of the move with No Guard taken into account, giving common switch ins a 50% chance to hurt themselves whenever they came in on the move, possibly turning a loss into a win or buying Poliwrath free turns. However, unlike Machamp and Golurk, Poliwrath has another, potentially incredibly frustrating move that could be boosted by No Guard, Hypnosis. Hypnosis usually isn't used competitively because of its terrible accuracy, but with No Guard, Hypnosis essentially turns into Spore, except it can't be stopped by Sap Sipper Pokemon such as Bouffalant, making it slightly more annoying. This means Poliwrath could essentially take any Pokemon out of the match when it safely switches in, which is once again relatively easy to do because of its good defensive typing. Hell, Poliwrath has access to some decently powerful but inaccurate Special moves such as Hydro Pump, Focus Blast, and Blizzard, so i could see some kind of Choice Specs set being at least somewhat viable with No Guard, especially with Vacuum Wave put in the mix (although this set would be hard walled by Slowking :/). Anyways, heres an example set of Poliwrath that i think might become quite effective with No Guard.
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Trait: No Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Hypnosis
- DynamicPunch
- Waterfall
This set would make full use of Poliwrath's new toys given to it by No Guard's perfect accuracy, and would definitely make it a very annoying threat to face. Basically, Poliwrath would be able to force a lot of switches between its good defensive typing and alright bulk, as well as the threat of No Guard Hypnosis and DynamicPunch, giving it perfect opportunities to set up a Substitute. After Poliwrath's Substitute has been set up, its free to use Hypnosis to immediately take out an opposing Pokemon, or simply confuse things with a decently powerful DynamicPunch, all behind the safety of its Substitute. Furthermore DynamicPunch Confusion and Hypnosis Sleep would give Poliwrath even more opportunities to set up a Substitute, continuing the cycle of Substitute and Confusion. Waterfall is used in the last slot as a solid secondary STAB move that would give Poliwrath a bit more PP to make up for the low 8 PP of DynamicPunch, and would also give Poliwrath an effective way to damage Ghost-types such as Spiritomb and Rotom, who are immune to DynamicPunch. The given evs give Poliwrath enough Speed to outpace Misdreavus, Qwilfish, and Max speed Bouffalant, while the rest of the evs maximize Poliwrath's power and bulk, although more could be placed into either hp or speed depending on whether you want to take hits better or be able to Dynamicpunch before more Pokemon could move. Of course, this set would struggle with common threats such as Slowking, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth, which could be potentially annoying, but Poliwrath can always put them to sleep, or simply wear them down with DynamicPunch confusion, forcing them to regenerate.
So, how threatening do you think No Guard Poliwrath would be if at all? Would it make Poliwrath any more viable on teams other than say stall or defensive balance? What might players use to combat the combination of No Guard Hypnosis and DynamicPunch?