SM OU Next Best Thing, Week 16: Excadrill

[awyp]

1

 

[CrossHeart]

4

 

[Cdijk16]

Chople Berry Magnezone by Captain Funk has won the Week 10 vote.

 

[Cdijk16]

Week 11: Serperior

Serperior's ability to spam Leaf Storm and receive a Special Attack boost due to Contrary makes it a fantastic cleaner for offensively inclined teams. It is also able to take advantage of its switch-ins through the use of Substitute, allowing it to safely use Glare to cripple offensive threats, or Leech Seed to annoy passive Pokemon, limiting its defensive counterplay.
Your goal this week is to post creative and viable movesets for Serperior that are NOT listed as sample sets in its SmogDex entry. You have 4 days from now to post sets, after which the voting phase will begin.
Deadline: 9th February 2024 11:30PM, GMT + 5:30.

 

[Captain Funk]

Z NATURE POWER


Serperior @ Normalium Z
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Glare
- Hidden Power Fire
- Nature Power

​

My favorite lure set of all time. Z Nature Power is one of the most unique Z moves in the game. How Nature Power works is the move turns into a certain attacking move depending on the Terrain:

• No Terrain = Tri Attack​
• Electric Terrain = Thunderbolt ​
• Grassy Terrain = Energy Ball ​
• Psychic Terrain = Psychic ​
• Misty Terrain = Moonblast​

What makes Z Nature Power unique is that it does the exact same thing but more. Now whatever the move was going to be, will be a z move attack for that Terrain.

I.E.
Z Nature Power in Electric Terrain = Gigavolt Havoc

While serp is a solid grass type offensive threat, Z Nature Power takes that threat to the next level thanks to its partners, specifically Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini. Have Serp out with the Terrain up, the opponent brings in a serp counter, Serp gets one Leaf Storm out, and boom!

Gigavolt Havoc Hitlist:

​

Koko imo is a better partner for this set as well as Z tbolt being more consistent rather than Fini mainly because these mons are more likely to switch into serp as the common pivot. Off rip you can strike the green bastard of a bird or the orange sunrise gargoyle right from the sky, or you can set one leaf storm up, bluff the switch out to send them packing (some with enough chip)

Electrium Z Calcs

Vs
252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Charizard-Mega-Y in Electric Terrain: 352-416 (118.5 - 140%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs
252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian in Electric Terrain: 432-510 (119.3 - 140.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 232+ SpD Celesteela in Electric Terrain: 576-678 (145 - 170.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs (bulky set)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona in Electric Terrain: 379-447 (101.6 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs (cm set)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Magearna in Electric Terrain: 348-410 (95.8 - 112.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

Vs (heart swap set)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 232+ SpD Magearna in Electric Terrain: 262-309 (72.1 - 85.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Vs (Offensive set)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Heatran in Electric Terrain: 376-443 (116.4 - 137.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs (spdef set)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 180+ SpD Heatran in Electric Terrain: 290-342 (75.1 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Vs
+2 252 SpA Serperior Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Victini in Electric Terrain: 396-466 (116.1 - 136.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Moonblast/Twinkle Tackle Hitlist:

​

While I see Fini as more of a inferior pick over koko, it definitely has a niche, they may not always bring these mons as switch ins over the other ones i mentioned before, its same thing, they never expect a Z moonblast coming at them, making this snake the dragon slayer.

Fairium Z calcs

Vs
252 SpA Serperior Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Medicham-Mega: 304-358 (116.4 - 137.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs
252 SpA Serperior Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Latios-Mega: 252-298 (83.7 - 99%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Vs
+2 252 SpA Serperior Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Latias-Mega: 372-438 (102.4 - 120.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs
(will of fire HO ev spread)
+2 252 SpA Serperior Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 80 HP / 252 SpD Kyurem-Black: 448-528 (109 - 128.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Vs
+2 252 SpA Serperior Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Charizard-Mega-X: 301-355 (101.3 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Astoria]

Serperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt

Giga Drain Serperior.
Giga Drain makes Serp an absolutely fierce stallbreaker since it 1v1s Chansey by healing up on it and helping with Leaf Storm PP. Their only option is too outplay with M-Sab into Taunt but then they have to get like 3 50/50s right. Most of the time this set comes unexpected and before they realize it, it is too late!
Giga Drain is potent vs offensive teams as well since it can be very hard to revengekill a Serp from full HP for many offensive builds. Meadow Plate could also be used since it can effectively heal even more than Lefties but I was too lazy to do the maths. Pair with something that pressures Torn/Tran - maybe a CB Bulu to boost Grass moves even more.

 

[Cdijk16]

Submissions for Week 11 are now closed. Voting is now up.

The submissions are:
1. Z-Nature Power by Captain Funk
2. Giga Drain by Astoria

Deadline: 13th February 2024, 11:30PM GMT + 5:30.

 

[clematis]

1

 

[Astoria]

1

 

[Cdijk16]

1

 

[Kustavan]

1

 

[Cdijk16]

Z-Nature Power by Captain Funk has won the Week 11 Serperior voting.

 

[Cdijk16]

Week 12: Kommo-O

Kommo-O is a solid pokemon in SM OU thanks to it's wide movepool, good typing, solid stats and exclusive Z-Move. It can make use of an offensive Stealth Rock set which also provides defensive utility, a Specially Defensive set on defensive builds or even run Belly Drum + Salac Berry to be a late-game cleaner on Hyper Offense.
Your goal this week is to post creative and viable movesets for Kommo-O that are NOT listed as sample sets in its SmogDex entry. You have 4 days from now to post sets, after which the voting phase will begin.
Deadline: 17th January 2024 11:30PM, GMT + 5:30.

 

[Captain Funk]

Reserve for

 

[Cdijk16]

The deadline has been extended by 3 days as only 1 moveset has been posted so far.
Deadline: 20th January 2024 11:30PM, GMT + 5:30.

 

[Maktyum]

Belly Drum Return Kommo-o


Kommo-o @ Salac Berry
Ability: Bulletproof/Soundproof
EVs: 52 HP / 204 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
- Return​

This set has always intrigued me. Sub belly drum kommo-o is very threatening on screen HO and can really win on the spot. But since it is already a huge fish, using Return as the neutral attack doesn't seem unfavorable, thanks to its high base power, allowing for direct KOs on Pokémon like Clefable or Landorus. Adamant is preferred in this set; otherwise, having Stealth Rock support on the field becomes essential to secure KOs on regular Toxapex. With an Adamant nature and Stealth Rock support, you can even OHKO some physically defensive Toxapex variants with 156 Defense EVs with Bold nature.

At +1 Speed, Jolly is already slower than Scarf Landorus or any other viable Scarf user, but being Adamant at +1 makes Kommo-o slower than Pokémon like Lopunny and Alakazam, making it a significant commitment (although screens somewhat alleviate this pressure). Soundproof is often overlooked on sets like these, but it can prevent sound-based moves from bypassing the Substitute, potentially jeopardizing our ability to Belly Drum. However, this situation is quite niche and generally only occurs against opposing Kommo-o using Clanging Scales.

The rest of the set is classic: set up Substitute, use Belly Drum to activate the Salac Berry, and utilize Drain Punch as a STAB move to heal Kommo-o.

 

[Cdijk16]

Submissions for Week 12 are now closed. Voting is now up.

The submissions are:
1. Electrium-Z by Captain Funk
2. Belly Drum Return by Maktyum

Deadline: 23rd February 2024, 11:30PM GMT + 5:30.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

i just noticed it now : (...

i was hoping to vote for elec z but ill vote for return

 

[zinnias]

Return by maktyum

 

[Cdijk16]

Belly Drum Return by Maktyum has won the Week 12 vote.

 

[Cdijk16]

Week 13: Volcarona

Volcarona is one of the deadliest sweepers in the tier because of its access to Quiver Dance, high Special Attack stat, and decent Speed stat. Its large movepool, which is complemented by Z-Moves, allows Volcarona to pick its checks and counters.
Your goal this week is to post creative and viable movesets for Volcarona that are NOT listed as sample sets in its SmogDex entry. You have 4 days from now to post sets, after which the voting phase will begin.
Deadline: 27th February 2024 11:30PM, GMT + 5:30.

 

[zinnias]

SubSwarm

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 112 HP / 212 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Substitute
- Bug Buzz
- Flamethrower

SubSwarm Volcarona is by far my favourite set. I believe it was popularised a couple years ago but its inclusion in a sample team make it quite legitimate, but at the moment it is reduced to simply a line in the Other Options section.

Anyway, the appeal to this set can sort of be attributed to two main things. A Swarm-boosted Bug Buzz is stronger than any of Volcarona’s non-z options, and is adept at lasering through neutral targets. You can activate Swarm quite safely and consistently through repeated substitutes, allowing you to bring yourself into Swarm at will, choosing to do so only if you need the extra damage.

The other main part of the appeal has got to be Substitute itself. Substitute allows Volcarona to dodge some very nasty moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave. This does mean that if someone’s Volc counter is a non-haze, Toxic Toxapex, they may just fail to avoid being blown over by this set. Another huge Substitute interaction is the way that Volcarona turns Non-Roar/Taunt Heatran (SR, Magma, EP, Toxic) into a victim. At +2, Magma Storm fails to break your sub. You have ample opportunity to dodge as leftovers give you an extra sub. If Heatran is paralysed, put GG in the chat.

Some other nice uses are that Substitute can mess with teams that cheat on Volcarona checks, relying on priority such as Aqua Jet from Craw/Azu or even worse. It stops fake out Medi shenanigans, and it makes Sucker Punch Mawile users want to delete their team.

Chansey and Haze Toxapex are brick walls, but that’s Volcarona for you. #banvolcarona

 

[Cdijk16]

Since only one moveset has been posted so far, the deadline has been extended to 1st March 2023.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

Since only one moveset has been posted so far, the deadline has been extended to 31st February 2023.

what

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

Volcarona @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Hurricane
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Well... this allows you to be a shitstorm on rain.. tossing out hurricanes and bug buzz and making it a pain for the opponent. Flynium Z hits stuff that bug z doesnt in pex, clef, torn-t, etc.

HP ground allows you to smack heatran on rain which isnt as big of a deal but rain can overwhelm pex so you can lure in pex with z hurricane and blow it out of the park thinking its safe and this opens up a path for gren to go ham