Which Pokemon look like potential OU threats?

[Redwall]

Curious to see what you all think. I played a few games today on Pokemon Showdown with a team of Greninja/Mega Gengar/Sylveon/Heatran/Gliscor/Latios; my impressions are that

-Mega Gengar is probably going to ubers; it's too easy to trap something by Baton Passing (with a slow Pokemon like Sylveon) or by U-turning to Mega Gengar.

-Sylveon is really good; 95 base HP means that it passes pretty decent Wishes. Baton Pass is also neat.

-Aegislash is pretty scary.

-Noivern's not that great even with his high Spd since he just doesn't have high attacking stats (and because Draco Meteor is a bit less threatening with Fairy-types).

[MRDRHAWK]

Kangaskhan for top tier

[shadykid]

Greninja, Aegislash; Mega Gengar to Ubers

also Azumarill and Scolipede

[Karasz]

Definitely Greninja. I mean, Protean assures it will always get STAB for any move it uses, and its base 122 Speed is damn good, too. It's probably ONE of the fastest Water-types in the game.

I'm honestly thinking Crobat might get into OU for two reasons: the revamp of the Infiltrator ability, and its Poison typing. Thanks to the introduction of the Fairy type, Poison types are starting to become more viable these days, and with Crobat now being able to both kill Fairy-types AND bypass Substitute, he and his base 130 Speed might just get into OU this time around.

Malamar presents itself as a contender for OU. It doesn't have very high bases, and its 4x weakness to Bug leaves something to be desired. However, it gets Contrary, which instantly turns the metagame around for it. Any stats that would be lowered on it for whatever reason, they would be raised instead. Even though the inverse is also true, Malamar benefits from Superpower, which raises both its Attack and Defense with every attack. It also gets good STAB from moves like Psycho Cut and Foul Play, and coupled with the fact that Malamar also learns Swagger, it can really be a devastating force on any team when it wants to be.

I believe Aggron will finally come to OU this time around. It has always been in the UU tier, but thanks to its Mega Evolution, it is granted a rather EXTRAORDINARY base 230 Defense. Even without EV training Mega Aggron for Defense, it will still clock in at approximately 465 Defense with a neutral nature at Level 100. And its base 140 Attack with a neutral nature will leave it with 285 Attack at Level 100, which is by no means horrible. Honestly, if one ran a Careful nature on Mega Aggron and EV trained it for Special Defense and Attack, you'd be looking at a Mega Aggron with 250 HP, 379 Attack, 465 Defense, 58 Special Attack, 284 Special Defense, and 105 Speed. He doesn't really need any extra Speed or HP thanks in part to his staggering defenses and his new Filter ability, which reduces all Super Effective damage by 25%. Bottom line, Mega Aggron is INSANE, and anyone would be dumb to not use him.

Lastly, Trevenant may have a shot at getting into OU. It has decent Attack and Special Defense, and on top of that, it gets the Harvest and Natural Cure abilities. Harvest gives it a 50% shot at restoring a Berry every time it is used (becomes 100% in sunny weather), and Natural Cure removes any status conditions it has upon switching out. Its Ghost-type allows it to block Rapid Spin, and with a Careful nature, its Special Defense would allow it to wall most moves that are super effective against it, such as Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Shadow Ball. It also gets moves like STAB Horn Leech, Phantom Force, Will-O-Wisp, and Leech Seed, allowing it to prolong its life on a Harvest set...by a LOT. On a Natural Cure set, though, it would be easiest to switch Leech Seed with Rest, then have it switch out every time it falls asleep. What's not to love about that kind of set?

[Ema Skye]

Mega Gengar, Mega Blaziken, Mega Lucario, Xerneas and Yveltal to Ubers.

Aegislash isn't the one trick pony people think it is. Stance Dance is a fun setup, but you've also got: mixed LO, Choice Band, SD+3 Attacks, Defensive or a special based set (which is my personal favorite).

Noivern will probably be OU despite its weak power. The high speed it has makes it a prime candidate for a Choice Specs, and it's already the fastest dragon. Infiltrator makes it really hard to defend against the attacks, because more things run Substitute than Protect.

Protean Greninja is nuts. It can OHKO most Multiscale Dragonite, through multiscale. Getting STAB on everything is crazy, and it causes a lot of switches which could make Spikes worth it.

Barbaracle faces stiff competition from Cloyster, but it has a few quirks that could give it the edge. Namely, better attack, better special bulk, not weak to Stealth Rock, and it has an easier time setting up the Smash in a sandstorm team. Though it lacks the power of Cloyster's moves because the strongest stabs it gets are Razor Shell (which doesn't get the Tough Claws boost) and Stone Miss.

Adaptability Dragalge will probably get Kyurem syndrome. Too strong for UU but too weak for OU. So I bet it'll be landing in BL. Adaptability Draco Meteor is really strong. For reference:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 268-316 (41.1 - 48.46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 240-284 (36.8 - 43.55%) -- 99.76% chance to 3HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD Blissey: 201-237 (30.82 - 36.34%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Goodra is kinda awkward. It doesn't really hit hard, but it has good bulk, especially with Gooey. Would've been really good if HydraRest was still a viable strategy but its not anymore. I do think that some kind of potential is there though.

Treverant and Gourgeist are kinda similar, but I see both becoming OU. Grass/Ghost is a solid defensive typing. Treverant has access to Natural Cure+Rest, keeping it around for a while, in addition to a better physical movepool. While Gourgeist has better overall bulk (85/76/82 vs 85/122/75). Both also have access to the buffed Will-o-Wisp.

I do think that Sylveon has some potential in OU, but from what I see, a lot of people are trying to do too much with it, which results in an incoherent set. I think that when people begin to focus a moveset with it, the verdict will be clearer.

Florges has better stats than Sylveon, but Florges' movepool sucks so I see it as an inferior Sylveon.

In terms of old Pokemon:

Togekiss' Fairy/Flying type walls lots of dragons, which will force them between Stone Edge and Fire Fang for coverage. Makes for an easy partner with a Steel type.

Sticky Web + Galvantula nuff said.

Mega Kanga looks pretty good too. Parental Bond is a crazy ability. You've got a 150 BP Body slam with a 51% chance of paralysis. Or you have a 150 BP Stomp with a 51% chance of Flinch. Oh, and Power-Up Punch is like a free Swords Dance that does damage. Pretty neat.

Clefable has potential to move up a few tiers too. While it's statistically inferior to Sylveon and Florges, it boasts a few unique traits. The first, the elephant in the room, is Magic Guard, which is as insane of an ability as ever. The second is a movepool that most pokemon would kill for.

Mega Gengar, Mega Blaziken and Mega Lucario to ubers bye.

Mega Charizard X is like a better Salamence. Slightly less attack, more Special attack, same speed. It's actually stronger than Salamence because of the Tough Claws boosts to Flare blitz and Outrage. Oh, and it's not weak to Fairy either. ;) And it isn't afraid of Scald Burns.

Regarding Mega Aggron, I don't see it. Numbers are cool, but Pokemon is more than just numbers. Sure Mega Aggron has unparalleled physical bulk, but it has no way of restoring HP beyond Rest, as it can't even hold Leftovers. It's really prone to being worn down over the match because of a lack of recovery. Would be pretty sweet with Wish support though.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Professor Palutena

[Ein]

Galvantula hype.

Where would Zygarde land anyway.

[shadykid]

Galvantula hype.

Where would Zygarde land anyway.

Galvantula>Zygarde, let the chaos begin

also where's the Azumarill mention, some kind of analysis that was!

Malamar presents itself as a contender for OU. It doesn't have very high bases, and its 4x weakness to Bug leaves something to be desired. However, it gets Contrary, which instantly turns the metagame around for it. Any stats that would be lowered on it for whatever reason, they would be raised instead. Even though the inverse is also true, Malamar benefits from Superpower, which raises both its Attack and Defense with every attack. It also gets good STAB from moves like Psycho Cut and Foul Play, and coupled with the fact that Malamar also learns Swagger, it can really be a devastating force on any team when it wants to be.

you do realize Malamar absolutely hates Swagger itself right, it's basically a -2 Attack debuff AND confusion

also TR teams+throw out Sticky Web to boost enemy Malamar's speed=trololol

Edited October 25, 2013 by shadykid

[WobblyBlissey]

With malamar you need to set up, on pokemon showdown( my name is kiha ) i had smeargle out first use shell smash, spore then batton pass and then i swept about like five teams with malamar alone because of the amazing superpower awsomeness. With night slash and psycho cut, superpower plus filler malamar

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Assault Goodra is ridiculously good, definitely the most underrated mon of this gen

Infiltration allows it to either get a kill or set up the team, which is cool

[Gregosa]

Klefki maybe. Only two weaknesses, decent defenses, priority for status, traps and weather moves.

[dondon151]

malamar's complete lack of resistances aside from a psychic immunity does not bode well for it

contrary superpower can't compensate for defensive flaws or slowness

also its physical STABs are thoroughly mediocre; night slash and psycho cut are both 70 BP and foul play doesn't benefit from contrary superpower

Edited October 25, 2013 by dondon151

[Alfred Kamon]

IIRC Contrary only affects the user and not the opponent as well.

So some of the arguments I've read are invalid, unless things have changed / I am mistaken.

Greninja, Aegislash; Mega Gengar to Ubers

also Azumarill and Scolipede

Azumarill why? It can hit OU but not ubers.

I've been running a Belly drum + aqua jet Azumarill till now and while it's quite great offensively, its poor speed makes it terribly weak against any dragon or bulky pokémon with a supereffective move against it. For example, Dragalgae. Or any grass-type. Or water pokémon with grass/electric/poison moves. Or Heliolisk / Toxicroak. It's not that big of a treat.

Scolipede with Speed Boost is interesting, especially because it also learns Baton Pass IIRC, so... it will indeed be OU, not sure if Uber.

Lastly, Trevenant may have a shot at getting into OU.

What? How? It isn't that great... D;

@Professor Palutena: nice analysis, I agree with pretty much everything you wrote.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Alfred Kamon

[Knight]

Since Goodra is the pseudo-legendary, there's no doubt it won't get in OU.

[DodgeDusk]

HAWLUCHA

I'm bigging this thing up pretty much, hope it doesn't disappoint

Talonflame seems pretty solid from what I've hard, that might get in OU

[Robinigo]

Klefki

It has prankster, solid defenses, and fantastic typing. Not only that, what does he have, two weaknesses?

Also Noivern, it's not as bad as I was afraid he'd be when I saw his typing.

[Djing]

There's rumblings going on about Entei with Sacred Fire prowling around the Battle Maison...

Mega Blastoise is looking better since every Special Attacking water barring Starmie got hit with the Hidden Power nerf.

Hows Mega Aggron? I get really nervous about his Special Defense and lack of recovery.

[shadykid]

Azumarill why? It can hit OU but not ubers.

I've been running a Belly drum + aqua jet Azumarill till now and while it's quite great offensively, its poor speed makes it terribly weak against any dragon or bulky pokémon with a supereffective move against it. For example, Dragalgae. Or any grass-type. Or water pokémon with grass/electric/poison moves. Or Heliolisk / Toxicroak. It's not that big of a treat.

Scolipede with Speed Boost is interesting, especially because it also learns Baton Pass IIRC, so... it will indeed be OU, not sure if Uber.

I meant Azumarill/Scolipede for OU >_>

also fairies laugh at Malamar

I, for one, welcome our new fairy overlords

Edited October 25, 2013 by shadykid

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Some SS analysis

Sandstorm: Actually kinda works well. Excadrill is as retarded as ever, with its massive offense and "Scarf are useless" traits that it carried back in Gen 5, at least if you have good answer for Gliscor. Tyranitar is a sadist overpowered beast in this gen. With Assault Vest doing the talking, it is capable of messing with shit that it might fear back in the older gens

So, yeah I suspect a core of Celebi, Excadrill, Tyranitar to work well, although Celebi is not usable yet, at least it should not be if my memory is not wrong.

Celebi takes out Fighting types, ESPECIALLY breloom

Ttar sets the sand

Excadrill cleans the room late game

Excadrill: Bullshit. That is all. I don't get a lot of chance to use Swords Dance with this thing, but the rule of thumb is, NEVER underestimate the power of 2 - 3 turns, especially when it one shots a lot of important targets on the field.

In fact, thanks to Gen 6's somewhat shift into slower, bulkier attacker, Excadril's chance to pull off a clean up/chipping significantly increased its ability to do shit without Sandstorm on the field.

Metagross: I liked Metagross, and I run it just because its Metagross and less for its capability, and it does well. Assault Vest allows Metagross to take some Special hits "somewhat well" and it can counter with its attacks. Right now, I run BoltBeamBullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, and it does somewhat well

Edited October 25, 2013 by Choujin Sentai Chesnaught

[Gregosa]

What do you guys think of Mega Mawile? Sucker punch combined with huge power seems like an excellent counter to sweepers and any unsuspecting ground/fire types that might try to exploit mawile's weakness.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Gregosa

[Alfred Kamon]

What do you guys think of Mega Mawile? Sucker punch combined with huge power seems like an excellent counter to sweepers and any unsuspecting ground/fire types that might try to exploit mawile's weakness.

It's slow and Sucker Punch can't kill everything.

It gets totally blasted by Talonflame. like 70% of the pokémon

It's good in 3vs3 online matches, but in actual full team vs. full team battles it's not *that* great... there are better Megas imo. Aggron for example is more solid and has access to Rock Polish and better moves in general.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Alfred Kamon

[Ema Skye]

So, yeah I suspect a core of Celebi, Excadrill, Tyranitar to work well, although Celebi is not usable yet, at least it should not be if my memory is not wrong.

Celebi takes out Fighting types, ESPECIALLY breloom

Right now, you can use a Treverant/Gourgeist to achieve similar goals. Gourgeist in particular has solid physical durability while both can use Will-o-Wisp. When Keldeo comes out though, a shift to Celebi will probably be necessary to avoid Keldeo destruction.

Would also suggest Sticky Web support for the team so that Excadrill can still comfortably sweep most things outside of sand. Scarf Rotom-W would also probably be a good idea to beat the Skarmory, Gliscor and Bronzong that wall Excadrill.

[Gregosa]

It's slow and Sucker Punch can't kill everything.

It gets totally blasted by Talonflame. like 70% of the pokémon

It's good in 3vs3 online matches, but in actual full team vs. full team battles it's not *that* great... there are better Megas imo. Aggron for example is more solid and has access to Rock Polish and better moves in general.

I'll keep that in mind. Mega Mawile does seem like a good trump card for battle spot.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Right now, you can use a Treverant/Gourgeist to achieve similar goals. Gourgeist in particular has solid physical durability while both can use Will-o-Wisp. When Keldeo comes out though, a shift to Celebi will probably be necessary to avoid Keldeo destruction.

Would also suggest Sticky Web support for the team so that Excadrill can still comfortably sweep most things outside of sand. Scarf Rotom-W would also probably be a good idea to beat the Skarmory, Gliscor and Bronzong that wall Excadrill.

Actually a Celebi, Ttar, Excadrill, Keldeo core would be pretty stoopid. Maybe add in Wyvern for Frisk support?

Is there anything new that is troublesome for the classic CeleDeo combo?

[Redwall]

Is there anything new that is troublesome for the classic CeleDeo combo?

Talonflame

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Talonflame

I have Tyranitar. Come at me broseph