Dumping a whole bunch of sets I've been running the last week, though some of these are already common (or at least should be).
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Garchomp @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
This, or Haxorus donating to Garchomp, is a set everyone should fear. Mold Breaker Earthquake is pretty devastating, but Thousand Arrows outright lack of immunity might just make Zygarde better than Haxorus. Garchomp can run basically any item (or Garchompite) from any donor of Dragon Dance, so be really careful when you see Garchomp. This belongs in A+.
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
This, or Haxorus donating to Garchomp, is a set everyone should fear. Mold Breaker Earthquake is pretty devastating, but Thousand Arrows outright lack of immunity might just make Zygarde better than Haxorus. Garchomp can run basically any item (or Garchompite) from any donor of Dragon Dance, so be really careful when you see Garchomp. This belongs in A+.
Tapu Koko @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
A little bit weaker with some small recoil (about 11.5% weaker), but once you're burned you're a Knock Off pinch switch-in, as well as never losing Attack to a Scald, nor can you be Poisoned or put to Sleep. Probably bigger than that is the addition of Earthquake and Close Combat to your coverage.
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
A little bit weaker with some small recoil (about 11.5% weaker), but once you're burned you're a Knock Off pinch switch-in, as well as never losing Attack to a Scald, nor can you be Poisoned or put to Sleep. Probably bigger than that is the addition of Earthquake and Close Combat to your coverage.
Alakazam @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
Could be optimized, this is just a Pokemon that hits really REALLY hard while also stuffing priority (I finally ran into a Lucario Lopunny, that was fun) and setting up Psychic Terrain for Unburden.
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
Could be optimized, this is just a Pokemon that hits really REALLY hard while also stuffing priority (I finally ran into a Lucario Lopunny, that was fun) and setting up Psychic Terrain for Unburden.
Latios @ Psychic Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Flamethrower
Unburden and weather-boosting abilities are cancer. They're stretching anything north of semistall too thin to effectively deal with slower playstyles. Well, I guess I can't be entirely certain of that because Zeraora and Tapu Koko exist and either one basically solos any team on Offense that doesn't outspeed them, but it seems like a logical step forward to me. Slow down the outright pace offense has to keep (Literally, people were telling me in chat to just run Water Absorb Ghost-types) and stuff that could shine like Simple CM Azelf will get a chance.
Anyway, the most common inheritor I see is probably Keldeo, so I picked something that outspeeds +2 Keldeo (because that's how Offense has to build right now). If you get forced out you lose your Speed which can suck, and you don't get Dragon STAB, but you get field-boosted STAB in Psychic and Slurpuff provides pretty good coverage. I switched to Slurpuff from Drifblim for Grass coverage after +1 Psychic in Terrain didn't OHKO a Swampert.
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Energy Ball
- Flamethrower
Unburden and weather-boosting abilities are cancer. They're stretching anything north of semistall too thin to effectively deal with slower playstyles. Well, I guess I can't be entirely certain of that because Zeraora and Tapu Koko exist and either one basically solos any team on Offense that doesn't outspeed them, but it seems like a logical step forward to me. Slow down the outright pace offense has to keep (Literally, people were telling me in chat to just run Water Absorb Ghost-types) and stuff that could shine like Simple CM Azelf will get a chance.
Anyway, the most common inheritor I see is probably Keldeo, so I picked something that outspeeds +2 Keldeo (because that's how Offense has to build right now). If you get forced out you lose your Speed which can suck, and you don't get Dragon STAB, but you get field-boosted STAB in Psychic and Slurpuff provides pretty good coverage. I switched to Slurpuff from Drifblim for Grass coverage after +1 Psychic in Terrain didn't OHKO a Swampert.
Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Blaze -> Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Flare Blitz
Tired of being instagibbed by Scarf Chandelure (you basic bitches), I wanted to run one of my favorite Pokemon: Mega Beedrill. A quick search for Pokemon that learned both Gunk Shot and U-turn took me to Infernape for the coverage (which again, can easily be optimized for team comp), though Primeape is an option for Defiant before you Mega. Gunk Shot can 2HKO Suicune without Rocks if they're not running max Defense, and that 30% chance to poison is on par with Scald, but of course its accuracy is awful. I'm a fan of running similar coverage like EQ/FB, because there's a lot of Pokemon that can swap immunities on the fly. Celesteela could be immune to Fire one game and Electric the next. Don't get hard walled (though Beedrill can always U-turn out) because you were going for maximum coverage on a single Pokemon.
Ability: Blaze -> Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Gunk Shot
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Flare Blitz
Tired of being instagibbed by Scarf Chandelure (you basic bitches), I wanted to run one of my favorite Pokemon: Mega Beedrill. A quick search for Pokemon that learned both Gunk Shot and U-turn took me to Infernape for the coverage (which again, can easily be optimized for team comp), though Primeape is an option for Defiant before you Mega. Gunk Shot can 2HKO Suicune without Rocks if they're not running max Defense, and that 30% chance to poison is on par with Scald, but of course its accuracy is awful. I'm a fan of running similar coverage like EQ/FB, because there's a lot of Pokemon that can swap immunities on the fly. Celesteela could be immune to Fire one game and Electric the next. Don't get hard walled (though Beedrill can always U-turn out) because you were going for maximum coverage on a single Pokemon.
Zeraora @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 64 HP / 192 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Glare
- Taunt
- Thunder Punch
Everyone should be familiar with Druddigon suicide leads by now. This spread lives Skill Link Rock Blast from Archeops and safely sets up Rocks. Beware Pokemon that will drop you to Sash on turn 1 and then spin away your Rocks while KOing you turn 2. I've done it before and it makes HO's life WAY harder. This applies to any suicide lead, which is one of the reasons that Shuckle is so goddamn good at it.
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 64 HP / 192 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Glare
- Taunt
- Thunder Punch
Everyone should be familiar with Druddigon suicide leads by now. This spread lives Skill Link Rock Blast from Archeops and safely sets up Rocks. Beware Pokemon that will drop you to Sash on turn 1 and then spin away your Rocks while KOing you turn 2. I've done it before and it makes HO's life WAY harder. This applies to any suicide lead, which is one of the reasons that Shuckle is so goddamn good at it.
Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Sturdy -> Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
I feel like the only Megas I see at this point are Swampert, Sableye, and occasionally an AteSpeeder or Mawile. Magic Bounce can just about shut down stall (turns out there's really not great defensive movepools with anything that gets Mold Breaker, unless you wanna run Mega Ampharos which is... Not good), and mixed 160 Attacking stats backed by 110 Speed (I might try Rock Polish some day) is extremely threatening. I've run boosting moves before, but I keep coming back to Donphan. Head Smash is absolutely devastating, and the recoil can even be your own little Memento, weakening a check for a sweeper. I ran Earth Power with no investment for a bit, but I personally like EQ more. Sky's the limit for a Mega as good as Diancie.
Ability: Sturdy -> Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
I feel like the only Megas I see at this point are Swampert, Sableye, and occasionally an AteSpeeder or Mawile. Magic Bounce can just about shut down stall (turns out there's really not great defensive movepools with anything that gets Mold Breaker, unless you wanna run Mega Ampharos which is... Not good), and mixed 160 Attacking stats backed by 110 Speed (I might try Rock Polish some day) is extremely threatening. I've run boosting moves before, but I keep coming back to Donphan. Head Smash is absolutely devastating, and the recoil can even be your own little Memento, weakening a check for a sweeper. I ran Earth Power with no investment for a bit, but I personally like EQ more. Sky's the limit for a Mega as good as Diancie.
Stakataka @ Chople Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
I haven't done a lot of digging for Rockers since I started again, but that's in part because Stakataka has been so good. Negating some of your 4x weaknesses is really really good on a Pokemon as bulky as Stakataka. You know what's not fun? Trying to break Kecleon Stakataka while it slaps you around and shuffles its weaknesses. Gyro Ball on the slowest competitively viable Pokemon is as dangerous as it ever is, and you can even use it to outrun Marowak-A in Trick Room under almost any circumstance. Seriously, Marowak doesn't fall under 27 Speed until it's at -5.
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
I haven't done a lot of digging for Rockers since I started again, but that's in part because Stakataka has been so good. Negating some of your 4x weaknesses is really really good on a Pokemon as bulky as Stakataka. You know what's not fun? Trying to break Kecleon Stakataka while it slaps you around and shuffles its weaknesses. Gyro Ball on the slowest competitively viable Pokemon is as dangerous as it ever is, and you can even use it to outrun Marowak-A in Trick Room under almost any circumstance. Seriously, Marowak doesn't fall under 27 Speed until it's at -5.
Raikou @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Volt Switch
Freely passable Magnet Pull would be hilariously broken in a different metagame.
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Volt Switch
Freely passable Magnet Pull would be hilariously broken in a different metagame.
Keldeo @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Agility
Probably my single favorite set I've used this month. Feraligatr's coverage is just barely shy of perfect, but it does have Agility which lets me threaten opposing Offense. I was running this as my sole weather/Unburden check until I noticed that Unburden and Swift Swim are free to suicide mons and get the speed necessary to sweep my team with literally no input while I still had to set up Keldeo. Run Keldeo with rain support and watch stuff get deleted in front of Scald; Keldeo can also run Adaptability from Dragalge to get Hydro Pump, but the lack of power on your coverage as well as LO recoil from all moves makes me think that Sheer Force is the way to go.
Fuck Swift Swim.
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Agility
Probably my single favorite set I've used this month. Feraligatr's coverage is just barely shy of perfect, but it does have Agility which lets me threaten opposing Offense. I was running this as my sole weather/Unburden check until I noticed that Unburden and Swift Swim are free to suicide mons and get the speed necessary to sweep my team with literally no input while I still had to set up Keldeo. Run Keldeo with rain support and watch stuff get deleted in front of Scald; Keldeo can also run Adaptability from Dragalge to get Hydro Pump, but the lack of power on your coverage as well as LO recoil from all moves makes me think that Sheer Force is the way to go.
Fuck Swift Swim.
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