Lower Tiers DPP NU General Discussion

Honko

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Here's a cool set I've been having some fun with on the ladder this month:


Golduck @ Leftovers
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Signal Beam

I've always been a Golduck fan, but this is the first time I've tried bulky SubCM. With max HP, +1 Golduck's Substitute almost always survives defensive Slowking's Psychic, which means you can set up on it. Signal Beam covers Slowking and most Grass-types. You need teammates to lure and take out the other bulky Water-types since this Golduck can't break Poliwrath, Politoed, or Quagsire, but with them out of the way this Golduck can be hard to stop.

Here's the latest version of the team I've been using it on:
Sharpedo @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Zen Headbutt
- Aqua Jet

Golduck @ Leftovers
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Signal Beam

Camerupt @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Explosion

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Energy Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Moonlight

Regirock @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Atk / 112 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Thunder Wave
- Explosion

Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off

Sharpedo is there to lure out Poliwrath early and weaken it with Zen Headbutt, in addition to just being a good lead in general. Classic VileRegiKing bulky core, with Camerupt added in to shut down Electric-types (important since this team has 3 Waters) and hopefully boom on something like Quagsire. I tried a few other Poison-types in Vileplume's spot, including Muk and Skuntank, but this team doesn't have anything that can switch in on Toxic Quagsire or DD Whiscash/Crawdaunt without Vileplume there. The team still has some pretty big weaknesses (mostly it's super slow and doesn't have a Ghost, so LO Medicham goes to town), but it's been good enough to showcase Golduck.

Here's a few replays of it in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4nu-819804880
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4nu-820215630
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4nu-822443271
 
Your team looks pretty solid, although as you said yourself, the overall lack of speed of Speed can bite you, seeing that you rely on Regirock to check the likes of Tauros and even Haunter, which means it'll be worn down pretty quickly since it'll have to check a lot of Pokemon that can give you huge troubles afterwards. I would personally consider turning your Camerupt into a SpDef tank with 252 HP / 252 SpD in order to have a much more reliable fire check, especially against Magmortar (even though Focus Blast still hurts) and maybe dropping Slowking in favor of something like Scarf Drifblim, which acts as an offensive check to Tauros and Sunny Day Vileplume while preventing any Medicham from spamming HJK recklessly.

I'm a bit disappointed since I barely find any opponent on the ladder this month, so I've been theorymoning on things like Defensive Cacturne (which could serve as cool check to Shiftry, Sharpedo, Gardevoir lacking Focus Blast or Signal Beam and maybe Drifblim), SubToxic Mantine (threaten Vileplume and Nidoqueen with its STABs so they cannot come freely on Toxic, better defense utility than Zard and Articuno in exchange of Roost and pressure in the case of the second one), SubDD Lapras (and Lapras in general), 3 attack + Encore Politoed, Floatzel in general... I was wondering of how much discoveries in recent gens could affect the older ones.
 

Honko

he of many honks
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Programmer Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
Yeah, Scarf Drifblim could be a good fit for that team. I've never really liked SpD Camerupt as a Fire check in this tier though since it doesn't match up well with Charizard. I like it much more as an offensive tank since it doesn't need SpD investment to counter Electrics and it can be surprisingly hard to switch into without a healthy Water-type (and even then, it has boom).

I agree it's a shame the ladder wasn't very active this month since there is still quite a bit of room for innovation in this tier. I think the rise of SubToxic Charizard, pure support Cradily, and multiple variations of stall in the past couple of major tournaments is proof of that. If anyone ever wants to test some new DPP NU teams, feel free to challenge me on PS (Ruins of Alph room) anytime I'm on.
 

phoopes

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I know this is kind of a necro but is there any chance of Hippopotas/Snover making a comeback? I wasn't around whenever that decision was made but back in the day DPP NU with weather was my favorite tier. I still have a sand team from back in the day that I'm itching to play with
 

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