Topic: Unsuspected, "unviable" Niche Pokémon of the Day

[SirBlaziken]

I'm trying to think of how Sappy would go, but even the thoughts were OP. Sappy, the complete ban user. You may as well just give up.

[The Shrub Dragon]

this was cute as heck and also funny as heck

[Raphetty]

I hope you mean Giga Impact. You should at least know the difference between physical and special attacks. Yes, Hyper Beam used to be physical in Generation 3, but has been special since 4. The real reason we don't use either move is so you can hit once and then switch out. Either way the opponent has a free turn, but at least you should gain some advantage from the switch.

I apologize for coming across a bit harsh there. 

I'm trying to think of how Sappy would go, but even the thoughts were OP. Sappy, the complete ban user. You may as well just give up.

That Mega Evolution he mentioned sounds scary.

[Delicious_Scout]

Because Sappy has generated such a massive expectation, I Alice has decided to commence the Sappy Week, in which we will analyse some Pokémon Sappy has murdered during his streams. Shall we?

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Today, we will review the Pokémon whose name is a direct reference to our lord and saviour, the Flying Spaghetti Monster; please, salute our comrade, Colander (aKa Simipour).

No, we can not have a MetaSprited Simipour yet.

Simipour is cute, no matter what Richard says about it competitive-wise. It has always been in NU, but this does not mean it is meant just for that tier; it can actually function in almost all tiers it goes (bar Über most of the times). Yes, that means our friend Colander has some trick under its sle… banana. In its case, it is a change in the breeding mechanics: Simipour can now have acces to Torrent AND Nast Plot at the same time. Remember Empoleon using SubPetaya? Colander hits harder in less turns, at the cost of almost non-existant defences, as seen on/in this chart:

Simipour

HP: 75 | Attack: 98 | Defence: 63 | Special Attack: 98 | Special Defence: 63 | Speed: 101

Yes, it has the trollish base 101 Speed. Sound familiar, Landorus? Ah, don't bother with Gluttony: Torrent is usually better, especially with a frail Pokémon that needs all the power it can get.

Lewis, you should have done this:



Rekin in Pieces, Colander

Simipour @ Salac Berry/Petaya Berry/Leftovers
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
EV: 4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe
Ability: Torrent

Substitute
Nasty Plot
Surf/Scald/Hydro Pump
Ice Beam/Grass Knot

Oh, I wonder where I have seen this before… Yes, they play in a similar manner, but Colander requires more practice and skill to use due to its lack of significant bulk and Steel type; thus making it similar to Jynx, which is marginally easier to use, but requires to not miss with Lovely Kiss. At any rate, Colander does not usually have a margin to choose from: it will often find itself forced to use Substitute first in order to be protected for some turns, hence being granted a Nasty Plot. If you happen to be lucky enough to outspeed the foe, you can use Substitute until you get to eat your berry: Salac Berry is usually the best choice, because Colander is not that fast and the boost by the Petaya Berry might be wasted if you manage to use Nasty Plot three times in a row. Leftovers is acceptable if you want to stay for longer, but keep this very present in mind: you might need the Speed Boost, and a successful use of Leftovers might put you out of Torrent range, the main reason Substitute and Salac Berry are used.

But Colander would be a sitting monkey if it could not attack, right? For our fortune, Simipour can use powerful moves to stand a chance. The choice between Surf and Hydro Pump is the classical Reliability vs. Power, but in this case Surf, due to Torrent and Nasty Plot, tends to be better, and Hydro Pump can miss, thus ending Colander's life, miserably. Scald has the bonus of burning incoming physical sweepers, but do not expect them to not break your Substitutes.

A Water STAB is not enough; Colander then has to think deeply what coverage it should use: yes, Ice Beam is a great backup, but that means Bulky Water Types (BWT) will come and wall you. To avoid such a disaster, Colander can use Grass Knot (Hidden Power Grass does not tend to present better results) in order to finish those BWT, at the cost of being threatened by Dragonite (although you might be able to burn it with Scald).

4 EV in HP are used to use just three Substitutes to get the Salac Berry boost, while the rest, along with the nature, are what make a sweeper. This set does not usually extensive support, as it is usually meaningless because of Simipour's poor bulk, but it needs to be brought by a fainted teammate, a slow VoltTurn, or, the riskiest option, smart switching. Do not expect to use Colander with ease; revenge killers are everywhere.

Simipour, the Water Infernape Pokémon. You can save Colander by calling at 1-888-watr, and you will have a friend able to kick butt and water.

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So, what do you think about Colander/Simipour? Should we encourage Sappy to not murder his Pokémon? Find it out tomorrow!

[SirBlaziken]

By no means is simipour water infernape. For one, simipour doesn't look like a steaming pile of crap. Two, simipour is kinda cute. 3, 1 hydro pump and derpape eats the dust.

Just sayin'.....

I still like the article.

[Sappy]

I LOVE SAPPY WEEK

#egofed

[Delicious_Scout]

And so do we. #dongfed

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Today, we are covering our favourite GL reincarnation: say hello to Alexpup, also known as Stoutland.

Why are our sprites by MetaSprite being denied to us?

I am sure there was another Lillipup in his team, but the current one is called Alexpup, and guess what, it is ALIVE! But… Stoutland is not the definition of "great" competitive-wise. Just check its stats:

Stoutland

HP: 85 | Attack: 110 (100 in Gen V) | Defence: 90 | Special Attack: 45 | Special Defence: 90 | Speed: 80

After seeing those stats, if keen enough, one might happen to realise that Bouffalant is, indeed, quite similar to Stoutland, with 95/110/95/40/95/55, Sap Sipper, Reckless, and Soundproof; even being more dangerous, but this is not entirealy true: yes, Bouffalant has superior bulk, but it is very slow, does not have an immunity to Sandstorm (one of the most prominent weathers in OU), and its abilities are either situational (Sap Sipper) or counterproductive in the long term (Reckless). Stoutland, despite lacking Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Megahorn, has access to Superpower (Bouffalant prefers Earthquake), Wild Charge (Bouffalant does as well), and Crunch, enough to work with.

Sappy, what the heck where you thinking about? You should have used this:



wow such sand

Stoutland @ Choice Band/Life Orb
Adamant Nature (+Att, -SpA)
EV: 40 HP/252 Att/216 Spe
Ability: Sand Rush

Return
Superpower
Crunch/Pursuit
Wild Charge

REMEMBER: USE THIS SET IN SAND, OTHERWISE YOU COULD BE USING ANY OTHER POKÉMON.

Stoutland got a nice buff in Attack, and Stoutland can make good use of it as a Wallbreaker or even as a late Sweeper. Return is the best Physical STAB it can get, and, coupled with Superpower, only Ghosts wall it, and those, along most Psychic types, are eliminated due to their lack of bulk (in OU, the only one is Gengar) with Crunch or Pursuit; while Crunch focuses on direct termination, Pursuit can force Latios (Life Orb versions, Scarfed ones outspeed even 252 Speed Stoutland). Wild Charge, although seeming pointless at first, is very important for avoiding Gyarados to come in freely and for not being walled by Skarmory.

Do you know what's the worse of being a base-Speed 80? Not being able to outspeed Choice Scarf Keldeo using an Adamant Nature, and since Stoutland NEEDS the power, Jolly should not be used. Knowing this, Stoutland runs 216 EV in Speed, enough to outrun Choice Scarf Garchomp in Sand; 40 EV in HP are to do something marginally productive, but do not rely on these too much; Conkeldurr, for example…

252+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Stoutland: 312-368 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

… can meet an unexpected nasty surprise. Stoutland 2HKOs in Return with Return (HA!).

Choice Band is the best item Stoutland can use, but, due to its increase in Attack, Life Orb is now a serious option at the cost of recoil. I don't think you should consider any other object but a Chople Berry, which eliminates during one turn its only weakness, enhancing its survivability, at the cost of a very nasty drop in power.

Stoutland/Alexpup, the very doge Pokémon. Should it bark "yolo" or "swag", order it to murder its target; otherwise, you are going to have a bad day.

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So, what do you think about Alexpup/Stoutland? Stout Alex for Two Refined? Does it make sense for this Pokémon to have Sand Rush? Do you find it a good Pokémon? More during the next issue (which should be aired soon)!

[Kerou 犠牲]

I had no idea it even got Sand Rush tbh lol interesting article for that reason, would never have even considered it

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I have always found it odd that Herdier and Stoutland get Sand Rush but no access to Sandstorm which ACTIVATES it.

[Delicious_Scout]

Perhaps this is a reference to Megaman's Doge, Rush. Sandstorm? Do you expect a dog to emanate sand from its skin? A… really? Do I have to? *sigh*

__________

Today, committing suicide has never been so fluffy. Give a big hug to Boobat, the Swoobat.

Yes, by MetaSprites and very cute, but… BOOBat.

Boobat is frail, Boobat is weak, Boobat could be a tit to face if it had better Stats!

Swoobat

HP: 67 | Attack: 57 | Defence: 55 | Special Attack: 77 | Special Defence: 55 | Speed: 114

Klutz and Unaware? What are they for in such a frail Pokémon? Little. Woobat needs to go fully offensive against its enemies, especially with that outstanding Speed stat; for its fortune, Simple is available as its hidden ability of choice, and it can make a decent use of it. Another selling point for our booby friend is that its typing, Psychic/Flying, is not bad at all; its STAB is only resisted by Steel and Tyranitar, and Swoobat can maim Steel Types (bar Heatran). Defensively, it resists Fighting x4, which is always handy.

Let's sort the set.



Expand Boob

Swoobat @ Salac Berry/Sitrus Berry/Focus Sash
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Att)
EV: 20 HP/4 Def/252 SpA/232 Spe (236 Spe if running HP Fighting, removing the 4 EV form Defence)
Ability: Simple

Calm Mind
Stored Power
Psyshock/Heat Wave/Air Slash/Giga Drain
Heat Wave/Hidden Power Fighting/Substitute/Roost

This set is clear as crystal; using Calm Mind is the main goal of our booby friend. This is easier said than done because of Swoobat's poor bulk, but at least it is quick enough to set up on some Pokémon that really like to spam Special Attacks; due to Simple, Swoobat will be granted a +2 in Special Defence, thus letting it survive some more hits. It goes rolling, and, at +6, it is very hard to stop without a proper counter; Air Slash eliminates Conkeldurr, Keldeo, and Mega Venusaur, but they already suffer a lot from Stored Power, and this is why Psyshock is listed as a second option, just to hit Pokémon in their lower defensive stat. Giga Drain is useful for defeating those pesky Bulky Water Types (BWT), and it also recovers some HP, which are very much needed by Boobat. In the last slot, Heat Wave harms Scizor and Skarmory for heavy damage (if Scizor does not hit before with a Bullet Punch), and Hidden Power Fighting nails Tyranitar and Heatran, Pokémon that otherwise would wall Swoobat with ease. The last two moves are to stay a bit longer and to stall some PP from Bisharp's Sucker Punch, because it is unlikely you will be able to hit it unless you are carrying Heat Wave (or even HP Fighting) with Substitute or via some smart play.

Don't let the EV in HP fool you; it is very unlikely it will survive a long time, but it is always handy to have some sort of bulk to survive any incoming hit. A Timid nature is necessary to outspeed Thundurus, the Pokémon whose Speed is marginally lower than Swoobat's; if Swoobat is lucky enough to get a +2, it will have a nice change to OHKO Thundurus using Stored Power, but Thundurus can do the same, at the cost of dying due to Life Orb recoil. The item selection is to ensure Swoobat can, at least, get a Speed Boost in order not to be easily outsped, but Sitrus Berry can be used instead of Leftovers due to the urge of health by Swoobat. Focus Sash is very useful as well to revenge kill something and even sweep at 1 HP, if you are gutsy enough.

Swoobat, the Boobat Pokémon. Amazing, a Shrubby trap that actually catches opponents off-guard.

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So, what do you think about Swoobat? Is it too frail to be effective? Is Azumarill amused? Find it out on the next article!

[SirBlaziken]

I honestly may give boobat a try now. I always loved a good CM spam with my sylveon back when I was beginning in Gen 6 OU.

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Heart Stamp is also a decent STAB. It has 60 BP which may seem low but it is also enough to cause Flinching. Heart Stamp seems to be one of those rarely used moves that are actually quite good.

[Raphetty]

Heart Stamp is also a decent STAB. It has 60 BP which may seem low but it is also enough to cause Flinching. Heart Stamp seems to be one of those rarely used moves that are actually quite good.

It's also a physical attack coming off Swootbat's lower Attack stat, and also not benefiting from Calm Mind. I suppose you could use it with Thunder Wave to take advantage of the 30% flinch chance, but annoyer sets don't tend to be very effective (though some Pokémon like Togekiss do it well).

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I keep forgetting which moves are Physical and which are Special....

[The Shrub Dragon]

I keep forgetting which moves are Physical and which are Special....

think of it like this:
if a move involves the pokemon making contact with the foe (giga impact (keyword: impact), double kick, pound, heart stamp etc.), it's probably physical
if it does not (psychic, magic leaf etc.), it's probably special


there may well be exceptions to this but it is a quarter to eight in the morning so you'll have to find them yourself because i am not doing it