RMT: Tier Shift

[War Anvil]

Guess what?

Maybe you were on Pokémon Showdown's simulator once. If so, you've probably heard of a special format called "Tier Shift".

What is Tier Shift, you ask? Well, it's what you get when you take OU and make non-OU Pokémon's stats more appropriate for said tier. Because some of my favorite Pokémon are mostly classified as Neverused to Underused, what hits home with me is that the formerly NU, RU, or UU Pokes I love so much are now on par with each other and the OU metagame.

Starmie @ Damp Rock
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Psychic
This is my Rain user and anti-hazard vessel. In case I run into an enemy Drizzle-toed, though, I can just switch out to someone else to take out the frog.


Gorebyss @ White Herb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Amnesia
- Baton Pass
- Barrier
(sigh) If only Gorebyss could learn Cosmic Power.... Anyway, Gorebyss here is my Smash Passer. I slapped on Amnesia and Barrier just to mess with people who want to set up and sweep.


Lapras @ Leftovers
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Lonely Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Zen Headbutt
Well, what do you know? Here's a somewhat familiar Lapras set (I actually use this set in PO, but with a different nature and different EVs). Lonely is there for the sake of having Waterfall and Zen Headbutt, so that means double the flinch hax!

Maybe I should take notes from the PO incarnation of my Lapras...?


Masquerain @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 164 Def / 224 HP / 120 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SAtk
- Roost
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Air Slash
Egads! A wall-with-teeth Masquerain?!

Well, deal with it, because that's what I'm aiming at. Gorebyss is already responsible for crazy skill buffs, so Masquerain gets Roost and Leftovers to gain some serious longevity.


Salamence @ Yache Berry
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Stone Edge
Moxiemence, yaaaaay! That is all.


Nidoqueen (F) @ Zoom Lens
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Thunder
- Earth Power
- Toxic Spikes
Well, look who has the Toxic Spikes going! Also, STAB Sheer Force Earth Power = DA BESS. Zoom Lens is there in case Starmie is down.

If you don't mind, I would like some critiques on this dear ensemble of mine.

 

[Wave⁂]

Well, here's your first problem...

There's absolutely no reason for Gorebyss to have Amnesia and Barrier. You lose to Taunt outright. It doesn't help with phazing. It's not as good as Substitute. Gorebyss can actually sweep on its own with just Hydro Pump and Ice Beam; if you don't want that, I'd go Scald / Substitute.

Lapras has no SpAtk investment, even though its best moves are special. You cite flinch as a reason behind your set, but without speed investment, you'll be outsped by everything. Waterfall / Return / Ice Shard or Surf / Ice Beam / Thunder would be better sets.

That Masquerain looks like a pretty bad set to be honest, you might as well just use Rest Talk Gyarados. You won't have to worry about always spinning away SR. Better resists, better walling with Dragon Tail shuffling. Doesn't lose to Toxic.

Zoom Lens is a terrible item. It gives you 20% more damage with one move, while Life Orb gives you 30% more damage with two moves, making it 3 times better than Zoom Lens. And that's only if Rain is down.

Your team has no Steel-types, which seems like a shame to me. They excel in the Rain, have great resists, and mesh pretty well with Water-types.

Lastly, your team lacks focus. You have Starmie, but no one to take advantage of the rain, including Starmie itself. Gorebyss wastes rain duration setting up (switch in to Gorebyss, use Shell Smash, use Baton Pass, half of rain is gone). Rain makes Mence's Fire Fang even weaker than it already is. You have like four sweepers or something, but opt to run Toxic Spikes over Stealth Rock on Nidoqueen. Your team is also incredibly slow; your fastest Pokemon is Starmie, but it only has two attacking moves, one of which is Psychic. Your second-fastest is a +speed base 100, not at all impressive. You also have no priority.

 

[Firus]

Guess what?

Maybe you were on Pokémon Showdown's simulator once. If so, you've probably heard of a special format called "Tier Shift".

What is Tier Shift, you ask? Well, it's what you get when you take OU and make non-OU Pokémon's stats more appropriate for said tier. Because some of my favorite Pokémon are mostly classified as Neverused to Underused, what hits home with me is that the formerly NU, RU, or UU Pokes I love so much are now on par with each other and the OU metagame.

If you don't mind, I would like some critiques on this dear ensemble of mine.

Moved this to its own thread because a whole team doesn't need to go in the moveset-rating thread.

Also you may want to get rid of some of the colors. I know they look cool and it's a neat idea, but some of them (particularly the dark blue) are hard to see on the skin I'm using.

(You can also change the thread title as you wish, I just put in a placeholder title for you.)

 

[War Anvil]

Starmie @ Flame Plate
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock

Empoleon @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Grass Knot
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Lapras @ Leftovers
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Mild Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Shard
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic

Blastoise @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Mild Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Dragon Tail
- Ice Beam
- Brine

Smeargle @ White Herb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Shell Smash
- Baton Pass
- Heal Bell

Floatzel @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
- Ice Punch
- Rain Dance

I decided to go far away from the Rain Dance motif, opting to go with a more balanced style of play not involving rain. What do you think? Changes are in bold.

 

[UltiMario]

I'm not super big on tier shift but uhhhh

A nearly mono water team is going to get you mauled in any tier. I couldn't suggest anything except for getting rid of like 4 of the water types. Not to mention every Smeargle should have Spore, and that you shouldn't be attacking with Smeargle ever.