Weakness Policy Slurpuff/Coaching Team Feedback
Posted Sep 9, 2020, 1:18 AM UTC
9027
I threw up when I saw ally switch marowak
16
So I was playing on Showdown about a week ago and got obliterated by a Slurpuff running Weakness Policy + its ability Unburden, which doubles its speed. Previously, Slurpuff has been used as a fast support mon with psychic/grassy seed paired with mons that set terrain. Now, it’s a threat no once expects and they’ll often try to taunt it.
I decided to proc WP with bullet punch, and Riolu is a mon I’ve been intending on trying out because of priority Coaching. It pairs really well with fast hard hitters such as Urshifu, or slower bulkier threats like Corviknight. Thus the team was born.
Members:
Slurpuff: Integral to the team. Unburden makes this thing outspeed anything as long as max airstream or tailwind aren’t up. Often the opponent will have no idea whether the set is physical or special. I initially had Protect instead of Surf, but the coverage to take out Arcanine or Colossal is worth it. I often lead Riolu+Slurpuff and just win games because of the surprise factor.
Riolu: The other star of the team. Bullet Punch to proc WP on Slurpuff (be careful of fake out and redirection), Quick Guard to predict Fake Out and stop priority Brave Bird, Coaching for beefing up your team members, and Copycat to reverse a Trick Room and occasionally set up a Tailwind of your own.
Corviknight: Needed a bulkier threat that could take a Spore from Amoonguss and take it out in kind. Wrecks fairies. This thing with Coaching + Bulk Up is a beast. The EV spread was chosen to allow for better stat boosts with Coaching/Bulk Up/Max Airstream. You’re usually dynamaxing Slurpuff, but Corviknight is a solid option. Lum Berry to take a Spore or Will-o-Wisp.
Urshifu: Wanted a fast water type that could hit hard and Urshifu fits that role. Also a good Coaching partner and covers Slurpuff’s Steel-type weakness. Surging Strikes and Close Combat are standard, U-Turn is for an escape option, and Taunt... I’m unsure about Taunt. Open to suggestions.
Amoonguss: I actually really dislike this Pokémon but it provides me with some answers to problematic threats and some redirection so I can set up if I need to. Seed Bomb over Energy Ball so that it benefits from Coaching should Riolu and Amoonguss be out on the field at the same time.
Alolan Marowak: Probably the most flexible spot on my team at the moment, but has some real uses. If Trick Room goes up he gives me a fighting chance. Ally Switch has saved me against Porygon a couple times now. And Lightning Rod gives me some much needed electric immunity, as my team seems really weak to electricity.
Common Leads:
Riolu + Slurpuff:
Probably my favourite to lead because the opponent has no idea what I’m up to most of the time (even debated posting this because I don’t want the secret out). If there’s no redirection or Fake Out, you’re free to Bullet Punch Slurpuff and wreak havoc. Slurpuff OHKOs Maxed Dracozolt with Max Starfall, almost OHKOs Gmax Charizard with Max Lightning, obliterates Durant with Max Flare, and can destroy Coalossal with Max Geyser as long Steam Engine doesn’t go off first. This lead is heavily vulnerable to redirection, though. Here’s an example of how dominant this lead can be with the right reads: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8battlestadiumdoubles-1184164319-w2enrcw8d2is32fytges0vkl4yepq53pw
Riolu + Urshifu:
With Scarf, Urshifu outspeeds basically everything and with a Coaching boost it’s very deadly. Vulnerable to Fake Out, but Riolu has Quick Guard if you’re really worried. I think this lead beats Sneasel/Weavile + Coalossal as long as you don’t dynamax Urshifu (scarf doesn’t activate) and Sneasel doesn’t fake out. Usually bring Corviknight and Amoonguss in the back with this lead but it depends.
Amoonguss + Marowak:
This is the anti-Porygon Z lead. Ally Switch usually catches them off guard, and they might waste a Max Strike into Marowak. They could max Darkness into Marowak but Amoonguss can take the hit. Then you Spore either their Clefairy or Porygon depending on what they lead. It’s not full proof but it really is the only answer this team has.
Amoonguss + Corviknight:
This is if you think you can pull off a sweep with Corviknight. Redirection with Amoonguss and Bulk Up with Corviknight. I usually keep Riolu in the back so I can boost Corviknight’s stats further while getting faster with Airstream, and maybe bring Urshifu or Marowak depending on the matchup. Arcanine or anyone with Heat Wave is usually a bad matchup, but I have found my opponents don’t love bringing Arcanine into my team.
So that’s about it, I’m fairly new to VGC as of June and I’m definitely super open to suggestions about the team. I’m hovering around 1300 on Showdown ladder with this, though that’s not that impressive.
8
It looks like Talonflame, Porygon-Z, Grimmsnarl, and opposing Amoonguss could be very problematic for you.
5
It’s true, Talonflame has been tough. Amoonguss has been alright thanks to Slurpuff and Corviknight. Grimmsnarl with screens is also a problem. Any suggestions on how to deal with those threats?
2
Aqua jet with the scarfed urshifu should outspeed and might take down Talonflame. You could consider aqua jet over taunt I think.
For Grimmsnarl, I'm thinking Quick Guard with your Riolu to prevent thunder wave/taunt, and then switch Close Combat on Urshifu for Brick Break to break any screens. It's down to power 90 instead of 95 for the max move, and its obviously a huge power drop, but not sure if the Close Combat is getting you out of any close fights or not.
3
I think you should put protect on slurpuff considering it’s not AV
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I did have it initially instead of surf, but being able to take out Arcanine and Coalossal and Charizard if the sun’s gone was too good to pass up.
1
Slurpuff gang
2
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1
I love Corviknight but he kinda has a 4 moveslot problem. Coaching + bulk up make this set ripe for body press, but protect is also important and it also learns other moves that could give him more support value like tailwind.
1
I had tailwind instead of iron head initially but I found I usually didn’t have enough time to set it up. Body Press is interesting though. May have to try out different combinations and see what works best.
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I ran tailwind Corvi for a while and he's not great at it because of his speed. you don't get an immediate speed boost like you do with something like Whimsicott or Talonflame (or even Noivern) because he never goes first. he should mostly be used to throw around his bulk (which also means stay away from fire and electric). I also found some good success using him dynamax and pairing him with a Tyranitar or something fairly slow and bulky. one or two max airstreams, a max knuckle (body press) and they both become pretty scary.
I also use roost instead of protect, and it's great for longevity. I've ended a couple matches with just Corvi taking down the final two mons because they can't hurt him enough.
1
Why have timid nature riolu with 252 speed when all of it's moves have priority and it's attacking move is physical? I would for a start recommend using a nature that lowers Sp. Attack instead of attack so that bullet punch deals more damage, unless you're trying to get damage off with a special move that has been copycated with riolus 35 base Sp. Attack. I would suggest running an adamant, careful or impish nature or at the very least jolly, and I would invest those 252 EVs into defences or attack instead of speed
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Yeah, you’re right that’s probably better. Investing in speed is pointless.
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The speed can be important when running quick guard, which is in the same priority bracket as fake out (+3). Meaning you have to be faster than the fake outer you want to protect against. Actually, you might be slower than the common fake outers anyways, even at 252 Timid.
Bullet punch isn't for damage really, just WP, -attack is probably fine. You can still use it to pick off sashes. But I would calc what BP does vs alolan ninetales, if you can KO with +attack, for instance, that'd be worth it.
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Does Quick Guard get its priority boosted by Prankster? Because if so, it should block all fake outs right?
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prankster increases priority of status moves by 1, so quick guard would become +4 for Riolu in that case and outspeed all possible fake outs
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Seeing as your using bullet punch to active weakness policy I would still recommend a nature that doesn't lower attack but I wouldn't run adamant nature or any EVs in attack
1
I would also suggest running regenerator on a Amoonguss instead of effect spore so that it is able to heal itself upon switching out.
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I think your team would super Benifit with a trick room setter. With imprison as well for tailwind teams since your team comes off as more fast
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Not a bad option for sure, just trying to find room for it. Maybe swap Amoonguss for Bronzong or Gothitelle?
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Amoongus is one of the mons that benefits from TR, since it is super slow and then can just spore everything before they can move.
1
I don't understand this concept of using baby Pokemon, is there any reason to run Riolu over Lucario?
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Riolu gets access to an ability called Prankster which raises the priority of status moves. Lucario unfortunately doesn’t get this ability, so Riolu is the way to go.
1
Is bellydrum slurpuff a thing still?
1
You could consider dugtrio or even alolan dugtrio to help trigger slurpuff if faced against redirection using sludge wave. Alolan dugtrio also knows ally switch and can take the steel and poison moves that would target slurpuff. Arena trap is excellent on Kanto dugtrio and tangling hair is decent on alolan. U also get pretty powerful ground attacks with high horsepower.