Yuichi
umu!
[OVERVIEW]
Nihilego's base 103 Speed stat allows it to outspeed common foes such as Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B with ease, which, when paired with Beast Boost, gives Nihilego the ability to quickly get out of hand. This, combined with a unique offensive typing and an excellent Special Attack stat, lets it function as an anti-metagame breaker that excels at dismantling Mega Charizard Y balance teams along with other bulkier control-oriented teams containing Pokemon such as Incineroar, Zapdos, and Tapu Fini . Despite these upsides, Nihilego may find itself struggling to pick up KOs due to the presence of many specially defensive Pokemon in the format. Furthermore, Nihilego is also easily forced out by Steel-types and strong physical attackers, as it is very frail.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Power Gem
move 3: Stealth Rock / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Protect
item: Rockium Z / Focus Sash
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Sludge Bomb and Power Gem provide valuable Poison- and Rock-type coverage , allowing Nihilego to hit a plethora of metagame threats like Tapu Fini, Zapdos, and Incineroar super effectively. Stealth Rock chips many of Nihilego's targets, such as Tapu Lele and Volcanion, into OHKO range of its STAB moves, while Hidden Power Ice hits both Landorus-T and Zygarde, which otherwise wall Nihilego. Protect is useful for stalling out turns while Nihilego's ally helps get rid of opposing Steel-types or scouting out potential sets the foe is running.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment ensures that Nihilego outspeeds both Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B while being able to hit as hard as possible. Rockium Z provides the extra boost needed to OHKO bulkier targets such as Incineroar while acting as a one-time nuke to help Nihilego get going with Beast Boost. Focus Sash is also an alternative if the team has another Z-Move user, as it guarantees that Nihilego is able to get off a few attacks or set up Stealth Rock even in the presence of its checks.
Usage Tips
========
Nihilego best functions as an offensive Stealth Rock setter that can blanket check a range of prominent threats thanks to its unique offensive typing. However, its Special Attack may be lacking at times and miss important OHKOs; thus, it is beneficial to try to set up Stealth Rock early to chip its targets into KO range of its attacks. If Nihilego finds itself lacking an opportunity to do so, it can choose to utilize its Z-Move instead to secure the KO. It's also a good idea to try to bring Nihilego onto the field with the help of slow pivots, such as Incineroar, to extend its longevity so it is able to fully utilize its wallbreaking potential. Alternatively, it is also fine to hard switch Nihilego into Fire-types or other Pokemon that are unable to retaliate against it, such as Volcarona and unboosted Tapu Fini. Finally, it is advisable for Nihilego to always switch out when an opposing Steel-type hits the field, since Nihilego cannot do much against them.
Team Options
========
Mega Charizard Y teams in particular appreciate Nihilego's presence, since the two have great offensive synergy together, with Nihilego being able to remove Fire-types such as Incineroar and Volcanion that otherwise wall Charizard while Charizard removes Steel-types such as Mega Metagross and Kartana. Steel-type checks such as Incineroar, Landorus-T, and Volcanion are absolutely mandatory for teams featuring Nihilego, as it will find itself struggling to deal any damage at all against such foes. Nihilego values teammates such as Kartana and Tapu Fini, as they are able to check Ground-types such as Mega Swampert and Gastrodon, which Nihilego struggles against. Dragon-types such as Kommo-o and Kyurem-B benefit from Nihilego's ability to threaten and get rid of the Island Guardians along with other Fairy-types, allowing them to plow through teams with their respective STAB attacks. Common Intimidate users such as Landorus-T and Incineroar also work well with Nihilego, as they help make up for Nihilego's poor physical bulk through constant Intimidate shuffling. Lastly, Nihilego benefits tremendously from allies like Incineroar and Mega Metagross that are able to force out specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Amoonguss.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Wiki Berry set with Trick Room in the Stealth Rock moveslot helps against faster offensive teams. A bulkier spread of 48 HP / 152 Def / 116 SpA / 192 Spe with a Timid nature lets Nihilego take a Gigavolt Havoc from Tapu Koko after Stealth Rock and outspeed Kyurem-B while retaining enough Special Attack for the right Beast Boost. The remaining EVs are dumped into Defense, allowing Nihilego to take a -1 uninvested Kartana's Bloom Doom. Life Orb helps make up for Nihilego's inability to get immediate KOs due to its lack of power and is best used with Stealth Rock to push many of Nihilego's targets such as Tapu Fini and bulky Tapu Lele variants into OHKO range. With Hidden Power Fire, Nihilego can lure in Kartana or Mega Scizor to OHKO or severely dent them, although its not recommended because Mega Scizor can easily OHKO Nihilego with Bullet Punch, while faster Kartana variants OHKO it with Leaf Blade.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Steel-types in general are able to check Nihilego really well because most of them, in particular Mega Metagross and Kartana, resist both of Nihilego's STAB moves and can switch in pretty comfortably against it and force it out.
**Ground-types**: Landorus-T and Zygarde are able to effectively check Nihilego variants not carrying Hidden Power Ice. Gastrodon and Mega Camerupt can also easily threaten a KO due to Nihilego's 4x weakness to Ground-type attacks.
**Water-types**: Rain sweepers such as Kingdra and Mega Swampert are able to outspeed Nihilego and OHKO it with their boosted STAB attacks. Suicune is also able to slowly chip Nihilego down with either Snarl or Scald, while Araquanid can take a Power Gem and OHKO Nihilego with Liquidation in return.
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele and Mega Latias are both free to deal huge damage to Nihilego with Psychic and Psyshock. Gothitelle and Cresselia, on the other hand, are bulky enough to take a few hits from Nihilego while slowly chipping it down with their respective STAB attacks.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Pokemon such as Diancie, Kartana, and Tyranitar chunk Nihilego with their STAB moves due to Nihilego's practically nonexistent physical bulk.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yuichii, 435812]]
- Quality checked by: [[talkingtree, 232101], [Memoric, 215000]]
- Grammar checked by: [[rabia, 336073], [the-dutch-plumberjack, 232216]]
Nihilego's base 103 Speed stat allows it to outspeed common foes such as Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B with ease, which, when paired with Beast Boost, gives Nihilego the ability to quickly get out of hand. This, combined with a unique offensive typing and an excellent Special Attack stat, lets it function as an anti-metagame breaker that excels at dismantling Mega Charizard Y balance teams along with other bulkier control-oriented teams containing Pokemon such as Incineroar, Zapdos, and Tapu Fini . Despite these upsides, Nihilego may find itself struggling to pick up KOs due to the presence of many specially defensive Pokemon in the format. Furthermore, Nihilego is also easily forced out by Steel-types and strong physical attackers, as it is very frail.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Power Gem
move 3: Stealth Rock / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Protect
item: Rockium Z / Focus Sash
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Sludge Bomb and Power Gem provide valuable Poison- and Rock-type coverage , allowing Nihilego to hit a plethora of metagame threats like Tapu Fini, Zapdos, and Incineroar super effectively. Stealth Rock chips many of Nihilego's targets, such as Tapu Lele and Volcanion, into OHKO range of its STAB moves, while Hidden Power Ice hits both Landorus-T and Zygarde, which otherwise wall Nihilego. Protect is useful for stalling out turns while Nihilego's ally helps get rid of opposing Steel-types or scouting out potential sets the foe is running.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment ensures that Nihilego outspeeds both Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B while being able to hit as hard as possible. Rockium Z provides the extra boost needed to OHKO bulkier targets such as Incineroar while acting as a one-time nuke to help Nihilego get going with Beast Boost. Focus Sash is also an alternative if the team has another Z-Move user, as it guarantees that Nihilego is able to get off a few attacks or set up Stealth Rock even in the presence of its checks.
Usage Tips
========
Nihilego best functions as an offensive Stealth Rock setter that can blanket check a range of prominent threats thanks to its unique offensive typing. However, its Special Attack may be lacking at times and miss important OHKOs; thus, it is beneficial to try to set up Stealth Rock early to chip its targets into KO range of its attacks. If Nihilego finds itself lacking an opportunity to do so, it can choose to utilize its Z-Move instead to secure the KO. It's also a good idea to try to bring Nihilego onto the field with the help of slow pivots, such as Incineroar, to extend its longevity so it is able to fully utilize its wallbreaking potential. Alternatively, it is also fine to hard switch Nihilego into Fire-types or other Pokemon that are unable to retaliate against it, such as Volcarona and unboosted Tapu Fini. Finally, it is advisable for Nihilego to always switch out when an opposing Steel-type hits the field, since Nihilego cannot do much against them.
Team Options
========
Mega Charizard Y teams in particular appreciate Nihilego's presence, since the two have great offensive synergy together, with Nihilego being able to remove Fire-types such as Incineroar and Volcanion that otherwise wall Charizard while Charizard removes Steel-types such as Mega Metagross and Kartana. Steel-type checks such as Incineroar, Landorus-T, and Volcanion are absolutely mandatory for teams featuring Nihilego, as it will find itself struggling to deal any damage at all against such foes. Nihilego values teammates such as Kartana and Tapu Fini, as they are able to check Ground-types such as Mega Swampert and Gastrodon, which Nihilego struggles against. Dragon-types such as Kommo-o and Kyurem-B benefit from Nihilego's ability to threaten and get rid of the Island Guardians along with other Fairy-types, allowing them to plow through teams with their respective STAB attacks. Common Intimidate users such as Landorus-T and Incineroar also work well with Nihilego, as they help make up for Nihilego's poor physical bulk through constant Intimidate shuffling. Lastly, Nihilego benefits tremendously from allies like Incineroar and Mega Metagross that are able to force out specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Amoonguss.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Wiki Berry set with Trick Room in the Stealth Rock moveslot helps against faster offensive teams. A bulkier spread of 48 HP / 152 Def / 116 SpA / 192 Spe with a Timid nature lets Nihilego take a Gigavolt Havoc from Tapu Koko after Stealth Rock and outspeed Kyurem-B while retaining enough Special Attack for the right Beast Boost. The remaining EVs are dumped into Defense, allowing Nihilego to take a -1 uninvested Kartana's Bloom Doom. Life Orb helps make up for Nihilego's inability to get immediate KOs due to its lack of power and is best used with Stealth Rock to push many of Nihilego's targets such as Tapu Fini and bulky Tapu Lele variants into OHKO range. With Hidden Power Fire, Nihilego can lure in Kartana or Mega Scizor to OHKO or severely dent them, although its not recommended because Mega Scizor can easily OHKO Nihilego with Bullet Punch, while faster Kartana variants OHKO it with Leaf Blade.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Steel-types in general are able to check Nihilego really well because most of them, in particular Mega Metagross and Kartana, resist both of Nihilego's STAB moves and can switch in pretty comfortably against it and force it out.
**Ground-types**: Landorus-T and Zygarde are able to effectively check Nihilego variants not carrying Hidden Power Ice. Gastrodon and Mega Camerupt can also easily threaten a KO due to Nihilego's 4x weakness to Ground-type attacks.
**Water-types**: Rain sweepers such as Kingdra and Mega Swampert are able to outspeed Nihilego and OHKO it with their boosted STAB attacks. Suicune is also able to slowly chip Nihilego down with either Snarl or Scald, while Araquanid can take a Power Gem and OHKO Nihilego with Liquidation in return.
**Psychic-types**: Tapu Lele and Mega Latias are both free to deal huge damage to Nihilego with Psychic and Psyshock. Gothitelle and Cresselia, on the other hand, are bulky enough to take a few hits from Nihilego while slowly chipping it down with their respective STAB attacks.
**Strong Physical Attackers**: Pokemon such as Diancie, Kartana, and Tyranitar chunk Nihilego with their STAB moves due to Nihilego's practically nonexistent physical bulk.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Yuichii, 435812]]
- Quality checked by: [[talkingtree, 232101], [Memoric, 215000]]
- Grammar checked by: [[rabia, 336073], [the-dutch-plumberjack, 232216]]
Last edited: