Project USUM OU Victim of the Week [Week 49: Dragon Dance Gyarados]

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Hi, this week's submission period is up. You can vote for 2 of your favourite checks and counters.

Checks:

Mega Venusaur
Choice Scarf Tapu Lele
Mega Pinsir
Celesteela
Hippowdon
Choice Scarf Latios
Phy Def Tangrowth
Choice Scarf Kartana

Counters:Clefable
Mew
Skarmory
Toxapex
Slowbro

Notes:

1) Moved Mega Venusaur to Checks because +1 Return 2HKOes while Sludge Bomb / Giga Drain doesn't OHKO back.
2) Moved Hippowdon to Checks because +1 High Jump Kick 2HKOes while Earthquake doesn't OHKO back.
3) Mew and Clefable are still listed as Counters because they can OHKO Lopunny with their STAB attacks with minimal prior damage or cripple it with Status.
4) Shedinja is not listed on the OU Viability Rankings and is therefore not eligible.
 
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david0895

Mercy Main Btw
Checks: Scarf Kartana and Scarf Lele
Thet can spam their moves more easily regardless Lopunny stays or not

Counters: Clefable and Toxapex
The others are too situationals (also I can't vote for myself)
 
Time for voting is up. I'll count the votes during the weekend. Thanks for your time.
Checks: Choice Scarf Tapu Lele (écarlate ) / Choice Scarf Kartana (velocities )
Counters: Mew (david0895 ) / Toxapex (GnralLao )

The victim for this week is Electric Seed Hawlucha.


Hawlucha @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Drain Punch / Stone Edge

With Electric Terrain active, Electric Seed gives Hawlucha a +1 Def boost, allowing it to set-up a Swords Dance. Combined with the Ability Unburden, Hawlucha can become a major threat very quickly thanks to its STAB attacks boasting high power and good coverage. Drain Punch allows Hawlucha to heal up to sustain its sweep while Stone Edge can be used to beat the likes of Zapdos.
 
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Reserving Mimikyu.

Mimikyu as a Counter


Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak

Mimikyu should always be able to beat Hawlucha due to its amazing ability in Disguise letting it take a hit, having good fairy STAB with Play Rough and priority in Shadow Sneak to pick it off if Play Rough fails to kill.

252+ Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough vs. +1 104 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha: 276-328 (85.4 - 101.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. +1 104 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha: 62-74 (19.1 - 22.9%) -- possible 5HKO
85.4 + 19.1 = 104.5% meaning that even with 2 absolute low rolls Hawlucha should never beat Mimikyu.
 
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Eclipse

Like a chimp with a machine gun
is a Contributor Alumnus
Reserving Clefable as a hard check.


Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled
- Moonblast

Clefable can come in on a Hawlucha as they SD up and proceed to take it out with Moonblast. Given that this is Electric Seed Hawlucha and not Psychic Seed Hawlucha then Clefable can guarantee the OHKO with Moonblast with a little bit of prior damage, which is easy to ensure with Rocks. If Hawlucha is the Psychic Seed variant then it can SD up twice and take it out with +4 Acrobatics provided that Clefable switches in on the first SD; you can still neutralize this Hawlucha with Thunder Wave for a partner to revenge it. The reason why Clefable is not a counter is that if it finds itself weakened to about the 70% range then Hawlucha can take it out with a +2 Acrobatics (TLDR; Fuck Hawlucha)

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 273-322 (69.2 - 81.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 288-338 (89.1 - 104.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
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Toxapex as a Hard Check


Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover
- Toxic Spikes

Since Hawlucha's Unburden gives it the speed boost only if it doesn't switch out after having its Electric Seed consumed, Hawlucha then becomes what I call a one-time sweeper (much like Z-sweepers, such as Porygon-Z, Azumarill, etc.). Based on that premise, Toxapex could be then considered as a nice check/counter to Hawlucha. Indeed, Hawlucha needs to consume its item and setup a SD before it can possibly 2HKO Toxapex. In a worst-case scenario, Toxapex would hard-switching into Hawlucha's SD. If that happens, Hawlucha clicks Acrobatics, Toxapex then loses about 60% HP before clicking Haze, making it impossible for Hawlucha to KO it on the following turn (and if Hawlucha alternates from SD to Acrobatics, then Toxapex can alternate from Recover and Haze beofre using Scald to fish for a burn on a predicted SD (that's why it's called a worst-case scenario)). In return, Toxapex can use Recover + Black Sludge to stay alive, and Scald to burn Hawlucha which will lead to a probable 4HKO. Once burned, Hawlucha simply cannot do anything back to Toxapex.
252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 87-103 (28.6 - 33.8%) -- 98% chance to 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery
+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 172-204 (56.5 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252+ Atk burned Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 43-51 (14.1 - 16.7%) -- possible 9HKO after Black Sludge recovery

0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 76-90 (23.5 - 27.8%) -- 80.1% chance to 4HKO
 
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Reserving Tapu Koko

Tapu Koko as a Check

Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Ice

Tapu Koko is arguably Hawluchas most splash-able offensive check, finding numerous opportunities to fit on many types of teams with its wide array of sets. Tapu Koko's typing resists both Hawluchas stabs allowing it to live +2 attacks at full Hp + Rocks.

I chose Choice Specs as the main set to check Hawlucha as it can avoid unnecessary chip damage far easy than pivot or Z-Wild charge sets, due to forcing switches far easier and Volt Switch avoiding bard and helmet damage. A stall breaker set consisting of max Hp and Roost (or roost in general) could've been used instead, and probably be considered a counter. However this is far less common and viable in the overall meta game.

One important thing to note with Tapu Koko is two sets of Rocks damage pretty much confirms +2 Hawlucha Ohkoing HJK.

252+ Atk Hawlucha High Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 105-124 (37.3 - 44.1%) -- 1.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Hawlucha Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 108-128 (38.4 - 45.5%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 89-105 (31.6 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha High Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 210-248 (74.7 - 88.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Hawlucha Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 216-255 (76.8 - 90.7%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


252 Atk Tapu Koko Wild Charge vs. +1 104 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha in Electric Terrain: 344-408 (106.5 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

4 SpA Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha in Electric Terrain: 408-480 (126.3 - 148.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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Reserving Quagsire

Quagsire as a counter:



Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Curse

Along the same lines as Clefable, Quagsire is able to ignore all the SD's Hawlucha can setup thanks to Unaware, is never 2Hkoed by HJK and can ware the hawk down with toxic/setup curses on him.

252+ Atk Hawlucha High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 148-175 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Hawlucha High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 148-175 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock, 2 layers of Spikes, and Leftovers recovery
 
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Tapu Lele as a check


Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Fire

Tapu Lele is a nice check to unboosted Hawlucha. This mon can take one Acrobatics after Stealth Rock and then OHKO with any STAB move. Any set works here because, even with a Scarf you'll be outspeed anyway, and right now, Specs is the most common set, and regardless of the drop in power with Scarf, you won't miss the OHKO with a STAB move. However, if Hawlucha sets up a SD, Tapu Lele will find itself being OHKOed by a +2 Acrobatics. A good perk from the Scarf set is the ability to switch into Koko, change the Terrain, outspeeding Koko and OHKO it with Psychic nearly all the time, preventing the activation of the Electric seed, making Hawlucha more easy to deal with.

I'll put Calcs for the Scarf set, you know that Specs is a overkill to Hawlucha and Koko.

252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha in Psychic Terrain: 644-758 (199.3 - 234.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 452-534 (139.9 - 165.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 198-234 (70.4 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko in Psychic Terrain: 280-330 (99.6 - 117.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
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Leo

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MPL Champion
Ash Greninja as a check

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes

Greninja only needs a bit of chip damage to revenge kill Hawlucha with its strong Water Shuriken. If Rain is up (very likely considering Hawlucha is mostly used in Rain) it straight up OHKOs Hawlucha from full

252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 243-288 (75.2 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Greninja-Ash Water Shuriken (20 BP) (3 hits) vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha in Rain: 363-432 (112.3 - 133.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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Martin

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Check

Landorus-Therian @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Fly
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn

PhysDef Flyinium Lando-T looks weird, but it serves an interesting purpose that happens to work here. The set is normally designed to bait Tangrowth who know that Lando-T is physically defensive and to remove it for teammates, but it is also useful versus Venu, Bulu, and, in this instance, Hawlucha. Provided you keep Lando-T healthy until Hawlucha comes onto the field, Lando-T is capable of taking a +2 Acrobatics with ease and KOs it back through the Defense boost with Supersonic Skystrike.

Calcs vs Hawlucha:
+1 252+ Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 216+ Def Landorus-Therian: 186-219 (48.6 - 57.3%) -- 46.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. +1 104 HP / 0 Def Hawlucha: 440-518 (136.2 - 160.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Calcs vs other Supersonic Skystrike targets:
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tangrowth: 426-504 (105.4 - 124.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 Atk Landorus-Therian Supersonic Skystrike (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 88 Def Venusaur-Mega: 404-476 (111.2 - 131.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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