I like this thread a lot and am glad to see it getting some activity lately. I have a few interesting sets I've been toying around with that I want to talk about myself, but no, I don't have replays cuz I'm a noob that only does stuff on ladder ;-;
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 208 SpD / 56 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
-
Sand Tomb
- Taunt
- Toxic
Sand Tomb Gliscor has been known of for quite a while, though I definitely think it still stands as an underrated absolute stop to a plethora of established defensive Pokemon. The combination of Taunt and Toxic has already been known to shut down defensive behemoths like Blissey, Hippowdon, Alomomola, and Sylveon due to crippling them with status while simultaneously denying them or recovery and preventing the use of Heal Bell/Aromatherapy. Sand Tomb, however, is what really seals the deal, as while it takes away any offensive presence Gliscor could have with Earthquake, it prevents the Pokemon crippled by Taunt + Toxic from switching out in addition to further wearing them down. This guarantees their removal, and is what makes Sand Tomb Gliscor my absolute favorite stallbreaker to use. Its problems include a huge reliance on matchup in order to perform, alongside lacking any offensive presence whatsoever. Regardless, it's almost perfect how easily this set can shut down the majority of the tier's bulky Pokemon, and it's easily one of the better gimmicks that we have access to in the tier.
Krookodile @
Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
-
Aqua Tail
This is another one that I've seen some discussion on previously. I was initially skeptical to try it out due to Krookodile's poor responses to recent metagame trends, though I honestly think that Waterium Z + rocks could be its best set in a meta that it no longer has a clear identity in. Its STAB moves and Intimidate allow it to force plentiful switches in order to easily get rocks on the opponent's side of the field, though Hydro Vortex is an equally useful tool that Krookodile can utilize to take out some of its biggest annoyances, which include Mega Aerodactyl (which can use it as setup bait if running Hone Claws), Hippowdon, and Gliscor, which can be a particularly important threat to lure in and remove. Overall, I think that this set's usefulness stems from its ability to easily combat a lot of Pokemon that Krookodile could deal with through using its regular fourth slot in Taunt, like Hippowdon, while muscling past some of the set's most common traditional switch-ins.
Decidueye @
Flyinium Z
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Spirit Shackle
-
Brave Bird
Decidueye hasn't ever been a particularly easy Pokemon to use, and part of that is due to the presence of some Pokemon that easily wall it, like Hydreigon, Mandibuzz, and Alolan Muk. Its inability to outrun Hydreigon normally prevents it from doing much in return, though it can adequately lure in and remove the other two aforementioned Pokemon with +2 Supersonic Skystrike and some chip. Alolan Muk is OHKOed right off the bat, while Mandibuzz only requires some prior damage in the forms of usually pivoting to be OHKOed as well after rocks. Another perk that comes with using Flyinium is that in addition to luring in what it looks to KO, it covers a lot of the same Pokemon that would normally be targeted with Sinister Arrow Raid, like Amoonguss, which is OHKOed by +2 Brave Bird, and Gliscor and bulky Scizor, which are both more OHKOed more often than not after Stealth Rock. Hydreigon is still fairly difficult to work around with this set, though you're pretty heavily damaging it on the switch with +2 Brave Bird, which even has a small chance to OHKO with Stealth Rock down. Overall, I think that this is a really solid set that Decidueye can use to break past conventional checks in addition to covering what would already drop to Sinister Arrow Raid, albeit a little less reliably.
Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Brave / Adamant Nature
- Gyro Ball / Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
-
Toxic
I'm definitely going out on a limb in vouching for a Pokemon that runs a setup move and a status move, though I think that a big struggle of Doublade's is its inability to cover all of its bases due to 4mss. Shadow Claw still isn't enough to break past Alomomola and Suicune in two hits anyway, and I feel that Sacred Sword relies on hitting a lot of its targets on the switch so as not to cripple Doublade as it takes something like Krookodile or Mega Sharpedo out. With Toxic, Doublade can cripple some of its most prominent checks, like Swampert, Suicune, Alo, and Hippowdon on the switch. It's a great tool for it to use in the early game in that it puts its defensive countermeasures on a timer so that they're more easy to muscle past later on. It also burdens a lot of prominent offensive Pokemon that Doublade has a lot of trouble working around without trying to predict against, like Hydreigon, Krookodile, and the rare Bewear. Solid fourth moveslot that while not amazing, can still get the job done and cover more bases for Doublade through wearing down the majority of its common answers.
Latias @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic / Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire / Recover
-
Reflect Type
I think that Life Orb Latias is something that's been in need of a little more love recently, especially considering that through the use of a super underrated move in Reflect Type, it can circumvent one of its biggest issues, which is its inability to combat Alolan Muk. Figuring out moveslots is tough given that you're dedicating one to overcoming Pursuit trappers, though I really think that Reflect Type can be worth it due to how easily Latias can be removed by Alolan Muk otherwise. It's not an amazing innovation and is only situationally useful, but I've found that due to Alolan Muk's dramatically increased usage it can be so worth squeezing onto a set. All in all, punching holes in teams is something Life Orb is able to consistently do, while the inclusion of Reflect Type is at times fantastic for preventing the most common means of offensively punishing this set. Thanks for reading! Hope you guys give these ideas a try and have fun in doing so :)