Pokémon of the Week #3: Nihilego

[Sirfetch’d]

Welcome to Pokemon of the Week! This is a new series that I will be doing each and every week during the Sun and Moon meta. I will be selecting one Pokemon and list a few things about it such as what tier(s) it is viable in, what are some of the best movesets, and then open a discussion on the Pokemon. You can chat about your experiences using or facing the featured Pokémon. And with that, let's continue this week with one of the new Ultra Beasts, Nihilego!

#793 Nihilego

Sun and Moon introduced to us a new breed of Pokémon this generation in Ultra Beasts. Nihilego is one of these seven new specimens to grace the metagame. While some Ultra Beasts are really poor in the OU environment such as Guzzlord and Xurkitree, and some are just too broken such as Pheromosa, Nihilego fits right in. Nihilego has a unique typing, exceptional Special Attack and Special Defense, and a decent speed tier. With the ability Beast Boost, Nihilego can easily sweep teams late game. However, Nihilego does have it's fair share of drawbacks that prevent it from being a top tier threat that it might appear to be at first glance. For starters, while Nihilego has a good speed tier, it is not the best and is outsped by a lot of common threats and relies on a Scarf most of the time. Secondly, equipping Scarf really cuts into Nihilego's power especially considering it's two main STABs are only of moderate power(Sludge Wave and Power Gem). Nihilego also relies on Hidden Power and Thunder for coverage and is going to be walled by common threats. If you opt for HP Ice you can deal with Garchomp and Landorus, but will not even tickle Mega Metagross, Mega Mawile, or Specially Defensive Mega Scizor. You can choose HP Fire for a more optimal matchup for the latter mons, but would then be walled or checked by Garchomp and Landorus respectfully. Lastly, Nihilego has paper thin Defense and is very prone to being KO'd by Bullet Punch and Sucker Punch.

All of that said, Nihilego can easily fit onto any offensive team and play a pivotal role. Should you choose to use this jellyfish on your team, here are some sets that you might want to give a go:

Nihilego @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power Fire
- Thunder

Nihilego @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Power Gem
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunderbolt

Nihilego @ Focus Sash
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power Ice

You could also opt for a Life Orb set so that you still have a power boost without being locked into a move, but make sure that you have teammates that can deal with common faster threats such as Greninja and Choice Scarf mons like Tapu Lele.

What do you think about Nihilego? Have you used it successfully yet? What are some good teammates for Nihilego? What do you think would make this Ultra Beast more viable? Share anything you'd like about Nihilego here including sweeps!
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[HeroLinik]

At first I thought Nihilego wouldn't be able to work in OU due to the amount of Ground-type moves running around, which are often physical-based and Nihilego is doubly weak to them, and as a result, it can't use its STABs effectively. However, it can function really well as a late-game cleaner if you go for a more offensive set, or suicide lead whose goal is to set up Stealth Rock and then get out of there. Also, you could consider using Grass Knot to lure out certain Ground-types like Hippowdon if you don't have the right HP type.

 

[punkysaur]

The problem with nihilego is I feel that its typing makes it easy fodder for steels which are one of the most used types in this gen. The scarf variants biggest drawback is when u run sludge wave.Just gives a free switch in.Tbh I would have loved if it had got a fire move. Hp fire doesn't to that much acc.to me. Still I love the scarf variant more for how it troubles ninja and the tapu's so much.
I think his usage might rise after mega metas ban

 

[Nah]

Scarf Alex can be pretty cool late game since Sp.Atk Beast Boosts+Choice Scarf speed boost can let you snowball through what's left of the opponent's team. Being a check to all 4 Tapus is great too, given how common they are.

It's just unfortunate that Ground and Steel types are extremely common.

 

[Christos]

I feel like while it can be strong, the fact that it's only decent with a choice item (Scarf works best for it imo) makes it easy to play around. It could work as a late game sweeper but you'd have to get rid of the opponent's Pokémon that can take its STABs, and there's quite a few in OU.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

It's a shame that steel types run rampant like they do, otherwise Nihilego would really be much better I think. As Nah said, being able to check every Tapu is something to be said. If Nihilego even got one decent coverage move such as Earth Power, I think it'd be extremely viable.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Just posting to say that I was busy yesterday, but will get potw #4 up some time today!