Pokemon of the Week 1/23/11

I...was proud of the idea. Not THRILLED about the pokemon itself. Nuclume isn't bad it's just a bit average. Lotta good points, equally as many bad ones. Nuclume: The Nuclear Pokemon. The sentient part of this pokemon is actually the gastly plume spewing from the metal pot. This gas pokemon is highly toxic and extremely explosive.

Overview
Uh...Wall much? Well...not really. Physically, it has walling potential and it has some Special Attack viability. But it's far from being a sweeper thanks to its abysmal base 45 speed. Its HP is alright at 95 base. It's really an average pokemon overall. The best thing (and worst thing)about its typing is the whole Poison/Steel thing. That's actually a rather effective typing for its purpose. Having aftermath as an ability and Earthquake being a major weakness is a bit of a revenge kill blessing. It can majorly off pokemon who try to upper-hand it like Donphan and Garchomp, even pulling some surprising hits on Metagross and other Steel Types. Nuclear is just plain unfair. It basically desolates the entire field. The only pokemon immune to it are ghosts and since ghosts won't likely be matched against it, it's just ridiculous. Imagine using it in an uber tier Double Battle alongside Giratina while the opponent rocks it with the two most threatening pokemon in the game, Mewtwo and Kyogre. If you have Giratina hit it with Flamethrower, you automatically wipe out that threat and...Oh yeah, Giratina is probably the fourth most threatening pokemon in the game (behind Deoxys)! Still though, Nuclume is probably going to see alot of time in the Borderline tier. Its stats aren't ideal but, hello, awesome movepool and killer ability (Literally). Not all that useful in OU/Standard because...there are...3? 3 fire types in there and Flamethrower, no matter how awesome, isn't a common move.

Trait
Aftermath: It's good if you aren't looking to tackle major gang-ups. It's best used against powerhouses like Tyranitar, Metagross, and Garchomp.
Nuclear: Is just crazy unfair. It etonates and takes two other pokemon on the field with it, leaving only one pokemon left and with only 1 HP remaining. In single battles, it just flat takes out the opponent.

Moveset

Revenge Kill Master
-Weigh Down
-Toxic/Dark Fear
-Acid Rain/Fireworks
-Wall Shadow
Trait: Aftermath/Nuclear
Item Attached: Sticky Barb

This is the only truly effective set for Nuclume and it actually rocks. Weigh Down is mainly for Quake Coverage. Since it has the speed priority and goes first always (excluding Protect/Detect/Endure/Cute Face), it'll basically make dead sure even Earthquake only shakes it up for a 2H-KO (use it twice for 4H-KO. It's a surprisingly good walling move). Once that's out of the way, Dark Fear and paralyze your faster opponents or poison bulkier ones with Toxic. Acid Rain and Fireworks are just ways to ruin Steel Types because, let's face it, this guy doesn't have Earthquake. Steel types can ruin it without this. Acid Rain is preferable. Wall Shadow takes care of pesky ghosts that outdo your abilities (barring Dusknoir, Duscythe, Banette, and Shadoll which all are more physically empowered) Overall, this is a dynamic set.

Double Battle Use

Don't you DARE try outspeeding anything. There are just too few pokemon with speed this low. Your best bet is to pair it with something that has Trick Room if you aren't using the obove set's Nuclear ability option. Then just pump out Fireworks and Wall Shadow for Steel and Ghost types and pack two of your own moves in the other slot.

Countering Nuclume

It's actually pretty har to do without setting yourself up for a revenge kill. It's REALLY hard because Nuclume is the Revenge Kill master. Your best bet is to toss out a Swampert and hand it Mud Shot because that's the closest you'll come to a quick KO without losing out to Aftermath or Nuclear. The Typing has alot to do with that. Poison/Steel is actually really good.

In-Game Appearences
There are several. Just wait to find out.

Tier Ranking
Single Battle - UU
Double Battle - BL