Somewhere Only We Know
Team Preview:
Introduction:
Introduction:
The team started with these 2 bad boys, easily the best Pokemon in RU(Venemoth my ass). Speed Boost Life Orb Yanmega and Choice Scarf Moltres. Between the two of them alone I could destroy just about any team, only very smart players could weaken the two of them and break through the team. The biggest problem with these two is obvious. Stealth Rock. I needed to add a rapid spinner that had enough offensive presence and bulk to be relevant in the metagame. Thus Hitmonchan was added to the the team.
What do both Yanmega and Moltres love? Entry Hazards. Spikes and my own Rocks would drop the number of viable switch ins to single digits. The best offensive spikers are Accelgor and Scolipede. Scolipede was chosen because he can set up Toxic Spikes against stall teams, as well as being able to 2HKO enemy Moltres, a huge threat to the team. Rhyperior was chosen to set up Rocks because of his huge defense and offensive power, breaking through problematic walls like Steelix with ease.
The team was almost complete, all I needed was a ghost to stop opposing Rapid Spinners from getting rid of my precious hazards. The choice of ghost was very difficult, with Haunter, Rotom, Golurk and Misdreavus all being viable in the spot. I ultimately went with Sub Split Eviolite Haunter to help in my destruction of stall teams.
This was the teams peak, hitting #2 on the ladder and destroying many of the top players with ease. Unfortunately Yanmega was banned and Rhyperior moved on to bigger and better things, so some of the team had to change. This was the most difficult decision I had to make with the team, as no Pokemon could replace the two I had so I had to change the teams route somewhat.
Honchkrow and Uxie found their way onto the team, both capable of crippling teams and allowing Moltres to break through the final pieces. Unfortunately the large increase in Honchkrow rendered Haunter unusable, so Rotom replaced him because he can OHKO Honchkrow behind a sub.
This is where the team currently stands, so now I’ll begin the real RMT and be much more indepth about each Pokemon’s role.
The Support!
Scolipede (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Poison Point
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
Role: Scolipede’s job is to lay down either Spikes or Toxic Spikes in the opening turn of the match in order to allow Honchkrow or Moltres to break through the opposing team. Focus Sash may seem weird this generation with the addition of team preview, but as 95% of the time Scolipede is the first Pokemon sent out, I don’t have to worry about it being broken prior to entrance. It also allows me to defeat enemy Moltres with Rock Slide, who can be very problematic if I don’t get it out of the way early. Poison Point is chosen over Swarm for hax, poisoning a sweeper who thinks it can get a free kill can greatly reduce its life span. I often sacrifice Scolipede at the beginning of the match to lay down as many entry hazards as possible, starting down 5-6 with hazards still puts me at an advantage.
Uxie @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Psychic
- Trick
TrickScarf Uxie is a very fun Pokemon this meta; I often cripple troubling walls like Slowking and Steelix(Who are both very threatening to the team) with a scard before setting Rocks up in their face. U-turn is obvious as it allows me to predict obvious switches to bring in a team member at no cost. The Evs may seem weird but the extra power is much more important than the bulk to this team, Psychic can 2-3HKO many Pokemon and with the natural bulk Uxie has it can often finish off weakened teams. Uxie is a replaceable Pokemon, so if someone knows something that can do this job better than Uxie then I will gladly consider it and test it.
Rotom @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Pain Split
The best spin blocker in RU right now is Rotom. Pain split allows it to beat every common rapid spinner(Hitmonchan, Claydol, Kabutops, Cryogonal) One on one. The only spinner it struggles to beat is Cryogonal, but with a Special Defense drop or Paralysis, which will happen eventually it wins. While Pain Splitting after it recovers keeps Rotom healthy. Rotom is also very useful outside of Spin Blocking, as he can take out many annoying Pokemon such as Honchkrow or Durant, who could be difficult to switch into for my team. No other ghost is as offensive as Rotom so no other ghost can fulfill his role nearly as well as he can, though if good reasoning is given I will try a new one.
The God. The Phoenix. The Enemy.
Moltres @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- U-turn
Moltres is the most devastating Pokemon in RU right now, there are no Pokemon that can switch in for free if I predict right. A Choice Scarf is chosen because Moltres is to slow to sweep without it, and it allows me to spam U-turn early in the match in order to figure out my opponents playstyle while racking up hazard damage. The STAB moves are obvious, as without them I would not be able to break though anything. HP Grass is for the Pokemon that resist my stabs, such as Kabutops and Rhydon, as very few switch out of such “great set up bait” Unfortunately Moltres is completely crippled my Stealth Rock, so keeping it off the field is dire to my teams success.
The Spinner
Hitmonchan (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Punch
Hitmonchan has one purpose, keep rocks off the field. He is incapable of doing much else for the team. Uninvested Close Combat is laughably weak, its only ever used against weakened steels to finish them off. Mach Punch is even more pathetic, only seeing use to finish off nearly dead sweepers. And Ice Punch is only so I can do something to Ghosts, because I do not want them switching in for free. Please help me make Hitmonchan better, he is dead weight as soon as Rocks are gone and I know this slot can be filled by something else, I just don’t know what.
The Finale
Honchkrow (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Roost
Honchkrow has grown on me a lot since adding him to the team, MoxieKrow can defeat half of a team by itself with very little support. Brave Bird is Krows most powerful attack, its not spammable however because the recoil combined with Life Orb causes Krow to die way to quickly. Roost may seem like a weird option on a sweeper but it allows me to use Claydol and Slowking to heal myself to continue the sweep. I’ve often considered switching Pursuit to a Hidden Power but have not done so yet. Pursuit was on this team to catch people expecting a Sucker Punch off guard, though it has not been as effective as I have hoped. BTW, a +1 Sucker Punch rapes everything. Honchkrow is a boss and I’ll never make a team without it now.
Threats:
Honchkrow - Nothing can reliably switch in, if it has Moxie I'm forced to outpredict with Rotom to have a chance. A huge threat
Steelix - Can set up Stealth Rock and fire Gyro Balls against most of my team, versions with Stone Edge force me to Trick a Scarf onto it to stand a chance
Slowking - Not as threatening as the above two, but he can come in on Moltres and fire off attacks to damage my whole team.
Closing Comments:
Thank you so much for reading this, if you have any questions feel free to contact me, and I'll answer them.
