Volcanic Eruption

**FLCL** · Oct 13th, 2012, 6:53:54 PM

INTRODUCTION

I have been using this team since late August and it has been extremely consistent in both ladder and official matches. I used it in every game two of NU Open—which was in my opinion the most important game—and it did not disappoint, going 5-0. The purpose of this team is wear down the opponent through constant offensive pressure while still being able to take hits relatively well. Nearly every team member can be considered as a "Bulky Attacker". Most games end with Gurdurr sweeping since opposing Psychic and Flying types do not tend to last throughout the match with Skuntank, Golurk, and Rotom-S in the wings.

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UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

GOLURK @

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Golurk is one of the most reliable Stealth Rock setters in the current metagame. Many common leads such as Golem, Regirock, and Armaldo are beaten handily by it. Golurk's sheer bulk makes it very hard to OHKO without a powerful Surf, Ice Beam, or Grass Knot, which allows it to set up Stealth Rocks in nearly every match. Offensively, it's no slouch either; Golurk's gigantic Attack stat allows it to dish out damage consisitently to every Pokemon in the tier due to the perfect coverage it has between its attacks. It also supports the team by adding useful Normal, Electric, and Fighting type immunities. Golurk is usually the initial switch-in to Pokemon such as Tauros, Sawk, and Rotom-S.

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LUDICOLO @

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Ludicolo is one of the most devistating Pokemon in NU simply because of this set. The power and coverage it provides allows it to plow through the many teams that lack a dedicated special wall. Rain Dance allows Ludicolo to sweep at a moment's notice if given a free turn and is extremely useful at breaking down offensive teams. Its typing is also very important as it helps the team take Hydro Pumps from the likes of Samurott, Simipour, and opposing Ludicolo.

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TORKOAL @

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Shell Smash Torkoal is one of the coolest sets circulating around the metagame right now. It is one of the only spinners that can get past common Spinblockers like Misdreavus and Golurk. On top of that, it has a huge surprise factor that allows Torkoal to sweep entire teams at times. Fire Blast is extremely powerful after a boost, 2HKOing even dedicated special walls such as Licklicky. It synergises extremely well with Ludicolo; the two form a pseudo Fire / Water / Grass core and can break down Pokemon that give each other trouble. Props to EBeast for popularizing Smashkoal, ~~and to Django for inventing it?!!?!~~ (apparently cbb invented it)

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GURDURR @

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Meet one of the premier bulky attackers in the tier, Gurdurr. It boasts massive bulk and a great attack stat, which can be pumped up to extremely dangerous levels thanks to Bulk Up and Guts. It has the ability to recover HP with Drain Punch, which helps it immensely when it's matched up against Pokemon such as Samurott and Emboar. There are very few physical attackers, or even physical walls, that can come on top against this beast. Outside of sweeping, Gurdurr can break down bulky Rock and Steel types that wall Skuntank, which greatly increases its utility and usefulness in a match.

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SKUNTANK @

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As strong as Gurdurr may be, it is stopped cold by most Psychic-types in the tier. Skuntank's role is to eliminate those Pokemon by virtue of its typing and move-pool. It is immune to Psychic and takes very little from their coverage move of choice, Signal Beam. With Pursuit, Musharna and friends won't be escaping without having a huge chunk of their health ripped out of them. Skuntank can also provide priority, which is useful for wearing down faster threats as this team is fairly slow.

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ROTOM-FAN @

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Choice Scarf Rotom-Fan is probably the best user of Choice Scarf in the whole tier. Thanks to Torkoal, Stealth Rocks are usually off the field, which means that Rotom can hop in and out of battle, doing huge amounts of damage to offensive teams and often putting the opponent in a bad position. Huge threats such as Sawk, Braviary, and Samurott are either forced out or killed by Rotom.

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THREATS

This team mostly has troubles with Flying-types that are not Choiced, such as Swellow. Articuno can really mess up this team as well since it can basically OHKO everything with its Life Orb set. Setting up Stealth Rocks early and making sure Rotom-S is healthy are key steps to keeping these Pokemon in check. Opposing Smashkoals are also difficult to play around if they set up on Gurdurr; luckily they aren't as common.

WhiteDMist · Oct 13th, 2012, 8:42:24 PM

Hey FLCL! As always, you make a great team. You already know what problems your team faces, but I'll point them out to you just because I can!

You've already established that you are weak to Flying types, especially Aritcuno. Scarily enough, LO Articuno can basically take out your entire team if your Pokes take at least Stealth Rocks/LO damage (Skuntank survives Timid Hurricane ~7% of the time if Articuno rolls low). So by merely leading with Articuno, it can break through most of your team before you can weaken it enough to KO it (you can't even set up Rain safely because of the threat of Hurricane). Opposing Mantine (and Rain teams in general) are also a problem for similar reasons.

While this is something I don't normally recommend, I think that making Skuntank more specially defensive would be very helpful. You have Rotom-S to outspeed and revenge kill Samurott if you are that afraid of being out-prioritized, while most people would generally assume that you are running that faster Skuntank set anyways (thus probably going for Waterfall). The extra bulk lets you take hits from Absol and the Flyers much more effectively and still inflict massive damage due to the max Atk and Adamant. As for dealing with Swellow, you can partially stall it out until it is in Aftermath range (though this is a bit of a desperate strategy since you do have Gurdurr and Rotom-S to somewhat check it).

Changes:

Skuntank: Special Defensive>Fast Offensive

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I don't have much else that I feel is necessary. Perhaps changing Golurk's item to something else, as Leftovers is rather pointless when so many things either 1-2HKO it anyways, or it walls it due to resistances/immunities. Of course, there is the question of what item would be more useful. Things like Colbur Berry to lure Dark types, Lum Berry to stop Sleep or Burns, or even Red Card to give a nasty surprise to BP teams would work almost as well in that slot.

Anyways, congrats on your success with this team! Hope I helped improve it even a little!

Luvdisced!

**FLCL** · Oct 14th, 2012, 1:00:42 PM

Thanks for the rate WhiteDMist! Bulky Skuntank is a great set so I'll definitely look into that. However, I'll probably keep Leftovers on Golurk since I play it very aggressively and the extra healing can make the different in surviving something like a stray Hidden Power Grass or Ice Punch.

Oct 13th, 2012, 8:42:24 PM	#2
WhiteDMist If happy ever after did exist Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 516 I'm at a payphone!	Hey FLCL! As always, you make a great team. You already know what problems your team faces, but I'll point them out to you just because I can! You've already established that you are weak to Flying types, especially Aritcuno. Scarily enough, LO Articuno can basically take out your entire team if your Pokes take at least Stealth Rocks/LO damage (Skuntank survives Timid Hurricane ~7% of the time if Articuno rolls low). So by merely leading with Articuno, it can break through most of your team before you can weaken it enough to KO it (you can't even set up Rain safely because of the threat of Hurricane). Opposing Mantine (and Rain teams in general) are also a problem for similar reasons. While this is something I don't normally recommend, I think that making Skuntank more specially defensive would be very helpful. You have Rotom-S to outspeed and revenge kill Samurott if you are that afraid of being out-prioritized, while most people would generally assume that you are running that faster Skuntank set anyways (thus probably going for Waterfall). The extra bulk lets you take hits from Absol and the Flyers much more effectively and still inflict massive damage due to the max Atk and Adamant. As for dealing with Swellow, you can partially stall it out until it is in Aftermath range (though this is a bit of a desperate strategy since you do have Gurdurr and Rotom-S to somewhat check it). Changes: Skuntank: Special Defensive>Fast Offensive ... Skuntank @ Leftovers Trait: Aftermath EVs: 252 Atk / 220 SDef / 36 Spe Adamant Nature - Sucker Punch - Pursuit - Poison Jab - Taunt I don't have much else that I feel is necessary. Perhaps changing Golurk's item to something else, as Leftovers is rather pointless when so many things either 1-2HKO it anyways, or it walls it due to resistances/immunities. Of course, there is the question of what item would be more useful. Things like Colbur Berry to lure Dark types, Lum Berry to stop Sleep or Burns, or even Red Card to give a nasty surprise to BP teams would work almost as well in that slot. Anyways, congrats on your success with this team! Hope I helped improve it even a little! Luvdisced! __________________ Message me for NU RMT rates! PU: Pokemon Database The PU Viability Rankings PU- NU in NU PU Research Week Project PU

Oct 14th, 2012, 1:00:42 PM	#3
FLCL Moderator Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 977	Thanks for the rate WhiteDMist! Bulky Skuntank is a great set so I'll definitely look into that. However, I'll probably keep Leftovers on Golurk since I play it very aggressively and the extra healing can make the different in surviving something like a stray Hidden Power Grass or Ice Punch.