Introduction
This is probably one of my more solid teams that I have used. I can't really pinpoint how it all started; probably somewhere between this team and my urge to use Amoonguss, who I figured could excell in the current NU metagame. It's probably wrong for me to brag about this team reaching number one on the ladder since the alt I started on was at 1350 already. However, it suffered only one loss as I laddered from 1350 to 1494 (and some more after).
Playstyle and Team Structure
This team is pretty offensively oriented but even if I misplay I'll hardly ever get swept due to the large amount of "insurance" the members provide. Priority is extremely important to have on NU teams and mine is no exception; two of the members carry Sucker Punch and one carries Aqua Jet, all of which come from very high attack stats. This, along with Rotom-S, acts as a safety net against fast, frail threats. There is no designated sweeper on this team; if I have to sacrifice something to gain the advantage, then so let it be. I will often switch recklessly to gain the momentum since this team tends to be relentless when given the upper hand. Abundant resistances, decent bulk, and a strong offensive presence are key characteristics that this team posesses. Without further ado, I present Team SHROOMS!
In Depth
Golem (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
Golem is still as good as ever even with all the designated counters for it floating around. It often starts the match off in my advantage since I can choose between setting up Stealth Rocks or hitting the opponent hard. Most times I will lead with something that does well against Golem's counters such as Cryogonal or Rotom-S, preserving Golem for later on in the match where I can abuse its excellent bulk. Golem acts as my initial switch-in to various Fire, Electric, and Normal types. If I am in an situation where I am unsure what the opponent will do, Golem is uaully my go-to guy since it can tank a hit with Sturdy and respond accordingly.
Cryogonal @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Hazards are the bane of all my teams. Cryogonal is the best spinner in the tier. That's probably the only reason I have this floating chunck of ice on my team. It's a nice switch-in to various Water-types, Electric-types, Choice Specs Altaria, and Haunter. Other than that, it usually just spins away hazards, hits a few things hard with Ice Beam, and acts as a fodder for various methods of torture. If I'm lucky, I can catch something like Relicanth or Bastiodon on the switch with Hidden Power Ground.
Rotom-S @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Ground]
I tend to use a Scarfed Rotom-A on every one of my teams, whether it be the Freezer or the Fan. They're so reliable at revenge killing and denting top threats in the tier with their awesome base speed. Rotom-S' typing and bulk makes switching into random Giga Drains, Air Slashes, and Drain Punches a peice of cake, especially with Rapid Spin support. After it comes in against something it threatens, the opponent is put into a bad situation thanks to Volt Switch, which is something every offensive team should have. Trick is always nice to have and acts as an emergency stop button when faced with out-of-control set-up sweepers and Pokemon I cannot break through. Locking something like Cryogonal into Ice Beam means Samurott can come in and start wrecking. Rotom-S acts as the momentum thief of the team and is the catalyst of many sweeps by other team members.
Samurott (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
At first I was a bit skeptical of Jolly Lum Berry Samurott since it seems too weak to do serious damage. Still, I tried it out because I'm not a hypocrite and was impressed at its sweeping prowess. First of all, Jolly allows me to outspeed many threats such as Adamant Braviary, Absol, Ludicolo, and most Skuntank. Lum Berry increases the amount of boosting opportunities against things such as Lickilicky, Regirock, and Misdreavus. Lum Berry and a Jolly nature makes one of the best sweepers in the tier even easier to set-up and harder to revenge kill. Even though Tangela gives me a harder time now since a boosted Megahorn cannot OHKO, the other team members can usually handle it pretty well.
Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
Skuntank is the best Pokemon in the tier. It can trap the abundant Psychic-types running around and check dangerous Pokemon such as Ludicolo and Cinccino with Sucker Punch. Even Pokemon such as Flareon and Cryogonal are trapped and severly hurt by Pursuit. Skuntank can absorb Toxic Sp— oh wait. Absol can't really switch into Focus Blast and Hidden Power Fighting from Psychic-types, making it a worse trapper than Skuntank. It does however, have one thing this team really needs; a power Fighting-type attack. Superpower allows me to muscle through Normal-types such as Licklicky, Miltank, and Audino while also smashing Regice, a big threat to this team. A stronger Sucker Punch and ability to luck its way through stuff like Quagsire never hurts. The ability to absorb Toxic Spikes is already covered by the next Pokemon.
Amoonguss (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Synthesis
By far the most reliable member of my team. Amoonguss helps deal with Sawk, Samurott, Absol, and other powerful physical attackers in the tier. This thing is ridiculously bulky and carries a disabling move thats almost guaranteed to put one of the opponent's Pokemon out for the rest of the match. Effect Spore adds on to the rage by inflicting annoying status to Pokemon that make contact with Amoonguss thirty percent of the time. Definitely the MVP of the team and way better way than Tangela in my opinion.
Threat List
Regice — Extremely bulky and can beat Amoonguss, Samurott, Cryogonal, and Rotom-S one-on-one. If it runs a bit speed then Golem is donked too. Luckily it takes a lot of hazards damage, meaning Absol can usually put it out of action by scaring it out and Pursuiting it along the way.
Articuno — Not as bulky as Regice, but with the ability to beat Absol. Samurott can beat it but ends up getting Toxiced in the process and Golem has to hope Sturdy is up. Rotom-S Volt Switch does like thirty percent, lol.
Articuno — Not as bulky as Regice, but with the ability to beat Absol. Samurott can beat it but ends up getting Toxiced in the process and Golem has to hope Sturdy is up. Rotom-S Volt Switch does like thirty percent, lol.
Conclusion
I'm retiring this team since Amoonguss will probably be moving up to higher tiers because of Regenerator. Vileplume can take its place quite well and has Aromatherapy to boot, but I will probably want to try out something new with all the additions BW2 has brought upon us. I've never been more comfortable using any other team in NU, which says a lot about the reliablility and completeness of this team.
Shoutouts
MMF — For being a BAMF and watching like every battle I was in. Also for holding on to #1 on the ladder for like three minutes after I lost a battle.
Raseri — I battled you a lot and it was extremely fun everytime!
Sweet Jesus — For being one of the few players that beat me. You really pushed me to my limits with your Regice!!!!
NoLuckInvolved — For popularizing Jolly Lum Berry Samurott and making me scared of hazards. :(
Keiran — For making me a DANK banner!
#Neverused — For being an awesome channel and giving me suggestions and pointers that were really helpful!
Raseri — I battled you a lot and it was extremely fun everytime!
Sweet Jesus — For being one of the few players that beat me. You really pushed me to my limits with your Regice!!!!
NoLuckInvolved — For popularizing Jolly Lum Berry Samurott and making me scared of hazards. :(
Keiran — For making me a DANK banner!
#Neverused — For being an awesome channel and giving me suggestions and pointers that were really helpful!
Importable
Golem (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
Cryogonal @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Rotom-S @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Amoonguss (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Synthesis
Samurott (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
Cryogonal @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Rotom-S @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Amoonguss (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Synthesis
Samurott (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Megahorn
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
Absol (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
