Untitled 3- a CAP Mollux Playtest RMT

[DetroitLolcat]

Hey everyone, it's me posting the team I used during the Mollux Playtest. It served me pretty well during the playtest, getting me a record of 56-7 or something like that and winning the Mollux playtest with a rating of ~1960 or something like that.

Untitled 3

This team is almost the definition of balance, using both offensive and defensive Pokemon with good synergy to achieve one of two win conditions: either wear the opponent down with Sandstorm damage and hazards or to sweep the opponent with one of the two set-up sweepers on the team. The CAP 3 playtest metagame was a mostly balanced metagame with Sand and Rain teams dominating, so this team does seem rather cookie-cutter in retrospect. Still, I'm pretty proud of it and I would love to hear how others would edit or alter this team or even modify it to fit the current CAP metagame. Also now it has nicknames for all the pokemon! omg now you want to rate xd lol The team is as follows:




YOSO (Tyranitar) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
Adamant Nature (+Atk -SpA)
176 HP, 252 Attack, 80 Speed
-Stone Edge
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Superpower

The headliner of this team is rarely the Pokemon that leads it. Tyranitar is a vitally important piece of this team because he combines titanic offense with great Special bulk. I've heard it a hundred times: "Mollux slows down matches", and that's true. Mollux is a wonderful defensive Pokemon whose impact on the metagame is so great that it turns 30 turn matches into 60 turn matches. Because Mollux increased the usage of slow, defensive Pokemon, Choice Band Tyranitar became one of the best sets in the metagame. Most slow, defensive Pokemon use support moves on most of their moveslots and use a mono-attacker set with a weak Special move (e.g. Heatran, Mollux, Tentacruel, Jellicent). Choice Band Tyranitar preys on those Pokemon because he switches in and can blast whatever switches in with a Crunch or Stone Edge. However, by far his best asset is a little move called Pursuit. In fact, that's where he gets his name from. YOSO is short for You Only Spin Once, because after Mollux switches into something like Skarmory and Rapid Spins, it promptly loses 60% of its health to Pursuit. Tyranitar simply slays Mollux.



Its a Skarm (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Impish nature (+Def, -SpA)
252 HP, 228 Defense, 28 Speed
-Brave Bird
-Roost
-Spikes
-Whirlwind

This is a Skarmory. It does what most Skarmorys do. It comes in on stupid shit like Landorus and Spikes in their faces. Then it Whirlwinds out the Heatrans and Molluxs that switch in so they can't Spin or set up SR or whatever they feel like doing. It's fun to lol at mollux when it switches into SR+Spikes only to meet a random Whirlwind and then when it switches in again it's at 30% health and Tyranitar food. Also if stupid shit like Celebi or Terrakion is sweeping me i phaze them. yay skarm



Surprise! (Virizion) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
104 Attack, 152 Special Attack, 252 Speed
-Work Up
-Giga Drain
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge

When you see a Pokemon with base 90 offenses, the first thing you think of is "omg mixed work up", right? Right??? Okay, this set is a bit of a shocker, but it's a real diamond in the rough. It combines the Mollux-killing effects of Swords Dance with the "not dead in 3 turns because of LO+Sand" of Calm Mind to create a durable, powerful mixed sweeper. I try to keep Work Up secret for a long time in the match, as Mollux is a common switch-in to Virizion's Grass attacks. After the opponent sees Giga Drain, they'll stay in with their mollusk and then lose 65% of their health to Stone Edge. Looking back, one thing I would change on this team is to put more Attack EVs on Virizion to do a little more damage to Mollux, but I've rarely found it necessary. The opposite works as well. If the opponent wants to stall out Life Orb recoil after seeing Close Combat, I can surprise their Water-types with Giga Drain and restore half my health. Oddly enough, the one move I don't use often on Work Up Virizion is Work Up, as I prefer the surprise factor with the attacks. I often considered switching Work Up to Hidden Power (Ice) to troll Landorus, who can give this team a little trouble. Either way, this guy does work.



The God (Reuniclus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
252 HP 252 Defense 4 Special Defense
-Calm Mind
-Psychic
-Focus Blast
-Recover

The best set in the playtest, bar none. In a slow metagame where defensive Pokemon dominate, Calm Mind Reuniclus stands out as the #1 anti-metagame threat. He sets up on defensive Mollux, Politoed, some Tyranitar (though not recommended), Tentacruel, and just about anything that doesn't run super-effective attacks. Furthermore, Mollux made Rain twice as popular as usual and wiped Reuniclus's #1 counter, Scizor, off the face of the planet. Calm Mind Reuniclus is the primary late-game sweeper of Untitled 3, as he can come in at 100% health without caring about hazards and then wreck shop with massive defenses and over 400 Special attack with only one boost. Calm Mind Reuniclus beats a lot of teams all by himself and is, in my opinion, the best Pokemon in Mollux Playtest.



Molly (Mollux) @ Leftovers
Ability: Dry Skin
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
216 HP, 24 Defense, 252 Special Defense, 16 Speed
-Rapid Spin
-Recover
-Lava Plume
-Sludge Wave

Mollux is a great Pokemon on Sand teams because he does so well against Rain. People were saying that Mollux was underwhelming, but I disagree. I think people were asking too much of Mollux and spreading his talents too thin. Mollux, from what I've seen, can only afford to run one supportive move at once because he needs, needs, needs two attacking moves. Mollux is a Rain counter, and mono-attacking with Lava Plume just isn't going to get the job done. Sludge Wave is a great complement to Lava Plume because it's a powerful STAB attack that has surprisingly decent neutral coverage and gives Mollux a way to hit hard in the Rain. Thunderbolt could probably go here as well but it really doesn't matter. They're both good moves. The EVs are there to give him similar defensive stats to defensive Heatran and to Speed Creep something. I think it was Scizor maybe? idk



Meatran (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Calm Nature (+SpD,-Atk)
252 HP, 244 Special Defense, 12 Speed
-Lava Plume
-Stealth Rock
-Earth Power
-Roar

Mollux's partner in crime, Specially defensive Heatran! Since Mollux can't do too much on his own, I gave him a partner in Heatran who pretty much does the same thing as Mollux. Since I pretty much dedicated two teamslots to the same thing, it's nice that I let both of them use coverage moves in Sludge Wave and Earth Power, respectively. Earth Power is magnificent in that it beats other Mollux and Heatran. Roar is great to stop Dragons (at least those foolish enough not to have Earthquake) from setting up. I usually like Protect here but in practice I rarely find myself wishing for it. Heatran's role is to set up Stealth Rock and check Mollux. Though Mollux is really not that threatening anyway.

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Okay, that's the team. I would love to hear feedback from anyone who's played against it, since I feel it could have been even better. Virizion is the Pokemon in particular I'm worried about, though he definitely pulled his weight in battle. Also here's a threat list, shamelessly stolen from the RMT section of Smogon:

OU Offensive Threats

---

Tyranitar:

• Choice Band - Identifying the set on Tyranitar is the most important part of dealing with CB Tar. Skarmory is a good first switch to see if it's running CB. Stone Edge can be Roost-stalled as long as Stealth Rock isn't up. If it is, I'll usually sacrifice Mollux to Spin and go to Virizion to force it out. This is a good time to use Work Up.
  
• Choice Scarf - Skarmory, Skarmory, Skarmory. And Heatran. And Mollux if it's not using Stone Edge. And Virizion. Not threatening.
  
• Dragon Dance - Do people use this? If they do, then they'll get worn down by hazards and walled by the tin bird.

Rotom-W:

• Choice Scarf / Specs - Mollux lols at this. Reuniclus lols at this too but watch out for Trick. And Virizion lols at this.
• Support - Mollux lols at this. So does Reuniclus and Virizion.

Scizor:

• Choice Band - Scizor is ass in this metagame. Mollux and Skarmory, please.
• Swords Dance - Mollux lols at this. So does Heatran as long as it isn't running Usain Bolt Speed and Superpower.
• Bulky Swords Dance - Mollux can't check this actually. Oh wait, yes he can. Then he shits all over the bug. And so does Heatran and Skarmory.

Dragonite:

• Choice Band - Legitimately threatening. I need to keep Skarmory at high health to avoid him from poking holes in the team. If Multiscale is broken and he's locked into Fire Punch or Extremespeed then Tyranitar's Pursuit is well appreciated.
• Dragon Dance - Skarmory and Heatran phaze it, Sandstorm and Stealth Rock kill it.
• Mixed - Mollux does well here.
• Parashuffler - This thing annoys everyone. Skarmory PP stalls it and Mollux can Spin away the hazards that make it threatening.
• Rain Abuse - Mollux. Heatran. Reuniclus if it's 1v1. Tyranitar can also switch in and either to 60% with Pursuit or Crunch/SE the switch into next week.

Politoed:

• Choice Specs / Scarf - Lollux. Lolvirizion.
• 3 Attacks - See above.

Heatran:

• Standard - All your base are belong to Tyranitar's Stone Edge. And Mollux spins as well.

Jirachi:

• Substitute + Calm Mind / Wish + Calm Mind - Calm Mind Jirachi is handled between Tyranitar, and Mollux/Heatran. Tyranitar is a great switch-in if it's Rain Rachi to clear the skies. Then the Fire types can eat it up.
• Expert Belt- Mollux walls it. Heatran can too. If it's running HP Ground then just play around it and maybe set up Reuniclus if you feel ballsy.
• Choice Scarf - people use this? Fire types do fine, as does Skarmory.

Latios:

• Life Orb / Expert Belt - Go to Tyranitar if it's at full health and Pursuit his ass into next week.
• Choice Scarf / Specs - Heatran if you're expecting a Dragon attack, Tyranitar if you're expecting a Scarf attack. Reuniclus sets up on weak moves as well, so if it's Scarfed Surf you don't care.
• Calm Mind - get to Tyranitar ASAP. If the opponent has a Latios then do not let Tar take damage.

Reuniclus:

• Calm Mind - Maybe sac something if you have to and Crunch/Pursuit him (i'd use Crunch) with Tyranitar.
• Offensive Trick Room - This thing seems legitimately threatening if it comes in on Mollux. I honestly have no idea what to do against OTR Reuni thank God I haven't seen any.

Haxorus:

• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Skarmory. Then Heatran if it's not Quaking me.
• Dragon Dance - Skarmory. Also use Sludge Wave with Mollux if it comes in on Mollux because that really stings.
• Double Dance - See above.

Ninetales:

• Nasty Plot - Tyranitar comes in first to cancel the Sun. Then your get Pursuited.
• Choice Specs - lol
• Special Attacker - The one with Sunny Day? Tyranitar's still a good switch-in because he attacks harder than Godzilla on crystal meth and Heatran is good too.

Conkeldurr:

• Bulk Up - Skarm to phaze, Reuniclus to kill, Mollux to weaken if you have to.
• Flame Orb + 3 Attacks - Recover stall it with whatever has recover.

Celebi:

• Nasty Plot Sweeper - SHIT SHIT SHIT DO NOT LET TAR GET HURT OR IT'S GG. If Tar comes in fine then it's no problem. Remember that you do not beat it with Mollux.
• Tinkerbell - Attack it and kill it.
• Choice Specs / Choice Scarf - People do not use this set.

Terrakion:

• Double Dance - Skarm, Reuni. Virizion Speed ties it as a last resort.
• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Skarm is the first switch. If it's CB Close Combat then use Mollux or Reuniclus to force it out.
• Substitute + Swords Dance - hmm this is a good mon. Skarm is first switch to Whirlwind it and take away the Rock Gem.

Gyarados:

• Offensive / Bulky Dragon Dance - Mollux mollux mollux or skarm
• Choice Band / Choice Scarf - CB Gyara does not exist. It's like the Bogeyman or Joe Biden. Scarfgyara is handled by Reuniclus if no Rain, Skarmory if at decent health, or Mollux if not using Quake.

Gengar:

• Substitute + Disable / Pain Split - Tyranitar puts it in an awkward position. If you need to preserve Tar then go to Mollux. Actually Mollux is the better switch.

Starmie:

• Life Orb - Mollux and Virizion if there's no Psyshock. If there is then predict well and trap it with Tar..
• Rapid Spin - Isn't this the same as above?
• Choice Specs - Mollux +Tyranitar combo makes it unable to sweep.

Landorus:

• Rock Polish / Swords Dance - Skarmory.
• Choice Scarf - Skarmory.
• Substitute + 3 Attacks - If there's no Smack Down then Skarmory. If there is then shit idk virizion?

Infernape:

• Mixed Attacker - Mollux
• Nasty Plot / Swords Dance Booster - Mollux
• Choice Band - Mollux

Volcarona:

• Offensive Quiver Dance - Tar does well. Viri kills it without a boost. Heatran phazes it.
• Bulky Quiver Dance - Virizion has its number. Tar wrecks it. Heatran really wrecks it as long as it's taken prior damage.
• Chesto Rest - See above. Make sure to phaze this motherfucker.
• Substitute - See above.

Magnezone:

• Substitute - spam Whirlwind with Skarm so this fucker doesn't ruin your day.
• Choice Scarf / Choice Specs - Spam WHirlwind so you don't get trapped then go to just about any Pokemon on this team to beat it.

Espeon:

• Calm Mind - Tar. Tran.
• Bulky Sun Attacker / Passer - Tar. Tran.

Salamence:

• Dragon Dance - Skarmory. Reuniclus can take a hit. Virizion if it's not boosting. Heatran can take a hit if you have to, and Mollux's Sludge Wave probably does like 65%
• Mixed - Mollux is your best bet.
• Defensive - lol. Fatmence sucks don't listen to what other people say.
• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Skarmory.

Hydreigon:

• Offensive - Mollux.
• Choice Specs / Choice Scarf - Mollux and Heatran.
• Substitute - Mollux. Heatran phazes. Tyranitar can hit it.

Breloom:

• Bulk Up - either Skarmory or Mollux takes the Sleep as the other one kills it.
• Sub Seed - see above.
• Sub Punch - see above.

Latias:

• Calm Mind - Tyranitar Crunches this Pokemon and then doesn't get hurt.
• Offensive Tank - Tyranitar defecates all over this Pokemon and then beats up her Trainer in a Pokemon fight.
• Choice Specs - Tyranitar drags this Pokemon behind a corner and brutally Crunches or Pursuits her, then beats her within an inch of her life and plays a CD of the Village People in the background as he walks away.

Toxicroak:

• Swords Dance - Mollux burns it. Skarmory phazes it. Reuniclus kills it.
• Bulk Up - See above. You break the Sub with Mollux's Plume even in Rain.

Lucario:

• Swords Dance - Skarmory and Mollux handle it. Mollux is the better bet. Reuniclus is not a slouch either.
• Nasty Plot - Even better because Virizion revenges and it still loses to Mollux.

Virizion:

• Calm Mind - I am offended Work Up is not listed. Mollux kills it and so does Reuni.
• Swords Dance - See above, except replace Mollux with Skarmory.
• Dual Screens - This retarded set is listed and Work Up isn't?

Scrafty:

• Dragon Dance - The OU tier cutoff beats this pretty bad.
• Bulk Up - See conkedurr. Then use conkeldurr instead of this.

Venusaur:

• Special Growth - Tyranitar is the best switch. Even if he goes to Sleep he changes the weather.
• Mixed Growth - Tricky bitch. Tyranitar is the first switch because of weather. If he reveals quake, then go to Reuniclus.
• SubSeed - Reuniclus. Heatran, and Mollux.

Metagross:

• Stealth Rock - People do not use this.
• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - And they especially do not use this.
• Agility - Is this 2009???

Mienshao:

• All-Out Attacker - Skarmory is the all-out defender.
• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Skarmory shits on this and so does Mollux most of the time and so is reuniclus and virizion outspeeds.

Cloyster:

• Shell Smash - Skarmory. Mollux beats it 1v1 and so does this entire team.
• Utility - If the opponent is using utility cloyster i am not scared.

Mamoswine:

• Physical Attacker - Skarmory and Reuniclus.
• Focus Sash + Endeavor - Skarmory and Reuniclus.

Darmanitan:

• Choice Scarf / Choice Band - Mollux is the best bet. Heatran and Tyranitar check it.

Tornadus:

• Rain Abuser - TYranitar, Mollux in particular, and Heatran.
• Choice Specs - ^

Abomasnow:

• Choice Scarf - Impeach obama. Everything on this team beats it IIRC.
• SubSeed - Impeach obama. Reuniclus sets up.
• Mixed Attacker - Impeach obama. Everything beats it as long as you outspeed. if it's fast obama then he loses to the stuff that outspeeds it.

Alakazam:

• Substitute + 3 Attacks - Legitimately tough. Try doing some clever switching between Tyranitar, Reuniclus, and Heatran/Skarmory.
• Offensive Calm Mind - Phaze it, Crunch it, and attack it. Brave Bird it with Skarm if you have to.
• Focus Sash - Use one of the above sets because they beat Reuniclus.

Azelf:

• Dual Screens - Tyranitar and Heatran
• Lead - Tyranitar and Heatran
• Nasty Plot - Tyranitar and Heatran (if it's grass knot then you're pretty fucked. Whatever it comes in on stay in so you can wear it down)
• Choice Band - Tyranitar and Skarm and Reuni and Heatran.

Azumarill:

• Choice Band - Skarm and Mollux

Deoxys-D:

• Fast Spiker - Mollux Spins, Tyranitar kills.

Dugtrio:

• Focus Sash - common sense. It's okay to lose Tyranitar if you use Tar to kill something else important.
• Choice Band - common sense. Also common sense says use the other set.

Empoleon:

• Agility - Empoleon is on the threat list???
• Choice Specs - ????????

Gorebyss:

• SmashPass - Phaze it or kill it or Pursuit it. Tyranitar at full health can make it cry.
• Shell Smash Sweeper - If you're using sweeper gorebyss then asfklashfalksfhaaskfahalsfkahfa

Kingdra:

• Dragon Dance - Tyranitar, Skarmory, Mollux's Sludge Wave
• Rain Dance - Mollux
• Choice Specs - m o l l u x and h e a t r a n

Kyurem:

• Choice - Mollux is the best check.
• Substitute + 3 Attacks - Mollux is still the best check, though the rest of the team does well. Virizion revenges.

Victini:

• Choice Band / Scarf - mollux, heatran, tyranitar, and reuniclus (scarf only) check it.
• Physical Attacker - ^

Stoutland:

• Choice Band - Skarmory and Heatran and Tyranitar, oh my!

Smeargle:

• Baton Pass - You have two phazers, so there's no problem. Sleep the less important one and troll it whenever it comes in. Also it's fun to set up on it with Reuniclus.

Sharpedo:

• Speed Boost - Mollux does well.

Rotom-C:

• Choice Scarf / Choice Specs - Mollux, Reuniclus, Heatran
• Support - Reuniclus, Mollux, Heatran

OU Defenisve Threats

---

Tyranitar:

• Specially Defensive - Heatran, Mollux burns it, Skarmory, Virizon kills it.

Rotom-W:

• Standard - Mollux, Reuniclus.

Ferrothorn:

• Standard - Everything.

Politoed:

• Defensive - Mollux and Reuniclus and Virizion though the latter hates Toxic :(

Gliscor:

• Swords Dance - Skarmory, Virizion's Giga Drain.
• Substitute + Protect - Reuniclus.
• AcroBat -Skarmory lols at this.
• Defensive - Isn't this the exact same thing as the first two sets?

Heatran:

• Specially Defensive - Most things on this team. Heatran's EP, Tyranitar's SE/Superpower.

Jirachi:

• Specially Defensive - Mollux n' Heatran.

Skarmory:

• Physically Defensive Spiker - Mollux, Heatran, Reuniclus
• Specially Defensive Spiker - The above plus Tyranitar.

Ninetales:

• Specially Defensive - Heatran, Reuniclus, Tyranitar, though the latter hates burns.

Celebi:

• Physically Defensive - Don't use this.

Forretress:

• Physically Defensive Spiker - Mollux, Heatran, Reuniclus.
• Specially Defensive Spiker - The above plus Tyranitar.

Gyarados:

• RestTalk - Don't use this.

Jellicent:

• Utility Counter - Tyranitar. Use Crunch instead of Pursuit so you can beat it despite a burn. Virizion does well with a Work Up boost.

Tentacruel:

• Toxic Spikes - This does not exist in the Mollux metagame.

Gastrodon:

• Tank - Reuniclus and Virizion. Tar's Crunch hurts it.

Espeon:

• Dual Screens - Tyranitar. Then whirlwind spam the ensuing sweepers.
• Baton Pass - Tyranitar.

Blissey:

• Support - Tyranitar rapes it, Virizion rapes it, and Reuniclus sweeps the opponent's entire team.

Vaporeon:

• Wish Support - Tyranitar beats the crap out of it, Virizion hurts it. You can't beat it very easily but it does nothing to you. Be prepared to PP stall if you have to.

Latias:

• Support - Tyranitar.

Bronzong:

• Tank - Fire types kill it. If you're scared of earthquake then use Reuniclus.
• Dual Screens - ^

Swampert:

• Defensive - Is this CAP UU? Virizion and Reuniclus ftw. Skarm sets up on it. I <3 Swampert though.

Mew:

• Stallbreaker - Crunchy! Also try to burn it or poison it with Mollux/Heatran.

Slowbro:

• Tank - Tyranitar does well, Virizion hits it hard, and Reuniclus sets up.

Quagsire:

• Curse - Unaware means this is like one of the three defensive Pokemon in the game that Reuniclus doesn't set up on. Oh well, Virizion.
• Specially Defensive - Virizion and Tyranitar.
• Physically Defensive - Can Tar KO this? Probably. Otherwise Virizion beats it up.

Cresselia:

• Support - Tyranitar. Reuniclus.
• Dual Screens - ^^

Deoxys-D:

• Bulky Spiker - Tyranitar and Reuniclus if it has no Taunt.
• Toxic Staller - Wow this thing is annoying but not particularly threatening with 4 Pokemon immune to Toxic.

Empoleon:

• Specially Defensive - 2 sweepers, a tyranitar, and a mollux just isn't enough is it?

Hippowdon:

• Physical Tank - Viri, Reuni, Skarm set up.

Xatu:

• Standard -Bait it with Skarmory, then kill it with Tyranitar.
• Dual Screens - ^, though tougher because Reflect. Maybe Crunch it instead of Pursuit.

Wobbuffet:

• Bulky - It's Wobba. You don't counter it.

Whimsicott:

• Prankster - Annoying definitely, but not threatening. Switching around and Reuniclus, Skarmory, and 2 Fire Types mean this guy will be hurting and getting PP stalled.

Tangrowth:

• Physically Defensive - Fires and Reuni do well here.

Sableye:

• Prankster - Fire types burn it and probably 2KO it since it's not bulky. It's annoying that Reuniclus can't touch this thing. Tyranitar can probably 2KO through burn with Stone Edge.

Porygon2:

• Defensive - Virizion hits it decently hard. Reuniclus sets up, and Heatran/Mollux straight-up wall it and can burn. Tyranitar beats up on it.

Chansey:

• Support - See Blissey.

[Jukain]

nice team lolcat ther isn't really any chanes I can think of to do

[srk1214]

Yeah... I was running a Smack Down Landorus in the play test and it looks bad for you. Alternatively Magnezone + Landorus would do the same. Not like either was common in the play test though. Virizion doesn't really need HP Ice to beat Landorus though. It already resists the edge quake and giga drains. Looking pretty hard at this for holes, I concur it's really just a solid team for what the playtest meta was. The biggest threat seems to be SunTrio and I wonder how you usually played around it.

[Pwnemon]

i urinate upon this team and all that it stands for especially reuniclus because CBTAR SURVIVING +2 CELEBI GIGA DRAINS

also lando < virizion gg srk

[srk1214]

Yes, Pwnemon. Of course. I'm not disagreeing now nor was I then, but as you see in his own threatlist: "Substitute + 3 Attacks - If there's no Smack Down then Skarmory. If there is then shit idk virizion?" I wrote in my post that Virizion doesn't need HP Ice to beat Landorus, as Lolcat was suggesting it did. I am in full agreement Virizion > Landorus.

But Virizion is not immortal, and if he thinks Skarm is enough to handle a Landorus that happens to have Smack Down, it's GG. That being said, I also said that his team was very solid, especially seeing as Smack Down Landorus is uncommon.

I still am wondering how he played around SunTrio teams. Dugtrio destroys half this team, and if running Aerial Ace for whatever reason, 4 of 6.

[DetroitLolcat]

Well, I guess I should respond to the rates about SunTrio, as for some reason I never had too much trouble with it during the playtest.

I think the main reason I was able to contend with Dugtrio teams is that a lot of the people on the ladder simply did not play well with Dugtrio. For starters, many Dugtrio I fought used the Choice Band set, which is simply not that threatening as all it can do is fire off not-strong-enough Earthquakes. If I remember correctly, Tyranitar actually beats CB Dugtrio if at full health.

I played very conservatively when playing against Dugtrio teams, and attempted to predict Ninetales switch-ins as best I can to flat-out kill it before his buddy Dugtrio can trap Tar. I almost never switched to anything besides Reuniclus, Virizion, and Skarmory with the opponent had an active Dugtrio, and when I did switch to a Dugtrio-weak Pokemon it was only to lure the mole into Spikes and a switch into Reuniclus, Skarm, or Viri.

If Mollux, Tar, or Heatran were to bite the bullet against Dugtrio, then I would immediately go to Reuniclus for setup opportunity and switch the momentum right in my favor. If Dugtrio wants to revenge something, then Dugtrio's master better be prepared to face a +1 Reuniclus. Since Scizor is nowhere to be seen in this metagame and Dugtrio is rarely paired with Tyranitar, there is very little on the average team that can take down Reuniclus.

Furthermore, I am not super-concerned with losing the weather war. If Dugtrio does get in on Tyranitar, then it's probably not getting out with more than 1% of its HP. Choice Band Dugtrio has a lolriffic 1% chance or something like that to KO Tyranitar, and Reversal Duggy has to Substitute down to 1 HP to beat the rock monster. Assuming I'm fighting in the Sun for the rest of the battle, I very well could still have the advantage because Reuniclus will definitely get a setup opportunity and Reuniclus fares pretty well against Sun teams.

So I guess in short my strategy against SunTrio is to outpredict my opponent until the opponent's Ninetales is dead or I'm in a postition to sweep with Reuniclus regardless of weather. If I can't outplay my opponent with this strategy, I might be in for a rough ride. It's definitely better with this team to play conservatively with this team unless you know Ninetales is coming in, in which you trapkill it with tar.

on ginga's rate: hmm I remember that battle pretty well. Psyshock might be a good move to use there as it makes Volcarona a much smaller issue against this team. I wish Psyshock was just a little stronger so it could also beat other CM Reuniclus though... Thanks for the rate!

[ginganinja]

I didn't play much at all this playtest but I often did end up playing you with Duggy + Sun and it really did threaten you. I was able to trap Heatran with Duggy, and then bring in Morning Sun Volcarona on Reuniclus and force a win from there.

There is not really much you can (or could) do about this since after I trap Tran, you do struggle against it, especially as Mollux, Tar and Tran are all easily trapped by Duggy. Just a quick fix I could recomend is running Psyshock over Psychic on Reuniclus. A +1 Psyshock would hurt the fuck out of Volcarona and basically means that it cannot risk staying in too long against you. Its a small change, but I think it would just give you a little more of an edge against sun.

Just something to consider.