~First Glance~
-Introduction-
I was inspired to build this team by the poem "The Spider and the Fly". The goal of the team was rather simple: create a team that can effectively use Spinarak. I went through a lot of Pokemon on this team, ranging from Rapid Spinning tanks like Baltoy to powerful Life Orb attackers like Ponyta, but these six Pokemon are the ones that have proven to me to work the best together. Now, usually a RMT has a team-building process. But the process to this team was extremely random, and whatever didn't work I replaced with another Pokemon until I found something that works. With that being said, let's dive right in!
I was inspired to build this team by the poem "The Spider and the Fly". The goal of the team was rather simple: create a team that can effectively use Spinarak. I went through a lot of Pokemon on this team, ranging from Rapid Spinning tanks like Baltoy to powerful Life Orb attackers like Ponyta, but these six Pokemon are the ones that have proven to me to work the best together. Now, usually a RMT has a team-building process. But the process to this team was extremely random, and whatever didn't work I replaced with another Pokemon until I found something that works. With that being said, let's dive right in!
-The Team-
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 36 Def / 196 Spd /36 SDef
Adamant nature
~Bug Bite
~Sucker Punch
~Protect
~Toxic Spikes
The main focus of my team, and where better to put the big cheese than in the front! Grand Venom isn't as much as an offensive lead as it is a support lead. He supports the team in a very unusual way: by eating. Bug Bite is at its best in Little Cup, where Oran Berry is a very common hold item. Spinarak takes away the foes Oran Berry and heals itself while doing damage. Sucker Punch is Spinarak's strongest priority move and allows Grand Venom to beat Meowth leads with the help of Protect, as well as revenge killing. Protect is mainly used for protection against Fake Out, but it has been useful for scouting lately too. Toxic Spikes is normally a poor choice in Little Cup, since Croagunkis so common. However, Grand Venom can use this to its advantage, which will be explained later. If the foe doesn't have Croagunk (or Grimer), than Toxic Spikes damage is just a great bonus.
The EVs allow him to reach 16 Attack and 12 Speed. While 12 Speed may not seem like much, it actually is extremely effective for Spinarak. 12 Speed outspeeds common leads that only use 11 Speed, such as Phanpy, Machop and some Snover. The 36 EVs elsewhere give him an extra point in each stat. Insomnia is a great ability, since it makes Grand Venom immune to Hypnosis, which is common on Meowth and Gastly leads.
***
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 236 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly nature
~Flare Blitz
~Mach Punch
~ThunderPunch
~Fire Punch
Muscle Band Magby! Normally, Life Orb is the primary choice of 19 Speed sweepers in Little Cup. However, Flare Blitz recoil and potential damage from Stealth Rock and weather, Life Orb's recoil really hurts Incinerator. Thus, I went with Muscle Band. Expert Belt seemed superior at first, but I found most of the time I was hitting things wither either neutral priority or neutral Flare Blitz. Flare Blitz is Incinerator's main STAB move, and anything that doesn't resist it is taking a ton of damage. Mach Punch is for revenge-killing and beating Houndour's Sucker Punch. ThunderPunch is a last ditch effort against Water-types and helps keep Mantyke at bay. Fire Punch is there for STAB when I don't need to use Flare Blitz or Incinerator's health is low and i don't want to risk recoil killing him.
EVing Incinerator was very simple. 236 Attack and 252 Speed for max Attack and Speed. Jolly nature allows him to reach 19 Speed, the second highest unboosted Speed in Little Cup. Flame Body is a cruel ability and works best against Quick Attack and other priority users trying to revenge-kill Incinerator. However, it is near useless if Toxic Spikes are on the field.
***
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 236 Atk / 240 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
~Drill Peck
~Return
~Quick Attack
~Hidden Power Fighting
Double Trouble is easily my MVP (sorry Grand Venom, you are just the focus of the team) and is my favorite Choice Scarf user in the current metagame. I used Drill Peck over Brave Bird to avoid recoil damage, since nothing is worse than sweeping lategame and ending up dead with the foe left with one Pokemon with 10% because you died to recoil. Drill Peck still OHKOes everything I want it to OHKO, such as Machop, Mankey and Gastly. Return is my main STAB move, however, and puts the hurt on anything that isn't immune or doesn't resist it. Quick Attack is used for revenge-killing other Choice Scarf users. Hidden Power Fighting is literally a last ditch effort for Double Trouble to beat Aron.
The EVs are once again very simple. They allow Double Trouble to reach max Speed and Attack. With Choice Scarf and a Jolly Nature, they outspeed common Scarfers like Mankey and Machop and ties with Gastly. Early Bird is way more useful than Run Away, so that's why it was chosen. Spinarak is a better Sleep absorber.
***
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Atk / 236 Spd
Jolly nature
IVs: 0 HP
~ThunderPunch
~Ice Punch
~Quick Attack
~Cross Chop
Anyone who's played me enough should know who Plug is. Normally, Plug is a Focus Sash Anti-Lead, but this time around he's a Life Orb attacker. Plug does a great job at taking down Water-types like Mantyke and sweeping lategame with his great Speed and coverage. ThunderPunch is his best physical STAB and his main attacking move. Ice Punch gives Plug the great Electric / Ice coverage and OHKOes Gligar. Quick Attack is for revenge-killing and finishing off weakened Pokemon. Cross Chop is for Magnemite and Chinchou, who would wall him otherwise, and scoring an OHKO on Munchlax.
Max Speed and max Attack are what the EVs give Plug, with no boosts anywhere else. The 0 HP IVs give Plug 19 HP and limits the amount of recoil damage he takes from Life Orb. Jolly Natures allows him to reach 20 Speed, outpacing most of the unboosted metagame. Static is easily the most annoying ability in Little Cup. It's the single reason I try to avoid hitting Elekid with direct contact. Paralysis makes almost any sweeper in Little Cup near useless. However, on my own Elekid, it's great!
***
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 236 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly nature
~Swords Dance
~Return
~Aqua Jet
~Substitute
SubSD Totodile is an interesting sweeper. If Chomper can get a Substitute and Swords Dance up, than it easily my deadliest attacker. However, without his Substitute, he has issues with many common threats like Croagunk and Machop. Swords Dance is a given on the set, raising Chomper's Attack stat to a whopping 32 after a single boost. Return and Aqua Jet get perfect coverage together. Return is actually stronger than STAB Aqua Jet, so it is Chomper's strongest option. Aqua Jet is his main attacking move though, since he is outsped by a lot of common Pokemon in Little Cup. Substitute protects Chomper for Duskull's Will-O-Wisp and acts as a buffer against other attacks. It can also be used to get Chomper into Torrent range. Oran Berry is used since I didn't want Life Orb recoil and Chomper doesn't really need a boost in power.
The EVs give Chomper max Speed and Attack as well as an extra point in Defense. Jolly nature allows Totodile to tie with an unboosted Modest Mantyke. Torrent is Totodile's only option for an ability.
***
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 236 HP / 116 Atk / 156 Def
Impish nature
~Crunch
~Earthquake
~Quick Attack
~Substitute
Pinchy is probably my weakest member, which is ironic since Trapinch has one of the highest Attack stats in the tier. Howe useful Pinchy is entirely depends on the opponents team. It is also my only "counter" to Scarf Chinchou, who can dismantle my team very easily. Now, remember how I said how Croagunk absorbing Toxic Spikes can be used to my advantage? Well, that's where Pinchy comes in. Croagunk comes in to absorb Toxic Spikes and use Fake Out. Pinchy can switch into Croagunk's Fake Out and with the help of Oran Berry, OHKO Croagunk with Earthquake, elimanating Chomper's main counter. If Croagunk uses Ice Punch and Oran wasn't activated, Pinchy could be in deep trouble though. Crunch and Earthquake get great coverage together in Little Cup, making them obvious choice on Pinchy. Quick Attack is for revenge-killing, finishing off weakened Pokemon, etc. Substitute is for when Trapinch switches in on a Choice-locked Electric-type move. With a Substitute up, Pinchy can usually take down one Pokemon and either KO or severly weaken another. The reason I chose Trapinch over Diglett is because Trapinch is more bulky, although the severe lack of Speed hurts. However, it does make Trapinch a great Trick Room counter!
Pinchy's EVs give him max HP, 18 Attack and 14 Defense to help him take an Ice Punch from Croagunk. Impish nature is so Pinchy reaches 14 Defense. Arena Trap is Trapinch's best ability choice and is the only reason I used him.
-Threat List-
coming soon!
-Conclusion-
Thanks for reading! This team still seems to have a few leaks I have yet to patch up (Pinchy may be getting the boot). It has some issues, but they can be overcome. Although, considering I'm still using this team, maybe posting it for all to see might have been a bad idea...
Any comments about how to approve the team are appreciated!
Final Look
