A healthy balance

[noobcubed]

It seems that brawlfest and I always make new RMTs within a couple of days of each other, and here I am again. This team has got me to fifth on the new ladder (apparently; I never actually check these sort of things myself), and is somewhere towards the stall end of the spectrum I guess but it's certainly not a full stall team. While there is nothing extremely creative on the team (and to be honest, there is a fine line between "creative" and "gimmicky", it does feature a couple of Pokemon I feel deserve a tad more usage than they get. Anyway, without further ado:

A Healthy Balance

Fraxure @ Eviolite
- Outrage
- Low Kick
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature​

This was the Pokemon I wanted to build the team around. Not as many games end up with this guy tearing through the team as I had hoped, but it is still an ever-present threat for opponents to watch out for. The concept behind the set is simple: set up a Dragon Dance and proceed to wreck. Taunt, while a standard move on Fraxure, is often a nasty surprise to my opponent, as many will unthinkingly switch in the likes of Alomomola, Tangela or Weezing and attempt to status me, allowing me to Taunt and just boost past them. If Fraxure manages to get two boosts, the game is often over. The combination of Taunt and Mold Breaker also makes for a credible anti-lead - in particular, Mold Breaker Low Kick OHKOs standard Probopass through Sturdy.

Torterra @ Choice Band
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Bullet Seed
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
​

Behold, the only physical attacker in NU capable of OHKOing Alomomola (not even Volt Tackle Pikachu can manage that!): Choice Band Torterra. While Torterra may not have the best offensive typing in the world, it more than makes up for that with the sheer power behind its STABs. There's always a little frisson of excitement when Torterra comes in, as I try and second-guess what switch my opponent is going to make and respond accordingly. It's also pretty bulky for something so powerful, always surviving ScarfApe's Ice Punch and sometimes living through Zangoose's Facade. Bullet Seed OHKOs Golem through Sturdy, and Torterra also OHKOs Piloswine, Seismitoad and Torkoal, so it shares anti-lead duties with Fraxure. Who even needs Sawk?

Probopass @ Leftovers
- Power Gem
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
​

What this team really needs at this point in the construction process is something to cover its glaring Ice weakness. Thus everyone's favourite nose, who can take Ice beams to the face all day long. I had initially used the trapper set on this team as a rudimentary DragMag strategy, but there are only two or three Steel-types that ever see the light of day in NU, making it pretty redundant a lot of the time, and besides, the amount of utility that the pivot set gave me won me over. I find a slow Volt Switch an excellent way to change gears, to go from slowly wearing down my opponent to blasting great holes in him, and on this particular team it's the reason it was picked over Metang. There is only so much you can say about Probopass that hasn't been said already, it's all on his analysis page.

Alomomola @ Leftovers
- Waterfall
- Wish
- Toxic
- Protect
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Def / 152 SpD
Impish Nature
​

With all the hype surrounding Alomomola in RU at the moment, I must say I'm glad that the tiers were permanently locked when they were because I struggle to build a balanced NU team without Alomomola in it. A lot of NU players forget that Alomomola is a Wish passer a well as just a wall, and Torterra and Probopass are particularly grateful for the support. It can also pivot out of various Choice Band users (Sawk, Braviary, Primeape) into an appropriate resist, should it find itself about to be 2HKO'd by them.

Jynx @ Choice Scarf
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Lovely Kiss
- Trick
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
​

Revenge-killer-cum-crippler extraordinaire, everyone knows how threatening this set is. The ability to hit hard and fast while using Lovely Kiss and Trick to potentially cripple a third of the opponent has rightly made Choice Scarf Jynx among the most feared sets in the metagame. I chose Jynx primarily for its ability to OHKO Scolipede, which can otherwise lay a massive amount of Spikes against me; this is just one scenario where Jynx really appreciates the slow Volt Switch to be able to eliminate and/or scare off a dangerous threat without having to take a hit with its non-existent defenses.

Golbat @ Eviolite
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Super Fang
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
​

"What?", you may be asking, "Golbat with no Taunt?" Well, I've given you five sets already copied verbatim from Smogon, so you should be thankful for some originality. With Sawk, Primeape and Gurdurr all posing big threats to the metagame, going into an NU battle without a Fighting-type resist on all but the most offensive teams is borderline suicide. Alomomola can pivot into Golbat as a reliable way of dealing with Banded Sawk and Primeape locked onto Close Combat. Good physical bulk and Whirlwind makes him a good answer to several Swords Dance sweepers, particularly if I can catch them as they boost. As for Super Fang, it's a nice way to catch bulky, Toxic-immune Pokemon that I can struggle to wear down like Metang and Weezing, particularly as said Pokemon often switch into it. I do miss Taunt a bit, but the very threat of Taunt seems to stop opponents from using Will-o-Wisp etc, so I often get the benefit without actually having the move.

Threats to this team

​

One problem with Samurott is that the physical and special sets have different counters, so I need to do some scouting. For the Swords Dance set, I've EV'd Torterra to outpace the standard Smogon set so it can revenge-kill it, Golbat can phase it out, and Fraxure can finish it off if it's been weakened, but traditional physical walls like Alomomola aren't that great when Samurott can just boost past it. Jynx is an okay-ish check to the special set (though it has an annoying habit of hiding behind a Substitute and stop me putting it to sleep), but there isn't a good answer to both sets so sometimes I'll lose a Pokemon just because I guessed wrong.

​

Zangoose comfortably 2HKOs everything on this team, but then again, Zangoose 2HKOs nearly the whole metagame. In addition, Jynx cannot revenge it because it gets OHKO'd by Quick Attack after Stealth Rock. However, Alomomola and Golbat can take a hit and strike back hard, and if I am lucky Torterra can barely survive Facade and KO back. Sometimes I can just stall him out with switches while he dies from his own Toxic Orb, but often I have to sacrifice a Pokemon to defeat it.

If you aren't Torterra, then you are getting walled by Metang. Even Torterra isn't too reliable though, as the opponent will often have the option of switching into a Ground-type immunity, losing me momentum. Fortunately Golbat can handle it somewhat well by whittling it down with Super Fang and phazing it out should it acquire any Attack boosts from Meteor Mash.

 

[Brawlfest]

A team I've only played once, and I have to say it is a pretty solid team. It highlights some underrated threats such as Choice Band Torterra, and DD Fraxure. The first thing i'm going to say is that Life Orb Jynx and Gardevoir carrying Focus Blast is a major threat, being able to completely destroy your team with little to no issue. Another major threat is Spikes-Stacking teams, especially those with Toxic Spikes, as your entire team's defensive and offensive cores are pressured to no end, and your voltregen defensive core is pressured on the switch.

One simple switch which can effectively nullify both threats is Utility Trapper Skuntank, over Golbat. Your team isn't overly weak to psychics (since Jynx + Alomomola will deal with them decently), but is completely wrecked by stronger psychic types. Skuntank will act as a second taunter in unison with Fraxure, allowing you to better prevent hazards and support your relatively bulky team, but also can Permanently remove those psychics which I just stated were major threats. He also appreciates sish support from Alomomola, and can also absorb Toxics which she tends to bait in.

That will be the only switch I make. The rest of the team makes for a uniquely effective team, having an interesting core between Alomomola and Probopass, and surprisingly effective offensive synergy between Fraxure, Jynx, and Torterra.

A fun option might be Tangela, who can act as a great counter to physical variants of all three pokemon you stated as threats, and forms a interesting core with Alomomomola.

Btw how do you fucking deal with Rock Polish Regice it 6-0's you..
_________________________

Skuntank @ Black Sludge / Lum Berry
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Spd / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab / Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Taunt

 

[noobcubed]

I'm not the biggest fan of Skuntank because I become extremely weak to Fighting-types without Golbat. In particular Banded Sawk and the increasingly popular Banded Primape can just spam Close Combat and there is little I can do about it.

I'm going to suggest a slightly left-field compromise: do you think Arbok could work in this slot? It still absorbs Toxic Spikes and it still has Sucker Punch, but thanks to a pure Poison typing and Intimidate it can take Close Combats rather better. It can also fend off Bulk Up Gurdurr by boosting alongside it with Coil, which is another huge positive.

Good point about Regice, for whatever reason I haven't encountered one in the fifty-odd games I've played, so I just didn't notice lethal it is.

 

[Brawlfest]

I'm not the biggest fan of Skuntank because I become extremely weak to Fighting-types without Golbat. In particular Banded Sawk and the increasingly popular Banded Primape can just spam Close Combat and there is little I can do about it.

I'm going to suggest a slightly left-field compromise: do you think Arbok could work in this slot? It still absorbs Toxic Spikes and it still has Sucker Punch, but thanks to a pure Poison typing and Intimidate it can take Close Combats rather better. I can also fend off Bulk Up Gurdurr by boosting alongside it with Coil, which is another huge positive.

Good point about Regice, though for whatever reason I haven't encountered one in the fifty-odd games I've played.

The whole point was to have something to switch into a psychic type lol so Arbok isn't exactly a smart choice..

 

[noobcubed]

Okay, here's another suggestion: Metang > Probopass, since Metang can solidly take on Jynx, Gardevoir, Regice and Zangoose. I would sorely miss the slow Volt Switch and would have to be a bit more careful around Charizard and SubBU Braviary, but you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

 

[Brawlfest]

Okay, here's another suggestion: Metang > Probopass, since Metang can solidly take on Jynx, Gardevoir and Regice. I would sorely miss the slow Volt Switch and would have to be a bit more careful around Charizard and SubBU Braviary, but you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

Plus it acts as a solid Regice check, but your distinct lack of special attackers is an issue. I still would stick with Skunk, but thats me.

 

[BenTheDemon]

I would recommend giving Probopass Magnet Pull instead of Sturdy. Also, replace Power Gem with Earth Power. I know you miss out on a STAB boost, but you also get a way to effectively take out Steel Pokemon, giving Jynx the opportunity to pull off a Sweep.
As for Jynx herself, I'd recommend replacing Lovely Kiss with Focus Blast. Even though Sleep is a great status, you'd ultimately force both yourself and your sleeping opponent out.

 

[noobcubed]

Nice suggestions, but also ones I hugely disagree with. The problem with Magnet Pull Probopass is that there are only two steel types that ever see much play in NU (Probopass and Metang), so more often than not Trapper Probopass will have nothing to trap. Jynx finds the utility of free switch-ins infinitely more useful. I'd also lose the ability to counter Braviary and Charizard.

As for removing Lovely Kiss from Jynx, Lovely Kiss is what makes Jynx one of the best Pokemon in the metagame. Without it, it's okay but probably certainly not metagame-defining. Both Pokemon being forced out is miles better than just Jynx being forced out when my opponent switches in his special wall. In addition, it allows Jynx to beat the myriad of Sucker Punch users in NU - Skuntank, Golem, Kangashkan and friends.

 

[Blast]

If you replace Probopass with Metang you become a lot weaker to Mandibuzz especially if it runs enough Speed creep to outspeed Golbat. If you're afraid of getting rid of your Fighting resistance for Skuntank you could try using bulky Scolipede with Toxic over Aqua Tail which allows you to get a quick poison off before it can Taunt you. Scolipede also absorbs Toxic Spikes which is fantastic for your team since you're really weak to them right now.

Suggested changes

Scolipede @ Black Sludge
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 248 HP / 36 Atk / 56 Def / 168 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Megahorn
- Toxic

EDIT @ below: You could always just use Aqua Tail / Rock Slide over one of your dual hazards if you want though I wouldn't recommend replacing Toxic because of Mandibuzz.

 

[noobcubed]

That looks really awesome, though I'd probably want to run Aqua Tail or Rock Slide so I can revenge-kill Charizard, since I'm pretty weak to it.

 

[Lyren]

Though I can't see any easy way to resolve it without removing torterra, your team is rather weak to offensive Ampharos carrying HP ice and Focus Blast (which might sounds oddly specific but it's not that uncommon). Ampharos can come in a Probo/alo/golbat/and even jynx in some cases at which point you have no safe switches out. Your team could play around this with good prediction, but it's certainly something that'd scare your team. I'm sure there is a probably an easy fix that I'm just not seeing at the moment, so perhaps somebody else can find it.