Hey, everybody! I’ve been working on a fun team for the past little while, and figured I’d share it. The team has gone through a few variations, but my favourite version so far, and the version that has performed the most consistently, is based around Rock Blast Omanyte. The idea is for the team to look standard at first glance, but then throw the opponent off with unorthodox sets to quickly pave the way for an Omanyte sweep.
It was when The Avalanches and I tried out Shellder for his SPLC match that I first began to appreciate Shellder's sweeping capabilities. At the time of building this team, I hadn't done a Shellder team in a while, so I figured I would give it another go.
I was skimming through some old threads one day, and came across an interesting post by OP. I didn't want to use Foongus as my Eject Button user because a lot of the time, Foongus will be coming in on Knock Off before Chinchou just because it's a Fighting check, plus it doesn't take advantage of being itemless itself, so I went with Acrobatics Mienfoo instead.
Now, I didn't want Shellder to be my only Fletchling check, since it was my win condition, so I wanted it to be healthy to set up and sweep. In addition, Shellder needed Pawniard removed, and Mienfoo's frailty meant that it couldn't check Pawniard forever, so I included Substitute Archen to support the team with Stealth Rock and lure in Pawniard.
I ended up including Foongus anyways because I like it
At this point, I needed a safety net, since my team was so focused on setting Shellder up that it didn't actually have a means to stop specific opposing sweepers from setting up. At first, I considered Abra to keep with the team's mostly offensive nature, but it didn't deal with everything I needed it to deal with, so I used Porygon instead.
Then I replaced Shellder because I realized that Omanyte also takes advantage of all the support options I provided for Shellder, but sweeps more easily on a team with only a single Knock Off user courtesy of its powerful Hydro Pump.
---
Omanyte @ Eviolite
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpA / 156 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
Shell Smash Omanyte is easily one of the strongest sweepers in LC, and the rest of the team is here solely to support its sweep. Standard Omanyte runs Earth Power for Chinchou, but since I have Diglett for that, I decided to run something else. Aerow posted this a few months back, which for the most part people forget about nowadays, but is still super useful. The biggest draw for Rock Blast is that it breaks through Sashbra, which a lot of offensive teams rely on as their sole check to Omanyte, but it also helps against Dwebble and Tirtouga if I can't keep Stealth Rock down. The given EVs and nature are needed to KO Abra with two hits of Rock Blast. I decided to forgo Special Attack instead of Speed, even with Diglett getting rid of Scarf Pawniard, to outspeed Scarf Chinchou and Scarf Mienfoo. Hydro Pump is used over Surf, because Omanyte really needs the extra power on a team with only a single Knock Off user. Ice Beam is for Porygon.
Mienfoo @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
After seeing OP bring up Eject Button + Diglett, I decided to try it out myself. Mienfoo + Eviolite Diglett just about ensures that Magnemite is either out of the match or brought down to Sturdy; non-Choice Scarf Chinchou is also removed in this way. What makes the combination work is that the switching component of Volt Switch and U-turn cancels when Eject Button is activated, so that even if Chinchou decides to Volt Switch on Mienfoo, it won't actually leave the battlefield, leaving it to be trapped by Diglett. Mienfoo is still quite useful outside of sponging an attack for Eject Button, of course - a Knock Off is all that's needed against Spritzee or Timburr to ensure that Omanyte can break through them later, and U-turn is always nice for maintaining momentum. Most importantly, Mienfoo is the only Pokemon on the team that can actually force Porygon out to wear it down through Stealth Rock. Beating Porygon is why High Jump Kick is run over Drain Punch, as the usual OHKO on Download Porygon after Stealth Rock is needed before Mienfoo is OHKOed by Psychic. One bonus of using Eject Button is how easy it is to pop to take advantage of Acrobatics; often, teams relying on Foongus or their own Mienfoo to check Fighting-types will be wary of mashing Knock Off against Mienfoo, but that won't be enough to help them here. The bulky spread is to help to check Pawniard better.
Diglett @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Memento
This is the reason to use Eject Button Mienfoo. Diglett all but guarantees the removal of a number of troublesome Pokemon, but struggles to come in, which Eject Button helps to remedy. Eviolite gives Diglett the bulk needed to trap the likes of Scarf Pawniard, Scarf Magnemite locked into Flash Cannon, Gothita locked into Psychic, and a few other things. I'm not running Focus Sash because I feel that using Diglett as a lead doesn't take advantage of its trapping ability, and I can't afford to fit hazard removal onto the team. Most of the moveset is pretty standard - Earthquake and Sucker Punch are basically mandatory for Diglett, and Memento helps Omanyte set up - but the reason I'm not running Rock Slide is because my team doesn't really take advantage of it. This team already has plenty of ways to deal with birds (which usually just switch out of Diglett anyway), and I can actually take advantage of Larvesta by using it to set up Omanyte. Protect is more or less solely so that I don't auto-lose to High Jump Kick scarf users once Foongus is down; although it's a costly process, I can protect on the first High Jump Kick, sack something, and then Protect again, which KOs after Stealth Rock. It's not the greatest filler move, even if it does help a bit against Sun and Fake Out, but I don't need Sludge Bomb when I have Foongus to completely shut Cottonee down on top of Acrofoo, or Beat Up when it needs five Pokemon alive, and Abra will probably be coming in later than that because it'll be kept healthy for Omanyte. Diglett is the reason why I can get away with having two Psychic weaknesses and no resistances - Gothita will almost always be locked into something other than Energy Ball, leaving it prone to being revenge-killed by Diglett, and by switching in Porygon every time Abra comes in, I can wall Sashbra indefinitely, while turning LO Abra into a one-for-one after it takes down Porygon. In general, one for one trades aren't a big deal for this team because everything except for Omanyte is pretty expendable.
Archen @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 180 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake / Heat Wave
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
Honestly, I feel that bulky BJ Archen is a bit of a waste. It tries so hard to do everything in a single set that it often ends up not being able to do very much at all; it doesn't have enough Attack investment to break through a lot of bulky Pokemon, and it lacks the survivability it needs to pull off multiple support moves or check key threats more than once. Offensive Archen still forces enough switches to set up Stealth Rock without much trouble, which is necessary for Omanyte to pull off some important KOs and nice for a team to have in general, but is also strong enough to OHKO Foongus with itemless Acrobatics / non-Eviolite Pawniard with Earthquake. Acrobatics is my STAB move of choice because I dislike being walled by Fighting-types, plus the raw power is quite nice, and Earthquake is just the standard coverage move. Heat Wave is a fun option to prevent Ferroseed from stacking too many hazards (it's a 2HKO on Eviolite Pawniard and Ferroseed regardless of whether Archen is Jolly or Naive), but I usually go with Earthquake because it's helpful to be able to hit Chinchou hard so that I can save Eject Button for later. I've actually found Substitute to be really useful in a lot of scenarios, and it's probably the most beneficial filler move for this team. Originally, I had Defog over Stealth Rock, so Substitute was to get around Sucker Punch since nothing on my team can tank a +2 Pawniard, although this wasn't enough against Scarf Pawniard. Even without Defog, however, another way to beat Pawniard is always nice, given that Mienfoo is a pretty shaky Pawniard check, and Eject Button doesn't work when it's Knocked Off, so Diglett can only come in on the revenge-kill. It has other uses, of course; not only does it block status to beat Foongus/Pumpkaboo/Porygon more easily, but it eases prediction, and makes it easier to pop Berry Juice when you need it.
Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
There isn't a trace of doubt in my mind that Foongus is anything short of top notch. The notion that it becomes useless after Spore simply isn't correct, because it remains useful as a check that doesn't get worn out to a multitude of Fighting-, Fairy-, Grass-, and Water-types. Its role as one of the most reliable checks to some of the tier's most prominent threats is particularly important for this team, which would otherwise struggle immensely against Corphish, Fairy-types, and set-up Fighting-types. In this case, Gothita doesn't even hinder Foongus's effectiveness that much, because a. the vast majority of the time, Gothita will already have been used up trapping Archen or Mienfoo, as Diglett prevents it from trapping more than one Pokemon; b. my team generally has enough offensive presence to stop things from setting up more than once, so I'll usually only need Foongus to check stuff once; and c. Gothita can only come in on the VoltTurn on a switch to Foongus or revenge-kill, since Sludge Bomb 2HKOs after Stealth Rock (or with poison). Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb, although not very powerful, are enough to actually make Foongus pretty tough to switch into for a lot of teams (Vullaby doesn't appreciate the poison chance, for example). For the filler move, Clear Smog is necessary to shut down Bulk Up Timburr / Dragon Dance Scraggy / Calm Mind Spritzee once Sleep Clause has been activated, and besides, I don't really need HP Fighting or Fire considering how Archen already lures in Pawniard and Porygon shuts Ferroseed down. That's all before considering Foongus's access to Spore, which grants Omanyte even more set-up opportunies, and is arguably straight up the best move in the game.
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Def / 240 SpA / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
- Recover
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Magic Coat
Tricking had it right all along; Porygon is absolutely fantastic. It's probably the most splashable Pokemon in LC after Mienfoo, maybe on par with Archen. You could argue that Porygon isn't good on offense because it loses momentum, but why are you worried about momentum when something is just going to get blown up every time Porygon takes advantage of its billion switch-in opportunities to get into play (except when it's recovering to wreak havoc again later, of course)? Anyways, that's not even a concern here because I already have Foongus and Diglett to rid me of momentum, and I don't have any other bulky Normal-types, so there isn't really any reason for me not to use Porygon. I think that this specific set is a good example of how Porygon can be tailored to beat just about anything. One time, Sken came to me with a team he was working on and said, "this team is weak to Water spam! How should I fix it?" And I told him, "that team is hopeless. You should just scrap it," so he ignored me and added Thunderbolt on Porygon and it's apparently one of his better teams now. I've done something similar here - Foongus is one of the more resilient checks to Water-types, but even it can't handle an offensive core as powerful as Water spam on its own, so Thunderbolt Porygon is a nice back-up check to the likes of Corphish and Carvanha. Psychic is a staple because it hits popular Porygon checks like Timburr and Mienfoo; it's pretty great how Porygon outright wins against Tauntfoo and standard Timburr in a lead match-up because its Psychic hits so hard. Recover is also just about mandatory on any non-Analytic Porygon to take advantage of its huge bulk. Hidden Power Fire is there mostly for Ferroseed, but also heavily damages other Steel-types. Of course, HP Fire isn't completely necessary, especially if Heat Wave is run on Archen. Magic Coat helps a lot against Sticky Web leads, and still shuts down Ferroseed for the most part, but I find popping Steel-types more satisfying.
Threatlist:
Choice Scarf High Jump Kick users
Having something be able to outspeed and OHKO everything on my team after Stealth Rock except for Foongus sort of sucks, but this isn't actually too bad in most cases, because Foongus will usually be able to hold them off long enough for Omanyte to find an opportunity to set up and sweep. However, if they pack a Gothita or a Sheer Force Life Orb Ice Punch Timburr or something along those lines, then I'll have to resort to Protect Diglett, which obviously isn't ideal because it involves ditching a Pokemon, two if they come in on something other than Diglett. With that being said, the 4v4 or 3v4 that would result isn't unwinnable, especially when one of those 4 or 3 Pokemon is Omanyte. It may look like Dragon Dance Scraggy could be difficult to deal with as well at first, but it struggles to actually find the opportunity to set up, as long as I'm not too reckless with Porygon.
Surskit
Webs isn't a problem if Porygon runs Magic Coat, because a +1 Omanyte outspeeds and OHKOs the relevant webs immune Pokemon on webs teams (Gastly and Archen mostly), so after webs is placed on both sides of the field, the game can continue on as normal. The issue is that HP Fire is way more fun to use, and that version of the team doesn't have any way to prevent Surskit from getting its webs down, which is problematic for Omanyte and Diglett especially. Tauntfoo wouldn't help because that's just a 50/50, and there's nothing stopping Surskit from coming back in later. Stealth Rock + Defog Archen sucks, and I feel that the current set is more useful against every match-up except for webs, so I'd rather not change it. I originally had Defog Archen and Stealth Rock Diglett, but that didn't work too well because I needed Stealth Rock up asap to figure out Chinchou variants (if it's at 76% after it switches into Stealth Rock twice, then I can be confident that it's not scarfed) in addition to generally wearing things down and helping to get a bunch of really important KOs, and a lead Diglett is a waste of a Diglett so I'm not doing that. With that being said, against the most popular web teams, I can just lead with Omanyte, set up on Surskit, and get a clean sweep if Surskit doesn't go for the Hydro Pump, which would prevent it from getting webs up and still more or less put the two of us on even ground. This is because a lot of the things that beat this Omanyte set, like Chinchou/Croagunk/Timburr, are awful and almost never worth using on webs (or not necessarily bad, but outclassed in Timburr's case). As such, the only thing between Rock Blast Omanyte and a 100% healthy sweep on webs is often just Pawniard's Sucker Punch, and not even LO Sucker Punch comes close to OHKOing. More problematic are the rare webs teams that run Corphish or Staryu (or both LO Pawniard and LO Sucker Punch Gastly), which I will admit this team is at a noticeable disadvantage against, although this still isn't unwinnable because Archen/Foongus/Porygon can function all right. Non-webs setters aren't that bad because my teams has the means to limit them to just setting up Stealth Rock, which isn't too much of a hassle on its own.
Gastly with Energy Ball
ok seriously why is this even a thing? fuck you, sken
Thanks for reading!
It was when The Avalanches and I tried out Shellder for his SPLC match that I first began to appreciate Shellder's sweeping capabilities. At the time of building this team, I hadn't done a Shellder team in a while, so I figured I would give it another go.
I was skimming through some old threads one day, and came across an interesting post by OP. I didn't want to use Foongus as my Eject Button user because a lot of the time, Foongus will be coming in on Knock Off before Chinchou just because it's a Fighting check, plus it doesn't take advantage of being itemless itself, so I went with Acrobatics Mienfoo instead.
Now, I didn't want Shellder to be my only Fletchling check, since it was my win condition, so I wanted it to be healthy to set up and sweep. In addition, Shellder needed Pawniard removed, and Mienfoo's frailty meant that it couldn't check Pawniard forever, so I included Substitute Archen to support the team with Stealth Rock and lure in Pawniard.
I ended up including Foongus anyways because I like it
At this point, I needed a safety net, since my team was so focused on setting Shellder up that it didn't actually have a means to stop specific opposing sweepers from setting up. At first, I considered Abra to keep with the team's mostly offensive nature, but it didn't deal with everything I needed it to deal with, so I used Porygon instead.
Then I replaced Shellder because I realized that Omanyte also takes advantage of all the support options I provided for Shellder, but sweeps more easily on a team with only a single Knock Off user courtesy of its powerful Hydro Pump.
---
Omanyte @ Eviolite
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpA / 156 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
Shell Smash Omanyte is easily one of the strongest sweepers in LC, and the rest of the team is here solely to support its sweep. Standard Omanyte runs Earth Power for Chinchou, but since I have Diglett for that, I decided to run something else. Aerow posted this a few months back, which for the most part people forget about nowadays, but is still super useful. The biggest draw for Rock Blast is that it breaks through Sashbra, which a lot of offensive teams rely on as their sole check to Omanyte, but it also helps against Dwebble and Tirtouga if I can't keep Stealth Rock down. The given EVs and nature are needed to KO Abra with two hits of Rock Blast. I decided to forgo Special Attack instead of Speed, even with Diglett getting rid of Scarf Pawniard, to outspeed Scarf Chinchou and Scarf Mienfoo. Hydro Pump is used over Surf, because Omanyte really needs the extra power on a team with only a single Knock Off user. Ice Beam is for Porygon.
Mienfoo @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
After seeing OP bring up Eject Button + Diglett, I decided to try it out myself. Mienfoo + Eviolite Diglett just about ensures that Magnemite is either out of the match or brought down to Sturdy; non-Choice Scarf Chinchou is also removed in this way. What makes the combination work is that the switching component of Volt Switch and U-turn cancels when Eject Button is activated, so that even if Chinchou decides to Volt Switch on Mienfoo, it won't actually leave the battlefield, leaving it to be trapped by Diglett. Mienfoo is still quite useful outside of sponging an attack for Eject Button, of course - a Knock Off is all that's needed against Spritzee or Timburr to ensure that Omanyte can break through them later, and U-turn is always nice for maintaining momentum. Most importantly, Mienfoo is the only Pokemon on the team that can actually force Porygon out to wear it down through Stealth Rock. Beating Porygon is why High Jump Kick is run over Drain Punch, as the usual OHKO on Download Porygon after Stealth Rock is needed before Mienfoo is OHKOed by Psychic. One bonus of using Eject Button is how easy it is to pop to take advantage of Acrobatics; often, teams relying on Foongus or their own Mienfoo to check Fighting-types will be wary of mashing Knock Off against Mienfoo, but that won't be enough to help them here. The bulky spread is to help to check Pawniard better.
Diglett @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Memento
This is the reason to use Eject Button Mienfoo. Diglett all but guarantees the removal of a number of troublesome Pokemon, but struggles to come in, which Eject Button helps to remedy. Eviolite gives Diglett the bulk needed to trap the likes of Scarf Pawniard, Scarf Magnemite locked into Flash Cannon, Gothita locked into Psychic, and a few other things. I'm not running Focus Sash because I feel that using Diglett as a lead doesn't take advantage of its trapping ability, and I can't afford to fit hazard removal onto the team. Most of the moveset is pretty standard - Earthquake and Sucker Punch are basically mandatory for Diglett, and Memento helps Omanyte set up - but the reason I'm not running Rock Slide is because my team doesn't really take advantage of it. This team already has plenty of ways to deal with birds (which usually just switch out of Diglett anyway), and I can actually take advantage of Larvesta by using it to set up Omanyte. Protect is more or less solely so that I don't auto-lose to High Jump Kick scarf users once Foongus is down; although it's a costly process, I can protect on the first High Jump Kick, sack something, and then Protect again, which KOs after Stealth Rock. It's not the greatest filler move, even if it does help a bit against Sun and Fake Out, but I don't need Sludge Bomb when I have Foongus to completely shut Cottonee down on top of Acrofoo, or Beat Up when it needs five Pokemon alive, and Abra will probably be coming in later than that because it'll be kept healthy for Omanyte. Diglett is the reason why I can get away with having two Psychic weaknesses and no resistances - Gothita will almost always be locked into something other than Energy Ball, leaving it prone to being revenge-killed by Diglett, and by switching in Porygon every time Abra comes in, I can wall Sashbra indefinitely, while turning LO Abra into a one-for-one after it takes down Porygon. In general, one for one trades aren't a big deal for this team because everything except for Omanyte is pretty expendable.
Archen @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 180 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake / Heat Wave
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
Honestly, I feel that bulky BJ Archen is a bit of a waste. It tries so hard to do everything in a single set that it often ends up not being able to do very much at all; it doesn't have enough Attack investment to break through a lot of bulky Pokemon, and it lacks the survivability it needs to pull off multiple support moves or check key threats more than once. Offensive Archen still forces enough switches to set up Stealth Rock without much trouble, which is necessary for Omanyte to pull off some important KOs and nice for a team to have in general, but is also strong enough to OHKO Foongus with itemless Acrobatics / non-Eviolite Pawniard with Earthquake. Acrobatics is my STAB move of choice because I dislike being walled by Fighting-types, plus the raw power is quite nice, and Earthquake is just the standard coverage move. Heat Wave is a fun option to prevent Ferroseed from stacking too many hazards (it's a 2HKO on Eviolite Pawniard and Ferroseed regardless of whether Archen is Jolly or Naive), but I usually go with Earthquake because it's helpful to be able to hit Chinchou hard so that I can save Eject Button for later. I've actually found Substitute to be really useful in a lot of scenarios, and it's probably the most beneficial filler move for this team. Originally, I had Defog over Stealth Rock, so Substitute was to get around Sucker Punch since nothing on my team can tank a +2 Pawniard, although this wasn't enough against Scarf Pawniard. Even without Defog, however, another way to beat Pawniard is always nice, given that Mienfoo is a pretty shaky Pawniard check, and Eject Button doesn't work when it's Knocked Off, so Diglett can only come in on the revenge-kill. It has other uses, of course; not only does it block status to beat Foongus/Pumpkaboo/Porygon more easily, but it eases prediction, and makes it easier to pop Berry Juice when you need it.
Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
There isn't a trace of doubt in my mind that Foongus is anything short of top notch. The notion that it becomes useless after Spore simply isn't correct, because it remains useful as a check that doesn't get worn out to a multitude of Fighting-, Fairy-, Grass-, and Water-types. Its role as one of the most reliable checks to some of the tier's most prominent threats is particularly important for this team, which would otherwise struggle immensely against Corphish, Fairy-types, and set-up Fighting-types. In this case, Gothita doesn't even hinder Foongus's effectiveness that much, because a. the vast majority of the time, Gothita will already have been used up trapping Archen or Mienfoo, as Diglett prevents it from trapping more than one Pokemon; b. my team generally has enough offensive presence to stop things from setting up more than once, so I'll usually only need Foongus to check stuff once; and c. Gothita can only come in on the VoltTurn on a switch to Foongus or revenge-kill, since Sludge Bomb 2HKOs after Stealth Rock (or with poison). Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb, although not very powerful, are enough to actually make Foongus pretty tough to switch into for a lot of teams (Vullaby doesn't appreciate the poison chance, for example). For the filler move, Clear Smog is necessary to shut down Bulk Up Timburr / Dragon Dance Scraggy / Calm Mind Spritzee once Sleep Clause has been activated, and besides, I don't really need HP Fighting or Fire considering how Archen already lures in Pawniard and Porygon shuts Ferroseed down. That's all before considering Foongus's access to Spore, which grants Omanyte even more set-up opportunies, and is arguably straight up the best move in the game.
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Def / 240 SpA / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
- Recover
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Magic Coat
Tricking had it right all along; Porygon is absolutely fantastic. It's probably the most splashable Pokemon in LC after Mienfoo, maybe on par with Archen. You could argue that Porygon isn't good on offense because it loses momentum, but why are you worried about momentum when something is just going to get blown up every time Porygon takes advantage of its billion switch-in opportunities to get into play (except when it's recovering to wreak havoc again later, of course)? Anyways, that's not even a concern here because I already have Foongus and Diglett to rid me of momentum, and I don't have any other bulky Normal-types, so there isn't really any reason for me not to use Porygon. I think that this specific set is a good example of how Porygon can be tailored to beat just about anything. One time, Sken came to me with a team he was working on and said, "this team is weak to Water spam! How should I fix it?" And I told him, "that team is hopeless. You should just scrap it," so he ignored me and added Thunderbolt on Porygon and it's apparently one of his better teams now. I've done something similar here - Foongus is one of the more resilient checks to Water-types, but even it can't handle an offensive core as powerful as Water spam on its own, so Thunderbolt Porygon is a nice back-up check to the likes of Corphish and Carvanha. Psychic is a staple because it hits popular Porygon checks like Timburr and Mienfoo; it's pretty great how Porygon outright wins against Tauntfoo and standard Timburr in a lead match-up because its Psychic hits so hard. Recover is also just about mandatory on any non-Analytic Porygon to take advantage of its huge bulk. Hidden Power Fire is there mostly for Ferroseed, but also heavily damages other Steel-types. Of course, HP Fire isn't completely necessary, especially if Heat Wave is run on Archen. Magic Coat helps a lot against Sticky Web leads, and still shuts down Ferroseed for the most part, but I find popping Steel-types more satisfying.
Threatlist:
Having something be able to outspeed and OHKO everything on my team after Stealth Rock except for Foongus sort of sucks, but this isn't actually too bad in most cases, because Foongus will usually be able to hold them off long enough for Omanyte to find an opportunity to set up and sweep. However, if they pack a Gothita or a Sheer Force Life Orb Ice Punch Timburr or something along those lines, then I'll have to resort to Protect Diglett, which obviously isn't ideal because it involves ditching a Pokemon, two if they come in on something other than Diglett. With that being said, the 4v4 or 3v4 that would result isn't unwinnable, especially when one of those 4 or 3 Pokemon is Omanyte. It may look like Dragon Dance Scraggy could be difficult to deal with as well at first, but it struggles to actually find the opportunity to set up, as long as I'm not too reckless with Porygon.
Webs isn't a problem if Porygon runs Magic Coat, because a +1 Omanyte outspeeds and OHKOs the relevant webs immune Pokemon on webs teams (Gastly and Archen mostly), so after webs is placed on both sides of the field, the game can continue on as normal. The issue is that HP Fire is way more fun to use, and that version of the team doesn't have any way to prevent Surskit from getting its webs down, which is problematic for Omanyte and Diglett especially. Tauntfoo wouldn't help because that's just a 50/50, and there's nothing stopping Surskit from coming back in later. Stealth Rock + Defog Archen sucks, and I feel that the current set is more useful against every match-up except for webs, so I'd rather not change it. I originally had Defog Archen and Stealth Rock Diglett, but that didn't work too well because I needed Stealth Rock up asap to figure out Chinchou variants (if it's at 76% after it switches into Stealth Rock twice, then I can be confident that it's not scarfed) in addition to generally wearing things down and helping to get a bunch of really important KOs, and a lead Diglett is a waste of a Diglett so I'm not doing that. With that being said, against the most popular web teams, I can just lead with Omanyte, set up on Surskit, and get a clean sweep if Surskit doesn't go for the Hydro Pump, which would prevent it from getting webs up and still more or less put the two of us on even ground. This is because a lot of the things that beat this Omanyte set, like Chinchou/Croagunk/Timburr, are awful and almost never worth using on webs (or not necessarily bad, but outclassed in Timburr's case). As such, the only thing between Rock Blast Omanyte and a 100% healthy sweep on webs is often just Pawniard's Sucker Punch, and not even LO Sucker Punch comes close to OHKOing. More problematic are the rare webs teams that run Corphish or Staryu (or both LO Pawniard and LO Sucker Punch Gastly), which I will admit this team is at a noticeable disadvantage against, although this still isn't unwinnable because Archen/Foongus/Porygon can function all right. Non-webs setters aren't that bad because my teams has the means to limit them to just setting up Stealth Rock, which isn't too much of a hassle on its own.
ok seriously why is this even a thing? fuck you, sken
Omanyte @ Eviolite
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpA / 156 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
Mienfoo @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
Diglett @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Memento
Archen @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 180 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Def / 240 SpA / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
- Recover
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 36 Def / 196 SpA / 156 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
Mienfoo @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
Diglett @ Eviolite
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Memento
Archen @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defeatist
Level: 5
EVs: 180 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
Foongus @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 124 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Clear Smog
Porygon @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 36 Def / 240 SpA / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
- Recover
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
SALTY NERDS:
absdaddy good friend + hella strong player. Another grand return to LC for the next big meta shift imo
Aerow I'm glad that you've moved on from mons, and wish you the best wherever you may go, but as they say, a Norweigan friend is a friend for life. Thank you for putting up with me when I was messing around, for listening when I was down, for sticking up for me when I couldn't myself - I really do appreciate it.
Antgeezy ayy
boo836 fuck wynaut
Coconut. Big thanks for more or less single-handedly making sure the Duskulls didn't fall apart for most of the season, and just generally helping me not mess up even more, including on this rmt. Be sure to stick around in LC!
Eren Yeagar rate my littlecup team
TheFenderStory you're so damn bad at mons that sometimes it's too easy to make fun of you, but you've been a salty nerd and a great friend of mine for a pretty long time by now. Salt on
Fiend Honestly, I'd prefer if you didn't constantly try to quit mons, even if you never actually manage to. Also, stop impersonating Fiend Wolf smh
Infamy 1 2
Mambo We don't really talk anymore, but I'm still glad to have you as a friend. Your innovations are pretty lame, though
Max Carvalho you go inactive way too much :/ It's nice having you around
Melonz LEWL :D
Mr. NudistoBeach /me unzips
Nineage Can I have % on origin??
Omastar42 for real, you're a really solid/consistent battler. I don't think we've actually talked much, but you're a cool guy to have in the community. Stick around in LC!!
Sken As horrible as you are at teambuilding, I stand by my word when I say you're one of the top LC players of today, especially at ADV LC (have you even won a game yet?). Other than that, you're one of the closest friends I have on Smogon at this point
sparktrain I get that you haven't been fond of it for a while, but shittyseelland was pretty much where our little corner of little cup took off, and I still miss its shittiness occasionally. If I've gotta pick one thing to define you, though, it's gotta be that sweet LCPL record.
Sparkychild I found this
Tahu You may be awful at ORAS (maybe not Fender bad though) and leader of the worst LC OM, but you've also carried the tangma slot for our teams three seasons in a row. Stick around in LC!!!
trash too bad you quit mons. Wouldn't mind having you as part of the League O Fan Club V Aerowthree or something
zeriloa thanks for teaching me the littlecup tier
Also, shoutouts to the rest of the Lego Fan Club, yall are fantastic:
Cheek Pouch ayyy
H&MBerkeley It's super great that you got tutored by mambo instead of starmaster or something; you're an awesome contributor.
QuoteCS Not sure why you sometimes insist otherwise, but you're a phenomenal tier leader in so many ways, and most definitely a member of the community. Still haven't KOed 8 mons for GL, though
Dustflier it's fun to talk with you and have you as a friend (who quits for months at a time and has probably gotten swept more times than most of us have played games)
Shrug I still feel bad about not keeping my promise for SPLC. Like, I really did mean to get you, I just that I had no idea auctions were that hard. I guess you ending up on scrubs turned out to be a good thing for the LC community, though
RZL Brazilian Army Kingler12345 GOAO. Merritt OP Star. Vileman
Other LCers/sort of LCers:
dsr95 mad0ka Superpowerdude Dhaora blizzardy Ashley11 Come back to LC soon pls
ThatCrazyRussian I know that we haven't been on best terms in the past, but I think that ended in like the second half of LCPL? You're actually not half bad to have around; nice to have you back.
Water Drone 3-2 in LCPL is pretty cool, especially when one of those losses was to hax, but that badgeset is even cooler
Tricking we don't really talk much, but you've seemed nice enough from when we have talked, plus you basically carry the LC community on your back in the tour scene half the time
macle can I join the LC Council?
The Avalanches tazz Krubby Splashyship ZoroarkForever Pikasohn get skype?? (or add me)
Bughouse unfixable sorry for letting you guys down for LCPL in the end, but you were superb additions to the team
HeaLnDeaL Aladyyn
fran17 Aaron's Aron Sidneyfluff kingmidas slurmz Jac Celestavian Cydrolic TUO Yagura GlassGlaceon Amp Pharaohs cityfolk thecrystalonix ajernejcic Hawkstar Mewsthebest Kavatika John76 Jetpack Joltage Ranger Mike
And my not-really-LC friends:
ium hey ugly
Ununhexium sort of hard for us to strike up a conversation when my knowledge of stuff is pretty much limited to littlecup, but you seem chill
Mysteria NV Enki Disaster Area gangsterish
absdaddy good friend + hella strong player. Another grand return to LC for the next big meta shift imo
Aerow I'm glad that you've moved on from mons, and wish you the best wherever you may go, but as they say, a Norweigan friend is a friend for life. Thank you for putting up with me when I was messing around, for listening when I was down, for sticking up for me when I couldn't myself - I really do appreciate it.
Antgeezy ayy
boo836 fuck wynaut
Coconut. Big thanks for more or less single-handedly making sure the Duskulls didn't fall apart for most of the season, and just generally helping me not mess up even more, including on this rmt. Be sure to stick around in LC!
Eren Yeagar rate my littlecup team
TheFenderStory you're so damn bad at mons that sometimes it's too easy to make fun of you, but you've been a salty nerd and a great friend of mine for a pretty long time by now. Salt on
Fiend Honestly, I'd prefer if you didn't constantly try to quit mons, even if you never actually manage to. Also, stop impersonating Fiend Wolf smh
Infamy 1 2
Mambo We don't really talk anymore, but I'm still glad to have you as a friend. Your innovations are pretty lame, though
Max Carvalho you go inactive way too much :/ It's nice having you around
Melonz LEWL :D
Mr. NudistoBeach /me unzips
Nineage Can I have % on origin??
Omastar42 for real, you're a really solid/consistent battler. I don't think we've actually talked much, but you're a cool guy to have in the community. Stick around in LC!!
Sken As horrible as you are at teambuilding, I stand by my word when I say you're one of the top LC players of today, especially at ADV LC (have you even won a game yet?). Other than that, you're one of the closest friends I have on Smogon at this point
sparktrain I get that you haven't been fond of it for a while, but shittyseelland was pretty much where our little corner of little cup took off, and I still miss its shittiness occasionally. If I've gotta pick one thing to define you, though, it's gotta be that sweet LCPL record.
Sparkychild I found this
Tahu You may be awful at ORAS (maybe not Fender bad though) and leader of the worst LC OM, but you've also carried the tangma slot for our teams three seasons in a row. Stick around in LC!!!
trash too bad you quit mons. Wouldn't mind having you as part of the League O Fan Club V Aerowthree or something
zeriloa thanks for teaching me the littlecup tier
Also, shoutouts to the rest of the Lego Fan Club, yall are fantastic:
Cheek Pouch ayyy
H&MBerkeley It's super great that you got tutored by mambo instead of starmaster or something; you're an awesome contributor.
QuoteCS Not sure why you sometimes insist otherwise, but you're a phenomenal tier leader in so many ways, and most definitely a member of the community. Still haven't KOed 8 mons for GL, though
Dustflier it's fun to talk with you and have you as a friend (who quits for months at a time and has probably gotten swept more times than most of us have played games)
Shrug I still feel bad about not keeping my promise for SPLC. Like, I really did mean to get you, I just that I had no idea auctions were that hard. I guess you ending up on scrubs turned out to be a good thing for the LC community, though
RZL Brazilian Army Kingler12345 GOAO. Merritt OP Star. Vileman
Other LCers/sort of LCers:
dsr95 mad0ka Superpowerdude Dhaora blizzardy Ashley11 Come back to LC soon pls
ThatCrazyRussian I know that we haven't been on best terms in the past, but I think that ended in like the second half of LCPL? You're actually not half bad to have around; nice to have you back.
Water Drone 3-2 in LCPL is pretty cool, especially when one of those losses was to hax, but that badgeset is even cooler
Tricking we don't really talk much, but you've seemed nice enough from when we have talked, plus you basically carry the LC community on your back in the tour scene half the time
macle can I join the LC Council?
The Avalanches tazz Krubby Splashyship ZoroarkForever Pikasohn get skype?? (or add me)
Bughouse unfixable sorry for letting you guys down for LCPL in the end, but you were superb additions to the team
HeaLnDeaL Aladyyn
fran17 Aaron's Aron Sidneyfluff kingmidas slurmz Jac Celestavian Cydrolic TUO Yagura GlassGlaceon Amp Pharaohs cityfolk thecrystalonix ajernejcic Hawkstar Mewsthebest Kavatika John76 Jetpack Joltage Ranger Mike
And my not-really-LC friends:
ium hey ugly
Ununhexium sort of hard for us to strike up a conversation when my knowledge of stuff is pretty much limited to littlecup, but you seem chill
Mysteria NV Enki Disaster Area gangsterish
Thanks for reading!
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