SM RU Always where I need to be

MrAldo · Sep 4, 2017

Hello, welcome to my 2nd SM RMT and to my most successful team on this generation. On a effort to provide more RU RMTs with better quality (or just more RU RMTs in general tbh) I have decided to share this and to honestly give it a good closure since the RU metagame is expected to change a lot on the incoming tier shift, and this could potentially becomes unviable (dont worry, I will make sure to provide an updated version for sample teams). Anyways, enough mopping, to the team explanation.

Pretty much... But similar to my past RMTs Im gonna go in detail about the different versions it have gone through and my thoughts about them.

The original version. This was done like a week before the start of RUPL. I always had in mind the power behind Sharpedo and spikes, and how these just help this beast to wear down so many of its checks, and how taunt + toxic Gligar was such a good set that I had to put it to good use since it worked for me so well during XY, and I was learning to appreciate fast taunt spikes Chesnaught as well, so yeah. Very similar to the final team except for Mismagius over Meloetta (CM Fightinium Z is extremely good, try it). Preserve the hazards with Taunt Chesnaught and Gligar, beat both hazard removers (Mantine and Gligar) on a vacuum, CM Meloetta to wallbreak and Sharpedo alongside Scarf Tyrantrum. Always had a thing for this beautiful dinosaur.

And basically the final version, the goal is literally the same except I changed Mismagius over Meloetta to have a taunt spam theme going on and to preserve the hazards on almost all occassions. I built this (technically retouched this) for Ict to use against blunder for week 3 of RUPL. Ict being the pretty seasoned player he is, was basically accepting any team and well, I provided him this. Won that game pretty swiftly. He used it again against Feliburn on week 5 of RUPL and managed to clutch the win despite a rough start, with one of the notorious weaknesses of this team (Meloetta, which will be covered at the end alongside the rest). I was really happy with the outcome. He then continue using it to good success on RU Open, alongside another group of people, and for that Im very thankful to all that trusted this build on an important situation like that

The most important aspect of a Hazard stacking build is, of course, the hazard users. The main choices for a Spike user on a team consist mostly on Roserade for a more offensive pseudo wallbreaking approach, and Chesnaught for defensive reliability. Went for Chesnaught cause while Roserade is imo the better mon overall, Chesnaught makes for a more reliable spiker in the sense of getting them up through many stages of the match. Registeel is a no brainer honestly, this Pokemon is really damn good, and beats both hazard removers options in a vacuum thanks to ProTox tactics. Gligar complements the initial duo really well, but generally Defog + Spikes is a terrible idea and I didnt want to go back to Square One every time I wanted to remove hazards, so I said "fuck it" and decided to run taunt + toxic gligar for some stallbreaking and damn, no removal, and let the offensive pressure do the rest... it was the best decision ever, never looked back.

Having a wallbreaker is really important on these type of teams cause you cant rely exclusively on hazards to break stuff, despite having the tools to keep them, so having something to punch holes without the dire need of them is really nice as a backup. Thanks to the z-move, Mismagius now excels at this role, with Nasty Plot and a powerful Never-Ending Nightmare it makes for a great choice. Having Taunt and being a spinblocker is just the icing of the cake, preventing a potential Rapid Spinner of getting rid of your hazards and preventing Defog to keep your hazards. A really important piece of this archetype is having a spinblocker, and Mismagius offers really unique qualities so it becomes one of the main options.

Cleaners! Something that loves Spikes in order to have an easier time cleaning through teams in the end game. Sharpedo is a really unique, and extremely effective one to the point of madness, that just becomes lowkey unbearable with the Spikes. Scarf Tyrantrum was just an added bonus in order to differentiate myself from other similar builds, since the concept is rather intuitive. Some people would for another defensive mon like Dragalge to cover stuff like Salazzle but I went with a faster option in order to not overly rely on it (and if the Salazzle has Dragon Pulse it was a dead sentence so I ran away from that idea). 2 cleaners arent necessary (having 1 is) but I just went with 2 to make it my version (and because Scarf Tyrantrum is freaking cool to check Salazzle) so many of these builds will follow a similar formula but with their own twists. Jellicent is a cool option to consider :V

Now to the best part, shall we?

Chesnaught @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
- Synthesis

One could say it is the most important piece cause y´know it gets Spikes, and the team cant be named Spike Stacking or stacking anything without it. Chesnaught excels at its role, Physically Defensive Tank capable of actively preventing Defog from working, punishing Spin thanks to Rocky Helmet and passable offensive thanks to Wood Hammer? Excellent! Fast version with Taunt is imo, the best Chesnaught version available. Preventing Defog at all circumstances with Taunt and outspeeding Mantine and Gligar is really, really nice. Moveset is self explanatory: Taunt to prevent Defog, Spikes causes hazards and chip damage, Wood Hammer for a good STAB move and Synthesis for recovery since you have a notable decrease in bulk and no recovery so is necessary.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Protect

As said initially, this Pokemon is a no brainer thanks to it being incredibly good. We all know how valuable Steel-types are for teambuilding but man, this guy right here offers a ton of good things for basically any team. Being pretty unrivaled on its role (thanks to it being the only pure good defensive steel type) it is virtually everywhere, but isnt just for that reason since it blanket checks a plethora of special attackers, keep many threats at bay and, most importantly, beats both common hazard removal options in a vacuum thanks to the Protect + Toxic combo. Mantine flat out loses to it and Gligar cant outdamage it (cause it wants to stay healthy too). Beautiful. The moveset is so standard I dont feel the need to go through it. Just Registeel things.

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Gligar @ Eviolite
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Roost

One of the stars of the team, this is set is so good and pressuring opposing bulky teams it is almost tyrannical the dominance it has over them. We know Gligar is by far the most reliable Defog user in the tier, but I wasnt feeling the Defog + Spikes situation on this. I still wanted to use Gligar for some odd reason so I decided to find other ways that Gligar can put it work, and resorted to this XY RU masterpiece of a set. Taunt + Toxic + Reliable recovery is what makes this monster extremely hard to take down to anything that cant outright it, handily beating a bunch of defensive stuff 1v1, and being a key part of the team. Taunt prevents Defog and prevent opposing Pokemon from using status moves, Toxic nails bulky waters and many of the gligar switch-ins, Earthquake is a good STAB move, and Roost is reliable recovery.

Mismagius @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam

Mismagius is unique, and a pretty important element of this team as well. First, it is the wallbreaker of choice for this team and man, it is really good at that. Offering the essential qualities of being fast, wallbreaking potential with Nasty Plot and the Z-Move, and taunt to prevent Defog at all costs and use Pokemon like Registeel as setup bait makes it a logical choice, and a really cool looking one at that. Taunt + Nasty Plot is an excellent combo to use some defensive Pokemon as setup bait, and to increase its wallbreaking potential to scary levels, Shadow Ball is the main stab move and the necessary move to make use of Never Ending-Nightmare to effectively wallbreaker, and Dazzling Gleam makes for great complementary coverage to beat opposing Dark-types like Pangoro, and Zoroark if you are willing to risk the speed tie.

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Hydro Pump

Some people call it Mr. Broken, other call it a "big pain in the ass" and many absolutely despise it but one is true... it is DAMN GOOD at what it does. By far the most effective cleaner in the tier, and one of the most effective cleaners in general on lower tiers. Speed Boost gives it the unique trait of being "a scarfer without the scarf" which means it can clean like a scarfer without the restrictions of one. Of course it forces you to run protect but for such effectiveness and great neutral coverage, damn worth it. Special Sharpedo is the set of choice cause it has completely different counterplay from the physical one, makes Doublade a less threatening foe to face, and the team complement the special set better if you ask me. Dark Pulse is the primary STAB more, great to nail Ghost-types like Doublade and Mismagius without missing, Ice Beam to beat weakened grass-types and Dragons, Protect cause it is necessary to gather speed boosts reliably and Hydro Pump is the most powerful move on its arsenal.

Tyrantrum @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Head Smash

Credit to mcwolfxy for the artwork, nice one imo. Anyways, for this teamslot in particular I wondered for options during many hours. The weakness was logical, a weakness to Salazzle was clear (Since +2 Acid Downpour can go through protect, Sharpedo alone will not be enough) so I was thinking what to put on here. A Dragalge was logical but... perhaps too logical for my interests (many similar teams went for this, I wanted a different option), I like Aerodactyl and the option was appealing to put Salazzle against a wall but no hazard removal makes running it annoying. In the end I went with Scarf Tyrantrum and it has worked wonders. Since the heracross ban, the golden speed for scarfers has been decreased considerably since know you arent forced by opposing scarf heracross to run a scarfer faster than it most of the time so, using Scarf Tyrantrum was pretty safe here. A good way of keeping Salazzle at way (definitely not a solid switch-in) but having this mon in the back means Salazzle isnt sweeping, a more active way of dealing with it accurate to my tastes. Moveset is self explanatory, Dragon Claw to hit opposing Dragons without the need of locking itself into Outrage, Earthquake is a good coverage move to weaken Steel-types and kill Salazzle without risking Head Smash, Outrage is its strongest dragon move and Head Smash is its strongest move, like really damn strong, it can be tough to switch into it despite it being a Scarfer.

So, since there is no toxic spikes absorber on this one (you happen to overlook some things on this gen, it is natural) there is a notorious weakness to them but in practice stopping other potential toxic spikes users is doable (not like there are many much else, but point still applies) but Dragalge is a really effective one, and it is hella hard to switch into. Offensive and Defensive Toxic Spikes can setup Spikes against most of the team and trying to taunt it to stop the toxic spikes is extremely risky for the main taunters of the team so this mon has to be handled extremely carefully and is the biggest threat in practice due to its power and how effective it is at setting Toxic Spikes. Hazard pressure, good doubles, and killing it before it gets much going is how I handle it. Specs has no switch-ins so no point in mentioning it.

Boy, this thing can destroy this team without much though. CM Fightinium Z is incredibly difficult to handle for basically all bulky teams so this weakness is obvious so this mon has to be pressured to hell and back. It doesnt switch into anything besides unboosted Mismagius too comfortably for going for attacks when it attempts to switch into stuff is important. Sub Calm Mind variants can be really problematic too so play around those carefully, or it is a death presence. A Replay will showcase this weakness pretty clearly.

Doublade is a funny case cause if you use as your spinblocker you are bound to have issues with some Gligar variants and even freaking Donphan, but when you dont use it you are bound to be weak to it on these type of teams, and that annoys me. It is a clear weakness for this team, especially if opposing spike stacking with this Pokemon at the spinblocker. Keep it at bay with taunt chesnaught and taunt gligar so it doesnt get boost, and Chesnaught can wear it down through Rocky Helmet, and keep Sharpedo healthy enough to take a +2 Sneak if everything fails. Be really careful against it cause it is an uphill matchup.

Aurora veil is dumb and I will die by the saying that it is broken and that it needs to leave/get banned ASAP, but I have to add the weakness here and be somewhat professional about it. The most commonly used Aurora Veil variant gets kind of manhandled by Regi but gets overwhelmed by Linoone + Feraligatr, and now Veil is adapting with Cryogonal and Triple Screens and stuff so... yeah, Im punished for running a cool Sharpedo set and for giving up Psychic Fangs. Sigh, W/E, we figure stuff out. Press Head Smash against those teams the rock resists are either bad or non existant.

It would be pretty cynical from my part to say that I pioneered the spike stacking on SM RU, but Ill like to think I have contributed to promoting its effectiveness, and that Taunt + Toxic Gligar is a sexy set, so yeah. Thanks to the guy that made that Doublade + Cresselia + Dragalge spike stacking, which also contributed to giving Special Sharpedo (or was specially based mixed sharpedo?) spotlight as well. And of course, thanks to everyone that used this team, it is heart warming to see that I have managed to make such a defining team, and that many tour seasoned players were confident in using it. Thanks again :)

Another big list my goodness

ict - For trusting this team on RUPL, and for continuing to use it
CT People - Eyan Starmei HT quziel explodingdaisies RedzoneX MajesticM DaAwesomeDude1 False. yuruuu Kreme Nedor North Gate Gross Sweep Trinitrotoluene Peli Shiba p2 Eden's Embrace Cynde sniperr Yellow Paint IronBullet GradeAGarchomp Tyler0 Steven Stone cfdba
RU People - Arifeen atomicllamas Slurmz col49 DTC -Tsunami- FlamingVictini EviGaro spookysocialist teachable cyanize eifo Chill Shadow TheWall Kushalos EonX Gatorboy Randomnick Chrisloud1 Molk Aurora Colonel M Miyami~~ Rakan avocado Rider SilentVerse Espeonage. phantom barton Kingler12345 Imanalt Meru Omfuga Ice Tray Stan Soojung
TUG People - Ajna Feliburn SlottedPig lighthouses Kableye xastify tko Twix trash gorex Natural Talent Psynergy Lax Pak North Lord Death Man TraceofLife Chakra zbr Whitewash
And to everyone I forgot to tag, and to those that trusted on my team also. Thanks everyone for making this game enjoyable.

Chesnaught @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Wood Hammer
- Synthesis

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Protect

Gligar @ Eviolite
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 Spe
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Roost

Mismagius @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Protect
- Hydro Pump

Tyrantrum @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Head Smash

Cya around!

TheTapDancer · Sep 4, 2017

Not sure how relevant it is in RU atm, but this team looks super-weak to Sneasel or other fast-physical dark attackers. KO cripples your entire core, Chesnaught can eat crashes but not switch in to them, and your offensive core doesn't match up well either with ice shard/low kick.

As I say, probably not that relevant, but if this ever becomes a spammed team it's something to watch out for.

Have you considered a scarf braviary? It might not have the raw power of Tyrantrum but the ability to punish defogs looks really useful on this squad. Maybe its not worth it with the rocks weakness.

BlueThaSavior · Sep 4, 2017

TheTapDancer said:
Not sure how relevant it is in RU atm, but this team looks super-weak to Sneasel or other fast-physical dark attackers. KO cripples your entire core, Chesnaught can eat crashes but not switch in to them, and your offensive core doesn't match up well either with ice shard/low kick.

As I say, probably not that relevant, but if this ever becomes a spammed team it's something to watch out for.

Have you considered a scarf braviary? It might not have the raw power of Tyrantrum but the ability to punish defogs looks really useful on this squad. Maybe its not worth it with the rocks weakness.

Sneasel doesn't see very much play in RU, if any at all. Most teams pack registeel which can come in a completely wall it and iron head/Seismic toss it. Chesnaught against most dark pokemon that are offensive, can eat hits and hit right back and with the rocky helmet it/spikey shield combo they will wear down fast. The biggest pokemon that posses a threat on this team (imo) is Hoopa and special pokemon like that. Hoopa take's care of 4 out of the 6 of your team. Same for shaymin that's packing HP ice/Earth Power/Seed flare it takes care of 4 out of the 6 pokemon you have. Zoarok with illusion and the combination of flamethrower/dark pulse/ect can be a bit of a problem and yes Meloetta can be a problem but if you can pressure out melo with scarf tyrantrum and switch to sharpedo with good prediction then you should be ok. Melo is your biggest threat to this team though imo.

SM RU Always where I need to be

MrAldo

Hey

TheTapDancer

BlueThaSavior