Team At A Glance
Overview
Overview
I've run SmashPass teams before, but never quite with as much success as this team. The basic idea remains the same: set up stealth rocks -> set up screens -> shell smash + baton pass -> sweep. The difference, I think, is that every pokemon on this team really just does the job it needs to so well.
Breakdown
Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Roar
Having Stealth Rock up can make or break a sweep. Without rocks, Pokemon with Sturdy or a Focus Sash can stop a sweep dead in its tracks (most notably Skarmory using Whirlwind). With access to every move in the game Smeargle can set up rocks, and provide unique utility while doing so.
Spore essentially removes one of the opposing pokemon from the match, which is almost always useful. Stealth Rock is the whole point of this set and also gives Sigilyph a lot of important 100% OHKOs. Magic Coat bounces back obvious Taunts/Entry Hazards/Roars/etc. Finally Roar is there to trip up my opponent's momentum and (hopefully) let Espeon get in a little easier. More specifically Roar ensures that Espeon doesn't have to try and set up screens against a Pokemon with a few Dragon Dances under its belt while Smeargle was setting up Stealth Rock.
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Power Swap
- Wish
I don't think the first two moves need much explanation. They improve the bulk of everyone involved in the SmashPass chain so much that they're often instrumental in the success of a sweep. Espeon really sets itself apart from the rest of the Dual Screen users with its ability. Other screeners need to worry about Taunts, Encores, Roars, etc. All of those just bounce right off of Espeon, even preventing my opponent from setting up annoying entry hazards.
Wish is there to let Gorebyss come in as healthy as possible (and if Espeon faints on the turn it Wished, the Wish can heal off Substitute damage on Gorebyss as well).
Power Swap is an oft overlooked move (linked in case you're unfamiliar with it) but it can really shift the tide of a match and throw my opponent off balance. At first it might seem an odd choice since I don't have any attacking moves on Espeon (an unfortunate result of only having 4 moves) however it's more about taking away the opponent's boosts than using them myself. Lots of Pokemon (including other Espeon) love to come in and start setting up Dragon Dances, Swords Dances, Bulk Ups, or Calm Minds while I set up screens. Power Swap rains on their parade and gives Gorebyss some breathing room again. It's not perfect (notably the Speed boosts from Dragon Dance and the Special Defense boosts from Calm Mind remain, and it's usually up to Scizor to deal with those), but it can prevent an opponent's sweep.
Gorebyss (M) @ White Herb Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 24 SDef / 232 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
There are only a handful of Pokemon that learn both Shell Smash and Baton Pass; of them, Gorebyss has the best stats for the job. Substitute is there to make surviving through the Shell Smash a little easier, and if I'm lucky it may even make it through the Baton Pass to help protect the receiver. Surf is there in case Gorebyss gets taunted (and as a bonus it can OHKO Physically Defensive Skarmory after a Shell Smash, thus preventing a Whirlwind). The choice between Swift Swim and Hydration doesn't usually matter, and may seem irrelevant since this team doesn't have any rain on it. However I've found that Gorebyss rarely needs the extra speed against opposing rain teams and often enjoys not being fully paralyzed by Thunder Waves from opposing rain teams. Thus making Hydration slightly more useful.
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 28 Atk / 252 SAtk / 228 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Bulldoze
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Bulldoze is something I'm testing to try and handle Blissey/Chansey. I'll update with how it goes.
Nidoking is the star of this team. He reaches a huge 590 SpA and 538 Spd after he's been passed a Shell Smash. Then his ability, Sheer Force, powers up every one of the moves on this set, in addition to negating the damage (but not the power boost) from Life Orb when he uses them. His coverage is also something most other pokemon could only dream of; boasting not only BoltBeam but also STAB Earth Power to destroy most Steel types and Flamethrower to pick off the rest (notably Bronzong). This allows him to tear through everything that isn't named Blissey or Chansey.
He even has great synergy with Gorebyss; he's immune to the Electric attacks aimed at Gorebyss and can shrug off Grass attacks aimed the same way. Additionally he doesn't have to worry about switching into a Thunder Wave or Toxic, and usually doesn't care about a Will-o-Wisp.
Nidoking is not perfect though. He absolutely does not want to switch into an Earthquake and loathes well predicted Ice moves or Hydro Pumps (though substitute on Gorebyss can help scout for these). After he's successfully been switched in, his most frequent downfall is repeated priority attacks. He doesn't care about these while screens are still up, but those are usually running thin by the time he's started sweeping. Fortunately he resists Mach Punch and has enough bulk to survive Bullet Punches, Extremespeeds, Sucker Punches and even most Ice Shards and Aqua Jets, but each of these take a toll and a combined Scizor Bullet Punch and Dragonite Extremespeed usually spells the end of Nidoking's sweeping dreams (though at the least, he's almost certainly taken down a couple Pokemon while screens were up).
Sigilyph (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 136 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stored Power
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Ice Beam
- Air Slash
This is plan B. Sigilyph has all the right stats to be a SmashPass receiver. It has an ability that laughs in the face of weather, Life Orb damage, and most status. Further more Stored Power reaches an absurd 140 base power after a Shell Smash (that's 210 after STAB), so it may seem like Sigilyph is a reasonable plan A, but alas it bemoans its shallow move pool. No access to Focus Blast (though its 70 base accuracy may not be appealing, its 120 base power certainly is) nor Shadow Ball means it's missing the perfect coverage so many of its Psychic brethren enjoy.
Sigilyph is forced to use Hidden Power Fighting to deal with most Steel types (Hidden Power Fire may seem appealing at first but that leaves it completely open to the very common Heatran) and so it struggles against Pokemon like specially defensive Jirachi or Bronzong. Ice Beam takes care of most Dragons (notably Latios and Latias who resist Stored Power). Air Slash is just about its last viable move (Hypnosis deserves consideration, but its accuracy is lacking and Smeargle has hopefully already put one of my opponent's Pokemon to sleep) and notably OHKOs Scizor after Stealth Rock damage. Air Slash is also its hardest hitting move against other Psychic types such as Reuniclus and Slowbro, but is ultimately a mixed bag. Air Slash can come through with a clutch flinch on a Pokemon that Sigilyph can only 2HKO or it can miss horribly with its 95% accuracy and let Scizor get in a second Bullet Punch.
Fortunately Sigilyph doesn't struggle with much beyond the aforementioned Pokemon, 2HKOing a standard Chansey with Stored Power; even OHKOing most Unaware Quagsire after Stealth Rock damage. Though it still loathes well predicted Ice moves, its Flying typing allows it to come in on the Earthquakes that Nidoking does not enjoy. It also laughs at the Psychic attacks aimed at Nidoking and the Grass attacks aimed at Gorebyss. Unfortunately while it still resists Mach Punch, Sucker Punch is a much bigger concern for Sigilyph than Nidoking. Although Sigilyph is just a bit bulkier than Nidoking.
Ultimately which Pokemon I pass to depends on the other player's team. If the other team lacks a Blissey/Chansey above ~50% HP and isn't threatening to Earthquake or Hydropump (and especially if it looks like a Thunder Wave is coming my way) I'll pass to Nidoking. Otherwise it's Sigilyph's time to shine.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
- Aerial Ace
I don't believe a Choice Band Scizor is shocking to anyone, but the move choices may deserve a quick word. Basically Scizor is here to clean up after an almost-complete sweep and as a general go-to Pokemon if I need to switch out for some reason (notably Espeon is so threatened it can't set up screens or I need to scare out a Pokemon that grabbed some Speed or Special Defense boosts against Espeon). Thus the moves are there to deal with more specific scenarios than the general Superpower/Pursuit that fill most Scizor's remaining moveslots.
Most of the time Scizor will just use Bullet Punch. It's an incredibly powerful priority move that cleans up almost every fast Pokemon I need it to (this is important because while Nidoking without any boosts may be able to handle a Dragonite, it certainly can't if that Dragonite has Dragon Dance and Earthquake). However there are simply too many Water/Electric/Fire Pokemon (Rotom-W, Infernape, Volcarona, to name a few) that show up late game expecting to pull out a win by narrowly surviving a Bullet Punch, and that's where Quick Attack shines.
Aerial Ace is incredibly situational, but helpfully OHKOs Breloom and just generally messes up any Fighting types who may not have shown themselves when half my team resisted their attacks. Ultimately I value it over a pursuit that I don't really want to be stuck with the next turn (I'd rather U-Turn and risk hitting something that resists than waste a turn of screens, and put my next Pokemon in harms way unnecessarily) and which has little late game value.
Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Roar
Having Stealth Rock up can make or break a sweep. Without rocks, Pokemon with Sturdy or a Focus Sash can stop a sweep dead in its tracks (most notably Skarmory using Whirlwind). With access to every move in the game Smeargle can set up rocks, and provide unique utility while doing so.
Spore essentially removes one of the opposing pokemon from the match, which is almost always useful. Stealth Rock is the whole point of this set and also gives Sigilyph a lot of important 100% OHKOs. Magic Coat bounces back obvious Taunts/Entry Hazards/Roars/etc. Finally Roar is there to trip up my opponent's momentum and (hopefully) let Espeon get in a little easier. More specifically Roar ensures that Espeon doesn't have to try and set up screens against a Pokemon with a few Dragon Dances under its belt while Smeargle was setting up Stealth Rock.
Espeon (M) @ Light Clay Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Power Swap
- Wish
I don't think the first two moves need much explanation. They improve the bulk of everyone involved in the SmashPass chain so much that they're often instrumental in the success of a sweep. Espeon really sets itself apart from the rest of the Dual Screen users with its ability. Other screeners need to worry about Taunts, Encores, Roars, etc. All of those just bounce right off of Espeon, even preventing my opponent from setting up annoying entry hazards.
Wish is there to let Gorebyss come in as healthy as possible (and if Espeon faints on the turn it Wished, the Wish can heal off Substitute damage on Gorebyss as well).
Power Swap is an oft overlooked move (linked in case you're unfamiliar with it) but it can really shift the tide of a match and throw my opponent off balance. At first it might seem an odd choice since I don't have any attacking moves on Espeon (an unfortunate result of only having 4 moves) however it's more about taking away the opponent's boosts than using them myself. Lots of Pokemon (including other Espeon) love to come in and start setting up Dragon Dances, Swords Dances, Bulk Ups, or Calm Minds while I set up screens. Power Swap rains on their parade and gives Gorebyss some breathing room again. It's not perfect (notably the Speed boosts from Dragon Dance and the Special Defense boosts from Calm Mind remain, and it's usually up to Scizor to deal with those), but it can prevent an opponent's sweep.
Gorebyss (M) @ White Herb Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP / 24 SDef / 232 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
There are only a handful of Pokemon that learn both Shell Smash and Baton Pass; of them, Gorebyss has the best stats for the job. Substitute is there to make surviving through the Shell Smash a little easier, and if I'm lucky it may even make it through the Baton Pass to help protect the receiver. Surf is there in case Gorebyss gets taunted (and as a bonus it can OHKO Physically Defensive Skarmory after a Shell Smash, thus preventing a Whirlwind). The choice between Swift Swim and Hydration doesn't usually matter, and may seem irrelevant since this team doesn't have any rain on it. However I've found that Gorebyss rarely needs the extra speed against opposing rain teams and often enjoys not being fully paralyzed by Thunder Waves from opposing rain teams. Thus making Hydration slightly more useful.
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 28 Atk / 252 SAtk / 228 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Bulldoze
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Bulldoze is something I'm testing to try and handle Blissey/Chansey. I'll update with how it goes.
Nidoking is the star of this team. He reaches a huge 590 SpA and 538 Spd after he's been passed a Shell Smash. Then his ability, Sheer Force, powers up every one of the moves on this set, in addition to negating the damage (but not the power boost) from Life Orb when he uses them. His coverage is also something most other pokemon could only dream of; boasting not only BoltBeam but also STAB Earth Power to destroy most Steel types and Flamethrower to pick off the rest (notably Bronzong). This allows him to tear through everything that isn't named Blissey or Chansey.
He even has great synergy with Gorebyss; he's immune to the Electric attacks aimed at Gorebyss and can shrug off Grass attacks aimed the same way. Additionally he doesn't have to worry about switching into a Thunder Wave or Toxic, and usually doesn't care about a Will-o-Wisp.
Nidoking is not perfect though. He absolutely does not want to switch into an Earthquake and loathes well predicted Ice moves or Hydro Pumps (though substitute on Gorebyss can help scout for these). After he's successfully been switched in, his most frequent downfall is repeated priority attacks. He doesn't care about these while screens are still up, but those are usually running thin by the time he's started sweeping. Fortunately he resists Mach Punch and has enough bulk to survive Bullet Punches, Extremespeeds, Sucker Punches and even most Ice Shards and Aqua Jets, but each of these take a toll and a combined Scizor Bullet Punch and Dragonite Extremespeed usually spells the end of Nidoking's sweeping dreams (though at the least, he's almost certainly taken down a couple Pokemon while screens were up).
Sigilyph (M) @ Life Orb Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SAtk / 136 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Stored Power
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Ice Beam
- Air Slash
This is plan B. Sigilyph has all the right stats to be a SmashPass receiver. It has an ability that laughs in the face of weather, Life Orb damage, and most status. Further more Stored Power reaches an absurd 140 base power after a Shell Smash (that's 210 after STAB), so it may seem like Sigilyph is a reasonable plan A, but alas it bemoans its shallow move pool. No access to Focus Blast (though its 70 base accuracy may not be appealing, its 120 base power certainly is) nor Shadow Ball means it's missing the perfect coverage so many of its Psychic brethren enjoy.
Sigilyph is forced to use Hidden Power Fighting to deal with most Steel types (Hidden Power Fire may seem appealing at first but that leaves it completely open to the very common Heatran) and so it struggles against Pokemon like specially defensive Jirachi or Bronzong. Ice Beam takes care of most Dragons (notably Latios and Latias who resist Stored Power). Air Slash is just about its last viable move (Hypnosis deserves consideration, but its accuracy is lacking and Smeargle has hopefully already put one of my opponent's Pokemon to sleep) and notably OHKOs Scizor after Stealth Rock damage. Air Slash is also its hardest hitting move against other Psychic types such as Reuniclus and Slowbro, but is ultimately a mixed bag. Air Slash can come through with a clutch flinch on a Pokemon that Sigilyph can only 2HKO or it can miss horribly with its 95% accuracy and let Scizor get in a second Bullet Punch.
Fortunately Sigilyph doesn't struggle with much beyond the aforementioned Pokemon, 2HKOing a standard Chansey with Stored Power; even OHKOing most Unaware Quagsire after Stealth Rock damage. Though it still loathes well predicted Ice moves, its Flying typing allows it to come in on the Earthquakes that Nidoking does not enjoy. It also laughs at the Psychic attacks aimed at Nidoking and the Grass attacks aimed at Gorebyss. Unfortunately while it still resists Mach Punch, Sucker Punch is a much bigger concern for Sigilyph than Nidoking. Although Sigilyph is just a bit bulkier than Nidoking.
Ultimately which Pokemon I pass to depends on the other player's team. If the other team lacks a Blissey/Chansey above ~50% HP and isn't threatening to Earthquake or Hydropump (and especially if it looks like a Thunder Wave is coming my way) I'll pass to Nidoking. Otherwise it's Sigilyph's time to shine.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
- Aerial Ace
I don't believe a Choice Band Scizor is shocking to anyone, but the move choices may deserve a quick word. Basically Scizor is here to clean up after an almost-complete sweep and as a general go-to Pokemon if I need to switch out for some reason (notably Espeon is so threatened it can't set up screens or I need to scare out a Pokemon that grabbed some Speed or Special Defense boosts against Espeon). Thus the moves are there to deal with more specific scenarios than the general Superpower/Pursuit that fill most Scizor's remaining moveslots.
Most of the time Scizor will just use Bullet Punch. It's an incredibly powerful priority move that cleans up almost every fast Pokemon I need it to (this is important because while Nidoking without any boosts may be able to handle a Dragonite, it certainly can't if that Dragonite has Dragon Dance and Earthquake). However there are simply too many Water/Electric/Fire Pokemon (Rotom-W, Infernape, Volcarona, to name a few) that show up late game expecting to pull out a win by narrowly surviving a Bullet Punch, and that's where Quick Attack shines.
Aerial Ace is incredibly situational, but helpfully OHKOs Breloom and just generally messes up any Fighting types who may not have shown themselves when half my team resisted their attacks. Ultimately I value it over a pursuit that I don't really want to be stuck with the next turn (I'd rather U-Turn and risk hitting something that resists than waste a turn of screens, and put my next Pokemon in harms way unnecessarily) and which has little late game value.
Closing Thoughts
SmashPass is really a force to be reckoned with, and its checks and counters are so limited that the strategy is quite successful in the current metagame, especially with the support and options this team provides.
Sun teams deserve a special mention for putting up a good fight with their Chlorophyll users, but ultimately they usually fall to Scizor and Smeargle with the help of Espeon's screens. Sand teams that have Stoutland are perhaps more troublesome, but again Scizor is usually capable of clearing out that threat.
The best counter I've seen so far I have only seen once, but it completely caught me by surprise, and I'm not sure there's really anything to be done about it. That strategy was a suicide, priority Tailwind by Tornadus after I'd spent most of my team getting Nidoking set up with none of its usually counters (read Blissey) still alive on the opposing team. I don't recall exactly what this was followed by, but it really could have been anything. Lots of Pokemon (perhaps most obviously Landorus) outspeed and OHKO Nidoking in a normal situation and the Tailwind puts Nidoking back on the same level (Speed-wise) as everyone else.
At any rate there's the team. Feel free to comment, and I'm open to suggestions, but please don't write off some of the weirder move choices and try to suggest more normal sets without plenty of reasoning since this team does work. And yes I play primarily on the Pokemon Online server, but the only metagame difference I'm aware of is Thundurus, who is basically a non-issue for this team. Playing a handful of games (22) on Smogon showed basically no difference in play style or effectiveness, but I just don't have the time to ladder very much on one server, let alone two.
SmashPass is really a force to be reckoned with, and its checks and counters are so limited that the strategy is quite successful in the current metagame, especially with the support and options this team provides.
Sun teams deserve a special mention for putting up a good fight with their Chlorophyll users, but ultimately they usually fall to Scizor and Smeargle with the help of Espeon's screens. Sand teams that have Stoutland are perhaps more troublesome, but again Scizor is usually capable of clearing out that threat.
The best counter I've seen so far I have only seen once, but it completely caught me by surprise, and I'm not sure there's really anything to be done about it. That strategy was a suicide, priority Tailwind by Tornadus after I'd spent most of my team getting Nidoking set up with none of its usually counters (read Blissey) still alive on the opposing team. I don't recall exactly what this was followed by, but it really could have been anything. Lots of Pokemon (perhaps most obviously Landorus) outspeed and OHKO Nidoking in a normal situation and the Tailwind puts Nidoking back on the same level (Speed-wise) as everyone else.
At any rate there's the team. Feel free to comment, and I'm open to suggestions, but please don't write off some of the weirder move choices and try to suggest more normal sets without plenty of reasoning since this team does work. And yes I play primarily on the Pokemon Online server, but the only metagame difference I'm aware of is Thundurus, who is basically a non-issue for this team. Playing a handful of games (22) on Smogon showed basically no difference in play style or effectiveness, but I just don't have the time to ladder very much on one server, let alone two.
