ORAS NU Donuts

[Pokedots]

Introduction

Proof of peak

Hi Smogon.

This is my first RMT, at least since I've become a decent player, and it showcases a team I've really enjoyed using the last two weeks. The team has been fairly successful so far, actually getting me to #1 on the ladder for the first time and beating a few notable players, though it's by no mean flawless, as it's vulnerable to quite a few top threats. It also features one of my favorite current playstyles, defensive Healing Wish Mesprit and a bunch of sweepers. The team is named after my favorite "food" and the latest NU meme, and the song is the OP from Shirobako, the show the meme came from and one of my favorite shows of all time.

Teambuiding Process

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Funny story actually. The team was originally built to be a joke team around Belly Drum Marill before I turned it into a serious team. Memento Skuntank was added to give Marill setup opportunities and check the Grass-types that gave it trouble, while Mesprit provided a bulky Stealth Rock setter, Fighting check, and Healing Wish to let Marill take advantage of its actually pretty nifty resistances and acceptable bulk with Eviolite.

After that the team just kinda came together. Rhydon gave me a Normal, Rock, and Flyingcheck, Electric immunity, and another win condition. Magmortar is a Fire, Ice, and another Grass check and an extremely potent special wallbreaker. Tauros is just a fast sweeper as my team was pretty slow, and in particular pairs really nicely with Magmortar.

Needless to say that while it was fun the few times Marill pulled off a sweep, Marill was frankly just an extremely mediocre Pokemon. At the same time, I really wanted to build a Ludicolo team as it was one of my favorite Pokemon to use in XY, yet I'd never actually used it in the entirety of ORAS except for like one NUPL battle where I think it died the first or second turn. Ludicolo was actually an extremely good replacement for Marill, as it defensively covered most of the same things (Water-types) and more, giving me a Lanturn check and Ground resist, and it turned out to be a great addition to the team. I made a few minor set changes after this, but overall the team stayed the same and has been working really well when I've used it.

The Team

• Ability: Swift Swim
• Item: Life Orb
• Nature: Timid
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Moves:
  • Rain Dance
  • Hydro Pump
  • Giga Drain
  • Ice Beam

Ludicolo is one of my four sweepers and an extremely threatening Pokemon in general. It's surprising how little people actually prepare for special Water-types outside of Lanturn, which Ludicolo simply eats for breakfast. The moveset is standard, but I chose a Timid nature over Modest in order to outspeed neutral Samurott, which my team otherwise really struggles with, and beat Rain teams, in addition to beating all the stuff that creeps neutral base 70s, most notably AV Magmortar. I'm physically incapable of choosing accuracy over power, but Surf is an option because jesus christ almost all the games I've lost with this team have been due to Hydro Misses, including round 1 of NU Open which I'm kinda sad about.

• Ability: Aftermath
• Item: Rocky Helmet
• Nature: Adamant
• EVs: 16 HP / 232 Atk / 104 Def / 104 SpD / 52 Spe
• Moves:
  • Sucker Punch
  • Poison Jab
  • Taunt
  • Defog / Pursuit

Though it was originally simply meant to give Marill Memento support to help it get setup opportunities, even after Marill was replaced, Skuntank fit incredibly well because it compresses a lot of things my team appreciates. It gives me a Grass, particularly Shiftry, check, checks Psychic-types, absorbs Toxic Spikes, beats Mega Audino, and gives me very nice priority.

Most of the moves are pretty self-explanantory, except for Defog; frankly, Skuntank isn't a great Defogger because it's beaten by most SR setters, so after it Defogs they just come in and set it up again, and even though Skuntank could Taunt them, it runs the risk of getting KOed. Defog is for Spikes. One of my team's biggest problems was with Spikes, particularly with Ferroseed, as I found myself eventually with 3 layers on my side more than a few times; Defog solves this issue somewhat, as it almost guarantees the opponent won't get up usually more than 1 layer. In addition, while Skuntank can't exactly beat any of them except for Roselia, Skuntank runs a way lesser risk in Taunting them because of their lack of super effective STAB against it. While not preferred on this team, Pursuit also has its uses, getting rid of Xatu so Mesprit can set up Stealth Rock and weakening annoying bulky Psychic-types such as Musharna.

The item and EV spread also deserve some explaining: I would otherwise be weak as hell to Klinklang. With Taunt and Sucker Punch, Skuntank is basically guaranteed a hit on Klinklang, and the combination of Rocky Helmet and Aftermath recoil from Gear Grind will typically KO it. Rocky Helmet in general is really nice to wear down any physical attacker that's giving my team trouble, and even punishes U-turning Psychic-types. The EV spread lets me outspeed Garbodor creeping Modest Aurorus, and after investing in Attack the rest of the EVs went to maximize Skuntank's mixed bulk.

• Ability: Levitate
• Item: Colbur Berry
• Nature: Bold
• EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 64 Spe
• Moves:
  • Stealth Rock
  • Psychic
  • U-turn / Energy Ball (maybe?)
  • Healing Wish

One of the team's MVPs, Mesprit is basically the centerpiece of this style of offense. It sets up Stealth Rock, checks Fighting-types and can take at least one hit from most physical attackers, gains momentum with U-turn, and then can Healing Wish one of my teammates back to full health once they have worn down their checks and counters; it's basically the perfect glue 'mon for offense.

The Speed EVs outspeed neutral base 55s and Garbodor trying to creep them, and the rest is dumped into physical bulk. I haven't actually tried this but Energy Ball might be a decent option, allowing Mesprit to revenge kill Rock Polish Rhydon from full health, but U-turn is almost too good to pass up.

• Ability: Lightning Rod
• Item: Eviolite
• Nature: Jolly / Adamant
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Moves:
  • Rock Polish
  • Earthquake
  • Stone Edge
  • Megahorn / Swords Dance

One of if not the best Pokemon in the metagame, Rhydon finds a comfortable slot on my team as a Flying- and Normal-check, Electric-immunity, and one of my 4 sweepers. Jolly is run because I actually run a positive Speed nature on everything, letting me outspeed Malamar, stuff creeping Adamant Rhydon, and Floatzel and Zebstrika at +2, but Adamant is definitely an option, especially if Rhydon chooses to run Swords Dance. Megahorn nails Malamar and is in general nice for Grass-types and Mesprit, which in several cases Rhydon can't KO with Stone Edge, while Swords Dance allows Rhydon to break through checks like Vileplume and Weezing and gives me a better matchup against bulky teams, though a lot of them run Quagsire anyways.

• Other options:
  • 
    Carracosta offers much of the same things as Rhydon does in a setup sweeper and Normal and Flying check, and even more in some cases; it's a more reliable Archeops check because of the lack of Aqua Tail weakness, can hit Fire-types with Aqua Jet before they hit me with super effective coverage, and can even help revenge kill +2 Rhydon, a huge threat to my team, with Aqua Jet. In fact, it may very well be a better option than Rhydon, but the Electric immunity is honestly a huge loss, though I could adjust my team to include one. Lightning Rod Zebstrika over Tauros could help with this, though its weakness to priority because of its frailty and just not being very strong isn't appealing. There might be a better way to fit Carracosta in. Thoughts?

• Ability: Sheer Force
• Item: Life Orb
• Nature: Naive
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
• Moves:
  • Rock Climb
  • Earthquake
  • Zen Headbutt
  • Fire Blast

Tauros is extremely powerful and boasts wide coverage, letting it 2HKO pretty much of anything except for bulky Rock-types. My team was pretty slow and lacked priority, even though it was pretty sturdy, so Tauros made up for it with its golden 110 Speed tier. It's even fairly bulky, letting it take neutral priority exceedingly well. There's really just not much else to say, Tauros is a strong fast 'mon that puts in a lot of work in nearly every game.

• Ability: Vital Spirit
• Item: Assault Vest
• Nature: Modest
• EVs: 104 HP / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
• Moves:
  • Fire Blast
  • Focus Blast
  • Thunderbolt
  • Flame Charge

An amazing wallbreaker and my 4th sweeper, Magmortar might honestly be the MVP of this team. Thanks to its typing, Assault Vest, and Vital Spirit, Magmortar's actually a great Grass counter, Ice check, Fire check, and answer to quite a few special attackers. Its wallbreaking ability also greatly supports my team, as its able to lure and beat Rock-types for Tauros and Water-types for Rhydon and take advantage of Grass-types for Ludicolo and Rhydon. Finally, Flame Charge makes Magmortar an incredibly potent sweeper, as it's capable of wearing down its answers with surprising ease, get Healing Wished back to full health by Mesprit, and proceed to plow through opposing teams at +1.

Threats

There are a lot of big ones D:

Fighting-types: As Mesprit is my only good Fighting check and it can be worn down over time, Fighting-types, particularly Sawk because of its Speed and Sturdy, can do serious damage to my team once Mesprit's gone. However, this is more in theory than in paper, as in my experiences I've been able to handle them fine. Rocky Helmet Skuntank is great for wearing them down, too.

Zangoose: Though luckily it's not too common, Zangoose can outspeed and OHKO three of my Pokemon with ease and I have nothing to actually switch in, except for Rhydon once into a Facade. Again, Skuntank actually helps a lot with this, and if it comes in on Knock Off or Close Combat it can get off a lot of damage with Rocky Helmet, Aftermath, and potentially Sucker Punch, and even if it comes in on Facade, Zangoose still takes a lot of nasty recoil

Rhydon: Rhydon can kind of plow through this team at +2 Speed, especially if it packs Megahorn for Ludicolo and weakened Mesprit. Luckily, it doesn't really get many setup opportunities, as Skuntank can Taunt it and it takes around 40% from both Mesprit and Tauros and can't OHKO either.

Archeops: Mixed Archeops or sets with Aqua Tail can kinda take a dump on this team and pretty much require me to pivot around with Mesprit, Rhydon, and Skuntank. Again in practice I haven't had too much trouble but it might just be because I haven't faced these variants.

Replays

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http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-269976169 Rhydon sweeps easily

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-270239683 good game vs Disjunction showcasing Magmortar

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-270406811 vs Kiyo, hax on both sides but it evened out at the end

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-270744474 vs King UU

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-271779811 just another nice game

Shoutouts

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I actually hate everyone

jk

Sir Kay pokes
Disjunction nerd D:
SilverReaper21 weeb D:
Other relevant NU people
Raseri, boltsandbombers, hollywood, Kiyo, HJAD, Can-Eh-Dian, Punchshroom, Realistic Waters, marilli, Quite Quiet, Teddeh, Aladyyn, scorpdestroyer, Montsegur, NotNova230, Winter's Howl, Rapture., Blast, Brawlfest, allstar124, Oshony PokeGodOshony PokeGod, Finchinator, baedaire (Adaire), Shaneghoul, Marikeinen, Dentricos, blaziken1337, Deej Dy, iplaytennislol, Thrillz, lolbro lolbro D: and any others I might not have tagged <3

I hope you all know who I am and like me cause if you didn't that'd be awkward D:

Conclusion

Though overall this team isn't perfect, as can be seen by the threat list, and there's probably a few more I didn't even mention because I'm not as vulnerable to them (Klinklang, Fire-types), it's been a lot of fun to use and has been moderately successful. I welcome any feedback and would love some suggestions to how to make this team better; particularly I want some opinions on Carracosta and how I should go about fixing the Electric weakness that might come from that. While obviously I'd prefer there to be as few changes as possible, I'm fine with changing more than a few as long as the central conceit of defensive HW Mesprit+offense stays.

Format stolen from Absolutely Haram.

importable

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

Skuntank @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 16 HP / 232 Atk / 104 Def / 104 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Taunt
- Defog

Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 196 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Healing Wish

Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Megahorn

Tauros @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast

Magmortar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 104 HP / 248 SpA / 156 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Flame Charge

 

[shiloh]

Ludi / Skunk / Mesprit / Rhydon / Tauros / Magmortar

Hey Dots this looks like a really solid team with a few interesting sets. This biggest weakness I can see with a quick glance is to fighting types since you really only have one way to check them and that is Mesprit. I also agree that Offensive Rock Types like Rhydon and Archeops are threatening to your team depending on the moves they run.

I actually very much agree with you that Carracosta is a really nice fit on the team over Rhydon as it is able to check Archeops, Rhydon, and Zangoose which makes your threat list a lot more manageable. The set of course being Stone Edge / Waterfall / Aqua Jet / Shell Smash with a Life Orb which allows Costa to revenge kill Archeops, Rhydon and Fire-types. You mention that you lose an electric immunity, but I really don't think that you will miss not having an electric immunity that much since Magmortar is able to check most of them fairly reliably, Carracosta can revenge kill them, and Skuntank gets off a lot of damage with Sucker Punch. Onto the next weakness which would be to Fighting Types, and in order to fix this as well as give you a better match up against Bulky Teams I would recommend Nasty Plot Mismagius over Tauros. Nasty Plot Mismagius really likes the kind of team you have since it can spin block in order to keep up rocks for you as well as break through bulky teams fairly easily with Nasty Plot. It also gives you the added benefit of another Normal Resist since Carracosta is worn down a lot faster than Rhydon.

There aren't to many other changes I could see with the team, but I would recommend trying out other moves on Skuntank, like Snatch and HP Grass which are really cool utility moves Skuntank can make use of. You could also consider running Chesto Berry and Rest in order to keep Skunk healthy throughout the match, but the loss of Rocky Helmet might be a bit to much since Klinklang can be a bother to your team (thought not as much if you choose to run Costa)

Changes:

Carracosta @ Life Orb / Wacan Berry | Solid Rock
Adamant | 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Shell Smash / Stone Edge / Waterfall / Aqua Jet

Pretty straightforward set, moves are standard STABs that give it good coverage. The item choice is really up to you since there are so many viable options to run on Costa, Life Orb makes it hit a lot harder and secure certain kills. Wacan Berry is another really cool option if you feel that Electric Types are just to good against your team (even though I think Skunk handles Rotom fine, and Zebstrika is worn down really quickly and they both die to +2 Aqua Jet after Rocks).

Mismagius @ Colbur Berry | Levitate
Timid | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Shadow Ball / Nasty Plot / Dazzling Gleam / Will-o-wisp or Destiny Bond

Nasty Plot Mismagius is also pretty straightforward, Colbur Berry allows you to switch in on Fighting Types easier and max speed / special attack to outspeed everything. The reason I am such a big fan of Nasty Plot Mismagius is how customizable it is to the team, since there are so many utility moves it can run. I personally like running Wisp or D-Bond since you can beat Sucker Punch users like Skuntank and Shiftry with those moves, but there are still other options like Memento, Taunt, or even Hidden Power Ground.