Metagame Follow the Leader

I love this meta and I'm glad it's back. I did some preliminary theorymonning for this and there are some new leaders that can really make a splash.

Golem-Alola: This thing looks like it has a lot of potential. It has a quite wide movepool, with good physical and special coverage and useful abilities, letting its team members fill a variety of archetypes. It can run Sturdy + SR + Explosion leads, Steel-trappers with Fire Blast, Focus Blast, or Earthquake, and Electric-type sweepers with Galvanize. EDIT: It also gets Nature Power for Galvanize Tri-Attack. They can somewhat overcome Golem-Alola's weakness to Ground-types with HP Ice, too. Another great move is Volt Switch, making choiced mons more viable. Golem-Alola seems kinda tricky to build around but could be worth it.

Bibarel: Bibarel teams have gained lots of good moves this go round, particularly, Swords Dance, Aqua Jet, and Crunch. The main idea is to set up rocks and break through teams with Simple Swords Dance-boosted priority from the likes of (Mega) Gyarados, with maybe a RestTalk unaware mon as filler to spread status. A Simple Charge Beam mon adds variety and gives the team some special breaking power. Overall Bibarel as a leader is significantly improved from last gen, where it was a mediocre choice.

Linoone: Linoone teams are drastically better than last gen. They are extremely one-dimensional, revolving around multiple BellySpeeders, an -atespeeder, and a Pursuit trapper. Obviously they are a high-risk high-reward sort of deal, but with the recent inclusion of 50% heal berries+Gluttony, as well as Z-Belly Drum, Linoone teams became a whole lot more threatening and versatile. With every team member being able to guarantee setup, things can get pretty stupid in here. Normalium-Z can also double as a nuke to bust through troublesome Steel-types. Seriously though I think this has brokenness potential, we should keep an eye out.

Ninetales-Alola: Might be quite one-note, but the ease with which they can set up Aurora Veil and the fact that everything that doesn't have Snow Warning has Snow Cloak can cause headaches for certain kinds of teams. The main game plan is to become bulky and hard to hit while setting up with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind and breaking through everything. A paper-thin movepool really limits it though, with hardly any physical moves and the inability to support many types, although accesss to Psyshock lets a boosted Psychic-type break through Chansey. Probably bad, but I can see offense having trouble with Ninetales-Alola.

Torkoal: I am scared of Torkoal. Constant sun makes overwhelming opponents extremely easy. Torkoal's small movepool has everything it needs to support a team of powerful Drought wallbreakers and Shell Smash sweepers. Slap Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin and Will-o-Wisp on a support mon and you have everything you need to set up easily and get sweeps. Torkoal has a slim movepool but it can defeat nearly everything with just overwhelming firepower. Did I mention it gets Eruption too? Torkoal is really scary, and I can see it cementing its place as a top leader this gen.
I like Bibarel as a lead. With Simple and Unaware, his abilitys are amazing. Simple more Swords Dance for triple the attack in one turn, Curse doubles the attack and the defense, Charge Beam doubling Sp.Attack. He has moves in both Attack and Special Attack: Aqua Tail, Aqua Jet, Blizzard, Crunch, Double-Edge, Return, Ice Beam, Scald, Shadow Ball, Superpower, THunder, Thunderbolt and Superpower. He also has good suport moves: Rest Talk, Stealth Rock, Substitute, Super Fang, Taunt and Thunder Wave. Lots of options.
 
I think Snorlax is decent. It gets happy hour from a gen 7 event. It gets some useful gen 1 transfer moves such as seismic toss and reflect. It also has a giant movepool that normal types seem to tend to have (some examples: psychic, shadow ball, surf, focus blast). It has a bunch of tutor moves like gunk shot, outrage, seed bomb, iron head, elemental punches etc. Thick fat gives you two resistances, while Gluttony can be used on a belly drum set with recycle. Immunity might be useful too.

Here is a replay:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen7followtheleader-46490
 
Last edited:
I think Snorlax is decent. It gets happy hour from a gen 7 event. It gets some useful gen 1 transfer moves such as seismic toss and reflect. It also has a giant movepool that normal types seem to tend to have (some examples: psychic, shadow ball, surf, focus blast). It has a bunch of tutor moves like gunk shot, outrage, seed bomb, iron head, elemental punches etc. Thick fat gives you two resistances, while Gluttony can be used on a belly drum set with recycle. Immunity might be useful too.

Here is a replay:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen7followtheleader-46490
That replay only shows that you can beat a bad player. Try getting a replay of a decent match.

Also, I'm curious how well a Dugtrio team would work. Its movepool is probably too limited for a heavy offense team, but a good wall with charm + captivate + toxic + rest can probably shut down a lot of attackers (although you would need both a male and a female user of captivate, and still could have issues with genderless special attackers), and you have earthquake to deal with steels and poison types. And it gets final gambit, which can be very useful (at first glance, scarf Kyurem-B looks like the best abuser, since it's faster than Ninjask and has 125 base HP).
 



Do I even need to introduce the fact that I'm not saying this is a god?


With a ridiculous stat spread that lends well to nearly every team archetype and nearly every god available, Golisopod stands out as a strong abuser of practically any team you want. You got a pretty defensive Pokemon and need a tank? If it has Recovery or Leech Life, just slap Golisopod on and either click a setup move or toxic everything to death. Got an offensive team and have a spare slot? Golisopod loves having access to Priority moves and realistic coverage options that help it, like Earthquake and Fire Punch. Got a Trick Room God and want to have a physical abuser? Just give Golisopod a STAB move... or don't, and give it strong offensive options, or even make it a tanky Trick Room setter that can use STAB U-Turn to pivot out into a proper abuser.



Let's look at a few fairly popular Gods.




With Nidoking, Golisopod has access to its entire ridiculously large Movepool and access to an incredible boosting ability, Sheer Force. Megahorn and Aqua Tail form pretty good STAB options (better than X-Scissor but worse than Leech Life and Liquidation), letting Golisopod have access to one or either of its two main spamming moves. Neither are boosted by Sheer Force, but the Elemental Punches, Rock Slide, and Poison Jab make up for it, giving him enough coverage to scare out practically anything that fails to OHKO. Earthquake and Superpower are also nice for when you don't run Fire Punch to break through physical walls such as tanky Steel types not named Celesteelmywins. Sucker Punch lets you use at least some form of priority to get around Golisopod's practically nonexistant Speed stat, which is fun. Nidoking is also possible to pass down Stealth Rock, Taunt, and Toxic Spikes for a supporting Golisopod. A RestTalk Hone Claws set is possible with either STAB move, although sadly Nidoking doesn't get Curse. Unlike everything else.




Clefable's a bit... weird for Golisopod. He gets no STAB option, which is sad, and no boosting options for Attack, which is even more sad. What you get instead is Clefable's mental supporting and coverage movepool consisting of the Elemental Punches, Drain Punch, Knock Off, and Meteor Mash offensively and Thunder Wave, Cosmic Power, Softboiled, Heal Bell, Stealth Rocks, Wish, Trick, Magic Coat, Dual Screens, Encore, and even Metronome for a laugh set. He can be the team's offensive tank with a Life Orb and Magic Guard, a Magic Guard Toxic Orb Defensive set with Cosmic Power, Softboiled, and 2 coverage options, or just an Unaware tank. He fits a few roles pretty well, but his awkward typing might not land him a spot.



Rock Jesus. Think Nidoking, but has arguably even better Physical moves to abuse the hell out of. Golisopod can retain its fairy frequent role of a Rocks setter, who remains having the ability to have Thunder Wave from Clefable, semi-reliable healing in Pain Split, and Phazing with Whirlwind. A physical movepool consisting of Elemental Punches, Head Smash, Rock Slide, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Crunch, Iron Head, Pursuit, Superpower, and Zen Headbutt is also neato. A lack of STAB is a bit sad, but it's sacraficable with the magical abilities of Mold Breaker, making supporting movesets able to set rocks and Taunt a bit easier, and Sheer Force, turning a majority of the moves you'll be using into even stronger options that remove Life Orb Recoil, A lack of Hazard Removal for Golisopod's sake sucks, though.




Yeah, looks good, right? Thought so. Golis is fun, but I haven't experimented perfectly with him. Doesn't help this Meta doesn't look like it'll be going anywhere anytime soon with how little most people play it. Get some games, peeps!





...I don't want to double post, so I'm doing ANOTHER POST RIGHT HERE! HAHA!



+ SlideQuake is nice for practically anything and with Sand being a high focus with Excadrill, It's not that bad.
+ Other Physical options can fit for a bunch of Mons main STAB moves, like Poison Jab, X-Scissor, Iron Head and Brick Break, but also the fairly bad but still there Aerial Ace.
+ Mold Breaker is a fantastic ability in an metagame where an entire team can have Unaware or sturdy, while Sand Rush and Force can be run alongside a Sand setter to create very quickly dangerous physical attackers with an immunity to Sand residual damage.
+ Access to Swords Dance and Hone Claws is pretty nice for setup.
+ Special Movepool has Earth Power, Sludge Bomb, and Focus Blast, and with Hidden Power, most Special mons will only need three attacks to do enoguh damage, and can run one of Excadrill's nice supporting moves.
+ Access to Stealth Rocks and Rapid Spin is shared by extremely few decent Pokemon.
+ Excadrill itself is an incredibly good Pokemon, and thus can fill in a slot on the team instead of being just deadweight like some Gods tend to be (ex. Keckleon).
- Very limited Special movepool makes it difficult to find Pokemon that carry a STAB of one of the types it has (although, like in an earlier post of mine, Keldeo is still great for this job).
- Related to above, has a lack of a move that boosts Special Attack.
- Only 2 supporting moves that are good are Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin. No Taunt, no Spikes, nothing like that. Magnet Rise is there I guess?


Essentially, Excadrill is the Hyper Offense god that appreciates a Weather, but doesn't need said weather to do things. Mold Breaker's good enough for standard teams, if you're not a fan of running Sandstorm. Keldeo, Camerupt-Mega, Gengar, and Nihilego don't mind the Special Attacking movepool, and can use it well enough that they can fill the one or two slots you'll use for Special Attackers. Sand Rush can turn anything into a dangerous threat, and Swords Dance only makes things harder for teams not built to take on Hyper Offense. If you're afraid of Unaware, you can fill a slot with a Mold Breaker SD Pokemon like Kyurem-Black and just wallbreak Stall teams into oblivion. Golisopod is also nice here (see? Tying into earlier posts is a great idea.), with STAB X-Scissor and having SD/Rocks with Mold Breaker. And don't forget the fact that Excadrill itself is actually a good Pokemon.



yeeeeee ending to posts
boneless pizza
 
Last edited:
Abilities:
Ability: Swarm An alright ability that boosts bug type moves when hp is low.
Ability: Insomia Protection against sleep can be good.
Ability: Sniper The main reason I considered Ariados. Use along side Razor Claw/Scope Lens w/ Focus Energy . Crits do 1.5x more power.
Notable moves:
Physical: Fell Stinger, Shadow Sneak, Body Slam, Bounce, Bug Bite, Cross Poison, Poison Jab, Dig, Foul Play, Leech Life, Megahorn, Return/Frustration, Pursuit, Double Edge, Facade, Secret Power, Smart Strike, Twineedle, X-Scissor, Thief, Night Slash, Pin Missile, Sucker Punch
Special: Giga Drain, Night Shade, Psychic, Signal Beam, Sludge Bomb, Solarbeam, Struggle Bug, Venoshock, Hidden Power
Status: Focus Energy, Poison Thread, Sticky Web, Toxic Spikes, Agility, Protect, Swords Dance, Endure, Toxic
The main reason why I wanted to consider using Ariados was b/c I was trying to find ways to deal with unaware mons. Also, I like 100% crits and how they ignore defense boosts and your own lowered stats.
Ariados does not have much to hit steel types, so running Shadow Sneak, Night Slash, Hidden Power Fire/Fighting, and Sucker Punch may be necessary.
Ariados itself, would be used as a hazard setter with Sticky Webs and Toxic Spikes.
Hoopa-Unbound @ Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Lonely Nature
- Psychic
- Sucker Punch
- Cross Poison
- Focus Energy
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Smart Strike
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Sucker Punch
- Leech Life
- Swords Dance

Idk, maybe it's outclassed by some other mon, but I think it's interesting. Here's a replay against a bot:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen7followtheleader-47035 to get an idea of how it might run.

Another Crit Set using Honchcrow as a leader (z-Tailwind is basically a +2Spe, +1Atk, and +1SpAtk. Also, crits ignore stat drop from superpower, and Honchcrow gets psychic for some reason):
Hoopa-Unbound @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 176 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 76 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic
- Superpower
- Tailwind

Beedrill is another Sniper mon that might work since beedrill is decent with its mega. It gets an actual physical fighting type move (Brickbreak), and it gets a ground type move with a high crit rate (drill run). Though against levitate teams drill run is useless. It also gets focus energy and tailwind. No Leech Life, but it gets U-turn and Fell Stinger. It also has access to roost and Tailwind. It has very little notable special moves, but Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb stand out. Imo, ariados is better.

1. Use abilities to boost power, like Sniper, Sheer Force, Guts, Super Luck(maybe), Hustle
2. Use Mold Breaker
3. Use Megas with those abilities. Mega Gyarados might be a must on Shell Smash teams,
otherwise you may be vulnerable to prankster encore and Unaware.
4. Taunt - Unaware mons are likely to run set-up moves like Calm Mind, or healing moves.
5. Prankster + Encore - There will be tons of set up mons in this meta. (Simple Calm Mind/Swords Dance, Quiver Dance, Shell Smash, Belly Drum).
6. Possibly moves that remove abilities like skill swap. These types of moves are more useful in this meta since you can cripple(Force a switch) Mega-Pidgeot, Poison Healers, etc.
7. Charge (maybe) double the power of your next Electric Type move. It's not a stat boost so it won't be ignored.
8. Swap a choice Item
9. Use a Powerful Z-move.
10. Moves that do set Damage: Endeavor, Super Fang, Nature's Madness
 
Last edited:
HOUNDOOM.

His 3 abilitys are: Flash Fire, Unnerve and Early Bird.

Unnerve wont be usefull, Early Bird means that when you use Rest you spend 2 turns sleeping, not one (well, it isnt this exact effect, but its one of its main uses), and Flash Fire...
oh boy flash fire. I like using it on Scizor, so it wont have any weakness, 2 immunitys and some resistences. While houndoom dont give any priority to Scizor, it gives Flame Charge,
so it can buff its speed, Crunch, Fire Fang and Return. Not a very big, realy, but it has Pursuit, so Scizor can work as a amazing pursuit trapper, being able to trap anything that dont have Mold Breaker more a fire move. However, specialy Houndoom realy works well: Nasty Plot to buff, Dark Pulse, Fire Blast, Hyper Voice, Overheat, Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb.
Its support moves are also great, being able to support a tank pokémon very well: Rest Talk (buffed with the Early Bird), Destiny Bond, Roar, Substitute, Fool Play, Super Fang, Taunt
and Will-O-Wisp. A team around it can be powerfull, in the right hands.
 

anaconja

long day at job
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
HOUNDOOM.

His 3 abilitys are: Flash Fire, Unnerve and Early Bird.

Unnerve wont be usefull, Early Bird means that when you use Rest you spend 2 turns sleeping, not one (well, it isnt this exact effect, but its one of its main uses), and Flash Fire...
oh boy flash fire. I like using it on Scizor, so it wont have any weakness, 2 immunitys and some resistences. While houndoom dont give any priority to Scizor, it gives Flame Charge,
so it can buff its speed, Crunch, Fire Fang and Return. Not a very big, realy, but it has Pursuit, so Scizor can work as a amazing pursuit trapper, being able to trap anything that dont have Mold Breaker more a fire move. However, specialy Houndoom realy works well: Nasty Plot to buff, Dark Pulse, Fire Blast, Hyper Voice, Overheat, Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb.
Its support moves are also great, being able to support a tank pokémon very well: Rest Talk (buffed with the Early Bird), Destiny Bond, Roar, Substitute, Fool Play, Super Fang, Taunt
and Will-O-Wisp. A team around it can be powerfull, in the right hands.
The problem about Houndoom is that other than its STAB moves, it doesn't get enough coverage to use for a whole team. Sure, Flash Fire Scizor is nice, but any decently strong attack still makes a huge dent in it. But if you insist on using Flash Fire, I'd rather use Arcanine. Besides Flash Fire, you can also use Intimidate, a great ability, and Justified, a niche but still decent ability. Additionally, Arcanine gets a very large attacking movepool, with key moves like Extreme Speed, Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Dragon Pulse, and Overheat. It also has good support moves like Morning Sun, Will-o-Wisp, and Roar. This allows you to run either Balance or Stall.

oh and it also gets iron head for scizor
 



Do I even need to introduce the fact that I'm not saying this is a god?


With a ridiculous stat spread that lends well to nearly every team archetype and nearly every god available, Golisopod stands out as a strong abuser of practically any team you want. You got a pretty defensive Pokemon and need a tank? If it has Recovery or Leech Life, just slap Golisopod on and either click a setup move or toxic everything to death. Got an offensive team and have a spare slot? Golisopod loves having access to Priority moves and realistic coverage options that help it, like Earthquake and Fire Punch. Got a Trick Room God and want to have a physical abuser? Just give Golisopod a STAB move... or don't, and give it strong offensive options, or even make it a tanky Trick Room setter that can use STAB U-Turn to pivot out into a proper abuser.



Let's look at a few fairly popular Gods.




With Nidoking, Golisopod has access to its entire ridiculously large Movepool and access to an incredible boosting ability, Sheer Force. Megahorn and Aqua Tail form pretty good STAB options (better than X-Scissor but worse than Leech Life and Liquidation), letting Golisopod have access to one or either of its two main spamming moves. Neither are boosted by Sheer Force, but the Elemental Punches, Rock Slide, and Gunk Shot make up for it, giving him enough coverage to scare out practically anything that fails to OHKO. Earthquake and Superpower are also nice for when you don't run Fire Punch to break through physical walls such as tanky Steel types not named Celesteelmywins. Sucker Punch lets you use at least some form of priority to get around Golisopod's practically nonexistant Speed stat, which is fun. Nidoking is also possible to pass down Stealth Rock, Taunt, and Toxic Spikes for a supporting Golisopod. A RestTalk Hone Claws set is possible with either STAB move, although sadly Nidoking doesn't get Curse. Unlike everything else.




Clefable's a bit... weird for Golisopod. He gets no STAB option, which is sad, and no boosting options for Attack, which is even more sad. What you get instead is Clefable's mental supporting and coverage movepool consisting of the Elemental Punches, Drain Punch, Knock Off, and Meteor Mash offensively and Thunder Wave, Cosmic Power, Softboiled, Heal Bell, Stealth Rocks, Wish, Trick, Magic Coat, Dual Screens, Encore, and even Metronome for a laugh set. He can be the team's offensive tank with a Life Orb and Magic Guard, a Magic Guard Toxic Orb Defensive set with Cosmic Power, Softboiled, and 2 coverage options, or just an Unaware tank. He fits a few roles pretty well, but his awkward typing might not land him a spot.



Rock Jesus. Think Nidoking, but has arguably even better Physical moves to abuse the hell out of. Golisopod can retain its fairy frequent role of a Rocks setter, who remains having the ability to have Thunder Wave from Clefable, semi-reliable healing in Pain Split, and Phazing with Whirlwind. A physical movepool consisting of Elemental Punches, Head Smash, Rock Slide, Earthquake, Hammer Arm, Crunch, Iron Head, Pursuit, Superpower, and Zen Headbutt is also neato. A lack of STAB is a bit sad, but it's sacraficable with the magical abilities of Mold Breaker, making supporting movesets able to set rocks and Taunt a bit easier, and Sheer Force, turning a majority of the moves you'll be using into even stronger options that remove Life Orb Recoil, A lack of Hazard Removal for Golisopod's sake sucks, though.




Yeah, looks good, right? Thought so. Golis is fun, but I haven't experimented perfectly with him. Doesn't help this Meta doesn't look like it'll be going anywhere anytime soon with how little most people play it. Get some games, peeps!





...I don't want to double post, so I'm doing ANOTHER POST RIGHT HERE! HAHA!



+ SlideQuake is nice for practically anything and with Sand being a high focus with Excadrill, It's not that bad.
+ Other Physical options can fit for a bunch of Mons main STAB moves, like Poison Jab, X-Scissor, Iron Head and Brick Break, but also the fairly bad but still there Aerial Ace.
+ Mold Breaker is a fantastic ability in an metagame where an entire team can have Unaware or sturdy, while Sand Rush and Force can be run alongside a Sand setter to create very quickly dangerous physical attackers with an immunity to Sand residual damage.
+ Access to Swords Dance and Hone Claws is pretty nice for setup.
+ Special Movepool has Earth Power, Sludge Bomb, and Focus Blast, and with Hidden Power, most Special mons will only need three attacks to do enoguh damage, and can run one of Excadrill's nice supporting moves.
+ Access to Stealth Rocks and Rapid Spin is shared by extremely few decent Pokemon.
+ Excadrill itself is an incredibly good Pokemon, and thus can fill in a slot on the team instead of being just deadweight like some Gods tend to be (ex. Keckleon).
- Very limited Special movepool makes it difficult to find Pokemon that carry a STAB of one of the types it has (although, like in an earlier post of mine, Keldeo is still great for this job).
- Related to above, has a lack of a move that boosts Special Attack.
- Only 2 supporting moves that are good are Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin. No Taunt, no Spikes, nothing like that. Magnet Rise is there I guess?


Essentially, Excadrill is the Hyper Offense god that appreciates a Weather, but doesn't need said weather to do things. Mold Breaker's good enough for standard teams, if you're not a fan of running Sandstorm. Keldeo, Camerupt-Mega, Gengar, and Nihilego don't mind the Special Attacking movepool, and can use it well enough that they can fill the one or two slots you'll use for Special Attackers. Sand Rush can turn anything into a dangerous threat, and Swords Dance only makes things harder for teams not built to take on Hyper Offense. If you're afraid of Unaware, you can fill a slot with a Mold Breaker SD Pokemon like Kyurem-Black and just wallbreak Stall teams into oblivion. Golisopod is also nice here (see? Tying into earlier posts is a great idea.), with STAB X-Scissor and having SD/Rocks with Mold Breaker. And don't forget the fact that Excadrill itself is actually a good Pokemon.



yeeeeee ending to posts
boneless pizza
Since when did Nidoking get Gunk Shot?
 
A few more randoms:
Abilities:
Pressure: PP Stalling is actually fairly useful
Unnerve: Well... It stops Gluttony Belly Drums... kind of... Ok. I got nothing.
Notable moves:
Physical: Acrobatics, Attack Order, Fell Stinger, Pursuit, U-Turn
Special: Air Slash, Bug Buzz, Infestation, Ominous Wind, Power Gem, Sludge Bomb
Status: Defend Order, Defog, Destiny Bond, Heal Order, Hone Claws, Roost, Tailwind
Abilities:
Natural Cure: Switch out from status
Serene Grace: Fun fact: Blissey, Chansey, and Dunsparce are the only Pokemon that get the combination of Serene Grace and Ice Beam. Let's see if we can abuse that...
Healer: No comment.
Notable moves:
Physical: Counter, Drain Punch, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Rock Slide, Seismic Toss, Thunder Punch, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt
Special: Charge Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Icy Wind, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Tri Attack
Status: Aromatherapy, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Light Screen, Reflect, Skill Swap, Softboiled, Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave
Abilities:
Keen Eye: Ignore evasion hax.
Infiltrator: Ignore Screens and Subs. Who wouldn't?
Prankster (Male only): +1 Priority status. Sucks about that nerf, though.
Competitive (Female only): Special version of Defiant.
Notable moves:
Physical: Fake Out, Power-Up Punch, Sucker Punch, Zen Headbutt
Special: Charge Beam, Dark Pulse, Energy Ball, Psychic, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Thunderbolt
Status: Assist, Barrier, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Mean Look, Psych Up, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Torment, Trick, Trick Room
 
Okay so I've been meaning to bring this pokemon up since the beginning of this thread, but every time it's been bumped to remind me I haven't had the time. How this pokemon has still failed to get so much as a mention up until now is kinda beyond me.

Ability: Levitate

Physical:
Earthquake, Outrage, Dragon Claw, Stone Edge, Superpower, Crunch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Return, Double Edge, Iron Tail.

Special:
Boomburst, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Earth Power, Draco Meteor, Bug Buzz, Giga Drain.

Utility:
Dragon Dance, Roost, Defog, Dragon Tail, U-Turn, Quick Attack, Toxic.


Body Slam, Hone Claws, Dragon Rush, Rock Slide, Power-Up-Punch, Tailwind, Focus Energy, Screech, Endure, Flail, Fly, Ominous Wind, Natural Gift, Solar Beam.


Flygon isn't the most spectacular pokemon by itself, and is far from the best leader ever, but when it comes to ticking boxes, it ticks a lot. Recovery, Phazing, Hazard Removal, Priority, Boosting, Physical Coverage, Special Coverage, Momentum, and Nukes are all available options when running Flygon as a leader. Some ability versatility wouldn't go astray, but Levitate is a phenomenal ability, and an entire team immune to the most common coverage in the game is pretty bloody good. Flygon does lack any Special boosting, but with absolute nukes like Boomburst and Draco Meteor, it still has the capability of pushing past the opposition's bulk. However Flygon somehow lacks Stealth Rock, it at least possesses Defog to level the playing field. Dragon Dance + Edge Quake is deadly, especially when supported by surprise niche options such as Natural Gift and Z-Fly, and that's just a taste of Flygon's capabilities. This mon is honestly a great package.
 
A few interesting mons for leaders:
+ Levitate is a good ability
+ Excellent special movepool
+ Passable physical movepool
+ Calm Mind+Hone Claws
+ Reliable Recovery
+ Defog
+ Support Moves
+ Stored Power
- No Hazards
- Physical Movepool isn't that good
- No Fire Move

Same as Latias, Memento over Healing Wish

+ Regenerator is amazing
+ Magic Guard is also amazing
+ Great movepool on both sides
+ Reliable Recovery
+ Calm Mind
+ Decent Support Moves
- No Physical Boosting
- No Hazards
- No Hazard Control

+ Competitive is ok
+ Marvel Scale is pretty good
+ Reliable Recovery
+ Coil
+ Haze
+ Decent movepool
- Will rely on HP
- No Hazards
- No Hazard Control

+ Teravolt is good at ignoring abilities
+ Good movepool
+ Reliable Recovery
+ Hone Claws
- No Hazards
- No Hazard Control
 

New focus post: Eeveelutions
I don't actually know why I'm doing this one, I just felt like it.
See my Rain post.
Abilities:
Volt Absorb: Immunities are fun.
Quick Feet: Also a fun ability.
Notable moves:
Physical: Double Kick, Iron Tail, Pin Missile, Quick Attack, Wild Charge
Special: Charge Beam, Discharge, Hyper Voice, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Stored Power, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Volt Switch
Status: Agility, Baton Pass, (Z-)Celebrate, Curse, Heal Bell, Light Screen, Rain Dance, Reflect, Roar, Sunny Day, Thunder Wave, Wish
Abilities:
Flash Fire: Immunities are still fun
Guts: Guts + Priority is fun.
Notable moves:
Physical: Flare Blitz, Iron Tail, Quick Attack, Superpower
Special: Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Hyper Voice, Shadow Ball, Stored Power
Status: Baton Pass, (Z-)Celebrate, Curse, Heal Bell, Rain Dance, Reflect, Roar, Sunny Day, Will-O-Wisp, Wish
Abilities:
Synchronize: This ability is just meh.
Magic Bounce: I hope you weren't trying to set up hazards.
Notable moves:
Physical: Iron Tail, Quick Attack, Zen Headbutt
Special: Dazzling Gleam, Future Sight, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Psychic, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Stored Power
Status: Baton Pass Calm Mind, Celebrate, Curse, Heal Bell, Light Screen, Morning Sun, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Reflect, Trick, Trick Room
Abilities:
Synchronize: See Espeon
Inner Focus: Well, Fake Out is worthless on you, so that's a thing.
Notable moves:
Physical: Foul Play, Iron Tail, Pursuit, Quick Attack, Sucker Punch
Special: Dark Pulse, Hyper Voice, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Stored Power
Status: Baton Pass, Celebrate, Curse, Heal Bell, Mean Look, Moonlight, Rain Dance, Reflect, Spite, Sunny Day, Taunt, Wish
Abilities:
Leaf Guard: Status immunity in Sun
Chlorophyll: +Speed in Sun. Leafeon would probably be an okay Sun leader.
Notable moves:
Physical: Bullet Seed, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack, X-Scissor
Special: Energy Ball, Giga Drain, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Shadow Ball, Stored Power
Status: Celebrate, Curse, Grasswhistle, Heal Bell, Nature Power, Rain Dance, Reflect, Roar, Sunny Day, Swords Dance, Synthesis, Wish
Abilities:
Snow Cloak: Accuracy hax in hail
Ice Body: Healing in hail
Notable moves:
Physical: Aqua Tail, Ice Fang, Ice Shard, Iron Tail, Quick Attack
Special: Blizzard, Frost Breath, Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Icy Wind, Mirror Coat, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Stored Power
Status: Aurora Veil, Barrier, Celebrate, Curse, Hail, Heal Bell, Rain Dance, Reflect, Sunny Day, Wish
Abilities:
Cute Charm: Situational ability that is almost never recommended.
Pixilate: Really good ability.
Notable moves:
Physical: Iron Tail, Quick Attack
Special: Dazzling Gleam, Hyper Voice, Moonblast, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Stored Power
Status: Calm Mind, Celebrate, Curse, Heal Bell, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Misty Terrain, Rain Dance, Reflect, Wish
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know which leaders we will likely need to be prepared for when building teams? (I don't mean that rhetorically, I want to know what mons we should keep in mind)

These are the mons I feel are going to be the scariest:
Clefable
I feel like Clefable is one of the scarier mons b/c like 1/2 it's team can block your sweeps, while the other 1/2 does not care about residual damage. It also has a ton of coverage moves and very useful support moves.
Sheer Force (Mawile, Nidoking/Queen, Rampardos, etc.)
Sheer force boosts damage regardless if your attack is physical or special. These mons tend to have a lot of good coverage moves.
Protean (Greninja,Keckleon)
Prio+Protean can be annoying b/c it makes it harder to choose a move. Protean can actually benefit you defensively too. It also gives your whole team stab which is really scary.
Shell Smash (Cloyster, Barbaracle, etc)
Shell Smash is obviously scary. Though they have a weakness in that it makes them more vulnerable priority. They can also be locked into it with encore.
Also, Unaware mons don't even notice them shell smashing. I think these types of teams need to run Mega Gyrados.
Araquanid
Araquanid is even better now with access to giga drain and sticky web. Extra fire resist, no burns. + extra damage on water type attacks is ridiculous.
Hustle (I think only Togekiss, possibly others)
The Hustle team BatterBotto uses is terrifying. Choice Band Hustle Zen Headbutt from Hoopa-U is absurd. On top of that it gets extreme speed.
Adaptability (Porygon z, Dragalge, etc)
I think Porygon z will be usuable. It has nearly 0 physical attacks, but you can run Mixed Hoopa-U with Zen Headbutt. You might even be able to run trick room Snorlax. Anyways, the extra boost for stab moves are pretty strong.
Mr Gigantic Movepool(Mew)
Always uses Pidgeot as it's mega. Those free nasty plots from 100% Hypnosis man. Also completely accurate zap cannon and focus blast. Can run Nature Power to avoid Sucker Punch. Has a very large movepool that lets you run all sorts of sets.
Beast Boost (Xurkitree, Naganadel (if it stays in OU), Blacephalon, possibly more)
I personally feel these guys can be good. I don't want to run into a xurkitree team b/c, like mew, it makes a strong Mega-Pidgeot, but it gets tail glow>Nasty Plot. Once a Beast Boost mon gets set up, they tend to start to steam roll. But they do have their weaknesses, for example Xurkitree hardly has any physical moves, and does not have much to hit steel types. Also Unaware mons don't care that they have beast boost.

Those are what I think will be used in this meta the most, I may have forgotten some though. Hopefully some of the weird sets I came up with can handle the guys above. Maybe I could post what I think are the strongest followers later. (includes Kyurem-B, Hoopa-U, Megas, etc.)
 
Does anyone know which leaders we will likely need to be prepared for when building teams? (I don't mean that rhetorically, I want to know what mons we should keep in mind)

These are the mons I feel are going to be the scariest:
Clefable
I feel like Clefable is one of the scarier mons b/c like 1/2 it's team can block your sweeps, while the other 1/2 does not care about residual damage. It also has a ton of coverage moves and very useful support moves.
Sheer Force (Mawile, Nidoking/Queen, Rampardos, etc.)
Sheer force boosts damage regardless if your attack is physical or special. These mons tend to have a lot of good coverage moves.
Protean (Greninja,Keckleon)
Prio+Protean can be annoying b/c it makes it harder to choose a move. Protean can actually benefit you defensively too. It also gives your whole team stab which is really scary.
Shell Smash (Cloyster, Barbaracle, etc)
Shell Smash is obviously scary. Though they have a weakness in that it makes them more vulnerable priority. They can also be locked into it with encore.
Also, Unaware mons don't even notice them shell smashing. I think these types of teams need to run Mega Gyrados.
Araquanid
Araquanid is even better now with access to giga drain and sticky web. Extra fire resist, no burns. + extra damage on water type attacks is ridiculous.
Hustle (I think only Togekiss, possibly others)
The Hustle team BatterBotto uses is terrifying. Choice Band Hustle Zen Headbutt from Hoopa-U is absurd. On top of that it gets extreme speed.
Adaptability (Porygon z, Dragalge, etc)
I think Porygon z will be usuable. It has nearly 0 physical attacks, but you can run Mixed Hoopa-U with Zen Headbutt. You might even be able to run trick room Snorlax. Anyways, the extra boost for stab moves are pretty strong.
Mr Gigantic Movepool(Mew)
Always uses Pidgeot as it's mega. Those free nasty plots from 100% Hypnosis man. Also completely accurate zap cannon and focus blast. Can run Nature Power to avoid Sucker Punch. Has a very large movepool that lets you run all sorts of sets.
Beast Boost (Xurkitree, Naganadel (if it stays in OU), Blacephalon, possibly more)
I personally feel these guys can be good. I don't want to run into a xurkitree team b/c, like mew, it makes a strong Mega-Pidgeot, but it gets tail glow>Nasty Plot. Once a Beast Boost mon gets set up, they tend to start to steam roll. But they do have their weaknesses, for example Xurkitree hardly has any physical moves, and does not have much to hit steel types. Also Unaware mons don't care that they have beast boost.

Those are what I think will be used in this meta the most, I may have forgotten some though. Hopefully some of the weird sets I came up with can handle the guys above. Maybe I could post what I think are the strongest followers later. (includes Kyurem-B, Hoopa-U, Megas, etc.)
The best things to keep track of are not incredibly niche things, ex. Hustle mons, but things that are extremely common and spoken of in this thread. Very few people know of this Meta's existence and fewer play it. Sheer Force threats like Mawile and Nidoking are incredibly common, as are Protean things. Walls like Reuniclus, Clefable, and Toxapex also will be fairly frequent.
 

Dunfan

formerly Dunsparce Fanboy
Does anyone know which leaders we will likely need to be prepared for when building teams? (I don't mean that rhetorically, I want to know what mons we should keep in mind)

These are the mons I feel are going to be the scariest:
Clefable
I feel like Clefable is one of the scarier mons b/c like 1/2 it's team can block your sweeps, while the other 1/2 does not care about residual damage. It also has a ton of coverage moves and very useful support moves.
Sheer Force (Mawile, Nidoking/Queen, Rampardos, etc.)
Sheer force boosts damage regardless if your attack is physical or special. These mons tend to have a lot of good coverage moves.
Protean (Greninja,Keckleon)
Prio+Protean can be annoying b/c it makes it harder to choose a move. Protean can actually benefit you defensively too. It also gives your whole team stab which is really scary.
Shell Smash (Cloyster, Barbaracle, etc)
Shell Smash is obviously scary. Though they have a weakness in that it makes them more vulnerable priority. They can also be locked into it with encore.
Also, Unaware mons don't even notice them shell smashing. I think these types of teams need to run Mega Gyrados.
Araquanid
Araquanid is even better now with access to giga drain and sticky web. Extra fire resist, no burns. + extra damage on water type attacks is ridiculous.
Hustle (I think only Togekiss, possibly others)
The Hustle team BatterBotto uses is terrifying. Choice Band Hustle Zen Headbutt from Hoopa-U is absurd. On top of that it gets extreme speed.
Adaptability (Porygon z, Dragalge, etc)
I think Porygon z will be usuable. It has nearly 0 physical attacks, but you can run Mixed Hoopa-U with Zen Headbutt. You might even be able to run trick room Snorlax. Anyways, the extra boost for stab moves are pretty strong.
Mr Gigantic Movepool(Mew)
Always uses Pidgeot as it's mega. Those free nasty plots from 100% Hypnosis man. Also completely accurate zap cannon and focus blast. Can run Nature Power to avoid Sucker Punch. Has a very large movepool that lets you run all sorts of sets.
Beast Boost (Xurkitree, Naganadel (if it stays in OU), Blacephalon, possibly more)
I personally feel these guys can be good. I don't want to run into a xurkitree team b/c, like mew, it makes a strong Mega-Pidgeot, but it gets tail glow>Nasty Plot. Once a Beast Boost mon gets set up, they tend to start to steam roll. But they do have their weaknesses, for example Xurkitree hardly has any physical moves, and does not have much to hit steel types. Also Unaware mons don't care that they have beast boost.

Those are what I think will be used in this meta the most, I may have forgotten some though. Hopefully some of the weird sets I came up with can handle the guys above. Maybe I could post what I think are the strongest followers later. (includes Kyurem-B, Hoopa-U, Megas, etc.)
Nice list, but a few notes :
- Mew is kind of underwhelming due to its ability until you notice that it gives Transform to Chansey and other mons.
And having more than one mon with Transform is absolutely insane in a meta where imposterproofing is hard.
- UBs doesn't learn many moves, and coverage is important for a leader. I once tried to build a team around Celesteela, and, oh boy, it was bad.

The best things to keep track of are not incredibly niche things, ex. Hustle mons, but things that are extremely common and spoken of in this thread. Very few people know of this Meta's existence and fewer play it. Sheer Force threats like Mawile and Nidoking are incredibly common, as are Protean things. Walls like Reuniclus, Clefable, and Toxapex also will be fairly frequent.
Hustle is not niche, or at least Togekiss is definitely not.
If the problem is that it makes some moves unreliable, Togekiss still learns moves like Aerial Ace or Smart Strike, the latter is especially useful on Kartana.
But anyway, Togekiss also has two other good abilities, so i wouldn't use only Hustle.
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know which leaders we will likely need to be prepared for when building teams? (I don't mean that rhetorically, I want to know what mons we should keep in mind)

These are the mons I feel are going to be the scariest:
Clefable
I feel like Clefable is one of the scarier mons b/c like 1/2 it's team can block your sweeps, while the other 1/2 does not care about residual damage. It also has a ton of coverage moves and very useful support moves.
Sheer Force (Mawile, Nidoking/Queen, Rampardos, etc.)
Sheer force boosts damage regardless if your attack is physical or special. These mons tend to have a lot of good coverage moves.
Protean (Greninja,Keckleon)
Prio+Protean can be annoying b/c it makes it harder to choose a move. Protean can actually benefit you defensively too. It also gives your whole team stab which is really scary.
Shell Smash (Cloyster, Barbaracle, etc)
Shell Smash is obviously scary. Though they have a weakness in that it makes them more vulnerable priority. They can also be locked into it with encore.
Also, Unaware mons don't even notice them shell smashing. I think these types of teams need to run Mega Gyrados.
Araquanid
Araquanid is even better now with access to giga drain and sticky web. Extra fire resist, no burns. + extra damage on water type attacks is ridiculous.
Hustle (I think only Togekiss, possibly others)
The Hustle team BatterBotto uses is terrifying. Choice Band Hustle Zen Headbutt from Hoopa-U is absurd. On top of that it gets extreme speed.
Adaptability (Porygon z, Dragalge, etc)
I think Porygon z will be usuable. It has nearly 0 physical attacks, but you can run Mixed Hoopa-U with Zen Headbutt. You might even be able to run trick room Snorlax. Anyways, the extra boost for stab moves are pretty strong.
Mr Gigantic Movepool(Mew)
Always uses Pidgeot as it's mega. Those free nasty plots from 100% Hypnosis man. Also completely accurate zap cannon and focus blast. Can run Nature Power to avoid Sucker Punch. Has a very large movepool that lets you run all sorts of sets.
Beast Boost (Xurkitree, Naganadel (if it stays in OU), Blacephalon, possibly more)
I personally feel these guys can be good. I don't want to run into a xurkitree team b/c, like mew, it makes a strong Mega-Pidgeot, but it gets tail glow>Nasty Plot. Once a Beast Boost mon gets set up, they tend to start to steam roll. But they do have their weaknesses, for example Xurkitree hardly has any physical moves, and does not have much to hit steel types. Also Unaware mons don't care that they have beast boost.

Those are what I think will be used in this meta the most, I may have forgotten some though. Hopefully some of the weird sets I came up with can handle the guys above. Maybe I could post what I think are the strongest followers later. (includes Kyurem-B, Hoopa-U, Megas, etc.)
I don't believe I've played it in Gen 7 yet, but as far as I can recall, the most popular leaders in Gen 6 were Kecleon, Clefable, Dragonite (great movepool + Multiscale), and Nidoking. I don't recall Shell Smash being used much, probably because the mons that learn it have limited movepools and almost auto-lose to any Clefable team that can handle Mega Gyarados. I didn't see Hustle or Adaptability much either, not really sure why. Some people used Mew, but I don't think it worked very well - its large movepool doesn't really make up for its lack of a useful ability. As for Araquanid and the Ultra Beasts, they sound good on paper, but I have no idea how they'll actually do if/when this meta gets a ladder.
 
Nice list, but a few notes :
- Mew is kind of underwhelming due to its ability until you notice that it gives Transform to Chansey and other mons.
And having more than one mon with Transform is absolutely insane in a meta where imposterproofing is hard.
- UBs doesn't learn many moves, and coverage is important for a leader. I once tried to build a team around Celesteela, and, oh boy, it was bad.



Hustle is not niche, or at least Togekiss is definitely not.
If the problem is that it makes some moves unreliable, Togekiss still learns moves like Aerial Ace or Smart Strike, the latter is especially useful on Kartana.
But anyway, Togekiss also has two other good abilities, so i wouldn't use only Hustle.
Maybe niche wasn't the word to use, since Togekiss itself is nice for that beautiful special movepool, but the OP made it seem like that was Togekiss's main niche.
 
Yeah, I forgot about Dragonite. Multiscale makes it a lot easier to set up dragon dance. Multiscale+Defog is now usable. Extremespeed pinsir-mega is scary.

Also, I recently learned that more pokemon get strength sap, and that lurantis gets Superpower. Lurantis now can offer +2 SpAtk with Leafstorm and +1 Atk with +1Def with Superpower.
So here are some set ideas for grass type leaders:
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Weather Ball
- Solar Blade/Solar Beam/Giga Drain
- Growth
- Synthesis

Drought lets it be able to heal 2/3 it's health, 100 base power sun boosted stab fire type move, use solar blade/solar beam, and a boosted growth. The sun can potentially support your team since some mons can run Leaf Guard, and some can run Hidden Power Fire
Golisopod @ Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Leech Life
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab

Super power gives it +1 Atk and +1 Def. Leech life is an awesome move for golisopod. Knock off and Poison Jab are for coverage.
Virizion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Mild Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
- Giga Drain
- Signal Beam

Fires off powerful leaf storms that just get stronger and stronger. Superpower is for coverage, and to take advantage of contrary.
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Moonblast
- Strength Sap
- Hidden Power [Fire]

The main reason why I considered Bellossom was because it has access to both Quiver Dance and Strength Sap
Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Return
- Sleep Powder
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance/Growth
- Strength Sap/Moonlight/Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Solar Beam/Giga Drain

Supports your chlorophyll mons. The sun helps you hit those steel types.
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Weather Ball
- Solar Beam/Giga Drain
- Growth/Sleep Powder/Encore/Strength Sap
- Synthesis/Sleep Powder/Encore/Strength Sap
Golisopod @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Knock Off
- Encore
- Strength Sap
They have some more options than I mentioned, for example, Lurantis has access to defog. Also, I used the same pokemon a couple times (I like golisopod a lot, and charizard seems pretty useful).
 
Either im blind, or nobody mentioned it yet so here's

Drampa!

This thing has a beautiful special movepool and a usable physical one too, but unlike Octilery, it gets some better abilities and recovery in Roost.

Abilities:
Beserk (Neat for some special attackers)
Sap Sipper (no weaknesses Water/Ground walls now a thing?)
Cloud Nine (I guess if your weak to weather teams

Physical: Return, Superpower, Earthquake, Rock Slide (RIP no Stone Edge), Shadow Claw, Steel Wing (hey it's better than nothing), Dragon Claw, Outrage, Play Rough, Fly (only for Z-Move sets)

Special: Hyper Voice, Focus Blast, Hurricane, Signal Beam, Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Surf, Energy Ball, Thunderbolt, Extrasensory, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor

Status: Roost, Tailwind, Defog, Glare, Toxic, Calm Mind, Roar, Work Up (only option to boost Attack)

Let's not question how this even flies, but let's be happy that is has recovery.
 
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Tyranitar yet. Here are a bunch of Pokémon I looked at that could/might work as Leaders:

Abilities:
Sand Stream: Can be used to buff Rock-type defensive walls like Stakataka and Regirock.

Unnerve: Not that useful but could potentially hurt someone whose set relies on a berry.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Avalanche, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Crunch, Double-Edge, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Foul Play, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Low Kick, Outrage, Payback, Pursuit, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, Superpower, Thunder Punch

Special: Blizzard, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Ice Beam, Surf, Thunder, Thunderbolt

Status: Block, Curse, Dragon Dance, Focus Energy, Hone Claws, Iron Defense, Rain Dance, Roar, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Taunt, Thunder Wave
Abilities:​

Victory Star: Useful for buffing moves with low accuracy.

Notable Moves (Underline = helped by Victory Star):​

Physical: Bolt Strike, Brick Break, Double-Edge, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Fusion Bolt, U-Turn, V-Create, Zen Headbutt

Special: Blue Flare, Dazzling Gleam, Energy Ball, Final Gambit, Focus Blast, Fusion Flare, Glaciate, Grass Knot, Inferno, Payback, Psychic, Psyshock, Reversal, Searing Shot, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Solar Beam, Stored Power, Thunder, Thunderbolt

Status: (Z-)Celebrate, Focus Energy, Magic Coat, Psych Up, Role Play, Skill Swap, Sunny Day, Swagger (with Psych Up), Taunt, Thunder Wave, Trick, Trick Room, Will-O-Wisp, Work Up
Abilities:​

Cursed Body: Disabling moves is always fun.

Lightning Rod: Electric immunity is a nice buff for Water- and Flying-type Pokémon, especially special attackers.

Rock Head: Recoil-free Double-Edge, Flare Blitz, and Submission.

Notable Moves:

Physical: Body Slam, Bone Rush, Bonemerang, Brick Break, Counter, Double Edge, Earthquake, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Outrage, Rock Slide, Seismic Toss, Shadow Bone, Stone Edge, Submission, Throat Chop, Thunder Punch

Special: Ancient Power, Blizzard, Bubble Beam, Dark Pulse, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Hex, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, Thunder, Thunderbolt

Status: Belly Drum, Curse, Focus Energy, Iron Defense, Pain Split, Perish Song, Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Swords Dance, Will-O-Wisp
Abilities:
Levitate: Useful on Pokémon with a big Ground-type weakness like Heatran. Being immune to Earthquake is always helpful though.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Acrobatics, Aqua Tail, Body Slam, Crunch, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Fire Fang, Head Smash, Ice Fang, Iron Tail, Outrage, Payback, Rock Slide, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Superpower, Throat Chop, Thunder Fang, U-Turn, Zen Headbutt

Special: Belch, Dark Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Shock Wave, Signal Beam, Surf, Tri Attack

Status: Defog, Focus Energy, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Reflect, Roar, Roost, Sunny Day, Swagger (with Psych Up), Tailwind, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Work Up
Abilities:​

Levitate: A little better than Hydreigon's levitate because Azelf gets T-Bolt (no Flash Cannon however).

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Acrobatics, Explosion, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Natural Gift (any type coverage move), Thunder Punch, U-Turn, Zen Headbutt

Special: Dazzling Gleam, Energy Ball, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Future Sight, Grass Knot, Payback, Psychic, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Water Pulse

Status: Calm Mind, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Nasty Plot, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Recycle (for Natural Gift), Reflect, Role Play, Sandstorm, Skill Swap, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Swagger, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Trick, Trick Room
Abilities:​

Lightning Rod: Electric immunity is nice for Water- and Flying-type Pokémon, especially special attackers.

Solid Rock: Helpful on Bulky Pokémon that are already tough to take down or Pokémon who suffer because of their weaknesses. Reduced SE damage is always welcomed.

Reckless: A good ability, but Rhyperior only gets Double-Edge and Submission to use it with.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Avalanche, Blizzard, Body Slam, Brick Break, Counter, Crunch, Double-Edge, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Hammer Arm, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Megahorn, Metal Burst, Natural Gift, Outrage, Payback, Poison Jab, Pursuit, Reversal, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Rock Wrecker, Seismic Toss, Shadow Claw, Smart Strike, Stone Edge, Submission, Superpower, Thunder Punch

Special: Ancient Power, Blizzard, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Ice Beam, Surf, Thunder, Thunderbolt

Status: Block, Curse, Rain Dance, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Swords Dance
Abilities:​

Serene Grace: Everyone gets access to Paraflinch as well as other shenanigans like Ancient Power and Water Pulse.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Body Slam, Double-Edge, Drain Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Meteor Mash, Natural Gift, Play Rough, Thunder Punch, U-Turn, Zen Headbutt

Special: Ancient Power, Doom Desire, Draco Meteor, Energy Ball, Flash Cannon, Future Sight, Grass Knot, Moonblast, Psychic, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Water Pulse

Status: Calm Mind, Cosmic Power, (Z-)Happy Hour, Iron Defense, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Metronome (lol), Psych Up, Rain Dance, Recycle (Natural Gift), Reflect, Sandstorm, Skill Swap, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Thunder Wave, Trick, Trick Room, Wish
Abilities:​

Serene Grace: Paraflinch and other shenanigans.

Run Away: If you don't want a useful ability.

Rattled: Can be used to get a speed boost on a switch-in.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Bite, Body Slam, Counter, Double-Edge, Dragon Rush, Earthquake, Flail, Gyro Ball, Iron Tail, Natural Gift, Poison Jab, Pursuit, Rock Slide, Thief, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt

Special: Air Slash, Ancient Power, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Hex, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, Solar Beam, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Water Pulse

Status: Agility, Calm Mind, Coil, Curse, Glare, Magic Coat, Pain Split, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Roost, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Swagger, Thunder Wave, Yawn
Abilities:​

Rock Head: A good ability, but Steelix only gets Double-Edge to utilize it.

Sturdy: A free Focus Sash is always nice.

Sheer Force: Steelix has a decent physical movepool to utilize Sheer Force, but Nidoking is way better.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Crunch, Double-Edge, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Explosion, Fire Fang, Flail, Gyro Ball, Heavy Slam, Ice Fang, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Payback, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Thunder Fang

Special: Ancient Power, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Sand Tomb

Status: Autotomize, Block, Curse, Psych Up, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Swagger, Taunt
Abilities:
Beast Boost: Decent ability for fast and strong sweepers that suffer from a lack of an offensive ability.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Brick Break, Crunch, Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Drain Punch, Dual Chop, Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Hammer Arm, Heavy Slam, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Outrage, Payback, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge

Special: Belch, Dark Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Shock Wave, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Wring Out

Status: Gastro Acid, Iron Defense, Stockpile, Swallow
Abilities:​

Mega Launcher: This is the only reason you'd use Clawitzer as a Leader. Boosted Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Water Pulse can be nice on Pokémon like Hydreigon, Keldeo, and Kommo-o.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Jet, (Z-)Bounce, Crabhammer, Flail, Iron Tail, Liquidation, Rock Slide, U-Turn

Special: Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Ice Beam, Muddy Water, Scald, Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Surf, Venoshock

Status: Rain Dance, (Z-)Splash, Swagger, Swords Dance
Abilities:​

Refrigerate: An amazing ability for Pokémon like Kyurem-B or other Pokémon that really want a good Ice-type move.

Snow Warning: Aurorus doesn't get Aurora Veil, but residual damage and Blizzard spam are nice.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Avalanche, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Outrage, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Zen Headbutt

Special: Ancient Power, Blizzard, Dark Pulse, Discharge, Earth Power, Echoed Voice, Flash Cannon, Freeze-Dry, Frost Breath, Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Mirror Coat, Psychic, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Water Pulse

Status: Barrier, Calm Mind, Encore, Hail, Haze, Iron Defense, Light Screen, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Reflect, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Swagger, Thunder Wave
Abilities:
Regenerator: The main point of using Tornadus-Therian as a Leader is to give everyone access to Regenerator U-Turn. Just think of all of the healing.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Acrobatics, Brick Break, Crunch, Hammer Arm, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Payback, Revenge, Smack Down, Superpower, U-Turn

Special: Air Slash, Dark Pulse, Extrasensory, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Icy Wind, Psychic, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave

Status: Agility, Bulk Up, Defog, Rain Dance, Role Play, Swagger, Tailwind, Taunt
Abilities:​

Effect Spore: Random status is always fun.

Poison Heal: An amazing ability to give to something like Blissey or Guzzlord.

Technician: Helps power up weaker coverage moves.

Notable Moves (Underline = Boosted by Technician):​

Physical: Body Slam, Brick Break, Bullet Seed, Counter, Double Edge, Drain Punch, Force Palm, Iron Tail, Mach Punch, Natural Gift, Power-Up Punch, Rock Slide, Rock Tomb, Seed Bomb, Seismic Toss, Sky Uppercut, Stone Edge, Superpower, Thunder Punch

Special: Energy Ball, Focus Blast, Giga Drain, Grass Knot, Hidden Power, Sludge Bomb, Solar Beam, Vacuum Wave, Venoshock

Status: Bulk Up, Growth, Leech Seed, Snatch, Spore, Stun Spore, Sunny Day, Swagger, Swords Dance, Synthesis, Work Up, Worry Seed
Abilities:​

Rough Skin: Pair with Rocky Helmet to be a huge annoyance to Pokémon with contact moves.

Sheer Force: Druddigon gets a pretty nice movepool for Sheer Force.

Mold Breaker: Ignoring Abilities is nice since many Leaders are picked partly because of their Abilities.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Chip Away, Crunch, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Gunk Shot, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Night Slash, Outrage, Payback, Poison Tail, Pursuit, Revenge, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Sucker Punch, Superpower, Thunder Punch

Special: Dark Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Heat Wave, Shock Wave, Sludge Bomb, Surf

Status: Glare, Hone Claws, Rain Dance, Roar, Snatch, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Taunt
Abilities:​

Iron Fist: Pangoro gets quite a few moves for this ability.

Mold Breaker: Ignoring abilities is always nice.

Scrappy: You won't have to worry about someone like Alolan Marowak switching in on your attacks.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Body Slam, Brick Break, Bullet Punch, Circle Throw, Crunch, Dragon Claw, Drain Punch, Dual Chop, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Foul Play, Gunk Shot, Hammer Arm, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Knock Off, Low Kick, Outrage, Payback, Poison Jab, Power Trip, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Sky Uppercut, Stone Edge, Storm Throw, Superpower, Throat Chop, Thunder Punch

Special: Dark Pulse, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Infestation, Sludge Bomb, Surf

Status: Block, Bulk Up, Hone Claws, Parting Shot, Rain Dance, Roar, Snatch, Sunny Day, Swords Dance, Taunt, Work Up
Abilities:​

Oblivious: Can be useful on Pokémon with only status moves.

Tinted Lens: Awesome ability to ignore resistances.

Prankster: Although it's not as good anymore, Prankster can be pretty annoying with moves like Encore and Substitute.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Acrobatics, Body Slam, Brick Break, Bug Bite, Counter, Double-Edge, Ice Punch, Natural Gift, Play Rough, Secret Power, Seismic Toss, Thunder Punch, U-Turn, Zen Headbutt

Special: Air Cutter, Bug Buzz, Dazzling Gleam, Giga Drain, Infestation, Ominous Wind, Shadow Ball, Silver Wind, Solar Beam, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Water Pulse

Status: Aromatherapy, Baton Pass, Confuse Ray, Defog, Encore, Growth, Light Screen, Moonlight, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Roost, Sunny Day, Tailwind, Thunder Wave, Wish
Abilities:​

Limber: Not very useful.

Unburden: Awesome ability to turn what would be a bulky attacker into a fast bulky attacker.

Prankster: Annoying status moves get more annoying.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aerial Ace, Fake Out, Foul Play, Gunk Shot, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Night Slash, Payback, Play Rough, Pursuit, Secret Power, Seed Bomb, Shadow Claw, Sucker Punch, Throat Chop, U-Turn

Special: Dark Pulse, Dream Eater, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Shadow Ball

Status: Copycat, Encore, Hone Claws, Nasty Plot, Psych Up, Rain Dance, Role Play, Snatch, Spite, Sunny Day, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Trick, Yawn
Abilities:​

Intimidate: Constant attack drops are appreciated.

Anger Point: Not a very practical ability, but maxed attack will make Skitty hit like Kyurem-B.

Sheer Force: Works pretty well with Tauros's movepool.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Body Slam, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Natural Gift, Outrage, Payback, Pursuit, Rock Climb, Rock Slide, Secret Power, Smart Strike, Stone Edge, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt

Special: Blizzard, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Solar Beam, Surf, Thunder, Thunderbolt, Whirlpool, Zap Cannon

Status: Curse, Rain Dance, Role Play, Sandstorm, Sunny Day, Work Up
Abilities:​

Sand Stream: Great ability buffing Rock-types and providing residual damage.

Sand Force: Works extremely well with Sand Stream support.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Body Slam, Crunch, Double-Edge, Earthquake, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Iron Head, Iron Tail, Natural Gift, Revenge, Rock Slide, Sand Tomb, Secret Power, Stone Edge, Superpower, Thunder Fang

Special: Earth Power, Spit Up, Water Pulse

Status: Curse, Roar, Sandstorm, Slack Off, Stealth Rock, Stockpile, Sunny Day, Swallow, Whirlwind, Yawn
Abilities:​

Prism Armor: Reduced SE damage is helpful on every Pokémon, so even though he only gets one ability, at least it can be useful on tons of sets.

Notable Moves:​

Physical: Aerial Ace, Brick Break, Earthquake, Gyro Ball, Iron Head, Knock Off, Night Slash, Outrage, Psycho Cut, Rock Blast, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Smart Strike, Stone Edge, X-Scissor

Special: Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power, Flash Cannon, Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, Photon Geyser, Power Gem, Psychic, Psyshock, Shock Wave, Signal Beam, Solar Beam, Stored Power, Wring Out

Status: Autotomize, Calm Mind, Iron Defense, Light Screen, Moonlight, Morning Sun, Recycle, Reflect, Rock Polish, Stealth Rock, Swords Dance, Thunder Wave, Trick Room
 
Last edited:
Last post in 2017... that's sad :(
Anyway, I was having fun creating teams around some leaders I thought had potential, so here they are (keep in mind they were only tested against the boss himself Abyssal Bot, so... ye) :


Kecleon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Sucker Punch

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Shadow Sneak
- Knock Off

Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Return
- Low Kick
- Thunder Punch

Blacephalon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball

Zeraora @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Return
- Low Kick


Nidoking @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam

Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Tail
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Superpower

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Thunder

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Fire Punch
- Superpower

Zeraora @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Ice Punch
- Superpower
- Earthquake

Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
I created these teams some time apart and only realized the 5 followers were the same some time after LOL what can I say, Kartana and Kyu-B are just broken. Anyway, both teams have different sets, but are kinda straighfoward, it's just abusing the stronger/faster mons that can be used.


Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Explosion

Kyurem-Black @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard
- Shell Smash

Keldeo @ Icium Z
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Archeops @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard
- Toxic Spikes

Bewear @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Double-Edge
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Double-Edge
- Return
This team is prob trash lol but Icicle Plate Skill Link Kyurem-B hits so hard with Icicle Spear after a Smash, it's crazy, it OHKOes resists like Gyara-M (+2 252+ Atk Icicle Plate Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gyarados-Mega: 305-360 (92.1 - 108.7%) -- approx. 56.3% chance to OHKO) - Rock Blast always kills, but I'm just trying to show how strong its STAB is. It also has nice Ice Shard for priority, it would usually be pretty weak, but coming from Kyurem... (+2 252+ Atk Icicle Plate Kyurem-Black Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 240-283 (85.4 - 100.7%)) - just a random exemple against an offensive mon.

Other than that, Gyara-M is nice as it can use the water STAB + Mold Breaker for Unaware mons.


Butterfree @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stun Spore
- Toxic
- Defog
- Bug Buzz

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
- Iron Defense
- Roost

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 100 SpD / 40 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Iron Defense
- Shadow Ball
- Roost

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Iron Defense
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Roost

Mew @ Mewnium Z
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz
- Sleep Powder

Blacephalon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Energy Ball
As I tried to build something around Tinted Lens Quiver Dance, the movepools just seemed too shallow and the access to Roost and Iron Defense intiguing so... I decided to make most of them defensive quiver dancers. Venu, Mag and Fini have QD, ID, attack, Roost sets, and Tinted Lens (for the later two) helps them deal decent damage even with only one move. Mew is Mewnium Z, which combined with Tinted Lens and protecion against priority just seemed very cool. (If you're wondering if the team just loses to Unaware, yes, it does lol).


Bibarel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Quick Attack
- Aqua Jet

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Crunch
- Return

Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
- Super Fang

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Work Up
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Surf

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Simple
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Facade
- Sleep Talk
- Rest

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Toxic
- Super Fang

This team is just a meme tbh. While still allowed, Gyara-M inheriting from Bibarel was really strong in Inheritance and we're trying to replicare that here. Work Up Keldeo is basically Nasty Plot, and Surf + Bolt Beam is nice. The Snorlax set can be actually dangerous if you don't have anything for it. The Chansey set is... something.


Salamence @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Outrage

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Protect
- Refresh

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Toxic
- Roar
- Refresh

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Dragon Tail
- Toxic

Florges-White @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Defog
- Refresh
- Flamethrower

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Roost
- Toxic
- Crunch
I was thinking about stall, and was prob gonna go for the basic Clef, as that movepool + Unaware/Magic Guard is hard to pass... BUT, Band Kartana will basically destroy anything. Except Intimidate Swampert. You're probably like "lol Swampert is your Kartana counter?". And yeah, I think most Kartanas (atleast the ones with the most threatening abilties, like Protean/Sheer Force) are not gonna be running Grass STAB, so Intimidate Swampert doesn't get 2HKOed by Bolt Beam Punches, Knock Off, Return, etc. (But even then it's tough / -1 252 Atk Choice Band Protean Kartana Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 165-195 (40.8 - 48.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery). Other than that, Chansey bc obviously, Skarmory deals with grass physical attackers, Florges for Keldeo and Sableye-M bc it's nice having another ability and so we don't lose to Contrary (yeah, lol). All in all, definitely lots of space for improvement. But in a meta like Follow the Leader, I feel like the best stall/defensive builds would come from knowledge of what is being used, which I simply can't have.


Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Moonblast
- Thunder Wave
- Soft-Boiled

Tapu Koko @ Light Clay
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunderbolt
- Moonlight

Necrozma @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Moonblast

Slowbro @ Slowbronite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Soft-Boiled

Magearna @ Kee Berry
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Moonblast
- Moonlight

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Trick
- Healing Wish

Probably my favorite build from these ones. I've always obsessed with Defensive set up and Stored Power and that's where this build comes from. Koko sets screens, Necrozma has only a berry as recovery and Slowbro-M is nice, if you know they don't have Toxic you can just mega evolve and not get crit. The star of team is Magearna imo. Forgoing Magic Guard for Unaware, Kee Berry max Def can do some crazy stuff like taking less 60% from a Mega Chomp EQ, set some calm minds and sweep, all that while having both Stored Power and Moonblast and semi reliable recovery (Moonlight, the only weakness of this set...). All in all, it's super hard to kill and does a lot of damage. I knew I wanted a scarfer, prob for both Trick and Healing Wish, so I just randomly picked Kyu-B, using Bolt Beam.


Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy
- Defog

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Aromatherapy

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Giga Drain
- Defog

Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
So, I chose Lurantis as the Contrary Leader bc Leaf Storm + Superpower (and Knock Off). The team is just Scarf Terrak, LO Sceptile and then Snorlax, Buzzwole and Gyara-M are all max SpD Superpower + Knock + RestTalk. Straighfoward, but it can easily get out of control if you're not prepared for it. (Gyara-M here again would be a way of countering Unaware, tho I'm not sure many these teams are not gonna run a Ghost type (prob MSab), so...).


Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Endeavor
- Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Tail
- Earthquake
- Protect

Kartana @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Iron Tail
- Earthquake
- Superpower

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Endeavor
- Protect
- Spikes

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Return
Just a quick try at a Speed Boost build. I don't know really know how I feel about it, seems OK.

Bonus: two meme teams (as if many of these already weren't meme teams lol)


Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Tapu Koko @ Fairium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Rest

Electrode @ Light Clay
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Magic Coat
- Volt Switch

Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power Whip
- Wild Charge
- Return
- Brutal Swing
Electrode to set Screens, Tail Glow Koko and Shaymin as faster sweepers that get speed boost from Beast Boost, Ampharos-M for those pesky Unaware users, Specs Xurk bc why not and Scarf Kartana bc Xurk gets Power Whip (?). Ez win.


Volcarona @ Buginium Z
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Fiery Dance

Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- U-turn

Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Fiery Dance
- Hidden Power [Ghost]

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain
- Roost

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
And this is the last one. For now. I don't know exactly where this came from, but I guess I really needed some sleep LOL if anything, say the concept is getting flame body burns so you wall physical attackers + QD = win. (Disregard the fact it's mono Fire).

So, maybe I'm missing something here, but why hasn't this thread been touched since end of 2017? Honestly the meta seems fun and interesting and there's still a lot to discover and discuss. I'm hoping maybe it could see some new activity after my post.
 
Last post in 2017... that's sad :(


Xurkitree @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Tapu Koko @ Fairium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 116 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Rest

Electrode @ Light Clay
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Magic Coat
- Volt Switch

Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tail Glow
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt

Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Power Whip
- Wild Charge
- Return
- Brutal Swing
Electrode to set Screens, Tail Glow Koko and Shaymin as faster sweepers that get speed boost from Beast Boost, Ampharos-M for those pesky Unaware users, Specs Xurk bc why not and Scarf Kartana bc Xurk gets Power Whip (?). Ez win.
brutal swing?
xurk is a buncha cables so it whips "hard" with it's arms
I'm felling 5% lonely as I always post in dead metas
 
I've been hesitant to bump this back up front (hasn't stopped me from trying to nominate it for OMotM, but I digress) because of how long it's been. However, I have been compiling some more of these.
Gallade

Abilities:​
Steadfast: +Speed after Fake Out

Justified: +Atk after Knock Off

Notable Moves:​
Physical: Close Combat, Drain Punch, Dual Chop, Earthquake, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Knock Off, Leaf Blade, Low Kick, Poison Jab, Psycho Cut, Shadow Sneak, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, X-Scissor, Zen Headbutt

Special: Charge Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Icy Wind, Psychic, Psyshock, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, Stored Power, Thunderbolt, Vacuum Wave

Status: Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Destiny Bond, Encore, Grudge, Imprison, Light Screen, Magic Coat, Mean Look, Memento, Pain Split, Rain Dance, Reflect, Skill Swap, Sunny Day, Swords Dance, Thunder Wave, Torment, Trick, Trick Room, Will-O-Wisp, Wish, Work-Up

Abilities:​
Pickup: Skip
Gluttony: Belly Drum and ESpeed. That is all.
Quick Feet: Also good

Notable Moves:​
Physical: Extreme Speed, Gunk Shot, Pin Missile, Play Rough, Pursuit, Seed Bomb, Shadow Claw, Stomping Tantrum, Super Fang, Throat Chop
Special: Blizzard, Charge Beam, Grass Knot, Hyper Voice, Ice Beam, Icy Wind, Shadow Ball, Surf, Thunder, Thunderbolt
Status: Belly Drum, Endure, Hone Claws, Rain Dance, Roar, Switcheroo, Thunder Wave, Trick

Abilities:​
Intimidate: for tanks
Moxie: For Physical sweepers

Notable moves:​
Physical: Aqua Tail, Brick Break, Crunch, Earthquake, Fire Fang, Outrage, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Thunder Fang, Zen Headbutt
Special: Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, Hydro Pump, Hyper Voice, Ominous Wind
Status: Defog, Dragon Dance, Hone Claws, Iron Defense, Laser Focus, Rain Dance, Roar, Roost, Sunny Day, Wish

Abilities:​

Bulletproof: Immunity ability 1: Ballistic moves
Soundproof: Immunity ability 2: Sound
Overcoat: Immunity ability 3: Powder & Weather

Notable moves:​

Physical: Aqua Tail, Close Combat, Counter, Dragon Claw, Drain Punch, Dual Chop, Earthquake, Endeavor, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Iron Head, Outrage, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Shadow Claw, Superpower, Thunder Punch, X-Scissor

Special: Clanging Scales, Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Flash Cannon, Focus Blast, Hyper Voice

Status: Automize, Belly Drum, Bulk Up, Dragon Dance, Iron Defense, Noble Roar, Roar, Rock Polish, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Swords Dance, Taunt, Work Up

Abilities:​
Hyper Cutter: Ignore Intimidates
Sand Veil: Do not
Poison Heal: Immunities are fun

Notable Moves:​
Physical: Acrobatics, Aqua Tail, Brick Break, Counter, Double Edge, Earthquake, Feint, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Knock Off, Poison Jab, Quick Attack, Rock Slide, Sky Uppercut, Stone Edge, Thunder Fang, U-Turn, X-Scissor
Special: Dark Pulse, Earth Power, Sludge Bomb
Status: Agility, Curse, Defog, Hone Claws, Power Trick, Rain Dance, Rock Polish, Roost, Sandstorm, Stealth Rock, Sunny Day, Swords Dance, Tailwind, Taunt, Torment
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 2)

Top