Inside Out (#1 RU, #2 NU)



inside out


a little bit of history

This is a team I had been using for quite a while now and it had its origins in the early period of RU around July/August 2011. I decided it had reached the end of the road for my second RU team (the one battling it out in my warstory!) which saw its #1 ranking reset after the server outage and I set about building a new team using some ideas that I wanted to try.

One thing that I was adamant on was to really push the boat out and use some rarely seen Pokemon in slightly different ways and to hopefully use the dominant forces in the metagame against itself much like Munchlax had done so successfullly for my very first RU team.

The first thing I wanted was to use a disruptor Serperior set that I experimented with and found to be an extremely potent support Pokemon. It forced opponents into making certain moves so easily that I had almost complete control of the flow and tempo of a match from the start. It was almost able to guarantee Paralysis support along with shutting down common types of stall. I set about crafting a team that could take full advantage of the unique conditions that this set gave me and soon a team materialised. With the likes of Venomoth, Yanmega, Honchkrow and Cresselia running around teams had started to become predictable and I knew the kind of things I needed to beat. After a few days of tweaking, the RU iteration of the Inside Out team was born and it looked something like this.



It was quite a strange way to built a team because the concept was driven by a support Pokemon, and I tried to mould an offensive team around its quirks, instead of the usual way of finding the best offensive core and trying to find support for its weaknesses. Some members were almost never seen at the time: Serperior, Samurott and Golurk; while others were very common: Yanmega, Clefable and Rhyperior. The sets chosen had quite some surprise value with only Clefable having anything resembling a standard set; Samurott was physical for one, Golurk was speedy, Yanmega was Scarfed, while Rhyperior was RestTalking and was a 100% counter to both Honchkrow and Venomoth. And of course there was disruptor Serperior which formed the center piece of it all. The team did well to reach #1 and at one stage had a 150 point cushion between itself and #2. Buoyed by the initial success, I modified the team over the course of August with new Pokemon such as Medicham, Aggron and Bouffalant to varying degrees of success, in order to better understand how best to take advantage of Paralysis. The team did quite well over that period too and hit #1 on several occasions.


journey to NU

Unfortunately I got extremely busy and had to take a break from PO. When I got back to playing again at the start of January, I noticed NU had been formed and decided to test the concept in new waters. Again the focus is on Serperior, and team building was a case of finding the exact Pokemon I needed for each job which may or may not be the most powerful or dominant Pokemon in the metagame - as long as they could take advantage of the Paralysis and stall breaking that Serperior could provide they were good enough.

The first thing I needed was a Pokemon that had the power and coverage to 2HKO the majority of the meta-game. This allows me to take full advantage of Paralysis support because behind a Sub such a Pokemon could punch irreparable holes in the opponent's team. Golurk performed this role in RU and I turned to a Sub + 3 Attacks Sawk. Next I needed a sweeper and I had no reason not to use Samurott again who had been such a success in RU.



Next I needed some hazards and one of my biggest concerns was for it not to be set up bait. That ruled out Probopass, Golem and to an extent Regirock. Bastiodon seemed to fit because it had the tools I needed to disrupt the opponent and prevent them from using Bastiodon as a free turn. I looked for a second sweeper that could use Paralysis support and I decided to try out a Sub + Curse Lickilicky. It had the bulk to act as a make-shift check to a ton of threats and Cloud Nine came in handy against Rain and Sun teams. Now all I needed was a speedy cleaner and revenger and I settled on Haunter who is one of the fastest of the lot.



I quickly realised that Sawk falls far short of the job I wanted it to do, it was stopped cold by too many things and it didn't provide any useful resistances. Lickilicky was performing really well and steamrolling teams on its own but at times I wished it had more power. I swapped Sawk for Magmortar, and I changed Licky's set from Curse to SD to give it more sting. This tweaking period also saw Haunter's moveset altered slightly to something more standard, while Samurott also got a new item.



Magmortar fitted in perfectly and it was just the high profile threat the team needed. It helped to complete a nice FWG core and improved the team synergy immensely. The last bit of tinkering involved Magmortar's movepool and nearly all of the team's EV spreads to fine tune them to the NU environment. The team settled down fairly quickly and in a few days of laddering it got to #2 in NU, this was during the mad scramble for council places I think so there was a good bit of competition and a lot of bird and Gorebyss and Absol teams running around. Unfortunately I was only able to play PO for a few days and pretty much as soon as I made the team I had to put the project on hold again. Which brings us to now!

I'd like to give a big shout out to MMF who gave me a really quick crash course on what was hot and what was not in NU in the week or so I had to ladder and suggested a lot of ideas for the team to me. The team could not have been adapted so quickly to NU had it not been for his help so a big thank you goes out!




Magmortar (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Magmortar's sky high Special Attack and ample coverage is enough to cause most teams headaches and the use of Substitute often takes people by surprise. Fire Blast puts rather large dents in things while Focus Blast hits common Normal type special walls. Hidden Power [Grass] was probably one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make on a moveset but it does a very important job: it gets rid of Quagsire which is one of the main threats to the team and it still hits important Water types hard (still a 2HKO on Alomomola for example). Fire Blast hits most Flying types neutrally so compared to Thunderbolt it's not losing much power there either.

The EVs are simple, maximise SpAtk and the rest in Speed while maintaining an odd HP number for Stealth Rock and Substitute. Speed is not maximised because Magmortar's primary function is to take advantage of Paralysis anyway so power was more important. Vital Spirit is a really fantastic ability for a Fire type because it is a great answer to Grass types who try to stop Serperior weaving its magic.

Altaria brings Magmortar to a grinding halt but Bastiodon stands tall against special versions while Serperior handles offensive Dragon Dance. Camerupt is a minor annoyance but certainly not a threat to lose sleep over.



Lickilicky (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Cloud Nine
EVs: 224 HP / 32 Atk / 128 SDef / 124 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Body Slam
- Power Whip

in Normal types discussion thread said:
The Spe EVs are to allow it to outspeed standard Alomomola which iirc is most if not all notable walls in the tier. The HP EVs give it 101 subs rounded up to a lefties number +1 (to allow 5 subs). I found that a lot of opponents tried to get around it with Volt-Switching, so I gave it enough SpDef for Rotom-S to never break its sub with Volt-Switch. The rest are in attack.

As a wall-breaker it is formidable, since it has 101 subs most dedicated physical walls are turned into set up bait. It is so specially defensive that even moderately powerful special sweepers struggle to break its subs (around Rotom-S power etc). Body Slam was chosen over Return because of its trollyness, but more seriously because Return doesn't net any important KOes (but seriously trollyness is always an important factor). Power Whip is probably its most powerful weapon of all because Rock types typically sent in to try to stop it is obliterated. Oh and it crushes Unaware Quagsire too, especially after they let you set up to +6 thinking they are doing the trolling.
What I really like about Lickilicky is that it actually thrives on the presence of walls designed to stop physical sweeps. Stalwarts of NU stall like Tangela, Alomomola and Quagsire are the perfect foil for Lickilicky to begin demolition of the opponent's team. This puts them into the uncomfortable position of having to bring in a powerful, and most likely frail, offensive Pokemon direct into Lickilicky's firing line. If the opponent responds with an offensive Pokemon, Lickilicky has the bulk and power to rip massive holes in their offensive core. If they respond with a defensive Pokemon, Lickilicky is free to set up until they bring in an offensive Pokemon.

Lickilicky functions admirably as a trump card in the team, but it is not without its flaws. It requires the perfect moment in the match to come in to cause maximum disruption (such as a spiker ready to spike, a spinner trying to set up, or a cleric healing up) so in a bizarre way it must be played as carefully as an ultra frail sweeper. It is also set up on by a nemesis of its own: Gurdurr.



Bastiodon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Rock Blast
- Magic Coat

Bastiodon performs a crucial job for the team: setting Stealth Rock! While not as glamorous as Magmortar or as sexy as Mr Playboy himself Lickilicky, it is still just as important to wear the opponent down and break Sturdy and Sashes. Bastiodon is the ubiquitous bird handler on the team, and that is a job it performs with gusto! Bastiodon also wins easily against Cryogonal who is a popular spinner and Rock Blast allows me to beat SubKiss Jynx as well as Ninjask leads.

The rest of the moves are entirely focused on preventing Bastiodon from being taken advantage of and they are the main reason it was chosen over more conventional options like Regirock or Probopass. Roar gets rid of any set up attempts while Magic Coat bounces easily predicted Spores and Taunts back. Bastiodon's typing is surprisingly good, it can shrug off most hits with ease. Any Fighting or Ground attacks it lures can be taken advantage of by the rest of the team so it fits in just fine.




Samurott (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Megahorn

Samurott has been a staple on my teams for a long time. It has easily been my most consistent sweeper and game ender in both RU and NU. Swords Dance grants it massive power, and it knows how to use it too. Waterfall is a great STAB to have, while Megahorn could not be a better coverage move - badly hurting Grass types that like to switch in and is just as powerful as the main STAB for smacking things neutrally. It has enough Speed to outrun all major walls while it has the power behind Aqua Jet to pick off faster threats. Torrent really rounds off the moveset perfectly because the extra power is significant and relatively easy to obtain.

Item choice was something that I thought long and hard about. In RU, Life Orb was needed to get the 2HKO on Ferroseed but in NU no such abomination exists. Life Orb was simply too easy to stall out and you cannot enjoy the boost when in Torrent range because you self KO so quickly! At first I went with Mystic Water but then found that I was being beaten by well played Misdreavus and Alomomola. I decided that I didn't need the extra power and plumped for Lum Berry and I haven't looked back. It allows me to easily beat both as well as surprise Jynxes and Grass types like Amoonguss who think they've got me with Lovely Kiss or Spore. Once Samurott gets into Torrent range, it's there to stay which is just fantastic.




Serperior (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Glare
- Leech Seed
- Taunt
- Giga Drain

Serperior is the MVP of the team. It is the Pokemon the team was built around and the reason the team even functions. If Serperior is taken down early in a match, I will most likely lose. It is kinda funny that a team was tailored specifically to a support Pokemon instead of the other way round but this Serperior set was one I quickly realised could disrupt teams so badly that I just needed the right team mates.

Glare paralyses 90% of the time, but more importantly it paralyses everything! It allows the slower powerhouses in the team like Magmortar, Samurott and Lickilicky to reach their full destructive potential. Defensive Pokemon that don't mind Paralysis are completely shut down by Taunt and Leech Seed, they often can't touch Serperior at all which makes it a great stall-breaker. This forces the opponent to try to stop Serperior with offensive Pokemon which are exactly the ones I want to Paralyse. Giga Drain was chosen ahead of Substitute because it's always useful to have some sort of offensive presence and it lets Serperior beat the things it should beat (ie Golems and Quagsires in the world).

Serperior has great Speed which pretty much lets it Taunt and Glare opponents at will, and its bulk is high - able to survive CB Scyther's U-turn! This is crucial in helping it hold the team together and prevent the opponent from carrying out their strategy while setting my sweepers up with the conditions I want.




Haunter (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Trick

Haunter is the revenger and late-game cleaner. It is here mainly as a check to the many slow but +2 Speed boosting Pokemon in the tier. Gorebyss, Crustle, Torterra and others can all be checked by a combination of Haunter and Aqua Jet from Samurott. Haunter's power is somewhat disappointing because often it cannot OHKO something and that's partly why Stealth Rock is so important. It's also frail and often doesn't have a chance to switch in during a match. However its great immunities help keep opponents on their toes because Haunter has enough power to punish opponents who dare give it a free turn.

I had searched really long and hard to find a suitable revenger for the team but everything seemed to have a major weakness and in the end Haunter was the fastest of the lot and is more unpredictable which is very important. Trick is extremely useful on a team and I always look to include it on my teams. It just gives the team another way to disrupt opponents and to stop silly things setting up or performing their jobs properly.


a quick note on playstyle

The team I originally had in RU had both a defensive component (Clefable and Rhyperior) and an offensive component (Samurott and Golurk) along with the maverick glues (Serperior and Yanmega) that stitched the team together and allowed it to function.

This NU team is positively, obsessively, attack minded. The only defensive answer to threats in the whole team is Serperior. Bastiodon doesn't count because it doesn't really answer any questions, it prefers to Roar. In its own strange little way this has meant that the playstyle of this team is one of the most hyper offensive I have ever made. At every moment in a match you must be in full control or else everything crumbles because there are no defensive pillars to fall back on. This is partly the reason why Bastiodon has Roar and Magic Coat ahead of the likes of Metal Burst because any chance of giving momentum to the opponent is a death blow to the team. It relies on a really high pressure style of play that constantly challenges the opponent to try to stop you which isn't readily apparent when you see how slow most of the team members are.



annoying critters

The team is not a finished piece of work, not by a long shot and there are a few things that give it immense problems.

The first thing is strong, bulky Fighting types, especially Gurdurr. Gurdurr is only countered by a healthy Serperior. If Serperior is down and Gurdurr is at high health, I need Haunter to Trick it into Payback and then to switch to Bastiodon to Roar it out. If Serperior and Haunter are down, then I have no chance.

The second thing is Toxic Spikes and strong Poison types mainly because they send Serperior scrambling. I can't Taunt them for fear of a powerful STAB attack so they are free to set Toxic Spikes which utterly cripple the slow, bulky Substitute abusing style of the team. I will often just spam Magic Coat on Bastiodon, going as far as sacrificing it to prevent Toxic Spikes going up in in order to then force it out with something else. If Toxic Spikes are down then the team reverts into a primitive fire at will mode with Lickilicky and Magmortar going down all guns blazing instead of trying to weave an intricate Substitute Paralysis web... Then it's just up to Samurott and Haunter to hopefully be strong and finish the job.

More generally, any Pokemon that doesn't fear the combination of Leech Seed, Taunt and Glare from Serperior is a major threat because my main method of dictating play is gone and what's left is just a pretty slow team... Examples of this include Eelectross, Magmortar, Exeggutor and most bulky Poison types. They need to be taken down as early as possible or else it will be a very hard fight.


I decided to call the team Inside Out because of the way it was designed from the support to the offense, kind of like designing a team inside out. The team has certainly not run its course yet, it has only really just been made and I believe it has a ton of areas it could improve. I played a couple of hours a few days ago and got to #4 quite quickly with it so it definitely still has legs and I believe has a lot of potential. If this RMT achieves anything I hope people will get some ideas from it and start experimenting with their own crazy sets and styles (and maybe even start treating Serperior with some respect!).

Peace out doods and thank you for reading!

(I put #1 and #2 in the title cos that's what you like to see, yeah I know your type you won't click on an RMT unless it has #1 in it, you shallow bimbos)


Here's an exportable:​

Magmortar (F) @ Leftovers​
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Lickilicky (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Cloud Nine
EVs: 224 HP / 32 Atk / 128 SDef / 124 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Body Slam
- Power Whip

Bastiodon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rock Blast
- Roar
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat

Samurott (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Megahorn

Serperior (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
- Glare
- Taunt

Haunter (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Trick

Keep it sexy!
 
Oh, this team is just lovely...
I only have one suggestion, but it breaks my heart to do so, since it would take away lickilicky, which is an extremely original and plain awesome part of the team.

Coil Arbok over Lickilicky? Absorbs toxic spikes, beats gurdurr, can beat tangela if you opt for shed skin (don't, you have magmortar) and can hammer other poison types with earthquake. Also learns glare, letting you play the game with two basilisks lol. However, it won't beat weezing, although you have other means of dealing with that in haunter and maggy. Also gets sucker punch for more priority etc...

Beautiful team man
 
Arbok sounds like a really good idea. Intimidate will definitely come in handy and absorbing Toxic Spikes will be incredible. I'll probably have to change Haunter to something that beats Quagsire. It won't be able to check the things Licky did but that will need testing. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!
 

Honus

magna carta
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Hey, this is a really nice team you have here.

I can see Magmortar being pretty annoying to this team, mainly because nothing really wants to switch in on it, and there's a pretty big possibility that it could come in before Stealth Rock. Fire Blast can decimate Serperior and Haunter, while Focus Blast beats Lickilicky, your own Magmortar and Bastiodon. Haunter can't OHKO with Shadow Ball, although it can ease things with Trick [you'll have to lose something in the process of getting Haunter in, though], while Samurott only does 56.57% - 66.67% to 24 HP Magmortar with Aqua Jet before being KO'd with Thunderbolt. I think you could probably just play around Magmortar, however, by getting SR up fast and pressuring it with your own Magmortar, but it will still end up doing significant damage to the team. Overall, I think giving Samurott a Life Orb is perfect insurance against Magmortar, as LO Aqua Jet does 72.73% - 85.86%, which has a huge chance to OHKO after SR [81.25%, to be exact]. Also, you don't have to switch Haunter for something that beats Quagsire if you use Arbok, since Arbok has Seed Bomb.


Change Summary:

Samurott:

Lum Berry->Life Orb

 
Magmortar is a problem but it depends on the circumstances it comes in. If it comes in on Serperior (which is most of the time) then it will most likely be Paralysed in which case I can switch to Samurott for the Waterfall kill. If it is Seeded when it comes in then I can switch to Licky or Magmortar and eventually win. If it is Taunted then it will be a problem but that is rare because Taunt usually comes as a surprise to most people and is only used on defensive Pokemon anyway so it will take very risky prediction on their part. If Magmortar comes in on Bastiodon then I'll most likely Roar or sac it to reset momentum but it is a big problem. If the opponent leads with Magmortar then I have a big big problem that will require something to be sacced but thankfully no one leads with Magmortar! The level of threat is entirely dependent on how well Serperior performs lol.
 
I been playing this team and I really like it! I did think haunter was the weak link though. Also sawk was a BIG problem I had to play around him a a lot. Maybe switching haunter with a scarfer that can take his move poll a bit better or an overall counter.

But other then that amazing team!
 

MMF

Give me the strength to part this sea
Hey bro thanks for the shout out once again! This really is an awesome team and there isn't much I can add since I have been away from NU for awhile (fuck school!) but still very impressive. Congrats!
 
@Zori: Yeah I agree, I always though Haunter was the weakest link in the team because his defences are like a wet paper towel so often the team plays with just 5 Pokemon and Haunter may or may not clean up. But unfortunately I haven't been able to find a Scarfer that I was completely happy with and Haunter seemed pretty badass when he can come in on immunities so I stuck with him. Do tell if you find a better solution!
Also Sawk is a big problem too but not a game ender like Gurdurr. If I have got SR set up then I have no problem saccing Bastiodon and Serperior can scout early game too. Haunter really helps here because it outspeeds so as long as I preserve Haunter I'm not too concerned about Sawk. Haunter also checks non-Scarfed birds so again I'm not too afraid of saccing Bastiodon.

@MMF: I still remember you telling me about Magmortar and what a revelation it was! Maybe we'll have some nice battles again soon ;)
 

MMF

Give me the strength to part this sea
Yeah man for sure! Time to get to work on a new team and one that can beat yours ;)
 
I just want to leave a quick comment letting you know how much I love the team by the looks of it, and how well written I think this thread is.

Amazing job, this is exactly what I hope to see every time I take a look at the lower tier RMT section.
 
Excellent team.
I love the Serperior set but I don't think you need Giga Drain. Giga Drain from an uninvested Serperior is extremely weak and the main targets Quagsire and Golem are forced out by Taunt or Leech Seed anyway. Taunt is not really an issue, since Serperior is faster than the common Taunters, and, to be honest you're not really breaking them with Giga Drain.

Have you tried using a screen instead ? Reflect will help you Taunt Garbordor without worrying too much, while Light Screen will help with Torkoal or something. Both move will also support the team.
I had searched really long and hard to find a suitable revenger for the team
Reading that, I suppose you already have tested scarf Rotom-S. What made you discard him ? Feels like he would solve your Gurdurr issues, while being more effective against Gorebyss and Torterra. The added weaknesses are irrelevant when you compare him to Haunter, for instance Haunter takes more damage from Stone Edges than Rotom-S.

But I suppose choice scarf Rotom-S is predictible while Haunter is mostly seen with Sub/Split.

Anyway, good luck with the team !
 
@ Dangerous: Thank you for your kind words!

@ Koinzell: You made some really good points there for me to think about.

Giga Drain was drafted into the moveset quite early on because I felt I really needed an attacking move because it was so frustrating looking at an Eelektross or Probopass sitting at 20% HP and thinking I wish I had something to just nudge them over the edge instead of having to keep playing the prediction game. When Serperior is in Overgrow range Giga Drain's power can surprise opponents and against stuff like Golem or something I can heal a large amount of health. However the idea of screens is really interesting because that would help the team immensely and it would pretty much make Lickilicky's subs almost unbreakable. I'll try it out on Serperior but also look to bring screens into the team some other way (maybe with a Mesprit).

You're right about Haunter, it is ridiculously frail and there isn't much in it between Rotom-S and Haunter. I tested both and ended up sticking with Haunter because it was faster (which gave me the guarantee of being able to clean up end-game without worrying about other Scarfers) and also because of its immunity to Fighting. Band Sawk is an absolute mofo and can wear Rotom-S down with repeated CCs, something it can't do to Haunter so it forces them into the prediction game. There really isn't much in it though and I'll test out Rotom-S again because it does fair much better against Gurdurr which would patch up one of the team's biggest weaknesses.

Thanks so much for the really helpful rate!
 
Hey man !

Really awesome and original team ! I love that licky^2 set !
The Only suggestions that i can give to you have already being said.

Arbok & Rotom-S can be good changes for your team, but i'm a little bit dubious about Arbok set.

You change licky for Arbok so you can use a more offensive set with Shed Skin & Coil/Rest/Gunk Shot/Seed Bomb over a more defensive, so you can always beat Quagsire + Absorb T-Spikes.

Good work with this team and GL for the future :D
 
Very nice. I actually have a hyperoffensive playstyle and might try it out sometime when I'm bored :) I'm sure it'll work beautifully ^^ I'm definitely putting a Serperior of some kind on my next team, after seeing it on here and getting owned by yours earlier haha. I also found Scarf Haunter to be a bit underwhelming.....If you don't mind losing trick I recommend Scarf Jynx. Amazing dual STAB+Enough speed to beat Sawk and a ferocious Sp Atk. It can/should also pack Energy Ball, which OHKOs any Quagsire that is stupid enough to stick around. I also recommend Normal Gem Explosion on Lickilicky. Dat's some sexy stuff.
^Just kidding, though if you're bored.....XD

Beautiful team and great descriptions ^^
 
@Ewil and Graceclaw, thanks a lot for your rates!

I tried Arbok over Licki and it lacked the stall crushing power of Licki. I also tried swapping Bastiodon for Garbodor which actually worked quite well, but left me open to bird teams.

In order to fix the Sawk weakness I tried Protect on Bastiodon, which was absolutely fantastic but I missed reflecting Spore, Lovely Kiss, Spikes and Taunt back. Rotom-S didn't work that well either because it was a bit weak (like Haunter) and it gets crushed by Band Sawk who just spams CC regardless.

I don't think Jynx could replace Haunter because Gurdurr could steamroll this team if I didn't have Haunter. Honestly I think the team's greatest strength and greatest weakness is Lickilicky. It is ferocious against most teams but it lures Fighting types like no other. I see this team more as a proof of concept now, it was really fun to play with and it could beat 90% of teams but now Gurdurr has gotten popular and the team does really badly against that.

I'd love to adapt it to the current metagame but I fear it will gut the team too much so I think I'll retire it. I've got a new team now anyway :P
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top