Other Metagames [Monotype]Balanced (I Think) Water

[Star Sky]

Of all the monotype teams I tried and played around with, this is the first and the only viable team that was completely crafted by me. The Elo peak with this team was 1760 which was 6th place at the time. Although this team does have a few critical weaknesses, I think it has a decent chance of pulling through most team if played with skill, caution, and perhaps a little bit of luck.

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Crunch/Ice Fang

It's a fairly standard DD 3 Attack Gyara. I was switching back and forth between Crunch and Ice Fang, but I have settled on Crunch because I had too much trouble with Psychic, and Ice Fang's 95% accuracy always strucke me as super secretly being 70%.

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Roar

A defensive Swampert set taken right off Smogon. It does a nice job as a SR setter and a wall, mainly to counter electric. Most of the times I am facing Electric, all of my hope pretty much depends on Swampert. Scald allows Swampert to semi-deal with physical walls such as Skarmory. Roar takes care of most set up sweepers.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
- Protect

Although Choice Band or Assault Vest seems to be preferred nowadays, nothing beats the satisfaction of sweeping through an entire team with a Belly Drum Azumarill. The 28 investment in speed USED to be enough to outspeed other Azu's, but they seem to have a lot more speed investment nowadays. However, I never bothered to change it because it did not seem to make much of a difference. Although many people find the choice of Protect rather odd, it saves Azumarill from getting killed by Fake Out after Belly Drum. Also, it used to be helpful against Mega Sableye by protecting from Will-o-Wisp on its mega evo turn and outspeeding it the turn after although this might no longer be viable after the suspect test.

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 130 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

This is really the only set on the team that is not on Smogon. Although most Rotom-W employs Volt Switch to be more efficient as a pivot, I found the extra damage from Thunderbolt valuable enough. Because the set focuses on damage more than bulk, I chose Protect over Pain Split because there is less opportunity to utilize the latter. Not only that, it allows Rotom to have Mega Charizard mega evolve without taking any damage before switching out to Politoed.

Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Perish Song
- Protect

This set comes from a doubles set with Sitrus Berry changed to Leftovers and Helping Hand to Perish Song. With the EV investment in defense and burn from Scald, it serves as a nice physical wall and rain setter. Perish Song and Protect can be used to force a switch or kill off the opponent's last Pokemon. Basically, if your opponent's last Pokemon cannot OHKO Politoed and you have another Pokemon left, you can simply win the game by Perish Song-Protect-Switch(Faint)-Protect.

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Knock Off

I chose this utility Tentacruel because I needed a hazard remover. It also tanks Mega Charizard's Solar Beam 3~4 times, helping me deal with fire teams in the odd case something goes wrong with Politoed.

​

Grass teams are a pain in the ass for any water team, but this team has just about nothing to deal with Grass teams. Let's put it this way: whenever I run into anyone with 1500+ Elo Rating using a grass team, I use the best check against any type - the X button.

Galvantula and Thundurus, both Incarnate and Therian, could also single handedly beat the entire team if they have a grass move because Swampert, my electric immunity, gets OHKO'd by both Energy Ball/Giga Drain and Grass Knot.

When dealing with normal teams, it is important to knock off Eviolite from at least Porygon 2 and hopefully Chansey as well; otherwise, they do what they are meant to - give you cancer.

importable

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Crunch

Swampert @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Scald
- Roar

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
- Protect

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 130 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Perish Song
- Protect

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Knock Off

 

[all falls down]

Hi there. You've got a pretty nice team structure, but a lot of the sets aren't really viable. Offensive Rotom-W isn't very good and you seem to have many doubles sets like Protect Azumarill and Icy Wind + Protect Politoed, which could really be optimized to be more efficient for your team here in the Monotype metagame. In addition, due to the ban on Damp Rock, Politoed just doesn't fit on balanced Water teams like these, especially ones that do not have Swift Swim abusers, like this team. It's frail and relies on status to do any damage and the 5 rain turns are really easily stalled out, especially considering how big of a momentum suck SpD Politoed is. As such, other Pokemon fit the slot much better than Politoed. In addition, your team is really slow and vulnerable to a lot of average speed wallbreakers.

First off, your team is pretty weak to Psychic teams, as Mega Medicham and Mega Gardevoir both outspeed this entire team and OHKO/2HKO it entirely. Two of the changes I'm going to address will help fix this issue.

The first change to help with this is changing Mega Gyarados' set. Mega Gyarados does great vs Psychic teams, as at +1 it is able to OHKO everything. The problem is, without Substitute, you don't get many opportunities to set up. Since you're jolly Gyarados (which is great, most people should use it but they don't!!), Substitute works especially well since you can sub up on Mew that commonly speed creeps Adamant Gyarados. In addition, you can use Substitute on Slowbro and set up on it as well. For these reasons, Substitute>Earthquake on Gyarados. Earthquake is used mainly to hit Azumarill and Keldeo; you've already got Azumarill and Tentacruel for Keldeo, and Azumarill can be dealt with by Rotom-W and Tentacruel as well, so you really don't miss out on EQ.

>

You don't have a true Dark resist, and your team is really slow. I've already explained how Politoed is quite useless on balanced Water teams like these, and Specs Keldeo over Politoed is a really nice option. Keldeo gives you a fantastic wallbreaker that is able to deal with Normal teams that you've said are annoying. In addition, it is a great Dark resist and it can revenge kill a lot of threats like Breloom and Mega Medicham due to its nice speed. (And as such, is the 2nd change I mentioned to help vs Psychic teams.)

Offensive Rotom-W is really not viable as it completely gets rid of its defensive niches and it doesn't have good coverage or speed to be used offensively. As such, I'm going to recommend a Def spread to deal with Ground-type threats, Azumarill, and Gyarados better. The spread should be 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe with a Bold nature. The 44 Speed lets you deal with Azumarill better, outspeeding even max speed Jolly versions (which some people seem to be using now). To compliment these changes, You should change Thunderbolt to Volt Switch and Protect to Pain Split. The former to make it into a useful pivot, and the latter to increase its longevity. Protect is useless in singles on the vast majority of non-Mega Pokemon.

Azumarill loves its coverage, and in singles Protect is absolutely useless. There aren't many Fake Out users to begin with, and the amount of viable ones in Monotype is essentially 1 (Mega Lopunny) who crumbles to Play Rough / +6 Jet. As such, I'm going to recommend Knock Off over Protect in order to hit threats like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Doublade. In addition, I will recommend a spread of 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe in order to outspeed Skarmory, Lanturn, Clefable, and others.

One of the main reasons to use Tentacruel is its ability to muscle past threatening set-up sweepers like Clefable and Mega Sableye with Acid Spray for Water teams. While Mega Sableye isn't too bad for this team, Clefable is really annoying, so Acid Spray over Knock Off gives you a way to beat it. You don't say what the EV spread is so I'll leave it up to you, but if you want to be faster to outspeed Breloom to spin on it and break its sash or hit it with an Acid Spray for ~50%, you can use 16 Spe with a Timid nature. Like I said though, up to you.

That's all I have, good luck with the team ^^

sets

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

 

[Star Sky]

Hi there. You've got a pretty nice team structure, but a lot of the sets aren't really viable. Offensive Rotom-W isn't very good and you seem to have many doubles sets like Protect Azumarill and Icy Wind + Protect Politoed, which could really be optimized to be more efficient for your team here in the Monotype metagame. In addition, due to the ban on Damp Rock, Politoed just doesn't fit on balanced Water teams like these, especially ones that do not have Swift Swim abusers, like this team. It's frail and relies on status to do any damage and the 5 rain turns are really easily stalled out, especially considering how big of a momentum suck SpD Politoed is. As such, other Pokemon fit the slot much better than Politoed. In addition, your team is really slow and vulnerable to a lot of average speed wallbreakers.

First off, your team is pretty weak to Psychic teams, as Mega Medicham and Mega Gardevoir both outspeed this entire team and OHKO/2HKO it entirely. Two of the changes I'm going to address will help fix this issue.

The first change to help with this is changing Mega Gyarados' set. Mega Gyarados does great vs Psychic teams, as at +1 it is able to OHKO everything. The problem is, without Substitute, you don't get many opportunities to set up. Since you're jolly Gyarados (which is great, most people should use it but they don't!!), Substitute works especially well since you can sub up on Mew that commonly speed creeps Adamant Gyarados. In addition, you can use Substitute on Slowbro and set up on it as well. For these reasons, Substitute>Earthquake on Gyarados. Earthquake is used mainly to hit Azumarill and Keldeo; you've already got Azumarill and Tentacruel for Keldeo, and Azumarill can be dealt with by Rotom-W and Tentacruel as well, so you really don't miss out on EQ.

>

You don't have a true Dark resist, and your team is really slow. I've already explained how Politoed is quite useless on balanced Water teams like these, and Specs Keldeo over Politoed is a really nice option. Keldeo gives you a fantastic wallbreaker that is able to deal with Normal teams that you've said are annoying. In addition, it is a great Dark resist and it can revenge kill a lot of threats like Breloom and Mega Medicham due to its nice speed. (And as such, is the 2nd change I mentioned to help vs Psychic teams.)

Offensive Rotom-W is really not viable as it completely gets rid of its defensive niches and it doesn't have good coverage or speed to be used offensively. As such, I'm going to recommend a Def spread to deal with Ground-type threats, Azumarill, and Gyarados better. The spread should be 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe with a Bold nature. The 44 Speed lets you deal with Azumarill better, outspeeding even max speed Jolly versions (which some people seem to be using now). To compliment these changes, You should change Thunderbolt to Volt Switch and Protect to Pain Split. The former to make it into a useful pivot, and the latter to increase its longevity. Protect is useless in singles on the vast majority of non-Mega Pokemon.

Azumarill loves its coverage, and in singles Protect is absolutely useless. There aren't many Fake Out users to begin with, and the amount of viable ones in Monotype is essentially 1 (Mega Lopunny) who crumbles to Play Rough / +6 Jet. As such, I'm going to recommend Knock Off over Protect in order to hit threats like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Doublade. In addition, I will recommend a spread of 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe in order to outspeed Skarmory, Lanturn, Clefable, and others.

One of the main reasons to use Tentacruel is its ability to muscle past threatening set-up sweepers like Clefable and Mega Sableye with Acid Spray for Water teams. While Mega Sableye isn't too bad for this team, Clefable is really annoying, so Acid Spray over Knock Off gives you a way to beat it. You don't say what the EV spread is so I'll leave it up to you, but if you want to be faster to outspeed Breloom to spin on it and break its sash or hit it with an Acid Spray for ~50%, you can use 16 Spe with a Timid nature. Like I said though, up to you.

That's all I have, good luck with the team ^^

sets

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Def / 24 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Acid Spray
- Toxic Spikes

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! You've pointed out most of the problems I had in mind and multiple that I did not realize. I'll definitely look into some of them.
Of all things, however, I plan on leaving the Politoed and the Rotom-W as they are. Politoed, though usually useless on single, is just about my only way of dealing with Mega Charizard. As Specs Keldeo cannot OHKO Charizard Y and no other Pokemon on my team can outspeed it, without the rain setter, it would be difficult to deal with. As for the Rotom-W, I found an offensive Rotom-W to be more viable than mostly perceived. It is my strongest Pokemon against other water types and can serve niches that a defensive Rotom would not be able to.
The main Fake Out user that threatened my Azumarill was Mega Medicham rather than Mega Lopunny, but taking out Protect seems like it could be a good idea now that Sablenite might be banned.
Anyway, thanks for your comment, it helped a lot.

 

[all falls down]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! You've pointed out most of the problems I had in mind and multiple that I did not realize. I'll definitely look into some of them.
Of all things, however, I plan on leaving the Politoed and the Rotom-W as they are. Politoed, though usually useless on single, is just about my only way of dealing with Mega Charizard. As Specs Keldeo cannot OHKO Charizard Y and no other Pokemon on my team can outspeed it, without the rain setter, it would be difficult to deal with. As for the Rotom-W, I found an offensive Rotom-W to be more viable than mostly perceived. It is my strongest Pokemon against other water types and can serve niches that a defensive Rotom would not be able to.
The main Fake Out user that threatened my Azumarill was Mega Medicham rather than Mega Lopunny, but taking out Protect seems like it could be a good idea now that Sablenite might be banned.
Anyway, thanks for your comment, it helped a lot.

No problem! As for Mega Charizard, I understand what you mean, but through Stealth Rock pressure, Gyarados (Which can live 2 Solarbeams), and Keldeo (can OHKO with Hydro Pump with a little prior damage), I think you can keep Mega Charizard in check. Politoed is just really matchup dependent and I feel your team could be more consistent with Keldeo.

As a niche option, you can add Hidden Power Rock on Keldeo to OHKO Mega Charizard Y. I've used this before and it's pretty nice to catch them off guard turn one. Missing Icy Wind is kind of annoying, but you do have Azumarill and Gyarados to fare against Dragon teams.

As for Rotom-W, if you want to keep offensive, consider Choice Scarf with Trick over Protect. I just think that the current set is rather underwhelming.

But yeah, I won't post anymore to clutter up this thread, good luck!

 

[Star Sky]

No problem! As for Mega Charizard, I understand what you mean, but through Stealth Rock pressure, Gyarados (Which can live 2 Solarbeams), and Keldeo (can OHKO with Hydro Pump with a little prior damage), I think you can keep Mega Charizard in check. Politoed is just really matchup dependent and I feel your team could be more consistent with Keldeo.

As a niche option, you can add Hidden Power Rock on Keldeo to OHKO Mega Charizard Y. I've used this before and it's pretty nice to catch them off guard turn one. Missing Icy Wind is kind of annoying, but you do have Azumarill and Gyarados to fare against Dragon teams.

As for Rotom-W, if you want to keep offensive, consider Choice Scarf with Trick over Protect. I just think that the current set is rather underwhelming.

But yeah, I won't post anymore to clutter up this thread, good luck!

HP Rock definitely sounds pretty cool. I'll definitely try that, at least in a different team! Thanks a lot!