New Breed
ka$h
After taking a break from Pokemon and missing most of the round, I returned to find the RU tier just as offensive as ever with 65% of teams in the month of January being either Offense or Hyper Offense. This team was created to exploit this and to give me a distinct advantage over most of my opponents before a turn has even been played. Full on Trick Room has been an often overlooked strategy in the RU tier since Cofagrigus has risen to UU , however Trick Room is still extremely deadly and really flourishes in the RU tier as it stands. The overall strategy of the team is to give my opponent no breathing room and no opportunity to set up with something that could be deadly (aka Absol). This team is strange in the sense that it utilizes 4 Pokemon weak to Dark/Ghost type moves and often requires sacrifice and smart play (like not clicking Outrage on Druddigon if you know your opponent is going to bring in SubDD Crawdaunt when TR wears off). The beauty of this team though, is that it can have up to 3-4 win conditions against the majority of the metagame thus allowing sacrifices to be made to ensure a victory. Anyway I have wasted enough of your time so, onto the team!
Uxie @ Lum Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd) [0 Speed IVs]
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- U-turn
Uxie is one of the most amazing Pokemon in the RU tier and is easily the best support Pokemon. With amazing 75/130/130 defences, a passable Special Attack and the ultimate support movepool it was almost mandatory that Uxie was given a place on the team. Uxie will often lead off the match by getting Stealth Rock up, using Trick Room and either U-Turning out or just doing some decent damage with Psychic. With Max Special Attack Uxie can actually do some damage, this is especially good against something like Steelix, allowing me to not set up Trick Room and deal a respectable 25% as Steelix always stays in. This helps ease the pressure on both Aggron and Druddigon who both can struggle at times to get past Steelix. Lum Berry is the item of choice and gives me a reliable way to beat Smeargle by using Trick Room turn one, followed by Psychic as I get slept and then switching out to whatever threatens my opponents team the most.
Dusknoir @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def [0 Speed IVs]
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Destiny Bond
Ah Dusknoir, one of the most useless Pokemon in RU. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead using this but this time is the exception. I needed something that could set up Trick Room, a Bug resist and something that could hit decently hard, with Max Attack and LO Dusknoir actually serves this role for the team, making the best out of a bad situation. This Dusknoir set hits surprisingly hard, for example:
252Atk Life Orb Dusknoir (+Atk) Earthquake vs 4HP/0Def Leftovers Entei(Neutral): 79% - 94% (296 - 350 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.
252Atk Life Orb Dusknoir (+Atk) Earthquake vs 4HP/0Def Leftovers Nidoqueen(Neutral): 90% - 106% (292 - 344 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO. 42% chance to OHKO.
252Atk Life Orb Dusknoir (+Atk) Shadow Punch vs 252HP/0Def Leftovers Slowking(Neutral): 71% - 84% (282 - 332 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.
Add that on top of Destiny Bond and Dusknoir has the ability to potentially take out some common offensive Pokemon and also can take something bulky down with it and is responsible for killing a hell of a lot of Absol. Shadow Punch is a decent STAB attack that hits much harder than shadow sneak (honestly why do people run this).
Aggron @ Choice Band
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd) [0 Speed IVs]
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Heavy Slam
If Pokemon had nightmares, Aggron would be responsible for 90% of them. With a Choice Band equipped and Trick Room support you better pray that you have a sturdy resist or a Pokemon will die every turn that Trick Room is active. Aggron is mainly the go to guy early game and will often soften physical walls up to give Druddigon a much easier time. Aggrons Steel typing is a godsend for the team and is especially useful if something like Absol decides to try and Sucker Punch something while Trick Room is up. Overall when Head Smash isn’t missing, Aggron is capable of completely wrecking a team in only 4 turns, making him a perfect fit for the team. The set is pretty standard but Heavy Slam was chosen in the last slot over Fire Punch for a decent secondary STAB move and is useful for when I can’t risk missing Head Smash.
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd) [0 Speed IVs]
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
Healing Wish Mesprit is such an amazing addition to almost any offensive team. The ability to give one of my Pokemon a second chance at life is invaluable as not my teams can handle two Aggron’s or Druddigon’s. Aside from providing Trick Room + Healing Wish support Mesprit also packs a punch with Max Special Attack Mesprit ensures that no turn is wasted and can often clean up late game. Thunderbolt was chosen as the coverage move to be able to hit a lategame Slowking who could be potentially walling my own. Against offense Healing Wish is often not needed but it comes in very handy against the small majority of Defensive teams, allowing Aggron or Druddigon to take a Burn/a lot of damage and then return later to finish off the team.
Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd) [0 Speed IVs]
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw
I think we can all agree on how amazing Druddigon is in this meta with amazing attack, superb bulk and that key Dragon typing give it so many opportunities to switch in on many common Pokemon for very little damage. Druddigon is extremely key to this teams success which I was I play insanely careful with him, often making sure he is the Pokemon that I clean up with. Just to elaborate on how impressive Druddigon is here is an example of him vs some of the best physical walls in RU:
252Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Druddigon (+Atk) Outrage vs 252HP/252Def LeftoversPoliwrath (+Def): 59% - 69% (228 - 268 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.
252Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Druddigon (+Atk) Outrage vs 252HP/252Def LeftoversTangrowth (+Def): 46% - 54% (187 - 222 HP). Guaranteed 3HKO. 6% chance to 2HKO. Mold Breaker is a cool move, allowing me to potentially spam Earthquake if my opponent has something like Aggron and Uxie left on their team and watching Rotom try and switch in only to be hit super effectively is extremely fun(It happens more than you would think lol)
Slowking @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd) [0 Speed IVs]
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
Slowking is easily the most versatile member of the team, having 3 hard hitting moves that give some nice coverage. If nothing else it was added for the potential to completely destroy most offensive teams. Slowking adds a secondary Fire resistance to the team and is often the Pokemon that I pivot around most. Life Orb is an amazing item for Slowking, giving him a boost in power while not locking him into any specific move and with Regenerator the recoil isn’t noticed too much. Fire Blast is an excellent coverage move to have on a Water type and often nabs a lot of KO’s on Grass types such as Tangrowth, Sceptile, Rotom-Cut and Lilligant. Psyshock is also an extremely useful move, destroying some Pokemon such as Cryogonal, Poliwrath(yes don’t ask me why)and Clefable.
Threats
Dark types such as Absol and Crawdaunt can be extremely difficult to handle if you give them a chance to setup but under Trick Room they can be handled decently. Stall can be somewhat problematic as with multiple physical walls it can be tough to wear them down.
Conclusion
So there we have it, the team I used for the later part of the round. Overall it was pretty fun to use, often earning me wins in 10 turns or less. If you haven’t used Trick Room I would definitely suggest you try it out as its extremely deadly when used correctly. Any rates criticism would be appreciated and if you took the time to read all of this then thanks :).
Importable
Uxie @ Lum Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- U-turn
Dusknoir (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Destiny Bond
Aggron (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Heavy Slam
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
Druddigon (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw
Slowking (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- U-turn
Dusknoir (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Destiny Bond
Aggron (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Heavy Slam
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Healing Wish
Druddigon (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw
Slowking (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock