Hey, what's up?
This team was made over my stay at LCF. It has the same base as my very first team, however as I got more experienced with the metagame, my team adjusted as such. This team has a switch-in for pretty well every Pokemon in Little Cup, giving it an edge offensively very often. (Bragging time) This team has won me 2-3 LCF Tourneys, #1 on the Ladder numerous times, and got me to the semi-finals in the Smogon LC Tourney. So this is probably the final form of the team as such.
Now onto the team:
One of the most important things about having a successful LC team from my personal experience, is to have a couple of mini-strategies, but not any one big strategy. This is because, especially in LC, that nothing will ever go according to planned.
I include 3 mini-strategies, the first being very common in the metagame. The first strategy, is to Lure out a Ghost-type with Machop or Croagunk, and trap KO it with Pursuit on Munchlax. This opens up a hole the opponent's team, allowing Machop or Croagunk to sweep much easier. The second, is to lure out Munchlax with Houndour, and smash it in the face with Reversal for a OHKO. This allows Misdreavus to pull off an easy sweep. Thirdly, I use Ice Punch on Croagunk to lure out Glligar and KO it. This helps Machop mostly.
However, having a strategy can only do so much, the team itself is just as important.
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Presenting: "The Trooper"
I chose the name "The Trooper", because it's awesome. Obviously that's not the only reason why it fits. The other reason why the name fits is because this team is made so that it can take a lot of punishment and still have a fighting chance (its a "trooper", if you will).
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The Lead
While the strategies are important, they are only really half the battle. The Lead of the team is a very important aspect of the team, because it starts the battle off and judges how you need to play for the rest of the match. The most important thing about a lead is the ability to not only beat other leads most of the time, but it's also to never leave you at a big disadvantage.
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Houndour (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 196 Atk/76 Spd/196 SAtk/36 SDef
Lonely nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
- Reversal
- Overheat
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Role: Houndour is the most reliable lead I have found so far. With the ability to beat almost all Focus Sash leads, Sleep Leads, Protect Leads, and Fake Out Leads, Houndour rarely ever leaves me without the advantage early in the battle. The most important thing about Houndour though, is that it never leaves me with a big disadvantage, which is the most important aspect of a lead in my opinion. Early Bird is often underrated, it gives Houndour an easy time with many leads, and with it it covers everything.
Moveset: Overheat is chosen over Fire Blast for the extra KOing power on stuff like Gligar and bulky Chop. Protect counters Fake Out leads, while Sucker Punch hits like a truck and is a nice priority attack. Reversal is great to OHKO Munchlax, not to mention giving me an awesome physical attack, which Houndour lacks.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Houndour doesn't really need more than 14 Speed, because anything with 14 Speed or faster is often Scarfed and is otherwise around 13 Speed. The Attack EVs go a long way, guaranteeing a OHKO on Munchlax with Reversal and giving Houndour a strong enough Sucker Punch to OHKO stuff like Diglett. Max SpA is to help OHKO Pokemon like Gligar, Machop, and Bronzor.
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The Core
As important as the lead is, the core is the most important aspect of any team. A core gives you momentum and weakens your opponent until you can end the game and sweep. Utilizing resistances, immunities, and strong attacks make the Holy Trinity of Gligar / Munchlax / Misdreavus a force to be reckoned with.
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Gligar (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 236 Atk/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Aqua Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Roost
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Role: Gligar is my go-to Pokemon. Sporting awesome resistances, stats, and movepool, it's no wonder this thing is always the most used Pokemon. Gligar helps me check a huge portion of the metagame, including Fighting-types, Ground-types, and other Pokemon. It also sets up Stealth Rock for my team. Gligar is my all-purpose, "Jack of all trades, Master of none", mixed bag Pokemon that allows Gligar to do what it does best: Everything. I guess technically that would be "King of all trades", but whatever.
Moveset: Aqua Tail is used over Stone Edge, because I need a way to check other Gligar and Phanpy is becoming more and more popular. Roost allows Gligar to take a hit and keep on truckin, while Stealth Rock makes the the switches forced my this core easy to abuse. Earthquake is your basic STAB attack.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max Speed because LC is a fast-paced Speed-based metagame, and most Pokemon max out at 16-19 speed, giving Gligar the edge. The rest is dumped into attack so that Gligar can still hit like a truck, while Oran Berry gives it all the bulk it needs.
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Munchlax (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 236 Atk/36 Def/236 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Return
- Fire Punch
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Role: Munchlax and Gligar have awesome synergy as it is, but Munchlax was chosen for other reasons as well. Firstly, Munchlax allows me to remove my opponents Ghost-types, letting Machop likely sweep. Second, Munchlax is an awesome offensive force, while also being a decent Special wall. With its resistances to Ice and Fire, immunity to Ghost, and awesome stats, Munchlax is definitely an important member of this team. Walling and Wall-breaking are two things you don't often see on one Pokemon.
Moveset: Fire Punch is too important to give up for Protect in my opinion. Hitting Bronzor who is one of the biggest annoyances in the metagame super effectively is nothing to scoff at. Pursuit gives Munchlax the ability to trap and destroy Ghost-types, while Earthquake and Return grant decent coverage, perfect coverage when combined with the other moves.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max Atk because I always want my opponent to be on the defensive. The SpD helps more than HP would, because it allows Munchlax to take Special hits better. Oran also makes a bigger impact on Munchlax if its defenses are higher, and its HP is lower.
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Misdreavus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 240 Spd/240 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Shadow Sneak
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
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Role: I'm proud to call SubSneak Missy my invention, because of how successful it has become. With the bonus power from Life Orb, and the priority given by Shadow Sneak, Missy is a very threatening sweeper and is hard to revenge kill. Missy also supplies my team with an extra Ground immunity, and another Fighting-type switch-in. Fighting types are the most dangerous sweepers in the metagame in my opinion, so doubling up resistances in that category is far from redundant.
Moveset: Shadow Sneak and Substitute are made for each other. If Missy gets a Substitute up, something is going to faint. Missy 2HKOes the entire metagame, and OHKOes most of it. With Shadow Sneak, Missy can keep its Substitute up against Pokemon like foe Missy, Scarf Gastly, Abra, and especially Sucker Punchers like Croagunk and Houndour. Shadow Ball + Hidden Power Fighting grant perfect coverage and are both great sweeping tools.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Max Speed because LC revolves around speed. Nothing much else can be done with Missy's EVs because of Hidden Power, so the rest is dumped into Special Attack. Life Orb give Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fighting a nice kick, but most importantly it makes sure you get KOes with Shadow Sneak.
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The Revenge Killers and Late Game Sweepers
These Pokemon specialize in revenge killing early game, and sweeping late game. Having two Pokemon to do this job is very beneficial, because you can't always expect one Pokemon to have ideal sweeping conditions every battle. If I manage to take out Ghosts, lay Stealth Rock down, and be against Pokemon slower than 21 Speed, Machop can sweep. If I manage to generally weaken my opponents team, Croagunk can sweep. If my opponent is using a moderately bulky Pokemon that is sweeping my team, Machop can revenge kill it, while if my opponent has a fast Choice Scarfer sweeping, Croagunk can revenge kill it.
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Croagunk (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 188 Atk/116 Spd/188 SAtk
Lonely nature (+Atk, -Def)
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Vacuum Wave
- Fake Out
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Role: The ultimate revenge killer and late game cleaner, MixedPriorityGunk. MPG is so unique as a revenge killer, because no matter how fast the opponent is, it will still be outsped and likely 2HKOed by a combination of Fake Out and Sucker Punch or Vacuum Wave. MPG also gives me a nice Gligar lure, hitting it on the switch with Ice Punch is game changing. Near-perfect coverage priority moves, Fake Out, and an awesome Water-type immunity help Croagunk earn a spot on my team.
Moveset: Fake Out + near perfect coverage priority attacks are obviously important for sweeping and revenge killing purposes. Ice Punch gives me a way to break Missy subs reliably, and also gives me a strong reliable physical attack. Not to mention, it OHKOes Gligar.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Maxed Atk then SpA, and dumped the rest in speed. Lonely was my nature of choice because it benefits 3 attacks, while a Mild nature would only benefit one. Sucker Punch and Fake Out are probably my most important attacks as well.
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Machop (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 36 HP/196 Atk/36 Def/236 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- Dynamicpunch
- Payback
- Bullet Punch
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Role: Machop is probably close to Missy for being my teams MVP. It not only gives me an awesome switch-in for Cranidos and other Pokemon, it gives me an awesome late game sweeper and revenge killer. With DynamicPunch, Machop basically has 50% chance to beat everything slower than it, while it also OHKOes almost everything that doesn't resist it as well. Bulk, confusion, and priority make Machop one of the most important members of my team.
Moveset: DynamicPunch needs no explanation. Ice Punch and Payback hit Gligar and Ghost/Psychic-types respectively, being the only good switch-ins to Dynamic Punch. Bullet Punch is often underrated, which shouldn't be the case. Priority is priority, its awesome in Little Cup. Steel isn't a great attacking type, but the fact that it can now revenge kill Cranidos, Rock Polishers, and even stuff like weakened Mankey and other random Pokemon.
EVs, Nature, and Item: Since Machop needs max Speed and a Jolly nature to reach 21 Speed, the majority of other EVs are dumped into Attack. However, this leaves Machop with enough EVs for a point in HP and a point in Defense, further increasing Machop's already impressive bulkiness.
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Threat list is below.
