RU: God Starscream

-Tsunami-

-Tsunami-

is the 2nd Smogon Classic Winneris a Two-Time Past SPL Championis a Three-Time Past WCoP Champion


​
Ah, the mystical land of XY RU. When this tier was first announced, I figured that it might be fun to get involved, especially with the end of Smogon Premier League. At first, I went with the trademark ShakeItUp-teambuilding strategy of simply throwing together 6 sweepers and hoping they worked. I tired many strategies such as Linoone + 3 Attack Memento Whimsicott, Chatot + 5 other Normal-types, Endure + Reversal Hitmonlee, and the amazing DD + Block Gatr to destroy Alomomola. Ultimately, though, there were simply too many threats in this tier, Sableye specifically, for many of my teams to be effective. I decided to give building a real team a try, and knew immediately that I wanted to use Sableye due to just how effective it was. This team reached the mountaintop of #1 on the RU ladder, and was the only team able to defeat SilentVerse on the ladder. With the banning of a key piece of the team, however, in Sableye, I decided it was time to share it with Smogon in all its glory.

Team-building Process:


So, I started with Sableye. Due to Sableye's ability to spin-block in addition to my tendency to want to use SR + Spikes on every team, I decided to add Smeargle.



After this, I knew I needed some sweepers. I began scanning through the RU thread and discovered two Pokemon I felt like using in Relic Song Meloetta and Sub CM Cresselia; Cresselia in particular had been very effective against me in my previous RU battles, so I wanted to try it out. I also decided to use Venomoth, since I did not want my team to be pestered by Toxic Spikes, and because Venomoth is nothing short of an amazing sweeper.



I noticed my team was weak to Fire, so I added a Pokemon which I thought would be pretty fun to use in Endure + Flail Weakness Policy Kabutops.



However, after playtesting, the team simply was not very effective, especially due to the presence of Defog. I also could not handle the wide variety of Special Attackers in the tier, such as Kyurem and Choice Specs Exploud, both of which dealt major damage to the team. Because of this, I decided to go against all I believed in, and replaced Smeargle with a Registeel.



The team was almost complete, but I noticed that Kabutops really wasn't pulling its weight. It also wasn't as good of an answer to Fire-types as I imagined; I also realized that I needed a Pokemon that could help break walls as well. Because of this, I decided to replace Kabutops with a Mix Emboar, which i knew could break walls well while helping me handle my Fire-weakness.



And with that, the team was complete.


The Team:


Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Taunt

Sableye is arguably the most important part of the team. It simply shuts down opposing Fighting- and Psychic-types, as well as a plethora of other threats. With the help of Taunt, Sableye can shut down many of the Pokemon commonly seen on stall teams, and cripple the opposition with Will-O-Wisp. The damage it can cause to the opposing team in the form of burns as well as the damage done by Knock Off truly make it a pivotal part of the team. It can switch in to a wide variety of threats, and can even stop set-up sweepers such as Toxicroak once they have a boost. Speaking of Knock Off, it makes Sableye even more of a devastating threat, crippling switch-ins such as Emboar and Aromatisse for the remainder of the game. Burns from Scald are not even too big of an issue for Sableye, as it can still spread burns and heal off the damage when necessary. Venomoth's presence also prevents Sableye from being harmed by Toxic Spikes, another bonus. Sableye can also act as a spin-blocker if necessary.


Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Protect
- Iron Head
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock

This is a Pokemon I never thought I would actually use. It is much too defensive for my liking, but it truly is a key cog on this team. Being able to wall almost any Special Attacker in RU is obviously a huge plus, as not having to worry about even the strongest attackers such as Life Orb Shaymin, Kyurem, and Specs Exploud is a great bonus to have on a team. Registeel is a great Stealth Rock user, being able to set up the hazard in every battle rather easily. Protect works well on this set, allowing Registeel to scout while simultaneously raising its HP due to Leftovers. Seismic Toss is the primary attack on this set, being able to consistently due 100 points of Damage to almost all of the metagame, while Iron Head can deal more damage to Pokemon such as Kyurem, as well as Pokemon with weak Defense. Registeel can handle almost any special attacker in the tier, especially the ones which Sableye cannot, and allows the team to not have to worry as much about boosting special sweepers such as Venomoth.


Emboar @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 144 Spd / 112 Atk / 252 SAtk
Mild Nature
- Fire Blast
- Sucker Punch
- Grass Knot
- Superpower

This is the main wall-breaker on the team. Emboar can switch into many of the Fire-type Pokemon which Registeel cannot handle, and subsequently deal major damage to the opposition. The EV spread is rather simple; I wanted to have maximum Special Attacking power in order to deal the most damage possible to the opposition, while also being able to outrun Gligar and Milotic. This spread achieves both of those aims, and allows Emboar to tear through many common walls. One of the main Pokemon which people like to switch in on Emboar is Gligar, which is handily 2HKO'd by Fire Blast. Grass Knot hits bulky Water-types such as Alomomola, and also slaughters any Rhyperior foolish enough to cross paths with Emboar. Superpower hits any Special Walls that think they can handle Emboar, and hits incredibly hard due to STAB and the Life Orb-boost. Sucker Punch rounds out the set, providing the team with a much-needed priority move, which can finish off weakened threats and also KO Pokemon such as Azelf that try to knock out Emboar.


Venomoth @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Roost

Offensive Tinted Lens Venomoth is one of the deadliest threats in the tier, being able to rip apart many Pokemon after a single Quiver Dance boost. I choose to pass on the standard Baton Pass set, instead deciding to use this set as a sweeper. Bug Buzz is the only attacking move needed, as with Tinted Lens, only the few 4x resists in the tier such as Emboar and Cobalion are safe. Sleep Powder allows for an easy means of set up, as no Grass-type in the tier will want to switch in on a Pokemon with a STAB Life Orb Bug Buzz. Roost rounds out the set, allowing Venomoth to set up on a plethora of threats it would not have been able to otherwise; Roost also surprises many opponents, as most of them will believe that Venomoth's last move will be Baton Pass. After a Quiver Dance, hardly anything in the tier outruns Venomoth, and thanks to Tinted Lens and Life Orb, Bug Buzz is able to do massive damage to almost everything in the tier. Venomoth also acts as my Toxic Spikes absorber, another bonus.


Meloetta @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Hasty Nature
- Relic Song
- Return
- Close Combat
- Knock Off

Relic Song Meloetta is truly an underrated threat in the metagame, and one which can rip through unprepared teams rather easily. Assault Vest Escavalier is a threat for both Cresselia and Venomoth, but this set tears it apart. Relic Song allows Meloetta to transform into Meloetta-P, a frighteningly strong Fighting-type with 128 Base Attack and 128 Base Speed. The Speed stat in particular allows Meloetta to outrun basically the entire unboosted metagame, making it even more deadly. STAB Close Combat can KO a large part of the tier, with Return hitting Pokemon such as Venomoth that resists it. Knock Off allows Meloetta to hit Ghost-types such as Cofagrigus, and also allows Meloetta to cripple the opposition if using Relic Song is not an option. A Hasty nature is used so as to not weaken Relic Song, as the added power can be beneficial at times; Relic Song also has a 20% chance to put the opponent to sleep ,which is always very helpful if one gets lucky with it. After the opposition is crippled, weakened, and statused, Meloetta can easily finish the team off. The counters to Relic Song Meloetta are also extremely different than the counters to the standard Calm Mind or Assault Vest Meloetta, meaning that the opposition may be taken by surprise and simply have nothing left to stop this deadly threat.


Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Spd / 240 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight

The final Pokemon on the team is one of the tier's best set-up sweepers. Sub CM Cresselia can set up on almost the entire tier due to its supreme bulk and solid Speed. The 20 Speed EVs are used to Speed creep Gligar, who would otherwise be able to land a Toxic on Cresselia. The rest of the EVs are placed in Defense and HP, allowing Cresselia to act as the main physical wall of the team and set up on even the most dangerous physical attackers such as Emboar. Moonblast is the attack of choice as it allows Cresselia to hit Ghost-types, namely Sableye, and Dark-types, such as Sharpedo and Zoroark, something which Psychic fails to accomplish. This set can set up to +6 fairly easily on a great deal of threats, meaning that the extra power that comes with using a STAB move is not necessary most of the time. Once Cresselia begins setting up, it can cause major problems for the opposition, and can easily sweep a large portion of the teams in existence late-game.

Threatlist:

Guy who used Torkoal + SDef Cryogonal + Dustox: The guy who used this team on me deserves some major props, as he basically managed to completely counterteam me with ridiculously subpar mons. BRAVO.

Cobalion: Cobalion can be rather annoying for this team, especially if it has Taunt, but it is manageable usually.

Exploud: Even though I have Registeel, this thing can still be an issue, particularly if it hits my Registeel on the switch with Focus Blast.

Full stall teams with Aromatisse: nuff said.


Importable:

Emboar @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 144 Spd / 112 Atk / 252 SAtk
Mild Nature
- Fire Blast
- Sucker Punch
- Grass Knot
- Superpower

Meloetta @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 SDef / 252 Spd / 252 Atk
Hasty Nature
- Relic Song
- Return
- Close Combat
- Knock Off

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Protect
- Iron Head
- Seismic Toss
- Stealth Rock

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 248 HP / 8 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Taunt

Venomoth @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Roost

Cresselia (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Spd / 240 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Moonlight



And that, my friends, is my legendary XY RU team. Feel free to post your comments, and also to suggest replacements for the key piece known as Sableye.
 
Brawlfest

Brawlfest

is a Team Rater Alumnus
The is a really good team Tsunami, and honestly there aren't many threats to it. However, as Daedalus stated, Sableye just got banned, and that throws of the team, creating a couple of things. The first is a extreme weakness to stall or any team which aims to wear you down with hazards, due to your reliance on switching, as well as your lack of Sableye who was your primary stallbreaker. Outside of that, there aren't many threats to your team, although you do have difficulty tearing down Bulky Psychics such as Slowking and opposing Cresselias, as you are very reliant on Venomoth and Sableye to do so, putting a lot more pressure onto your bug. Strong fire types such as Banded Emboar or SubMagmortar also fuck around easily over your team, due to two weaknesses and only your own emboar to switch into them, severely pressuring your team. Overall a good team, and there isnt much to fix.

I'm looking at your team, and I do not feel Whimsicott suits over Sableye. Moreso, you are looking for the typing and utility sableye has to work with, rather than purely Prankster support. Instead, I think you should take your mind off of prankster, and focus on a similarly supporting (although slightly inferior) mon, Defensive Spiritomb. Like sableye, it is absurdly hard to take down, but with better bulk and the same typing, it fits the bill in supporting your team. However, it is slower and lacks knock off, which while comes at a disadvantage, it hits much harder with its Foul Play or Dark Pulse than Sableye, meaning it is less of setup fodder. Overall, Spiritomb isn't as good as Sableye in its Stallbreaking Support niche, but it is similar enough to justify use in supporting your team without too much of a difference.

To be honest I do not see the point of Cress on your team. I get that it is a good sweeper and bulky pivot, but it doesn't really add to the team on the whole. Like I said, you are very fire weak, so I would suggest looking into Trick Room Slowking. It pairs extremely well with emboar, but for the most part checks the Fire Types I was talking about earlier which cause you issues, as well as taking mad dumps over that bs named Cobalion. Your team also is not particularily fast, and can take advantage of the trick room against fast setup sweepers, to turn the tides a bit. Slowking also can still pivot for your team mid-game when you need not sweep via regenerator, continuing to pressure the fire types which would normally run through the rest of your mons.

Minor Changes:
Registeel: Thunder Wave / Toxic > Protect, as Registeel frankly is setup fodder, and Thunder Wave or Toxic can cripple the sweeper so you will not need to worry about it, as without a revenge killer you shouldn't be allowing any pokemon to set up against you.

Honestly one of the best teams in the current RU meta! Great one Tsunami :]
____________________________

Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SDef / 248 HP / 8 Def
Calm Nature
- Dark Pulse / Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split / Rest
- Taunt / Sleep Talk


Slowking @ Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 SAtk / 248 HP / 8 Def
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot / Psyshock
 
ApplepieFTW

ApplepieFTW

It got quickbanned? SUCK IT SABLEYE!

If you have to replace it, something that has good defensive synergy with registeel (maybe gligar or something like that). I agree with twave>protect.

Edit:

So this would solve your problem with fire types and still keep a CM booster. Change cress to resttalk CM scald milotic (crotic!). It just eats up hits for days, and is basicly crocune bar pressure, but it does have marvel scale as you know and its really good you could try it out and see if it does work and if you like it, be wary of toxicroak though.
 
Last edited:
Jonater

Jonater

I love this team so much, I decided to bump it.

Anyway, Due to Sableye being banned, you could possibly try Mega-Banette. Even though it requires one turn of set up, it could be played like a sableye, spreading burns everywhere, taunting things, and knocking off items. However, it lacks a reliable healing move and has to focus on Pain Split.



Banette @ Banettite
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Knock Off
- Taunt

This team is a masterpiece.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

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

  • ... and 1 more.
    • Top