BW LC Shell Ya Later! (Currently #1)

[blarajan]

Intro

Current Ladder

Hi everyone, this is blarajan bringing you an RMT that I've cowritten with soviet (or Ban Nattorei on the server). soviet approached me to build a team as soon as he saw that Murkrow, Gligar, and Misdreavus were being moved back into Little Cup. He really wanted to get into the Little Cup meta , and the introduction of these monsters interested him enough to make that attempt. I had also been a bit out of the Little Cup scene, since to be quite frank, it was boring as hell before. This was all of the motivation I needed to get back in, so I happily worked on a team with him. What came from our teambuilding was a variety of great EV spreads, a cool offensive pair, and a team that's sitting pretty at number one on the ladder. Many users can attest to the team's effectiveness.I personally think this is one of the best teams I've ever built, and it's been really solid when handling the rest of the meta. It's been a lot of fun to play and to try out. However, it's also gotten a bit stale—because almost all of the Little Cuppers have SEEN it, and because I've used it so much. But here we go!

soviet's comments will be in blue while blarajan's will be in green.

Glance:

Teambuilding Process

First, we began with Gligar. This was the Pokemon that soviet chose originally, due to its bulk, speed, and offensive prowess. We decided to use a Flight Gem Acrobatics set, because the offense that gave was too good to pass up. After Earthquake / Acrobatics / Roost, we were unsure how to proceed. We initially used U-Turn, for the offensive momentum. However, that was underwhelming, so we tried Swords Dance. Finally, we decided to make it SubRoost, in order for it to handle Sucker Punch from Murkrow better, and to be more threatening defensively. We haven't looked back since.

As amazing as Gligar is, it does have some issues with a lot of Pokemon in the metagame. After thinking about it, we decided an amazing Gligar partner was Scraggy. It was able to beat a lot of Gligar's checks (Bronzor, Staryu, Misdreavus, etc), and is an amazing sweeper in its own right. They complemented each other perfectly, so we decided here that we would make this our main offensive duo.

The next Pokemon we chose was Bronzor. We needed our own Gligar check, because we thought it would be the dominating force of the metagame. Bronzor hard counters Bronzor, while being an excellent check to Murkrow, Drilbur, Hippopotas, and really, like 80% of the metagame. It tanks pretty much everything it needs to. It also gives us Stealth Rock, which helps a lot, especially with Murkrow and Misdreavus, who hate passive damage. It's an excellent defensive pivot, and we felt it helped our team the best at this point.

We took a look at our team and went...well, we don't really like fast Pokemon. +1 Scraggy, Houndour, Omanyte post smash, Scarf Snover...none of it. We thought about Mienfoo, but threw that idea away because we all know Mienfoo is a shitty Pokemon. We decided on Croagunk. Access to Vacuum Wave gave us a solid check to those Pokemon, and its own special bulk let us tank Misdreavus really well. Croagunk brought a lot to the table, and we realized we couldn't do without it.

To be honest we're not really sure why we chose Misdreavus, but we did. Misdreavus fell into that “too good not to use” category. It blocked spin, was offensively powerful, was bulky, tanked random hits, etc. We tried Nasty Plot Misdreavus, but that wasn't really that good. We then moved to Substitute, which worked better, but Misdreavus died too quickly using it. Finally, we tried Will-o-Wisp, and fell in love.

Honestly at this point we didn't really know what to do. We pretty much covered everything with these Pokemon so the last slot was mainly...filler? We debated between a lot of things here, like Scarf Snover, Houndour, and a bunch of other stuff. We noticed that our team was pretty slow at that point (nothing outsped the 19 speed tier), so we wanted a revenger. We also noticed a bit of a weakness to SubKrow. We put two and two together...and the legend of Scarf Shellder was born.

In Depth

Croagunk (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 212 HP / 28 Atk / 36 Def / 108 SAtk / 116 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Vacuum Wave
- Dark Pulse

Despite the team being based around Gligar, Croagunk is the star of the show.This poke is just so good. When we were teambuilding, we really needed a mon to stop all of the faster threats of the meta, and Croagunk really delivered. The combination of Fake Out + Vacuum Wave does a number to any shell smasher, Scraggy, Houndour; you name it. One of the reasons we decided to use Croagunk is, using this spread I created, it is a great counter to Misdreavus. It recieves 50% max from a Shadow Ball while 2HKOing after rocks with Dark Pulse / Sucker Punch. On top of being a great offensive asset to this team, the typing coupled with the resistances and immunity to water make it an incredible defensive force as well. The reason I chose these EVs is because I needed to create a very bulky set to switch in and out of fighting moves to check the things it needed to while still having great offensive presence. The analysis spreads really weren't good at all, because they were unnecessarily offensive; aswell, the LO set dies so fast, because what Croagunk mainly does is use Fake Out + Vacuum Wave. That's an extra 20% HP that will never be gotten back on a pokemon this team does not function without. This knowledge in hand, we decided to use an Eviolite set designed at taking lots of abuse while still hitting hard. I remembered from my experience of playing before The Big 3 were banned, that Croagunk is actually a decent check to all kinds of Misdreavus, so I decided to use that as a baseline. The spread ensures that Misdreavus Shadow Ball does 50% max (which is actually a very rare damage roll), so that really covers just about any other special attacker in the tier. Something else I was experimenting with, was a spread of 132 HP / 36 Def / 108 SAtk / 116 SDef / 116 Spd Modest (+Satk, -Atk) utilizing Icy Wind instead of Sucker Punch. This really transforms Croagunk from a bulky priority abuse, to a late game cleaner. Icy Wind enables all base 19 Pokemon to be outsped as well as hitting Gligar switchins.

Using this Croagunk has been absolutely amazing, let me tell you that. It's my go to mon for a lot of current threats in the metagame. The moves we chose were Fake Out / Vacuum Wave / Dark Pulse > Drain Punch / Sucker Punch. Fake Out provides free damage that allows us to obtain many KOes we wouldn't have. Generally, Fake Out + Vacuum wave takes out a -1 Omanyte. Likewise, Fake Out helps us stall out an extra turn to accumulate Toxic damage from Bronzor. I can't even describe how many instances this has saved me. If I land a toxic on a Murkrow, or a Scraggy (and Shed Skin decides to be reasonable), Mienfoo, or anything, Fake Out lets me let them accumulate more damage for free. But really, Vacuum Wave is the best part of using Croagunk. Many of the current threats in the meta are weak to fighting, plain and simple. Houndour, Scraggy, Snover, Omanyte, are all hit by Vacuum Wave for super effective damage, making Croagunk a really good check to a lot of faster Pokemon that give me a hard time. Sucker Punch / Dark Pulse complement this nicely. The main thing that I love about this Croagunk is how much it beats Misdreavus. Generally, Misdreavus thinks I'll use Sucker Punch, so it Will-o-Wisps, Substitutes, or Nasty Plots. Using Dark Pulse allows me to get about 50% on it for free. Then, Sucker Punch lets me finish it off as it is scared of Dark Pulse. Dark Pulse is cool as well as it allows me to hit Slowpoke for a lot of damage. Croagunk's fighting resistance makes it a great check to Mienfoo and Scraggy, while its ability to absorb Toxic Spikes have made it an invaluable asset to stall. The given spread makes it really bulky, and makes its Vacuum Wave really powerful. Overall, it's definitely the star of the show.

Bronzor @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 228 HP / 4 Atk / 148 Def / 4 SAtk / 68 SDef / 16 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Ice]

I think Bronzor is the most replacable Pokemon on this team, because it doesn't provide much offensive pressure and has no reliable recovery. This lets multiple threatening Pokemon, such as Scraggy, have an essentially free switchin to set up, and this can be very devastating if our checks are dead. Despite these flaws it really is crucial to the success of this team. It is the only purely defensive pokemon on this team, and as such is the initial switch for so many mons. On top of being a great pivot, Bronzor has a useful movepool in Toxic and Stealth Rock. Both of these moves are really important, as they provide passive damage that breaks opposing cores easier. Stealth Rock checks multiple mons, such as Larvesta and LO Murkrow, as well as really helping Shellder. Stealth Rocks turns mulitple crucial 3HKOs (Misdreavus, Staryu) into 2HKOs, and that really ties the offense of this team together. The EVs for Bronzor aren't really that flexible to be honest, so there will more than likely not be any variation between the EVs of this Bronzor and that of others. Basically, we maximize HP to tank the hits better, as well as mixing the defenses to provide an optimal balance, putting the rest (4 EVs) into each offense to make it hit slightly harder.

Bronzor is way too fucking good, seriously. It is the Pokemon that soviet thinks is the most expendable on our team, but I have to disagree. I have never gone a match without using Bronzor's amazing typing and defenses to tank something, or at least to get SR up. Bronzor is our Gligar counter, and honestly gives zero shits whatsoever about what it does. Checks Hippopotas, Drilbur, Misdreavus, Croagunk, tanks hits from Scraggy all day if it has to, smashes Shellder, beats Murkrow without Heat Wave, etc. The reason Bronzor is so good is because we decided that Psychic sucked and gave it Toxic. Toxic allows Bronzor to at least threaten everything it cannot hit (and there are a lot of things it cannot hit). Toxic means it can whittle down the aforementioned Pokemon even if it can't really do anything to them. Likewise, I can't even tell you how many times I have Toxiced a Scraggy in a pinch and lucked their Shed Skin until they died...Bronzor has been an invaluable tank and honestly this team can't function without it. Since one of the biggest threats of my team, Mienfoo, loves to come in on Bronzor, getting the toxic off on it really helps whittle it down. Same with...everything, like Cradily and Hippopotas. Plus it hits what it needs to hard enough. It always breaks Murkrow's Substitute with HP Ice and 2HKOes Gligar, which is all that's really for. Earthquake hits Croagunk and helps whittle thins down with Toxic damage. But honestly, Bronzor just sits on its ass. It doesn't even need attacks and I'd still use it.

Shellder (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 36 Def / 76 SDef / 196 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Razor Shell
- Ice Shard

blarajan is always telling me how Shellder is probably the most replacable Pokemon on the team, but that just isn't the case. Since most offensive teams are fairly frail, they can be potentially swept by fast, hard hitters. To rememdy this, a scarfer is fairly necessary on an offensive team. As you can see, this team isn't "fast" persay, with nothing outspeeding the important 19 speed tier. When teambuilding, we noticed a trend; we are actually very weak to fast things that were basically un-revengable by our team, as well as a weakness to various Pokemon with substitute (Murkrow, Gligar, etc.) so we added the Legend, the B0SS, Scarf Shellder. This thing really is a monster, revenging half the tier as well as hitting deceptively hard with it's STAB moves. The main boon of this though, is it can revenge almost anything in the tier, as well as being somewhat hard to switch into when it choses the correct move. Max Satk / Speed Misdreavus is 2HKO'd after Stealth Rock with Rock Blast. The EV's were chosen so Shellder would hit 21 Speed after the Scarf boost, enabling it to outspeed any non-Scarfed Pokemon in the tier. The HP/Def EVs are to maximize Physical Defense with the amount of EVs left over, while the SDef EVs are to allow it to take various special hits better, such as Croagunk Vacuum Wave or Snover Blizzard / Ice Shard. When looking at this spread you'll notice the Atk isn't max, but when you go through and run the calcs, it actually doesn't matter; The damage is exactly the same.

Honestly, I don't have much to say about the king. He, not Bronzor, is definitely our most expendable member of the team. We needed something to beat Sub Murkrow, and it takes out Gligar just fine, which is cool. It outspeeds all non scarfed Pokemon with 21 speed, meeting the minimum requirement of a revenge killer. It can OHKO Hippopotas and Dwebble through Oran with Icicle Spear and Rock Blast respectively, assuming one critical hit or max damage roll of the five (which is really useful...one of the only Pokemon that can stop Crustle from setting up entirely). Outside of that, I really just hit things with Icicle Spear and let it die. It does what it has to, and that's about it.

Scraggy (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SDef / 212 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

This thing is easily the best sweeper in the tier; the combined bulk as well as the incredible attacking prowess really push this thing over the edge. This mon forms the main offensive core of the team, together with Gligar. The synergy they have together is they each remove each others checks, with Gligar taking care of the fighting types, while Scraggy takes care of the bulkier mons like Bronzor, Slowpoke and Hippopotas. This thing is just so bulky, it really has amazing set up opportunities, and due to the small amount of checks, it sweeps incredibly easily. Something I occasionally think about is using Zen Headbutt over Crunch due to the recent spike in Croagunk usage. The leftover EVs were put into Sdef because most of the things Scraggy has opportunities to set up on attack from the Special side.

There's so much that can be said for Scraggy, it's ridiculous. It is without a doubt the best set-up sweeper in the tier, unquestionably so. The sheer amount of teams that are Scraggy weak is ridiculous. At +1, Scraggy is only really beat by Croagunk and Mienfoo. Anything else (including the big 3) is pretty much just decimated by the appropriate move. Ice Punch smashes Gligar and Murkrow, while Crunch decimates Misdreavus. The greatest part about Scraggy is the sheer amount of Pokemon it can set up on. One of the most common defensive pivots in the current metagame, Bronzor, is pure set-up bait. Misdreavus, Chinchou, Staryu, and many other threats are set-up on just as well. By running the 36 evs in Special Defense instead of Defense, Scraggy is able to tank hits from these behemoths incredibly easily, and set up on them accordingly. It is one of my main Misdreavus checks, as well, and kind of just destroys the entire tier. If my opponents have Croagunk, then I just use Ice Punch when I bring in Scraggy early game. If they have Mienfoo, I make a lot of double switches to Gligar, or use Drain Punch. When these two are eliminated, Scraggy WILL sweep you...no questions asked.

Misdreavus (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 240 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Thunderbolt

Misdreavus is just a really great Pokemon to help push our offense. It has an amazing typing to abuse in that, it gets a good spammable STAB on top of an immunity to fighting really tie Misdreavus together as a solid pokemon. We have debated what the last slot should be, and it was really never set in stone. We started with Nasty Plot so Misdreavus could function as a 3rd set up sweeper, but that never really worked out so we moved to Sub, and likewise, it didn't work either. Then Rajan tried Will-o-Wisp and it has been the best so far. It really lets us cripple a physical attacker, as well as avoid annoying Sucker Punches from Croagunk. Another boon from its typing is that it functions as our teams spinblocker. Even though we don't have spikes on this team, Stealth Rock is amazing. The Extra damage it provides helps us wear down key threats like Murkrow and Larvesta as well as breaking sashes and Sturdy. Due to the good defenses Misdreavus boasts when utilizing Eviolite, it is often our first switchin to things such as Mienfoo, to scout for Hidden Power Ice, or Chinchou, if we don't want to predict too hard about it's move. The EV spread was chosen to increase the offensive power as well as hitting the crucial 19 speed tier.

Misdreavus is a pretty cool Pokemon. Even with a fully offensive spread such as ours, its defenses with Eviolite are fantastic, and allow it to tank pretty much any neutral hit. It is also incredibly strong, able to almost always smash something with its attacks. We opted for Thunderbolt because we considered hitting Staryu and Shellder and such more important than having Nasty Plot or Calm Mind or Pain Split or something like that. This comes in handy due to Misdreavus's Ghost typing. As a Ghost-type Pokemon, Misdreavus has the ability to block Rapid Spin. The common Rapid Spinners, Staryu and Tentacool, both fall prey to Misdreavus's Thunderbolt. Also, after going between a lot of moves, such as Nasty Plot and Substitute, we settled on Will-o-Wisp for our final move. Will-o-Wisp allows us to burn irritating attackers that might switch in and we can't really hurt, such as Hippopotas or Gligar. Likewise, it lets us get around Croagunk's Sucker Punch, which is its main usage. I also tend to burn Scraggy in a pinch instead of HP Fighting it, as HP Fighting doesn't OHKO at all. Misdreavus's combination of incredible bulk and ridiculous offensive prowess makes it an incredibly valuable slot on our team. Also, it's really cool, because a LO Shadow Claw from Drilbur only does like 60%!!

Gligar (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk / 236 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Substitute

The boss this team was made around. Gligar is an amazing Pokemon that has incredible versatility. It has good speed, great bulk combined with an excellent typing and great attacking stats. The main thing we use Gligar for is the amazing virtue it has as a sweeper, but it is also an amazing pivot, coming in on a plethora of threats in LC, such as HP Ice-less Mienfoo, Chinchou using Volt Switch or even Croagunk. This thing just has so many opportunities to come in and set up a substitute it is not funny. Another major boon is there are perhaps only 4 Gligar counters in the entire tier, Porygon, Slowpoke, Bronzor and Hippopotas, all of which are efficiently taken out by Scraggy. The reason this team works is because the duo of Scraggy and Gligar is just amazing, the only thing in the tier that can beat both of them is Scarf Mienfoo with HP Ice, which is handled perfectly by Misdreavus. Despite being one of the best offensive mons in the tier, it is also one of the best defensive as well, even without the help of Eviolite. This really brings it together as a Pokemon no team can go without. The spread is basically to make it the most efficient sweeper, maximizing Attack and Speed so it hits the crucial 19 Speed tier.

Gligar is a boss, end of story. He's the Pokemon we wanted to base our team on, and boy he did not disappoint. We immediately knew that we wanted to use a Flight Gem Acrobatics set, meaning Acrobatics and Earthquake were locked in stone. The issue, then, was finding the best final two moves. Due to Gligar's incredible defensive stats and typing, we knew we wanted it to last, so we threw on Roost. I didn't think Swords Dance was that great because of Bronzor, so I decided to use Substitute and fell in love. SubRoost Gligar is the perfect combination of offensive and defensive prowess. I can't even explain how many times this thing has brought me back from a bad game. Using Substitute gives me a safety net when I predict a switch, meaning Gligar can do heavy damage to like everything that isn't Bronzor or Hippopotas. Substitute also serves the important function of acting as a buffer against speed ties. The 19 Speed tier defines the metagame, and using Substitute means I don't necessarily die if I lose the speed tie. Gligar is my main out against Mienfoo, who gives my team a hard time. Likewise, it cleans up end game realllllly well due to its speed. If the opposing team is weakened, and their Bronzor is dead...and you're behind a Substitute? You're golden. In fact, the fear of SubGligar and SubKrow is the reason we have a Shellder on our team. It's just such a good Pokemon, and pairs really well with Scraggy. The pair eliminate each other's counters and sweep so well it's ridiculous.

And that's the team! It's been a ton of fun to use, and we hope you enjoyed it!

Exportable!

Croagunk (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 212 HP / 28 Atk / 36 Def / 108 SAtk / 116 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Vacuum Wave
- Dark Pulse

Gligar (M) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 Atk / 236 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Roost
- Substitute

Misdreavus (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 240 SAtk / 240 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Thunderbolt

Bronzor @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Atk / 148 Def / 4 SAtk / 68 SDef / 16 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Scraggy (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SDef / 212 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Ice Punch

Shellder (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 36 Def / 76 SDef / 196 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Razor Shell
- Ice Shard

 

[soviet]

====Threatlist====

Nuisances in Orange
Threats in Red

Mienfoo: Mienfoo can be a real pain sometimes, because it has a lot of versatility in its moveset. Normally I like to switch Misdreavus in first, because It can take just about anything Mienfoo can use, other than payback (but nobody is spamming payback, unless they have Hi Jump Kick) to scout for Hidden Power Ice as well as attempt to burn it. If it turns out they don't have HP Ice, I immediately start switching Gligar in, as he walls everything Mienfoo can do as well has having the ability to OHKO. In a pinch, Shellder can be used since it wins in a 1v1 situation, but it's very rare to have to resort to this.

Chinchou: Chinchou - Chinchou requires a little prediction to beat, as well as the knowledge of its set. Depending on which pokemon is out at when Chinchou switches in, as well as the way my opponent is playing depends on who I switch to. Generally, if Croagunk is out, I will go to Gligar to take the Volt Switch and threaten out with an Earthquake. Likewise, if Gligar is out and I have suspicion that it is a scarf set, I will send Croagunk in to take the hit. Since Croagunk is fairly bulky on the special side, prediction really isn't a huge deal, since Volt Switch won't do much if they do decide to use that, but it is always nice to keep Croagunk's HP up since it is a fairly useful Pokemon to have. When i'm in a situation where I would like to minimize the prediction I have to do, I will send out Misdreavus to take a hit and force out.

Scraggy: Scraggy is a threat to every team, no matter how prepared they are for it. If Scraggy is a Moxie variant though, it is absolutely no trouble to me. Generally how I find out if it is Moxie is it generally doesn't switch into Bronzor. The way I deal with Moxie is to toxic it with Bronzor or Will-o-Wisp it with Misdreavus, although that can be risky due to WoW missing, or it having a Dragon Dance by the time I switch in. As for Shed Skin Scraggy, they do like to switch into Bronzor, and when they do it will be met with toxic. My first switchin is always Croagunk though, since the combination of Fake Out + two Vacuum Waves will always dispatch the most common Scraggy variant with minimal defensive investment. The sets with Zen Headbutt are much more threatening, since it OHKOs my main Scraggy counter, but they have to lose a valuable coverage move, so they are left vulnerable to Gligar, Misdreavus or Shellder to revenge them from 50% health they are at after Croagunk Vacuum Waves them.

Bronzor: Bronzor is fairly easy for this team to take care of if it runs a set without Toxic, but unfortunately that often is not the case. My first switchin is Scraggy, because it is not afraid of Toxic due to Shed Skin, and Bronzor does minimal damage to Scraggy, meaning it gets a free turn to set up Dragon Dance or attack a predicted switch in. If they do not have toxic and the opposing team has something like Mienfoo on it, I will switch Misdreavus in as an alternate check. Opposing Bronzor are also a good time to switch my Bronzor in to set up Stealth Rock if I have not done so previously in the match.

Gligar: Gligar, being one of the most dangerous pokemon in the tier, is potentially dangerous to this team when Bronzor is gone. Thankfully, the only Pokemon it can actually switch in on is Croagunk. Every other Pokemon on the team has a move to hit it super-effectively or does enough damage to dissuade it from switching in. One potential problem Gligar can possibly pose is Baton Passing some boosts to a troublesome Pokemon when my counters for it are gone, but that doesn't happen too much as it wont have enough time to do this. If my main check in Bronzor is dead, my secondary switchin is Shellder, because it can shrug off any attack Gligar should throw at it and OHKO back with a Skill Link Icicle Spear. The bulky sets are not a problem at all for this team, because they don't do enough damage to break through Bronzor. If they are a SubRoost bulky set, using Substitute just gives Shellder a free switch in to either OHKO the Gligar, or do decend damage to another of the opponents pokemon.

Misdreavus: Misdreavus really isn't a threat to this team. The reason being that it can't switch in on anything at all. When it does switch in to revenge something, my main switch is to Croagunk. With the current Croagunk spread, it will only take about 40% damage from a Shadow Ball, so it can easily Dark Pulse + Sucker Punch for the kill, or Dark Pulse twice if I suspect it has a move like Substitute or Will-o-Wisp. If Croagunk is low on Health for whatever reason, Scraggy also makes a great switch, because Hidden Power Fighting will never 2HKO, unless it is specs, giving me time to Dragon Dance and attempt a sweep, or just crunch it. If both of these pokemon are either dead, or low enough that Misdreavus will kill them, I can either attempt to revenge kill it with Shellder, who will 2HKO with Icicle Spear or risk a speed tie with Gligar, although Gligar is really only afraid of the random Will-o-Wisp since it can maintain good health throughout the match with Roost.

Staryu: Staryu is fairly easy to take out because it can't do very much to my team. My first switchin to Staryu is always going to be Croagunk, due to the superior bulk on the special side and the ability to absorb all water attacks. Since Bronzor has many opportunities to set up Stealth Rocks, it isn't a big deal if they get spun; I just like to be safe, because the extra damage Misdreavus might take from a Hydro Pump can be very detrimental sometimes. Since Staryu resists Icicle Spear, I see them switching into Shellder all the time, only to find they are actually 2HKOd by Rock Blast. Outside of this, Staryu can only switch in on Bronzor, so i'm not very worried about it.

Croagunk: Croagunk has an extremely minimal impact on this team, other than being a good switchin to Misdreavus and revenging Scraggy, but since it does not have Shadow Tag, that is not an issue at all. My first switch is always Gligar, because it walls absolutely anything Croagunk commonly carries and it can hit back with two STAB Super-Effective moves. If it turns out that croagunk happens to run Ice Punch or Icy Wind, i'm not still not in much trouble, because Bronzor can completely wall it while either setting up Stealth Rocks or hitting it for very good damage with Earthquake. Mentioning Stealth Rocks; if I haven't set them up yet, Croagunk is a very good Pokemon to do it on.

Gastly: Gastly is really just a worse Misdreavus. It is slower, less bulky and doesn't hit as hard. One thing it does do to the team that can be potentially annoying is using Hypnosis. It entirely depends on their team who I let take the sleep, but it will generally be Bronzor since I can still handle Gligar if that is incapacitated. Once the ideal Pokemon is asleep, I will send in Croagunk as that beats any set Gastly runs. If something were to happen to Croagunk, Shellder and Scraggy make great switchins due to their bulky and the fact that they can beat it 1v1, especially Shellder who can use its 5-Hit moves to break substitutes.

Hippopotas: The only think the sand hippo does to this team is wall Gligar and set the sand up to provide passive damage as well as helping Drilbur sweep by providing the extra speed. My first switchin to Hippopotas is always Bronzor. I generally see Hippopotas in the lead slot, so I set up my Stealth Rocks first, but if they come in later I will try to toxic it so it can't perform its job as a wall anymore. If it has Toxic over Roar though, Scraggy can easily set up on it to attempt a sweep. Honestly though, Hippopotas can only switch in on Gligar without being seriously harmed.

Murkrow: Murkrow can be a threat, depending on whether or not lady luck is on my side. The first thing I do is try to determine which set it is running, which is generally determined by what it does to Bronzor. My first switch is always going to be Bronzor because Murkrow doesn't waste time taking potential life orb damabe by spamming Heatwave. The next turn I will generally switch to Shellder, because it will take minimal damage from a Heatwave, and can strike back with an advantage most of the time. If they use Substitute, I can just OHKO them with Icicle Spear through this, and if they use Brave Bird again, I will just outspeed and OHKO them. Most of the time people don't really expect the scarf, but if they do and use Sucker Punch, I can generally take the hit. Another option is using Ice Shard, which will generally kill them after the Brave Bird recoil plus two turns of Life Orb recoil and potential Stealth Rock Damage. If they are the Bulky Feather Dance / CM set, Gligar makes a decent counter because Murkrow can't use Featherdance because Gligar has Hyper Cutter. If it is a SubRoost set, Bronzor can toxic them with ease, and Croagunk can use Fake-Out to stall the turns and do decent damage with Vacuum Wave. With all of that being said, Murkrow really can not switch in on anything on my team, especially with Stealth Rocks down.

Ferroseed: Ferroseed really is not too big of a problem to this team, because it isn't very hazard weak; 3 of the pokemon resist Stealth Rock while 3 are immune to Spikes as well. That being said, it can hit 3 of my Pokemon (Scraggy, Shellder, Gligar) for decent damage so it can be annoying sometimes. Generally what I will do is switch Misdreavus in on it when it is laying hazards and try to burn it. From here, it gets much easier to deal with. Once it is burned it is just set up bait for Scraggy. If Scraggy isn't the best switchin due to other members of my opponents team, Croagunk can also do a good job, resisting Ferroseed's Bullet Seed and hitting back with STAB SE Vacuum Waves. If Ferroseed tries to wall Gligar for too long as well, they will find their HP to be too low to switch in.

Drilbur: Drilbur, while being a very good sweeper, isn't threatening to this team at all. I have two great switchins in Gligar and Bronzor that really mean Drilbur ends up being dead weight on the opponents team. My first switchin is going to be Bronzor, because it can set up Stealth Rocks as well as using Toxic on Drilbur. On top of this, I have seen Hidden Power Ice Drilbur before, so i'm careful to switch it in now. If those two pokemon are dead for some reason, I have Shellder as a great backup check, being able to take Drilbur's moves to hit back with an Icicle Spear, or hit it with an Ice Shard. Croagunk has useful priority too, and Misdreavus can survive an unboosted Shadow Claw if it really has to, due to absolutely everything else on my team being low on health.

Snover: Snover can possibly get annoying due to the hail it summons, but it really can't do too much to my team. I have two pokemon that resist its main STAB, Blizzard, and two that resist Giga Drain. On top of this, Stealth Rocks really limits its ability to switch in frequently to revenge things, the main thing being Gligar, who it can't even switch into. My first switchin to Snover is generally Bronzor, because it resists both of Snovers main moves and can set up on it, be it Stealth Rocks to hamper its ability to switch in later, or Toxic to provide extra damage on it or whatever else should decide to switch in. Another good switch is Croagunk, because it doesn't take too much damage from Giga Drain and can OHKO back with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave after Stealth Rock. Shellder is also an alright switchin, due to it resisting 3/4ths of the common moveset and doing good damage with Rock Blast. The real downfall of Snover versus this team is its sheer inability to switch into anything at all.

Magnemite: Magnemite can be annoying at times, because of its ability to trap Bronzor, helping something else such as Gligar or Drilbur sweep. Other than that it really doesn't do much though. It can only switch in on Shellder or Bronzor if it is running an Air Balloon set because everything else hits it for Super Effective damage. If it does get in, Gligar is my first swtich in because of its ability to take anything Magnezone does to it, while being able to hit it with Earthquake, or Roost stall Magnet Rise turns if it needs to. If Scraggy has good high HP, it can also set up on Magnemite to attempt a sweep, assuming its checks are eliminated.

Dwebble: The only thing Dwebble can do to this team is reliably get up a decent amount of hazards. Unfortunately for the opponent, that really doesn't matter to me, because most of my pokemon are either immune to Spikes or resistant to Stealth Rock. As for the Shell Smash sets, they can't get past Gligar. If something does happen to Gligar, Shellder can OHKO Dwebble through Oran Berry with a critical hit or a maximum damage roll, but Dwebble OHKOs Shellder if it gets 5 Rock Blast hits, so that's fairly risky.

Stunky: The only thing Stunky can do to this team is reliably kill Misdreavus and get a burned explosion on something. Killing Misdreavus can be fairly annoying, depending on the team, but it is something I can live with.Generally, I will switch Bronzor into Stunky if they don't switch into Misdreavus so I can set up my Stealth Rock. If I already have Stealh Rock, my main switchin is Gligar, because it is bulky enough to take anything Stunky may throw at it, while being able to get around Sucker Punch or Explosion with substitute. Scraggy can also set up on Stunky if it is burned (and even if it isn't burned, explosion does roughly 70%) to attempt a sweep, assuming all potential counters are dealt with.

Abra: Abra can be potentially threatening if it still has its sash up, because that means it can probably get a kill, or atleast do enough damage to a pokemon so it won't be able to switch in again. The main switchin to Abra I have is Scraggy, because it doesn't really take too much damage from Hidden Power Fighting and can switch in on any other move Abra has. If I'm certain they won't use Psychic and I know they won't use protect or don't have their sash, Croagunk makes a great switchin because Abra will die to a Sucker Punch. A problem, and reoccuring theme for many pokemon, is that Abra just can't switch into anything other than perhaps Bronzor, although Earthquake probably 3HKOs.

Diglett: Diglett is definitely an annoying pokemon because it has the ability to trap and kill Croagunk. Since Croagunk is the way I revenge many threats, it really opens me up to a lot of attackers. The upside to this, is Diglett can't switch into Croagunk, so it will only be able to revenge it after it has already done its job. Other than that, it can't switch in on anything else, and doesn't really threaten anything else, so I'm not too worried about Diglett.

Shellder: The b0ss. Shellder is a cool poke, and can actually give me some problems. The Shell Smash set is actually bulky enough that it can take some abuse, even after it has set up. The only real problem is that if it does set up on something, it will be at low enough health for me to revenge it with Croagunk. My first switchin is always going to be Bronzor, because that walls all of Shellder's sets and can toxic it to prevent it from switching in that much. After that I always have Croagunk to revenge it with Vacuum wave, or if need be, Misdreavus can take a hit and retalate with a Thunderbolt.

Frillish: Frillish is actually a rather useless Pokemon in this metagame. It also can't really touch any of the members on my team. It either throws out weak Scalds that Croagunk is immune to, or weak Shadow Balls that Croagunk doesn't take much from. It can threaten with Will-o-Wisp, but Croagunk can just hurt it with Dark Pulse. Likewise, Misdreavus doesn't take much from even Frillish's Shadow Ball, and can hurt it significantly more with its own Shadow Ball. Scraggy doesn't take anything from Frillish either, and can set up on its face. If your name is Iss and you use a Choice Scarf Frillish, then you have even fewer opportunities of being a nuisance to this team, as Croagunk completely and utterly hard counters.

Houndour: This thing is a huge pain in the ass, it's probably the biggest threat to my team, and if played correctly has the potential to 6-0 me. What I have to do is get Stealth Rock down as soon as possible to limit the amount of times it can switch in. From there, I try to bait a Sucker Punch or Dark Pulse to give Croagunk a free switch in to either force it out to wrack up the Stealth Rocks damage, or kill it with Vacuum Wave. On top of being incredibly hard for me to switch into, it can switch in on a Misdreavus Will-o-Wisp or Shadow Ball and trap it, potentially opening holes. Scarf Shellder is also able to revenge Houndour with Rock Blast. Houndour is just such a threat to this team, I have to get lucky or else it can easily take 2 or 3 Pokemon with it.

Munchlax: Munchlax really doesn't do much to this team other than wall Misdreavus. Even then it doesn't like to switch in and take a Will-o-Wisp because this means it has to waste turns with rest. It can really only switch in on Bronzor and Misdreavus, due to its lackluster physical defense. My first switch is often Scraggy, because I don't want to risk switching Gligar in on an Ice Punch, while Scraggy can safely set up or just do damage with Drain Punch. Outside of Scraggy, Shellder makes a decent switchin, as does Gligar.

Clamperl: As with all Shell Smashers, they pose some sort of threat to this team, and Clamperl really isn't an exception. It hits fairly hard after it's used Shell Smash, so I have to be careful with it. Generally I will attack it with whatever is currently in while they use Shell Smash, then switch in Croagunk and attempt the revenge kill. That is basically all I can do, because Clamperl outspeeds and OHKOs all of my other pokemon.

Drifloon: Drifloon can be somewhat annoying due to Destiny Bond, but other than that it basically means I am fighting a 5 - 6 match. Typically I will switch Bronzor in on Drifloon and toxic it so they can't force me to attack it and kill something. After that, I go to to Gligar and wall it, or I can go to Shellder to kill it if they set up a sub or someting similar. Stealth Rock really means they cant swtich in and out much as well due to losing 25% of their HP.

Lileep: Lileep really does not do much at all to my team other than sit there. The major thing it does is set up Stealth Rocks, but that is inconsequential because nothing on my team is weak to them. What I do first is switch to Bronzor and set up Stealth Rocks. After that, I will try to toxic it so it can't continue to sit around and wall my Misdreavus. If all of the opponents checks to Scraggy are dead, it is able to easily set up on Lileep, laughing at them while they attempt to toxic me, due to Shed Skin. Gligar can also do a decent amount of damage to Lileep, disuading it from coming in. If Bronzor is dead, Misdreavus can easily burn it with WoW, but the extra damage on it might be detrimental later in the game.

Omanyte: Omanyte, just like all of the other Shell Smashers, are potentially dangerous to the team, due to them outspeeding and OHKOing everything bar Croagunk. Generally I attack with whatever is in currently (unless it is Gligar) while they Shell Smash, then go to Croagunk on the Surf and OHKO them with Vacuum Wave + Fake Out. If they have Sandstorm on their team, that just makes it that much harder for me, because Croagunk does less damage with its Vacuum Wave. An ideal condition for me would be to status it with either Misdreavus or Bronzor.

Tentacool: Tentacool is a 5 - 6 game, it's that simple. The only thing it can do is Rapid Spin away my Stealth Rocks and set down Toxic Spikes, only to have them absorbed by Croagunk. It can't switch in on anything on my team except for Shellder so it is just absolutely inconsequential. My first switchin is always Croagunk because it absolutely walls tentacool. If it is later in the game, I get a free turn to switch Scraggy in and set up. All in all though, Tentacool is completely useless versus my team.

Larvesta: Larvesta is a nuisance, but nothing Stealth Rock can't fix. If I see a Larvesta, my first priority is to get Stealth Rock up...and to keep them up, with Misdreavus preventing obvious Rapid Spins. Gligar can live a Flare Blitz and easily OHKO with Acrobatics. Shellder can live one as well, and take it down with Rock Blast, even through the rare Substitute versions. Scraggy can live, set up a Dragon Dance, and OHKO with Crunch through SR, while not caring about Will-o-Wisp due to Shed Skin. Misdreavus outspeeds and OHKOes with Shadow Ball through Stealth Rock. Since I have a spin blocker on my team, there is no difficulty in keeping up SR, so there is no difficulty in beating Larvesta. Worst case scenario, I sack something and threaten it with Gligar or Misdreavus, forcing it to switch out (and take more SR damage) or die.

Natu: Natu isn't really that problematic. It tends to come in on Bronzor all the time, which is a mixed blessing. While it prevents Bronzor from getting up Stealth Rock, it does absolutely nothing to it and takes repeated HP Ices. Likewise, it's offensively weak, so the majority of my Pokemon handle it fine. Misdreavus hits it hard with Shadow Ball while not taking much from the weak HP Flying or whatever it wants to use. If it's using HP Dark, Scraggy sets up on it and doesn't care. Gligar can take anything it does and hit it with Acrobatics. Shellder can smash it with Icicle Spear as well. If it's the Dual Screen set, then I just stall around with my Pokemon or go into Shellder to fish for a crit with Icicle Spear. If it's Featherdance, then I smash it with Misdreavus.

Tailow: Taillow doesn't really do anything at all to Bronzor, scarfed or Guts abuse. If it's Guts abuse, then Croagunk's priority does a lot to it, taking into account burn damage. Likewise, Shellder can just revenge it if necessary. Misdreavus can switch in on Facades and force the speed tie. If it's Choice Scarf, then it does absolutely nothing to Bronzor. Likewise, Shellder can take any hit and OHKO with Icicle Spear. Misdreavus can do the same with Thunderbolt.

Timburr: Timburr isn't a threat at all since Gligar hard counters. Outside of Gligar, I can go in with Misdreavus on the Drain Punch and hit it hard with Shadow Ball. It would have to use Payback, meaning it isn't healed up. At that point, anything can really revenge it. Croagunk doesn't take anything from what it does, so I can Toxic it with Bronzor or burn it with Misdreavus, even with Guts, and stall for turns with Fake Out and switching into Misdreavus when necessary. Though honestly, Gligar hard counters.

Pawniard: Pawniard isn't really difficult to handle as it's not threatening at all without a Swords Dance, and the only thing it can set up a Swords Dance ON is Shellder locked into the wrong move, which I would never let happen if they still have a Pawniard. Gligar can play around with Sucker Punch even at +2 using Substitute. Misdreavus can force the burn on it as well. Bronzor isn't OHKOed and hits it hard with Earthquake. Croagunk is my main check, though, as it resists Dark and hits it with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave for the OHKO.

Slowpoke: Slowpoke is absolutely decimated by Scraggy, as it can't do anything to it and Shed Skin can remove the Scald burns or the Toxic or Thunder Wave. Misdreavus takes anything Slowpoke does nicely, and smashes it with Shadow Ball. I can Toxic it with Bronzor as well, and Croagunk can help with this by using Fake Out to accumulate Toxic damage. Slowpoke generally doesn't switch out of Croagunk, either, so its Dark Pulse really hurts Slowpoke.

Dratini: My first switch in to Dratini is generally Bronzor, as that is my only sponge for Dragon type attacks. I tend to Toxic it, especially if it is locked into outrage, and then use HP Ice repeatedly. Shed Skin can be annoying, but I tend to have good luck with that. The big thing is it can't really set up on anything on my team. Scraggy hits it hard with Ice Punch, Misdreavus burns it or hits it with Shadow Ball, Shellder OHKOes with Icicle Spear, Croagunk is arguably set up, but has good priority to hit it hard if it decides to attack, Bronzor Toxics it or HP Ices it, and Gligar hits it really hard with Acrobatics. If it does somehow set up, I go to Bronzor, but that never actually happens.

Tirtouga: Croagunk is the best hard counter for Tirtouga in existence, with the immunity to Water-type attacks and resistance to Rock-type attacks. It allows me to hit Tirtouga really hard with Vacuum wave, and I am always comfortable switching Croagunk into it...even at +2. If it isn't at +2, Gligar can smash it with Earthquake, Scraggy with Drain Punch, Misdreavus with Thunderbolt, Bronzor with Toxic, or Croagunk still!

Wynaut: Wynaut is a difficult Pokemon to beat, but honestly doesn't really do much to this team. Arguably it beats Bronzor, but if Bronzor is locked into SR, it doesn't do anything, and if I can get the Toxic off, it's great. Scraggy can play around with it with mind games...DD or Crunch? I tend to just burn it with Misdreavus on the Mirror Coat, burn it again for more damage / not using an attack, then using Shadow Ball, which does fine. Croagunk helps with passive damage as Fake Out is an amazing move. Likewise, it tends to use Counter on Croagunk when I use Dark Pulse. Gligar is irritated, but I just use Substitute to avoid the Counter. Finally, Shellder is the only real Pokemon that's fucked by Wynaut, but outside of that, it's not really a problem.

Koffing: Koffing is actually just a weak piece of shit. It can't really do anything to anything on my team, though unfortunately I don't have much that can beat IT. I like to go into Bronzor to scout its recovery options / movepool with repeated HP Ices. After I determine that, I go into Misdreavus or Gligar to put the hurt on it, as it can't really do anything to either.

Vullaby: Vullaby is also weak. I Toxic it with Bronzor while taking nothing from what it does. Likewise, I hit it hard with Thunderbolt from Misdreavus, or with Ice Punch from Scraggy. Bronzor takes nothing from any of its hits, though, and is my first switch-in.

Ponyta: Ponyta is rather problematic, as it hits just about anything on my team hard. I tend to predict around it and try to get Gligar in on Wild Charges, which generally works well. Even if it doesn't work well, Gligar can live a Blitz and threaten the speed tie. Likewise I can threaten it with Shellder's Rock Blast. Generally, I get up SR as soon as I can to limit its switch ins and deal with it through its own recoil, or through speed ties. Scraggy can live a Flare Blitz and set up a Dragon Dance, and get most of its health back with Drain Punch next turn.

Elekid: Elekid is annoying since it outspeeds everything on the team except for Shellder. However, it's really easy to play around. It's easy to switch in to Gligar on the Electric attack and then Shellder on the Ice Punch to threaten the KO with Icicle Spear. If it's Choiced, that's even easier. It can't OHKO Scraggy, Misdreavus, or Bronzor with any move while they OHKO back, and Croagunk does a lot with its priority.

Darumaka: Darumaka is a Pokemon that forces me to get up SR as fast as I can, as I rely on that + recoil from Flare Blitz to take it down. Fire-type attacks are the scariest thing for me to handle, but I still tend to go into Shellder anyways. As I said, I rely on passive damage to beat Darumaka (and Hustle miss!), so it takes a huge chunk out when Flare Blitzing Shellder. Then I Ice Shard as Scarf Darumaka outspeeds, and it takes more damage from Flare Blitz. Croagunk is then used to Fake Out + Vacuum Wave for the KO. Misdreavus can tank a Flare Blitz if necessary, but I prefer not having it do that. SR and passive damage is what beats Darumaka...but it tends to not do THAT much damage.

Meowth: Meowth sucks. Bronzor completely has its way with it, while Gligar takes absolutely nothing from its attacks and threatens the OHKO. Misdreavus can switch into Fake Out, and Scraggy can take the Bite, forcing it to take LO damage, and then switch out in fear of Drain Punch. SR + Life Orb take it down really quickly, along with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave from Croagunk.

Porygon: Porygon can't even touch Bronzor, so that's generally my first switch-in. My main goal is to get a Toxic on it, as that makes dealing with it significantly easier. Aside from that, it needs a ton of Charge Beam boosts to pose a threat to Misdreavus, who hurts it a lot with HP Fighting. Scraggy isn't beaten by Tri Attack, either, and gets all of its health back with Drain Punch. LO is an issue end game, but luckily Gligar can OHKO that with a Flying Gem Acrobatics.

Cottonee: Cottonee isn't really a threat as it's offensively useless. I can beat it down with any of the Pokemon I have out. Bronzor breaks its Substitute with HP Ice, Gligar smashes it with Acrobatics, Scraggy with Ice Punch, Misdreavus with Shadow Ball, or Croagunk with Dark Pulse. Shellder absolutely decimates it with Icicle Spear. The Encore is really easy to predict, as well, so I can switch out easily and just scare it with every other Pokemon on my team.

Shelmet: I don't really mind Spikes too much on this team, as Gligar, Bronzor, and Misdreavus are immune to them, so Shelmet isn't the most irritating Pokemon to face. It does get in the way of a Scraggy sweep, but that's okay because Gligar demolishes it with Acrobatics. Bronzor can toxic it, and Misdreavus 2HKOes it (I believe) with Shadow Ball. It doesn't really hurt anything on my team, and I don't mind the Spikes that much as it never gets up that many layers.

Exeggcute: Exeggcute isn't really a problem as it can't set up a Substitute safely on any member of my team, as everything can break its Substitute with the correct move. I have to switch out of it with Croagunk, but not with anything else. Misdreavus, Gligar, and Shellder all outspeed and OHKO (Shellder even through Substitute, though Oran Berry is a jerk if it has it), while Bronzor and Scraggy can break its Substitutes. It is forced to sleep something (which I generally take with Bronzor), and then I go to Shellder on the Substitute and beat it with Icicle Spear. It'll get one KO a match at most, and generally not even that.

Axew: As with Dratini, my main check for Axew is Bronzor, since it's the best thing at sponging Dragon-type attacks, and since it doesn't have a Fire-type attack. Outside of Bronzor, though, Gligar can live an unboosted Outrage if necessary, and hit it really hard with Acrobatics. Gligar outspeeds, as well, so it doesn't necessarily need to even take that Outrage. Misdreavus can outspeed it and hit it with a Will-o-Wisp, which effectively neuters Axew's physical capabilities, making it even less of a threat for this team. Shellder has Ice Shard if it sets up and I need to get damage on it. However, if it hasn't set up, then Shellder outspeeds and OHKOes it with Icicle Spear. As is the case with Dratini, Axew doesn't actually HAVE any set-up opportunities on anything on this team, as everything can really put the hurts on it.

Aron: Due to the sheer amount of Rock-type resists this team has (Scraggy, Croagunk, Bronzor), Aron's Head Smash isn't all that scary. It's 4x weak to Ground-type and Fighting-type attacks, which are the main STAB moves on three of my Pokemon, and a coverage move on two of my other Pokemon, so Aron is never there to stay. Scraggy OHKOes with Drain Punch, Gligar with Earthquake, Bronzor 2HKOes with Earthquake while taking nothing in return, Misdreavus OHKOes with HP Fighting, and Bronzor OHKOes with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave. Even if it sets up a Rock Polish on my Shellder locked into Icicle Spear or Rock Blast, my team is naturally bulky enough to not really care. Likewise, Croagunk's Vacuum Wave is a priority move, so it doesn't really care about any speed Aron may or may not have.

Mantyke: Mantyke is, funnily enough, one of the biggest threats to the team, as Rain is a very threatening play style in general for this team. The primary reason for Mantyke's particular effectiveness is its STAB HP Flying, which OHKOes my main Water-type switch-in, Croagunk. Luckily, nothing it has will OHKO a full health Shellder or Misdreavus, who can take it out with Rock Blast or Thunderbolt. SR plays a huge part in checking Mantyke as well, due to that and Life Orb really limiting its longevity. With enough SR and Life Orb, Croagunk can take it out with Fake Out and Sucker Punch in a pinch. Rain itself hurts this team, but Croagunk is generally able to outstall the playstyle, especially in conjunction with Misdreavus.

Archen: Archen is a scary Pokemon in that it is very powerful. However, Bronzor completely hard counters it, taking nothing from any of its moves, and hits it with HP Ice to put it in defeatist range. Likewise, Stealth Rock makes handling it even easier, as it gets put in defeatist range even more quickly. Croagunk can put it in Defeatist after SR with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave. Likewise, Misdreavus outspeeds it and OHKOes it with Thunderbolt. Gligar doesn't take much from anything it does, and with enough Acrobatics, puts it in Defeatist relatively quickly. Shellder outspeeds all Archen before an Agility, and easily OHKOes with Icicle Spear, taking anything but a Flight Gem Acrobatics easily.

Deino: Deino hits really hard, but luckily is handled relatively well by Bronzor, who takes nothing from any of its moves, even with the Hustle boost. Outside of that, though, Gligar can live any of its attacks in a pinch. However, the easiest way to handle Deino is to fish for the Hustle miss when using Gligar. As in, I substitute until he misses, and then I hit it with an Acrobatics. That way I can guarantee its demise while ensuring my Gligar stays alive. Likewise, Deino being a Dark-type Pokemon means Scraggy absolutely demolishes it with Drain Punch assuming a non scarfed version. Croagunk hits it ridiculously hard with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave, as well. Misdreavus outspeeds the non scarfed version, and either cripples it with Will-o-Wisp, or beats it with HP Fighting. Shellder can live an Outrage if it has to, and OHKOes with Icicle Spear.

Joltik: As cute as Joltik is, it's not really a threat at all. Its main STAB moves are resisted by Gligar, making it a relatively safe switch-in. They tend not to carry HP Ice, either, making that switch even more guaranteed. If it does have HP Ice, though, Misdreavus makes a good switch in as well, since it doesn't take much from HP Ice and resists Bug Buzz. Scraggy is never OHKOed by anything it does, and can set up a Dragon Dance on it, and then kill it with Crunch after SR. Bronzor is also never OHKOed, and can get the Toxic off on it in a pinch, allowing me to accumulate Toxic damage with Fake Out from Croagunk. Misdreavus and Gligar outspeed.

Solosis: Solosis is actually pretty lame. The TR version is absolutely hard countered by Bronzor to the point where it can't do anything to it. But even if Bronzor is dead somehow, it's really easy to play around with Scraggy and Misdreavus. Croagunk can eat up Trick Room with Fake Out, and hit Solosis with a Sucker Punch anyways. Gligar is never OHKOed by anything TR carries at full health. The Calm Mind version is even easier to handle, as Scraggy can hit it with Crunch on its weaker physical side, while Misdreavus can smash it with Shadow Ball. It also can't actually set up on any Pokemon on the team except for Bronzor, which is funny, as that hard counters.

Cranidos: Cranidos is really lame. It hits really hard, but as with Aron, I have a ton of Rock-type resists, and can tank a Head Smash in a pinch by the other Pokemon if necessary. The Trick Room attacker version is entirely hard countered by Bronzor, who hits it hard with Earthquake. If I can't rely on Bronzor, then Gligar can tank a Head Smash and easily OHKO with Earthquake. If it's the Choice Scarf variant, once again those two Pokemon beat it—only easier, as it doesn't have LO. If for some reason it's banded or a Rock Polish set, everything that's out at the time can beat it with their corresponding Fighting, Water, or Ground-type attacks. Croagunk gets a special mention as a check as it can defeat it even in Trick Room with Fake Out + Vacuum Wave.

Doduo: Doduo is handled in the exact same way as Taillow. I go to Bronzor to hard counter it, as its only set is Choice Scarf. Since there is no super powerful Guts abuse set, I can comfortably tank its hits with Gligar and Misdreavus if necessary. Stealth Rock and priority can handle it in a pinch as well. However, Bronzor legitimately hard counters.

Machop: Machop is easy to handle as it is rather one dimensional. The only scary thing about it is its coverage...however, due to the Payback nerf, I can feel comfortable switching Misdreavus in 100% of the time. If it uses Dynamic Punch, then I know it's a No Guard set, meaning Will-o-Wisp will always hit and will cripple it. If it uses Close Combat, then I know it's a Guts set, so I should go to Gligar to tank the Payback and OHKO it with Acrobatics. Bronzor can tank a Close Combat or Dynamic Punch easily and hit it with either Toxic or Earthquake depending on the situation. Shellder can do a ton of damage to it with Icicle Spear. Croagunk's Fake Out + Vacuum Wave, once again, can be crucial in accumulating passive damage along with free hits to tank it. However, Machop's low speed is generally its downfall, allowing Gligar or Misdreavus to beat it handily.

Voltorb: Voltorb isn't a threat...it's the rain that it brings. If I see Voltorb, I know it'll lead, so I always bring in Gligar. Gligar sets up a Substitute on the Rain Dance, and then Earthquakes it since Voltorb generally doesn't have anything to break its Substitute. This way, I can stall out as many turns of Rain as I can with Gligar and Croagunk. Voltorb itself is not a threat, as I just mentioned. Scraggy can live anything and Drain Punch it, Misdreavus can live anything and Shadow Ball it, Shellder can outspeed and Icicle Spear, Croagunk can Fake Out + Vacuum Wave, Gligar can Earthquake, and even Bronzor can Earthquake. Then it's just a matter of stalling out the rain with some switching, and I generally have the match from there.

Oddish: Oddish is a bit annoying since it's always in a Sun team. However, unless there is a Murkrow on the team to set up Sun, I always lead Gligar...always. Its dual STABS allow me to OHKO pretty much every single member on Sun teams, even before they get the Sun up. If they have a Murkrow, then I tend to lead Bronzor, to get up SR and to Toxic everything I can. Then, some switching to stall out Sun, along with Fake Out from Croagunk, generally lets me have my way with their team with Gligar. Scraggy and Misdreavus can live anything Oddish can throw at it, and Shellder can OHKO with Icicle Spear. The main way to beat it, though, is to prevent Sun from coming up—and Gligar is one of the best Pokemon in the tier for doing that.

 

[NatGeo]

Having gotten pack into LC myself only recently, I kinda sympathize with your feelings about LC before the unbanning of everything. That said, I haven't faced this team before but a quick glance through and it honestly has not a single weakness that I can think of off of the top of my head. Maybe find a more solid counter for SandMag teams? Magnemite doesn't care about mostly anything you carry on the first turn, since you're going to have to use HP Ice to break Ballon, and from there Excadrill kinda proves to be a problem since you're pretty much cleaned up if it's running a Protect spread and you fuck up with prediction. That's really just nitpicky though, since you can pretty much work your way around it with some smart playing. Really excellent team!

edit: lol I almost posted before the threatlist went up! Seeing as you have Houndour problems I don't really see it making that much of a difference, as it really can't switch into any of your Pokemon effectively since its really frail, so I guess its just a matter of keeping offensive pressure on the opponent, considering you can still probably get a prediction right and OHKO dour with a boosted Thunderbolt, among other things. Imho it doesn't seem that threatening and if it is there really isn't much you can do without making another hole in your team lol. Considering Houndour isn't *that* common there's a reason why blarajan has been at 1st for a while!

 

[Elevator Music]

Meh, I wouldn't worry about sand at all when you have Bronzor+Gligar, especially because you have Roost on Gligar (even with flight gem which I still think is a little sketchy, but whatever floats your boat~). Not even mentioning Misdreavus....

I was going to suggest changing Misdreavus for another Pokemon, but since you told me that Shellder is the Pokemon you use the least, I suppose that would be the Pokemon to change (if anything). If you do change it, you most definitely need something that can deal with Murkrow, since Shellder was apparently integral in how you dealt with it. My random suggestion would be Porygon, if only because it can tank attacks from Murkrow AND Houndour with ease. It's also helpful against other random Pokemon such as Chinchou and to an extent Staryu, and with 3 great Fighting-type resistances it's not like you need to worry too much about adding a second Fighting weakness. That being said, you are losing a big revenge killer for your team, however you have two 19 speeders so it's not like you've lost all speed, and the bulk that Porygon brings your team should hopefully help out as well.

edit: but of course this is already a great team etc, had some intense battles against it

 

[fatty]

idk if i've ever played you, blarajan, with this team, but i've played soviet numerous times. with that said, i use the big threats to this team a lot (houndour, chinchou, murkrow), so i think i can help you fix those weaknesses because when i won it was because of these mons. you say shellder is probably the most replaceable and i agree. it seems to not really provide much to the team other than a good scarfer for the current metagame. in it's place, i'd like to suggest a physically bulky rt chinchou. chinchou is rarely seen running a physically bulky set, but i think it really fits well onto this team due to it checking all of the aforementioned threats. it's water typing and considerable bulk let's it soak up houndour's main STAB, fire blast, and retaliate with a STAB scald of your own. while you say chinchou isn't a problem in your threatlist, i don't see how this can be. thing only thing stopping that incredibly annoying volt switch is gligar, and it's ohko'd by chou's STAB. you need croagunk to stay healthy as well in order to help glue this team together, so it's not wise to continually switch it into chinchou. the chinchou set i'm proposing allows you to stop that volt switch spam with little to no risk at all, getting the momentum back on your side. finally, the reason i'm suggesting physically bulky chou is so that you have a reasonable counter to murkrow. with the given spread, chinchou only takes 9 damage max from bb and 13 damage max from sucker punch coming from adamant lo krow. this means that you can soak up a bb and a follow up sucker punch and ohko back with thunderbolt. if you're at too low of health to take a sucker punch, just rest off the damage, rendering sp useless. hope this helped and here's the set...

Chinchou @ Eviolite
Nature: Bold
236 HP / 212 Def / 60 Spe
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

 

[blarajan]

Having gotten pack into LC myself only recently, I kinda sympathize with your feelings about LC before the unbanning of everything. That said, I haven't faced this team before but a quick glance through and it honestly has not a single weakness that I can think of off of the top of my head. Maybe find a more solid counter for SandMag teams? Magnemite doesn't care about mostly anything you carry on the first turn, since you're going to have to use HP Ice to break Ballon, and from there Excadrill kinda proves to be a problem since you're pretty much cleaned up if it's running a Protect spread and you fuck up with prediction. That's really just nitpicky though, since you can pretty much work your way around it with some smart playing. Really excellent team!

edit: lol I almost posted before the threatlist went up! Seeing as you have Houndour problems I don't really see it making that much of a difference, as it really can't switch into any of your Pokemon effectively since its really frail, so I guess its just a matter of keeping offensive pressure on the opponent, considering you can still probably get a prediction right and OHKO dour with a boosted Thunderbolt, among other things. Imho it doesn't seem that threatening and if it is there really isn't much you can do without making another hole in your team lol. Considering Houndour isn't *that* common there's a reason why blarajan has been at 1st for a while!

Hey man, thanks for the rate. Fortunately, sand isn't much of a problem at all on this team. Bronzor puts down all sand teams without Magnemite just fine, and if I predict a switch and hit with Earthquake, even ones with Magnemite aren't that big of a deal. Gligar is also a fabulous check for Sand teams. And in a pinch, IF NECESSARY, Misdreavus can easily tank a LO +0 Shadow Claw from Drilbur. Also I think soviet exaggerated a bit with Houndour 6-0ing me. I can't switch into it, but I can handle it through smart play as you said.

Meh, I wouldn't worry about sand at all when you have Bronzor+Gligar, especially because you have Roost on Gligar (even with flight gem which I still think is a little sketchy, but whatever floats your boat~). Not even mentioning Misdreavus....

I was going to suggest changing Misdreavus for another Pokemon, but since you told me that Shellder is the Pokemon you use the least, I suppose that would be the Pokemon to change (if anything). If you do change it, you most definitely need something that can deal with Murkrow, since Shellder was apparently integral in how you dealt with it. My random suggestion would be Porygon, if only because it can tank attacks from Murkrow AND Houndour with ease. It's also helpful against other random Pokemon such as Chinchou and to an extent Staryu, and with 3 great Fighting-type resistances it's not like you need to worry too much about adding a second Fighting weakness. That being said, you are losing a big revenge killer for your team, however you have two 19 speeders so it's not like you've lost all speed, and the bulk that Porygon brings your team should hopefully help out as well.

edit: but of course this is already a great team etc, had some intense battles against it

idk if i've ever played you, blarajan, with this team, but i've played soviet numerous times. with that said, i use the big threats to this team a lot (houndour, chinchou, murkrow), so i think i can help you fix those weaknesses because when i won it was because of these mons. you say shellder is probably the most replaceable and i agree. it seems to not really provide much to the team other than a good scarfer for the current metagame. in it's place, i'd like to suggest a physically bulky rt chinchou. chinchou is rarely seen running a physically bulky set, but i think it really fits well onto this team due to it checking all of the aforementioned threats. it's water typing and considerable bulk let's it soak up houndour's main STAB, fire blast, and retaliate with a STAB scald of your own. while you say chinchou isn't a problem in your threatlist, i don't see how this can be. thing only thing stopping that incredibly annoying volt switch is gligar, and it's ohko'd by chou's STAB. you need croagunk to stay healthy as well in order to help glue this team together, so it's not wise to continually switch it into chinchou. the chinchou set i'm proposing allows you to stop that volt switch spam with little to no risk at all, getting the momentum back on your side. finally, the reason i'm suggesting physically bulky chou is so that you have a reasonable counter to murkrow. with the given spread, chinchou only takes 9 damage max from bb and 13 damage max from sucker punch coming from adamant lo krow. this means that you can soak up a bb and a follow up sucker punch and ohko back with thunderbolt. if you're at too low of health to take a sucker punch, just rest off the damage, rendering sp useless. hope this helped and here's the set...

Hey thanks guys. I'm going to reply to both of you at the same time because my comments are both the same. While I say Shellder is the most replaceable member on the team, I can't really think of a Pokemon that would fit BETTER, you know? @emma, Porygon is great this meta and I would love to fit it in (am currently trying to make another team focusing on it), but I don't think it fits in as well as Shellder does. I DO rely on that great speed of Shellder's, but primarily--I rely on its Sub destroying. Multihit moves have been my savior on multiple occasions (SubKrow, SubDour, SubGar). Shellder's great coverage has been really useful as well. Icicle Spear and Rock Blast are surprisingly powerful given five hits...and that comes really in handy. Plus Ice Shard, while weak, has proven reallly helpful in emergency situations. @fatty, Chinchou just really isn't a threat though. I play conservatively until it fucks up, which it always does. I just need to figure out the set, which is rather easy...if it's scarfed, then one locked Volt Switch and I'm golden, and if it's not...then one not locked Volt Switch and I'm golden. While there is definitely a risk of things going wrong, a combination of Croagunk / Gligar and good playing, along with Misdreavus when necessary works fine. Also, Scraggy tanks anything it has to throw and sets up, making it a good check as well. I don't like that Chinchou as it detracts from the offensive nature of this team, and I am not desperate for a special tank like that.

While Shellder may be my most replaceable Pokemon, I don't think anything else would contribute more to my team's success than it would.