Recently the RU tier moved Mega Abomasnow and Sharpedo to BL2 (rightfully so). And now the tier is more or less reforming as the ladder restructures itself. (March 2nd, 2016)
So to celebrate the new tier changes, I opted to build about 12 different teams for RU. Out of all twelve of them, there is one team in particular that stands out among the others. There are a few reasons for this, one of them being my theory for a Fairy/Steel/Dragon core which is just really tough to crack in general. I name this team "The Elitists" because each member on the team serves a specific role and all but one are at least A rank according to viability. The team resembles either bulky offense or balance depending on how you look at it. As I said, there is a Fairy/Steel/Dragon core which solidifies the team. Beyond that, the team uses 2 sweepers and rapid spin support. I laddered today just a little past 1300, though I haven't gotten close to peaking with this team yet. I have worked out all of the kinks, but I feel as though my team lacks... something. I just can't tell where or what. The main goal of this team is to exert pressure and force switches at the same time it punches small holes in the opposing team. I realize that there are some issues, which I will talk about after I present the team.
Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 72 SpD / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
One of the most useful pokemon in the current Meta, Mega Steelix earns a roll on this team as a bulky pivot and tank. It could set up stealth rocks; however, I have another rock setter in this team who fits in very well. Mega Steelix is a heavy weight champion and deals consistently higher damage with Heavy Slam than Iron Head. Combined with Earthquake, it makes switching in on Mega Steelix a little unpleasant without something like Alomomola. This is a RestTalk set so it can stay relatively healthy throughout the match while still being a threat even when it is asleep. It also allows me to take spore from Amoongus and sleep powder from defensive Venusaur. The best ability before mega evolution is sturdy, as it allows me to survive something from houndoom or delphox or just live at 1 hp if things get dicey and I still have full HP. Call it a safety net. Max HP makes it as fat as possible, while 72 SpD allows it to take special attacks more easily. I have 88 Speed solely to outspeed other Steelix which normally run 84 Speed. Adamant nature with 96 Atk lets it hit as hard as possible while still retaining its great bulk. This mon tends to force switches, usually to grass or water types. It's incredibly useful.
I have thought to run this as the rock setter with toxic over roar, but so far, I prefer the longevity provided by rest as this team lacks a cleric and I did not want to run one, such as Alomomola, because it didn't fit my intended playstyle.
Diancie @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
Diancie is relatively new to RU as of March 2, 2016. It is also one of the best fairy types in the current meta in my opinion. Before it dropped to RU, I used it in UU for a pretty similar purpose, though I ran it with a Quiet nature so that diamond storm would hit harder. Diamond Storm is a great move that has a 50% chance to boost defense by 1 and has 95% accuracy. It hits fairly hard too and it is STAB. In RU, the only thing it needs to hit are fire types, flying types, or ice types. Hence the Modest nature. Clear body is a great ability, though it isn't incredibly helpful on this particular set. Leftovers is practically the best item for Diance for passive recovery. I run 4 speed to outspeed uninvested base 50, as base 150 defenses are solid enough without investment. Moonblast just hits hard and in some cases doubles as a way to hit special attackers like Venusaur on the switch in, lowering special attack by 1 30% of the time. Earth power slams steel counters and grounded electric types not named magneton for good damage. It's also a great way of beating slightly damaged mega Steelix. This is my rock setter. Diancie is very helpful at dealing with fighting types and dark types, not to mention it checks Tyrantrum and Emboar. Diancie is worn down pretty easily and it isn't very quick, but Diancie is still very useful in general.
Tyrantrum @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Superpower
Tyrantrum is a beast. That's all there is to it. Sometimes a game comes down to whether or not Head Smash misses. Tyrantrum has Jolly nature and max speed investment to outspeed base 130 nature boosted max speed as long as it has its scarf. Thanks to rock head as an ability, Tyrantrum can spam Head Smash without recoil damage, earning huge amounts of damage to most things in general. Maximum attack investment allows it to hit as hard as possible. If anyone's played RU before, they know this is a pokemon that must be prepared for, almost regardless of its set. The main role for this tyrantrum is to wallbreak and or clean late game. Unlike the current moveset for the scarfed variant on smogon, I run Superpower over Dragon Claw. It hits harder than EQ on the first use and punishes some of its counters, especially ones coming in to take Head Smash. Mega Steelix with 0 defense investment takes at least 33.8% from Superpower where EQ dishes out 33.3% to it at most. The numbers are almost the exact same for Rhyperior. Fighting types also take more damage from it on the first hit. Superpower does frequently force me to either sack Tyrantrum or switch out. One great benefit is that Superpower nails things with levitate, that can switch into an earthquake, such as rotom-C or Eelektross. It also can earn a surprise KO on D-dance Scrafty after a little prior damage. Earthquake is similar to Superpower, but it lacks the base power and the stat drops. I've had some debate as to whether or not I should run superpower. Outrage is just powerful STAB that's useful in the late game. Aside from the moveset, this is a solid set for Tyrantrum. It's a wallbreaker and a late game cleaner.
Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Dark Pulse
Blastoise is also relatively new to RU. Before the introduction of Blastoise, the only viable rapid spinners were the hitmon family. Now Blastoise comes into play as the best rapid spinner in the current meta, simply because of its good natural bulk and the fact that it nails spin blockers with dark pulse. I am sure that there will be several different sets for Blastoise, such as a defensive spinner with roar/dragon tail. Quite clearly, this Blastoise has a common set and similar spread to Blastoise Mega in UU. Scald is one of the most spammable moves anything can learn and is the go-to-move for almost any situation. Ice Beam puts a dent in the common grass type counters, such as Venusaur and Virizion. Dark Pulse covers a good portion of the tier for neutral damage and hits spin blockers not named Spiritomb for more damage than scald. Rapid spin is rapid spin. Enough said. I run max HP to make Blastoise as fat as it can be alongside a Modest nature with max special attack to leave dents in opposing mons. There are very few pokemon that can OHKO Blastoise after rocks without a boost, let alone from full. The major problem with this set is that Defensive CM Meloetta can set up on Blastoise. Meloetta at +1 SpD can then set up a sub which can't be broken by Dark Pulse and continue to set up until it can net a KO behind a sub. I've thought about using Roar for the main purpose of slowing down that variant of Meloetta. Using a set with Toxic and protect is valid if I'm not mistaken, but I appreciate the coverage of Dark Pulse and Ice Beam coupled with rapid spin. Other than that, Blastoise provides great support for the team as a hazard remover.
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
*There is a note underlined in bold below here that summarizes how I feel about Scrafty on this team*
Before I discuss Scrafty, I want to take a moment to say that it took me at least thirty minutes to decide what pokemon to include in this slot. And even now, I'm still relatively unsure that Scrafty is the best fit. Virizion, Hitmonlee, and Emboar are all extremely viable. Virizion is able to set up on most water types and doesn't have to rely on a speed boost from dragon dance not to mention that Virizion can handle slower flying types not named Fletchinder. Hitmonlee can use either its reckless set or a liechi berry set with Endure and Reversal to nearly score KOs on everything, though it is incredibly frail. Hitmonlee could also use rapid spin if I wanted to use roar on Blastoise as well as gaining priority via mach punch. Emboar would cover essentially every grass type in the meta and be able to use sucker punch as priority, though Emboar couldn't act as a sweeper. Scrafty was chosen for 3 main reasons.
1) It is able to beat Meloetta lacking dazzling gleam
2) It can use things like Alomomola as setup fodder
3) It puts tons of pressure on balance and stall teams
All three of Scrafty's abilities are useful. Intimidate aids in setup. Shed Skin relieves status. Moxie can threaten to turn Scrafty into a deadly sweeper. I run life orb in order to boost my overall damage output. Shed Skin was my chosen ability, as it allows me to clear status 1/3 of the time, which increases longevity and allows me to always use Alomomola as setup fodder with Dragon Dance. Drain Punch was chosen over Low Kick and HJK purely to add to overall longevity. This allows me to arguably beat Mega Steelix after I'm at +1, meaning that I can't set up on a Mega Steelix (unless it's burned) but instead I can dish out at least 50% to one with Max HP and no defense investment (the main Mega Steelix set on Smogon). It will either use roar or heavy slam, the latter of which will effectively take out 60 to 71% from Scrafty. The next move will result in Scrafty earning the KO and recovering roughly half of the damage done by Heavy Slam minus LO recoil (Scrafty should have about 30 to 40% HP if the 1v1 starts with Scrafty at +1 and LO recoil from full health). One major issue though, is that Virizion can revenge kill unless Scrafty is at +2 since Drain Punch won't do enough damage to KO a Virizion at +1. Knock Off is one of the most useful moves in the game. And Iron Head is purely for fairy types, specifically Diancie, which even without a boost threatens to OHKO the Diancie on this team after rocks a little over 50% of the time. Scrafty is never going to set up on a fairy type, but it can hurt them. If Diancie is running defense investment, it will always avoid the OHKO from LO Scrafty's iron head after rocks if its defense number hits 375. If Scrafty is at +1, it won't matter regardless of Diancie's spread unless hazards aren't present, Diancie is at full, and has defense boosted nature and 252 Defense investment. Granbull and Aromatisse still beat Scrafty almost always in a 1v1 matchup. I used to run Poison Jab since it added grass type coverage, but Scrafty can generally beat most grass types after a boost anyway. I've done a number of calculations and noticed that Low Kick is not completely useless, as against several things in this tier, it packs a high base power to the things it needs to, like Virizion, Mega Steelix and Mega Glalie* (120 BP) and because it is a STAB move, the things that it hits for super effective damage results in a clean KO in most circumstances. It has 100% accuracy and no recoil, unlike HJK which although stronger has that unfortunate downside. Low Kick essentially means that Protect and Ghost types won't cause Scrafty to lose half its health by missing HJK. Though I do make a note here that Durant is a problem unless Scrafty is at +2 so long as Scrafty does not have HJK. This also assumes Durant is not scarfed. Honestly, choosing the specific fighting move for Scrafty has yet to be fully decided. Knock Off + Low Kick according to the calcs I looked at for a bunch of stuff is usually good enough coverage in its own right to threaten a majority of the tier. Drain Punch lacks power when it is greatly needed in some cases, such as Virizion and Camerupt-Mega. Knock Off at +1 will beat non-scarfed Durant 75% of the time after hazards; yet It cannot do the same to Escavalier, which takes Scrafty down to about 10 to 15% with Megahorn in the scenario that Scrafty is at full HP after using Knock Off on Escavalier, as the Banded variant OHKOs with Megahorn. +1 HJK with LO is still a roll to OHKO Mega Steelix as well. I've also had various debates as to whether or not Shed Skin should be preferred over Moxie for this team, because without moxie, it's harder for Scrafty to sweep. Life Orb is both a curse and a blessing for Scrafty, as it does enable Scrafty to acquire KOs much more easily at the cost of longevity. I am just going to make the major statement about Scrafty for this team here: Scrafty is a good pokemon, albeit with flaws that ultimately prevent it from being great. I chose Scrafty over 3 other fighting types, which in itself took a very long time. As of right now while I'm typing this, the above moveset is what this Scrafty runs. I am not 100% sure that this moveset fits my team completely, but I am sure that Scrafty fits the team very well. So in summation, I do need help with Scrafty, specifically regarding the ability and fighting type STAB. Scrafty's role was originally supposed to crack open stall teams, but now it is to sweep and pressure balance playstyles as well, seeing as the last pokemon on this team also beats stall. I will note that in the event that Diancie is gone, Scrafty is my primary Spiritomb counter thanks to shed skin.
* (I had no idea Mega Glalie weighed enough for low kick to have base power 120 until I checked the damage calculator just to see whether or not Low Kick could be usable on Scrafty. Same with Virizion.)
Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
In my opinion, Meloetta is the jack of all trades in this tier. There is a physical set if one runs relic song. There's an Assault Vest set. There are two different choice item sets. There is an all out attacking set. There's a set with heal bell (though quite uncommon, it is not completely unheard of). There is an offensive Calm Mind set as well as a Substitute+Calm Mind set. Meloetta can do many things. Of course, there are a great number of things that Meloetta cannot do. Meloetta was chosen for this team because it is difficult to predict which set a Meloetta will have on most teams. Meloetta also finds it quite easy to get rid of Scrafty's checks apart from Durant and Tyrantrum. This Meloetta runs the Sub+CM set from Smogon. Psyshock over Hyper Voice due to the fact that Psyshock allows Meloetta to hit both defenses. Focus Blast hits dark types and steel types for major damage, though it won't count in most cases unless Meloetta is behind a sub, as Houndoom and Absol can beat it otherwise. One huge point that I stressed over when I made this team is that Blastoise threatens the main core. (and Clawitzer, which is ranked C currently... I have no idea as to why, seeing as how it has the same coverage as Blastoise, just with much more firepower. But this is not the place for that discussion). The only way a Blastoise can completely stop this Meloetta is with Roar. After a Calm Mind, this Meloetta's substitute is not broken by Blastoise's Dark Pulse unless it has life orb. In that case, it only takes 2 Calm Minds for the sub to hold up. Blastoise is very common in the tier, and for a good reason. It not only fits on many types of teams, but it is a good rapid spinner too. The other reasons for Meloetta being on this team are in the fact that this Meloetta set make it extremely threatening, let alone beyond annoying. I've played against this set before. This set is annoying to deal with and can sweep fairly easily. I don't know what else to say about it. It's there because it helps cover a couple of primary weaknesses to my Fairy/Steel/Dragon Core.
So as I stated in the beginning, I wanted to talk about some things regarding the team and issues that I have. My main issue is that the core suffers a common weakness to ground coverage and water types. Mega Steelix generally doesn't care about physical shots, but it is not easy taking super effective moves from everything. Diancie can typically handle water types to an extent, but not a good enough extent unless it is the Croncie set (like Crocune only with Diance)... Rest/Talk/CM/Moonblast. Venusaur is incredibly annoying to my team, as it clips 4 members for massive damage. Granbull can't replace Diancie, as it has shit special defense. If there is a sun team, I ultimately lose to Venusaur. Venusaur is a major reason I chose not to use Virizion on the team. That being said, this team can beat Venusaur, especially Meloetta, who both checks and counters Venusaur in most cases. But otherwise, this team has a pretty major weakness to Venusaur. It's hard to explain why this team just performs as well as it does, but the fact of the matter is that the offensive coverage of the core leaves things with chunks of HP taken out. Rather than using super effective coverage, I guess the team picks up on raw neutral damage until it reaches a breaking point where something can clean or sweep. Regardless, this is the team I made that I really enjoyed using. Feedback is appreciated.
So to celebrate the new tier changes, I opted to build about 12 different teams for RU. Out of all twelve of them, there is one team in particular that stands out among the others. There are a few reasons for this, one of them being my theory for a Fairy/Steel/Dragon core which is just really tough to crack in general. I name this team "The Elitists" because each member on the team serves a specific role and all but one are at least A rank according to viability. The team resembles either bulky offense or balance depending on how you look at it. As I said, there is a Fairy/Steel/Dragon core which solidifies the team. Beyond that, the team uses 2 sweepers and rapid spin support. I laddered today just a little past 1300, though I haven't gotten close to peaking with this team yet. I have worked out all of the kinks, but I feel as though my team lacks... something. I just can't tell where or what. The main goal of this team is to exert pressure and force switches at the same time it punches small holes in the opposing team. I realize that there are some issues, which I will talk about after I present the team.
Steelix-Mega @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 72 SpD / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
One of the most useful pokemon in the current Meta, Mega Steelix earns a roll on this team as a bulky pivot and tank. It could set up stealth rocks; however, I have another rock setter in this team who fits in very well. Mega Steelix is a heavy weight champion and deals consistently higher damage with Heavy Slam than Iron Head. Combined with Earthquake, it makes switching in on Mega Steelix a little unpleasant without something like Alomomola. This is a RestTalk set so it can stay relatively healthy throughout the match while still being a threat even when it is asleep. It also allows me to take spore from Amoongus and sleep powder from defensive Venusaur. The best ability before mega evolution is sturdy, as it allows me to survive something from houndoom or delphox or just live at 1 hp if things get dicey and I still have full HP. Call it a safety net. Max HP makes it as fat as possible, while 72 SpD allows it to take special attacks more easily. I have 88 Speed solely to outspeed other Steelix which normally run 84 Speed. Adamant nature with 96 Atk lets it hit as hard as possible while still retaining its great bulk. This mon tends to force switches, usually to grass or water types. It's incredibly useful.
I have thought to run this as the rock setter with toxic over roar, but so far, I prefer the longevity provided by rest as this team lacks a cleric and I did not want to run one, such as Alomomola, because it didn't fit my intended playstyle.
Diancie @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Diamond Storm
- Moonblast
Diancie is relatively new to RU as of March 2, 2016. It is also one of the best fairy types in the current meta in my opinion. Before it dropped to RU, I used it in UU for a pretty similar purpose, though I ran it with a Quiet nature so that diamond storm would hit harder. Diamond Storm is a great move that has a 50% chance to boost defense by 1 and has 95% accuracy. It hits fairly hard too and it is STAB. In RU, the only thing it needs to hit are fire types, flying types, or ice types. Hence the Modest nature. Clear body is a great ability, though it isn't incredibly helpful on this particular set. Leftovers is practically the best item for Diance for passive recovery. I run 4 speed to outspeed uninvested base 50, as base 150 defenses are solid enough without investment. Moonblast just hits hard and in some cases doubles as a way to hit special attackers like Venusaur on the switch in, lowering special attack by 1 30% of the time. Earth power slams steel counters and grounded electric types not named magneton for good damage. It's also a great way of beating slightly damaged mega Steelix. This is my rock setter. Diancie is very helpful at dealing with fighting types and dark types, not to mention it checks Tyrantrum and Emboar. Diancie is worn down pretty easily and it isn't very quick, but Diancie is still very useful in general.
Tyrantrum @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Superpower
Tyrantrum is a beast. That's all there is to it. Sometimes a game comes down to whether or not Head Smash misses. Tyrantrum has Jolly nature and max speed investment to outspeed base 130 nature boosted max speed as long as it has its scarf. Thanks to rock head as an ability, Tyrantrum can spam Head Smash without recoil damage, earning huge amounts of damage to most things in general. Maximum attack investment allows it to hit as hard as possible. If anyone's played RU before, they know this is a pokemon that must be prepared for, almost regardless of its set. The main role for this tyrantrum is to wallbreak and or clean late game. Unlike the current moveset for the scarfed variant on smogon, I run Superpower over Dragon Claw. It hits harder than EQ on the first use and punishes some of its counters, especially ones coming in to take Head Smash. Mega Steelix with 0 defense investment takes at least 33.8% from Superpower where EQ dishes out 33.3% to it at most. The numbers are almost the exact same for Rhyperior. Fighting types also take more damage from it on the first hit. Superpower does frequently force me to either sack Tyrantrum or switch out. One great benefit is that Superpower nails things with levitate, that can switch into an earthquake, such as rotom-C or Eelektross. It also can earn a surprise KO on D-dance Scrafty after a little prior damage. Earthquake is similar to Superpower, but it lacks the base power and the stat drops. I've had some debate as to whether or not I should run superpower. Outrage is just powerful STAB that's useful in the late game. Aside from the moveset, this is a solid set for Tyrantrum. It's a wallbreaker and a late game cleaner.
Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rapid Spin
- Dark Pulse
Blastoise is also relatively new to RU. Before the introduction of Blastoise, the only viable rapid spinners were the hitmon family. Now Blastoise comes into play as the best rapid spinner in the current meta, simply because of its good natural bulk and the fact that it nails spin blockers with dark pulse. I am sure that there will be several different sets for Blastoise, such as a defensive spinner with roar/dragon tail. Quite clearly, this Blastoise has a common set and similar spread to Blastoise Mega in UU. Scald is one of the most spammable moves anything can learn and is the go-to-move for almost any situation. Ice Beam puts a dent in the common grass type counters, such as Venusaur and Virizion. Dark Pulse covers a good portion of the tier for neutral damage and hits spin blockers not named Spiritomb for more damage than scald. Rapid spin is rapid spin. Enough said. I run max HP to make Blastoise as fat as it can be alongside a Modest nature with max special attack to leave dents in opposing mons. There are very few pokemon that can OHKO Blastoise after rocks without a boost, let alone from full. The major problem with this set is that Defensive CM Meloetta can set up on Blastoise. Meloetta at +1 SpD can then set up a sub which can't be broken by Dark Pulse and continue to set up until it can net a KO behind a sub. I've thought about using Roar for the main purpose of slowing down that variant of Meloetta. Using a set with Toxic and protect is valid if I'm not mistaken, but I appreciate the coverage of Dark Pulse and Ice Beam coupled with rapid spin. Other than that, Blastoise provides great support for the team as a hazard remover.
Scrafty @ Life Orb
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
*There is a note underlined in bold below here that summarizes how I feel about Scrafty on this team*
Before I discuss Scrafty, I want to take a moment to say that it took me at least thirty minutes to decide what pokemon to include in this slot. And even now, I'm still relatively unsure that Scrafty is the best fit. Virizion, Hitmonlee, and Emboar are all extremely viable. Virizion is able to set up on most water types and doesn't have to rely on a speed boost from dragon dance not to mention that Virizion can handle slower flying types not named Fletchinder. Hitmonlee can use either its reckless set or a liechi berry set with Endure and Reversal to nearly score KOs on everything, though it is incredibly frail. Hitmonlee could also use rapid spin if I wanted to use roar on Blastoise as well as gaining priority via mach punch. Emboar would cover essentially every grass type in the meta and be able to use sucker punch as priority, though Emboar couldn't act as a sweeper. Scrafty was chosen for 3 main reasons.
1) It is able to beat Meloetta lacking dazzling gleam
2) It can use things like Alomomola as setup fodder
3) It puts tons of pressure on balance and stall teams
All three of Scrafty's abilities are useful. Intimidate aids in setup. Shed Skin relieves status. Moxie can threaten to turn Scrafty into a deadly sweeper. I run life orb in order to boost my overall damage output. Shed Skin was my chosen ability, as it allows me to clear status 1/3 of the time, which increases longevity and allows me to always use Alomomola as setup fodder with Dragon Dance. Drain Punch was chosen over Low Kick and HJK purely to add to overall longevity. This allows me to arguably beat Mega Steelix after I'm at +1, meaning that I can't set up on a Mega Steelix (unless it's burned) but instead I can dish out at least 50% to one with Max HP and no defense investment (the main Mega Steelix set on Smogon). It will either use roar or heavy slam, the latter of which will effectively take out 60 to 71% from Scrafty. The next move will result in Scrafty earning the KO and recovering roughly half of the damage done by Heavy Slam minus LO recoil (Scrafty should have about 30 to 40% HP if the 1v1 starts with Scrafty at +1 and LO recoil from full health). One major issue though, is that Virizion can revenge kill unless Scrafty is at +2 since Drain Punch won't do enough damage to KO a Virizion at +1. Knock Off is one of the most useful moves in the game. And Iron Head is purely for fairy types, specifically Diancie, which even without a boost threatens to OHKO the Diancie on this team after rocks a little over 50% of the time. Scrafty is never going to set up on a fairy type, but it can hurt them. If Diancie is running defense investment, it will always avoid the OHKO from LO Scrafty's iron head after rocks if its defense number hits 375. If Scrafty is at +1, it won't matter regardless of Diancie's spread unless hazards aren't present, Diancie is at full, and has defense boosted nature and 252 Defense investment. Granbull and Aromatisse still beat Scrafty almost always in a 1v1 matchup. I used to run Poison Jab since it added grass type coverage, but Scrafty can generally beat most grass types after a boost anyway. I've done a number of calculations and noticed that Low Kick is not completely useless, as against several things in this tier, it packs a high base power to the things it needs to, like Virizion, Mega Steelix and Mega Glalie* (120 BP) and because it is a STAB move, the things that it hits for super effective damage results in a clean KO in most circumstances. It has 100% accuracy and no recoil, unlike HJK which although stronger has that unfortunate downside. Low Kick essentially means that Protect and Ghost types won't cause Scrafty to lose half its health by missing HJK. Though I do make a note here that Durant is a problem unless Scrafty is at +2 so long as Scrafty does not have HJK. This also assumes Durant is not scarfed. Honestly, choosing the specific fighting move for Scrafty has yet to be fully decided. Knock Off + Low Kick according to the calcs I looked at for a bunch of stuff is usually good enough coverage in its own right to threaten a majority of the tier. Drain Punch lacks power when it is greatly needed in some cases, such as Virizion and Camerupt-Mega. Knock Off at +1 will beat non-scarfed Durant 75% of the time after hazards; yet It cannot do the same to Escavalier, which takes Scrafty down to about 10 to 15% with Megahorn in the scenario that Scrafty is at full HP after using Knock Off on Escavalier, as the Banded variant OHKOs with Megahorn. +1 HJK with LO is still a roll to OHKO Mega Steelix as well. I've also had various debates as to whether or not Shed Skin should be preferred over Moxie for this team, because without moxie, it's harder for Scrafty to sweep. Life Orb is both a curse and a blessing for Scrafty, as it does enable Scrafty to acquire KOs much more easily at the cost of longevity. I am just going to make the major statement about Scrafty for this team here: Scrafty is a good pokemon, albeit with flaws that ultimately prevent it from being great. I chose Scrafty over 3 other fighting types, which in itself took a very long time. As of right now while I'm typing this, the above moveset is what this Scrafty runs. I am not 100% sure that this moveset fits my team completely, but I am sure that Scrafty fits the team very well. So in summation, I do need help with Scrafty, specifically regarding the ability and fighting type STAB. Scrafty's role was originally supposed to crack open stall teams, but now it is to sweep and pressure balance playstyles as well, seeing as the last pokemon on this team also beats stall. I will note that in the event that Diancie is gone, Scrafty is my primary Spiritomb counter thanks to shed skin.
* (I had no idea Mega Glalie weighed enough for low kick to have base power 120 until I checked the damage calculator just to see whether or not Low Kick could be usable on Scrafty. Same with Virizion.)
Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
In my opinion, Meloetta is the jack of all trades in this tier. There is a physical set if one runs relic song. There's an Assault Vest set. There are two different choice item sets. There is an all out attacking set. There's a set with heal bell (though quite uncommon, it is not completely unheard of). There is an offensive Calm Mind set as well as a Substitute+Calm Mind set. Meloetta can do many things. Of course, there are a great number of things that Meloetta cannot do. Meloetta was chosen for this team because it is difficult to predict which set a Meloetta will have on most teams. Meloetta also finds it quite easy to get rid of Scrafty's checks apart from Durant and Tyrantrum. This Meloetta runs the Sub+CM set from Smogon. Psyshock over Hyper Voice due to the fact that Psyshock allows Meloetta to hit both defenses. Focus Blast hits dark types and steel types for major damage, though it won't count in most cases unless Meloetta is behind a sub, as Houndoom and Absol can beat it otherwise. One huge point that I stressed over when I made this team is that Blastoise threatens the main core. (and Clawitzer, which is ranked C currently... I have no idea as to why, seeing as how it has the same coverage as Blastoise, just with much more firepower. But this is not the place for that discussion). The only way a Blastoise can completely stop this Meloetta is with Roar. After a Calm Mind, this Meloetta's substitute is not broken by Blastoise's Dark Pulse unless it has life orb. In that case, it only takes 2 Calm Minds for the sub to hold up. Blastoise is very common in the tier, and for a good reason. It not only fits on many types of teams, but it is a good rapid spinner too. The other reasons for Meloetta being on this team are in the fact that this Meloetta set make it extremely threatening, let alone beyond annoying. I've played against this set before. This set is annoying to deal with and can sweep fairly easily. I don't know what else to say about it. It's there because it helps cover a couple of primary weaknesses to my Fairy/Steel/Dragon Core.
So as I stated in the beginning, I wanted to talk about some things regarding the team and issues that I have. My main issue is that the core suffers a common weakness to ground coverage and water types. Mega Steelix generally doesn't care about physical shots, but it is not easy taking super effective moves from everything. Diancie can typically handle water types to an extent, but not a good enough extent unless it is the Croncie set (like Crocune only with Diance)... Rest/Talk/CM/Moonblast. Venusaur is incredibly annoying to my team, as it clips 4 members for massive damage. Granbull can't replace Diancie, as it has shit special defense. If there is a sun team, I ultimately lose to Venusaur. Venusaur is a major reason I chose not to use Virizion on the team. That being said, this team can beat Venusaur, especially Meloetta, who both checks and counters Venusaur in most cases. But otherwise, this team has a pretty major weakness to Venusaur. It's hard to explain why this team just performs as well as it does, but the fact of the matter is that the offensive coverage of the core leaves things with chunks of HP taken out. Rather than using super effective coverage, I guess the team picks up on raw neutral damage until it reaches a breaking point where something can clean or sweep. Regardless, this is the team I made that I really enjoyed using. Feedback is appreciated.
