Hi. I've decided to retire this team, as apparently I'm unable to play competetively anymore. PS! keeps freezing on me and I'm having trouble accessing the PO server (I think someone's got my password :/). Someone bring good ol' Shoddy back! (Naw just kidding, PS! is great, when it, you know, doesn't freeze). I made this team a while back with shnen (although I dunno if he's been using it), and it has served me really, really well. Got around 40 wins and 4 losses with this baby (on the ladder, not neccessarily unrated challenges and that). Peaked at 5, so I did. (If we ban FLCL, wouldn't everyone just be happier?) Anyway, this has been one of my most successful NU teams to date (although I might still have to RMT the Klang one, as Molk will kill me if I don't). It's based on an offensive core of two of B2W2's biggest newcomers, Zangoose and Cinccino. I'm sure all of you have been swept by these monsters before, don't deny it. This is basically just pure, all out offensive slaughter (no setup required, just smash the opponent at the beginning of the match). Oh yeah, and special thanks to sirndpt for the awesome artwork. Oh and before I forget, sorry for all the brackets lol. Just read Bartimaeus, those little extra bits that have to be said bother me if they're, well, not said. So here we go, The Fury of the Fluffy Furballs!
I suppose the team can be devided into three cores. There's my bulky one, with my utility hazard setters/specific troublesome Pokemon counters (Carracosta and Garbodor). Then there's my choiced core, which includes the bulky Golurk and Rotom-S, which provide me with excellent wallbreaking and revenge killing capabilities. Finally, Zangoose and Cinccino are the vicious clean-up crew, that crush opponents with a combination of power, speed and coverage. Can't take a hit to save their lives though...
Carracosta @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 Spd / 252 HP
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge -
- Aqua Jet -
- Stealth Rock -
- Toxic -
While technically not my "lead" per se, Carracosta does seem to be the one that gets sent out first the most. This is because the sooner I get the most valuable entry hazard, Stealth Rock, up first, the better. Every team needs something that can stomach moves from Braviary and Swellow; Carracosta is my answer to them. Combined with Solid Rock, the bulky set is really difficult to take down. Stone Edge is an incredibly powerful STAB move that WILL dent everything that doesn't have insane defenses or that resists it. Seeing as Tangela, Shelgon Alomomola and Regirock all fall into this category, Toxic is an amazing move to mess them up for the duration of the match. Stealth Rock is obviously there as it really puts pressure on the powerful Flying-types that reside in the tier (specifically Rotom-S, Swellow, Braviary, Charizard and Articuno). Aqua Jet is a really important move, as it provides insurance against fast and frail Pokemon that Carracosta otherwise wouldn't have a hope in hell of damaging, such as Cinccino, Absol, and obviously Pokemon weak to Water-type moves such as Camerupt and Charizard. Carracosta's dual STAB moves have excellent coverage together in the tier, with one for heavy hitting and one for revenge killing.
Garbodor @ Leftovers
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature
- Spikes -
- Clear Smog -
- Gunk Shot / Drain Punch -
- Seed Bomb -
Garbodor forms the second part of my offensive core, and provides me with the incredibly useful Spikes. The extra damage is really useful considering I don't use a setup sweeper; my Pokemon appreciate all the passive damage they can get their paws on. Spikes are also almost guaranteed to stay there once they're set up, as the best (and most common spinner, Armaldo) is hard walled by my Ghost-type. Clear Smog is a very important move on Garbodor, as it allows me to counter the otherwise incredibly threatening Gurdurr, and generally prevents me from simply being setup bait. Gunk Shot is a powerful, if incredibly unreliable move that can really smack incoming Exeggutor/frailmons. For this reason, I use Drain Punch just as much Gunk Shot, constantly flitting between the two as I've still not made my mind up about which one is better. Gunk Shot has that nice chance to poison as well, and is more powerful than a super effective Drain Punch, but Garbodor really likes the additional healing that Drain Punch provides, and it means that Garbodor is no longer helpess against Probopass (and Klang, to a certain degree). Finally, Seed Bomb lets me smack around Golem and Carracosta, although I'm also considering using Toxic on Garbodor, for similar reasons to why I chose it on Carracosta.
Rotom-Fan @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Air Slash -
- Volt Switch -
- Thunderbolt -
- Trick -
Okey dokey, I said that this was an offensive team, and now we've finally gotten to that bit. This is the first time I've used Rotom-S, and by God is it great. Some very nifty resistances, along with above average power and bulk make this a core Pokemon on my team. When I said that Carracosa often leads, I forgot to mention that he's normally brought in by a Volt Switch from this dude. If my opponent lacks a Ground-type, I will almost always lead with Rotom, to get some free damage from Volt Switch. The damage this moves racks up in conjunction with entry hazards really is fantastic. It also lets me put Gorebyss into a checkmate position, forcing my opponent to lose the eel or to lose momentum. But he's not limited to one move. Air Slash is extremely impportant, as it allows me to revenge kill a whole load of threatening sweepers, including Salac Berry Pinsir, Sawsbuck, Fighting-types, etc. You get the picture. Thunderbolt is there for lack of better options, but is my best move when I want to go on a little endgame sweep with Rotom, as it's his most powerful and reliable move. Finally Trick is really the crux of this set, as it can completely screw over walls such as Eviolite mons (I can simply proceed to re-Trick the Eviolite onto an evolved Pokemon, thus basically acting as a Knock Off), and bulky Fighting-types such as Throh that can absorb an Air Slash are instantly crippled by it. Rotom can also form a mini-VoltTurn chain with Cinccino, which is cool.
Golurk @ Choice Band
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 Spd / 252 Atk / 84 HP
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake -
- Shadow Punch -
- Ice Punch -
- Drain Punch -
I truly am thankful to shnen for insisting that we use CB Golurk. If he hadn't I'd probably have ended up with the far less useful SubPunch or even "shudder" the SR set. Basically, as Molk put it: "Its a 9 foot tall possesed mecha that can fly, of course its going to smash shit". Couldn't have put it better myself. I basically use Golurk to soften up the opposing team so that Cinccino and Zangoose can come in and basically clean up. Iron Fist is THE ability for Golurk, far better than No Guard and Dynamic Punch. With it, it basically boosts the BP of Shadwo Punch to 72, and of Ice and Drain Punch to 90. Practically all teams have a Ground-type immunity, so I have to wait before I use Earthquake. To be honest though this isn't a problem, as Golurk can catch incoming Balloon Probopass and birds very hard with Drain Punch/Ice Punch anyway. Shadow Punch is mainly only used for Musharna and Duosion, but that's fine, of both of them are very legitimate threats. Earthquake is massively powerful, and it demolishes the common Regenerator core of Amoonguss and Alomomola, as both are outsped and 2HKOd. As I mentioned before, Golurk is my spinblocker, and a fantastic one at that. The brilliant resistances to both Rock and Fighting means that he can cheerfully come in on most Fighting-types, only really fearing Ice Punch from the likes of Sawk.
Zangoose @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Toxic Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat -
- Night Slash -
- Quick Attack -
- Facade -
Here we have it: literally one of the most powerful Pokemon in NU. I'm pretty sure that most people already know what Zangoose does, but I'll sum it up: a 210 BP move coming from 493 Attack hurts EVERYTHING. Nothing can reliably counter Zangoose, not even Ghost.types, as Zangoose is immune to their STAB moves and cannot be burned because he'll, be, well, poisoned. Meanwhile, Night Slash can hack them to pieces. Oh yeah, due to being poisoned, Zangoose can act as a switchin to status moves (Spore) and get off a free Facade. Close Combat obviously nails the Rock- and Steel- types that resist my STAB move (altough it won't kills the bulkier ones like Regirock, Golem and Carracosta at full health). The latter two can also hit me with priority, which I have to avoid. Quick Attack is extremely useful, as not only does it let me bypass Sucker Punch from Absol and Skuntank, it's also one of the best ways to safely activate Toxic Orb: revenge kill fast (and thus probably frail) Pokemon at around 25% health, and come out with the TO boost. Many people have asked me why I don't use Swords Dance. The answer is that I find SD incredibly difficult to set up, due to frailty, and it means that I'd have to sacrifice one of CC, NS or QA, which imo are all equally valuable. Also, Zangoose doen't NEED a SD boost if he has entry hazard support; he hits so damn hard anyway it barely makes a difference.
Cinccino @ Life Orb
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed -
- Rock Blast -
- Tail Slap -
- U-turn -
Many people say that this is the most broken Pokemon in the tier. I argue, coming up with lame excuses like "it's so frail, it's got no resistances, etc." Although since I'm posting the team, I can say that my main excuse was because I didn't want to lose it on my team :P. Cinccino is a truly frightening late-game sweeper, that can also come in earlygame and squeeze off a Tail Slap there, or a Bullet Seed here. U-Turn is really only filler in the last slot, but it does have its uses, as it forms a cute mini VoltTurn thing with Rotom, and can be used in the lead position to break Sturdys. Also, since Cinccino forces all those switches, it can gain me some momentum when I need it. Tail Slap is obviously the STAB move of choice, and it, along with the other multi-hitting moves, means that while Cinccino is alive I won't be swept by any annoying Substitute users such as Haunter, Gardevoir, Charizard, etc. Bullet Seed is very useful, not only for its ability to maim bulky water-types, but because of tis perfect accuracy. Often I'll use it instead of Tail Slap on foes neutral to it when I know what I can kill it off, becuase Tail Slap can unfortunately miss at the worst moments. Rock Blast is actually not used that much, but it breaks Ninjask, Articuno, Charizard and Haunter, conveniently all Pokemon who like to use Substitute as well. The sad thing is that it's even more accurate than Tail Slap :/. Everyone knows what Cinccino does, it's the ultimate late game sweeper, and I use it as such.
So thanks for reading my RMT! As I said, I've mainly retired this because I can't seem to play anymore, but also because Cinccino and Zangoose might eventually be leaving us, which would leave this team in a pickle. Although I wonder how a triple Normal offense with Sheer Force Tauros would work out... Something to think about for sure :P