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The Rarely-rarely used Contest
- Thread starter BattleStar
- Start date
Congrats Pocket! Sun team sounds interesting. Would you say it is more orthodox or were you creative?
Sorry for the confusion, Phazon00 - it's Bronze :(
Sun was certainly not an easy weather to use as I have initially expected. Maybe because I was using SR-weak Charizard rather than something like Entei, Idk, but it was a risky playstyle for me. All 3 of my Sun setters have very little offensive pressure, so it was all up to 3 Sun Sweepers to sweep the opponent's team, which sometimes isn't easy when they have mons like Slowking, Druddigon, or lol Munchlax!
My Sun setter was Whimsicott, Cresselia, and Regirock. These slots remained unchanged. Victreebel has been my Sun Sweeper from the very start as well. So the remaining 2 slots is where I experimented a lot around. At one time I had Shell Smash Torkoal as an offensive spinner for Charizard, but then I replaced both for Emboar & Guts Flareon. Their Speed was disappointing despite Flame Charge, and their wallbreaking capabilities was limited, so I brought back Charizard (over Flareon), this time from Scarf to Charcoal Charizard with Roost. To my surprise, Charizard couldn't break Cresselia, so I resorted to Specs Charizard, which even 2-shots defensive Slowking!
However, I sort of got fed up with my team's lack of Speed when the sun is down, so I replaced Charizard for the AWESOME SD JUMPLUFF with which I saw shrang trolling the OU ladder. Jumpluff was fun and worked wonders; pulling off sweeps even better than Victreebel! I still needed some wallbreaking power, so I brought back Charizard in (this time displacing Emboar) xD Just can't part with this beast <3
Anyways here are the various sets I've been playing around:
Torkoal @ White Herb | White Smoke
Timid | 8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Rapid Spin
~ Shell Smash
Very fun Pokemon and it was good for laughs. After a Shell Smash boost it is faster than Hitmonlee before Unburden, and it slaughters everything with Fire Blast. It's really fun to kill Entei with Earth Power after a boost! It's funny that priority moves does shit damage to it, even without any defensive investment. Sadly, it's still slow as fuck, being slower than Timid Moltres, etc. Even worse, +2 Torkoal was still walled by defensive Slowking. I thought of replacing Earth Power for SolarBeam (which does 75-88% to Slowking :o), but never ended up testing it.
Flareon @ Toxic Orb | Guts
Hasty | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Flame Charge
~ Facade
~ Superpower
Emboar @ Charcoal | Blaze
Naive | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Flare Blitz
~ Flame Charge
~ SolarBeam
~ Superpower
The Flame Charge duo!~ They both have 65 base Spe, just enough to outrun Sceptile after a +1 Speed boost and faster than Adamant Absol before the boost. Flareon was fun to play, with Guts Facade really packing a strong bite. When the sun is up, even Flame Charge does damage xD. Fire Blast made it an all-round great mixed Sweeper. Unfortunately, it was slow and UnSTAB Facade just wasn't enough wallbreaking power at times (which is why Charizard made its grand return).
Emboar stuck around longer than Flareon, since it actually had some useful typing that allows it to tank hits from LO Sceptile, Lilligant, and Absol, etc. Emboar was also a nice check to Klinklang, which would try to set up on Regirock or Cresselia. Superpower from both Flareon and Emboar was amazing for lethally maiming Druddigon and Munchlax. SolarBeam is nice for removing Rhydon thinking it can tank hits all day. I eventually replaced it, though, since it was too slow for sweeping and didn't quite opened holes as effectively as I liked (defensive Slowking walled this set, for example). Maybe I should have made Emboar a dedicated wallbreaker with CB, but w/e.
Regirock @ Heat Rock | Clear Body
Careful | 248 HP / 136 SpD / 124 Spe
~ Stone Edge
~ Stealth Rock
~ Sunny Day
~ Explosion
Regirock was my go-to mon to absorb opposing Fire assaults. I switch this guy into Entei's Flare Blitz or Munchlax's Body Slam mid-game and set up Rocks. SR is actually pretty mandatory on a team like this, whose offensive teammates are limited, so any little residual damage helps my Sweepers to blow through teams (particularly for breaking Munchlax and Slowking). The specially-defensive spread really helps Regirock tanks some strong special Fire moves and special assaults from the likes of Cryogonal and Galvantula. I gave it enough Spe EVs to outrun Sandslash, so I can Explode and make it unable to clear away hazards.
Charizard @ Specs or Scarf | Solar Power
Timid or Modest | 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Flamethrower
~ Fire Blast
~ SolarBeam
~ Focus Blast
Charizard burns down everything to the ground. I initially used Scarf & Modest Zard for easy sweeping, but Cresselia's introduction to RU demanded more firepower in Specs. Sometimes I used Charcoal with Overheat > Fire Blast to achieve the same purpose, but Specs Zard is simply ridiculous, 2-shotting even defensive Slowking with Fire Blast xD
Victreebel @ Life Orb | Chlorophyll
Timid | 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ SolarBeam
~ Weather Ball
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Growth
Victreebel is a flawless end-game Sweeper once those dastardly bulky Psychic-, Normal-types and Druddigon are taken care of. Sometimes I can nab a Growth boost and sweep early game if Whimsicott pulls off a Memento on the right mon. Against a well-made team, I have to rely on Charizard's wall-breaking capabilities before Victreebel can strut its stuff. Timid is necessary to prevent Scarf Galvantula from ruining Victreebel's fun.
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem | Chlorophyll
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Acrobatics
~ Sleep Powder
~ Swords Dance
~ Seed Bomb
Man this ball of fluff is pure enjoyment to use - props to shrang for discovering this hidden gem! Put something to sleep, set up a SD or two, and sweep with Acrobatics! Under the sun, it's untouchable, while outside of Drought it still speed-ties with Archeops, and it can continue its rampage, unlike Victreebel that is 100% reliant on Sun.
Although Cresselia is not RRU (or even RU >_<), it's an AMAZING utility mon for Sun teams. What makes it so good is its amazing bulk and Lunar Dance. Cresselia prevents Hitmonlee from trolling my team. Lunar Dance is just pivotal to this team's success, allowing me to play recklessly with Charizard, Emboar, and even Victreebel to punch holes. Lunar Dance provides an additional Sweeper to this team that can sometimes fall short in offense. It's also one saving grace for Charizard in this SR meta, allowing it to come in on the field with 50% health regardless of its previous health and kill mons for the next 5 turns!
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Now that the challenge is over, I'll try to tweak this team without any restrictions. One possibility is to add CB Entei to Flare Blitz everything to oblivion (it dies way too quickly, though :X). I should also consider replacements for Victreebel, b/c it's just too tied to Sun, making for an inflexible sweeper. I think Sawsbuck would be a much less liable Sweeper.
Sun was certainly not an easy weather to use as I have initially expected. Maybe because I was using SR-weak Charizard rather than something like Entei, Idk, but it was a risky playstyle for me. All 3 of my Sun setters have very little offensive pressure, so it was all up to 3 Sun Sweepers to sweep the opponent's team, which sometimes isn't easy when they have mons like Slowking, Druddigon, or lol Munchlax!
My Sun setter was Whimsicott, Cresselia, and Regirock. These slots remained unchanged. Victreebel has been my Sun Sweeper from the very start as well. So the remaining 2 slots is where I experimented a lot around. At one time I had Shell Smash Torkoal as an offensive spinner for Charizard, but then I replaced both for Emboar & Guts Flareon. Their Speed was disappointing despite Flame Charge, and their wallbreaking capabilities was limited, so I brought back Charizard (over Flareon), this time from Scarf to Charcoal Charizard with Roost. To my surprise, Charizard couldn't break Cresselia, so I resorted to Specs Charizard, which even 2-shots defensive Slowking!
However, I sort of got fed up with my team's lack of Speed when the sun is down, so I replaced Charizard for the AWESOME SD JUMPLUFF with which I saw shrang trolling the OU ladder. Jumpluff was fun and worked wonders; pulling off sweeps even better than Victreebel! I still needed some wallbreaking power, so I brought back Charizard in (this time displacing Emboar) xD Just can't part with this beast <3
Anyways here are the various sets I've been playing around:
Torkoal @ White Herb | White Smoke
Timid | 8 HP / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Earth Power
~ Rapid Spin
~ Shell Smash
Very fun Pokemon and it was good for laughs. After a Shell Smash boost it is faster than Hitmonlee before Unburden, and it slaughters everything with Fire Blast. It's really fun to kill Entei with Earth Power after a boost! It's funny that priority moves does shit damage to it, even without any defensive investment. Sadly, it's still slow as fuck, being slower than Timid Moltres, etc. Even worse, +2 Torkoal was still walled by defensive Slowking. I thought of replacing Earth Power for SolarBeam (which does 75-88% to Slowking :o), but never ended up testing it.
Flareon @ Toxic Orb | Guts
Hasty | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Fire Blast
~ Flame Charge
~ Facade
~ Superpower
Emboar @ Charcoal | Blaze
Naive | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Flare Blitz
~ Flame Charge
~ SolarBeam
~ Superpower
The Flame Charge duo!~ They both have 65 base Spe, just enough to outrun Sceptile after a +1 Speed boost and faster than Adamant Absol before the boost. Flareon was fun to play, with Guts Facade really packing a strong bite. When the sun is up, even Flame Charge does damage xD. Fire Blast made it an all-round great mixed Sweeper. Unfortunately, it was slow and UnSTAB Facade just wasn't enough wallbreaking power at times (which is why Charizard made its grand return).
Emboar stuck around longer than Flareon, since it actually had some useful typing that allows it to tank hits from LO Sceptile, Lilligant, and Absol, etc. Emboar was also a nice check to Klinklang, which would try to set up on Regirock or Cresselia. Superpower from both Flareon and Emboar was amazing for lethally maiming Druddigon and Munchlax. SolarBeam is nice for removing Rhydon thinking it can tank hits all day. I eventually replaced it, though, since it was too slow for sweeping and didn't quite opened holes as effectively as I liked (defensive Slowking walled this set, for example). Maybe I should have made Emboar a dedicated wallbreaker with CB, but w/e.
Regirock @ Heat Rock | Clear Body
Careful | 248 HP / 136 SpD / 124 Spe
~ Stone Edge
~ Stealth Rock
~ Sunny Day
~ Explosion
Regirock was my go-to mon to absorb opposing Fire assaults. I switch this guy into Entei's Flare Blitz or Munchlax's Body Slam mid-game and set up Rocks. SR is actually pretty mandatory on a team like this, whose offensive teammates are limited, so any little residual damage helps my Sweepers to blow through teams (particularly for breaking Munchlax and Slowking). The specially-defensive spread really helps Regirock tanks some strong special Fire moves and special assaults from the likes of Cryogonal and Galvantula. I gave it enough Spe EVs to outrun Sandslash, so I can Explode and make it unable to clear away hazards.
Charizard @ Specs or Scarf | Solar Power
Timid or Modest | 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Flamethrower
~ Fire Blast
~ SolarBeam
~ Focus Blast
Charizard burns down everything to the ground. I initially used Scarf & Modest Zard for easy sweeping, but Cresselia's introduction to RU demanded more firepower in Specs. Sometimes I used Charcoal with Overheat > Fire Blast to achieve the same purpose, but Specs Zard is simply ridiculous, 2-shotting even defensive Slowking with Fire Blast xD
Victreebel @ Life Orb | Chlorophyll
Timid | 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~ SolarBeam
~ Weather Ball
~ Sludge Bomb
~ Growth
Victreebel is a flawless end-game Sweeper once those dastardly bulky Psychic-, Normal-types and Druddigon are taken care of. Sometimes I can nab a Growth boost and sweep early game if Whimsicott pulls off a Memento on the right mon. Against a well-made team, I have to rely on Charizard's wall-breaking capabilities before Victreebel can strut its stuff. Timid is necessary to prevent Scarf Galvantula from ruining Victreebel's fun.
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem | Chlorophyll
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe
~ Acrobatics
~ Sleep Powder
~ Swords Dance
~ Seed Bomb
Man this ball of fluff is pure enjoyment to use - props to shrang for discovering this hidden gem! Put something to sleep, set up a SD or two, and sweep with Acrobatics! Under the sun, it's untouchable, while outside of Drought it still speed-ties with Archeops, and it can continue its rampage, unlike Victreebel that is 100% reliant on Sun.
Although Cresselia is not RRU (or even RU >_<), it's an AMAZING utility mon for Sun teams. What makes it so good is its amazing bulk and Lunar Dance. Cresselia prevents Hitmonlee from trolling my team. Lunar Dance is just pivotal to this team's success, allowing me to play recklessly with Charizard, Emboar, and even Victreebel to punch holes. Lunar Dance provides an additional Sweeper to this team that can sometimes fall short in offense. It's also one saving grace for Charizard in this SR meta, allowing it to come in on the field with 50% health regardless of its previous health and kill mons for the next 5 turns!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that the challenge is over, I'll try to tweak this team without any restrictions. One possibility is to add CB Entei to Flare Blitz everything to oblivion (it dies way too quickly, though :X). I should also consider replacements for Victreebel, b/c it's just too tied to Sun, making for an inflexible sweeper. I think Sawsbuck would be a much less liable Sweeper.