Daylight - Zebraiken     
IntroductionHere we are, my second RMT. I'm not going to go delve into my personal history pre-Smogon like last time, but I do want to heavily advocate RU for anyone wanting a taste of a different metagame. RU is a meta where literally any type of team style can have success, with bulky mofos like Mandibuzz, Steelix, Slowking, and Cofagrigus heading up stall teams, and powerful juggernauts like Sharpedo, Sceptile, Feraligatr, and Entei wrecking on offensive teams. Weather teams are perfectly viable, Trick Room teams are perfectly viable... hell, I've even seen a couple teams utilizing Gravity the last few days. You can do whatever the hell you want and be successful, which makes the meta amazingly fun. And moving onto the team itself... my teams tend to be incredibly hazards-heavy, using a couple of hard-hitting tanks and often a glass cannon to finish the job. This team fits that mold to a T, utilizing dual Ghosts to keep hazards on the field and pivoting around before the team is weakened enough that Sharpedo can finish the job. It's not always that Sharpedo ends the game, though - oftentimes it can be literally anything on my team, sans Smeargle. I've had at least every Pokemon end the game on a huge sweep more than once. Despite only beginning to seriously ladder with this team about two days ago, I topped the ladder at about 1472 before stumbling to a silly mistake in the last match I played. I also only lost about eight times in total when I posted this, counting disconnects, so my record with Daylight on the ladder is 103-8 which is pretty good, I think. This team is easily one of the best I have ever created, if not just the best in general. I used a few of the earlier variations of this team during SPL, and I went 3-1 in the matches that I used them. I can count the total amount of losses I've had in the last two days on the ladder on one hand. There are some threats that really trouble it, but thankfully they are few and far between. Without further ado, I present to you: Daylight! The Team
Smeargle @ Focus Sash From Goodbye's Smeargle's description: "Smeargle is the shit and there's no better hazard user in the tier. You can try to convince me but I'll prove you wrong." I hate to be redundant, but I still think that Smeargle is the best hazard user in the tier, haha. There's no other Pokemon who can set both Stealth Rock and Spikes as well as incapacitate an opposing Pokemon, and then proceed to abuse the hazards set. There are very few ways to fully stop Smeargle from doing its duties, and those ways are either named "faster Pokemon with a Lum/Chesto Berry" or "Natu". While Natu sucks, the real trouble is usually with the Lum Berry Pokemon because you realize that too late, and Smeargle misses out on the chance to set hazards which really sets back my team. My ability to win any given match is greatly determined in these first few turns with Smeargle out: if I Spore something and get up either SR or Spikes, then I've got a pretty good head start and I should be able to maintain that for the rest of the match. If I fail to do anything, the match is probably going to be really rough, especially if they have something like Entei. On the other hand, if I get up 3-4 hazards and Spore something, then I've got a huge advantage and I'll really only lose if I play stupidly. Despite often being the first Pokemon to die, Smeargle is the centerpiece of this team.
I used Stealth Rock instead of Magic Coat. Why? Well, firstly nothing else on my team can use SR, and it's so incredibly important in RU that I absolutely need it on Smeargle. It's necessary to keep Entei, Butterfree, Scyther, Moltres, Galvantula, and a ton of other Pokemon in check. It's also my only hazard that hits Levitate and Flying-type Pokemon, which is pretty important. Magic Coat has little to no use anyway, as anything that I would want to Magic Coat (Aerodactyl's Taunt and hazards Crustle come to mind) really could beat me anyway with their attacking moves. It's difficult to deal with Smeargle, as the threat that Spore presents is incredible and the hazards it lays are basically permanent thanks to both Rotom and Cofagrigus.
Rotom @ Leftovers SubWisp Rotom is a stud. It's my primary switch-in to things like Steelix and it's my best way to handle Moltres, although I usually have to be smart about it because it's not going to like eating a Fire Blast on the way in. Will-O-Wisp is wonderful, letting it easily stop Steelix and friends, although outside of Steelix, Hitmonchan, and the like I usually prefer to use one of Rotom's two STABs. Wisp also helps with annoying Honchkrow, who I usually have to play that Sub-or-attack mindgame with. Carrying WoW allows me to evade their sure prediction of "Rotom is on too low of health to make a Sub, I need to go for Sucker Punch" and just burn them so they cannot do stuff like revenge Sharpedo, etc. Rotom serves as part of the defensive backbone of this team as well as the offensive core which is sort of neat. I usually go to Rotom on a ton of the RU metagame, like Rhydon (no attack variants actually sometimes fail to break the Substitute after a burn), Qwilfish, Feraligatr, and Claydol. It's important to try to keep it status-free, as switching stupidly into a Claydol Toxic could mean a loss later in the matchup to like Feraligatr. Without Rotom in good health, Feraligatr is bound to eat this team alive if I'm not playing well so yeah. Rotom is also part of my dual Ghosties that let me essentially permanently block Rapid Spin. It's a key member of this team and I'm not really apt to change it at all.
Hitmonchan @ Life Orb Combine great coverage with solid attacking power, decent bulk, priority, and semi-recovery, and you have Hitmonchan. Literally, this is just such a great Pokemon that it's been on every single one of my teams ever since I first used it. Mach Punch is incredibly useful and helps finish off Pokemon lategame, from Typhlosion to Sceptile to even Entei occasionally. Drain Punch is surprisingly strong with a LO boost, and Ice Punch provides vital coverage on Pokemon like Gligar and Exeggutor. Thunderpunch is really the only move that strays from the standard set: while Rapid Spin has its uses, I don't really like it and my mons are hardly SR or Spikes weak, and thus I find little reason to use it at all. Smeargle also generally stops most opposing hazard setters, save Scolipede who tends to attack Smeargle anyway. Thunderpunch nails Slowking, Qwilfish, and other unsuspecting Water-types, which is pretty helpful since I don't have a great switch-in to most of those. Hitmonchan is the most reliable Pokemon on this team. Whether I need to finish off a bunch of weakened sweepers via Mach Punch or I need to lure and KO something like Claydol or Steelix, Hitmonchan is the man. Uxie is the only real thorn in Hitmonchan's side and there's not much I can do about it except try and wear it down for Rotom or Sharpedo to finish off later. Hitmonchan breaks through a lot of the heftier special walls such as Clefable and Munchlax, so Rotom and Cofagrigus can sweep later on in the match. It's also my best check for Drapion, and if Hitmonchan is down and Sharpedo is unable to KO it, I might as well quit the match at that point. He's a vital and key component for this team, and does a great job at it.
Cofagrigus @ Leftovers Meet Cofagrigus, the two-turn win condition. If Cofagrigus gets a Nasty Plot and sets up Trick Room and your team doesn't have Honchkrow to revenge it, it's gg right there really. TR Cofagrigus is really a great set, and Cofag is monstrously strong after a Nasty Plot boost. Obviously Shadow Ball + HP Fighting provide perfect neutral coverage, and while it's not exactly strong when unboosted, it's enough to get the job done. Cofagrigus retains a lot of physical bulk even when it's not running a bulkier set, so it's my go-to man for lead Aerodactyl since Smeargle gets wrecked, among many other physical threats. Gallade, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Medicham... Cofag can beat them all easily and even set up on them, which makes it incredibly dangerous. What's also important is that with full HP, Cofag can even set up on Entei (CB Flare Blitz does about ~57%, while Entei locked in on Extremespeed due to Sharpedo are forced to switch out). Cofagrigus is by far the best offensive spinblocker in RU imo, and it can turn the tables on a team in a snap. You probably wouldn't believe the amount of games that Cofag has pulled me through just on its own...
Bouffalant @ Leftovers Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. No, it's not Bouffalant, it's Afrobull. I don't give a fuck what anyone else says. Afrobull pulls my team together against obnoxious Grass-types like Lilligant (actually its primary duty on my team is to defeat Lilligant) and it does that really well. It can also switch in on predicted Grass-type attacks, like Smeargle's Spore or Butterfree's Sleep Powder. It's sort of annoying that it cannot outrun Smeargle and prevent it from getting more than one layer, but the extra bulk is greatly appreciated. The EV spread gives just enough to outrun Adamant Aggron, as 252 EVs don't really outrun anything important and Afrobull has excellent bulk regardless. Head Charge just obliterates everything especially if it pulls off a Sap Sipper boost, and I've actually beaten several teams by switching Afrobull into a Grass-type attack and then responding accordingly. My only qualm with this set is that everything does like 28% to him, which like always barely breaks my Sub and it's annoying lol. Afrobull is really good though and you all should give him a try!
Sharpedo @ Life Orb Sharpedo is fantastic. Can we leave it at that? besides i'm tired of writing /whineSeriously though, there's no better end-game sweeper in RU imo. Hydro Pump is immensely powerful, and Ice Beam gives good coverage while Crunch is just a solid, reliable STAB move. When coupled with Spikes, there isn't anything at all that can handle Sharpedo's assault, and really the only way to bring him down is with priority moves. Thankfully, Cofagrigus eats those priority moves up, and in turn starts his own sweep via Trick Room. These two just synergize very well together and are just great in general. Sharpedo is usually the last Pokemon my opponents see unless they have something silly that I need to revenge like Sceptile, and often it'll be the one delivering me a victory. Sharpedo is really only held back by its immense frailty and for that reason I need to eliminate any and all priority users before I try to get Sharpedo to get off a sweep. Sharpedo is ridiculously strong and its usage definitely deserves more justice. ImportableConclusionNot a whole lot to say after that haha. This team has been pretty fun to use, even in SPL, and it climbed up the ladder with ease in only a day or so of laddering. Forcing your opponents to switch again and again and take entry hazard damage every time via offensive pressure is just excellent, and it's really satisfying when you can win against the same opponents repeatedly even when they probably know your team by heart. RU is definitely one of the coolest metagames there is, and like I said in the intro, literally anything can be successful if you put your mind to it. There's a ton of potential, which really makes the metagame interesting and creative, unlike some of the more stale metas *ahem* BW OU *ahem*. All in all, though, Daylight has been a really fun team to use and play with so yeah! Try RU!! |