Monotype (Electric) Bring the Lightning to Zeus !

[Maere]

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Here comes the army of the Deadly Thunder ! Hi guys, I present to you my Electric Team. I wanted to build around Thundurus-Therian which is a pretty threatening Pokemon but underused in the Monotype Metagame. It needs some improvements but the team is kind of good as it is now, able to defeat Ground-Monoteam pretty easily. Feel free to give some advices !

Teambuilding Process

Alright so here is the process (Sorry, English is not my main language so I may be brief on some of the descriptions) :

So, first of all, the main Pokemon of the team is Thundurus-Therian. I gave it Life Orb because it gives him the raw power that he needs. Choice Specs is good but it makes him too predictable and overkills most of the mons. With Life Orb and Nasty Plot, Thundurus is able to sweep with any moves without the inconvenience of the Specs.

Electric team means Tapu Koko. He is a must-have in any good Electric monoteam. So I gave him the regular Specs set. We need a Pokemon who doesn't need any placement moves and who has good stab moves.

Ground is THE threat to our team and the best counter to this is Rotom-W. The defensive set with leftovers will do the job. It cleans a lot of threat in the ground matchup and is useful in most of the other matchups.

In order to really wipe out the stress due to the Ground mu, Raichu-A will resolve any of your problems. It outspeeds Excadrill sand rush and has a decent SpA + the Life Orb you give him. Life Orb is necessary cause this mon is the sweeper of the late game and has a very versatile moveset.

As you can see, this teams lacks of a physical attacker. Well, this is the main flaw of the Electric Type in Pokemon, it lacks of a good physical attacker. Luckily, Zera isn't so bad at filling that position. I gave him a Life Orb (Yeah, another, it's the last one, I promise) and Bulk Up as it surprises a lot of people and destroy a lot of unprepared team.

The last Pokemon I decided to use is M-Manectric. Well, to be honest, I didn't really know what Pokemon I would use. So I tried him as a Volt Switcher and well, it just works

, but jokes aside, his ability Intimidate can do a lot of job.​

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Importable

Wave Check (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Surf
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Gimme Play Rough (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam

The Unexpected (Thundurus-Therian) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunderbolt

Zera ora ora ora ora (Zeraora) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Bulk Up
- Knock Off
- Close Combat

Chill, dawg (Manectric-Mega) @ Manectite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch

Washin' your deads (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog

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The Sets :

The Unexpected (Thundurus-Therian) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunderbolt​

So, here is the Star of the team. Nasty Plot is used to give Thundurus an astronomical 778 SpA, that combined with Life Orb OHKO a lot of threats in the Monotype Metagame. Thunderbolt is for the stab. Grass Knot is extremely good against the Ground type and Seismitoad/Quagsire. HP Flying is against M-Venusaur which is a huge threat for the team. I also use it for a stab (weak, I admit but a Stab) that does significant damage at +2

Gimme Play Rough (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam​

It's the regular set of Tapu Koko, the one you usually see. Nothing to see here, it does damage and that all we ask him to do.

Washin' your deads (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog​

The SpD defensive and Defogger of the team. Can be a switch in against most of mons. Keep it alive against M-Swampert, Thundurus has 37,5% chance to be OHKO by Ice Punch. Will o Wisp can help either Thundurus or Zeraora to use the Nasty Plot/Bulk up efficiently. H-pump will help against Ground MU. As for Volt Switch, most of the times, Rotom will be the last to act so you will have the advantage of the switch in.

Wave Check (Raichu-Alola) @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Focus Blast
- Surf
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt​

The late-game sweeper of the team. Focus Blast is for coverage and it hits Ferrothorn super efficiently (Who is a pain in the ass). Surf is against Ground type Pokemons and is better in my opinion than Grass Knot (Already used by Thundurus) and HP ice (Less power) + it OHKO Excadrill Sand Rush. Psychic (You can use Psyshock but Psychic has more power and this Pokemon is here to do massive damages) and Thunderbolt for the STABs.

Zera ora ora ora ora (Zeraora) @ Life Orb
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Bulk Up
- Knock Off
- Close Combat​

What a lovely Pokemon. So, he's not a mixed attacker but a pure physical attacker, he has less coverage but a lot of power. Bulk up is here to boost it a little more, which gives him a devastating stab, Plasma Fists. Knock off is here to get rid off the eviolite of Chansey/Porygon-2 etc... Close Combat is especially good against the Normal teams which can be annoying for the team (Too bulky).

Chill, dawg (Manectric-Mega) @ Manectite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Volt Switch​

And the last Pokemon, M-Manectric. It's a regular set too, Overheat is here to kill destroy the Steel/Grass/Bug monoteams (Ferrothorn will only be a bad memory). Nothing much to say about it.

Some adjustments to make maybe :

- Put a Golem-A somewhere. Stealth Rocks could be useful in some situations but I just can't figure which Pokemon has to be ditch out.
- There are maybe to much Life Orbs in the team but again, I don't really know what item can make the job. Expert Belt isn't really as good as Life Orb.

Thanks for your attention and I apologize for my bad English, see you next time !​

 

[Splash]

Hi Maere nice team! Here are a few suggested changes I would make to the team

First off, as you mentioned there is no Stealth Rock support on the team. Alolan Golem is a great fit here like you said, as it can perform more than the role being just an entry hazard setter, I would replace Mega Manectric for it as Tapu Koko fits its role better. It is just as fast, and hits its Electric STAB moves harder in the Electric Terrain thanks to Electric Surge, so I feel Mega Manectric is not as needed as its role is already outclassed in Tapu Koko. As for the set on Alolan Golem, having it hold an Air Balloon provides a temporary ground immunity which aids is glaring 4x weakness to ground, an example of Air Balloon's utility coming into play would be vs a Choice item Pokemon locked into a Ground type move allowing Alolan Golem to set Stealth Rock for free due to Air Balloon providing the immunity. Alolan Golem also sports the ability Magnet Pull, it can trap threats such as Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill (if the Balloon is not popped), and can eliminate them with Fire Punch, and Earthquake.

Secondly, You pointed out the Life Orb spam on your team, although it is not a bad thing, it would be beneficial for you to not lose HP with almost all your offensive Pokemon every time you dish out a move. I would honestly suggest a Choice Band on Zeraora over a Life Orb set. it can hit Plasma Fists significantly harder while being boosted by CB and Electric Terrain, and you won't lose valuable HP every move. In addition, A CB Close Combat hits extremely hard allowing it to 2HKO Porygon-2 on the switch ( 252 Atk Choice Band Zeraora Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 182-216 (48.6 - 57.7%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO) and has the ability to OHKO Defensive Staraptor after Rocks ( -1 252 Atk Choice Band Zeraora Plasma Fists vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Staraptor: 266-314 (71.6 - 84.6%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock ) and if Terrain is up its a guaranteed OHKO. Zeraora can break the Normal defensive core nicely with a Choice Band. A banded Knock Off is also very great for item removal and utility. Fire Punch can deal with Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn ( who you say is a pain) and gives you an offensive spammable move vs Grass, another option is Iron Tail that punishes a regular switch in on Fairy such as Tapu Bulu and can OHKO Mega Diancie.

Lastly, Another few changes I would suggest is running Grass Knot on Alolan Raichu as it can outspeed and OHKO Mega Swampert under Rain and Electric Terrain. I do understand that Thundurus already sports this move, but it cannot offensively threaten Mega Swampert as it get OHKO'd by both Waterfall and Ice Punch after rocks, and Rotom-W can only switch in so many times with in a longer match as it lacks Pain Split for recovery. Surf is not all that needed as Rotom-W can freely switch in to Sand Rush Excadrill, and worst comes to worst Focus Blast is there as a fail safe to OHKO Excadrill.

If the above change is made, you may opt to have Thundurus hold a Z crystal and perhaps even run Focus Blast over Grass Knot or Hidden Power Flying, thus giving you the option of using Gigavolt Havoc or All Out Pummeling to nuke your opponent.


Thats all I got man hope these suggestions were insightful and helpful, good luck with the team!!

Sets

Golem-Alola @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge

Zeraora @ Choice Band
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Fire Punch / Iron Tail


Raichu-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Grass Knot

Thundurus-Therian @ Electrium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Flying / Grass Knot

 

[Maere]

Hi SplashBrutha, thanks for the positive feedback !

- Yeah, Manectric was the Pokemon I was the least confident about keeping in the team ahah, Golem-Alola will be significantly better. I'll use the set you just gave and see the results.

- As for Choice Band Zeraora, I get your point. I'll try it out too but if the stealth rocks are in, Zera LO can kill Porygon2 with knock off + close combat, and Staraptor if you bulked up before + Plasma fists (But yeah, CB would have killed). So yeah, it seems like a good set, I'll try it.

- For Raichu-A, I was just being dumb, in my head Excadrill = Mold breaker so Rotom-W wasn't a good switch in. My mistake, so yeah, I agree with you, Grass Knot is a better idea.

- Finally, Thundurus : A Z crystal may seems like a good idea but Thundurus without +2 lacks a bit of power, I don't really think it is a good idea, as it will just kill one pokemon and die as nothing, which is too bad.

 

[Splash]

Hi SplashBrutha, thanks for the positive feedback !

- Yeah, Manectric was the Pokemon I was the least confident about keeping in the team ahah, Golem-Alola will be significantly better. I'll use the set you just gave and see the results.

- As for Choice Band Zeraora, I get your point. I'll try it out too but if the stealth rocks are in, Zera LO can kill Porygon2 with knock off + close combat, and Staraptor if you bulked up before + Plasma fists (But yeah, CB would have killed). So yeah, it seems like a good set, I'll try it.

- For Raichu-A, I was just being dumb, in my head Excadrill = Mold breaker so Rotom-W wasn't a good switch in. My mistake, so yeah, I agree with you, Grass Knot is a better idea.

- Finally, Thundurus : A Z crystal may seems like a good idea but Thundurus without +2 lacks a bit of power, I don't really think it is a good idea, as it will just kill one pokemon and die as nothing, which is too bad.

For sure man I just feel keeping HP on Zeraora is great cuz it can live attacks with its decent bulk , and Thundurus can still get to +2 ?? The set I posted does have Nasty Plot still on it I just replaced LO with Z Crystal (and Thundurus T still has almost 800 SpA at +2 ) as that is the Pokémon you’re building around.

Another option could be running Electrium Z / Fightinium Z on Zeraora if Choice Band isn’t your flavour.

 

[Maere]

Sorry I didn't give the full explanation for Thundurus, I wanted to say that if Thundurus doesn't have LO, he doesn't have much power so the option to give it a Z crystal is good but after that Z move, he won't do that much job. But well, I'll try it out too.

I tried giving Zera a Z crystal too but I was disappointed, Zera couldn't kill a M-Diancie on Electric Terrain with plasma fists (Turns out that was just a roll, but still I prefer guaranted kills) but I'll check it out