After burning my house down, I decided to stop cooking and take a look at what that melted plastic goop on my pan is…
Curse Arcanine Balance
Since Arcanine has started gaining popularity in NU overall, I decided to use it. However, to spice things up, I put it on a balance team.
SD Rhydon + NP Tornadus
Rhydon has seen a surge in interest, too. And, proudly claiming to be one of—if not the first—supporter of it, I had to make a team of my own.
Cramorant Balance
Seeing Cramorant’s rise in tournament usage (a.k.a. the fact that it was used at all) inspired me to use the derpy bird myself, especially since it can provide hazard removal.
Ice Spam + Lurk TR
I wanted to use Golurk and Glastrier on separate teams, but then, I realized I could just slap them together and wreck havoc with Trick Room.
Curse Arcanine Balance
Since Arcanine has started gaining popularity in NU overall, I decided to use it. However, to spice things up, I put it on a balance team.
I went with the basic Arcanine set of Flare Blitz / Extreme Speed / Curse / Morning Sun along with Tera Normal to boost Extreme Speed, but instead of Leftovers, I opted for Heavy-Duty Boots for security against entry hazards. The reason why Arcanine is so middling, though, is how it’s hardwalled by one of the best Pokemon in the tier, Chandelure; to counter it, I added Porygon2. (I debated going with Tera Normal Flash Fire Arcanine for the memes, but an impasse isn’t exactly the best, especially when Chandelure can click Energy Ball.) Tera Steel lets Porygon2 become a more reliable special wall against wallbreakers like Munkidori, Sylveon, and Alolan Ninetales. Substitute Basculegion takes advantage of and beats Vaporeon for Arcanine as well as Bronzong for Munkidori, and it’s good at bothering Gastrodon. (You could do a physical set to better handle Gastrodon, but special Basculegion avoiding contact effects while also not having to waste two turns to use a Ghost-type move makes it better in my eyes.) Tera Fairy lets Basculegion take a Knock Off from Incineroar, and it ensures Basculegion beats Fighting-types. Munkidori acts as speed control and can draw in Steel-types for Arcanine to set up on. Tera Poison lets it both boost Sludge Bomb and shed its Dark weakness. Gligar sets hazards, is the Fighting-type switch-in, and checks Alolan Muk. Tera Water lets it avoid powerful Water- and Ice-type moves. Hisuian Decidueye acts as hazard removal, the switch-in for offensive Water-types, and can chip Incineroar for Arcanine and Munkidori to sweep later. Tera Fairy lets it check Flygon and Fighting-types in a pinch.
SD Rhydon + NP Tornadus
Rhydon has seen a surge in interest, too. And, proudly claiming to be one of—if not the first—supporter of it, I had to make a team of my own.
This is an offensive Swords Dance + 3 Attacks Rhydon. The EV spread lets it always take a +2 Earthquake from Flygon while outpacing 170 Speed Pokemon and below, such as Vaporeon, Sylveon, and Registeel. Ice Punch complements Earthquake, hitting Flygon, Amoonguss, and Kilowattrel, and Fire Punch lets Rhydon chunk Bronzong to make Tornadus's job easier. Tera Water allows Rhydon to take Water- and Ice-type attacks in a pinch. Tornadus capitalizes on Grass- and Fighting-types that try to take advantage of Rhydon. Sludge Bomb is used over Dark Pulse here to hit both Diancie neutrally and other Fairy-types. Tera Steel lets it better handle them as well as other wallbreakers such as Munkidori and Goodra. Decidueye acts as the hazard control and checks some Fighting-types. I went with Giga Drain to better handle fat Water-types. Tera Poison allows Decidueye to take on all Fighting-types better, especially Toxicroak. Milotic handles Fire-types, notably checking Chandelure. Dragon Tail lets it bother setup sweepers, and Tera Poison lets Milotic check Toxicroak as well as other Fire-types. Bronzong sets entry hazards, is the special wall, and acts as the Steel-type for opposing wallbreakers like Sylveon, Munkidori, and Alolan Ninetales. Tera Fairy lets it last-minute check Fighting-types and Flygon. Choice Scarf Infernape is the speed control that checks Bronzong, and it brings in Poison-types for Rhydon. Tera Fighting boosts Close Combat to insane levels while granting Infernape a resistance to Stealth Rock.
vs Torterra + Firecorio G Terrain
vs Bruxish Psy Terrain (w/accidental Defog)
vs Flamigo Webs
(I played for a while w/a Vaporeon version of the team, but I went with Milotic to better handle Chandelure.)
vs 1400s Goodra Fat
vs rain sample
vs Munkidori balance
vs Focus Energy Infernape (aka when I realized I needed Milo)
vs Bruxish Psy Terrain (w/accidental Defog)
vs Flamigo Webs
(I played for a while w/a Vaporeon version of the team, but I went with Milotic to better handle Chandelure.)
vs 1400s Goodra Fat
vs rain sample
vs Munkidori balance
vs Focus Energy Infernape (aka when I realized I needed Milo)
Cramorant Balance
Seeing Cramorant’s rise in tournament usage (a.k.a. the fact that it was used at all) inspired me to use the derpy bird myself, especially since it can provide hazard removal.
Cramorant checks Fighting- and Water-types, notably walling most Paldean Tauros-W and -F sets. Defog is great due to how difficult it is to have entry hazard control on a team at times. Tera Fairy simply gives Cramorant a good defensive Tera type that still allows it to resist Fighting-type attacks. Chandelure handles the Steel-types that can bother Flygon, Sylveon, and Overqwil. On top of that, Energy Ball lets it beat Water-types, especially with Tera Grass to both boost it and give it resistances to Water and Ground. Sylveon provides recovery for Overqwil and Bronzong while being a switch-in for Fighting-types, stonewalling non-Gunk Shot Toxicroak, which has risen in popularity somewhat recently. Tera Poison lets Sylveon take on Alolan Muk and other Poison-types. Overqwil sets Spikes, spreads poison, and checks Incineroar, chipping it with Rocky Helmet to help Chandelure in wallbreaking. Tera Flying gives it a Ground immunity and Fighting resistance. Bronzong sets up Stealth Rock and is the special wall, taking on Kilowattrel, Munkidori, and Sylveon. Tera Fairy allows it to wall Flygon and take Fighting-type attacks in a pinch. Choice Scarf Flygon acts as speed control, and Tera Steel means it can take attacks from Munkidori and Diancie and revenge kill them.
Ice Spam + Lurk TR
I wanted to use Golurk and Glastrier on separate teams, but then, I realized I could just slap them together and wreck havoc with Trick Room.
Glastrier is SD + 3 Attacks with Close Combat to nail Steel-types and Crunch to hit Chandelure and Bronzong. Tera Dark both boosts Crunch and lets Glastrier tank Ghost- and Dark-type attacks for the rest of the team in a pinch if needed. Alolan Exeggutor is the first of three Trick Room setters. It chips Steel-types as well as dents Water-types for Glastrier, Diancie, Crabominable, and Golurk. On top of that, Eject Pack allows it to pivot with Draco Meteor and Leaf Storm—multiple times, too, thanks to Harvest. Tera Fire boosts Flamethrower, improving Alolan Exeggutor’s matchup into Steel-types, and it gives Alolan Exeggutor a Fairy and Fire resistance. Golurk beats bulky Steel- and Poison-types like Bronzong, Registeel, and Galarian Slowbro. Tera Fighting powers up Dynamic Punch and gives it a resistance to Dark-type attacks. Crabominable doubles up with Glastrier to overwhelm shared checks like Vaporeon, Milotic, and Bronzong. Earthquake targets Poison- and Fire-types such as Galarian Slowbro, Chandelure, and Hisuian Typhlosion, while Thunder Punch targets Water-types like Vaporeon, Paldean Tauros-W, and Milotic. Tera Electric is used, since it simultaneously boosts Thunder Punch while giving Crabominable a Flying-type resistance, helping it against Kilowattrel, Tornadus, and Flamigo in a pinch. Diancie is the second Trick Room setter and works to whittle down Bronzong and other Steel-types. Tera Grass gives it important resistances to Water, Grass, and Ground, ensuring it can set up Trick Room. The last Trick Room setter, Uxie, is often the lead. Mental Herb lets it go for Trick Room while the foe uses Taunt. Uxie has both Memento and U-turn to aid setup as well as switching in or preserve itself, depending on the situation. Tera Dark means Uxie can tank a Ghost- or Dark-type attack, letting it safely get a Trick Room up.
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