OU ADV OU Teambuilding Competition

[greenapricotttss]

In this phase of my life, I really want spikes.
Let me introduce you to my good friend, Forretress.
https://pokepast.es/837c041815dbeba8
That's my main account I mess around on. Swung this to 1600 on an alt, the ride wasn't too bumpy. Paused with a good 7-0 run.


Magnetoff

• Able to take advantage of CB Gross mm: it already switches into that comfortably so with the combo of twave + protect there are potential lefties gains
• If Dug is gone/absent its a great check for Zap and reliably switches into CB Aero
• Has a much improved mu into fire punch Gar which often exceeds 80% on typical Mag

Even with points mentioned it still loses to the tier’s leviathans such as Bliss, Ttar or even Suicune however its considerable difference in bulk may now make the oppo switch out of Mag’s better mus, like Zapdos (meaning more spike possible dmg), and it can bait Pert for obvious reasons to then double switch an appropriate answer into play.



is in the lead position because it matches up great into:
Zapdos
Suicune
the occasional OffMie

I really decided to lead with Lax because I don’t want Zap to pass the sub, then have someone else steamroll my team (or Zap itself)
We aren’t fond of leadTars but eq can work out terrifically. Usually does ~50% so reducing Ttar to about half health for Cune/Gyara to finish really inhibits it’s presence throughout the game, spikes makes this dream a reality.
Oh btw [Shadow Ball/Fire Blast]
Don’t even ask about the EVs lmao, I just put them at values I thought high enough to comfortably withstand special atks (hence the Careful nature) and take less from STAB rock slides or mm. I will say the 32 EVs in spatk are more than auxiliary, with that Fire Blast does a minimum of 72% to standard Forre. Refresh is the real draw to this set because it lets me sball Gengar with impunity, knowing I won’t actually be infringed by burn while scoring the probable 2hko. Also highly appreciated since I'm using Thick Fat instead of Immunity lol.
Why Thick Fat???? Honestly this might sound funny but we know Lax is a very good switch into Zap and we also know Zap will have either hp Grass/Ice. If I purposely send Gon into Zap then double switch into Lax the amount of dmg will transcribe the hp they are using. Very useful info thanks to Thiccums!



Really undermined by me as an OU contestant until I included it and saw it’s merit on this team. Learns nifty moves like twave or taunt (it is unique at inhibiting spikes, not exactly good) but I decided to be straightforward with 3 atks & ddance. Threatens so much solid damage on the entire meta after 1 dd, Jolly outspeeds everyone relevant. You will see how easy it can be to disrupt defensive synergy when no one is available to stomach +1 STAB or de, esp if Ttar is on the opposing side. Takes advantage of weakened Milotic and Swampert as opportunity to ddance (or mixMence, if healthy) and lum is the perfect confection for this display of brute force, preventing a (un)timely attempt at paralysis from cutting the antics short (also good since Milo & Pert may run toxic)
I will say Jolly might not pack the right punch, with one layer up I still failed to ko an offensive Mie although it was a roll in my favor, approx 32% it doesn't ko
Adamant will secure certain kos or apply more pressure but at the cost of Aero or Jolt easily interfering
hp Fly: for Celebi/Hera, better neutral coverage, hp Rock: to assault fliers like Zap/Aero (other Gyara), hp Ghost: seems weird maybe underexplored, it will ko Gar and Mie without question both of whom could possibly survive +1 hp Fly, also the best hit on a Claydol that could easily explode & it still hits Celebi se
Will experiment with other spreads, Jolly feels alright because I don't have to switch out of Aero/Jolt while reasonably threatening the meta, this alleviates some pressure from other teammates to perform as their would-be targets are either weakened or eliminated.


00
My well and trusted, tried and true. Standard spdef+ like any other Forre w/ a relatively basic moveset.
hp Bug is the featured attack as it dissuades Mie and Dol to stay in to do their job. Also of good use in front of a +1 Ttar
See now, Forre will likely be the 2nd or 3rd Mon sent onto the field. When they see Lax 1st they might think “ahhh what a dumbass, ez spikes” but then they may realize “oh this is clearly bait, I'm not a fool!”...so as they “go Skarmory!” the next to follow might be Dug apprehending Magneton. This is why we do not go Mag the moment we see Skarm, instead we go Forre to keep your side tidy. If they keep tossing spikes or start pecking then ofc you bring Mag in. In the aforementioned scenario as they attempt to nab Mag, this would now mean Forre is essentially trapped. But see, Dugtrio is bitch-made so it probably gets 2hkoed by hp Bug. This is not an endearing interaction tho as Forre would take two hits as well, so for this reason I thought of Counter over Explosion. The window of opportunities to use Counter seems…ajar at best lol. It will work better on a revised team tho
The third interaction is Skarm —> Gar to spinblock their one, measly layer. All you have to do is bait Skarm again with Lax, Gon or even Cune then apprehend the switch. Going Forre or Cune when the spiker/phys attacker (first) comes in is CRUCIAL to this team’s effectiveness in baiting. Want to give the oppo a false sense of security in believing your only preventive measure against spikes is simply rapid spin. If Mag gets apprehended too soon then Forre’s rapid spin becomes more of a pressing matter. That means Forre may faint sooner to repeated switches into layers.
Because Snorlax is a premier switch-in for special atks, physical heavy hitters are inclined to come in or spikers. Forre always has good mus into them barring an extraneous coverage move. This is usually an opportunity to spin lest they can block it (Gar). A straightforward game of hot potato to get in some hazard control or threaten an entry with CB Gon.



Bro always tryna flex. In fact his sole purpose is to flex up on your Mons, let me explain:
I added this Cune because I desperately wanted a roarMon that resists Water. Forget about CroCune for a second…do you know how many people undermine the destructive capacity of STAB Water in a tier that promotes sand? Resisted by two types (besides itself), one is uncommon and both have common weaknesses.
In ADV a decent portion of the playerbase tend to oversimplify the role of a bulky-Water check in faith of Blissey as a special tank. Relying too heavily on her (or even Milotic) can result in devastating counterplay. Mie, Vap or even Pert hpump does not feel great to switch into, so there is a lot of merit in Suicune taking on this role. Possesses high value in the ability to switch into other Cune and force it out instead of just sitting there like Bliss/Milo. If Pert does not have toxic then you should be able to take advantage of the mu and press roar at your leisure. Outspeeds everything up to Smeargle, so you should almost always roar out another CM Cune. Should also attack before a wide range of Celebi and some Zapdos (it is somewhat easy to ascertain oppo Zap's EV spread based on Forre/Mag damage taken from Tbolt and how well it takes an incoming Surf).
This Cune is a decent scout to reveal how your oppo will deal with it, remember the whole false sense of security act? So I would typically advise 00 into Skarm and this guy into Forre (until you go for it w/ Mag). Because not only will they -likely- switch in their Cune check, you can roar it out to observe the rest of their team structure.
If they possess a reasonable answer for Suicune then the spiker will confidently add a layer with the cognition of aura farm or 00 coming in (again) as a response: ample opportunity for Magnet Pull or hit it with Lax’s fblast.


Skippey
I am definitely one of several players experimenting with CBthis month, quite the commonality I see lmao. Doesn’t make me love him any less, this guy is great.
A phenomenal rock-resist, not as realistic without lefties but always a fantastic switch into Ttar. CB dissuades any risky actions on Ttar’s behalf so the oppo may tread carefully in hopes of preservation. Yet if they are unaware, a confident switch into Pert may result in surprise seeing the range on that eq. You can also farm the off-grounder with rock slide.
Yes I was able to use quick atk
Its neat in pinch situations, esp when Hera pops a Salac lol
Got 29% on Jolt

See, the early dmg on thousands of leadTars used in a day (lmao) really puts Flygon in a great position to make your oppo move very cautiously with it; even ppl who ddance t1 need ice beam to be truly safe against CB. Besides that you may find ample opportunities to switch into eq, esp if your oppo doesn't have Dug.
(sometimes the oppo may willingly sack Ttar upon realizing CB)
More value in lead Snorlax is that should your oppo "go Skarmory!" with Dugtrio creeping behind it, they cannot carelessly send in Dugtrio even if they expect Mag. Lax could land Foc Punch, which dents the shit out of Skarm and what if I used bslam to fish for para? The careless Dug is almost dead or dies in some cases if I’m atk+
If they end up trapping someone else most of your overall interactions are favorable, unless they double trap Forre with Mag (yikes lol)

The benefit of switching into any eq is that Flygon will likely resist the Mon’s coverage options or possess a teammate that does. It can force switches or provide delightful dmg with good intuition. Switching into Tbolt will either:
a) provide an opportunity for Lax to come in, possibly discover hid pwr
b) press rock slide
Gyarados really extends Flygon’s offensive role once any evident threats are reasonably chipped or gone. +1 Gyara will apply pressure to anyone who stomached a CB eq earlier or put late-game off-grounders in ko-range depending on the hp. Their targets are pretty similar so they essentially double up on pressure.

Be careful with subZap!



Other teammates?

I already know some of you are saying “How is he running Forre with no pursuit trapper?” lmao shut up & let me run my shit please
Serious thought, one could include mixGross in place of Mag as it does learn pursuit (or psychic), can use hp Fire & still boom (if you want).
I do lose a pretty valuable Zap switch-in with twave though.
max spatk, enough spe to go before minimum Tar, do 232 in HP (360 is divisible by 8 & 6) on Quiet


Double spin with Dol < Let Forre run another move? Mag has very good resistances and Claydol has bad weaknesses lol. It wouldn't be hard to spin at all using psy/sball & that Levitate with the rock-resist is swell indeed. But another death by Starmie sounds tragic. Not sure of an exact set, just a fleeting thought for now.
Ig 2 boom is better than 1?
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Why is Cloy/Gar/hp Ice Zap the biggest cteam to this LMAO, its fine Cloyster sucks anyways.
I may have been remotely inspired by the forums, I'm just thinking about daily ADV shenanigans.
You always find out the hard way if it works or not.
Hopefully I can try something else fun.

 

[Zpanther]

Flygon is an interesting mon with a surprisingly large movepool. Due to the no Skarm restriction i thought itd be fun to try out a different flavor of spikes with Flygon.

Heres what i came with:
https://pokepast.es/d3c9c613dd9437e8


Jolteon, Agility Meta, Gengar and Tar are some of my favorite pokemon to use in ADV anyways so felt like a perfect fit here. I love fast paced spikes and with the not using skarm clause and forre + gon likely not lending itself to a fast paced style team i settled on cloyster. I say settled but it really does feel like the better fit a water and ice resist is pretty nice and cloyster is a nice endpert switch in with its popularity atm. due to having a rock resist in flygon that is immune to spikes i decided to drop spin on cloy in favor of beam. and having another way to trade with mence is really crucial. Why Mixed Flygon? well on a faster team like this the ability to pressure skarm is really key and having a second rock resist kinda lets me cheat a bit on movesets. hidden power grass supports both tar and agil meta as well.

Tyranitar: Staple of fast paced spikes teams ofc pairs great with flygon as gon is sand immune. opted for DD tar here truly cant go wrong with that set on basically any structure especially these.

Metagross: Agility is important alongside flygon as support vs Aero. Gon is often paired with another rock resist usually Jirachi so Meta with its identical typing made alot of sense. Meta crucially is another Lax and Bliss punish too as well as an emergency suicune delete button i speed crept it for standard rest suicune.

Cloyster: The lesser of the 3 OU spikers is still pretty interesting and i think has some pretty great synergy with Flygon that isnt really explored. typing wise being able to come into ice and water moves is great but it also has boom and stab ice of its own to trade with problematic mons.
Another great thing is it can pressure the most common spinner Claydol which when using Jolteon is very nice.

Jolteon: Natural fit alongside Cloyster with Volt Absorb it checks things such as Zapdos and Gengar. Flygon can come into the twaves and Eqs aimed at Jolt. having stab electric is really crucial here so suicune cant run away with the game. roar as a backup option and twave to prevent dders from causing issues.

Flygon: Definitely an unusual set but i think if there's any place to use it its here. Fire blast is sometimes seen and of course rock slide and earthquake as options. almost never will you see HP Grass but Flygon has a passable Spatk stat of 80 so with spikes down its actually pretty threatening to swampert and lets it trade at worst for one of the set up sweepers to clean. went for a odd speed tier but i think it helps alot. being faster than celebi is just nice and also outspeeding jolly tar and the group that creeps those also doesnt hurt.

Gengar: Gengar makes any mu playable and protecting spikes with a non skarm spiker is much more important especially when that spiker is offensive and booms. Gar adds a 3rd boom here limiting setup and providing critical help vs snorlax. Willo is borderline broken only held back by accuracy. Gar also provides important help vs dd mence here its eved to always live +1 from full.

Well thats my team it definitely has some poor matchups and doesn't do well vs status but vs opposing fast spikes and offense it did really well in my testing and I had a lot of fun coming up with this.

 

[alphasapphire918]

Sun Offense ft. Adamant Lead Dug, Bulky Mixgon, and some eggs​

https://pokepast.es/4c2962ff3113d7b2

I attempted to build a BulkPass team for the Medicham teambuilding challenge last month, but realized a good ADV pal, xlimexheep, was already ahead of the curve on that one. So, in comes Skarmless Flygon. What was the inspiration? How did this weird structure come about? First was figuring out Flygon's role on a team without Skarm. To me, this meant it would act as the defensive rock resist threatening EQ's and maybe some coverage. I had both Flygon and Zard in the builder as I'm wont to include my favorite mon to use in ADV and suddenly the sun idea came about. Sun is a very rarely seen strategy in serious OU games as there is only a single decent Chlorophyll user, Exeggutor, and not too many OU mons synergize as well with sun as they do with rain, (i.e. Suicune, Pert, mons running Thunder, etc.). However, I wanted to give this a go since Egg and Zard could both support each other quite well.

Each mon's role:​

Dugtrio @ Choice Band 
Ability: Arena Trap 
EVs: 252 Atk / 88 SpD / 168 Spe 
Adamant Nature  
IVs: 0 SpA 
- Earthquake 
- Rock Slide 
- Beat Up 
- Aerial Ace

Lead Dug's first and foremost role is to find and eliminate Tyranitar so Zard and Egg in the back can reset weather. Its Attack is as maximixed as possible (full IVs, EVs, and Adamant) while still carrying enough speed at 318 to outrun other assorted targets (Hera, Loom, Houndoom, Jynx, non-Jolly Rachi). 88 SpD isn't quite enough to always live max SpA Ice Beams from Bliss, and definitely not from Mixtar, but it IS able to live Mixtar's HP Grass as well as HP Grass/Ice from offensive Zap. The team I used carried Beat Up over HP Bug as it's weak to Bliss even with Fighting coverage, but this greatly backfired during one single match where Recover/Leech Celebi just ran laps around me. Additionally, most of the Bliss I ran into were max SpA Ice Beam, so Beat Up would greatly damage it, but not pick up the KO. Choose which secondary kill you'd prefer.

Charizard @ Leftovers 
Ability: Blaze 
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature  
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def 
- Toxic 
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Fire Blast 
- Sunny Day

Zard is here as a secondary Sun setter/sweeper, since it hits big stupid numbers with max SpA, Sun-boosted Fire Blast, coupled even further when in Blaze range. My team waffled between HP Ice and HP Grass for Zard as the coverage option: While Grass coverage is very handy in order to handle lategame Pert, the team ended up stumbling against opposing fliers, namely the Flygon mirror. HP Ice and Grass are swappable between Zard and Egg (I'll explain shortly). The team also briefly carried Sub over Toxic, but I much preferred Tox as a way to pressure Bliss. If you're feeling spicy and don't think you need two whole sun setters, you could forgo Tox/Sunny Day and go SubPunch to threaten Bliss better.

Exeggutor @ Leftovers 
Ability: Chlorophyll 
EVs: 32 HP / 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 204 Spe 
Modest Nature 
- Psychic 
- Sunny Day 
- Solar Beam 
- Explosion

The Egg: The centerpiece of an ADV sun team. Exeggutor is, wouldn't ya know it, the primary sun sweeper of the team. Egg was the hardest to really settle on a good moveset, it falls victim to four moveslot syndrome HARD. I'm still not totally set on what works best with it.
Different moves I experimented with include:

1. Explosion -> Sleep Powder / Leech Seed / Giga Drain
2. Psychic -> HP Ice / HP Fire

In the end, I settled on having STAB moves with Explosion last. Solar Beam is your big Grass move that dunks on the bulky Waters and chunks everything neutral, (including non HP-invested Bliss for ~26% surprisingly enough). Psychic is your secondary STAB coverage that defeats Gar, Tentacruel (yes that happened to me on ladder), and the fighters, and possible SpD drop fisher. Explosion last is the Hail Mary to deny an opposing wincon, finish a game when you're up a mon(s), kill Blissey button, and general pivot tool once Egg has swept. Egg overall felt strong to use and ended up doing good damage whenever the opponent let it get sun up. Depending on whichever mons you'd prefer to cover; HP Ice helps in chunking Zap & beating the dragons, Sleep Powder effectively removes an opposing mon from the field/allows for a sun turn, Leech Seed prevents Bliss from freely switching in on you at full, and HP Fire is more effective at threatening Celebi when sun is up. Depending on whether or not Egg is running HP Ice coverage, Zard can go back to HP Grass to better check Pert. Full disclosure though, HP Ice Egg did not feel good. Maybe with Boom it's better, idk.

Flygon @ Leftovers 
Ability: Levitate 
EVs: 92 Atk / 252 Def / 128 SpA / 36 Spe 
Lax Nature  
- Earthquake 
- Giga Drain 
- Fire Blast 
- Toxic

Hey look, it's the guy the competition is about! Flygon here takes a more defensive role, being the premier switch-in to Rock and Ground moves. A neat little synergy on this structure is that sun allows Flygon to switch in on Water moves a LOT more comfortably. This is true for Lax as well, but having MonoPert's positive MU into Flygon neutralized by the weather was a massive serotonin boost, (even if Toxic still goobs you long run). EQ needs no explanation on Flygon, but deciding to go full mixed attacks with Giga AND Blast was an invention born from that MU switch with Pert. With the defensive boost that sun gives Flygon into Water moves, it made sense to run Giga Drain over Rock Slide, (previously ran move), as a surprise factor against opposing Pert, and other relevant mons, (Dol was another mon that came up). Healing from Giga was an added benefit, as, remember, Flygon is the premier defensive wall of the team. Fire Blast, with the extra Sun boost, ends up chunking Skarm SIGNIFICANTLY more than standard Flygon does, getting further in the damage game with the accursed bird. Flygon ended up working well as a mon that could take advantage of the sun being up and as the glue for the team.

Snorlax @ Leftovers 
Ability: Immunity 
EVs: 92 HP / 116 Atk / 144 Def / 144 SpD / 12 Spe 
Adamant Nature  
- Curse 
- Body Slam 
- Shadow Ball / Earthquake
- Brick Break / Earthquake

As soon as I landed on the sun idea, it was absolutely obvious that Lax was going to double as special wall and breaker. Lax is up there with Hera as the poster monster for "weather clear" teams. And as special wall/breaker? Yeah, it works about as swimmingly as you'd expect. There were several games on ladder where the Egg and Zard didn't even get to do their sun sweeping because eliminating Tar/fighters early with Dug and erasing sand just let CurseLax do CurseLax things. This is personal preference, but I always run Body Slam on Lax as the chance to para is just way too beneficial for both the team and Lax itself. Midgame Tar reveals end up completely splatting once Lax gets that Slam para off and Dug is allowed in for the trap. Shadow Ball/Brick Break were my coverage choices by the end of my teambuilding phase to cover the ghosts/Celebi and opposing Lax respectively, but depending on whichever MU you anticipate coming up, (ex. Meta, Jolt, etc.), you can swap either with EQ. Several of my replays ran EQ over Brick, but the Lax mirror felt way more difficult to manage without it.

Regirock @ Leftovers 
Ability: Clear Body 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD 
Adamant Nature  
- Rock Slide 
- Earthquake 
- Thunder Wave 
- Explosion

The last mon for the team was difficult to land on. Originally, the team had Armaldo last as the combination of sun weakening Water moves, Battle Armor denying crit hax, and Knock/Spin were all enticing, but the glaring weakness to Rock sweepers just did not mesh well at all. Regirock's superior defensive stats, typing, and movepool allowed it to function much better as a secondary defensive wall for Flygon and offensive threat with Edgequake coverage, especially as Flygon had Rock Slide dropped for Giga. Threatening Twaves also helps the team immensely with buying more turns for sun setting, Lefties recovery, and good ol' fashioned paraflinch hax. Yeah, it's cheap. Who cares, you're running a sun team in OU, take what you can get. Explosion is the fourth move as a final Hail Mary to stop any setup sweepers or eliminate a bad switch-in for the team, (ex. Suicune).

Some replays with the team in action:​

I am playing on a test account called "iamnotjimothycool"

• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-2464850551-aeeo2u6s55tghjo0v8jwny9fgw4w8wlpw
  • Version 1 of the team using Armaldo; win against special offense
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-2464869932
  • Final version of the team; example of the Lead Tyranitar trap/kill
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen3ou-2464879970
  • Final version of the team; win against Superman

 

[tigersuit]

SURPRISINGLY FAST STEEL TYPES


https://pokepast.es/4d5aad97a1a042e2
​

The teambuilding process is relatively straightforward here. The team is designed around enabling jirachi and jolteon to clean by forcing damage onto tar, dol, and meta. Flygon abuses the strong pressure onto skarm and with sub abuses the eq locks the other slots will bait. Most synergies will be explained below.


IDNTNEED (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 140 HP / 220 Atk / 100 Def / 48 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave

This set is primarily designed to duel lead tars to enable jirachi and jolteon later by forcing damage onto phys tars and to scout the sets/force out mixed tars. This spread survives a bkc tar rock slide after sand and two shots with hp fight. Drill peck is for the fighting types that flygon teams are often otherwise soft into along with strong threat against celebi which is otherwise often problematic for double electric teams. Just don't get flinched by lead medi.


savages (Forretress) @ Quick Claw
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Explosion

Generally self explanatory. As a fast paced spikes offense without gar I like having a spiker that can force out the two most common spinners. Boom also fits with the pace as this team generally does not enjoy switching into special threats repeatedly. The team is not really designed to spin but with 4 grounded mons a mid game spin against passive teams can be impactful, particularly for rachi and tar. It is quick claw because quick claw forre is rad and I wanted an excuse to post on the smogon forums about how stupid it is that this has not been banned yet.


(snowlight nxc) (Jolteon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunder Wave
- Baton Pass

Does the jolteon things. The team needs the speed badly as otherwise endpert is a nightmare for this team to handle. Baton pass is probably droppable but I like not needing to concern myself with bulky dug and the bp to sub tar against predictable blis switches can be threatening. Mix zap lead also requires a real zap answer.


pocket nitro (Jirachi) @ Salac Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 188 HP / 120 Def / 60 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Calm Mind

Modified superachi opting for ice over psy to cover the otherwise problematic mence endgames. The set is heavy on physical bulk with salac to reverse momentum on dug and aero. This set is reliant on getting damage onto tar and meta. While designed originally to be a cleaner on this team in practice it plays more as a mid game breaker where the salac proc can get an extra boosted attack off before dying in some scenarios. Still a potent cleaner against common spike off cores.


HEAR ME TONIGHT (Flygon) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Substitute

This team can afford a more offensive flygon as there are enough fat mons on the team/speed with jolt to handle pretty much any physical tar set. I wanted to run choice band originally but substitute as a eq lock punish is too important and the team does not really have the physical longevity that band users necessitate. Sub abuses the double para spreading electric types fairly well and this set can force damage/sub against dol which the electrics don't handle directly when healthy. This set thuds hard into skarm so avoid using it early into games if skarm is revealed or expected. Offense without phasing also mandates a strong eq user so we make do.


born to be (Tyranitar) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpA / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Hidden Power [Grass]

I absolutely love boah tar and its a fantastic way to round out this core. One of the best (if not the best) blis punishes and fire grass coverage over the typical crunch fire/thunder forces damage onto meta/pert/skarm more reliably that enables the other threats. I think crunch over grass for more damage onto dol is reasonable. VIL tar also fits here but I wanted a stronger hit than focus onto skarm/meta.

 

[Tomotaco69]

Skarm-Less Superman

https://pokepast.es/3dcc3c72aabffeac

After procrastinating for a while, I have something to show for the class show x tell.

It’s been a while since I played with an actual Superman team that wasn’t just another fraudulent Articuno team straight out of gutters of my brain, so this was a nice refresher to remind me that not every Superman team has to make me die a little inside whenever I que up on the ladder.

The Fortnite Lobby
Zapdos
Standard Offensive set that acts as a flexible lead.

I figured I really needed something for Suicune, so I figured Zapdos was the way to go.

“Do they carry a lot of weight from having to carry this team against most Water type matchups?”

Yes

Should I have distributed the responsibilities better amongst the team?

Yes, but your co-workers being actually helpful is very unrealistic. This is an art piece that’s supposed to depict the daily grind, especially your co-workers that leave mounds of work they didn’t do in the morning which piled up until you clocked in at specifically 4:00 in the afternoon.


Moltres
Just the standard one, not much I can explain that isn’t repeating stuff already said about this mon.

Colonel Sanders is honestly nice for the burn spread, and also helping with the chip pressure alongside Tyranitar’s sand/ Zapdos’ Toxic.

This team is kinda ass cheeks at pure breaking (With the exception of CBT, because Tar is GOAT’ed like that), so I had to incorporate a lot of chip to put enemies into range.

Just like the annoying ass bikers who revved their engine at 12:00am right beside my hotel when I went back to Okinawa, I have a lot of compensation to do.

So to get around not having access to Spikes (I’m not using Cloyster because they’re lowkey a Potential Mon whom I don’t know how they’re still in OU/ I don’t wanna run Pursuit Tar to run Forre), I had to compensate with other forms of chip in status.


Jirachi
The perfect SpDef wall to pair with my Def-Flygon.

I can bring this thing into all the special shit my Flygon hates staying in on, and more (except Fire stuff).

I really needed help with the Gengar matchup, and this Jirachi was particularly good at the job at hand, since Fire Punch is usually a rarity.

Also this thing is bulky enough to the point where I don’t have to worry about them dying to a stray hit from switching in.

Again with the chip, burn is always appreciated. Para is also appreciated because this team has a lot of flaws, and I don’t give a shit about playing fair, I’ll cheese some shit if I really have to as I huff and puff that sweet, sweet Superman copium.

Wish/ Protect is nice for not only my Jirachi’s longevity, but also the teams’. Given my team is Balance, it fit like a glove, since there’s bulky mons that appreciate the healing so they can go back in for additional walling/ round 2 of breaking.


Gengar
I added this set to rage-bait Blissey.

So I want the damage to stick, but in general, my team is quite mid in terms of damage output. Not too low, but not really great (with the sole exception of CBT).

One of the work arounds to making the damage stick is by denying healing moves, so support mons like Blissey can’t get off a Heal Bell, Wish, etc.

Wanna stop setup for future turns, then Gengar also has that covered.

And having extra help against Mence is nice because this team is legitimately a DD Mence victim. Like the moment Flygon goes down, I’m getting my ass cheeks clapped, no question.


Flygon
Shittier Claydol

HP Ice Victim Flygon is the premier Defensive Wall on this team, not because they fulfill the position the best but because I had to put them on the team because they certainly do a solid job at deterring physical attackers, the likes of Tyranitar, Gyarados, Aerodactyl (Double-Edge victim) and (sometimes) Mence.

Slander and agenda aside, they actually do well pairing with Defensive Jirachi, given they can switch into attacks they don’t like staying in on, while Jirachi can switch into attacks Flygon doesn’t like staying in on.

Having Protect on both mons is also nice for this chip heavy team, since it helps to stall out turns to help rack up chip damage, and get things into range for the offensive mons on my team.

Chat, I miss Claydol

If I sound too harsh, it might possibly be because I might in fact miss Claydol.


Tyranitar (CBT)
The GOAT of the team, the one nothing really likes switching into.

Tyranitar makes sure damage sticks by setting up sand, which is key to this entire team as they need to maintain the damage in order to find KOs.

Tyranitar also compliments my team’s longevity as my two walls of this team is immune to sand, allowing my mons to win the war of attrition against something like Blissey.

Tyranitar also has to carry really badly because they’re the premier, and only reliable source of active damage output on the team, especially physically.

If it wasn’t for Tyranitar, this team would struggle a lot more than it already does, which is baffling until you remember this is a Superman team.

So yeah, easy MVP. Carries a lot of weight, and certainly carried the team in general.

Personal Rant
I did end up reliably sticking around 1600s range with this team, and I do believe it can go higher given the I was doing well, even in the unemployment hours of the ladder where I was going up against the top players of the ladder, and somehow winning with this team.

However…

I do not wanna play this shit unless I am pushing agenda/ unless I HAVE to.

I can’t stress enough how flawed Superman teams are, especially this one. I think I spent more time verbally shitting on 5/6 members of this team (CBT was excluded because they’re the carry) instead of playing the game.

It got to a point where shit-talking my team got more fun than queuing up for another game. The motivating factor in this run was just to reach high-end of mid-ladder, and my “can’t end on a loss” mindset.

I had displeasure playing this team, but…

Maybe the memories it brought back of how I initially started ADV was worth it after a-

NO.

Fuck this team.

I wanna do something fun. Like having a Struggle war end-game with Suicunes. That’s real ADV entertainment.

Anyways, 4/10 experience, probably will torture myself again for clout.

 

[Shitrock enjoyer]

https://pokepast.es/424774d568e5d585

CB Gon Spikeless Offense


- Idea is to use multiple mons that r good at damaging flying types for a CB Gon sweep
- Sub Salac Hera as a extra wincon, flying type lure with Focus Punch and Gengar lure with HP Ghost
- Registeel as the glue vs specials/Zap and Boom natural cures (specifically Celebi) for EQ spam. Chip down PertDol for a eventual Hera or Flygon sweep, its able to also chip down Skarm for later
- DD Tar to start opening up with trades and have Sand to stick at the opponent flying types. Trades up with Meta/Rachi/Pert which is benefitial for Hera (and even Gon in case of Pert) or trades w Claydol alongside Gengar for Gon's benefit
- FireGrass Gar to lure fliers more reliably. Also our switchin to Skarmory and Swampert and able to press opp Claydol for our CB Gon
- Claydol is able to spin hazards for Hera/Steel, boom fliers (most important function here) for CB Gon and Hera and is able to absorb Gar for some time alongside Lum DD Tar

 

[Kollin7]

Thanks very much to everyone who submitted teams this time. I know this was a bit of a trickier prompt, but people came through with some really clever and creative builds. Looking forward to seeing what Mielke and Adam have to say as well.

I worked very hard on my judging this time, so please enjoy:

Johnald

Forre Offgon Zard (https://pokepast.es/558007e4ed74293c)
by Johnald

Really, really strong start here. I think the write-up especially here is absolutely excellent. Overall, the synergies are very well thought out. I especially want to give some love to the finishing touches like Screech on Flygon and Roar on Charizard. This is not an entirely novel team, though I do think it's just a fairly logical endpoint for Forretress+Flygon. We've seen Forre+Gon+Registeel+Milotic here and there over the years, even as recently as last SPL by McMeghan. McMeghan's team had Celebi in the Charizard slot. I even built this team some time back too, mine was RestZap in the Charizard slot. I think Charizard is at least arguably better than both of those options because it much better addresses the weakness to Jirachi/Celebi. It also adds another switch in to Metagross which is always a valuable and important consideration when using Flygon or Forretress, let alone both. Charizard is a strong SkarmBliss punish, which Forretress teams are sometimes lacking other than just their own spikes and hoping to keep opposing spikes off long term. Lastly, it helps relieve some of the pressure on Tyranitar vs Gengar, again a really welcome help on Forretress teams. I will say it leaves you with a not especially convincing Suicune matchup. Again, Screech on Flygon and Roar on Charizard were great touches to give a chance. However, if Flygon ever dies, lastmon Suicune should have a very good chance to just win. Even more concerning is the CroCune matchup, I don't think I need to expand on that. RestLax similarly really threatens to run away with a game. Another concern I'll mention is fighting types. Charizard again helps marginally here, but vs Medicham especially there are no great options turn 1. Last thing I'll mention is something a little more abstract, but I just want to say that these middling pace Forretress teams often look better on paper than they work in practice. What I mean is that while most things seem pretty well covered here, in practice it may not work as well. An example I'll give is facing Offensive Starmie. On paper, Registeel is a great inclusion here that covers this concern well. But imagine there are spikes, imagine the Starmie is paired with Gengar, imagine the Starmie is offensive with Recover. As the game gets dragged out, the matchup looks a lot worse. Does this team have the backbone to withstand having to switch around these threats multiple times? If not, does this team have the firepower to win quickly enough? I'm not saying there is a necessarily correct answer here, it's just meant more as a thought exercise, especially since overall I loved this submission a lot.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 9/10
Competitive Viability: 9/10
Creativity & Originality: 7.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 10/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 8/10

Total: 43.5/50

Dastardlydwarf

Untitled 162 (https://pokepast.es/5b10838886f7043d)
by Dastardlydwarf


Not bad, ultimately I think this team is just a bit too weak to SkarmBliss. In the write-up, the builder mentioned that most of the mons at least mess with Skarmory. This is true, Taunt on Gyarados and Fire Blast on Flygon are two nice touches that show care was taken on that front. The problem is that Blissey threatens a lot here and only really Snorlax can switch in to it, which is a great entry point for Skarmory. Before too long this team is gonna get overloaded by such a defensive core. Again though some good synergies here, this is a nice spot for Houndoom. Not only does it trap Gengar which is a mon of huge concern to every other team member, but checking Jirachi/Celebi is definitely welcome here too. The builder mentioned offensive Starmie and Zapdos as potential issues, especially with spikes. Not much to add, I concur.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 7/10
Competitive Viability: 5/10
Creativity & Originality: 7.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 6/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 5.5/10

Total: 31/50

xtinaxendrix

Dashback Grab (https://pokepast.es/265be65419305b1a)
by xtinaxendrix

Another cool team. I think my big problem with this team is that I feel it's both not quite offensively potent enough and not quite defensively sound enough. It's just barely lacking on both fronts and should probably pick a direction to go a little further in. Whenever you have both Pursuit Tyranitar and Magneton it is really quite difficult to fill out with everything you want. Medicham with BP to get a free trap with both Mag and Tar is a nice idea. I feel like Flygon's fit here is at least somewhat questionable. It's nice to have another Zapdos check and the idea of offensive Flygon as a fast cleaner that appreciates both the trap targets of Tar and Mag makes sense as well. However, of huge concern to me is opposing Swampert. The builder mentions that both Tar and Mag have HP Grass to lure and dent it, which I think is a hopeful plan if anything, especially since the Tar here is quite slow. You have to also keep in mind, this team is spikeless so Swampert can potentially do a lot of chip healing. Really any offensive water type can really do some cleaving to this team once Snorlax is chipped. Milotic can also sit on everything here except Magneton, Snorlax would have to explode on it to reliably take it out. Another big concern is mixed attackers in general, especially Salamence. Tar and Lax are one time checks at best and Swampert can threaten it if it's at full, but otherwise it's very scary. The builder mentions that El Clasico should be a good matchup and I have to say I'm not super convinced, although it is a spot where BP on Medicham can potentially really shine. Fun team with good ideas though.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 6.5/10
Competitive Viability: 6/10
Creativity & Originality: 7/10
Clarity of Explanation: 7/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 7/10

Total: 33.5/50

pixie909

Flygon teambuilding competition (https://pokepast.es/1a3e308acb69109a)
by pixie909

Yet another really interesting one. Synergestically, you can't really argue much with the choices the builder made. Most everything is pretty well thought out. Mimic on Metagross is obviously a very hilarious way to get your own spikes on this team, and actually fairly reliably at that. That said, facing an opposing spikes team does seem a bit awkward. Obviously, we want to Mimic with Meta and get our own, but in the meantime they're getting theirs. Since Flygon is CB, we really cannot rely all that much on its defensive traits to help us out, especially since it's rather unsupported. This leaves us with a grounded defensive core and at least a couple layers up before our Starmie can really even enter. Our flexibility at this point is severely limited. A potential nightmare scenario I feel is if the opposing spiker that came into Metagross was Forretress rather than Skarmory because Starmie can't just switch into Forre. I guess in that scenario we really can't afford to Mimic, but regardless I guess we have to just go straight to Gengar when we have no spikes of our own. Seems bad. Against spikes offenses we mostly will have to face off with Gengar or Celebi and neither seem very comfortable to play around. Gengar especially seems a big time problem for this team. Making Starmie SpDef is a good touch with the partners we have though. This is another team where opposing Swampert is pretty painful, and on that note Flygon (or at least this Flygon set?) feels like it just really does not fit all that great here. Huge creativity points though and you can tell the builder is very clever overall.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 8.5/10
Competitive Viability: 6.5/10
Creativity & Originality: 9.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 6.5/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 5/10

Total: 36/50

WraxiusGaming

Houdini Offgon Regice (https://pokepast.es/73ecf5d8d867db4c)
by WraxiusGaming

Kind of a wacky 6 on paper, but I think in the end most things end up covered at least acceptably. The one exception is I think this team is simply way too weak to Metagross. Suicune is the only real switch in to it, which obviously has some problems especially in any long term sense. I think this could be acceptable but the other real problem is we don't at least have a reliable lure for Meta that we can trade. Regice does at least semi-reliably paralyze it which is something, and Meta is sometimes forced to check SubRachi so maybe not completely dire. Another thing about this team worth saying is that it kind of lacks convincing ways of dealing with Blissey. If our plan is to blow up Metagross turn 1, we really have nothing we want to actually switch into Blissey. The builder does mention that Mirror Coat on Suicune means beating CMBliss; that doesn't seem like a perfect solution vs CMBliss to me, but it is at least something. We can blow up Regice vs Blissey, but we don't have a super great follow up and we also will no longer have a Regice. SubCMRachi can try to duel Blissey but that's usually something you're forced to do rather than happy to do, and it's especially unreliable on a sandless team. Our Suicune can at least force out Seismic Toss Blisseys, but then we're left with a sleeping Suicune. So yeah, the Blissey counterplay is lacking. The Mence set is interesting, appreciate the builder's thoughts on the why. I will say dropping Earthquake when as I mentioned we lack reliable Metagross luring/breaking is at least a little suspect. Dropping HP Flying on such a fighting type weak team is a pretty big risk as well. Last thing I want to mention that may be somewhat obvious (and not entirely unique to this team by any means), but if we are facing a Skarmory team and do not manage to blow it up immediately, we are probably in pretty big trouble. Although, I will say, in that case we are really glad to have Flygon's spike immunity when it comes to checking Tyranitar or Zapdos with a spike down. Stuff like Gengar or Salamence with a spike down however are definitely a big time nightmare. Anyways, pretty nice team overall, Houdini + OffGon is a fun synergy I've messed with myself in the past and I also really appreciate the synergy of Regice + SubGon.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 7/10
Competitive Viability: 6/10
Creativity & Originality: 7.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 7.5/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 6.5/10

Total: 34.5/50

4lowray

no spikes offensive flygon team (https://pokepast.es/a78e6b3597b84c68)
by 4lowray


Another team going with the Pursuit Tyranitar + Magneton combo. Again, lots of strong and clever synergies to fill out the team. My first reaction to seeing the 6 was that it's simply too weak to mixed attackers and Swampert, but Rest on Gyarados is a nice solve. I will say it sacrifices some offense that this team maybe can't afford to sacrifice and having a Gyarados tasked with so much defensively is always sketchy. It also doesn't actually very convincingly deal with MixMence, which is a major problem. I like the choice of Registeel here because the fact it can act as a half check to just about everything is extremely welcome. Breloom makes some sense here because CBGon appreciates some help checking PhysTars, and Suit support already built in is nice. Breloom is also something that threatens Blissey which is desperately needed, but unfortunately Breloom can't really switch into Blissey. In fact, we severely lack anything that wants to switch into Blissey. Gyarados can rest loop any set lacking Tbolt, but that's a lot of lost momentum. Our Tar and Registeel can switch into Blissey convincingly, and they can even threaten it out once or twice, but eventually they will learn that Blissey walls both barring Registeel's boom. Despite these downsides, this team is at least playable and had some very nice ideas.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 7/10
Competitive Viability: 5.5/10
Creativity & Originality: 7.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 7/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 4.5/10

Total: 31.5/10

greenapricotttss

Choki (https://pokepast.es/837c041815dbeba8)
by greenapricotttss

Don't really get this one. This team is truly going in a thousand different directions, we need to settle on just one. No, Refresh Snorlax is not a Gengar solution. SkarmGar just ruins this entire team. The Magneton is a bulky set (actually maybe kind of necessary since we are so weak to every special attacker?) so Skarm is always getting multiple layers. Suicune lacks Rest so the mixed attacker weakness is even worse. Even Gyarados can't check things very well because it was given a Lum Berry and will take damage to sand. The Forretress explanation the builder wrote made no sense. Flygon doesn't seem to fit at all, CB especially is probably not good because almost every common flying type threatens this team a lot.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 1/10
Competitive Viability: 2.5/10
Creativity & Originality: 4.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 4/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 1.5/10

Total: 13.5/50

Zpanther

Mixed Flygon Cloyster Spikes (https://pokepast.es/d3c9c613dd9437e8)
by Zpanther

First team using Cloyster as the spiker. Looks like a pretty classic take with Jolteon and Gengar. This is the first Mixed Flygon we've seen so far, and it's not a bad fit at all. I like the idea of luring Swampert to make way for an Agility Metagross or DDTar sweep. I don't have a ton to say about this team just because it's honestly just a pretty standard aggressive spikes team; its matchups and upsides/downsides are pretty well understood. Two things I will point out about this team specifically. 1) Celebi looks like a massive pain and 2) you have to be really careful against opposing Metagross, especially Agility Metagross threatens to sweep very easily here. Overall, just a pretty nice practical build here.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 8.5/10
Competitive Viability: 8/10
Creativity & Originality: 5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 5.5/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 7.5/10

Total: 34.5/50

alphasapphire918

sun/mixgon egg offense (https://pokepast.es/4c2962ff3113d7b2)
by alphasapphire918

Ok, at first glance this team seems insane, but upon further examination I think it actually works at least decently. Regirock does a ton of heavy lifting as sort of a solver for all the potential shortcomings, because it can technically help patch up weaknesses to a huge host of things. Of particular note here is its help vs Aerodactyl, Salamence, and to an extent Blissey. People will scoff at lead Dugtrio, but I think Charizard is one of the mons that can at least kind of make it acceptable. I will say the fact this Charizard set isn't super threatening to Blissey is likely a mistake here (to be fair the builder does mention this), I think this team might be a bit too lacking in Blissey pressure. In general, this team is probably lacking a bit in power. The other thing I think this team is too weak to is water types of all sorts. The builder does mention that setting Sun helps, particularly in helping Snorlax switch in, which is interesting and I'll give some credit for. Long term though, I think Rest Suicune (especially if on a spikes team) and Milotic looks especially painful. In theory, Exeggutor shouldthreaten them, but honestly I think most defensive cores shouldn't have much problem, it's kind of just an egg problem in general. Last thing I will say is that Flygon's fit is also kind of iffy here, but using a mixed set (especially given some of the other set choices) is somewhat of a cute idea. Huge credit to this builder for creativity though, and there's really some very cool ideas here that shouldn't just be cast aside.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 6.5/10
Competitive Viability: 4/10
Creativity & Originality: 9/10
Clarity of Explanation: 5/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 3.5/10

Total: 28/50

tigersuit

SURPRISINGLY QUICK STEEL TYPES (https://pokepast.es/4d5aad97a1a042e2)
by tigersuit

Very cool team here. It feels like there are a lot of things this is potentially weak to, but it's an aggressive team filled out with so many techs that I reckon it probably works anyways. Forretress is a very cool pick here. Even though it looks like a place it wouldn't fit traditionally, here it should just be thought of as an aggressive spiker with a good matchup into the spinners (help vs Claydol especially is HUGELY helpful here). I like how the builder described sequencing and gameplanning in their explanations as well. This is a very nice spot for offensive Flygon I think. The team wants its help vs things like Tyranitar, Metagross, fire types, and pixies. The weaknesses to Salamence and water types it introduces I think are probably covered just well enough by Zapdos and Jolteon (especially both packing Thunder Wave) and the amount of HP Grass piled on here probably means you're just good enough vs Swampert even with a Zapdos set walled by it. A clear mon of potential concern is Gengar. You definitely have to find a way to win fast vs Gengar teams (and I think is the real reason Crunch should be used on the Tar here more than Claydol concerns that the builder mentions), but I think it can be done. Great submission.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 8.5/10
Competitive Viability: 8.5/10
Creativity & Originality: 9.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 8/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 7.5/10

Total: 42/50

Tomotaco69

ADV OU Skarm-Less Superman (https://pokepast.es/3dcc3c72aabffeac)
by Tomotaco69

Funny idea. The flaws are probably quite obvious though. Against any sort of solid defensive core, you're gonna be struggling to make consistent progress, although CB Tyranitar + Moltres can at least try with Wish support. Against many offenses, you actually might do alright, but worse than if you just had Skarmory, so there's really just no reason for this team to ever exist other than you weren't allowed to use Skarmory.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 6/10
Competitive Viability: 3.5/10
Creativity & Originality: 3.5/10
Clarity of Explanation: 3.5/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 4.5/10

Total: 21/50

Shitrock enjoyer

bruh (https://pokepast.es/424774d568e5d585)
by Shitrock enjoyer

Very creative use of Gengar, particularly this specific Gengar set, and the explanation from the builder makes sense. This is another team using Registeel as kind of an ultimate fixer covering all sorts of potential problem mons like Zapdos, Celebi, and offensive waters. It works pretty well for that, though I will say in the end this team still feels a tad too weak to Celebi for me. Love the use of Claydol here as we are of course in desperate need of the help vs Gengar, but also the point about it being used as a lure to flying types to clear the way for Flygon is very clever as well. Its spin is something of a bonus. I can see this team potentially getting overwhelmed and flopping in some matchups (lacking a bit in flexibility overall), but I think if you play aggressively enough it should do quite well at its proposed gameplan.

Team Synergy & Cohesion: 9/10
Competitive Viability: 9/10
Creativity & Originality: 9/10
Clarity of Explanation: 7/10
Adaptability & Flexibility: 7/10

Total: 41/50

tl;dr my podium = 1) Johnald 2) tigersuit 3) Shitrock enjoyer