Twisted fiction, sick addiction, well gather ‘round children, zip it, listen!
Well, here we are. This team is probably my best to date. I had a concept like this floating around in my head ever since I saw that Sneasler got Unburden as an ability. I knew I wanted to try it, and my intuition ended up being correct, Sneasler is an absolute monster. I’ve shown this team to a few people and promised I would make the best RMT I could for this team, hopefully what you’re seeing suffices.
The team around it took some tweaking and lots of trial and error to get just right, I honestly came pretty close to scrapping the team at one point. But like the last team I showcased, I would occasionally see glimpses of what the team could do, and that kept me motivated to keep working on it. Overall I’m incredibly happy with the end result and I think this might be the best team I’ve made so far.
I do want to make a quick disclaimer here about the album this team is themed around. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, being a rap album, is quite vulgar at times. I will not be using any particularly egregious lyrics in my report, but if you haven’t heard the album and decide to give it a listen after this, keep in mind that the content in it will not be for everybody.
With all of that out of the way, onto the team.
This is a pretty offensive build, much more aggressive than I normally use to be honest. Initially I wanted to build the team around Sneasler but as I kept optimizing it I found that Sneas tended to work better as a specific offense killer. My focus shifted to supporting Urshifu and Ursaluna as my main workhorses. Chien-Pao is a secondary attacker that serves as a strong lead option and late game cleaner. Dragonite is a strong set up option with good bulk and priority, and Amoonguss is a check to other Urshifu, which turned out to be incredibly useful.
———
Well, here we are. This team is probably my best to date. I had a concept like this floating around in my head ever since I saw that Sneasler got Unburden as an ability. I knew I wanted to try it, and my intuition ended up being correct, Sneasler is an absolute monster. I’ve shown this team to a few people and promised I would make the best RMT I could for this team, hopefully what you’re seeing suffices.
The team around it took some tweaking and lots of trial and error to get just right, I honestly came pretty close to scrapping the team at one point. But like the last team I showcased, I would occasionally see glimpses of what the team could do, and that kept me motivated to keep working on it. Overall I’m incredibly happy with the end result and I think this might be the best team I’ve made so far.
I do want to make a quick disclaimer here about the album this team is themed around. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, being a rap album, is quite vulgar at times. I will not be using any particularly egregious lyrics in my report, but if you haven’t heard the album and decide to give it a listen after this, keep in mind that the content in it will not be for everybody.
With all of that out of the way, onto the team.
This is a pretty offensive build, much more aggressive than I normally use to be honest. Initially I wanted to build the team around Sneasler but as I kept optimizing it I found that Sneas tended to work better as a specific offense killer. My focus shifted to supporting Urshifu and Ursaluna as my main workhorses. Chien-Pao is a secondary attacker that serves as a strong lead option and late game cleaner. Dragonite is a strong set up option with good bulk and priority, and Amoonguss is a check to other Urshifu, which turned out to be incredibly useful.
———
FEMME FATALE (Sneasler) (F) @ White Herb
Ability: Unburden
Level: 50
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dire Claw
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
you could be a king, but watch the queen conquer
Sneasler is a curious mon. I think it’s extremely polarizing, at least with its unburden set, but the potential highs it offers are more than worth dealing with its lows in my opinion. 156 Speed EVs will outspeed everything barring scarfed Regieleki once unburden is activated, making Sneasler near impossible to revenge kill without priority. Dire Claw’s wide array of secondary effects can be extremely dangerous. Hitting would-be foils such as Dragonite or Toxapex with the dreaded Dire Claw Sleep can win games on the spot. Close Combat is obligatory Fighting-STAB while Acrobatics fits naturally on an Unburden set. Tera Flying serves a couple purposes, firstly is to boost the power of Acrobatics, but secondly, and arguably more importantly it allows Sneasler to blank Earthquakes and other Ground-type attacks that are commonly aimed at it. Few things are more devastating than grabbing a completely free Swords Dance in front of a Landorus that thought it had the advantage. White Herb is a less consistent way of getting Unburden than Normal Gem Fake Out, but it allows for a few neat interactions. Apart from the obvious of being activated by Close Combat, it can also be activated by things like Landorus-T’s intimidate, which pairs incredibly well with Swords Dance and Tera Flying to completely flip that matchup on its head. Other random stat drops via secondary effects can also proc White Herb, such as Flutter Mane scoring a drop with either of its STAB attacks, which can turn the tides of a battle by giving Sneasler the Speed it needs to win the matchup. Overall I really like Sneasler, it’s not the most consistent mon in the world, but it’s incredibly good at what it does, and it can clean house like nothing else.
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DEPRAVITY (Chien-Pao) @ Focus SashSneasler is a curious mon. I think it’s extremely polarizing, at least with its unburden set, but the potential highs it offers are more than worth dealing with its lows in my opinion. 156 Speed EVs will outspeed everything barring scarfed Regieleki once unburden is activated, making Sneasler near impossible to revenge kill without priority. Dire Claw’s wide array of secondary effects can be extremely dangerous. Hitting would-be foils such as Dragonite or Toxapex with the dreaded Dire Claw Sleep can win games on the spot. Close Combat is obligatory Fighting-STAB while Acrobatics fits naturally on an Unburden set. Tera Flying serves a couple purposes, firstly is to boost the power of Acrobatics, but secondly, and arguably more importantly it allows Sneasler to blank Earthquakes and other Ground-type attacks that are commonly aimed at it. Few things are more devastating than grabbing a completely free Swords Dance in front of a Landorus that thought it had the advantage. White Herb is a less consistent way of getting Unburden than Normal Gem Fake Out, but it allows for a few neat interactions. Apart from the obvious of being activated by Close Combat, it can also be activated by things like Landorus-T’s intimidate, which pairs incredibly well with Swords Dance and Tera Flying to completely flip that matchup on its head. Other random stat drops via secondary effects can also proc White Herb, such as Flutter Mane scoring a drop with either of its STAB attacks, which can turn the tides of a battle by giving Sneasler the Speed it needs to win the matchup. Overall I really like Sneasler, it’s not the most consistent mon in the world, but it’s incredibly good at what it does, and it can clean house like nothing else.
———
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Icicle Crash
- Sucker Punch
- Sacred Sword
all I see is these fake fucks with no fangs trynna draw blood from my ice cold veins
Chien-Pao is an incredible attacker. It makes for a good lead, mid game attacker, and even a late game cleaner, depending on what you need from it. The set here is very simple. A no frills all-out attacker. Icicle Crash is used over Ice Spinner to keep sash intact and for the nasty flinch rate. Since most things that can live a hit from Pao just barely do so, a flinch can be devastating. I opt for dual Dark STAB with both Crunch and Sucker Punch. This gives Chien-Pao a way to beat most Ghost-type scarfers even if its sash happens to be broken. Sacred Sword is useful for both the Chien-Pao mirror and for pokes like Heatran and Hisuian Goodra, bypassing defense boosts without a critical hit, and hitting both quite hard, barring a defensive terastallization. Tera Dark is taken because while Chien-Pao rarely makes use of tera on this team, a Tera boosted Sucker Punch is able to catch bulkier Flutter Manes that unboosted would miss out on, which can save you in a pinch. Of course Sucker Punch in general is a risky move, but the power is worth it imo, especially with a lot of Flutters running Tera Water to eat Ice Shard and Aqua Jet. Overall I think Chien-Pao is one of the single best picks in Regulation D, and it’s brand of offense is incredibly versatile and helpful to almost any team.
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Chien-Pao is an incredible attacker. It makes for a good lead, mid game attacker, and even a late game cleaner, depending on what you need from it. The set here is very simple. A no frills all-out attacker. Icicle Crash is used over Ice Spinner to keep sash intact and for the nasty flinch rate. Since most things that can live a hit from Pao just barely do so, a flinch can be devastating. I opt for dual Dark STAB with both Crunch and Sucker Punch. This gives Chien-Pao a way to beat most Ghost-type scarfers even if its sash happens to be broken. Sacred Sword is useful for both the Chien-Pao mirror and for pokes like Heatran and Hisuian Goodra, bypassing defense boosts without a critical hit, and hitting both quite hard, barring a defensive terastallization. Tera Dark is taken because while Chien-Pao rarely makes use of tera on this team, a Tera boosted Sucker Punch is able to catch bulkier Flutter Manes that unboosted would miss out on, which can save you in a pinch. Of course Sucker Punch in general is a risky move, but the power is worth it imo, especially with a lot of Flutters running Tera Water to eat Ice Shard and Aqua Jet. Overall I think Chien-Pao is one of the single best picks in Regulation D, and it’s brand of offense is incredibly versatile and helpful to almost any team.
———
THICC BOYS (Dragonite) (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Roost
screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it, I guess every superhero need his theme music
Old Faithful, Dragonite is consistently one of, if not the best Pokémon in Generation 9 BSS, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. This is basically the exact same set I have been running since basically SV released. It’s so reliable and versatile, and it just fits on so many builds. While the presence of Dondozo, and to a lesser extent Skeledirge make Dragon Dance less consistent, with support from its teammates you can still reap the benefits of setup Dnite. Extreme Speed is Dragonite’s calling card in gen 9, providing some of the strongest priority the game has ever seen. Earthquake is natural coverage, being able to hit the Steel-types that would want to eat Espeed. Roost round the set out, allowing Dragonite to go the distance against bulkier teams and leverage its amazing bulk with Multiscale to set up on almost anything. A Normal Tera type is used to boost Extreme Speed into the stratosphere, making it hard for even some resists to handle. There’s really not much to say about Dragonite, it is simply incredible.
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Old Faithful, Dragonite is consistently one of, if not the best Pokémon in Generation 9 BSS, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. This is basically the exact same set I have been running since basically SV released. It’s so reliable and versatile, and it just fits on so many builds. While the presence of Dondozo, and to a lesser extent Skeledirge make Dragon Dance less consistent, with support from its teammates you can still reap the benefits of setup Dnite. Extreme Speed is Dragonite’s calling card in gen 9, providing some of the strongest priority the game has ever seen. Earthquake is natural coverage, being able to hit the Steel-types that would want to eat Espeed. Roost round the set out, allowing Dragonite to go the distance against bulkier teams and leverage its amazing bulk with Multiscale to set up on almost anything. A Normal Tera type is used to boost Extreme Speed into the stratosphere, making it hard for even some resists to handle. There’s really not much to say about Dragonite, it is simply incredible.
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DRIP FU (Urshifu-Rapid-Strike) (F) @ Protective Pads
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
lookin at my wrist it’ll turn your ass to stone
Urshifu Rapid Strike is a very strong contender for the best Pokémon in BSS Regulation D currently, and imo most of it stems from the addition of Swords Dance to its movepool alongside the advent of Terastallization. Protective Pads are chosen over Punching Glove because of the way Urshifu’s ability interacts with the items. Since Glove prevents contact, it means Urshifu can be protected on, while with Protective Pads you sacrifice the boost on Surging Strikes for the ability to keep Unseen Fist while still ignoring Rocky Helmet and abilities like Static, Flame Body and Rough Skin. All of Urshifu’s moves here are pretty self explanatory. Aqua Jet allows Urshifu to pick off faster targets such as Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu and various Scarf users if they’re in range. Swords Dance capitalizes on the many switches Urshifu forces, allowing it to potentially break through even resists. Tera Water makes Surging Strikes nearly impossible to switch in to and gives Aqua Jet a little extra kick, allowing Urshifu to pick things off from slightly higher HP ranges. Overall Urshifu Rapid Strike is incredible, easily one of the best additions from Pokémon HOME and is incredibly reliable game in and game out.
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COCAINE BEAR (Ursaluna) (F) @ Flame OrbUrshifu Rapid Strike is a very strong contender for the best Pokémon in BSS Regulation D currently, and imo most of it stems from the addition of Swords Dance to its movepool alongside the advent of Terastallization. Protective Pads are chosen over Punching Glove because of the way Urshifu’s ability interacts with the items. Since Glove prevents contact, it means Urshifu can be protected on, while with Protective Pads you sacrifice the boost on Surging Strikes for the ability to keep Unseen Fist while still ignoring Rocky Helmet and abilities like Static, Flame Body and Rough Skin. All of Urshifu’s moves here are pretty self explanatory. Aqua Jet allows Urshifu to pick off faster targets such as Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu and various Scarf users if they’re in range. Swords Dance capitalizes on the many switches Urshifu forces, allowing it to potentially break through even resists. Tera Water makes Surging Strikes nearly impossible to switch in to and gives Aqua Jet a little extra kick, allowing Urshifu to pick things off from slightly higher HP ranges. Overall Urshifu Rapid Strike is incredible, easily one of the best additions from Pokémon HOME and is incredibly reliable game in and game out.
———
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Earthquake
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
now look who’s in trouble, as you run through my jungles all you hear is rumbles
I love this thing so much. Ursaluna is truly unwallable. You basically need an immunity to not take absolutely horrifying damage from Guts Tera Facade. Earthquake is chosen over Headlong Rush because it doesn’t miss out on any super important damage thresholds, and keeping Ursaluna’s great bulk intact is very helpful. Drain Punch gives it a way to offset some of the damage brought on by its Flame Orb, and Ice Punch is to hit dragons such as Dragonite and Dragapult. If I’m perfectly honest I just picked a random number for my speed EVs to speed creep other bulky Ursaluna, you can go as little or as much as you’d like. Normal is my choice of Tera to really put a charge into Facade, allowing Ursaluna to pretty freely click it since nothing enjoys switching into it, even resists. I find that overall, it can be difficult to get maximum value out of Ursaluna, it’s low speed and somewhat poor defensive typing for the metagame don’t do it any favors, but if you can maneuver it correctly, your opponent can do little more than select what they want to sacrifice to it. Well worth the risk, and one of my favorite new additions to BSS.
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AMOGUS (Amoonguss) (F) @ Rocky HelmetI love this thing so much. Ursaluna is truly unwallable. You basically need an immunity to not take absolutely horrifying damage from Guts Tera Facade. Earthquake is chosen over Headlong Rush because it doesn’t miss out on any super important damage thresholds, and keeping Ursaluna’s great bulk intact is very helpful. Drain Punch gives it a way to offset some of the damage brought on by its Flame Orb, and Ice Punch is to hit dragons such as Dragonite and Dragapult. If I’m perfectly honest I just picked a random number for my speed EVs to speed creep other bulky Ursaluna, you can go as little or as much as you’d like. Normal is my choice of Tera to really put a charge into Facade, allowing Ursaluna to pretty freely click it since nothing enjoys switching into it, even resists. I find that overall, it can be difficult to get maximum value out of Ursaluna, it’s low speed and somewhat poor defensive typing for the metagame don’t do it any favors, but if you can maneuver it correctly, your opponent can do little more than select what they want to sacrifice to it. Well worth the risk, and one of my favorite new additions to BSS.
———
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Spore
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
stop trippin, I’m trippin off the powder
To round out the team we have a pretty interesting mon that I found actually does quite well in the current meta. Amoonguss is one of the few options that resists both of Urshifu Rapid Strike’s STABs, and has the longevity to check it over the course of a game. While Punching Glove and Protective Pads are quite common, I still find Rocky Helmet useful to both punish Urshifu that aren’t using said items, and other physical attackers that Amoonguss can switch into. Pokes like Mimikyu, Iron Hands, and Meowscarada all struggle with Amoonguss and don’t like attacking into Rocky Helmet, and in the event it does switch into an attack it doesn’t like, Regenerator allows Amoonguss to simply pivot back out and remain in fighting form. Foul Play is great damage against Pokémon like Dragonite that may try to boost their Attack to break past Amoonguss. Sludge Bomb is great both for opposing Spore users and general damage, and Synthesis allows Amoonguss to recover HP without relying on Regenerator if needed. Tera Fairy allows Amoonguss to be a great check to either Urshifu form, and in general is just a great defensive Tera type. 52 Speed EVs allows Amoonguss to outspeed most Dondozo, putting them to sleep before they can go for Fissure or Yawn. Overall I’m very pleasantly surprised with how solid Amoonguss has been. It’s been a key player on my team and pulls it’s weight in every battle I bring it to.
———
And that concludes my RMT. I really, really like this team, it was a blast to play and it works so well, much better than I anticipated honestly.
I want to give a special thanks to a few people before I close this off.
luisin - thank you for being such a great friend and competitor. You simultaneously encourage me to improve and push me past my limits all the time.
Theorymon - thank you for always supporting me, even back when I was a little shitter, you gave me a chance to change and flourish, I can’t thank you enough for that
other people I want to thank for just being cool friends
Ratio KarpeSan rarre R8 uhBella Shandeur Natcrozma papiloco greilmercenary9 Thick Fat Azumarill Kiby Plushietran Pearl Blitz Togkey UT Eve Glimmer
There’s definitely more people I forgot to tag, you know who you are.
Finally I want thank my friend Huseey (no forum account smh) for sparking the passion that led me here in the first place.
———
REPLAYS
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907641233-bc61tz9rr5gbs98swt6xx2axj28f79hpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907830529-3t2kbg5nptjij090lw5peb3tsdpya4lpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907814099-57a3s9cc5iq45j2zd8xpjoyw6zhka5dpw
———
https://pokepast.es/a1e22ac76e5b548a
I smell a massacre, seems to be the only way to back you bastards down
To round out the team we have a pretty interesting mon that I found actually does quite well in the current meta. Amoonguss is one of the few options that resists both of Urshifu Rapid Strike’s STABs, and has the longevity to check it over the course of a game. While Punching Glove and Protective Pads are quite common, I still find Rocky Helmet useful to both punish Urshifu that aren’t using said items, and other physical attackers that Amoonguss can switch into. Pokes like Mimikyu, Iron Hands, and Meowscarada all struggle with Amoonguss and don’t like attacking into Rocky Helmet, and in the event it does switch into an attack it doesn’t like, Regenerator allows Amoonguss to simply pivot back out and remain in fighting form. Foul Play is great damage against Pokémon like Dragonite that may try to boost their Attack to break past Amoonguss. Sludge Bomb is great both for opposing Spore users and general damage, and Synthesis allows Amoonguss to recover HP without relying on Regenerator if needed. Tera Fairy allows Amoonguss to be a great check to either Urshifu form, and in general is just a great defensive Tera type. 52 Speed EVs allows Amoonguss to outspeed most Dondozo, putting them to sleep before they can go for Fissure or Yawn. Overall I’m very pleasantly surprised with how solid Amoonguss has been. It’s been a key player on my team and pulls it’s weight in every battle I bring it to.
———
And that concludes my RMT. I really, really like this team, it was a blast to play and it works so well, much better than I anticipated honestly.
I want to give a special thanks to a few people before I close this off.
luisin - thank you for being such a great friend and competitor. You simultaneously encourage me to improve and push me past my limits all the time.
Theorymon - thank you for always supporting me, even back when I was a little shitter, you gave me a chance to change and flourish, I can’t thank you enough for that
other people I want to thank for just being cool friends
Ratio KarpeSan rarre R8 uhBella Shandeur Natcrozma papiloco greilmercenary9 Thick Fat Azumarill Kiby Plushietran Pearl Blitz Togkey UT Eve Glimmer
There’s definitely more people I forgot to tag, you know who you are.
Finally I want thank my friend Huseey (no forum account smh) for sparking the passion that led me here in the first place.
———
REPLAYS
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907641233-bc61tz9rr5gbs98swt6xx2axj28f79hpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907830529-3t2kbg5nptjij090lw5peb3tsdpya4lpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1907814099-57a3s9cc5iq45j2zd8xpjoyw6zhka5dpw
———
https://pokepast.es/a1e22ac76e5b548a
I smell a massacre, seems to be the only way to back you bastards down
