Made this team, tested it out a little in OU and picked up a number of good wins with it. Would like some thoughts from other people as well thought, so here it is:
Appletun @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Apple Acid
- Dragon Pulse
- Leech Seed
- Recover
Role: Defensive Wall
This is a pretty standard bulky Appletun which was inspired from another Smogon thread about the Pokemon. Whilst taking it, I wasn't sure what the 8 Speed EVs were for so if anyone could clarify that would be good. Anyways, this is a normally bulky Appletun which aims to just sit on the field and chip away at the opponent. I chose to build around it and it works well with Gyarados as it is able to effectively check Rotom-W which can cause Gyarados some issues if the Gyarados is not running any coverage like Power Whip. Recover and Leech Seed are both general reliable recovery, Apple Acid is good Grass STAB which can be used to lower SpDef against SpDef walls and Dragon Pulse is just reliable Dragon STAB. Nothing too special going on here.
Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Fire Punch
- Shift Gear
Role: Late Game Cleaning
This offensive Toxtricity helps to deal with Fairy types, Flying types and other Grass types which might cause Appletun some problems due to it's more passive nature in battle. The idea of this Pokemon is to be a late game cleaner after checks are gone, set up a Shift Gear and outspeed most opponents at their base speed stat. Boomburst then activates Throat Spray and gives a SpAtk boost which just boosts the power of everything in combination with the Punk Rock ability. Fire Punch provides coverage against Excadrill which is immune to Electric STAB and resists Boomburst, and Fire Punch also works well in combination with the physical attack boost which Shift Gear provides. I think this Pokemon functions well behind a Reflect or Light Screen (or even both!) due to it having average defenses and HP.
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
Role: Utility Lead
This Excadrill is just a Sash/Sack Lead with Spin, Rocks and Dual STAB to provide some relatively fast hazard setting and hazard cleaning. Mold Breaker can help against Rotom-W which does well against Gyarados and can switch into it effectively to predict Volt Switches, though at the risk of a Hydro Pump. Spin can be blocked and there is no Defog backup on this team, however, the team itself is not particularly rock weak so I don't think this is a huge issue. Again, this set is relatively standard in the OU metagame.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
Role: Offensive Pivot and Sweeper
A pretty typical Dmax Gyarados with DDance, Bounce (Max Airstream), EQ (Max QUake) and Waterfall (Max Geyser). This thing is capable of doing full sweeps in the right circumstances. I opt for Intimidate instead of Moxie because I think Intimidate is more useful for the other defensive and bulky Pokemon on my team, such as Appletun, Centiskorch and Grimmsnarl to be able to switch into offensive threats on the other team. Leftovers are used here to provide some nice, passive bulk which is beneficial when this Pokemon is able to OHKO Pokemon on the opponents team.
Centiskorch-Gmax @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: White Smoke
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Coil
- Fire Lash
- Knock Off
- Leech Life
Role: Bulky Pivot
I am a big fan of this Pokemon with the bulkier, Heavy Duty Boots set. This Pokemon can switch in into rocks, provided it can avoid Knock Offs and behind screens provided by Grimmsnarl it can take strong hits with relative ease and works well to stop a locked Darmanitan tearing through an entire team. Fire Lash, whilst weaker than Flare Blitz, is a better choice for this build in my opinion, as it provides logevity and added utility by dropping defense. Leech Life is good bug STAB and provides a good bit of recovery and Knock Off is very useful for calling out switches. Having access to GMax on this also helps if a more defensive playstyle is required, though it can be used effectively without GMaxing.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Spirit Break
Role: Bulky Utility
This Pokemon works well as another bulky Pokemon with its relatively good defensive typing. Access to Prankster Screens and Taunt can allow it to completely neutralise setup threats such as Polteageist, and give the rest of the team opportunities to switch in under the protection of screens. Spirit Break is good STAB which helps to remove the threat of strong special attackers. It is possible that Taunt could be swapped out for Thunder Wave as this team lacks good speed control and isn't particularly fast in terms of base speed.
That's all, will take feedback!
Appletun @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Apple Acid
- Dragon Pulse
- Leech Seed
- Recover
Role: Defensive Wall
This is a pretty standard bulky Appletun which was inspired from another Smogon thread about the Pokemon. Whilst taking it, I wasn't sure what the 8 Speed EVs were for so if anyone could clarify that would be good. Anyways, this is a normally bulky Appletun which aims to just sit on the field and chip away at the opponent. I chose to build around it and it works well with Gyarados as it is able to effectively check Rotom-W which can cause Gyarados some issues if the Gyarados is not running any coverage like Power Whip. Recover and Leech Seed are both general reliable recovery, Apple Acid is good Grass STAB which can be used to lower SpDef against SpDef walls and Dragon Pulse is just reliable Dragon STAB. Nothing too special going on here.
Toxtricity @ Throat Spray
Ability: Punk Rock
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Fire Punch
- Shift Gear
Role: Late Game Cleaning
This offensive Toxtricity helps to deal with Fairy types, Flying types and other Grass types which might cause Appletun some problems due to it's more passive nature in battle. The idea of this Pokemon is to be a late game cleaner after checks are gone, set up a Shift Gear and outspeed most opponents at their base speed stat. Boomburst then activates Throat Spray and gives a SpAtk boost which just boosts the power of everything in combination with the Punk Rock ability. Fire Punch provides coverage against Excadrill which is immune to Electric STAB and resists Boomburst, and Fire Punch also works well in combination with the physical attack boost which Shift Gear provides. I think this Pokemon functions well behind a Reflect or Light Screen (or even both!) due to it having average defenses and HP.
Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
Role: Utility Lead
This Excadrill is just a Sash/Sack Lead with Spin, Rocks and Dual STAB to provide some relatively fast hazard setting and hazard cleaning. Mold Breaker can help against Rotom-W which does well against Gyarados and can switch into it effectively to predict Volt Switches, though at the risk of a Hydro Pump. Spin can be blocked and there is no Defog backup on this team, however, the team itself is not particularly rock weak so I don't think this is a huge issue. Again, this set is relatively standard in the OU metagame.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Earthquake
- Waterfall
Role: Offensive Pivot and Sweeper
A pretty typical Dmax Gyarados with DDance, Bounce (Max Airstream), EQ (Max QUake) and Waterfall (Max Geyser). This thing is capable of doing full sweeps in the right circumstances. I opt for Intimidate instead of Moxie because I think Intimidate is more useful for the other defensive and bulky Pokemon on my team, such as Appletun, Centiskorch and Grimmsnarl to be able to switch into offensive threats on the other team. Leftovers are used here to provide some nice, passive bulk which is beneficial when this Pokemon is able to OHKO Pokemon on the opponents team.
Centiskorch-Gmax @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: White Smoke
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Coil
- Fire Lash
- Knock Off
- Leech Life
Role: Bulky Pivot
I am a big fan of this Pokemon with the bulkier, Heavy Duty Boots set. This Pokemon can switch in into rocks, provided it can avoid Knock Offs and behind screens provided by Grimmsnarl it can take strong hits with relative ease and works well to stop a locked Darmanitan tearing through an entire team. Fire Lash, whilst weaker than Flare Blitz, is a better choice for this build in my opinion, as it provides logevity and added utility by dropping defense. Leech Life is good bug STAB and provides a good bit of recovery and Knock Off is very useful for calling out switches. Having access to GMax on this also helps if a more defensive playstyle is required, though it can be used effectively without GMaxing.
Grimmsnarl (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Spirit Break
Role: Bulky Utility
This Pokemon works well as another bulky Pokemon with its relatively good defensive typing. Access to Prankster Screens and Taunt can allow it to completely neutralise setup threats such as Polteageist, and give the rest of the team opportunities to switch in under the protection of screens. Spirit Break is good STAB which helps to remove the threat of strong special attackers. It is possible that Taunt could be swapped out for Thunder Wave as this team lacks good speed control and isn't particularly fast in terms of base speed.
That's all, will take feedback!