I have never been interested in getting reqs for a suspect test, in fact, when a normal ladder is substituted by a suspect test one, I get annoyed. So, when the OU Dugtrio suspect test came into action, I looked at UU and RU to provide some fun. And I have to say that RU is definitely the most fun tier right now. Because the meta hasn't yet settled into PU, NU, RU, and the BL tiers, RU is, for now, a cornucopia of untread wilderness. And for that reason, I have experimented with many different teams in different playstyles rising and falling on the ladder multiple times. Of all the teams I have made in the past 3 days, this one, I call it a Tarsoid's tale for its ability to make Passimian thrive, is the one I have the most fun with.
Having played a lot of matches in the tier, I was in a good place to know the most common threats and how they need to be countered. While there are many threats right now, there are a few that tend to centralize the meta around them - I expect that they will move up to UU in a few weeks. There are a few offensive mons that are very viable and frequently used: Entei, Crawdaunt, Feraligatr, Honchkrow, Darmanitan, and Hawlucha. Between Entei's banded Flare Blitz OHKOing half the meta and the set up moves of the other four, the tier can be easily conquered if one uses them properly. And it is not just my realization, half the ladder knows it and therefore are using it. Any good team needs to counter them properly. But countering these mons and others isn't a responsibility just for the defensive core. And more importantly, the defensive core shouldn't be passive tanks who will take hits and do nothing else. So, in this team, the threats are countered with the help of my offensive mons and where possible, the defensive mons have either a lot of power themselves or provide momentum after tanking a hit. This is a generally useful philosophy for team building - I think.
Then there are the defensive tanks that seem to never die, like Alomomola, Chesnaught, Bronzong, and Florges. And still other tanks that come with utility for the opponent like Diancie and Nidoqueen. It would be extremely difficult to properly counter them with frail offensive mons that, by virtue of the tiering system, end up in a lower tier like RU. A prime example of that is Salazzle - very cool in theory but easily walled. To truly stand a chance against those defensive teams, bulky offensive should be used. And what better a way for that than to use set up moves like calm mind to turn defense into offense?
Florges-Blue @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Synthesis
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
This is the defensive set that was common during the ORAS UU days. It has enough bulk to tank a +2 Acrobatics from Hawlucha - stopping who is usually a very difficult task. Florges also acts as the medic for the team with aromatherapy, but the move's main function is to help it set up in the face of opposing tanks like Bronzong, Milotic (without haze), Claydol, etc. After a few Calm Mind boosts, virtually nothing stops it.
Meloetta @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Voice
While I would have preferred this to be another bulky mon with set up, one particular mon I expect to face regularly stops me from doing that. The culprit is Entei. My answer for that mon, as a switch-in is Lumineon, but that mon cannot really do much against Entei even with the scald STAB. So, I use Normalium Z from Meloette to OHKO it. This mon has just enough speed to outspeed Adamant Entei. Another advantage of this speed investment is that it can take on the Nidos. And an extra benefit of using Normalium Z is the reduced damage taken from Knock Off.
Lumineon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- U-turn
- Toxic
This is a standard Lumineon who can take a good beating from Darmanitan and Entei, get off a slow U-Turn to bring in a mon that can better deal with the opposing threat. As an added benefit, this mon completely shuts down Suicune. And while the team isn't completely weak to entry hazards, it is always nice to have a defogger in case things get out of hand.
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
Here is why Registeel is a necessary exception to what I said earlier about avoiding defensive mons that remove momentum: there are many mons in this tier who are just a few HPs from being OHKO'd by moves like Golisopod's First Impression (while I would like to list all those Pokemon on, I don't particularly remember all of them but I am convinced of the need for a stealth rocker just to get Golisopod to sweep. And I hope that as you use this team, you will find the same thing for yourself). Also, in the current meta steel is an absolutely necessary typing. It has rest, so it can work well in case the team faces stall.
Golisopod @ Choice Band
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Leech Life
- Liquidation
- Aqua Jet
This is my favorite Pokemon in the tier right now. There aren't any offensive Pokemon and very few defensive ones that can deal with the sheer power on this thing. It can deal with Honchkrow and Feraligatr with some help from its friends. And the +2 priority from First Impression is absolutely majestic. It might seem a bit counter-intuitive at first to put a one-off move on a Choice'd mon - after all, once the move has been made, the opponent knows that you have to switch out. But that problem is solved with the structure of the team. Florges and Registeel by their bulk scare out opposing mons and Lumineon can take a non-supereffective hit and U-turn back into Golisopod. This system mainly works because of the current meta and how most players respond to having an effectively free kill in front of them (Golisopod after First Impression). Players who liked to attack and take the free kill are limited by the meta on who they can bring in. And this limitation is covered well by the defensive trio. Players who take this free switch in to go for utilty or entry hazards don't really pose a lot of threat - as long as you don't put yourself in a place where your side has all the hazards and Lumineon is dead. Lastly, while the team is named after Passimian, from my experience, Golisopod is definitely the MVP.
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 SpD / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
From my experience of playing Pokemon and studying Economics, I have found an interesting pattern in player psychology in case of the choice scarf. People are more likely to expect the choice scarf from a base 60-80 speed Pokemon than from an 80-100 one. To exploit that behaviour, while the meta is young, a choice scarf on Passimian catch a lot of people by surprise. At first I had a Jolly Passimian but found the attack stat a bit lacking, then it was either to remove the scarf for a band or make it adamant. After the change in nature, after scarf it hit 388 - so it outsped Swellow but not Aerodactyl. To maximise utility, I reduced EVs just enough that it now outspeeds Swellow by 1 point. The fast U-turn is great if you aren't confident of your opponent's lead and need a scout. Iron Head is for Diancie and other fairy types that are common. But since here they tend to be defensive, iron head is really just for chip damage.
The momentum, the fast paced attacking nature of this team (which may seem weird given the balanced structure) is what makes the team most fun to use. I hope you'll have as much fun with it as I did.
Pastebin
Having played a lot of matches in the tier, I was in a good place to know the most common threats and how they need to be countered. While there are many threats right now, there are a few that tend to centralize the meta around them - I expect that they will move up to UU in a few weeks. There are a few offensive mons that are very viable and frequently used: Entei, Crawdaunt, Feraligatr, Honchkrow, Darmanitan, and Hawlucha. Between Entei's banded Flare Blitz OHKOing half the meta and the set up moves of the other four, the tier can be easily conquered if one uses them properly. And it is not just my realization, half the ladder knows it and therefore are using it. Any good team needs to counter them properly. But countering these mons and others isn't a responsibility just for the defensive core. And more importantly, the defensive core shouldn't be passive tanks who will take hits and do nothing else. So, in this team, the threats are countered with the help of my offensive mons and where possible, the defensive mons have either a lot of power themselves or provide momentum after tanking a hit. This is a generally useful philosophy for team building - I think.
Then there are the defensive tanks that seem to never die, like Alomomola, Chesnaught, Bronzong, and Florges. And still other tanks that come with utility for the opponent like Diancie and Nidoqueen. It would be extremely difficult to properly counter them with frail offensive mons that, by virtue of the tiering system, end up in a lower tier like RU. A prime example of that is Salazzle - very cool in theory but easily walled. To truly stand a chance against those defensive teams, bulky offensive should be used. And what better a way for that than to use set up moves like calm mind to turn defense into offense?
Florges-Blue @ Leftovers
Ability: Flower Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Synthesis
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
This is the defensive set that was common during the ORAS UU days. It has enough bulk to tank a +2 Acrobatics from Hawlucha - stopping who is usually a very difficult task. Florges also acts as the medic for the team with aromatherapy, but the move's main function is to help it set up in the face of opposing tanks like Bronzong, Milotic (without haze), Claydol, etc. After a few Calm Mind boosts, virtually nothing stops it.
Meloetta @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Voice
While I would have preferred this to be another bulky mon with set up, one particular mon I expect to face regularly stops me from doing that. The culprit is Entei. My answer for that mon, as a switch-in is Lumineon, but that mon cannot really do much against Entei even with the scald STAB. So, I use Normalium Z from Meloette to OHKO it. This mon has just enough speed to outspeed Adamant Entei. Another advantage of this speed investment is that it can take on the Nidos. And an extra benefit of using Normalium Z is the reduced damage taken from Knock Off.
Lumineon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- U-turn
- Toxic
This is a standard Lumineon who can take a good beating from Darmanitan and Entei, get off a slow U-Turn to bring in a mon that can better deal with the opposing threat. As an added benefit, this mon completely shuts down Suicune. And while the team isn't completely weak to entry hazards, it is always nice to have a defogger in case things get out of hand.
Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Rest
Here is why Registeel is a necessary exception to what I said earlier about avoiding defensive mons that remove momentum: there are many mons in this tier who are just a few HPs from being OHKO'd by moves like Golisopod's First Impression (while I would like to list all those Pokemon on, I don't particularly remember all of them but I am convinced of the need for a stealth rocker just to get Golisopod to sweep. And I hope that as you use this team, you will find the same thing for yourself). Also, in the current meta steel is an absolutely necessary typing. It has rest, so it can work well in case the team faces stall.
Golisopod @ Choice Band
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Leech Life
- Liquidation
- Aqua Jet
This is my favorite Pokemon in the tier right now. There aren't any offensive Pokemon and very few defensive ones that can deal with the sheer power on this thing. It can deal with Honchkrow and Feraligatr with some help from its friends. And the +2 priority from First Impression is absolutely majestic. It might seem a bit counter-intuitive at first to put a one-off move on a Choice'd mon - after all, once the move has been made, the opponent knows that you have to switch out. But that problem is solved with the structure of the team. Florges and Registeel by their bulk scare out opposing mons and Lumineon can take a non-supereffective hit and U-turn back into Golisopod. This system mainly works because of the current meta and how most players respond to having an effectively free kill in front of them (Golisopod after First Impression). Players who liked to attack and take the free kill are limited by the meta on who they can bring in. And this limitation is covered well by the defensive trio. Players who take this free switch in to go for utilty or entry hazards don't really pose a lot of threat - as long as you don't put yourself in a place where your side has all the hazards and Lumineon is dead. Lastly, while the team is named after Passimian, from my experience, Golisopod is definitely the MVP.
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 16 SpD / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
From my experience of playing Pokemon and studying Economics, I have found an interesting pattern in player psychology in case of the choice scarf. People are more likely to expect the choice scarf from a base 60-80 speed Pokemon than from an 80-100 one. To exploit that behaviour, while the meta is young, a choice scarf on Passimian catch a lot of people by surprise. At first I had a Jolly Passimian but found the attack stat a bit lacking, then it was either to remove the scarf for a band or make it adamant. After the change in nature, after scarf it hit 388 - so it outsped Swellow but not Aerodactyl. To maximise utility, I reduced EVs just enough that it now outspeeds Swellow by 1 point. The fast U-turn is great if you aren't confident of your opponent's lead and need a scout. Iron Head is for Diancie and other fairy types that are common. But since here they tend to be defensive, iron head is really just for chip damage.
The momentum, the fast paced attacking nature of this team (which may seem weird given the balanced structure) is what makes the team most fun to use. I hope you'll have as much fun with it as I did.
Pastebin