"Accelgor is pretty good"

[Cheeseomlett]

Hello!

I just recently got back into competitive Pokemon a couple of months ago, and am experimenting with building my own teams now. The following is something I put together that I've been laddering with in RU and have really enjoyed it.

Now for the lineup!

Peep my scarf (Accelgor) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Final Gambit
Spikes
Bug Buzz
Encore

Not who the creation of this team was originally centered around (originally going to be Magneton), but Accelgor definitely has proven to be the lynchpin of this team and a super MVP so far. He reliably sets up multiple layers of spikes and works as a great anti-lead with Encore making their lead get stuck on a hazard move, or punishing something that thinks it can set up on it. Timid nature and max speed makes it outspeed basically anything, including some scarfers. Bug Buzz still hits for a decent chunk if something is weak to it, and Final Gambit can be used as a surprise if they let me set up the full layer of Spikes, or if something threatening comes in on it. Also, Final Gambit is very useful as a Spinblock, as Accelgor outspeeds all the spinners and can off itself to make the Rapid Spin fail and bring in something that threatens the spinner (Like Meloetta).

#Squad (Magneton) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
Volt Switch
Thunderbolt
Flash Cannon
Hidden Power Grass

The original mon this team was built around. I was poking around at some of my favorite mons and found that Magneton was sitting in RU and felt like I wanted to take him for a spin. This thing hits like an absolute train, easily 2hko most resists and can easily OHKO some neutral switch ins with Tbolt and sometimes Volt Switch. Analytic is there so that when I bring Magneton in on something (usually after Accelgor or Bronzong set up hazards) it can easily spam Volt Switch on the switch in and either kill or take a huge chunk out of something. HP Grass is to smack Lanturns or Gastrodons that try and absorb the t-bolts and can hit Dugtrio coming in to try and trap me.

Ring My Bell (Bronzong) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Atk
Sassy Nature
Gyro Ball
Earthquake
Stealth Rock
Toxic

Part two of the wear down squad. Bronzong can take a hit from most every mon in the tier and get Rocks up, Toxic them, or hit fast mons with Gyro Ball to always have a use against any team. It's an easy switch in against things such as Granbull or Ambipom and doesn't really mind switching in on waters due to the SpD investment. Bronzong provides the hazards and the utility to let some of the other mons come in late and clean house.

Behind You (Spiritomb) @ Leftovers
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 HP
Bold Nature
Dark Pulse
Rest
Sleep Talk
Calm Mind

Full disclosure: I got quick 6-0'd by this set of Spiritomb and felt like I had to try it out. Houndoom was originally in this spot, but it just consistently felt like dead weight on this team and was rarely ever able to do anything other than get off one move and then get killed. This works as an attempt to counter Hitmonlee as well, which had proven to be a big thorn in this team's side. It's incredibly bulky and can set up on some mons like Alomamola and Amoongus that are fairly popular in the tier and get out of control very fast. Also a second form of Spin Blocking! If only Sleep Talk didn't select Rest every time I used it. :(

Anita Ward (Meloetta) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Psychic
Dazzling Gleam
Hyper Voice
Trick

It's become a habit on every RU team I make to include Meloetta: she's just so useful, especially this set. Meloetta is super fast and with Scarf, revenge kills most anything after Spikes/Rocks with Hyper Voice or Psychic. As an unfortunate not, doesn't outpseed Unburden Hitmonlee and gets OHKO'd by Leichi Berry boosted Reversal sadly. Regardless of this, she's also got pretty decent special bulk and isn't too hard to bring in and click Hyper Voice to scare something out.

Scarface (Sharpedo) @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 12 SpA / 244 Spe
Naughty Nature
Waterfall
Ice Beam
Crunch
Protect

This thing is an absolute MONSTER. A big aspect of this team is to wear everything down with Spikes/Rocks/Pivoting with Magneton, etc to get things in range where this bad boy can come in and click Waterfall or Crunch a few times and clean house. The main focus is on those two moves, but Ice Beam can actually put a huge dent in things that are weak to it. Once you make sure things like Alomamola and anything packing Mach Punch like Hitmonlee or Medicham are out of the picture, Sharpedo snacks on about anything.


Threats:

I mentioned a few of these in the team descriptions, but I'll outline them here as well.

Hitmonlee: I've attempted to remedy this with Spiritomb, but Knock Off still hurts Spiritomb quite a bit. Most everything on this team doesn't want to be High Jump Kicked either. Medicham somewhat falls into this category as well, but it's usually been easier to deal with.

Spiritomb: Opposing Spiritombs have been a pain to deal with as well. It's super bulky and can come in on a Choiced Meloetta on Hyper Voice or Psychic and set up. Tricking Scarf on it can help, but not always an option.

Alomamola/Amoongus: Not really too threatening on their own, but combined this stall wall is a pain. Magneton can take out Amolamola pretty easily, but if he's not around this sucks. Regenerator takes out the hazard damage, and passing huge wishes undoes a lot of the wear down this team can do.


Thanks for checking this out! Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Evil weevil]

Hey there cheeseomlett, I Have a few suggestions that could really help out your team against its threats.

The first suggestion is to run Mega Banette >Spiritomb as its access to will o wisp + prankster can really cripple the likes of Medicham and Hitmonlee, while its access to knock off can rid the leftovers and black sludge from Alomomola and Amoongus.

Unfortunately now, your team is weak to dark (because of Banette). So running Aerodactyl > Bronzong Gives you a Fire resist and a non dark weakness while still giving you a ground immunity and a stealth rocker.

This last one isn't as important but running Psyshock >Psychic can help you deal more damage to Hitmonlee and Amoongus.

Mega Banette set

Banette @ Banettite
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Will-O-Wisp

Destiny bond allows you to be a revenge killer by taking down the foe when Banette is about to faint. Knock off is your most spam able move as it does decent damage as well as permanently removing the foes held item. Sucker punch is used as a priority move and for picking off weakened enemies. Will o wisp is used to stall out foes and to cripple strong physical attackers.

Aerodactyl set

Aerodactyl (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Taunt/Roost
Stealth Rock works well with spikes, as it puts huge pressure on the opponent when switching out. Stone edge is Aerodactyls strongest STAB attack, crushing the flying and fire types it switches into. Earthquake is used for coverage, beating the steel types that resist Stone edge. Taunt can be used to stop the opponent from laying down hazards, setting up, using status moves, or using Defog, while roost can be used to restore lost HP from powerful attacks, life orb or stealth rocks.

Anyway, I really like the team, and I hope my suggestions helped :)

 

[feen]

Okay so looking into your team, it looks like a nice HO team with all the hazard stacking to weaken the opposing Pokemon in order to make a nice clean for Sharpedo. However, I see a giant threat in Durant, as none of the members like switching into a Life Orb Durant. Life Orb Hitmonlee and Virizion are also dangerous threats, nothing likes to switch into them. Another danger to your team is Dark Spam, nothing likes to take a hit from Sharpedo, Houndoom, and Absol, they all fear Sucker Punch and you have no switch ins for opposing Sharpedo. Your team is also weak to Fire Spam as well: Mega Camerupt and Delphox in general can freely spam Fire Blast, Mega Camerupt gets a free switch-in to Bronzong, Magneton, and Spiritomb, while Delphox can come in as a revenge killer or be switched in by a double switch or having a slow volt-turn partner. Another thing your team is weak to is fast Electric-types in Jolteon and Manectric, as they can Volt Switch on you with all its will due to your team having no Electric immunity, and can hit Bronzong hard with Shadow Ball and Flamethrower / Overheat respectively.

To be honest Scarf Meloetta does seem good on paper, but in action, it's not that great, it doesn't have an amazing Speed tier, being outsped by the likes of Choice Scarf Drapion and Flygon, and it can be prone to being revenge killed by Pursuit trappers once Meloetta KOs something with Psychic. Moreover, Meloetta should not have difficulties facing Alomomola + Amoonguss cores. Furthermore, opposing Sharpedo tends to switch into Meloetta, as Meloetta will be switching out, and it can proceed on sweeping your team, because you have no switch ins for Sharpedo. Therefore, the ideal Meloetta set would be a set that can take care of these Dark-types and prove to be threatening to Regenerator cores. So, the ideal option is to use Colbur Berry Calm Mind, as it can setup on Amoonguss, since it will try to switch out, and threaten to dismantle the core. Furthermore, Absol, Houndoom, and Sharpedo cannot KO you, since you can live a hit and KO them, which is very beneficial to your team. Meloetta also acts as a nice wincon for your team, being able to dismantle stall cores, especially with the Spikes damage.

over

Bronzong is a great Pokemon in general, being able to check so many threats such as Tyrantrum, Glalie, and Mega Steelix. However, Bronzong is unable to check threats such as Durant and Fire spam in general, since it fails to check them, leaving your team vulnerable to these threats. Electric spam in general are . What's more is that Bronzong doesn't really "fit" in an offensive team such as yours, being a huge momentum killer which is loathed in an HO team. Furthermore, being able to check these threats while still retaining the ability to check Glalie and Tyrantrum would be great, as Choice Scarf Tyrantrum pressure offensive builds a lot. Therefore the optimal change is to run Defensive Seismitoad, as it can check all those aforementioned Pokemon. Seismitoad also doesn't lose much momentum, as it can switch into Water-type Pokemon, and also lure Grass-types into switching in and hitting them quite hard with Sludge Bomb. The only threatening thing right now is HP Grass Manectric, which are quite uncommon but may rise in usage later on. This next change will help you on how to play around that.

over

I know you built this team around this Pokemon, but honestly the only thing it's doing in a HO team such as yours is stack up weaknesses. You're weak to Virizion and Mega Abomasnow and having a Magneton doesn't help in this scenario. Magneton also faces huge competition from the likes of Manectric and Jolteon, as both of them are faster and have better coverage. Even with Seismitoad around, Durant is still threatening, as it hits very hard and Seismitoad has no reliable recovery, so it can be weakened. Furthermore, with Meloetta now Colbur Berry, I feel like your team needs some Speed, as you lack revenge killers now. Therefore your team needs something that can check Virizion, Durant on a pinch, and can retain some of the Speed your team lost. Therefore, the best change is to run Choice Scarf Emboar. Emboar checks Virizion, as it switches into anything Virizion uses except Close Combat, which is less likely when it switches in on Seismitoad, as it will try to either setup or use Leaf Blade. Virizion is also discouraged to use Close Combat especially due to the fact that you have Spiritomb, which can get a free switch in and cripple Virizion with Will-o-Wisp. Emboar can also switch into Durant's STAB attacks and can KO it with Flare Blitz. If you see a Manectric, make sure to go to Emboar first, as they'd use HP Grass upon seeing Seismitoad in your team, therefore you can identify what set they are. Moreover, Emboar also checks Freeze Dry Mega Glalie, so if you suspect it of having Freeze Dry, switch Emboar in first to scout. Emboar also lets you check Houndoom and Absol, providing further backup for Meloetta.

Honestly the best Spiritomb set at the moment is the Pursuit trapper, especially due to the fact that Sigilyph and Medicham are quite common. Spiritomb lets you completely counter Medicham, and check Sigilyph, while switch in to Meloetta and Delphox if they're using Psychic-type move, and Pursuit them. Moreover, having a Spiritomb on your team discourages the opponent to use Psychic STAB, and therefore you can act accordingly to that. Another thing I've noticed is that your Spiritomb is a complete setup fodder for Virizion, which is a huge threat to your team anyways. Spiritomb also loves to use Sucker Punch, which is a nifty priority move, and can beat Psychic types which decide to stay in on Spiritomb thinking you'd use Pursuit. Therefore, running Foul Play | Wisp | Sucker Punch | Pursuit Spiritomb is definitely your best choice.

Lastly, Specially Offensive Sharpedo is far better than physically offensive one, as it has fewer checks and can take down Grass-types far more easier. Specially Offensive Sharpedo also OHKOs Mega Steelix, offensive Tangrowth and Venusaur, and hits Alomomola very hard with Dark Pulse. Therefore it is highly recommended to run that.


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I really think these changes would make your team better, the only problem I may see is finding a Ground-type resist, Fletchinder, and a Mega Abomasnow switch in. Unfortunately, in order to minimize all the threats, these two things are still an issue. However, the prominent Ground-type is Flygon, which if physically offensive, is checked by Seismitoad. If it's Specially Offensive, Meloetta checks it pretty well, so you'll be fine. If you see an Abomasnow, it will most likely be trying to switch into Seismitoad, and therefore your best play would be to use Sludge Bomb to weaken it and potentially cripple it with Poison. Try to save Accelgor, even with 1 HP if you're facing Abomasnow, as you can use it as a sack fodder later on against it. Keep Seismitoad healthy when you're facing a Fletchinder, and you can beat it at +2 Atk. Therefore if you play carefully, I believe you should be fine.

Sets

Meloetta @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Focus Blast

Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Stealth Rock

Emboar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk

Spiritomb @ Black Glasses
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Foul Play

Sharpedo @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam

Hope I helped!