AAA Almost Any Ability - Walking Wake is banned!

Hera

Cute and genuine as ever
is a Social Media Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
PUPL Champion
triage isn't unhealthy. i've said this before but i think having a way to revenge kill faster threats without having to dedicate slots to a scarfer is a boon for fatter teams and adds more to the meta than it would take away. if anything it's always been the combination of triage drain punch + bd in the past that's gotten mons banned, but with kommo legal and more tools than ever to deal with it it's been mostly proven that these mons would be fine in the meta, and all the other triage users are either bad or balanced in the meta, so it's clearly triage dp + bd th. as for kommo itself yeah if literally everything goes its way (meaning light screen is up + no tspikes or other hazards that push it into ko range + no faster ghosts in a meta where ghold and cerul are great + a free turn to setup on something + no unaware), then it sweeps but this happens so very little of the time. almost every good team should be naturally prepped for triage kommo via any of the methods i listed + others i'm forgetting rn and in practice it rarely gets a chance to do anything with so much counterplay running around. i thought cerul would be broken as well as but again, with all the natural counterplay in faster 4x resists/immunites that wouldn't see any less usage if cerul/triage was banned + a rocks weakness that's difficult to circumvent since lo nets so many kills, i've found it to be rather underwhelming although still a good mon. if anything, we should be freeing ursa and hari as those can't possibily be any worse than kommo is currently.

My point doesnt really stop there - I genuinely don't see why Triage is still legal. Sure, while there hasn't been too much community discussion/outcry for Triage, its unhealthy traits are still there and are pretty obvious. The only arguments I've really heard from the DNB side is that Triage is kept in check by Azelf (which is partially true btw, since kommo-o can beat Azelf 1v1) or that it gets walled by x niche(r) mon. The latter argument is flawed since I could argue that Kyogre should be freed using that argument since it is walled by Hoodra, which is really extreme and something that I will not advocate for.
i really dislike these arguments because they don't make a lot of sense. no one is seriously saying that some shitmon like prankster air balloon wisp banette should be run on every team to beat specifically triage users, practically any anti-cheese stuff will work vs kommo and most other triage mons. cerul is a bit harder to outsource with anti-cheese but again resists and immunites work just fine considering there's just so many of them and that a +2 hit is a lot weaker than a +6 hit. using kyorge as a stand-in for kommo here is also a false equilvalent as they have massively different power levels; in fact, i bet kyorge could beat up a hoodra anyway by using the old ag set of sub/cm/block/scald. if we really wanted to we could sit here all day and point out how many variants kyorge has that could help it beat whatever the hell it wants on top of its sheer power. triage mons don't have that luxury, they will always have overlapping counterplay in terms of bd triage and faster resists/immunites in terms of other triage setup sweepers like cerul or enam.

don't ban triage. it's just a bad idea.
 

cat

i feel like, "oh, wow"
is a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Triage got a suspect test btw
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sv-aaa-suspect-9-triage.3733333/

to make this not a one-liner, i'd like to spotlight an old set:
:sv/zoroark-hisui:
Zoroark-Hisui @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe / Whatever you want as long as its max speed
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Hex
- U-turn / Taunt

MGLO Hizo is really cool on fat structures since it can just spam willo with teammates like twave dengo / tspikes moth and (with dengo) spam hex late game. knock annoys blissey and hoodra and melo and whatnot because it can, uturn lets it generate free momentum while taunt is... taunt, denying recovery from stuff it trolls like bliss. he works on offense too since he is a free momentum machine and can enable teammates like wake/azelf/whatever
 
Last edited:


I made this team as a sort of modern superman team. The goal was to make a team that can function well enough with hazards up, since my previous attempts at a Court Change team always struggled with relying too much on getting Cinderace in with how frail it is. The added benefit is that you can bring your own hazards without worrying too much about flipping them over to your own side.

is pretty much bog standard. Fast sun boosted Pyro Ball threatens out stuff and gives you the opportunity to Court Change or straight up sweeps when enemy mons are chipped down. The water immunity helps generate tempo by disrupting Flip Turns. I've been considering Sucker Punch over Taunt since the team lacks priority, but Taunt has been very useful vs WBB/Deoxys-D switchins. Court Changing vs webs/screens teams can win you the game on the spot.

is your main means of stopping setups. While i would love to run an ability that actually makes this more tanky, WBB has been very valuable with how many Gouging Fires and Ceruledges there are at the moment. Sometimes WBB boosted Body Press also just sweeps a team. Rocky Helmet because it gets knocked off 90% of the time anyway.

is just your average regenvest Swampert. I was honestly surprised by how well it takes physical hits without investment.

has spent a portion of his considerable wealth to acquire hoverboard technology. While you're missing out on the potential healing from Earth Eater, the immunity from spikes and webs is certainly worth it on this team. Plus the sprite is doing a cool skater move over those hazards.

often is the key to your lategame, so keep it healthy. Thunderous Kick is a disgusting move once Gholdengo is out of the picture. Resistances to dark and fighting are actually quite useful too currently, though its healthpool is finite, so be careful how you use those.

is a good pokemon. Salt Cure is a good move. Not much else to say about this, other than sand chip damage works well with the rest of the team being immune to it. Just be mindful of Magic Guard mons taking advantage.


I peaked at rank 2 with this team and also did my suspect test reqs with it.

rank2.png


It has some weaknesses to certain mons(CB dark types in particular), but most bad matchups are winnable with good predictions. The biggest issue is honestly Electrode-A, though luckily people seem to have moved away from that one recently.
 
I've been making a lot of teams recently, but they all seem to have the weakness to chien pao. Specifically if its banded. I've been staring at the teambuilder for a while now, and I genuinely can't think of any good checks. Quaquaval isn't a check after the slightest bit of chip and I can't be the only one that's exhausted of using Intimidate Corv. Physdef Regen Manaphy and Skarm are the only other things I can think of. So does Chien Pao only have like 2 checks or am I not being creative enough?
 

Kinetic

feeling the aster
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
I've been making a lot of teams recently, but they all seem to have the weakness to chien pao. Specifically if its banded. I've been staring at the teambuilder for a while now, and I genuinely can't think of any good checks. Quaquaval isn't a check after the slightest bit of chip and I can't be the only one that's exhausted of using Intimidate Corv. Physdef Regen Manaphy and Skarm are the only other things I can think of. So does Chien Pao only have like 2 checks or am I not being creative enough?
quaquaval is a pretty good check if its running intimidate, although quaquaval itself is not very good imo. unaware scream tail is also a decent check. chien-pao doesn't have very much hard counters other than those and the ones you listed, but it can also be dealt with by using hazards, predicting, and choice scarfers
 
I know it hasn't been a while since I last shared my teams but it has been quite a while since I last posted teams that I only used for ladder, not for any tournaments at all. The reason for that is because I didn't enjoy AAA for a few months period, which you can clearly see in my post about the meta pre-Indigo Disk (If you even read it). However, after doing the suspect test run, I found AAA to be enjoyable again, nothing feels too broken or too centralising (the meta is in a good spot, maybe ban ceru or gouging fire but please don't try to free anything). Also, these teams being ladder-only mean they are up to date unlike some of my other teams that I shared where I have to wait until I'm sure I don't need them for anything else. That's quite a long introduction so here are the teams:
:swampert: :archaludon: :dragonite: :great tusk: :chien pao: :primarina:
I posted this team in the suspect threat but I want to go more in depth since I like this team. I made this right after the bundle ban hence the name. I was so frustrated with the bundle unban that right after its ban, I put together a team that is super weak to it. Fuck bundle. I started with swampert since I haven't gotten a chance to use it with bundle around. It probably needs no introduction, top regenvest, soft check everything, a bunch of utility, an electric immune which is so good that some may consider it better than Manaphy (it isn't, just easier to build with). Archaludon is there to cover unfavorable match up to Swampert like Helectrode, Eball moth and just overall a really good mon. People should start putting EQ on their Archaludon cause man, with it, Archaludon is so hard to check. Even with -Atk nature, it still chunks Heatran and OHKO Iron Moth, 2 common checks to it. Its biggest weakness is of course Swampert but you can still get rocks up and the defensive utility is nice for a BO team. Next up is dnite. I have so many BO teams with this Dnite set, you don't even want to know. Fell in love with it since DLC 1 just dropped and I have been the strongest fighter of bulky dd roost waterfall dnite ever since. It switches in too so many threats and scares them out to get a free roost and has strong priority for cheese. Great Tusk because it is the only good hazard remover, won't talk much about it. Same go for chien (it is broken). Primarina is a cool mon. Its typing and good bulk allow it to switch in to threats like Rmoon, Chien pao or even powerful draco if your Swampert is low on health. Not a good longer term answer for all of those threats but good enough for a BO team. Triage drainning kiss is so good to deal with all the dragon and dark type flying around. Flip turn because sometime you don't want to calm mind into the Swampert coming and you would rather go to your breaker instead.

:gengar: :archaludon: :manaphy: :mandibuzz: :zapdos: :scream tail:
I want gengar to trap Swampert so that Archaludon and Zapdos can sweep. That's it, that's the whole team. Archaludon checks Zapdos for Manaphy and Scream Tail makes your opponent don't want to click specs draco. Scarf tail because fast fairy type is good like with the first team. Also key thing to note, Mandi doesn't check gouging fire (stupid mon), just go to stail and trick it.

Screenshot 2024-01-01 025214.png

Ladder achievement, don't really care about it anymore but I want to give this post a vintage feeling, like those old ghostlike's posts. GXE on the alt is eh, not great. Don't want to make excuses for playing bad but fuck the deo-d with yellow magic.
 

UT

A timeshare down in Destin
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Appeals + C&C Lead
Hello I am here with your friendly reminder that Gapdos is broken:

:sv/zapdos-galar:
Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 195-229 (48.7 - 57.2%) -- 44.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 159-187 (47.6 - 55.9%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 228+ Def Gholdengo: 342-404 (90.4 - 106.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 322-381 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Scream Tail: 423-498 (114 - 134.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 236 HP / 252+ Def Scream Tail: 304-358 (70.6 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 498-588 (114.7 - 135.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Manaphy: 301-355 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 144-169 (47.3 - 55.5%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zapdos: 240-282 (62.5 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Close Combat + Brave Bird is obscene power + coverage, and Knock Off was an extremely unnecessary buff that allows it to still beat Gholdengo comfortably and muscle past the things that kinda check it but need their leftovers.

While it has stupid power, it is slow (especially if you greed Adamant like I do) and often KOes itself in the process of dismantling their physical core. The solution? Add a fast guy that loves a dismantled physical core:
:sv/iron-boulder:

Iron Boulder @ Hard Stone / Life Orb
Ability: Sharpness
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Mighty Cleave
- Psycho Cut
- Agility / Throat Chop
- Swords Dance / Earthquake

I have been greeding a double dance set since a) I am famously bad at running speed control and b) if you do a good job with Gapdos, you can really get away with just STABs. Swords Dance can blow up slower teams, Agility can blow up faster teams, and Mighty Cleave is really the only move you're clicking anyway.

Pair these guys with lots of pivots, espeically special pivots like Azelf that can draw in easy entry points, and enjoy clicking buttons!

TL;DR: Gapdos is still broken, use it you cowards.
 

Kinetic

feeling the aster
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
:sv/gouging fire:
Gouging Fire @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard / Desolate Land / Earth Eater / Mold Breaker / this thing can run a lot of abilities
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz / Heat Crash
- Outrage / Dragon Claw
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake / Morning Sun

Gouging Fire feels really strong right now. It can easily use defensive mons like Deoxys-D lacking Thunder Wave, Corviknight, and Manaphy as setup fodder. It also has insane bulk for a mon this strong (105/121/93 wtf) and a decent typing both offensively and defensively, letting it threaten and setup against offensive mons like Iron Moth and Chien-Pao even if they decide to attack. Once it gets setup, every offensive mon is dropping; nothing that can hurt it wants to eat a +1 Flare Blitz/Heat Crash or Outrage/Dragon Claw, especially with damage amp. The only defensive mons that can really handle it are Unaware/WBB Mandibuzz with Foul Play 2HKOing +1 Gouging Fire, and Toxic dealing with non Magic Guard variants. Deo-D can cripple it with Thunder Wave but is a shaky answer because of how much damage it takes, especially from Desolate Land variants. Offensive Great Tusk is a pretty good answer to non EE sets though, since it can live any hit even from +1 and OHKO back with Headlong Rush. Offensively, Azelf can't OHKO it and Scarf Roaring Moon needs Outrage to guarantee it, so once it gets a DD off this thing has very little counterplay. Highly recommend using it.

Replay of it in action (if it didn't hit itself in confusion twice in a row it would've instantly won)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2024124877?p2
 

Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor
UM/OM Leader
I built a team around regen defensive Archaludon bc it seemed cool:

:sv/Archaludon::Deoxys-Defense::Kingambit::Roaring Moon::Great Tusk::Enamorus-Therian:

Archaludon checks like all the guys (Ceruledge, Gouging Fire, Iron Boulder, etc.) in one slot AND gets up rocks. IronPress also lets you fish for a win a lot more than you'd think.

The Enamorus-T being Prankster isn't an accident. I thought it would be funny to cook teams that rely on Psychic Surge and stuff to beat it, and Protect + Prankster Calm Mind actually offers a lot more longevity than you would expect.

The Deoxys-D is supposed to have Spikes, but this version has Cosmic Defense because I got thrashed by LO CM Pixieburst Scream Tail during testing.

Use the team if you feel like it (or don't), I think it's pretty cool.

P.S. No, you can't beat GZap with this team. Just hope you can win before the 6-0

Final record from just using this team ~1400-1600 elo on alts: 40-1
 

Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor
UM/OM Leader
In case you didn't know, we're always accepting sample team submissions! Please continue to post your teams (with or without a brief explanation if desired) so we can keep them as up-to-date as possible :]

Here's another team. I just built this earlier today:
:sv/Chien-Pao::Sv/Gouging Fire::sv/Meowscarada::sv/Primarina::sv/Swampert::sv/Oricorio:

Intention: Pivot around with Scarf QM Meowscarada + Eject Pack Pert and get in Primarina and Chien-Pao a lot. Specs Primarina is still pretty disgusting; it does a billion damage to everything, and RegenVest GoodraH just gives free flip turns into Chien-Pao and Gouging Fire. Oricorio is there to give some semblance of counterplay against weather teams on ladder.
 

Kinetic

feeling the aster
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
:swampert::mandibuzz::corviknight::gouging fire::roaring moon::sandy shocks:
Balance team i laddered a bit with. SwampMandiCorv is a pretty good 3 mon defensive core that lets you survive long enough against most threats. I wanted to use Gouging Fire since that mon looked pretty strong (it is) from seeing the calcs and bulk and opted for MGLO with Morning Sun since that takes the best advantage of its power and natural bulk imo. Scarf Roaring Moon is nice speed control (Tough Claws so you don't reveal you're faster than Scarf PsySurge Azelf), and Sandy Shocks is just a good Stealth Rocker and special attacker.
 

cat

i feel like, "oh, wow"
is a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
since samps submissions are up and you guys are BORING i shall drop off some ho teams

:corviknight: :volcarona: :cresselia: :kommo-o: :dragonite: :roaring moon:SFLO corona Kommo-o variation / :corviknight: :volcarona: :cresselia: :kingambit: :dragonite: :roaring moon: Kingambit Variation
The idea behind this HO is simple - get up screens with corv, deny rocks from Tusk / whatever, uturn into breaker, win. It's relatively straightforward to use - try to use the raw power of corona to wear down walls the team dislikes like Physdef Unaware Mandi / Scream Tail while being a very potent sweeper that can 6-0 in its own right. Cresselia is the opposing HO counterplay, although you should be wary of Ceruledge / Roaring Moon. Dragonite is the anti-offense machine that also cleans very easily after walls have been worn down. Roaring Moon does well consistently, and Weakness Policy + Acrobatics farms Corv attempting to Defog and U-turn into Great Tusk. Kommo-o is just a MU fish that either 6-0s, does nothing, or revenge kill / setup on something midgame. Kingambit is just really broken because the less people prep for it, the stronger it becomes, while acting as a strong dnite check if things go wrong.

:corviknight: :iron crown: :cresselia: :dragonite: :zoroark-hisui: :kingambit:Iron Crown Screens // nicknames inspiration // nickname-less version if youre a nerd
Simply put, Iron Crown is broken. The only real thing that can stop it from winning after it clicks CM and Agility are the Goodras, especially after proccing Weakness Policy. Zoroark-Hisui is also really tough to switch into for fat once it clicks NP and can just win with a bit of luck. I've already explained what 4 of the other mons do above so do read it if you havent already.

:smeargle: :lucario: :zoroark-hisui: :ogerpon-cornerstone: :chien-pao: :polteageist:Lucario + Teapot Webs // nicknames inspiration // nickname-less version for nerds
So one day, while I was chilling on the bus, I was thinking about how to break the teapot because Tranquility keeps hating it. Its main issue was that Scarf Azelf outspeeds it and unless youre miraculously at full, Azelf will remove you. How do you solve this? Add webs to the picture, and gg. Kingambit and Hoodra stocks are also really low so the teapot is decent (pretend moon doesnt exist). The Smeargle set outspeeds Prankster Corv and will always get webs up before the Taunt. Spin + Imprison means that you spinblock while spinning (and also denies webs from whatever mon ig), and Stone Axe > rocks so that you can get it up after you get taunted. Lucario fits really well on webs since you deny Tusk from spinning by deleting it 95% of the time and can Final Gambit to maintain momentum while preventing Defog from Corv. Ogerpon-C is probably the mon im least happy about but it does its job very well and can quickly chunk teams to enable Chien-Pao. Speaking about Pao, he can clean teams really well and appreciates being the fastest thing in the world bar Boots Leki.
 

Giagantic

True Coffee Maniac
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a member of the Battle Simulator Staffis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
OM Leader


Post-DLC 2 Team Drop
(of varying quality)
So it's been around 3 weeks since the release of DLC 2 and I've done quite a bit of experimentation, some of it quite extreme as many are aware (boredom does things to a man). Then I saw others posting stuff for submissions and thought, "let's just dump a bunch of teams of varying qualities on IsaiaH and the AAA Councils lap," and thus this post came to be!

The Cream of the Crop (Teams I consider decent)

  1. :Gouging Fire: :Latios: :Walking Wake: :Roaring Moon: :Corviknight: :Swampert:: Team is the very epitome of dragon spam utilizing their extreme power to bust teams over quite aggressively and only having a small defensive core of Swampert + Corviknight. Mold Breaker Gouging Fire is there to be really difficult to switch into aside from like Primarina (who is a major threat depending on set) and the rest all emphasize immediate busting power.
  2. :Gholdengo: :Empoleon: :Great Tusk: :Skarmory::Roaring Moon: :Sandy Shocks: : As the name implies it is a remix of my old sample team, not necessarily better but different featuring RegenVest Tusk as your hazard clear who is really hard to kill and a splash of hazard stack.
  3. :Blastoise: :Corviknight: :Garganacl: :Zoroark-hisui: :Tinkaton: :Chien-Pao: : Wanted to use Blastoise, if there was a standard one it'd be this, the team's key player is definitely Tinted Lens Metal Coat Tinkaton which can shred common resists or setup rocks to fake being a supportive set, Zoro-H runs grass knot for Swampert obviously.
  4. :Primarina: :Gholdengo: :Gouging Fire: :Mandibuzz: :Deoxys-Defense: :Hippowdon:: Featuring defensive triage Primarina, Fluffy Hippo, Regen setup bulky Gouging Fire, Vessel of Ruin Deo-d, and VA Mandibuzz.
Giagantic's Unhinged Mind (Team that has elements that are... strange...)


  1. :Zoroark-Hisui: :Cobalion: :Grimmsnarl: :Garganacl: :Hoopa: :Corviknight: : In my madness I made this team which has fluffy Cobalion, regen Garganacl, Water Absorb Parting Shot Grimmsnarl (for the special dragons), and Psychic Surge Hoopa... because powerful expanding force is powerful!

*Any of these teams can be used as a sample*
The meta is still a work in progress, imo, but dragon spam in my experience is extremely strong, so is HO, so is hazard stack, oh what GF not adding viable Defoggers or the defog tm does to a gen...
 
Last edited:
In case you didn't know, we're always accepting sample team submissions! Please continue to post your teams (with or without a brief explanation if desired) so we can keep them as up-to-date as possible :]

Here's another team. I just built this earlier today:
:sv/Chien-Pao::Sv/Gouging Fire::sv/Meowscarada::sv/Primarina::sv/Swampert::sv/Oricorio:

Intention: Pivot around with Scarf QM Meowscarada + Eject Pack Pert and get in Primarina and Chien-Pao a lot. Specs Primarina is still pretty disgusting; it does a billion damage to everything, and RegenVest GoodraH just gives free flip turns into Chien-Pao and Gouging Fire. Oricorio is there to give some semblance of counterplay against weather teams on ladder.
Tried looking it up but I couldn't find a clear answer. I'd like to submit a team here but I'm not sure how to make pokepaste show my team/ how to add individual pokemon sprites so I can show analysis of each mon
 

Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributor
UM/OM Leader
Tried looking it up but I couldn't find a clear answer. I'd like to submit a team here but I'm not sure how to make pokepaste show my team/ how to add individual pokemon sprites so I can show analysis of each mon
:Pokemon: or :Sv/Pokemon: for the sprites, then highlight all the images and add a hyperlink (Ctrl + K) to your team's pokepaste
 
I know I'm not all that good at AAA, (around 1350 ELO) but I really think that Chien-Pao needs to be looked at. Here's why:
  1. First off, Chien-Pao is very hard to switch in on. Specifically Banded Chien-Pao. The most viable defensive mons right now are Corviknight, Deoxys-Defense, Great Tusk and in some cases, Swampert. Corviknight typically uses either Fluffy or Intimidate. While Intimidate Corviknight is actually a decent counter to Chien-Pao, Fluffy isn't actually that good versus Chien-Pao. Deoxys-D, the other main defensive mon, doesn't stand a chance against Chien-Pao, as it easily gets 2HKOed and it some cases OHKOed by Crunch after Stealth Rocks. Then there's Great Tusk, which gets 2HKOed by Icicle Crash. Lastly, Swampert doesn't stand a chance as its an easy 2HKO.
  2. Secondly, it feels like there's limited counterplay to Chien-Pao. Obviously, Intimidate Corviknight, but then what? Scarf Azelf to revenge kill? Just bring in Swampert, Manaphy, or any other AV mon on the D-Gleam or Flamethrower. Scarf Moon? Bring in Corviknight or Great Tusk. Prankster Smeargle Destiny Bond? No, just stop.
  3. Lastly, Chien-Pao is soooooo fast. Its only outsped by Deoxys-Speed, Barraskewda, Electrode-Hisui, and Scarf mons like Azelf and Roaring Moon. (Which may seem like a lot, but Barraskewda and Electrode are more rarely used.) I'll also add on that besides Triage, and Dragonite, priority is quite rare. And if Triage ends up being banned, I think Chien-Pao should be looked at immediately.
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 312-368 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 210-248 (48.3 - 57.1%) -- 71.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 183-216 (45.7 - 54%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 254-300 (83.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 170-204 (55.9 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Edit: Chien-Pao gets Lash Out for Intimidate Corv. Its over.
 
Last edited:
Having hit top 10 again, and since everyone else is posting teams, thought I'd do the same.

:skarmory::zapdos::corviknight::swampert::slither wing::landorus-therian:
:skarmory::zapdos::corviknight::swampert::heatran::landorus-therian:

Wanted to create a gen 9 version of a superman? Even has 3 ADV mons. Idk all I know is that spikes are annoying and I do not want to deal with them so I created a fly spam team. In v1 the idea is to pivot around to position slither wing to do massive damage. While slither was fun, the team was lacking in defensive capabilities. I decided to add heatran as it helped against waters, added another reliable special mon, and a consistent rocker. Its ground weakness is not an issue as there are 4 other flying types. For skarm, I decided I want to maximize chip due to knock spam. Been thinking of running no item on it so there wouldn't be a multiplier but a one turn ~25% on a mon is nice.

:kingambit::Scream Tail::Great Tusk::Corviknight::Swampert::Deoxys-Speed:

Balance team I used to get reqs for the triage sus. Gambit is EV'd to outspeed manaphy and other random mons. Surf on pert is to hit tusk. This is because I've been running into quite a bit of phys def regen tusk and surf is able to check what is usually a lost mu. s/o Isaiah for Deo-s set, I saw them post it in the disc and it helped round out the team for speed control and special damage. In a revised version I decided to switch out psycho boost (never found myself clicking this move) for superpower to help against Blissey and hoodra, as even with a -Atk nature it can 2HKO them. I used scream tail because of dragons and tusk.

:Great Tusk::Blissey::Roaring Moon::Corviknight::Inteleon::Empoleon:

Since Tusk is taking the regen slot on this team, I found Blissey + Empoleon to be a good special glue. Emp was exactly what this team was looking for in a sp def rocker that helps against electrics. Inteleon is a mon that I feel is overlooked in the current meta. It is naturally faster than a banded moon, can reliably pivot with u-turn, and has water ice coverage. While wake is also a hard hitting prim sea user, I think these qualities give it a niche that wake cannot fulfill.

Screenshot 2024-01-10 at 4.59.10 AM.png


EDIT: I've started running fluffy corv because of iron boulder, moon, and scrappy CC everywhere. Fluffy also helps against set up variants better than intim. Felt it had more longevity and paired with the right teammates to beat fires they aren't too much of an issue. Otherwise I have been running wbb bc gouging is annoying.

Was also able to get #2, my highest placement yet.
#2 on ladder.png
 
Last edited:

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 5)

Top