~ Antidote X ~
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Each week, Smogon has a new tier that everyone seems to fall in love with, and people begin bandwagonning. That's what happened here. Out of every type I could have chosen, I went with Poison. It's arguably my second favorite type (the first obviously being Ghost), and there are enough Pokemon to make a decent team. In addition to that, Poison-types almost always have good coverage or surprise moves to utilize, and lot of them are pretty fast too. Their stats are really well rounded too and they have moves to help with whatever they bias towards. In general, Poison-types are the epitome of balance and they make a great team when all put together. So I present, Antidote X!
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Shadow Ball / Focus Blast / Thunderbolt / Hypnosis
Explanation: This is the first of my rather weird sets. Gengar screams offensive, and then you look at Smogon's analysis page and it's mostly sets with Substitute. No offense to you Smogon, but in my eyes, Gengar isn't meant to use Substitute. He's meant to back up that threatening glare with powerful offensive moves, not cower behind a doll, which is what this set aims to do. A main reason I chose Gengar is for his ability, Levitate. Ground-types are seriously threatening to a mono-Poison team. Therefore, being immune to it or resisting it are crucial. Gengar is also a way to defeat Psychic-types, which are also very threatening. Shadow Ball is the obvious Ghost-type STAB and it's why you have a Ghost-type in the first place. Focus Blast is for Dark-types, Steel-types, and Normal-types, and the accuracy hasn't really let me down. Thunderbolt is my only real way to hit Normal/Flying-types like Staraptor for good damage. It's also useful to get a drop on Water-types. Hypnosis is the only thing that really lets me down on this set; it always misses right when I need it to work, and with Venusaur's Sleep Powder it's counterproductive sometimes. However, it's always useful to shut down a possible threat when it can. I was thinking of using Disable, but since Gengar is so fast it has to take a hit to use it properly, which really sucks because Gengar isn't meant to be taking hits. Therefore, Hypnosis is staying for now.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 36 SDef / 220 Spe
Sucker Punch / Pursuit / Poison Jab / Taunt
Explanation: In order to combat my obviously-growing Psychic weakness, I added a Dual-Dark core to the team consisting of Drapion and Skuntank (seeing how they're the only dual Poison/Dark types >.>) Skuntank offers good offensive support in the form of Psychic-trapping, and if there's a Psychic-type beyond the control of others, Skuntank is how I get the job done. His secondary Dark-typing is a wonderful gift that makes mono-Psychic teams much less threatening, and it gives him all the right moves and STABs to deal with them all. I decided that, since this team leaned heavily towards offensive, I'd make Skuntank follow suit, which is where the EVs come from. Everything else is pretty standard so there's not really a large explanation needed here.
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Earth Power / Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Stone Edge
Explanation: Ah, Nidoking. Living up to his wonderful name, he packs quite an offensive force backed by excellent coverage, so I almost always lead off with him to get a jump on the opponent. He easily KOs potential threats (an Ursaring that decided not to use Protect when its Flame Orb activated, Cloyster attempting a Shell Smash when they think I'm gonna switch) and gives my teams more opportunity to hurt things. His exceptional coverage is what draws me to use him; if he can hit it, he can probably hit it super-effectively. That makes him an awesome Anti-Lead 90% of the time and he's pretty cool looking too.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Sludge Bomb / Shadow Ball / Fire Blast / Thunderbolt
Explanation: I still had a gaping weakness to Ground-types, so I searched far and wide for another Levitating Poison-type. Weezing was the only one I came across. At first, it didn't seem offensive at all; especially considering that the Smogon set was defensive. But then, I took a look at Weezing's movepool, and it was neigh everything I wanted and needed. He had almost perfect coverage for everything. If it had Surf my Ground-type problems would have been neutered, but I figured Sludge Bomb would do enough damage to them so I slapped on Fire Blast and Thunderbolt, which helped against Steel-types and Water-types (despite Water-types not being problematic). Shadow Ball is Weezing's best defense against Psychic-types, but he's so slow that he can't really hit them that well anyway. OH WELL, at least I
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Sniper
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Cross Poison / Crunch / Aqua Tail / Earthquake
Explanation: The second half of my Dual-Dark core I mentioned earlier. Drapion is more offensive check to the ever pesky mono-Psychic teams. While Skuntank is a trapper, Drapion is a more versatile way to hit them at the cost of losing a guaranteed hit. Sniper + Cross Poison is a combo I found from New Breed's RMT (love him), and if it gets a crit, it does some serious damage. It's the only way to make use of Drapion's only useful ability effectively. Crunch is for the aforementioned and over-mentioned Psychic-types. Aqua + Earthquake might seem like redundant coverage, but I need it to efficiently get the drop on Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types, all of which can threaten the team with Ground-type moves that we fear. Therefore, it's here to stay.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Sunny Day / Solarbeam / Hidden Power [Fire] / Sleep Powder
Explanation: If said this guy wasn't the MVP on this whole team, I'd be a downright liar. Chlorophyll Venusaur is a rather good Pokemon to have in Monotype because if either of his attacks aren't resisted by the core type, he'll have a much easier time sweeping. The only Pokemon who resist both of Venusaur's attacks is Mollux with its Poison/Fire typing, which can't be used in monotype, so there's really nothing to resist it. Backing up that power are rather stellar defenses, which has helped take crucial hits that allow him to get off a Sunny Day and proceed to destroy. To give you a basic idea of Venusaur's true power, this is a log taken from one of my battles. I was losing 1-3, and Venusaur totally saved my ass.
That's basically what Venusaur can and has done for the team: saving my ass from a major loss. He even brought down an Aggron to 1 HP (it had Sturdy) by using Solarbeam without sun. That's rather impressive for the most hated starter in Gen 1. This bad mofo is back with a vengeance, and it's going to be served sunny-side up ;) Oh god kill me that joke was horrible.
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And that's my team! Remember, although I luvluv Luvdisc, rates are much more important to me because I need to greatly improve my team no matter if I think it's fabulous. So please, rate and be as critical as possible. Thanks and bye! :D
~ Final Look ~
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Each week, Smogon has a new tier that everyone seems to fall in love with, and people begin bandwagonning. That's what happened here. Out of every type I could have chosen, I went with Poison. It's arguably my second favorite type (the first obviously being Ghost), and there are enough Pokemon to make a decent team. In addition to that, Poison-types almost always have good coverage or surprise moves to utilize, and lot of them are pretty fast too. Their stats are really well rounded too and they have moves to help with whatever they bias towards. In general, Poison-types are the epitome of balance and they make a great team when all put together. So I present, Antidote X!
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Shadow Ball / Focus Blast / Thunderbolt / Hypnosis
Explanation: This is the first of my rather weird sets. Gengar screams offensive, and then you look at Smogon's analysis page and it's mostly sets with Substitute. No offense to you Smogon, but in my eyes, Gengar isn't meant to use Substitute. He's meant to back up that threatening glare with powerful offensive moves, not cower behind a doll, which is what this set aims to do. A main reason I chose Gengar is for his ability, Levitate. Ground-types are seriously threatening to a mono-Poison team. Therefore, being immune to it or resisting it are crucial. Gengar is also a way to defeat Psychic-types, which are also very threatening. Shadow Ball is the obvious Ghost-type STAB and it's why you have a Ghost-type in the first place. Focus Blast is for Dark-types, Steel-types, and Normal-types, and the accuracy hasn't really let me down. Thunderbolt is my only real way to hit Normal/Flying-types like Staraptor for good damage. It's also useful to get a drop on Water-types. Hypnosis is the only thing that really lets me down on this set; it always misses right when I need it to work, and with Venusaur's Sleep Powder it's counterproductive sometimes. However, it's always useful to shut down a possible threat when it can. I was thinking of using Disable, but since Gengar is so fast it has to take a hit to use it properly, which really sucks because Gengar isn't meant to be taking hits. Therefore, Hypnosis is staying for now.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 36 SDef / 220 Spe
Sucker Punch / Pursuit / Poison Jab / Taunt
Explanation: In order to combat my obviously-growing Psychic weakness, I added a Dual-Dark core to the team consisting of Drapion and Skuntank (seeing how they're the only dual Poison/Dark types >.>) Skuntank offers good offensive support in the form of Psychic-trapping, and if there's a Psychic-type beyond the control of others, Skuntank is how I get the job done. His secondary Dark-typing is a wonderful gift that makes mono-Psychic teams much less threatening, and it gives him all the right moves and STABs to deal with them all. I decided that, since this team leaned heavily towards offensive, I'd make Skuntank follow suit, which is where the EVs come from. Everything else is pretty standard so there's not really a large explanation needed here.
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Item: Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Earth Power / Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Stone Edge
Explanation: Ah, Nidoking. Living up to his wonderful name, he packs quite an offensive force backed by excellent coverage, so I almost always lead off with him to get a jump on the opponent. He easily KOs potential threats (an Ursaring that decided not to use Protect when its Flame Orb activated, Cloyster attempting a Shell Smash when they think I'm gonna switch) and gives my teams more opportunity to hurt things. His exceptional coverage is what draws me to use him; if he can hit it, he can probably hit it super-effectively. That makes him an awesome Anti-Lead 90% of the time and he's pretty cool looking too.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Sludge Bomb / Shadow Ball / Fire Blast / Thunderbolt
Explanation: I still had a gaping weakness to Ground-types, so I searched far and wide for another Levitating Poison-type. Weezing was the only one I came across. At first, it didn't seem offensive at all; especially considering that the Smogon set was defensive. But then, I took a look at Weezing's movepool, and it was neigh everything I wanted and needed. He had almost perfect coverage for everything. If it had Surf my Ground-type problems would have been neutered, but I figured Sludge Bomb would do enough damage to them so I slapped on Fire Blast and Thunderbolt, which helped against Steel-types and Water-types (despite Water-types not being problematic). Shadow Ball is Weezing's best defense against Psychic-types, but he's so slow that he can't really hit them that well anyway. OH WELL, at least I
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Sniper
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Cross Poison / Crunch / Aqua Tail / Earthquake
Explanation: The second half of my Dual-Dark core I mentioned earlier. Drapion is more offensive check to the ever pesky mono-Psychic teams. While Skuntank is a trapper, Drapion is a more versatile way to hit them at the cost of losing a guaranteed hit. Sniper + Cross Poison is a combo I found from New Breed's RMT (love him), and if it gets a crit, it does some serious damage. It's the only way to make use of Drapion's only useful ability effectively. Crunch is for the aforementioned and over-mentioned Psychic-types. Aqua + Earthquake might seem like redundant coverage, but I need it to efficiently get the drop on Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types, all of which can threaten the team with Ground-type moves that we fear. Therefore, it's here to stay.
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Item: Black Sludge
Ability: Chlorophyll
Nature: Modest
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Sunny Day / Solarbeam / Hidden Power [Fire] / Sleep Powder
Explanation: If said this guy wasn't the MVP on this whole team, I'd be a downright liar. Chlorophyll Venusaur is a rather good Pokemon to have in Monotype because if either of his attacks aren't resisted by the core type, he'll have a much easier time sweeping. The only Pokemon who resist both of Venusaur's attacks is Mollux with its Poison/Fire typing, which can't be used in monotype, so there's really nothing to resist it. Backing up that power are rather stellar defenses, which has helped take crucial hits that allow him to get off a Sunny Day and proceed to destroy. To give you a basic idea of Venusaur's true power, this is a log taken from one of my battles. I was losing 1-3, and Venusaur totally saved my ass.
Start of turn 15
The foe's Porygon-Z used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
Chef lost 276 HP! (91% of its health)
The foe's Porygon-Z is hurt by its Life Orb!
Chef used Sunny Day!
The sunlight turned harsh!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
Start of turn 16
Chef used SolarBeam!
The foe's Porygon-Z lost 80% of its health!
The foe's Porygon-Z fainted!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
RockinRonin sent out NOPE! (Staraptor)
Start of turn 17
Chef used Hidden Power!
The foe's NOPE lost 54% of its health!
The foe's NOPE fainted!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
RockinRonin sent out Cinccino!
Start of turn 18
Chef used SolarBeam!
A critical hit!
RockinRonin: gg
The foe's Cinccino lost 100% of its health!
The foe's Cinccino fainted!
The foe's Porygon-Z used Ice Beam!
It's super effective!
Chef lost 276 HP! (91% of its health)
The foe's Porygon-Z is hurt by its Life Orb!
Chef used Sunny Day!
The sunlight turned harsh!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
Start of turn 16
Chef used SolarBeam!
The foe's Porygon-Z lost 80% of its health!
The foe's Porygon-Z fainted!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
RockinRonin sent out NOPE! (Staraptor)
Start of turn 17
Chef used Hidden Power!
The foe's NOPE lost 54% of its health!
The foe's NOPE fainted!
The sunlight is strong!
Chef restored a little HP using its Black Sludge!
RockinRonin sent out Cinccino!
Start of turn 18
Chef used SolarBeam!
A critical hit!
RockinRonin: gg
The foe's Cinccino lost 100% of its health!
The foe's Cinccino fainted!
That's basically what Venusaur can and has done for the team: saving my ass from a major loss. He even brought down an Aggron to 1 HP (it had Sturdy) by using Solarbeam without sun. That's rather impressive for the most hated starter in Gen 1. This bad mofo is back with a vengeance, and it's going to be served sunny-side up ;) Oh god kill me that joke was horrible.
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And that's my team! Remember, although I luvluv Luvdisc, rates are much more important to me because I need to greatly improve my team no matter if I think it's fabulous. So please, rate and be as critical as possible. Thanks and bye! :D
~ Final Look ~
