Hello friends!
After taking somewhat of a hiatus from AG, I've finally got myself back into metagame once again, and am deciding to grace you all with some Gunner strats~. S/os to
Megazard for hosting AG mini-tour, which is the primary reason I started playing competitively again. Since I've been building a lot recently, I've been trying to come up with some underrated sets. Let's begin with the first one:
Excadrill (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic/Rock Tomb
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
Pros: The roll of the above Pokemon, Excadrill, is that of a suicide lead, which guarantees Stealth Rock on the opposing field as well as avoiding hazards for your own team. Toxic is non-standard and can sometimes help status support Arceus, on the contrary, Rock Tomb gives better coverage versus flying types, in particular, Mega-Rayquaza. This Pokemon's ability to lay crucial hazards on the field facilitates teammates such as Arceus/Mega-Rayquaza/Darkrai/Mewtwo pressurize anti-hazard Pokemon and/or provide sweeping opportunities. Excadrill's unique Mold Breaker ability allows it to set up Stealth Rock vs Magic Bouncers like Mega-Sableye and Mega-Diancie too.
Cons: Due to its lack of high speed, it can sometimes be Darkrai/Taunt bait. It is also susceptible to being set up on by Arceus/Mega-Ray, if played against correctly.
In my attempt to improvise an excellent team around Excadrill, I've built a team which can be found
here. I paired Excadrill with partners such as Life Orb Arceus Extreme Killer to better combat Mega-Rayquaza as well as Lum Berry Magic Coat Arceus Extreme Killer to better combat Darkrai and support Arceus'.
This team has earned ladder success and diminutive tournament success. (Won semi-final game 1 vs cirdec)
Klefki @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 120 SpA / 136 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
- Dazzling Gleam
-
Sleep Talk
I decided to use Klefki in a more tactical way, neglecting its SwagPlay set and developing a new anti-darkrai Klefki set. This set is a 100% switch-in to Darkrai and can potentially cripple it with Sleep Talk. It has also been EV'd to 2HKO Mega-Sableye. This set can definitely fit teams searching for a Darkrai check as well as a momentum killer, as Klefki occupies both roles with ease. A team which I've built
featuring this set can be found
here.
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
EVs: 248 HP / 244 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Body Slam
- Iron Defense
- Roost
- Defog / Dragon Tail
Mega-Salamence, the Pokemon which is completely outclassed offensively by the likes of Mega-Rayquaza, does bear an alternative special niche. It has the ability to fit on more defensive teams; with its colossal base 95 HP and 130 Defense, it possesses the finesse of being able to wall potent offensive threats in Arceus Extreme Killer/Arceus-Ghost/Arceus-Ground, and to some extent, Mega-Rayquaza. It also has access to Defog, an intrinsic utility move. Body Slam also acts as a fantastic STAB move, reaching 110 base power after Aerilate boost, besides already enthralling the chance of spreading Paralysis. I haven't constructed any solid team with this Pokemon yet, but I'm willing to see more discussion about this Pokemon's viability, moreover, any teambuilding ideas/cores around it.
Here's my attempt to build a team around it.
That's all for now. Hope this can spark some interesting discussion~