Attack of the Ninjas
(An NU Offence RMT by Ninja Dewott)
(An NU Offence RMT by Ninja Dewott)
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Ohai there! I'm Ninja Dewott and I'm back here with my first NU RMT in quite some while. I'd quit NU a while ago for various mundane reasons like the fact there were civilisations to save but looking at some of the more recent changes to the NU Metagame, the banning of Hail (again), Cincinno and Absol, I was really looking forward to how this new NU Metagame would be. I figured it'd be a good time to pick up the tier again and it didn't disappoint, and I've really enjoyed laddering with this team.
I built this team around Samurott. Again. Pretty much all my NU Teams start with this guy because he is just awesomely cool and awesome and a Ninja. Sometimes he doesn't make the final team, but in this case he did. I really wanted to go down a very offensive route as I also wanted to use another Ninjatastic Pokemon (Zangoose) whose DW ability really gave it a boost (pun most definitely intended).
I was shocked by the original success of this team. I literally stuck 6 Pokes that I thought'd work well in a team together and it was fantastic, getting me to the top 100 on the ladder. As you'll see in the Teambuilidng section, I made another change, which got me to the top 60 and then some more substantial ones, but these literally only got me an extra 3 places higher on the ladder, so, to be honest, I'm not sure they're for the best. So, although this team has achieved what I believe to be a very good peak (#55 with 1782 Pts under the alt "Blades") I still need some help with it. My target is the top 25 on the ladder and to do that, I'll need some tips on this team and on NU in general I guess. Hence my presence here. Anyway, enough larking about, let's get started.
The Building of The Team
So as I said, I wanted this to be an offensive team built to give either Samurott or Zangoose a sweep. To do this I felt that one important thing would be Dual Screens. For this reason I added Musharna, a Poke I'd used on HO Teams in the past to much success.
I needed a Bird Counter, as well as something to lay down Stealth Rock. I noticed that spinners were relatively uncommon in NU so a suicide lead Golem would do nicely.
Next I needed a revenge killer. I added Rotom-S, again a Poke that I'd used to great success in the past with its convenient Speed allowing it to just outspeed stuff like Scarf Sawk and +2 Gorebyss
Finally, I added Exeggutor as I needed a Special Attacker and Exeggutor's just so epic
Golem wasn't quite working and I was pretty weak to a few threats that did crop up from time to time, such as Linoone, so I swapped out Golem for Regirock
Musharna was proving rather useless when she wasn't setting up screens and, although that is her job, I felt Gardevoir could do the same, yet be more of an offensive presence. Rotom-S' Stealth Rock weakness was also a pain and I couldn't find anywhere to put a Spinner and so I swapped it out for Electabuzz, who could do much the same job, yet take less from Stealth Rock. These were the changes that only jumped me and extra 3 places, so I was wondering if they actually made much of a difference.
The Detail of The Team
The Ninja (Samurott)
~ Swords Dance
~ Aqua Jet
~ Megahorn
~ Waterfall
Samurott is, obviously, the heart of this team and it really is very threatening to face. Samurott has pretty decent bulk, which is augmented by the leftovers, so getting a Swords Dance up is usually no problem, even without Screens. After a Swords Dance, Samurott is pretty threatening. Aqua Jet is great Priority and can be used to bypass Samurott's middling speed and take out many of its would be counters, such as Rotom-S. Megahorn is a fantastic move to have, and it destroys a lot of things Samurott couldn't touch otherwise, such as Exeggutor, Musharna and Tangela. That's what the 84 Speed EVs are for. I forget the exact details, but they help to outpace some of these. Waterfall was brought in, replacing Superpower as it didn't give me much coverage and Waterfall is a great, reliable STAB move.
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Britney Spears (Zangoose)
~ Swords Dance
~ Quick Attack
~ Façade
~ Night Slash
One of the things I'm really hoping for in Pokémon X and Y is a Zangoose evolution, since Zangoose has very quickly become one of the best and coolest Pokemon in my eyes. Zangoose is just insane. Like, absolutely mental. The Power this thing can chuck out is phenomenal. I once accidentally used this team in an OU match and I remember Zangoose sweeping through a Metagross with like 70% health left. A lot of people, I imagine, will say that Swords Dance is not a great option, since you lose out on coverage and you won't have a chance to set up blah blah blah. I say no. Screens are probably a must when setting up Zangoose, but even so, Zangoose finds plenty of opportunities to set up by switching in on weak defensive Pokes or just because my opponent thinks it's a good idea to switch to Golurk or whatever. Because of that, I can easily nab a SD and when I do, things get broke. A +2 Façade from a Toxic'd Zangoose is just brilliant. Absolutely fantastic. Having that power in front of you, knowing you can click "Façade" and something will die is awesome. And that's normally the case, since many of the 'defensive walls' of the tier, such as Weezing and Alomomolamlolmolollaomomoma are OHKO'd. Anything slower that doesn't resist is free to be mauled by Façade, it's just that good. Quick Attack is for faster opponents who, usually being frail, take hefty chunks of damage. So, if they're weakened, they're easily picked off. It's also great for avoiding other common priority users such as Samurott and Skuntank. The last moveslot was a tough decision between Close Combat and Night Slash, which would allow me to hit Rocks/Steels or Ghosts, respectively. In the end I went with Night Slash. Rock Types like Regirock and Golem weren't such of a worry for me with Exeggutor and Samurott about and clever played would mess with my mind by switching Ghosts in and out until Toxic damage kills me off. Rocks or Steels are less problematic in this regard, since they still have to take a 105 BP move, off Zangoose's fantastic attack. Night Slash seems to be the less expected option, since there's no shortage of players who are willing to send in their Golurk to be smashed apart by Night Slash.
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SexyAndIKnowIt (Gardevoir)
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Thunder Wave
~ Psychic
Gardevoir is my Special Wall (hence the EV Spread) and Screen Setter and hence plays an important role on the team. Despite being important, it's rather simple, so this shouldn't take long to explain. The dual screens help my team to set up and generally sweep and Reflect is pretty useful for Gardevoir's defences on a whole. Thunder Wave is a useful move which really helps Exeggutor and, for faster threats, it's really useful for Zangoose too. Psychic is to stop Gardevoir being Taunt Bait and its decent speed and Special Attack ensure that it's not to be underestimated. I am, however, considering dropping Thunder Wave for something to add more coverage, especially since Regirock also carries the move.
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Sylvestre (Regirock)
~ Stealth Rock
~ Thunder Wave
~ Ice Punch
~ Stone Edge
Regirock is a fantastic thing to have on any NU team thanks to its ability to check some of the biggest threats in the tier and lay down Stealth Rock. It's a standard kinda Poke to have around, but my set is a little different. Most Regirock set you'll see have maximum Special Defence investment since Regirock already has a titanic Base 200 Defence Stat that does the job nicely, without investment. However, I was frustratingly weak to Linoone and so, upon replacing Golem, I gave Regirock enough defensive investment to tank a +6 Seed Bomb. Aside from that though, the extra defence is really quite useful against other common threats such as Sawk and Golurk. Speaking of Golurk, I guess I should skip ahead to my choice of Ice Punch on this set. It's an odd move to have, but I find it very useful. Firstly, it gives me something to hit Golurk with (and quite hard too), since Golurk's a common switch in. Also, unlike Drain Punch or Earthquake, it allows me to do something against SubDisable Haunter and thirdly it's a great move to use against common Grass Type switch-ins such as Exeggutor or Roselia. Thunder Wave is another useful utility move that makes it easier, as I've said, for Exeggutor and Zangoose to sweep. Finally, Stone Edge rounds of the set as a strong STAB that can really do some damage.
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I'mABigFanOfYours (Rotom-S)
~ Volt Switch
~ Trick
~ Air Slash
~ Hidden Power [Grass]
I've elected, with prompting from raters, to re-use Rotom-S on this team and I'm not regretting the decision. Rotom-S fulfils the same roles as Electabuzz did, revenge killing stuff, most notably +2 Gorebyss and Scarf Sawk (which is what the EV Spread, Nature and Item allow it to do), and providing momentum. Although Electabuzz looks better on paper, Rotom-S always seem to outperform in battles. Volt Switch is the crux of this set, providing momentum as well as a decent STAB move, doing heavy damage, often OHKOing, the likes of Charizard, Carracosta and Gorebyss. Air Slash is a secondary STAB and is a great offensive type in the tier. It also helps me to deal with grass types a bit better, especially Exeggutor and Ludicolo, which I was somewhat weak to. An interesting choice is that of HP Grass over Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is a great get-to-go STAB move for sweeping and cleaning up, but, in this team it's rarely Rotom-S who'll be doing the sweeping, so I opted for HP Grass to nail stuff like Golem, Regirock and Golurk who switch in expecting a Volt Switch.
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Omelette (Exeggutor)
~ Leaf Storm
~ Giga Drain
~ Psyshock
~ Hidden Power [Ground]
Although my team is built around a Samurott or Zangoose sweep, it's not unusual for all the damage to be done by this monster. I remember seeing Specs Exeggutor on an NU RMT on this very site a while back, and people were quite taken with it. That said, it still surprises me now how few people use it since the damage output is phenomenal. Its monstrous Special Attack, combined with decent offensive typing for the tier ensures that very little can safety switch in. There are very few things that can take a Leaf Storm from this thing, and usually I can switch in, click that button, and rest assured that whatever ends up taking that attack will be in revenge-killing range from either Zangoose, Electabuzz or Samurott. So, as I've said, Leaf Storm is used to just destroy stuff, and Giga Drain is a fantastic main STAB, its health draining effect helping to prolong Exeggutor's life by a very noticeable amount. Psyshock is an alternative STAB and is great for mauling Special Walls, such as Lickilicky and Regice, that think they can sponge the attacks. I am, however, considering swapping it out for Psychic, for the little extra power. Hidden Power Ground on Exeggutor is the best thing ever, almost exclusively because it nails Skuntank who is easily Exeggutor's #1 switch in. Most Skuntanks will switch in regardless as they think there's nothing to damage them, so it almost always works. Aside from that, it's great for OHKOing steels such as Metang who I'd otherwise have to wear down with my other guys.
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Previous Sets
As I mentioned in the Team Building section the last change to the team that brought on Gardevoir and Electabuzz only managed to get me an extra 3 places higher on the ladder, so I'm not sure if they actually benefit the team at all. To that extent, I've included the previous Rotom-S and Musharna set that I used in place of Electabuzz and Gardevoir respectively. I've not included descriptions since they pretty much fulfil the exact same role as their counterparts.
No snazzy formatting either, sorreh!
Inception (Musharna) @ Light Clay
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
Buzzin' (Electabuzz) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SAtk / 208 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Conclusion
This team has been my most successful NU Team ever, peaking, as I've said, 55th with a rating of 1782, and it's been only one place away from becoming by most successful team in any tier, ever! More than that though, it's been really great fun to ladder with, the surprise and power that the team can put out is fantastic. It's also been quite a fun intellectual challenge to get so high since often what I need to sweep is one bit of awesome prediction, like a double switch or something like that. I do wish I had some example battles to show you all, but sadly, they all got deleted accidentally, so sorry about that.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this RMT and I hope you like the team and finally, I hope you have some good constructive criticism for me!
Thanks again!
Ninjas
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The Importable
Code:
[LEFT]The Ninja (Samurott) @ Leftovers
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 172 HP / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Megahorn
- Superpower[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Britney Spears (Zangoose) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Toxic Boost
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Facade
- Night Slash[/LEFT]
[LEFT]SexyAndIKnowIt (Gardevoir) @ Light Clay
Trait: Trace
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Sylvestre (Regirock) @ Leftovers
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 52 Def / 252 HP / 204 SDef
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge[/LEFT]
[LEFT]Buzzin' (Electabuzz) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 SAtk / 208 Spd / 48 HP
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ice][/LEFT]
[LEFT]Omelette (Exeggutor) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 216 Spd / 252 SAtk / 40 HP
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground][/LEFT]
