Haven't written a RMT in forever, but I'm enjoying the latest Battle Spot special format so much I figured I'd post what I've been using and give the format a little exposure! I believe OMs had their own Level 1 Cup a while ago so some thoughts from people who played that would be great, and maybe I could convince some LC players to give it a try since it's the closest we've got to something like that to play on the 3DS.
The rules are pretty simple; only Pokemon that are legally obtainable at level 1 can participate, and they obviously need to be level 1. The other standard Battle Spot rules apply ie: bring-6-pick-3 singles, species and item clauses. This makes the metagame a really fun mix of little baby Pokemon and big "grown" Pokemon, and pretty much all of them are viable due to everything basically having the same stats at level 1 (13 HP, 5-8 everything else). Immediate threats include Cincinno + Cloyster (Skill Link is broken due to damage rolls at level 1), Torkoal (Shell Smash + insane natural bulk + Sun + Berry Juice + Eruption), Shuckle + Smeargle (low base stats mean nothing in this, so they boost and sweep), Mimikyu (Disguise is amazing in this hyper-offence meta) Scizor + Gyarados + Mega Kangaskhan (viable mixed attackers), and Mega Mawile + Meditite (Huge/Pure Power provides a MASSIVE damage increase).
The team I'm featuring is the result of me mixing the elements I liked from the teams I had built previously, so the teambuilding process doesn't really make much sense without first describing those teams.
So when the format went live a couple weeks ago I had plenty of ideas for what I wanted to build around. The first team was super basic; I knew Mega Mawile + Clamperl would be offensive monsters and could easily sweep teams with some speed control, and Webs Shuckle was no longer a liability as it could become a threat on its own, so they were the main core. Theorymon mentioned on Discord that he had lost to a Simple Numel which sounded super neat to me as a fan of Flame Charge + Swords Dance Charizard X in BSS. Even though I had Mega Mawile I was still afraid of Cincinno and Mimikyu, so I added Furfrou as Fur Coat made it one of the few actually bulky options available. At this point Whimsicott looked really interesting as it's in the top speed tier (8), completes a FWG backbone for the team, can be the Z move user with Z Memento to heal back Sturdy Shuckle or give Mawile a second sweep, and give Tailwind support for my main damage dealers.
I really like this team and still use it, the weak link maybe being Furfrou, but I'm not sure what I would swap it for. Numel is an absolute beast, and I really like this Whimsicott set.
I really like this team and still use it, the weak link maybe being Furfrou, but I'm not sure what I would swap it for. Numel is an absolute beast, and I really like this Whimsicott set.
I noticed a lot of teams using Torkoal + Exeggutor so I wanted to try that myself but liked the speed advantage Whimsicott had, enabling it to win the mirror, as well as revenge kill things like Shell Smash Cloyster without speed tying. I really wanted to use Sigilyph as well, I figured it would need speed control so that you could Cosmic Power before getting hit, so I added Rock Tomb Mega Kangaskhan which also benefits from boosted Flamethrower in sun. I also wanted to try Unburden Hawlucha as it had a really good speed tier itself. Then I felt like I needed a Steel-type, or just a general sweep-stopper that can apply pressure itself. I tossed between Z move Mimikyu and boosting Magnemite but ended up liking Magnemite's cheese potential more. This means the team does not have a Z move user. It also has Scarf Torkoal as I liked the immediate damage it was able to do, but this was before we realised how disgustingly broken Shell Smash Torkoal actually was.
This team was really hit and miss, it either won very easily or lost super hard. I think it's just too many ideas being crammed into one team, instead of it focusing on one of them and being efficient at that one thing. Sigilyph was the biggest letdown. Magnemite is awesome.
This team was really hit and miss, it either won very easily or lost super hard. I think it's just too many ideas being crammed into one team, instead of it focusing on one of them and being efficient at that one thing. Sigilyph was the biggest letdown. Magnemite is awesome.
At this point I really wanted to build a team around Gyarados and make it a QR for people to use, as level 1 Gyara is difficult to obtain but I had access to one. Pairing it with Alolan Ninetales in BSS is one of the oldest cores so I went that route here, and in the same fashion as people like Solerme with these teams I added 4 more sweepers that like veil. I wanted a Grass-type and remembered running into someone using Z-Trick-or-Treat Gourgeist on the ladder which I thought was cool. Iron Defence + Calm Mind Klefki with Recycle + Berry Juice was the Steel I went with even though I really wanted to use Magnemite again, but hail breaks Sturdy so that wasn't going to work. Klefki was pretty fun to use but it got overwhelmed by all the Fire-type spam. Alolan Sandslash was hot garbage lol.
I liked the synergy of the FWG core, especially because they can switch in and pose a threat with the ability to set up.
I liked the synergy of the FWG core, especially because they can switch in and pose a threat with the ability to set up.
~ ~ ~
BUILDING THE FINAL TEAM
BUILDING THE FINAL TEAM
While the hail offence team didn't work out, I felt I had the right idea with the FWG core at least. The first team felt particularly successful due to Whimsicott's support, so I felt the first change was to swap that in over Ninetales.
Since I wasn't using Ninetales anymore I could now use my patented Magnemite set without Sturdy being broken by the weather, as well as replenish it with Z Memento.
From the original hail team I still had Klefki on it, but that wasn't pulling its weight on the DS ladder nearly as much as it was on PS, there was just WAY too many Arcanine, Rotom-H, and Mega Mawile. I lost a game pretty handily to a dude running Torkoal with Shell Smash, Eruption, Substitute, and Yawn, and started worshipping him as a teambuilding deity. Berry Juice on SS Koal was standard, but using Sub as a way to trigger its activation safely when sitting anywhere between 50-99% and get back to full was really clever. Yawn seemed cute for punishing switches but more often than not people just sack things to Torkoal to get their revenge killer in safely, so I opted for a secondary STAB.
With that I had a pretty funky looking squad with double grass + double fire, but on paper it could match up vs all the threats I could think of so I hit the ladder with it and ended up breaking 1700 on the 3DS ladder without really breaking a sweat, good enough for 46th in the world at the time of posting this.
~ ~ ~
THE TEAM
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite | Intimidate
Serious | 76 Atk / 44 Def / 196 SpA / 28 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 8 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 7 Spe
- Waterfall
- Earthquake / Iron Head
- Dragon Dance
- Thunderbolt
I'm not gonna lie, Mega Gyara isn't actually that good in this format. Like I mentioned earlier, pretty much everything has the same stat spread. There are several viable Water-types you might use over it, like Moody Remoraid, Belly Drum Marill, Shell Smash Tirtouga, or even the King; Cloyster! However, Intimidate is fantastic pre-Mega for setting up Dragon Dance, and Mold Breaker is even better for OHKOing through Sturdy, getting damage through Mimikyu's Disguise, or knocking out a Rotom-W with Earthquake. Thunderbolt also gives it a great way to break through opposing Water-types. It just feels a little weak after a Dragon Dance, I mostly use it for the speed advantage at this stage, which is still really good.
I had Iron Head originally to beat Mimikyu at +1, however this allowed Torkoal to actually check Gyara as +1 Waterfall in Sun does only 6 HP damage (46%), so I swapped it for EQ which KOes 81% of the time, as well as beating Rotom-W.
Numel @ Eviolite | Simple
Hardy | 196 HP / 160 SpA
Stats: 13 HP / 6 Atk / 6 Def / 7 SpA / 6 SpD / 6 Spe
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
- Flame Charge
- Growth
This may have started as a "Gyarados Team" but I think this guy has taken the throne. Eviolite makes this thing incredibly bulky, and Simple makes it a potent set up sweeper. Often this thing just comes in to claim a kill with Flame Charge after something like Gyara or Gourgeist have weakened something before dying, then goes on to win the game.
I had Flamethrower for a long time but almost never clicked it. The only time it was useful was against a Magnemite that I ended up burning to break its Sturdy. Rotom-W is really annoying so damage on that is nice.
Gourgeist-Super @ Ghostium Z | Frisk
Quirky | 212 SpA / 244 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 7 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 6 SpD / 7 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Flame Charge
- Trick-or-Treat
This is a fun mon to use. It's relatively low in usage, and Grass-types are uncommon as-is, so not many people are prepared for it to sweep them. Using the Z to boost or nuke something is nice as well. Being able to switch in on Spore Smeargle and take Extreme Speed, or even Cincinno's Tail Slap, is really valuable.
Flamethrower is an option over Flame Charge but the ability to gain speed in this format is too valuable to pass up.
Torkoal @ Berry Juice | Drought
Calm | 116 HP / 116 SpD / 116 Spe | 0 Atk
Stats: 13 HP / 5 Atk / 8 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 6 Spe
- Eruption
- Shell Smash
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Primal Groudon wakes up every morning and wishes it could be as good as this in Ubers. Almost nothing is able to knock this out in one hit, allowing it to heal back to full while it boosts and spams +2 max power Eruption in sun. Oh you chipped it to weaken Eruption so you can tank the +2 and KO the next turn? Substitute invalidates that plan.
You can use a bunch of stuff over Flamethrower; Yawn, Earth Power, and Solar Beam are really good. I've also wanted to try Flail, however it only reaches 150BP at 1HP which is a little disappointing.
Whimsicott @ Darkinium Z | Prankster
Bashful | 196 HP / 60 SpA / 76 SpD / 148 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 7 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 8 Spe
- Moonblast
- Memento
- Tailwind
- U-turn
Not much to say about this except that it's just super reliable. Being able to heal Magnemite to give it Sturdy back, or get Torkoal back to 100% for Eruption (with Tailwind support) is so good. Moonblast does really solid damage, especially against annoying things like Mega Sableye and Meditite. U-turn is mostly for grabbing momentum, as well as breaking Mimikyu's Disguise or chipping Sturdy Berry users like Magnemite, Shuckle, Tirtouga, Togedemaru, Steelix, and Skarmory.
An offensive Chlorophyll set with Life Orb could also probably be viable on this team, but Prankster Z Memento is too nice.
Magnemite @ Oran Berry | Sturdy
Bold | 116 Def / 236 SpD | 0 Atk
Stats: 11 HP / 4 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 6 Spe
- Recycle
- Thunder Wave
- Double Team
- Charge Beam
This thing is literally my favourite set. Thunder Wave as they knock you into berry range and back to full, spam Recycle until they're fully paralysed and you're back to full with a berry pocketed away, then click Double Team and keep replenishing your berry when needed. The only way to beat this is to fire off a weak move into Sturdy, then finish off with a move strong enough to get the kill without activating the berry and sending it back to full (or use Knock Off, but you can usually predict those with a switch to Whimsicott or Gyarados). Otherwise this Magnemite sits on the field forever.
I have considered using Flash Cannon so I'm not totally walled by Ground-types but those are dealt with by Gyara and Gourgeist anyway. I considered using no EVs without lowering attack, to make it frail and take more damage from Foul Play and confusion recoil, meaning you activate the berry more often, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.
~ ~ ~
THE TEAM
Gyarados @ Gyaradosite | Intimidate
Serious | 76 Atk / 44 Def / 196 SpA / 28 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 8 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 7 Spe
- Waterfall
- Earthquake / Iron Head
- Dragon Dance
- Thunderbolt
I'm not gonna lie, Mega Gyara isn't actually that good in this format. Like I mentioned earlier, pretty much everything has the same stat spread. There are several viable Water-types you might use over it, like Moody Remoraid, Belly Drum Marill, Shell Smash Tirtouga, or even the King; Cloyster! However, Intimidate is fantastic pre-Mega for setting up Dragon Dance, and Mold Breaker is even better for OHKOing through Sturdy, getting damage through Mimikyu's Disguise, or knocking out a Rotom-W with Earthquake. Thunderbolt also gives it a great way to break through opposing Water-types. It just feels a little weak after a Dragon Dance, I mostly use it for the speed advantage at this stage, which is still really good.
I had Iron Head originally to beat Mimikyu at +1, however this allowed Torkoal to actually check Gyara as +1 Waterfall in Sun does only 6 HP damage (46%), so I swapped it for EQ which KOes 81% of the time, as well as beating Rotom-W.
Numel @ Eviolite | Simple
Hardy | 196 HP / 160 SpA
Stats: 13 HP / 6 Atk / 6 Def / 7 SpA / 6 SpD / 6 Spe
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower
- Flame Charge
- Growth
This may have started as a "Gyarados Team" but I think this guy has taken the throne. Eviolite makes this thing incredibly bulky, and Simple makes it a potent set up sweeper. Often this thing just comes in to claim a kill with Flame Charge after something like Gyara or Gourgeist have weakened something before dying, then goes on to win the game.
I had Flamethrower for a long time but almost never clicked it. The only time it was useful was against a Magnemite that I ended up burning to break its Sturdy. Rotom-W is really annoying so damage on that is nice.
Gourgeist-Super @ Ghostium Z | Frisk
Quirky | 212 SpA / 244 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 7 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 6 SpD / 7 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Flame Charge
- Trick-or-Treat
This is a fun mon to use. It's relatively low in usage, and Grass-types are uncommon as-is, so not many people are prepared for it to sweep them. Using the Z to boost or nuke something is nice as well. Being able to switch in on Spore Smeargle and take Extreme Speed, or even Cincinno's Tail Slap, is really valuable.
Flamethrower is an option over Flame Charge but the ability to gain speed in this format is too valuable to pass up.
Torkoal @ Berry Juice | Drought
Calm | 116 HP / 116 SpD / 116 Spe | 0 Atk
Stats: 13 HP / 5 Atk / 8 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 6 Spe
- Eruption
- Shell Smash
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Primal Groudon wakes up every morning and wishes it could be as good as this in Ubers. Almost nothing is able to knock this out in one hit, allowing it to heal back to full while it boosts and spams +2 max power Eruption in sun. Oh you chipped it to weaken Eruption so you can tank the +2 and KO the next turn? Substitute invalidates that plan.
You can use a bunch of stuff over Flamethrower; Yawn, Earth Power, and Solar Beam are really good. I've also wanted to try Flail, however it only reaches 150BP at 1HP which is a little disappointing.
Whimsicott @ Darkinium Z | Prankster
Bashful | 196 HP / 60 SpA / 76 SpD / 148 Spe
Stats: 13 HP / 7 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 8 Spe
- Moonblast
- Memento
- Tailwind
- U-turn
Not much to say about this except that it's just super reliable. Being able to heal Magnemite to give it Sturdy back, or get Torkoal back to 100% for Eruption (with Tailwind support) is so good. Moonblast does really solid damage, especially against annoying things like Mega Sableye and Meditite. U-turn is mostly for grabbing momentum, as well as breaking Mimikyu's Disguise or chipping Sturdy Berry users like Magnemite, Shuckle, Tirtouga, Togedemaru, Steelix, and Skarmory.
An offensive Chlorophyll set with Life Orb could also probably be viable on this team, but Prankster Z Memento is too nice.
Magnemite @ Oran Berry | Sturdy
Bold | 116 Def / 236 SpD | 0 Atk
Stats: 11 HP / 4 Atk / 7 Def / 7 SpA / 7 SpD / 6 Spe
- Recycle
- Thunder Wave
- Double Team
- Charge Beam
This thing is literally my favourite set. Thunder Wave as they knock you into berry range and back to full, spam Recycle until they're fully paralysed and you're back to full with a berry pocketed away, then click Double Team and keep replenishing your berry when needed. The only way to beat this is to fire off a weak move into Sturdy, then finish off with a move strong enough to get the kill without activating the berry and sending it back to full (or use Knock Off, but you can usually predict those with a switch to Whimsicott or Gyarados). Otherwise this Magnemite sits on the field forever.
I have considered using Flash Cannon so I'm not totally walled by Ground-types but those are dealt with by Gyara and Gourgeist anyway. I considered using no EVs without lowering attack, to make it frail and take more damage from Foul Play and confusion recoil, meaning you activate the berry more often, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.
~ ~ ~
THREATLIST:
Basically forces me into bringing Gourgeist which can be tough when the opponent has a bunch of Fire-types.
Not a threat on its own, but it usually annoys something with Curse / Thunder Wave stuff or just ends a sweep with Disguise up.
Mud Shot is starting to become much more common, meaning Magnemite can't check it effectively. It also has coverage for the rest of the team. Gyara can deal with it but gets severely weakened in the process.
Can beat everything with the right coverage. Also annoys Magnemite a lot.
This thing just has way too many sets to be able to check them all. The worst is Shell Smash / Quiver Dance + Moongeist Beam as that beats Gourgeist which is the dedicated check otherwise. Whimsicott doesn't do much except Tailwind/Memento Support so it's not that great outside taking Spore.
Been running into a few of these with Toxic which annoys me every time I switch Numel into it, or its Scarf and wins the speed tie against boosted Gyara.
Has amazing coverage in this, especially with Vacuum Wave being able to pick off Gyarados.Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 1
EVs: 76 Atk / 44 Def / 196 SpA / 28 Spe
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Thunderbolt
Numel @ Eviolite
Ability: Simple
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 HP / 160 SpA
Hardy Nature
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Flame Charge
- Growth
Gourgeist-Super @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Frisk
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 SpA / 244 Spe
Quirky Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Flame Charge
- Trick-or-Treat
Torkoal @ Berry Juice
Ability: Drought
Level: 1
EVs: 116 HP / 116 SpD / 116 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Shell Smash
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Whimsicott @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Prankster
Level: 1
EVs: 196 HP / 60 SpA / 76 SpD / 148 Spe
Bashful Nature
- Moonblast
- Memento
- Tailwind
- U-turn
Magnemite @ Oran Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recycle
- Thunder Wave
- Double Team
- Charge Beam
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 1
EVs: 76 Atk / 44 Def / 196 SpA / 28 Spe
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Thunderbolt
Numel @ Eviolite
Ability: Simple
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 HP / 160 SpA
Hardy Nature
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Flame Charge
- Growth
Gourgeist-Super @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Frisk
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 SpA / 244 Spe
Quirky Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Flame Charge
- Trick-or-Treat
Torkoal @ Berry Juice
Ability: Drought
Level: 1
EVs: 116 HP / 116 SpD / 116 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Shell Smash
- Flamethrower
- Substitute
Whimsicott @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Prankster
Level: 1
EVs: 196 HP / 60 SpA / 76 SpD / 148 Spe
Bashful Nature
- Moonblast
- Memento
- Tailwind
- U-turn
Magnemite @ Oran Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recycle
- Thunder Wave
- Double Team
- Charge Beam
I've been streaming the hell out of this on my Twitch so if you're interested in seeing how it all works then check that out :)
(most recent stream)
Thanks for reading! I hope some of you decide to give the format a try, all my QR codes are available on my PGL page if you don't like this team: https://3ds.pokemon-gl.com/user/M-102-9974-B/rentalteam
