Hello everyone. After some play on showdown figuring out the current early SS Meta, here's my attempt at building a team.
The first objective was to try out some of the newest pokemons, so I've started building a defensive core around 8G mons I like a lot : Corviknight and Hatterene.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Skarmory's typing along with its strong anti-stall ability in Pressure and more balanced bulk makes Corviknight a solid defogger and pivot with his slow U-turn. Given how physical-heavy the meta is right now, with threats like Hawlucha, Excadrill, Galarian Darmanitan and Barraskewda, I went for a physically defensive spread on EVs. I passed on the bulk-up set here, as I don't use Corvi as a win condition, but mostly as a defensive Pivot and a entry hazard cleaner. Body Press is also a solid alternative to Brave Bird as I'm not using Bulk Up and it's a solid move to deal with G-Darmanitan and Excadrill without using boosts to increase Corviknight's power. I also skipped Taunt here because of the second part of my defensive core, Hatterene, hallowing me to maximize bulk at the cost of speed.
Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Mystical Fire
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
Given how many Ferros and Pexs we see as an answer to common offensive threats, Hatterene comes in as a glorious counter to those, and a good stallbreaker in general. You can abuse pivoting Hatterene in and out on Will-o-Wisp users like G-Corsola or Rotom (but must be careful about potential trick sets however), steal recovery from G-Corsola's Strength Sap and, of course, reflect entry hazards from the most common stall pokémons.
The given spread is enough to 2HKO 252 Def versions of Toxapex with Psychic (and OHKO at +1 with Stealth rock), and OHKO 252 Def versions of Ferrothorn at +1 with Mystical Fire while taking little damage from Gyro Ball, due to her slow speed. Her physical defense allows her to take some hits but lack of recovery makes her a bad choice for a raw switch into offensive threats, even though her typing can help her pivoting into fighting moves easily.
This core has a great typing synergy but lacks some things : a serious way to deal with ghost, water and fire moves we can often face. Here's my best bet for the Ghost issue (my Dragapult check) :
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
I've always been a fan of defensive sets on Tyranitar even though they're less popular than offensives ones. The loss of pursuit makes it less threatening, but it's still a solid pokemon that hits hard with little investment, and has the bulk to check a lot of offensives threat. This set handles Dragapult perfectly, resisting all ghost moves and being able to easily trap cocky Phantom Forces with a garanteed OHKO with Crunch, while being able to face 3 Dragon Darts at +0 and 2 at +1. Special sets are even easier to handle with the EV spread and sandstorm bonus.
I went for Chople berry on this one. Might be a bit gimmicky, but it can help checking Ghost and Dark pokemons running Focus Blast (Hydreigon or Gengar to a lesser extent) or even some physical threats running fighting coverage (allows to take one Close Combat from Barraskewda at +0 and kill it with Stone Edge). Its typing also makes it a good friend for soaking fire-type attacks, and its natural physical bulk makes it a potential check for G-Darmanitan (78.4 - 92.3% Earthquake with Gorilla Tactics + Band, while Ttar has a guaranteed OHKO in Stone Edge or Superpower).
EDIT: Currently considering Defense EVs right now, as Ttar's natural SpD under sand seems more than enough to handle special sets of Dragapult and does fine with Focus Blasts as well. Might even consider an attack investment actually. What do you think ?
The Tyranitar choice obviously makes me wanna run a sandstorm sweeper, but first i'll finish up my defensive core with a safe bet : Ferrothorn.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Not a lot to say on this hyper-classic set, with full defense spread to take care of the most common physical threats in this early meta. Kinda checks Barra and Water attacks in general. Barbs + Helmet is a solid combo that punishes U-turns from Corviknights or G-Darmanitans. Leech Seed is always annoying and can give some form of recovery to Hatterene and Ttar, and Spikes (as I'm running SR on Ttar) helps setting up a threatening entry-hazard wall while controlling my own side of the field with Hatterene. Keeping Hatterene alive becomes a key in the stalling game here, as having to Defog with both a SR and Spikes user in my team is kinda counterintuitive.
Note : In the early process of making this team, I've considered running Appletun, which has more reliable recovery and solid resistances with Thick Fat, but with the way T-tar handles fire moves and how G-Daramanitan would wreck my team without a healthy Corviknight, I think Ferro is a better option.
We're done with the defensive core, let's hop into our offensives mons now. First, my Sandstorm sweeper !
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
Sandstorm support from Ttar is all it takes to make Excadrill threatening in the late game with its high base attack of 135, backed up with the bonus base power and bulk Dynamax gives him, allowing him to soak up super effective damage in later 1v1s.
The set on its own is super basic, double STAB along with rock coverage and Swords Dance makes it a solid sweeper. I find excadrill to have a great dynamaxing potential because of Max Rockfall allowing him to set up his own sandstorm if it fades during the last turns of Dynamax.
Boltund @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Fang
- Volt Switch
- Fire Fang
- Crunch
Given how Excadrill can have a trouble OHKOing a boots Gyarados (95% at +0, and hard time checking weakened ones because of Max Geyser removing sandstorm) and how some bulky water types can be a pain to deal with, I find Boltund to be a solid revenge killer and addition to my offense. The mon on its own is not insanely strong, but its solid speed backed up with Scarf can easily deal with Gyarados, even at +1. Access to several bite moves gives it pretty good coverage in Fire Fang and Crunch. I also find ground-types to be less common in this gen (for now), making Volt Switch a safe pivot move to regain momentum on switches.
I'm kind of wondering what I'm looking for more with this mon however : revenge kill +1 Gyarados with scarf, or hit Rotom-W harder with Band. Band Thunder fang with Adamant is a guaranteed 2HKO on 252 Def Rotom-W, while Scarf sets 3HKOs it no matter what nature i'm running. Anyway, optimizing damage seems a loss given how easily it is for Rotoms to simply take the damage and Will-o-Wisp, rendering Boltund useless. My best bet is to weaken it and finish it with Dynamax Rock Slide on Excadrill.
Here it is ! Thank you for the advice you can give me. Currently the biggest threats to my team are (as I said) bulky water types that can handle Excadrill STABs (Rotom-W). Hawlucha is also kinda hard to deal with, even though I didnt had enough matches against those for now.
The first objective was to try out some of the newest pokemons, so I've started building a defensive core around 8G mons I like a lot : Corviknight and Hatterene.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog
- Roost
Skarmory's typing along with its strong anti-stall ability in Pressure and more balanced bulk makes Corviknight a solid defogger and pivot with his slow U-turn. Given how physical-heavy the meta is right now, with threats like Hawlucha, Excadrill, Galarian Darmanitan and Barraskewda, I went for a physically defensive spread on EVs. I passed on the bulk-up set here, as I don't use Corvi as a win condition, but mostly as a defensive Pivot and a entry hazard cleaner. Body Press is also a solid alternative to Brave Bird as I'm not using Bulk Up and it's a solid move to deal with G-Darmanitan and Excadrill without using boosts to increase Corviknight's power. I also skipped Taunt here because of the second part of my defensive core, Hatterene, hallowing me to maximize bulk at the cost of speed.
Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Mystical Fire
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind
Given how many Ferros and Pexs we see as an answer to common offensive threats, Hatterene comes in as a glorious counter to those, and a good stallbreaker in general. You can abuse pivoting Hatterene in and out on Will-o-Wisp users like G-Corsola or Rotom (but must be careful about potential trick sets however), steal recovery from G-Corsola's Strength Sap and, of course, reflect entry hazards from the most common stall pokémons.
The given spread is enough to 2HKO 252 Def versions of Toxapex with Psychic (and OHKO at +1 with Stealth rock), and OHKO 252 Def versions of Ferrothorn at +1 with Mystical Fire while taking little damage from Gyro Ball, due to her slow speed. Her physical defense allows her to take some hits but lack of recovery makes her a bad choice for a raw switch into offensive threats, even though her typing can help her pivoting into fighting moves easily.
This core has a great typing synergy but lacks some things : a serious way to deal with ghost, water and fire moves we can often face. Here's my best bet for the Ghost issue (my Dragapult check) :
Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
I've always been a fan of defensive sets on Tyranitar even though they're less popular than offensives ones. The loss of pursuit makes it less threatening, but it's still a solid pokemon that hits hard with little investment, and has the bulk to check a lot of offensives threat. This set handles Dragapult perfectly, resisting all ghost moves and being able to easily trap cocky Phantom Forces with a garanteed OHKO with Crunch, while being able to face 3 Dragon Darts at +0 and 2 at +1. Special sets are even easier to handle with the EV spread and sandstorm bonus.
I went for Chople berry on this one. Might be a bit gimmicky, but it can help checking Ghost and Dark pokemons running Focus Blast (Hydreigon or Gengar to a lesser extent) or even some physical threats running fighting coverage (allows to take one Close Combat from Barraskewda at +0 and kill it with Stone Edge). Its typing also makes it a good friend for soaking fire-type attacks, and its natural physical bulk makes it a potential check for G-Darmanitan (78.4 - 92.3% Earthquake with Gorilla Tactics + Band, while Ttar has a guaranteed OHKO in Stone Edge or Superpower).
EDIT: Currently considering Defense EVs right now, as Ttar's natural SpD under sand seems more than enough to handle special sets of Dragapult and does fine with Focus Blasts as well. Might even consider an attack investment actually. What do you think ?
The Tyranitar choice obviously makes me wanna run a sandstorm sweeper, but first i'll finish up my defensive core with a safe bet : Ferrothorn.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
Not a lot to say on this hyper-classic set, with full defense spread to take care of the most common physical threats in this early meta. Kinda checks Barra and Water attacks in general. Barbs + Helmet is a solid combo that punishes U-turns from Corviknights or G-Darmanitans. Leech Seed is always annoying and can give some form of recovery to Hatterene and Ttar, and Spikes (as I'm running SR on Ttar) helps setting up a threatening entry-hazard wall while controlling my own side of the field with Hatterene. Keeping Hatterene alive becomes a key in the stalling game here, as having to Defog with both a SR and Spikes user in my team is kinda counterintuitive.
Note : In the early process of making this team, I've considered running Appletun, which has more reliable recovery and solid resistances with Thick Fat, but with the way T-tar handles fire moves and how G-Daramanitan would wreck my team without a healthy Corviknight, I think Ferro is a better option.
We're done with the defensive core, let's hop into our offensives mons now. First, my Sandstorm sweeper !
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
Sandstorm support from Ttar is all it takes to make Excadrill threatening in the late game with its high base attack of 135, backed up with the bonus base power and bulk Dynamax gives him, allowing him to soak up super effective damage in later 1v1s.
The set on its own is super basic, double STAB along with rock coverage and Swords Dance makes it a solid sweeper. I find excadrill to have a great dynamaxing potential because of Max Rockfall allowing him to set up his own sandstorm if it fades during the last turns of Dynamax.
Boltund @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Fang
- Volt Switch
- Fire Fang
- Crunch
Given how Excadrill can have a trouble OHKOing a boots Gyarados (95% at +0, and hard time checking weakened ones because of Max Geyser removing sandstorm) and how some bulky water types can be a pain to deal with, I find Boltund to be a solid revenge killer and addition to my offense. The mon on its own is not insanely strong, but its solid speed backed up with Scarf can easily deal with Gyarados, even at +1. Access to several bite moves gives it pretty good coverage in Fire Fang and Crunch. I also find ground-types to be less common in this gen (for now), making Volt Switch a safe pivot move to regain momentum on switches.
I'm kind of wondering what I'm looking for more with this mon however : revenge kill +1 Gyarados with scarf, or hit Rotom-W harder with Band. Band Thunder fang with Adamant is a guaranteed 2HKO on 252 Def Rotom-W, while Scarf sets 3HKOs it no matter what nature i'm running. Anyway, optimizing damage seems a loss given how easily it is for Rotoms to simply take the damage and Will-o-Wisp, rendering Boltund useless. My best bet is to weaken it and finish it with Dynamax Rock Slide on Excadrill.
Here it is ! Thank you for the advice you can give me. Currently the biggest threats to my team are (as I said) bulky water types that can handle Excadrill STABs (Rotom-W). Hawlucha is also kinda hard to deal with, even though I didnt had enough matches against those for now.
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