Resource CAP Little Cup Hub

[MrDollSteak]

CAP Little Cup Hub
Approved by snake_rattler

*artwork still to come*

Welcome to the metagame resource and discussion thread for CAP Little Cup! Following the efforts by the community at large to update the movepools for all of the CAP Pre-Evolutions, it is a fitting time to revive a CAP Little Cup format for Gen 8.

CAP Little Cup (CAP LC or Little CAP for short) follows the standard ruleset and banlist of the existing Little Cup metagame with the addition of the completed Stage 1 Pre-Evolutions of existing CAP Pokemon from Generations 4 to 8. Please use this thread to discuss anything related to CAP LC, including the viability rankings, sample teams, and general metagame observations, or even to ask questions about the metagame.

Banlist and Format Rules

Clauses:
All standard LC clauses apply.
Necturna Clause: Necturine is restricted to one move learned by Sketch.
The Necturna Clause is still in effect in SS because although Necturine cannot use Sketch in this generation, nor can it use Sketch to learn any moves introduced in SS, it can still use Sketch to learn moves in previous generations and then get transferred to this generation.

Banlist:
Players cannot use the following Pokémon:

• Cawdet
• Cherubi (No legal ability)
• Corsola-Galar
• Cutiefly
• Drifloon
• Gastly
• Gothita
• Rufflet
• Scraggy
• Scyther
• Sneasel
• Swirlix
• Tangela
• Vullaby
• Vulpix-Alola
• Woobat
• Zigzagoon

Players cannot use the following moves:

• Baton Pass
• Sticky Web

Players may not use the following abilities:

• Chlorophyll
• Moody

Eligible CAP Pre-Evolutions

You may use the following command on Pokemon Showdown to bring up a list of eligible CAP Pre-Evolutions that can be used in the metagame.

/ds cap lc: Brattler, Breezi, Cupra, Dorsoil, Embirch, Fawnifer, Floatoy, Justyke, Miasmite, Monohm, Mumbao, Necturine, Nohface, Pluffle, Privatyke, Protowatt, Rebble, Scratchet, Smogecko, Snugglow, Solotl, Swirlpool, Syclar, Volkritter, Voodoll

General rules we expect for those posting in this thread are as follows:

• Posts are to adhere to CAP and Smogon rules. Use common sense for what is and is not acceptable.
• Be respectful to other users. That means no ad hominem arguments or anything else attacking character.
• Back up all your arguments with evidence where possible. Calculations and relevant replays do wonders for supporting nominations.
• Lastly, keep your reasoning and discussion to the CAP LC Metagame. Discussions related to flavour are to be contained to the appropriate threads in the CAP Pre-Evolution Workshop subforum.
• Official decisions about the format will be made by the CAP LC Metagame Council listed below.

CAP LC Metagame Council

MrDollSteak
DHR-107
snake_rattler
Joltage
Brambane
Zephyri

Preliminary Resources:

Viability Rankings
Sample Teams
Speed Tiers
Set Compendium

For more information about "Little CAP" you can join our discord server!

 

[MrDollSteak]

CAP Little Cup Preliminary Viability Rankings

Welcome to the preliminary Viability Rankings for CAP Little Cup Viability Rankings! This post aims to try and accurately represent the current state of the CAP Little Cup metagame by ranking every single usable Pokemon based on their positive and negative traits. All Pokemon are ranked by alphabetical order. Please keep in mind that the viability rankings are only for reference, they should not be treated as a fact or anything more. Once the metagame has time to develop further standard + and - subranks will be added.


S Rank: Reserved for Pokemon who shape and define the CAP Little Cup metagame and are a clear-cut above the rest. These Pokemon are typically very powerful offensive threats that are difficult to prepare for or are phenomenal support and defensive threats that provide significant utility or defensive potential, respectively. Also the home of Pokemon who can easily perform multiple roles effectively, increasing their versatility and unpredictability. If the Pokemon in this rank have any flaws, those flaws are thoroughly mitigated by their substantial strengths.

S Rank
Solotl

A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are fantastic in the CAP Little Cup metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Pokemon require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be overlooked when compared to their positive traits.

A Rank
Abra
Diglett
Dorsoil
Embirch
Ferroseed
Foongus
Frillish
Koffing
Magnemite
Mareanie
Mienfoo
Mumbao
Pawniard
Pluffle
Ponyta
Ponyta-Galar
Porygon
Privatyke
Scratchet
Snugglow
Staryu
Syclar
Timburr

B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are good in the CAP Little Cup metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the metagame. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential. Their niches are often smaller than those that are in A and S rank, which leads them to face some competition for a teamslot.

B Rank
Breezi
Charmander
Croagunk
Dwebble
Grookey
Justyke
Larvesta
Magby
Mudbray
Munchlax
Natu
Necturine
Nohface
Onix
Rebble
Slowpoke
Smogecko
Spritzee
Trapinch
Volkritter
Vulpix
Wingull

C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have notable niches in the CAP Little Cup metagame, but have just as many notable flaws that prevent them from being effective. Pokemon in the C tier often require significant support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon.

C Rank
Amaura
Archen
Bunnelby
Cottonee
Cupra
Drilbur
:Farfetch Farfetch'd-Galar
Meowth
Miasmite
Sandshrew-Alola
Shellder
Swirlpool
Tyrunt
Voodoll

 

[MrDollSteak]

CAP LC Sample Teams

Rebble Balance
By Joltage

Grookey Balance
By Zephyri

Hyper Offense
By Brambane

Rain Offense
By Brambane

Solotl Offense
By Brambane

 

[MrDollSteak]

CAP LC Speed Tiers

Thank you to Roldski32 for compiling them.

High Boosted Speed Tier

Hide

| Speed | Pokemon          | Nature   | IVs | EVs | Boost |
|    38 | Solotl           | Positive | 31  | 244 | +2    |
|    36 | Breezi           | Positive | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    34 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    32 | Carvanha         | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    32 | Dwebble          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    30 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  |  76 | +2    |
|    30 | Diglett          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    30 | Dwebble          | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    30 | Necturine        | Positive | 31  | 188 | +2    |
|    28 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  |   0 | +2    |
|    28 | Dorsoil          | Neutral  | 31  |  76 | +2    |
|    28 | Necturine        | Neutral  | 31  | 188 | +2    |
|    28 | Omanyte          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    28 | Ponyta           | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    28 | Sandshrew-Alola  | Positive | 31  | 196 | +2    |
|    28 | Shellder         | Positive | 31  | 196 | +2    |
|    28 | Staryu           | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    27 | Rebble           | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    26 | Omanyte          | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +2    |
|    26 | Porygon          | Neutral  | 31  | 196 | +2    |
|    26 | Sandshrew-Alola  | Neutral  | 31  | 196 | +2    |
|    26 | Shellder         | Neutral  | 31  | 196 | +2    |

Boosted Speed Tier

Hide

| Speed | Pokemon          | Nature   | IVs | EVs | Boost |
|    25 | Charmander       | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    25 | Dorsoil          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    25 | Drilbur          | Positive | 31  | 212 | +1    |
|    25 | Mienfoo          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    25 | Mumbao           | Positive | 31  | 228 | +1    |
|    25 | Onix             | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    25 | Volkritter       | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    25 | Vulpix           | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    24 | Carvanha         | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    24 | Embirch          | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    24 | Farfetch'd-Galar | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    24 | Smogecko         | Positive | 31  | 228 | +1    |
|    22 | Cupra            | Positive | 31  | 244 | +1    |
|    22 | Magnemite        | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    22 | Miasmite         | Positive | 31  | 244 | +1    |
|    22 | Mudbray          | Positive | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    22 | Necturine        | Positive | 31  | 188 | +1    |
|    22 | Tyrunt           | Positive | 31  | 212 | +1    |
|    21 | Dorsoil          | Neutral  | 31  |  76 | +1    |
|    21 | Magnemite        | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    21 | Mudbray          | Neutral  | 31  | 236 | +1    |
|    22 | Necturine        | Neutral  | 31  | 188 | +1    |
|    21 | Porygon          | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    21 | Scratchet        | Positive | 31  | 196 | +1    |
|    21 | Tyrunt           | Neutral  | 31  | 212 | +1    |

High Unboosted Speed Tier and Middling Boosted Speed Tier

Hide

| Speed | Pokemon          | Nature   | IVs | EVs | Boost |
|    20 | Diglett          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    20 | Elekid           | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    20 | Justyke          | Neutral  | 31  |  36 | +2    |
|    19 | Abra             | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    19 | Magby            | Positive | 31  | 252 |  0    |
|    19 | Meowth           | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    19 | Ponyta           | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    19 | Ponyta-Galar     | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    19 | Solotl           | Positive | 31  | 244 |  0    |
|    19 | Staryu           | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    19 | Syclar           | Positive | 31  | 188 |  0    |
|    19 | Wingull          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    18 | Breezi           | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    18 | Meowth           | Neutral  | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    18 | Nohface          | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    18 | Rebble           | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    18 | Scratchet        | Neutral  | 31  | 116 | +1    |
|    17 | Archen           | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    17 | Cottonee         | Positive | 31  | 228 |  0    |
|    17 | Dorsoil          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    17 | Drilbur          | Positive | 31  | 212 |  0    |
|    17 | Grookey          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    17 | Mienfoo          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    17 | Mumbao           | Positive | 31  | 228 |  0    |
|    17 | Natu             | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Onix             | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Snugglow         | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Volkritter       | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Voodoll          | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    17 | Vulpix           | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    16 | Bunnelby         | Positive | 31  | 220 |  0    |
|    16 | Carvanha         | Neutral  | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    16 | Dwebble          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    16 | Embirch          | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    16 | Larvesta         | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    16 | Pawniard         | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    16 | Scratchet        | Neutral  | 31  |  36 | +1    |
|    16 | Smogecko         | Positive | 31  | 228 |  0    |

Middling to Slow Speed Tier

Hide

| Speed | Pokemon          | Nature   | IVs | EVs | Boost |
|    15 | Amaura           | Positive | 31  | 228 |  0    |
|    15 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  |  76 |  0    |
|    15 | Croagunk         | Positive | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    15 | Dwebble          | Neutral  | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    15 | Magnemite        | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    15 | Miasmite         | Positive | 31  | 244 |  0    |
|    15 | Necturine        | Positive | 31  | 188 |  0    |
|    15 | Scratchet        | Neutral  | 31  |   0 | +1    |
|    15 | Tyrunt           | Positive | 31  | 212 |  0    |
|    14 | Breezi           | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    14 | Dorsoil          | Neutral  | 31  |  76 |  0    |
|    14 | Koffing          | Positive | 31  | 236 |  0    |
|    14 | Necturine        | Neutral  | 31  | 188 |  0    |
|    13 | Cottonee         | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    13 | Sandshrew-Alola  | Neutral  | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    13 | Shellder         | Neutral  | 31  | 196 |  0    |
|    12 | Koffing          | Neutral  | 31  | 156 |  0    |
|    11 | Mareanie         | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    11 | Miasmite         | Neutral  | 31  |   4 |  0    |
|    11 | Mudbray          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    11 | Pluffle          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    11 | Privatyke        | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    10 | Frillish         | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    10 | Justyke          | Neutral  | 31  |  36 |  0    |
|    10 | Porygon          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    10 | Scratchet        | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|    10 | Timburr          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|     9 | Justyke          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|     9 | Spritzee         | Neutral  | 31  |  12 |  0    |
|     9 | Swirlpool        | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|     9 | Trapinch         | Neutral  | 31  | 116 |  0    |
|     8 | Ferroseed        | Neutral  | 31  |  36 |  0    |
|     8 | Foongus          | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|     8 | Slowpoke         | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |
|     7 | Munchlax         | Neutral  | 31  |   0 |  0    |

 

[MrDollSteak]

CAP LC Set Compendium

Thank you to kjnjkmjk1 for compiling it.

The sets are provided in VR order and from that point onwards alphabetically.

Click here for the PokePaste

 

[Brambane]

General thoughts of the meta now that our tournament is done:
-Solotl and Embirch dictate the pace of the metagame; you either keep up or get run over
-A lot of times its not worth not bothering with SR because Dorsoil is such a fucking good spinner, just knock, pivot, or hit things instead
-People have done really welly adapting to Solotl; Cawdet less so
-Mienfoo is still really fucking good, despite having like 5 new answers
-Type Spam teams are pretty solid; I experimented successfully with Grass Spam, Normal Spam, and Water Spam (aka rain)
-FWG is around, Solotl/Mumbao/Staryu Frillish Swirlpool Slowpoke comps seem pretty good
-Rain is fantastic. The pace of the metagame and really just less Foongus/Grookey overall makes it a relevant archetype again. It also helps that rain has actually good setters between Scratchet and Cawdet, both of which add invaluable utility to teams. Other weathers are less good.

Below is my personal take on VR

S:
Cawdet
Solotl

Hide

Cawdet is probably the best overall Pokemon in the metagame. It’s typing allows it to check a myriad of threats, including major players in standard LC like Grookey and Zigzagoon. It has a great Speed tier, amazing offensive typing, and the combination of Knock Off + Drain Punch means it can beat a surprising number of things in a 1v1. Life Orb, Eviolite, and Berry Juice are all excellent sets that play remarkably differently despite running almost the exact same moves. As a strong answer to Grass- and Electric-types, this bird also gets a shoutout for being a fantastic Pokemon on rain teams. Very easy to build with, very easy to use, and very frustrating to deal with, almost every team is made better with the addition of Cawdet.

Solotl is borderline broken, although players have done an excellent job adjusting to it. Solotl will roll through most standard LC teams, but CAP LC has adapted to Solotl on the macro scale by increasing the offensive pace of the meta. Solotl’s amazing offensive typing, Regenerator, and Speed make it one of the best, if not the best, Life Orb attackers in the game. This set is so strong that it almost requires either a specific defensive answer, Diglett, or a team design focused heavily on speed control and offensive pressure (rain or HO.) Meteor Beam is an awesome tempo swing that can also turn Solotl into a sweeper. With unresisted STAB, Solotl is also free to fit move like Substitute, Thunder Wave, and Spikes into its moveset with ease. If Cawdet is the overall best and most consistent Pokemon in CAP LC, Solotl is the most explosive and unpredictable one.

A+:
Mienfoo
Embirch
Dorsoil
Mumbao
Porygon
Diglett

Hide

Mienfoo has more answers in CAP LC. Substantially more, in fact. Mumbao, Pluffle, Snugglow, and Breezi are all nuisances for LC’s posterchild. However, there is only so bad the combination of Knock Off + U-Turn + Regenerator can be, thus Mienfoo is well-deserving of staying in the upper ranks. The Choice Scarf set is still excellent; its really hard to argue with the power behind Mienfoo’s HJK, even in a meta with more Fighting resists.

Embirch is the most imbalanced Pokemon in CAP LC. Very few things can handle an Embirch behind screens after a Dragon Dance. It’s STAB combination is fantastic, while Double-Edge and Rock Slide perfectly round out its coverage. It isn’t weak to any major priority, its Speed tier is decent, and Bullet Seed lets it sometimes just blow through Pokemon like Focus Sash Abra and Study Onix. There are plenty of replays where Embirch gets a DD and the game is straight-up over. It isn’t S for three reasons. The first one is that players are so paranoid about Embirch that they are running Pokemon that can specifically revenge kill it even if it gets a DD off. The second is if you don’t have screens, Embirch can either get chipped into priority range through Knock Off + SR damage, or just be plain KOed, on the turn it DDs.Lastly, Bullet Seed is inconsistent by design.

Dorsoil is a massive tank with the most consistent hazard removal in the meta. It’s raw bulk means Dorsoil will almost always get one Rapid Spin off during a game. Knock Off and U-turn are always great. It is also deceptively strong; we have had a couple of games where Dorsoil has been able to late-game sweep with the Speed boost from Rapid Spin + Earthquake. The Eviolite set is probably the best, but Flame Orb offers a strong Fake Out and greater sweeping potential after spinning. The easiest spinner to fit on teams makes Dorsoil a shoe-in for A+.

Mumbao is CAP LC’s best Fairy. Moonblast shreds anything that doesn’t resist it. Giga Drain gives it decent sustainability while Focus Blast keeps Ferroseed wary about switching in. It is arguably the best Choice Scarf user in CAP LC due to Trace and Healing Wish. Grabbing Arena Trap from Diglett, Swift Swim from Floatoy, or Regenerator from Solotl are all immensely useful and only add to this happy little tree’s appeal.

Porygon is a premier offensive and defensive Pokemon. Offensively, Download is amazing and it's strong enough to blow through most of the metagame after a SpA boost. It’s bulk means a well-played Download Porygon will almost always take out at least one Pokemon. Defensively, it's the best Solotl answer in the tier with its ridiculous bulk, Thunder Wave, and Trace. The Meteor Beam set is still very annoying for it, however. It is also a cornerstone on Normal Spam.

Diglett is still Diglett. Trapping is a busted mechanic. It also offers surprisingly good role compression with Stealth Rock, although it's basically a free spin for Dorsoil, who will force it out after the Speed boost. Sludge Bomb is useful for Mumbao; Diglett is very flexible with its item and moveset, letting it fit onto most teams.

A:
Abra
Ferroseed
Koffing
Dwebble
Ponyta
Scratchet

Hide

Abra does a lot of things very well. It is an excellent revenge killer, a great Knock Off + TWave user, and strong overall attacker. Abra is only really held back by the increased number of specially defensive Pokemon (blame Solotl) and Choice Scarf users. Never underestimate the power of a guaranteed Focus Sash, especially with Counter.

Ferroseed has an awful MU into a lot of common Pokemon. Almost every Pokemon in A+ and S can potentially beat it in a 1v1. Ferroseed also happens to be the Spiker with the best Dorsoil match-up. It’s sheer bulk and access to Knock Off+TWave means it can take trades to your advantage, even if it does get KOed in the end. Ferroseed is also a useful Pokemon against rain teams, which is definitely worth considering. It has a number of glaring weaknesses, but the value of its strengths compensates for them.

Even if there are more Fighting-type answers in CAP LC, Koffing remains useful as the best Mienfoo response in the game. It can also help out against some key Pokemon like Cawdet, Scratchet, Mumbao, and Embirch. It still cannot work around its susceptibility to chip damage and the higher number of strong special attackers in the meta definitely hurts its viability. Koffing is a useful addition to a lot of teams, but nearly as ubiquitous as in standard LC.

Dwebble is a common Pokemon on Screens HO that has a number of uses outside the archetype. SturdyJuice with Rock STAB makes it a great emergency answer to Solotl and even Embirch (the Grass neutrality is huge.) Less Grookey in the meta gives Shell Smash some room to shine. Counter can be cheeky and this Pokemon is excellent at baiting in Dorsoil to hit with it Knock Off. A very useful Spiker for a lot of teams.

I am personally not that into Ponyta, but I have seen it put in work. It can burn things, it's a decent Embirch and Mumbao answer, really Ponyta does the same thing in CAP LC as standard LC. Flame Charge is cool so it can avoid being revenge killed by Diglett and Mienfoo.

Scratchet is frankly amazing. If it didn’t lose to basically every other Fighting-type, including itself, in addition to the usual Fighting-type answers it would be borderline S rank. It is the swiss-army knife of Pokemon. Hazards? Got it. Removal? Yup. Solotl answer? Can do. Sweeper? Sure. Rain support? Absolutely. You name it, Scratchet can probably do it. It also has a really good stat spread to work with, which only adds to its versatility. Scratchet also enables a new team archetype almost on its own: Normal Spam.

A-:
Frillish
Foongus
Pluffle
Snugglow
Staryu
Swirlpool
Mareanie
Natu
Shellder

Hide

Frillish is pretty much in the same position in CAP LC as standard LC. The only major difference is its usefulness against Solotl and rain. It has a couple new foes like Mumbao and Snugglow, but nothing major enough to keep it down. A good all-around tanky Pokemon.

Foongus struggles a bit more in CAP LC due to the presence of additional strong Fire-types and Flying-types on most teams. Nothing likes to get slept, but teams are more likely just to have other Pokemon to threaten Foongus. It stands out as the best Fairy-type counter in the metagame. It also matches up pretty well into Scratchet since it doesn’t have to worry about Knock Off. Not a bad Pokemon by any stretch.

Pluffle is pretty good thanks to Parting Shot and the combination of Rest + Natural Cure. Fighting-types aren’t running coverage for pure Fairies. Pluffle is the best overall blanket (pillow?) counter to the common Fighting-types. It can also somewhat handle Solotl and a few other mid-strength attackers. It has some other cheeky stuff, like Yawn and Encore. The main reason you use Pluffle over Mumbao though is its pivoting. In a metagame as fast as CAP LC, the power of repositioning cannot be overstated.

Snugglow is a decent Fighting-type, Fairy-, and Grass-type answer, although getting trapped by Diglett sucks. Shed Shell Snugglow is pretty common as a result, but Berry Juice, Choice Scarf, and Eviolite see reasonable play too. Snugglow is a monster offensively with its coverage; if you don’t have a Pokemon like defensive Porygon or bulky Ground-type, nothing on your team wants to switch into it . This thing is also a Dorsoil magnet; take advantage of Snugglow’s ability to chip it down while building. With a good Speed tier, great overall stats, and two useful abilities between Vital Spirit and Storm Drain, Snugglow fits snuggly into the current metagame.

Staryu loses some of its glory due to other hazard removal options, in addition to the presence of more generally specially defensive Pokemon in the metagame, but don’t count it out yet. Staryu is a formidable breaker with Analytic and its unrivaled coverage options. Staryu’s Speed tier is great for forcing catch-22s with its Analytic-boosted attacks. It also can still work as a spinner for teamslot compression or even just for the valuable Speed boost on the Life Orb sets.

Swirlpool is probably the most unique of the CAP LC additions. It’s entire gameplan revolves around activating Toxic Orb and tricking it away for an Eviolite as quickly as possible. Item removal is really strong in LC, and the tempo swing from gaining Eviolite as a Poison Heal Pokemon while poisoning the opponent is massive. Swirlpool also happens to be fairly bulky, can pivot with U-turn, scout with Spiky Shield, and even set-up rocks if you need it to. A flexible and annoying Pokemon that surprised most of the player base with its effectiveness.

Mareanie is a Water res which is nice and does typical Mareanie things. It's less good vs Mumbao than the other Poisons but not enough for it to be lowered into the B ranks.

Offensive Natu isn’t quite as common here as in standard LC, but Natu is still an effective dual screens Pokemon. With Embirch being such a monster behind screen and less Grookey around to pressure Shell Smashers, Screens HO has way more breathing room to operate in the metagame. Natu fits well on these teams, and thus fits well into A- rank for now.

Shellder is good for the same reasons listed above. Less Grookey, more screens, happy clam. Shellder is probably the best Shell Smasher due to its damage, lack of weaknesses to priority, high Defense, multi-hit moves, and ability to hit 26 Speed with Adamant after a Shell Smash.

B+:
Privatyke
Timburr
Syclar
Magnemite
Floatoy
Ponyta-Galar
Breezi
Pawniard
Mudbray
Corphish
Omanyte

Hide

Privatyke is either A- or B+, but I am placing it lower since it doesn’t see much play. It’s combination of stats, movepool, and abilities allows Privatyke to beat almost anything it wants 1v1 with the right combination. There isn’t really a cohesive primary set for it yet, leaving room for future exploration. I expect it to see more experimentation in the future, but for now B+ is a nice placeholder for this versatile Fighting-type.

Timburr is mostly just outclassed by Mienfoo offensively and defensively by Scratchet and, to a lesser extent, Privatyke. It’s not a bad Pokemon by any means, but it's much harder to justify on teams in CAP LC.

Syclar was one of the most terrifying Pokemon during the initial testing period for CAP LC, but it has calmed down substantially lately. It has a few too many awkward match-ups against Pokemon like Scarf Mienfoo, Frillish, other 19 Speed Pokemon, Dwebble, Shellder, etc, to be a consistent sweeper. It still has a strong enough U-turn and STAB Ice Shard to keep it relevant, but it definitely falls short of the A ranks for now. Side note, this is one of the only Pokemon in CAP LC where boots are considerable, due to its great Speed and U-turn.

Magnemite has awful Cawdet, Snugglow, and Dorsoil match-ups, but it's still a useful Pokemon due to its power and typing. It’s possibly closer to B than B+, but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Floatoy (and less of Grookey in the meta) helped revive a dead archetype: rain. The highly offensive nature of CAP LC gives rain teams a lot of room to thrive. The advantage rain has over every other archetype is immediate Speed; Swift Swim is a fantastic ability in format plagued by common Speed ties. Floatoy has strong two move coverage, 19 HP for Life Orb, high Speed, recovery, and set-up. While its success was initially a surprise, in hindsight the resurgence of rain makes total sense for the meta, and our reptilian raft leads the charge.

I didn’t really see much Ponyta-Galar, but it's probably fine. It kind of suffers from common, specially defensive tanks and a more competitive Speed tier, but Psychic remains a strong offensive type, especially when you have SE coverage for Cawdet.

Breezi is a pretty cool Pokemon, but very limited. It is a Fighting-type answer that can’t be trapped by Diglett, which is always valuable, but it also is a decent Rocker and pivot! Breezi’s role compression makes it a valuable last slot on a lot of teams. Berry Juice + Thief is very fun, and pip’s weird offensive set could probably snatch a few MUs. Not an astounding Pokemon due to its awkward STAB options and lack of instant recovery, but you can do a lot worse.

I refuse to rank this lower since its STAB combination is still great and the strongest Knock Off in the meta is nothing to scoff at, but Pawniard kinda sucks. It loses to pretty much everything I put in S and A+ (except some Porygon sets) and it's a miserable Rocker since the two most common spinners beat the living shit out of it. Scarf Pawniard is probably potent though, albeit still fairly untested, and this Pokemon has a number of tricks up its sleeve it can pull out.

Mudbray is virtually the same as in LC, although there are way more Ground immunities to upset it. Dorsoil also can replace it on a lot of teams, but Mudbray has just fantastic stats and Stealth Rock, so I can’t hate it that much. It’s more outclassed than actually bad.

Foongus and Grookey are much rarer in CAP LC, which makes Corphish all the more terrifying. Snugglow gives it pause, but that Pokemon despises switching into Knock Off. This is a very dangerous Pokemon, but it can be awkward to position in such an offensive meta. I am unsure how well it competes with other Water-types on rain, but it can definitely work there.

There is no way that in a meta where Grookey is less common and rain is viable that Omantye is any less than B+. A devastating sweeper with Shell Smash or Swift Swim. Earth Power means you don’t fear Snugglow, giving rain teams an important offensive tool against that match-up. The only thing that sucks about this mon being good is dealing with the Lord Helix memes.

B:
Volkritter
Rebble
Onix
Necturine
Munchlax
Shellos
Tirtouga
Vulpix
Magby
Slowpoke
Zigzagoon
Grookey

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Volkritter is an okay Scarfer. It can OHKO Embirch through Screens with Infiltrator Overheat, so that is pretty cool. It has trouble handling the common Water-types in CAP LC, but once those are removed most teams don’t have anything else that wants to switch into this Pokemon’s high BP STABs. And if they do, just U-turn lul. It really appreciates how strong hazard removal is in CAP LC.

Rebble in theory is a monstrous Life Orb attacker. Look at the coverage! In reality, it's better suited to the Choice Scarf role since it can revenge kill Solotl and Embirch easily. Rebble is weak to a lot of priority too, and without Choice Scarf its Speed tier is only decent for its role. I hyped this Pokemon a lot earlier on, but the dust settles with it in B rank.

Onix does exactly the same thing here as in CAP LC. Less Grookey is nice, but Dorsoil adds a new headache instead. I haven’t seen a lot of Onix, but I am confident that the Dragon Dance set can catch people just fine to clutch enough wins to justify B rank.

Necturine is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has the best set-up moves in the game at its disposal and a pretty strong STAB combination. On the other hand, it lacks a strong physical Ghost STAB and its Special Attack is only okay. Defensively, its typing has a LOT of common weaknesses too. I am tentatively putting it in B rank; a Fake Out immune Shell Smasher that resists a lot of common priority can only be so bad, right?

Munchlax is named Munchlax because it eats Solotl for breakfast. This chonker is a great special tank that unfortunately has a very average to poor match-up into the common physical attackers in the meta. Body Slam is good shit though. If you get lucky with your paralysis procs, this Pokemon just wins games sometimes. I like Munchlax, even though I didn’t build with it nearly enough.

Shellos is silly and a pretty good Swirlpool answer! The set-up set is an absolute MU fish that is the worst feeling to lose too, while the special tank set is a useful Pokemon against Solotl and rain teams. I could see this rising in the near future, but for now I will put it in B since it's still too unproven.

Tirtouga is another Shell Smasher and Swift Swimmer, but physical so it can bypass the generically specially defensive Pokemon. The lower BP Water STAB and extra weaknesses hurt. Sturdy is always kinda fun though. Not much else to say about it that hasn’t been said about Shellder or Omanyte.

Sun seems a lot weaker in CAP LC, but I placed Vulpix in B since it's probably decent on its own. It’s Solotl MU kinda sucks, but it hits hard and Hypnosis is cheeky.

Magby has a more competitive Speed tier, which is bad for it, and that’s about it. Otherwise it functions the same as in standard LC. I personally think it's a little overkill; you kind of get similar results from Embirch or a lot of the Shell Smashers. I am not sold on this Pokemon being even B rank, but I will give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Slowpoke fits nicely on Regenerator teams. It’s a great Pokemon against Scratchet; it does absolutely nothing to Slowpoke except give it a free switch. Otherwise, Slowpoke has the same issues in standard LC: too weak to Knock Off, too many common weaknesses, and of course, it's slow in more ways than one.

Cawdet, and slightly more common Ghosts and Rocks, keep Ziggy in check. This Pokemon is even more of MU fish here than in standard LC, and borders closely on B-.

Grookey has a rougher time in CAP LC. More Poison-types, more Flying-types, and a generally worse Speed tier. Losing to the best two Pokemon in the metagame sucks, but whereas Zigzagoon borders on B-, Grookey at least borders on B+. It is a solid Knocker and a fantastic U-turn user; this mon baits in Cawdet and poisons like no other. Don’t bother with the Acrobatics Swords Dance set and you can get some mileage from Grookey.

B-:
Smogecko
Spritzee
Trapinch
Croagunk
Wingull
Miasmite
Nohface
Voodoll
Bunnelby
Mantyke
Charmander

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Smogecko is kinda bullshit, because it has virtually zero switch-ins. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, wants to switch into a 5 hit Technician Scale Shot, STAB Flame Wheel, and/or Gunk Shot. The problem for Smogecko is it has to predict right, and also it needs to hit a good Scale Shot. It is also generally weak to priority and obviously terrible into anything immediately faster than it, which holds it back too. Very cheesy Fire-type that can just roll good RNG to win.

Spritzee is mostly a worse Pluffle, but it has set-up moves! Use Spritzee if you want to be more offensive; its coverage is better and it can actually be a legit threat after a Calm Mind or Nasty Plot. It is also probably the best Trick Room user in the tier, which is kinda niche.

Poor Trapinch. Diglett’s better Speed tier is too valuable vs Solotl, and you sure as heck aren’t going to run both. Not a bad Pokemon, but dramatically overshadowed.

Croagunk holds onto viability by its fingertips with a couple unique quicks. The Water immunity is less good than it looks, since almost every Water-type not named Corphish has coverage for Croagunk. It is more valuable as a Fighting-type that doesn’t get absolutely murked by Scarf Mumbao, but that is a pretty narrow niche. It otherwise does just normal Croagunk things, mostly Nasty Plot related. Physical sets might be better, if only because you are probably going to be Knocking a lot of Dorsoil.

Imagine being outclassed as a Hurricane user by a Pokemon that doesn’t even get STAB on it? Such is the fate of Wingull. Watch out for this Pokemon on rain teams, though. Floatoy + Wingull can probably very quickly overwhelm teams with bad Speed control and shitty rain answers (Snugglow or Scarf Mumbao anyone?)

Miasmite is a pretty good Mienfoo answer! And the rest of the Pokemon is okay at best. Scarf Dragon Rush with Compoundeyes is a very funny lategame if you can eliminate the Fairies. Miasmite’s main issue is that it's good resists are neutralized by awful weaknesses. It also has really, really bad 4MMS. Probably the worst I have ever seen. This Pokemon has a glut of amazing moves at its disposal it cannot afford to ever use.

Nohface is very close to C rank, but dammit I cannot give up 18 Speed Wisp, U-turn, and Knock on one Pokemon. Nohface really only sucks for one reason: Poltergeist is ass in LC. Knock Off is the unequivocal best move in the format. You just can’t consistently pull off a Poltergeist set. If we ever give Nohface a decent physical Ghost STAB, expect it to make a good showing. Until then, to the low ranks with it.

Voodoll hits hard with its awesome STAB combination, but it has the same issue as its evolution where it offers zero utility and cannot switch into anything. Voodoll is a great Pokemon for Normal Spam, and a decent Pokemon on other teams as well. I could see this rising in the very near future with some more experimentation.

Did I say Normal Spam? Meet Bunnelby.

Mantyke is the original rain sweeper. Timid Earthquake might look like a meme, but it will OHKO almost every Snugglow with Life Orb! If Mantyke had Hurricane it would be legitimately broken in CAP LC (maybe even regular LC, it would definitely be annoying as shit.) Air Slash and Hydro Pump are awesome coverage and it’s stats are generally decent all-around. I love Mantyke, and I am glad to use it again, albeit only one a single archetype that doesn’t always run three Swift Swim users.

Charmander hates the rain. Didn’t you see season one of the anime? In all seriousness, it is probably just overshadowed by Solotl on sun teams, even with Solar Power. Regenerator is a hell of a drug, as is Draco Meteor. At least it hits like a truck.

C:
Lileep
Sandshrew-Alola
Amaura
Tyrunt
Archen
Eevee
Axew
Justyke
Drilbur
Cupra
Monohm
Brattler
Carvanha
Helioptile

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In theory, Lileep is both a rain and a Solotl answer! That’s pretty cool, but it’s typing is awkward and it is a massive momentum sink in a lot of games. Lileep is a filler mon that can keep a team from snapping, but nothing worth building around.

Sandshrew-Alola and Amaura get the same rank by me since they only exist on hail. Of the weather archetypes, hail loses too hard to rain to be viable. And Sandshrew-Alola is too easy to revenge kill due to its typing. This is a very MU dependent team archetype, too much so to be higher than C. Maybe Snover might be better than Amaura?

Tyrunt is a cool sweeper, but with Shell Smashing back in style and a new Dragon Dancer on the block, it's harder to justify on teams. If only it wasn’t so easily revenge killed by Choice Scarf Mumbao and Mienfoo. With those two out of the picture, I would maybe bump it up to B rank.

Archen hits hard. Nothing likes switching into it. It also doesn’t like switching into a lot of things. Defeatist sucks, Dual Wingbeat also sucks. Very hard Pokemon to rank since it does absolutely just murder shit if you can get it in safely. But so do a lot of things that don’t die as easily, and have better abilities.

Eevee is fun on Normal Spam. Don’t try it anywhere else; just use Porygon instead.

Axew has the juiciest Scale Shot in the game and it can hit Fairies! It’s Cawdet MU is less good though, which makes it funnily worse than Smogecko.

Justyke sucks for three reasons: it has too many common weaknesses, Cawdet is amazing, and it has zero utility. The last one really stings. Justyke doesn’t have anything to do other than hit things with its admittedly good Special Attack. But then you face like Cawdet or rain, and you wish this was something else entirely.

Drilbur has been mostly replaced by Scratchet and Dorsoil. It’s sole redeeming factor is Swords Dance + Rapid Spin sweeper sets, which are.... Below average. If only Hippopotas was viable.

Cupra hits extremely hard with Life Orb, but that set is slow as shit. As such, it is mostly a Choice Scarf user with Magic Guard Final Gambit, a surprisingly effective and synergistic combination. Cupra can almost always claim a life when played right, but how effective that is requires more experimentation.

Monohm is an amazing Cawdet counter, and a so-so physical tank against everything else. Being trapped by Diglett does not help, although Diglett cannot confidently switch-in without the risk of being Hydro Pumped. Sometimes you get lucky enough with Static that I will give Monohm a generous C rank.

Brattler had a perfect winrate, so C rank! In all seriousness, Brattler is too slow. Everything else about it is very good to excellent, but that Speed. The Speed just suuuuuucks.

Carvanha is alright, it can clean out games every so often. It's a strong Flip Turn user due to its high Attack and since almost everyone expects Protect.

Helioptile is a pretty good rain answer for a lot of teams. Some Electric resists in the tier also don’t want to eat a Surf from this thing, but why the FUCK doesn’t it learn Hyper Voice? I would bump it up like three ranks if it had Hyper Voice, but it doesn’t so fuck it.

I will probably teamdump sometime next week.

 

[Pipotchi]

Yea my take on the meta right now is that there is a pretty big gap between the top mons and the rest. Solotl, Cawdet, Scratchet, Dorsoil, Diglett, Mienfoo and perhaps Mumbao sit on a pedestal with the other mons a fair bit lower. Cawdet is a god even among those options, and should be included on every single team. If you play with a Cawdet and the opponent doesnt, youre very likely to win! Ive never really played a meta with this before, so its quite strange to me. The other mon that is quite "centralizing" is Solotl, who has the two(?) main sets which have no answers, and then other threatening sets like Eject Pack that can also have no answers, but feel a bit redundant. I dont really know if Solotl is centralizing or not when it kinda dictates a pace rather than forcing you to pack specific mons; I think a lot of teams are happy just letting to go 1 for 1 by trapping it with Diglett afterwards. Definitely a strange meta and I wonder if this is how regular LC feels.
Mostly agree with Brambanes list. Id basically post the same thing except with a few small shifts (mostly)+ explanations:

Better imo:
- A->A+ it really is part of the main face of the metagame, splashable on every type of squad and one of the most reliable spinners, rockers, and a blanket check to setup (thanks to bulk and neutral typing, not prankster haze). The cornerstone of rain and HO strategies also.
- B-> A- It proved itself in the tour and being overall good+ being THE cawdet answer is a major warping factor on its viability, and its the only mon to offer a check to cawdet and solotl at the same time. this mon alone allows for cawdet-weak mons to sit comfortably on teams like ferroseed.
-UR -> B The other cawdet answer, and this one forcibly removes it. deserves B minimum imo and overall a good trapper vs other top mons. Playing cawdet vs no cawdet is generally a win which is crazy.
UR ->C Just personally, I found it to clutch some games so far and flying type moves are very good to have around. A mon that actually can press Swords Dance and maybe sweep afterwards is a rare find. That being said, its unreliable and might be relying on 50/50s with Endure to revenge kill when hazards are up.

Worse imo:
A+ -> A- Just personally Porygon has been decent but not quite tier defining. I dont think it stands out here compared to regular LC and its job is actually a little harder with Cawdet being a common obstacle, although it might be able to muscle past(?) it will get tripped up sometimes. Not dropping past its regular LC rank because it does have some interesting defensive set for Solotl check which is a positive addition.
A+ -> A In practice this mon is just not as good vs prepared players, youll get statused, revenge killed, kill itself with recoil, fail against a Scratchet/Mienfoo at full hp, and let down majorly by Bullet Seed, which just isnt as good a move without Life Orb improving its rolls. We prepared well for Embirch in the tour and it paid off for everyone, causing it to have a diabolical winrate. But we didnt have to branch out to niche mons, thats a good tell that a mon isnt A+.
B+-> B- You pretty much said it, its a trapper that doesnt trap pretty much the only steel type while encouraging the two S tier pokemon to come in and wreak havoc. Oof
B+ -> B-/C doesnt really seem to stand out that much and it shouldnt be the same tier as Floatoy as a rain user. It has issues with speed and doesnt have equally good coverage, while being more vulnerable to priority. bear in mind its not even ranked in regular LC
B+ -> B/B- same as Omanyte really, doesnt feel like the same tier as Floatoy and has major issues being slow and compounding rain weaknesses
B -> C This mon just straight up doesnt deserve to be in B rank because its the definition of C tier very niche pick. Some amazing other scarfers in the tier offer a better general matchup, and other answers to screens and HO which honestly doesnt feel that great to me outside of rain thanks to all the troublesome defensive pokemon and tanks like cawdet, dorsoil, scratchet.
monohm C -> UR sadly doesnt deserve a rank, a mediocre-at-best mon thats sadly its even worse than things like Brattler (who probably doesnt deserve a rank either :( ) cus it is even more trap fodder.

mons that confuse me:
frillish (really bad winrate in the tour but generally considered good)
breezi (surprisingly solid winrate in the tour but generally considered meh)
grookey (feels like this mon could still shine with the right setup, maybe + shellos)
pluffle (really bad winrate in the tour, feels misused)
koffing (underperformed this tour, could it be considered too highly?)
ferroseed (has a godlike winrate, seemingly not bothered by its shit tier cawdet matchup)
swirlpool (great winrate and i think it is good for its matchup vs spinners, just wondering if it will stand the test of time)
snugglow (this mon feels godlike and trash at the same time. is it really a shed shell holder? what is going on)


edit: I forgot rebbles sick as either a scarfer that cant be revenged or a sr setter that beats dorsoil

 

[Brambane]

Omantye or Mantyke should be almost mandatory on any rain build that doesn't want to get murked by Snugglow, since both of them have strong Ground coverage. The biggest issue that the rain team snake used had was its Snugglow MU, which was abysmal. Omanyte is slow-ish but it still hits 26 Speed at +2 which is important. Omanyte fits in the same tier because the Pokemon can also work as a Shell Smash user. It's coverage is mostly fine too for rain; Water/Ground/Ice hits everything important except the fattest of Waters. It's main issue is its typing means it loses to other Waters in rain, which maybe you can knock it down to B for and bump Mantyke up.

Volkritter still needs more experimentation, but I am fairly confident that it's a B rank mon. It's fast, it's strong, and it can maintain momentum very well. Those are all good traits for a Scarfer so I can't see it in C at all.

Everything else I can agree with it, I undervalued Shellos in my post.

 

[Joltage]

Just to weigh in on the Omanyte thing, I don't see its place on rain as its primary selling point. Its traditional smash set is actually pretty decent here, especially compared to standard lc (grook being worse and timb being rare is a major reason for that). I've been using it as a wincon on a pluffle-seed balance team and it's able to find an opportunity in most games in my experience. All that said, B+ does seem high for it to me. B seems more in line with what it can do and the amount of support that it wants to really work well.

Cawdet is a god even among those options, and should be included on every single team. If you play with a Cawdet and the opponent doesnt, youre very likely to win! Ive never really played a meta with this before, so its quite strange to me.

This is actually fairly common in lc metagames (Munchlax in DPP, Mienfoo for most of its existence, Vullaby in SM and SS before it was banned, among others). Mons like these can push up very close to ubiquitous usage in tours, Foo had 88% usage in the most recent SCL for example. Now with Cawdet specifically, I do agree that it is a clear top 2 mon along with Solotl, and Caw basically has 0 downsides with no easily exploitable weaknesses thanks to volt absorb, along with absurd speed, solid bulk, decent power, and knock off. In fact, if this was a more traditional meta, I feel that Cawdet would and should 100% be targeted for a suspect test. The only thing Cawdet doesn't have going for it in my eyes is that it doesn't have Roost and can thus be worn down over the course of a fight. Problem with that is, that fights in lc don't tend to last very long and when you're also able to dish out as much damage as Caw can, it will basically always come out on top unless you can hit it with STAB fire moves because that is basically the only way it's going down quickly in a reliable manner.

 

[MrDollSteak]

Thank you to everyone for posting following the tournament. I wanted to take this opportunity to announce a few developments.

Firstly, I would like to introduce that all future official resource and metagame changes will be handled by the CAP LC council. There are 6 members of the council to ensure that a super majority is required for votes. The following members make up the council.

MrDollSteak
DHR-107
snake_rattler
Joltage
Brambane
Zephyri

As the council's first order of business. It has been decided that from this point onwards, Cawdet will be banned from CAP LC. As many have noted from the inaugural tournament, Cawdet possesses too many positive traits and lacks meaningful counterplay. With a premium typing with little weaknesses, an ability that negates one of them, a premium unboosted speed tier, strong defenses and access to excellent moves in Knock Off, Bullet Punch and Drain Punch. The differences between teams that carried and did not carry Cawdet were stark as it was always able to make progress. The vote was unanimous. Over the next couple of days the resources will be edited to reflect this development.

The council have also decided that another tournament should be run in order to evaluate the impact of Solotl, the next strongest Pokemon in the format. Keep your eyes peeled! Thank you.

 

[Brambane]

Small and quick team dump prior to our next tournament:

Screens Solotl HO
Dual Screens Solotl combines the utility of a high Speed screen with Healing Wish, making it an excellent addition to HO. Scratchet similarly provides hazard control and Memento. Necturine, Tyrunt, and Shellder are the sweepers of choice due to their ease-of-set up behind screens and good match-up coverage. Snugglow gives the team a little breathing room against rain and offensive Mienfoo.

Normal Spam
An offensive team that overwhelms CAP LC's short list of viable Normal resists. Dwebble is pretty good at getting up hazards and SturdyJuice makes it an excellent emergency button against Solotl and even Embirch. Pluffle is pivotal (heh) as a Fighting resist that can help get your offensive Normal-types in; without Pluffle, you auto lose to Scarf Mienfoo on preview screen basically. Scratchet is a surprisingly potent sweeper due to Scrappy Close Combat that also provides hazard control. Voodoll's Dark STAB and access to Vacuum Wave helps the team break through Steel-types. Copycat on Eevee can let you Parting Shot again, but its mostly here for Adapatability Retaliate. Porygon is the cleaner.

Hard Rain
All-in on rain offense. Scratchet is the ultimate setter; nothing comes close to getting rain offense going like this mon. Foongus is a bit of an odd choice, but Mumbao is monsterous into rain and it is without a doubt the best Mumbao answer in the meta. Life Orb Earthquake Mantyke blows past Snugglow, while its excellent STABs handle the rest. Floatoy similarly utilizes Water/Flying coverage to pressure a large portion of the metagame. Dorsoil is an Electric-immune pivot that is very bulky without Eviolite, making it a solid rain setter. Mumbao is a cleaner with Healing Wish support.

Spikes Offense
This team is full of fun quirks. White Herb Magician Solotl is a wicked breaker; very few things want to eat two Draco Meteors or Overheats in a row, and if they do you steal their shit anyways. Privatyke is an okay Solotl answer that offers Spikes support for the team. Dorsoil is the best pivot and spinner in the metagame. Snugglow helps handle Water and Fighting-types in the format. HDB Syclar abuses the power of Compoundeyes Blizzard and being able to freely spam U-turn, which when combined with Dorsoil and Mienfoo, can create great offensive momentum with Spikes up.

Generic Offense
A kinda Smurfy generic offense team. Analytic Staryu does colossal damage and can clean lategame with a Speed boost from Rapid Spin. Sub Work Up Solotl is a surprisingly effective sweeper; Substitute is especially good for keeping you safer from Diglett. Sash TWave Abra is a decent panic button into a lot of things; Knock Off is useful for buttering up SpDef heavy mons for Solotl or Staryu later on. Scarf Foo is Scarf Foo, and AgiliGon combines defensive utility and offensive potential, making it one of my favorite cleaners.

 

[Roldski32]

I suppose i should dump some of my teams


This is the team i wanted to showcase the most. After Cawdet's ban, i've been noticing a surprisingly less Ground-resist in this tier when i tried finding what's a switch-in to Dorsoil on builder, in which i find it limited to only Breezi, Natu (it hates Dorsoil Knock Off) and Eviolite Mumbao ( some, if not, most of which were still Choice Scarfs so far), then i remembered a specific offensive Ground-type from regular LC in the form of Scarf Mudbray, which was a strong offensive mon in the certain post-Vull meta where, before the rise of Natu, Ground-resist are limited to only Grookey and Air Balloon Diglett; that Earthquake from base 100 Atk hits hard. From there, I've decided to build a team around Scarf Mudbray to take advantage of somewhat less Ground-resist with a great help from Dorsoil, who is good at using Knock Off against shared Ground-checks. Breezi provides the team with Grass-resist and U-turn support, it is heavily invested on physical bulk to deal with stuff like Grookey, Fighters and opposing Dorsoil much better. Toxic Spikes is used to lure in certain Poison-types that the Grounds can abused with such as Snugglow and NGas Koffing. Ferroseed covers Water-types for the Grounds. I initially had Privatyke and Pluffle as the last two, but ultimatedly replaced it with Mienfoo and Frillish; Mienfoo also lures in poison and helps getting the grounds in safely with U-turn. Frillish is used here as a switch-in to Solotl.



I wanted to try using Scarf Porygon again, then i noticed Breezi can possibly knocked Pawniard's item, so immediately went on that route. This is the first team i tried experimenting on using Toxic Spikes on Breezi, as i've been noticing some teams don't have a grounded-poison and some hazard removal in Scratchet and Dorsoil get crippled and they're something i think Breezi can check and possibly beat 1v1 (Dorsoil can be a bit tricky due to Guts and Bulk Up Scratchet is hard for Breezi to beat on its own however). I added Syclar because i wanted to used Compoundeyes Blizzard, which i think its better than SD set, but its just my personal take that its better off clicking powerful move than finding set-up opportunity. Normally, i wasn't going for Heavy-Duty Boots, but for someone who had more severe rock-weakness than like Ponyta, its alright to used it, Blizzard is strong enough on its own even without something like Life Orb. I just slapped Ferroseed here as the Steel-type of choice. Privatyke compresses a bulky-Fighter and bulky-Water in one slot. Dorsoil helps Breezi by removing Stealth Rock and it was used here to have a switch-in against Snugglow.


Another Scarf Porygon team, this time with Trapinch to trap Steels such as Ferroseed. Next is followed by a usual Fight/Fight-check/Steel/Water core. Natu helps Porygon and Trapinch by weaken or luring in shared Steels and with Magic Bounce to help the team deal with Foongus' Spore and can be useful against other Stealth Rock setter such as Ferroseed and Scratchet.


some teams i didn't used for the tour, but also wanted to share

I've tried building screens HO myself and this was the first team i've built right after Cawdet got banned, but its just mostly i wanted to used Tyrunt for one specific reason;

+1 204 Atk Strong Jaw Tyrunt Psychic Fangs vs. 156 HP / 76 Def Unaware Privatyke: 24-30 (96 - 120%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 204 Atk Strong Jaw Tyrunt Psychic Fangs vs. 156 HP / 236 Def Unaware Privatyke: 22-26 (88 - 104%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

But in order to get this, i need to have a sweeper that can lure Privatyke and removed its Eviolite. I tried few stuff like Shell Smash Knock Off Tirtouga until i settled on with Power Herb Magician Solotl. Then its followed up by two Shell Smashers. Necturine is using Will-o-Wisp to crippled Pawniard and makes its Sucker Punch weaker when attempting to revenge kill other sweepers. Natu is the usual screen setter while Scratchet is a lead of choice with Eviolite and bulk investment to ensure it almost always survives a Fake Out into High Jump Kick from Mienfoo on lead.


I tried to build a sun team mostly just for fun, why not? It still follows common sun core of Vulpix + Ponyta + Charmander, but this time it adds another sun abuser in Solotl, which uses White Herb and Draco Meteor to steal Eviolites from Fire-checks while benefiting from sun by boosting its Fire STAB and enabling SolarBeam as coverage against Water-types, it also offers Defog support to the team when needed. Diglett traps certain stuff such as opposing Flash Fire Ponyta. It runs Eviolite in order to survive a Moonblast or Focus Blast from Scarf Mumbao and an Earthquake from opposing non-Life Orb Diglett (still lives even with -Def Nature). Hasty is preferred in order to reliably 1HKO Scarf Mumbao with Sludge Bomb. Scratchet provides another hazard removal and functions as an alternate lead if the opponent has Diglett, which can threaten Vulpix turn 1. It runs Eject Button because it is difficult to get the abusers in safely to the field, especially Charmander. You can alternatively run Haze over Close Combat if you have some problems with set-up sweepers. This team still has issues with Mumbao if it steals Ponyta's Flash Fire

 

[SunMYSER]

I will also dump a few of my teams.

:dpp/dorsoil:

This team is generally about pressuring Ferroseed, as I find that it's often the only mon people have as abra/staryu answers. Pluffle is the main playmaker here. Basically, the main engine of the team is to have Pluffle invite in Ferroseed or a poison type, then bring in the appropriate mon to counter. Magnamite here is almost exclusively for Ferroseed, as it traps it and becomes a funny sweeper - it slaps early game. Too, Abra is running Submission, which allows it to further chip out steel types. Once all the Steel types are gone from the opposing team, Abra and Staryu can break most teams pretty effectively, especially with Knock support from Dorsoil. Dorsoil, Breezi, and Pluffle all form a acceptable defensive core that can pivot into our power players.



Polt Nohface is a very fun pokemon, and this team was build to make it succeed. Nohface already 2KHOs nearly every mon in the tier with polt, even through Eviolite, making it an extremely threatening late game sweeper to early game wallbreaker. To facilitate Polt Nohface, the team has no Knock support, but makes up for it with having as much chip as possible: double hazard Ferroseed and FS Slowpoke force a lot of extra damage. Ponyta and Scratchet act as secondary sweepers for the team, further softening the opposing team for a Nohface stomp.



Scarfoo is a menace. Once the opposing fighting checks like Pluffle and Foongus have inevitably been knocked by Ferro or Timburr, Scarfoo starts dealings some mad numbers.

Calcs

236 Atk Reckless Mienfoo High Jump Kick vs. 4 HP / 188 Def Pluffle: 11-13 (45.8 - 54.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Reckless Mienfoo High Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 156 Def Ponyta: 22-27 (104.7 - 128.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236 Atk Reckless Mienfoo High Jump Kick vs. 116 HP / 76 Def Slowpoke: 11-13 (40.7 - 48.1%) -- 59.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Too, Mienfoo can U-turn on these checks to Snugglow, a mon that works all too well in fightspam. Snugglow forces a lot of damage on everything not named dorsoil. Timburr acts as a other member of fight spam as well as a facilitator for knock off. Abra is our secondary sweeper, cause Abra is real good.