This team is the 7th stage of my attempt to check the MOST mons and gimmicks in the current meta, and is the one that has succeeded the most. I'm open for suggestions, some i have already been discussing into the main chat and might be added here into the Q & A section. Even IF this team doesn't seem quite fitting at the meta to some people, i feel now that i had to keep track of my progress. Hope you enjoy!
Banette-Mega set:
will-O-wisp > compromise pokemon with low recovery that are leftovers dependant / sack M-swampert (unless rest) and other physical mons that may lead.
Taunt > prevent hazards, destiny bond into switchins.
Magic coat > for fun and memes. You might want to run toxic instead. Will help setting rocks on the opponent side faster.
Destiny bond > the reason to run Banette over sableye: sweep prevention. And to get rid of annoying stuff
Suicune set:
Well its a standard roar cune, not much to say here.
Heliolisk set:
Thunderbolt > best 100% accurate STAB it has.
Grass Knot > still hitting ground types, and with specs.
Hyper voice > does good enough damage because of stab, except in stuff that would already check it effectively enough.
Volt Switch > optional, as the checks this team has won't probably need the extra damage except perhaps arcanine
Arcanine set:
Well we see a nice new thing here. The wisp-morning sun defensive arcanine is well known. However, running both wisp and toxic might surprise its switch-ins, and fire spin is a hell of a trapping move, being only outclassed by infestation shuckle.
Bronzong set:
The most important move for bronzong: protect. It helps the lefties recovery, punishes high jump kick, scouts krookodile and other banded/scarfed treats.
Gyro ball is the best STAB it can run bc absorbing thunder wave from cresselia will increase its damage.
Toxic is whats there for, beware of aromatherapy and heal bell.
Stealth rocks is a must. If you don't have the chance to set them, you might struggle.
Tentacruel set:
Its there for the rapid spin. I usually won't be able to spin more than once, but this team isnt rocks weak. Some uses of it are very situational like leech seed and drain punch liquid ooze damage, poison jabbin fairies that think they can kill you first, but you're probably faster than them, knock off might help for switch-ins and scald is there because of burns.
Q & A
Main Treats
#1 Conkeldurr can be checked by arcanine, but will probably force him into stealth rocks and make it lose its lefties. It also has enough bulk to take any moves, as this team is very slow in terms of damage. Might switch in toxic and will-O-wisp. Tentacruel won't be enough to tank his moves and recover health when black sludge gets knocked off, although gettin a drain punch will help a bit.
#2 Pursuit Trapping Bronzong It is intended to scout with protect, but its a specially defensive mon with a single damaging 8pp move. Pursuit does take bronzong down easily, and its a pivot switch for almost all special attackers.
#3 Volt Switchers can be tanked by bronzong, but still, will give momentum guaranteedly, and theres no ground immunity here.
#4 Chandelure might recieve flash fire boost from arcanine, energy ball into suicune isn't appreciated, neither shadow ball in a matter of fact, and tentacruel is not able to take many hits, neither can rapid spin into a ghost type.
#5 Hydreigon with Roost cannot be checked by bronzong (although bronzong can take up to 2 dark pulses after protect lefties recovery, he might get a crit, flinch or toxic miss), does more damage to tentacruel than it can recover and why roost: because it can recover damage from burn.
#6 Mega-beedrill & Rotom-H can set momentum, but won't do much damage due to the bulk this team has. It needs the right support to take this team down. However, both are defeatable if Stealth rocks are effectively set.
So, ill have to explain the stages this team went through.
1st stage: At first, i had M-absol protect lead, with bronzong, mandibuzz and diancie core. Toxicroak was my initial answer to bulky waters, and last but not least chandelure had the sweeping potential i lacked. However, absol was paper frail, and chandelure couldn't handle stealth rocks. I also couldn't respond well to swords dance and belly drum users, as i had to waste a switch to check em ad then were left vulnerable. This led me to:
2nd stage: Heliolisk for a volt switch momentum, situational switch-in for electric and ghost moves, while keeping a check for bulky waters, along with SPdef Tentacruel, for toxic spikes removal upon switch and general hazard removal. This helped me check more stuff, but my team started lacking sweep potential, and dugtrio could easily sweep the most of my team while arena traping.
3rd stage: This led me to try sableye over M-absol because i could still knock off stuff, had recovery to increase the teams overall bulk, the fairy checks it has can be easily walled by bronzong, taunt would still prevent hazards more reliably, id gain access to will-o-wisp AND it had ghost type to negate rapid spin users from removing the rocks bronzong was able to set. This made me consider some things:
-I could now defog with mandibuzz instead of taunt;
-In case opponent isn't rocks weak, having a ghost type won't help much more than checking curselax;
-I had no status absorber, which was before helped by the presence of absol.
4th stage: So i asked myself: why having diancie if there are so many bulky waters into the tier with more recovery than it? So i brought in the infamous roar cune, along with infernape in place of tenta, for having an extra rocks setter and fighting stab, so that cune could roar at its will and mach punch increased priority could help me get some kills before taking unwanted damage.
5th stage: M-absol came back, but took mandibuzz spot this time, While infernape was subbed for Arcanine, which had better switch ins due to intimidate and could help sableye will-O-wisping stuff. This team had redundances, that were later removed by the addition of mamoswine.
6th stage: By now i had a pretty solid bronzong-suicune core. Conkeldurr was a pain for me to deal with, and i decided to try it in an offensive attempt along with hydreigon. brought Toxicroak back for its poison type and more fighting stab, and the last spot was taken by something that i figured out to be prety interesting and most of all: Funny. M-Banette magic coat is a set that made me happy, and ill comment more on it later as its the same i use on the next stage.
7th stage: The team you saw above. As i commented before, i wanted to check the most i could. It does not resume to pokemon, i wanted to check strategies too. So i put together what i had used so far that did work and im very happy with the result i have so far. I gotta point that this team is intended to evolve even further, and i am researching ways to increase coverage, but still haven't found much a way out of this current set so far.
1st stage: At first, i had M-absol protect lead, with bronzong, mandibuzz and diancie core. Toxicroak was my initial answer to bulky waters, and last but not least chandelure had the sweeping potential i lacked. However, absol was paper frail, and chandelure couldn't handle stealth rocks. I also couldn't respond well to swords dance and belly drum users, as i had to waste a switch to check em ad then were left vulnerable. This led me to:
2nd stage: Heliolisk for a volt switch momentum, situational switch-in for electric and ghost moves, while keeping a check for bulky waters, along with SPdef Tentacruel, for toxic spikes removal upon switch and general hazard removal. This helped me check more stuff, but my team started lacking sweep potential, and dugtrio could easily sweep the most of my team while arena traping.
3rd stage: This led me to try sableye over M-absol because i could still knock off stuff, had recovery to increase the teams overall bulk, the fairy checks it has can be easily walled by bronzong, taunt would still prevent hazards more reliably, id gain access to will-o-wisp AND it had ghost type to negate rapid spin users from removing the rocks bronzong was able to set. This made me consider some things:
-I could now defog with mandibuzz instead of taunt;
-In case opponent isn't rocks weak, having a ghost type won't help much more than checking curselax;
-I had no status absorber, which was before helped by the presence of absol.
4th stage: So i asked myself: why having diancie if there are so many bulky waters into the tier with more recovery than it? So i brought in the infamous roar cune, along with infernape in place of tenta, for having an extra rocks setter and fighting stab, so that cune could roar at its will and mach punch increased priority could help me get some kills before taking unwanted damage.
5th stage: M-absol came back, but took mandibuzz spot this time, While infernape was subbed for Arcanine, which had better switch ins due to intimidate and could help sableye will-O-wisping stuff. This team had redundances, that were later removed by the addition of mamoswine.
6th stage: By now i had a pretty solid bronzong-suicune core. Conkeldurr was a pain for me to deal with, and i decided to try it in an offensive attempt along with hydreigon. brought Toxicroak back for its poison type and more fighting stab, and the last spot was taken by something that i figured out to be prety interesting and most of all: Funny. M-Banette magic coat is a set that made me happy, and ill comment more on it later as its the same i use on the next stage.
7th stage: The team you saw above. As i commented before, i wanted to check the most i could. It does not resume to pokemon, i wanted to check strategies too. So i put together what i had used so far that did work and im very happy with the result i have so far. I gotta point that this team is intended to evolve even further, and i am researching ways to increase coverage, but still haven't found much a way out of this current set so far.
Banette-Mega (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
- Destiny Bond
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Heliolisk (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hyper Voice
- Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
- Fire Spin
- Toxic
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Protect
Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Scald
- Poison Jab
Ability: Frisk
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Magic Coat
- Destiny Bond
Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Roar
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Heliolisk (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hyper Voice
- Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
Arcanine (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
- Fire Spin
- Toxic
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Protect
Tentacruel (M) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Scald
- Poison Jab
will-O-wisp > compromise pokemon with low recovery that are leftovers dependant / sack M-swampert (unless rest) and other physical mons that may lead.
Taunt > prevent hazards, destiny bond into switchins.
Magic coat > for fun and memes. You might want to run toxic instead. Will help setting rocks on the opponent side faster.
Destiny bond > the reason to run Banette over sableye: sweep prevention. And to get rid of annoying stuff
Suicune set:
Well its a standard roar cune, not much to say here.
Heliolisk set:
Thunderbolt > best 100% accurate STAB it has.
Grass Knot > still hitting ground types, and with specs.
Hyper voice > does good enough damage because of stab, except in stuff that would already check it effectively enough.
Volt Switch > optional, as the checks this team has won't probably need the extra damage except perhaps arcanine
Arcanine set:
Well we see a nice new thing here. The wisp-morning sun defensive arcanine is well known. However, running both wisp and toxic might surprise its switch-ins, and fire spin is a hell of a trapping move, being only outclassed by infestation shuckle.
Bronzong set:
The most important move for bronzong: protect. It helps the lefties recovery, punishes high jump kick, scouts krookodile and other banded/scarfed treats.
Gyro ball is the best STAB it can run bc absorbing thunder wave from cresselia will increase its damage.
Toxic is whats there for, beware of aromatherapy and heal bell.
Stealth rocks is a must. If you don't have the chance to set them, you might struggle.
Tentacruel set:
Its there for the rapid spin. I usually won't be able to spin more than once, but this team isnt rocks weak. Some uses of it are very situational like leech seed and drain punch liquid ooze damage, poison jabbin fairies that think they can kill you first, but you're probably faster than them, knock off might help for switch-ins and scald is there because of burns.
Q & A
Pros:
1. frisk allows you to identify your opponents set. For example, scarf users will probably just U-turn, so you may stay in to set Will-O-Wisp or switch into a bait that may threaten his team;
2. Destiny bond, which sableye has no access to, has prankster boost, so fast sweepers won't be able to extreme speed due to your ghost type, and will most likely die alongside you;
3. More bulk. At first i was surprised because stuff that i thought would OHKO it doesn't so wasted some destiny bonds;
4. No fairy weakness;
5. Magic coat is fun :)
Cons:
1. No knock off;
2. No psychic imunity (bronzong will usually cover these);
3. No recovery, so you can't choose much who will Destiny Bond take down;
4. Mega slot is taken.
1. frisk allows you to identify your opponents set. For example, scarf users will probably just U-turn, so you may stay in to set Will-O-Wisp or switch into a bait that may threaten his team;
2. Destiny bond, which sableye has no access to, has prankster boost, so fast sweepers won't be able to extreme speed due to your ghost type, and will most likely die alongside you;
3. More bulk. At first i was surprised because stuff that i thought would OHKO it doesn't so wasted some destiny bonds;
4. No fairy weakness;
5. Magic coat is fun :)
Cons:
1. No knock off;
2. No psychic imunity (bronzong will usually cover these);
3. No recovery, so you can't choose much who will Destiny Bond take down;
4. Mega slot is taken.
- Escavalier in bronzongs place didn't work because it cannot recover as well, and this team does not have such offensive proposal;
- Mandibuzz, although very bulky, can't intimidate like arcanine, so is more frail to dragon dancers and swords dancers, and doesnt have an offensive presence to make them switch out.
- M-swampert can rest like cune, but can't recover with lefties, which is primordial for roar cune.
- Mandibuzz, although very bulky, can't intimidate like arcanine, so is more frail to dragon dancers and swords dancers, and doesnt have an offensive presence to make them switch out.
- M-swampert can rest like cune, but can't recover with lefties, which is primordial for roar cune.
Well i have done some trials already and subbing arcanine for cresselia did show interesting results. I want to fit M-absol back into this team one day, but ill need a better ghost type answer before i do so. I dislike doublade due to knock off making it very vulnerable and its way too slow.
Main Treats
#1 Conkeldurr can be checked by arcanine, but will probably force him into stealth rocks and make it lose its lefties. It also has enough bulk to take any moves, as this team is very slow in terms of damage. Might switch in toxic and will-O-wisp. Tentacruel won't be enough to tank his moves and recover health when black sludge gets knocked off, although gettin a drain punch will help a bit.
#2 Pursuit Trapping Bronzong It is intended to scout with protect, but its a specially defensive mon with a single damaging 8pp move. Pursuit does take bronzong down easily, and its a pivot switch for almost all special attackers.
#3 Volt Switchers can be tanked by bronzong, but still, will give momentum guaranteedly, and theres no ground immunity here.
#4 Chandelure might recieve flash fire boost from arcanine, energy ball into suicune isn't appreciated, neither shadow ball in a matter of fact, and tentacruel is not able to take many hits, neither can rapid spin into a ghost type.
#5 Hydreigon with Roost cannot be checked by bronzong (although bronzong can take up to 2 dark pulses after protect lefties recovery, he might get a crit, flinch or toxic miss), does more damage to tentacruel than it can recover and why roost: because it can recover damage from burn.
#6 Mega-beedrill & Rotom-H can set momentum, but won't do much damage due to the bulk this team has. It needs the right support to take this team down. However, both are defeatable if Stealth rocks are effectively set.
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