Hi all. First team I've made in a while after taking a bit of a hiatus from Showdown. Never been that good at making teams, but thought I'd try my hand here. The team is called Corviknight Balance since Corviknight is really the main win condition of the team, but I started building the team with something else in mind; namely, a strong defensive core that could handle a multitude of offensive threats, which currently seems to be a very large amount of Pokemon, what with Dynamaxing being a thing that can make so many Pokemon deadly sweepers.
The main core consists of three Pokemon.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic
Toxapex seemed like a natural first Pokemon to slot in. Haze lets Toxapex come in and remove stat boosts that are generated from Dynamaxed Pokemon with the likes of Max Airstream or Knuckle. Other than that, it's an amazing physical wall that handle most of the hottest physical attackers that are strong right now, such as Darmanitan-G, Gyarados, and perhaps Hawlucha. Scald prevents Toxapex from being total taunt bait and further boosts Toxapex's ability to check physical attackers with stray burns. Recover for obligatory on demand healing. Toxic eases defensive matchups and makes Pokemon that would normally switch in and do whatever they want more wary.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn complements Toxapex very nicely, which is no surprise. Special defense investment to let it handle the Pokemon that Toxapex has more trouble with, such as Dragapult (assuming no hard read fire blast shenanigans), Rotom-W, and Toxtricity. Spikes capitalizes on the switches that Ferrothorn will subsequently force out a lot of the time. Leech Seed along with Protect bullies around a lot of Pokemon that would normally have no problem coming in and destroying Ferrothorn, such as Cinderace and Rotom-H. Cinderace in particular loves to come in on this thing and threaten a Pyro Ball while also being able to switch hazards with Court Change, but if you can catch it with Leech Seed on the switch the damage will add up over time. Power Whip is important to pressure the water-types in the tier, most notably water absorb Pokemon, which I'll explain the importance of later.
Corsola-Galar @ Eviolite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Strength Sap
- Night Shade
Corsola-G rounds out the whole defensive core I've got going on here. Allows some breathing room for Ferrothorn and Toxapex, who otherwise would have trouble by themselves staving off offense all the time. Stops plenty of offensive Pokemon in their tracks and retaliates with a wisp, or just uses the gained momentum to set up rocks, recover, or do chip damage with shade. Notably stops Excadrill and Conkeldurr, who otherwise slap around the other two Pokemon in this core. Spinblocking is a nice bonus.
So with the main defensive core out there, there is a need for Pokemon that can take advantage of it.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 136 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Roost
The team needs a solid win condition, so Corviknight acts as just that. This is pretty much just the Sub Bulk set from its Smogon analysis. I felt no need to change any particulars from that set. Once Pokemon that can check this thing are dead or sufficiently weakened, it can bust through bulkier teams on its own, which my core would otherwise just come to a stalemate with. This EV spread is very specific and I'm not sure if the benchmarks that are hit due to it are things that my team needs; I don't have enough experience to be acutely aware of that.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Low Kick
Wallbreaker. Normally, this thing is pretty hard to switch in without taking punishment, but the defensive core I've established allows ample opportunity to get in without much retaliation, if at all. The goal is to come in on a defensive Pokemon and rip it apart, or force the opponent to switch and, probably, rip that Pokemon apart with the monstrosity that is Fishious Rend. Honestly, the matchup against more defensive teams is already pretty good by virtue of Corviknight, so I've been on the fence on switching this guy for something like Mandibuzz. But as it stands, disgustingly powerful mon that can tear apart opposing defensive cores. Is pretty close to dead weight if the opposing team has a water absorb mon, which is why Ferrothorn packs power whip.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
Last Pokemon to act primarily as a revenge killer. Also eases the matchup against offensive teams a lot by virtue of its blistering speed. Similarly to Dracovish, gets opportunities to come in through the defensive pokes. The role is opposite to what Dracovish is intended to do: rip through opposing offensive Pokemon that are slower with the appropriate move. Draco Meteor and Shadow Ball are the STAB moves of choice; meteor can simply OHKO plenty of offensive Pokemon that don't resist it. The coverage moves allow it to handle Pokemon like opposing Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz with tbolt, and so on. Struggles to be that useful against bulkier teams, but anyway, there are already two other Pokemon that excel in such a matchup.
Yeah, that's the team. Overall, I feel like the team would really appreciate a defogger or spinner, but I've been having trouble finding ways to slot such a mon in. Please let me know what you think.
The main core consists of three Pokemon.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic
Toxapex seemed like a natural first Pokemon to slot in. Haze lets Toxapex come in and remove stat boosts that are generated from Dynamaxed Pokemon with the likes of Max Airstream or Knuckle. Other than that, it's an amazing physical wall that handle most of the hottest physical attackers that are strong right now, such as Darmanitan-G, Gyarados, and perhaps Hawlucha. Scald prevents Toxapex from being total taunt bait and further boosts Toxapex's ability to check physical attackers with stray burns. Recover for obligatory on demand healing. Toxic eases defensive matchups and makes Pokemon that would normally switch in and do whatever they want more wary.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
Ferrothorn complements Toxapex very nicely, which is no surprise. Special defense investment to let it handle the Pokemon that Toxapex has more trouble with, such as Dragapult (assuming no hard read fire blast shenanigans), Rotom-W, and Toxtricity. Spikes capitalizes on the switches that Ferrothorn will subsequently force out a lot of the time. Leech Seed along with Protect bullies around a lot of Pokemon that would normally have no problem coming in and destroying Ferrothorn, such as Cinderace and Rotom-H. Cinderace in particular loves to come in on this thing and threaten a Pyro Ball while also being able to switch hazards with Court Change, but if you can catch it with Leech Seed on the switch the damage will add up over time. Power Whip is important to pressure the water-types in the tier, most notably water absorb Pokemon, which I'll explain the importance of later.
Corsola-Galar @ Eviolite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Stealth Rock
- Strength Sap
- Night Shade
Corsola-G rounds out the whole defensive core I've got going on here. Allows some breathing room for Ferrothorn and Toxapex, who otherwise would have trouble by themselves staving off offense all the time. Stops plenty of offensive Pokemon in their tracks and retaliates with a wisp, or just uses the gained momentum to set up rocks, recover, or do chip damage with shade. Notably stops Excadrill and Conkeldurr, who otherwise slap around the other two Pokemon in this core. Spinblocking is a nice bonus.
So with the main defensive core out there, there is a need for Pokemon that can take advantage of it.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 136 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Roost
The team needs a solid win condition, so Corviknight acts as just that. This is pretty much just the Sub Bulk set from its Smogon analysis. I felt no need to change any particulars from that set. Once Pokemon that can check this thing are dead or sufficiently weakened, it can bust through bulkier teams on its own, which my core would otherwise just come to a stalemate with. This EV spread is very specific and I'm not sure if the benchmarks that are hit due to it are things that my team needs; I don't have enough experience to be acutely aware of that.
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
- Low Kick
Wallbreaker. Normally, this thing is pretty hard to switch in without taking punishment, but the defensive core I've established allows ample opportunity to get in without much retaliation, if at all. The goal is to come in on a defensive Pokemon and rip it apart, or force the opponent to switch and, probably, rip that Pokemon apart with the monstrosity that is Fishious Rend. Honestly, the matchup against more defensive teams is already pretty good by virtue of Corviknight, so I've been on the fence on switching this guy for something like Mandibuzz. But as it stands, disgustingly powerful mon that can tear apart opposing defensive cores. Is pretty close to dead weight if the opposing team has a water absorb mon, which is why Ferrothorn packs power whip.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
Last Pokemon to act primarily as a revenge killer. Also eases the matchup against offensive teams a lot by virtue of its blistering speed. Similarly to Dracovish, gets opportunities to come in through the defensive pokes. The role is opposite to what Dracovish is intended to do: rip through opposing offensive Pokemon that are slower with the appropriate move. Draco Meteor and Shadow Ball are the STAB moves of choice; meteor can simply OHKO plenty of offensive Pokemon that don't resist it. The coverage moves allow it to handle Pokemon like opposing Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz with tbolt, and so on. Struggles to be that useful against bulkier teams, but anyway, there are already two other Pokemon that excel in such a matchup.
Yeah, that's the team. Overall, I feel like the team would really appreciate a defogger or spinner, but I've been having trouble finding ways to slot such a mon in. Please let me know what you think.