umm... Hi everyone! I want to share a team that I’ve had a little bit of success so far with, but still have not completely finalized. This team is my attempt at a balance team without using a Ferroseed/Spritzee core or a Onix/Vullaby/Oddish core! It is based around a Cutiefly and Chinchou core.
Cutiefly is the team's main sweeper
Chinchou checks fire and flying types for Cutiefly and provides nice general support. Slow Volt-switch helps bring in Cutiefly more often, giving it more opportunities to sweep.
So far, the team is very weak to Ferroseed, Munchlax, and Onix. Timburr is a good check to all of those mons and it adds hazard removal to the team.
Pawniard checks Galarian Ponyta and Oddish, which are big threats to the team. It brings priority to the team, sets Stealth Rocks, and is a backup Vullaby check (in case I switch into too many knock offs lol)
After adding Pawniard, I had to make sure I included a fighting check and ground check. Oddish was originally supposed to fill that role, but then I realized that Galarian Farfetch'd could still beat Oddish with some chip. As an alternative, I used Koffing to fill those roles. Koffing's ground immunity allows it to soft check most ground types, except Drilbur, and it can check Galarian Farfetch'd.
Wingull is a cleanup sweeper, and revenge kills ground types in case Koffing dies.
The Team:
Cutiefly @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
Cutiefly seemed like a nice sweeper this generation, so I wanted to try building with it. Quiver Dance + Psychic makes it able to 2hko most poison types and Moonblast takes a big chunk out of other checks, such as Pawniard. The focus sash is to ensure at least one chance to set up, provided that there are no hazards up. After Stealth Rocks, Cutiefly nets the ohko on most Vullaby sets.
Chinchou @ Berry Juice
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 52 Def / 152 SpA / 168 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Cutiefly pairs nicely with Chinchou, because Chinchou is able to check Fire and Flying types for Cutiefly. It also checks water types and helps the team gain momentum by pivoting off other Pokemon. The slow Volt Switch is nice for bringing in frailer Pokémon, such as Cutiefly or Wingull. This Chinchou set is specifically for NP Vullaby, with the extra evs in spdf allowing it to tank a +2 Dark Pulse.
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 156 Def / 80 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
Because this core is fairly weak to Munchlax, Ferroseed, and Onix, I decided to use Timburr as my defogger. Timburr has good priority, and is bulky enough to revenge kill smashers. Running Guts allows Timburr to absorb status, and soft check Mareanie and Frillish. To help against the team's sun matchup, Thunder Punch can be swapped for Ice Punch and Guts can be swapped for Iron Fist.
Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Then, I added Pawniard to check Galarian Ponyta, Oddish, ghost types, fairy types and act as a second defense against flying types. Stealth Rock on Pawniard helps wear down the opponent’s Pokemon over time and breaks the opponent's Focus Sash/Sturdy, making it a lot easier to sweep with Cutiefly. Pawniard also acts as a webs and defog deterrent, and Sucker Punch helps it revenge kill faster Pokemon. Since Pawniard no longer gets knock off, the set I'm using is the BJ + Thief set. After berry juice activates, you get a chance to steal a item from the opponent's team, but it does sacrifice bulk.
Koffing @ Berry Juice
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
After adding Pawniard, I had to make sure I included a fighting check and ground check. Instead of adding a separate ground check and fighting check, Koffing is able to compress both roles, and saves a slot for another sweeper. Koffing does its job decently, being able to wisp and deter ground types, and also brakes up Ferroseed/Spritzee cores, which the team struggled against.
Wingull @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Substitute
Lastly, I chose Wingull as a cleanup sweeper and knock-off user. It was mainly intended to revenge kill Drilbur and other ground types. Because Wingull isn't really necessary to the team, you could alternatively swap Koffing and Wingull for Grookey and Mareanie, which makes for a less offensive, but much bulkier team.
Threats:
When testing this team, I did notice that Pawniard kept getting trapped by Trapinch, making it really difficult to deal with Poison and Psychic types :/
Please tell me any recommendations that you have! (bc idk wut im doing)
Ty for reading :3
Cutiefly is the team's main sweeper Chinchou checks fire and flying types for Cutiefly and provides nice general support. Slow Volt-switch helps bring in Cutiefly more often, giving it more opportunities to sweep. So far, the team is very weak to Ferroseed, Munchlax, and Onix. Timburr is a good check to all of those mons and it adds hazard removal to the team. Pawniard checks Galarian Ponyta and Oddish, which are big threats to the team. It brings priority to the team, sets Stealth Rocks, and is a backup Vullaby check (in case I switch into too many knock offs lol) After adding Pawniard, I had to make sure I included a fighting check and ground check. Oddish was originally supposed to fill that role, but then I realized that Galarian Farfetch'd could still beat Oddish with some chip. As an alternative, I used Koffing to fill those roles. Koffing's ground immunity allows it to soft check most ground types, except Drilbur, and it can check Galarian Farfetch'd. Wingull is a cleanup sweeper, and revenge kills ground types in case Koffing dies.The Team:
Cutiefly @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
Cutiefly seemed like a nice sweeper this generation, so I wanted to try building with it. Quiver Dance + Psychic makes it able to 2hko most poison types and Moonblast takes a big chunk out of other checks, such as Pawniard. The focus sash is to ensure at least one chance to set up, provided that there are no hazards up. After Stealth Rocks, Cutiefly nets the ohko on most Vullaby sets.
Chinchou @ Berry Juice
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 52 Def / 152 SpA / 168 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Cutiefly pairs nicely with Chinchou, because Chinchou is able to check Fire and Flying types for Cutiefly. It also checks water types and helps the team gain momentum by pivoting off other Pokemon. The slow Volt Switch is nice for bringing in frailer Pokémon, such as Cutiefly or Wingull. This Chinchou set is specifically for NP Vullaby, with the extra evs in spdf allowing it to tank a +2 Dark Pulse.
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 156 Def / 80 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
Because this core is fairly weak to Munchlax, Ferroseed, and Onix, I decided to use Timburr as my defogger. Timburr has good priority, and is bulky enough to revenge kill smashers. Running Guts allows Timburr to absorb status, and soft check Mareanie and Frillish. To help against the team's sun matchup, Thunder Punch can be swapped for Ice Punch and Guts can be swapped for Iron Fist.
Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Then, I added Pawniard to check Galarian Ponyta, Oddish, ghost types, fairy types and act as a second defense against flying types. Stealth Rock on Pawniard helps wear down the opponent’s Pokemon over time and breaks the opponent's Focus Sash/Sturdy, making it a lot easier to sweep with Cutiefly. Pawniard also acts as a webs and defog deterrent, and Sucker Punch helps it revenge kill faster Pokemon. Since Pawniard no longer gets knock off, the set I'm using is the BJ + Thief set. After berry juice activates, you get a chance to steal a item from the opponent's team, but it does sacrifice bulk.
Koffing @ Berry Juice
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
After adding Pawniard, I had to make sure I included a fighting check and ground check. Instead of adding a separate ground check and fighting check, Koffing is able to compress both roles, and saves a slot for another sweeper. Koffing does its job decently, being able to wisp and deter ground types, and also brakes up Ferroseed/Spritzee cores, which the team struggled against.
Wingull @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Substitute
Lastly, I chose Wingull as a cleanup sweeper and knock-off user. It was mainly intended to revenge kill Drilbur and other ground types. Because Wingull isn't really necessary to the team, you could alternatively swap Koffing and Wingull for Grookey and Mareanie, which makes for a less offensive, but much bulkier team.
Threats:
- This team struggles against Corphish, and hard loses once Chinchou dies
- Croagunk can come in on Pawniard, Chinchou, Koffing, and Timburr, and the only counterplay is to revenge kill with Cutiefly or Wingull
- Oddish under sun is a nightmare, with the only check being Pawniard, who is easily removed by Trapinch.
- Vulpix’s Drought weakens Wingull’s Scald, and Vulpix runs coverage to ko Chinchou
- Ponyta has the coverage to remove Pawniard which is its only check
- Drilbur beats Koffing and under Rapid Spin, it outspeeds the rest of the team.
Cutiefly @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
Chinchou @ Berry Juice
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 52 Def / 152 SpA / 168 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 156 Def / 80 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Koffing @ Berry Juice
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
- Haze
Wingull @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Substitute
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
Chinchou @ Berry Juice
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 52 Def / 152 SpA / 168 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 156 Def / 80 SpD
Careful Nature
- Defog
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
Pawniard @ Berry Juice
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thief
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Koffing @ Berry Juice
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Def / 236 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Bomb
- Fire Blast
- Haze
Wingull @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Def / 236 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Hurricane
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Substitute
When testing this team, I did notice that Pawniard kept getting trapped by Trapinch, making it really difficult to deal with Poison and Psychic types :/
Please tell me any recommendations that you have! (bc idk wut im doing)
Ty for reading :3
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