This team represents my first big foray into Generation 5 Little Cup, after a very long hiatus away from the community. After recording the awesome LC Smogcast (go listen to it after it gets released!), I immediately got super hyped for playing LC in Gen 5. To that end, I went and sought out Heysup, one of my old-school LC buddies, and together, we made this team, one of the most awesome LC teams I’ve ever played with, and it's even gotten me as far as #1 on the P-O Ladder! So without further ado, allow me to present:
ENTIRE TEAM IS BABIES: Team R.E.D. (Reliable Excavation & Demolition)- LC Edition!
Demoman (Meditite) (M) @ Life Orb
- Fake Out
- Bullet Punch
- Hi Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 Def / 196 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"You’re so bloody TINY! You’re like a toy-sized version of a man!"
Meditite is my “lead”, insofar as this metagame really has leads. There are few leads that I actually actively change against, so Meditite is basically the lead of this team. Like the Demoman, a well played Meditite is damn near untouchable. Double priority from Fake Out and Bullet Punch is awesome, and can take out many frailer or weakened opponents before they can even get a move off. Meanwhile, the dual STAB hits many other opponents ridiculously hard, making it tough for them to switch into Meditite repeatedly. A solid lead.
Fun fact: I originally had Ice Punch over Zen Headbutt for Gligar, but then realized that I hate being walled by Pururiru, and Zen Headbutt deals equally awesome damage to Gligar.
Flying attacks go to Komatana, but who the hell uses those? Ghost attacks go to Komatana or Zuruggu.
Soldier (Gligar) (M) @ Evolution Stone
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Roost
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 156 Atk / 76 SDef / 236 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"Welcome to the United States of YOU JUST GOT DOMINATED."
Solid, reliable, bulky, but still powerful, Gligar is the Soldier of the team. He generally uses his bulk and power to check nasty opponents. Roost is pretty damn awesome with Evolution Stone, and Stealth Rock is great as always (though not as necessary). EVs give 19 Speed, 16 Attack, 17 (25) Def, and 14 (21) SDef. Gligar is actually the Pokemon on this team that comes out the least, but he’s still useful for checking Moguryuu, Komatana, switching in on Thunderbolts and Fighting attacks, etc. Fun times.
Water attacks go to Monmen or Pururiru. Ice Attacks go to Pururiru or Komatana.
Heavy (Zuruggu) (M) @ Evolution Stone
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SDef / 212 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"I am amused by entire itty-bitty teeny team! You are all so small! Is funny to me!"
Now THIS is what I’m talking about. Zuruggu is the Heavy of the team, and after gettin’ revved up for a bit, it’s more than willing to beast all over everything, putting out an absolutely retarded level of punishment after a DD (or two). Evolution Stone and defensive EVs give this 22 HP and 21 Def/SDef, which is more than enough to set up on attackers and sponge super-effective priority. Drain Punch is the main attack, as it lets Zuruggu heal up in the middle of battle (nom nom nom om nom), and makes him basically impossible to kill once he’s set up. Crunch is a secondary STAB, used to hit Ghost-types. Finally, Ice Punch knocks Gligar around, making it mighty hard to check Zuruggu. Fun facts: Dokkora’s Mach Punch and Croagunk’s Vacuum Wave only do like... a little more than half HP damage to this Zuruggu, allowing Zuru to beat them down hard- Dokkora also has a huge delicious HP stat to heal up on, which is nice.
A previous iteration of this team had Hi Jump Kick over Ice Punch, but I soon found that Drain Punch was so awesome that I never actually used or needed Hi Jump Kick. Ice Punch, on the other hand, allows me to beat Gligar rather than just straight up get walled by it.
Shed Skin is used here instead of Overconfident, and that is because Shed Skin is AWESOME. I can set up on Pururiru’s Will-o-Wisp if I want, or shake off a Thunder Wave from Tesshido. It even keeps Toxic Spikes from ruining my sweep!
Fighting attacks go to Gligar and Pururiru (and Meditite sometimes), Flying attacks go to Komatana.
Medic (Pururiru) (F) @ Evolution Stone
- Recover
- Surf
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SAtk
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
"Eins, svei, drei... Ugh, I do not think we brought enough body bags."
Doc! C’mon, man! Pururiru provides the Special walling for this team, and it’s damn good at it. Evo Stone Pururiru hits 25 / 21 / 24 defenses, and has that awesome Recover, which is sweet. I use Surf instead of Boiling Water and WoW instead of Energy Ball mainly because I want to be able to burn Croagunk, and Boiling Water doesn’t really do it that well. Still, Pururiru is an awesome Pokemon, and even though it tends to be the most expendable (I’m more than willing to let Puru die to get damage up on Misdreavus, for example), it’s still ridiculously useful.
Ghost / Dark attacks go to Zuruggu and Komatana. Electric attacks go to Gligar or Monmen. Grass attacks go to Komatana or Monmen.
Engineer (Monmen) (M) @ Leftovers
- Encore
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Def / 64 SAtk / 196 SDef
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
"Shoot, son. Y’all are as slow as molasses."
Hoppip, eat your heart out. Monmen is the Engineer, and he serves the role of basic “area denial”. Encore ruins any attempt at setup, beating DDers, Swords Dancers, Substitute users, etc. with ease. SubSeed is also awesome with Mischievous Heart, letting it stall out enemies, force switches, and just generally be ridiculously annoying. HP Fire is pretty awesome in the last slot, as people love switching Tesshido and Snover into Monmen and subsequently get destroyed by HP Fire (2HKOs Tess and damn near OHKOs Snover).
I also commonly find myself suicide Encoring Ghost and Dark attacks to use to set up Zuruggu, as if I can get a DD with a full HP Zuruggu, it’s not hard to get a second Dragon Dance and then destroy everything (even evo stone walls!) with Drain Punch.
Fire attacks go to Pururiru. Ice attacks go to Komatana and Pururiru. Flying attacks go to Komatana. Bug attacks go to Pururiru or Gligar.
Scout (Komatana) (M) @ Choice Scarf
- Night Slash
- Iron Head
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
Ability: Competitive Spirit
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SDef / 196 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
"Pop quiz: How long does it take to beat a moron to death? BAM! Sorry, time’s up, you’re dead!"
Komatana’s the scout for my team, zipping around killing the hell out of slower opponents and pursuiting priority targets. Night Slash and Iron Head give pretty decent coverage, and Brick Break is mighty useful for hitting nasty stuff like opposing Komatana or Zuruggu. Pursuit is mainly for picking off Scarfed Pokemon that are trapped into a NVE attack, or a Ghost attempting to switch out in fear of Sucker Punch. It’s also an alternate lead that I consider, mainly because it lets me play some fairly neat mindgames versus some leads, such as Meditite (going to Pururiru on the Hi Jump Kick, then coming back to Komatana on the Zen Headbutt and Pursuiting it out).
Fire attacks go to Pururiru. Fighting attacks go to Pururiru and Gligar. Ground attacks go to Gligar and Monmen.
The Threatdown:
"That was an amazing killing spree... FOR THE OTHER TEAM!"
Yeah yeah, every team has them. This one doesn’t have many, but there are some nasty foes for the team anyway.
Houndour: Fuck Houndour. Seriously. Houndour is the only thing I’ve faced where I’ve had to just go “well fuck, what do I do now” at any time. Komatana can beat non-scarfed versions, Meditite has its stupid strong Fake Out, and Zuruggu can sponge an attack, but if Pururiru goes down at any time, Scarf Houndour is going to give me a hell of a bad time.
Elekid: This one can be a bitch, especially if it’s using HP Ice over Ice Punch (Gligar can take an Ice Punch, but HP Ice blasts it into next week), as its high speed and type coverage makes it really hard for me to switch into. It’s not all bad, though, as Komatana outspeeds and is fairly bulky, Meditite can deal a ridiculous amount of damage with its dual priority, and Zuruggu takes approx. dick% from Cross Chop and can heal the damage off with a +1 Drain Punch.
Zuruggu: This one is semi-obvious. If it’s not carrying Ice Punch, Gligar can wall it, and Komatana outspeeds and hits it with Brick Break. Meditite is my general fallback, but I still have issues dealing with it after it sets up if it manages to do so with full HP. Then again, what team doesn’t?
Closing Words:
"Every one of you deserves a medal!"
This team has been an awesome one for me, and in my eyes, it really highlights the way that Generation 5 has revamped LC. LC is no longer a metagame exclusively dominated by extreme offense, as Evolution Stone has allowed Balance teams like mine to fluorish. The Generation 5 metagame seems like a more “mature” metagame to me, and I’m sure it’s only going to get better from here.
ENTIRE TEAM IS BABIES: Team R.E.D. (Reliable Excavation & Demolition)- LC Edition!
Demoman (Meditite) (M) @ Life Orb
- Fake Out
- Bullet Punch
- Hi Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 Def / 196 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"You’re so bloody TINY! You’re like a toy-sized version of a man!"
Meditite is my “lead”, insofar as this metagame really has leads. There are few leads that I actually actively change against, so Meditite is basically the lead of this team. Like the Demoman, a well played Meditite is damn near untouchable. Double priority from Fake Out and Bullet Punch is awesome, and can take out many frailer or weakened opponents before they can even get a move off. Meanwhile, the dual STAB hits many other opponents ridiculously hard, making it tough for them to switch into Meditite repeatedly. A solid lead.
Fun fact: I originally had Ice Punch over Zen Headbutt for Gligar, but then realized that I hate being walled by Pururiru, and Zen Headbutt deals equally awesome damage to Gligar.
Flying attacks go to Komatana, but who the hell uses those? Ghost attacks go to Komatana or Zuruggu.
Soldier (Gligar) (M) @ Evolution Stone
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Roost
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 156 Atk / 76 SDef / 236 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"Welcome to the United States of YOU JUST GOT DOMINATED."
Solid, reliable, bulky, but still powerful, Gligar is the Soldier of the team. He generally uses his bulk and power to check nasty opponents. Roost is pretty damn awesome with Evolution Stone, and Stealth Rock is great as always (though not as necessary). EVs give 19 Speed, 16 Attack, 17 (25) Def, and 14 (21) SDef. Gligar is actually the Pokemon on this team that comes out the least, but he’s still useful for checking Moguryuu, Komatana, switching in on Thunderbolts and Fighting attacks, etc. Fun times.
Water attacks go to Monmen or Pururiru. Ice Attacks go to Pururiru or Komatana.
Heavy (Zuruggu) (M) @ Evolution Stone
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SDef / 212 Spd
Nature: Jolly (+Spd, -SAtk)
"I am amused by entire itty-bitty teeny team! You are all so small! Is funny to me!"
Now THIS is what I’m talking about. Zuruggu is the Heavy of the team, and after gettin’ revved up for a bit, it’s more than willing to beast all over everything, putting out an absolutely retarded level of punishment after a DD (or two). Evolution Stone and defensive EVs give this 22 HP and 21 Def/SDef, which is more than enough to set up on attackers and sponge super-effective priority. Drain Punch is the main attack, as it lets Zuruggu heal up in the middle of battle (nom nom nom om nom), and makes him basically impossible to kill once he’s set up. Crunch is a secondary STAB, used to hit Ghost-types. Finally, Ice Punch knocks Gligar around, making it mighty hard to check Zuruggu. Fun facts: Dokkora’s Mach Punch and Croagunk’s Vacuum Wave only do like... a little more than half HP damage to this Zuruggu, allowing Zuru to beat them down hard- Dokkora also has a huge delicious HP stat to heal up on, which is nice.
A previous iteration of this team had Hi Jump Kick over Ice Punch, but I soon found that Drain Punch was so awesome that I never actually used or needed Hi Jump Kick. Ice Punch, on the other hand, allows me to beat Gligar rather than just straight up get walled by it.
Shed Skin is used here instead of Overconfident, and that is because Shed Skin is AWESOME. I can set up on Pururiru’s Will-o-Wisp if I want, or shake off a Thunder Wave from Tesshido. It even keeps Toxic Spikes from ruining my sweep!
Fighting attacks go to Gligar and Pururiru (and Meditite sometimes), Flying attacks go to Komatana.
Medic (Pururiru) (F) @ Evolution Stone
- Recover
- Surf
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 236 HP / 196 Def / 76 SAtk
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
"Eins, svei, drei... Ugh, I do not think we brought enough body bags."
Doc! C’mon, man! Pururiru provides the Special walling for this team, and it’s damn good at it. Evo Stone Pururiru hits 25 / 21 / 24 defenses, and has that awesome Recover, which is sweet. I use Surf instead of Boiling Water and WoW instead of Energy Ball mainly because I want to be able to burn Croagunk, and Boiling Water doesn’t really do it that well. Still, Pururiru is an awesome Pokemon, and even though it tends to be the most expendable (I’m more than willing to let Puru die to get damage up on Misdreavus, for example), it’s still ridiculously useful.
Ghost / Dark attacks go to Zuruggu and Komatana. Electric attacks go to Gligar or Monmen. Grass attacks go to Komatana or Monmen.
Engineer (Monmen) (M) @ Leftovers
- Encore
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Def / 64 SAtk / 196 SDef
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
"Shoot, son. Y’all are as slow as molasses."
Hoppip, eat your heart out. Monmen is the Engineer, and he serves the role of basic “area denial”. Encore ruins any attempt at setup, beating DDers, Swords Dancers, Substitute users, etc. with ease. SubSeed is also awesome with Mischievous Heart, letting it stall out enemies, force switches, and just generally be ridiculously annoying. HP Fire is pretty awesome in the last slot, as people love switching Tesshido and Snover into Monmen and subsequently get destroyed by HP Fire (2HKOs Tess and damn near OHKOs Snover).
I also commonly find myself suicide Encoring Ghost and Dark attacks to use to set up Zuruggu, as if I can get a DD with a full HP Zuruggu, it’s not hard to get a second Dragon Dance and then destroy everything (even evo stone walls!) with Drain Punch.
Fire attacks go to Pururiru. Ice attacks go to Komatana and Pururiru. Flying attacks go to Komatana. Bug attacks go to Pururiru or Gligar.
Scout (Komatana) (M) @ Choice Scarf
- Night Slash
- Iron Head
- Brick Break
- Pursuit
Ability: Competitive Spirit
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SDef / 196 Spd
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
"Pop quiz: How long does it take to beat a moron to death? BAM! Sorry, time’s up, you’re dead!"
Komatana’s the scout for my team, zipping around killing the hell out of slower opponents and pursuiting priority targets. Night Slash and Iron Head give pretty decent coverage, and Brick Break is mighty useful for hitting nasty stuff like opposing Komatana or Zuruggu. Pursuit is mainly for picking off Scarfed Pokemon that are trapped into a NVE attack, or a Ghost attempting to switch out in fear of Sucker Punch. It’s also an alternate lead that I consider, mainly because it lets me play some fairly neat mindgames versus some leads, such as Meditite (going to Pururiru on the Hi Jump Kick, then coming back to Komatana on the Zen Headbutt and Pursuiting it out).
Fire attacks go to Pururiru. Fighting attacks go to Pururiru and Gligar. Ground attacks go to Gligar and Monmen.
The Threatdown:
"That was an amazing killing spree... FOR THE OTHER TEAM!"
Yeah yeah, every team has them. This one doesn’t have many, but there are some nasty foes for the team anyway.
Houndour: Fuck Houndour. Seriously. Houndour is the only thing I’ve faced where I’ve had to just go “well fuck, what do I do now” at any time. Komatana can beat non-scarfed versions, Meditite has its stupid strong Fake Out, and Zuruggu can sponge an attack, but if Pururiru goes down at any time, Scarf Houndour is going to give me a hell of a bad time.
Elekid: This one can be a bitch, especially if it’s using HP Ice over Ice Punch (Gligar can take an Ice Punch, but HP Ice blasts it into next week), as its high speed and type coverage makes it really hard for me to switch into. It’s not all bad, though, as Komatana outspeeds and is fairly bulky, Meditite can deal a ridiculous amount of damage with its dual priority, and Zuruggu takes approx. dick% from Cross Chop and can heal the damage off with a +1 Drain Punch.
Zuruggu: This one is semi-obvious. If it’s not carrying Ice Punch, Gligar can wall it, and Komatana outspeeds and hits it with Brick Break. Meditite is my general fallback, but I still have issues dealing with it after it sets up if it manages to do so with full HP. Then again, what team doesn’t?
Closing Words:
"Every one of you deserves a medal!"
This team has been an awesome one for me, and in my eyes, it really highlights the way that Generation 5 has revamped LC. LC is no longer a metagame exclusively dominated by extreme offense, as Evolution Stone has allowed Balance teams like mine to fluorish. The Generation 5 metagame seems like a more “mature” metagame to me, and I’m sure it’s only going to get better from here.
