Hello everyone! I'm relatively new to Smogon and Competitive Pokemon in general. As such, I made sure I waited a while and got a feel for the NU tier before making this first RMT. I think I have a pretty decent team setup here, but I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement! So, with that out of the way, here's my team!
This is a very offensive team focused on quickly and efficiently tearing through whatever it's faced with. The decent bulk on a lot of my attackers allows me to have some staying power in longer games as well.
Now for the team building process I used.
I started with Absol because he is an awesome physical sweeper with good coverage and great priority with a STAB sucker punch. If he can set up a SD, he can nearly single handedly sweep an opposing team. His weakness to fighting initially had me considering using Gardevoir or Musharna to cover him, but then they would both share a weakness to bug, so instead I chose...
This guy is a monster, plain and simple. Insane coverage, great damage, good bulk, 3 immunities, and a great ability when combined with his move pool. His ghost weakness is already covered by Absol, so I just needed something to cover ice, grass, and water.
2 out of 3 isn't bad... Anyways, I chose Samurott because aside from being able to take water and ice hits for Golurk, he is able to dish out a good deal of damage as well. And if he can set up a SD, he can also turn into a fairly decent sweeper.
All that said, I still had two pokes weak to grass attacks. In comes Amoonguss, with a double resistance to it. He can also deal massive damage to grass types that don't have a secondary typing that provides poison resistance.
I was still missing a poke to set up SR. I chose Golem over Bastiodon and Probopass because he usually outspeeds them and therefore can take them out rather easily. I also love the move Rock Blast, as it has proven to be very good against birds, sub users, and the Sash/Endeavor/Vacuum Wave Monferno start I've been seeing lately.
Braviary is my revenge killer, as well as another answer to grass types that plague my team. This guy has actually swept 3-4 pokes for me before, thanks to Golem taking out the opposing rock/steel type early on.
After testing these 6 several times, one thing became painfully apparent: I needed a rapid spinner. BADLY. I faced three teams that stacked entry hazards and had no way of dealing with them. They would do a standard SR start, then would switch in a Garbodor whenever I had to switch to Amoonguss and get get 1-2 free spikes up. Sometmies more, if they decide to go ahead and just sacrifice it. Every time I came across this strategy I would lose. I also noticed that, while powerful, Samurott just wasn't pulling his weight. With his limited movepool, it was too easy for my opponents to check him and force a switch, so I decided to replace him with...
This guy provides everything I needed. A spinner, a bulky water type to take the ice and water hits that hurt the rest of my team so badly, and a phaser. Throw on scald for STAB and burn chance and toxic to help chip away at opposing walls.
Wartortle immediately proved his worth. Thanks to Golem killing opposing SR users in the first few turns, I am often able to clear away entry hazards while my opponents are unable to do so themselves. This, coupled with the great type coverage offered by my team that can easily force switches, causes the damage to add up quite fast.
So with that one poke swap, and a few minor adjustments to move pools, I found myself looking at a pretty reliable team.
GOLEM @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
-Rock Blast
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Sucker Punch
I start with Golem a majority of the time, unless I predict that my opponent will lead with a grass or water type. His job is pretty standard: Set up SR and then attempt to do as much damage as possible. Move set is pretty standard: EQ for great STAB damage, Rock Blast for shooting down birds and breaking through subs, and Sucker Punch for finishing off frail or low health sweepers.
ABSOL @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Superpower
-Psycho Cut
-Sucker Punch
-Swords Dance
Again pretty standard setup, but very devastating to a lot of teams. Superpower for steel/rock/other dark types that try to wall me, psycho cut to deal with fighting pokes that try to switch in as well as for tearing through Amoonguss, Sucker Punch as a good priority STAB, and Swords Dance to set up sweeps. I've thought about switching Sucker Punch for Night Slash, but not sure if this would be a good idea. While there have been some times I've mispredicted with SP, it's never caused any real problems.
GOLURK @ Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 ATK / 252 Spe
-Shadow Punch
-Ice Punch
-Drain Punch
-Earthquake
Drain Punch for dark types that may try to switch in and for use against normals I switch in to. I chose it over hammer arm for the recovery. Ice Punch is mostly here to deal with things like Altaria, but it is also good if I can predict a switch to a grass type. EQ for a powerful STAB, and Shadow Punch for another powerful STAB. He also serves as an amazing switch in against spinners, as he blocks the rapid spin and then slams whoever my opponent switches to for a good deal of damage (unless the spinner is Wartortle... in which case I usually won't switch to Gol).
AMOONGUSS @ Black Sludge
Nature: Bold
Ability: REgenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpAtk
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Clear Smog
-Spore
Giga Drain on top of regenerator and black sludge makes this guy a total pain to take down. Clear smog stops opponents from setting up, and spore is there for the threats that don't need to set up to wreck. Sludge bomb is a decent STAB with a chance to poison, which is always nice. It also does a ton of damage to opposing grass types I often switch this guy into if they don't have a secondary typing that resists poison. I chose black sludge over leftovers just in case anyone decides to try to Trick it.
BRAVIARY @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
-Brave Bird
-Superpower
-Return
-U-Turn
Moveset is really standard. Brave Bird for the awesome STAB damage, Superpower for those pesky rock and steel types, return for another decent STAB move with a wide range of neutral coverage, and U-Turn for hit and run. Not really a whole lot more I can say about this guy...
GOREBYSS @ Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
-Shell Smash
Added at the recommendation of FLCL. Gorebyss really fits in well with this team, able to easily set up when switched in against opposing water types and proceed to sweep. Considering replacing Hydro Pump with Surf... I know it's a lot less damage, but Hydro Pump misses far too often for my taste. I'll stick with Pump for now and see if this continues to be an issue or not.
All in all, I really like this team, as it suits my playstyle quite well. However, seeing as I'm still pretty new, I know there is likely room for improvement. I appreciate any and all advice and criticisms!
This is a very offensive team focused on quickly and efficiently tearing through whatever it's faced with. The decent bulk on a lot of my attackers allows me to have some staying power in longer games as well.
Now for the team building process I used.
I started with Absol because he is an awesome physical sweeper with good coverage and great priority with a STAB sucker punch. If he can set up a SD, he can nearly single handedly sweep an opposing team. His weakness to fighting initially had me considering using Gardevoir or Musharna to cover him, but then they would both share a weakness to bug, so instead I chose...
This guy is a monster, plain and simple. Insane coverage, great damage, good bulk, 3 immunities, and a great ability when combined with his move pool. His ghost weakness is already covered by Absol, so I just needed something to cover ice, grass, and water.
2 out of 3 isn't bad... Anyways, I chose Samurott because aside from being able to take water and ice hits for Golurk, he is able to dish out a good deal of damage as well. And if he can set up a SD, he can also turn into a fairly decent sweeper.
All that said, I still had two pokes weak to grass attacks. In comes Amoonguss, with a double resistance to it. He can also deal massive damage to grass types that don't have a secondary typing that provides poison resistance.
I was still missing a poke to set up SR. I chose Golem over Bastiodon and Probopass because he usually outspeeds them and therefore can take them out rather easily. I also love the move Rock Blast, as it has proven to be very good against birds, sub users, and the Sash/Endeavor/Vacuum Wave Monferno start I've been seeing lately.
Braviary is my revenge killer, as well as another answer to grass types that plague my team. This guy has actually swept 3-4 pokes for me before, thanks to Golem taking out the opposing rock/steel type early on.
After testing these 6 several times, one thing became painfully apparent: I needed a rapid spinner. BADLY. I faced three teams that stacked entry hazards and had no way of dealing with them. They would do a standard SR start, then would switch in a Garbodor whenever I had to switch to Amoonguss and get get 1-2 free spikes up. Sometmies more, if they decide to go ahead and just sacrifice it. Every time I came across this strategy I would lose. I also noticed that, while powerful, Samurott just wasn't pulling his weight. With his limited movepool, it was too easy for my opponents to check him and force a switch, so I decided to replace him with...
This guy provides everything I needed. A spinner, a bulky water type to take the ice and water hits that hurt the rest of my team so badly, and a phaser. Throw on scald for STAB and burn chance and toxic to help chip away at opposing walls.
Wartortle immediately proved his worth. Thanks to Golem killing opposing SR users in the first few turns, I am often able to clear away entry hazards while my opponents are unable to do so themselves. This, coupled with the great type coverage offered by my team that can easily force switches, causes the damage to add up quite fast.
So with that one poke swap, and a few minor adjustments to move pools, I found myself looking at a pretty reliable team.
GOLEM @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
-Rock Blast
-Stealth Rock
-Earthquake
-Sucker Punch
I start with Golem a majority of the time, unless I predict that my opponent will lead with a grass or water type. His job is pretty standard: Set up SR and then attempt to do as much damage as possible. Move set is pretty standard: EQ for great STAB damage, Rock Blast for shooting down birds and breaking through subs, and Sucker Punch for finishing off frail or low health sweepers.
ABSOL @ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Super Luck
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
-Superpower
-Psycho Cut
-Sucker Punch
-Swords Dance
Again pretty standard setup, but very devastating to a lot of teams. Superpower for steel/rock/other dark types that try to wall me, psycho cut to deal with fighting pokes that try to switch in as well as for tearing through Amoonguss, Sucker Punch as a good priority STAB, and Swords Dance to set up sweeps. I've thought about switching Sucker Punch for Night Slash, but not sure if this would be a good idea. While there have been some times I've mispredicted with SP, it's never caused any real problems.
GOLURK @ Choice Band
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 ATK / 252 Spe
-Shadow Punch
-Ice Punch
-Drain Punch
-Earthquake
Drain Punch for dark types that may try to switch in and for use against normals I switch in to. I chose it over hammer arm for the recovery. Ice Punch is mostly here to deal with things like Altaria, but it is also good if I can predict a switch to a grass type. EQ for a powerful STAB, and Shadow Punch for another powerful STAB. He also serves as an amazing switch in against spinners, as he blocks the rapid spin and then slams whoever my opponent switches to for a good deal of damage (unless the spinner is Wartortle... in which case I usually won't switch to Gol).
AMOONGUSS @ Black Sludge
Nature: Bold
Ability: REgenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpAtk
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Clear Smog
-Spore
Giga Drain on top of regenerator and black sludge makes this guy a total pain to take down. Clear smog stops opponents from setting up, and spore is there for the threats that don't need to set up to wreck. Sludge bomb is a decent STAB with a chance to poison, which is always nice. It also does a ton of damage to opposing grass types I often switch this guy into if they don't have a secondary typing that resists poison. I chose black sludge over leftovers just in case anyone decides to try to Trick it.
BRAVIARY @ Choice Scarf
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
-Brave Bird
-Superpower
-Return
-U-Turn
Moveset is really standard. Brave Bird for the awesome STAB damage, Superpower for those pesky rock and steel types, return for another decent STAB move with a wide range of neutral coverage, and U-Turn for hit and run. Not really a whole lot more I can say about this guy...
GOREBYSS @ Life Orb
Nature: Timid
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power (Grass)
-Shell Smash
Added at the recommendation of FLCL. Gorebyss really fits in well with this team, able to easily set up when switched in against opposing water types and proceed to sweep. Considering replacing Hydro Pump with Surf... I know it's a lot less damage, but Hydro Pump misses far too often for my taste. I'll stick with Pump for now and see if this continues to be an issue or not.
All in all, I really like this team, as it suits my playstyle quite well. However, seeing as I'm still pretty new, I know there is likely room for improvement. I appreciate any and all advice and criticisms!
