Gen III Battle Frontier Discussion and Records

[Actaeon]

I've recently started a new project on the Singles Battle Tower: a 17-streak monotype challenge, in which I am only allowed to use Pokémon that have a type in common for all 17 different types. Additionally, I will not be using the same Pokémon in the entire challenge (so I can't use Tyranitar in both the Rock and Dark teams for example).

Many of these teams will have the classic Crippler / Glue / Sweeper (further referred to as CGS) format, as I believe that's the way to optimize battle tower strategies anyway. The immense search for the right Pokémon and moves brought me a great deal of pleasure, although I'm far from satisfied for some of the types so far.
In the Dark-, Dragon- and Electric-type department I feel quite pleased already, but most of the other monotypes need more work and testing before I attempt to stream the challenge on YouTube. Here's what I got so far (descriptions a little less extensive than what you're used to):

Mono Dark:
Scrolling through the list of available Dark-types, Tyranitar is certainly the most powerful sweeper and generally the best Pokémon as well. Cacturne could then SubStall or take advantage of Sand Stream in a different way, possibly with Houndoom or Umbreon as a "high quality" Pokémon. This is certainly the "powerhouse approach", but it would be far too situational. Moreover, not using Tyranitar here allows me to use it on the mono Rock team, on which Sand Stream seems more fitting anyway. Following the CGS formula, here's the team I eventually came up with, interestingly utilizing some Pokémon we would never consider for a common Battle Tower team (or even an ingame team, lol):

Mightyena (M) @ Lum Berry ** EGG SUCKER
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 24 SpD / 84 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Yawn
- Sand-Attack
- Scary Face
- Roar

Umbreon (F) @ Leftovers ** BAD NEWS
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 236 HP / 12 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)
- Curse (1 PP UP)
- Substitute
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass (No PP UPs)

Sneasel (M) @ White Herb ** HEY PORTER
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Double-Edge
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Aerial Ace

Umbreon's great bulk and lack of Special weaknesses inspired me to build a CursePass + White Herb team around it. Since Fighting and Bug physical attackers seem problematic, I first considered to run Murkrow, which has acces to Featherdance as well, while (possibly CB) Drill Peck would take care of problematic Fighting- and Bug-types. Murkrow has a problem with breeding move accessibility though and is generally too frail. Turns out that Mightyena is far more dependable because of Intimidate, which allows me to run a fully Specially bulky set on Umbreon so it needs no assistance against Special sweepers. Mightyena also gets the very useful Yawn, the 100%-accurate Sand-Attack, Roars away dangerous set up Pokémon such as Dragon Dancers (the moment it turns out they have that set) or Swords Dancers and is able to lower the target's Speed so Umbreon can outspeed it during crucial turns. Oh yeah, it's EV'ed to survive Heracross' non-crit Megahorn and therefore survives all moves in general, bar crazy hard special hits such as Moltres' Overheat (but Umbreon should be able to set up on that).

Umbreon is an amazing tank whose Substitute is broken by Modest Starmie's Surf only 50% of the time, to give an indication of its bulk. This means it freely sets up on nearly every non-boosting Specially-based Pokémon (and those that carry weak physical moves, such as the mixed Lati@s sets).
The moveset fits it perfectly and once it 'outslows' Quick Claw users, I can safely use Substitute when the previous one will break, making me only vulnerable to two successive crits in a row (or OHKO moves that hit twice in a row), but that's a risk I have to take using only one type. Moonlight is fantastic for both stalling out moves and letting Umbreon get all its boosts in a safe way, although I'd love to use Roar too, so I can Roar away fellow setuppers. The reason for the divergent PP UP use here is that I want to be able to get to +6 precisely twice (should I have to pass back to Mightyena first in order to Roar out another setupper) and not having extra Baton Passes, because then I get to Struggle earlier, should the match come down to that. This is where the Attack EVs come from. Putting more than 4 EVs into Defense doesn't seem to help any defensive calculations anyway.

When Umbreon succesfully passes a +6 Atk / +6 Def / -6 Spe Substitute to Sneasel (which hopefully doesn't break during the pass turn because of a crit), the opponent will face +6 / +6 Sneasel (note that White Herb cancels ALL speed drops) that outspeeds everything bar the Timid Jolteon (whose Tbolt it survives). If Substitute is still up, I have a wild card against Quick Claw Pokémon or Pokémon that I can't OHKO.
The last group consists of Pokémon such as Armaldo, Forretress, Scizor and Regirock, and luckily they attack with physical attacks, many of which Sneasel actually TANKS like a boss with +6 Defense.

In first test runs, I didn't have Aerial Ace but Swords Dance as a filler move (also tried Brick Break but that wasn't really necessary), in case Umbreon can't get a decent pass off (possibly could be used with Yawn still). But then I lost to Evasion Focus Punch spammers, i.e. Golem, Regirock and Machamp, which Aerial Ace prevents. Furthermore, Aerial Ace has a 50% chance to OHKO non-bulky Heracross in the tower, which is at least a (meager) last resort should Heracross crit Mightyena on turn 1. Then still, pray it's not the EndSalac set...

The following is a promising and unique alternative to Sneasel:

Sharpedo @ White Herb ** BIG RIVER
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Agility
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Flying]

Sharpedo can afford to put some EVs into HP, which lets it use Double-Edge three times against most opposing teams. Furthermore, it has a guaranteed KO on Heracross, every variant of which it outspeeds at 154 (the 100 neutral BS tier) as well. The EndSalac version dies when it uses Reversal due to Rough Skin, so in that scenario I can at least hope for Umbreon to outstall + sweep with Struggle. Earthquake and more Attack than Sneasel make sure the aforementioned Pokémon don't live anymore either at +6. Sharpedo can make up for the lack of Speed compared to Sneasel with Agility, but it might need to sacrifize its Substitute for that (i.e. only use Agility when you don't already the opponent in front of you). Hidden Power [Flying] also OHKOes Gengar and 2HKOes Dusclops at +6, but Dusclops can't really do anything back. The reason I think Sneasel is still marginally better than Sharpedo is that Sharpedo is OHKOed by Jolteon and Raikou or loses its Substitute (if it even still has that), and all it takes to lose after that is an unlucky Quick Claw / Brightpowder / Focus Band activation. That extra turn to use Agility costs much.

Problems:

• Heracross: Ideally, Mightyena does not get crit and uses Scary Face. The moment I find out it has no Lum Berry, I use Yawn, otherwise Sand-Attack, after which faster Umbreon tries to stall out Megahorn before using Curse. At -1 Attack, its Brick Break is not powerful enough so I can get off at least one boost, allowing Sneasel to OHKO with Aerial Ace. If things go well, I can actually get to +6. Another way to fight Heracross is simply to use Roar on turn 1, although the priviliges from Intimidate will not be present.
• Metagross: Can't lower its stats, sadly. But Mightyena can put it to sleep after which Umbreon should be able to set up, unless it gets untimely crits or (way) too many Attack boosts. Also a candidate to put asleep with Yawn, then Roar it out.
• Calm Mind sweepers: most Psychic-types can't really touch Umbreon or Mightyena without too many boosts. Dogs and Lati@s are more dangerous, although they either have only one Attacking move (which can be stalled out by Umbreon if they have been Scary Faced and/or Sand-Attacked), or are Suicune. I've never lost against it, but it sure looks threatening on paper. I guess I must have been lucky with misses against Umbreon, can't really remember tbh.
• Set-up in general: If I can't time the Roar correctly, it could get dangerous very quickly. In such a way I've lost against Marowak, for example. Best to Roar it out immediately, when it's still at -1 Attack from Intimidate.

I'm sure there are more problems, but that's what I can think of now. As usual, here is a sample streak!

Sample streak with Mono Dark team


… and tomorrow, I'll SHOCK you with another monotype!

 

[greentyphlosion]

I've recently started a new project on the Singles Battle Tower: a 17-streak monotype challenge, in which I am only allowed to use Pokémon that have a type in common for all 17 different types. Additionally, I will not be using the same Pokémon in the entire challenge (so I can't use Tyranitar in both the Rock and Dark teams for example).

Love this, can't wait to see the others!

Couple of (probably dumb) questions:

-Would Rest not be superior to Moonlight? It seems to me that Umbreon is at risk of being statused/flinched due to being so slow, while not much can KO it after a couple of Curse boosts barring crits. You get to stall out moves more efficiently, though I suppose it's not as convenient as Moonlight, so there's pros and cons - still, interested to hear/read your thoughts. (EDIT: Ugh, forgot Moonlight heals 50% not 25%. Been playing too much Gen II.)
-You mentioned Substitute being a guard against Quick Claw mons, but your sample streak demonstrates that the Sub can be broken. Did you consider Quick Attack over Double-Edge? You miss out on a couple of OHKOs (though at +6 it's all relative, and a lot of the things you KO in the video like Milotic can't do much to a Subbed & boosted Sneasel anyway, and could probably be KOed with Shadow Ball), but QC users are my biggest headache in the Frontier so I guess it's something I immediately thought of.

 

[Actaeon]

Love this, can't wait to see the others!

Couple of (probably dumb) questions:

-Would Rest not be superior to Moonlight? It seems to me that Umbreon is at risk of being statused/flinched due to being so slow, while not much can KO it after a couple of Curse boosts barring crits. You get to stall out moves more efficiently, though I suppose it's not as convenient as Moonlight, so there's pros and cons - still, interested to hear/read your thoughts. (EDIT: Ugh, forgot Moonlight heals 50% not 25%. Been playing too much Gen II.)
-You mentioned Substitute being a guard against Quick Claw mons, but your sample streak demonstrates that the Sub can be broken. Did you consider Quick Attack over Double-Edge? You miss out on a couple of OHKOs (though at +6 it's all relative, and a lot of the things you KO in the video like Milotic can't do much to a Subbed & boosted Sneasel anyway, and could probably be KOed with Shadow Ball), but QC users are my biggest headache in the Frontier so I guess it's something I immediately thought of.

Thanks for thinking along, greentyphlosion. I'd have to test Rest, but the downside is that I can't use Substitutes during the sleeping turns to protect myself from critical hits. Status is not as hindering as you'd think, because regular poison / burn doesn't deplete my health fast enough, and Toxic users are generally too passive to pose a threat on the attacking side. Sticking with Moonlight for now, but Rest is definitely a worthy option (and would be much better in Stall + Struggle scenario's). While Umbreon seems slow, being slower than Quick Claw users actually is a blessing, because I can at least predict when they move and use Substitute in advance. Substitute breaking on the pass as you saw in the video is inevitable unless I stall out ALL their (relevant) PP first. Even Struggle crits break the sub in most scenarios.

I considered Quick Attack indeed, but more as a filler slot than instead of Double-Edge. Double-Edge turns many 2HKOs into OHKOs compared to Return (think of bulky waters / dragons / birds / dogs, for example), and Quick Attack can't OHKO almost anything, certainly not the Quick Claw users it would be used for. If Sneasel got STAB, the situation could change (and then still it only would have the power Aerial Ace currently has, which is disappointing). Luckily, HP Ground takes care of most of them and even more luckily, there can't be two Quick Claws on the same opponent's team.

 

[Actaeon]

Allright, time for the second Monotype; this time I'll share my Electric-type team. It's a good, dependable team, but sadly I have to use a Zapdos (the nasty one from the original Zam/Zapdos/Tar Trick team) here already and thus I won't be able to use it on the Flying-type team (on which it would be very welcome, I first had Masquerain/Zapdos/Salamence there, which worked fantastically, but decided to use Salamence in the Dragon team as well, haha). Anyhow, Electric would pretty much suck without Zapdos in every way I could think of.

This is also a CGS team which ultimately tries to setup Raikou (the only really dangerous setup sweeper in the Electric pool). This provides me with two Pressure Pokémon so I have a natural stalling potential already. I experimented with different cripplers, most importantly Raichu, Ampharos and Jolteon. Raichu has the best movepool including Surf, Charm, Thief, Wish and Teeter Dance. Ampharos has the unique bulk to live through Rhydon's QC Earthquake (but needs nearly all the available EVs for that) and can lower speed of Ground-types with Cotton Spore instead of having to use Thunder Wave (although it's inaccurate) and Jolteon has qualities described below, because that's what I ended up with!

Mono Electric
Here we go!

​

Jolteon (M) @ Quick Claw ** LOW DOWN
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 64 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Charm
- Thunder Wave
- Sand-Attack
- Hidden Power [Water]

Jolteon doesn't need much investment to outspeed all BT Pokémon except other Jolteon, which it cripples without fear of anything dangerous. That and not needing SpA EV's allows it to become surprisingly bulky compared to competitive environments, e.g. it survives quite high-powered non-crit Earthquakes (for example from Flygon, Golem, Steelix, Metagross) and has over 40% chance to survive Rhydon's. Furthermore, a pure Electric typing blesses it with the absence of special weaknesses, so it can't die on turn 1 without crits or (QC) OHKO moves. On the special side, even critical hits fall short in many situations, e.g. it royally survives Starmie's crit Surf. Jolteon ironically holds Quick Claw, which reduces Rhydon's chances of moving first more than Brightpowder or Focus Band would. It doesn't really need Lum Berry because it outspeeds all status inducers anyway except Crobat and Jolteon (and between these, only Confuse Ray Crobat has a very slim chance to prevent getting Thunder Waved). But of course, Lum Berry would be viable as well. Using Roar is also an option, but I haven't really met situations yet where I would want Roar because Zapdos outspeeds everything after Thunder Wave anyway, Charm 'outpaces' Dragon Dances/Curses, mitigates Swords Dance, and Calm Minders will be forced to use the non-boosted Struggle with high probability and otherwise face an equally boosted Raikou with Pressure.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Hidden Power [Water] OHKOs Rhydon without investment! Hidden Power Grass can be used as well.

Zapdos @ Ganlon Berry ** OH MARY
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Double Team
- Baton Pass


Zapdos, you're one of my guilty pleasures since the day you made it to that Trick team.
It almost feels like cheating, but this thing outstalls many entire movesets if needed in the BT and very often provides its recipient with +6 Evasion, +1 Defense and a high-HP Substitute. Furthermore, its Substitute takes an unboosted Meteor Mash and Zapdos usually prevents too many Meteor Mashes from landing anyway. Not much to add here, you already know what this does.

Raikou @ Leftovers ** GUITAR MAN
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 92 HP / 28 Def / 240 SpA / 4 SpD / 144 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Raikou at +6 / +6 Special stats, +6 Evasion and +1 Defense behind a Substitute is nearly unbeatable and it ends up in this state more often than not. It has 177 HP, a perfect Leftovers number, and the bulk to survive important QC Earthquakes, such as Swamperts (without the Ganlon boost) and still make a Substitute after that. It outruns Starmie and other Raikou, but not Aerodactyl and Dugtrio in order to accomplish this. This is not a problem with a Ganlon boost, but can be if followed up by Quick Claw hax (Aero and Dug don't KO without crits / OHKOs, even with EQ, and they have to hit to begin with).

The opponents that don't resist Raikou's moves but still avoid the KO are Regice and Blissey, which literally can't do anything in return (Blissey won't have time to Calm Mind up and PP stall me, which I would win as well eventually, and Regice is KO'ed after a potential Psych Up).

I used to run Hidden Power [Ice] mainly for Lati@s, but the Lati twins can't really touch me when I'm set up (and are safely 2HKOed by Tbolt), while Swampert and Quagsire could. Steelix gets OHKOed by Hidden Power even though it has full SpD investment, just like Flygon and Nidoking. I'd probably run HP Water to deal more damage to Steelix if I can't properly setup if Quagsire didn't exist.

Sample streak now also added!

 

[Actaeon]

Since it's past midnight, I guess I'm allowed to post the next team as well: Mono Dragon! As should be anticipated by the base stats and movepools available in the set of Dragon-types, this team is one I'm not very afraid of losing with. Once again, it's a CGS team, but I promise not all types will be (or CAN be, rather). I use Latios and Salamence, two Pokémon that the Psychic- and Flying-teams will probably miss, but Latias is quite a good alternative to Latios on mono Psychic (even though I feel guilty for not using Latios as a sweeper here) and Salamence might be replaced with Gyarados on the Flying-type team, although I'm not sure about the structures of these teams yet.

Through the use of the Trick teams, I've already had many experience with DD/Sub/(AA/HP[Flying])/EQ Salamence, and it's a beast. I'd use Altaria just to preserve Salamence for mono Flying, but it's too weak even at +6 to reliably sweep. Latios came to mind because it learns Memento and therefore makes a tremendously useful crippler, and something like that is needed because Salamence can't be healed (and needs more support than on the Trick team, where it can set up against Struggling opponents). That leaves Metagross and Regirock again to worry about, since they have Clear Body. Also, strong Ice Beams are quite intimidating, as is to be expected when playing with dragons. What Dragon has the best chances to stop these problems? Of course, Kingdra. On top of its typing, it also gets the 100%-accurate Smokescreen, decent bulk, a speed tier and STAB necessary to win blow-for-blow against the aforementioned threats.

Mono Dragon

Latios (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 220 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Memento
- Dragon Claw
- Roar

Latios outspeeds everything bar Crobat and Jolteon, has Dragon Claw as a universal finishing move (never used it yet) and Roar in case something sets up somehow. But usually, it only uses Thunder Wave and Memento. Honestly, I haven't met situations yet where I needed to use anything else.
If it's safe, Latios doesn't use Memento yet before switching to Kingdra, because then it can switch in later if I don't want to risk switching in Salamence, so Latios can kill itself in order to bring in Salamence safely.

Kingdra (F) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 92 SpA / 76 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Smokescreen
- Surf
- Toxic
- Rest

Kingdra gets most opponents to -6 accuracy, which, combined with -2/-2 offensive stats on the (paralyzed) opponent, should be enough for Salamence to setup. Rest allows it to beat Metagross guaranteed (or lure an Explosion, which is one of the worst case scenarios probably) or go for a pinch Toxicstall strategy. It also kills stuff like Rhydon and Regirock. The complicated EV spread is to beat those physical threats guaranteed, and it also has enough special bulk to not be OHKOed by Dragon STAB or 2HKOed by the more powerful Ice-type moves. I already forgot what they precisely do, but I would be glad to elaborate if anyone's interested, and am open to suggestions.

Salamence (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake

Oh yeah, good old Trick team Salamence from when I still used Grudge Ninetales… It's unique because it actually has enough Attack to sweep most of the tower with PERFECT accuracy. The only Pokémon that are not OHKOed are Zapdos and Skarmory, although it needs Earthquake for bulky Suicune. Okay, Aerodactyl has a chance to survive too, which could be a reason to run Hidden Power [Flying] indeed. I love punishing Double Teamers with Aerial Ace though. Salamence can also switch in if Latios is sacrificed and I want to lower their Attack even more, before switching in Kingdra. This is useful against opponents that also use Aerial Ace, since Smokescreen will not really help there. This thing hits 193 HP, the next perfect leftovers/sub number after the 177 that most Pokémon have to settle for. 12 Spe is to outspeed everything bar Jolteon and Crobat after just one DD, and everything after 2 DD's. The Special Defense allows it to survive weak Ice-type moves and some Dragon Claws, and 4 leftover EVs go into Defense to prevent wasting EVs mainly.

So there you go! "Tomorrow": Mono ICE

Sample Streak

 

[Actaeon]

This is going to be a little longer, because I literally tried 5 nearly disjoint strategies for mono Ice. The Ice-types share many weaknesses and don't get REALLY good second types to cover things like Meteor Mash (although Lapras and Walrein surely are bulky enough to fight Metagross 1v1 if needed), Fighting- and Rock-type assaults. On the special side, Fire blasts through most of them and many Ice-types are weak to Electric as well. Regice and Walrein remedy the special weaknesses (the first of which walls all Electrics barring crit Cross Chops from Electabuzz). Offensively, Jynx can run a Calm Mind set but would need Sub + Salac to reliably succeed, and between the shaky accuracy of Lovely Kiss and the opponent not being permitted to wake up on the last Substitute, I didn't think that was dependable enough (same problem occurs in the current Grass-team concept, btw). Articuno gets the interesting Mind Reader + Sheer Cold at Open Level, which looks fantastic on paper but there's too many things getting in the way (Substitute, Protect, not enough PP, especially against Pressure, having to defend in between and providing little utility to the rest of the team). Piloswine is REALLY cool and nails Electric-types but can't reliably KO Metagross even with CB. Then there's Perish Song which can be used on Jynx and Lapras, which potentially combines well with the Sheer Cold Articuno and Thunder Wave / Explosion Regice, but all my efforts to make something sturdy have failed until now. A simple 'powerhouse team' such as Regice / Articuno / Lapras using bulky offense and the right filler moves seems legit as well, but finally I leaned towards CGS again.

My starting point for building the current Ice-team was Articuno, my favorite Pokémon in general. Like Zapdos, it makes a hell of a stalling machine under the right circumstances, i.e. when it's faster than the opponent and if it's not holding a Quick Claw. Substitute and Protect are its bread and butter, and I decided to use Haze and Rest in the last two slots, moves whose usefulness actually caught me by surprise. This team does not use Evasion drops, but instead relies on Lapras' fantastic Shell Armor ability, making it impenetrable against Struggle users while boosting with Curse. The decision DD or Curse (or actually both) was very hard and will be discussed below.
As a lead, Sneasel would probably be the best but as I already used it in the Dark team (although Sharpedo could be used there as well), the less speedy Jynx has to make do. Jynx does have advantages, however: it's able to survive Quick Claw(non-crit) Cross Chops and Rock Slides from Fighting-types. Not outspeeding Aerodactyl can be very dangerous, however, but luckily the ones outspeeding Jynx only have 5 Ancientpower PP, so these Aerodactyl will always be out of Rock STAB PP before they get to face Lapras, and have to get through a double Protect from Articuno first.

Mono Ice

Jynx (F) @ [No Item]
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Def / 196 Spe
Timid Nature (+Atk, -Spe)
- Icy Wind
- Thief
- Protect
- Torment

Outspeeds the neutral 100 BS tier, and its Icy Wind makes sure Articuno outspeeds everything bar the Timid Jolteon at an 'effective' 183 Speed, although it limits Articuno in the sense that it can't use Haze before the opponent's attacking PP is stalled out. This only costs some extra Protects and Substitutes. Anyway, Jolteon can be either Icy Winded twice or Tormented to ensure the stall, because Jynx DOES outspeed it after an Icy Wind. It doesn't survive critical hit Thunderbolt, however, so Protect first to steal a PP (even its only one, which doesn't really help because Pressure depletes two at a time, but you never know if you'll be protecting twice I guess). Thief steals Quick Claw, which is the most dependable way of handling Metagross on this team. Combined with Protect, it reduces the Meteor Mash PP to 8 even if Quick Claw activates on turn 2 (Protect first), so it has only 4 Mashes against Articuno (and it lives one in case Quick Claw activates again at +0 Attack). Torment is very useful in general and gives Jynx something to do when the above isn't needed. For example against Fire-types faster than Articuno, which can't be reliably Icy Winded because they may hold White Herb, and against the QC SD/LS Scizor, helping Articuno in stalling out the Steel Wings while Hazing its Swords Dances away regardless of Quick Claw.

Articuno @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 4 SpA / 20 SpD / 132 Spe
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Haze
- Rest

A beast, just like the infamous Zapdos. Haze stops setup moves from ruining the fun, at it boasts a whopping 48 PP, making it spammable while stalling PP. Rest assures Articuno will force the majority of the BT to use Struggle in the environment Jynx creates, after which Lapras has a guaranteed setup. Calm to boost its greatest stat, Special Defense, so it has a good chance to outstall Starmie and Gengar even when they manage to crit through Jynx or if Icy Wind should miss against them (5% chance). Gengar CAN 2HKO with Thunderbolt, but with less than 30% chance iirc. The Defense EV's makes sure it lives through a Metagross MM and therefore also stuff like Hariyama's Rock Slide. Watch out for Quick Claw Regirock / Armaldo / Rhydon when Jynx doesn't manage to Thief it. Lapras can help in stalling Rock Slide PP in a pinch, because even at relatively low health it will be able to setup Curses with the aid of Leftovers if the opponent Struggles afterwards. Note that any Meteor Mash Attack boosts can be Hazed away if needed before fainting to continuing the stall.

Lapras @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 244 HP / 188 Atk / 68 Def / 8 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
IVs: 30 SpD
- Curse
- Substitute
- Return
- Hidden Power [Steel]

A Loch Ness made of bulk. Its Substitute doesn't break from Machamp's Cross Chop at +6/+6/-6, if that tells enough. Shell Armor prevents it from getting crit during setup and AFTER, which guarantees the win even if there are two special attackers waiting, EVEN if they are Electric-types since none of them can OHKO Lapras. It sometimes uses redundant Curses even when fully boosted against the first Pokémon, just to regain some health before sweeping. Double-Edge is a risk should Lapras not be able to start its sweep with (near) full HP, but it would turn some 2HKOes into OHKOes and wouldn't let other Curse/Rest users setup such as Snorlax. While this can happen, e.g. against Anabel, even if the opponent gets to +6, Articuno can eventually come in and Haze away their boosts, after which Lapras sets up AGAIN. Hidden Power Steel beats otherwise problematic Rock-types (sometimes Curse users, but also stuff like Barrier Cradily), Ghosts (OHKOes Gengar), OHKOes Regice at +6, keeps Lapras safe from contact abilities such as Effect Spore, and has some other uses I can't immediately think of right now.

While Dragon Dance Lapras has advantages, it still won't be able to OHKO the same Pokémon and will be way more vulnerable than the Curse variant. Also, it can't reliably setup without losing too much HP in the process against high-attack opponents, and won't be able to help stalling Metagross in a pinch, for example. It's just not really a good Dragon Dancer all in all, and I think Curse fits Shell Armor way better as well. With its natural special bulk too, it kind of begs to have Curse instead of Dragon Dance. We've seen enough Dragon Dancing on the Dragon team ;)

Curious on your ideas concerning Mono Ice!

During the Sample Streak I didn't play perfectly; one should count while using Articuno, but I'm too lazy for that and therefore the battle takes longer than it should sometimes. I apologize for that!

 

[greentyphlosion]

Been playing in dribs and drabs over the last few days and had another go at Battle Tower Multi using the same team as before and managed to push my record to a paltry... 4 battles (EDIT: can't count. 10, not 4) more than I got last time (131 wins). Still, all progress is progress.

I also took another run at the Dome and made it to 48 consecutive tournaments, being picked off midway through the 49th for carelessness (I can't even remember clearly how I lost, other than that it was to a Huntail who managed to get off a Rain Dance and then either Surfed or Hydro Pumped me to death). Was initially enraged to be tied with atsync before Valentino23 managed to outdo us both. The race is officially on! ...at least on my end.

This run was also notable for being the one where the Battle Dome officially lost its mind when it came to the trainer profiles. Can someone with a better knowledge than me of the game's internal workings clarify how it ranks the trainers in it? Because I was perplexed at some of them.

I mean, how are these...

considered weak teams, but these

...aren't?

It's also curious where the game places you on the tourney tree - you typically start off in the top left corner, but throughout my run I found myself in the middle, at the bottom, and sometimes on the other side. Is this reflective of your ranking in the tournament, or is it random? I'd assume not, but Bulbapedia's article on the Dome doesn't shed quite enough light.

Still, I had a good laugh whenever I ran with Shedinja and the game dubbed me:

...because I won every time. A small but petty triumph.

Anyway, still planning out my Arena team (if anyone has any tips, I'd appreciate them - atm I'm thinking Gengar, Heracross, and Salamence in that order). I also just managed to breed a Hasty Dratini with very good IVs quite by chance the other day so I'm reconsidering devoting some time to the Palace... and then there's Battle Tower Doubles to think about. Been meaning to give the HGSS Frontier some time for ages, but I don't think I'll ever be done with Emerald at this rate.

 

[greentyphlosion]

During the Sample Streak I didn't play perfectly; one should count while using Articuno, but I'm too lazy for that and therefore the battle takes longer than it should sometimes. I apologize for that!

Very, very well-designed! Especially enjoyed seeing you take down Anabel. It's funny you're using Articuno, because when I was thinking about the various Ice Pokemon available for a mono team (there really is a deficiency of good ones in g3) my thinking was crippler Jynx + second member + Regice. Not many Ice types can boost efficiently and Regice can do a poor man's impression of its metallic brother setting up with Curse and Amnesia. Torment/PP stalling is a really interesting way to cripple a lead though. I guess my only concern is that Lapras still ends up being vulnerable on the special side, especially since its Sub got broken a fair few times, but you highlighted how well it does against electrics so that's not too big an issue!

I expected Ice to be the trickiest since it's the worst defensive type, so I expect you'll have an easier time of the others. Really curious about how you'll do Poison in particular...

 

[Actaeon]

Very, very well-designed! Especially enjoyed seeing you take down Anabel. It's funny you're using Articuno, because when I was thinking about the various Ice Pokemon available for a mono team (there really is a deficiency of good ones in g3) my thinking was crippler Jynx + second member + Regice. Not many Ice types can boost efficiently and Regice can do a poor man's impression of its metallic brother setting up with Curse and Amnesia. Torment/PP stalling is a really interesting way to cripple a lead though. I guess my only concern is that Lapras still ends up being vulnerable on the special side, especially since its Sub got broken a fair few times, but you highlighted how well it does against electrics so that's not too big an issue!

I expected Ice to be the trickiest since it's the worst defensive type, so I expect you'll have an easier time of the others. Really curious about how you'll do Poison in particular...

Yeah I tried using Curse Regice in the last slot as well. I ran Curse / Sub / EQ and Ice Beam and while it was OK, EQ is still pretty weak even at +6, and not having Shell Armor really breaks the deal. It does have that nice insurance against special mons though, but Lapras kind of also has that when it can finish the lead mon with a Substitute up.

Too bad you didn't improve your streak by much! I think I read an in-depth explanation of how the Frontier comes up with these team descriptions somewhere, but I forgot where it was. Maybe I can find it back ;)

And yeah, Poison is interesting. I'm pretty proud of what I have in petto… Guess I'll follow up with that, then!

 

[Adedede]

Actaeon I'm just here waiting to see Ghost with Haunter

 

[Actaeon]

Actaeon I'm just here waiting to see Ghost with Haunter

Haha I can imagine, but shockingly, I doubt even Gengar will make it to the Ghost team :)

 

[Adedede]

Haha I can imagine, but shockingly, I doubt even Gengar will make it to the Ghost team :)

You had my curiosity, now you have my attention

 

[Actaeon]

Poison and Ghost, those are the teams I had to make an important decision about Gengar, one of the most versatile Pokémon in the game, let alone in the pool of Ghost-types. First it got selected for the Poison team, and I constructed Ghost after that. I'm quite satisfied with the current Ghost team, and in hindsight Gengar ironically wouldn't improve it at all, even though it's currently fighting Crobat for the spot on the Poison team as well.

Because I'm using such a bizarre strategy on the current Ghost squad, I figured I'd share that team first!

Mono Ghost
There are only 6 Ghost-types without further evolutions in the game, so that greatly limits our choice. Following my CGS instinct, the only boosting sweeper that comes to mind is Calm Mind Misdreavus, but it would need Salac Berry to outspeed important threats and there would remain many Pokémon it is incapable of OHKOing. Some of them even avoid the 2HKO, which is very risky considering Misdreavus' "bulk", especially on the physical side. So I ended up ruling out that option. After a near sleepless night, I came up with a strategy that stays closer to the essence of Ghost-types: Curse! Before this team was constructed, I experimented with Torment / Grudge before sending out Shedinja, essentially eliminating two moves, one of which is almost surely super-effective against Shedinja. Then Shedinja was going to pass Attack and Speed to Banette which easily plows through their team. This was a promising idea, but I forgot the AI is actually smart enough to switch out of Shedinja when they have better options to hit it. I also tried using evasion, swagger, Calm Mind boosting Dusclops / Sableye, and pure stall, but all of these options leave much to be desired and can't reliably handle Metagross, for example. Then there's Perish Song / Mean Look, but the type synergies and the overall bulk of most Ghost-types leaves a lot of situations in the hands of Lady Luck. Without further ado, here's the team:

Misdreavus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Skill Swap
- Perish Song
- Protect

Misdreavus needs surprisingly little investment to survive nearly all non-crit, non-boosted attacks in the game, e.g. even Metagross' Shadow Ball. It paralyzes all non-Ground types with Thunder Wave (the only other Ghost-type that can use this move is Banette), and Ground-types are handled well anyway because Duskull also has Levitate. Perish Song prevents opponents from setting up and gives Duskull/Clops a free turn on their switch. Skill Swap is to remove Clear Body (and Shadow Tag, which makes for an free win). When possible, it is a very nice insurance to keep Misdreavus alive, so it can use Perish Song + Protect later, switch to a an almost fainted teammate, and finish the Perish Song cycle against last Pokémon remaining if Dusclops can't beat the third opponent on its own. Protect is also useful for scouting movesets and synergizes well with the effects of Curse.

EV-wise, an alternative to this set would be to be more bulky at the cost of speed, but this might allow Pokémon such as Houndoom (which it's EV-ed to outspeed) to crit through with Crunch before paralyzing it.

Duskull @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 76 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Torment
- Thief
- Flash
- Memento

Duskull is surprisingly bulky, especially because Sitrus Berry heals a substantial proportion of its health. Its moveset contains Flash, Torment, and Thief, moves Misdreavus would like to use as well but it has no room for them. When I absolute need to remove Quick Claw, Thief can be used after eating the Sitrus Berry. Memento is to make Dusclops' Substitute survive nearly all assaults while it sets up with Double Team. Memento is only used when necessary (e.g. against Metagross), because Duskull is nice to have left when having to resort to Perish Song strats in the end.

Maximizing HP is necessary to make use of Duskull's decent defensive stats, as it has only 20 BS HP to begin with. Even with Sitrus Berry, minimizing HP would make it less bulky than it is now. Duskull needs the 44 Speed EV's to arrive at 51 Speed, which guarantees it to outspeed every paralyzed opponent. Noteworthy: this spread makes it have more HP and Speed than Dusclops!

Dusclops @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
IVs: 27 HP
- Curse
- Substitute
- Double Team
- Pain Split

Dusclops is the 'sweeper' of the team, but not in the traditional sense. Its teammates make sure it gets to +6 evasion, which nearly guarantees it to kill the second Pokémon as well with Curse. No HP EVs are used here to maximize both the damage output and the healing 'input' from Pain Split. I wanted to use Duskull first to increase this effect, but Dusclops' bulk is essential (both when setting up and dealing with non-Mementoed foes).
Bold nature ensures Dusclops' Substitute survives all non-STAB Aerial Aces (the STAB ones have to be Mementoed) and helps against Metagross, which is still a threat. While Dusclops' bulk is bad compared to a Max HP Dusclops, Pressure is still very useful against powerful moves that have 10 PP (MM, EQ, RS, IB come to mind) and against OHKO abusers. The order of attacks used is important and depends greatly on the opponent. See the Sample Streak; this probably explains it better than I could here. Oh yeah, the 4 Speed EV's make Dusclops outspeed everything bar Timid Jolteon when they are paralyzed.

Dusclops' low HP has the useful extra niche of killing Rest users without losing too much PP in the process (if needed, Dusclops can first use Pain Split when they're at full HP, reducing Dusclops' HP, and then greatly damage them on the turn they use Rest). Dusclops has the PP to outstall a Recover user when there's another Pokémon remaining, but not two. Luckily, Perish Song helps here if really needed.

Gengar would be a reasonable alternative to Dusclops, decreasing the necessity of Thunder Wave on Misdreavus (so a more bulky lead could be used, for example). But Dusclops being slower than opponents has upsides, because it can "pre-sub" while the opponent is under the effects of Curse, and therefore ends up with a Substitute before the opponent faints. Gengar would have to be risked being hit before they faint. Also, I actually tried Gengar (with Confuse Ray or Hypnosis instead of Pain Split) but Pain Split really seems necessary; Gengar can't heal enough HP reliably. Double Team helps only 1/3 of the time, so in theory the opponent hits Gengar before Leftovers cancel out the HP cost of Substitute.

I'm really curious what you all had in mind for Ghost and what you think of this approach. I'm pretty sure this team isn't optimal yet, so there's room for innovation.

Sample streak now available! Again I made some mistakes, which is probably because I'm a little tired of experimenting and too impatient. With this team you actually need to think a little bit. Especially the decision whether to use Memento or not is tricky, because in the beginning it makes it easier to setup but in the end it might bite back if Misdreavus needs another teammate for Perish Song. I had a few very tense moments, e.g. when only Dusclops was left against a Gengar who could have KO'ed me at some point but luckily missed Psychic. As said, it's probably not built and played optimal yet. This is one of the few times I actually have to learn playing a team that I made myself, haha!

PS: I used the following Sableye instead of Duskull in the first testbuild of this strategy:

Sableye @ Lum Berry (Misdreavus ran Sitrus)
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD (physically bulky because of Metagross)
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Flash
- Torment
- Protect
- Recover

This Sableye has the advantage of stalling out the opponent while lowering its Accuracy with Flash before Dusclops is sent in. Misdreavus first ran HP Ice to get rid of Ground-types. After using Torment, most opponents deal no more than 50% damage per turn, so Sableye usually stays around for a while. I changed to Duskull after getting frustrated about Dusclops' Substitute breaking on the last turn of their lead, an event of which Memento greatly reduces the probability. Duskull is also immune to Fissure. All-in-all, I'm still not really sure what was the best team between these two variants but I presume it's the one currently presented.

 

[Kommo-o]

Been playing in dribs and drabs over the last few days and had another go at Battle Tower Multi using the same team as before and managed to push my record to a paltry... 4 battles more than I got last time (131 wins). Still, all progress is progress.

View attachment 225176

I also took another run at the Dome and made it to 48 consecutive tournaments, being picked off midway through the 49th for carelessness (I can't even remember clearly how I lost, other than that it was to a Huntail who managed to get off a Rain Dance and then either Surfed or Hydro Pumped me to death). Was initially enraged to be tied with atsync before Valentino23 managed to outdo us both. The race is officially on! ...at least on my end.

View attachment 225177

This run was also notable for being the one where the Battle Dome officially lost its mind when it came to the trainer profiles. Can someone with a better knowledge than me of the game's internal workings clarify how it ranks the trainers in it? Because I was perplexed at some of them.

I mean, how are these...

View attachment 225178
View attachment 225179
View attachment 225181

considered weak teams, but these

View attachment 225182
View attachment 225183
View attachment 225184

...aren't?

It's also curious where the game places you on the tourney tree - you typically start off in the top left corner, but throughout my run I found myself in the middle, at the bottom, and sometimes on the other side. Is this reflective of your ranking in the tournament, or is it random? I'd assume not, but Bulbapedia's article on the Dome doesn't shed quite enough light.

Still, I had a good laugh whenever I ran with Shedinja and the game dubbed me:

View attachment 225185

...because I won every time. A small but petty triumph.

Anyway, still planning out my Arena team (if anyone has any tips, I'd appreciate them - atm I'm thinking Gengar, Heracross, and Salamence in that order). I also just managed to breed a Hasty Dratini with very good IVs quite by chance the other day so I'm reconsidering devoting some time to the Palace... and then there's Battle Tower Doubles to think about. Been meaning to give the HGSS Frontier some time for ages, but I don't think I'll ever be done with Emerald at this rate.

I like to see rivalries being born from this. Dome is a pretty cool facility I enjoyed far beyond from the BP farming. Best of luck to everyone involved on the Dome horserace and may the best one win!

RE your Arena feedback: That line up is a recipe for disaster for Alakazam. All three mons get destroyed by it. Maybe CB Snorlax over Heracross?

 

[greentyphlosion]

I like to see rivalries being born from this. Dome is a pretty cool facility I enjoyed far beyond from the BP farming. Best of luck to everyone involved on the Dome horserace and may the best one win!

RE your Arena feedback: That line up is a recipe for disaster for Alakazam. All three mons get destroyed by it. Maybe CB Snorlax over Heracross?

You're quite right, though Heracross can be EV'd to be faster than any Alakazam one meets in the Frontier (none of which have any Speed EVs) - Jolly with 188 Speed beats all 4 variants. Though Megahorn's accuracy is pretty shaky to rely on. Never used CB Snorlax but I like the idea, so I'll give it a whirl! I'm thinking Destiny Bond Gengar to ensure at least one KO.

 

[Actaeon]

Battle Arena sure is cool, I think I'll try that facility next. Wouldn't Perish Song be a nice way to make use of the fact only two Pokémon participate in a battle? E.g. stalling Shell Armor Lapras (something like Toxic / Perish Song / Protect / Rest) and two fillers that handle those immune to Toxic (this can be anticipated quite well beforehand), can capitalize on Resting opponents, and deal with offense that's too hard to handle with Lapras. Just an idea :) Another cool Perish Singer is Politoed, who stops opponents from Exploding with Damp. I'd need to think about Arena for a much longer time.

Anyway, it's time for the daily Monotype as well. Since Poison is still being optimized, I thought I'd share one I had finished already. The other one that's already finished is Steel, so you can expect that too. Steel is quite predictable though, I think you would be able to guess those three Pokémon right.

Mono Bug
Bug is pretty bad type; it infamously contains many of those early-game shitty fast-evolving Pokémon. It has many weaknesses, and offensively it's a unique type, for example because it's super effective against Dark and Psychic, but is resisted by many common types as well. Special attackers are absent, although there are quite a few potent physical attackers in Scizor, Heracross, Pinsir, Scyther and Armaldo. Okay I'll include Beedrill if you wish. These Pokémon have access to Swords Dance as well, so it's quite evident what kind of sweeper you can expect. Sadly, there are no bulky Bug-types to ensure a good setup, but two Pokémon have just the right niches to actually do something interesting!

Armaldo @ Lum Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
IVs: 0 SpA
- Knock Off
- Mud-Slap
- Rock Tomb
- Rest

Armaldo's Battle Armor is a godsend, making it survive strong Surfs and Metagross' Meteor Mash 100% of the time. Knock Off is also better than having to resort to Thief, because it gives Armaldo a useful item of its own. Knocking Off Brightpowder, Quick Claw and Lum/Chesto Berries is needed to clear the path for Butterfree to work properly. Rock Tomb is to lower faster opponent's Speed, although sadly it only has 80% accuracy and Icy Wind / Mud Shot is not available. Mud-Slap is a filler option should Armaldo have the time, and Rest is useful against opponents that do not 2HKO Armaldo but on which Rock Tomb has to hit twice, such as Timid Jolteon. This set has a good chance to OHKO Moltres, whose Speed, offensive capabilities and Lum Berry / White Herb could otherwise pose a problem. Lastly, Rock Tomb prevents DD Salamence from setting up too much Speed, so Butterfree can still win against it. I can't use Scizor against it because of Aerial Ace. First turn is still Knock Off though, to remove Brightpowder or Lum Berry. Armaldo has 0 SpA IV's to minimize Knock Off's damage output, in case I don't want to KO the opponent before fainting myself (a luxury situation anyway).


Butterfree @ Leftovers
Ability: Compoundeyes
EVs: 204 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 44 SpD / 172 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Substitute
- Flash
- Stun Spore / Nightmare / Skill Swap / Whirlwind

With Compoundeyes, Butterfree has a 97.5%-accurate Sleep Powder. Still not ideal, but the best we can work with on a mono Bug team. Substitute, combined with Leftovers, makes it so that Butterfree can repeat a cycle during which it uses Flash (with 91% accuracy) if the opponent has a sleep longer than 1 turn. The filler move is debatable here; Stun Spore further reduces the opponent's chance of moving when they're already at -6 Acc, Skill Swap removes Clear Body (although it gives them Compoundeyes), Whirlwind is very general but also temporarily gets rid of the Clear Body problem. The next opponent might outspeed and/or have Lum Berry, though. Finally, Nightmare made it to my final team, because it ALSO gets rid of the Clear Body problem in a sense, and gives Butterfree an 'offensive' option which is actually pretty useful in many scenarios. For example, it beats opponent who setup too much for Scizor to setup reliably enough. I've swept teams with this Butterfree, actually. Of course, just like with the Curse strategy on the Ghost team, this relies on the dumb AI.

EV-wise, Butterfree outspeeds everything Rock Tombed bar Timid Jolteon. It has one extra Speed point, because 123 Speed outspeeds Choice Band Absol, which can KO Armaldo. It survives a Meteor Mash should Sleep Powder miss, and also survives weaker Special Attacks such as Starmie's Ice Beam. This is useful, because against Starmie Armaldo can't use both Knock Off and Rock Tomb. It then chooses to use Knock Off, because that has 100% accuracy, after which (the slower) Butterfree can at least hit a Sleep Powder. Alternatively, Scizor can get rid of Starmie immediately.

Scizor @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Reversal

Of all the Swords Dance sweepers that have enough Salac Speed (this rules out Armaldo), Scizor is the only one that withstands non-STAB Aerial Aces to an extent. Anorith is a viable (surprisingly Speedy) alternative and Rock STAB is useful, but it's not bulky enough and just doesn't have enough Attack (because EQ is not available). Swarm essentially gives it a 105 power STAB move even BEFORE the last Sub was used, and Reversal demolishes those Rock / Steel types. Scizor OHKOes all Pokémon except Crobat at +6 when it's at 1 HP, and it will often have a Sub up as well, because it only goes down to 1 HP against faster opponents while it "pre-spams" Substitute. So even though Bug/Fighting coverage is quite bad, Scizor's sheer power makes up for it.

I've tried many sets here: HP[Steel]/Reversal, HP[Rock]/Reversal, Silver Wind / HP[Rock], but this one worked the best so far. I also tried other sweepers. Scyther doesn't need Salac Berry, Pinsir (gets Flail too) and Heracross can setup on more opponents considering their Speed (and Fighting STAB is pretty good), but they can't cover everything like Scizor does, and don't forget Scizor actually has more Attack than Hera/Pinsir which helps some Swarm Bug-move rolls, especially when I can't FULLY setup. Finally, Fury Cutter is a funny option which eventually reaches 160 power, which, together with Swarm, OHKOs ALL Pokémon but is too risky to setup and only 95%-accurate. It was originally used on a Double Team / SD / Sub Scyther but again, Aerial Ace totally destroys this.

An alternative for Armaldo is Masquerain, who is better at lowering Speed is KO'ed by just too many opponents, even with Intimidate. I originally used Masquerain and Venonat instead of Armaldo and Butterfree, because Venonat (106 Speed) can actually BATON PASS Double Teams and otherwise has the same set as Butterfree. This takes care of the Clear Body problem as well. But with this setup, it's only a matter of time before you lose against Aerodactyl. But who knows, maybe we'll see Masquerain on the Flying-team, because I'm running out of many good options there (Zapdos was used on Electric, Articuno on Ice, Salamence on Dragon for example).

EDIT: almost forgot the Sample Streak!

 

[greentyphlosion]

Battle Arena sure is cool, I think I'll try that facility next. Wouldn't Perish Song be a nice way to make use of the fact only two Pokémon participate in a battle? E.g. stalling Shell Armor Lapras (something like Toxic / Perish Song / Protect / Rest) and two fillers that handle those immune to Toxic (this can be anticipated quite well beforehand), can capitalize on Resting opponents, and deal with offense that's too hard to handle with Lapras. Just an idea :) Another cool Perish Singer is Politoed, who stops opponents from Exploding with Damp. I'd need to think about Arena for a much longer time.

You're thinking of the Dome; Arena's the one where you use three, but can't switch. I'm liking the idea of Snorlax but I've been debating the merits of CB just now... being locked in could prove risky. But setting up isn't viable either since you lose to the judges.

I've always had the most luck using haymaker teams in the Dome. When you've only got two Pokemon you get an immediate advantage KOing the first enemy as soon as you can (Slaking is wonderful for this). It also lets you get away with Exploding to force a tie. I'm sure you could probably think of something clever, but the Dome is personally the facility where I'm least inclined to stall (not that I ever really do - brute force is more my style).

Anyway, it's time for the daily Monotype as well. Since Poison is still being optimized, I thought I'd share one I had finished already. The other one that's already finished is Steel, so you can expect that too. Steel is quite predictable though, I think you would be able to guess those three Pokémon right.

Mono Bug
Bug is pretty bad type; it infamously contains many of those early-game shitty fast-evolving Pokémon. It has many weaknesses, and offensively it's a unique type, for example because it's super effective against Dark and Psychic, but is resisted by many common types as well. Special attackers are absent, although there are quite a few potent physical attackers in Scizor, Heracross, Pinsir, Scyther and Armaldo. Okay I'll include Beedrill if you wish. These Pokémon have access to Swords Dance as well, so it's quite evident what kind of sweeper you can expect. Sadly, there are no bulky Bug-types to ensure a good setup, but two Pokémon have just the right niches to actually do something interesting!

Armaldo @ Lum Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
IVs: 0 SpA
- Knock Off
- Mud-Slap
- Rock Tomb
- Rest

Armaldo's Battle Armor is a godsend, making it survive strong Surfs and Metagross' Meteor Mash 100% of the time. Knock Off is also better than having to resort to Thief, because it gives Armaldo a useful item of its own. Knocking Off Brightpowder, Quick Claw and Lum/Chesto Berries is needed to clear the path for Butterfree to work properly. Rock Tomb is to lower faster opponent's Speed, although sadly it only has 80% accuracy and Icy Wind / Mud Shot is not available. Mud-Slap is a filler option should Armaldo have the time, and Rest is useful against opponents that do not 2HKO Armaldo but on which Rock Tomb has to hit twice, such as Timid Jolteon. This set has a good chance to OHKO Moltres, whose Speed, offensive capabilities and Lum Berry / White Herb could otherwise pose a problem. Lastly, Rock Tomb prevents DD Salamence from setting up too much Speed, so Butterfree can still win against it. I can't use Scizor against it because of Aerial Ace. First turn is still Knock Off though, to remove Brightpowder or Lum Berry. Armaldo has 0 SpA IV's to minimize Knock Off's damage output, in case I don't want to KO the opponent before fainting myself (a luxury situation anyway).


Butterfree @ Leftovers
Ability: Compoundeyes
EVs: 204 HP / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 44 SpD / 172 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Substitute
- Flash
- Stun Spore / Nightmare / Skill Swap / Whirlwind

With Compoundeyes, Butterfree has a 97.5%-accurate Sleep Powder. Still not ideal, but the best we can work with on a mono Bug team. Substitute, combined with Leftovers, makes it so that Butterfree can repeat a cycle during which it uses Flash (with 91% accuracy) if the opponent has a sleep longer than 1 turn. The filler move is debatable here; Stun Spore further reduces the opponent's chance of moving when they're already at -6 Acc, Skill Swap removes Clear Body (although it gives them Compoundeyes), Whirlwind is very general but also temporarily gets rid of the Clear Body problem. The next opponent might outspeed and/or have Lum Berry, though. Finally, Nightmare made it to my final team, because it ALSO gets rid of the Clear Body problem in a sense, and gives Butterfree an 'offensive' option which is actually pretty useful in many scenarios. For example, it beats opponent who setup too much for Scizor to setup reliably enough. I've swept teams with this Butterfree, actually. Of course, just like with the Curse strategy on the Ghost team, this relies on the dumb AI.

EV-wise, Butterfree outspeeds everything Rock Tombed bar Timid Jolteon. It has one extra Speed point, because 123 Speed outspeeds Choice Band Absol, which can KO Armaldo. It survives a Meteor Mash should Sleep Powder miss, and also survives weaker Special Attacks such as Starmie's Ice Beam. This is useful, because against Starmie Armaldo can't use both Knock Off and Rock Tomb. It then chooses to use Knock Off, because that has 100% accuracy, after which (the slower) Butterfree can at least hit a Sleep Powder. Alternatively, Scizor can get rid of Starmie immediately.

Scizor @ Salac Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Hidden Power [Bug]
- Reversal

Of all the Swords Dance sweepers that have enough Salac Speed (this rules out Armaldo), Scizor is the only one that withstands non-STAB Aerial Aces to an extent. Anorith is a viable (surprisingly Speedy) alternative and Rock STAB is useful, but it's not bulky enough and just doesn't have enough Attack (because EQ is not available). Swarm essentially gives it a 105 power STAB move even BEFORE the last Sub was used, and Reversal demolishes those Rock / Steel types. Scizor OHKOes all Pokémon except Crobat at +6 when it's at 1 HP, and it will often have a Sub up as well, because it only goes down to 1 HP against faster opponents while it "pre-spams" Substitute. So even though Bug/Fighting coverage is quite bad, Scizor's sheer power makes up for it.

I've tried many sets here: HP[Steel]/Reversal, HP[Rock]/Reversal, Silver Wind / HP[Rock], but this one worked the best so far. I also tried other sweepers. Scyther doesn't need Salac Berry, Pinsir (gets Flail too) and Heracross can setup on more opponents considering their Speed (and Fighting STAB is pretty good), but they can't cover everything like Scizor does, and don't forget Scizor actually has more Attack than Hera/Pinsir which helps some Swarm Bug-move rolls, especially when I can't FULLY setup. Finally, Fury Cutter is a funny option which eventually reaches 160 power, which, together with Swarm, OHKOs ALL Pokémon but is too risky to setup and only 95%-accurate. It was originally used on a Double Team / SD / Sub Scyther but again, Aerial Ace totally destroys this.

An alternative for Armaldo is Masquerain, who is better at lowering Speed is KO'ed by just too many opponents, even with Intimidate. I originally used Masquerain and Venonat instead of Armaldo and Butterfree, because Venonat (106 Speed) can actually BATON PASS Double Teams and otherwise has the same set as Butterfree. This takes care of the Clear Body problem as well. But with this setup, it's only a matter of time before you lose against Aerodactyl. But who knows, maybe we'll see Masquerain on the Flying-team, because I'm running out of many good options there (Zapdos was used on Electric, Articuno on Ice, Salamence on Dragon for example).

EDIT: almost forgot the Sample Streak!

Another interesting one! I've actually never used Armaldo in any game so it's great seeing it utilised here. I definitely think Nightmare is the optimal choice for Butterfree (and again, great to see someone use such a fairly obscure move to its full potential - curse Game Freak for removing it in SwSh).

I've personally got a great fondness for Masquerain (be great if it makes it onto the Flying team) and also Shuckle - it takes a lot of support to play to its full potential (and is better in later gens) but Toxitrapping is so much fun when you can make it work. Did you consider using Shuckle? (Or will it make an appearance on your eventual Rock team?)

 

[Actaeon]

You're thinking of the Dome; Arena's the one where you use three, but can't switch. I'm liking the idea of Snorlax but I've been debating the merits of CB just now... being locked in could prove risky. But setting up isn't viable either since you lose to the judges.

I've always had the most luck using haymaker teams in the Dome. When you've only got two Pokemon you get an immediate advantage KOing the first enemy as soon as you can (Slaking is wonderful for this). It also lets you get away with Exploding to force a tie. I'm sure you could probably think of something clever, but the Dome is personally the facility where I'm least inclined to stall (not that I ever really do - brute force is more my style).



Another interesting one! I've actually never used Armaldo in any game so it's great seeing it utilised here. I definitely think Nightmare is the optimal choice for Butterfree (and again, great to see someone use such a fairly obscure move to its full potential - curse Game Freak for removing it in SwSh).

I've personally got a great fondness for Masquerain (be great if it makes it onto the Flying team) and also Shuckle - it takes a lot of support to play to its full potential (and is better in later gens) but Toxitrapping is so much fun when you can make it work. Did you consider using Shuckle? (Or will it make an appearance on your eventual Rock team?)

You're so right about Dome, haha. And yeah, Slaking's a Pokémon I used for Gold Symbol there as well. For Arena, I tried to use Sneasel/Persian with Fake Out, Protect and Dig which was pretty funny too. ChestoResting is also good iirc. I'll definitely be into those after this challenge.

I've definitely considered Shuckle, on this team it would be a fair replacement for Armaldo, but it can't remove Quick Claw. The Lum Berries could be taken care of with Swagger (at least this doesn't inflict them with another status than SLP). Also, it can be crit and, while bulkier than Armaldo, it's not so much bulkier that it avoids to get OHKOed by critical hits. On the Rock team I'm still experimenting, but the chances that it will eventually be selected are slim. I do have a Doubles Team with Shuckle, though!

 

[greentyphlosion]

You're so right about Dome, haha. And yeah, Slaking's a Pokémon I used for Gold Symbol there as well. For Arena, I tried to use Sneasel/Persian with Fake Out, Protect and Dig which was pretty funny too. ChestoResting is also good iirc. I'll definitely be into those after this challenge.

I've definitely considered Shuckle, on this team it would be a fair replacement for Armaldo, but it can't remove Quick Claw. The Lum Berries could be taken care of with Swagger (at least this doesn't inflict them with another status than SLP). Also, it can be crit and, while bulkier than Armaldo, it's not so much bulkier that it avoids to get OHKOed by critical hits. On the Rock team I'm still experimenting, but the chances that it will eventually be selected are slim. I do have a Doubles Team with Shuckle, though!

Ah yes, I remember that team!

I realised as soon as I'd written my post that Shuckle is also dead weight against pretty much any Steel; and yes, has a tendency to get critted. A lot of the funkier things you can do with it (Contra-Shell Smash, Power Trick) come from later gens. I don't think there's really much you can do with it in g3 outside of Wrap+Toxic. I guess it could have some merit on a Sandstorm team...

Completely off topic, but it's just popped into my head - I've been wanting to do a Sunny Day team for ages for Doubles; I had some success in Black 2 with Garchomp + Drought Ninetales on a Doubles team, so I wondered if there was anything I could do to emulate that. What do you think to Arcanine+Jumpluff? Jumpluff is nice and fast and can support with Helping Hand, Sleep Powder, and Leech Seed, while Arcanine has good options in Extremespeed, Flamethrower, and Crunch - fourth slot is up in the air, but Hidden Power Electric or Grass is always an option, or perhaps simply Protect. For backup I was thinking Exeggutor and Flygon (or more likely Salamence). I'm still workshopping it, but it's down my list of priorities until I feel more confident with it.

 

[Valentino23]

greentyphlosion Best of luck to ya in the Dome! The main thing I would say is just remember to be patient and avoid making rash decisions. The main thing that ended my streak was wanting to finish my battles as quickly as possible, when I should have been more content to draw out the battle a bit longer to guarantee the win. Regardless, I admire the brute force style.

Also, since you were curious about the ranking of trainers for the Battle Dome seeding, this link has a breakdown of the facility rankings.

 

[Actaeon]

Yeah greentyphlosion, I didn't post my double battle Sunny Day team in detail when I think of it. Jumpluff is nice on paper, but Chlorophyll doesn't really make it that much more effective because it's so fast already. Furthermore, in Doubles stalling strategies tend to backfire. Turns you'd use Leech Seed for example, you could probably do something better with a more offensive Pokémon. Helping Hand is good, but only if the second Pokémon is REALLY threatening, e.g. with Earthquake targeting two opponents at a time. The classic Sunny Day lead in competitive teams used to be Shiftry and Exeggutor, because Shiftry makes it a lot safer for Exeggutor to use Sunny Day with Fake Out. Solarbeams just fall short of many KOs, however, so you'll find yourself using Explosions pretty early, and in that regard, it's inferior or just supplementary to a pure Explosion team. To maximize the effect of Sunny Day, I lead with an exploding Chlorophyll user (Fake Out Shiftry or Protect Exeggutor) and Gengar. Gengar is able to use Fire Punch on its Flash Fire teammate that very same turn, so no moves are wasted. A Flash Fire Arcanine, Houndoom or even Ninetales is very scary in the sun, but for reliability you'd need to use Flamethrower, which, again, either barely OHKOs many opponent or doesn't at all. White Herb Overheat does, of course, and in Doubles that's a very good strategy to use. As the fourth member, I had Exeggutor (used Shiftry in the lead spot) with Nevermeltice HP[Ice] to cover dragons a little bit better (I played on Open Level, so Dragonite was an issue for the team) and to provide an extra panic button with Explosion, while Arcanine or Houndoom used Protect. Houndoom also has Odor Sleuth as an option against Double Team users. A final idea is using Sunny Day / HP Fire / Haze Crobat, who can Haze away Overheat Special falls, or Dusclops with Sunny Day, Fire Punch and Helping Hand which also supports fellow Exploder teammates. In competitive doubles, this novel strategy was known as OverHaze (another peculiar, related term is Hyper Roar, you can figure out what that means, hehe). I never succeeded in making a very reliable team, though. Anyhow, the battle should be over or nearly over when Sunny Day wears out, otherwise you'd have to waste another turn of using Sunny Day. Maybe you can do something with these ideas?

 

[Actaeon]

Time for the seventh Mono: this will contain my current Steel-type team!

Looking at the list of Steel-types, one problem is evident: there is only ONE Pokémon that is not weak to Fire and that's Aggron. Considering its Special Defense, it's still only about as resilient against Fire as Registeel is. Using Jirachi would be nice since it outspeeds the Fire-types, but that would be considered as cheating. The two Pokémon capable of setting up are Skarmory and Registeel, and from my experience of using Agility/Curse Skarmory, I'm quite sure a Steel-type team can't give it the proper support. That leaves us with the "German Technology" Registeel Kommo-o included in his own team, which is quite a beast of course. The support it needs to setup is getting without fear of too strong Fighting/Fire/Ground-type moves, and preferably against a paralyzed opponent. That itself is already pretty hard to do with a Steel-type team, but on the other hand, it makes choosing very easy. I'd love to use Mawile with its Intimidate Ability, but sadly I couldn't fit it in.

Mono Steel
A classic CGS team again: Aggron quite reliably paralyzes leads, most importantly Fire-types. Skarmory cripples with Sand-Attack and Registeel does its thing. Importance of choosing these Pokémon, filler moves and problem-solving strategies are explained below.

Aggron @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Thunder Wave
- Counter
- Protect
- Roar

Aggron paralyzes every non-Ground type that can't KO it, most importantly Fire-types. Against Fire-types and Cross Chop users the play is very specific and I start off with Protect, purely to stall a PP. Fire Blasts then get outstalled pretty much guaranteed (possibly I have to sacrifize Skarmory too), and Cross Chops as well. Overheat will have caused enough SpA reductions at least, and Flamethrower doesn't KO Skarmory, should it get through Aggron without it being able to paralyze the opponent. Counter is for Metagross, whose Evasion I can't reduce, so it would take Registeel too much HP to setup properly. Roar is a good utility against Curse / EQ users in particular, such as Snorlax. It's possible to force these opponents into using Rest with Drill Peck Skarmory, so Aggron can Roar safely (this is only relevant if it's too dangerous for Registeel to setup or if it can't win the 1v1vs the other Curse user). Finally, Protect also synergizes well with Skarmory's Toxic in pinch situations.

The EVs are pretty simple: maximize Special Defense while outspeeding everything below the 75 (stat) speed tier, containing Pokémon such as Ampharos, Exeggutor, (some) Lapras, Machamp, Ursaring, other Aggron and Regis. In hindsight, I'm not so sure if the Speed EVs are necessary at all. I had an important reason for it, but can't think of it right now. On the physical side, Aggron survives every non-STAB Earthquake, so it also takes surprise Fighting moves such as Electabuzz / Golduck / Magmar's Cross Chop.

First I used Rock Slide because it combines well with Thunder Wave and OHKOs Moltres, but then I learned the hard way I need Protect and Roar while testing.

Skarmory @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 20 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Sand-Attack
- Toxic
- Drill Peck
- Rest

Using Skarmory was pretty predictable I guess, but the exact set varied a bunch while testing. For me, Sand-Attack was a given (this team doesn't have the luxury of having a Lati to choose and setup with like Kommo-o's team, so it needs a more cheesy way to 'always' setup Registeel). While Torment + Protect is attractive and helpful in many scenarios, there are problems in this team which force me to use the options above. Drill Peck is the only weapon I have against lead Heracross, which OHKOs (using Toxic is possible, but then I'd have to sacrifize both Skarmory and Aggron just to get Registeel in, which would face an opponent that isn't crippled at all). Drill Peck also forces some setup Pokémon to use Rest a little earlier, so Registeel has time to 'outsetup' them or Aggron can safely use Roar. Toxic is necessary against the bulkier OHKO abusers such as Walrein and Wailord, which get owned by Toxic + ChestoRest. I'm really happy to have Sturdy on this team, because Registeel is a hax magnet and can't KO these Pokémon by a long shot. Sadly I can't fit Thief on this set anymore; this would be very welcome against Double Team Leftovers Registeel (made me think of your Hail strategy, Adedede). But if it's the lead or second Pokémon I can Roar it out, and if it comes last then it has to face fully setup Registeel of my own at least and needs to get pretty lucky with early misses to win. Even when I get into a stallwar, I guess +6 Struggle can beat it after a seriously long expected time, as it does roughly the same damage as HP[Steel] to it.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Atk / 4 Def / 64 SpD
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
IVs: 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Substitute
- Curse
- Amnesia
- Hidden Power [Steel]

Yeah we all know what this does; Kommo-o already described it perfectly.

In the end, I think this is one of the more reliable teams, probably ranking somewhere in the neighborhood of the Mono Ice team (but definitely below Electric and Dragon). As usual, the Sample Streak is published on my YT channel!

PS: A cool idea would be to use SD Mawile, because if it can get the pass off to CB Metagross, it OHKOs nearly everything with HP[Steel]. But this kind of team simply can't do a thing against fast and powerful Fire-types.

 

[greentyphlosion]

...Steel is quite predictable though, I think you would be able to guess those three Pokémon right.

Me: "Heh, yeah, he'll be using Metagross, Aggron, and Skarmory."

Two out of three! Go me!

Thanks for your thoughts on the SD team. Jumpluff was really just chosen because it's so fast and has surprisingly good SpDef: with (almost) maxed Speed it's almost guaranteed to get off a Sunny Day barring Fake Outs. Explosion Exeggutor was definitely the plan. Hadn't considered Flash Fire Arcanine; I guess I was too enamoured with the idea of Intimidate.

Back to the drawing board with this one, I think...

 

[Actaeon]

Me: "Heh, yeah, he'll be using Metagross, Aggron, and Skarmory."

Two out of three! Go me!

Thanks for your thoughts on the SD team. Jumpluff was really just chosen because it's so fast and has surprisingly good SpDef: with (almost) maxed Speed it's almost guaranteed to get off a Sunny Day barring Fake Outs. Explosion Exeggutor was definitely the plan. Hadn't considered Flash Fire Arcanine; I guess I was too enamoured with the idea of Intimidate.

Back to the drawing board with this one, I think...

Haha, I can see why Metagross would be on a first guess; it almost feels like a crime not to use it...

 

[Actaeon]

Yes, yes, I'm boiling with excitement to share the Fire-type team I made yesterday. Mono Fire was in the back of my mind for a while, and I was very afraid of this one because literally everything is weak to Water, so I thought Starmie, for example, would be nearly impossible to win against first.
On the other hand, Fire has got powerhouse offensive qualities, such as BellyZard, Reversal Blaziken, CM Entei, and pretty good basestats to work with in general. Originally, I expected to be obligated to use Torkoal because it tanks Rock/Ground-type moves the best and can potentially setup with Curse, although it will remain too weak on the Special side (unless it uses Amnesia, and I expect it to suck pulling off a "German Registeel" set). Anyway, I was pretty sure the lead had to take care of problematic Water-types such as Starmie, because there isn't any way of switching a Fire-type into something like that.

I noticed Arcanine is about as bulky as Torkoal when Intimidate is factored in, and while playing with the Pokémon calculator, I first made a set that counters offensive Starmie with Crunch + Extremespeed. This requires a very specific EV spread, which poses a dilemma: it either can't 2HKO Starmie this way, or it doesn't survive (non-crit) Surf 100% of the time. Also, it would impose a Speed-lowering Nature (probably Brave) on Arcanine. Then I thought of the classic Barkanine set, and tried HP Ghost. Turns out Arcanine DOES counter Starmie with HP Ghost + Extremespeed while surviving Surf guaranteed (due to its Attack BS being that much higher than its SpA)! The lead was decided on: a Thief / Extremespeed / HP[Ghost] / Filler "problem-solver" Arcanine. The next challenge is to make the rest of the team so that second Water-types and other offensive problems are taken care of when setup, for example. Finally, not a CGS team; it's a team that eliminates lead threats and "pre-eliminates" further threats as good as possible with the other two Pokes. Ironically, this is probably the very best Monotype until now. I proudly present:

Mono Fire

​

Arcanine @ [No Item]
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 236 HP / 188 Atk / 80 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
IVs: 30 Def / 30 SpD
- Thief
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Extremespeed
- Charm

The EV's are explained above; 4 Speed EV's makes it outspeed Jynx amongst others, which is a good niche I guess, although Entei covers that anyway. Arcanine trades a few HP EV's for extra Attack, as offensive Starmie's Surf does 194 damage max anyway. Hidden Power [Ghost] + Extremespeed also beats Gengar and Espeon in a pinch, but Entei also covers these. Charm is really useful against the QC Rock types I just stole Quick Claw from to soften them up (note that Arcanine survives even Rhydon's EQ, and Marowak is a joke after Thief). Most importantly though, Charm prevents Dragon Dancers from setting up in a dangerous way, as this team is really bad against faster opponents without their Attack being cut such as Salamence. I don't care about Metagross or Clear Body in general, as long as I steal their Quick Claw I'm fine. The Special Defense EV's, while primarily being to survive Starmie's Surf, also helps against powerful Thunderbolts from Electrics outspeeding my team (Manectric and Raikou).

Moltres @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 92 HP / 56 Def / 4 SpA 124 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Protect
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun

We know this Moltres already, and its use as a lead on BT stall teams already proved its usefulness. On this team, however, it has to stall more than just a selection of Pokémon. It's a "physical wall" of sorts, and outstalls the majority of slower BT Pokémon in general. Note that the Starmie sets that don't get beaten by Arcanine are outsped by this Moltres, so they can be safely stalled out of PP. Will-O-Wisp is chosen over Toxic because it lowers the opponent's Attack, which might help Entei to setup earlier in the right situation. I went for a set with less-than-max HP (one perfect Substitute number less), because that allows it to survive offensive Starmie's Surf just like Arcanine, which gives me a chance to rob Starmie more Surf PP if it crits through Arcanine. The four SpA EV's are just in case I want to teach it Flamethrower or something, but that won't happen ;)
If Moltres is stuck against a passive (Resting) opponent, Entei comes in and sets up. Watch Moltres' PP; use WoW if Protect/Sub would be wasted otherwise, because it might have to stall two or even three Pokémon in the worste case. What can I say, this thing is a monster (just like the other legendary birds on the other teams: they're so GOOD!)

Entei @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 84 HP / 196 SpD / 228 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Flamethrower
- Rest

This is the "Special wall" of the team, adding another Pressure user for the team as well. Together with Moltres, Rock Slide, Earthquake and Surf PP's will wear down VERY quickly, and Entei is the setup Pokémon of choice, should I get the chance for that. This is the best Pokémon to have ready and fully setup if an offensive Starmie should come in. It might surprise you that it runs so much Special Defense when it already runs Calm Mind; this is to make it much easier to switch into Gengar and Manectric, the latter of which can be a problematic offensive presence otherwise, since it outspeeds Moltres and can KO it (especially the Magnet set). Manectric never 2HKOes Entei without a crit and is outsped by Entei. The biggest problem for this team is general is Raikou 878 (the only one that Calm Minds up), which further emphasizes the need of Entei being specially bulky even before it has Calm Minded. Against Raikou I have a specific strategy: Use Thief with Arcanine to scout its set and remove its Chesto Berry if it's the bad one. Then use Extremespeed. If it attacks Arcanine with Thunderbolt twice, it hasn't setup with Calm Mind yet and Entei can beat it 1v1. If it uses Calm Mind / Thunderbolt, it still only 2HKOes Arcanine, so Arcanine will have put it in KO range (Extremespeed 3HKOes with 94.1% chance), which causes it to use Rest and stay asleep since I stole its Chesto Berry. Again, Entei can then 'out-CM' it. Entei has Lum Berry instead of Chesto to make switching into powerful Thunderbolts easier, as a bad-timed Full Para could really screw me up.

First I thought of using Camerupt to take care of Electric-types, among other things. It could also get a 'free OHKO' by using Explosion (maybe I'd even use a Choice Band set), but Entei worked way better, especially by contribuing another fast Sub + Pressure abuser.

So there you go, the best Mono team until now by surprise. The Sample Streak finishes with Anabel; I understood you like to see that. Her Raikou is slow, so unfortunately I didn't have to show the usual strategy vs Raikou.