TEAM BUILDING PROGRESS
The idea of the team is to abuse the sheer power of Banded Urshifu alongside a tailor-made Gengar set that allows the two of them to single-handedly destroy entire defensive cores. The set isn't new at all, but I haven't seen it used once in this gen and it's perfect when used with Urshifu because of the Pokémon they lure in for each other.
Given that these two Pokémon have the tools to dismantle bulkier teams by themselves, I decided that the next Pokémon was going to be one to deal with more offensively oriented teams. One specific Pokémon was perfect with the initial core of Gengar+Urshifu and it happens to be a pretty good one, my favourite Pokémon to use in this gen, Dragapult. If you need a Pokémon to combat HO with screens or even without, this is your best option.
Then I decided that it was time to add some bulk and support to the team. Usually, when I'm at this point in team building, I try to put together a bulky core that can check the most prominent threats in the meta and provide the basic SR + Defog combo and still not be completely passive. One mon I wanted to try out was Thick Fat Miltank, because it's the hardest counter to Alolan Marowak on this game and without it I would auto-lose to it under Trick Room. Also gets Stealth Rock, if needed, and reliable recover + Thick Fat makes him a fine switch-in into Cinderace's Pyro Ball.
The two biggest offensive threats in this metagame are Urshifu and Magearna, the first for its dumb power and the second for its versatility. Also, Rain match-up was looking sketchy, I still needed a Defogger and one Steel and one Fairy type are mandatory on defensive builds, so I simultaneously added SpDef Ferrothorn and Galarian Weezing to check the two aforementioned threats and other, completing a rather out-there defensive core.
This defensive core supports the team by spreading status, while Ferrothorn is the real g, removing items and annoying opponents between Leech Seed and Iron Barbs.
Now onto the team in details
THE TEAM
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 80 HP / 88 SpA / 88 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hex
- Sludge Wave
- Substitute
This is the Pokémon that inspired the team, I always loved Gengar competitively, it has an unique typing and amazing movepool and it's in the super elite club of special attacking Pokémon that LOVES the existance of Chansey. This set allows him to solo stall teams with minimal support. With how much status my team can spread, Hex is the most logical choice for STAB Ghost, but Shadow Ball can be used for more consistency early game or against team w/ Aromatherapy or Heal Bell, so realistically the choice is up for debate. I use him more with Hex, though.
This EV spread enlarges the pool of Pokémon I can set up on.
CLEFABLE: you force the switch against Clef anyway, but if you burn it with Dragapult or Weezing, Knock Off isn't going to break the Substitute as long as it has 0 IVs in attack. Moonblast does a maximum of 23.4%, so burnt Clef is a safe Substitute fodder.
TOXAPEX: Scald and Poison Jab ain't breaking the Sub with neutral nature, but Knock Off variants always break unless they're burnt, in which case it has roughly a 50% chance to break the sub.
AMOONGUSS: it doesn't always have Foul Play, but if it has it then you can just burn it and it's done. Any STAB from Amoongus won't break the Sub.
CHANSEY: your main set up fodder, even if it runs Thunder Wave it can't touch you.
CORVIKNIGHT and SKARMORY: if burnt, only variants with Brave Bird can break a Substitute.
Slower teams have a hard time against this Gengar, as the most efficient way to deal with it is to revenge-kill it when it's not behind a Sub or with Dragapult.
Urshifu @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
This Gengar set is possibly the weakest Gengar you can have right off the bat, so having a powerful wallbreaker is going to be incredibly useful, especially if they complement each other well. Choice Band SS-Urshifu is notoriously broken, can't be safely scouted and has incredible STAB coverage alongside a simple Poison Jab / Iron Head for Fairy types. Against more offensive teams, it's actually a great Knock Off sponge, because being able to switch moves is very helpful and allows Sucker Punch to be used without nearly as dry possible consequences and it has enough power to kill stuff anyway. Initially I had U-turn instead of Poison Jab, but I ended up missing the coverage in certain situations, so I immediately put Poison Jab in the 4th slot.
Dragapult @ Dragon Fang
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Will-O-Wisp
- U-turn
- Steel Wing
This mon is my favourite Gen 8 OU Pokémon to use by a mile, it sits in a goated speed tier which improves HO match-up indefinitely. With Dragon Darts it's a gigantict threat to Alakazam and OHKOs Volcarona thanks to Dragon Fang even through screens thanks to Infiltrator. Also, when facing Azumarill, in a pinch you can always survive +6 Aqua Jet and threaten to burn it. In any case, the main purpose of Dragapult is to lure in and U-turn on stuff that Urshifu or Gengar prey on. Also, the fact that it lures in Magearna and Mandibuzz is incredibly useful because you can catch them on the switch with Will-o-Wisp and then U-turn out to Ferrothorn and Weezing respectively to rack up burn damage and momentum. Steel Wing is disgustingly weak but has proven to be extremely useful against Clefable and Togekiss multiple times so I stuck with it. Incredible Pokémon, it should have 100% usage rate even in this Magearna infested metagame. 8 EVs in HP allows Pult to always live Jolly HDB Cinderace's Sucker Punch from full.
Miltank (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 180 SpD / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Toxic
- Body Slam
- Milk Drink
- Earthquake
This is the mon I wanted to try out for a defensive core. Adds a nice Ghost immunity, basically resists Fire thanks to Thick Fat and thus is the reason why this team doesn't crumble to Alolan Marowak or Chandelure, which are especially dangerous under Trick Room or when they come in on Ferrothorn or Weezing. This spread allows it to take some big hits on the pyshical side, most notably tanking 2 Zen Headbutts from Adamant Libero Cinderace at +2 and surviving a +2 Earthquake (as well as two +0 EQs) from Jolly Excadrill, all after Stealth Rock. The rest is bumped in special defense to withstand Rotom-H a bit better. Being a Normal type, Miltank's defensive utility isn't mind-blowing since it doesn't have Chansey's ridiculous stats, but unlike the big pink egg, it has some things going for it offensively. Aside from sharing access to reliable recovery and Stealth Rock, Miltank is pretty fast for a defensive Pokémon, which allows it to be a soft check to Bisharp and Azumarill, taking a boosted priority from both of them and dealing some damage in a pinch with Earthquake and Body Slam respectively. Also, its STAB of choice packs a hefty 30% to paralyze the opponent and when combined to its access to Toxic, it makes Miltank a risky Pokémon to set up on.
Ferrothorn @ Chople Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip
- Knock Off
This mon is absolutely goated. It's specially defensive because I need him to take on Magearna and Alakazam mostly. With this spread and Chople Berry it can survive every unboosted Fighting move, big ones being Urshifu's and Terrakion's banded CCs and miscellaneous Focus Blasts. Between Leech Seed, Knock Off and potential burn from Dragapult and Weezing, there is no way any Magearna without Focus Blast is breaking through this, and Alakazam either dies or gets its sash broken. Another important task it accomplishes is improving rain match-ups thanks to the buffed special defense. I still left some EVs in defense to sponge Excadrill like Miltank does. Overall, without this mon, this team would auto-lose to Magearna so it's pretty important.
Knock Off + Leech Seed is incredibly aggravating for the opposing team and Power Whip ensure I can hit rain sweepers. Body Press can be used though it has its power a bit shortened due to EV spread.
Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strange Steam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Defog
- Sludge Bomb
This one hard counters SS-Urshifu and it's a stop to many physical attacker by virtue of its typing and access to Will-o-Wisp. It's also the defogger of the team. Toxic Spikes is a shout, since it lures in Amoongus and Toxapex to remove them, which as we discussed are among Gengar's victims and they would get burnt by Will-o-Wisp on the switch. Sludge Bomb is in right now to grab some damage and possibly status on hazard-immune Fire types that like to switch-in on Weezing, like Cinderace and Rotom-H, which I found to be pretty useful.
CONCLUSION
This team looks ridiculous but having two Ghost types creates more mindgames than one may think, especially against Fighting types, who either have their moves supereffective or laughed at against me. This team thrives on double switches and chip damage early game. The main targets you need to find are the ones that stops whichever of the three attacking mons have the highest possible chance to win the game with or prevent the opponent from smashing you. Dragapult generally is always going to be the best Pokémon you want to take advantage of against HO, while Gengar is always going to be your best one against stall. Urshifu is interesting because while you're setting up the win with Gengar, you may end up finishing everything with Urshifu. Being the main breaker of the team, it usually racks up stupid amount of damage but against HO it shines as soon as its item gets Knocked Off, ironically. No Zeraora is running Play Rough anymore because of how obsolete it is against Amoonguss, so this is a premiere Knock Off switch-in for Urshifu. Overall, this team is pretty fun and can hold his own against any build, with the hardest one being sun teams. You can work or status around many threats, especially through Miltank's Body Slam, before cleaning up. This team made me appreciate Gengar and Dragapult even more and acknowledge the absolute menace of Urshifu. It doesn't look as solid as other teams, but fits my playstyle really well and I enjoy using it.
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