Monotype Hoopa's Book Club

[Metool B]

With Sun and Moon right around the corner, I've been mainly sticking to Monotype and Little Cup. The tiers are gonna be in flux for the most part, so at least these two styles of play have consistent rules. My plan is to make a team of each type, so I can enter any tournament. Some of these teams are actually pretty good. Others, well, not so much.

This particular team actually got me to the finals of a Monotype UU tourney (which is not the same as regular UU), and honestly, I have to wonder if it's really that good. Well, I'll let you guys decide. Presenting for your delectation:

Hoopa's Book Club

Hoopa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyperspace Hole
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Focus Blast
Book of choice: 101 Arabian Nights

As the organizer of this book club, Hoopa is of course the star of this show as the team's special sweeper. With Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and its signature Hyperspace Hole at its disposal, it can clean house quite swiftly once it gets going. And for those who wish to set up or stall, it has a bit of a trick up its sleeve. Mainly the move Trick, to lock the opponent into whatever move they were trying to do.

Cervantes (Doublade) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak
- Gyro Ball
Book of choice: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Cervantes is the surly physical sweeper of the group. He may not be fast, but once he sets up a Swords Dance and starts casting his shadow forth, that won't matter much. He can call upon the signature move of the Swords of Justice to cut down any Normal types, and his Gyro Ball hits those bloody pixies especially hard.

Chidori (Sableye) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off
Book of choice: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling

Chidori has one job on this team, and that job is to annoy her enemies. A quick Taunt shuts down sweepers and Stealth Rockers, and with Will-O-Wisp and Recover, she can outstall the best of her foes. Knock Off especially comes in handy for those who may use items to pose a problem to the rest of the team.

Sentinel (Golurk) @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Shadow Punch
- Ice Punch
Book of choice: Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchet

Formerly a Stealth Rocker, Sentinel has been getting more use as a wallbreaker these days. Its powerful fists mow down opponents like no one's business, and many foes fear its quaking steps as well. While its defenses could be better, as long as it clears the field for Hoopa and Doublade to start sweeping, it's done its job.

Yukiko (Froslass) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Destiny Bond
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
- Taunt
Book of choice: Uzumaki by Junji Ito

Yukiko is usually the one who goes out first, setting the stage for her comrades to sweep. She shuts down other Stealth Rockers with a taunt, and then proceeds to lay out some spikes. If she gets taunted herself, she can freeze her foes with a beam of ice. And when she feels that her time is at an end, she'll make sure to take the opponent with her.

Osiris (Cofagrigus) (M) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Hex
- Pain Split
- Toxic Spikes
Book of choice: The Book of the Dead

Osiris is this team's answer to Knock Off users and especially Mega Lopunny. With his Colbur Berry in hand, he won't take as much damage from dark strikes seeking to disarm him, and those that try will be sentenced to have his ability as long as they stay in. If the opponent decides to switch, it give Osiris ample time to do whatever he wants. He can set up Toxic Spikes, Pain Split to patch up his wounds, or call upon his Hidden Power to hit the next foe coming in. And between his Toxic Spikes and Chidori's Will-O-Wisps, Hex gives him more power.

Again, I'm not sure if these guys are my best work when it comes to Monotype teams, but they did get me to the finals. And that was before I changed Golurk from a Stealth Rocker to a wallbreaker. If you have any changes to suggest, I ask that you also include a book as well. This is a book club, after all.

 

[Dharma]

Interesting team presentation! Just one minor suggestion.
Golurk
A Choice Band with 100% accurate Dynamic Punch and Stone Edge outclasses the Iron Fist set that you use.
Pretty much the only thing I can find at the moment, good luck in future tours!
Edit:
Gengar isn't banned in Mono UU, and I don't see why you would use Cofagrigus over Gengar on an offensive team.
Book: Swami and Friends

 

[terrors]

Hi, cool team! I have a few suggestions:

Choice Band Golurk is not a very viable set, being a bit too slow for a wallbreaker. You also seem to lack a Stealth Rock user so I would suggest going back to Focus Sash Golurk. It packs a decent punch, while also being able to provide extremely important utility in the form of Stealth Rock. You also seem to lack reasoning on why you switched your set?

set

Golurk @ Focus Sash
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dynamic Punch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Froslass is generally a very subomptimal Pokemon on Ghost teams. Instead, I suggest Jellicent, as it is the bulkiest special wall Ghost has access to. It can also become a great win-con vs. Ground teams if it carries Acid Armor and a decent stallbreaker with Taunt + Toxic.

set

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Scald
- Toxic
- Acid Armor

Lastly, I would switch Cofagrigus for Gengar. Life Orb Gengar is a great wallbreaker that can support Scarf Hoopa-C by wearing down the opposing team. It can also run Substitute to deal with threatening Dark types such as Bisharp, being able to bypass Sucker Punch.

set

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Energy Ball / Substitute
- Focus Blast

gl

 

[Metool B]

Hi, cool team! I have a few suggestions:

Choice Band Golurk is not a very viable set, being a bit too slow for a wallbreaker. You also seem to lack a Stealth Rock user so I would suggest going back to Focus Sash Golurk. It packs a decent punch, while also being able to provide extremely important utility in the form of Stealth Rock. You also seem to lack reasoning on why you switched your set?

set

Golurk @ Focus Sash
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Dynamic Punch
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

Well, I used to run Lefties, and Golurk kept getting KOed by Knock Off users (which is why I went with Cofagrigus). But I suppose a sash could work.

Also, this is just a personal preference, but I'm not a fan of Life Orb attackers that can't mitigate the damage they do to themselves. As such, I might opt for Giga Drain over Energy Ball, just so that Gengar can stick around for longer and not do the enemy's work for them.

Lastly, are there any books Jellicent could recommend?

 

[iLlama]

Hey, Metool B, nice team. I'll give you a quick rate on some minor changes.

terrors has covered most everything for this team, but there is a glaring weakness to Bisharp that could be a tad more manageable with some quick changes. First, I agree with terrors in that Life Orb Gengar is far more useful than other options for Ghost. However, I would suggest you change Giga Drain > Destiny Bond as it is the best and easiest out to major offensive threats to your team such as Bisharp, Specs Hoopa-U, etc. Giga Drain is nice for getting HP back, but in reality, Gengar succeeds at being a hard-hitting Special Attacker and running alternative sets doesn't exactly benefit an already limited type. The other change I would make is with regards to Hoopa. As there is nothing that Hoopa really needs to hit through Protect or Substitute, I would suggest changing Hyperspace Hole > Psyshock. Hoopa will obviously attract Specially Defensive switchins, so slapping on Psyshock can be nice to catch some unsuspecting users off guard.

I hope my recommendations will help you out and good luck with your Ghost team.

For Jellicent's Book, why not "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin?

 

[Metool B]

Hey, Metool B, nice team. I'll give you a quick rate on some minor changes.

terrors has covered most everything for this team, but there is a glaring weakness to Bisharp that could be a tad more manageable with some quick changes. First, I agree with terrors in that Life Orb Gengar is far more useful than other options for Ghost. However, I would suggest you change Giga Drain > Destiny Bond as it is the best and easiest out to major offensive threats to your team such as Bisharp, Specs Hoopa-U, etc. Giga Drain is nice for getting HP back, but in reality, Gengar succeeds at being a hard-hitting Special Attacker and running alternative sets doesn't exactly benefit an already limited type. The other change I would make is with regards to Hoopa. As there is nothing that Hoopa really needs to hit through Protect or Substitute, I would suggest changing Hyperspace Hole > Psyshock. Hoopa will obviously attract Specially Defensive switchins, so slapping on Psyshock can be nice to catch some unsuspecting users off guard.

I hope my recommendations will help you out and good luck with your Ghost team.

For Jellicent's Book, why not "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin?

I actually have found Hyperspace Hole a bit more useful, personally. Especially against Mega Beedrill, who often likes to protect after Mega Evolving so he can outspeed everyone.

As for Destiny Bond, that's actually not a bad idea. The thing I don't like about Life Orb is that if there's no way to mitigate damage, that Pokémon is just out there to faint. If they're going to go out, at least go out with a bang by using Explosion or take the opponent down with them with Destiny Bond. So, yeah. I'll give that a shot.