Introduction
So screens have been all the rage of late and I think this team was one of the first to initiate that trend. Most active players probably have some version of this or a similar looking type of screens. It's been used a fair bit on ladder in other tours like UUPL and UULT and has led to other spinoff versions with one or two Pokemon changes and some set changes. Screens are kind of dumb, I think they're far more consistent than they have any right being, which is great for someone who struggles with playing sometimes like myself. The team was originally made right before Sylveon and whatever else dropped with it was introduced to the tier. It was a time when Golisopod was absolutely everywhere due to the dominance of Mamoswine. This tier was slow (still is) back then so one of the most popular methods of revenge KO-ing Pokemon was via First Impression. Of course this means that there is an easy way to bypass it by using Protect. Which is what the original version had on most of the set up sweepers. Since Mamoswine got banned, Golisopod has also fallen off some meaning that the need for Protect has reduced greatly. Newer evolutions of the team swap Protect for wider coverage and handle more of the metagame at less of a cost now. The variant I'll be posting won't be the original but rather the first version that got used in a tour, after some edits made by Freeroamer.
~~
Teambuilding Process
This started with the idea that Xatu with Teleport would be an excellent way of providing openings for all of its teammates. The thought of using Espeon and then forcing frail Pokemon to take damage and potentially compromising their ability to sweep didn't seem very appealing. Also as it would turn out, Xatu's defensive typing would prove to be valuable by the end of the teams construction.
Noivern was as popular as ever and with Defog and Infiltrator being arguably the most used moves on it at the time it was necessary to have Pokemon that were capable of taking advantage of it or scaring it out. Therefore the next two members that were added were Barbaracle and Toxitricity. Toxtricity had the added benefit of removing Toxic Spikes in case they somehow managed to make it past Xatu. This supporting duo has damn near become essential on screens.
Cobalion was added as the fourth member because it provided valuable defensive utility against the likes of Mamoswine at the time and against Haxorus, Flygon and Barbaracle more recently.
At this point the four members were looking hella weak to Chandelure so gotta have Incineroar. Intimidate in combination with its typing offers this team more defensive utility again and therefore a little more flexibility when you're playing.
For the last Pokemon I chose Haxorus because under screens priority isn't gonna do that much and its damage output is just so stupidly high it becomes very easy to open doors for this teams two main cleaners in Barbaracle and Toxitricity.
~~
In-Depth
Xatu @ Light Clay | Timid Nature
Magic Bounce | 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Teleport
- Thunder Wave
Biggest team player because it obviously has an important function of getting this entire ball rolling. It's generally my go to lead unless the opponent has Pokemon that are faster and are able to KO it, this is honestly a pretty limited spectrum. Heliolisk, Specs Inteleon are some of the most common ways of immediately pressuring this team if you lead off with Xatu. Usually if I see one of them I end up leading with Cobalion. There are some other faster Pokemon that could OHKO it like Chandelure and Haxorus but those two have responses on this team which makes Xatu and easier lead choice.
Of course Light Screen and Reflect have to be there on the set with Light Clay allowing those turns to be extended. Teleport is again crucial to allow the breakers to get in as healthy as possible to do their job. The last move I opted to go with was Thunder Wave. It's great for crippling things like Cobalion or Noivern and then get the switch initiative to something against a paralysed Pokemon which almost always goes in your favour. Magic Bounce is invaluable for the Sticky Web match up and just generally ensuring that bulkier teams can't make progress with their game plan before you do. The EVs allow Xatu to outspeed Roserade with the leftover just stuck in SpD to take special attacks a bit better.
The other options for this would be switching the last slot. Opting for an attacking move such as Psychic or Air Slash is a possibility. Alternatively replace it with another status move like Toxic.
Barbaracle @ Shuca Berry | Jolly Nature
Tough Claws | 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect
This is likely going to be one of the Pokemon that most commonly ends the game. Usually find myself setting up with this against Pokemon such as Noivern, Flygon, Gigalith and Incineroar (might not wanna risk it if it is defensive because it could have Will-o-Wisp). You'd likely want to set up after Haxorus has worn down things like Umbreon and Cobalion or after Incineroar has chipped down some Water-types.
There isn't really much to say about the set because it's pretty straight forward. You need Shell Smash to become a threat, Liquidation because STAB and it takes advantage of your Tough Claws, Stone Edge again because STAB and allows Barbaracle to move past Grass-types and Water-types with only a little bit of prior damage which is usually accomplished by it's other teammates. Protect is here to protect itself from strong First Impression Pokemon such as Choice Band Haxorus and Golisopod. Shuca Berry gives Barbaracle the freedom to set up against Flygon which is very valuable for this team in case screens are down. The EVs don't lose out on anything speed wise while enabling Barbaracle to smash on Sylveon
There are a bunch of small modifications that can be made to this that might change the way this team is played. Examples would include things like running Life Orb which allow it to weaken Cobalion and Umbreon a lot better which could open the door for Haxorus to sweep instead of having that do the breaking. Alternatively dropping Protect for something like Low Kick would also facilitate similar results. Another item change could just be a different berry like Wacan or Chople that allow you to set up against different Pokemon. Change it depending on what you're seeing more often.
Toxtricity @ Throat Spray | Modest Nature
Punk Rocker | 4 HP / 252 Spa / 252 Spe
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Wave / Protect
Toxtricity is the other Pokemon that most commonly ends the game. You'll usually set up against things like Cobalion, Roserades, Sylveons, Noiverns, Electric types and Weezing. As with Barbaracle, waiting for Incineroar and Haxorus to do their jobs first is usually the best plan. Incineroar in particular is valuable because it wears down Gigalith and Rhyperior heavily ensuring that Toxtricity can finish them off.
The set is also nothing to write home about. It has Shift Gear to buff its speed so it can outspeed everything in the tier, Scarf Flygon included. The only thing it misses out is Inteleon, which isn't commonly run as a scarfer anyway. Boomburst does ridiculous amounts of damage with Modest and Throat spray and OHKOs pretty much everything that is offensive and doesn't resist it. Overdrive therefore becomes just secondary, only reserved for Pokemon such as Cobalion and Doublade that don't fall over to Boomburst. Last move is Sludge Wave which allows Toxtricity to move past Sylveon, Gardevoir and Celebi with comfort (and in one particularly annoying case, Abomasnow).
Alternatively you could use protect. It serves the exact same function as it did for Barbaracle. But again, with Golisopod falling off Protect becomes relatively less consistent. So this would be more of a match up pick.
Cobalion @ Shuca Berry | Jolly Nature
Justified | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
Cobalion is a super useful glue for this team, the package it offers enables to pivot into a bunch of crap and regain a favourable position. There are a fair few situations in which this gets reduced to a suicide lead and it's usually when there is an imminent threat to Xatu. This mon helps cover Haxorus, Umbreon, Noivern, Flygon, Sylveon to name a few.
So the unique part about this set is that it has Thunder Wave where you would probably imagine it having Swords Dance or Taunt. Thunder Wave is a great tool because it can slow down Dragon Dance Haxorus and makes it easier to keep up rocks against Noivern. Everything else is self explanatory.
As mentioned before, in the Thunder Wave slot you could replace it with Taunt, this would allow Cobalion to keep up rocks against Rotom-Wash and Mantine, and Swords Dance gives Cobalion the ability to weaken Pokemon for its teammates.
Incineroar @ Chople Berry | Jolly Nature
Intimidate | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Flame Charge
- Close Combat
Incineroar is one of the teams primary breakers. Due to the fact that it has Intimidate it allows Incineroar to set up before much progress has been made on the opposing team and be relatively more effective than the other team members. Originally this set was a Bulk Up+Flame Charge+Weakness Policy one with Taunt to make sure that it would beat stall but it's nowhere near as consistent as this set though.
Probably the most interesting aspect about this set is Flame Charge (a set this team helped popularise). Screens really enables this set to flourish letting Incineroar boost not just once but often a couple times in conjunction with being able to set up a Swords Dance to maximise it's output. Close Combat is important here to damage Umbreon, Gigalith, Rhyperior and annoyingly, Avalugg. Chople Berry gives Incineroar the ability to set up against Cobalion, and Pangoro.
Other options here are using Flare Blitz > Flame Charge for more power, allowing you to breeze past Sylveon and Galarian Weezing. You could also change the item to Shuca or something like that which again changes how you would play the team and perhaps items on the other Pokemon like Barbaracle.
Haxorus @ Life Orb | Jolly Nature
Mold Breaker | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
Haxorus is the other breaker this team relies on. Dragon Dance in combination with its already stupid high attack ensures that this Pokemon quickly wears down most Pokemon a lot.
This set was originally Protect as well but with Sylveon dropping there was really no getting around changing it to what it is currently. Life Orb + Poison Jab are essential as the combination of the two at +1 allows Haxorus to beat Sylveon. Life Orb also lets it grab other important KOs at +1 such as Bronzong and Galarian Weezing with Earthquake. Dragon Claw is there over Outrage just because getting locked in isn't something I like playing with.
The alternatives for Haxorus would be to use Lum Berry over Life Orb or Outrage over Dragon Claw. The latter ensures it beats Milotic, Umbreon and such.
~~
Threatlist
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1099049449
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8uu-493796
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8uu-490528
Conclusion
Many people have used similar teams with either Espeon as the screen setter or a few different options for sweepers like Linoone or Necrozma. Some opt for a different Rocker as well, usually Alolan-Dugtrio is the alternative. Appreciate Freeroamer for being the first person for being willing try it out in a tour setting and making it more popular because of it. Thanks for reading.
Importable
https://pokepast.es/6e9e0d9b6c7a96b3
So screens have been all the rage of late and I think this team was one of the first to initiate that trend. Most active players probably have some version of this or a similar looking type of screens. It's been used a fair bit on ladder in other tours like UUPL and UULT and has led to other spinoff versions with one or two Pokemon changes and some set changes. Screens are kind of dumb, I think they're far more consistent than they have any right being, which is great for someone who struggles with playing sometimes like myself. The team was originally made right before Sylveon and whatever else dropped with it was introduced to the tier. It was a time when Golisopod was absolutely everywhere due to the dominance of Mamoswine. This tier was slow (still is) back then so one of the most popular methods of revenge KO-ing Pokemon was via First Impression. Of course this means that there is an easy way to bypass it by using Protect. Which is what the original version had on most of the set up sweepers. Since Mamoswine got banned, Golisopod has also fallen off some meaning that the need for Protect has reduced greatly. Newer evolutions of the team swap Protect for wider coverage and handle more of the metagame at less of a cost now. The variant I'll be posting won't be the original but rather the first version that got used in a tour, after some edits made by Freeroamer.
~~
Teambuilding Process
This started with the idea that Xatu with Teleport would be an excellent way of providing openings for all of its teammates. The thought of using Espeon and then forcing frail Pokemon to take damage and potentially compromising their ability to sweep didn't seem very appealing. Also as it would turn out, Xatu's defensive typing would prove to be valuable by the end of the teams construction.
Noivern was as popular as ever and with Defog and Infiltrator being arguably the most used moves on it at the time it was necessary to have Pokemon that were capable of taking advantage of it or scaring it out. Therefore the next two members that were added were Barbaracle and Toxitricity. Toxtricity had the added benefit of removing Toxic Spikes in case they somehow managed to make it past Xatu. This supporting duo has damn near become essential on screens.
Cobalion was added as the fourth member because it provided valuable defensive utility against the likes of Mamoswine at the time and against Haxorus, Flygon and Barbaracle more recently.
At this point the four members were looking hella weak to Chandelure so gotta have Incineroar. Intimidate in combination with its typing offers this team more defensive utility again and therefore a little more flexibility when you're playing.
For the last Pokemon I chose Haxorus because under screens priority isn't gonna do that much and its damage output is just so stupidly high it becomes very easy to open doors for this teams two main cleaners in Barbaracle and Toxitricity.
~~
In-Depth
Xatu @ Light Clay | Timid Nature
Magic Bounce | 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Teleport
- Thunder Wave
Biggest team player because it obviously has an important function of getting this entire ball rolling. It's generally my go to lead unless the opponent has Pokemon that are faster and are able to KO it, this is honestly a pretty limited spectrum. Heliolisk, Specs Inteleon are some of the most common ways of immediately pressuring this team if you lead off with Xatu. Usually if I see one of them I end up leading with Cobalion. There are some other faster Pokemon that could OHKO it like Chandelure and Haxorus but those two have responses on this team which makes Xatu and easier lead choice.
Of course Light Screen and Reflect have to be there on the set with Light Clay allowing those turns to be extended. Teleport is again crucial to allow the breakers to get in as healthy as possible to do their job. The last move I opted to go with was Thunder Wave. It's great for crippling things like Cobalion or Noivern and then get the switch initiative to something against a paralysed Pokemon which almost always goes in your favour. Magic Bounce is invaluable for the Sticky Web match up and just generally ensuring that bulkier teams can't make progress with their game plan before you do. The EVs allow Xatu to outspeed Roserade with the leftover just stuck in SpD to take special attacks a bit better.
The other options for this would be switching the last slot. Opting for an attacking move such as Psychic or Air Slash is a possibility. Alternatively replace it with another status move like Toxic.
Barbaracle @ Shuca Berry | Jolly Nature
Tough Claws | 28 HP / 252 Atk / 228 Spe
- Shell Smash
- Liquidation
- Stone Edge
- Protect
This is likely going to be one of the Pokemon that most commonly ends the game. Usually find myself setting up with this against Pokemon such as Noivern, Flygon, Gigalith and Incineroar (might not wanna risk it if it is defensive because it could have Will-o-Wisp). You'd likely want to set up after Haxorus has worn down things like Umbreon and Cobalion or after Incineroar has chipped down some Water-types.
There isn't really much to say about the set because it's pretty straight forward. You need Shell Smash to become a threat, Liquidation because STAB and it takes advantage of your Tough Claws, Stone Edge again because STAB and allows Barbaracle to move past Grass-types and Water-types with only a little bit of prior damage which is usually accomplished by it's other teammates. Protect is here to protect itself from strong First Impression Pokemon such as Choice Band Haxorus and Golisopod. Shuca Berry gives Barbaracle the freedom to set up against Flygon which is very valuable for this team in case screens are down. The EVs don't lose out on anything speed wise while enabling Barbaracle to smash on Sylveon
There are a bunch of small modifications that can be made to this that might change the way this team is played. Examples would include things like running Life Orb which allow it to weaken Cobalion and Umbreon a lot better which could open the door for Haxorus to sweep instead of having that do the breaking. Alternatively dropping Protect for something like Low Kick would also facilitate similar results. Another item change could just be a different berry like Wacan or Chople that allow you to set up against different Pokemon. Change it depending on what you're seeing more often.
Toxtricity @ Throat Spray | Modest Nature
Punk Rocker | 4 HP / 252 Spa / 252 Spe
- Shift Gear
- Boomburst
- Overdrive
- Sludge Wave / Protect
Toxtricity is the other Pokemon that most commonly ends the game. You'll usually set up against things like Cobalion, Roserades, Sylveons, Noiverns, Electric types and Weezing. As with Barbaracle, waiting for Incineroar and Haxorus to do their jobs first is usually the best plan. Incineroar in particular is valuable because it wears down Gigalith and Rhyperior heavily ensuring that Toxtricity can finish them off.
The set is also nothing to write home about. It has Shift Gear to buff its speed so it can outspeed everything in the tier, Scarf Flygon included. The only thing it misses out is Inteleon, which isn't commonly run as a scarfer anyway. Boomburst does ridiculous amounts of damage with Modest and Throat spray and OHKOs pretty much everything that is offensive and doesn't resist it. Overdrive therefore becomes just secondary, only reserved for Pokemon such as Cobalion and Doublade that don't fall over to Boomburst. Last move is Sludge Wave which allows Toxtricity to move past Sylveon, Gardevoir and Celebi with comfort (and in one particularly annoying case, Abomasnow).
Alternatively you could use protect. It serves the exact same function as it did for Barbaracle. But again, with Golisopod falling off Protect becomes relatively less consistent. So this would be more of a match up pick.
Cobalion @ Shuca Berry | Jolly Nature
Justified | 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Thunder Wave
Cobalion is a super useful glue for this team, the package it offers enables to pivot into a bunch of crap and regain a favourable position. There are a fair few situations in which this gets reduced to a suicide lead and it's usually when there is an imminent threat to Xatu. This mon helps cover Haxorus, Umbreon, Noivern, Flygon, Sylveon to name a few.
So the unique part about this set is that it has Thunder Wave where you would probably imagine it having Swords Dance or Taunt. Thunder Wave is a great tool because it can slow down Dragon Dance Haxorus and makes it easier to keep up rocks against Noivern. Everything else is self explanatory.
As mentioned before, in the Thunder Wave slot you could replace it with Taunt, this would allow Cobalion to keep up rocks against Rotom-Wash and Mantine, and Swords Dance gives Cobalion the ability to weaken Pokemon for its teammates.
Incineroar @ Chople Berry | Jolly Nature
Intimidate | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Flame Charge
- Close Combat
Incineroar is one of the teams primary breakers. Due to the fact that it has Intimidate it allows Incineroar to set up before much progress has been made on the opposing team and be relatively more effective than the other team members. Originally this set was a Bulk Up+Flame Charge+Weakness Policy one with Taunt to make sure that it would beat stall but it's nowhere near as consistent as this set though.
Probably the most interesting aspect about this set is Flame Charge (a set this team helped popularise). Screens really enables this set to flourish letting Incineroar boost not just once but often a couple times in conjunction with being able to set up a Swords Dance to maximise it's output. Close Combat is important here to damage Umbreon, Gigalith, Rhyperior and annoyingly, Avalugg. Chople Berry gives Incineroar the ability to set up against Cobalion, and Pangoro.
Other options here are using Flare Blitz > Flame Charge for more power, allowing you to breeze past Sylveon and Galarian Weezing. You could also change the item to Shuca or something like that which again changes how you would play the team and perhaps items on the other Pokemon like Barbaracle.
Haxorus @ Life Orb | Jolly Nature
Mold Breaker | 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
Haxorus is the other breaker this team relies on. Dragon Dance in combination with its already stupid high attack ensures that this Pokemon quickly wears down most Pokemon a lot.
This set was originally Protect as well but with Sylveon dropping there was really no getting around changing it to what it is currently. Life Orb + Poison Jab are essential as the combination of the two at +1 allows Haxorus to beat Sylveon. Life Orb also lets it grab other important KOs at +1 such as Bronzong and Galarian Weezing with Earthquake. Dragon Claw is there over Outrage just because getting locked in isn't something I like playing with.
The alternatives for Haxorus would be to use Lum Berry over Life Orb or Outrage over Dragon Claw. The latter ensures it beats Milotic, Umbreon and such.
~~
Threatlist
-
: Combination of Body Press and ridiculous defence makes it hard to deal with for most of the team.
-
: Prankster Encore causes problems for obvious reasons. It also naturally has the typing to deal with two of this teams members which doesn't help.
-
: Quiver Dance Ribombee is annoying as fuck if you dont have Thunder Wave on Xatu. Then going to Incineroar will let you beat it.
-
/
: Because the team doesn't really rock with Lum Berry, Wispers can be quite the pain in the ass. Rotom also can run a spread to outspeed Incineroar and commonly does, making it even worse. Most likely you're looking at Incineroar to do the job of beating these regardless.
-
: It's fast enough, Earthquake fucks up most of the team, therefore scary. Especially the new Dragon Dance ones that have been popping up. Your Shuca Pokemon should be enough to keep at bay.
-
: In particular the scarf versions. They can outspeed everything even with a speed boost and have the necessary coverage to threaten everything. Fortunately this means the damage output isn't nearly as scary so if you're healthy, this should be fine.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1099049449
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8uu-493796
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8uu-490528
Conclusion
Many people have used similar teams with either Espeon as the screen setter or a few different options for sweepers like Linoone or Necrozma. Some opt for a different Rocker as well, usually Alolan-Dugtrio is the alternative. Appreciate Freeroamer for being the first person for being willing try it out in a tour setting and making it more popular because of it. Thanks for reading.
Importable
https://pokepast.es/6e9e0d9b6c7a96b3
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