1 True Lycan (1-2)
Creativity (2/5)
--> Doesn't really contain anything too creative outside of Grassium Tran (which is more common compared to other mons on here) and DD Mega TTar (which has fallen off), but I felt like these two sets compared to the more popular ones on those mons were enough to justify a 2/5 instead of minimum score.
Essence (4/5)
--> One of the only two teams which I felt really tried to use the ingredient of the round to its best. Building around Fire- types and/or coverage means that Water- types such as Pex and Ash-Greninja will pose a threat, and he handles this with a Grass spam core. The Grass spam core also appreciates the team's ability to pressure Steel- types.
Effectiveness (4/5)
--> Overall, this team felt the best for the round, abusing successful metagame trends with the likes of Lele breaking down fatter builds, and effectively using the Fire ingredient to leave room for Kartana to clean late game.
MFJr King (1-2)
Creativity (3/5)
--> Substitute Volcanion is something I haven't seen before, and it's cool that it was chosen for this round instead of all the other potential Fire- types. AV Amoonguss is also a pretty neat option, but outside of these two, there isn't anything too creative about the team. Compared to the creativity of the rest of the teams, I felt like a 3/5 was justified here.
Essence (4/5)
--> Volcanion is a great pick for this round's ingredient thanks to its Fire/Water STAB, meaning that it can also take advantage of Pex's passivity. Roost + 3 atks Koko is also pretty cool to take advantage of the Water- types that would ideally combat the teams this round, although I would've personally picked U-Turn > Volt to be able to effortlessly pivot out against Ground- types instead of forcing early mind games with hazards and whatnot.
Effectiveness (3.5/5)
--> This team looks really solid defensively overall, but packs little wallbreaking potential imo. Fire- types are more threatening than they seem on paper, as Volcanion is not too hard to wear down with hazards/its own Substitute, and Mega Tar has no reliable recovery. After these two are weakened, Heatran and Volcarona seem like they have a field day against the team.
wisdom dog (1-3)
Creativity (3/5)
--> I'm a fan of Gigavolt Havoc Zapdos, as I've never really seen it used outside of (insert the tour player that used it effectively here, the name is slipping my mind lol). Cosmic Power + Calm Mind Clef is also something you don't see often, so going by the guidelines that I did for MFJr Kings creativity rating, I gave this the "medium" score of 3/5.
Essence (2.5/5)
--> Team doesn't accomplish much with the use of the Fire ingredient, as outside of Zapdos, Water- types still threaten the team. However, the targets of the Fire- ingredient really do help Clefable (eliminates relevant Steel- types for it), but there's a really bad scarf Latias set on my screen that really just looks like it won't accomplish much outside of clicking Healing Wish. If I predict their switch into Ferro/Celesteela, I'd much rather click Trick to cripple them and help out the team more.
Effectiveness (3/5)
--> Outside of Latias, the team really isn't too bad. I can't speak about double boosting Clefable, but the team does a pretty decent job at applying pressure due to Gren+Maw+Zapdos. Having Mawile as the team's only Steel- type really hinders the team, though, and is definitely something I would improve with the team.
matthewc20090 (1-0)
Creativity (3/5)
--> Reuniclus can be a pretty underrated threat in this meta, being able to muscle past a lot of fatter builds. Z Celebrate Victini is rarely ever seen anymore but can still be effective given the right matchup. These two Pokemon produced a rating of 3/5.
Essence (2/5)
--> The team is severely weak to Ash-Greninja outside of Tapu Bulu, and although Reuniclus does have Energy Ball, it still struggles vs Water- types in general. Furthermore, the team really struggles vs Heatran, as Mega TTar is not too hard to wear down, and this really makes the Essence of the team take a hit. Having half of your team containing Fire- type moves means you need to have a reliable way of dealing with Water- types and other fire resists like Heatran, but I don't really see it on this team.
Effectiveness (3/5)
--> In all honesty, after analyzing it for a while the team doesn't look too bad on paper. My problem with this team is that it doesn't seem to have a reliable wincon outside of Victini/Reuniclus. Victini only gets one shot at using its Z move, and common Steel- types like Scizor and Heatran easily beat Reuniclus 1v1. Also, Tapu Bulu is the team's primary answer to Water- types (primarily Ash-Gren) and Tapu Koko, both of which can wear it down over time or pivot out against it.
Chickenpie2 (1-0)
Creativity (3/5)
--> I love Zard-X and think it's pretty under-appreciated atm, and Manaphy is also something you don't see often. Everything else outside of those is standard. Following the previous guideline for the rest of the teams, 2 uncommon Pokemon or sets = 3/5.
Essence (3/5)
--> Not much counterplay at all to opposing offensive Water- types. The rain matchup is horrible, as Swampert pretty much picks up a kill for free whenever it comes in. However, the team does have some pretty unexpected tecs like HP Fire Koko and is the only team boasting 4 Fire- ingredients. Team also does a pretty good job at pressuring Pex, which is a nuisance for the ingredient of the round, so I bumped the score up instead of the original 2/5.
Effectiveness (3/5)
--> On paper, this HO build struggles a bit with speed control. I'm not a fan of scarf Lele, as I find it to be rather easy to play around compared to its other sets, and the only other fast Pokemon on the team is Tapu Koko and a one time Z move Manaphy. This means that other offense builds, especially with Pokemon such as Koko, Kartana, and Ash-Greninja, are going to be a headache to face. Personally, however, I find it rather hard to decide how effective HO builds are on paper, as they're really hit/miss for me depending on the matchup. Instead, I tried this team on my alt and split 2-2, so I'm giving it the "medium" score of 3/5.
Lord Ninjax (0-1)
Creativity (2/5)
--> Really nothing creative here outside of Jirachi, which has seen a rise in viability recently regardless, and Nature Power on Diancie, so the score reflects that.
Essence (2.5/5)
--> Again, the team gets obliterated by Ash-Greninja with prior damage on Bulu, which really hurts the essence score when the whole point of the round is to build with Fire- types and/or coverage. On top of that, Pex can also setup Toxic Spikes to hinder Bulu/Volc pretty easily, forcing Zapdos to come in every time after Pex gets a layer up due to the pressure it applies on the team (see: ES's game with Sub CM MLati and how much pressure just one layer can apply if not cleared). Lastly, team struggles vs Heatran.
Effectiveness (3/5)
--> Mega Diancie is sadly in a bad spot in the current meta, and the team mainly relies on Volc as the only wincon. After Volc is weakened or pressured too much by hazards, it's not hard to beat the team with a simple common core of Scizor+Heatran+ground. The team does have its benefits though, as Bulu forms a nice core with both Diancie and Volc, which the team was built around and can threaten a lot of builds if used properly.
paoisd (1-1)
Creativity (3/5)
--> TankChomp and Weavile are both not seen much, but I still think TankChomp is pretty bad tbh. 2 uncommon mons = 3/5.
Essence (3/5)
--> Looking at the team, you wouldn't expect it to meet the requirements for the round, and this surprise factor increases the essence score. The team does have the speed for offensive Water- types; however, the team struggles reliably breaking past Pex if Heatran can't trap it, which really holds the essence score back. Originally this was a 3/5, but comparing it to the other ratings, I felt like a 3.5 here was more justifiable.
Effectiveness (3.5/5)
--> I also tried out this team because Lopunny+Weavile seemed really fun and it turned out to be quite good. Torn-T is a great reliable Defogger, and Heatran can trap Steel- types that can be problematic for other team members such as Weavile and Greninja.