Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Little Cup Team Building Competition! Taken over and OP adapted from Mambo / approved by macle
The last teambuilding competition went on hold for SPLC, but now that that is coming to an end Mambo has agreed to let me host another one! The goal of this project is to hone your team building skills, and understand how experienced Little Cup players go about building their teams around a particular core. For this project there will also be an emphasis on creativity, to avoid boring standard teams being posted every round, teams can only use two of the following pokemon: Pawniard, Chinchou and Mienfoo. With this condition in place, viable teams can still be made but it makes things a little more fun and prevents the same shit from being used round after round. So in summary the goals around this project are:
To hone team building skills around a particular core
Being creative in team building, yet still make viable teams
Learn from others on how they team build around a particular core
Discover new and effective cores in the metagame
The rules of this thread are very simple, I post a core or a single Pokemon and users have a week to teambuild around that core/Pokemon; when the week is up people post what they think was the best team for that week. I would prefer people to explain in one or two sentences why they chose the team that they voted for and please please please don't bandwagon just because a user has mods, doesn't mean they are going to post the best team lol. Voting stage also lasts a week with the winners team being placed in the Team Building Hall Of Fame. Rules for posting;
Make the post presentable, use XY sprites (or PokeSho if real) and have the team in exportable format so it can be used
Make sure you have a paragraph describing how your team functions and how it supports the core
Don't insult users if their teams aren't up to standard, feel free to question why people are running certain things, in fact, I highly encourage discussion but don't be rude about it
Use hide tags when posting your team
You can only have two of the following Pokemon on your team: Mienfoo, Pawniard, Chinchou, and Archen
That said, the first core is...
This is a pretty straightforward core, with houndour dealing big damage to things that aren't fighting types, and snubs dealing with most of those. Excited to see what you guys come up with!
I'll edit in a team later, but I think you should consider removing fletchling (and maybe replacing it with timburr) from the no more than two list, as the meta game has evolved to check it to the point that it's not overwhelming in the least.
I'll edit in a team later, but I think you should consider removing fletchling (and maybe replacing it with timburr) from the no more than two list, as the meta game has evolved to check it to the point that it's not overwhelming in the least.
Thanks for the suggestion, tazz. I agree that fletchling is no longer nearly as big of an issue, and as such Fletchling has now been removed from the list of pokemon you can't use more than two of.
For this round, I won't replace it with anything, so don't use more than two of chinchou, pawniard, and foo.
Hey, it's the first time I'm building something without Mienfoo!
What will go with a based core such as Snubbull/Houndour core? A based Pokémon such as Wooper. The core has two problems mainly which are Croagunk and Chinchou to a lesser extent and Wooper can deal with both of those mons especially Chinchou. The other problem with this core was that it can't deal with to Fletchling and is hazards weak and Archen can fix both of those problems and can also give another answer to the problematic Croagunk. Now I'm Pawniard weak and I thought Croagunk would be the best Pokémon to go with as it can deal with Pawniard along with giving an answer to annoying Fairy-types as well as some Fighting-types. So lastly I saw that the team is too weak to Foongus and I thought the best mon to go with would be Vullaby with its ability Overcoat, it has HP Fighting for Pawniard which can be so surprising (always 2HKOs 116 SDef Pawn with no investment and negative nature) and can also provide Knock Off support for its teammates.
Houndour @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 40 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Destiny Bond
- Pursuit
Snubbull @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 40 Def / 40 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Earthquake
- Thief
Wooper @ Eviolite
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 76 Def / 156 SpD
Careful Nature
- Recover
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Yawn
Nine immediately parlaying scrub notoriety into thread leadership, attaboy fren :)
I'm not usually proud of my teambuilding, but this is a very good team based around SnubDoge. The team's backbone is the core; both mons simultaneously support and are supported by one another as well as the team. Archen beats Fletchling primarily as well as other threats, gains momentum with U-Turn, and threatens mons with Stone Edge and EQ. Eviolite + Roost (Rowan endorsed!) gives more bulk and longevity, as Acro isn't particularly valuable on this team. Ferroseed is the Rocks setter and general check to things; it lures Fire moves Houndour eats and is cushioned by Snubbull's baby-faced lack of fucks give about fighting moves. Staryu spins away hazards that Dour resents while appreciating Dog's pressure on Grass-types. Timburr is the wincon, Houndour takes out Abra and Gastly as well as weakening Fairies; Snubs plays a similar role, often bruising Fary-types in a pinch. Dour traps things, bangs things, uses prio, and is a general badass, as is his wont. Snubbull stops fighting types while hitting super hard with Play Rough; EvioThief is the best set because you will take a Knock Off in the first 12+ turns, and stealing one back is rather nice.
Dour: Traps Ghosts / Psychics, absorbs burns
Snub: Laughs at Fights and other physical threats
Gunk: Stops enemy Gunk and helps Snub with Fighting types
Star: Spins and handles enemy hazard setters with water/elec coverage
Arch: Hazard Control as well as powerful physical attacker (i think i was on drugs when i made this set)
Mag: SturdyJuice safety net and add a bit of momentum to the team
Azazel (Houndour) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 SpA / 236 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Fire Blast
- Sucker Punch
- Destiny Bond
- Pursuit
Abaddon (Snubbull) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 196 Def / 196 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Heal Bell
- Earthquake
- Thief
The premise of this team is clearly quite simple: clean with Mienfoo. To reach that aim, Houndour traps any Ghost-type or Abra, and can switch into Foongus reliably thanks to Early Bird. Houndour's offensive presence also helps Mienfoo clean by weakening the opposing team. Snubbull can switch into Fighting-types that will force Houndour out, and its power and ability to remove Eviolites also works towards Mienfoo cleaning late game. Chinchou and Archen function as Fletchling checks, with Chinchou being the primary switch-in. Chinchou has HP Psychic to damage Croagunk, as the team has limited options for it otherwise. Archen's set is no item for an immediately powerful Acrobatics. The presence of a VoltTurn core makes Diglett a very good option for this team, and it can trap weakened Poison-types and Fire-types primarily.
This team, titled "This Team is Better Than Jac's", is centered around crippling things that would prevent a sweep; then forcing a sweep with it's variety of wincons. Dour is there as an Abra and a Pony check and is meant to take something down with it when using Destiny Bond. For Snubbull I opted for a more defensive moveset, taking both Heal Bell and TWave. This will allow my sweepers to remain healthy and paralyze things that could potentially stop the sweep. Foongus was my defensive option because I needed a way to stop water mons from running through me. In addition to that, Foongus is packing Stun Spore with Spore so it can put something to sleep AND paralyze the switch-in. Pancham is a Swords Dance Variant because I wanted to be able to set something that would also have longevity. (Looking at you Croagunk) I also wanted to use Panda because it can handle Spritzee with Gunk Shot. Gothita was an obvious choice for the team because I needed a special attacker. I wanted to run a Calm Mind set because it can run through teams if Trick is used correctly. Gothita can also cripple a setup user or a lead which can lead to a clean sweep. Munchlax is a very underused poke that should really receive more attention. Thick Fat makes Fire types its bitch. 18 Special Defense makes Special hitters in general cry. Recycle to get munchlax's already enormous health bar back. And Curse, the main reason I used this mon, it's ability to setup and take a few mons back can really turn the tide on a game.
I hope you enjoyed my team, importable is below.
Houndour @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 SpA / 236 Spe
Naive Nature
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Destiny Bond
- Fire Blast
Snubbull @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 196 Def / 196 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Thunder Wave
- Thief
- Heal Bell
By voting for the best team I mean users vote for the team that they think is the best built and is the most effective in the current metagame. Creativity can play a factor in your vote, but users should try and avoid voting for gimmicky mons because they are gimmicky. If your solosis squad is well-built and effective, feel free to post it, just be sure to explain why you chose those mons and how the team functions.
When I saw the core for the first time, the first thing I thought was "Zigzagoon !!!". Zigzagoon has a great synergy with the core. Snubbull's Intimidate make easier his set-up, twave cripples switch-ins in order to facilite the sweep, and he can beat fighting who are a huge threat for Zig. Houndour is an excellent Ghost Trapper and Gastly was a problem for zig (like all the ghost faster than him tbh). Also, for the zigzagoon set, I took the main set. Gunk shot was another good idea but it's easier to beat Spritzee than Omanyte/Tirtouga imo. Then, I did a listing of boring things for zig.
-Porygon/Lickitung and all of normal bulkies.
-Spritzee
-Sturdies/Sash.
-Some Steel types, that I can't kill without Houndour, but after a pursuit trap duel with Abra/Gastly, his life is low, and probably pawn kills me with Sucker Punch. Ferro is a threat too. And I have no good switch in to Magnemite.
-Also my core was weak to chou.
-Some shitty things like Lileep
As you can see, Croagunk was a logic choice for me. It counters Spritz, normal bulkies, steel types, can absorb chou's scald, and beat Lileep. He was probably the best teammate. Also, I like playing with a lot of priorities in order ro RK things like Omanyte/Tirtouga without Zbutt, and Vacuum Wave was perfect.
Now I can counter steel + fight. But this was not enough for me, I wanted to trap him, in order to be sure I can place zigzagoon, and kill after a RK.
Diglett's set is p original. I needed SR, in order to break free sashs, Sub because I can't trap pawn without if i'm orber, and I needed Memento too for a free set-up. So that was logic, I set the three ! Mono-EQ isn't that problematic, I just want to trap steel types. Rock Slide would have be useless here. His ground type was also a benediction for me, because Croagunk-Diglett core is really a pain for chou, it can arrive in all of his attacks with anticipation, and even kill him if he did a vswitch. Finally, I saw that my team has a huge problem with fletchling and even defensive archen. Also, my team missed special. Special + counter birds, can I do explain ? So BJ, Scald, Volt Switch, Heal Bell for support, and ... ? I don't need HP Ground, if Magne switch in a vswitch, Croagunk/Houndour laughs, and if chou, Croagunk/Diglett put a huge pression on him. So I chase Sucker Punch, because a priority is always useful, and because it can cripple Abra/kill Gastly, who can be problematic for this team !
Snubbull @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 124 Def / 36 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Thief
- Thunder Wave
Houndour @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 40 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
When I saw the core for the first time, the first thing I thought was "Zigzagoon !!!". Zigzagoon has a great synergy with the core. Snubbull's Intimidate make easier his set-up, twave cripples switch-ins in order to facilite the sweep, and he can beat fighting who are a huge threat for Zig. Houndour is an excellent Ghost Trapper and Gastly was a problem for zig (like all the ghost faster than him tbh). Also, for the zigzagoon set, I took the main set. Gunk shot was another good idea but it's easier to beat Spritzee than Omanyte/Tirtouga imo. Then, I did a listing of boring things for zig.
-Porygon/Lickitung and all of normal bulkies.
-Spritzee
-Sturdies/Sash.
-Some Steel types, that I can't kill without Houndour, but after a pursuit trap duel with Abra/Gastly, his life is low, and probably pawn kills me with Sucker Punch. Ferro is a threat too. And I have no good switch in to Magnemite.
-Also my core was weak to chou.
-Some shitty things like Lileep
As you can see, Croagunk was a logic choice for me. It counters Spritz, normal bulkies, steel types, can absorb chou's scald, and beat Lileep. He was probably the best teammate. Also, I like playing with a lot of priorities in order ro RK things like Omanyte/Tirtouga without Zbutt, and Vacuum Wave was perfect.
Now I can counter steel + fight. But this was not enough for me, I wanted to trap him, in order to be sure I can place zigzagoon, and kill after a RK.
Diglett's set is p original. I needed SR, in order to break free sashs, Sub because I can't trap pawn without if i'm orber, and I needed Memento too for a free set-up. So that was logic, I set the three ! Mono-EQ isn't that problematic, I just want to trap steel types. Rock Slide would have be useless here. His ground type was also a benediction for me, because Croagunk-Diglett core is really a pain for chou, it can arrive in all of his attacks with anticipation, and even kill him if he did a vswitch. Finally, I saw that my team has a huge problem with fletchling and even defensive archen. Also, my team missed special. Special + counter birds, can I do explain ? So BJ, Scald, Volt Switch, Heal Bell for support, and ... ? I don't need HP Ground, if Magne switch in a vswitch, Croagunk/Houndour laughs, and if chou, Croagunk/Diglett put a huge pression on him. So I chase Sucker Punch, because a priority is always useful, and because it can cripple Abra/kill Gastly, who can be problematic for this team !
Snubbull @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 124 Def / 36 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Thief
- Thunder Wave
Houndour @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 40 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Have you considered running eq on croagunk? At the moment your team seems to have huge problems switching into other croagunk and running eq would help your gunk beat them. You do have diglett, but it can't switch in.
I considered EQ yeah. But tbh, I need Knock Off on him (I always plays with at least one Koff).
I don't think I have huge problems with others croagunk. If EQ Croagunk, yeah, it's difficult for me. But tbh, I trap him after a kill with Diglett, so...
If Croagunk switch on me, usually I switch my own croagunk. But it's a question of anticipation too. It arrived that I predict a Drain Punch, and I switch on Snub, who outspeed and does like 75% with EQ, or even then switch on diglett, in order to take a future sludge bomb, and kill him.
It's a HO, so for me, I just need checks, no counters (or just for set-ups sweepers who can destroy my team.). But I will try Psybeam on chou in order to switch on him c: ! Atm I never have troubles with him.
This team, titled "This Team is Better Than Jac's", is centered around crippling things that would prevent a sweep; then forcing a sweep with it's variety of wincons. Dour is there as an Abra and a Pony check and is meant to take something down with it when using Destiny Bond. For Snubbull I opted for a more defensive moveset, taking both Heal Bell and TWave. This will allow my sweepers to remain healthy and paralyze things that could potentially stop the sweep. Foongus was my defensive option because I needed a way to stop water mons from running through me. In addition to that, Foongus is packing Stun Spore with Spore so it can put something to sleep AND paralyze the switch-in. Pancham is a Swords Dance Variant because I wanted to be able to set something that would also have longevity. (Looking at you Croagunk) I also wanted to use Panda because it can handle Spritzee with Gunk Shot. Gothita was an obvious choice for the team because I needed a special attacker. I wanted to run a Calm Mind set because it can run through teams if Trick is used correctly. Gothita can also cripple a setup user or a lead which can lead to a clean sweep. Munchlax is a very underused poke that should really receive more attention. Thick Fat makes Fire types its bitch. 18 Special Defense makes Special hitters in general cry. Recycle to get munchlax's already enormous health bar back. And Curse, the main reason I used this mon, it's ability to setup and take a few mons back can really turn the tide on a game.
I hope you enjoyed my team, importable is below.
Houndour @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 SpA / 236 Spe
Naive Nature
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Destiny Bond
- Fire Blast
Snubbull @ Berry Juice
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 5
EVs: 116 Atk / 196 Def / 196 SpD
Careful Nature
- Play Rough
- Thunder Wave
- Thief
- Heal Bell
Friendly reminder that submissions close on the morning of the 15th. If you plan to submit a team, be sure to do it by then. I love everything I'm seeing so far.
Also, I am taking suggestions for cores or single pokemon to be built around next week. If you would like to suggest a core or a single pokemon, shoot me a pm here or on PS! Please try and keep your submissions interesting but not extremely gimmicky.
The team might look like it loses to Fletch, but if you actually play it you'll realize it has a counter and two Fletch checks.
-1 196+ Atk Fletchling Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 116 HP / 196 Def Snubbull: 9-12 (37.5 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
Snubbull has no trouble switching into Fletch, eating it's Berry Juice and generally walling it. Munchlax also can do something similar and tank 3+ hits with Berry Juice + Recycle. Dour also has the ability to be higher on the priority chain with Sucker Punch, preventing a sweep.
It doesn't have Archen like practically all the other teams have and it relies on some under appreciated stuff like Munchlax. It's solid and I've done decent with it on ladder.
Coco's team is legit as hell. The only thing I have an issue with is it dealing with Oma after munchlax has been weakened, say by the likes of Gastly or Abra. Hazard Stack HO also seems rather annoying, but that's rather true for most teams. (and generally, that play style is /bad/ right now). It has checks for a lot of things other than that, but certain mons have a lot of pressure on them to perform as check. Nevertheless it looks nice and very playable.
