Introduction
It may be a little generic, but I wanted to build a team around the Psychic spam of LeleGross. These two Pokemon are defining the metagame right now, and if you want a strong team, these two will be considered by any team builder. It has been a few years since I have posted a RMT, so I'm considering this a warm-up before I start building more creative teams. I've gotten to 1500 ELO (and climbing) with this, which I'm very happy with, considering I'm a relatively inexperienced player.
Teambuilding Process
I started with the simple duo of Tapu Lele and Metagross. Meta does a great job wearing down Lele's checks to make room for a sweep with the fast Scarf Lele.
The main win condition of this team is Psychic spam from Lele. In order for her to do that, I need to remove Steel and Dark types. Magnezone is an obvious pick, since he can trap Steel types and kill them off. He also makes a decent check to some special attackers like Tapu Koko and Thundurus (unless you get Focus Blasted)
At this point, my team is pretty weak to Ground spam. Landorus-T makes a great addition to my team by shoring up the Ground weakness and providing my team with a Stealth Rock user. With the Rockium-Z set I'm running, he also helps lure and kill Skarmory and Celesteela, which is much appreciated by Lele.
I needed some defensive glue, and Tapu Fini works so well with Landorus-T. She checks a lot of threats in the meta and can really wear down bulky teams with Nature's Madness and Taunt. She also provides some Water coverage that my team is lacking.
Because I made Landorus-T offensive rather than defensive, I felt that I needed a little more defense against physical attackers like Metagross. This was recommended to me by Mega Flexagross, and it has done a surprising amount of work. He takes a lot of pressure off LandoT and Fini, and provides solid utility in Sleep Powder and Knock off.
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The Team
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 HP / 252 SpA / 128 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Taunt
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Conclusion
My team has had solid success, but it definitely has some weaknesses. I really struggle against special attackers like Charizard Y (I have no good switchins) and Mega Alakazam (Lele is afraid of Shadow Ball, Zone is afraid of Focus Blast). Fini is my usual Greninja check, but if he is Protean with Gunk Shot, I'm in serious trouble (who isn't, though?). I'm open to the idea of putting something more specially defensive on the team, I'm just not sure where it would fit. There is probably a lot of physically defensive redundancy between LandoT, Fini, and Tangrowth, so perhaps something could change there.
If I had to name an underperformer on the team, it would be Magnezone. With my Landorus-T set, he often does the job of killing Skarm and Celes by himself. Magnezone isn't always a reliable Steel trapper: he loses to Heatran; Scizor and Magearna can turn out, and I've been seeing Shed Shell a lot on Skarm. He's most reliably trapping Ferro and Celes, and I'm just not sure if he's worth the slot to trap those 2 alone. He is my only Electric user, which is great for getting past bulky waters, but perhaps something else could do the job better.
I have some troubles with faster teams and momentum. Since Magnezone is my only voltturn user, and people often send in ground types vs him, Volt Switch isn't even that reliable. Metagross and Lele are my only pokemon with more than 100 speed, so I'm often having trouble with Speed boosters, Scarf users, or fast Pokemon like Protean Greninja, Pheromosa, and Mega Alakazam. It's for this reason, and the fact that I don't get rocks up enough with LandoT, that I've been considering just switching him to the double dance set. I think something could stand to change (either sets or the Pokemon) in Magnezone, Tangrowth, and LandoT to help with this problem.
Lastly, I have a bit of trouble vs stall. I can find a way to break through some walls like Sableye and Rotom-w by baiting them in with Swords Dance LandoT. I can also wear down some bulky Pokemon with taunt+NM Fini. As a whole, it just feels like I'm super dependent on predictions that don't often go my way (wasting Rockium-Z into a Celesteela Protect). I haven't played many stall teams on my climb to 1500, though, so it may just be inexperience. I could really use some advice from more experienced players in this domain.
As I mentioned in the intro, this team uses a lot of metagame staples and is not very creative. Since I'm new, I wanted to learn to walk before running and build a simple yet effective team. A lot of my perceived strengths and weaknesses could be incorrect due to my inexperience, so I felt like it was time to reach out to you guys for help. Magnezone and Tangrowth are probably the most flexible slots that I could definitely see changing, but I'm open to adjusting other slots as well! As long as Lele and Metagross stay.
Thank you in advance for any help you guys provide! Also, how do I get sprites for these missing Pokemon?
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 16 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 116 HP / 252 SpA / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 16 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power [Fire]
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