Intro
Hey guys, thought I'd post my first RMT to see what people think of it! Simply put, the idea around this team was to create a bulky offensive/balanced build around Mega Gardevoir, a mon which I still think people seriously underrate. Now, it's my belief that Gard works best when partnered with a mon who can terrorize offence, as well as when it is being supported by a volt-turn system. Well, let's begin!
The Team!
Team Building Thought Process
As I already stated, Mega Gardevoir was the starting point for this team. Gard's ability to absolutely dominate slower builds was a big factor for this, as well as her ability to come in after a mon has been fainted and almost always net a kill no matter the playstyle, especially when considering that Gard has substantial special bulk to stomach a number of hits.
Following this, I decided that Weavile would be a great partner for Gard; a mon renowned for single handedly tearing offensive teams apart could only do wonders when partnered with a mon who can do the same against defence. Type synergy between the too it quite nice as well, with Gard taking on the fighting types that trouble Weavile, while Weavile can essentially clean up anything which has been severely damaged by Gard.
Next up is one of the most annoying Pokemon to face in the tier, Rotom-Wash! Already, I could see a growing weakness to Talonflame, as well as a plethora of physical threats such as Landorus-T, Scizor and Azu, who all have to be wary of Will-o-Wisp from Rotom. Having an immunity to earthquake I think is essential to 99% of teams and Rotom is perfect for this. This in conjunction with having a slow volt switch, made Rotom seem the next natural move.
Next, I wanted a Stealth Rocker, to help Gard and Weavile net successful OHKOs and 2HKOs, as well as a decent stop to Electric types and set up sweepers such as Clef and Zard X. Hippo not having a 4x weakness to ice made him the obvious choice at this point of building, with access to rocks and whirlwind covering a variety of roles. In addition, Hippo forces Azu to decide between Waterfall or PR when it comes in, thus enabling beating that an easier process.
At this point, I was noticing a serious weakness to Keldeo, Serperior, Special fairies and similar special attackers. It was at this point I decided to look through the tiers a little bit and found Tangrowth (disappointingly) lying in the depths of RU. An AV variant fit exactly what I needed on this team, while forming a really nice defensive core with Hippo and Rotom, with each covering each other's weaknesses very coherently.
At this point, due to having 4 grounded members and only one resistance to stealth rocks, I decided I needed to have a spinner, as I'm not the biggest fan of defoggers in the world. Excadrill was considered first due to creating a sand partnership with Hippo, but only compounded my weakness to Keldeo, so I opted with Starmie instead. This allowed me to continuously spin throughout the game with a defensive spread as well as spreading burns with scald.
After testing with the team, I began to notice that fast threats were capable of tearing through my team, and I didn't possess any kind of serious win-con. My team was still being worn down by hazards due to Starmie's spinning prowess being average at best and as such I chose to go with Scarfchi. This could act as an emergency button with iron head flinching, I had access to another U-turner + H-Wish for Gard to come in from, as well as fire punch to help with my scizor/ferro weakness.
I stayed with the previous team for a while as it performed fairly well, but always found to be slightly lacking, two major issues for the team were sand offence and Mega Medicham/Heracross, these were able to net a kill almost every time they came in, especially when I was lacking hazard removal. Thus I opted for defensive Lando-T, who, when equipping a Rocky Helmet, could punish a multitude of physical threats, while also providing the same SR support and being a better answer to ZardX.
Detailed Analysis
Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
The first three moves are pretty self explanatory, Hyper Voice being the move you click 9/10 times, with resists still taking sizeable chunks and anything that doesn't resist or isn't Chansey having a good chance of being OHKOed. Psyshock helps versus boosted Clefable, does more damage to Chansey, Talonflame, Venusaur. FB is necessary to nail switch ins, such as Ttar, Ferrothorn and Scizor, and correct predictions can wipe out their single 'answer' to this mon. Gard takes out fighting types for Weavile, namely, Keldeo and Conk but also severely weakens the likes of Clef and Venusaur who can normally freely come in on Weavile. The final moveslot was decided later on, but due to a disdain of full stall, Taunt became the default option, it prevents Clef, Chansey, Quag from healing up on/statusing you as well as being a solid counter lead, with many players expecting free rocks with Skarm, or Lando as you switch out, but instead, you can choose to Taunt them and prevent hazards from hitting your side of the field.
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
Weavile is Gard's partner in crime here and for good reason, the fast threats who threaten Gard absolutely hate seeing Weavile hit the field. It has the option to revenge kill the likes of Lando-T, Dragonite, Garchomp, Latis, Serp, Torn; the list is remarkable, The main decision here was between Low Kick and Pursuit, but due to having a variety of ways of stopping psychic types, while Tar can be problematic for Gard due to its low physical defence, low kick became the move of choice here. It hits hard versus a variety of threats that Gard would rather not risk Focus Blast against as well as against Magnezone to help prevent it from trapping Rachi. While SR are annoying for Weavile, it tends to only come out a few times a game, almost always guarantees a kill (unless against stall) but just having knock off is fantastic utility!
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Your standard Rotom-Wash phys-def set, Rotom is a great check to any kind of bird spam, being able to easily stomach hits form Lando, Mega-Pinsir and Talonflame, who can tear through the aforementioned team members, while being able to retaliate pretty freely with either wisp or hydro. The ability to volt switch on a variety of mons, with many people bringing out Clefable, Venusaur, Celebi and fellow Rotoms etc, to take on Rotom. However, a swift volt-switch, enables Gard to freely come in after and go to town, with their defensive backbone already normally having just switched into Rotom.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Defensice Lando-T pairs phenomenally with Rotom, as the latter can come in on hated Water and Ice attacks, while Lando can take on the powerful fighting stab which you often find running around in OU. Rocks are paramount for any defensive Lando sets, as its ability to come in on a variety of physical attackers enables it to frequently keep them up throughout the game. Lando's ability to counter Sand Rush Drill as well as Mega Medicham are its biggest assets to the team, but weakening fellow Landos as well as Garchomps,Mega Lopunnys and Mega Metagrosses are also hugely helpful to the team. It forms a voltturn core with Rotom and Jirachi which can be vital for chip damage and bringing Gardevoir in safely.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ah, probably my favourite member of the team, a criminally underused mon with the ability to check half the meta and retaliate back. Tangrowth's main purpose is to counter Keldeo, Mega Diancie and Serperior while also being able to scout the move being used by a banded azu. 8 Defence Evs mean that Tangrowth avoids the 2HKO from Keldeo's specs Secret Sword 100% of the time. Tangrowth's moveset is huge and it was hard to choose the best options, Leaf Storm is hugely powerful and hurts most things that switch in. Knock off is always a nice coverage move, being able to knock leftovers off of things while also severely hurting to Gengars and Latis may switch in trying to stomach the leaf storm. EQ is a really nice lure for Heatran, doing up to 83% to defensive versions, a big help as Heatran can be annoying for the other team members to face and seriously helps Jirachi in sweeping late game. HP Fire is to help alleviate the team's difficulties in beating Ferro (and Scizors that try to switch in) as Tangrowth is actually a perfect switch in to ferro and HP fire does a sizeable chunk.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish
Jirachi patches up any final remaining weaknesses on the team, while being, in my opinion, the greatest momentum grabber in the game, even slightly better than scarf Lando. Jirachi helps with bulky fairies, and can switch in on mons such as Mega-Altaria which the rest of the team struggles with. Jirachi's ability to force mons out is paramount to the team winning as similarly to Rotom, it enables Jirachi to switch out on the likes of Heatran and bring in the appropriate check. Fire punch was chosen over ice punch as I feel like without any stab coverage for steel/(bug/grass) types, having all the extra coverage is vital to not getting completeley walled. It also means that SD Scizor doesn't tear through the team late game, especially with Fire Punch having a great 20% chance to burn. Healing Wish is great for this team due to the lack of hazard removal, being able to revive Weavile or Gard late game has provided a number of wins for the team, as it's so hard to keep checks for them alive throughout an entire game.
Weaknesses
Conclusion
Overall, this team was extremely fun to build and is very enjoyable to play with. Taunt Gard is so so good, and does a number to so many teams, and it's cohesion with Weavile is phenomenal in the current meta. Let me know if you have any suggestions or if you have given the team a go and your thoughts on playing with it. Thanks for reading!
Hey guys, thought I'd post my first RMT to see what people think of it! Simply put, the idea around this team was to create a bulky offensive/balanced build around Mega Gardevoir, a mon which I still think people seriously underrate. Now, it's my belief that Gard works best when partnered with a mon who can terrorize offence, as well as when it is being supported by a volt-turn system. Well, let's begin!
The Team!
Team Building Thought Process
As I already stated, Mega Gardevoir was the starting point for this team. Gard's ability to absolutely dominate slower builds was a big factor for this, as well as her ability to come in after a mon has been fainted and almost always net a kill no matter the playstyle, especially when considering that Gard has substantial special bulk to stomach a number of hits.
Following this, I decided that Weavile would be a great partner for Gard; a mon renowned for single handedly tearing offensive teams apart could only do wonders when partnered with a mon who can do the same against defence. Type synergy between the too it quite nice as well, with Gard taking on the fighting types that trouble Weavile, while Weavile can essentially clean up anything which has been severely damaged by Gard.
Next up is one of the most annoying Pokemon to face in the tier, Rotom-Wash! Already, I could see a growing weakness to Talonflame, as well as a plethora of physical threats such as Landorus-T, Scizor and Azu, who all have to be wary of Will-o-Wisp from Rotom. Having an immunity to earthquake I think is essential to 99% of teams and Rotom is perfect for this. This in conjunction with having a slow volt switch, made Rotom seem the next natural move.
Next, I wanted a Stealth Rocker, to help Gard and Weavile net successful OHKOs and 2HKOs, as well as a decent stop to Electric types and set up sweepers such as Clef and Zard X. Hippo not having a 4x weakness to ice made him the obvious choice at this point of building, with access to rocks and whirlwind covering a variety of roles. In addition, Hippo forces Azu to decide between Waterfall or PR when it comes in, thus enabling beating that an easier process.
At this point, I was noticing a serious weakness to Keldeo, Serperior, Special fairies and similar special attackers. It was at this point I decided to look through the tiers a little bit and found Tangrowth (disappointingly) lying in the depths of RU. An AV variant fit exactly what I needed on this team, while forming a really nice defensive core with Hippo and Rotom, with each covering each other's weaknesses very coherently.
At this point, due to having 4 grounded members and only one resistance to stealth rocks, I decided I needed to have a spinner, as I'm not the biggest fan of defoggers in the world. Excadrill was considered first due to creating a sand partnership with Hippo, but only compounded my weakness to Keldeo, so I opted with Starmie instead. This allowed me to continuously spin throughout the game with a defensive spread as well as spreading burns with scald.
After testing with the team, I began to notice that fast threats were capable of tearing through my team, and I didn't possess any kind of serious win-con. My team was still being worn down by hazards due to Starmie's spinning prowess being average at best and as such I chose to go with Scarfchi. This could act as an emergency button with iron head flinching, I had access to another U-turner + H-Wish for Gard to come in from, as well as fire punch to help with my scizor/ferro weakness.
I stayed with the previous team for a while as it performed fairly well, but always found to be slightly lacking, two major issues for the team were sand offence and Mega Medicham/Heracross, these were able to net a kill almost every time they came in, especially when I was lacking hazard removal. Thus I opted for defensive Lando-T, who, when equipping a Rocky Helmet, could punish a multitude of physical threats, while also providing the same SR support and being a better answer to ZardX.
Detailed Analysis
Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
The first three moves are pretty self explanatory, Hyper Voice being the move you click 9/10 times, with resists still taking sizeable chunks and anything that doesn't resist or isn't Chansey having a good chance of being OHKOed. Psyshock helps versus boosted Clefable, does more damage to Chansey, Talonflame, Venusaur. FB is necessary to nail switch ins, such as Ttar, Ferrothorn and Scizor, and correct predictions can wipe out their single 'answer' to this mon. Gard takes out fighting types for Weavile, namely, Keldeo and Conk but also severely weakens the likes of Clef and Venusaur who can normally freely come in on Weavile. The final moveslot was decided later on, but due to a disdain of full stall, Taunt became the default option, it prevents Clef, Chansey, Quag from healing up on/statusing you as well as being a solid counter lead, with many players expecting free rocks with Skarm, or Lando as you switch out, but instead, you can choose to Taunt them and prevent hazards from hitting your side of the field.
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
Weavile is Gard's partner in crime here and for good reason, the fast threats who threaten Gard absolutely hate seeing Weavile hit the field. It has the option to revenge kill the likes of Lando-T, Dragonite, Garchomp, Latis, Serp, Torn; the list is remarkable, The main decision here was between Low Kick and Pursuit, but due to having a variety of ways of stopping psychic types, while Tar can be problematic for Gard due to its low physical defence, low kick became the move of choice here. It hits hard versus a variety of threats that Gard would rather not risk Focus Blast against as well as against Magnezone to help prevent it from trapping Rachi. While SR are annoying for Weavile, it tends to only come out a few times a game, almost always guarantees a kill (unless against stall) but just having knock off is fantastic utility!
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Your standard Rotom-Wash phys-def set, Rotom is a great check to any kind of bird spam, being able to easily stomach hits form Lando, Mega-Pinsir and Talonflame, who can tear through the aforementioned team members, while being able to retaliate pretty freely with either wisp or hydro. The ability to volt switch on a variety of mons, with many people bringing out Clefable, Venusaur, Celebi and fellow Rotoms etc, to take on Rotom. However, a swift volt-switch, enables Gard to freely come in after and go to town, with their defensive backbone already normally having just switched into Rotom.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Defensice Lando-T pairs phenomenally with Rotom, as the latter can come in on hated Water and Ice attacks, while Lando can take on the powerful fighting stab which you often find running around in OU. Rocks are paramount for any defensive Lando sets, as its ability to come in on a variety of physical attackers enables it to frequently keep them up throughout the game. Lando's ability to counter Sand Rush Drill as well as Mega Medicham are its biggest assets to the team, but weakening fellow Landos as well as Garchomps,Mega Lopunnys and Mega Metagrosses are also hugely helpful to the team. It forms a voltturn core with Rotom and Jirachi which can be vital for chip damage and bringing Gardevoir in safely.
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ah, probably my favourite member of the team, a criminally underused mon with the ability to check half the meta and retaliate back. Tangrowth's main purpose is to counter Keldeo, Mega Diancie and Serperior while also being able to scout the move being used by a banded azu. 8 Defence Evs mean that Tangrowth avoids the 2HKO from Keldeo's specs Secret Sword 100% of the time. Tangrowth's moveset is huge and it was hard to choose the best options, Leaf Storm is hugely powerful and hurts most things that switch in. Knock off is always a nice coverage move, being able to knock leftovers off of things while also severely hurting to Gengars and Latis may switch in trying to stomach the leaf storm. EQ is a really nice lure for Heatran, doing up to 83% to defensive versions, a big help as Heatran can be annoying for the other team members to face and seriously helps Jirachi in sweeping late game. HP Fire is to help alleviate the team's difficulties in beating Ferro (and Scizors that try to switch in) as Tangrowth is actually a perfect switch in to ferro and HP fire does a sizeable chunk.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish
Jirachi patches up any final remaining weaknesses on the team, while being, in my opinion, the greatest momentum grabber in the game, even slightly better than scarf Lando. Jirachi helps with bulky fairies, and can switch in on mons such as Mega-Altaria which the rest of the team struggles with. Jirachi's ability to force mons out is paramount to the team winning as similarly to Rotom, it enables Jirachi to switch out on the likes of Heatran and bring in the appropriate check. Fire punch was chosen over ice punch as I feel like without any stab coverage for steel/(bug/grass) types, having all the extra coverage is vital to not getting completeley walled. It also means that SD Scizor doesn't tear through the team late game, especially with Fire Punch having a great 20% chance to burn. Healing Wish is great for this team due to the lack of hazard removal, being able to revive Weavile or Gard late game has provided a number of wins for the team, as it's so hard to keep checks for them alive throughout an entire game.
Weaknesses
While I can easily handle Zard X thanks to Lando, Zard Y can tear through this team if allowed to. Basically, if you see it at team preview, hope he doesn't lead with it, or just click x. Alternatively you can play around by wasting sun turns, alternating between Tangrowth and Rotom. Gard can take two if timid and hope it wins a speed tie. Weavile can damage it too. Or just flinch it to death with Rachi.
Naturally, any team with a defensive backbone will be threatened by wallbreakers. LO Kyurem-B in particular is hard to face, while most of the team can stomach a hit, generally you'll be half sacking a mon no matter what here. But Rachi Gard and Weavile can all force it out. If you lose Lando early, Mega Heracross and Medicham can be problematic. LO Gengar, if brought in at the right time, can seriously threaten, but it can't switch into anything so isn't totally threatening. Hoopa of course, nabs a kill everytime it comes in but is very easy to force out
The team doesn't have a great #1 switch in to fellow Weaviles, a bit of double switching may be in order, but scarfchi always forces it out, and Lando can easily come in on a knock off which then allows something like Rotom to come in easier and burn afterwards
Keeping Jirachi alive, not statused, and at a decent percentage is your one way of beating Mega Zor, namely the Roost + SD versions, don't allow it to roost throughout the game, Focus Blast it with Gard and you'll be fine
Unsuprisingly, a team without hazard removal can be seriously hurt by these teams. Thankfully, due to regenerate on Tangrowth and both Lando and Rotom being airborne, hazards don't just wipe out the team. The main issue revolves around the longevity of Weavile in these situations, but healing wish does alleviate this to an extent.
Conclusion
Overall, this team was extremely fun to build and is very enjoyable to play with. Taunt Gard is so so good, and does a number to so many teams, and it's cohesion with Weavile is phenomenal in the current meta. Let me know if you have any suggestions or if you have given the team a go and your thoughts on playing with it. Thanks for reading!
Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Pain Split
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
- Healing Wish
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