Paste: https://pokepast.es/b149b3e4f08da261
Summary: I built this team on a whim and have been having a lot of success with it on ladder. I initially started with the idea of Urshifu with Gliscor's spikes support, with Tyranitar to trap ghosts and psychics that can threaten both of those mon. Gholdengo is included for its amazing synergy with Gliscor, as well as a good fairy answer and a great choice scarfer that can trick bulkier mon that the team may struggle to break through, namely Clefable, Dondozo on stall teams, and Corviknight. Gholdengo also serves to block hazard removal which would otherwise be an issue, since many of the mon on this team let in prevalent hazard removers like Great Tusk and Corviknight. Rillaboom was added as a tonic for the rain matchup while also providing strong priority and grassy terrain which not only can neuter earthquakes targeting Tyranitar and Gholdengo, but also provide passive healing for those two and Urshifu. Urshifu and Rillaboom form amazing offensive synergy as they do not share many checks, allowing them to chain u-turns and fire off strong attacks with the support of spikes and sandstorm chip. Corviknight in the last slot serves as a requisite steel type and a great defogger.
Individual Mon:
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Punching Glove
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn
Urshifu is a lethal and incredibly consistent threat, using its high natural bulk for an offensive mon to switch into resisted attacks and gain offensive momentum. The EVs are standard, allowing Urshifu to outspeed other offensive threats like booster energy Great Tusk, Tapu Lele and Baxcalibur. Punching glove is my preferred item, boosting Surging Strikes' power and removing the risk of contact effects. Another often overlooked advantage of punching glove is being able to make contact when necessary, in order to break through protect with unseen fist, which can be very valuable against protect users like Gaganacl, Heatran and Ferrothorn. Thunder Punch is a personal preference for handling flying and water types while taking advantage of punching glove, but other options like Aqua Jet and Iron Head can be used as well. Finally, Tera water gives a sometimes-needed boost to Surging Strikes, and sheds Urshifu's fighting type and its weaknesses to Fairy, Fighting and Flying, which can be very convenient.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Roost
Gliscor's spikes support is the main reason for its presence on the team, but it is an otherwise amazing defensive mon that can check the myriad physical attackers present in the format, especially setup sweepers like Baxcalibur, Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados, utilizing Tera water and Toxic to handle them, as the rest of the team is really incapable of dealing with them, as it lacks phazing or unaware, and doesn't have fantastic speed control. The EVs (copied from sample sets) allow Gliscor to outspeed many relevant mon that often don't invest in speed, namely pivots like Rotom-W. Many people prefer Knock Off on Gliscor, and while it is definitely a useful tool, EQ is necessary to threaten ground-weak mon because the team has no way of threatening them, and Roost elevates Gliscor's resilience from amazing to unholy. Other moves like Taunt and U-turn are available, but I personally would not reccomend them on this team.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
Tyranitar is a great complement to both aforementioned team members, as it provides both Stealth Rock for chip damage, sandstorm to further chip opponents and deal with threatening weather teams, and Pursuit support for common fighting resists like Glowking and Gholdengo, as well as other frailer attackers that can't deal with Tyranitar's typing and bulk. The speed investment lets Tyranitar outspeed uninvested Rotom-W and Heatran, many Mega Scizor sets, and all relevant defensive mon with enough bulk to deal with Tyranitar. The most important set decision is the choice between Fire Punch or Crunch. Crunch is significantly stronger and much more reliable, especially against bulky Gholdengo that can afford to stay in and take the weak Pursuit damage, and is great at hitting neutral targets that would otherwise be left to chance with Stone Edge. However, as I played more with this team, I ultimately preferred Fire Punch, specifically for Ferrothorn. This specificity is important because Ferrothorn is one of the team's biggest weaknesses, and without the support of Fire Punch, the team has to carefully dance around it in fear of Urshifu tanking a Power Whip, letting Ferrothorn set up uncontested hazards and Leech Seeds, both of which are very bad for the team. However, that moveslot on Tyranitar is entirely up to preference, and if you want to run a converage move on another mon and use another move here, it will probably do fine.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Despite gen 9's Grassy Glide nerf, choice band Rillaboom still hits incredibly hard and it isn't uncommon to clean up late game with Tera grass Grassy Glide. On this team, its main role is provide a source of priority, momentum, and passive healing for the other offensive threats. Grassy Surge also provides a way to reset terrain against strong attackers like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, specifically choiced variants that Rillaboom can confidently be sent in on (often only once or twice, or as a revenge kill). Wood Hammer is technically a negotiable move, but losing out on such destructive power is often not the best choice. Knock Off in the last slot is often a never clicked move, but it is still nice to have a mid-ground attack that can make progress by removing items without committing to a hard read. Other options are High Horsepower for fire types and Superpower or Low Kick for steels.
Gholdengo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Make It Rain
- Focus Blast
Gholdengo's removal blocking capabilities make it a premier pick for a spikes team such as this one, not to mention its versatility and threatening presence in team preview. It fits well on this team as a choice scarfer, letting it outspeed all other unboosted mon in the meta and threatening them with strong stab moves and Trick to cripple bulkier mon or setup sweepers that often switch into Gholdengo. Tera fighting rarely gets used, and can be changed to whatever seems the most practical to you, be it flying or fairy or steel. Gholdengo also puts it resistances to use on this team, being the primary offensive check to Iron Valiant, Hatterene, Zamazenta, and Volcarona going for Giga Drain in order to Trick it a choice scarf.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Corviknight was the final mon added to this team. After testing other forms of hazard removal, Corviknight's was the best fit. Steel flying synergizes very well with the offensive and defensive pieces of the team, and provides another way to generate momentum and spread chip damage. The set is a verbatim smogon set, but it serves its purpose well on this team. There isn't much to say about Corviknight that isn't said on its smogon page, but in the context of this team, it removes hazards that can chip at the rest of the team, check Tapu Lele and Rillaboom, and punish U-Turn attempts from the miriyad mon that run it.
Gameplan:
Chip stuff and get momentum with Corv/Rilla, wallbreak with TTar and Gold, clean with Shifu/Rilla
Contest hazards, removing them is hard
Don't be afraid to sac hp on TTar to get up rocks or deal important damage
Bad Matchups:
This one Heatran set:
Heatran @ Leftovers / Grassium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect / Tera Blast / Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Stealth Rock / Tera Blast / Solar Beam
Offensive Tran spamming Magma Storm is really hard to switch around, especially if it uses Tera to avoid Shifu's water stab. The best counterplay is using a healthy Shifu, or TTar if Tran is chipped enough to kill with Stone Edge
Ferrothorn
It's really hard to play around Ferro without risking a Power Whip hitting Shifu, and whenever it comes in you have to either give up hazards or Leech Seed onto something. Best counterplay is to go hard into whatever coverage you have, probably TTar fire punch or Rilla Superpower
Volcarona
Sets up for free on a lot of things, if you can get off a Toxic (assuming it doesn't have Safeguard) with Gliscor, or just go to a full health TTar then you can deal with it, otherwise try to Trick it a scarf if you don't need it for something else
Calm Mind Tapu Koko
I have only ever run into this once, but its absolutely devastating when paired with a proper Rilla check, it basically steamrolls the whole team. Just go Rilla every time and U-Turn on the check, then don't let it get in for free later
Proof of Peak:
There is no peak because I'm still playing with it; hopefully someone better than me can take it (or an altered version) to higher on the ladder.
Summary: I built this team on a whim and have been having a lot of success with it on ladder. I initially started with the idea of Urshifu with Gliscor's spikes support, with Tyranitar to trap ghosts and psychics that can threaten both of those mon. Gholdengo is included for its amazing synergy with Gliscor, as well as a good fairy answer and a great choice scarfer that can trick bulkier mon that the team may struggle to break through, namely Clefable, Dondozo on stall teams, and Corviknight. Gholdengo also serves to block hazard removal which would otherwise be an issue, since many of the mon on this team let in prevalent hazard removers like Great Tusk and Corviknight. Rillaboom was added as a tonic for the rain matchup while also providing strong priority and grassy terrain which not only can neuter earthquakes targeting Tyranitar and Gholdengo, but also provide passive healing for those two and Urshifu. Urshifu and Rillaboom form amazing offensive synergy as they do not share many checks, allowing them to chain u-turns and fire off strong attacks with the support of spikes and sandstorm chip. Corviknight in the last slot serves as a requisite steel type and a great defogger.
Individual Mon:
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Punching Glove
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
- U-turn
Urshifu is a lethal and incredibly consistent threat, using its high natural bulk for an offensive mon to switch into resisted attacks and gain offensive momentum. The EVs are standard, allowing Urshifu to outspeed other offensive threats like booster energy Great Tusk, Tapu Lele and Baxcalibur. Punching glove is my preferred item, boosting Surging Strikes' power and removing the risk of contact effects. Another often overlooked advantage of punching glove is being able to make contact when necessary, in order to break through protect with unseen fist, which can be very valuable against protect users like Gaganacl, Heatran and Ferrothorn. Thunder Punch is a personal preference for handling flying and water types while taking advantage of punching glove, but other options like Aqua Jet and Iron Head can be used as well. Finally, Tera water gives a sometimes-needed boost to Surging Strikes, and sheds Urshifu's fighting type and its weaknesses to Fairy, Fighting and Flying, which can be very convenient.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Roost
Gliscor's spikes support is the main reason for its presence on the team, but it is an otherwise amazing defensive mon that can check the myriad physical attackers present in the format, especially setup sweepers like Baxcalibur, Mega Charizard X and Mega Gyarados, utilizing Tera water and Toxic to handle them, as the rest of the team is really incapable of dealing with them, as it lacks phazing or unaware, and doesn't have fantastic speed control. The EVs (copied from sample sets) allow Gliscor to outspeed many relevant mon that often don't invest in speed, namely pivots like Rotom-W. Many people prefer Knock Off on Gliscor, and while it is definitely a useful tool, EQ is necessary to threaten ground-weak mon because the team has no way of threatening them, and Roost elevates Gliscor's resilience from amazing to unholy. Other moves like Taunt and U-turn are available, but I personally would not reccomend them on this team.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Punch
- Pursuit
Tyranitar is a great complement to both aforementioned team members, as it provides both Stealth Rock for chip damage, sandstorm to further chip opponents and deal with threatening weather teams, and Pursuit support for common fighting resists like Glowking and Gholdengo, as well as other frailer attackers that can't deal with Tyranitar's typing and bulk. The speed investment lets Tyranitar outspeed uninvested Rotom-W and Heatran, many Mega Scizor sets, and all relevant defensive mon with enough bulk to deal with Tyranitar. The most important set decision is the choice between Fire Punch or Crunch. Crunch is significantly stronger and much more reliable, especially against bulky Gholdengo that can afford to stay in and take the weak Pursuit damage, and is great at hitting neutral targets that would otherwise be left to chance with Stone Edge. However, as I played more with this team, I ultimately preferred Fire Punch, specifically for Ferrothorn. This specificity is important because Ferrothorn is one of the team's biggest weaknesses, and without the support of Fire Punch, the team has to carefully dance around it in fear of Urshifu tanking a Power Whip, letting Ferrothorn set up uncontested hazards and Leech Seeds, both of which are very bad for the team. However, that moveslot on Tyranitar is entirely up to preference, and if you want to run a converage move on another mon and use another move here, it will probably do fine.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Wood Hammer
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Despite gen 9's Grassy Glide nerf, choice band Rillaboom still hits incredibly hard and it isn't uncommon to clean up late game with Tera grass Grassy Glide. On this team, its main role is provide a source of priority, momentum, and passive healing for the other offensive threats. Grassy Surge also provides a way to reset terrain against strong attackers like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, specifically choiced variants that Rillaboom can confidently be sent in on (often only once or twice, or as a revenge kill). Wood Hammer is technically a negotiable move, but losing out on such destructive power is often not the best choice. Knock Off in the last slot is often a never clicked move, but it is still nice to have a mid-ground attack that can make progress by removing items without committing to a hard read. Other options are High Horsepower for fire types and Superpower or Low Kick for steels.
Gholdengo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Trick
- Make It Rain
- Focus Blast
Gholdengo's removal blocking capabilities make it a premier pick for a spikes team such as this one, not to mention its versatility and threatening presence in team preview. It fits well on this team as a choice scarfer, letting it outspeed all other unboosted mon in the meta and threatening them with strong stab moves and Trick to cripple bulkier mon or setup sweepers that often switch into Gholdengo. Tera fighting rarely gets used, and can be changed to whatever seems the most practical to you, be it flying or fairy or steel. Gholdengo also puts it resistances to use on this team, being the primary offensive check to Iron Valiant, Hatterene, Zamazenta, and Volcarona going for Giga Drain in order to Trick it a choice scarf.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
Corviknight was the final mon added to this team. After testing other forms of hazard removal, Corviknight's was the best fit. Steel flying synergizes very well with the offensive and defensive pieces of the team, and provides another way to generate momentum and spread chip damage. The set is a verbatim smogon set, but it serves its purpose well on this team. There isn't much to say about Corviknight that isn't said on its smogon page, but in the context of this team, it removes hazards that can chip at the rest of the team, check Tapu Lele and Rillaboom, and punish U-Turn attempts from the miriyad mon that run it.
Gameplan:
Chip stuff and get momentum with Corv/Rilla, wallbreak with TTar and Gold, clean with Shifu/Rilla
Contest hazards, removing them is hard
Don't be afraid to sac hp on TTar to get up rocks or deal important damage
Bad Matchups:
This one Heatran set:
Heatran @ Leftovers / Grassium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect / Tera Blast / Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Stealth Rock / Tera Blast / Solar Beam
Offensive Tran spamming Magma Storm is really hard to switch around, especially if it uses Tera to avoid Shifu's water stab. The best counterplay is using a healthy Shifu, or TTar if Tran is chipped enough to kill with Stone Edge
Ferrothorn
It's really hard to play around Ferro without risking a Power Whip hitting Shifu, and whenever it comes in you have to either give up hazards or Leech Seed onto something. Best counterplay is to go hard into whatever coverage you have, probably TTar fire punch or Rilla Superpower
Volcarona
Sets up for free on a lot of things, if you can get off a Toxic (assuming it doesn't have Safeguard) with Gliscor, or just go to a full health TTar then you can deal with it, otherwise try to Trick it a scarf if you don't need it for something else
Calm Mind Tapu Koko
I have only ever run into this once, but its absolutely devastating when paired with a proper Rilla check, it basically steamrolls the whole team. Just go Rilla every time and U-Turn on the check, then don't let it get in for free later
Proof of Peak:
There is no peak because I'm still playing with it; hopefully someone better than me can take it (or an altered version) to higher on the ladder.