Monotype Mono-Normal Team

[Daqous]

Hello, I’ve been lurking in the forums for a while and decided I want to put up my team I use as a normal-type gym leader here. Though I’ve had a lot of success with it, I hope to make tweaks to it to improve it’s performance. As a gym leader in the group, I am allowed a single legendary, though challengers may use any pokemon they wish, so I often run up against full Uber teams.

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Low Kick

Mega Lopunny does crazy damage, and that’s about all there is to say. The free turn to Mega-evolve and chip damage Fake Out gives is nice. Return is the powerful STAB that hits everything except Rock and Steel neutrally. Quick Attack is STAB priority. Finally, I run Low Kick over High Jump Kick as it’s far safer, 100% accurate, and only does just shy of HJK’s damage against a lot of the big Uber’s. The Fake Out into Low Kick knocks out Darkrai 100% of the time, as well as Extreme Killer Arceus with no HP or Defense investment.

Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish
- Toxic
- Seismic Toss

The main switch into special attacks and status moves. Standard Chansey shenanigans. Soft-Boiled is good recovery. Wish support helps out my team. Toxic is passive damage that can force out setup-sweepers, and can be used in predicted switches for the free status. Seismic toss is a free 100 damage on everything but Ghost-types. I’ve debated whether to have Seismic Toss or Heal Bell, in the end I chose Seismic Toss to better deal with steel and poison types that Toxic is useless on.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Toxic

My main defense tank, Porygon2 can take a beating with Eviolite and just heal back up. Switch him in on the predicted hard-hitting physical move. Trace let’s me copy useful abilities like Multiscale or Aerialate from the Dragon-types I often use Porygon2 to wall. Tri Attack gives decent damage with 3 possible statuses. Ice Beam let’s Porygon2 switch in on Salamanca or Garchomp and destroy them. Recover is nice recovery, I use it whenever I’ll fall below half. Toxic is passive damage for and nice to use on predicted switches.

Staraptor @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

One of my personal favorite Pokémon, I use Staraptor as a physical tank that still does high damage. Intimidate makes Staraptor a great switch into Mega Rayquaza using a first turn Dragon ascent or Blaziken High-Jump Kick, lowering the damage taken to just less than half your HP before Leftovers. Brave Bird OHKOs Blaziken, and you can then switch into Porygon2 for an easier wall and OHKO from Ice Beam. Brave Bird is high damage with recoil that often isn’t too bad after Leftovers. Roost is useful healing and allows me to take less damage from incoming Electric/Ice/Rock attacks if need be. Defog clears the field of hazards, very good as I don’t run any hazards on this team. Finally, U-Turn let’s me safely switch into Chansey or Porygon while doing damage, or if Staraptor is slower, it can safely bring in Lopunny or Ditto.

Meloetta @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

Meloetta is my legendary of choice. I could run Arceus, I’m aware, but on top of not really liking to use Ubers myself, I wanted another Pokémon neutral to fighting and that could hit Pokémon with strong special attacks. Meloetta fit the bill. Her SpDef lets Meloetta come in on non-super-effective special attacks quite well, and retaliate with powerful Choice Specs boosted attacks. Thunderbolt used to be Hyper Voice, but after having my team walled hard by a Skarmory, I like the addition of Thunderbolt. Psychic is the STAB move used if nothing else works better, Shadow Ball lets me hit those nasty Ghost-types hard, and Energy Ball is extra coverage.

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Transform

Choice Scarf Ditto... your enemy’s Pokémon, but faster. Ditto is my answer to a Pokémon who successfully set up and wants to sweep. Send it in, copy the stats, out-speed, and spam your choice-locked move unless you run into something you don’t think you can one-shot and can OHKO you back, or simply outspeeds and OHKOs you. Then I like to switch into my Chansey or Porygon2, and keep Ditto ready for any other sweeps they try to pull.

That’s my team! Please feel free to criticize all its flaws (except my not using Arceus, please). I’m looking to make as good of a team as I can.

 

[Hammerhead96]

Hello, I’ve been lurking in the forums for a while and decided I want to put up my team I use as a normal-type gym leader here. Though I’ve had a lot of success with it, I hope to make tweaks to it to improve it’s performance. As a gym leader in the group, I am allowed a single legendary, though challengers may use any pokemon they wish, so I often run up against full Uber teams.

Lopunny-Mega @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Low Kick

Mega Lopunny does crazy damage, and that’s about all there is to say. The free turn to Mega-evolve and chip damage Fake Out gives is nice. Return is the powerful STAB that hits everything except Rock and Steel neutrally. Quick Attack is STAB priority. Finally, I run Low Kick over High Jump Kick as it’s far safer, 100% accurate, and only does just shy of HJK’s damage against a lot of the big Uber’s. The Fake Out into Low Kick knocks out Darkrai 100% of the time, as well as Extreme Killer Arceus with no HP or Defense investment.

Not so much a rate as it is a suggestion, but the fact that low kick is only just less effective against the "bigger" ubers is the main problem with running it over HJK. This team needs this mon to be able to outspeed and revenge kill faster threats and be able to take out opposing special tanks. While this may not be a problem to take out arcues (NO defense investment is very rare these days btw), but what about walls such as chansey? Low kick does a considerable amount less, and then you get walled by it. At least drain punch, which is also 100% accurate as well as being consistent, can do better than low kick can. The lack of consistency is what lets the move down, and lopunny needs the extra damage in order to perform. If you don't want to use HJK or drain punch, then you could at the very least use superpower on staraptor or psyshock on meloetta to hit chansey more effectively.

 

[Daqous]

Not so much a rate as it is a suggestion, but the fact that low kick is only just less effective against the "bigger" ubers is the main problem with running it over HJK. This team needs this mon to be able to outspeed and revenge kill faster threats and be able to take out opposing special tanks. While this may not be a problem to take out arcues (NO defense investment is very rare these days btw), but what about walls such as chansey? Low kick does a considerable amount less, and then you get walled by it. At least drain punch, which is also 100% accurate as well as being consistent, can do better than low kick can. The lack of consistency is what lets the move down, and lopunny needs the extra damage in order to perform. If you don't want to use HJK or drain punch, then you could at the very least use superpower on staraptor or psyshock on meloetta to hit chansey more effectively.

I haven’t gone up against a Chansey before with this team, so it never came to mind. I really dislike HJK as my luck with it is just awful...

I could run Drain Punch or Power-Up Punch over Quick Attack, as I find I very rarely need the priority on it. More likely Drain Punch to help heal off the inevitable Toxic poison from Chansey.