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Project Monotype Secret Santa 2024
- Thread starter Neko
- Start date
- Status
In
In
In
Meowdy
Tagging all the people who signed up but no request yet. Deadline is on December 1 so if you dont have a request then you wont get added to the Secret Santa pool
yedla AhmedxWaleed dmbros roxie jackuzzler Manan999
sasha giove97 Elvira Dead by Daylight metagross does architectu Silveruby WhiteQueen Alisyem Vaporeonds pas_touchao
(Sorry for the double ping since I hit reply too early)
Tagging all the people who signed up but no request yet. Deadline is on December 1 so if you dont have a request then you wont get added to the Secret Santa pool
yedla AhmedxWaleed dmbros roxie jackuzzler Manan999
sasha giove97 Elvira Dead by Daylight metagross does architectu Silveruby WhiteQueen Alisyem Vaporeonds pas_touchao
(Sorry for the double ping since I hit reply too early)
Sorry, I misread. I thought I signed up to create a team for someone. Some of these guys probably thought the same
In
You need to request to join
Someone will make your team for you, in the same way you'll do it for someone (you'll get the request on December 2, and you have til Dec 31 to build that)
in
Approved by mods, Inspired by PU's Secret Santa
How to Join:
Secret Santa is an activity where people anonymously gift something to another person. In the context of this event, the "gifts" are teams. This makes this event a teambuilding workshop, where everyone requests for a core (or a Pokemon) to build around, and everyone receives a team around the core they requested for. The builders remain anonymous until the very end, where the builder posts the team and introduces themselves to the person they are assigned to. Joining this event means that you should be willing to build a team, as other people will also exert effort to build your request.
General Rules:
- After you express your intent to join below, PM me the Pokemon (and type) or the Archetype that you want your team to be built around (ex: Okidogi (Fighting), Hyperoffensive Ghost). Take note that I will send to your santa your word-per-word request, so go wild in explaining your idea.
- The requested Pokemon must be at least viable (i.e. Pichu (Electric) will have a really good chance of getting denied). Check out the Viability Rankings (up to D-tier) to know what is "viable"
- You can also choose to not request a Pokemon, but an Archetype instead. Take note that this is a riskier request as some archetypes are incompatible with the type; meaning when you ask for Stall Bug the result might not fit the concept of "stall" or its not as great.
- The only format allowed for requests is Gen 9 Monotype
- If you don't PM me your request before December 1, you wont be added to the pool!
- The request/finished team must be posted on the forum once completed and you must Tag the user who I assigned you.
- Do NOT tell anybody what request you got. Please don't do this it's called Secret Santa for a reason
- You may change your request at any time until the sign-up deadline. You will not be able to change your request once the sign-up deadline passes, though.
- Get your team done!!! - As I've already said, don't join if you can't actually finish your team in time. There is someone else trying hard to finish the team that you have requested, so try to respect their effort as well as the person whose request you received.
- If you want to be really awesome and cover up for any stupid slackers feel free to send me a PM!
- And please don't be afraid to join in, if you don't think your team-building skills are good enough, you can PM me for extra brain cells (I can help in testing and checking).
- Have fun and good luck!
- Post in to signup. Dont forget to PM me your request (.nekos. in discord or in Smogon PMs)
Ok, yeah this will be fun.
Should I reply with my request or do I need to DM you in secret?
yes
Last edited by a moderator:
Meowdy
All VALID requests have been sent out, Please reach out to me if you sent a valid (lit. A non UR Pokemon or an actual Archetype) request and didnt get a request to build.
The deadline for Posting teams is December 31, 2024. Happy building and enjoy the holidays
All VALID requests have been sent out, Please reach out to me if you sent a valid (lit. A non UR Pokemon or an actual Archetype) request and didnt get a request to build.
The deadline for Posting teams is December 31, 2024. Happy building and enjoy the holidays
Santa came early for AhmedxWaleed this year. A little Birdy told me you were looking for a Balanced Dark. So with that, I will provide your gift along with an extra special mini analysis on what things do and what they outspeed/check. Enjoy!
(Paste is embedded in the icons)
I tried to center this based solely around the likes of hazard stack along with 3 forms of choice that can work around balance.
The star of the show. Not only does this feline make use of FT, but with Band, it hits insanely more than it would with the likes of its usual Choice Scarf set. The three things that it doesn't outspeed naturally with this set is Flutter Mane, Dragapult, & Choice Scarf Iron Valiant which is unlikely. Triple Axel is highly preferred over Play Rough due to it shredding the likes of Flying with Protean boosted Choice Band Ice STAB. Knock Off does great damage to Steel flyers and removes Rocky Helmet into a pivoted Skarmory or Corvi. This also destroys Dragon once Gouging Fire and Archaludon are gone.
This frog has to be one of Dark's most favorites Special Attackers with Protean as well, pairing with Meow and giving it a few complimentary coverage moves with Ice Beam to also beat Dragon & Flying, two predominant types in this current metagame. Ice Beam checks Archaludon after chip, Sludge Wave Deals with Fairy types post Klefki removal, Extrasensory checks a LOT of Fighting types. Both just compliment each other well. Now if you are worried about Hydro Pump accuracy, I'd suggest running Surf. But overall this set deals a heavy punch.
Muk is always going to be considered on balanced Dark, as it can spread Poison to anything that isn't Poison and Steel with just simply using any of the three moves provided. Protect can scout Choice users, along with recovery by the little percentage. It also helps versus the Fairy match ups as well.
This deer is your best friend in any matchup. at least 2 hazards will get setup a majority of the time which is what this team needs to thrive off of. Now you can also be stinky to your opponents by whirlwinding them, but if you want a lot of good residual value I suggest double hazards on Ting.
This is one of the most niche ways of spin blocking but it does it efficiently. Now you can't just stop a defog, but Fighting HATES this little gremlin. It can also throw off Burn with Will-o and remove boots to help the others. Niche, but very effective even at this time.
I thought you may need some form of speed control and what better way than to slap a Choice Scarf on this heavy hitter and just clean up late game? Knock off removes Flutter Mane, plus it outspeeds Flutter Mane with the Choice Scarf. Cost Effective Coverage with Focus Blast for Steel and Thunderbolt for Flyers that aren't Landorus & Gliscor. Double STAB is what matters the most with this. As you OHKO Flutter Mane, and shred Fighting with Psychic also Poison.
I hope you enjoy! <33
(Paste is embedded in the icons)
I tried to center this based solely around the likes of hazard stack along with 3 forms of choice that can work around balance.
The star of the show. Not only does this feline make use of FT, but with Band, it hits insanely more than it would with the likes of its usual Choice Scarf set. The three things that it doesn't outspeed naturally with this set is Flutter Mane, Dragapult, & Choice Scarf Iron Valiant which is unlikely. Triple Axel is highly preferred over Play Rough due to it shredding the likes of Flying with Protean boosted Choice Band Ice STAB. Knock Off does great damage to Steel flyers and removes Rocky Helmet into a pivoted Skarmory or Corvi. This also destroys Dragon once Gouging Fire and Archaludon are gone. This frog has to be one of Dark's most favorites Special Attackers with Protean as well, pairing with Meow and giving it a few complimentary coverage moves with Ice Beam to also beat Dragon & Flying, two predominant types in this current metagame. Ice Beam checks Archaludon after chip, Sludge Wave Deals with Fairy types post Klefki removal, Extrasensory checks a LOT of Fighting types. Both just compliment each other well. Now if you are worried about Hydro Pump accuracy, I'd suggest running Surf. But overall this set deals a heavy punch. Muk is always going to be considered on balanced Dark, as it can spread Poison to anything that isn't Poison and Steel with just simply using any of the three moves provided. Protect can scout Choice users, along with recovery by the little percentage. It also helps versus the Fairy match ups as well. This deer is your best friend in any matchup. at least 2 hazards will get setup a majority of the time which is what this team needs to thrive off of. Now you can also be stinky to your opponents by whirlwinding them, but if you want a lot of good residual value I suggest double hazards on Ting. This is one of the most niche ways of spin blocking but it does it efficiently. Now you can't just stop a defog, but Fighting HATES this little gremlin. It can also throw off Burn with Will-o and remove boots to help the others. Niche, but very effective even at this time. I thought you may need some form of speed control and what better way than to slap a Choice Scarf on this heavy hitter and just clean up late game? Knock off removes Flutter Mane, plus it outspeeds Flutter Mane with the Choice Scarf. Cost Effective Coverage with Focus Blast for Steel and Thunderbolt for Flyers that aren't Landorus & Gliscor. Double STAB is what matters the most with this. As you OHKO Flutter Mane, and shred Fighting with Psychic also Poison.I hope you enjoy! <33
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Elvira a gift from yours truly.
Your secret gift is this team: https://pokepast.es/c28638dd4a237ed3
While I didn't hit 1500 with this team I got close. After 40 games I did hit a limit of I just couldn't deal with any more Ghost mirror matches, The 1400s ~ 1300s is filled with them. Geniunelly some of the least fun I've had playing Showdown.
First off, the main start of the show
Polteageist is a weird mon. Like it was a mon that either did or didn't do things. Like there where games where it just popped off and ran through a team and others where even after a shell smash it wasn't doing much. However with a sash and the spin support it could at least act as a hail merry check to some stuff. Notably I asked Neko and she suggested Wisp which did actually help in a game and I feel like it could help in more being able to put bulky ghost beating special walls like Hisuian Goodra and Alolan Muk in a bad situation where they can no longer beat Runt or other threats on the team.
Spin support, I wanted hazards to make Polteageist as Scary as possible. Even without investment Power Whip still does enough damage and hazard stacking with Ghost is good cause no one can remove it cause Defog is only on Corv and Weezing-G for actually common threats.
Standard builds for both. Dragapult was consistently amazing and either won most games or was the main contributer to said game wins overall while Flutter Mane did Flutter Mane things.
Bulkier variant to help keep hazards up throughout longer games and did live some hits. I was tempted to make it SpD invested since we have the NUT and Bramble as other physical walls but I kept to the standard set and it did good enough.
Being able to bring Polteageist in was this things main job and it could take a lot of strong hits so I'm happy.
A few notable replays from grinding.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255745678 First Stored Power sweep.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255767605 First Sweep where it felt real nasty.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255797076 Getting use out of Will-O-Wisp.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255799568 Opening carnage from Polt.
Your secret gift is this team: https://pokepast.es/c28638dd4a237ed3
While I didn't hit 1500 with this team I got close. After 40 games I did hit a limit of I just couldn't deal with any more Ghost mirror matches, The 1400s ~ 1300s is filled with them. Geniunelly some of the least fun I've had playing Showdown.
First off, the main start of the show
Polteageist is a weird mon. Like it was a mon that either did or didn't do things. Like there where games where it just popped off and ran through a team and others where even after a shell smash it wasn't doing much. However with a sash and the spin support it could at least act as a hail merry check to some stuff. Notably I asked Neko and she suggested Wisp which did actually help in a game and I feel like it could help in more being able to put bulky ghost beating special walls like Hisuian Goodra and Alolan Muk in a bad situation where they can no longer beat Runt or other threats on the team.
Spin support, I wanted hazards to make Polteageist as Scary as possible. Even without investment Power Whip still does enough damage and hazard stacking with Ghost is good cause no one can remove it cause Defog is only on Corv and Weezing-G for actually common threats. Standard builds for both. Dragapult was consistently amazing and either won most games or was the main contributer to said game wins overall while Flutter Mane did Flutter Mane things. Bulkier variant to help keep hazards up throughout longer games and did live some hits. I was tempted to make it SpD invested since we have the NUT and Bramble as other physical walls but I kept to the standard set and it did good enough. Being able to bring Polteageist in was this things main job and it could take a lot of strong hits so I'm happy.A few notable replays from grinding.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255745678 First Stored Power sweep.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255767605 First Sweep where it felt real nasty.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255797076 Getting use out of Will-O-Wisp.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255799568 Opening carnage from Polt.
Greetings Dunes! It is with great pleasure that I have completed your request for a Manaphy Water team. This was quite an interesting Pokemon to build around, and I've come up with two slight variations and laddered both to 1600.
Gastrodon variant:
Swampert variant: 
The main decision I was confronted with was whether to make an offensive/rain team where Manaphy is one of many sweepers or a defensive team where Manaphy can survive longer in the battle. In the spirit of showcasing Manaphy, I chose the latter option. This runs into some issues on Water - unreliable hazard removal encourages Manaphy to run Boots, and the subsequent lack of recovery combined with its unimpressive (by Gen 9 standards) speed tier makes Manaphy prone to getting chipped down. But just as all hope seemed lost, this is where Alomomola came in to save the day; with its ability to pass huge Wishes onto Manaphy, we ensure that Manaphy can stay healthy and come in many times throughout the battle.
Going into a bit more detail on the specific Pokemon:
The protagonist. Its already fully-invested SpA becomes even scarier after a single Tail Glow, with Surf and Ice Beam providing excellent coverage. Flying teams in particular can seriously struggle to deal with Manaphy. We use Substitute to take advantage of defensive Pokemon and potentially get to +3 SpA for free.
The deuteragonist. Aside from being a solid physical wall who can fish (pun intended) for burns with Scald, Alomomola is also excellent at passing Wishes to the entire team. A single Wish followed by Flip Turn into Manaphy can allow Manaphy to do Manaphy things a second time or even a third. Other Pokemon like Samurott-Hisui also appreciate Wish support. Protect is invaluable for both scouting and self-healing.
Empoleon is the main special wall who carries the valuable Steel typing and reliable recovery while also acting as a secondary pivot into Pokemon like Manaphy or Samurott-Hisui. Hazard-setting duty is allocated to other Pokemon, so Empoleon is able to run more utility moves. Flash Cannon hits Fairies and Ice types (which have become surprisingly common).
Toxapex is running a rather funny set, but Iron Defense surprisingly lets it handle many physical attackers without any issues. Combined with Rocky Helmet and Toxic, Toxapex becomes the main physical wall on this team who can readily handle Pokemon like Gouging Fire, Ogerpons, Zamazenta, and so on. For the less adventurous, Iron Defense can safely be replaced with Haze, though each move has its own advantages and disadvantages. There have definitely been moments where Iron Defense turned out to be much more valuable than Haze.
Speed control and Spikes setter. Sucker Punch is used for particularly troublesome situations but in general Ceaseless Edge is adequate for Samurott-H to do its job. In situations where Samurott-H has taken too much chip damage, Alomomola can pass it a Wish.
Electric immunity and Rocks setter. Both Pokemon seem to work though the playstyles you get are quite different - Gastrodon makes the team play more like Stall (due to reliable recovery) while Swampert is a more balanced choice (due to having Flip Turn). Which one to pick is up to you.
Here are some replays:
- Gastrodon -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2256175583-d623w4glsbifts0x8dk5ak0zu2a7040pw?p2 - vs Grass
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255996378-7f78zswoqxvmyjcg2d11dhwrguxzcfmpw - vs Water. +6 Ogerpon? Not a problem!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255990286-v9bykgxfq6ixchjkrbthidpgnpdr9elpw?p2 - vs Flying. Manaphy+Alomomola duo in full force
- Swampert -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255647063-jo7d4vp7k44b29smt9ckekbyt7snpkcpw - vs Dark
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255640021-rmwgqeuw2ub6du20dwh3he158jw86o8pw - vs Water
I hope you enjoy!
Gastrodon variant:
Swampert variant:
The main decision I was confronted with was whether to make an offensive/rain team where Manaphy is one of many sweepers or a defensive team where Manaphy can survive longer in the battle. In the spirit of showcasing Manaphy, I chose the latter option. This runs into some issues on Water - unreliable hazard removal encourages Manaphy to run Boots, and the subsequent lack of recovery combined with its unimpressive (by Gen 9 standards) speed tier makes Manaphy prone to getting chipped down. But just as all hope seemed lost, this is where Alomomola came in to save the day; with its ability to pass huge Wishes onto Manaphy, we ensure that Manaphy can stay healthy and come in many times throughout the battle.
Going into a bit more detail on the specific Pokemon:
The protagonist. Its already fully-invested SpA becomes even scarier after a single Tail Glow, with Surf and Ice Beam providing excellent coverage. Flying teams in particular can seriously struggle to deal with Manaphy. We use Substitute to take advantage of defensive Pokemon and potentially get to +3 SpA for free. The deuteragonist. Aside from being a solid physical wall who can fish (pun intended) for burns with Scald, Alomomola is also excellent at passing Wishes to the entire team. A single Wish followed by Flip Turn into Manaphy can allow Manaphy to do Manaphy things a second time or even a third. Other Pokemon like Samurott-Hisui also appreciate Wish support. Protect is invaluable for both scouting and self-healing. Empoleon is the main special wall who carries the valuable Steel typing and reliable recovery while also acting as a secondary pivot into Pokemon like Manaphy or Samurott-Hisui. Hazard-setting duty is allocated to other Pokemon, so Empoleon is able to run more utility moves. Flash Cannon hits Fairies and Ice types (which have become surprisingly common). Toxapex is running a rather funny set, but Iron Defense surprisingly lets it handle many physical attackers without any issues. Combined with Rocky Helmet and Toxic, Toxapex becomes the main physical wall on this team who can readily handle Pokemon like Gouging Fire, Ogerpons, Zamazenta, and so on. For the less adventurous, Iron Defense can safely be replaced with Haze, though each move has its own advantages and disadvantages. There have definitely been moments where Iron Defense turned out to be much more valuable than Haze. Speed control and Spikes setter. Sucker Punch is used for particularly troublesome situations but in general Ceaseless Edge is adequate for Samurott-H to do its job. In situations where Samurott-H has taken too much chip damage, Alomomola can pass it a Wish. Electric immunity and Rocks setter. Both Pokemon seem to work though the playstyles you get are quite different - Gastrodon makes the team play more like Stall (due to reliable recovery) while Swampert is a more balanced choice (due to having Flip Turn). Which one to pick is up to you.Here are some replays:
- Gastrodon -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2256175583-d623w4glsbifts0x8dk5ak0zu2a7040pw?p2 - vs Grass
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255996378-7f78zswoqxvmyjcg2d11dhwrguxzcfmpw - vs Water. +6 Ogerpon? Not a problem!
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255990286-v9bykgxfq6ixchjkrbthidpgnpdr9elpw?p2 - vs Flying. Manaphy+Alomomola duo in full force
- Swampert -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255647063-jo7d4vp7k44b29smt9ckekbyt7snpkcpw - vs Dark
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2255640021-rmwgqeuw2ub6du20dwh3he158jw86o8pw - vs Water
I hope you enjoy!
Happy holidays Vaporeonds! With a very open-ended request of screens psychic, I had a fair bit of fun laddering this team into the 1500s, despite the showdown gods seeming insistent on me playing every dark team possible.
The squad:
- The one and only screen setter for the team. Outspeeding everything but some particular scarf mons (Meowscarda, Pult, Flutter, the usual suspects) meant reliably setting screens at match start. Packing taunt to deal with set-up mons without needing to switch and knock off for some decent harassment and support, it served its purpose well.
- Hatterene runs a fairly standard set, but sometimes if something isn't broke there's no need to fix it. Magic bounce is a staple for dealing with hazards and status moves thrown your way. Solid physical bulk, leftovers and dkiss for recovery, and nuzzle to cripple faster threats. Screens make up for its somewhat meh special bulk and provide an opportunity to set up calm mind.
- This guy shines the brightest under screens, being able to shrug off most physical attacks with its favorable defensive typing and retaliate with with extreme prejudice. Bullet punch goes a long way in taking out frailer threats that have been chipped at and putting down sash users.
- Slowbro rocks. Providing burns/paralysis and serving as the team's primary physical wall, slowbro is vital to MUs like steel and dark. Physical threats hate to see it coming, with slack off/regenerator ensuring that it lives a long happy life while it chips away at your enemies. Very simple, very effective.
- Bringing the bulk of the team's special offense, Hoopa-U comfortably bulldozes through a lot with its ridiculous spatk. Scarf of course helps it outspeed just about anything that isn't scarfed itself. Packing a stock standard dark pulse/psychic and tacking on focus blast and tbolt for coverage, Hoopa also makes for a solid spdef pivot thanks to its natural bulk, particularly under light screen.
- The faster of the two scarfers on the team, Boulder likes to clean up towards the end, packing a stock set of moves to provide decent coverage in areas where the rest of the team struggles. Similarly to Hoopa, its passable spdef make it able to switch in and eat special attacks when under screens.
I don't really have any saved replays, which is probably for the better with how my play tends to be. Overall its a team that thrives in favorable MUs, and can handle less favorable ones with careful play. I did also test a variant using
instead, but found less success with it, possibly due to my own misplays but nonetheless the deoxys-speed set seemed more consistent.
The squad:
- The one and only screen setter for the team. Outspeeding everything but some particular scarf mons (Meowscarda, Pult, Flutter, the usual suspects) meant reliably setting screens at match start. Packing taunt to deal with set-up mons without needing to switch and knock off for some decent harassment and support, it served its purpose well. - Hatterene runs a fairly standard set, but sometimes if something isn't broke there's no need to fix it. Magic bounce is a staple for dealing with hazards and status moves thrown your way. Solid physical bulk, leftovers and dkiss for recovery, and nuzzle to cripple faster threats. Screens make up for its somewhat meh special bulk and provide an opportunity to set up calm mind. - This guy shines the brightest under screens, being able to shrug off most physical attacks with its favorable defensive typing and retaliate with with extreme prejudice. Bullet punch goes a long way in taking out frailer threats that have been chipped at and putting down sash users. - Slowbro rocks. Providing burns/paralysis and serving as the team's primary physical wall, slowbro is vital to MUs like steel and dark. Physical threats hate to see it coming, with slack off/regenerator ensuring that it lives a long happy life while it chips away at your enemies. Very simple, very effective. - Bringing the bulk of the team's special offense, Hoopa-U comfortably bulldozes through a lot with its ridiculous spatk. Scarf of course helps it outspeed just about anything that isn't scarfed itself. Packing a stock standard dark pulse/psychic and tacking on focus blast and tbolt for coverage, Hoopa also makes for a solid spdef pivot thanks to its natural bulk, particularly under light screen. - The faster of the two scarfers on the team, Boulder likes to clean up towards the end, packing a stock set of moves to provide decent coverage in areas where the rest of the team struggles. Similarly to Hoopa, its passable spdef make it able to switch in and eat special attacks when under screens.I don't really have any saved replays, which is probably for the better with how my play tends to be. Overall its a team that thrives in favorable MUs, and can handle less favorable ones with careful play. I did also test a variant using
instead, but found less success with it, possibly due to my own misplays but nonetheless the deoxys-speed set seemed more consistent.
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Jacaroe I've come to let you know that Santa is real, and he is me, I am Santa, your secret santa that is.
Anyhow, the request came for an aggressive Mimikyu Fairy. I just finished laddering to 1500s with it, discovering along the way just how much scizor, bug, and steel is on the ladder along the way, and here are my thoughts on both the team, how I built it, and secondary move options and changes I made along the way.
link to The Team:
The mon the team was built around. I figured here to let mimikyu do what it does best - as a SD sweeper and failsafe with it's ability disguise. I initially opted for a moveset of SD/Play Rough/Drain Punch/Shadow Sneak, but I actually found pretty early into the ladder run that Shadow Claw was often more favorable to have than Drain Punch. Alot of walls, and most notably the poison types that give fairy trouble, aren't threatened whatsoever when Mimi had D Punch as it's coverage option, and there are a fair amount of offensive threats and mons that Mimi hits harder with Shadow Claw as well. Normally I opt for Drain Punch on Mimikyu, but the team already handles steel fairly well so I figured it wasn't an issue.
When hearing "aggressive Mimikyu Fairy", I figured Screens - a stable for Fairy - was the way to go here. This is a pretty standard Klefki set, Foul Play chosen over Thunder Wave because I figured as a ladder run I'd especially need Foul Play for the lower ladder Scizors where bug is more common, and I'm a fan of the move on Klefki anyhow to help prevent it from being passive.
Primarina, especially in today's meta, is a top mon for fairy. I figured on this build I'd be able to drop Azumarill - it would be a bit hard to fit, and more than anything Primarina helps with matchups that I need cover more at least in my opinion. I initially started with a bit wonky resto chesto set to see if it'd work, turns out it doesn't and classic cm+3 attacks is just better here. This is a mon that kicks ass in a whole bunch of matchups, and especially behind screens is a serious threat at your disposal. I put some speed evs just to make sure it outpaces some mons like the steel birds, outpacing up uninvested base 70's.
Since Mimikyu itself isn't too strong of a setup sweeper, I figured this was the slot where I'd need my wallbreaker. Initially I considered Specs Flutter, but especially at higher ladder I consider Specs Flutter a set that doesn't break the balance builds I'd probably struggle more with, so I opted for Mixed Iron Valiant. Idea here being E-Belt with ice punch, tbolt, close combat, and moonblast would corebreak common defensive cores on types such as Water and Flying, and ideally allow the setup sweepers to clean as a result. Life Orb is a serious option to consider, especially without max special attack, it would definitely help with alot of rolls vs. mons like Corv.
With Valiant as my wallbreaker here, Flutter becomes my speed control option on this team. Moonblast/sball are givens, tbolt chosen for it's coverage, initially I opted for psyshock in the last slot but found it unnecessary and chose Power Gem to help with the fire matchup which I noticed could be improved.
Lastly, Hatterene, this is our hazard control, secondary cm sweeper, and probably the set that I changed the most on the run. When I initially started out, I had magical fire on this slot over giga drain - I figured I would be able to handle types that nuzzle or giga would hit without much issue at low-mid ladder, but I was still scared of the threat that many common steels posed. As a result I initially started with magical fire, tried babiri berry as an item for a few games - it was unnecessary - same with covert cloak, before finally landing on Heavy Duty Boots to help ease the stress on Hatt from hazards it may not be able to come in on. Giga Drain I pushed in over Magical Fire as I got to higher ladder - With Primarina + Foul Play Klefki, Magical Fire was a bit overkill to check mons like Scizor and whatnot, and ultimately decided to switch to Giga Drain to help with bulky waters and grounds that I figured would pose more issue to me as I reached upper ladder. The speed evs are simply here to make sure you're faster than Toxapex.
Anyhow, the request came for an aggressive Mimikyu Fairy. I just finished laddering to 1500s with it, discovering along the way just how much scizor, bug, and steel is on the ladder along the way, and here are my thoughts on both the team, how I built it, and secondary move options and changes I made along the way.
link to The Team:
The mon the team was built around. I figured here to let mimikyu do what it does best - as a SD sweeper and failsafe with it's ability disguise. I initially opted for a moveset of SD/Play Rough/Drain Punch/Shadow Sneak, but I actually found pretty early into the ladder run that Shadow Claw was often more favorable to have than Drain Punch. Alot of walls, and most notably the poison types that give fairy trouble, aren't threatened whatsoever when Mimi had D Punch as it's coverage option, and there are a fair amount of offensive threats and mons that Mimi hits harder with Shadow Claw as well. Normally I opt for Drain Punch on Mimikyu, but the team already handles steel fairly well so I figured it wasn't an issue. When hearing "aggressive Mimikyu Fairy", I figured Screens - a stable for Fairy - was the way to go here. This is a pretty standard Klefki set, Foul Play chosen over Thunder Wave because I figured as a ladder run I'd especially need Foul Play for the lower ladder Scizors where bug is more common, and I'm a fan of the move on Klefki anyhow to help prevent it from being passive. Primarina, especially in today's meta, is a top mon for fairy. I figured on this build I'd be able to drop Azumarill - it would be a bit hard to fit, and more than anything Primarina helps with matchups that I need cover more at least in my opinion. I initially started with a bit wonky resto chesto set to see if it'd work, turns out it doesn't and classic cm+3 attacks is just better here. This is a mon that kicks ass in a whole bunch of matchups, and especially behind screens is a serious threat at your disposal. I put some speed evs just to make sure it outpaces some mons like the steel birds, outpacing up uninvested base 70's. Since Mimikyu itself isn't too strong of a setup sweeper, I figured this was the slot where I'd need my wallbreaker. Initially I considered Specs Flutter, but especially at higher ladder I consider Specs Flutter a set that doesn't break the balance builds I'd probably struggle more with, so I opted for Mixed Iron Valiant. Idea here being E-Belt with ice punch, tbolt, close combat, and moonblast would corebreak common defensive cores on types such as Water and Flying, and ideally allow the setup sweepers to clean as a result. Life Orb is a serious option to consider, especially without max special attack, it would definitely help with alot of rolls vs. mons like Corv. With Valiant as my wallbreaker here, Flutter becomes my speed control option on this team. Moonblast/sball are givens, tbolt chosen for it's coverage, initially I opted for psyshock in the last slot but found it unnecessary and chose Power Gem to help with the fire matchup which I noticed could be improved. Lastly, Hatterene, this is our hazard control, secondary cm sweeper, and probably the set that I changed the most on the run. When I initially started out, I had magical fire on this slot over giga drain - I figured I would be able to handle types that nuzzle or giga would hit without much issue at low-mid ladder, but I was still scared of the threat that many common steels posed. As a result I initially started with magical fire, tried babiri berry as an item for a few games - it was unnecessary - same with covert cloak, before finally landing on Heavy Duty Boots to help ease the stress on Hatt from hazards it may not be able to come in on. Giga Drain I pushed in over Magical Fire as I got to higher ladder - With Primarina + Foul Play Klefki, Magical Fire was a bit overkill to check mons like Scizor and whatnot, and ultimately decided to switch to Giga Drain to help with bulky waters and grounds that I figured would pose more issue to me as I reached upper ladder. The speed evs are simply here to make sure you're faster than Toxapex.
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Happy Holidays MattandMello! Let’s unwrap your Secret Santa gift! A team based around Mew as you requested. I screwed around with a few Mew sets, but ultimately decided on one. It came down to a Nasty Plot Mew and a defensive utility Mew, and you can see which one felt best to me. I was able to get this team in the mid-1500’s so while it’s not perfect, it is serviceable and the best I could come up with. I found my most success with this team by hazard stacking, Knocking Off, and picking off weakened mons with Boulder and Latios. Enjoy!
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The team:
The one the team is based around. Will-O is great to cripple some physical threats. Also, thanks to its speed EVs outspeeding most Gliscor sets, you have a chance to keep it from getting a Toxic Heal going. Spikes is spikes, baby. You also outspeed Adamant Mamo. I went back and forth between Encore and Taunt, but felt that Taunt was the better choice moving forward. Then Knock is obvious. One of the game’s best moves. Removes boots to help with hazard stacking.
First thought that came to mind when building Psychic, was Ceruledge. Slowbro seemed to be perfect to play the anti-Ceru role. No item is fun, as Poltergeist can’t touch you. Also, incoming Knock Offs being weakened is a nice touch. Yes, you miss out on boots, but the sacrifice is worth it to me. There’s been countless times when laddering with this team that Ceru was caught off guard and handled with ease. (Thunder Wave misses more than any move ever made.)
Our scarfer and revenge killer. Hazards complement Boulder so well. Being able to outspeed so much of the metagame can really seal the game for you. I chose Psycho Cut over Zen Headbutt since I’d rather have the accuracy over the damage diff.
Choice Specs Latios is so damn good. Dual-STAB and BoltBeam coverage seems to put dents in so many types. You could swap one of the coverage moves for Flip Turn if you’re really wanting a momentum gaining move. Though I recommend holding onto the coverage.
Arguably the most exchangeable member of the team on paper, but once it’s in-game, it tends to hold its own pretty well. Having a Stealth Rocker to go along with Spikes speaks for itself. Another Knock Off user, Psychic Fangs for STAB and screen removal, and Heavy Slam for those pesky Fairies. Kasib can really come in handy against Flutter Mane and OHKO back.
The special wall of the team. Glowking grants you the ability to absorb TSpikes and strong SpAtk moves. Future Sight is great for pivoting around and landing strong hits from anyone on the team and breaking subs. I have switched out Ice Beam for Shadow Ball a few times with some success if you’d like to try that.
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- the team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2259787650?p2 – vs Flying
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2259675932 -- vs Fairy
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2257426842?p2 – vs Water
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2256828071?p2 – vs Ground
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Edit: the fact that I didn't call this "Defensive MewTility" is a crime.
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The team:
The one the team is based around. Will-O is great to cripple some physical threats. Also, thanks to its speed EVs outspeeding most Gliscor sets, you have a chance to keep it from getting a Toxic Heal going. Spikes is spikes, baby. You also outspeed Adamant Mamo. I went back and forth between Encore and Taunt, but felt that Taunt was the better choice moving forward. Then Knock is obvious. One of the game’s best moves. Removes boots to help with hazard stacking. First thought that came to mind when building Psychic, was Ceruledge. Slowbro seemed to be perfect to play the anti-Ceru role. No item is fun, as Poltergeist can’t touch you. Also, incoming Knock Offs being weakened is a nice touch. Yes, you miss out on boots, but the sacrifice is worth it to me. There’s been countless times when laddering with this team that Ceru was caught off guard and handled with ease. (Thunder Wave misses more than any move ever made.) Our scarfer and revenge killer. Hazards complement Boulder so well. Being able to outspeed so much of the metagame can really seal the game for you. I chose Psycho Cut over Zen Headbutt since I’d rather have the accuracy over the damage diff. Choice Specs Latios is so damn good. Dual-STAB and BoltBeam coverage seems to put dents in so many types. You could swap one of the coverage moves for Flip Turn if you’re really wanting a momentum gaining move. Though I recommend holding onto the coverage. Arguably the most exchangeable member of the team on paper, but once it’s in-game, it tends to hold its own pretty well. Having a Stealth Rocker to go along with Spikes speaks for itself. Another Knock Off user, Psychic Fangs for STAB and screen removal, and Heavy Slam for those pesky Fairies. Kasib can really come in handy against Flutter Mane and OHKO back. The special wall of the team. Glowking grants you the ability to absorb TSpikes and strong SpAtk moves. Future Sight is great for pivoting around and landing strong hits from anyone on the team and breaking subs. I have switched out Ice Beam for Shadow Ball a few times with some success if you’d like to try that.------
- the team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2259787650?p2 – vs Flying
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2259675932 -- vs Fairy
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2257426842?p2 – vs Water
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2256828071?p2 – vs Ground
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Edit: the fact that I didn't call this "Defensive MewTility" is a crime.
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I believe this one is for you themaverick, Happy Holidays! https://pokepast.es/fa9369d97abb7e22
So screens normal was definitely an idea that did come across my mind when I thought of something more experimental with the Normal typing, but here we are. I'll briefly explain the team members and their roles and at the end I'll give some theoretical alternatives.
is your screen setter, compare to the alternatives, I believe that Indeedee is the best setter for it has the best speed tier and decent bulky with psychic terrain support in addition to healing wish, you can freely get a switch into one of your screen abusers in Ursaluna or Terapagos
is your primary threat that can bull over many defensive cores. With a bulk up variant instead of sword dance or guts boosted flame orb, with Lefties and screens you're able to live hits way longer to abuse Ursa's naturally great base attack stat and with bulk up and drain punch to improve its longevity so it can keep up the onslaught.
this mon might be top 5 of all mons in monotype at the moment. By providing spin support and a speed boost, you can sweep teams with your incredible natural bulk in addition to screens and your ability making you neigh impossible to KO in a fast manner.
so for this team I opted for a wil-o-wisp hex build because I feel like Zoro best traits is to weave in and out the field leveraging its fighting immunity and gives pressure through wilo and focus miss.
as the best scarfer in the tier, I believe there shouldn't be more that needs to be said
lastly I opted for Blissey as an odd choice, when I started building this team, I have a few mons in Bliss place but having a defacto switch in to all special moves and para spam support with rocks is too invaluable in some games
Lastly some things to consider. Bulk up Braviary or scarf Staraptor is for consideration if you want to drop Blissey for balls to the wall high octane Offense with screens. Zoro can run a Nasty Plot set to boost Zoro's power to pick up OHKO's. Rock Polish Power Herb Meteor Beam Terapagoes is a funny thought but it's not as consistent as CM. Arboliva was named dropped when I read what I was getting you and even though I did not try it myself, I think Arboliva can work as a screen abuser instead of a screen setter.
And here's a little replay I was able to get on ladder, unfortunately I wasn't able to get too many games but I hope you see where I was going with the team: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2262971780-qwgjqocjgtni6n33mb6zeakv09q5ss9pw?p2
So screens normal was definitely an idea that did come across my mind when I thought of something more experimental with the Normal typing, but here we are. I'll briefly explain the team members and their roles and at the end I'll give some theoretical alternatives.
is your screen setter, compare to the alternatives, I believe that Indeedee is the best setter for it has the best speed tier and decent bulky with psychic terrain support in addition to healing wish, you can freely get a switch into one of your screen abusers in Ursaluna or Terapagos is your primary threat that can bull over many defensive cores. With a bulk up variant instead of sword dance or guts boosted flame orb, with Lefties and screens you're able to live hits way longer to abuse Ursa's naturally great base attack stat and with bulk up and drain punch to improve its longevity so it can keep up the onslaught. this mon might be top 5 of all mons in monotype at the moment. By providing spin support and a speed boost, you can sweep teams with your incredible natural bulk in addition to screens and your ability making you neigh impossible to KO in a fast manner. so for this team I opted for a wil-o-wisp hex build because I feel like Zoro best traits is to weave in and out the field leveraging its fighting immunity and gives pressure through wilo and focus miss. as the best scarfer in the tier, I believe there shouldn't be more that needs to be said lastly I opted for Blissey as an odd choice, when I started building this team, I have a few mons in Bliss place but having a defacto switch in to all special moves and para spam support with rocks is too invaluable in some gamesLastly some things to consider. Bulk up Braviary or scarf Staraptor is for consideration if you want to drop Blissey for balls to the wall high octane Offense with screens. Zoro can run a Nasty Plot set to boost Zoro's power to pick up OHKO's. Rock Polish Power Herb Meteor Beam Terapagoes is a funny thought but it's not as consistent as CM. Arboliva was named dropped when I read what I was getting you and even though I did not try it myself, I think Arboliva can work as a screen abuser instead of a screen setter.
And here's a little replay I was able to get on ladder, unfortunately I wasn't able to get too many games but I hope you see where I was going with the team: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2262971780-qwgjqocjgtni6n33mb6zeakv09q5ss9pw?p2
https://pokepast.es/74ac8459b58efa17
Merry Christmas ArqueroAzul ! Here's the team that you requested ! A mono-flying team with Moltres. Since this is a pretty standard team considering everything, I tried to make a viable team. Though I had created this time on 3rd December, I was only able to get this team till the mid-1400’s on the ladder, due to the limited no. of games I could play due to IRL business. I sincerely believe this team could go higher on the ladder given more games.
The basic strategy this team uses is "chip everything down with Gliscor, Lando & Moltres, then decimate everything late game with Dnite or Enamorus".
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Lets come to the actual team:
The "chosen one" of the team. Though not the most useful member of the squad, it is not a pushover, atleast when you're facing a physical attacker. Main aim is to spread burn on opposing physical attackers. Flame Body coupled with Will-o-wisp makes for a great synergy. I can't count the no. of times I have switched into Meowscarada Triple Axel and burned it in the process. Roost is for recovery and Heavy-Duty Boots because obviously. I used Fire Spin as the 4th Move to try and chip some defensive targets who wanted to use body press strats but this could be exchanged for a more offensive move.
The most-probable lead. Pretty Standard Choice Scarf set but with the twist of Stealth Rock to force mind games with opponent. I used to lead with this 8 out of 10 times and start with Stealth Rock and only reveal scarf when absolutely pivotal or to change the tide of the game. Even with Scarf Lando EQ is not a joke. As we said, Lando is only to chip things into OHKO range of Dnite or Enamorus, which it does perfectly.
The "Rage-Quit Inducer". Standard Toxic Heal Gliscor is alread super-annoying to deal with it, this one is a bit more bulkier to survive attacks. Toxic for passive damage and EQ for some direct damage. Gliscor alone can wall half the metagame and classic stall-protect chips damage and also prevents setup against gliscor. Even though I said that gliscor wants to do chip damage, if played right it can very well claim some kills of his own. I have also put spikes because it acts as the secondary hazar setter of the team and it has stays around to spread multiple layers of spikes.
The "Balancer". Corviknight is the balancer of the team, what that basically means is it acts as a pivot as well as a switch-in for a lot of things, especially special attackers. I have a bulk-up body press set because the standard defensive set was getting a bit passive in some matchups, considering the other members too. So while, corviknight is not your primary attacker, it can claim some kills especially vs types like fighting and steel.
The "Tank". Dragonite wants to clean up late-game, pretty straightforward. I pondered about using choice band to give further power to Espeed, but I could easily setup a single DD and then can outspeed and kill with Outrage. Also, many people are expecting Choice Band and are caught off guard when they suddenly lose to DD.
The (Glass) Cannon. Has the same role as dragonite but most often you only need one of them to cleanup, depending on who is still healthly in the late-game. Pretty Standard Contrary Choice Scraf set. Healing Wish to sometimes provide recovery to team members (I mostly used it to heal corviknight or gliscor, depeding on matchup) but you can change it to an offensive move too.
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Sorry I couldn't spend more time on building this team out ( my last ladder game was 10 days ago ). I didn't think I'd get this bust at work so sorry If i couldn't go more in-depth on the analysis.
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Merry Christmas ArqueroAzul ! Here's the team that you requested ! A mono-flying team with Moltres. Since this is a pretty standard team considering everything, I tried to make a viable team. Though I had created this time on 3rd December, I was only able to get this team till the mid-1400’s on the ladder, due to the limited no. of games I could play due to IRL business. I sincerely believe this team could go higher on the ladder given more games.
The basic strategy this team uses is "chip everything down with Gliscor, Lando & Moltres, then decimate everything late game with Dnite or Enamorus".
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Lets come to the actual team:
The "chosen one" of the team. Though not the most useful member of the squad, it is not a pushover, atleast when you're facing a physical attacker. Main aim is to spread burn on opposing physical attackers. Flame Body coupled with Will-o-wisp makes for a great synergy. I can't count the no. of times I have switched into Meowscarada Triple Axel and burned it in the process. Roost is for recovery and Heavy-Duty Boots because obviously. I used Fire Spin as the 4th Move to try and chip some defensive targets who wanted to use body press strats but this could be exchanged for a more offensive move. The most-probable lead. Pretty Standard Choice Scarf set but with the twist of Stealth Rock to force mind games with opponent. I used to lead with this 8 out of 10 times and start with Stealth Rock and only reveal scarf when absolutely pivotal or to change the tide of the game. Even with Scarf Lando EQ is not a joke. As we said, Lando is only to chip things into OHKO range of Dnite or Enamorus, which it does perfectly. The "Rage-Quit Inducer". Standard Toxic Heal Gliscor is alread super-annoying to deal with it, this one is a bit more bulkier to survive attacks. Toxic for passive damage and EQ for some direct damage. Gliscor alone can wall half the metagame and classic stall-protect chips damage and also prevents setup against gliscor. Even though I said that gliscor wants to do chip damage, if played right it can very well claim some kills of his own. I have also put spikes because it acts as the secondary hazar setter of the team and it has stays around to spread multiple layers of spikes. The "Balancer". Corviknight is the balancer of the team, what that basically means is it acts as a pivot as well as a switch-in for a lot of things, especially special attackers. I have a bulk-up body press set because the standard defensive set was getting a bit passive in some matchups, considering the other members too. So while, corviknight is not your primary attacker, it can claim some kills especially vs types like fighting and steel. The "Tank". Dragonite wants to clean up late-game, pretty straightforward. I pondered about using choice band to give further power to Espeed, but I could easily setup a single DD and then can outspeed and kill with Outrage. Also, many people are expecting Choice Band and are caught off guard when they suddenly lose to DD. The (Glass) Cannon. Has the same role as dragonite but most often you only need one of them to cleanup, depending on who is still healthly in the late-game. Pretty Standard Contrary Choice Scraf set. Healing Wish to sometimes provide recovery to team members (I mostly used it to heal corviknight or gliscor, depeding on matchup) but you can change it to an offensive move too.------
Sorry I couldn't spend more time on building this team out ( my last ladder game was 10 days ago ). I didn't think I'd get this bust at work so sorry If i couldn't go more in-depth on the analysis.
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- Status