Monotype Teambuilding Competition V2 Cycle 16 - Infernape + Fletchinder [Voting Stage]

[Attribute]

Description

When I saw the core, I wanted to use banded metagross because of how hard it can hit and due to the fact that it can OHKO a lot of things with explosion. For empoleon, it is the standard sp def set with rocks. A ground immunity was needed, so skarmory was added. Offensive balloon heatran was added to give the team more offensive presence and to occasionally switch into fire type moves. Mega scizor was added to sweep late game. Scizor is jolly so that it can outspeed and kill mews before they try to burn you (most mews don't run max speed, but it is definitely something to watch out for). Finally, magnezone was added to get rid of most steels that annoy scizor such as skarmory, and to give the team a bit more speed control.

Importable

Scizor-Mega (M) @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Skarmory (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Roost

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch

Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Bullet Punch
- Explosion

Empoleon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Toxic
- Roar

Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Taunt

 

[vlmufa]

Team

Metagross @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash / Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake
- Agility

Empoleon @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump / Scald
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Agility

Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earth Power

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Thought proccess

Ok so when I saw the core I thought of one thing, gotta go fast Metagross is a great check to many fighting teams as steel is weak to fighting and Empoleon in my opinion should rather be used offensively on steel because of its great offensive movepool. I thought both of these mons could use some speed to do this, so I went with Agility on both of them, as I could abuse it with help from Klefki. Klefki is my screen setter supporting the set-up as well as hazard stacking for more offensive pressure. After the first 3 mons I was looking pretty defensively weak to ground, so Skarmory was added to switch into ground moves as well as fighting. I then added a stallbreaker Heatran as it can beat annoying walls that wall my team as well as trapping hazard removal mons. I then wanted 3 things. 1: Something to punish hazard removal (Defog in this case). 2: Something that can abuse screens for boosting its attack to high levels. 3: A priority user. Bisharp was added to fulfill all these roles.

don't hate me pls

 

[maroon]

No Mega Steel

Importable

Empoleon @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Flash Cannon

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Atk / 96 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt/Bullet Punch
- Earthquake

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spikes
- Tailwind
- Taunt
- Brave Bird

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 148 HP / 252 SpA / 108 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Flash Cannon

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 36 HP / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword

Description

Instead of using the boring old Defog and Scald Emopleon set i wanted to try a more offensive set. So I thought after giving Empoleons Grass Knot, Hydro Pumo and Ice Beam what more could I add and 2 thingings came to mind; one being Agility and the other being Flash Cannon. The Shuca Berry is there to absorb powerful Ground Type Attacks and retaliate with a Powerful Water or Ice Type attack to clean up the threat. These Evs actually come from UU which allow you to move before the Rotom Forms that are scarfers and a good chunk of the monotype metafame such as Landorus which can cause huge nightmares for steel. Secondly the AV Metagross helps me tank attacks such as Shadow Ball from Alakazam, +1 Fiery Dance From Volcarona and can live a HJK from Mega Medicham if its Jolly and only 6.3% of the time it will ohko if it is Adamant. With these 2 empoleon+metagross many problems that can threaten steel are moved out of the way such as Landorus, Medicham-Mega and Volcarona. Then by adding the traditional offensive tailwind Skarmory on Steel this gave slower attackers such as Magnezone to actually be able to outspeed the good majority of the Metagame it can allow Heatran to outspeed +1 Volcarona and kill it with Stone Edge while allowing Skarmory itself to outspeed the majority of Fighting and being able to nearly or ohko them with Brave Bird. Magnezone for all purposes is meant to be a tough wallbreaker to help take care of Meloetta, Intimidate Staraptor, Bulky Flying Types such as Gliscor etc. Heatran is self explanitory its put on Steel teams to have a fire immunity allowijg it to take on Fire easier as well as to be able to absorb the general fire coverage moves. This pokemon can revenge kill so many fire types with Stone Edge such as Charizard, Volcarona, and with its great speed tier can attack Pokemon such as max speed Volcanion, Bisharp and Breloom. Then Doublade was put in as a wincon vs Psychic also while being able to type tge larger majority of the fighting types in the metagame.

Calcs

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 64 HP / 0 SpD Shuca Berry Empoleon: 250-294 (76.9 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 64 HP / 0 Def Shuca Berry Empoleon: 266-316 (81.8 - 97.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

1 252 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Assault Vest Metagross: 266-314 (73 - 86.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Metagross: 310-366 (85.1 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO - Cant ohko without Adamant Nature and even then its a high roll

Replay(s)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/wisp-monotype-171918 Ground vs Shuca Berry Empoleon

 

[Dece1t]

Importable

Metagross @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Zen Headbutt
- Earthquake / Explosion
- Bullet Punch

Empoleon @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Agility

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Superpower
- Swords Dance

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Claw
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance

Descriptions

This seemed like a fun, yet considerably difficult core to build for, so once I saw it, I cracked at it right away to get some good ideas for what I wanted. From the start, I knew Hyper Offense would be the best route to go, considering in Tailwind Metagross can do some considerable damage to Fighting teams, and Empoleon can become a dangerous threat to Ground. This is what I was able to come up with from that point on.

Metagross I immediately decided to run Choice Band, to make it hit as hard as possible, and make it a challenge to wall. Thanks to Clear Body, it won't get its stats dropped by Intimidate, Sticky Webs, ect, and this really allows it to be a good Tailwind abuser. Bullet Punch was given for emergency priority, in the case that any point it needs an easy revenge kill.

Empoleon has a really cool set I've been meaning to try out for a while. If set up, it can single handedly 6-0 Ground teams so long as Exacrill is kept checked, and under Tailwind it can dish some massive dents. With LO, it has the leverage to switch attacks freely, and possibly have an opportunity to set up Agility, and make it much harder to revenge kill. It can also help quite a bit against Fire, so long as you can take out Volcanion first!

If I was going to run a HO Steel Team, I had to run HO Skarmory, This set allows it to set up at the bare minimum 1 layer of Stealth Rocks, and either: a layer of Spikes, Tailwind, or deal quick and heavy damage with Brave Bird. Tailwind here is extremely important, as it allows at least 1 pokemon on the team to deal incredible damage off the bat, and make them fairly difficult to revenge kill. Custap Berry allows it to gain priority once Sturdy is activated, which in terms of laying down everything for battle as quickly as possible, this works out well.

Heatran was the next staple I put on. At first, I was originally gonna run Choice Scarf, but after thinking about it, I didn't see what exactly I'd be getting out of it, other than a short surprise. Instead, I went with the Air Balloon set to provide the team with another (temporary) Ground Immunity, and act as my "check" to a variety of threats that are 4x weak to HP Ice (Garchomp, Both Landorus forms, Dragonite, ect). Lastly, Stone Edge allows it to be a fairly reliable check to Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona.

I was originally thinking about using the lesser-used Megas, given they'd be able to really abuse Tailwind to an extent, however, they proved to not be nearly as useful as Scizor. Here I'm running the Fast Offensive set as a way to land some surprise kills, and be immediately strong (not to mention even stronger after an SD). This also means I opted for the extra coverage option (which I chose Superpower as a way to ease the Normal matchup a bit). Overall very nice to have, and an additional option to defeat Ground teams.

The last slot honestly did have my head scratching quite a bit, as I wasn't sure what else I needed. In the end, I settled on Doublade for a Fighting Immunity (which eases the team's troubles against Mega Medicham, and as implied, Fighting in general), and to sweep Psychic rather easily thanks to its awesome bulk. From there however, the set is self explanatory, yet very handy nonetheless.

 

[Seo.]

Sets

Empoleon @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Roar
- Scald
- Defog
- Ice Beam

Metagross @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge

Jirachi @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 16 HP / 252 SpA / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Energy Ball
- Moonblast
- Charge Beam

Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 248 HP / 86 Def / 176 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
- Taunt

Description

adding later

 

[6ti]

importable

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower

Empoleon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Grass Knot
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Scald

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 24 Atk / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge
- Taunt

Skarmory @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Tailwind

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw
- Sacred Sword

Metagross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt

Desc

This team is a pretty simple Double SD HO steel team but with some unexpected sets like specs Empoleon and scarf Metagross.

- Standard offensive SD set. I chose Bug Bite over U-turn because this team isn't voltturn oriented, and superpower over roost because I felt like roost took my momentum and made it harder for scizor to be able to break some walls.

- From the start, I knew I wanted to use a choice specs wallbreaker set. Empo is an underrated mon for steel, it has a great defensive typing and valuable water stab. The speed is to outspeed scarf 80s under tailwind, as well as being able to outspeed slower mons in general.

- Heatran is vital on steel teams because of the fire immunity, as well as my zard y check. It can't switch in to focus blast, but has a chance to live one and ohkos char back w/ stone edge (it's not guaranteed without the attack investment). Fire blast is used over magma storm because the trapping effect isn't super necessary, and fire blast has better accuracy.

- Standard suicide skarm, but I went w/ tailwind over taunt because i already had taunt on heatran and the team is pretty slow without the valued speed boost.

- Doublade is my medicham switchin and fighting counter in general. It's also the other sd sweeper on the team. Sacred sword allows doublade to hit fat normal mons that are immune to ghost stabs, like chansey and p2. Also for some ungodly reason doublade takes victini's vcreate like a champ and 2hkos with shadow claw + shadow sneak.

- The team's speed control and secondary fighting check. It has a very high chance to ohko keldeo after stealth rock. It also is my lando-i and gliscor check, as it outspeeds both and ohkos/2hkos both, respectively.

 

[6ti]

Time for the voting stage!

teams

Hannibalism Team
Attribute Team
vlmufa Team
The Excadrill Team
Dece1t Team
Zyo Team
6TI Team

Remember, vote for two and don't vote for yourself.
Deadline: 9/8:

Edit: Three things
1. Zyo do descriptions
2. I vote for attribute and vlmufa
3. Poll is up! Vote for Water, Fire, or Dark.
- Dark won

 

[Izaya]

Lots of cool teams, vlmufa and attribute
E: did zyo not do descriptions again......

 

[Azelea]

Attribute and Zyo
WP gross is by far the best version to run in monotype

 

[dusk raimon]

attribute and vlmufa

 

[Dece1t]

Attribute and 6Ti

 

[terrors]

Attribute and vlmufa!

 

[Seo.]

Lol oops forgot to do descriptions again mb, I vote for Attribute and Exca

 

[maroon]

Attribute & Zyo

 

[vlmufa]

Zyo and 6Ti cuz he has that heat scarf metagross

 

[iLlama]

6TI and Stun

 

[6ti]

Congrats to Attribute for winning this cycle!

votes

vlmufa: 3
attribute: 7
zyo: 3
6ti: 3
exca: 1
stun: 1

The next cycle's type will be Dark, and the pokemon will be...

Drapion, and...

Cacturne! ;w;
​

Deadline: 9/17
Good luck, and happy building!

 

[Dharma]

Importable

Drapion @ Lum Lerry
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Cross Poison
- Knock Off
- Fire Fang

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Needle Arm
- Poison Jab
- Superpower

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Sucker Punch

Mandibuzz (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Toxic
- Brave Bird

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Taunt

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Stealth Rock

Description

Drapion:

The first mon in the core, Drapion was an interesting mon to work with on Dark. I decided to go with the Swords Dance set, as the team already had good sponges and I needed a set up sweeper to clean with. The Lum Berry gets rid of annoying status once. Max speed lets it hit a decent speed tier. Knock Off and Cross Poison are STAB, with Fire Fang to help against Steel.

Cacturne:

On cacturne, I decided to go with a Life Orb set, as it best set that popped in my head at that moment. Sucker Punch gives it a form of priority, while Needle Arm is for STAB that also has a flinch chance. Poison Jab lets it hit slow Fairy type mons, while Superpower helps it handle Steel and Dark type mons.

Mega Houndoom:

I decided to go with Mega Houndoon as my mega, since it seemed to work well together with Cacturne, with Cacturne being able to switch into Water type moves aimed at Mega Houndoom, and Mega Houndoom being able to switch into Fire type moves aimed at Cacturne before it megas. Sludge Bomb lets it hits Fairy type mons for super effective damage, while Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are there for STAB. Sucker Punch seemed like a good choice for a fourth move as it get Mega Houndoom a source of priority.

Mandibuzz:

Mandibuzz is one of the best defensive mons on dark. It also switches in on Ground type moves, which tyranitar, Drapion and Houndoom are weak to. Rocky Helmet gets off some chip damage against physical attackers. Roost for a source of recovery, while Toxic helps it deal with stallers. Brave Bird is the fourth move that hits Fighting types, as well as keeping Mandibuzz from becoming a sitting duck after being taunted.

Sableye:

Sableye is all round a good mon to have on Dark. With its Prankster ability and access to Will-o-Wisp and Taunt, it handles physical sweepers quite well, all the while being able to regain health with Recover. Knock Off is a good STAB utility move.

Tyranitar:

Tyranitar is a great special sponge that has access to moves like Thunder Wave and Stealth Rock. It has great special defense that is further buffed in sand. Stone edge is STAB that hits really hard and also has a chance to crit. Pursuit lets it trap Psychic and Ghost types, getting a kill if they try to switch out.

Replay(s)

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434743230 vs dark
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434755421 vs fire
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434793881 vs ice

 

[terrors]

import

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Mild Nature
- Giga Drain
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
- Sucker Punch

Drapion @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge

Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Taunt
- Roost
- Defog

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hyperspace Hole
- Hyperspace Fury
- Energy Ball
- Gunk Shot

in depth

ok so looking at the core i could see a pretty solid balance dark. cacturne is actually a decent special attacker, something dark rly appreciates sike i stole it from smogdex. drapion is my own innovation tho with wwind to wear down the opp considering i have toxic spikes, spikes, AND sr. poison jab is an option to hit azu which is a major threat but that means i lose meme points so i decided not to run that. the rest is standard balance dark with mega ttar over reg ttar because i dont have space for a different mega.

 

[vlmufa]

Importable

Drapion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Cross Poison
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Energy Ball
- Focus Blast
- Spikes

Sharpedo-Mega @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Hydro Pump
- Protect

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock

Mandibuzz @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover

Description

So first off I decided to go with an SD Drapion as it can be a nice wincon vs fairy mons that aren't Mega-Gardevoir or Mega-Diancie. Cross Poison + Eq hit everything on fairy for SE damage and Lum lets you avoid the Klefki para and hit with an Earthquake. Next up I went with a Spikes set on Cacturne since it's the most viable set IMO. It also supports SD Drapion putting pressure on opposing walls. I then was deciding my mega and ended up with Sharpedo, another mon that very much likes hazard stack for a late game sweep and in general a big threat. At that point my team was lacking bulk so I added Tyranitar, also giving me a Stealth Rock user and a good special sponge which I greatly needed. After that I was looking very weak to fighting attacks and had no switchins even to simple offensive mons such as scarf Heracross. Mandibuzz was added to deal with fighting types. Now last slot I was debating between a few options but I ended up with sableye because 1: Sableye gives me the possibility to spinblock which this teams likes 2: You can never have enough fighting switchins :]

 

[Dece1t]

Importable

Drapion @ Lum Berry / Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off / Night Slash
- Agility
- Swords Dance

Cacturne @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 124 Def / 128 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast
- Thunder Wave
- Stealth Rock

Sharpedo-Mega @ Sharpedonite
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Psyshock
- Energy Ball
- Focus Blast

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover

Description

When I first saw this core, I'll be totally truthful, I was overwhelmed with how challenging this looked like it would be to pull off. However, I wanted to do it anyways since I really do love a good challenge, and I spent my entire morning building from my ideas and formulating it into a good Dark team. Overall, I really did underestimate how good these ideas turned out to be, this is actually a really good team! I'm extremely pleased with how I did, and I probably will continue to use it in the future.

Drapion I had an awesome set in mind that I wanted to give a whirl, which was Double-Dance. This allows it to be extremely versatile, and either go in to break a wall, prepare to clean up, or do both and annihilate! Sniper was chosen as the ability over Battle Armor to increase the damage if Drapion does manage to get a critical hit. For the item, I prefer Lum Berry to prevent it from getting status ailments while setting up, however, Scope Lens is also an option to really abuse Sniper (especially if you choose to run Night Slash). As for attacks, I decided to plain and simple run its dual STABs because not a lot can efficiently wall that combination after an SD boost, however it might me worth while to consider Night Slash over Knock Off in the case that it doesn't decrease in damage like the latter move does when items are knocked off/to Mega Evolutions. Drapion is also very nice in the fact that its able to sweep Fairy teams efficiently, so I didn't need to run Bisharp! I definitely underrated this set, its very good and not a lot of people will expect it.

Cacturne took me a little bit to come up with a set, but, in the end I decided to run a Mixed Wallbreaker. Cacturne is a good partner to Drapion as it can absorb Scald, and it can take out some walls that Drapion may otherwise have trouble with (good examples being Skarmory, Rotom-Wash, Gastrodon, Ground types in general, ect). The moveset for the most part is self explanatory, however its good to note Giga Drain is used oevr Energy Ball to recover lost health from LO Recoil/other residual damage.

Tyranitar I felt was obligatory because of 2 reasons, its a reliable Stealth Rock setter/Tank, and it can spread paralysis to allow this team's plethora of strong attackers to do some serious wreckage. The Defense EVs allow it to love a Banded Terrakion and Specs Keldeo once Chople Berry activates, allowing it to paralyse them on emergency.

Originally I was thinking about using Mega Houndoom as a means to get some more speed on the team, however after trying Sharpedo out, I can safely say that was probably the better choice. Along with Drapion, it is 1 of the team's late-game cleaners, and thanks to Strong Jaw it is absurdly powerful. Waterfall is to help out primarily against Ground and Fire teams, which the team tends to struggle against, but otherwise 7 times out of 10 you'll be spamming Crunch. Zen Headbutt is given as a means to try and sweep Fighting and hit Mega Venusaur super effectively. Protect allows for at least 1 safe Speed Boost, so upon Mega Evolution, you'll be able to effectively sweep.

Hoopa had my head scratching for the longest time, because I couldn't conclude what set I wanted to run. Choice Scarf would of been good because its able to revenge kill Keldeo/Fighting teams in general, and provides me with more speed, which the team was lacking outside of Sharpedo. Choice Specs, however, you almost never see on Dark, and its able to 2KO almost everything in the metagame. Not to mention, if something were to happen to Drapion and Cacturne, the 2 main wallbreakers in the team, I'd have Hoopa as a back up. In the end, I decided to give for creativity and use Specs (however, I do want to mention I've barely had to pull out Hoopa at all in my matches, it really does go to show how well this team can perform in itself). Maximum Speed is given to get it to as good of a speed tier as possible, and to outspeed most walls that tend to speed creep, while giving it way more Special Attack than it will ever need to execute its role as a wallbreaker. From there, you can kinda assume how the set works, but Psyshock is given as a means to hit "physically" as opposed to the other Psychic STABs, which is great to have when its other 3 moves are Special, and it can still abuse Choice Specs.

For the last slot, I was hooked on using Sableye. It really does help in weakening most Physical Attackers to subdue some of the teams trouble's with the lack of a dedicated defensive wall, while also giving me a Fighting immunity with its handy part Ghost typing. Taunt also allows it to double as an anti lead, as well as shut down most walls from being able to spread status/recover lost damage. I decided to run Foul Play over Knock Off since this team does have trouble against Mega Scizor, and Foul Play is able to kill it after an SD. It also tends to do a little more damage in general when I'm trying to flat out stall something/dish some damage for whatever reason.

As I mentioned in the showhide, this team really has grown on me, this was a really fun challenge to tackle! It's very different from your normal Dark teams, and best of all, it works! Here's some replays showcasing it:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434749966 vs SS Water
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434753353 vs Grass (lost, but very close match)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-434758581 vs Steel (warning, this replay features downright Rape, viewer's descretion is advised)

Also, a special thanks to terrors and Dream Eater Gengar for helping me tweak my build a bit, and the latter and The Excadrill for helping me test it! :)

For the Cacturne Lover Himself

(He's loving them CatGirls)

 

[Zap]

Ik the voting hasn't begun yet, but my vote goes to stun purely based on the fact that he has a sick AF banner. He set a standard now

 

[Drifting]

HAZARD STACK OFFENSE

Importable

Drapion @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Whirlwind
- Knock Off
- Toxic

Cacturne @ Focus Sash
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Destiny Bond
- Seed Bomb
- Foul Play

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Hyperspace Hole
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Punch

Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Knock Off

Houndoom-Mega @ Houndoominite
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
- Nasty Plot

Description

Drapion:
Physically defensive toxic spikes setting wall. Decent check to offensive fighting mons. That's pretty much it lol

Cacturne:
suicide lead meant for getting spikes, and nothing else, can maybe destiny bond or punch a hole into certain threats.

TTar:
Second half of defensive core. Gets rocks up, paralyzes stuff, rinse repeat.

Hoopa:
Sweeps when hazards are set. Takes out all non scarf fighting mons without strong priority. useful in general (that's why it got suspected.)

Bisharp:
Standard pursuitsharp. Deals with fairies decently, and gives the team a sorely needed source of priority.

Mega Houndoom:
Similar to hoopa. Sweeps with hazards up, and deals with a lot of dark checks in general. (bug, most fairies, anything weak to fire.) Can also set up on a switch.

Your Gameplan is to get up hazards and sweep, self explanatory.

 

[6ti]

sorry about the huge delay but i've been super busy. I'll post voting later today.

 

[6ti]

sorry for the huge delay

teams

symphonii team
terrors team
vlmufa team
Dece1t team
Drifting team

Voting deadline: 9/23
Remember to vote for two (Waszap) and don't vote for yourself