Hi all,
Coming at you with another team, this time: Grass spam! Once again, this team features my favourite mon and the undisputed GOAT of the tier: Scarf Serperior. However, this time he has brought along some Grass-type friends to destroy the meta with. Hope you all enjoy!
Grass has often been said to be one of the worst offensive typings in the game, which, to be fair, it is. However, this gen has been the introduction of Grassy Terrain and two incredible Grass mons in Bulu and Kart, so now is as good as any to build an offence team around Grass!
I actually made this team earlier this year (which is when i made it to 2000+), but didn't end up posting an RMT cos I was too busy. With the new Zygarde suspect test (probably gonna vote no ban), i decided to dust the team off and see how it fares in the current meta. It was pretty good, carrying me to a 36-5 record to qualify for reqs, so i thought i'd share. I think this also goes to show how stable and (dare i say it) stale the meta has been this year when a team built a year ago is still viable. The main that I used has since decayed, but here is proof of 2000+ from earlier this year:
The lead
Greninja (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
- Low Kick
Like my previous RMT (https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/z-giga-impact-greninja-elo-2000-top-10.3631401/#post-7746377), Gren serves as the lead most of the time. Ice Beam/Gunk/Low Kick is incredible coverage, letting me get damage off on Tapu Fini, Bulu, Tangrowth, Kyurem-Black, Ferro, Heatran, and any 4x Ice weak like Lando-T, Zygarde, and Garchomp. Low Kick is especially vital because it allows me to get big damage on Ferrothorns that switch in, allowing Mag an easier time to sweep.
If i think the opponent will lead with something like Scarf-Lando or Koko, I will usually lead with Bulu, and if I think they will lead with a faster mega like Lopunny, I will lead Serp.
Focus Sash let's me take on lead Kyurem-Blacks and also just lets me get a hit or Spikes off in general. It also comes in very handy on the odd occasion i need to KO a set-up mon. For example, Sash comes in incredibly handy in this game, letting take out Hawlucha after a fire play by me to switch into SD :p https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704378396
Spikes: My general theory when it comes to hazards is to either use hazards and not have a defogger, or to not use hazards at all like my last RMT. For this team, it relies heavily on forcing switches and eventually sweeping with Magearna or Serp, and Spikes helps tremendously to wear down opposing Heatrans and Magearnas to this end. Protean turning you into a ground type also helps you play mind games with AV Mags that want to come in and Volt Switch for momentum.
Arguably the most important mon on this team for it's ability to come in and threaten all of the mons which resist my Grass-spam. Now you may ask why Fire Blast > Magma Storm. This is something that I have been toying with quite a bit and for me, Magma Storm's 75% accuracy is just that little bit too low for how important this mon is to the team. There are way too many times where I am in against a Magearna or other bulky steel where it is vital that I hit my Fire move, and the increased accuracy of Fire Blast just sits better with me.
Another choice here is Modest > Timid, which gives Fire Blast an incredible amount of power. Lately, I have been running Timid more and more so that I at least speed tie with opposing Trans. Toxic is for incoming Zygardes and Chomps. Stealth Rock is self-explanatory, so all I will say is that it is vital to assess how important Rocks are at the start of the game. If the opponent has a Zard or Volc, you better get Rocks up.
I have always loved Chople on Tran, as it lets me live a HJK from Lopunny if I'm above ~75% HP. Chople also lets me eat Superpowers and Sacred Sword from opposing Bulus and Kartanas. Lack of Lefties is annoying, but Grassy Terrain is good at getting Tran some passive recovery, and Chople comes in so handy.
Chople letting me eat a Sacred Sword from Kart to win the game (check out Bulu 2HKO'ing Zapdos): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704382235
An example of Tran's importance to the team vs Tangrowth and Mag. The KOs on Medicham and Tang also highlights why I choose Fire Blast and Modest nature: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704431447
Tran has amazing syngery with Bulu, allowing me to play them in tandem like in this match (and allowing me to make risky plays like the last turn): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704427521
Now that the boring stuff is over, let the Grass spam begin!
I don't see banded Bulu much on the ladder, and it surprises me, because this thing is a goddamn monster.
Some Wood Hammer calcs for reference
Neutral Hits
SpDef Toxapex - 110.8 - 130.6%
252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable - 107.6 - 127.1%
188 HP / 0 Def Zygarde - 101.9 - 120.2%
240 HP / 156 Def Mew - 103.4 - 122.1%
4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp - 141 - 166.2%
244 HP / 44 Def Gliscor - 109.3 - 128.9%
Scarf Lando-T @ -1 Attack - 94.9 - 111.7%
Defensive Lanto-T @ -1 Attack - 65.9 - 77.7%
Resisted Hits
248 HP / 240+ Def Zapdos - 51.1 - 60.3%
0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian - 97.3 - 114.3%
Assault Vest Magearna - 58.9 - 69.4%
4 HP / 0 Def Magnezone - 75.8 - 89.3%
40 HP / 0 Def Mega-Mawile @ -1 Attack - 73.7 - 86.8%
248 HP / 212+ Def Tangrowth - 38.2 - 45.1%
AV Tangrowth - 48.2 - 56.9%
If Bulu hits something neutrally with Wood Hammer, it most likely gets OHKO'd. Common Flying type switch ins like Torn and Zapdos both get destroyed. Any variant of Lando-T can switch in a maximum of 1 time. AV Tang is 2HKO'd by Wood Hammer if it comes in on Spikes or Rocks (Rocky Helmet Tang gets eaten alive by Tran). This all opens up the game for Kart to come in and start chucking out Leaf Blades and Knock Offs.
The only thing you have to watch out for is Charizard, which can come in on a Wood Hammer and set up. That's where Stone Edge and some prediction comes into play.
Superpower is essential for Ferrothorn and Heatran, so you need to be smart with your predictions. From what I have found, many players don't expect Banded Bulu and would rather switch in their Lando-Ts and Torns rather than Ferro or Tran even though the first 2 mons get destroyed by Wood Hammer. Be smart with your predictions, kids.
For example, here is a replay where I establish Band Bulu as a threat by OHKO'ing Torn turn 1, and then Superpower the Tran a few turn later to set up the easy Serp sweep: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695020894
The second part of Bulus magic is Grassy Terrain, both for it's ability to boost Leaf Storm from Serp and Leaf Blade from Kart and its ability to halve Earthquake's damage, allowing Mag an easier time to set up and allowing Tran to live hits it otherwise wouldn't.
Replay of Bulu's brutal power against a bulky balance team which sets up a Kart clean up: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704924365
Another bulky semi-stall team getting destroyed by Bulu: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704923084
Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
With a tier-topping 181 base attack, it only makes sense to add a Choice Band on top. Now it may seem kinda redundant to have another Banded Grass mon, and to be perfectly honest, it kinda is, but that would kinda ruin the Grass spam theme , so run with it. It also isn't until I took Kart off the team that I realised how valuable it was for its ability to spam Knock Off vs Stall and to outspeed and revenge mons such as Mega-Medicham, Mega-Pinsir, and to live hits from +1 Zygarde and +1 Gyara and revenge (assuming the Z-moves have been spent).
Knock Off and Leaf Blade are my most clicked moves in the early game. Getting rid of Ferro's Lefties or Tangrowth's Assault Vest goes a long way to helping my own Mag sweep late game. Kartana is also incredibly good late-game vs slower balance teams as it can come in and clean through weakened balance cores consisting of Pex, Lando-T, AV Mag etc.
Here is an example of Kartana's power, clean OHKO'ing Mega-Medicham turn 1 and also OHKO'ing Lele: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704925138
GOAT (Serperior) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Defog
- Glare
- Hidden Power [Fire]
The 3rd Grass mon and my 3rd RMT featuring this Pokemon. It's just so fun to play with. Where Kart is good against Balance teams, Serp is fantastic against opposing offence. Scarf + Timid lets me outrun pretty much every pokemon in the meta. Glare lets me cripple +1 set up mons like Volc and Zard-X.
Leaf Storm in Grassy Terrain hits incredibly hard, and many games end with me cleaning up my opponents weakened mons with it. I will copy my previous RMT when i say "Serp is also a great switch in to Ash-Gren (both before and after it transforms). You can switch in on Dark Pulse, opponents will think they outspeed and 2HKO you, and then you can KO with Leaf Storm. It's also great vs Rain because you can switch in on any of Swampert's moves, outspeed and OHKO."
Defog is really just a filler move which I don't think I have ever clicked. Thinking of changing it to Knock Off for Chanseys that want to switch in.
Here is Serp letting me check Mega-Zam, the fastest unboosted mon in the game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704377901
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
My first SM RMT (https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...er-43-5-record-gxe-86-5.3596426/#post-7242771) featured this mon, and I still believe it is one of the best sweepers in the game. Once hazards are set and the opponent's team has been weakened, this thing goes to town.
I will also echo what I said in that first RMT, which is Trick Room > Shift Gear. The extra bulk, in my opinion, is just so invaluable, and Trick Room is so much better against Rain and Sun teams where you would otherwise still get outsped at +2 by Mega-Swampert, Kingdra etc.
I have been toying with Focus Blast over Ice Beam just to allow me a better chance at sweeping if I haven't adequately weakened Heatran and Ferro.
In many of the replays I have linked, you will see that Mag sometimes doesn't even come out at all, and if it does, it's only to clean up like in this game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695814148
Another late game Mag sweep vs Sand which shows it's bulk: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695509556
Threats
There is a reason why Grass isn't a great offensive type, and that's because it is 4x resisted by some of the most common mons in OU, namely: Heatran, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Mega-Scizor. That is just an inherent weakness in foundation of this team. All I will say is that if you see any of these mons, you have to keep Heatran healthy. Apart from a potential speed tie with opposing Heatrans, my own Heatran should be able to easily take on these 4 pesky mons. Your opponent will most likely know this, so play smartly and use Toxic liberally to weaken common switch-ins like Lando-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde.
Charizard-Y, X, and Volcarona. As you can probably imagine, strong Fire type Pokemon have a field day against this team. You will likely be on the back foot the whole game just out of sheer match-up imbalance, but this is also where Glare on Serp comes in handy on a Zard or Volc switching in, as well at Stone Edge on Bulu.
A few brief thoughts on Zygarde and how this team deals with it. Bear in mind, this team was made at the start of the year, where most Zygardes were Banded or standard DD. The recent rise in more versatile sets like Sub+Glare, Sub+Toxic, Coil varieties etc hasshaken up the meta a little, but this team has held up quite well. First, there is the inherent advantage this team has over Zygarde by virtue of it being 1/2 Grass mons. Second is Zygardes inability to really set up on any of of these mons bar Heatran. Serp boosts with Leaf Storm and outspeeds +1 DD Zygarde, Banded Bulu OHKOs 188 HP Zygarde and easily holds its own against Coil+DD sets, Kart outspeeds and takes on Sub-Toxic sets and does huge damage with Leaf Blade. Gren can revenge in a pinch if Sash is still intact, and Mag can live non-banded Thousand Arrows and set up TR. The only variety of Zygarde that really has a chance against this team is Sub + Glare and that's only if they hax me to shit.
Hawlucha can present a problem to this team if it gets +2. Seeing as most are paired with Koko, it is vital to keep Bulu alive to Terrain-block Hawlucha from getting it's speed boost. Most Koko+Lucha teams are some form of Offence, so it might be smart to set up TR with Mag before the opponent gets the opportunity to set up their Lucha. Gren with Focus Sash can also come in handy, and Chople Tran can live an unboosted HJK or Drain Punch. Just be wary of how you play Bulu, because if you KO an incoming Koko, you are letting Hawlucha get an easy Swords Dance.
Hope you all have fun playing with the team!
Importable!
Coming at you with another team, this time: Grass spam! Once again, this team features my favourite mon and the undisputed GOAT of the tier: Scarf Serperior. However, this time he has brought along some Grass-type friends to destroy the meta with. Hope you all enjoy!
Grass has often been said to be one of the worst offensive typings in the game, which, to be fair, it is. However, this gen has been the introduction of Grassy Terrain and two incredible Grass mons in Bulu and Kart, so now is as good as any to build an offence team around Grass!
I actually made this team earlier this year (which is when i made it to 2000+), but didn't end up posting an RMT cos I was too busy. With the new Zygarde suspect test (probably gonna vote no ban), i decided to dust the team off and see how it fares in the current meta. It was pretty good, carrying me to a 36-5 record to qualify for reqs, so i thought i'd share. I think this also goes to show how stable and (dare i say it) stale the meta has been this year when a team built a year ago is still viable. The main that I used has since decayed, but here is proof of 2000+ from earlier this year:
Team Preview
The lead
Greninja (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
- Low Kick
If i think the opponent will lead with something like Scarf-Lando or Koko, I will usually lead with Bulu, and if I think they will lead with a faster mega like Lopunny, I will lead Serp.
Focus Sash let's me take on lead Kyurem-Blacks and also just lets me get a hit or Spikes off in general. It also comes in very handy on the odd occasion i need to KO a set-up mon. For example, Sash comes in incredibly handy in this game, letting take out Hawlucha after a fire play by me to switch into SD :p https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704378396
Spikes: My general theory when it comes to hazards is to either use hazards and not have a defogger, or to not use hazards at all like my last RMT. For this team, it relies heavily on forcing switches and eventually sweeping with Magearna or Serp, and Spikes helps tremendously to wear down opposing Heatrans and Magearnas to this end. Protean turning you into a ground type also helps you play mind games with AV Mags that want to come in and Volt Switch for momentum.
The Glue
Heatran @ Chople Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Arguably the most important mon on this team for it's ability to come in and threaten all of the mons which resist my Grass-spam. Now you may ask why Fire Blast > Magma Storm. This is something that I have been toying with quite a bit and for me, Magma Storm's 75% accuracy is just that little bit too low for how important this mon is to the team. There are way too many times where I am in against a Magearna or other bulky steel where it is vital that I hit my Fire move, and the increased accuracy of Fire Blast just sits better with me.
Another choice here is Modest > Timid, which gives Fire Blast an incredible amount of power. Lately, I have been running Timid more and more so that I at least speed tie with opposing Trans. Toxic is for incoming Zygardes and Chomps. Stealth Rock is self-explanatory, so all I will say is that it is vital to assess how important Rocks are at the start of the game. If the opponent has a Zard or Volc, you better get Rocks up.
I have always loved Chople on Tran, as it lets me live a HJK from Lopunny if I'm above ~75% HP. Chople also lets me eat Superpowers and Sacred Sword from opposing Bulus and Kartanas. Lack of Lefties is annoying, but Grassy Terrain is good at getting Tran some passive recovery, and Chople comes in so handy.
Chople letting me eat a Sacred Sword from Kart to win the game (check out Bulu 2HKO'ing Zapdos): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704382235
An example of Tran's importance to the team vs Tangrowth and Mag. The KOs on Medicham and Tang also highlights why I choose Fire Blast and Modest nature: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704431447
Tran has amazing syngery with Bulu, allowing me to play them in tandem like in this match (and allowing me to make risky plays like the last turn): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704427521
Now that the boring stuff is over, let the Grass spam begin!
The Banded Brothers
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
I don't see banded Bulu much on the ladder, and it surprises me, because this thing is a goddamn monster.
Some Wood Hammer calcs for reference
Neutral Hits
SpDef Toxapex - 110.8 - 130.6%
252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable - 107.6 - 127.1%
188 HP / 0 Def Zygarde - 101.9 - 120.2%
240 HP / 156 Def Mew - 103.4 - 122.1%
4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp - 141 - 166.2%
244 HP / 44 Def Gliscor - 109.3 - 128.9%
Scarf Lando-T @ -1 Attack - 94.9 - 111.7%
Defensive Lanto-T @ -1 Attack - 65.9 - 77.7%
Resisted Hits
248 HP / 240+ Def Zapdos - 51.1 - 60.3%
0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian - 97.3 - 114.3%
Assault Vest Magearna - 58.9 - 69.4%
4 HP / 0 Def Magnezone - 75.8 - 89.3%
40 HP / 0 Def Mega-Mawile @ -1 Attack - 73.7 - 86.8%
248 HP / 212+ Def Tangrowth - 38.2 - 45.1%
AV Tangrowth - 48.2 - 56.9%
If Bulu hits something neutrally with Wood Hammer, it most likely gets OHKO'd. Common Flying type switch ins like Torn and Zapdos both get destroyed. Any variant of Lando-T can switch in a maximum of 1 time. AV Tang is 2HKO'd by Wood Hammer if it comes in on Spikes or Rocks (Rocky Helmet Tang gets eaten alive by Tran). This all opens up the game for Kart to come in and start chucking out Leaf Blades and Knock Offs.
The only thing you have to watch out for is Charizard, which can come in on a Wood Hammer and set up. That's where Stone Edge and some prediction comes into play.
Superpower is essential for Ferrothorn and Heatran, so you need to be smart with your predictions. From what I have found, many players don't expect Banded Bulu and would rather switch in their Lando-Ts and Torns rather than Ferro or Tran even though the first 2 mons get destroyed by Wood Hammer. Be smart with your predictions, kids.
For example, here is a replay where I establish Band Bulu as a threat by OHKO'ing Torn turn 1, and then Superpower the Tran a few turn later to set up the easy Serp sweep: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695020894
The second part of Bulus magic is Grassy Terrain, both for it's ability to boost Leaf Storm from Serp and Leaf Blade from Kart and its ability to halve Earthquake's damage, allowing Mag an easier time to set up and allowing Tran to live hits it otherwise wouldn't.
Replay of Bulu's brutal power against a bulky balance team which sets up a Kart clean up: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704924365
Another bulky semi-stall team getting destroyed by Bulu: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704923084
Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
With a tier-topping 181 base attack, it only makes sense to add a Choice Band on top. Now it may seem kinda redundant to have another Banded Grass mon, and to be perfectly honest, it kinda is, but that would kinda ruin the Grass spam theme , so run with it. It also isn't until I took Kart off the team that I realised how valuable it was for its ability to spam Knock Off vs Stall and to outspeed and revenge mons such as Mega-Medicham, Mega-Pinsir, and to live hits from +1 Zygarde and +1 Gyara and revenge (assuming the Z-moves have been spent).
Knock Off and Leaf Blade are my most clicked moves in the early game. Getting rid of Ferro's Lefties or Tangrowth's Assault Vest goes a long way to helping my own Mag sweep late game. Kartana is also incredibly good late-game vs slower balance teams as it can come in and clean through weakened balance cores consisting of Pex, Lando-T, AV Mag etc.
Here is an example of Kartana's power, clean OHKO'ing Mega-Medicham turn 1 and also OHKO'ing Lele: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704925138
GOAT (Serperior) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Defog
- Glare
- Hidden Power [Fire]
The 3rd Grass mon and my 3rd RMT featuring this Pokemon. It's just so fun to play with. Where Kart is good against Balance teams, Serp is fantastic against opposing offence. Scarf + Timid lets me outrun pretty much every pokemon in the meta. Glare lets me cripple +1 set up mons like Volc and Zard-X.
Leaf Storm in Grassy Terrain hits incredibly hard, and many games end with me cleaning up my opponents weakened mons with it. I will copy my previous RMT when i say "Serp is also a great switch in to Ash-Gren (both before and after it transforms). You can switch in on Dark Pulse, opponents will think they outspeed and 2HKO you, and then you can KO with Leaf Storm. It's also great vs Rain because you can switch in on any of Swampert's moves, outspeed and OHKO."
Defog is really just a filler move which I don't think I have ever clicked. Thinking of changing it to Knock Off for Chanseys that want to switch in.
Here is Serp letting me check Mega-Zam, the fastest unboosted mon in the game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-704377901
The Sweeper
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
My first SM RMT (https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...er-43-5-record-gxe-86-5.3596426/#post-7242771) featured this mon, and I still believe it is one of the best sweepers in the game. Once hazards are set and the opponent's team has been weakened, this thing goes to town.
I will also echo what I said in that first RMT, which is Trick Room > Shift Gear. The extra bulk, in my opinion, is just so invaluable, and Trick Room is so much better against Rain and Sun teams where you would otherwise still get outsped at +2 by Mega-Swampert, Kingdra etc.
I have been toying with Focus Blast over Ice Beam just to allow me a better chance at sweeping if I haven't adequately weakened Heatran and Ferro.
In many of the replays I have linked, you will see that Mag sometimes doesn't even come out at all, and if it does, it's only to clean up like in this game: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695814148
Another late game Mag sweep vs Sand which shows it's bulk: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-695509556
Threats
There is a reason why Grass isn't a great offensive type, and that's because it is 4x resisted by some of the most common mons in OU, namely: Heatran, Ferrothorn, Celesteela, and Mega-Scizor. That is just an inherent weakness in foundation of this team. All I will say is that if you see any of these mons, you have to keep Heatran healthy. Apart from a potential speed tie with opposing Heatrans, my own Heatran should be able to easily take on these 4 pesky mons. Your opponent will most likely know this, so play smartly and use Toxic liberally to weaken common switch-ins like Lando-T, Garchomp, and Zygarde.
Charizard-Y, X, and Volcarona. As you can probably imagine, strong Fire type Pokemon have a field day against this team. You will likely be on the back foot the whole game just out of sheer match-up imbalance, but this is also where Glare on Serp comes in handy on a Zard or Volc switching in, as well at Stone Edge on Bulu.
A few brief thoughts on Zygarde and how this team deals with it. Bear in mind, this team was made at the start of the year, where most Zygardes were Banded or standard DD. The recent rise in more versatile sets like Sub+Glare, Sub+Toxic, Coil varieties etc hasshaken up the meta a little, but this team has held up quite well. First, there is the inherent advantage this team has over Zygarde by virtue of it being 1/2 Grass mons. Second is Zygardes inability to really set up on any of of these mons bar Heatran. Serp boosts with Leaf Storm and outspeeds +1 DD Zygarde, Banded Bulu OHKOs 188 HP Zygarde and easily holds its own against Coil+DD sets, Kart outspeeds and takes on Sub-Toxic sets and does huge damage with Leaf Blade. Gren can revenge in a pinch if Sash is still intact, and Mag can live non-banded Thousand Arrows and set up TR. The only variety of Zygarde that really has a chance against this team is Sub + Glare and that's only if they hax me to shit.
Hawlucha can present a problem to this team if it gets +2. Seeing as most are paired with Koko, it is vital to keep Bulu alive to Terrain-block Hawlucha from getting it's speed boost. Most Koko+Lucha teams are some form of Offence, so it might be smart to set up TR with Mag before the opponent gets the opportunity to set up their Lucha. Gren with Focus Sash can also come in handy, and Chople Tran can live an unboosted HJK or Drain Punch. Just be wary of how you play Bulu, because if you KO an incoming Koko, you are letting Hawlucha get an easy Swords Dance.
Hope you all have fun playing with the team!
Importable!
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Serperior @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
- Defog
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
Heatran @ Chople Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Greninja (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
- Low Kick
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Serperior @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Glare
- Defog
Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
Heatran @ Chople Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Greninja (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
- Low Kick