Moonlight

[Keiran]

Introduction:

So with my first two RMTs being terrible, I have decided to embark on an adventure that will last me a life time: make a good RMT! Moonlight is a team based around setting up multiple layers of hazards in order to wear down the opponents team, which sometimes results in a Swellow sweep. This team has a few weird sets, but that just makes it fun to use! So uh... I guess I'll keep this short and move onto the team itself.

Team Building:

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I started with Swellow, as it is an excellent cleaner.

Next, I added Cacturne due to its ability to remove Rock-types such as Golem, Probopass, Regirock etc, which made sweeping with Swellow much easier. In addition, Cacturne can set up Spikes which makes it even easier to sweep with Swellow and its teammates.

At this point, I decided to add Camerupt to the team, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the team at this point was weak to Electric-type Choice Scarf users such as Rotom-S and Zebstrika. Secondly, with Stealth Rocks and Roar, Camerupt can soften up the opposition even more. Camerupt also checks Pokemon such as Magmortar.

At this point I didn't really know what to do, though after a half an hour of derping I decided I needed a Ghost-type in order to block Rapid Spin. Three Ghost-types immediately came to mind: Haunter, Misdreavus and Drfiblim. I'm not really sure why, but I went with Haunter.

Again, I didn't know what to do, I just added Musharna as it's an all-round great Pokemon and an excellent glue.

Now I just needed a Choice Scarf user, I went with Rotom-S as its good speed allows it to outspeed Gorebyss and Sawk among many other Pokemon.

In- Depth:

Swellow (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

• Brave Bird
• Facade
• U-turn
• Quick Attack

Swellow is the star of my team, despite falling in usage recently due to the popularity of Rock-types such as Golem and Regirock and the rise of Choice Band Braviary, Swellow is still an excellent Pokemon. Swellow is absolutely monstrous with Stealth Rocks and a 3 layers of Spikes, for example, Alomomola is easily 2HKOed by Facade after full hazard damage. The moveset is pretty standard; Brave Bird and Facade are extremely powerful STAB moves while U-turn forms a "VolTurn" core with Rotom-S. I prefer Quick Attack to Protect due to popularity of Absol, which does around 45%~ however there have been some instances where Protect would have been useful, such as when Swellows ability Guts hasn't activated and it doesn't have the power to kill something.​

Cacturne @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)

• Bullet Seed
• Drain Punch
• Sucker Punch
• Spikes

Cacturne is practically the perfect partner for Swellow, Cacturne removes opposing Rock and Steel-type Pokemon with ease. Bullet Seed breaks through Golems Sturdy which usually prevents Stealth Rocks from being set up, letting Swellow and Rotom-S have an easier time switching in. Drain Punch is mainly for Bastiodon and Probopass but also hits Normal-types such as Miltank and Lickilicky. Sucker Punch is pretty self explanatory. Lastly, but most importantly, Spikes. Spikes is the crux of the team itself, for without it my team wouldn't work. I put Swellow in Slot 1 on Team Preview, which often lures out Rock-types which Cacturne can swiftly eliminate.​

Camerupt (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)

• Stealth Rock
• Roar
• Lava Plume
• Earth Power

Camerupt was added to the team due its ability to stop Electric-types such as Zebstrika and Rotom-S in their tracks, Camerupt also stops non-Earthquake Magmortar which is great. In addition, Camerupt is crucial for my hazards stacking strategy as it supplies the team with Stealth Rock. Roar is an excellent move, for it forces out Pokemon thus making them take even MORE hazards damage. Lava Plume is a decently powerful STAB move which also inflicts burn, unreliably remedying Camerupt's medicore defence stat. Earth Power is a secondary STAB move which does ok damage with its decent Special Attack stat.​

Haunter (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

• Substitute
• Shadow Ball
• Sludge Bomb
• Will-O-Wisp

Haunter has an excellent Special Attack and Speed stats, 95 speed is just great, it lets Haunter outspeed a lot of the relevant metgame such as Sawk, Magmortar and Braviary, but also lets it tie with Sawsbuck. Will-O-Wisp may seem ridiculous on Haunter, however its very very very useful for crippling physical attackers like Absol and Skuntank (providing it hits!) Substitute is a pretty common move on Haunter for a reason, it protects it from being revenge killed from the likes of Rotom-S and such. Shadow Ball and Sludge give surprisingly good coverage; resisted by mainly Steel-types, which can be eliminated by Cacturne.​

Musharna (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)

• Calm Mind
• Moonlight
• Psychic
• Hidden Power [Bug]

aaaaaaaa Musharna is so great, I'm suprised no one really used it until recently. It's really easy to set up to at least +3 with Calm Mind and proceed to dominate unprepared teams. Unfortunately, Musharna seems to be huge HUGE Toxic bait. In addition, Musharna counters most Fighting-types in NU such as Sawk and Gurdurr (Musharna even outslows Gurdurr so its Payback is at min power!) Calm Mind is the crux of the set, this coupled with Moonlight (lol the name of the rmt) let Musharna become a strong and bulky tank. HP Bug seems weird at first, but it still nails Dark-types while also hitting opposing Psychic-types.​

Rotom-S @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

• Volt Switch
• Air Slash
• Hidden Power [Grass]
• Trick

Rotom-S is your typical NU Choice Scarf user, and for good reason. Its good Speed stat allows it to outspeed monsters such as +2 Timid Gorebyss. Volt Switch is an insanely good move, providing momentum and forms a "VolTurn" core with Swellow. Air Slash is a good, somewhat reliable STAB which has decent coverage with Electric. Hidden Power grass hits Rock and Ground-types such as Golem and Quagsire which otherwise wall it. Trick is mainly filler however it cripples special walls like Altaria and Lickilicky. A Timid nature is used to outspeed Timid Gorebyss after a Shell Smash.​

Exportable:

Swellow (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- U-turn
- Quick Attack

Cacturne (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Seed
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Spikes

Camerupt (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power

Haunter (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp

Musharna (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Moonlight
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Rotom-S @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Air Slash
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Trick

 

[No Luck Involved]

Hey Keiran, your team is really well balanced and I don't really have that many suggestions.

One idea is to change Camerupt to Relicanth. It would give you a solid bird counter as well as hitting much harder than Camerupt. Tangela shouldn't be a huge problem for your team because you have Haunter, Swellow and Musharna. You become much weaker to Magmortar and will probably have to sac something everytime it comes in but I think Mag is just one of those threats where it's impossible to wall anyway and it is a prime opportunity for Swellow or Haunter to come in to revenge and start their own sweep.

If you make this change then Volt Switch from electric types becomes a problem, so I suggest changing Rotom-S to Zebstrika. This allows you a safe switch in to other Rotom-S as well as giving you a decent Rain check because Zebstrika outspeeds most rain sweepers in rain.

You become more Ground weak but the team should be able to handle it between Cacturne, Haunter, Musharna and Swellow.

You are also quite weak to SD Samurott. Sucker Punch and Quick Attack are the only checks to it. Using Water Absorb on Cacturne would help alleviate this problem if you are prepared to lose Bullet Seed and Drain Punch. A set of Spikes, Sucker Punch, Seed Bomb and Substitute may be the best option to patch up this weakness.

That turned out a lot longer than expected. Lovely team Keiran and good luck!

 

[skaybestrogue]

I dont really play NU but I find this post to be a prime example as to how one should structure/design a RMT. Would you tell me the source for the sketched Pokémon pictures? They look great!

 

[blaziken662]

Hi there! I only would like to suggest you to try Stored Power instead of Psychic on Musharna, as she is bulky and has reliable recovery in Moonlight you can easily stack 2+ Calm Mind boosts, which enhances Stored Power to 100 Base Power. I used a BP team on OU with Stored Power Espeon and at +2 in SpA, SpD and Def (+6 total boost) Stored Power was enough to OHKO a lot of common Steel types that don't invest heavily in SpD, just give it a try.

Also the HP Bug is a clever but nice choice for coverage, but I would try HP Fight in tandem with Stored Power.

I wish you the best with that team.

Thanks!

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Pretty cool team you got there, spikes is a great strategy on offensive teams like this one. You have many frail pokémon which is normal on an offensive team, however many of them happen to be weak to ice shard especially after rocks damage and especially if it's coming from choice band sneasel who also threatens musharna and traps Haunter (but she’s pretty damn rare).

Rotom-S could maybe be changed to Rotom-F with blizzard or hp ice. You arleady have cacturne for grass coverage and swellow for flying plus you really don't need the extra fighting resistance with Haunter and Musharna (and Swellow offensively).

By doing this you'd also gain a good bolt beam resistor that could also help replace camerupt who did it pretty well. I'm usually a big fan of pokémon that are used so rarely, but camerupt just has the most horrible combination in it's lack of speed and bulk and isn't saved by any awesome niche (perfect stab coverage during gravity ain't something one can brag about). I agree with No Luck Involved that relicanth could be a good option but it would leave you with very little special bulk on the switch in (Musharna is only decent before a CM). Some might be able to deal with that but since I'm more of a defensive player, I'll suggest you a more defensive solution. Probopass and Bastiodon are pretty traditional, while keeping either roar or adding a little to voltturn combo (offensive probopass hits surprisingly hard and can trap steels for a possible swellow sweep). If you're realy looking for a hipster style though you could try keckleon or even eviolite Prinplup (what I would probably use :P). The NFE penguin might seem ridiculous but I've already used it and he's done pretty damn well. Hydro pump with grass and ice coverage is so good he can pull it off even from 81 sp. Att. He can also yawn which is similar to roar and causes lots of hazards damage (and yes he learns stealth rock).

I only would like to suggest you to try Stored Power instead of Psychic on Musharna

I suggest you keep Musharna like it is. At higher levels stored power is a better option but psychic is still extremly powerful at +2. On the other side when you don't have time to set up, stored power is terrible. As for hp fighting, it should be left for the higher tiers, since it replaces your weakness to steel by a weankness to psychic. The thing is klang, probopass and bastiodon are the only reasons you would want a fighting move since Metang is hit neutral by both and mawile ain't winning no sp.D awards very soon.

Hope it helped, good luck.

 

[WhiteDMist]

Hmm, while normally I would agree with Sweet Jesus about HP Fighting's usefulness in NU, Probopass and Bastiodon are still seen often enough to warrant it. Cacturne is the only Pokemon with a Fighting move and Camerupt is the only one with a Ground move. Both of these Pokemon aren't exactly defensive titans, and are worn down easily (even with Drain Punch). The rest of your team is otherwise walled by these Steel types, so a little extra insurance against them won't really hurt. It is easier to handle opposing Psychic types with Haunter, Cacturne, Swellow, and Rotom-S. Dark types take the same amount of damage anyways.

Also, seconding leaving Psychic unchanged.

 

[destinyunknown]

You may want to consider using Nasty Plot Misdreavus>Haunter, as it still provides you with an spinblocker that has offensive presence but it isn't that much of a moron against spinners/pursuiters.

Oh, and if you think musharna is toxic bait, why don't you use Duosion? It does the same better, just without Leftovers recovery but that isn't that important anyway.

 

[ZoroDark]

I can only agree that this a lovely team. The Misdreavus suggestion is a very good one, but if you are really keen to keep Haunter, give him HP Fighting/Ground over Will-O-Wisp, because he won't be useful after the pursuit anyways. I suggest HP Ground so you can hit the incoming Skuntank hard, Sub on the predicted Sucker Punch and kill him afterwards.

The second suggestion has already been suggested by NLI, but I'd like to capitalize on it further: Change Rotom-F to Zebstrika. This will make you VoltTurn-core a little less SR weak.

Third: Give Cacturne Water Absorb. Bullet Seed can be replaced by Seed Bomb, and Drain Punch for Substitute as NLI suggested, but when you really have balls, try Focus Punch. Switch ins won't like this at all.

Hope I helped and good luck with the team!

 

[Straw Hat]

Hi there! I only would like to suggest you to try Stored Power instead of Psychic on Musharna, as she is bulky and has reliable recovery in Moonlight you can easily stack 2+ Calm Mind boosts, which enhances Stored Power to 100 Base Power. I used a BP team on OU with Stored Power Espeon and at +2 in SpA, SpD and Def (+6 total boost) Stored Power was enough to OHKO a lot of common Steel types that don't invest heavily in SpD, just give it a try.

Also the HP Bug is a clever but nice choice for coverage, but I would try HP Fight in tandem with Stored Power.

The only notable threats that HP Fighting hit harder are Bastiodon and Probopass. Bastiodon is really uncommon, and Probopass can't touch Musharna. Stick with HP Bug.

I wish you the best with that team.

Thanks!

ZoroDark is right. Haunter doesn't need Will-o-Wisp, even with it Haunter's bulk is crap. Zebstrika is awesome, I almost always use him over Rotom-S. Same with Cacturne.