After struggling battling various support mons, (i.e. Crobat, Liepard, etc.) I decided to make a team that revolves around one. I decided to use Musharna, not only because it doesn't see as much use as much as, say, Cressalia, but also because it has an interesting movepool that lends itself to unique strategies.
I wanted to start with Musharna, so I did.
Next I added Primal Groudon to help in the weather wars, as well as to take advantage of Gravity.
I also added Xerneas, mostly for its offensive presence.
I chose my mega to be Mawile. Mawile is a strong physical attacker to take out special walls, including boosted Xerneas.
I had a big weakness to opposing Primal Groudons, so I went with Landorus-I. It should generally take out Groudons with Earth Power, depending on the spread.
Finally, I wanted Tailwind support in order to keep up with opposing Tailwind users, as well as to score some outspeeds against Rayquazas, boosted Xerneas, etc. Suicune also has the added bonus of also dealing with Groudon.
In-depth:
Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
Level: 50
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Magic Coat
- Worry Seed
- Moonlight
- Gravity
This Musharna is all about support. If it had an attack, it might as well be Cressalia. Magic Coat is to block Leech Seed from Ferrothorn, as well as potentially block Taunts (especially important since I don't have a Mental Herb). Worry Seed allows Groudon to fire off Eruptions without needing to worry about Kyogre switch-ins. It also gets rid of gimmicky skill-swapping shenanigans. Moonlight is for recovery, although potentially this could be swapped out for something else, because once Musharna has done its bit, it probably should go. Gravity is the last move, enabling Groudon to hit Precipice Blades freely, without worrying about non-grounded Pokemon or missing.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Precipice Blades
- Eruption
- Iron Head
- Protect
This Groudon is min speed to out-slow opposing weather users. In addition to this, it runs defensive bulk. It runs a physical nature, but Eruption is strong enough to warrant keeping it. With Musharna's Gravity, Precipice Blades should hit, and barring Musharna, it is still a fairly good move. Iron Head is also on the set to help against Xerneas. Alternatively this might be switched with Rock Slide or Stone Edge to take care of Salamence or Ho-Oh (assuming Gravity is not in effect). Protect is Protect. It keeps you safe if you need just one more turn to set up.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Protect
This Xerneas set is fairly standard. It doesn't have any bulk at the moment. The only notable thing is in place of Moonblast or HP Ground, this Xerneas runs Psychic to deal with Crobat and also to deal neutral damage to Groudon, Ho-oh, and predicted Talonflame switch-ins.
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
As mentioned in teambuilding, Mawile is on the team to deal heavy hits to special walls. In addition, it helps mitigate Trick Room teams to a degree. Intimidate, while perhaps less useful that in the previous season, is always welcome. Play Rough and Iron Head deal STAB damage, and Knock Off hurts Cressalias and other Psychic types, as well as denies Sitrus berry users their recovery.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Landorus is meant to deal with Groudon. Earth Power hits hard, and with a potential Gravity, it will be difficult to avoid. Focus Blast also is aided by Gravity, and it deals with Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn nicely. HP Ice deals heavy damage to both opposing Landorus as well as Rayquaza and Togekiss. Life Orb helps deal enough damage to OHKO certain Groudon spreads, and allows Landorus to switch up moves.
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Tailwind
- Rest
- Scald
- Roar
Suicune sets up Tailwind in order to cancel out other Tailwind users; this helps protect Landorus and Xerneas, who aren't invested enough to go second in a match. Scald helps to mitigate physical damage, and Roar phazes out boosted Xerneas and Kangaskhan, as well as denies Trick Room. Rest gives Suicune recovery which could be useful when matched up against Talonflame or Kangaskhan, who take recoil from their moves. Suicune is specially invested in order to safely switch into Groudon or Kyogre alike, as well as deal with Salamence and the plethora of other specially-oriented Pokemon in the current meta.
I'm sure that there are weaknesses in this team (hence it is on this thread, to be critiqued). One potential weakness, for instance is to Amoonguss (after Groudon is gone). This is my first time posting to the Smogon forums, so any criticism or friendly advice is appreciated!
Thanks for taking the time to look at my team.
In-depth:
Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
Level: 50
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Magic Coat
- Worry Seed
- Moonlight
- Gravity
This Musharna is all about support. If it had an attack, it might as well be Cressalia. Magic Coat is to block Leech Seed from Ferrothorn, as well as potentially block Taunts (especially important since I don't have a Mental Herb). Worry Seed allows Groudon to fire off Eruptions without needing to worry about Kyogre switch-ins. It also gets rid of gimmicky skill-swapping shenanigans. Moonlight is for recovery, although potentially this could be swapped out for something else, because once Musharna has done its bit, it probably should go. Gravity is the last move, enabling Groudon to hit Precipice Blades freely, without worrying about non-grounded Pokemon or missing.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Precipice Blades
- Eruption
- Iron Head
- Protect
This Groudon is min speed to out-slow opposing weather users. In addition to this, it runs defensive bulk. It runs a physical nature, but Eruption is strong enough to warrant keeping it. With Musharna's Gravity, Precipice Blades should hit, and barring Musharna, it is still a fairly good move. Iron Head is also on the set to help against Xerneas. Alternatively this might be switched with Rock Slide or Stone Edge to take care of Salamence or Ho-Oh (assuming Gravity is not in effect). Protect is Protect. It keeps you safe if you need just one more turn to set up.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Dazzling Gleam
- Psychic
- Protect
This Xerneas set is fairly standard. It doesn't have any bulk at the moment. The only notable thing is in place of Moonblast or HP Ground, this Xerneas runs Psychic to deal with Crobat and also to deal neutral damage to Groudon, Ho-oh, and predicted Talonflame switch-ins.
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
As mentioned in teambuilding, Mawile is on the team to deal heavy hits to special walls. In addition, it helps mitigate Trick Room teams to a degree. Intimidate, while perhaps less useful that in the previous season, is always welcome. Play Rough and Iron Head deal STAB damage, and Knock Off hurts Cressalias and other Psychic types, as well as denies Sitrus berry users their recovery.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Landorus is meant to deal with Groudon. Earth Power hits hard, and with a potential Gravity, it will be difficult to avoid. Focus Blast also is aided by Gravity, and it deals with Kangaskhan and Ferrothorn nicely. HP Ice deals heavy damage to both opposing Landorus as well as Rayquaza and Togekiss. Life Orb helps deal enough damage to OHKO certain Groudon spreads, and allows Landorus to switch up moves.
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Tailwind
- Rest
- Scald
- Roar
Suicune sets up Tailwind in order to cancel out other Tailwind users; this helps protect Landorus and Xerneas, who aren't invested enough to go second in a match. Scald helps to mitigate physical damage, and Roar phazes out boosted Xerneas and Kangaskhan, as well as denies Trick Room. Rest gives Suicune recovery which could be useful when matched up against Talonflame or Kangaskhan, who take recoil from their moves. Suicune is specially invested in order to safely switch into Groudon or Kyogre alike, as well as deal with Salamence and the plethora of other specially-oriented Pokemon in the current meta.
I'm sure that there are weaknesses in this team (hence it is on this thread, to be critiqued). One potential weakness, for instance is to Amoonguss (after Groudon is gone). This is my first time posting to the Smogon forums, so any criticism or friendly advice is appreciated!
Thanks for taking the time to look at my team.