Melmetal / Kingambit Bulky Offense
Hi friends! I’m new to competitive singles and I’ve been having so much fun playing this format :) This is my first time building a team for singles and I tried really hard to make something viable. Here’s what I came up with!
The idea of this team is to leverage how Melmetal and Kingambit share most (maybe all?) of their checks. It uses wish-supported AV Melmetal to threaten opposing teams enough to force out its checks, thereby setting up a Kingambit endgame after those checks have been weakened or removed.
Personally, I think this team is very good and epic and that you will not find any flaws or weaknesses.
Melmetal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 72 HP / 184 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
Melmetal functions as a strong early game wallbreaker that feels almost guaranteed to either 1) break down enemy teams or 2) bait out the Pokemon that can stop Kingambit from sweeping. It hits hard and wish support from Alomomola makes it difficult to kill. I used the standard AV Melmetal set from Smogon to survive two focus blasts from Tapu Lele. I reinvested the Spe EVs into Atk, as I don’t feel the need to outspeed Toxapex when switching to Mega Latios is an option. I don't think I want to be risking a scald on Melmetal anyway.
Alomomola @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Def / 248 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flip Turn
- Toxic
- Wish
- Protect
Alomomola does typical Alomomola things. It’s a defensive pivot, healer, and in a pinch it can toxic stall a setup sweeper. Heavy duty boots are incredible, and the team is generally okay against hazards. It notably resists fire type attacks directed at Melmetal and Kingambit, as well as ice type attacks directed at Landorus-T and Mega Latios.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Landorus-T is a defensive pivot, defogger, and stealth rocker. I find the Melmetal + Alomomola + Landorus core to be really easy to use because of their defensive synergy and easy pivoting.
On paper, I think Great Tusk should be better than Landorus here–it has a better offensive presence (specifically against the dark types that trouble Mega Latios), better hazard control, and its weaker defensive typing is well supported by Melmetal’s resistances and Mega Latios already having a ground immunity.
But in practice, Landorus’ ability to pivot with intimidate makes it feel a lot easier to play difficult positions. I often find that I want to switch it in against the ground type attacks that target Melmetal so as not to endanger Mega Latios yet (especially when there are potential pursuit trappers), and Landorus-T always gets free value with Intimidate because ground type attackers are usually physical. I run a defensive EV spread because I don't need it to outspeed Great Tusk. It's possible that investing in SpD is more valuable.
Latios @ Latiosite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 20 Def / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Luster Purge
- Aura Sphere
- Mystical Fire
- Roost
Mega Latios isn’t super high on the viability rankings, but it's been probably the most valuable pokemon and has felt really easy to use. It functions as a wallbreaker and cleaner. It resists the fire, fighting, and ground type moves that hit Kingambit/Melmetal, as well as the electric and grass type moves that hit Alomomola and Urshifu-R. It can hit the field often, it's fast, it's bulky, it beats both Ferrothorn and Toxapex, it has coverage to 2HKO just about anything, and Luster Purge’s SpD drop can let it beat just about anything else.
I gave it 20 Def EVs to survive a Sucker Punch from some Pursuit Kingambit sets, allowing it to OHKO in return with Aura Sphere. Does it actually help? No. But,
Kingambit @ Black Glasses
Ability: Supreme Overlord
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Wave
Kingambit’s role is to protect Mega Latios from ghost types, find utility in the middle game, and clean up late game. It’s also important as a secondary speed control option in case Urshifu-R takes a Knock Off from something like Great Tusk.
I tried a couple different Kingambit sets and settled on kind of a weird one. First, I dropped Low Kick for Iron Head since Urshifu-R and Landorus-T can check opposing Kingambit. Since I’m not running Low Kick to beat other Kingambits, I reinvested the Spe EVs into bulk. This has no drawbacks. I am a Pokemon genius. Everyone agrees. Iron Head gives it something to do against Iron Valiant, but feels useless against other fairy types since I have Melmetal. I then settled on Thunder Wave instead, as it’s decent against Iron Valiant while also giving me some insurance against setup sweepers like Roaring Moon.
I found Pursuit to be valuable against the ghost types who can threaten Mega Latios, but I couldn’t justify its weaker power over Knock Off in 50/50 situations. If I can find better ways around Iron Valiant, I would love to replace Thunder Wave with Pursuit.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Surging Strikes
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Aqua Jet
Urshifu-R functions as speed control, an offensive pivot, and a check to the fire and ground types that threaten Melmetal and Kingambit, as well as to the dark and ice types who threaten Mega Latios and Landorus-T.
I would love to run Ice Spinner, but I think Aqua Jet is necessary to be able to chip or revenge kill Booster Energy Iron Valiant.
Weaknesses
Iron Valiant
I think this is the biggest hole on the team. Every time I see one, I have to scramble. Choice Specs Iron Valiant has a chance to OHKO Melmetal, the only thing that can stop it, and +2 physical Iron Valiant clears my whole team.Iron Valiant
Raging Bolt
Draco Meteor does huge damage to Landorus-T, OHKOing at +1 or with Choice Specs. My only other electric resist is Mega Latios, who also gets smoked by Draco Meteor. Melmetal is usually chipped by the time Raging Bolt hits the field, and it obliterates Alomomola, preventing me from healing Melmetal to get an Earthquake off. I hate this guy. And I hate his stupid neck.Stall
Every match I’ve won against a stall team feels like it was because the opposing player made a mistake. It could just be a skill issue on my end, but I'd love to add some stall breaking strategies to this team to ease the matchup.And probably a zillion other things too…
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