National Dex NatDex Monotype: Buggers

[TrueIssue]

After messing around with SV Monotype, I wanted to go back to National Dex Monotype for a while. My first thought was to go back to one of my top 5 mons, Buzzwole. So, I started looking at sets on the Smogon Dex and built a team that partners well with it. Overall, really happy with how consistent the team is, the few matches I've lost have never felt like because the team was lacking, moreso I made a misplay.

Buzzwole @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 200 HP / 20 Atk / 184 SpD / 104 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Thunder Punch
- Drain Punch

The whole reason I decided to go with bug, and my favorite Ultra Beast. This EV set gives it a surprising amount of bulk, honestly more than I would've thought of. Instead of going full HP and Attack, the spread leaves him at 220 Speed to set up unexpected quick Substitutes against targets like Infestation or bulky Toxic . Thunder Punch gives a nice way to break through Rain teams (if I manage to get a Bulk Up off, I no longer fear ) and Flying teams (assuming is taken care of). Drain Punch is nice to pair with Substitute and for longevity. A pretty solid wincon overall. Especially paired with Sticky Web, like from...

Araquanid @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Bubble
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 188 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Liquidation
- Sticky Web
- Magic Coat
- Mirror Coat

is a bulky Sticky Web setter that also eases the Fire matchup a bit. With the ability Water Bubble, Liquidation deals double damage, as well as preventing burns, which is a nice ease up into the Fire matchup. is usually my switch-in against to absorb status, since he can't be burned from Will-O-Wisp and is already slow, so Thunder Wave won't do much. Magic Coat lets it return damage from mons like and , which helps against scary special attackers. Magic Coat is a bit of a niche option, but it helps reflect back non-damaging moves, like if the enemy wants to set their own hazards or status. Especially when the opponent wants to set up Stealth Rock, and I decide not to lead...

Kleavor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Axe
- Night Slash
- Close Combat
- U-turn

is almost always a safe lead for me. With it , I can hit U-turn if the opponent leads something unfavorable, otherwise I click the Stone Axe button. Night Slash is a Sharpness boosted coverage option for Psychic and Ghost teams, while Close Combat is just a generic strong move that he happens to learn. As I write this, I am considering dropping Close Combat for a different move since I have for fighting coverage. Overall, a generic set, yet it remains effective. If the opponent gets hazards up against like in the mirror match where I lose the speed tie to other scarfed I usually switch immediately to...

Forretress @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Volt Switch

is the physical tank of the team, the counterpart to . I went with instead of or for one reason: punishing priority. would really only be effective on if it had another way to recover HP as well. As for , technically they could work as well, but since is already immune to Toxic Spikes, as well as neutral to Stealth Rock, I find it not as helpful here. sets its own Toxic Spikes when forcing a physical opponent to switch, or it can clear hazards with Rapid Spin. Gyro Ball hits a lot harder than I thought it would, even with no Atk investment. Then Volt Switch acts as a VERY slow pivot option. Clearing hazards, especially Stealth Rock, really helps out to protect...

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD/ 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Return
- Earthquake

The mega for the team is . Moxie lets it get a cheeky +1 before Mega Evolving on targets when it is too risky to set up a Swords Dance. Usually, it will Mega Evolve straight away though, which turns Quick Attack and Return into STAB because of Aerialate, as well as give them a small boost in damage. Since Rock, Electric, and Steel resist Flying, Earthquake is here as coverage for them. also almost trivializes the Fighting matchup (assuming I don't botch the match entirely). The priority in Quick Attack at +2 turns into a late game wincon if I can soften up a few bulky targets.

I'll be honest, I have no way to cleverly link this mon to , so here it is.

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Psychic

I mean, really: is pretty much a must-have for any Bug team. The quintessential Quiver Dance bug in the game, is the only special attacker on the team. Fire Blast over Fiery Dance for more immediate power, Giga Drain for sustainability, and Psychic for coverage. Honestly, there isn't much to say here that hasn't been said about , very much a wincon in its own right.

The two biggest problems I have with this team: 1. There's only one Bug move. U-turn. On . While it might not be as big of a deal, it's still just a weird concept, not having the main type as STAB for most of the team. As for problem 2: This team is almost all physical. Like I mentioned before, the only special attacker is . I've thought about maybe switching for or , but both are too frail for the team, and not to mention having to decide between and for them, which either leaves them weak to hazards or dead in one hit. I have no clue if anything would even be viable to switch, since like I said in the beginning: the team already feels good as it is, and losses are always my own fault. I just feel like it's mission that ONE thing to make it over the top. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

 

[Untrue_reality]

no 0/10

 

[Bobsican]

With the team having no proper way to immediately apply pressure to Poison-types (as in, without setting up first, more specifically when facing bulky switch-ins), which not only is a commonly viable mono team structure, but also with viable options that see use in several types such as Water (Toxapex), Psychic (Galarian Slowking), Ground (Clodsire), Grass (Mega Venusaur), Fire (Iron Moth), Fighting (Sneasler), and Dark (Alolan Muk), Toxic Spikes seems harder to justify than Spikes on Forretress for this team.

Bug teams not using STAB is normal, in fact it's common in Monotype metagames as a whole as relying heavily on STAB typically leads to the team becoming matchup fishy, given the inherent heavy role overlap can often be rather redundant for favorable matchups, or downright a waste of resources in matchups where they wouldn't be used and can't compensate with the utility they provide, especially if there's a type immune to it, for example while moves like U-turn and Knock Off will see use even when facing a mono team where all members resist them, wallbreaking-focused STABs like Thunderbolt in mono Electric aren't heavily used across their team members as Ground-types are fairly common in plenty of types, and the few that don't often don't need that much support as it'd be a somewhat favorable matchup in regular circumstances. With Bug being resisted by nearly half of the type chart, stuff outside of U-turn is hard to justify without a dedicated plan in mind, or a Tinted Lens user like Lokix.

The team mainly relying on physical attackers is a fair concern, but at the same time there aren't many viable options for mono Bug teams to mitigate this better, you could go with Galvantula over Araquanid to have better offensive pressure against physical walls while also easing the mono Flying matchup, but that'd involve more drastic changes to the team as it's leaning into the direction of offense over straight up hyper offense right now, sometimes some concessions have to be made, especially given that mono Bug is rather limited.

Therefore, the only suggestions I'd have for this team are to swap Night Slash on Kleavor with Knock Off, which will provide more utility by removing items as it forces switches, especially given the hazard stacking direction of the team it makes with Forretress, as well as replacing Toxic Spikes on Forretress with Spikes, which should provide more utility in general matchups, especially as Bug teams tend to lean offensively and won't make the most of damage built up across several turns, instead appreciating more the more immediate wallbreaking utility enabled by Spikes.

Here's the team with the proposed changes, I hope it helps you!