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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Project National Dex Teambuilding Competition - Permanent Hiatus
- Thread starter Solaros & Lunaris
- Start date
- Status
And the winner is NuttyRabbit yet again! Your team will be added to the Hall of Fame.
Cycle 19: Rillaboom
Since Grassy Glide was released, Rillaboom has been making waves, providing solid offensive utility in its revenge killing and U-turning, as well as defensive utility in the form of passive recovery and Earthquake-neutering for Pokemon like Heatran and Magearna. What can you do with the drum beating ape?
Submissions close on 8/15 at 11:59 PM GMT
Cycle 19: Rillaboom
Since Grassy Glide was released, Rillaboom has been making waves, providing solid offensive utility in its revenge killing and U-turning, as well as defensive utility in the form of passive recovery and Earthquake-neutering for Pokemon like Heatran and Magearna. What can you do with the drum beating ape?
Submissions close on 8/15 at 11:59 PM GMT
HO GRASSY ABUSER
A quite fun team, pretty much love it ^^
A quite fun team, pretty much love it ^^
This build was made around a quite fun set of Rillaboom, SD + Fightinium Z. The spread aloud you to outspeed Modest Offensive Heatran. With Fightinium Z, he can easily OHKO stuff like Ferrothorn or Tran. Without them, mag can completely destroy a lot of team. The spread was made to handle a Flare Blitz from Marowak A and to KO him after Stealth Rock, a Shift Gear and also after a CM.
I also decided to add an Acrobatic Zeraora with the Seed. He can beat stuff like Kommo-O, Corvi, Scizor Mega and also Rillaboom.
I decided to put Lycanroc Dusk as my Suicid Lead, since he can easily deal with stuff like Scarf Vish with Endeavor for example. He's also faster than Mew/Terrakion/Drill and prevent the SR.
Reuni is here to beat stuff like Pex, because he gave a bad time to our team now.
Finally Lucha act as a cleaner. Throat Chop help to beat Aegislash.
I also decided to add an Acrobatic Zeraora with the Seed. He can beat stuff like Kommo-O, Corvi, Scizor Mega and also Rillaboom.
I decided to put Lycanroc Dusk as my Suicid Lead, since he can easily deal with stuff like Scarf Vish with Endeavor for example. He's also faster than Mew/Terrakion/Drill and prevent the SR.
Reuni is here to beat stuff like Pex, because he gave a bad time to our team now.
Finally Lucha act as a cleaner. Throat Chop help to beat Aegislash.
NuttyRabbit
Banned deucer.
SD Rillaboom + NP Hydreigon BO
Click on the team above for the paste
Originally I was going to submit a revamped version of an old team for this, but as I did so, I realized that I was changing so much I might as well start from scratch and make something new. And thus, here we are, with a team that has a couple of small issues, but is overall really solid imo.
On the whole, despite the team's relative weakness to stuff like Pult and Kyurem, I think it's generally solid and helps to highlight what makes Rillaboom the threat that it is.
As always, shoutouts to the Natdex discord for help, especially Solaros & Lunaris and TheWeirdGastrodon for giving me solid feedback, and to Saladae and BluJay (Don't know ur Smogon name sorry) for helping me test!
Click on the team above for the paste
Originally I was going to submit a revamped version of an old team for this, but as I did so, I realized that I was changing so much I might as well start from scratch and make something new. And thus, here we are, with a team that has a couple of small issues, but is overall really solid imo.
The Rillaboom set I decided to build around is SD 3 Attacks LO, since it is just flat out Boomer's best set, turning it into a dangerous wallbreaker/late game cleaner with SD, Grassy Glide, and Superpower to cover Steels (Knock is my choice for the last slot for overall utility but U-turn and even High Horsepower are also great options). Life Orb with an Adamant nature ensures it hits as hard as it possibly can.
Following that, I decided to pair it with defensive rocks Heatran, a perfect partner for the Boomer thanks to its ability to not only cripple/elminate Boomer's natural counters, but also its ability to abuse Terrain to mitigate EQ damage and double its recovery, making what is already a top 5 defensive mon even harder to deal with.
After that is Slowbro, the team's bulky water and general pivot vs stuff like Lopunny and Gliscor. I've chosen to give it a Helmet since Terrain gives it the equivalent of lefties and it makes it far more punishing vs stuff like the aforementioned Lopunny, who is otherwise annoying for this team to beat. I originally had a Pex in this slot but ultimately felt like Slowbro just fit the role I needed it to have better
Next after that is Zapdos, the tier's best defogger and my main counterplay vs Kartana and Mega Scizor. Zapdos is one of my favorite Pokemon in the current metagame for its ability to exert pressure on so many builds both defensively and offensively, as well as keep stuff like the former two in check. I could go with the 252/180/76 spread to outspeed Heatran but I've gone with a tried and true spread in 252/240/20 to better stand up to physical attacks. I should note that another option to deal with stuff like Gliscor could be to put Defog on Mega Scizor and go HP Ice on Dos
Following that is my favorite Mega atm, Mega Scizor, who I've chosen not only to help round out the team's defensive core, further checking Kartana, Mega Lopunny, and Psychics but also to provide a solid win condition in its own right thanks to Swords Dance and Bullet Punch. The spread I've chosen prioritizes bulk over all else, befitting its role as a bulky wincon, and I've given it U-turn to reliably keep up momentum, though Knock Off is also a solid option if you wish to go with that. Mega Zor is just an incredibly reliable Pokemon that I feel fit the team's needs perfectly, providing a solid defensive pivot as well as a bulky win condition that can both help and take advantage of Rillaboom's wallbreaking capabilities
Finally, rounding out the team is Nasty Plot Hydreigon, which I consider to be one of the greatest win conditions in the current metagame, and rounding out the offensive core alongside Rillaboom and Zor. I've chosen to put Hydreigon on this team because it not only provides a secondary check to Heatran and Gliscor, but it can also readily abuse Rillaboom's checks and counters to set up on/blow past thanks to Nasty Plot+ D-pulse/Tectonic Rage. In turn, Rillaboom also clears out stuff like Clefable, Tapu Fini, and Blissey that would otherwise hamper its ability to sweep.
Following that, I decided to pair it with defensive rocks Heatran, a perfect partner for the Boomer thanks to its ability to not only cripple/elminate Boomer's natural counters, but also its ability to abuse Terrain to mitigate EQ damage and double its recovery, making what is already a top 5 defensive mon even harder to deal with.
After that is Slowbro, the team's bulky water and general pivot vs stuff like Lopunny and Gliscor. I've chosen to give it a Helmet since Terrain gives it the equivalent of lefties and it makes it far more punishing vs stuff like the aforementioned Lopunny, who is otherwise annoying for this team to beat. I originally had a Pex in this slot but ultimately felt like Slowbro just fit the role I needed it to have better
Next after that is Zapdos, the tier's best defogger and my main counterplay vs Kartana and Mega Scizor. Zapdos is one of my favorite Pokemon in the current metagame for its ability to exert pressure on so many builds both defensively and offensively, as well as keep stuff like the former two in check. I could go with the 252/180/76 spread to outspeed Heatran but I've gone with a tried and true spread in 252/240/20 to better stand up to physical attacks. I should note that another option to deal with stuff like Gliscor could be to put Defog on Mega Scizor and go HP Ice on Dos
Following that is my favorite Mega atm, Mega Scizor, who I've chosen not only to help round out the team's defensive core, further checking Kartana, Mega Lopunny, and Psychics but also to provide a solid win condition in its own right thanks to Swords Dance and Bullet Punch. The spread I've chosen prioritizes bulk over all else, befitting its role as a bulky wincon, and I've given it U-turn to reliably keep up momentum, though Knock Off is also a solid option if you wish to go with that. Mega Zor is just an incredibly reliable Pokemon that I feel fit the team's needs perfectly, providing a solid defensive pivot as well as a bulky win condition that can both help and take advantage of Rillaboom's wallbreaking capabilities
Finally, rounding out the team is Nasty Plot Hydreigon, which I consider to be one of the greatest win conditions in the current metagame, and rounding out the offensive core alongside Rillaboom and Zor. I've chosen to put Hydreigon on this team because it not only provides a secondary check to Heatran and Gliscor, but it can also readily abuse Rillaboom's checks and counters to set up on/blow past thanks to Nasty Plot+ D-pulse/Tectonic Rage. In turn, Rillaboom also clears out stuff like Clefable, Tapu Fini, and Blissey that would otherwise hamper its ability to sweep.
On the whole, despite the team's relative weakness to stuff like Pult and Kyurem, I think it's generally solid and helps to highlight what makes Rillaboom the threat that it is.
As always, shoutouts to the Natdex discord for help, especially Solaros & Lunaris and TheWeirdGastrodon for giving me solid feedback, and to Saladae and BluJay (Don't know ur Smogon name sorry) for helping me test!
Last edited:
fwg offense
This is my tried and true Hyper Offense - probably the best style and only style Rillaboom fits on nicely at the moment, but holy shit this mon has put in work every game I've used it. Landorus-Therian is used as the lead to help blow through potential problem Pokemon like Zapdos whilst still providing Stealth Rock on lead and potentially being an emergency check for random things like Dragonite on ladder. Dragapult is the standard Ghostium set - it cleans things, that is all you need to know. Rillaboom is the standard LO SD set, which helps the team with its LO boosted priority and potentially breaks past Zapdos for Scizor. However, Cinderace has a different tech - it is Lum Berry for Baneful Bunker Toxapex and other stray statuses from checks like Heatran. Whilst SR could be considered an issue, SR is difficult to set against this team due to the high levels of pressure it exerts immediately. Azumarill completes the FWG core, and is used here to provide some counterplay to certain dragons and Hydreigon. It doesn't often sweep but because of its bulk and typing it is still the best Water type to have on this team. Finally, Mega Scizor is used (initially as a check to Mega Metagross) to help deal with certain Psychic types like Tapu Lele or Alakazam that could prove problematic in certain scenarios. It is also capable of luring out Heatran and Toxapex for the other members of the party to help them clean up.
That’s the voting phase! Let’s look at the teams.
Team A by Ryuji-Sempai
Team B by NuttyRabbit
Team C by Chazm
Voting will end on 8/17 at 11:59 PM GMT
Team A by Ryuji-Sempai
This build was made around a quite fun set of Rillaboom, SD + Fightinium Z. The spread aloud you to outspeed Modest Offensive Heatran. With Fightinium Z, he can easily OHKO stuff like Ferrothorn or Tran. Without them, mag can completely destroy a lot of team. The spread was made to handle a Flare Blitz from Marowak A and to KO him after Stealth Rock, a Shift Gear and also after a CM.
I also decided to add an Acrobatic Zeraora with the Seed. He can beat stuff like Kommo-O, Corvi, Scizor Mega and also Rillaboom.
I decided to put Lycanroc Dusk as my Suicid Lead, since he can easily deal with stuff like Scarf Vish with Endeavor for example. He's also faster than Mew/Terrakion/Drill and prevent the SR.
Reuni is here to beat stuff like Pex, because he gave a bad time to our team now.
Finally Lucha act as a cleaner. Throat Chop help to beat Aegislash.
I also decided to add an Acrobatic Zeraora with the Seed. He can beat stuff like Kommo-O, Corvi, Scizor Mega and also Rillaboom.
I decided to put Lycanroc Dusk as my Suicid Lead, since he can easily deal with stuff like Scarf Vish with Endeavor for example. He's also faster than Mew/Terrakion/Drill and prevent the SR.
Reuni is here to beat stuff like Pex, because he gave a bad time to our team now.
Finally Lucha act as a cleaner. Throat Chop help to beat Aegislash.
Team B by NuttyRabbit
The Rillaboom set I decided to build around is SD 3 Attacks LO, since it is just flat out Boomer's best set, turning it into a dangerous wallbreaker/late game cleaner with SD, Grassy Glide, and Superpower to cover Steels (Knock is my choice for the last slot for overall utility but U-turn and even High Horsepower are also great options). Life Orb with an Adamant nature ensures it hits as hard as it possibly can.
Following that, I decided to pair it with defensive rocks Heatran, a perfect partner for the Boomer thanks to its ability to not only cripple/elminate Boomer's natural counters, but also its ability to abuse Terrain to mitigate EQ damage and double its recovery, making what is already a top 5 defensive mon even harder to deal with.
After that is Slowbro, the team's bulky water and general pivot vs stuff like Lopunny and Gliscor. I've chosen to give it a Helmet since Terrain gives it the equivalent of lefties and it makes it far more punishing vs stuff like the aforementioned Lopunny, who is otherwise annoying for this team to beat. I originally had a Pex in this slot but ultimately felt like Slowbro just fit the role I needed it to have better
Next after that is Zapdos, the tier's best defogger and my main counterplay vs Kartana and Mega Scizor. Zapdos is one of my favorite Pokemon in the current metagame for its ability to exert pressure on so many builds both defensively and offensively, as well as keep stuff like the former two in check. I could go with the 252/180/76 spread to outspeed Heatran but I've gone with a tried and true spread in 252/240/20 to better stand up to physical attacks. I should note that another option to deal with stuff like Gliscor could be to put Defog on Mega Scizor and go HP Ice on Dos
Following that is my favorite Mega atm, Mega Scizor, who I've chosen not only to help round out the team's defensive core, further checking Kartana, Mega Lopunny, and Psychics but also to provide a solid win condition in its own right thanks to Swords Dance and Bullet Punch. The spread I've chosen prioritizes bulk over all else, befitting its role as a bulky wincon, and I've given it U-turn to reliably keep up momentum, though Knock Off is also a solid option if you wish to go with that. Mega Zor is just an incredibly reliable Pokemon that I feel fit the team's needs perfectly, providing a solid defensive pivot as well as a bulky win condition that can both help and take advantage of Rillaboom's wallbreaking capabilities
Finally, rounding out the team is Nasty Plot Hydreigon, which I consider to be one of the greatest win conditions in the current metagame, and rounding out the offensive core alongside Rillaboom and Zor. I've chosen to put Hydreigon on this team because it not only provides a secondary check to Heatran and Gliscor, but it can also readily abuse Rillaboom's checks and counters to set up on/blow past thanks to Nasty Plot+ D-pulse/Tectonic Rage. In turn, Rillaboom also clears out stuff like Clefable, Tapu Fini, and Blissey that would otherwise hamper its ability to sweep.
Following that, I decided to pair it with defensive rocks Heatran, a perfect partner for the Boomer thanks to its ability to not only cripple/elminate Boomer's natural counters, but also its ability to abuse Terrain to mitigate EQ damage and double its recovery, making what is already a top 5 defensive mon even harder to deal with.
After that is Slowbro, the team's bulky water and general pivot vs stuff like Lopunny and Gliscor. I've chosen to give it a Helmet since Terrain gives it the equivalent of lefties and it makes it far more punishing vs stuff like the aforementioned Lopunny, who is otherwise annoying for this team to beat. I originally had a Pex in this slot but ultimately felt like Slowbro just fit the role I needed it to have better
Next after that is Zapdos, the tier's best defogger and my main counterplay vs Kartana and Mega Scizor. Zapdos is one of my favorite Pokemon in the current metagame for its ability to exert pressure on so many builds both defensively and offensively, as well as keep stuff like the former two in check. I could go with the 252/180/76 spread to outspeed Heatran but I've gone with a tried and true spread in 252/240/20 to better stand up to physical attacks. I should note that another option to deal with stuff like Gliscor could be to put Defog on Mega Scizor and go HP Ice on Dos
Following that is my favorite Mega atm, Mega Scizor, who I've chosen not only to help round out the team's defensive core, further checking Kartana, Mega Lopunny, and Psychics but also to provide a solid win condition in its own right thanks to Swords Dance and Bullet Punch. The spread I've chosen prioritizes bulk over all else, befitting its role as a bulky wincon, and I've given it U-turn to reliably keep up momentum, though Knock Off is also a solid option if you wish to go with that. Mega Zor is just an incredibly reliable Pokemon that I feel fit the team's needs perfectly, providing a solid defensive pivot as well as a bulky win condition that can both help and take advantage of Rillaboom's wallbreaking capabilities
Finally, rounding out the team is Nasty Plot Hydreigon, which I consider to be one of the greatest win conditions in the current metagame, and rounding out the offensive core alongside Rillaboom and Zor. I've chosen to put Hydreigon on this team because it not only provides a secondary check to Heatran and Gliscor, but it can also readily abuse Rillaboom's checks and counters to set up on/blow past thanks to Nasty Plot+ D-pulse/Tectonic Rage. In turn, Rillaboom also clears out stuff like Clefable, Tapu Fini, and Blissey that would otherwise hamper its ability to sweep.
Team C by Chazm
This is my tried and true Hyper Offense - probably the best style and only style Rillaboom fits on nicely at the moment, but holy shit this mon has put in work every game I've used it. Landorus-Therian is used as the lead to help blow through potential problem Pokemon like Zapdos whilst still providing Stealth Rock on lead and potentially being an emergency check for random things like Dragonite on ladder. Dragapult is the standard Ghostium set - it cleans things, that is all you need to know. Rillaboom is the standard LO SD set, which helps the team with its LO boosted priority and potentially breaks past Zapdos for Scizor. However, Cinderace has a different tech - it is Lum Berry for Baneful Bunker Toxapex and other stray statuses from checks like Heatran. Whilst SR could be considered an issue, SR is difficult to set against this team due to the high levels of pressure it exerts immediately. Azumarill completes the FWG core, and is used here to provide some counterplay to certain dragons and Hydreigon. It doesn't often sweep but because of its bulk and typing it is still the best Water type to have on this team. Finally, Mega Scizor is used (initially as a check to Mega Metagross) to help deal with certain Psychic types like Tapu Lele or Alakazam that could prove problematic in certain scenarios. It is also capable of luring out Heatran and Toxapex for the other members of the party to help them clean up.
Voting will end on 8/17 at 11:59 PM GMT
Avery
Banned deucer.
this
B>C>A
scorbunnys
Don't dream your life, but live your dream. #Bunny
A > any team
And the winner is NuttyRabbit! I will add your team to the Hall of Fame.
Cycle 20: (UU) Infernape
To celebrate a permanent ladder for National Dex UU, I thought I’d do a special cycle for a UU mon, and who better to pick than Sun Wukong! Infernape has established itself as a top-tier threat between its many sets, and even packs solid defensive utility in checking Scizor, Bisharp, and Weavile. What can you do with it?
Submissions end on 8/22 at 11:59 PM GMT
Cycle 20: (UU) Infernape
To celebrate a permanent ladder for National Dex UU, I thought I’d do a special cycle for a UU mon, and who better to pick than Sun Wukong! Infernape has established itself as a top-tier threat between its many sets, and even packs solid defensive utility in checking Scizor, Bisharp, and Weavile. What can you do with it?
Submissions end on 8/22 at 11:59 PM GMT
NP Infernape Balance
click on sprites for team
Overall I really like the team, and Infernape in general is a super fun 'mon to use in the current metagame!
click on sprites for team
Infernape is Nasty Plot triple STAB, as it's imo Infernape's best set at the moment. It's able to successfully late game sweep many teams after prior chip, as well as having the ability to properly mid game break or acting as a pretty good stallbreaker.
Krookodile was added because it offered really nice Pursuit support to trap Pokemon that hinder Infernape's sweeping capabilities such as Latias and Starmie. It also made sure my speed control is already there + having that nice Electric immune and extra Dark resist.
Mega Venusaur was then added as a way to handle most Water types (think Urshifu, Keldeo, Primarina) which at this point really annoyed Infernape + Krookodile, as well as dealing with most Fairy types in the tier bar like Togekiss and Mega Gardevoir. As always a really nice glue. The speed is for Jolly Conkeldurr.
Rotom-Wash was then added because I was looking for a Ground resist while wanting to remove hazards. Rotom-Wash is imo the best Defogger in the tier considering the phenomenal matchup it has against nearly every rocker in the tier (bar Seismitoad) and was a great addition to the team. It also made sure I have another nice Water resist in the back, as well as finally a Fire resist. It also lures in Latias, meaning I get to potentially catch it with a Volt Switch, go into Krook, trap it, and then give Infernape a way easier time breaking/sweeping. The speed is for 252 Ada Bulu.
Skarmory was added because I wanted a secondary Scizor check, as well as the fact that it gave me Spikes and generally a really nice wall against most physical attackers in the tier.
Slowking was added in the last slot considering I desperately needed my own Infernape check, as well as something that could at least pivot into Mega Gardevoir (which is a broken as fuck Pokemon btw). It also has Teleport so it can kind of form a VoltPort combo with WashTom. The spread allows you to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice.
Krookodile was added because it offered really nice Pursuit support to trap Pokemon that hinder Infernape's sweeping capabilities such as Latias and Starmie. It also made sure my speed control is already there + having that nice Electric immune and extra Dark resist.
Mega Venusaur was then added as a way to handle most Water types (think Urshifu, Keldeo, Primarina) which at this point really annoyed Infernape + Krookodile, as well as dealing with most Fairy types in the tier bar like Togekiss and Mega Gardevoir. As always a really nice glue. The speed is for Jolly Conkeldurr.
Rotom-Wash was then added because I was looking for a Ground resist while wanting to remove hazards. Rotom-Wash is imo the best Defogger in the tier considering the phenomenal matchup it has against nearly every rocker in the tier (bar Seismitoad) and was a great addition to the team. It also made sure I have another nice Water resist in the back, as well as finally a Fire resist. It also lures in Latias, meaning I get to potentially catch it with a Volt Switch, go into Krook, trap it, and then give Infernape a way easier time breaking/sweeping. The speed is for 252 Ada Bulu.
Skarmory was added because I wanted a secondary Scizor check, as well as the fact that it gave me Spikes and generally a really nice wall against most physical attackers in the tier.
Slowking was added in the last slot considering I desperately needed my own Infernape check, as well as something that could at least pivot into Mega Gardevoir (which is a broken as fuck Pokemon btw). It also has Teleport so it can kind of form a VoltPort combo with WashTom. The spread allows you to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice.
Overall I really like the team, and Infernape in general is a super fun 'mon to use in the current metagame!
Lum Zeraora + Scarf Nape Spikes Offense
For this build around Nape, I decided to use a Choice Scarf set. Pretty self explanatory.
I decided to build a Spikes Offense with that, since Spikes are incredibly useful to weaken some stuff like Alomomola for example. So, I add the best Spikes user, AKA Skarmory. I use Shed Shell over the RH, but you can use RH. Since I needed something to check Z-Dragonium Zolt and also Urshifu Water, I add Altaria Mega. The repart was made to outspeed Zolt Ada and to handle 3 Bolt Beak. I also needed a spinner, since I don't want to defog, so Starmie came.
Then I was thinking of a way to lure Amoonguss and Mega Venu, and I choose to use BU Lum Zeraora. After a layer of spike, he get a OHKO at +2.
Finally I needed a solid Wallbreaker to destroy fat build, and also a Spin Blocker, so Hoopa came. Sub aloud him to use Blissey as a setup fooder and destroy any stall.
I decided to build a Spikes Offense with that, since Spikes are incredibly useful to weaken some stuff like Alomomola for example. So, I add the best Spikes user, AKA Skarmory. I use Shed Shell over the RH, but you can use RH. Since I needed something to check Z-Dragonium Zolt and also Urshifu Water, I add Altaria Mega. The repart was made to outspeed Zolt Ada and to handle 3 Bolt Beak. I also needed a spinner, since I don't want to defog, so Starmie came.
Then I was thinking of a way to lure Amoonguss and Mega Venu, and I choose to use BU Lum Zeraora. After a layer of spike, he get a OHKO at +2.
Finally I needed a solid Wallbreaker to destroy fat build, and also a Spin Blocker, so Hoopa came. Sub aloud him to use Blissey as a setup fooder and destroy any stall.
(click sprites for link)
Got a team with a comparatively rarer Infernape set to spice things up a little.
This team was built around Mega Gardevoir + Weavile, the latter of which trapping Jirachi, the biggest obstacle for Mega Gardevoir just obliterating everything slower than it, while also helping to chip Blissey with Pursuit to put it in range of two Psyshocks or a Focus Blast + Psyshock as it comes in. Focus Blast was chosen as Weavile is good enough to put Blissey in Psyshock range. From there Mega Gardevoir destroys many stall teams on it's own, even without a utillity move in the 4th slot. Focus also hits rising defensive checks, such as Mega Steelix and Empoleon, the former of which being problematic for Weavile. Weavile's Knock can also take away the scarf of any Urshifus bold enough to switch in on it, making it a complete non issue for this team, and is one of the toughest moves in the meta to switch into right now.
Amoonguss was added as it is the best answer to Urshifu in the tier (the scarf set in particular, which wrecks the core and honestly most of the rest of this team RIP), punishing its Surging Strikes with Rocky Helmet, taking next to nothing from everything bar banded Zen Headbutt (which you live anyways), and healing off chip with Regenerator. Notably, Regenerator completely negates any chip U-turn from Urshifu accumulates. It also blocks Celesteela's Leech Seed, hindering it's recovery greatly and making it much easier to wear down for Mega Gardevoir's Mystical Fire. I rarely found myself clicking Synthesis so I ditched it in favour of Giga Drain to better deal with Mega Gyarados between it and Clear Smog.
And now, for the subject of this cycle, Infernape. SD and NP are terrifying breakers, sure, but people often forget that Infernape has a sizeable amount of defensive utillity with defensive sets, being able to set rocks while checking Weavile, Bisharp, and Scizor among other things, and more consistently than Cobalion due to having recovery in the form of Slack Off. The set outspeeds Heattom, set rocks vs it, then U-turn as it Defogs into Mega Gardevoir, allowing it to chunk something. Fire Punch is chosen to reliably OHKO Weavile if something else knocks off Infernape's helmet, which is important because Weavile blows chunks in the team otherwise. Rocky Helmet allows it to freely switch in on Celesteela's Heavy Slam and Jirachi's Iron Head and chip them down for Mega Gardevoir. Infernape also checks the two with Fire Punch and can set rocks as they switch out, further chipping away at the two.
Blissey pairs exceptionally well with Amoonguss, dealing with most of the special attackers that break Amoonguss and having many of it's breakers checked by Amoonguss, forming a core that checks a huge portion of the meta. Blissey on its own is typically not sufficient Mega Gardevoir counterplay for the long term, but in this case it can Teleport into Weavile, which can trap MGarde, OHKOing with Pursuit if it switches out. Finally, Rotom-Heat is the team's defogger, ground immune, and secondary Scizor check. Weavile's Ice Shard is enough to check Salamence so there is no need to run Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp, and Mega Gardevoir + Weavile is all the wallbreaking you will ever need so Nasty Plot isn't that necessary, and as a result Pain Split was the best option, allowing it to check mons more consistently and significantly weaken any Blissey that try to come in on it to help Mega Gardevoir.
The team can struggle vs opposing boosting Infernape but the team's own Infernape can sort of check it with Helmet chip and bulk, spamming Slack off to put it in range of Weavile's Icicle Crash. That being said SD Mach kinda cleans house vs this team so make absolutely sure you don't let it set up for free. If need be you can suicide with Amoonguss to obliterate it's health with a combination of Rocky Helmet + Flare Blitz recoil, but I don't recommend it if their Urshifu is still alive. Fortunately, many boosting Infernape are ditching Mach for U-turn or Gunk Shot due to Latias and Mega Altaria, so it isn't necessarily GG if it shows up. Aside from that, this team is pretty solid from my experience, and Infernape is a bad matchup for Balance teams to begin with.
Amoonguss was added as it is the best answer to Urshifu in the tier (the scarf set in particular, which wrecks the core and honestly most of the rest of this team RIP), punishing its Surging Strikes with Rocky Helmet, taking next to nothing from everything bar banded Zen Headbutt (which you live anyways), and healing off chip with Regenerator. Notably, Regenerator completely negates any chip U-turn from Urshifu accumulates. It also blocks Celesteela's Leech Seed, hindering it's recovery greatly and making it much easier to wear down for Mega Gardevoir's Mystical Fire. I rarely found myself clicking Synthesis so I ditched it in favour of Giga Drain to better deal with Mega Gyarados between it and Clear Smog.
And now, for the subject of this cycle, Infernape. SD and NP are terrifying breakers, sure, but people often forget that Infernape has a sizeable amount of defensive utillity with defensive sets, being able to set rocks while checking Weavile, Bisharp, and Scizor among other things, and more consistently than Cobalion due to having recovery in the form of Slack Off. The set outspeeds Heattom, set rocks vs it, then U-turn as it Defogs into Mega Gardevoir, allowing it to chunk something. Fire Punch is chosen to reliably OHKO Weavile if something else knocks off Infernape's helmet, which is important because Weavile blows chunks in the team otherwise. Rocky Helmet allows it to freely switch in on Celesteela's Heavy Slam and Jirachi's Iron Head and chip them down for Mega Gardevoir. Infernape also checks the two with Fire Punch and can set rocks as they switch out, further chipping away at the two.
Blissey pairs exceptionally well with Amoonguss, dealing with most of the special attackers that break Amoonguss and having many of it's breakers checked by Amoonguss, forming a core that checks a huge portion of the meta. Blissey on its own is typically not sufficient Mega Gardevoir counterplay for the long term, but in this case it can Teleport into Weavile, which can trap MGarde, OHKOing with Pursuit if it switches out. Finally, Rotom-Heat is the team's defogger, ground immune, and secondary Scizor check. Weavile's Ice Shard is enough to check Salamence so there is no need to run Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp, and Mega Gardevoir + Weavile is all the wallbreaking you will ever need so Nasty Plot isn't that necessary, and as a result Pain Split was the best option, allowing it to check mons more consistently and significantly weaken any Blissey that try to come in on it to help Mega Gardevoir.
The team can struggle vs opposing boosting Infernape but the team's own Infernape can sort of check it with Helmet chip and bulk, spamming Slack off to put it in range of Weavile's Icicle Crash. That being said SD Mach kinda cleans house vs this team so make absolutely sure you don't let it set up for free. If need be you can suicide with Amoonguss to obliterate it's health with a combination of Rocky Helmet + Flare Blitz recoil, but I don't recommend it if their Urshifu is still alive. Fortunately, many boosting Infernape are ditching Mach for U-turn or Gunk Shot due to Latias and Mega Altaria, so it isn't necessarily GG if it shows up. Aside from that, this team is pretty solid from my experience, and Infernape is a bad matchup for Balance teams to begin with.
I strongly recommend more people use Infernape, because my lord boosting sets excel in the current meta at just shredding common balance. Latias isn't even that big a deal for it from personal experience as most teams should be prepped for it anyways, and Spdef Jirachi and pursuit trappers are better than ever, the former of which completely walls Latias and the latter straight up remove it.
Oh yeah and shoutouts to N_Mareanie for helping me with the team
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Very Epic Band Infernape + M-Sceptile Spikes Balance
This team was based around the core Band Infernape + Mega Sceptile. The core is fairly simple, Infernape clicks buttons and gets rid of steel types such as Jirachi, Scizor and Steela while also pressuring the many grass types that give Sceptile issues such as Venusaur, Amoonguss and Bulu. Not to mention it can chip weakened scarfers and naturally fast mons (Aerodactyl, Weavile and Scarf Krook) with Mach Punch to help lessen the stess on Sceptile. I want to note that Mega Altaria is a VERY big issue for this team, so running Gunk Shot over Mach Punch on Infernape is very helpful to get rid of defensive Malt. Sceptile on the other hand is capable of getting rid of the many bulky water types (Jellicent, Swampert, etc) that would give Infernape some trouble, while threatening dragon types such as Latias. Synthesis is used for a good source of instant recovery and allows Sceptile to pivot into weak water types like Rotom Wash multiple times a match fairly easily.
Skarmory was my next to go option for this team. I wanted spikes to help Infernape and Sceptile claim some kills that would normally be quite annoying. An example would be that having 2 layers of spikes allows Infernape to have a fairly high chance of 2hkoing Hippowdon with flare blitz. Skarmory was also the next option because the team has issues vs +1 Salamence and Gyarados, Urshifu and Infernape. Iron Head is chosen over Brave Bird in the last slot to guarantee spikes vs Diancie due to threatening it.
Slowking is needed because the team was down bad for a Gardevoir switch in and this specific spread allows Slowking to be 3hko'd by Gardevoir's Hyper Voice. Not to mention i needed an actual water resist cause Keldeo became a fairly big issue. Slowking was also chosen because of Teleport + Future Sight. Teleport allows Slowking to not be a complete momentum drain for the team, while keeping up the momentum for the volturn teammates. Future Sight was the main selling point though, this allows Slowking to put on insane amounts of pressure vs the opponent in combination with Band Infernape and Urshifu. It allows Urshifu and Infernape to put even more pressure on common switch ins like Amoonguss and Hippowdon due to Future Sight chunking them pretty hard.
Rotom-Heat was chosen because i wanted a seconary Scizor check, another ground immune and wanted another fire resist while having a defogger. It has a fairly good match up vs a lot of hazards setters in the tier while also being a good volturn teammate for Infernape and Urshifu. It threatens Amoonguss and Venusaur for Sceptile and Urshifu. I slapped thunder wave on Rotom because it lures in Latias and cripples it badly and lets the teammates take advantage of it being slowed down.
Now look at Weavile and somewhat Bisharp and look at my team. Ain't looking too hot is it. Well here is Waterbear, who is able to switch into Bisharp/Weavile quite comfortably while being an insane offensive threat and u-turn. It also gives the team some much needed speed control vs Aerodactyl. Not to mention it's a fairly solid rock resist.
Skarmory was my next to go option for this team. I wanted spikes to help Infernape and Sceptile claim some kills that would normally be quite annoying. An example would be that having 2 layers of spikes allows Infernape to have a fairly high chance of 2hkoing Hippowdon with flare blitz. Skarmory was also the next option because the team has issues vs +1 Salamence and Gyarados, Urshifu and Infernape. Iron Head is chosen over Brave Bird in the last slot to guarantee spikes vs Diancie due to threatening it.
Slowking is needed because the team was down bad for a Gardevoir switch in and this specific spread allows Slowking to be 3hko'd by Gardevoir's Hyper Voice. Not to mention i needed an actual water resist cause Keldeo became a fairly big issue. Slowking was also chosen because of Teleport + Future Sight. Teleport allows Slowking to not be a complete momentum drain for the team, while keeping up the momentum for the volturn teammates. Future Sight was the main selling point though, this allows Slowking to put on insane amounts of pressure vs the opponent in combination with Band Infernape and Urshifu. It allows Urshifu and Infernape to put even more pressure on common switch ins like Amoonguss and Hippowdon due to Future Sight chunking them pretty hard.
Rotom-Heat was chosen because i wanted a seconary Scizor check, another ground immune and wanted another fire resist while having a defogger. It has a fairly good match up vs a lot of hazards setters in the tier while also being a good volturn teammate for Infernape and Urshifu. It threatens Amoonguss and Venusaur for Sceptile and Urshifu. I slapped thunder wave on Rotom because it lures in Latias and cripples it badly and lets the teammates take advantage of it being slowed down.
Now look at Weavile and somewhat Bisharp and look at my team. Ain't looking too hot is it. Well here is Waterbear, who is able to switch into Bisharp/Weavile quite comfortably while being an insane offensive threat and u-turn. It also gives the team some much needed speed control vs Aerodactyl. Not to mention it's a fairly solid rock resist.
Avery
Banned deucer.
Specs Ape VoltTurn by Young Thug
paste above
paste above
So I went with specs Ape in order to body Venusaur, since most are a bit more physically defensive than specially defensive. Infernape also smashes Celesteela and Amoonguss for the next member, Steelix. Steelix only makes sense as the second member because its one of the few Gardevoir checks that isn't Jirachi, and Jirachi wouldnt really fit on this team. Steelix also beats up on Altaria/Diancie/Latias + Magneton cores, something Jirachi can't do. Rotom-W checks opposing Infernape as well as the dragon dancers Salamence and Gyarados. Amoonguss acts as a way to discourage Urshifu from clicking its STAB moves, as well as checking any non-Z Hyper Beam Keldeo. Latias is my scarfer to give me some security against opposing Krookodile and Urshifu, as they are destroyed by Draco Meteor. I also really like scarf trick recover in order to maintain longevity while crippling would be checks like Blissey. Lastly, I chose Scizor to give me a bulky wincon that doesn't care for Venusaur as well as another means of pivoting around, since now I pretty much have VoltTurn. Thanks for reading, comments/suggestions are appreciated.
-Sevelon (since some ppl didn't know)
-Sevelon (since some ppl didn't know)
Swords Dance Infernape+Krook Bulky Offense
In the effort to use a unique Ape set to the rest of these teams I tried to build around Swords Dance Ape. Krookodile is used as a dual rocker and pursuit trapper to slowly wear things down, as well as trapping some Latias sets, which can prove irritating for this Infernape. Celesteela can also help in the anti Latias effort with good scouting, and is a generally good wall that also checks Mgarde, who would otherwise cause this team serious headaches. Mega Venusaur checks a lot, most notably Urshifu. Starmie and Latias team up in order to weaken Mvenu a bit for Infernape to take advantage of, with Starmie acting as an offensive spinner and Latias providing speed control and healing with support, mostly to heal up Celesteela.
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Lame team name is lame but I found it funny in the moment.
Lame team name is lame but I found it funny in the moment.
Decided to build a team around Firium NP Nape - something I haven't really done before. Due to the inherent Latias weakness this wallbreaker has, I felt it was mandatory to pair it with a good Pursuit user in Weavile. This formed the main offensive core and to support it I figured I'd go around the bulky offense route and stuck Stealth Rock + Defog into the two most compressed slots I could think of - Mega Aggron and Rotom-W. Latias benefits from Weavile's presence and provides a crucial pivot for Mega Venusaur, whilst Urshifu-RS finishes off the team and gives it better matchups against things that can trouble it like Power Whip Gyarados.
Threatlist
Latias: The lone Latias check here is Mega Aggron, which really doesn't like a +1 Thunder. The rest of the team aside from Weavile also gives it a few good chances to get in, so the best chance of winning against a Latias is to outplay them and Pursuit it before they can KO the Aggron.
Breloom: Most of the team is faster but there's no hard resist to it on this team.
Threatlist
Latias: The lone Latias check here is Mega Aggron, which really doesn't like a +1 Thunder. The rest of the team aside from Weavile also gives it a few good chances to get in, so the best chance of winning against a Latias is to outplay them and Pursuit it before they can KO the Aggron. Breloom: Most of the team is faster but there's no hard resist to it on this team.
Voting has commenced! The teams are.....
Team A by N_Mareanie
Team B by Ryuji-Sempai
Team C by Niadev
Team D by !!11!1!!
Team E by sweet heat
Team F by SputnikGT
Team G by Chazm
Voting will end on 8/24 at 11:59 PM GMT
Team A by N_Mareanie
Infernape is Nasty Plot triple STAB, as it's imo Infernape's best set at the moment. It's able to successfully late game sweep many teams after prior chip, as well as having the ability to properly mid game break or acting as a pretty good stallbreaker.
Krookodile was added because it offered really nice Pursuit support to trap Pokemon that hinder Infernape's sweeping capabilities such as Latias and Starmie. It also made sure my speed control is already there + having that nice Electric immune and extra Dark resist.
Mega Venusaur was then added as a way to handle most Water types (think Urshifu, Keldeo, Primarina) which at this point really annoyed Infernape + Krookodile, as well as dealing with most Fairy types in the tier bar like Togekiss and Mega Gardevoir. As always a really nice glue. The speed is for Jolly Conkeldurr.
Rotom-Wash was then added because I was looking for a Ground resist while wanting to remove hazards. Rotom-Wash is imo the best Defogger in the tier considering the phenomenal matchup it has against nearly every rocker in the tier (bar Seismitoad) and was a great addition to the team. It also made sure I have another nice Water resist in the back, as well as finally a Fire resist. It also lures in Latias, meaning I get to potentially catch it with a Volt Switch, go into Krook, trap it, and then give Infernape a way easier time breaking/sweeping. The speed is for 252 Ada Bulu.
Skarmory was added because I wanted a secondary Scizor check, as well as the fact that it gave me Spikes and generally a really nice wall against most physical attackers in the tier.
Slowking was added in the last slot considering I desperately needed my own Infernape check, as well as something that could at least pivot into Mega Gardevoir (which is a broken as fuck Pokemon btw). It also has Teleport so it can kind of form a VoltPort combo with WashTom. The spread allows you to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice.
Overall I really like the team, and Infernape in general is a super fun 'mon to use in the current metagame!
Krookodile was added because it offered really nice Pursuit support to trap Pokemon that hinder Infernape's sweeping capabilities such as Latias and Starmie. It also made sure my speed control is already there + having that nice Electric immune and extra Dark resist.
Mega Venusaur was then added as a way to handle most Water types (think Urshifu, Keldeo, Primarina) which at this point really annoyed Infernape + Krookodile, as well as dealing with most Fairy types in the tier bar like Togekiss and Mega Gardevoir. As always a really nice glue. The speed is for Jolly Conkeldurr.
Rotom-Wash was then added because I was looking for a Ground resist while wanting to remove hazards. Rotom-Wash is imo the best Defogger in the tier considering the phenomenal matchup it has against nearly every rocker in the tier (bar Seismitoad) and was a great addition to the team. It also made sure I have another nice Water resist in the back, as well as finally a Fire resist. It also lures in Latias, meaning I get to potentially catch it with a Volt Switch, go into Krook, trap it, and then give Infernape a way easier time breaking/sweeping. The speed is for 252 Ada Bulu.
Skarmory was added because I wanted a secondary Scizor check, as well as the fact that it gave me Spikes and generally a really nice wall against most physical attackers in the tier.
Slowking was added in the last slot considering I desperately needed my own Infernape check, as well as something that could at least pivot into Mega Gardevoir (which is a broken as fuck Pokemon btw). It also has Teleport so it can kind of form a VoltPort combo with WashTom. The spread allows you to avoid the 2HKO from Mega Gardevoir Hyper Voice.
Overall I really like the team, and Infernape in general is a super fun 'mon to use in the current metagame!
Team B by Ryuji-Sempai
For this build around Nape, I decided to use a Choice Scarf set. Pretty self explanatory.
I decided to build a Spikes Offense with that, since Spikes are incredibly useful to weaken some stuff like Alomomola for example. So, I add the best Spikes user, AKA Skarmory. I use Shed Shell over the RH, but you can use RH. Since I needed something to check Z-Dragonium Zolt and also Urshifu Water, I add Altaria Mega. The repart was made to outspeed Zolt Ada and to handle 3 Bolt Beak. I also needed a spinner, since I don't want to defog, so Starmie came.
Then I was thinking of a way to lure Amoonguss and Mega Venu, and I choose to use BU Lum Zeraora. After a layer of spike, he get a OHKO at +2.
Finally I needed a solid Wallbreaker to destroy fat build, and also a Spin Blocker, so Hoopa came. Sub aloud him to use Blissey as a setup fooder and destroy any stall.
I decided to build a Spikes Offense with that, since Spikes are incredibly useful to weaken some stuff like Alomomola for example. So, I add the best Spikes user, AKA Skarmory. I use Shed Shell over the RH, but you can use RH. Since I needed something to check Z-Dragonium Zolt and also Urshifu Water, I add Altaria Mega. The repart was made to outspeed Zolt Ada and to handle 3 Bolt Beak. I also needed a spinner, since I don't want to defog, so Starmie came.
Then I was thinking of a way to lure Amoonguss and Mega Venu, and I choose to use BU Lum Zeraora. After a layer of spike, he get a OHKO at +2.
Finally I needed a solid Wallbreaker to destroy fat build, and also a Spin Blocker, so Hoopa came. Sub aloud him to use Blissey as a setup fooder and destroy any stall.
Team C by Niadev
This team was built around Mega Gardevoir + Weavile, the latter of which trapping Jirachi, the biggest obstacle for Mega Gardevoir just obliterating everything slower than it, while also helping to chip Blissey with Pursuit to put it in range of two Psyshocks or a Focus Blast + Psyshock as it comes in. Focus Blast was chosen as Weavile is good enough to put Blissey in Psyshock range. From there Mega Gardevoir destroys many stall teams on it's own, even without a utillity move in the 4th slot. Focus also hits rising defensive checks, such as Mega Steelix and Empoleon, the former of which being problematic for Weavile. Weavile's Knock can also take away the scarf of any Urshifus bold enough to switch in on it, making it a complete non issue for this team, and is one of the toughest moves in the meta to switch into right now.
Amoonguss was added as it is the best answer to Urshifu in the tier (the scarf set in particular, which wrecks the core and honestly most of the rest of this team RIP), punishing its Surging Strikes with Rocky Helmet, taking next to nothing from everything bar banded Zen Headbutt (which you live anyways), and healing off chip with Regenerator. Notably, Regenerator completely negates any chip U-turn from Urshifu accumulates. It also blocks Celesteela's Leech Seed, hindering it's recovery greatly and making it much easier to wear down for Mega Gardevoir's Mystical Fire. I rarely found myself clicking Synthesis so I ditched it in favour of Giga Drain to better deal with Mega Gyarados between it and Clear Smog.
And now, for the subject of this cycle, Infernape. SD and NP are terrifying breakers, sure, but people often forget that Infernape has a sizeable amount of defensive utillity with defensive sets, being able to set rocks while checking Weavile, Bisharp, and Scizor among other things, and more consistently than Cobalion due to having recovery in the form of Slack Off. The set outspeeds Heattom, set rocks vs it, then U-turn as it Defogs into Mega Gardevoir, allowing it to chunk something. Fire Punch is chosen to reliably OHKO Weavile if something else knocks off Infernape's helmet, which is important because Weavile blows chunks in the team otherwise. Rocky Helmet allows it to freely switch in on Celesteela's Heavy Slam and Jirachi's Iron Head and chip them down for Mega Gardevoir. Infernape also checks the two with Fire Punch and can set rocks as they switch out, further chipping away at the two.
Blissey pairs exceptionally well with Amoonguss, dealing with most of the special attackers that break Amoonguss and having many of it's breakers checked by Amoonguss, forming a core that checks a huge portion of the meta. Blissey on its own is typically not sufficient Mega Gardevoir counterplay for the long term, but in this case it can Teleport into Weavile, which can trap MGarde, OHKOing with Pursuit if it switches out. Finally, Rotom-Heat is the team's defogger, ground immune, and secondary Scizor check. Weavile's Ice Shard is enough to check Salamence so there is no need to run Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp, and Mega Gardevoir + Weavile is all the wallbreaking you will ever need so Nasty Plot isn't that necessary, and as a result Pain Split was the best option, allowing it to check mons more consistently and significantly weaken any Blissey that try to come in on it to help Mega Gardevoir.
The team can struggle vs opposing boosting Infernape but the team's own Infernape can sort of check it with Helmet chip and bulk, spamming Slack off to put it in range of Weavile's Icicle Crash. That being said SD Mach kinda cleans house vs this team so make absolutely sure you don't let it set up for free. If need be you can suicide with Amoonguss to obliterate it's health with a combination of Rocky Helmet + Flare Blitz recoil, but I don't recommend it if their Urshifu is still alive. Fortunately, many boosting Infernape are ditching Mach for U-turn or Gunk Shot due to Latias and Mega Altaria, so it isn't necessarily GG if it shows up. Aside from that, this team is pretty solid from my experience, and Infernape is a bad matchup for Balance teams to begin with.
Amoonguss was added as it is the best answer to Urshifu in the tier (the scarf set in particular, which wrecks the core and honestly most of the rest of this team RIP), punishing its Surging Strikes with Rocky Helmet, taking next to nothing from everything bar banded Zen Headbutt (which you live anyways), and healing off chip with Regenerator. Notably, Regenerator completely negates any chip U-turn from Urshifu accumulates. It also blocks Celesteela's Leech Seed, hindering it's recovery greatly and making it much easier to wear down for Mega Gardevoir's Mystical Fire. I rarely found myself clicking Synthesis so I ditched it in favour of Giga Drain to better deal with Mega Gyarados between it and Clear Smog.
And now, for the subject of this cycle, Infernape. SD and NP are terrifying breakers, sure, but people often forget that Infernape has a sizeable amount of defensive utillity with defensive sets, being able to set rocks while checking Weavile, Bisharp, and Scizor among other things, and more consistently than Cobalion due to having recovery in the form of Slack Off. The set outspeeds Heattom, set rocks vs it, then U-turn as it Defogs into Mega Gardevoir, allowing it to chunk something. Fire Punch is chosen to reliably OHKO Weavile if something else knocks off Infernape's helmet, which is important because Weavile blows chunks in the team otherwise. Rocky Helmet allows it to freely switch in on Celesteela's Heavy Slam and Jirachi's Iron Head and chip them down for Mega Gardevoir. Infernape also checks the two with Fire Punch and can set rocks as they switch out, further chipping away at the two.
Blissey pairs exceptionally well with Amoonguss, dealing with most of the special attackers that break Amoonguss and having many of it's breakers checked by Amoonguss, forming a core that checks a huge portion of the meta. Blissey on its own is typically not sufficient Mega Gardevoir counterplay for the long term, but in this case it can Teleport into Weavile, which can trap MGarde, OHKOing with Pursuit if it switches out. Finally, Rotom-Heat is the team's defogger, ground immune, and secondary Scizor check. Weavile's Ice Shard is enough to check Salamence so there is no need to run Thunder Wave or Will-o-Wisp, and Mega Gardevoir + Weavile is all the wallbreaking you will ever need so Nasty Plot isn't that necessary, and as a result Pain Split was the best option, allowing it to check mons more consistently and significantly weaken any Blissey that try to come in on it to help Mega Gardevoir.
The team can struggle vs opposing boosting Infernape but the team's own Infernape can sort of check it with Helmet chip and bulk, spamming Slack off to put it in range of Weavile's Icicle Crash. That being said SD Mach kinda cleans house vs this team so make absolutely sure you don't let it set up for free. If need be you can suicide with Amoonguss to obliterate it's health with a combination of Rocky Helmet + Flare Blitz recoil, but I don't recommend it if their Urshifu is still alive. Fortunately, many boosting Infernape are ditching Mach for U-turn or Gunk Shot due to Latias and Mega Altaria, so it isn't necessarily GG if it shows up. Aside from that, this team is pretty solid from my experience, and Infernape is a bad matchup for Balance teams to begin with.
Team D by !!11!1!!
This team was based around the core Band Infernape + Mega Sceptile. The core is fairly simple, Infernape clicks buttons and gets rid of steel types such as Jirachi, Scizor and Steela while also pressuring the many grass types that give Sceptile issues such as Venusaur, Amoonguss and Bulu. Not to mention it can chip weakened scarfers and naturally fast mons (Aerodactyl, Weavile and Scarf Krook) with Mach Punch to help lessen the stess on Sceptile. I want to note that Mega Altaria is a VERY big issue for this team, so running Gunk Shot over Mach Punch on Infernape is very helpful to get rid of defensive Malt. Sceptile on the other hand is capable of getting rid of the many bulky water types (Jellicent, Swampert, etc) that would give Infernape some trouble, while threatening dragon types such as Latias. Synthesis is used for a good source of instant recovery and allows Sceptile to pivot into weak water types like Rotom Wash multiple times a match fairly easily.
Skarmory was my next to go option for this team. I wanted spikes to help Infernape and Sceptile claim some kills that would normally be quite annoying. An example would be that having 2 layers of spikes allows Infernape to have a fairly high chance of 2hkoing Hippowdon with flare blitz. Skarmory was also the next option because the team has issues vs +1 Salamence and Gyarados, Urshifu and Infernape. Iron Head is chosen over Brave Bird in the last slot to guarantee spikes vs Diancie due to threatening it.
Slowking is needed because the team was down bad for a Gardevoir switch in and this specific spread allows Slowking to be 3hko'd by Gardevoir's Hyper Voice. Not to mention i needed an actual water resist cause Keldeo became a fairly big issue. Slowking was also chosen because of Teleport + Future Sight. Teleport allows Slowking to not be a complete momentum drain for the team, while keeping up the momentum for the volturn teammates. Future Sight was the main selling point though, this allows Slowking to put on insane amounts of pressure vs the opponent in combination with Band Infernape and Urshifu. It allows Urshifu and Infernape to put even more pressure on common switch ins like Amoonguss and Hippowdon due to Future Sight chunking them pretty hard.
Rotom-Heat was chosen because i wanted a seconary Scizor check, another ground immune and wanted another fire resist while having a defogger. It has a fairly good match up vs a lot of hazards setters in the tier while also being a good volturn teammate for Infernape and Urshifu. It threatens Amoonguss and Venusaur for Sceptile and Urshifu. I slapped thunder wave on Rotom because it lures in Latias and cripples it badly and lets the teammates take advantage of it being slowed down.
Now look at Weavile and somewhat Bisharp and look at my team. Ain't looking too hot is it. Well here is Waterbear, who is able to switch into Bisharp/Weavile quite comfortably while being an insane offensive threat and u-turn. It also gives the team some much needed speed control vs Aerodactyl. Not to mention it's a fairly solid rock resist.
Skarmory was my next to go option for this team. I wanted spikes to help Infernape and Sceptile claim some kills that would normally be quite annoying. An example would be that having 2 layers of spikes allows Infernape to have a fairly high chance of 2hkoing Hippowdon with flare blitz. Skarmory was also the next option because the team has issues vs +1 Salamence and Gyarados, Urshifu and Infernape. Iron Head is chosen over Brave Bird in the last slot to guarantee spikes vs Diancie due to threatening it.
Slowking is needed because the team was down bad for a Gardevoir switch in and this specific spread allows Slowking to be 3hko'd by Gardevoir's Hyper Voice. Not to mention i needed an actual water resist cause Keldeo became a fairly big issue. Slowking was also chosen because of Teleport + Future Sight. Teleport allows Slowking to not be a complete momentum drain for the team, while keeping up the momentum for the volturn teammates. Future Sight was the main selling point though, this allows Slowking to put on insane amounts of pressure vs the opponent in combination with Band Infernape and Urshifu. It allows Urshifu and Infernape to put even more pressure on common switch ins like Amoonguss and Hippowdon due to Future Sight chunking them pretty hard.
Rotom-Heat was chosen because i wanted a seconary Scizor check, another ground immune and wanted another fire resist while having a defogger. It has a fairly good match up vs a lot of hazards setters in the tier while also being a good volturn teammate for Infernape and Urshifu. It threatens Amoonguss and Venusaur for Sceptile and Urshifu. I slapped thunder wave on Rotom because it lures in Latias and cripples it badly and lets the teammates take advantage of it being slowed down.
Now look at Weavile and somewhat Bisharp and look at my team. Ain't looking too hot is it. Well here is Waterbear, who is able to switch into Bisharp/Weavile quite comfortably while being an insane offensive threat and u-turn. It also gives the team some much needed speed control vs Aerodactyl. Not to mention it's a fairly solid rock resist.
Team E by sweet heat
So I went with specs Ape in order to body Venusaur, since most are a bit more physically defensive than specially defensive. Infernape also smashes Celesteela and Amoonguss for the next member, Steelix. Steelix only makes sense as the second member because its one of the few Gardevoir checks that isn't Jirachi, and Jirachi wouldnt really fit on this team. Steelix also beats up on Altaria/Diancie/Latias + Magneton cores, something Jirachi can't do. Rotom-W checks opposing Infernape as well as the dragon dancers Salamence and Gyarados. Amoonguss acts as a way to discourage Urshifu from clicking its STAB moves, as well as checking any non-Z Hyper Beam Keldeo. Latias is my scarfer to give me some security against opposing Krookodile and Urshifu, as they are destroyed by Draco Meteor. I also really like scarf trick recover in order to maintain longevity while crippling would be checks like Blissey. Lastly, I chose Scizor to give me a bulky wincon that doesn't care for Venusaur as well as another means of pivoting around, since now I pretty much have VoltTurn. Thanks for reading, comments/suggestions are appreciated.
-Sevelon (since some ppl didn't know)
-Sevelon (since some ppl didn't know)
Team F by SputnikGT
In the effort to use a unique Ape set to the rest of these teams I tried to build around Swords Dance Ape. Krookodile is used as a dual rocker and pursuit trapper to slowly wear things down, as well as trapping some Latias sets, which can prove irritating for this Infernape. Celesteela can also help in the anti Latias effort with good scouting, and is a generally good wall that also checks Mgarde, who would otherwise cause this team serious headaches. Mega Venusaur checks a lot, most notably Urshifu. Starmie and Latias team up in order to weaken Mvenu a bit for Infernape to take advantage of, with Starmie acting as an offensive spinner and Latias providing speed control and healing with support, mostly to heal up Celesteela.
Team G by Chazm
Decided to build a team around Firium NP Nape - something I haven't really done before. Due to the inherent Latias weakness this wallbreaker has, I felt it was mandatory to pair it with a good Pursuit user in Weavile. This formed the main offensive core and to support it I figured I'd go around the bulky offense route and stuck Stealth Rock + Defog into the two most compressed slots I could think of - Mega Aggron and Rotom-W. Latias benefits from Weavile's presence and provides a crucial pivot for Mega Venusaur, whilst Urshifu-RS finishes off the team and gives it better matchups against things that can trouble it like Power Whip Gyarados.
Threatlist
Latias: The lone Latias check here is Mega Aggron, which really doesn't like a +1 Thunder. The rest of the team aside from Weavile also gives it a few good chances to get in, so the best chance of winning against a Latias is to outplay them and Pursuit it before they can KO the Aggron.
Breloom: Most of the team is faster but there's no hard resist to it on this team.
Threatlist
Latias: The lone Latias check here is Mega Aggron, which really doesn't like a +1 Thunder. The rest of the team aside from Weavile also gives it a few good chances to get in, so the best chance of winning against a Latias is to outplay them and Pursuit it before they can KO the Aggron. Breloom: Most of the team is faster but there's no hard resist to it on this team.Voting will end on 8/24 at 11:59 PM GMT
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