Lycanroc-Midnight @ Choice Band
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
LYCANROC. IS
That’s probably the shortest summary I can come up with in the 5 or so times I’ve rewritten this paragraph, but then again, it’s not like this is actually news. My original intention was to augment the small redeeming quality it had in its ability, by making up for its lack of speed using the stage hazards, and turning it into a revenge killer/late-game sweeper using its access to a 100% accurate Stone Edge. Went with Stone Edge for Stone Edge. Fire Punch for coverage, since Stomping Tantrum does the same damage to Pex as Stone Edge, and FP seems like it'll cover the tier better from what I've seen. Play Rough to threaten things such as Dragapult with web. And Sucker Punch to threaten things such as Dragapult withOUT web. How much has this worked? Well how many Ferrothorn have you seen in your life? Exactly. To be fair, it hasn’t necessarily been bad, it’s just that, for everything that it lacks, it doesn’t offer enough to make up for it; it’s not fast enough to threaten the things that matter most, it’s weaker than its dusk counterpart, and it also has pretty much the same movepool as both the other forms, arguably worse, and those are in UU. It’s considered a niche pick in PU, not really much else to add. It’s sad, because I very much want to use this cunt but it’s just not really that great. This is the one I’m currently looking to replace
Orbeetle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 172 HP / 196 Def / 140 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Light Screen
- Magic Coat
- Bug Buzz
Orbeetle is the closest thing to a soul the team has, if said soul helped give you life as much as the people at schools who hang "this is a no bullying zone" signs help stop bullying in schools. The only reason it's here is because the number of decent pokemon who can learn Sticky Web is so small that it'd make SoundCloud rappers seem like a legitimate music industry, let alone be enough to offer variety, but also because its movepool seems like it'd be able to offer potential for some pretty interesting sets, even if the current one doesn't do that idea any favors. I don't feel like I need to go into depth about the idea behind the set and spread for this one; I just slapped support moves that I thought would be useful on it, tried to make it decently bulky and moved on. The only thing to note here is Sticky Web, which serves as the single unifying point of the entire team, making it so that pokemon like Lycanroc can fill in certain roles without having to cripple themselves in another regard, or even be able to emphasize said role without having to worry about dying before being able to get anything off due to their lackluster speed. I don't really think this one is super bad or anything, I just don't know how to make good use of it, so any set ideas would be appreciated, if there is any chance that this could offer more than the other Sticky Webbers(?) out there
Chandelure @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Energy Ball
Chandelure is the chad that virgin Dragapult tried to copy the style of, but only made himself look like a loser in doing so; beefy Sp.Atk, ghost typing that allows spin-blocking, great abilities that help ensure someone is getting sent to the Shadow Realm when it gets in, but unlike Drag, Chad has the class necessary to do so convincingly. Easily the MVP of the team, Chandelure beautifully fits the slot of special sweeper, always managing to put some sort of dent in the game-state, either by just merely existing on the field, or putting a dent in the opponent's skull if they didn't quite catch the memo when the former situation was presented to them. Went with Shadow Ball and Fire Blast for STAB. Energy Ball for coverage. And Substitute to take advantage of both the commonly known choice sets that Chandelure are assumed to have, and the sheer dread the presence of a healthy Chandelure instills on anyone with a will to live, both of which present a great opportunity for setup in the form of a defensive switch.
Chandelure is the Boogeyman of SD; nobody ever really believes he'll show his face in ladder whenever they press that battle button, until he's knocking at their door with his base .145 ready to take their lunch money. Every time I get the chance to switch Chandelure in safely, it means one of two things: It's there to sweep the entirety of the opponent's team, or it's only there to take the finishing blow after its teammates failed to stop the opponent from setting up. It's wonderful really, I don't have any bad things to say about him. 3 generations of showing off its power to build the reputation that Dragapult never earned fuckyoudragapult BUT THE POINT IS, Chandelure's terrible; use 7 of them
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 28 Atk / 192 Def / 224 SpA / 64 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
- Stone Edge
FAT CUNT
Is the easiest way I think one could describe Tyranitar, so easy in fact that it's how we're gonna have to refer to him from now on.
My intention was for Fat Cunt to single handedly cover up the many gaping holes the team had from getting tossed around like hot potato in the tier, by just sitting in front of it all. I've never used a Fat Cunt in a team before, nor really any OU picks, but now that I have, it's honestly offensive how much this cunt accomplishes by simply existing while doing everything it does. I feel like I can hear it listing off what it has to offer as soon as I throw it on the field: "A-aw jeez! You caught me off guard there! I was just finishing scrubbing your shoes! So what will it be? Sand Rush? I can eat a Psyshock if you want, maybe even something else? I do get boosted when I switch in after all. Coverage? Chip damage? Car wash? Foreskin cleanse? Dinner?"
Is this what OU feels like? Anyway. The problem with Fat Cunt is that, for everything it does, I don't feel like it synergizes with the rest of the team enough to give any sort of push; it offers some pretty good defensive elements, being resistant to both Hydreigon's Dark Pulse and Dragapult's Shadow Ball, but it doesn't really help the other members gain any sort of momentum, it's not worth using an offence-based spread over the current one, and the sandstorm actually works against members like Chandelure. The only thing it helps with is giving Lycanroc more damage on its Stone Edge, but that's not really saying anything considering what we've previously established in regards to him. For the set, I went with a mix of the usual: Stone Edge and Dark Pulse for STAB. And Earthquake and Flamethrower for coverage. The spread is also pretty mixed: No Hp investment, since I think 340+ Hp is good enough to wall. Just enough Atk and Sp.Atk to go over 310. Enough Def to go over the 300's. And just enough Sp.Def to get a good boost from the sandstorm. I can't believe I'm calling a pokemon with 5 out of its 6 stats over 300 bad, but yeah Fat Cunt is one of the ones I'm looking to replace
Rotom-Mow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 76 HP / 40 SpA / 140 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Leaf Storm
There's not much to be said about Rotom that you don't already know. It's good, it's versatile, offers decent protection and good momentum. It's a Rotom appliance, what is there to say. The set is just the usual: Thunderbolt, Volt Switch and Leaf Storm for STAB and momentum. And Trick for shutdown of things like walls and setup mons. For the Spread, I went with 252 Spe, as usual. 140 in Sp.Def, to make it more capable of aiding with things like Magearna's Volt Switches. Just enough Sp.Atk to get a good boost from the Specs it holds. And just a little bit of Hp to give it a slightly lesser chance to be ohko'd. I think this spread is the one that's been the most efficient on this dude. I'm considering putting the 140 Sp.Def points in Def so it can deal a bit better with things like Urshifu, but for now I think this works perfectly fine; it offers some valuable neutral game potential, which the team greatly appreciates, and it also offers some momentum that the team desperately needs. Good mon, good games
Uh, what's the deal with airline food…(?)
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Scald
- Roost
- Haze
Segways are weird
Surprisingly still here after the purge, Mantine is something that I feel makes for a valuable asset to the team; the susceptibility to Earthquake that members like Chandelure suffer from is dealt with by its Flying-type, its ability assists with the fragility to threats such as Urshifu, the bulk it provides is always welcome on any team, and its access to Tailwind provides some much needed momentum and flexibility that aid the team with its lack of neutral game potential. Went with Tailwind, since if you can't beat the high speed pokemon, join 'em. Scald for that 30% chance to get the C in its name removed and the D replaced with a T, which is always wonderful, especially if it manages to land on something that cares about its Atk. Roost for the preservation of the elements it provides. And "Haha, X go brr", the move.
I'm considering running Defog instead of Haze, since Stealth Rocks are just always such a wonderful thing to have tickling your colon any time you even think of existing near the field, especially if you're a Flying-type like Mantine, but I'm not really sure if that'd do more good than harm, considering just how much the team is reliant on Sticky Web being in play, so for now, this is what we've got
I think it's pretty clear that I'm nowhere near a competitive player, but hey I'm trying alright.
To give an overall closing opinion on the team:
I don't think it's terrible; my lack of overall knowledge is definitely noticeable when looking at things like the entirety of Orbeetle's set, or really the entirety of the team, but I don't think it's some sort of failure; just a flawed attempt at using a niche strategy. Though I think that there is a severe flaw with the overall structure of the team which is probably very noticeable: The lack of speed present in every single member, which makes it so that there is a complete lack of footing to create any sort of momentum if the Sticky Web doesn't create enough to fill in that gap, making it so that if the opponent doesn't get crippled enough by it, or if they don't get crippled at all, the entire team is automatically put in a disadvantageous position which they then have to go through hell and back to work around, when such a situation would normally just be considered the neutral game for any regular team. If the opponent isn't at a disadvantage, you automatically are, and since the 'mons are so focused on having that advantage over the opponent, and therefore don't have any speed themselves, they end up having to put blood sweat and tears into obtaining that advantage again just to re-establish common ground, making it so that if the opponent has a way to get around the hazard, or just has enough options to make up for the lost speed, it becomes nearly impossible to establish common ground without losing at least one pokemon. And as such, the greatest flaw of the team, at least in my eyes, is that it js too focused on using bad pokemon to try and drag good pokemon down enough to be able to fight at an equal level, as opposed to, for an example, using pokemon who could be able to affect the game state better than meta pokemon, but are held back by their speed, and using Sticky Web to allow them to fulfill that goal without the need of things like choice scarf, which ties into my next point.
Synergy:
One thing that I think is important to understand regarding teambuilding, that I'm definitely trying to wrap my head around is synergy; what makes a pokemon like Chandelure be able to shit & piss & cum everywhere in OU when coupled with this strategy, but not Lycanroc? Maybe the fact that it's a pokemon who is already amazing without any certain strategy, being one who offers as much offensive potential as meta pokemon, but when its balancing element is bypassed with the help of a niche hazard it becomes as strong, if not stronger than standard competitive picks, without the need of crippling itself to achieve such a feat? Maybe, but what exactly makes it a pokemon that couples well with this strategy? And how can I figure out how to apply that to the process of team building? I'm still kind of lost on that, the only clue I have is one I took away from Yu-Gi-Oh deck building; good cards are those which affect the game-state enough to make up for the cost of using them
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A couple of threats that the team just get absolutely destroyed by include:
Rillaboom, since the only pokemon that resist it barely have any defensive utility
Clear Body Dragapult, which just ignores Sticky Web entirely, and deals with pretty much everyone on the team
Hydreigon, for the same reasons as Dragapult
and Chansey, since the only pokemon that can threaten it is extremely fragile
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By the way, if you didn't notice, I'm trying to use less viable pokemon to compete with OU, so if you could kinda try to go along with that, it'd be appreciated
Not anything against using meta, don't agree with people who try to denounce others for doing so either, just prefer to use underrated and less viable pokemon since I find it more fun
…
Oh yeah, here:
Pokepaste:
https://pokepast.es/e7aa6b93f99466bc
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