> Never Gonna Peter Out - VGC17 RMT <
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Introduction
Hey guys, after having seen the metagame evolve quite a bit since my last RMT after the London Internationals and San Jose regionals, I thought I would make an RMT for my newest team. The initial core that I had behind this team was Aerodactyl + Specs Tapu Lele while attempting to have a good combination of power and bulk which I feel Tailwind support allows me to afford, while also allowing me to take advantage of the general lack of speed control in the format.
The Team
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Tailwind
- Wide Guard
- Sky Drop
So...Aerodactyl. Honestly there's not much to say that hasn't been said in another thread, so instead of repeating myself I'll just link you to it. A quick tl;dr would be its fast, is one of the only good tailwind setters, guarantees that an opponent will not Protect or switch out the next turn with Sky Drop, is a sasher that doesn't care about sand and can cockblock Ninetales' Blizzard with Wide Guard and just generally works well with Specs Tapu Lele in my experience. For the team, it provides a teammate for Krookodile to EQ beside, protects Krookodile from Dazzling Gleam with Wide Guard and provides speed control. The spread is obvious so I don't really feel calcs are necessary.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
After seeing JackTheBattler peak no.2 on the showdown ladder using this thing, I knew I had to try Specs Lele out. It’s a monster. Psychic really is the only move you ever need to click regardless of typing for the most part. It just blasts through so many walls and nothing appreciates switching in. Most things calc to live Scarfed or Life Orb Psychic just to get blown away by specs and naturally picking up surprise KOs aids in my Perish Song win condition. This set also allows me to invest much more into bulk, allowing me to survive certain attacks that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise, such as 2 -1 Poison Jabs from Garchomp. The set is very basic, the moves are for the most part not important other than Psychic. The spread is adapted slightly from Jack’s, as I have invested enough speed to outspeed Modest Pelipper and Adamant Sandslash outside of Hail, and as a result enough to outspeed Sandslash in hail with Tailwind and Pelipper when we both have TW up, as well as simply speedcreeping the 4 EV Tapu Leles and Arcanines. This thing just 2HKOs the entire format seemingly and picks up some very nice OHKOs with Psychic + Sky Drop. The following calcs in many cases are the worst case scenario and will often be doing more damage
Introduction
Hey guys, after having seen the metagame evolve quite a bit since my last RMT after the London Internationals and San Jose regionals, I thought I would make an RMT for my newest team. The initial core that I had behind this team was Aerodactyl + Specs Tapu Lele while attempting to have a good combination of power and bulk which I feel Tailwind support allows me to afford, while also allowing me to take advantage of the general lack of speed control in the format.
The Team
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Tailwind
- Wide Guard
- Sky Drop
So...Aerodactyl. Honestly there's not much to say that hasn't been said in another thread, so instead of repeating myself I'll just link you to it. A quick tl;dr would be its fast, is one of the only good tailwind setters, guarantees that an opponent will not Protect or switch out the next turn with Sky Drop, is a sasher that doesn't care about sand and can cockblock Ninetales' Blizzard with Wide Guard and just generally works well with Specs Tapu Lele in my experience. For the team, it provides a teammate for Krookodile to EQ beside, protects Krookodile from Dazzling Gleam with Wide Guard and provides speed control. The spread is obvious so I don't really feel calcs are necessary.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
After seeing JackTheBattler peak no.2 on the showdown ladder using this thing, I knew I had to try Specs Lele out. It’s a monster. Psychic really is the only move you ever need to click regardless of typing for the most part. It just blasts through so many walls and nothing appreciates switching in. Most things calc to live Scarfed or Life Orb Psychic just to get blown away by specs and naturally picking up surprise KOs aids in my Perish Song win condition. This set also allows me to invest much more into bulk, allowing me to survive certain attacks that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise, such as 2 -1 Poison Jabs from Garchomp. The set is very basic, the moves are for the most part not important other than Psychic. The spread is adapted slightly from Jack’s, as I have invested enough speed to outspeed Modest Pelipper and Adamant Sandslash outside of Hail, and as a result enough to outspeed Sandslash in hail with Tailwind and Pelipper when we both have TW up, as well as simply speedcreeping the 4 EV Tapu Leles and Arcanines. This thing just 2HKOs the entire format seemingly and picks up some very nice OHKOs with Psychic + Sky Drop. The following calcs in many cases are the worst case scenario and will often be doing more damage
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Garchomp in Psychic Terrain: 144-171 (78.6 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 244 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon in Psychic Terrain: 156-184 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Arcanine in Psychic Terrain: 157-186 (79.6 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Milotic in Psychic Terrain: 127-150 (62.8 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 76+ SpD Politoed in Psychic Terrain: 160-190 (81.2 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 133-157 (75.1 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 244+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 108-127 (56.2 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 244 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon in Psychic Terrain: 156-184 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Arcanine in Psychic Terrain: 157-186 (79.6 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Milotic in Psychic Terrain: 127-150 (62.8 - 74.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 76+ SpD Politoed in Psychic Terrain: 160-190 (81.2 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Bulu: 133-157 (75.1 - 88.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 244+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 108-127 (56.2 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpA / 140 SpD / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nature's Madness
Ripped this set entirely from Markus Stadter’s London International team and man this thing is crazy specially bulky. Tapu Koko provides the team with another answer to opposing Celesteela while also dealing with bulky waters for my Marowak. I feel like I almost don’t need to justify Koko’s presence on the team, it’s just ridiculously fast and hits incredibly hard with the terrain advantage. An AV set gives me with more options for defensive switching, while at the same time freeing up moveslots. Having room for Volt Switch is incredible at times, allowing me to gain switch initiative and reset my terrain while getting off very respectable damage. The rest of the moves are self explanatory for the most part. Nature’s Madness is great for bringing things into KO range and works incredibly well against Pokemon that think they hard wall you. A long with Specs Tapu Lele, Nature’s Madness + Psychic in Psychic terrain KOs 252+ sp.def Porygon-2, providing me another option vs TR. The EVs to my knowledge allow Koko to survive a Modest Z-Hydro Pump from Golduck in the Rain and a max attack Poison Jab from Muk, while outspeeding base 110s. The first defensive calc alone is very confincing considering how bad my double duck matchup is otherwise. Here are some calcs that I ran, some more relevant than others.
252+ SpA Golduck Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko in Rain: 150-177 (84.7 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Muk-Alola Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 60-72 (33.8 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Arcanine Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 99-117 (55.9 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 110-132 (62.1 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 147-174 (83 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
156+ SpA Goodra Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 68-80 (38.4 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Nihilego Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 140-166 (79 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Muk-Alola Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 60-72 (33.8 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Arcanine Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 99-117 (55.9 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 110-132 (62.1 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain: 146-174 (82.4 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 147-174 (83 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
156+ SpA Goodra Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 68-80 (38.4 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Nihilego Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Koko: 140-166 (79 - 93.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Krookodile @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Taunt
- Protect
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 84 SpD / 84 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Perish Song
- Protect
So here’s my fairly interesting Marowak set. The Marowak + Celesteela core is very common and the synergy is fairly obvious. Other than to protect my potential win condition from electrics, Marowak provides the team with another answer to Celesteela and Magnezone and an answer to opposing Marowaks. I chose to forgo Bonemarang mostly for the fact that I just generally find the move rather underwhelming. It didn’t really hit all that much that my STAB options didn’t already do decent enough damage to besides Incineroar, Muk and I suppose Gigalith, though Incineroar isn’t all that common and I still don’t 1 shot Muk with Bonemarang after Figy berry recovery and I still deal decent damage with Flare Blitz. I’m still iffy about Perish Song, but it does provide me with a very cool win condition after I have taken 2 KOs. In practice it has only secured a handful of games which I would have likely won anyway, but I feel it is still a fairly strong option. The EV spread is an adapted version of Till Bohmer’s Marowak from his London International team. The defensive calculations are the exact same, being 2HKO’d by -1 EQ from Garchomp and living a Modest unboosted Psychic from Tapu Lele, while the speed is essentially to outspeed the fastest Marowaks I have seen other than the Jolly ones, which speed creep the 68 speed Marowaks hoping to outspeed Modest Tapu Lele in Tailwind. This assurance that I will usually have the fastest Marowak even if I don’t have Tailwind up allows me to play a lot more aggresively versus opposing Marowak. I’m not aware of any KOs that are too important that I miss out on by running little attack investment.
-1 252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 4+ Def Marowak-Alola: 68-84 (40.9 - 50.6%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 244 HP / 84 SpD Marowak-Alola in Psychic Terrain: 138-163 (83.1 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 244 HP / 84 SpD Marowak-Alola in Psychic Terrain: 138-163 (83.1 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Atk / 60 Def / 180 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
Celesteela is just such a great mon in this format really functions well as a Tapu Lele check/counter (depending on whether or not they are running Tbolt) and a general win condition once its checks are dealt with by other members. Celesteela provides another partner for Krookodile to EQ beside, great defensive typing and stats for defensive switching and just a difficult Pokemon to take down playing well into my Perish Song win condition. The moveset is standard and the spread was basically stolen from Till Bohmer’s team report. It was the spread that I had been playing with for a while and what I am comfortable with, even though he doesn’t mention the exact benchmarks. These are some of the calcs I have ran for it, again some more relevant than others.
252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. +1 188 HP / 180+ SpD Celesteela: 86-101 (43.8 - 51.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Hariyama All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 154-183 (78.5 - 93.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Pheromosa All-Out Pummeling (195 BP) vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 159-187 (81.1 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Garchomp Fire Fang vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 68-82 (34.6 - 41.8%) -- 78.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Requires a lot of investment to even have a chance of breaking the sub.
156 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 188 HP / 180+ SpD Celesteela: 42-49 (21.4 - 25%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
Barely breaks the substitute, and doesn’t outside of Psychic Terrain.
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 188 HP / 180+ SpD Celesteela in Psychic Terrain: 49-58 (25 - 29.5%) -- Miniscule chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Loses 1v1 considering leech seed stall + attack drops.
252+ Atk Mudsdale Superpower vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 68-80 (34.6 - 40.8%) -- 57.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Hariyama All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 154-183 (78.5 - 93.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Pheromosa All-Out Pummeling (195 BP) vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 159-187 (81.1 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Garchomp Fire Fang vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 68-82 (34.6 - 41.8%) -- 78.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Requires a lot of investment to even have a chance of breaking the sub.
156 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 188 HP / 180+ SpD Celesteela: 42-49 (21.4 - 25%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
Barely breaks the substitute, and doesn’t outside of Psychic Terrain.
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 188 HP / 180+ SpD Celesteela in Psychic Terrain: 49-58 (25 - 29.5%) -- Miniscule chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Loses 1v1 considering leech seed stall + attack drops.
252+ Atk Mudsdale Superpower vs. 188 HP / 60 Def Celesteela: 68-80 (34.6 - 40.8%) -- 57.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Conclusion
And there we have it! By no means do I believe this team is perfect, but I have been having a lot of fun using it and have had some success. On a somewhat fresh alt I wanted to see how quickly I could reach the 1500s with this team from the 1100s. I got there roughly with a record of 30-5 (I'm not quite sure exactly, it was about a week ago and I'm not sure what my record was before using this team). The losses were mostly down to misplays, poor calls or just poor luck in some cases, but there weren't too many matchups that I felt I just auto lost against. Double duck is a bit of a scary matchup since before Tailwind Golduck outspeeds my entire team and I don't have a water resist, but the fact that Koko should live a z-Hydro Pump does somewhat mitigate this issue, though certainly not entirely. Let me know what you guys think!
And there we have it! By no means do I believe this team is perfect, but I have been having a lot of fun using it and have had some success. On a somewhat fresh alt I wanted to see how quickly I could reach the 1500s with this team from the 1100s. I got there roughly with a record of 30-5 (I'm not quite sure exactly, it was about a week ago and I'm not sure what my record was before using this team). The losses were mostly down to misplays, poor calls or just poor luck in some cases, but there weren't too many matchups that I felt I just auto lost against. Double duck is a bit of a scary matchup since before Tailwind Golduck outspeeds my entire team and I don't have a water resist, but the fact that Koko should live a z-Hydro Pump does somewhat mitigate this issue, though certainly not entirely. Let me know what you guys think!
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Tailwind
- Wide Guard
- Sky Drop
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpA / 140 SpD / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nature's Madness
Krookodile @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Taunt
- Protect
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 84 SpD / 84 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Perish Song
- Protect
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Atk / 60 Def / 180 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Tailwind
- Wide Guard
- Sky Drop
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpA / 140 SpD / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nature's Madness
Krookodile @ Groundium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Crunch
- Taunt
- Protect
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 92 Atk / 4 Def / 84 SpD / 84 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Perish Song
- Protect
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Atk / 60 Def / 180 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect