NORMAL DESTRUCTION
Credit to Nexus the PO badass for the banner!!!!
Hello Smogon. Most of you probably don't know me as I'm a regular on PO but after being bored of our metagame I decided to venture over to Smogon. This team was created in the Gothitelle period and held a respectable 48-1 record while Gothitelle was in the team. When Gothitelle got banned I didn't want to give up on this team because it was extremely fun to play with. I decided to use Exeggutor over Gothitelle and while this still worked it was much less effective than Gothitelle. This team slumped to a 65-5 record, losing mainly to Skuntank+Gurdurr+Sleep Powder miss. This team peaked #1 several times although 1962 was the highest amount of points I reached. I have decided to retire this team and move onto something more effective in this metagame.
Golurk @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Golurk has a great niche for this team, being able to set up Stealth Rock and being immune to the Fighting type attacks that plague team. Golurk leads in 90% of my matches and is able to dent the Rock/Ground and Steel types that give this team trouble. The biggest upside of Golurk is he has a great matchup againts most other leads and usually ends up giving me solid offensive momentum. Golurk stops my opponents from Volt Switching all over me and has a great offensive presence. Overall Golurk was a perfect fit for this team with key resistances that the team needed.
Set Explanation
Exeggutor (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
- Rest
Want a Pokemon that can reliably beat Amoonguss and Alomomola, a status absorber and have a sleep inducing move all in one? Then Exeggutor is the man for the job. This Exeggutor set is crazy good at the moment, the list of Pokemon Exeggutor can switch into and threaten is currently amazingly long. Harvest is an amazing ability, granting him an immunity to status and free switch in's on Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Alomomola and Weezing. Add to the fact that Exeggutor's 2 biggest counters, Skuntank and Absol have to be wary of switching into a Sleep Powder makes this Pokemon a standout on the team. The amount of teams that absolutely nothing to touch this set is astounding. Exeggutor is the glue that holds this team together and without it Fighting types would easily beat me.
Skuntank (M) @ Dread Plate
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Skuntank is the king of the Poison types. With his great Dark/Poison typing that allows it to switch in and beat all Psychic and Ghost types bar Golurk with either Pursuit, Crunch or Sucker Punch. Skuntank is a staple on all my teams and between him and Kangaskhan almost all fast threats are checked. Skuntank's ability Aftermath can also come in handy, letting me deal an extra 25% to a Pokemon when dieing.Overall Skuntank has alot of utility and gives me the freedom to spam Normal type attacks when Ghost's are removed.
Braviary (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
Even with my team running dual priority I felt that I wanted a Choice Scarf user so that I wasn't relying on my priority too much. Braviary was a pefect fit to the team, being a Normal type and being extremely strong. Braviary is my answer to Speed boosting sweepers such as Gorebyss and Fraxure. Braviary has always been great in NU but the rise in popularity of the Sub/BU set and with the Choice Band set being capable of 2KO'ing the whole tier can sometimes keep my opponent guessing as to which set I'm running, arguably making this set even better.
Sawsbuck (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Return
Sawsbuck is a Pokemon that demands respect. Great Speed, decent Attack and an amazing ability give Sawsbuck all the right tools to get the job done. Sawsbuck is used almost exclusively late game, only coming out early game to check Samurott, who without Sawsbuck would be a major threat. After a Swords Dance Sawsbuck reaches 598 Attack, allowing to easily demolish teams late game and even clean sweep early game if my opponent lacks a counter.
Return: Sawsbuck's most powerful STAB move, hits like a truch after a Swords Dance and if the team has done it's job it allows Return to clean sweep.
Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
Kangaskan is a boss, easily the MVP of this team. Kangaskhan serves the role of keeping fast, frail threats in check with Fake Out + Sucker Punch such as Zebstrika, Sawk at -1 and Cincinno. Kangaskhan also destroys slower threats with the combination of Fake Out + Return. Most people run LO with Double Edge but I prefer Return + Silk Scarf as it gives Kangaskhan the survivability she needs. Kangaskhan has a great niche for the team, being able to hit Ghost types with her ability Scrappy allowing for one less check for Kangaskhan.
Set Explanation
The Team
Golurk @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Golurk has a great niche for this team, being able to set up Stealth Rock and being immune to the Fighting type attacks that plague team. Golurk leads in 90% of my matches and is able to dent the Rock/Ground and Steel types that give this team trouble. The biggest upside of Golurk is he has a great matchup againts most other leads and usually ends up giving me solid offensive momentum. Golurk stops my opponents from Volt Switching all over me and has a great offensive presence. Overall Golurk was a perfect fit for this team with key resistances that the team needed.
Set Explanation
Stealth Rock: One of the best moves in the game, helps keep pokemon like Swellow, Braviary, Rotom-S and Charizard in check.
Earthquake: Golurk's best STAB move, great for all the Rock/Ground and Steel Stealth Rock setters.
Shadow Punch: Mainly used to hit Ghost/Psychic types for super effective damage, also gets STAB+Iron Fist boost.
Ice Punch: Used for Grass types like Torterra, Amoonguss and Serperior on the switch in and hits decently hard with Iron Fist.
Earthquake: Golurk's best STAB move, great for all the Rock/Ground and Steel Stealth Rock setters.
Shadow Punch: Mainly used to hit Ghost/Psychic types for super effective damage, also gets STAB+Iron Fist boost.
Ice Punch: Used for Grass types like Torterra, Amoonguss and Serperior on the switch in and hits decently hard with Iron Fist.
EV/Nature Explanation
Pretty standard set, Max Attack Adamant nature to give Golurk a good offensive presence, 84 Speed lets it outspeed Alomomola and the rest dumped in Hp for bulk. This is the optimal spread for Golurk as it outspeeds the threats he needs to.
Exeggutor (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
- Rest
Want a Pokemon that can reliably beat Amoonguss and Alomomola, a status absorber and have a sleep inducing move all in one? Then Exeggutor is the man for the job. This Exeggutor set is crazy good at the moment, the list of Pokemon Exeggutor can switch into and threaten is currently amazingly long. Harvest is an amazing ability, granting him an immunity to status and free switch in's on Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Alomomola and Weezing. Add to the fact that Exeggutor's 2 biggest counters, Skuntank and Absol have to be wary of switching into a Sleep Powder makes this Pokemon a standout on the team. The amount of teams that absolutely nothing to touch this set is astounding. Exeggutor is the glue that holds this team together and without it Fighting types would easily beat me.
Set Explanation
Leaf Storm: Exeggutor's most powerful STAB move, great for hitting things hard and threatening Water, Rock and Ground types.
Psychic: Generally the move thats used when I don't want a Special Attack drop, hurts the Fighting types that are annoying to the team.
Sleep Powder: Gives Exeggutor the ability to incapacitate one Pokemon, I usually save this move for Skuntank and Absol if my opponent has one.
Rest: With Exeggutors ability Harvest, Rest will fully heal Exeggutor and wake up straight away, this gives Exeggutor great survivability.
Psychic: Generally the move thats used when I don't want a Special Attack drop, hurts the Fighting types that are annoying to the team.
Sleep Powder: Gives Exeggutor the ability to incapacitate one Pokemon, I usually save this move for Skuntank and Absol if my opponent has one.
Rest: With Exeggutors ability Harvest, Rest will fully heal Exeggutor and wake up straight away, this gives Exeggutor great survivability.
EV/Nature Explanation
Max Special Attack and a Modest nature allows Exeggutor to hit hard, I run 252 Speed but I'm not sure if thats necessary.
Skuntank (M) @ Dread Plate
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Skuntank is the king of the Poison types. With his great Dark/Poison typing that allows it to switch in and beat all Psychic and Ghost types bar Golurk with either Pursuit, Crunch or Sucker Punch. Skuntank is a staple on all my teams and between him and Kangaskhan almost all fast threats are checked. Skuntank's ability Aftermath can also come in handy, letting me deal an extra 25% to a Pokemon when dieing.Overall Skuntank has alot of utility and gives me the freedom to spam Normal type attacks when Ghost's are removed.
Set Explanation
Crunch: Good reliable STAB move, allows me to beat Sub+Disable Haunter and Musharna 100% of the time.
Pursuit: Allows Skuntank to trap Ghost and Psychic Pokemon such as Kadabra, Haunter and Misdreavus.
Sucker Punch: a STAB priority move is always great to have, it allows me to pick of faster threats like non Quick Attack Swellow.
Taunt: Lets Skuntank act as an effective stallbreaker, stops things like Musharna using Moonlight and Lickilicky form passing wishes.
Pursuit: Allows Skuntank to trap Ghost and Psychic Pokemon such as Kadabra, Haunter and Misdreavus.
Sucker Punch: a STAB priority move is always great to have, it allows me to pick of faster threats like non Quick Attack Swellow.
Taunt: Lets Skuntank act as an effective stallbreaker, stops things like Musharna using Moonlight and Lickilicky form passing wishes.
EV/Nature Explanation
232 Speed EV's allows Skuntank to outpace neutral base 80 and positive base 70 Pokemon, Max Attack and Adamant to give Skuntank some power and the rest dumped in Hp.
Braviary (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
Even with my team running dual priority I felt that I wanted a Choice Scarf user so that I wasn't relying on my priority too much. Braviary was a pefect fit to the team, being a Normal type and being extremely strong. Braviary is my answer to Speed boosting sweepers such as Gorebyss and Fraxure. Braviary has always been great in NU but the rise in popularity of the Sub/BU set and with the Choice Band set being capable of 2KO'ing the whole tier can sometimes keep my opponent guessing as to which set I'm running, arguably making this set even better.
Set Explanation
Brave Bird:Brave Bird is Braviary's best move and has the highest Base Power of any move on the set, it gives me the ability to kill many Grass and Fighting types.
Return: Return is a reliable STAB move with no drawbacks, this move is used mostly when Braviary is running low on Hp and I want to preserve him.
Superpower: This move allows to me cripple any Rock/Ground and Steel types that like to come in to resist one of Braviary's STAB moves.
U-Turn: U-Turn is great for scouting my opponents switch in and gives me invaluable offensive momentum.
Return: Return is a reliable STAB move with no drawbacks, this move is used mostly when Braviary is running low on Hp and I want to preserve him.
Superpower: This move allows to me cripple any Rock/Ground and Steel types that like to come in to resist one of Braviary's STAB moves.
U-Turn: U-Turn is great for scouting my opponents switch in and gives me invaluable offensive momentum.
EV/Nature Explanation
The EV's are standard, Max Attack gives Braviary enough power to do its job, Max Speed and a Jolly nature allows Braviary to outspeed +2 Neutral Gorebyss and the 4 remaining EV's into Defence to allow Braviary to switch into Stealth Rock 4 times.
Sawsbuck (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Return
Sawsbuck is a Pokemon that demands respect. Great Speed, decent Attack and an amazing ability give Sawsbuck all the right tools to get the job done. Sawsbuck is used almost exclusively late game, only coming out early game to check Samurott, who without Sawsbuck would be a major threat. After a Swords Dance Sawsbuck reaches 598 Attack, allowing to easily demolish teams late game and even clean sweep early game if my opponent lacks a counter.
Set Explanation
Swords Dance: Allows Sawsbuck to double his Attack in one turn, turning him into a potent sweeper.
Substitute: Extremely useful move, allowing Sawsbuck to set up on Pokemon such Alomomola without getting hit by status.
Horn Leech: Reliable STAB move that has the added bonus of healing Sawsbuck, making him even harder to revenge kill.
Substitute: Extremely useful move, allowing Sawsbuck to set up on Pokemon such Alomomola without getting hit by status.
Horn Leech: Reliable STAB move that has the added bonus of healing Sawsbuck, making him even harder to revenge kill.
Return: Sawsbuck's most powerful STAB move, hits like a truch after a Swords Dance and if the team has done it's job it allows Return to clean sweep.
EV/Nature Explanation
The EV's given maximise Sawsbuck's Attack and Speed which allows it to do it's job. Jolly is used to Speed tie with other base 95 Pokemon.
Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
Kangaskan is a boss, easily the MVP of this team. Kangaskhan serves the role of keeping fast, frail threats in check with Fake Out + Sucker Punch such as Zebstrika, Sawk at -1 and Cincinno. Kangaskhan also destroys slower threats with the combination of Fake Out + Return. Most people run LO with Double Edge but I prefer Return + Silk Scarf as it gives Kangaskhan the survivability she needs. Kangaskhan has a great niche for the team, being able to hit Ghost types with her ability Scrappy allowing for one less check for Kangaskhan.
Set Explanation
Fake Out: Fake Out is a great priority move to have, it's pretty much free damage. :)
Return: Kangaskhan's strongest move, hits like a truck, the power often catches people off guard.
Drain Punch: Drain Punch is a great move to have, being able to heal off Pokemon such as Cacturne and Absol and allows me to hit Rock/Ground and Steel types harder than my STABS.
Return: Kangaskhan's strongest move, hits like a truck, the power often catches people off guard.
Drain Punch: Drain Punch is a great move to have, being able to heal off Pokemon such as Cacturne and Absol and allows me to hit Rock/Ground and Steel types harder than my STABS.
Sucker Punch: Dual priority on a Pokemon is so great, this in tandem with Fake Out checks alot of the frail Pokemon in the tier.
EV/Nature Explanation
I went with Max Attack and Speed along with an Adamant nature because an Adamant nature suits Kangaskhans role better and allows her to hit exceptionally harder.Weaknesses
- A well played Skuntank + Fighting type
- Sun Teams can be annoying
- Emboar is a huge threat, usually have to play carefully around it.
Conclusion
Thats about it. This team was extremely fun to use even though it did lose alot of its effectiveness with Gothitelle being banned. This team had a really simple strategy and was really easy to use. Any suggestions on how this team could possibly be made better while still sticking to theme would be much appreciated as I would probably be up for giving it another go on the ladder.Thankyou to everyone that reads the whole RMT it's much appreciated :)
Importable
Spam (Golurk) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Eggciting (Exeggutor) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rest
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
THE KING (Skuntank) (M) @ Dread Plate
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Brave (Braviary) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
BAMBI (Sawsbuck) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Return
Clutch (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
Eggciting (Exeggutor) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Harvest
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Rest
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
THE KING (Skuntank) (M) @ Dread Plate
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Brave (Braviary) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Return
- Superpower
- U-turn
BAMBI (Sawsbuck) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Return
Clutch (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Drain Punch
