I was introduced to competitive pokemon a few months ago, and I’ve pretty much been exclusively playing NU since then. During that time, I had one team that I’d been constantly changing and improving. Ultimately, however, it sort of peaked in usefulness, and I got to the point where my rating just wasn’t changing, and games were getting a lot more formulaic. I ended up deciding to make an entirely new team, using the pokemon which gave me the most trouble with my old one- Calm Mind Misdreavus.
I’d heard a lot about Misdreavus-Lickilicky as a defensive core, and I decided that it would be worth checking out. Lickilicky provides the protection from status and reliable recovery that Misdreavus so desperately requires, while Misdreavus keeps the numerous fighting types in NU from mindlessly spamming Close Combat.
I decided that, as long as I was using one of the best spin blockers in the tier, it’d be a waste if I didn’t have some hazards to take advantage of. I ended up deciding on Piloswine as my stealth rock setter- he’s got ridiculous physical bulk with an Eviolite, and he’s no slouch offensively either.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it. I decided that, as long as I’ve got Misdreavus on my team, some Spikes support would be wonderful. I’d heard some good things about Roselia, so I decided to give her a spin.
At this point, I realized that my team was a bit lacking in the way of an offensive presence. I remembered one particular match I had played a few weeks ago, at the start of which my opponent led with his Mold Breaker Sawk. I hadn’t seen that before, so I stayed in to set rocks, and got my hazard lead 1HKOd by Close Combat. I couldn’t pass up that sort of power- Sawk was on my team.
I spent a while thinking about different pokemon for the 6th slot. Ultimately, I decided that while Sawk could hit ridiculously hard on most pokemon, I was still at the mercy of dedicated walls like Alomomola and Tangela. I ended up settling on a fairly underrated setup sweeper- Fraxure.
So, this seemed like a pretty solid team. I was just about to play my first match with it, when suddenly, it was announced in chat that Scolipede had been dropped from RU. That thing was too damn cool to pass up- Roselia was off of my team in a second.
The Team
Caesar (Primeape) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
I just started using this thing today, and it works pretty wonderfully. Though I can't really use him as an Anti-Lead like I did with Sawk, he's still great for nabbing revenge kills later in the match, and generally preventing opposing pokemon from taking out more than one guy on my team. Vital Spirit is also wonderful for warding against enemy jynx, though I still don't want to switch in on a Psychic. Overall, my team really appreciates having a dedicated revenge killer, and U-Turn is definitely a huge advantage over Sawk.
Pompey (Sawk) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
I ended up replacing Sawk with a Scarf Primeape, in an effort to hit back at speed boosting pokemon. I've been liking the change so far, and while Sawk will always have a place in my heart, he's off the team.
Clovis (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
If the opponent has multiple pokemon weak to stealth rock, or they don’t have any obvious leads that Sawk can take out, I lead with this guy. With the Eviolite, he is a beastly tank. Unless the other guy has a Sawk of his own, I’m more or less guaranteed to get up rocks, and I can usually count on switching this guy in later in the match.
Piloswine also has a useful niche in more or less hard countering Ninjask leads. Icicle Spear+Ice Shard basically means that if an enemy ninjask uses any move not named Protect, he’s gonna get taken out. In the same vein, he performs pretty well against Sub-Bulk Up Braviary, though if I don’t switch him in immediately, or if he’s at low health, there’s not much to be done.
Clodius (Scolipede) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swarm
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
This thing is amazing. Ridiculously fast, and it hits like a truck. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also more or less guaranteed to get up at least one layer of spikes. A lot of times, people worry that he’s a SD sweeper and switch to their Misdreavus, in which case I can get up all three layers. I usually have to eat a burn, but I’ve got a cleric for just that reason.
Once spikes are up, I generally start abusing his monstrously powerful STAB. Damn near nothing likes taking a megahorn to the face, and most of what does isn’t terribly fond of Earthquake. Ultimately, though, it’s rare for me to finish a match with this guy intact. He’s ridiculously frail, and it usually takes less than three turns for my opponent to take him out.
I’ve also noticed that this thing has a fair amount of utility in outspeeding Charizard and 1HKOing with Rock Slide. It’s only come up once or twice, but it’s a good niche to have.
Cato (Misdreavus) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hidden Power (Fighting)
The pokemon that I built this team around. Misdreavus is a god-send, since my only other fighting resistance on this team is Scolipede, who can’t take a hit. Misdreavus exists to give opposing Sawk and Scolipede a hard time, being able to switch into their STABs with impunity and threaten to hit them with a burn. I carry Will-O-Wisp over the Taunt/Substitute suggested on the main site mostly because this is the only thing that can stand up to Sawk defensively, and I need to be able to pose some sort of threat in return. Also, once people see the Will-O-Wisp (which is usually the first move I use with her), they tend to assume that it’s a Support set, and give me plenty of opportunities to start setting up.
To be honest, I haven’t used calm mind all that much. Though I like the coverage afforded by Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fighting, I’ve been considering changing Calm Mind to either Taunt, to stop opposing setup sweepers, or Pain Split, to make me a bit less dependant on Wish support (and also as a middle finger to Alomomola).
Crassus (Lickilicky) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Dragon Tail
The perfect mate to Misdreavus. I made this thing shiny precisely because it’s the only way it could be more annoying to my opponent. Burned my Sawk, or hit my Fraxure with a Thunder Wave? Heal bell. Got my Misdreavus to 30%? I pass a wish. Beyond that, this thing is a ridiculous wall, being able to take virtually any hit and stall out with Wish+Protect. Hell, I know from experience that if I’m at full health, I can safely take a Close Combat from a Scarfed Primeape, which isn’t something that most fighting-weak pokemon can brag.
Dragon Tail is chosen over Body Slam for two reasons- firstly, I’m not going to be doing much damage anyways, and Dragon Tail makes it more or less impossible to use me as setup fodder (I’ve had a few people ragequit after I used Dragon Tail the same turn that they used Shell Smash) Secondly, it has some added functionality which I only started abusing a few days ago- thanks to Scolipede, Piloswine and Misdreavus, I’ll almost invariably have at least two layers of hazards on the field, and Lickilicky is bulky enough to just shuffle the opponent’s team around all day. Overall, this thing is probably the most important pokemon on my team, and I’m very careful to never let it go down.
Sulla (Fraxure) @ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Low Kick
- Substitute
The last pokemon on my team. If he sets up a dragon dance, and the opponent doesn’t have a scarfer, pokemon will die. If I set up two dragon dances, 2-3 pokemon will die, more or less without exception. This guy doesn’t really perform any notable function on my team besides setting up and destroying with Outrage, and if I were to change one pokemon, this would probably be it. Still, Dragon is a very nice typing, and if I can get up a sub, I can just set up on Tangela and Alomomola’s faces. It also helps that there are virtually no viable steel types in NU, which means that with a boost under his belt, this guy’s rampages are generally unimpeded. Low Kick is chosen over Superpower because Fraxure has no reliable recovery, so I’d like to avoid having to switch him out if at all possible. Lickilicky can only pass so many wishes.
Importable
Conclusion
This team’s been averaging a rating of about 1675, with a W:L ratio of ~2:1. Not too bad, I know, but I’m positive that it can do better. Thanks for reading, and if you have any suggestions for improving my team, I’d love to hear them.
I’d heard a lot about Misdreavus-Lickilicky as a defensive core, and I decided that it would be worth checking out. Lickilicky provides the protection from status and reliable recovery that Misdreavus so desperately requires, while Misdreavus keeps the numerous fighting types in NU from mindlessly spamming Close Combat.
I decided that, as long as I was using one of the best spin blockers in the tier, it’d be a waste if I didn’t have some hazards to take advantage of. I ended up deciding on Piloswine as my stealth rock setter- he’s got ridiculous physical bulk with an Eviolite, and he’s no slouch offensively either.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it. I decided that, as long as I’ve got Misdreavus on my team, some Spikes support would be wonderful. I’d heard some good things about Roselia, so I decided to give her a spin.
At this point, I realized that my team was a bit lacking in the way of an offensive presence. I remembered one particular match I had played a few weeks ago, at the start of which my opponent led with his Mold Breaker Sawk. I hadn’t seen that before, so I stayed in to set rocks, and got my hazard lead 1HKOd by Close Combat. I couldn’t pass up that sort of power- Sawk was on my team.
I spent a while thinking about different pokemon for the 6th slot. Ultimately, I decided that while Sawk could hit ridiculously hard on most pokemon, I was still at the mercy of dedicated walls like Alomomola and Tangela. I ended up settling on a fairly underrated setup sweeper- Fraxure.
So, this seemed like a pretty solid team. I was just about to play my first match with it, when suddenly, it was announced in chat that Scolipede had been dropped from RU. That thing was too damn cool to pass up- Roselia was off of my team in a second.
The Team
Caesar (Primeape) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
I just started using this thing today, and it works pretty wonderfully. Though I can't really use him as an Anti-Lead like I did with Sawk, he's still great for nabbing revenge kills later in the match, and generally preventing opposing pokemon from taking out more than one guy on my team. Vital Spirit is also wonderful for warding against enemy jynx, though I still don't want to switch in on a Psychic. Overall, my team really appreciates having a dedicated revenge killer, and U-Turn is definitely a huge advantage over Sawk.
Pompey (Sawk) (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
I ended up replacing Sawk with a Scarf Primeape, in an effort to hit back at speed boosting pokemon. I've been liking the change so far, and while Sawk will always have a place in my heart, he's off the team.
Clovis (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
If the opponent has multiple pokemon weak to stealth rock, or they don’t have any obvious leads that Sawk can take out, I lead with this guy. With the Eviolite, he is a beastly tank. Unless the other guy has a Sawk of his own, I’m more or less guaranteed to get up rocks, and I can usually count on switching this guy in later in the match.
Piloswine also has a useful niche in more or less hard countering Ninjask leads. Icicle Spear+Ice Shard basically means that if an enemy ninjask uses any move not named Protect, he’s gonna get taken out. In the same vein, he performs pretty well against Sub-Bulk Up Braviary, though if I don’t switch him in immediately, or if he’s at low health, there’s not much to be done.
Clodius (Scolipede) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swarm
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
This thing is amazing. Ridiculously fast, and it hits like a truck. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also more or less guaranteed to get up at least one layer of spikes. A lot of times, people worry that he’s a SD sweeper and switch to their Misdreavus, in which case I can get up all three layers. I usually have to eat a burn, but I’ve got a cleric for just that reason.
Once spikes are up, I generally start abusing his monstrously powerful STAB. Damn near nothing likes taking a megahorn to the face, and most of what does isn’t terribly fond of Earthquake. Ultimately, though, it’s rare for me to finish a match with this guy intact. He’s ridiculously frail, and it usually takes less than three turns for my opponent to take him out.
I’ve also noticed that this thing has a fair amount of utility in outspeeding Charizard and 1HKOing with Rock Slide. It’s only come up once or twice, but it’s a good niche to have.
Cato (Misdreavus) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hidden Power (Fighting)
The pokemon that I built this team around. Misdreavus is a god-send, since my only other fighting resistance on this team is Scolipede, who can’t take a hit. Misdreavus exists to give opposing Sawk and Scolipede a hard time, being able to switch into their STABs with impunity and threaten to hit them with a burn. I carry Will-O-Wisp over the Taunt/Substitute suggested on the main site mostly because this is the only thing that can stand up to Sawk defensively, and I need to be able to pose some sort of threat in return. Also, once people see the Will-O-Wisp (which is usually the first move I use with her), they tend to assume that it’s a Support set, and give me plenty of opportunities to start setting up.
To be honest, I haven’t used calm mind all that much. Though I like the coverage afforded by Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Fighting, I’ve been considering changing Calm Mind to either Taunt, to stop opposing setup sweepers, or Pain Split, to make me a bit less dependant on Wish support (and also as a middle finger to Alomomola).
Crassus (Lickilicky) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Dragon Tail
The perfect mate to Misdreavus. I made this thing shiny precisely because it’s the only way it could be more annoying to my opponent. Burned my Sawk, or hit my Fraxure with a Thunder Wave? Heal bell. Got my Misdreavus to 30%? I pass a wish. Beyond that, this thing is a ridiculous wall, being able to take virtually any hit and stall out with Wish+Protect. Hell, I know from experience that if I’m at full health, I can safely take a Close Combat from a Scarfed Primeape, which isn’t something that most fighting-weak pokemon can brag.
Dragon Tail is chosen over Body Slam for two reasons- firstly, I’m not going to be doing much damage anyways, and Dragon Tail makes it more or less impossible to use me as setup fodder (I’ve had a few people ragequit after I used Dragon Tail the same turn that they used Shell Smash) Secondly, it has some added functionality which I only started abusing a few days ago- thanks to Scolipede, Piloswine and Misdreavus, I’ll almost invariably have at least two layers of hazards on the field, and Lickilicky is bulky enough to just shuffle the opponent’s team around all day. Overall, this thing is probably the most important pokemon on my team, and I’m very careful to never let it go down.
Sulla (Fraxure) @ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Low Kick
- Substitute
The last pokemon on my team. If he sets up a dragon dance, and the opponent doesn’t have a scarfer, pokemon will die. If I set up two dragon dances, 2-3 pokemon will die, more or less without exception. This guy doesn’t really perform any notable function on my team besides setting up and destroying with Outrage, and if I were to change one pokemon, this would probably be it. Still, Dragon is a very nice typing, and if I can get up a sub, I can just set up on Tangela and Alomomola’s faces. It also helps that there are virtually no viable steel types in NU, which means that with a boost under his belt, this guy’s rampages are generally unimpeded. Low Kick is chosen over Superpower because Fraxure has no reliable recovery, so I’d like to avoid having to switch him out if at all possible. Lickilicky can only pass so many wishes.
Importable
Clodius (Scolipede) @ Life Orb
Trait: Swarm
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
Cato (Misdreavus) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SAtk / 30 SDef / 30 Spd
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hidden Power
Crassus (Lickilicky) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Dragon Tail
Caesar (Primeape) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Sulla (Fraxure) @ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Low Kick
- Substitute
Clovis (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Trait: Swarm
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
Cato (Misdreavus) @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SAtk / 30 SDef / 30 Spd
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hidden Power
Crassus (Lickilicky) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Dragon Tail
Caesar (Primeape) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Sulla (Fraxure) @ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Low Kick
- Substitute
Clovis (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Conclusion
This team’s been averaging a rating of about 1675, with a W:L ratio of ~2:1. Not too bad, I know, but I’m positive that it can do better. Thanks for reading, and if you have any suggestions for improving my team, I’d love to hear them.
