Omen of the Meadow Butterflies

[Wobblebuns]

O M E N---O F---T H E---M EA D O W---B U T T E R F L I E S
...for any poor soul who lays his eyes on the meadow butterfly, shall be a step closer to death's clutches...

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I N T R O D U C T I O N​

Hello there and welcome to my first ever RMT! I'm a rather stoic individual in PS! due in part to my non-existent social advances in chat rooms and the fact that I have a different name there. So surely, no one would probably know who I am, but here in the forums, you'd most likely know me from Layell's XY sprite project. Anywho, I'm actually SJR Queen in the ladder, that one guy with the Vivillon.

From the past two weeks or so, I've been messing around experimenting with the "dark horses" of the UU metagame and when I stumbled upon Vivillon, I've come to know how much a threat she really is. Looking at its bare exterior, she just looks like your run-off-the-mill and obligatory early game butterfly line. However, amidst her less-than-stellar typing, subpar stats, and sparse movepool came along gems in the form of Quiver Dance, Sleep Powder, and Hurricane. With these in conjunction with Compound Eyes, Vivillon just have the right tools to abuse an efficient QD sweeping set. And now to start off, I'll take you to the process of how the team came to be.

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T E A M B U I L D I N G​

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For much of my goals in UU teambuilding, I wanted to showcase the almost unseen yet otherwise strong and potent threats of the tier. Vivillon is the main specimen, gaining little usage since the dawn of UU but nevertheless is a very threatening Pokemon given the right support. Obviously, the team revolves around making way for a Vivillon sweep. It is quite tricky, given that she has limited switch-in opportunities due to her frailty and 4x weakness to the omnipresent Stealth Rock hazard further reducing her survivability. And so, I needed a way to bring her in the field safely.

To that, I chose SubPass Jolteon. The set is a good momentum grabber, setting up and passing substitutes to Pokemon that Vivillon and the rest of the team can take advantage of. At this point, Vivillon won't be getting a clean sweep with bulky steels running around resisting both of its STABS. Fast and powerful threats are also a burden. Removal or at the least, weakening of both of these would be much appreciated and so...

Scarf Rotom-H was added to the team. With this addition, the team gained another much needed fast offensive presence. However, Rotom-H and Jolteon alone won't be breaking solid defensive cores anytime soon. Stall seemed to be quite a huge dampener to my plans so a wallbreaker was next in line to help soften up and tear down the opposing team's defensive backbone.

Nidoqueen was perfect for the role using her sizable Special Attack and excellent movepool to hit walls for super effective damage. She's not only a mere brute, but she's also quite the defender as well; Nidoqueen boasts a decent bulk coupled with useful resistances to Bug-, Fighting-, and Rock-types. Now, from the looks of it, the team would be making lots of switches making hazards an inevitable nuisance to the team especially for Vivillon. At the same time, it can also benefit from it as the team forces switches as well. From this, I needed a sturdy hazard remover that can set up SR herself.

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With Mew's gigantic movepool, she is able to perform all the duties to great effect. She offers great utility and supports the team well by controlling hazards and as well as sponging hits for the team. To round off it all off, I just needed a reliable counter to the physical fire behemoths in the tier. By the looks of it, they can easily break through the team with ease.

Suicune fills in the spot nicely sporting amazing mixed bulk to take on most physical and some special threats.

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I N---D E P T H---L O O K​

Mew
Ability: Synchronize
Nature: Careful
EV Spread: 252 HP / 252 SpDef / 4 Atk
Moveset: Stealth Rock | Defog | U-Turn | Softboiled
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This team likes to gain and steal momentum whether be it by forcing switches, pulling off double switches, disrupting, or providing set-ups to bring in a certain Pokemon to the field to apply more pressure to the opposing team. And so it is expected that quite a lot of switches will be made throughout the course of battles. Therefore, I cannot stress how important it is to keep hazards away from my side to avoid my Pokemon from being worn down. I guess it applies to every teams that a no hazard entry is ideal but in this case, removal of these hazards is almost always mandatory mostly for Vivillon's sake. Here, Mew serves an integral role in keeping Vivillon at full health which is a must to assure the success of her set-up. Besides being tasked as head in command for hazard control duty, Mew also works as the special bulk of the team. In relation to the moveset, she usually acts as a cushion to special attackers coming in on the susceptible Pokemon currently on my field. The usual routine would be to switch Mew in, recover back health with Softboiled, and U-turn away to an appropriate check/counter.

Jolteon
Ability: Volt Absorb
Nature: Timid
EV Spread: 252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Moveset: Substitute | Baton Pass | Thunderbolt | Signal Beam
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Jolteon's performance is rather inconsistent but if she does go on to work, she do it very well. The SubPass set is great for grabbing momentum to my favor. The basic premise to utilize the set is to threaten the opposing Pokemon and Substitute on the switch, then passing it on to the appropriate recipient. This works well by virtue of Jolteon's high speed, assuring most of the time that the Substitute would be passed unscathed to the receiver prior to the attack. As she lures Ground- and Grass-types, this can be perfect a opportunity to pass the Substitute to Vivillon and attempt a sweep. It doesn't even have to be this exact scenario, for as long as Vivillon outspeeds the opposing Pokemon and the rest of team at one QD boost, it may as well be GG. Now, Jolteon also attracts Electric-types and specially defensive Pokemon (Hello, Florges) so in this case, Nidoqueen would be the prime candidate for the pass. Going to other matters, I opted to use Leftovers instead of Life Orb. In this case, I wanted Jolteon to fulfill its duty more consistently by choosing longevity over the extra power boost. As for coverage options, Signal Beam was used to hit Grass-types, particularly Celebi, harder however I am contemplating to change it to HP Grass as bulky Water/Ground Pokemon have proven to be quite a nuisance.

Rotom-H
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EV Spread: 252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 SpDef
Moveset: Overheat | Volt Switch | Will-o-Wisp | Trick​

Spamming Volt Switches have never been so fun! With Rotom-H's great typing and decent bulk, she can take a hit and force switches providing much needed momentum for the team. And together with Nidoqueen, they serve as my main form of offense working to soften up and bring down Pokemon to make way for a potential Vivillon sweep. Due to the offensive presence and utility that she brings, she is somewhat of a glue for its fellow members as it handles a variety of Pokemon that threaten my team. She helps in keeping in check of threats like Shaymin, Chandelure (a bit shaky here though), and Heracross. Let's not forget one of the biggest threat to the team, Curselax, which can be maimed by tricking it with a Choice Scarf. Trick is really handy for preventing dangerous boosters and disabling incoming walls but I need to use it wisely as it can be a bit predictable most times. Now moving on to a weird part of the set, Will-o-Wisp is there mostly to surprise Ground-types expecting a Volt Switch. And well...it's just fun burning things for the residual damage as well.

Nidoqueen
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Modest
EV Spread: 252 SpA / 156 Spd / 100HP
Moveset: Earth Power | Sludge Wave | Thunderbolt | Ice Beam
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Oh, how I love Nidoqueen. She's just a great, well-rounded special attacker having a balance between power and bulk. Ground/Poison is a unique combo lending handy resistances to Fighting-, and Bug-types. With that, she handles most of the Fighting-types in the tier like Mienshao and Heracross. Also, an immunity to Electric makes her a good answer to Mega Manectric lacking HP Ice. With these, Nidoqueen is granted many switch-in opportunities giving her a chance to wreak havoc. She does well enough against offensive and balanced teams, especially with the help of her teammates who can bring her in more safely (Jolteon's Substitutes, Rotom-H's Volt Switch). However, she shines the most against defensively-oriented teams. Using her respectable Special Attack and amazing coverage options, she can dismantle most defensive cores relying on synergy to work. Still, she has trouble getting past things like specially defensive Mew and Umbreon, but she is set-up bait for Vivillon and Suicune anyway. And now talking about EV's, 156 Speed investment allows her to outspeed Pokemon with an uninvested Speed up to 95, notable ones being Roserade and Xatu.

Suicune
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Bold
EV Spread: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Moveset: Rest | Sleep Talk | Calm Mind | Scald
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Suicune and Mew are what makes up most of the bulk that come from the team; the former for the physical side, and the latter for special. Suicune is important to keep the common, pesky physical fires from ransacking the team taking Flare Blitzes and V-Creates for days. However, she is not limited to just putting a dampener to these fiery ones. Because of her great mixed bulk, Suicune can act as an all-purpose wall. But she's not just your ordinary sponge, as she can dish out some serious hurt. I opted to use the classic CroCune set as a back up win condition. The set just got better now that sleep doesn't reset anymore upon switching out. That way, Suicune can perform her duties more effectively and consistently.

Vivillon
Ability: Compound Eyes
Nature: Modest
EV Spread: 252 SpA / 252 Spd / 4 SpD
Moveset: Sleep Powder | Quiver Dance | Hurricane | Bug Buzz​

Vivillon is a looming threat; a harbinger of doom and all that is chaos and discord, befitting of her cursed mark as the 666th Pokemon. The satanic butterfly paints the town red almost every time she flutters into the field. The blood-curdling horror transpires through what I'd like to call the "Three-Step Death Sentence Sequence ". Behold the ominous triad; Sleep Powder, Quiver Dance, and Hurricane. The effectiveness of this combo is further strengthened by Compound Eyes, letting Vivillon fire off accurate Sleep Powders and powerful Hurricanes to abuse with ease. Sweeping capabilities aside, she can act as a disruptor early to mid game of the match. Due to threat of her boosting after a Pokemon is put to sleep, this usually prompts a switch leaving the incoming Pokemon open for attack. A simple scenario would be a Mega Manectric being maimed by Sleep Powder after coming in on Vivillon. The opposition would switch to a Scarf Victini to stop her from Quiver Dancing only to be hit by a Hurricane. So, situations like these can lead to mind games that can spell their doom or the delay of their imminent doom (teehee) in the match. However, this is where Focus Sash comes into play. Focus sash is there to ease set-up for the sweep whether by shielding it from priority or scarfers/revenge killers. Oh, so a scarf Darmanitan comes in my way to a single Quiver Dance? Let this foolish peasant be and boost again! From there on, I can just fire off Sleep Powder to the next Pokemon and start boosting away again. Rinse and repeat.

R E M A R K S
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I had lots of fun laddering with this team. It had a different feel compared to other teams I've played with; the flow, the mentality I had throughout the game, etc. From the moment I started though, I knew that this team had many exploitable weaknesses but to my surprise, I climbed up to #10 in the rankings. This sheer fact is quite foreign to me, even beginning to doubt myself at times. Was it just a fluke? Were the match-ups just too kind for me? I don't know. But one thing's for sure; it's that I almost always bring my A game when I battle. Well, it was a new and fun experience and quite a memorable one as well. After all, this was the first team that helped me break through the top 10 for the first time. But along with it came a series of chokes and hard losses that made me fell off steeply in the rankings. Hopefully, ya'll can offer sound advice for further improvements of the team.

For the skeptics:

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T H R E A T S​

There are many, but the ones listed below stood out as the biggest threats I could think of at the top of my head.

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Snorlax.
A flaw in my team is that all of my attackers are specially inclined. My only real way of dealing immediate heavy damage is through Nidoqueen, but even she lacks the power to break through Snorlax's defenses. CB and Curse variants without Rest is much more manageable, but indeed the RestTalk ones are what causes the trouble. My only real hope of handling this is by tricking Snorlax a Choice Scarf.

SubCM Users.
Common SubCM users I see in the ladder are Cressy and Jirachi. The former is more dangerous but nevertheless, they both can set-up on 3 to 4 Pokemon on my team which is a huge problem. I'm totally hopeless when they get a Substitute up. Best course of action is to set up Vivillon early, or again, tricking them with a Choice Scarf. Also, Mew seems like a magnet to them so I can bait them in and run away with U-turn, switching to the appropriate check.

Mega Ampharos
Mega Ampharos is a big momentum killer for my team. There really are no safe switch-ins when she comes into play except for Mew. Mew can serve as a temporary cushion to the assaults but even then, Mega Ampharos can just use this time for a slow Volt Switch and gain momentum. Heavy prediction is needed for me to get the jump on her. Worse is my only way of dealing with her offensively is Nidoqueen who doesn't appreciate Dragon Pulses that much.

R E P L A Y S

Here are some replays of my battles to better understand how this team works:

Vs Pleasure Kitten
Vs Giolololol
Vs Pete Zahut
Vs Foop
Vs Nick_Furious

I M P O R T A B L E
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In case you'd like to try it our yourself, well then, here you go.

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Vivillon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Bug Buzz
- Hurricane

Jolteon @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
- Thunderbolt
- Signal Beam

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- U-turn
- Soft-Boiled

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 100 HP / 252 SAtk / 156 Spd
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp

Suicune @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

THANK YOU FOR READING!

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[Ununhexium]

Good team!!! Right now at 10 at night on my phone, the only weakness I can think of is priority, sharpedo and your reliance on mew to clear hazards. Also, mega absol can be an issue because it can kill new as well as reversing sleep powder on vivillon. It can also muscle through crocune iirc though admittedly hard.

Anyways, nice job.

 

[Wobblebuns]

Good team!!! Right now at 10 at night on my phone, the only weakness I can think of is priority, sharpedo and your reliance on mew to clear hazards. Also, mega absol can be an issue because it can kill new as well as reversing sleep powder on vivillon. It can also muscle through crocune iirc though admittedly hard.

Anyways, nice job.

Thanks!

Surprisingly, I think I haven't face any Sharpedo at all throughout my laddering. But nevertheless, Suicune can handle him nicely with Crunch being only a 4HKO. Problem is though, my team does look weak if Suicune's gone so surely it's priority to keep him at good health. Aside from any defense drops, Sharpedo wouldn't be much of a problem. Variants with Destiny Bond is annoying though. Well as for Absol, same case with Sharpedo that I have little to no battle experience with him. SD sets are scary, but I'd imagine he'll struggle to find opportunities to come in the field. Mew is an obvious magnet though, so in these situations I'll just spam U-turn to test the waters.

 

[Blast]

Yeah Dark-types like Mega Absol and Mega Houndoom would probably be pretty big issues for your team--the latter in particular 2HKOes your entire team after a boost and not even Suicune can stop it if it's healthy enough to live a Scald. Using Scarf Mienshao over Rotom-H allows you to help with this as it easily revenges both with HJK and can still scout with U-turn (albeit without STAB). It also gives your team a bit of extra physical firepower so that + Fighting STAB can somewhat help against Snorlax as long as it hasn't gotten up too many Curses.

Also, if you're not running a Mega you should really be using Mega Manectric over Jolteon. Not only is it (marginally) faster and considerably stronger, but it boasts massive utility in Intimidate, which allows it to aid your opponent in setting up or Volt Switch on a predicted switch and grab momentum. Oh and if you're having trouble against CM Cress + Rachi you should put SR on Nidoqueen (preferably over Thunderbolt or Ice Beam) and replace U-turn + SR on Mew with Knock Off + Will-O-Wisp. Removing their items and burning them allows you to apply a lot of pressure through residual damage, which makes them easier to break down with the rest of your team.

Suggested changes

Mienshao @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Regenerator / Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Aerial Ace

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightingrod
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Overheat / Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Hidden Power [Grass]

Mew: U-turn --> Knock Off, Stealth Rock --> Will-O-Wisp

Nidoqueen: either Thunderbolt or Ice Beam --> Stealth Rock

 

[ApplepieFTW]

Holy crap this rmt is beautiful! Prolly run meganectric over jolteon, and btw some of your sprites are messed up in the hide boxes but that may just be me.

 

[Finnyfinfin]

This is so beautiful... But either way, just due to using the problem myself, I have found one weakness! If you let Suicune get too low on health, Shell Smash Barbaracle is going to smash that team, unless you manage to keep your Vivillon 's sash, then you might have a chance with Bug buzz. Other than that, I can't find anything that hasn't been said yet. (+2 Speed Barbaracle outspeeds Jolteon, no need for you to even check, I've checked it all.)

 

[Ununhexium]

Is barbacle even relevant in the current meta? I've seen it maybe once.

 

[KarateKoala]

Dude, all I can say is wow. Not only is this a beautiful RMT, but for some reason I just absolutely love this team. It manages to contain enough top threats that it can compete, as seen by your ladder peak, but it also uses a lot of underused sets on common pokes. What I really love is the subpass jolteon vivillion combo; it just works so well. This is a really awesome team. The only thing i could see you having a slight problem with is banded hera, which can pretty much 2 hit ko any member of your team with the right prediction, but theres nothing you can really do about that, considering this is a more offensive team how i see it. Besides, hes pretty easy for you to revenge with the amount of speed you have on the team. Overall, amazing team (jealous I didn't come up with it!)

 

[Finnyfinfin]

Is barbacle even relevant in the current meta? I've seen it maybe once.

It's actually better than most people think, only stuff that seem to stop it are like Empoleon at full health and roar and Slowbro, but both get 2HKO. Or prankster status to cripple. I don't remember which tier Gastrodon is atm, but that's a good stop as well, except it doesn't appreciate taking EQ or Cross Chop too much.

 

[Wobblebuns]

Oh my, surprised ya'll bump into this RMT thread. I actually retired this team quite a long time ago, but I guess it would be nice to ladder with it again. I'll be implementing Dat Blast's suggested changes and see how it works from there.

Thanks for your kind comments and suggestions!