Introduction
So just came from a 0-4 record in OMPL, and shadowmaster6789 told me and many others that the Tours Plaza Premiere will be hosting Partners in Crime as a format. I was obviously stoked, however, there was more good news abound, as Partners in Crime was a candidate for becoming the next official OM. We managed to get top spot and therefore picked, getting us eligible for OMWC and OMPL status, not to mention a permaladder. That really lit a fire under me as a leader and the council in general. With two team tours and a kickoff tournament in our path, we had a lot of catching up to do and meta development needed to happen at mach speed. I got picked up for 16k on the Frosmoths team alongside shadowmaster for support, but also the council was also chatting a ton about our matches and were really hyped. I lost against Clas week 1, and considering I went winless in every tournament I joined I was desperate for a win. So for Xrn I wanted to bring a team with the best possible matchups against every teamstyle, but Cresselia was banned. I went for a sunroom-ish team at first featuring Iron Ball Walking Wake, but it did not turn out great in testing, so I went for a more general Sun team in hoping I won purely on matchup, and suffice to say I did! With DLC1 coming soon enough and forecasting an entire metagame shakeup, I might as well share this team as I am super proud of it.
The Team
Torkoal @ Charcoal
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 9 Def / 0 Spe
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect
To preface, Sun is probably one of the best archetypes in Gen 9 Partners in Crime due to a lot of natural synergies in Protosynthesis and Chlorophyll, as well as plenty of great Pokemon that can easily fit on a Sun team such as Basculegion-F for Mold Breaker or Armarouge for a different spread move nuke in Expanding Force and potentially going semiroom. Now being a Sun team, you need the sun setter and Torkoal does what Torkoal does best. Eruption does massive damage when coupled with Tera Fire and Charcoal, Heat Wave is still a powerful option when Eruption doesn't do enough, and Earth Power hits Heatran and other resists. 9 Defense IVs and 0 Speed IVs allow Torkoal to get a more useful SpA bonus with Protosynthesis, which allows me to deal more damage and underpseed a lot of potential threats under Trick Room.
Lilligant-Hisui (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Sleep Powder
- After You
- Pollen Puff
Lilligant-Hisui is the obligator Chlorophyll abuser, giving the entire team doubled speed under sun. Close Combat allows me to hit Heatran and annoyances like Ting-Lu super effectively. Sleep Powder puts opponents to sleep. After You gives Torkoal a quick Eruption as well as help other allies go before opponents in the event they outspeed. Pollen Puff was chosen late as a way to deal damage to Tera Grass Flash Fire Pokemon or annoying Levitate allies like Mesprit and Hydreigon when used by allies, but function as an emergency heal as needed. Plus, it also gives Volcarona Bug STAB in a pinch. Tera Ghost is used to be immune to Fake Out and Extreme Speed. Adamant nature gives Lilligant an Attack boost from Protosynthesis.
Walking Wake @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Protect
Walking Wake gives the team a good matchup in the event of a Sun mirror, or if the opponent brings Heatran. Protosynthesis is also incredibly useful as it buffs itself and allies under sun, notably giving Landorus a Speed boost and Volcarona a Special Attack boost. The spread gives Walking Wake a Speed boost from Protosynthesis under sun, notably allowing me to outspeed the opponent's Tailwind alongside Chlorophyll. Tera Fire allows me to take advantage of Eruption or Heat Wave from Torkoal and Volcarona while also offering a quick resistance to Freeze Dry and Fairy-type attacks. Sitrus Berry allows this Pokemon to be an emergency body guard for Volcarona, but also has came in clutch multiple times.
Indeedee-F (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Psychic Surge
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Trick Room
- Follow Me
- Imprison
The team needed a way to handle PrioSpam and Trick Room, and since the team didn't have any priority of its own Indeedee-F was a natural fit. Imprison is a very annoying move because since you disable not only Trick Room from the opponents, but also has the potential to force the opponent away from Protect, making games less prediction reliant. This set also allows me to set Trick Room in the event I cannot outspeed the opponents and would lose otherwise, making Torkoal more of a threat. Safety Goggles allows me to redirect and be immune to Spore, so I don't completely falter against sleep. Tera Fairy gives Indeedee a better defensive profile.
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Heat Wave
- Giga Drain
- Rage Powder
Volcarona was a weird pick, but ended up being pretty good in the long run. Quiver Dance is a fearsome move to pass to allies, and yoda's team in the Partners in Crime thread was the main inspiration for the set. Being able to not only redirect with Rage Powder but pass Quiver Dance is honestly a great reason why to use Volcarona here. Flame Body is great because you can potentially burn random pokemon on the opposing team, giving you more opportunities to set up. Tera Water allows me to reliably 1v1 Volcanion and other annoying Water-types, especially those found on rain, with Giga Drain and not have to worry about its STAB attacks, and as a bonus it gives Hydro Steam STAB. Neat!
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sandsear Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power
- Protect
I was discussing with Chromate that, because of the Cresselia ban, Landorus was a massive threat due to the lack of discovery on the rest of the Levitate Pokemon, since most, if not all, get easily chipped (yuki will then prove me wrong but that's just yuki). It was pretty useful in taking down any Trick Room strategies due to how powerful Sandsear Storm is. Sheer Force improves this team's already high damage output with moves like Heat Wave and Psychic already on the team. Sludge Bomb gives me a second option against Tera Grass Flash Fire annoyances and is just an overall great move to use against fatter builds featuring Fairy-types. Earth Power is handy in the event of Wide Guard. Tera Ground further boosts Landorus's STABs while also dropping it down from the sky so to take full advanatage of Psychic Surge from Indeedee.
Threats
Volcanion and Flash Fire: Especially with Levitate, you will have to play super aggressively in order to win. Sludge Bomb and Pollen Puff can hit Tera Grass Flash Fire Pokemon such as Heatran and Earth Power/Sandsear can hit most of the Pokemon of that list if they didn't bring Levitate mons like Mesprit or Hydreigon.
Prankster Weather Change: Suffice to say you just have to take down Tornadus before it starts being a nuisance, or else you just lose.
Flamigo and Gimmicks: Sometimes you might not see what's coming, and then you just randomly lose Torkoal or you see +2 omniboosted Dondozo with a Flamigo. You need to prevent the strat from working before it happens because you don't have any way to remove the opponent's boosts. It's just all about awareness at that point.
Shoutouts
yuki Chromate zoe jasprose YoBuddy You guys have been the best council I have been apart of. It has always been great being able to discuss this tier with y'all and seeing everyone super pumped to take on the rest of Gen 9 makes me ecstatic that I brought this tier back from the dead.
HoeenHero UT ponchlake Lumii shadowmaster6789 sundays Career Ended Gimmickyasitgets SparksBlade frostyicelad kenn drampa's grandpa Meta You lot gave me a lot of support in mons, and even if it was just moral support, and I really appreciate all you've done for me.
Clas Xrn Smudge Frixel Chris32156 K3ppr bage1 Level 51 Yoda2798 and anyone else who is playing/helping Partners in Crime for TPP/Kickoff that I forgot. This pool is super cutthroat, and watching your matches has left me awestruck with what you gave in those matches. Despite whatever record you get at the end I hope you know you all did spectacular at the end. Feel free to bother me if you want a game or just advice on your team, I'll be more than happy to oblige. Maybe you'll play this tier again in OMWC, which is just around the corner, and I hope to see you there too.
Volcanion and Flash Fire: Especially with Levitate, you will have to play super aggressively in order to win. Sludge Bomb and Pollen Puff can hit Tera Grass Flash Fire Pokemon such as Heatran and Earth Power/Sandsear can hit most of the Pokemon of that list if they didn't bring Levitate mons like Mesprit or Hydreigon.
Prankster Weather Change: Suffice to say you just have to take down Tornadus before it starts being a nuisance, or else you just lose.
Flamigo and Gimmicks: Sometimes you might not see what's coming, and then you just randomly lose Torkoal or you see +2 omniboosted Dondozo with a Flamigo. You need to prevent the strat from working before it happens because you don't have any way to remove the opponent's boosts. It's just all about awareness at that point.
Shoutouts
yuki Chromate zoe jasprose YoBuddy You guys have been the best council I have been apart of. It has always been great being able to discuss this tier with y'all and seeing everyone super pumped to take on the rest of Gen 9 makes me ecstatic that I brought this tier back from the dead.
HoeenHero UT ponchlake Lumii shadowmaster6789 sundays Career Ended Gimmickyasitgets SparksBlade frostyicelad kenn drampa's grandpa Meta You lot gave me a lot of support in mons, and even if it was just moral support, and I really appreciate all you've done for me.
Clas Xrn Smudge Frixel Chris32156 K3ppr bage1 Level 51 Yoda2798 and anyone else who is playing/helping Partners in Crime for TPP/Kickoff that I forgot. This pool is super cutthroat, and watching your matches has left me awestruck with what you gave in those matches. Despite whatever record you get at the end I hope you know you all did spectacular at the end. Feel free to bother me if you want a game or just advice on your team, I'll be more than happy to oblige. Maybe you'll play this tier again in OMWC, which is just around the corner, and I hope to see you there too.