First things first, before you continue, be sure to check out the JolteMons thread as well as its Role Compendium in the SylveMons Resources thread, as I imagine many of you are unfamiliar with the metagame. I'll explain new stuff as I go along, but there you'll find everything you'll need to acquaint yourself with the metagame. JolteMons is playable on DragonHeaven.
With that, let's get started.
--------------
It's really been 5 and half years, huh?
So much has happened since the last time I did a RMT at 1000 Posts. An entire new story for myself and the Pet Mods community as a whole were written throughout those 1000 posts. I became a subforum moderator, the Pet Mods community grew to a size I could've only dreamed off 2.5 years ago, we just got our ladder on Showdown back, and so much more. Not to mention how much real life stuff has happened to me over the last 2.5 years, like graduating high school.
So, to celebrate 2000 posts on Smogon, I want to share with you a small part of that story.
JolteMons is a National Dex OU-based metagame and a sequel to the Gen 7-8 Pet Mod SylveMons where new moves, items, and abilities are created and Pokémon are given non-BST adjustments. It is ran by myself and my fellow council members AquaticPanic, DuoM2, zxgzxg, and Paulluxx, and it's been a blast to run, battle in, and watch grow, holding a special spot in my story on Smogon. Submissions for JolteMons ended earlier today and we're jumping into a playtesting phase that I'm extremely excited about. Thus, it is only appropriate in this RMT to give you a little sneak peak into our crazy little world.
Step 1:
As any good Sun team should, this team started out with the core of Torkoal and Venusaur. This team was created during Slate 8 of JolteMons (for reference, Slate 10 just finished up today) and during that slate a new edited item was added, being a buff to the Utility Umbrella. Because I wanted to try it out, I wanted to use a weather team to show it off, settling on Sun teams since they were a hot topic at the time, though mostly because of the perception of how unviable they were.
Step 2:
The Utility Umbrella, for Sun anyway, is best used on bulky Water-types that would otherwise suffer from being in the sun. I settled on Empoleon for its immense special bulk in combination with the new moves and ability it received, making it a sturdy Specially Defensive pivot to pair with Torkoal.
Step 3:
I immediately knew I wanted some power and speed control outside of Sun, so I opted for Tapu Lele, who could provide both in spades. Psychic Terrain is also great to prevent Venusaur from being revenge killed by Weavile or Sucker Punch users, letting it run even more wild.
Step 4:
Electric-types are very strong in JolteMons, so I knew wanted a Ground-type to dissuade Volt Switch spam, which otherwise threatened both Torkoal and Empoleon. I initially went for Mega Garchomp, as it could serve as a dangerous sweeper after Venusaur weakens the opponent's team while having the bulk to come in on Electric-types multiple times a game.
Step 5:
Here, I was a bit stuck on what the last slot should've been, as I really wanted something immune to Ground but also a Fire-type to abuse Sun with. While Mega Charizard Y was a great option (were I'd switch Garchomp to Leftovers or Utility Umbrella), I initially went for a very weird and un-meta pick in Rotom-Heat, who was a lot less powerful, but provided great Electric coverage, better longevity, and Nasty Plot.
Step 6:
After some private testing, while it wasn't bad, I opted to replace Rotom-Heat with Blaziken because I was overloaded on Special wallbreakers as I already had both Tapu Lele and Venusaur. I also swapped out Mega Garchomp for Gliscor to give me a much needed Ground immunity.
Pollyanna (Blaziken) (F) @ Cursed Belt
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
The namesake of the team. I never really had a concrete reason for why I always name stuff in the Torchic line "Pollyanna," might just be because Combusken is my favorite Pokémon and the Smash Melee Pollyanna remix was my favorite song for awhile. Anyway, one thing I do know is that using this thing makes me as happy as the song does. Blaziken is very straight forward and plays similarly to how it does in NatDex. You come in with the sun up, find a chance to Swords Dance, then click Flare Blitz, Close Combat, and Thunder Punch until everything dies. The new item Cursed Belt greatly helps with this process, activating after you use Swords Dance and giving Blaziken's moves a free 1.2x power boost, which should be enough to bust your way through most things. Speed Boost makes this even easier, boosting Blaziken's Speed, making it more likely to sweep and harder to revenge kill every turn.
Tacticoal (Torkoal) (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Arid Absorption
- Body Press
Torkoal is still your standard Torkoal for the most part. No other Sun setters were added and Ninetales wasn't significantly buffed at all, so Torkoal is still a requirement for any good Sun team. Torkoal did get one neat new trick in the form of Arid Absorption. Arid Absorption gives Torkoal a small amount of recovery, greatly increasing its longevity, allowing it to set Sun more times a game, which can be a lifesaver in longer games. Arid Absorption also allows Torkoal act as a physical wall in emergency, putting less pressure on Empoleon and Gliscor. The rest of the set is your standard Torkoal affair, setting up Rocks to make Venusaur and Blaziken even scarier, Lava Plume to spread burns and make Torkoal less passive, and Body Press to smack Tyranitar if it tries to change the weather, as well as other Fighting-weak Pokemon like Mega Lopunny and Heatran. The Heat Rock is obviously there to allow Venusaur and Blaziken to be threatening for as long as possible, but, as you'll see later, it also greatly benefits Empoleon.
Ivy (Venusaur) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Weather Ball
Venusaur is still the best Chlorophyll sweeper around by a long shot, and while most of the buffs it received benefit Mega Venusaur more, Venusaur is still amazing at its job. With Growth doubling its Special Attack in the sun, Venusaur is a great early game wallbreaker and late game sweeper, terrorizing any team without a Blissey or a Cresselia (which is pure Fairy here). Giga Drain is required for STAB both in and out of Sun, Earth Power hits Heatran and Fire-types in general, and I opted for Weather Ball over Sludge Bomb to hit Steel-types harder, particularly Corviknight and Melmetal, both of which Blaziken can't set up on, as well as Ferrothorn and the now Psychic/Steel Uxie. Life Orb is still the best item choice here, making Venusaur even scarier after a Growth.
Prince (Empoleon) (M) @ Utility Umbrella
Ability: Unimpressed
EVs: 248 HP / 60 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Life Dew
- Flip Turn
- Defog
Empoleon is by far the most unique thing on this team. Through a whirlwind of multiple buffs, Empoleon proves to be a potent Specially Defensive pivot and an essential asset for this team, considering the fact that 2/3rds of the team are weak to Water and 2 more are weak to Ice. First, I'll mention Empoleon's item and the reason why it works on this team: the Utility Umbrella. This buffed version of the little know Gen 8 item allows Empoleon's Water attacks to ignore the power drop from Sun and while Empoleon takes normal damage from opposing Fire-type attacks in the Sun. This makes Empoleon way less passive and allows it to check opposing Fire-types like Sheer Force Mega Houndoom, which would be impossible to switch into otherwise. The Utility Umbrella's healing in the Sun is a bonus, allowing Empoleon to click Life Dew less and making it not miss Leftovers. Speaking of Life Dew, it's another major reason why Empoleon is usable, giving it the reliable recovery it desperately needs and allowing it to check the likes of Ash Greninja and Wishiwashi for entire games. The other new move it got, Flip Turn, allows Empoleon to keep up momentum and no waste too many Sun turns after switching in on powerful Special Attackers, letting Venusaur and Blaziken in safely. Scald is Scald, spreading burns like Torkoal's Lava Plume. Lastly, Defog is extremely important because I opted to run Arid Absorption on Torkoal instead of Rapid Spin, so Defog is integral to keeping Venusaur, Tapu Lele, and especially Torkoal healthy for the whole game. The last trick up Empoleon's sleeve is its new Hidden Ability, Unimpressed. Negating the opponent's STAB allows Empoleon to take only 2/3 the damage it would take from what are usually a Pokémon's best moves, giving it a ton of effective bulk. This is absolutely mandatory to allow Empoleon to comfortably switch into and pivot out on Ash Greninja's Dark Pulse, only being 4HKOed by it.
Tapu Lilo (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Tapu Lele needs no introduction. With its massive 130 SpA and Psychic Surge, it can easily dent holes in the opponent's team with Psyshock, which also hits Blissey for good damage. Moonblast is there to KO problematic Dragon-types like Wishiwashi-School and Garchomp while revenge killing Ash Greninja. The slightly more consistent Focus Blast destroys Steel-types like Heatran and Melmetal, while Hidden Power Fire deals great damage to the ones that aren't weak to Fighting like Corviknight, and roasting Ferrothorn in the Sun. I went with Scarf Lele for some much needed speed control outside of the Sun, lessening my reliance on it.
Fang (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 52 Def / 192 SpD / 20 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Facade
Gliscor is still just as great as it is in NatDex, being a great wincon and stallbreaker. I opted for the Swords Dance set over a defensive set as I wanted Gliscor's great defensive qualities, but not the passivity of its defensive sets. Plus, I already had both Defog and Stealth Rock covered by Torkoal and Empoleon. Instead, I went with this set to to pivot in on Ground-types, which are very hard to switch into otherwise, and clean up late game after Venusaur and Blaziken go down. Roost is needed to allow Gliscor use its great defensive qualities to the fullest, Swords Dance makes Gliscor a terrifying sweeper after one or two boosts, and EQ and Facade deal damage to Electric and Steel-types, and anything that resists Ground respectively. The chosen EV spread helps Gliscor against Heatran, which is important if Empoleon goes down, as Blaziken isn't the safest switch-in to it.
Nidoking can now viably run both physical and special sets, thanks to the addition of a 90 BP physical Poison move, Mud Spike, and Poison Dart. Both sets are a pain for me, as Nidoking can potentially OHKO all of my mons depending on the set. Offensively, it's a lot easier to deal with since I have Lele and Venusaur, though.
Weavile itself isn't exactly a problem, but Knock Off is. Since I lack a Mega on this team and Z-Moves are banned, if Weavile comes in, I'm losing a needed item on something, since Gliscor isn't a safe switch in. This really sucks, as either Empoleon loses its healing and becomes more passive, or Torkoal loses its Heat Rock.
Rain is naturally a tough matchup for this team, as my weather setter can't switch into Swampert and it has STABs to hit both Empoleon and Gliscor. My best bet is setting up with Blaziken, switch it can threaten most mons in the rain, and keeping Empoleon healthy to deal with Greninja, Tornadus-T, or Lumineon (who has a SpA Huge Power clone). Zapdos, however, is basically impossible to switch into in the Rain, requiring you to make smart sacs or play super carefully.
Mega Gallade has a new ability that boosts the power of moves that lower the user's stats, making Close Combat extremely threatening it Gallade sets up. Tapu Lele can thankfully revenge kill it, but if it's gone, Gallade becomes a huge threat, especially if it's running Triple Axel over Knock Off.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8joltemons-12
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8joltemons-56
(Replays from DragonHeaven tend to get overwritten, but I have HTML versions of both in case that happens)
(Click the sprites)
As I said earlier, this team was made during Slate 8 of JolteMons. However, in the last 2 slates, a couple meta developments have opened up new options for Sun teams, so I'm including a second version of this team, made with Slate 10 in mind:
First, I want to thank you for making it this far, I know I typed a TON, so, if you got down here, shoutouts to you!
Now for specific shoutouts:
My fellow council members AquaticPanic, DuoM2, zxgzxg, & Paulluxx for helping me run JolteMons, as none of this would've been possible without your inputs, and for being such nice and funny people within the Pet Mods Community as a whole.
G-Luke & earl for their consistent competitive input across the development of JolteMons, helping us prevent, discover, and nerf problematic elements with their experience.
Beaf Cultist & Superior Serperior for helping us development the metagame by constantly playing the meta and trying out wild and new ideas, always a joy to watch your replays
Anyone else who's ever contributed or played JolteMons, including but not limited to Ema Skye, The Damned, AverageDamage, Z-nogyroP, Gravity Monkey, Samtendo09, Rasdanation, Mossy Sandwich and more
Hematite, inkbug, ViZar, and En Passant for helping me code the metagame, as many of the coolest things in the metagame wouldn't exist without their help
Brodaha An old school Pet Mods user who was essentially a council member on SylveMons, we would've never gotten this far without you
And everyone else in the Pet Mods community, for being so much fun to be around and talk to and for helping us go from OM's red-headed stepchild to a legitimate part of Smogon's world. I don't think I have enough characters to tag everyone I need to tag, but if you consider yourself part of the Pet Mod community, I am talking about you. Thank you!
Once again, I want to thank you for reading this super long RMT, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue, or begin, playing JolteMons!
With that, let's get started.
--------------
It's really been 5 and half years, huh?
So much has happened since the last time I did a RMT at 1000 Posts. An entire new story for myself and the Pet Mods community as a whole were written throughout those 1000 posts. I became a subforum moderator, the Pet Mods community grew to a size I could've only dreamed off 2.5 years ago, we just got our ladder on Showdown back, and so much more. Not to mention how much real life stuff has happened to me over the last 2.5 years, like graduating high school.
So, to celebrate 2000 posts on Smogon, I want to share with you a small part of that story.
JolteMons is a National Dex OU-based metagame and a sequel to the Gen 7-8 Pet Mod SylveMons where new moves, items, and abilities are created and Pokémon are given non-BST adjustments. It is ran by myself and my fellow council members AquaticPanic, DuoM2, zxgzxg, and Paulluxx, and it's been a blast to run, battle in, and watch grow, holding a special spot in my story on Smogon. Submissions for JolteMons ended earlier today and we're jumping into a playtesting phase that I'm extremely excited about. Thus, it is only appropriate in this RMT to give you a little sneak peak into our crazy little world.
Step 1:
As any good Sun team should, this team started out with the core of Torkoal and Venusaur. This team was created during Slate 8 of JolteMons (for reference, Slate 10 just finished up today) and during that slate a new edited item was added, being a buff to the Utility Umbrella. Because I wanted to try it out, I wanted to use a weather team to show it off, settling on Sun teams since they were a hot topic at the time, though mostly because of the perception of how unviable they were.
Step 2:
The Utility Umbrella, for Sun anyway, is best used on bulky Water-types that would otherwise suffer from being in the sun. I settled on Empoleon for its immense special bulk in combination with the new moves and ability it received, making it a sturdy Specially Defensive pivot to pair with Torkoal.
Step 3:
I immediately knew I wanted some power and speed control outside of Sun, so I opted for Tapu Lele, who could provide both in spades. Psychic Terrain is also great to prevent Venusaur from being revenge killed by Weavile or Sucker Punch users, letting it run even more wild.
Step 4:
Electric-types are very strong in JolteMons, so I knew wanted a Ground-type to dissuade Volt Switch spam, which otherwise threatened both Torkoal and Empoleon. I initially went for Mega Garchomp, as it could serve as a dangerous sweeper after Venusaur weakens the opponent's team while having the bulk to come in on Electric-types multiple times a game.
Step 5:
Here, I was a bit stuck on what the last slot should've been, as I really wanted something immune to Ground but also a Fire-type to abuse Sun with. While Mega Charizard Y was a great option (were I'd switch Garchomp to Leftovers or Utility Umbrella), I initially went for a very weird and un-meta pick in Rotom-Heat, who was a lot less powerful, but provided great Electric coverage, better longevity, and Nasty Plot.
Step 6:
After some private testing, while it wasn't bad, I opted to replace Rotom-Heat with Blaziken because I was overloaded on Special wallbreakers as I already had both Tapu Lele and Venusaur. I also swapped out Mega Garchomp for Gliscor to give me a much needed Ground immunity.
Pollyanna (Blaziken) (F) @ Cursed Belt
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
- Thunder Punch
I will list all the changes that each Pokemon on the team received in JolteMons, as well as the effects of any custom items they may be holding. Important changes will be listed first and bolded.
New Moves: Fiery Dance
Thunder Punch - Now 85 BP
Sky Uppercut - Now a physical Fighting-type Freeze-Dry clone, hits Flying-types super effectively
Fire Punch - Now 85 BP
Focus Blast - Now never misses if the user moves last or the target switches out (same activation as Analytic)
Crush Claw - Dark-type, 20 BP, Hits twice, each hit lowers the target's Defense by 1
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Revenge - 50 BP, 0 priority, doubles in power if the user moves last or the target switches (Gen 4 Payback clone)
Fiery Dance - Now 85 BP
New Item: Cursed Belt - After using a status move, that move is disabled. This Pokémon's moves deal 1.2x damage if any of its moves are disabled.
New Moves: Fiery Dance
Thunder Punch - Now 85 BP
Sky Uppercut - Now a physical Fighting-type Freeze-Dry clone, hits Flying-types super effectively
Fire Punch - Now 85 BP
Focus Blast - Now never misses if the user moves last or the target switches out (same activation as Analytic)
Crush Claw - Dark-type, 20 BP, Hits twice, each hit lowers the target's Defense by 1
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Revenge - 50 BP, 0 priority, doubles in power if the user moves last or the target switches (Gen 4 Payback clone)
Fiery Dance - Now 85 BP
New Item: Cursed Belt - After using a status move, that move is disabled. This Pokémon's moves deal 1.2x damage if any of its moves are disabled.
Tacticoal (Torkoal) (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Arid Absorption
- Body Press
New: Moves: Arid Absorption
Arid Absorption - Ground-type Status Move, Heals the user by 33% of its max HP. Heals an additional 33% and raises the user's Attack by 1 for every Water-type on the field (including the user). All Water-types on the field lose 33% of their max HP (including the user).
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
New Ability: Magma Armor - Halves damage taken from Water and Ice moves; Hail & Freeze immunity
Arid Absorption - Ground-type Status Move, Heals the user by 33% of its max HP. Heals an additional 33% and raises the user's Attack by 1 for every Water-type on the field (including the user). All Water-types on the field lose 33% of their max HP (including the user).
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
New Ability: Magma Armor - Halves damage taken from Water and Ice moves; Hail & Freeze immunity
Ivy (Venusaur) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Growth
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Weather Ball
New Moves: Toxic Thread, Mud Spike, Rash Powder
Rash Powder - Stun Spore that burns the opponent
Toxic Thread - Now badly poisons the target and lowers their Speed by 2 stages
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Venoshock - Now doubles in power if the target has any status conditions
Petal Dance - Now a Fiery Dance clone, 85 BP
Mud Spike - 85 BP Physical Ground-type move, 10% chance to the poison the target (30% if used by a Poison-type)
Rash Powder - Stun Spore that burns the opponent
Toxic Thread - Now badly poisons the target and lowers their Speed by 2 stages
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Venoshock - Now doubles in power if the target has any status conditions
Petal Dance - Now a Fiery Dance clone, 85 BP
Mud Spike - 85 BP Physical Ground-type move, 10% chance to the poison the target (30% if used by a Poison-type)
Prince (Empoleon) (M) @ Utility Umbrella
Ability: Unimpressed
EVs: 248 HP / 60 SpA / 200 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Life Dew
- Flip Turn
- Defog
New Moves: Reconstruct, Life Dew, Flip Turn, Aurora Beam
Life Dew - Now heals the user by 50% of its max HP
Aurora Beam - Now 75 BP, 100% chance to lower the target's Attack
Reconstruct - Steel-type Status move, Charges turn 1, Heals the user by 50% of its max HP and clears negative stat changes on turn 2. The user takes 50% damage from all attacks while charging.
Signal Beam - Now has a 100% chance to lower the target's Speed by 1
Avalanche - 50 BP, 0 priority, doubles in power if the user moves last or the target switches (Gen 4 Payback clone)
New Ability: Unimpressed - Attacks used against this Pokémon don't receive STAB
New Item: Utility Umbrella - This Pokémon ignores the effects of Sun and Rain, both when attacking and defending and is immune to weather damage. Heals 1/12 of its max HP in weather every turn.
Life Dew - Now heals the user by 50% of its max HP
Aurora Beam - Now 75 BP, 100% chance to lower the target's Attack
Reconstruct - Steel-type Status move, Charges turn 1, Heals the user by 50% of its max HP and clears negative stat changes on turn 2. The user takes 50% damage from all attacks while charging.
Signal Beam - Now has a 100% chance to lower the target's Speed by 1
Avalanche - 50 BP, 0 priority, doubles in power if the user moves last or the target switches (Gen 4 Payback clone)
New Ability: Unimpressed - Attacks used against this Pokémon don't receive STAB
New Item: Utility Umbrella - This Pokémon ignores the effects of Sun and Rain, both when attacking and defending and is immune to weather damage. Heals 1/12 of its max HP in weather every turn.
Tapu Lilo (Tapu Lele) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
New Moves: Counterspell, Enchanted Punch
Focus Blast - Never misses if the user moves last or the target switches out
Counterspell - 110 BP Special Fairy-type move, -1 priority, uses the target's Special Attack in damage calculation
Enchanted Punch - 80 BP Physical Fairy-type move, target's the foe's Special Defense
Focus Blast - Never misses if the user moves last or the target switches out
Counterspell - 110 BP Special Fairy-type move, -1 priority, uses the target's Special Attack in damage calculation
Enchanted Punch - 80 BP Physical Fairy-type move, target's the foe's Special Defense
Fang (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 52 Def / 192 SpD / 20 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Facade
New Moves: Arid Absorption, Crush Claw, Poison Dart
Arid Absorption - Ground-type Status Move, Heals the user by 33% of its max HP. Heals an additional 33% and raises the user's Attack by 1 for every Water-type on the field (including the user). All Water-types on the field lose 33% of their max HP (including the user).
Sky Uppercut - Now a physical Fighting-type Freeze-Dry clone, hits Flying-types super effectively
Crush Claw - Dark-type, 20 BP, Hits twice, each hit lowers the target's Defense by 1
Poison Dart - Poison-type Quick Attack clone, 10% chance to poison the foe, never misses
Payback - Now also has doubled power when the target switches out (Gen 4 Payback effect)
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Venoshock - Now doubles in power if the target has any status conditions
Arid Absorption - Ground-type Status Move, Heals the user by 33% of its max HP. Heals an additional 33% and raises the user's Attack by 1 for every Water-type on the field (including the user). All Water-types on the field lose 33% of their max HP (including the user).
Sky Uppercut - Now a physical Fighting-type Freeze-Dry clone, hits Flying-types super effectively
Crush Claw - Dark-type, 20 BP, Hits twice, each hit lowers the target's Defense by 1
Poison Dart - Poison-type Quick Attack clone, 10% chance to poison the foe, never misses
Payback - Now also has doubled power when the target switches out (Gen 4 Payback effect)
Curse - For non-Ghost-types: +2 Atk, +1 Def, -1 Spe
Venoshock - Now doubles in power if the target has any status conditions
Nidoking can now viably run both physical and special sets, thanks to the addition of a 90 BP physical Poison move, Mud Spike, and Poison Dart. Both sets are a pain for me, as Nidoking can potentially OHKO all of my mons depending on the set. Offensively, it's a lot easier to deal with since I have Lele and Venusaur, though.
Weavile itself isn't exactly a problem, but Knock Off is. Since I lack a Mega on this team and Z-Moves are banned, if Weavile comes in, I'm losing a needed item on something, since Gliscor isn't a safe switch in. This really sucks, as either Empoleon loses its healing and becomes more passive, or Torkoal loses its Heat Rock.
Rain is naturally a tough matchup for this team, as my weather setter can't switch into Swampert and it has STABs to hit both Empoleon and Gliscor. My best bet is setting up with Blaziken, switch it can threaten most mons in the rain, and keeping Empoleon healthy to deal with Greninja, Tornadus-T, or Lumineon (who has a SpA Huge Power clone). Zapdos, however, is basically impossible to switch into in the Rain, requiring you to make smart sacs or play super carefully.
Mega Gallade has a new ability that boosts the power of moves that lower the user's stats, making Close Combat extremely threatening it Gallade sets up. Tapu Lele can thankfully revenge kill it, but if it's gone, Gallade becomes a huge threat, especially if it's running Triple Axel over Knock Off.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8joltemons-12
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/dragonheaven-gen8joltemons-56
(Replays from DragonHeaven tend to get overwritten, but I have HTML versions of both in case that happens)
(Click the sprites)
As I said earlier, this team was made during Slate 8 of JolteMons. However, in the last 2 slates, a couple meta developments have opened up new options for Sun teams, so I'm including a second version of this team, made with Slate 10 in mind:
First, I want to thank you for making it this far, I know I typed a TON, so, if you got down here, shoutouts to you!
Now for specific shoutouts:
My fellow council members AquaticPanic, DuoM2, zxgzxg, & Paulluxx for helping me run JolteMons, as none of this would've been possible without your inputs, and for being such nice and funny people within the Pet Mods Community as a whole.
G-Luke & earl for their consistent competitive input across the development of JolteMons, helping us prevent, discover, and nerf problematic elements with their experience.
Beaf Cultist & Superior Serperior for helping us development the metagame by constantly playing the meta and trying out wild and new ideas, always a joy to watch your replays
Anyone else who's ever contributed or played JolteMons, including but not limited to Ema Skye, The Damned, AverageDamage, Z-nogyroP, Gravity Monkey, Samtendo09, Rasdanation, Mossy Sandwich and more
Hematite, inkbug, ViZar, and En Passant for helping me code the metagame, as many of the coolest things in the metagame wouldn't exist without their help
Brodaha An old school Pet Mods user who was essentially a council member on SylveMons, we would've never gotten this far without you
And everyone else in the Pet Mods community, for being so much fun to be around and talk to and for helping us go from OM's red-headed stepchild to a legitimate part of Smogon's world. I don't think I have enough characters to tag everyone I need to tag, but if you consider yourself part of the Pet Mod community, I am talking about you. Thank you!
Once again, I want to thank you for reading this super long RMT, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue, or begin, playing JolteMons!