Special thanks Realistic Waters for building the team with me
Special thanks to Sir Kay and Rapture. for help with the music selection
Special thanks to Yagura for help with the code
Special thanks to Sir Kay and Rapture. for help with the music selection
Special thanks to Yagura for help with the code
Hello everyone, I am here to showcase a team that has been incredibly consistent for me over the span of the current meta, netting me numerous big tourney wins and number one ladder peaks/re-peaks. Almost everything I have accomplished lately has been with this team, so I wouldn't be surprised to see most everyone recognize it. Just a little preface before I jump into the bulk of the information: I built this team with a good friend, Realistic Waters, in August when usage drops occurred. The return of Shiftry was really exciting to me, as it had been a favorite of mine since it left in early XY NU. So of course I had to build around it. Now, scanning the sprite lineup, I know a few jaws dropped. Winter's Howl actually co-built a team with not just one, not two, but three water resists. I'm pretty notorious for bringing no water resist, so this is pretty crazy. With that little bit out of the way, let's jump into the team.
~The Goons~
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Defog
Shiftry is every bit the A+ Pokemon that it is made out to be. Looking at all the options, mixed Life Orb Shiftry was too good to pass up in the current meta. Blessed with the coveted Dark as half as of its dual typing, Shiftry makes the most of its offensive movepool. "If it gets Knock Off, it runs Knock Off" - Everyone. Knock Off dents any switch in, one way or another. If it's not doing a large amount of damage, it is still knocking the item off of whatever wants to switch in, barring megas. Tack on the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) multiplier, and you have yourself a threat. While uninvested, STAB Leaf Storm still smacks a number of would be Knock Off Shiftry switch ins, allowing it to muscle past a number of checks, the premiere example being Rhydon. Sucker Punch is nice priority, allowing Tree to combat faster threats/revenge killers that would otherwise run through. The last slot is occupied by Defog, which Shiftry can make use of by abusing its amazing offensive presence to force switches. While the team only has one member weak to Stealth Rock, balanced teams like to have a way to remove hazards so they can use their excellent synergy throughout the course of a match. The spread is standard for physically biased mixed Pokemon. One last thing to note is that Shiftry is the team's best answer to weather, especially sun. Here's Shiftry going to work v sun. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277224266
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Roost
What compliments one of the best offensive threats in the tier? Oh yeah, an even better offensive threat. AOA (All Out Attacker) Archeops with Roost is a meta defining threat, tearing apart almost every play style with ease. Switch ins are very few, and even then they can be lured with Archeops' plethora of options. As far as offensive synergy goes, Archeops easily takes care of common answers to Shiftry, such as Fighting types that can stomach Leaf Storms, bulky Poisons, and offensive Fire types among others of a very short list. Acrobatics and Earthquake are both staples on Archeops, achieving near perfect coverage. With three slots locked down and covering everything you need, the last slot is pretty much open to team needs. I opted to go with Aqua Tail here as a lure for common Archeops checks. With Aqua Tail, Archeops reaches absolute perfect coverage while bopping its stops, namely Rhydon and Regirock. Chops is the fastest mon on the team, so it is also the go to revenge killer. This replay is really just a solid showcase of the team overall, but Archeops takes the prize for cleaning. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-269492959
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Defog
Shiftry is every bit the A+ Pokemon that it is made out to be. Looking at all the options, mixed Life Orb Shiftry was too good to pass up in the current meta. Blessed with the coveted Dark as half as of its dual typing, Shiftry makes the most of its offensive movepool. "If it gets Knock Off, it runs Knock Off" - Everyone. Knock Off dents any switch in, one way or another. If it's not doing a large amount of damage, it is still knocking the item off of whatever wants to switch in, barring megas. Tack on the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) multiplier, and you have yourself a threat. While uninvested, STAB Leaf Storm still smacks a number of would be Knock Off Shiftry switch ins, allowing it to muscle past a number of checks, the premiere example being Rhydon. Sucker Punch is nice priority, allowing Tree to combat faster threats/revenge killers that would otherwise run through. The last slot is occupied by Defog, which Shiftry can make use of by abusing its amazing offensive presence to force switches. While the team only has one member weak to Stealth Rock, balanced teams like to have a way to remove hazards so they can use their excellent synergy throughout the course of a match. The spread is standard for physically biased mixed Pokemon. One last thing to note is that Shiftry is the team's best answer to weather, especially sun. Here's Shiftry going to work v sun. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277224266
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Roost
What compliments one of the best offensive threats in the tier? Oh yeah, an even better offensive threat. AOA (All Out Attacker) Archeops with Roost is a meta defining threat, tearing apart almost every play style with ease. Switch ins are very few, and even then they can be lured with Archeops' plethora of options. As far as offensive synergy goes, Archeops easily takes care of common answers to Shiftry, such as Fighting types that can stomach Leaf Storms, bulky Poisons, and offensive Fire types among others of a very short list. Acrobatics and Earthquake are both staples on Archeops, achieving near perfect coverage. With three slots locked down and covering everything you need, the last slot is pretty much open to team needs. I opted to go with Aqua Tail here as a lure for common Archeops checks. With Aqua Tail, Archeops reaches absolute perfect coverage while bopping its stops, namely Rhydon and Regirock. Chops is the fastest mon on the team, so it is also the go to revenge killer. This replay is really just a solid showcase of the team overall, but Archeops takes the prize for cleaning. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-269492959
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Ice Beam
After Uxie left the tier, my attention shifted to Mesprit as I tried to find something reminiscent of the mon that made up the production of 4000% of my teams. The team was looking pretty weak to Fighting types thus far. Waters and I had a pretty clear vision of how we wanted the team to look, and Mesprit compacted a lot of roles that we were looking for in the final product. Talk about fulfilling multiple roles, Mesprit always does such a solid job no matter the task. We opted for rocks right away, checking the box for hazards on the team. The EVs given to Mesprit are just enough to speed creep standard Adamant Band Sawk (which hits 269 speed). The Colbur Berry is to allow Mes to chew a Dark type attack and react accordingly, making sure you don't get picked off the plethora of Dark moves littering the tier. Psychic > Psyshock to more efficiently dispose of the physically bulky Poisons which need to be weakened for other members to break opponents (such as Garbodor, Weezing). Ice Beam is in the last slot to pick off Xatu, which otherwise discourages/prevents hazard setting when in play. Not to mention that Ice Beam is a nice middle ground option to catch a good number of Mesprit switch ins, especially when you just aren't feeling a predict. The pixie is just such a solid mon, and while it's hard to pick an MVP on a team stacked to the brim with goons, Mes is a strong contender. Courtesy of my boy Jariibo again, here's everyone's favorite pixie showing off to set up the win. http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277267940
Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 104 HP / 152 Def / 200 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Heal Bell
Why are all the yellow so bright on here? Obligatory Lanturn here. Seriously though, it almost feels obligatory with how reliable it is in the current meta. It's the best blanket check in the tier, holds amazing pivoting ability, is a cleric,
Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gear Grind
- Substitute
- Return
- Shift Gear
I feel like whenever I need a strong, consistent win condition that stacks up well against the common meta, Klinklang is a natural fit to the majority of my teams. Klinklang is seen running its bread and butter set right here. The EV spread has Klinklang sitting at 241 speed, creeping base neutral base 70s (such as Modest Samurott, Ludicolo), things hovering right above that mark (AV Magmortar, some Skuntanks), and also the common Klinklang spread that sits at 96 Speed EVs. Gotta creep, you know how that goes. Klinklang serves as the team's best answer to M Audino and Psychic types, not much else here to touch on.
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
So coming up to the conclusion of the build, the team was still Sawk weak, needed a better Rhydon check (especially DD variants), and just appreciated a good catch all to physical threats. Browsing through the options, Vileplume stood out as answer. Physically defensive Vileplume is here in an attempt to patch up the last few weaknesses lingering around the team. Vileplume takes a lot of the pressure off of the other members of the balance core by acting as another safety blanket to the various physical monsters in the tier. The EV spread is standard, only difference is the 16 speed creep to ensure Plume never gets outpaced by all the other speed creeping base 50s. The set is dual STAB + recovery, accompanied by HP Fire so that Vileplume is never walled/set up on by Steel types (Klinklang, Ferroseed, Mawile). And that pretty much sums up the team, I know I have a way with words.
~Hide Tag Paradise~
Gonna hit some highlights and then the rest of the S/Os are gonna be kinda general. This list is bound to get way bigger, I am just a little short on time. Let me know if I missed you on something.
Jariibo - The king of sacking Shiftry, close friend :] Thanks for taking the time to grab some replays because I keep forgetting to hit save X]
Sir Kay - Standout guy, great friend, one of the biggest reasons why I still hang on PS after all the things that have happened. Thanks for being there bro.
Disjunction - Stellar dude, someone I commonly see eye to eye with on various topics. Great friend. Thanks for taking the time to talk and answer my hundreds of questions. Keep doing you and making the NU room a better place.
Rapture. - King SoL aka the Slice of Life Weeb. Close friend,easy to ghost, and a potent tumblr memer. By the way check the "I said I would" tab, praise.
SilverReaper21 - Your waifu is entry level garbage <3 Close friend, king of the weebs aka micwhere. RIP Seismitoad and Uxie. PS. We need to build something fat.
Realistic Waters - This guy is something else. Almost got bodied by his Dedenne one time, true story. Great friend, thanks for building the team with me. (cat)
Aladyyn - One of the few metal enthusiasts that I know on the site, is a good friend that I can count on to pass some good music. Is actually a Carly Rae Jepsen fan.
Marikeinen - We don't always see eye to eye, but a friend that I can talk philosophy with, always a fun exercise. A guy that would use the same team for a year straight if he could ;]
iplaytennislol - An awesome player that constantly has me saying "Why couldn't I have built that?" Great dude, once bodied me with CB Rocks Pinsir at like 2 in the morning.
Pokedots - Another guy that has builds that I look at and wish I built. Great user to chat with, king of the donuts.
HJAD - Fite me on ladder rn. Great guy with an amazing internet connection that awards me free points <3
Brick Small. - Quality dude that makes the room a better place with his great attitude. Solid player too, not much more you can ask for. Good friend.
hollywood - Music taste is on point. Always look forward to reading your post because they are all gems. The amount of time I have spent laughing whenever you call out someone, oh lord.
NV - Seems like forever ago that you just wondered into the NU room one day, haha. Close friend, it sucks that we haven't talk as much lately due to our different schedules. Hopefully we can figure something out!
NotNova230 - "I cannot like an incomplete product". Procrastination goes hard, okay? I'm finishing it here though. S/O to my boy Nova, aka Banded Lickilicky. Nerd extraordinaire, but a good friend. Also, buy him Crusader Kings 2. He has too many nerdy habits to fund them all.
Dominatio - Close friend and one of the only people I know that can keep up with the Tournaments room. It was a ton of fun getting to hang around during your BLT run, hopefully we can both get qualified and maybe even get drafted to the same team this time. Also still somehow wins using Phases in 2016, three metas later.
The rest of my shoutouts go to all the NU room staff/auth and users. Thank you all for making Pokemon Showdown's Never Used room the place to be!
Jariibo - The king of sacking Shiftry, close friend :] Thanks for taking the time to grab some replays because I keep forgetting to hit save X]
Sir Kay - Standout guy, great friend, one of the biggest reasons why I still hang on PS after all the things that have happened. Thanks for being there bro.
Disjunction - Stellar dude, someone I commonly see eye to eye with on various topics. Great friend. Thanks for taking the time to talk and answer my hundreds of questions. Keep doing you and making the NU room a better place.
Rapture. - King SoL aka the Slice of Life Weeb. Close friend,
SilverReaper21 - Your waifu is entry level garbage <3 Close friend, king of the weebs aka micwhere. RIP Seismitoad and Uxie. PS. We need to build something fat.
Realistic Waters - This guy is something else. Almost got bodied by his Dedenne one time, true story. Great friend, thanks for building the team with me. (cat)
Aladyyn - One of the few metal enthusiasts that I know on the site, is a good friend that I can count on to pass some good music. Is actually a Carly Rae Jepsen fan.
Marikeinen - We don't always see eye to eye, but a friend that I can talk philosophy with, always a fun exercise. A guy that would use the same team for a year straight if he could ;]
iplaytennislol - An awesome player that constantly has me saying "Why couldn't I have built that?" Great dude, once bodied me with CB Rocks Pinsir at like 2 in the morning.
Pokedots - Another guy that has builds that I look at and wish I built. Great user to chat with, king of the donuts.
HJAD - Fite me on ladder rn. Great guy with an amazing internet connection that awards me free points <3
Brick Small. - Quality dude that makes the room a better place with his great attitude. Solid player too, not much more you can ask for. Good friend.
hollywood - Music taste is on point. Always look forward to reading your post because they are all gems. The amount of time I have spent laughing whenever you call out someone, oh lord.
NV - Seems like forever ago that you just wondered into the NU room one day, haha. Close friend, it sucks that we haven't talk as much lately due to our different schedules. Hopefully we can figure something out!
NotNova230 - "I cannot like an incomplete product". Procrastination goes hard, okay? I'm finishing it here though. S/O to my boy Nova, aka Banded Lickilicky. Nerd extraordinaire, but a good friend. Also, buy him Crusader Kings 2. He has too many nerdy habits to fund them all.
Dominatio - Close friend and one of the only people I know that can keep up with the Tournaments room. It was a ton of fun getting to hang around during your BLT run, hopefully we can both get qualified and maybe even get drafted to the same team this time. Also still somehow wins using Phases in 2016, three metas later.
The rest of my shoutouts go to all the NU room staff/auth and users. Thank you all for making Pokemon Showdown's Never Used room the place to be!
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277548141 This is a good game against my buddy Waters. Great showcase of how the team works, every member played a part.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277536204 Fun match against my boy nadaplease. Just an all-around quality match.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277224266 Shiftry rolling up his sleeves and going to work against sun in a match v Xrn.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277267940 Mesprit is being a goon in this one, v Based Loser. Another good showing by my good friend Jarii.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-269492959 A match against Happen. Archeops showed up big time in this win.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277594781 Good stuff by Jariibo again, this one is v Tennis. Great showing by both sides, the team shines through here.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-286737348 Jarii v Kiyo for a big week in BLT. Just great Pokemon players going at it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-315958671 My good friend Dominatio battling it out with Dundies, great game.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277536204 Fun match against my boy nadaplease. Just an all-around quality match.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277224266 Shiftry rolling up his sleeves and going to work against sun in a match v Xrn.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277267940 Mesprit is being a goon in this one, v Based Loser. Another good showing by my good friend Jarii.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-269492959 A match against Happen. Archeops showed up big time in this win.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-277594781 Good stuff by Jariibo again, this one is v Tennis. Great showing by both sides, the team shines through here.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-286737348 Jarii v Kiyo for a big week in BLT. Just great Pokemon players going at it.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-315958671 My good friend Dominatio battling it out with Dundies, great game.
~Conclusion~
Thank you all for checking out my RMT! While I think the current build is really solid, every team has its weaknesses, this one being no exception. I would say the biggest threats I have noted through my time with this team would be
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Defog
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Roost
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Ice Beam
Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 104 HP / 152 Def / 200 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Heal Bell
Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gear Grind
- Substitute
- Return
- Shift Gear
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Sucker Punch
- Defog
Archeops
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Aqua Tail
- Roost
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Ice Beam
Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 104 HP / 152 Def / 200 SpD / 52 Spe
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Scald
- Heal Bell
Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gear Grind
- Substitute
- Return
- Shift Gear
Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Last edited:
