Prankster, Party of Two

Relovan

Relovan

Well, by the title of my thread, it's fairly same to assume I have pokemon with Prankster on my team, and frankly I love it! It gives a lot of viability to pokemon who didn't have as great as a role as they can have now, *coughSableyecough*, and I think that's really cool, anyways, here's my team so far.

sableye136.jpg
Sableye (Crown Jewel)
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Careful
Item: Leftovers
EV's: 252 HP/120 Def/136 SpD
Moveset:
-Will-o-Wisp
-Night Shade (I use shadow claw occasionally too)
-Toxic
-Recover

Sableye's Dream World Ability gave it so much use as an amazing lead; whether it be against the weather leads oh so prevalent in this metagame, he still works amazingly well on my team. With Prankster, he is almost guaranteed to get off a toxic or will-o-wisp depending on the pokemon he's facing, and then is able to toxic stall with recover or dish out 100 damage to the opponent's HP with night shade. I've gotten a lot of rage quits just from him crippling an opponent's entire team. I'm pretty sure I want him to stay on this team, I love his usefulness, sadly I have to wait for him to come out with his DW ability (curse you GameFreak for not including him in the first wave of DW pokes! :cloud:)

Conway%27s_Lickilicky.png
LickiLicky (RainGoAway)
Ability: Cloud Nine
Nature: Brave
Item: Leftovers
EV's: 252 HP/116 Atk/140 SpA
Moveset:
-Work Up
-Surf
-Power Whip
-Flamethrower

This big guy is my Anti-Weather Pokemon, and during my testing, he's come in handy on quite a few occasions and on top of that, he's been a good partner for Sableye because Sableye is immune to fighting and Lickilicky is immune to ghost (which is suprisingly used a lot against sableye). I used the offensive Work Up EV spread from here on Smogon, and it works out well, once he gets off a couple of boosts, he can be a complete beast with the amount of HP he has. He also works as a good check to all of the main weather starters you'll see running around with Surf for Ninetales and all the sandstorm starters, Power Whip for Politoed and SS starters, and Flamethrower for the likes of Ferrothorn and Abomasnow.

200px-Katie_Venomoth.png
Venomoth (CreativeName)
Ability: Tinted Lens
Nature: Timid
Item: Leftovers
EV's: 252 HP/ 4 SpA/ 252 Speed
Moveset:
-Quiver Dance
-Baton Pass
-Bug Buzz
-Sleep Powder

Venomoth is a welcome addition to my team in experience, usually, unless the opponent has already been status'd by one of my other pokemon, sleep powder quiver dance works very well. Usually, even if Venomoth isn't able to sleep powder, it's still able to get off one quiver dance and either use it to it's advantage or Baton Pass it to one of it's team mates. Sure it has stealth rock weakness, but I haven't run into so many stealth rock users in PO lately, and Venomoth is usually a once-and-done type of pokemon for me, so it's okay.

200px-Nidoqueen_Mega_Punch.png
Nidoqueen (YourHighness)
Ability: Sheer Force
Nature: Bold
Item: Leftovers
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Moveset:
-Toxic Spikes
-Flamethrower
-Ice Beam
-Earth Power

Nideoqueen is my Toxic Spikes set up and absorber. She is great because she functions as a set-up, special attacker, and a wall. Nothing very special about her other than that with sheer force, the power of her moves get a welcome boost, and Nidoqueen is also loves getting a baton pass from venemoth, since it boosts it's special defense as well as giving it more power and speed. The main threats for nidoqueen are water typed special attackers, such as Jellicent or Politoed, since they can resist most of her moves and then strike back with a super effective STAB.

shiny_whimsicott_by_digitalpokemonmaster-d37r02k.png
Whimsicott (FluffofDoom)
Ability: Prankster (Oh Yeah!)
Nature: Impish
Item: Leftovers (Again :p)
EV's: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 SpD
Moveset:
-Substitute
-Stun Spore
-Leech Seed
-Encore

Did I mention I love Prankster? Well, Whimsicott uses it to it's full advantage making it a crazy sub-seeder. I usually bring in whimsicott later, once the opponent is poisoned/burned and set up then. Once whimsicott gets off a leech seed on the crippled opponent, it can basically sub-stall it into oblivion, which both annoys the opponent and helps me out a ton. The EV spread here allows Whimsicott to take advantage of Prankster, since all of it's moves have +1 priority, and allows it to take hits pretty well. The main threat to Whimiscott is Thundurus, which usually outspeeds it and is able to taunt; practically any grass types since they resist leech seed, but in that case I can still stun them; and pokemon that have multiple-step moves (such as skill link cloyster).

200px-Mateo_cloyster.png
Cloyster (PearlofLutra, 10 points for whoever gets the reference)
Ability: Skill Link
Nature: Jolly
Item: Life Orb
EV's: 48 HP/ 252 Atk/ 208 Speed
Moveset:
-Shell Smash
-Rock Blast
-Icicle Spear
-Razor Shell

Cloyster is a pretty awesome pokemon, that is, when he can get a shell smash up, which is easy most of the time, but difficult other times. His build is a usual run-of-the-mill shell smash/skill link set. Like I said, when he's able to set up, he can wreck entire teams, but is pretty useless most of the time if he's not boosted sadly. I would have to say he's the weakest link, but also an amazing sweeper in the right situation. If I had to replace one of the pokemon on my team, cloyster would probably be it.

Final Thoughts:​
Testing this on Pokemon Online, it has had some really good results, and a lot of rage quits from people who go crazy once they see that I have two Pranksters :D. Some might think it's a bit counterproductive to have all of these status afflicting moves along with toxic spikes, but it works great; sure, Venomoth might not be able to sleep powder an opponent and Whimsicott might not be able to Paralyze, but they work well against pokemon that resist toxic spikes or before Nidoqueen can set spikes up. I've had a pretty good win/loss record with this team so far, but I'm open to comments/suggestions/criticisms on my team, hopefully they'll make my team even better! Thanks in advance!
 
Just a nitpick, short on time - Surf on Lickilicky won't work to kill Tales since its Drought halves its power, use EQ instead.
 
Benlisted said:
Just a nitpick, short on time - Surf on Lickilicky won't work to kill Tales since its Drought halves its power, use EQ instead.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that Cloud Nine Negated the effects of weather, such as the lowering of the power of water moves in sun, when Lickilicky is on the field, did I misunderstand?
 
Relovan said:
I was under the impression that Cloud Nine Negated the effects of weather, such as the lowering of the power of water moves in sun, when Lickilicky is on the field, did I misunderstand?
Click to expand...

Lmao oh god brain fart, you are indeed correct XD, I apologise.
 
Something that confused me is who are you baton passing Quiver Dance to? Cloyster is physical, Lickilily needs lots of speed for it to be useful and Nidoqueen doesn't have much invested in SpA to make use of it.
 
After a bigger look, I agree with HotPocket. Nidoqueen is practically the only thing who appreciates a QD, and she's not even that powerful. A Nidoking would do a far better job in her place, though it loses you hazards you could always slot them in somewhere else - as with a few boosts it's virtually unstoppable.

How does the two Pranksters work out for you, do you get a lot of opportunities to set up a Shell Smash or QD often? If not consider dropping one, as they aren't really win conditions like a +2/3 Nidoking or +2+2+2 Cloyster is. Anyway, you have no SR which is crucial to prevent levitating things switching freely (which they'll want to when facing Pranksters) and have 2 SR weaks and no spinner.

Imo as it stands you can't support the two sweepers you currently have whilst also retaining Lickilicky and two Pranksters. If you want to take a more disruptive approach to the team build by all means do so, but basically I feel like a statement of how you'd like the team to play would be ideal for us to help your team more (what you like and want to keep and such as well), since atm it looks like you're trying to do too much with 6 pokemon.
 
I've been using Sableeye a fair bit as well(as a lead) I might suggest using sassy with 0 speed ivs though because with prankster to lessen the effect of gyroball.

Do you find yourself often needing to choose between toxic or will-o-wisp with him? I've been using a set of Taunt/Sub/Recover/Will-O-Wisp and it's been working extremely well for me.
 
Nice suggestions, and sorry I didn't clarify, but the QD boosts can be basically passed to anyone; I can usually get off 2 boosts and still have time to baton pass, so it's a nice boost for both lickilicky and Nidoqueen's speed and SpA, but sometimes I can also pass to cloyster as the speed allows him to either get a shell break off first or attack head on. Anyways, the double-prankster is working wonders for me acutally, they can usually tag-team cripple an entire team and stall-kill a couple pokes at the same time, which leaves some good opportunities (if they are paralyzed, or don't have a status; venomoth can sleep) for the others to either boost up or go for the kill. Like I said though, I'm willing to suggestions and I'll look into finding another entry hazard poke and rapid spinner (perhaps Tentacruel?)/maybe replacing nidoqueen. For a little summary of how my games usually start, I'll try to sum it up well.

Sableye leads and toxics/burns opponent depending on what the other lead is (i.e. Ninetales=toxic, Hipowdon=burn). Then, I'll try stalling out for the status to take hold (primarily used in cases when I get a toxic off) with Sableye, but if that's not a good option I usually will switch to: Lickilicky in case of weather, Whimsicott if sub seed stalling is possible, or Nidoqueen to set up toxic spikes/try and kill opponent. Then, I kind of just play on the two prankster's ability to come in and stall with toxic/subseed mix (which when it works is awesome), or to cripple pokes immune to toxic spikes. Venomoth and Cloyster usually come in more towards late game, when everything on the opponents is either crippled/fainted/down on health, where they have a better environment to set up and sweep/baton pass. I do agree though, having two SR weak pokes on the same team isn't always the greatest, so if you have any other ideas, send them my way.
Forgot, 10 points for Parasol Kirby for getting the reference :D
 
Hmm, though you can theoretically pass QD to several of your team, I can't help but feel that you really are not making the most of it with your current setup. You could either use better recipients (Nidoking) or something else in the slot to support the team better, as well as not be SR weak.

From reading the summary of your strategy, it seems like you very much enjoy fucking with the opponent's strategy and team as much as possible until they are at the point where they can be swept with ease. Now, it's my view that you simply do not need two end-game sweepers (especially since one is not even really a true sweeper but a passer, and afrail one at that) to clear up the mess from this - Cloyster should do just fine if you can weaken the enemy team enough and find time for him to set up, he's one of the deadliest sweepers this gen. I'd advise White Herb on him though so he can still tank priority with his immense base Def after a Shell Smash, since that will probably be the biggest obstacle it faces.

Anyway, if you do consider that to be a style you want to play, think about a few things. You have two statuses on your team which conflict with T-Spikes. Since your use of 2 Pranksters will force many switches anyway (and you want things to be status free), I'd think about replacing T-Spikes setup with Spikes and SR instead, which punishes anything coming in a lot more. You also don't need Toxic damage to accumulate too much to force things out since Pranksters do that for you. Packing the move Toxic somewhere would probably be a better option so you can choose with discretion when you want to use it.

Now, if you feel that you don't need two endgame options (with Cloyster you really don't) and would do better with damaging hazards over T-Spikes, then you have a few possible changes to make. If you want to keep Nidoqueen (a Grounded poison would be helpful to absorb T-Spikes) then you could switch to SR, which loses you Sheer Force unfortunately. However, you can still use D-Tail from TM to smack things out with, so she would still prove useful. In Veno's place, you could run any of the viable spikers really, take your pick of what you think would work well with the team. Skarm may offer a valuable Dragon resist and a nice Phazing move, so that's worth a look. Hope this helps.
 
Whimsicott wants Taunt over Stun Spore so it doesn't get taunted.
I think Venomoth isn’t really helping other than sleeping things because QD boosts isn’t helping much sweep. Volcarona could work if you want a QD sweeper, and Shell Smash Gorebyss works as a better baton passer.
But even if you don’t want to make any changes, I would highly recommend some sort of revenge killer, either Scarf or priority (which in the attacking sense you have none). Also, consider placing Dragon Tail or Roar on Nidoqueen or Lickilicky as it helps you spread around Toxic Spikes and deal with any stat boosting pokes if Whimsicott is fainted.
 
Okay, I've been thinking of a few options, and does anyone have any suggestions to replace Venomoth with, I mean, I don't really want to replace it with Volcarona, and baton pass wasn't a necesity, just convienient. I was thinking of replacing Nidoqueen with Ferrothorn/Donphan (for SR and Rapid spin), but are there any other SR/Rapid Spinners that are viable? So, in all, are there any good revenge killers/ SR Rapid Spinners that might benefit my team more?
 
Starmie immediately comes to mind as something capable to spin and revenge kill. Other offensive spinners that could work are Excadrill, Kabutops, or Armaldo, but only Kabutops can really revenge kill with Aqua Jet. (Donphan with Ice Shard I guess could work) Unless you want to run rapid spin on Cloyster, but it is generally a waste. Honestly since you have two pranksters, just give them taunt if you don’t want to worry about entry hazards.
 
I second the notion on adding taunt over stun spore for whimsicott. I find that with all the status sableye spread around along with your toxic spikes, stun spore's rarely used. Plus stealth rocks really discourage the team. Or maybe trade venomoth for MB espeon? Or you can keep venomoth and take out nidoqueen/lickylicky for MB espeon, putting venomoth's baton pass to good use.

Also, I find that theres a large weakenss to the team when facing reuniclus. It sucks up status, (Other than stun spore but the doesn't stop it, especially on trick room variants)along with leech seed and hits hard with it's SE attacks, hitting 2 'mons for SE with psychic and another 2 with focus blast. Also HP ice wrecks whimsicott without any SpD investment.

The only one that can be capable of taking it down is venomoth, but it's usually very frail unless it pulls of atleast a QD or two.
 
I would suggest some form of choice scarfer so you aren't completely helpless against Thundurus, who also has Prankster and Taunt.
 
Okay, I'll be sure to take a lot of these ideas and test them out on PO, let me know if you think of anything else! :D
 
Oh I really didn't want to say this, but seeing as how fun this team is and how much effort your putting into it, I think it's safe to say.

You probably already know this by now, but when using stall/wall/tank pokemon, it's best to put the leftover EVs, if any, into the speed stat, instead of the other defensive stat. For example, instead of putting those 4 EVs into SpD on your whimsicott, put it into speed, to outspeed opposing whimsicott. The one point does make a difference.

I love outspeeding other whimsicott and encoring their protect/leech seed without relying on speed ties :3
 
Okay, so I changed a couple things, I still have Sableye as the same lead, I've been switching Nidoqueens spot between Nidoking (for attack power, and he works well at times), Espeon (magic bouncer and screener), and I still need to test out Tentacruel/ferrothorn/Starmie for entry hazards/spinning. So far though, my winning is still pretty decent, with only a couple losses about every 10 games. I changed the EV's on Whimiscott from SpD to Speed and it's worked well so far; I'm thinking I might want to have a dedicated entry hazarder and a dedicated spinner, but I'm just not sure what space I would give up, any more ideas?
 
Sableye is an awesome pokemon. But i run impish max def and hp with recover wil o wisp protect and sub. It can outstall any physical threat. And even special poles like thunderus.
 
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Sableye (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- Substitute
- Night Shade

I find that this is a far better lead, scout with Protect, Sub if you predict a switch, cripple with Will-o-wisp if their psychical, night shade is for later on when it has to be used.

with 252/100/156 Sableye can survive +1 Crunch from Tyranitar, Choice Scarf Latios Draco Meteor, Nine Tails Fire Blast and some other moves you would prefer to be alive after.
 
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