Hy guys and welcome to my first ever RMT here on Smogon. I'm from Austria and have been playing competitive 'mons since 2008, mainly lower tiers. I started playing PU in BW and it's been one of my favorite tiers ever since.
Why Eskapade?
Just a great tune I enjoy :]
But let's get started with the team:
I've been running around with Machoke since early 2015, this thing is just amazing. I combined it with Poliwrath back in the day and people were just forfeiting. After big blue Poli got banned, I decided to build a team around the muscleman alone. Roselia is a good partner, it beats annoying Grass-types like Tangela and/or Gourgeist and lays down Spikes for the team. Piloswine brings Rocks and can also pressure Grass-ypes with its Ice STAB. Purugly punishes Defog and Hazard stacking, plus Fake Out is really annoying to deal with. Avalugg prodives Rapid Spin and Toxic and can always take a hit if I need it to. Kadabra was added, after Sir Kay looked over my team. It gives my team another fast 'mon and Psychic-type overage both offensively and defensively, which makes it easier for me to deal with opposing Machokes or Roselias. Overall, the Team may look weak to many things, especially Fire-types, but I've had great sucess with it, hitting #1 on the Ladder with an amazing GXE of 87. To be honest, I would call that pretty promising.
In Depth:
( ~ ｀益´ )~ (Machoke) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
The star of the team. Many people told me, Rest-talk Dynamic Punch is bad, I should use Guts with CC or even 4 attacks but to be honest, this set is just too good. Going for Confusions isn't exactly fair play, but it's just the best move to run on Machoke. CC? Nice Def drops for a Rest-talk set. The next best STAB: Brick Break? No thanks, lol. Dynamic Punch gives me a 100BP fighting move I can spam, with a nice chance of costing your opponent a whole turn + the self hitting damage, who wouldn't run it is the real question. Knock Off is one of the most important-and spammable- moves in PU, since every team has around 2-3, or even more Eviolite users, getting rid of their item and thus taking all their bulk away, so Kadabra and Purugly have a much easier time in cleaning the game. Nothing more to be said to RestTalk...
24 Speed EVs for speedcreeping other Machokes, you could run more to outspeed base 50 mons, but I don't think it would be worth it. Almost max defensive investment helps me wall practically every physical attacker in the meta. No investment in Atk needed, as an uninvested base 100 Dynamic Punch still hurts everything and the bulk is way more important.
Just try this set out, I won so many battles just with Machoke alone, because very few teams are properly prepared for the RestTalk set.
(˘﹏˘ ✿) (Roselia) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 128 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spikes
- Synthesis
Standard Roselia, much new, very wow! At first, I war running a special defensive variant which was bulky on the special side, but I noticed I couldn't take any hit on the physical. Sir Kay recommended this EV spread, which gives Roselia pretty good special bulk, while still being able to take some physical hits. Of course, I had to speedcreep and the set was finished. I'm not a big fan of Sleep Powder, because in the current meta the best answer to Roselia is your own Roselia, so Sleep Powder often felt like a wasted slot. I like dual STAB + Spikes, Grass/Poison provides really good coverage against everything thats not Steel (Machoke beats every Steel-type in the tier, except for Metang with Zen Headbutt that got a Attack-boost with Meteor Mash...) and Spikes are currently a huge threat to pretty much every team in PU. One layer is most of the time enough to pressure teams to a point where they have to Defog/Spin, because my defensive build has a switch-in to almost any threat in the tier and my Kadabra + Purugly core forces many switches.
Roselia is also my answer to Gourgeist, which can be really annoying, especially the Sub variants, because they can dodge a Toxic from Avalugg and just burn my whole team. Machoke beats it in PP stall-wars with RestTalk, but aint nobody got time fo dat :]
( ◜ O口O)◜︵ ┻━┻ (Kadabra) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Encore
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Shadow Ball
Chatot was here in first place, but Sir Kay recommended Kadabra over the bird, because it makes my previously too slow team significantly faster and helps me against Carracosta/Barbaracle thanks to Focus Sash+ Magic Guard (They were allowed back then ok...). This set is best utilized in the mid game to take care of a big threat, survive with my Sash and deal a ton of damage with a second hit. Attacks are pretty self-explanatory, Psychic is a really strong STAB, Shadow Ball hits all those pesky Ghosts and HP Fighting deals with Steel and Dark types. Encore forces people into using hazards repeatedly or locks them into a set-up move. This is especially good since this move has fallen in popularity and as such most people no longer predict me to carry it.
┌(＾口＾ ┌ ) (Purugly) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- U-turn
- Sucker Punch
Purugly is a really strong 'mon in the current meta. It struggles with all the Machokes and Rock/Steel Types, but it pressures every team that relies on Defog for hazard removal. To be honest, I never got a Defiant boost from Defog with this 'mon, because everyone on the higher ladder is either using Spin or no hazard control at all, so I'm not 100% sure if I should keep Purugly in the team. It's really fast and forces switches, because everyone is afraid of Fake Out/Sucker which means more hazard damage dealt to them. Nothing more to say about this one, it's the standard set.
☆ﾐ¯\(≧‿‿≦ ¯\) (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Atk / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Piloswine is the best rock setter in PU since the ice age. It combines great bulk thanks to its ability, Thick Fat and its amazing stats, has powerful STAB in Ground/Ice and not too bad of a base speed. I'm using the standard set with speedcreep for the crispy 142 Speed. Also can't say much about this thing. One could use Toxic over Spear to pressure bulky mons more, but Spear has its merits like breaking Substitutes and dealing heavy damage.
≖益≖ (Avalugg) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Recover
- Avalanche
Good-old Avalugg. I love this thing, it's one of the bulkiest 'mons in the tier and can always take a hit, if I need it to. The set I decided to run is the Specially Defensive set, since it's by far the best set it can run-besides curse... Allthough my team isn't that weak to hazards, every member is grounded, so Spikes can get really annoying over time. Avalugg can beat Spin blockers like Gourgeist and Misdreavus with Toxic, but has to be careful of the Sub or Taunt. Other than Spinning and Toxic spreading, Avalugg offers very little to my team, so it is easily my primary sac fodder. I'll mostly use it as a Status absorber or sack in the lategame to get a free switch into something else.
Well, that was my team. It's got a few weaknesses, particularly strong Fire-types, but I never really faced all that many on the ladder. Hope you guys liked it. I'm looking for suggestions on how I can improve the team and make it even more solid than it is now. I tried really hard to fix the weaknesses of this team, but if you fix one hole, another one opens up etc.
Nonetheless, thank you guys for reading the whole thing. Tell me how you like my team, I'm planning to do more in the future :]
Why Eskapade?
Just a great tune I enjoy :]
But let's get started with the team:
I've been running around with Machoke since early 2015, this thing is just amazing. I combined it with Poliwrath back in the day and people were just forfeiting. After big blue Poli got banned, I decided to build a team around the muscleman alone. Roselia is a good partner, it beats annoying Grass-types like Tangela and/or Gourgeist and lays down Spikes for the team. Piloswine brings Rocks and can also pressure Grass-ypes with its Ice STAB. Purugly punishes Defog and Hazard stacking, plus Fake Out is really annoying to deal with. Avalugg prodives Rapid Spin and Toxic and can always take a hit if I need it to. Kadabra was added, after Sir Kay looked over my team. It gives my team another fast 'mon and Psychic-type overage both offensively and defensively, which makes it easier for me to deal with opposing Machokes or Roselias. Overall, the Team may look weak to many things, especially Fire-types, but I've had great sucess with it, hitting #1 on the Ladder with an amazing GXE of 87. To be honest, I would call that pretty promising.
In Depth:
( ~ ｀益´ )~ (Machoke) @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
The star of the team. Many people told me, Rest-talk Dynamic Punch is bad, I should use Guts with CC or even 4 attacks but to be honest, this set is just too good. Going for Confusions isn't exactly fair play, but it's just the best move to run on Machoke. CC? Nice Def drops for a Rest-talk set. The next best STAB: Brick Break? No thanks, lol. Dynamic Punch gives me a 100BP fighting move I can spam, with a nice chance of costing your opponent a whole turn + the self hitting damage, who wouldn't run it is the real question. Knock Off is one of the most important-and spammable- moves in PU, since every team has around 2-3, or even more Eviolite users, getting rid of their item and thus taking all their bulk away, so Kadabra and Purugly have a much easier time in cleaning the game. Nothing more to be said to RestTalk...
24 Speed EVs for speedcreeping other Machokes, you could run more to outspeed base 50 mons, but I don't think it would be worth it. Almost max defensive investment helps me wall practically every physical attacker in the meta. No investment in Atk needed, as an uninvested base 100 Dynamic Punch still hurts everything and the bulk is way more important.
Just try this set out, I won so many battles just with Machoke alone, because very few teams are properly prepared for the RestTalk set.
(˘﹏˘ ✿) (Roselia) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 128 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spikes
- Synthesis
Standard Roselia, much new, very wow! At first, I war running a special defensive variant which was bulky on the special side, but I noticed I couldn't take any hit on the physical. Sir Kay recommended this EV spread, which gives Roselia pretty good special bulk, while still being able to take some physical hits. Of course, I had to speedcreep and the set was finished. I'm not a big fan of Sleep Powder, because in the current meta the best answer to Roselia is your own Roselia, so Sleep Powder often felt like a wasted slot. I like dual STAB + Spikes, Grass/Poison provides really good coverage against everything thats not Steel (Machoke beats every Steel-type in the tier, except for Metang with Zen Headbutt that got a Attack-boost with Meteor Mash...) and Spikes are currently a huge threat to pretty much every team in PU. One layer is most of the time enough to pressure teams to a point where they have to Defog/Spin, because my defensive build has a switch-in to almost any threat in the tier and my Kadabra + Purugly core forces many switches.
Roselia is also my answer to Gourgeist, which can be really annoying, especially the Sub variants, because they can dodge a Toxic from Avalugg and just burn my whole team. Machoke beats it in PP stall-wars with RestTalk, but aint nobody got time fo dat :]
( ◜ O口O)◜︵ ┻━┻ (Kadabra) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Encore
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Shadow Ball
Chatot was here in first place, but Sir Kay recommended Kadabra over the bird, because it makes my previously too slow team significantly faster and helps me against Carracosta/Barbaracle thanks to Focus Sash+ Magic Guard (They were allowed back then ok...). This set is best utilized in the mid game to take care of a big threat, survive with my Sash and deal a ton of damage with a second hit. Attacks are pretty self-explanatory, Psychic is a really strong STAB, Shadow Ball hits all those pesky Ghosts and HP Fighting deals with Steel and Dark types. Encore forces people into using hazards repeatedly or locks them into a set-up move. This is especially good since this move has fallen in popularity and as such most people no longer predict me to carry it.
┌(＾口＾ ┌ ) (Purugly) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- U-turn
- Sucker Punch
Purugly is a really strong 'mon in the current meta. It struggles with all the Machokes and Rock/Steel Types, but it pressures every team that relies on Defog for hazard removal. To be honest, I never got a Defiant boost from Defog with this 'mon, because everyone on the higher ladder is either using Spin or no hazard control at all, so I'm not 100% sure if I should keep Purugly in the team. It's really fast and forces switches, because everyone is afraid of Fake Out/Sucker which means more hazard damage dealt to them. Nothing more to say about this one, it's the standard set.
☆ﾐ¯\(≧‿‿≦ ¯\) (Piloswine) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 HP / 244 Atk / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
Piloswine is the best rock setter in PU since the ice age. It combines great bulk thanks to its ability, Thick Fat and its amazing stats, has powerful STAB in Ground/Ice and not too bad of a base speed. I'm using the standard set with speedcreep for the crispy 142 Speed. Also can't say much about this thing. One could use Toxic over Spear to pressure bulky mons more, but Spear has its merits like breaking Substitutes and dealing heavy damage.
≖益≖ (Avalugg) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
- Recover
- Avalanche
Good-old Avalugg. I love this thing, it's one of the bulkiest 'mons in the tier and can always take a hit, if I need it to. The set I decided to run is the Specially Defensive set, since it's by far the best set it can run-besides curse... Allthough my team isn't that weak to hazards, every member is grounded, so Spikes can get really annoying over time. Avalugg can beat Spin blockers like Gourgeist and Misdreavus with Toxic, but has to be careful of the Sub or Taunt. Other than Spinning and Toxic spreading, Avalugg offers very little to my team, so it is easily my primary sac fodder. I'll mostly use it as a Status absorber or sack in the lategame to get a free switch into something else.
Well, that was my team. It's got a few weaknesses, particularly strong Fire-types, but I never really faced all that many on the ladder. Hope you guys liked it. I'm looking for suggestions on how I can improve the team and make it even more solid than it is now. I tried really hard to fix the weaknesses of this team, but if you fix one hole, another one opens up etc.
Nonetheless, thank you guys for reading the whole thing. Tell me how you like my team, I'm planning to do more in the future :]
Mazar swadswad
Tyrannosaurusshrekt im in love with u <3
Quaggster arthur buddy
Shocki bayern, des samma mia
HJAD glad I met you :)
Ice Tea karl :]
Get this Money stop raging so hard :[
Blapperl looking forward to NPL ;D
Mael Lower Tier God himself
Finchinator why do u hate me? :(
Afro Smash aka God.
Lacus Clyne lakuus
Lord Qwilfish get a mic
Ditching still 14
Deej Dy dualcom y/y?
Teddeh im your biggest fan :[
Zaionar hy
Hot N Cold when RU teambuilding???
Maple Syrup youre delicious
Sir Kay thx for helping me with the team
@lasen youre the only true god tbh <3
rest of the german crew, too lazy to find u on smogon
rest of the hero crew <3
Tyrannosaurusshrekt im in love with u <3
Quaggster arthur buddy
Shocki bayern, des samma mia
HJAD glad I met you :)
Ice Tea karl :]
Get this Money stop raging so hard :[
Blapperl looking forward to NPL ;D
Mael Lower Tier God himself
Finchinator why do u hate me? :(
Afro Smash aka God.
Lacus Clyne lakuus
Lord Qwilfish get a mic
Ditching still 14
Deej Dy dualcom y/y?
Teddeh im your biggest fan :[
Zaionar hy
Hot N Cold when RU teambuilding???
Maple Syrup youre delicious
Sir Kay thx for helping me with the team
@lasen youre the only true god tbh <3
rest of the german crew, too lazy to find u on smogon
rest of the hero crew <3
