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I really liked the core, sometimes with good preview reads You can really muscle thru team cores early game and just focus on the clean up game, I used psychic over psyshok cause it really doesn't hit many vest users hard enough to matter and vs clefairy it's a chance to set up anyhow if You play sub/nasty plot right
The only thing I regret is cuspus berry isn't out yet cause I wanted to meme with bleach skunk xD
Raticate is my favorite pursuit user and can easily switch in vs dark/ghost thatd spook the bigger mouse and I remembered in the past how people would throw weezing/aggron at it so final Gambit was an awesome tech for a trade and only kills You if it connects, but You will lose the game tie </3
Mudsdale was my only option I had late build to spread Par hax and beats most other mudsdale out and is an annoying win con and flat out reliable just like jelly
The biggest problems are bulky grass sweepers and good hyper offensive leads that I hopped the special skunk would beat, but he at least puts in some work vs them at least
Merry Christmas / Happy New Year, Specs Jigglypuff! I was tasked with your offensive core of Raichu-A + Kangaskhan. I don't quite like building with Raichu-A; while it's super potent offensively, Surge Surfer is useless most of the time, and its ability to straight sweep offensive teams with any semblance of speed control or priority is almost nonexistent because of the prevalence of Pokemon like Skuntank, Scarf Togedemaru, Persian-A, Mesprit if healthy (or just Scarf Mesprit), Lycanroc, etc. Even some lesser used Pokemon like Shiftry, Scarf Primeape, Eelektross, Lanturn, Mudsdale, (of course, all of this depends on what coverage you choose / if you forgo coverage or NP for Substitute/Encore), also make a sweep pretty unlikely. I also had some difficulty in conceptualizing how Kangaskhan and Raichu-A would work together on a team, other than the fact Raichu-A threatens Pokemon like Gurdurr, Poliwrath, and Hitmonchan for Kangaskhan, while also blowing up typical Normal checks via its coverage moves in Grass Knot / Focus Blast. In return, Kangaskhan deals with special tanks and walls that Raichu-A has problems with, but most of the issues in building this stemmed from the fact that Raichu-A really offers nothing in terms of defensive utility. So, while this was a little out of my comfort zone given I really don't see much reason to build around Raichu-A, I think I was still able to come up with some pretty good teams for you that you'll be able to use for a while. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
There were 11 different configurations that came out lol - I wrote descriptions for a couple of them, but if you wanted the other pastes, I'll send those over too!
#1: Specs Jigglypuff Raichu-A
The first 3 builds look pretty similar, but they play differently to be sure. I first added Victreebel to your Kangaskhan + Raichu-A core, as I wanted a way to bring in Skuntank and weaken it to the point it'd be spread too thin to answer Raichu-A reliably. Z Victreebel is insanely strong and pivotal in removing Electric/Flying/Normal resists so that Raichu-A and Dodrio can be as threatening as possible late-game. In the replay against Chloe below, I read his team composition, saw that Aurorus would most likely be running Specs, and then predicted Skuntank to switch into Victreebel, which created an opportunity to take it down to ~30% HP with Z Power Whip. This damage plus Quagsire's Rocky Helmet took his Skuntank down even further because it stayed in to Crunch (~10% HP); this happened often enough in testing, and so Skuntank is pretty much forced to either stay in to Defog or wait for Healing Wish support rather than checking Raichu-A. Rocky Helmet Quagsire was added to whittle Raichu-A checks down like Togedemaru, and for its ability to switch into other checks like Lycanroc. Quagsire is also running Ice Punch, which does a min of ~57% to Exeggutor-A on the switch: 0 Atk Quagsire Ice Punch vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Exeggutor-Alola: 220-260 (57.2 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. Curse Quagsire is also here to beat prominent threats like Gurdurr and Aggron, as well as Pokemon from older metas that you still occasionally see, like CM Spiritomb or CM Clefairy. Raichu-A, Victreebel, Quagsire, and Sandslash-A all pressure standard Normal checks for both Kangaskhan and Dodrio, which is what lets this Normal spam core really shine. Lastly, specially defensive Sandslash-A is here for some role compression in its ability to both set and remove SR (spinning and setting SR on the same set isn't nearly as awkward as some say it is...). It's EV'd to outspeed base 115s and slower in Hail (ex. Floatzel, Persian-A, Scarf Aurorus, etc.) while hitting a jump point in SpDef. Teams without Oricorio need strong checks to Lilligant, which gave me more reason to stick with Scarf Dodrio. This team does a decent job in checking the meta's most prominent wallbreakers, ex. Exeggutor-A, Aggron, Jellicent, Stoutland (Stoutland is why Victreebel is running Timid here), etc. The only thing I don't quite like about this configuration is that the Ground switch-in is really Quagsire (or Dodrio if foe is choice-locked), leaving it liable to be whittled down prematurely or forced to use Recover while something switches in for free. Overall, you've got wincons in PuP Kangaskhan, Curse Quagsire, and Growth (or SD) Victreebel, along with Raichu-A bringing them in via Specs Volt Switch, so this team can generate a surprising amount of momentum quickly. It's pretty customizable too - if you know you'll be fighting a fatter team, it's really easy to just switch to SubToxic Kangaskhan, NP Z Raichu-A, CB or Taunt Dodrio, etc. I really like this defensive backbone of Sandslash-A + Quagsire, but be warned that the team sometimes struggles with Fire/Grass coverage users like Eelektross (hence Psyshock on Raichu-A), OTR Exeggutor-A, and Simisear.
#2/#3: Bulky Hazard Stack
These next teams are just one slot off from the build above, but check out the movesets: it's probably more what you were looking for when you made this request. #2 does much better against Jellicent, with Roselia being a more competent switch-in to that than Victreebel is. Most of these teams actually have Normal (Ghost switch-in) + a Water absorb or strong Water check + Pursuit, so you can really sense my hatred for Jellicent. With Roselia over Victreebel, you lose some offensive pressure, but in return, you gain a status absorb for the team, letting you play with different options than Facade on PuP Kangaskhan. Roselia also protects the team more against threats like Lilligant and Ludicolo, meaning you don't have to rely nearly as much on Scarf Dodrio for RKing those. The goal is to simply set Spikes on the free turns that Roselia generates by forcing these Pokemon out if they're not quite ready to commit to the offensive just yet, which FAT Kangaskhan (Kecleon on acid) capitalizes on with boosted priority. AV Drain Punch and near max HP Kangaskhan is super annoying to deal with and more effectively checks Pokemon that threaten the team's defensive backbone on their own, like Eelektross and Simisear. More Speed can be run on Kangaskhan for sure, but I think Roselia's spread is ideal where it's at, letting it outspeed 252 Spe Modest Drampa and bulky pivot Lanturn. Given more emphasis is placed on stacking Spikes, Quagsire can also run Yawn to force switches / Kangaskhan can do the same and actually has unblockable phazing with Scrappy Circle Throw.
The second version with Weezing was created for a few reasons - better Ground and Fighting check to help out Sandslash-A, Kangaskhan, Raichu-A, while burning Skuntank for NP Raichu-A and simultaneously adding that combo of Toxic Spikes + Kangaskhan's Fake Out. At the end, Raichu-A was the only Jellicent check, so Quagsire is running Water Absorb as a tech for switching into Specs Jellicent as well as answering Kabutops better in matchups against Rain. Weezing has really good coverage and can surprise common entry hazard setters like Froslass and Qwilfish with Flamethrower and Thunderbolt, while also alleviating pressure against threats like Jellicent, Oricorio-G, Swanna, Togedemaru, Dugtrio-A, Sandslash-A, etc. Z Focus Blast is used here because I wanted something extra to nuke Normal resists, given that Victreebel and Roselia were no longer here to pressure those on Kangaskhan's and Dodrio's behalves. Lastly, because this team has nothing to soak up Toxic Spikes, Quagsire can use Lum Berry in case it's forced in when it's in play, while Weezing is instead the Rocky Helmet user that punishes Togedemaru for clicking U-turn.
#4: Surge Surfing
This team is one of my favorites out of the bunch - it's got switch-ins or checks for most meta-prominent threats: Roselia + Scarf Togedemaru on Lilligant duty; Claydol + Raichu-A for Gurdurr and Hitmonchan; Claydol + Poliwrath for Aggron and Lycanroc; Poliwrath + Kangaskhan + Togedemaru for Aurorus; Poliwrath for SD Sandslash-A; only Claydol lets Jellicent in for free (Poliwrath weakens it via Toxic); etc. It's built a bit like #1, with Colbur Claydol using up Skuntank before it can reliably check Raichu-A. While it lacks immediate wallbreaking outside of PuP Z Kangaskhan, self-setting Electric Terrain Raichu-A cleans with double Speed and the power of Life Orb + Specs on its Thunderbolt when terrain is in play. This in combination with Roselia's Spikes, dual priority in Poliwrath's Vacuum Wave and Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch, and any Toxic damage caused by Poliwrath or Togedemaru gives this team a stronger late-game presence when it's time to clean up. Raichu-A softens the opponent's team up for Togedemaru by beating Togedemaru's counters with LO Grass Knot, while also providing a boost to its Zing Zap with Electric Terrain. Opposing Togedemaru can be troublesome, but Iron Barbs on your own Togedemaru and priority improve the matchup a bit, while Claydol can force it out when it locks into Zing Zap.
For the event, I received the request of uhuhuhu7. Victreebel and Type: Null. Which proved to be both fun and challenging to build around, Victreebel in particular as it isn't something I've built around in years.
I started out the process by finding stuff that would benefit the most from the pivoting ability of Type: Null. For this reason I put in Omastar who greatly appreciates being able to come in safely to be able to set up. As this opened up a fighting type issue, I threw in Froslass to help check fighting types and also to set up spikes and use Dbond to remove a threat from play if possible. After this I wanted to give the team something to remove hazards from play if needed so I added Skuntank who also helps deal with opposing ghost types that could be problematic to the team. I went with the special set as I feel currently it is the more effective set of the two. Finally for the Z-move I wanted something that could utilize it to great potential so I went with Dodrio and Flyinium Z as Dodrio is a great breaker and will help break down opposing teams. Finally after having all these pieces put together I had to best decide what would be the best use of Victreebel as this is not a sun team and the special attacking side of the spectrum was heavily covered already. As a result I decided to go with a Choice Band set with Sucker Punch to allow Victreebel to use it's hefty attack stat to try to nail stuff as hard as it possibly could with sucker punch being there to help it with stuff that out-speeds it which is a lot of things within the tier. Victreebel in particular was interesting to build around as it is not a Mon I've used at all or something I've even experimented with before. However I wanted to try something a bit different then just a run of the mill sun team with it. Hopefully you can get some enjoyment out of the team, there are some flaws with it which can only be rectified by playing with it more and getting more experience with it but I think overall it is a solid team and I hope that it meets your wishes.
LordST got another week for circuit prep so here's ur secret santa team! I got the Probopass+Muk ORAS throwback request and tried to go full ORAS, but ended up needing a water check at the end oops
Muk @ Black Sludge
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Poison Jab
Probopass @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Taunt
Start with the core, Muk sucks and never really does any Curse sweeping but it can help check birds and eggy and stuff so it's not a complete waste of space. Probopass probably wont rock a lot if it actually needs to trap something, but that's usually ok. Note that it will not 1v1 Alolan Sandslash, but it should put it into Pursuit range, or leave it at like 20% and that's good enough since there really isn't room for HP Fire. Stout+Swan puts out actual offensive pressure and has Pursuit+Defog utility so they kinda bind the team as the actual goodmons. Tangela is needed to try to blanket check literally everything along with Muk, most of your bad matchups come from anything that breaks them too easily (also Type Null and Munchlax). Jynx is here because the team couldn't switch into Jellicent and like in theory, it's kinda based around trapping/wearing down Steels with Probo and Stout so that can help support Jynx late game. The team's stupid but I found it fun and I hope you do too n_n
<- click me :)
Here's a cool team that I was requested to build for Tack :]. He asked for a team around Rapidash, and while that sounds like it might be a challenge, I found the team to come naturally. I started with a FWG core of Rapidash / Alolan Exeggutor / Carracosta because I figured not only is FWG good, but they all compliment each other with their secondary typings as well (the ones that have them at least). I then added Alolan Sandslash and Mesprit for a defensive backbone, also to include a Rapid Spin and Stealth Rock user. Lastly, I chose Primeape because I thought a fast Fighting-type would be a great addition for the team. Sorry for a description on the shorter side of things, I am still recovering from the flu but I wanted to post sooner than later.
Hey EviGaro! I'm your secret santa! sorry i'm a bit late, I did write an essay about this team like a week ago but it turns out the auto saved drafts don't last forever . But anyway here is the team!
A Magnanimous Merry Christmas!
You requested the team to be around Nasty Plot Jynx + Alolan Persian so I decided lefties sub jynx + DARK HUGO was the best choice in this scenario, I've made Persian Psychium-Z because fuck Gurdurr but you can also change it to Dark-Z if you want for added utility. Next I added Spikes since it really helps the Nasty Plot users break past defensive cores including Alolan Sandslash and Type: Null. Qwilfish also helps a lot vs Fighting types especially Gurdurr. Golurk is the rocker and also helps against fighting types like Hitmonchan and Primeape which can be annoying otherwise. Hitmonchan actually fits quite nicely on this team as it provides hazard control and the team isn't over weak to Froslass. Toge is in the last slot for speed control which also works well with Spikes up and makes for an okay Lilligant check. Hope you had a good Christmas and have fun with the team! p.s. click the mons for the pokepaste.
hi Aaronboyer it's me santa but i'm 5 days late. that's because you got coal.
you wanted a team with SD silvally-psychic. what does that do? no idea. the best coverage it gets is explosion.
the team's philosophy is "if i run 3 lures, something might eventually win" so i made it mono psychic. sash jynx is still very disruptive for teams to deal with, especially with focus blast for alolaslash. the kadabra is actually the best part of the team since focus sash psych-up with psyshock is really funny against lilligant and pom-pom. mesprit and claydol give the team rocks and hazard removal, with both sets being offensive with coverage so metang doesn't 6-0 the team. alolachu was the only good option for psychic choice scarfers since i was already using mesprit. hopefully this mon wins, because it's the closest thing the team has to a win condition, and the teams only form of speed control.
Hi Many ! I’ve been instructed to build a team for you around the core of Waterium Z Lapras + Choice Specs Weezing. Admittedly, prior to the request, I had not used either of these sets, bar some brief experimentation with the latter. This made building this relatively difficult, and hence I haven’t really been sure how to tackle it. Thus, I’ve built a few teams, a few standardish with a few a bit left-field. I initially really wanted to get this out by Christmas but given the fact I hadn’t settled on a single team to submit, I gave it a few more days. I apologise for the lateness.
https://pokepast.es/43397a0636c2b7dc
This was the first iteration I built when I received your request. It’s quite boring but it doesn’t struggle with much. It’s reliable to an extent but lacks substantial firepower and can often get wittled down easily. Not really much to say here.
https://pokepast.es/53519cc7138f3106
Something a bit more enjoyable, tried to build spikes offense around it. Wasn’t that happy with how it turned out so I continued with other ideas but I’ll still explain my thought process here. Froslass is so amazing in the current metagame, provided the best option for a spikes setter given the initial two members while ensuring that in conjunction with Weezing, Fighting-types weren’t an issue. Needed a SR setter + a switch-in to potent physical Normal-types like Stout/Dod/Kanga/etc. Also had Taunt for Defog switch-ins but realistically that’s never happening and you’re just preventing Lurantis from Defogging lol. Kangaskhan just loves Spikes but that isn’t news. Added Scarf Mesprit due to Ground-type weakness / lack of Speed. Trick Defog users to impair them but could also run Healing Wish to prevent Pokemon from Skuntank from Defogging but that’s difficult as fruck to pull off.
https://pokepast.es/77b90d9bbf945bb2
The most enjoyable team here to use. Built some weird bulky offense rain when I was spamming random things. It’s obviously not amazing for a rain team judging by how hard it is for Lapras to put in any work against offensive playstyles but I do genuinely think it’s relatively decent. It has a decent matchup against most playstyles, helping Lapras’s longevity in general + ensuring it could support fellow members made it a lot more justifiable in general.
https://pokepast.es/67fd3b4595eac117
This was my best attempt at a plain viable team for a while. Audino allowed Wish support for Specs Weezing, allowing it to put in substantially more work in the long run, while also providing a way to heal Lapras’s sleep if I was unable to set rain prior to clicking Rest. Additionally, with Exeggutor-Alola’s prevalence in the current metagame, it won me a lot of matchups rather easily. Silvally-Fairy helps with the Fighting-type weakness, provides hazard removal, allows useful pivoting into Weezing and Lapras to pick up surprise KOs on switch-ins. Mudsdale provides some physically defensive backbone, albeit a lackluster one. It also ensured that the team doesn’t lose a Pokemon every time Togedemaru comes in (lol). CB Skuntank just seemed to work, with the lack of physical breaking, the lack of sufficient priority, the inability to do anything to +2 GK Raichu-A. The largest issues this iteration has were the noticeable lack of speed control / a scarfer and how easily Stoutland and Dodrio ripped through the team if I didn’t play extremely well. Choice Scarf on Skuntank could have been much better in hindsight but then the team may have been too passive on the physical side.
https://pokepast.es/c42a933d04391b36
An edit of the above team that seemed to work more in practice. Togedemaru helped mitigate the Dodrio / speed issues that plagued the above team, while soft checking Togedemaru. Clefairy is able to take on TR Eggy well / can set SR / while still managing to deal with Fighting-types quite well. Gurdurr also helped with strong phys breakers, gave the team the ability to have a secondary physical breaker, gave the team a conventional win condition. It feels like much better role compression than the above version. If I had to submit one team, this would probably be it.
Overall, I found building around these Pokemon entertaining but very difficult. A lot of the time, I just wanted to replace them with other better Pokemon but I’m still glad that I got to experience Pokemon I generally wouldn’t use otherwise! I hope you enjoy the teams, and happy holidays!
This year I am your Secret Santa (do not say it to anyone, it is a secret). You asked Santa for an offensive Jellicent team. I have to admit that I was lucky with this choice, Jellicent is a very cool and monstruous Pokémon in PU. Building around it gives always some success. However, the offensive one is a little bit tricky. Choice Specs is kind of predictable. Thus, you need to play really carefully when you choose your attacks (against opposite Jellicent basically). However, it is a great pick to start a team.
Jellicent is a Water - Ghost Pokémon with some SpDef bulk and a "not bad" SpAttack. With stabbed Watter Spout, Choice Specs*Jellicent and at full HP it deals a great damage to any Pokémon available in this tier. So this attack is mandatory in an offensive Jellicent. The three slots remaining are Hydro Pump (hitting hard when no full HP), Energy Ball for other water Pokémon, Shadow Ball for stab and other Jellicent. I did not choose Trick because I think that Choice Specs is really important to keep Jellicent able to wallbreak any team.
However, as you may probably know, Jellicent has a low Speed stat and needs to be at full HP to show all its strength. Thus, I decided to build two different teams to potentiate all of these features. Click in the team titles to get the PokePaste!
This team is based on giving momentum for both Jellicent and Kangaskhan. These two Pokémons (one special attacker and the other physical attacker) will break any team in two halves. This can be accomplished with some help. 1) Spikes + Stealth Rocks (Roselia + Mesprit respectively). Playing with dual hazard allows this team to avoid a defogger. You could try to use a spinner (Claydol with Rapid Spin + Stealth Rock) but you would lose momentum that I think is very important for this team. Mesprit puts rocks and gives some momentum altogether with Togedemaru. The latter gives some speed control too being Choice Scarfed. Roselia + Audino synergize quite well with Jellicent in typing and both of them help a lot our Jelly. Roselia sets up Spikes and Audino can pass Wish + Healing Wish to Jellicent keeping it alive. Sounds cool, isn't it ?
Ktütverde once said: "Sticky web is underrated in SM PU". And I totally agree with this statement. Sticky Web is really powerful and helps a lot Jellicent. I started picking Shuckle as the Stealth Rock + Sticky Web setter. The last 2 slots were for Encore (setting up Pokémons) and Toxic (that is very useful against Taunt users at the beginning). Keeping hazards available is very important. Thus, I chose both Sableye (for Taunt + Rapid Spin Blocker) and Pawniard (Defiant user) to avoid free Rapid Spin + Defog. Then, I chose two other Pokémon that I have been enjoying. Bellossom is a very good Pokémon that has a great bulk (damn to God) and it can QD in front of many threats. With Z-Grassium can deal a lot of damage too. I discovered this set thanks to Taskr that used it in a SM ZU Stall team. Finally, the last slot was for Throh. This Pokémon is totally underrated and it is a beast. It has an amazing bulk and with Bulk Up you can increase both physical defense and attack. This with Mold Breaker and Circle Storm... Well, that's a gg.
I hope you find these teams enjoyable and tasty. I would be very happy if you keep the names (some of them are just to give some thanks to the people that inspired them). And, ofc, all of them are totally optimizable. I used them for a few matches but I could not do a lot... If there are suggestions to improve them, you do not hesitate to let me know them.
S/o to tlenit1 that gave me some input for the #1 and the Throh set for #2. Thanks dude :D.
User Lost Soul requested Stoutland + Jellicent.
At first I thought hey, both these mons are powerhouses, this'll be easy.
It was not. I had such trouble with being satisfied.
It seemed like they just did not want to work together. And both mons don't really have varied sets.
Still aren't satisfied. But I'm out of time for the deadline so.
Anyway, the team.
Lanturn @ Assault Vest
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Standard CB Doggo. Needs no introduction. Hits hard and is mans best friend. I toyed with other sets but every time I kept going back to the power that is CB Return. Sorry/not sorry.
Odd Jelli set. It tries to catch things off guard and hit them first, with increased power without being as fragile as Specs. Jelli can take hits alright without any investment, especially from weaker mons but can no longer wall things like Thunder Punch Chan. Speed lets you outpace lower mons who invest (Aggron) or don't (Mesp, Chan, etc). You could run Timid to beat Aurorus but since we have a nice check for him and you'd miss the power, Modest is fine. Hydro can be used over Scald, but I wouldn't recommend because you'll have a much tougher time against stall. Waterium is a boost that'll let you deal significantly more damage scoring some neat OHKOs, but also serves to weaken Knock Off. Ice Beam is preferred over Ball/Hex since you can threaten grasses, who tend to like comming in on Jelli *cough eggy*.
Sandslash-A serves as a check for ice. He tends to be switched in a lot, and the multitude of options in his moves always guarantee he has something valuable to do when he switches in on resists.
Carbink. Tanky. The bit of special attack investment helps with your laughably weak damage. It's still weak but for 60 evs you just gave yourself about a 10% increase in damage. And Carbink is one of the few mons to threaten fighting types without being dark weak, which is the main reason he's here.
Defensive Lurantis. Toxic is great against switch ins to stuff that you wall. Don't be distracted by the fancy +2 Leaf Storm to not use Toxic when the opportunity presents itself, as it's usually the better course of option. You can swap out EVs to wall specially defensively as well, Lurantis walls great on both sides, but I pref physical since this team tends to have more trouble against Fighting + Ground.
AV Lanturn. The speed matches Jelli's, so if one gets outsped/undersped you'll know how the other will compare.
So I was like aight this needs something to deal with ghosts n shit cause null runs mono normal coverage so I went with skuntank in the next slot after the core. Next I decided Lilligant was a good option because it can beat all the rock types n shit and is a good z move sweeper. Mespirit was a neat addition next cause it gave rocks and a check to shit like gurdurr as well as hwish support. Then gurdurr rounded it out to deal with steel types and all that shit.
hello mr Megazard I was assigned your request of building around a froslass, though I was directed not to build with a Z/specs/fat/fast wisp spikes set.
So I dug around in Froslass's movepool and I found that I didn't have much to work with. Except Froslass does get Disable, the one semi-intriguing move it has that's not completely worthless. Now I originally kept wanting to build around a bulkier balance team with SubDisable Lass but the passive nature of the team wasn't cutting it. So I promptly switched to offense, which both you and I both are comfortable using. The one thing this team lacks is a scarfer, so its offense match up is dubious, one might think. however, OTR eggy should be enough if you identify potential threats at preview and make the necessary double switches to thwart them. this team also has switch-ins for the common scarfers of toge, mesprit, kabu and ape, so yea, it's not totally terrible.
the idea of the team is to get up hazards, then bring in lass against the opponent's mons that it can beat using subdisable, such as defensive sandslash-alola, mono attacking mudsdale, certain skunks (if fsr they are not running both pursuit AND crunch), hitmonchan, gurdurr, choiced mons (stoutland, eggy, etc). this will likely befuddle your foe as they have to switch into something else and take more spikes damage. the rest of the team is fairly basic and not that creative. qwilfish for fighting check and spikes, lycanroc for fast wincon, pom-pom (very splashable and covers fightings, grounds and grasses and eel), otr eggy for speed control and another late game wincon, sandslash-alola for hazards and hazard control. again i should reiterate that subdisable lass does a rather good job vs teams with choiced mons, even scarfers if you can get in behind a sub first, so make sure to take advantage of that.
im a pretty poor and uncreative builder so I mainly try to outplay the opponent even with a poor team, which im sure you are capable of doing. nevertheless I hope you enjoy this Christmas gift and have a happy New Year!
Hey Yoshiblaze , Merry (and just before the deadline) Christmas and a Happy New Year! I was your Secret Santa and was therefore tasked to build around Z-Hypnosis + Belly Drum Hypno and Mudsdale. (Both sets were provided and unchangeable)
Therefore I am now happy to present...
Hypno, Mudsdale and their Anti-Jellicent Friends!
When I first saw the core you had given me, there was one key underlying problem that would clearly make building difficult, and that obviously was JELLICENT. It completely walls Hypno and destroys Mudsdale. So, my main thought process when building this team was to put as much Jellicent hate in as possible, as well as providing as many opportunities as possible for Hypno to come in on its few favourable matchups and start setting up. Easier said than done.
So, now for the team. Starting with the 2 mons I was given, Hypno is clearly the biggest weakness in this team. However at +1 speed it reaches a fairly respectable speed tier that lets it outspeed every non scarfed mon in the tier and a few of the scarfed ones such as Aurorus. It is however quite a threst when it pulls off Z-Hypnosis and Belly Drum. Mudsdale acts as the hazard setter for the team, as well as pressuring Skuntank for Hypno with Earthquake.
Now, to the mons I added. Raticate - Alola functions as the teams primary wallbreaker. I chose A-Raticate because I was looking for a wall breaker that had a ghost immunity so it could swap in on Shadow Ball, as well as being able to consistently kill Jellicent. This left me with either Stoutland or Raticate-A, and I chose Raticate-A because it breaks Jellicent more reliably (Knock Off is a guaranteed OHKO against all Jellicent sets except for ones holding Colbur Berry), as well as being able to Pivot with U-Turn to give more opportunities and momentum If Jellicent switches out. Pursuit is an option over Double-Edge to trap Jellicent but I chose Double-Edge to allow it to function as a more standard breaker apart from just countering Jellicent. Eelektross is an important pivot for the team that helps to build momentum off its slow Volt Switch, as well as tanking stronger special hits for the team and denting more frail pokemon to allow for easier cleanup. Silvally Water is the defogger of choice for the team - I needed a defogger that could reliably switch into any of Jellicent's moves, and Silvally-Water can swap into Water Spout and beat Jellicent 1v1 with Thunderbolt. It also provides Parting Shot support, which greatly helps Hypno with setting up as it can tank hits a lot easier when the opponent is -1. 60 Speed EVs allow Silvally Water to outspeed Timid Jellicent if your opponent decides to run that for some reason. The EVs can be invested into SPa or SpDef if you want.
Finally, Lilligant functions as the team's scarfer and speed control, and helps to clean up weakened teams late game with with its still respectable power. Leaf Storm or Energy Ball both always 2HKO non specially defensive Jellicent sets (Leaf Storm will OHKO specs Jellicent), as well as OHKOing threats such as Lycanroc and Omastar. Hidden Power Ice hits Flying types ( Mainly Oricorios and Dodrio) and Exeggutor-Alola, whereas Healing Wish gives Hypno another chance to setup after Lilligant is no longer useful, or even to heal Eelektross as getting chipped is its main weakness.
Hey Yoshiblaze , Merry (and just before the deadline) Christmas and a Happy New Year! I was your Secret Santa and was therefore tasked to build around Z-Hypnosis + Belly Drum Hypno and Mudsdale. (Both sets were provided and unchangeable)
Considering how hard it more than likely was to build around this core, I have to extend my thanks for your work. The team looks great and super fun to use, so thank you again!
Hey Drud !
You gave me the task to build a team around Choice Band Victreebel and Flyinium-Z Dodrio and I think it was quite a challenge.
They both check one anothers checks/counters offensively but it's difficult to bring Victreebel in so it can break; especially since the damage output can be very underwhelming considering the fact that everyone runs at least one Steel or Poison Type in their team. So in order to balance out said weaknesses, I started off with Lanturn that brings Voltturn as well as a way to deal with Aggron, Weezing and Qwilfish. Looking at these 3, I figured Bulky Offense is definitively the way to go.
But let's go in detail:
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Victreebell
@ Choice Band / Chlorophyll /
Adamant / 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Spdef
- Leaf Blade
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch / Power Whip
So Choice Band was the set I got. However, I thought Sucker Punch would be better for the team because it struggeled against some more offensive threats, so there you go. The set is pretty fun though, since it chips threats earlygame like Poison or Steel types or kills Ground, Water, Rock or Fairy types which in turn helps the team out.
I didn't change anything about Dodrio yet. It lures in many things that Victreebel has problems with Steels or Weezing. Ingame, I often times use it as a revengekiller more than a breaker.
Lanturn
@ Assault Vest / Volt Absorb /
Modest / 172 SpA, 136 SpD, 200 Spe
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam / Hidden Power Grass
- Discharge / Hidden Power Grass
Since both are physical I thought about something that severely damages Mons like Weezing, Qwilfish, Regirock and Mudsdale and can, in best case, provide a form of Voltturn. So I went with Lanturn.
It is a nice pivot into Ice and Flying Types (like Articuno, Oricorio or Swanna) that the first two lose to. It also lures in Pokemon like Quagsire or grass Types and kills the former or creates momentum with the latter and gets in either Dodrio or Victreebell.
With Scarf Skuntank I run a really bad set at first sight but it helps with some issues at second. I feel like the team has a problem with opposing speed control and Skuntank can get rid of them. Pokemon Like Scarf Mesprit, Froslass, Raichu, Lycanroc, Dodrio, +2 Carracosta and so on are examples for that. Of course they all have to be damaged beforehand but with Foul Play you have a way to kind of get around that issue a bit. Toxic can be run in the same slot as Pursuit and Foul Play to have a way of punishing Ground Types like Quagsire or Mudsdale.
Mesprit is my main way of checking opposing Psychics, Fighting Types and half checking hard hitting physical threats like Kang, Stoutland, Aggron or Lycanroc. It fills up the hole of hitting Weezing for effective damage and it is another way of dealing with Mudsdale due to Ice Beam or faster threats due to Twave.
Since Mesprit can't be the only Mon to check hard hitting Rock or normal Types I chose Gurdurr as the last pick. It also appreciates the absence of Poison, Fairy and Psychic types which all 5 above work together to get rid off.
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Threatlist
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• Alolan Persian - It has a great speedtier against my team. If Gurdurr is chipped decently it can be a huge nuisance since the team's offensive presence is based on physical power which is in Persian's favor.
• Spikes + Normal Spam - Trapping Mesprit and chipping Gurdurr with Spikes is an easy way to beat the team. Clever switching and scouting can deal with that. However, that means that, most of the time, I have to sac Victreebel...which is sad. :[
• Fat Ground Types - It's not the most difficult thing to deal with but mentioning it can't be that bad. Pressure them with Victreebel, Dodrio or Lanturn and they are dealt with. However, Vic sometimes leaves the battle early, Lanturn has no HP Grass or Dodrio can't break quick enough. So watch out for that.
Victreebel @ Choice Band
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Leaf Blade
Dodrio @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Jump Kick
- Brave Bird
Lanturn @ Assault Vest
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 172 SpA / 136 SpD / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Discharge
Jonago, I had the pleasure to build a team for you. Interesting core though. So, without further ado, heres your Banded Granbull + Specs Lanturn core team as promised.
Granbull @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
Lanturn @ Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
I had quite a lot of fun making this. Although, it was pretty hard, i got there in the end.
Starting off with the core you asked for, Granbull and Lanturn core works decently well surprisingly. A Hydro Pump from a Specs Lanturn can OHKO many threats such as: bulky and banded Mudsdale, Toge and volt kills Qwilfish which could threaten Granbull
Granbull also kills threats to the team such as Lilligant and even Spikes Fatlass
Moving away from the core, it's a pretty standard team. Qwilfish is the main setter here with Taunt, Dbond and Spikes. Paired with Stealth Rocks Mesprit to let Dodrio, Granbull and Lanturn shine. Dodrio works here as a late game sweeper which is a switch in to a predicted Earthquake on Lanturn if Mes dies. Lastly Fropritstom is both a Defogger and a revenge killer if needed.
Hope you enjoy using the team, this took me a while to make and think of? if thats the correct wording.
More importantly, have a great Christmas and don't forget to spend time with your family.
This Conlcudes our PU's 3rd Annual Secret Santa! If anyone didn't recieve a team that should have please let me know and I will handle accordingly! Happy New years Everyone!
With Roselia over Victreebel, you lose some offensive pressure, but in return, you gain a status absorb for the team, letting you play with different options than Facade on PuP Kangaskhan. Roselia also protects the team more against threats like Lilligant and Ludicolo, meaning you don't have to rely nearly as much on Scarf Dodrio for RKing those. The goal is to simply set Spikes on the free turns that Roselia generates by forcing these Pokemon out if they're not quite ready to commit to the offensive just yet, which FAT Kangaskhan (Kecleon on acid) capitalizes on with boosted priority. AV Drain Punch and near max HP Kangaskhan is super annoying to deal with and more effectively checks Pokemon that threaten the team's defensive backbone on their own, like Eelektross and Simisear. More Speed can be run on Kangaskhan for sure, but I think Roselia's spread is ideal where it's at, letting it outspeed 252 Spe Modest Drampa and bulky pivot Lanturn. Given more emphasis is placed on stacking Spikes, Quagsire can also run Yawn to force switches / Kangaskhan can do the same and actually has unblockable phazing with Scrappy Circle Throw.
. But anyway here is the team!
