PYROSOMNI
(The song is linked in the title)
"It's the human's fault..."
Introduction
Anthropophobia
I know i said Pyramid Peril would be my last RMT, but this is the SS team I feel the most comfortable with and the one I used the most in my OSDT and Majors runs, so it felt wrong to not give this team the attention it deserves, and I felt this is the perfect time to do it as I'm out of Pokémon stuff to do at the moment and SS stops being current gen in a few days. My Dracovish team is probably my favorite team I've built for how unique it is and how fun it is to play, but this team is my most consistent team, and the one that fits my playstyle the best. This team (when used by me) is nearly undefeated in all tours I've decided to use it in. I actually won every game I brought this team to until losing to Nido-Rus in Majors due to some misplays on my part. I'll also explain the name of this RMT in this section: Pyrosomni is a fanmade Megalovania remix, and I named this team after it mostly because one of the main criticism of this long I saw were the fact that it lacks a sense of urgency present in most other Dusttale Megalovanias. I feel like that really fits this team, as it doesn't end games particularly quickly and puts a lot on emphasis on pivoting and defensive synergy rather than offensive breaking power. I also feel the name Pyrosomni really fits a Pokémon like Volcanion (the Pokémon this team was originally built around), and Kyurem-Black kinda looks like Sans (not really) which is an added bonus.
Teambuilding Process
It's Raining Somewhere Else...
I wanted to build a team around Volcanion in Tailwind. There's not really a reason behind this decision, I just noticed most Volcanion teams were Trick Room based and wanted to deviate from that formula. I chose Snarl Mew for the Tailwind user because I wanted a way to slow down special attackers, and Snarl Mew is just about the best way to do that.
The team felt extremely weak to Landorus, so I added Rillaboom as defensive counterplay to it. I decided on Knock Off for the 4th move, mostly to cripple Celesteela before it can Meteor Beam. Genesect was added as a fast pivot that beats Naganadel and Dragapult. These additions do add two fire weaknesses but with mew to weaken Heatran and Volcanion and Volcanion 4x resisting fire, it's not as bad as it looks. This is also when I decided on Fake Out for Mew's 4th move, as I wanted a double Fake Out core and no other moves were needed.
I added Assault Vest Kyurem-Black as a defensive option against Landorus and Volcanion, and gave it Dragon Tail as a way to disrupt setup based teams. Kyurem-B also provides auxiliary speed control to the team with Icy Wind, which is an extremely spammable move as nearly nothing wants to switch into it. Landorus was added for immediate offensive pressure and as an offensive check to Fire-types. It was originally Substitute as the 4th move but as hazards became more popular, I realized this team had a serious problem dealing with Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, so I gave Landorus Defog to remove them, as it really wasn't doing much with it's 4th move slot anyway. This was also where I decided on Toxic for Volcanion's last move as a solid filler to get chip damage on anything that isn't hit by it's STABs, as well as an anti cheese measure against Pokémon like Cresselia.
The Team
A MAD TIME
Volcanion
Volcanion is a huge part of this team's defensive backbone, as it's a safe switch into Fire-type attacks which this team greatly appreciates. It also acts as an offensive asset as it's STABs have few resists and do good damage to neutral targets. I gave it Heavy-Duty Boots for the item, which was originally Shuca Berry, but the team has enough Landorus/Zygarde checks and Hazard Stack teams were a huge problem in the games I played with it, and I want Volcanion to be able to come in as many times as possible without having to worry about hazards. Toxic is a good catch-all move to get some residual damage on anything it's stabs can't threaten as well as gives you an out against setup Pokémon like Cresselia and Tapu Fini. The EVs allow Volcanion to outspeed Naganadel in Tailwind.
Mew
Snarl Will-o-Wisp Mew allows this team to slow down the pace of the game and cripple physical attacking threats while providing much needed speed control and disruption with Fake Out. Safety Goggles allows you to ignore redirection from Amoonguss and burn Kyurem-Black and Zygarde through Rage Powder. It can also absorb Spore and use Fake Out to allow you to pivot around Amoonguss, which is especially important against Trick Room teams that utilize it. Mew is pretty much just a tool that helps ease certain matchups and give you more room to pivot around your opponent, as they're doing less damage which allows more Pokémon to act as safe switch ins. You generally want to use it mid/early game as this is a very passive set and you don't want to be left with it at the end of a game
Rillaboom
Rillaboom acts as glue for this team with it's great role compression. It gives the entire team recovery with Grassy Surge, Grassy Glide provides a decently strong priority move, which is great for picking off weakened targets while ignoring any speed control currently active, Knock off is extremely spammable coverage, as dark is great neutral coverage and almost nothing wants to lose it's item, and U-Turn gives you a slow pivot into other Pokémon. The EVs allow you to outspeed Modest Celesteela and Knock Off it's Power Herb before it can Meteor Beam as well as live Charcoal Heatran's Eruption.
Genesect
Genesect is a fast pivot with good coverage that allows it to offensively check most other fast Pokémon, like Naganadel, Dragapult, and opposing Genesect. It also has STAB fast U-Turn, which allows it to pivot into its bulkier allies while doing great damage in the process. Genesect synergizes well with Volcanion, as it beats most pokemon Volcanion struggles with while Volcanion 4x resists fire, Genesect's only weakness, which is made even more potent due to the fact that Genesect can U-Turn into Volcanion to take any potential Fire-type moves. The EVs allow Genesect to OHKO Zygarde without a Download boost.
Kyurem-Black
Kyurem-Black provides a defensive switch in to most special attacks as well as speed control and an anti cheese measure. Kyurem-B directly improves several matchups, like Rain teams for example, but it also provides general tools which are helpful in almost every matchup, like Icy Wind which is notoriously difficult to come in on and Dragon Tail to disrupt Setup based teams. The main downside to running Dragon Tail, which is mainly not having Fusion Bolt as an option against Celesteela is somewhat mitigated by this team not really struggling with Celesteela to begin with between Flamethrower Genesect, Knock Off Rillaboom and Snarl Mew. It's important to keep in mind that Freeze-Dry is not strong enough to OHKO Naganadel with these EVs, unlike Ice Beam which is a clean OHKO. the EVs allow Kyurem-Black to live Naganadel's Draco Meteor and outspeed Adamant Zygarde and opposing Kyurem-Black.
Landorus
Landorus provides immediate offensive pressure and good coverage. Earth Power allows it to threaten the Fire-types this team would normally struggle against while Sludge Bomb allows it to hit the common switch ins to Earth Power, such as Rillaboom, Tsareena and Tapu Fini. I chose Defog for it's 4th move to remove hazards for Volcanion and Kyurem-Black, as hazards are becoming increasingly common in SS, and Landorus' 4th move is pretty flexible here regardless, as it doesn't need any of it's typical coverage moves and Substitute, while a great option for punishing switches, is by no means irreplaceable.
Problematic Matchups
Red Megalovania
Rock Types
This team has no rock resists, so Rock-types like Nihilego and Diancie in speed control can be very hard for this team to deal with. Nihilego is faster than everything on the team other than Genesect and OHKOs everything at +1, Diancie under Trick Room forces out Volcanion and Kyurem-Black, both of which are major parts of the defensive backbone of the team, and Tyranitar can set Stealth Rocks and spam Dragon Tail, which is a very efficient way of spreading damage around against this team, as this team has two pokemon weak to Stealth Rocks. These matchups aren't unwinnable however. Nihilego is slower than Genesect, which threatens an OHKO with Iron Head, and Mew can live Meteor Beam and use Tailwind to allow more things to outspeed it while using Snarl to make its damage output more manageable. Diancie is really only a threat under Trick Room, and you have ways to prevent Trick Room from going up between two Fake Out users and Landorus and Genesect threatening OHKOs. You can also use Mew to burn Diancie, greatly lowering its damage output. Tyranitar is fairly manageable for this team as long as you don't present it with opportunities to set Stealth Rocks, which is fairly easy to do with half of this team being able to threaten massive damage on it. While none of these Pokémon are unbeatable with this team, they all require you to play carefully around them, with Nihilego being particularly difficult to deal with.
Replays
Reality Check Through the Skull
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1620191015-f4vs9kyg6620rptf3i2fupoxmo8tchipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1632545574
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1637645148-88szamecfsyj5vplx57cg3pl6kkocp3pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1709867011-peh8jmx7hvicqggjeyetmo31y5hngvtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1631778952-d598cztv62704a93sb6n2t5924u5zrvpw
Importable
Determination
https://pokepast.es/4955177f0e686a05
(The song is linked in the title)
"It's the human's fault..."
Introduction
Anthropophobia
I know i said Pyramid Peril would be my last RMT, but this is the SS team I feel the most comfortable with and the one I used the most in my OSDT and Majors runs, so it felt wrong to not give this team the attention it deserves, and I felt this is the perfect time to do it as I'm out of Pokémon stuff to do at the moment and SS stops being current gen in a few days. My Dracovish team is probably my favorite team I've built for how unique it is and how fun it is to play, but this team is my most consistent team, and the one that fits my playstyle the best. This team (when used by me) is nearly undefeated in all tours I've decided to use it in. I actually won every game I brought this team to until losing to Nido-Rus in Majors due to some misplays on my part. I'll also explain the name of this RMT in this section: Pyrosomni is a fanmade Megalovania remix, and I named this team after it mostly because one of the main criticism of this long I saw were the fact that it lacks a sense of urgency present in most other Dusttale Megalovanias. I feel like that really fits this team, as it doesn't end games particularly quickly and puts a lot on emphasis on pivoting and defensive synergy rather than offensive breaking power. I also feel the name Pyrosomni really fits a Pokémon like Volcanion (the Pokémon this team was originally built around), and Kyurem-Black kinda looks like Sans (not really) which is an added bonus.
Teambuilding Process
It's Raining Somewhere Else...
I wanted to build a team around Volcanion in Tailwind. There's not really a reason behind this decision, I just noticed most Volcanion teams were Trick Room based and wanted to deviate from that formula. I chose Snarl Mew for the Tailwind user because I wanted a way to slow down special attackers, and Snarl Mew is just about the best way to do that.
The team felt extremely weak to Landorus, so I added Rillaboom as defensive counterplay to it. I decided on Knock Off for the 4th move, mostly to cripple Celesteela before it can Meteor Beam. Genesect was added as a fast pivot that beats Naganadel and Dragapult. These additions do add two fire weaknesses but with mew to weaken Heatran and Volcanion and Volcanion 4x resisting fire, it's not as bad as it looks. This is also when I decided on Fake Out for Mew's 4th move, as I wanted a double Fake Out core and no other moves were needed.
I added Assault Vest Kyurem-Black as a defensive option against Landorus and Volcanion, and gave it Dragon Tail as a way to disrupt setup based teams. Kyurem-B also provides auxiliary speed control to the team with Icy Wind, which is an extremely spammable move as nearly nothing wants to switch into it. Landorus was added for immediate offensive pressure and as an offensive check to Fire-types. It was originally Substitute as the 4th move but as hazards became more popular, I realized this team had a serious problem dealing with Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, so I gave Landorus Defog to remove them, as it really wasn't doing much with it's 4th move slot anyway. This was also where I decided on Toxic for Volcanion's last move as a solid filler to get chip damage on anything that isn't hit by it's STABs, as well as an anti cheese measure against Pokémon like Cresselia.
The Team
A MAD TIME
Volcanion
Volcanion is a huge part of this team's defensive backbone, as it's a safe switch into Fire-type attacks which this team greatly appreciates. It also acts as an offensive asset as it's STABs have few resists and do good damage to neutral targets. I gave it Heavy-Duty Boots for the item, which was originally Shuca Berry, but the team has enough Landorus/Zygarde checks and Hazard Stack teams were a huge problem in the games I played with it, and I want Volcanion to be able to come in as many times as possible without having to worry about hazards. Toxic is a good catch-all move to get some residual damage on anything it's stabs can't threaten as well as gives you an out against setup Pokémon like Cresselia and Tapu Fini. The EVs allow Volcanion to outspeed Naganadel in Tailwind.
Mew
Snarl Will-o-Wisp Mew allows this team to slow down the pace of the game and cripple physical attacking threats while providing much needed speed control and disruption with Fake Out. Safety Goggles allows you to ignore redirection from Amoonguss and burn Kyurem-Black and Zygarde through Rage Powder. It can also absorb Spore and use Fake Out to allow you to pivot around Amoonguss, which is especially important against Trick Room teams that utilize it. Mew is pretty much just a tool that helps ease certain matchups and give you more room to pivot around your opponent, as they're doing less damage which allows more Pokémon to act as safe switch ins. You generally want to use it mid/early game as this is a very passive set and you don't want to be left with it at the end of a game
Rillaboom
Rillaboom acts as glue for this team with it's great role compression. It gives the entire team recovery with Grassy Surge, Grassy Glide provides a decently strong priority move, which is great for picking off weakened targets while ignoring any speed control currently active, Knock off is extremely spammable coverage, as dark is great neutral coverage and almost nothing wants to lose it's item, and U-Turn gives you a slow pivot into other Pokémon. The EVs allow you to outspeed Modest Celesteela and Knock Off it's Power Herb before it can Meteor Beam as well as live Charcoal Heatran's Eruption.
Genesect
Genesect is a fast pivot with good coverage that allows it to offensively check most other fast Pokémon, like Naganadel, Dragapult, and opposing Genesect. It also has STAB fast U-Turn, which allows it to pivot into its bulkier allies while doing great damage in the process. Genesect synergizes well with Volcanion, as it beats most pokemon Volcanion struggles with while Volcanion 4x resists fire, Genesect's only weakness, which is made even more potent due to the fact that Genesect can U-Turn into Volcanion to take any potential Fire-type moves. The EVs allow Genesect to OHKO Zygarde without a Download boost.
Kyurem-Black
Kyurem-Black provides a defensive switch in to most special attacks as well as speed control and an anti cheese measure. Kyurem-B directly improves several matchups, like Rain teams for example, but it also provides general tools which are helpful in almost every matchup, like Icy Wind which is notoriously difficult to come in on and Dragon Tail to disrupt Setup based teams. The main downside to running Dragon Tail, which is mainly not having Fusion Bolt as an option against Celesteela is somewhat mitigated by this team not really struggling with Celesteela to begin with between Flamethrower Genesect, Knock Off Rillaboom and Snarl Mew. It's important to keep in mind that Freeze-Dry is not strong enough to OHKO Naganadel with these EVs, unlike Ice Beam which is a clean OHKO. the EVs allow Kyurem-Black to live Naganadel's Draco Meteor and outspeed Adamant Zygarde and opposing Kyurem-Black.
Landorus
Landorus provides immediate offensive pressure and good coverage. Earth Power allows it to threaten the Fire-types this team would normally struggle against while Sludge Bomb allows it to hit the common switch ins to Earth Power, such as Rillaboom, Tsareena and Tapu Fini. I chose Defog for it's 4th move to remove hazards for Volcanion and Kyurem-Black, as hazards are becoming increasingly common in SS, and Landorus' 4th move is pretty flexible here regardless, as it doesn't need any of it's typical coverage moves and Substitute, while a great option for punishing switches, is by no means irreplaceable.
Problematic Matchups
Red Megalovania
Rock Types
This team has no rock resists, so Rock-types like Nihilego and Diancie in speed control can be very hard for this team to deal with. Nihilego is faster than everything on the team other than Genesect and OHKOs everything at +1, Diancie under Trick Room forces out Volcanion and Kyurem-Black, both of which are major parts of the defensive backbone of the team, and Tyranitar can set Stealth Rocks and spam Dragon Tail, which is a very efficient way of spreading damage around against this team, as this team has two pokemon weak to Stealth Rocks. These matchups aren't unwinnable however. Nihilego is slower than Genesect, which threatens an OHKO with Iron Head, and Mew can live Meteor Beam and use Tailwind to allow more things to outspeed it while using Snarl to make its damage output more manageable. Diancie is really only a threat under Trick Room, and you have ways to prevent Trick Room from going up between two Fake Out users and Landorus and Genesect threatening OHKOs. You can also use Mew to burn Diancie, greatly lowering its damage output. Tyranitar is fairly manageable for this team as long as you don't present it with opportunities to set Stealth Rocks, which is fairly easy to do with half of this team being able to threaten massive damage on it. While none of these Pokémon are unbeatable with this team, they all require you to play carefully around them, with Nihilego being particularly difficult to deal with.
Replays
Reality Check Through the Skull
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1620191015-f4vs9kyg6620rptf3i2fupoxmo8tchipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1632545574
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1637645148-88szamecfsyj5vplx57cg3pl6kkocp3pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1709867011-peh8jmx7hvicqggjeyetmo31y5hngvtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1631778952-d598cztv62704a93sb6n2t5924u5zrvpw
Importable
Determination
https://pokepast.es/4955177f0e686a05
Volcanion @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 208 HP / 252 SpA / 48 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Steam Eruption
- Toxic
- Protect
Mew @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
- Fake Out
Rillaboom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Atk / 112 SpD / 64 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 104 Atk / 152 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Kyurem-Black @ Assault Vest
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 128 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Dragon Tail
- Earth Power
- Icy Wind
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Defog
- Protect
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 208 HP / 252 SpA / 48 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Steam Eruption
- Toxic
- Protect
Mew @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
- Fake Out
Rillaboom @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Atk / 112 SpD / 64 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Genesect @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Download
EVs: 104 Atk / 152 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
Kyurem-Black @ Assault Vest
Ability: Teravolt
EVs: 228 HP / 128 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Dragon Tail
- Earth Power
- Icy Wind
Landorus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
- Defog
- Protect