SV OU Returning Player Obsessed With Roaring Moon!

realsoupersand

realsoupersand

First post!

It has been an exceptionally long time since I've played competitively. I quit competitive play in the DPP era, so I'm understandably a little lost. I did get back in briefly for Gen VII, but before I finalized my competitive team, the centerpiece was banned to Übers.

I tend to immediately go for aggro when I play a new game, which should be pretty obvious here. I like to play hyper offense before I consider other playstyles. This helps me figure out what works and it feeds my love of glass cannons. It also helps me find unique things that others likely wouldn't think of, like my Triple Trick Scarf team from DPP.

On a side note, I dearly miss Levitate on Gengar... Gengar is my third favorite Pokémon, coming in right behind Magikarp (yes, I'm serious) and Gyarados.


Grimmsnarl, Cyclizar, Corviknight, Roaring Moon, Iron Valiant, Dragapult

Grimmsnarl (John Goblikon) @ Light Clay
Prankster
Tera: Fairy
+SpD, -SpA
252 HP, 4 Def, 252 SpD
Light Screen, Reflect, Parting Shot, Spirit Break

This set is pretty standard and predictable, which is why I actually really don't like it all that much. It's good, though. It eases setup tremendously. It's just not me. That's why I'm strongly considering replacing Spirit Break with Trick and giving him a Flame Orb. I'd really prefer to run Trick, Taunt, Thunder Wave, and Parting Shot, but I know that's more niche and far less helpful overall.

This feels like one of the weakest links on the team. I'm open to suggestions!

Cyclizar (Kawasaki) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Regenerator
Tera: Dark
Jolly
252 HP, 4 Def, 252 Spe
Shed Tail, Taunt, Rapid Spin, Knock Off

What!? No Sitrus Berry!? Yeah, no. I definitely get why it should be used, but Ze Shoes make it so that Cyclizar can also come in a-spinnin'! I can't use Shed Tail as many times in a game, but it also helps give Cyclizar a bit of longevity and utility. Besides, my goal is to set up a huge sweeper and try to run through entire teams with it, so I theoretically only need 1 or 2 uses of Shed Tail.

Corviknight (Songbird) @ Rocky Helmet
Pressure
Tera: Flying
Impish
252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SpD
U-Turn, Defog, Roost, Tailwind

Any fans of Bioshock Infinite? Songbird is brutal.

This is another one that feels a little odd to me. I wasn't going to run it until i saw that it gets Tailwind. However... do I really NEED Tailwind? My sweepers are already fast. This would help guarantee that they outspeed revenge killers without priority moves, though.

I wanted a Steel Pokémon to help cover me against Dragons and Fairies. I also liked that Corviknight can switch in and laugh at Earthquake. I'm considering dropping this for Swords Dance Scizor even though that Ground "weakness" comes back in. Besides, Scizor is another excellent setup sweeper that would function beautifully behind a Shed Tail Substitute.

Roaring Moon (Kereska) @ Booster Energy
Protosynthesis
Tera: Flying
Adamant
4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
Dragon Dance, Acrobatics, Earthquake, Crunch

This is the centerpiece of the team. It's the one Pokémon that made me excited about competitive battling again. I adore Dragon Dance. It was only natural that I'd find room for this beautiful monstrosity.

I run Booster Energy and an Adamant nature because the plan is to set up 2 Dragon Dances behind the Shed Tail Substitute and then unleash STAB Acrobatics and Crunch.

Iron Valiant (Mjölnir) @ Booster Energy
Quark Drive
Tera: Fairy
Timid
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Calm Mind, Moonblast, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball

I was looking for a strong Fairy type and a powerful and quick special attacker. Iron Valiant seemed like the natural choice. Booster Energy increases its speed to unholy levels and Cyclizar's Shed Tail allows Iron Valiant to set up more easily. However, Calm Mind feels a bit lackluster since Iron Valiant's special attack feels a little sad without a boosting item. Either way, it seems like a strong special attacker that can help cover my weakness to Dragon.

I'd prefer something extremely fast with access to Nasty Plot, but I also really like Iron Valiant's design. Good speed, good offensive stats, and an excellent movepool... who could really ask for more?

Dragapult (Jhakkar) @ Life Orb
Infiltrator
Tera: Ghost
Timid
4 HP, 252 SpA, 252 Spe
Shadow Ball, Draco Meteor, Flamethrower, U-Turn

Pretty standard. I went with Orb because I don't like Choice items on Pokémon without Trick. I'm not really sold on Dragapult, but that absurd speed stat and excellent pivoting ability made it so hard to turn this one down. However, it does feel a little weak on this team. It also feels like it needs Heavy-Duty boots, which will dilute its average damage even further. I adore the design, though, and perhaps it'll be way better than I think.



I'm considering multiple Pokémon as replacements for some of these. Among them are SD Scizor, Trick Gengar, Trick Gholdengo, Trick Rotom-W, and Lead Jumpluff. I do not want to replace Roaring Moon or Cyclizar.

Do I need traps in a team like this?

Thank you for reading and for any assistance you may have!
 
Last edited:
I put this into some pastes for you for ease of accessibility.
Original Team Paste: :Grimmsnarl:/:Cyclizar:/:Corviknight:/:Roaring Moon:/:Iron Valiant:/:Dragapult:

Recommended changes: :Grimmsnarl:/:Cyclizar:/:Garganacl:/:Roaring Moon:/:Hatterene:/:Dragapult:

:sv/Grimmsnarl:
Tera Ghost to prevent trapping (not that there is any) as well as potentially spinblocking, if necessary. Parting shot over an attack; prankster already guarantees you a faster taunt except vs opposing Grimmsnarl, which can't taunt you anyway.

:sv/Cyclizar:
Don't think I changed much except tera ghost, which gives immunity in case you need to switch into a fighting resistance. Sitrus berry is an option that is popular right now for more shed tails; this team also includes Hatterene to help prevent hazards proactively.

:sv/Hatterene:
Magic bounce user to prevent opposing hazards and get up your own. Nuzzle can shut down faster threats to help Roaring Moon secure kills in case it cant DD. Also serves as a physdef pivot. Its bulkier than Valiant and serves more to support the offensive members of this team.

:sv/Garganacl:
Ghost resist that helps shut down bulky water Teras. Good pivot. Tera fairy to keep off opposing Roaring Moon and Pult, not to mention Great Tusk trying to switch in. While I like Corv, Nacl really shines as a physdef pivot that can easily sweep entire teams while under screens.



Other options:
Could run Hex over Shadow ball on Pult, depending on how reliant you find yourself on Hatterene's nuzzle. I tend to like Banded Roaring Moon with u-turn over the Acrodance set myself, but you already stated you don't like choice except on trick mons.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
I will get back to these later, but thank you so much in the meantime! I'm sure there will be many changes made. As long as I get to keep Cyclizar and Roaring Moon, I'll probably be happy :)
 
@ both: I'm so thankful! I'm strongly considering adding Magnezone and at least one of the other changes, but we'll see! I knew there were some major things I was missing.



AethsK: I was definitely considering Magnezone. Adding it back to the list of considerations! My main concern with it aside from my general dislike of non-Trick Choice users is the lack of a fire move to kill off Steel types. I don't really want to have to use my 1 Tera on Magnezone, but I agree that it would probably be an excellent pivot. Very strongly considering! Thank you!



SunCooled: Wow, thank you for all of the detail! I hadn't even considered Garganacl. I'll definitely look into it and Hatterene. I had initially dismissed Hatt because of that absolutely pitiful Speed, but Magic Bounce is nuts. Tempting!

I'm a bit confused about the 248/8/252 spreads on Grimmsnarl and Cyclizar and the 252/204/52 spread on Hatt. Can you help me understand them? I also see that there aren't any attacking moves on Grimmsnarl, but there are 8 Attack EVs.

Lastly, I like the idea of priority Taunt on Grimmsnarl. What do you think about priority Thunder Wave instead?
 
realsoupersand said:
I'm a bit confused about the 248/8/252 spreads on Grimmsnarl and Cyclizar and the 252/204/52 spread on Hatt. Can you help me understand them? I also see that there aren't any attacking moves on Grimmsnarl, but there are 8 Attack EVs.

Lastly, I like the idea of priority Taunt on Grimmsnarl. What do you think about priority Thunder Wave instead?
Click to expand...

Oh my bad, I probably accidentally grabbed cyclizar's spread and put it on grimm. Just run hp max spdef on Grimmsnarl (252hp/4def/252spdef calm).

For Cyclizar there actually is a reason; 248evs hit 343 HP, and 252evs hit 344. Shed tail takes 50% of your HP; you want an odd number for this, because when the game takes 50%, it will round down. So both 343 HP and 344 HP will leave you with 172 HP. Doing 248 gives you an extra 4 EV's that you can use. Feel free to put it into more defensive stats if you like, I just threw the cyclizar spread that I tend to use in there.

The Hatt spread is max HP with defensive investment, as you get special defense boosts from CM. The 52 speed investment is done to outspeed Quag, Pex, Garganacl and Dondozo, which are more defensive pokemon that you want to be able to beat with calm mind. I didn't invent this spread but its pretty common on a decent amount of teams.

AtraX Madara said:
[click here]
Click to expand...
This is where OU speed tiers are found.

Thunder wave would be pretty good if you like the idea of running Hex Dragapult. The trade offs are:
1) Grimm can no longer get momentum vs Cyclizar, which shed tails as you parting shot, and the opponent gets momentum;
2) Grimm can't stop ground types like Great Tusk/Iron Treads/Garchomp/Clodsire/Ting Lu from getting up hazards;
3) Grimm can't stop opposing Garganacl or Dondozo (with rest) from setting up.

Its not the worst trade off, given the amount of things like Dragapult, Scream Tail, and a lot of rain pokemon that are basically dead if they get paralyzed, but you sacrifice a lot of utility for it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top