The Team:
https://pokepast.es/219ddae3276f0681
Intro:
I wanted to share this super strong team I've built recently. I really miss building and playing in gen 8, and I miss a lot of the mons that were very prominent. I built this team to try to get some of that gen 8 aesthetic with some nice reliable bulky offense / balance. I've also got some slight set innovation from what is most standard in the metagame at the moment which I hope can help these mons find new ways to shine. Power creep has of course been very high this gen, but a lot of the old beasts still have what it takes to absolutely dominate. I got this team up to the low-mid 1900s, or about top 30. I could for sure push it higher as the team is strong and this isn't my peak, but I'm on holiday at the moment and want to try to spend more time touching grass so I won't be laddering much! If anyone wants to take the baton and run the team up the ladder please do! This is also my first RMT, so any advice on the actual post as well as of course the team is much appreciated!
Teambuilding:
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hammer Arm
The first mon I put on the team had to be lando-T. He definitely has not aged poorly this gen, having great usage, but he doesn't feel like the beast he was before due to the fact he's more of a special attacker at the moment. Scarf isn't really a gen 8 thing either, but I just want the team to look like and feel a little like gen 8, not necessarily copy it. I feel like people forget that lando-t's attack is absurd and can do serious damage even when hitting into certain mons' stronger defense, like great tusk or even frailer targets like iron valiant. Furthermore, attacking physically is great into mons like raging bolt who can stomach some earth powers, particularly with tera or a couple calm mind boosts. The power of lando's earthquakes combined with scarf make it quite a potent win condition. Scarf is very underrated this gen I think. Of course booster speed is hugely versatile, but a team like this with some bulk can lure in booster speed mons, then force them out with a defensive option. Choice scarfers don't have to worry about exhausting their speed, and so can put in great mid game work, and then still work as a win condition.
The set itself is self explanatory for the most part. Edge quake coverage hits a lot, and of course u-turn is probably the button you'll click most. I initially ran tera fly tera blast, but found myself rarely clicking it and the team had some weakness to kingambit, particularly balloon gambit which I couldn't threaten with EQ. Tera fight is surprisingly useful defensively, and it makes hammer arm quite a strong option to hit a lot of the tier for good damage. The EV spread is the result of a bad habit of mine to not max out speed. The defense comes in handy against kingambit sucker punch, or when you let lando get chipped a little, but running max speed to speed tie +1 Jolly gouging fire is probably the move.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 56 HP / 48 Def / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
Lando hates corviknight and skarmory with a passion, so pairing lando up with a volt switcher to make a volt-turn core was a no brainer. I went for a very offensive zapdos so that it can more quickly break through its checks. This gives your opponent less time to escape the volt turn vortex. Most zapdos on the ladder are defensive according to the stats from the most recent month, so a lot of players will play their slowkings a bit too recklessly and find themselves getting worn down very fast. Furthermore, as a defensive contact punisher, I think moltres hugely outclasses zapdos. Instead I think playing into zapdos great offenses is the way to go. A little bulk investment goes a long way thanks to Zapdos having good natural bulk, so there's good chances for some static cheese, but investing fully in bulk feels inefficient. Hurricane of course sucks, but when you hit it you forget that fact because it really is very strong.
Again, the moves are fairly standard, thunderbolt for good damage into mons like ghold that you may wish to 1v1, volt switch to pivot with lando and hurricane for a bit of a nuke. Finally roost of course to help survivability. 152+ speed hits the golden gen 9 301 speed bench mark, and the specific HP and Defensive EVs let you not get 2HKO'd by the standard body press zama set with some defensive investment when it is at +3 defense. Do keep this mon healthy versus zama, it once broke through me because I played sloppily and I almost threw my phone at the wall. I hate zama. Tera water helps with weather matchups, particularly rain which lets zapdos spam hurricane.
Bishorp (Kingambit) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
I don't know if this is a bug or something, but bisharp looks a bit funny this gen. He still swords dances and clicks sucker so its all good.
Fr tho, I loved bisharp last gen and while I'd love to run him, he is too much of a shitmon even for me, and I usually bring a shitmon along for the ride. Kingambit defensively synergises super well with the previous mons, checking ice types, and using them to hide from fighting type attacks. It also provides the borderline mandatory ghost resist, super strong priority, breaking and another win condition. Everyone knows what kingambit does and that he does that exceptionally well.
I went for quite a bulky kingambit to help out defensively with the team. It has enough speed to iron head clefable. I feel like tera fly is a bit less common than it used to be, but its still great to dodge EQs and fighting attacks. It also lets you fight off roaring moons with an tera iron head into a sucker punch. Not sure what else to say about kingambit.
Toxapex @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Liquidation
- Ice Spinner
- Tera Blast
You know I had to bring my son toxapex to the gen 8 function. Got a freaky set here though. On a team that's quite offensive like this, the super passive standard toxapex we see on stall teams this gen would really not work. Losing scald and knock off makes pex so much less threatening. That is unless you run max attack. Modest AV was popular early this gen but fell off over time. I'm bringing it back though with a twist in that its physical. This gives the team a really great defensive option, particularly vs the many fairy types and strong water types like walking wake. That's all obvious though because its still toxapex. What's interesting is going physical. With max attack adamant, you're not passive. Despite pex having a better attack stat, this set isnt really stronger than modest because the base power of the moves is lower. The reason I prefer physical here is for its ability to pressure specially bulky mons. Top of the list of these targets is glowking, who doesn't appreciate a decently strong liquidation. My special attackers can't kill slowking immediately, but I've tried my best to ensure none of them let it regenerate, meaning eventually zapdos will win and openup the game. Many calm mind sweepers like to set up on pex if they think they're safe from toxic, but physical pex keeps the pressure on, stopping things from getting out of control. It does miss the huge damage on tusk, but you have other mons for that guy. Iron valiant also is no longer instantly annihalated, but val can't do much back to you so it doesn't matter too much that it takes two turns instead of one to get the kill.
For the set, I obviously maxed bulk and attack. Dual stabs are both good, poison jab lets you spread poison for extra progress, and liquidation's defense drop comes in clutch sometimes. Ice spinner hits dragons and keeps gliscor on their toes. Finally, I opted for tera blast fight to pay homage to that one tournament game where cryingg tera blast fighted a gambit, then killed a tera fairy val afterwards. Its nice as another way to beat gambit as this team doesn't have a dedicated gambit check, relying more on general bulk to trade with it. You can run inefestation if you'd rather, I just found the mon I wanted to trap was glowking, but it always just chilly receptioned away.
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Moonblast
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Moonlight
I'm really a clefable believer this gen. While clef is certainly not completely overlooked, I think its better than most people think. I also love how despite its poor stats, it always finds a way. Clef shows it's not size that matters, but how you use what you've got
. Clef gives the team rocks, item removal and lightens the load toxapex has to bear as the bulkiest guy on the team. It keeps great tusk in line as well as roaring moon. Magic guard also lets clef absorb knock off, which is huge since zapdos, ace nor pex can afford to lose their item. It also lets you play around wisp dragapult without crippling kingambit.
This set is extremely standard, except for the fact it has a life orb. I initially ran sticky barb because finch said on twitter it was really good, but with clef being the only knock user I had a hard time getting rid of it. Then the one time I did, I accidentally got it stuck to my own lando and again almost broke my phone. I tried leftovers too, but both barb and lefties let glowking heal up and interrupt my volt turning with the slower pivot. The solution was to get stronger, but since clef doesn't have stats to spare when you're running phys def, life orb was the only way. I initially thought I would change this back since I haven't seen anyone else running this, but the set is insanely good. Clef suddenly becomes a bit of a threat, with a chance (admittedly small) to 2HKO ogerpon from full. It always does after rocks or basically any chip. Since I'm not running a negative nature on my attack, knock off keeps glowking at bay big time, keeping it low while removing those ever annoying boots. Because of life orb making moonblast that much nastier, they really do have to go glowking vs you, guaranteeing that knock. The extra power also helps out against spdef weak but overall very bulky mons like mola and dondozo. I really think more people need to try this set, even though it seems weird to run life orb with only 2 attacks on a defensive mon.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
- Court Change
Final mon on the squad as always when I build a team is the long procrastinated hazard control. I didn't really want tusk and felt the team was not offensive enough for treads. Corv was too passive and defensively overlapped with too many mons on the team, so ace was the clear pick. Particularly since it is a gen 8 starter! It adds another component to the volt turn fun, more speed which is always useful, and a very clutch extra priority option. The team is quite offensive, so its not a huge deal that you effectively can only remove hazards once. It completely screws over veil and sticky webs. The team also doesn't hugely mind hazards, with two fliers and a magic guard mon so spike stack is not unmanageable.
Set is completely standard. I don't really believe in the bulkier ace at the moment since the tier hits so hard, and again like many of the guys on this team it feels wasteful to invest too heavily in bulk when the mon is so good offensively.
Threats:
The team is very well balanced I think, and can handle just about anything. I'm not very good at being brief when I write, so I've done my best to avoid the urge to discuss how to beat every mon in the tier. There are a couple though that need a little extra care.
Gouging fire - Regular gouging fire is not a huge deal, lando does a huge amount and zapdos can 1v1 it as well. So can gambit to an extent. However, in the sun at +1 its a different story. You will probably need to tera zapdos into a water type, chip it and threaten with sucker punch, or scarf lando if its adamant. This of course sucks, but the team is really good into the rest of the sun crew, particularly thanks to pex, so you can for sure win after dealing with gouging fire. I think I've won all my sun matchups, but I always go down early game due to gouging fire.
Psyshock darkrai - dark pulse, psyshock, sludgebomb is hugely threatening coverage for this team, and will demand a cheeky tera or offensive counterplay. Fortunately this is not the best coverage into the overall metagame, so is quite uncommon.
Final bit:
Thank you very much for reading this! Thank you to Stormzone and Mr Jamvad for teaching me to teambuild back in the day. I hope everyone can have fun with the team, it really is fun and satisfying. I've been stealing teams from RMT and the bazaar for years now so I'm happy I can give back a little and maybe help someone else improve. Any questions or suggestions for the team are welcome and I hope everyone enjoys the Summer! :)
https://pokepast.es/219ddae3276f0681
Intro:
I wanted to share this super strong team I've built recently. I really miss building and playing in gen 8, and I miss a lot of the mons that were very prominent. I built this team to try to get some of that gen 8 aesthetic with some nice reliable bulky offense / balance. I've also got some slight set innovation from what is most standard in the metagame at the moment which I hope can help these mons find new ways to shine. Power creep has of course been very high this gen, but a lot of the old beasts still have what it takes to absolutely dominate. I got this team up to the low-mid 1900s, or about top 30. I could for sure push it higher as the team is strong and this isn't my peak, but I'm on holiday at the moment and want to try to spend more time touching grass so I won't be laddering much! If anyone wants to take the baton and run the team up the ladder please do! This is also my first RMT, so any advice on the actual post as well as of course the team is much appreciated!
Teambuilding:
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- U-turn
- Hammer Arm
The first mon I put on the team had to be lando-T. He definitely has not aged poorly this gen, having great usage, but he doesn't feel like the beast he was before due to the fact he's more of a special attacker at the moment. Scarf isn't really a gen 8 thing either, but I just want the team to look like and feel a little like gen 8, not necessarily copy it. I feel like people forget that lando-t's attack is absurd and can do serious damage even when hitting into certain mons' stronger defense, like great tusk or even frailer targets like iron valiant. Furthermore, attacking physically is great into mons like raging bolt who can stomach some earth powers, particularly with tera or a couple calm mind boosts. The power of lando's earthquakes combined with scarf make it quite a potent win condition. Scarf is very underrated this gen I think. Of course booster speed is hugely versatile, but a team like this with some bulk can lure in booster speed mons, then force them out with a defensive option. Choice scarfers don't have to worry about exhausting their speed, and so can put in great mid game work, and then still work as a win condition.
The set itself is self explanatory for the most part. Edge quake coverage hits a lot, and of course u-turn is probably the button you'll click most. I initially ran tera fly tera blast, but found myself rarely clicking it and the team had some weakness to kingambit, particularly balloon gambit which I couldn't threaten with EQ. Tera fight is surprisingly useful defensively, and it makes hammer arm quite a strong option to hit a lot of the tier for good damage. The EV spread is the result of a bad habit of mine to not max out speed. The defense comes in handy against kingambit sucker punch, or when you let lando get chipped a little, but running max speed to speed tie +1 Jolly gouging fire is probably the move.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 56 HP / 48 Def / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hurricane
- Roost
Lando hates corviknight and skarmory with a passion, so pairing lando up with a volt switcher to make a volt-turn core was a no brainer. I went for a very offensive zapdos so that it can more quickly break through its checks. This gives your opponent less time to escape the volt turn vortex. Most zapdos on the ladder are defensive according to the stats from the most recent month, so a lot of players will play their slowkings a bit too recklessly and find themselves getting worn down very fast. Furthermore, as a defensive contact punisher, I think moltres hugely outclasses zapdos. Instead I think playing into zapdos great offenses is the way to go. A little bulk investment goes a long way thanks to Zapdos having good natural bulk, so there's good chances for some static cheese, but investing fully in bulk feels inefficient. Hurricane of course sucks, but when you hit it you forget that fact because it really is very strong.
Again, the moves are fairly standard, thunderbolt for good damage into mons like ghold that you may wish to 1v1, volt switch to pivot with lando and hurricane for a bit of a nuke. Finally roost of course to help survivability. 152+ speed hits the golden gen 9 301 speed bench mark, and the specific HP and Defensive EVs let you not get 2HKO'd by the standard body press zama set with some defensive investment when it is at +3 defense. Do keep this mon healthy versus zama, it once broke through me because I played sloppily and I almost threw my phone at the wall. I hate zama. Tera water helps with weather matchups, particularly rain which lets zapdos spam hurricane.
Bishorp (Kingambit) @ Leftovers
Ability: Supreme Overlord
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
I don't know if this is a bug or something, but bisharp looks a bit funny this gen. He still swords dances and clicks sucker so its all good.
Fr tho, I loved bisharp last gen and while I'd love to run him, he is too much of a shitmon even for me, and I usually bring a shitmon along for the ride. Kingambit defensively synergises super well with the previous mons, checking ice types, and using them to hide from fighting type attacks. It also provides the borderline mandatory ghost resist, super strong priority, breaking and another win condition. Everyone knows what kingambit does and that he does that exceptionally well.
I went for quite a bulky kingambit to help out defensively with the team. It has enough speed to iron head clefable. I feel like tera fly is a bit less common than it used to be, but its still great to dodge EQs and fighting attacks. It also lets you fight off roaring moons with an tera iron head into a sucker punch. Not sure what else to say about kingambit.
Toxapex @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Liquidation
- Ice Spinner
- Tera Blast
You know I had to bring my son toxapex to the gen 8 function. Got a freaky set here though. On a team that's quite offensive like this, the super passive standard toxapex we see on stall teams this gen would really not work. Losing scald and knock off makes pex so much less threatening. That is unless you run max attack. Modest AV was popular early this gen but fell off over time. I'm bringing it back though with a twist in that its physical. This gives the team a really great defensive option, particularly vs the many fairy types and strong water types like walking wake. That's all obvious though because its still toxapex. What's interesting is going physical. With max attack adamant, you're not passive. Despite pex having a better attack stat, this set isnt really stronger than modest because the base power of the moves is lower. The reason I prefer physical here is for its ability to pressure specially bulky mons. Top of the list of these targets is glowking, who doesn't appreciate a decently strong liquidation. My special attackers can't kill slowking immediately, but I've tried my best to ensure none of them let it regenerate, meaning eventually zapdos will win and openup the game. Many calm mind sweepers like to set up on pex if they think they're safe from toxic, but physical pex keeps the pressure on, stopping things from getting out of control. It does miss the huge damage on tusk, but you have other mons for that guy. Iron valiant also is no longer instantly annihalated, but val can't do much back to you so it doesn't matter too much that it takes two turns instead of one to get the kill.
For the set, I obviously maxed bulk and attack. Dual stabs are both good, poison jab lets you spread poison for extra progress, and liquidation's defense drop comes in clutch sometimes. Ice spinner hits dragons and keeps gliscor on their toes. Finally, I opted for tera blast fight to pay homage to that one tournament game where cryingg tera blast fighted a gambit, then killed a tera fairy val afterwards. Its nice as another way to beat gambit as this team doesn't have a dedicated gambit check, relying more on general bulk to trade with it. You can run inefestation if you'd rather, I just found the mon I wanted to trap was glowking, but it always just chilly receptioned away.
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Moonblast
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
- Moonlight
I'm really a clefable believer this gen. While clef is certainly not completely overlooked, I think its better than most people think. I also love how despite its poor stats, it always finds a way. Clef shows it's not size that matters, but how you use what you've got
. Clef gives the team rocks, item removal and lightens the load toxapex has to bear as the bulkiest guy on the team. It keeps great tusk in line as well as roaring moon. Magic guard also lets clef absorb knock off, which is huge since zapdos, ace nor pex can afford to lose their item. It also lets you play around wisp dragapult without crippling kingambit.This set is extremely standard, except for the fact it has a life orb. I initially ran sticky barb because finch said on twitter it was really good, but with clef being the only knock user I had a hard time getting rid of it. Then the one time I did, I accidentally got it stuck to my own lando and again almost broke my phone. I tried leftovers too, but both barb and lefties let glowking heal up and interrupt my volt turning with the slower pivot. The solution was to get stronger, but since clef doesn't have stats to spare when you're running phys def, life orb was the only way. I initially thought I would change this back since I haven't seen anyone else running this, but the set is insanely good. Clef suddenly becomes a bit of a threat, with a chance (admittedly small) to 2HKO ogerpon from full. It always does after rocks or basically any chip. Since I'm not running a negative nature on my attack, knock off keeps glowking at bay big time, keeping it low while removing those ever annoying boots. Because of life orb making moonblast that much nastier, they really do have to go glowking vs you, guaranteeing that knock. The extra power also helps out against spdef weak but overall very bulky mons like mola and dondozo. I really think more people need to try this set, even though it seems weird to run life orb with only 2 attacks on a defensive mon.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn
- Court Change
Final mon on the squad as always when I build a team is the long procrastinated hazard control. I didn't really want tusk and felt the team was not offensive enough for treads. Corv was too passive and defensively overlapped with too many mons on the team, so ace was the clear pick. Particularly since it is a gen 8 starter! It adds another component to the volt turn fun, more speed which is always useful, and a very clutch extra priority option. The team is quite offensive, so its not a huge deal that you effectively can only remove hazards once. It completely screws over veil and sticky webs. The team also doesn't hugely mind hazards, with two fliers and a magic guard mon so spike stack is not unmanageable.
Set is completely standard. I don't really believe in the bulkier ace at the moment since the tier hits so hard, and again like many of the guys on this team it feels wasteful to invest too heavily in bulk when the mon is so good offensively.
Threats:
The team is very well balanced I think, and can handle just about anything. I'm not very good at being brief when I write, so I've done my best to avoid the urge to discuss how to beat every mon in the tier. There are a couple though that need a little extra care.
Gouging fire - Regular gouging fire is not a huge deal, lando does a huge amount and zapdos can 1v1 it as well. So can gambit to an extent. However, in the sun at +1 its a different story. You will probably need to tera zapdos into a water type, chip it and threaten with sucker punch, or scarf lando if its adamant. This of course sucks, but the team is really good into the rest of the sun crew, particularly thanks to pex, so you can for sure win after dealing with gouging fire. I think I've won all my sun matchups, but I always go down early game due to gouging fire.
Psyshock darkrai - dark pulse, psyshock, sludgebomb is hugely threatening coverage for this team, and will demand a cheeky tera or offensive counterplay. Fortunately this is not the best coverage into the overall metagame, so is quite uncommon.
Final bit:
Thank you very much for reading this! Thank you to Stormzone and Mr Jamvad for teaching me to teambuild back in the day. I hope everyone can have fun with the team, it really is fun and satisfying. I've been stealing teams from RMT and the bazaar for years now so I'm happy I can give back a little and maybe help someone else improve. Any questions or suggestions for the team are welcome and I hope everyone enjoys the Summer! :)
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! This gives me a lot of nostalgia for sword and shield which was my first gen playing competitively. Can confirm I had a fun time on ladder with this.
