rEVOLution

[ryan]

banner by the lovely Keiran​

Introduction

It's been almost two months since NU was shaken up with crazy offensive threats like Jynx, Scolipede, and Primeape. This is the team that I built just a few days after the tier changes, and of all the teams I have created since then, this one has proven the most reliable and the most fun to play with. Though it's seen quite a few changes since it was first built, from the removal of Sawk and Primeape to simple tweaks to EVs, the basis of the team has remained the same: through maintaining initiative and applying constant offensive pressure throughout the whole team, the team tries to prevent the opposition from getting any "free turns" or chances to regain its own initiative. Overall, the team has done well for me, though I don't have any particular ladder peaks because I just used this team to maintain my previous ladder ranking and play around for fun. I would like to see this team make it even further though, and it's something I would like to be able to use more competitively. So without further adieu, let's see the team.

The Team

Golem @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 172 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

I've been using Golem as my Stealth Rock "lead" now for ages. To me, it's the most reliable at getting the job done. Its offensive presence is just stellar, dealing a staggering amount of damage to many of my opponents' typical leads, and with the Speed EVs, it outspeeds several of the common users. Between Earthquake and Rock Blast, Golem has great coverage that hits every relevant threat in the tier for neutral damage bar only Tortetta who can be handled with other Pokemon on the team. I chose Sucker Punch over Explosion on this set for a few reasons. First off, Sucker Punch adds much needed priority to my team. I'll get more into priority with other team members, but Golem really helps take down a lot of faster threats with Sucker Punch if it is needed later in the game. In addition to this, Golem serves as a nice check for opposing Flying-type Pokemon such as Swellow and Rotom-Spin. Ultimately, having it around later in the game has proven to be invaluable time after time, and this is a feature that the Explosion set does not carry.

The EVs are custom to outspeed particular threats: most notably Speed creepers like Eelektross who has to run 136 Speed to beat out this set, minus Speed nature Seismitoad, and 84 Speed Golurk. To be honest, if you wanted to, you could run maximum investment in Speed, but you won't be beating out a whole lot more with max Speed anyways. The item chosen for this set was Lum Berry, and this is for a few reasons. First off, if Liepard is naive enough to use Swagger on Golem, I can cause some heavy damage to teams and knock out Liepard all in one go. This is really nice since, as it is such an offensive team, ParaFusion is a deadly strategy against the team. It also guarantees I can set up Stealth Rock against the likes of Golurk who could otherwise prevent me from doing so thanks to DynamicPunch. Rare Jynx leads are also quickly disposed of—even Sash sets fall to Rock Blast. Ultimately, I've been told that Lum is a poor choice of an item, and while I agree its purposes are rather niche, they are beneficial enough to justify the use of the item on this set.

Swellow (F) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Brave Bird
- Quick Attack
- U-turn

Swellow is a force to be reckoned with in NU. It has a lot of things going for it: a blistering high Speed stat, priority in the form of Quick Attack, the ability to scout with U-turn, two powerful STAB moves, and an ability, Guts, which makes it incredibly powerful. In fact, with Guts, Swellow's Attack stat is higher than that of Jolly Darmanitan and even rivals that of Rampardos. But what makes it so great is its great Speed. It outspeeds basically all of the relevant unboosted threats in the tier bar Ninjask and Electrode, and frailer opposing Pokemon surely fall to either Brave Bird or a Guts-boosted Facade. U-turn helps keep up the very important offensive momentum. Additionally, thanks to Swellow's ability to absorb status, it hard counters most Misdreavus. Having a Pokemon that can switch into a Will-o-wisp is so crucial for this team as it would otherwise falter to Weezing and Misdreavus rather easily.

There's not much else to say about the set. It's very standard with maximum Attack and Speed, and the Toxic Orb is to get Guts up and running as soon as possible.

Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Kangaskhan is a rather recent addition to the team, and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite members (though my absolute favorite, we will get to later on). This spot used to be taken up by Scarf Primeape and then Banded Sawk. Primeape played the role of a revenge killer while Sawk was there for wall breaking with its sheer brute force. Kangaskhan is so great for this team because it does both of these things at the same time. I found that both of these Pokemon really shit on the initiative for my team. Sure, Primeape could U-turn, but then it's not revenge killing. Sawk hit really hard, but thanks to Close Combat and Earthquake's common immunities, Stone Edge's unreliability, and Ice Punch's low base power. To me, choice locked Fighting moves are a liability right now because of Scolipede, Weezing, and Misdreavus. This is what makes Kangaskhan so great. I can run it without running a choice item, and I still have a very reliable revenge killer. Between Fake Out and Sucker Punch, a lot of frailer set-up sweepers in the tier are unable to beat it unless they have a Substitute up. Additionally, Earthquake allows it to break through the many Rock-types and occasional Steel-types in the tier while Double Edge provides immediate power. Overall, Normal is a really good offensive typing in NU right now, and Kangaskhan is hopping proof of that.

I decided to run Adamant over Jolly on this set because of the two priority moves, though to be honest, Jolly is quite good as well. It basically comes down to what you want to outspeed, but since a lot of the common Pokemon who are running positive Speed natures outspeed Kangaskhan anyways, I didn't really see the point outside of tying with other Kangaskhans. Silk Scarf is the item of choice. Life Orb causes a lot of recoil, especially when you're primarily spamming Fake Out. This makes Silk Scarf the superior option for such a set.

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Surf
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

Ludicolo is such a cool Pokemon. In the anime, its primary role is comic relief, dancing all the time with a huge smile on its face. However, in competitive play, when you run into a Ludicolo, you probably won't be smiling. Ludicolo's ability to sweep through teams late game is almost unparalleled; with one turn of setting up, it goes from a decent yet slow offensive threat to a blazing fast threat with an incredibly powerful Surf. On that note, I chose Surf over Hydro Pump solely for the reliability of the move. Let it be known, however, that I have been told real men use Hydro Pump. So it's your choice whether you want to be a man or a consistent winner. This set really enjoys the hazard support provided by both Scolipede and Golem, so it's usually not a good idea to try and sweep with it early game. I will say, however, that against other offensively oriented teams that don't carry a rain check, it can be beneficial to set up as soon as possible to break down the opponent's team. From there, Swellow can usually clean up.

EVs and item are both standard as can be.

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt

This is by far my favorite set on this team. Offensive Misdreavus is a really cool Pokemon, and I chose it for a few reasons. To begin with, it manhandles Alomomola so long as it doesn't switch in on a Toxic. In addition to that, it is able to spinblock reliably while still posing an offensive threat. More often that not, Misdreavus will die mid-game after taking care of problem Pokemon for the rest of the team (spinblockers included). Its main purpose is not to sweep, and it rarely does. It weakens the opponent's walls, even if it does not beat them 1v1. Taunt allows it to serve as a wallbreaker while Thunderbolt provides much needed super-effective coverage against Alomomola, Wartortle, and the many Normal/Flying-types in the tier.

The given EV spread may need to be tweaked because I don't know that maximum Speed is truly necessary. To be honest, it has helped me a few times, but as I mentioned with Kangaskhan, most of the Pokemon that are going to outspeed it will do so regardless. That said, it may be something I want to look into changing. Otherwise, Eviolite gives it more bulk to set up, and the Special Attack EVs are quite crucial because even after a boost, it doesn't OHKO most of the tier's defensive Pokemon.

Scolipede (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Atk / 104 Def / 120 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail

Last but not least, we have probably one of the most important members of the team—Scolipede. Scolipede's role is crucial to let other Pokemon on the team clean up and sweep. Spikes support turns 2HKOs into OHKOs and 3HKOs into 2HKOs pretty much on their own. Additionally, the ability these team has to force switches really helps rack up residual damage and punishes more defensively oriented teams when they try to play around the offensive threats the team carries. Thanks to its high Speed and intimidating offensive presence, Scolipede can force switches and find opportunities to set up Spikes throughout he match. Dual Spikes are also great for the team, since most opponents only run one Poison-type, and that is often going to be Scolipede, a Pokemon many opponents feel they can sacrifice after it sets hazards. Toxic Spikes also increase on the residual damage, and they play well against certain styles of teams, such as rain teams and stall teams.

Thanks to the EV spread and the presence of Black Sludge, not only can Scolipede not be set up on, but it can also take a couple of hits along the way. The Speed EVs are chosen to outspeed positive natured base 95s while the 32 EVs in Attack are there to ensure a 2HKO against Musharna. The rest is added in bulk because Spikes are so instrumental for this team to function.


Conclusion

And there you have it. This is my second RMT, and it's by far one of my favorite teams I have ever built. Offensive playstyles are really fun because it lets me relive the kid inside of me who would use Bubblebeam/Hydro Pump/Surf/Skull Bash on Blastoise. To think that the fun side of Pokemon can be applied to the competitive side is rarely done these days. I often find myself and many others getting fed up with Pokemon because it feels like we're just going through the motions on the ladder. For me, this team has been a way to bring that fun back. I hope you all enjoyed this RMT! Feedback is of course appreciated, and feel free to test the team out yourself.

Importable

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Scolipede (F) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Atk / 104 Def / 120 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Megahorn
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Tail

Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Golem @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 84 HP / 252 Atk / 172 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Blast

Swellow (F) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Facade
- Quick Attack
- U-turn

Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt

Shoutouts

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Keiran for making me a sick banner that led to me making this RMT
dwib for smashing old variants of this team which helped me find out why I didn't want to run any choice mons
FLCL for going to sleep before rating this -`/
butt for being the best IRC bot
Showdown for being the best Pokemon simulator
Cherub Agent for helping me out with the team before posting it
Agent Dell for theorymonning shit with me all the time
skylight for being you [:
RU players for letting Scolipede drop
Misdreavus for killing most of the Alomomolas I've encountered (FireMage: "fuck alomomola")
TalkTakesTime for nitpicking this RMT (and my Smog articles) and thus making it (and them) better
ebeast for the Scolipede set and being a chill guy and I think I stole this RMT format from him when I posted my last one but idr
Raseri for originally drafting me for NUPL and believing in me even though like nobody knew me back then
[00:12] <%Frizy> YOU CANNOT LEAVE THE PENIS ONCE YOU'VE HAD A TASTE

probably missing other people but oh well \o/

 

[NfskMjmMal]

This looks like a great team! You not only cover all of your weaknesses pretty well but also check every relevant threat that I can think of.

About your Misdreavous and its Speed, you should probably run 216 Speed EVs in order to barely outpace max Speed base 80s, of which there are some relevant ones that threaten Misdreavous, such as Gardevoir, Shiftry, some Drifblim and Braviary, etc. As far as Pokes between 80 and (including) 85s, the most (and only) common ones are Sawk and Pinsir, which Misdreavous is fine against anyway and often forces out. I guess you lose out on outspeeding Golduck, but Golduck isn't that much of an issue.

 

[Punchshroom]

This looks like a great team! You not only cover all of your weaknesses pretty well but also check every relevant threat that I can think of.

I dunno, I see a pretty notable SmashCosta weakness, who sets up on Swellow, Scolipede or even Kangaskhan with ease. Combusken also looks like it could pose some issues if it gets rolling, while Protecting against Kanga's Fake Out and resisting Sucker Punch. Unfortunately since I'm pretty ass at rating teams that's all I got for now unless I can come come up with a solution before you do

 

[ryan]

No, you're totally right. My way to beat Costa is to play smart around it, which, admittedly, isn't the best strategy. Usually while Costa is around, I will always U-turn with Swellow unless I absolutely have no other choice. I usually rely pretty heavily on Misdreavus and Ludicolo to help beat it. Double switches help too.

I just luck out with the Combusken issue by literally never having faced it with this team. The good thing is that the special set is prone to missing while the physical set faces 4MSS, so while it could undoubtedly cause me issues, it's a generally shaky Pokemon.

But yeah, I can't really think of much to handle those threats without major changes to the team structure which I would prefer to avoid. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share.

 

[NfskMjmMal]

I dunno, I see a pretty notable SmashCosta weakness, who sets up on Swellow, Scolipede or even Kangaskhan with ease. Combusken also looks like it could pose some issues if it gets rolling, while Protecting against Kanga's Fake Out and resisting Sucker Punch. Unfortunately since I'm pretty ass at rating teams that's all I got for now unless I can come come up with a solution before you do

Note the "that I can think of" lol. Yeah, SmashCosta is a pretty big problem. Combusken isn't actually I don't think. Misdrevous can easily live a Fire Blast and do ~60% with a Shadow Ball, and then Poisoned Swellow does ~45% with Quick Attack.

Your team is obviously hyper-offensive with emphasis on setup, and the only good things to handle SmashCosta are very defensive, such as Tangela or Alomomola. I don't think it's worth taking out a member just to be able to handle it (but then again there could also be other things that new Tangela/Alomomola thing can handle that also tears through your team that I'm not thinking of :S).

Edit: Or as Dell said, Scarf Jynx outspeeds +2 Carracosta so that's a thing. I also agree with Rock Slide over Swords Dance for a couple reasons. You're going to have a hard time finding turns to set up Spikes and Swords Dance, plus from the offensive Swords Dancing perspective, Spikes is really a hamper on your coverage and sweeping potential.

 

[Dell]

Hiya buddy.

Offensively, one of the glaring drawbacks that I've noticed is your major weakness to Shell Smash Carracosta as previously mentioned, who not only possesses setup opportunities on half of your team, but cleans it nigh entirely once Stealth Rock is activated and the best thing that you really have going against it after it sets up is by saccing your team members one by one in attempts of wearing it down with priority that can't do much to it due to resisting it.

To help alleviate this, my best suggestion would to make use of Choice Scarf Jynx over Ludicolo. While Ludicolo's ability to sweep is a lot more of a dangerous cause in general, I don't think that this would serve too much of a significant change since you have the means of threatening most Pokemon on a similar boat with Swellow and Nasty Plot Misdreavus. Choice Scarf Jynx also really helps against everything that Ludicolo can check while being stronger, revenge killing key threats like Carracosta, Serperior or Scolipede, and the ability to cripple potentially troublesome walls with Trick or Lovely Kiss. Do note, however that this does means that you would have a bit more trouble breaking through Steel-types, notably Metang who can be annoying to break through if Golem is weakened (not to mention that it has trouble switching in). If this bothers you, another good alternative would be to try Substitute+Toxic Seismitoed, as it isn't OHKO'd at +2, can make better use of Spikes support, can easily gain setup opportunities on the likes of Choice-locked Volt Switch predictions, Metang, Alomomola, or Lickilicky, while getting off a free Toxic on walls that it cannot beat one on one. This is especially useful for helping Swellow and Misdreavus break through specific walls that they would otherwise has trouble with, such as Alomomola or Dragon Tail Lickilicky.

As for any addition concerns, I think Scolipede should be opting for Rock Slide over Swords Dance as it doesn't necessarily allow to break through much of anything that you either can or can't already with it. Personally I think the addition of Spikes already compensates that for the most part unless you're going hyper offensive. Either way, Rock Slide allows you to gain clean hits on the likes of Articuno, Swanna, or Braviary, which more specifically the former two which can be a bit of a hassle for this team as nothing likes taking really strong hits from their respective STAB moves. It's completely up to you though.

Summary of suggested changes; All optional of course

Scolipede: Rock Slide > Swords Dance

• Choice Scarf Jynx over Ludicolo
  ​

Jynx @ Life Orb | Dry Skin
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk) | 252 SpA / 4 SDef / 252 Ppe
Ice Beam / Psychic / Lovely Kiss / Trick​

OR

• Substitute Seismitoed over Ludicolo
  ​

Seismitoad @ Leftovers | Water Absorb
Timid nature | 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Substitute / Hydro pump / Earth power / Toxic​

Fun team, and makes use of some of my favorite mons in NU at the moment (Swellow and NP Misdreavus)! Hope these suggestions were helpful!

 

[Cherub Agent]

Hey Treecko. I already more or less covered my main thoughts aboutt hs team on IRC, and I'm really glad you took my suggestions :> However, there still remains this Carracosta weakness, and it needs to be fixed.

One thing I'd like to point out is that when Carracosta gets the boost it rips the team apart, it will inevitably have trouble doing so. It cannot set up on Golem, Kangaskhan (hit it with Earthquake as it sets up, and then hit it more with Sucker Punch/play mind games with it if it's gonna Aqua Jet or not). Misdreavus nails it with Thunderbolt, and it obviously cannot set up on Ludicolo. The problem Pokemon are Scolipede and Swellow obviously. But as you said, when you see Carracosta in Team Preview the only move you'll be using on Swellow is U-Turn (if you even bring Swellow out at all before that, as it's a late game cleaner). Scolipede is really all it can set up on, but I trust you to play smart enough to prevent that from happening. Also consider that between Stealth Rock, Spikes, and Life Orb, Carracosta will be worn down quite quickly. You could also try Toxic Spikes over Swords Dance on Scolipede, as it'll wear it (and plenty of other Pokemon, especially other Rock-types) down far more quickly, which Kangaskhan and Swellow really appreciate.

Agent Dell's suggestions are also really good, but I especially like the SubToxic Seismitoad one which I was going to suggest as well. The problem is really where to put it, as Ludicolo is a pretty amazing sweeper in its own right, and is another Pokemon that Carracosta cannot set up on. Jynx is also cool, but fairly easy to wear down, like Swellow, and it is rather easy for the Carracosta user to pivot into a Skuntank on the Psychic or Grass Knot, and proceed to safely eliiminate it.

Not really much else to say, as the team is really solid. Nice work!

 

[ryan]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I know this post is coming really late after your rates, but to be honest, I sort of forgot about the RMT. On top of that, I tried posting on two different occasions, and both times, my Internet randomly cut out. So here I am now, frustrated but still appreciative for the good rates!

Dell: I like your suggestion for SubToxic Seismitoad. What I like most about it is that it gives me a way to handle problem Pokemon like Carracosta without ditching any offensive presence on the team. It also sets up on Alomomola who cannot touch it behind a Substitute. Dealing with Alomomola is always a quality I like in any Pokemon in NU. As for Rock Slide on Scolipede, it's something I'm willing to try out, though it's not something that particularly excites me. My concerns with it are just that it is a low power move coming off of minimal investment and no boosting item. It does handle some Pokemon against which Scolipede would otherwise struggle, so I will test it out and see how it does for me. I trust your judgement on the matter anyways.

Cherub: Yeah, like I said before, the way I have handled it in the past is playing around it. I think that's why the Carracosta weakness was never that obvious to me: I never really struggled against it. The fact remains though that it still sets up fairly easily on me. Because of that, like I said, I'll be testing the Seismitoad set. I agree with you that it hurts to replace Ludicolo. I will play around with it a bit and see what works best, but I could see replacing Misdreavus to be honest. The role of a bulky, offensive spinblocker is great, and I don't see anything else being able to function quite like Misdreavus in this regard. But Spinning isn't a huge deal outside of the ladder. I'll also test out Toxic Spikes. I see the merits of using it, and loads of people have suggested it.

Anyways, if anyone else wants to leave any feedback, feel free to post!