RU kidding me?

[SoDangerLP]

Introduction​

Hello Smogon! I am Sodanger, or, as I go by on PS, Cat City Bitch. This is my first post on Smogon, and I really do hope you all enjoy. The team I have is by NO MEANS perfect, and that is why I am posting it here. I aim to better my team through the help of you, and at the same time give you a new team to try out! If you have ANY suggestions, feel free to leave them down below. I hope you all enjoy!

Overlook

The aim of this team is to set up as many hazards as possible using Crustle, block any spinners with Spiritomb, and shuffle stall them with prankster Riolu. Other Pokemon are there to deal with Pokemon with priority, and to allow potential for victory if Riolu should die. Now to move on to more in depth.

Crustle
@Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Evs: 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Atk, Impish
Moves:

• Stealth Rocks
• Spikes
• Knock Off
• Rock Blast

Crustle's job is to set up hazards, and with sturdy and Custap berry, 2 layers of hazards are almost always guaranteed. When you get knocked down to sturdy, the Custap berry will allow you to get up another layer of hazards before you die. Knock off can be saved if you have all you hazards up, or for Pokemon such as Ferroseed that rely on their item. Rock blast is Crustles attack, if he needs to. I recommend almost always leading off with Crustle.

Galvantula
Leftovers
Ability: Compound eyes
Evs: 252 Speed/ 252 Special Attack/ 4 HP, Timid
Moves

• Substitute
• Disable
• Thunder
• Giga Drain

This is a sub-disable Galvantula set. Probably the most famous sub-disable users is Gengar, and if you look, you see they have a similar stat spread, high in speed and special attack. This inspired me to try it out, and I was not disappointed. Galvantula can perform very similar to Gengar, but in RU. It can block status from walls such as burn orb Sigilyph, as well as wall mono attackers, all while being able to dish out powerful, near perfect accuracy thunders, and recover lost heath via giga drain. I strongly encourage this gimmicky, yet effective, set.

Lilligant
@ Leftovers
Ability: Own tempo
Evs: 252 Special attack/ 252 speed/ 4 HP, Modest
Moves:

• Sleep Powder
• Giga Drain
• Quiver Dance
• Hidden Power Fire

Nothing original here, just the same set that Lilligant is known for. Real talk right now, Lilligant is a HUGE treat. The amount of people I have swept with a quiver dance or two with this thing is uncountable. I love having at least one set up sweeper on each team, and when it comes to RU, Lilligant is a personal favorite. For those of you who are knew to competitive/RU, the premise of this set is to put the enemy to sleep, then set up quiver dances on the switch/sleeping foe, and the wreck havoc. Pretty simple, eh?

Spiritomb
@Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Evs: 252 HP/ 252 Defense/ 4 Attack, Impish
Moves

• Rest
• Trick
• Sucker Punch
• Will-o-wisp

This is a relatively original set. As you have seen, hazards are key in this team, and a bulky ghost type is required to spin block, and when it comes to RU, Spirtomb is the best. Because most spinners are physical, defense EVs are recommended, as with along with Will-o-wisp, helps Spiritomb stall out spinners. The chesto-resto combo allows for instant recovery, as well as when the berry is consumed, it can it trick away its nonexistent item for the foes, giving Spritomb an item, and the opponents none.

Riolu
@ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Defense / 4 Special Defense, Impish
Moves:

• Copycat
• Drain Punch
• Roar
• Substitute

For those of you who have been lucky enough never to feel the wrath of this little f*cker, I'll give you a run down. Prankster boosts Copycat's priority to +1, so after using roar, which will be the last move used because of its -6 priority, you can then copycat the roar, and stall out the enemy team with entry hazards to your hearts content. There are three counters to this method, the most obvious being an OHKO, another being statusing moves, and finally moves that also have +1 priority can outspeed the copycat, and kill/ make the last move used not roar, causing the process to fail. But, when done correctly, Riolu can KO almost the entire enemy team, making it the most important member of the team.

Clefable
@ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Special Defense / 252 HP / 4 Defense, Calm
Moves:

• Wish
• Protect
• Heal Bell
• Seismic Toss

As you may have noticed, several members of my team (Lilligant, Riolu, and Galvantula) are all crippled heavily by statuses. My solution to this was a bulky, heal bell utilizing Clefable. It can heal statuses, while at the same time wish passing to give Lilligant another attempt at a sweep, or health for another sub from Galvantula. The essential role of Clefable is to support the other members of the team.

Importable

Riolu @ Eviolite
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature
- Copycat
- Drain Punch
- Roar
- Substitute

Galvantula @ Leftovers
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Disable
- Thunder
- Giga Drain

Crustle @ Custap Berry
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Rock Blast

Lilligant (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Spiritomb @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp
- Trick
- Sucker Punch

Clefable @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Seismic Toss​

Closing word

I just want to thank all of you for reading this, and if you have any way that you could help me improve this team, please leave a comment below. This is my first attempt at a team, so pardon any noobish mistakes.
Regards
Cat
​

 

[Shame That]

This was a very long rate because your team needs some remodeling to work at its best, so I've tried to be as absolutely thorough as possible in changes and explanations. Feel free to check whatever tabs appeal to you. :)

Quick Changes

first of all, no need to run Impish on Custap Crustle because you're fishing to activate Sturdy anyway; if you don't you might as well run a Leftovers set. Just run Adamant nature with 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spe on Crustle; it outruns standard SR Druddigon leads (read: common) and takes 33.63 - 39.93% from Dragon Claw, which lets you set up SR and 2 layers of Spikes instead of SR + 1 layer. That's important for this team!!! also, run HP Rock > HP Fire on Lilligant because otherwise all strong common Fire-types, e.g Moltres Typhlosion Emboar Entei, will just shred you mid-sweep. Even by forgoing HP Fire you still hit Durant and Esca neutrally, which I assume was the purpose of the move beyond hitting a few Grass-types harder.

Problems

onto the actual team... as you've mentioned in a few of the descriptions, it is indeed pretty gimmicky. I don't really see what Sub+Disable Galv accomplishes...? it looks amusing enough, but the reason the Gengar version of the set works so well is because of 3 immunities and weaknesses to uncommon types; Galv has to put up with 25% lost every time it switches into SR (you have no spinner...) and is weak to common coverage moves in Fire and Rock. plus, it has pretty noticeable fragility, so even if you disable the opponents attack as they break your sub, you might find they just hit you with another unboosted neutral move as you sub up and it's broken right away. to be fair it can probably screw with some Choiced mons after you've set up a sub and they switch in, but beyond that... I would really just use Specs so you have something to kill tangrowth.

the moment Crustle is gone CB Entei can just plow straight through your team with Flare Blitz until it dies from recoil, and even with Crustle there it can just Stone Edge and hit one or two things very very hard, excluding Spiritomb (which can only reliably recover once with the set you're using).

Entei vs Spiritomb
252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Spiritomb: 202-238 (66.44 - 78.28%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Spiritomb Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Entei: 93-111 (25.06 - 29.91%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

in some situations, Spiritomb could Sucker Punch Entei after it has killed one or two of your other pokemon, but it can't beat it if you bring it in right away, so you're always losing something in this situation.

likewise, after Galv dies to being worn down by SR without a spinner to help it out (or gets revenged by a scarf user / priority) Moltres descends from the skies to wreak havoc on your team. Clefable and Galvantula can beat it one-on-one most of the time, Clefable only after Moltres has taken Stealth Rock damage, but neither can switch in safely, so you're probably going to lose something here too.

Solutions

so, how can you fix this weakness? the instant answer i see is Slowking over Lilligant. Galv can attempt to revenge Entei and Spiritomb can Sucker Punch it after it is weakened from SR / Flare Blitz recoil, but Slowking takes 45% max from Entei Flare Blitz, can cripple it with Thunder Wave or simply force it out, and is ready to go all over again after being switched out because of Regenerator. It also gives you added security against Scarf Emboar, checks Moltres after Stealth Rock (but you can't switch in to Hurricane if you have SR on your side of the field...) and gives you a defensive pivot to switch to another mon to either support the team or nuke the opponent.

Side Note: as for why you're replacing Lilligant; it has redundant coverage with Galvantula 90% of the time, while everything else on your team is pretty required. If you aren't that scared of Moltres in particular, you could actually replace Galvantula and keep Lilligant as a set-up sweeper; I'm just trying to keep focus on the star of the team (Riolu!), and keeping his teammates from being thumped.

i'm also going to recommend Foul Play Spiritomb, simply because some common spinners aren't really bothered by your spinblocker right now: Cryogonal dislikes burn but has reliable recovery and likes to whittle you down with Ice Beam, while Lum Kabutops can set up SD as you burn it, cure it off and almost always OHKO you with Swords Dance. Foul Play lets you beat both of them and has the nice sideline of dealing with Gallade and co (gatr?) as they set up. It also gives you a go-to as an easy status absorber, lessening pressure on Clefable! the set i'm recommending will run max Sp. Def instead of max Def because you have Foul Play / Will-O-Wisp to cover all physical attackers, and the Sp. Def helps you beat Cryogonal and absorb Volt Switches and the like.

TL;DR:

208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spe on Crustle

HP Rock > HP Fire if you keep Lilligant

Slowking > Lilligant if you fear Moltres
Slowking > Galvantula if you don't

Foul Play Spiritomb > Current set

Sets

Slowking @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Thunder Wave
- Slack Off
- Psyshock

Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp

I didn't mention it in there, but I do love Riolu. Props for using some less common sets man. :p

 

[SoDangerLP]

Thanks a lot for the feedback. You are right about Galvantula mostly being in their for the lolz, and I meant to put something in saying a standard Choice Galvantula set can be run for optimal performance. I plan to swap Galvantula for the Slowking like your recommended, and I will certianly try out that Spirtomb set. Thanks a ton!

 

[TheUeki]

I've used Riolu alot, and many teams are weak to it.

The problem is: Regenerators and Levitators like Uxie. Regenerators just won't die, and Uxie can take Stealth Rocks and recover with leftovers while laughing.

You should clear them up ASAP, and any priority users too. Other than that, it works wonders :)

Good luck