Resource RU Samples [OP UPDATED 3/11/22]

[Expulso]

taken over by me and op stolen from Arifeen
banner done by NB402141
approved by phantom

Hello! This thread serves as a place for successful RU teams intended to help new players get acclimated to the metagame and different playstyles. The subtle differences in each tier can make RU seem overwhelming, even to seasoned veterans of other tiers. Here, you can post and archive your own team for new RU players to use.

Posting Guidelines

• Give a short explanation of the role that each member of your team plays, and how the team works.
• Provide an importable.
• You must have some experience with your team before posting. Don’t post a team you just made in the team builder and thought looked good. Providing replays is a good way to prove that you have used your team a fair bit and that it’s viable; it will also give us an idea of how to play with the team.
• Your team must represent the current metagame.
• You must PM me here or on Discord (Expulso#7025) with the above criteria for approval.
• Do not post a team without approval.
• 1-liners are not allowed. If you have a question, PM over Discord (My Discord is above) with any questions, I can guarantee I will provide an answer quickly. Posting them here simply clogs the thread and makes it harder for new players to find samples, don't do it.

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Current Metagame Samples (updated March 11 2022):



CB Lucario JelliGuzz BO by Feliburn

https://pokepast.es/bee774de1a2e15fe

description

Now this team is epic. Featuring Guzzlord and Jellicent, 2 mons who have picked up usage recently, due to their usefulness in the meta. I wanted a fun core of CB Lucario and Celebi to break teams, as they are underrated picks. Jellicent was mainly to handle Reuniclus and Metagross. While Guzzlord provided the defensive backbone of a fat dark type. This set is different from the usual rest one, as it's meant to chip at mons like Cobalion, Incineroar, the fairies, etc. And finally the usual Crobat + Steelix.

CM Suicune DemonGross Balance by Punny

https://pokepast.es/ca1555c8cb0be358

description

This double-setup team focuses on winning with one of Rest+CM Suicune or "DemonGross" (Cosmic Power) while having a sturdy defensive core of SpDef Umbreon, PhysDef Nidoqueen, and Weezing-Galar and using Scarf Togekiss as speed control. Spammed throughout SCL and RU Circuit Playoffs, the team is quite reliable and can outlast most opponents. Fighting types must be played around with caution, though: particularly against Cobalion and Lucario, make sure to keep Nidoqueen healthy.

archived

Double Ghost CurseLax BO by Expulso

https://pokepast.es/cc63604132d43536

description

The basic idea of this team is to spread paralysis for Chandelure and Togekiss while also threatening to win with Snorlax, who also provides plenty of defensive utility against threats such as Volcanion and special Necrozma. Chandelure is Scarfed in order to better check Cobalion for Snorlax, who lets it in fairly freely. I initially had Hex to take advantage of paralysis and more strongly threaten DemonGross, but Energy Ball may now be more useful for Rhyperior and Seismitoad. Dhelmise spins for it, and Coba and Togekiss answer Dark-types well (with Heal Bell Togekiss making Snorlax's Rest less inconvenient). Scarf Flygon is on the team to serve as a great cleaner as usual.

NP Celebi MRise Cobalion BO by Punny

https://pokepast.es/5a79ef0c0b6bfb3f

description

NP Life Orb Celebi and Magnet Rise Cobalion give this team two potent wincons that are difficult for the opponent to play around. SubTox Volcanion is able to weaken Noivern for these two to more easily sweep, and Registeel + Gastrodon + Crobat forms a sturdy defensive core that checks most of the meta.

Rhyperior Obstagoon BO by odr

https://pokepast.es/4a3d998b6fb3c892

description

Posting my Rhyperior team so my guy can get more usage I hope. We are using an offensive rocks set with enough attack to be able to ohko bulky Starmie with Megahorn and bulky Nasty Plot Togekiss with Stone Edge. The teams biggest weakness is opposing scarf Togekiss as it outspeeds everything besides your own togekiss and your flying resist has no spdef investment, so somebody needs to not get flinched to bring that guy down. Calm Mind Raikou also is likely just gonna 6-0 you if you run into it but luckily everyone thinks that mon is bad. Starmie also lacks Psychic in favor of Teleport here so things like Heracross and Volcanion are a bit more tricky to handle, but teleporting into goon is usually the solution.

 

[Bebo]

If you'd like to have any of ur teams sampled feel free to shoot me a message on discord and if you get my thumbs up on the team come back to this thread and post the team with a paragraph describing the team and how it works with a couple of replays please and thank you.

 

[Feliburn]

Alright gonna save RU with some basic ass teams for ppl to use and learn the tier with, these should be good enough for anyone to pick up and ladder with to learn the tier: (click mons for pastes)

Description

Wanted to try out Roserade with spikes and Knock Off spam with Golisopod and Incineroar. They check each other's counters relatively well too which made it super easy to build with. Togekiss is there for support and to soft check a vast majority of the tier, like Noivern in this case. Also using Wish on this set to keep the team healthy. Needed a ground type, a steel type and a rocker so I decided to use Steelix. And finally a secondary Togekiss check / Cobalion check in Raikou. I'm pretty sure the paste has Toxic over Scald, you can change it if you want as Rhyperior could be annoying to handle but Toxic lets you chip down mons like Gastrodon. Speed EVs on Incineroar are for Rhyperior so you can Parting Shot safely although a more defensive set with U-Turn is fine. And pod's speed is so you outspeed paralyzed Chandelure if it comes down to that.

Description

Now this team is interesting, I just felt like building with Heracross and Volcanion one day so I decided to slap them on the same team. Heracross is an incredibly annoying breaker to switch into unless you have a Weezing, and Volcanion loves to abuse teams without Water Absorb mons. Using the defensive backbone of Togekiss + Steelix because it checks p much everything. Using Pivot Raikou again cause its super smooth to use and Choice Scarf Zarude for speed control. You can feel free to change Close Combat for Jungle Healing because getting burned sucks really bad. This team is pressured by more stuff than the other one so be careful but it's still super fun to use.

Description

Fun little balance featuring ProTox Chandelure, a set I feel just owns everyone because how annoying it is. Defensive backbone this time is formed by Rocks BPress Registeel and Clear Smog Gastrodon, the latter one is used to reliably beat CM Slowbro-Galar. Defog Weezing because Spikes could be annoying for Registeel and it helps me check every Fighting type with Will-O-Wisp and Pain Split. Last slots are momentum mons that can help get Chandelure in, Boots Zarude to help vs the bulky waters and Noivern as a general soft check to a large part of the tier.

Description

Now using the broken Toxtricity paired with an AV Reuniclus for FSight pressure and check other special attackers. Common core of Steelix + Noivern with Milotic this time to better check demons like Darmanitan and Noivern, you can use Haze but Ice Beam is recommended to chip at Zarude on the switch. Scarf Zarude again for speed control. This team relies on positioning and VoltTurn pressure, can't say it's a top tier team but it's super fun.

Hope you guys like the teams, these aren't top teams but I think they are at least good enough for people to snatch and get into the tier. Also kinda standard too but I'm not trynna pass cheese or hard to use mons rofl.

 

[Sputnik]

Couple of teams coming right up
Click the mons for the paste

Team Description

Pretty simple Hyper Offense. Froslass is a great lead, and then the rest of the team is stacked up with some of our best hyper offense sweepers. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this one, Cloyster and Sharpedo in particular are very dangerous when paired with each other because they tend to beat down each others checks very nicely. Double Dance Weakness Policy Necrozma is very nice, Mimikyu is quite threatening in its own right while also denying Rapid Spin should Dhelmise or Starmie show up, and Toxtricity is another breaker that works well with the Waters due to it failing to muscle past Steelix and Rhyperior on its own.

Team Description

This team is based around wearing down Toxtricity's checks as much as possible to let it run wild in the mid game and make it easy for Mienshao to clean up late. Porygon2 give the team its own Toxtricity sponge while acting as general buffer against threats such as Zygarde-10% if needed. Importantly, it is also capable of pivoting Toxtricity in to wreak havoc. Mienshao is another pivot that aims to clean up late game once Toxtricity has mashed earlier on. Seismitoad was chosen as the rocker for some Raikou buffer and its ability to Knock Off a good portion of the meta. Togekiss is the Defogger and Zarude check and aims to be extremely annoying with Thunder Wave. The Metagross set is designed to force Toxic onto bulky waters for Mienshao later while being a decent enough offensive threat and checking Togekiss.

 

[Expulso]

Going to contribute to this with two fun, interesting teams I've been using a lot in games with friends and RU Winter Seasonal. Thanks to Feli & Sputnik for the teams above, good stuff.

description

Stakataka is a really cool defensive mon due to its ability to hard-counter standard Togekiss while also being very challenging to take on one v one; for instance, it is a rock type that beats Zarude and a steel type that doesn't fear Noivern's Flamethrower. These interesting defensive properties along with its base 131 attack make it a really useful utility Pokemon. To offensively threaten opposing Cobalion and weaken the bulky waters that can annoy Staka, I added Salazzle. I then added NP Togekiss; it benefits from Salazzle (and Stakataka to a lesser extent) spreading Toxic and appreciates Salazzle's ability to threaten out Steel-types + Stakataka weakening them into +2 Flamethrower range.

I've mentioned Salazzle switching into stuff a lot; you don't really want to do that too much. Gastrodon helps check threats like Cobalion, Zyg-10%, and Slowbro-Galar that annoy the team's first 3 members. Zarude naturally fits alongside Stakataka + Salazzle due to its ability to switch into Seismitoad (but also bulky waters in general). Finally, Scarf Mienshao is added for a few reasons. It gives the team speed control and a faster win condition while benefitting from Stakataka being a Stealth Rocker able to get them up vs common defoggers like Togekiss and Noivern. This makes it easier to sweep with Close Combat and makes Shao's Knock Offs more damaging.

Despite the presence of Phys Def Gastro + Togekiss + Zarude, Zygarde-10% is definitely still a threat if it clicks moves accurately. You can run Protect on Salazzle or Shuca Berry on Stakataka to make your matchup versus it easier and less prediction-reliant.

description

Rocky Helmet Klefki + CM Reuniclus is a core I've been meaning to try for a while. CM Reuniclus is a fantastic win con, one of the best in the tier in my opinion. It beats opposing CM Gbro thanks to Psyshock, and Psyshock + Focus Blast threatens close to everything in the tier (EviGaro stop promoting doublade). It also provides defensive utility with its great physical bulk, doing things like eating TArrows from CB Zygarde-10%. Leftovers can be run to check this mon more comfortably, though it makes you more reliant on hitting Zarude on the switch. Meanwhile, Rocky Helmet Keys punishes the most common Dark-type in the tier, Zarude. Zarude can usually put CM Reun on the back foot if it manages to dodge a Focus Blast or get in safely before it CMs, as it can easily live a +0 Focus Blast (and even has odds to live a +1 Focus Blast). Rocky Helmet Klefki is fantastic at punishing these attempts to come in and stop Reun, forcing it to take costly chip damage every time it tries to stop the blob.

Rhyperior is there bc it provides the team with another Togekiss answer, benefits from Klefki punishing Zarude, and can even OHKO Zarude with Megahorn for Reun (or vice versa, benefitting from Reun Focus Blasting it.) You can run 108 Speed EVs if you want to outspeed paralyzed Togekiss (and just to creep in general, lol), but the bulk is helpful for Toxtricity.

Zarude takes on the bulky Water-types that annoy the first three members, and Salazzle is able to spread status and Knock - crucial for any Spikes team. I had versions with Incineroar > Lazzle + Dhelm > Zarude, as well as one with Raikou > Lazzle. I went with this version because Zarude's ability to status absorb helps this team outlast the opponent. Also, Lazzle's speed tier helps with opposing Zarude, and its access to Knock + Tox gives it synergy other fastmons like Raikou don't bring to the table.

Finally, Noivern is the last Pokemon on the team, providing speed control, an answer to Volcanion / Chandelure, and strong offensive firepower that's boosted even further by Spikes. 176 SpA EVs ensure Draco 2HKOs Chandelure + KOs Toxtricity after SR+Spike. Taunt is a cool tech that shuts down Defoggers trying to remove spikes along with blocking recovery on some defensive Pokemon; Toxic and U-turn both work there too.

Enjoy!! I really love this team, it has been extremely reliable. CM Reun is amazing.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ru-1283001924-vharuq5dcz9o6ialbjc2f2c34taqzb3pw <- recent ssnl replay

 

[sensei axew]

Gotchu with a team

team description

This team was built around Choice Specs Toxtricity + Standard Zarude as I felt like this was a good core of Pokemon since they deal with each other's checks and form fantastic offensive synergy. Timid was opted over Modest on Volcanion to outspeed Jolly Volcanion and Metagross as well as opposing Modest Toxtricitys. Rhyperior and Milotic were then added as the defensive backbone to patch up some of the teams weaknesses like Fire-types. The defensive core was rounded out with Togekiss as it provided the team with a Zarude check as well as a desperately needed Cleric. Finally, Choice Scarf Metagross was the last addition to the team as the Steel-type and speed control.

 

[Expulso]

yo, reviving this thread. now that RU open is nearly over, if you have anything that you'd like to be included as a sample (and have tested a good amount, either through laddering a lot or tours such as Open) please PM me at Expulso#7025 and I'll give it a look. thanks!

 

[Aquarius Ghost ❤]

Team time!
(click on sprites for paste)

Team Description

This team is mainly built around Durant + Gastrodon, as they both covered each other's weaknesses quite well, such as Gastrodon can check Fire-types for Durant and Durant can check Grass-types for Gastrodon, Gastrodon is also a great Raikou check which the team would struggle with if Gastrodon wasn't on the team. Rhyperior was my choice of a Stealth Rocker because it is arguably one of the best Stealth Rockers in RU, as it also serves as this team's best Togekiss check, and is generally a powerhouse. Zarude is on this team, so it can provide pivot support to bring Durant into the field safely and as it also lures in Fairy-types and other Pokemon that struggle against Durant, Zarude also helps with Water- and Ground-types such as Suicune, Milotic, Gastrodon, Rhyperior, etc etc. Gardevoir is this team's form of speed control and it also can help cripple threats with Trick and is generally a great revenge killer in the current meta. Finally, this team's final Pokemon is Noivern, Noivern is this team's defogger and prevents Durant from being worn down by Hazards. Also, Noiverns insane speed tier makes it another form of speed control, while being a Fighting-resist, as it also synergizes with Zarude and Gastrodon.

Enjoy!

 

[A Very Gay Girl]

Postin' a team cus Expulso said I had approval to

Description

This is a pretty solid Spikes balance that utilizes a Togekiss + Gastrodon + Metagross defensive core & some powerful offensive threats in Obstagoon and Choice Scarf Mienshao in order to take on the metagame. Obstagoon is the focal point of this team, with the standard set Guts wallbreaker set being capable of hitting nearly the entire metagame for massive damage. Togekiss is this team's defensive check to Mienshao and Zarude, in addition to being another wallbreaker in and of itself with a set of Nasty Plot / Air Slash / Flamethrower / Roost. Gastrodon counters Raikou and is able to block Volt Switch from the other Electric-types of the tier, which gives it great synergy with Togekiss. Gastrodon is also extremely useful for its ability to check threats such as Darmanitan, Volcanion, Cobalion, and Calm Mind Reuniclus. Roserade is this team's Spikes setter, laying down Spikes in order to rack up chip damage on the opposing team and make it easier for Obstagoon and Togekiss to break through walls in addition to making it easier for Choice Scarf Mienshao to clean up late game. Roserade also serves as a more solid check to Xurkitree than Gastrodon does. Metagross is this team's Stealth Rock setter and Togekiss check. One thing worth noting is that this Metagross has more Special Defense investment than usual, and this is because I felt it would be better in order to improve the matchup against Nasty Plot Togekiss which this team would otherwise struggle against. Rounding out the team is Choice Scarf Mienshao, which is an incredible offensive pivot and late game cleaner that is also able to remove Heavy Duty Boots from opposing threats in order to make them vulnerable to the hazard stack this team utilizes.

 

[Sputnik]

Click the mons for the paste

Team Description

Choice Band Golurk is still one of our most powerful and hardest to switch into wallbreakers, so I decided to build around that. I used Stakataka here in order to check non-Aura Sphere Togekiss very well and offer a little bit of extra buffer against Chandelure should it show up, which is also why I'm packing Shadow Ball Roserade. Rose, of course, also helps out against the Electrics. Milotic functions as the bulky water and a good check to things like Barraskewda while also pivoting for Golurk. Togekiss is the necessary Zarude check and Defogger while also supporting Golurk via Flip Turn. Finally, Mienshao is the speed control and another pivot to get Golurk in safely.

 

[scorbunnys]

Hewwo bois and girls!, i'll be submitting a sample which Expulso gave me permission to submit.

Click on the sprites for paste! :)

Explanation

Despite that Choice Specs Sylveon has definitely been on the decline, it's still a neat wallbreaker which can abuse the meta-trend of ''Fairy-resists-without-recovery'', which is how Roserade comes in hand!, Sylv doesn't resist fighting types too well (Draining Kiss Specs sets could ''sorta'' handle them decently though), so that's were Roserade comes in hand!, Roserade can try to come for free via U-Turn/Parting Shot and stomatch one hit from most of them!, Incineroar is great with both of these pokemon who appreciate the check to Chandelure and other Fire-types, Stakataka acts as this teams Flying resist that also can offensively pressure Gastrodon and Seismitoad with Toxic which Xurkitree (our Speed control and cleaner) appreciates greatly. Flygon Defensive acts as a neat Raikou and Xurkitree (It can stomach one Dazzling Gleam from it and it needs to get the prediction right anyways) while it can also make use of Defog and U-Turn for act as a Mini Lando good glue.

V2

Choice Specs Sylveon is not a very strudy fighting check as mentioned above given that it doesn't have too good defense so i paired it with Vileplume as Vileplume is a sturdy fighting check. I also think that on this version, Wish Sylv Specs should be mandatory because we should keep Vileplume healthy (Strength Sap helps on the longevity, but Wish Support its still valuable for it). However, it still misses out Spikes so its up to you decide which version is better!

Have a nice day!

Edit: S/o Aqua and yourewelcome for help me with testing and youre welcome helped me with the explanations too (the grammar, yk)

 

[Pepeduce]

Hello community, I post 2 teams which have been successful in different tournament RU open and PSPL mainly.

SD Escavalier+Boots Xurkitree: https://pokepast.es/716891f974ff371b

Explanation

Why Escavalier ?

Escavalier is very rare in this meta (I don't even know if it is in the Viability Ranking) but I think it get a niche. It can switch onto some grass like Roserade or Celebi and take off some boots (item) like Golisopod with Knock Off. It gain Close Combat which is great against Cobalion and steel generally. Iron head deals neutral on flying type and boosted by the STAB.
I would exploit mainly the Escavalier potentiel that's why I put a fairy wish support which have a good synergie because Escavalier can switch in on fairy type checks (Steel and Poison Pokémon).

How to play this team? Strenghs/Weaknesses

This "team is good against the other balanced teams, it is profitable to SD Escavalier with wish support and pivot Xurkitree. Xurkitree doesn't get a lot of safe check (there are somethings like Bulky Celebi, AV Reuniclus, Porygon 2, Steelix, Marowak) and you can pivot and chip damages with volt switch (except Marowak) then put Escavalier.

I faced a CM Necrozma and it destroys the team this is hard to switch in against. Chandelure Energy Ball has a great match up too,

Spread/Moveset and potential changes

I tried to optimize the ev's according to speedtier. You can definitely put max speed Crobat to outspeed Scarf Metagross or tie with other Crobat mainly with the NastyPlot.
You can run Shadow Ball/CM Sylveon, I saw a version with boots Zarude which had good result.

Barraskewda+Chandelure 3 atk https://pokepast.es/1d81b441a8056a96

Explanation

In building this team, my main question was how and who could best help the fish in a Gastrodon metagame. Chandelure is a good partner because it is a fire which can OHKO Seimi and Grastro with Energy Ball and hit stronger the other fire resist less bulky with the STAB Shadow ball. So, in my mind, when Barraskewada don't get the match up, Chandy has.

Spread/Moveset and potential changes

- Barraskewda: Ice Fangs lures Noivern, I think it can be good for Chandelure. This evs spread can still outspeed Scarf Tyrantrum
- Chandelure: I saw Flame Charge Chandelure in RUPL and I would try it. It's cool but I think CM/Protect is as good.
- Noivern outspeeds Inteleon and tank Scarf Zarude/Darmanitan and this set is the VinCune answer. Toxic helps vs Togekiss 2 atk.
- Steelix: Iron Def Body Press is for Curse Lax and you can avoid a 2hko from CC Cobalion
- P2: it outspeeds Marowak full speed, Foul play helps vs Ghost type and Metagross.

 

[Expulso]

Update:

Thanks so much for all your submissions! I think all the teams posted in this thread are good and interesting, so thanks for your effort. If you're just scrolling through those thread, the above teams should be fine to pick from!

Between PMs and this thread, though, I've received over 15 submissions. Choosing which ones to put in the OP has been tough, but I'll make those decisions and get them up as soon as I can, hopefully by the end of this weekend.

 

[Expulso]

Hello all, sorry for not formatting the above submissions in a better manner; however, I've been told on PS that the above posts were useful references, so thanks to all who have contributed in the past!

It is now a new RU metagame; we lost Zarude and Rhyperior and have now banned Mienshao. Thus, I am opening samples back up. Please submit teams that you have considerable experience with and believe are very good; ideally, these would be tested in tournament play, lots of games at high ladder, or in friendlies versus tournament-caliber opponents. I am looking for a variety of playstyles, from weathers to HO to stall, so please help fill this out! Keep in mind that the teams you submit should be representative of the metagame, so stick to standard mons. In particular, try to avoid anything C rank or below on the viability rankings. As epic as Guzzlord is, I won't be accepting it in samples. :/

Before you submit your team, please PM me the following at Expulso#7025 on Discord:
- a pokepaste (pokepast.es) of the team
- a short (approximately 5 sentences) description of it that describes how it works; what is the wincon(s)? what do your defensive mons do best against, and are there any notable weaknesses in your defensive core? Doesn't have to be too polished or long, but I want any new players to be able to use your team the way you intended for it to be used.

If you were using something pre-Mienshao ban (for instance, on the suspect ladder or in RULT) it'll still probably be fine to submit here. I'd suggest that you spend a day or two seeing if you can make any tweaks to account for Mienshao's departure and then test it out on ladder for a few games, but then I'd love to see the teams people have used in suspect ladder, RULT, or whatever else u were doing before Shao got banned.

Finally, though anyone can view and use the teams you submit here, not all of them are going to be selected as samples. I will keep this open for 1-2 weeks, then I and other RU contributors will handpick the teams we believe are most effective and representative of the metagame.

I look forward to seeing what you all have come up with; please submit! Thanks :)

 

[GoldCat]

Description

Sun offense built with Choice Band Entei as the main wallbreaker. Fully physical Shiftry is chosen because it has an easier time breaking through Incineroar and Shiftry is so strong that it has very little trouble muscling through even Togekiss. If it's Knocked Off beforehand, offensive Togekiss drops to +2 Solar Blade after Stealth Rock, while max HP has a 37,5% chance to get KOed. Choice Band Entei is the cornerstone of the team and holds everything together. Entei outspeeds and checks a lot of threatening Pokemon to sun teams such as Xurkitree, Obstagoon, and Mimikyu. Having a strong priority move in Extreme Speed is extremely useful, as Shiftry can't revenge kill everything whether that's due to the sun turns ran out, or Shiftry being slower even in sun. Entei is also the team's main way of dealing with Togekiss. Inner Focus comes really handy when dealing with Choice Scarf sets or if Entei is paralyzed. Choice Band Seismitoad brings a ton of useful defensive qualities while maintaining an offensive presence. Water immunity and Rock resistance being the main ones. The main use of Seismitoad is to threaten all of the Stealth Rock setters to prevent Stealth Rock from being set early on. Noivern can provide free switches with U-turn and switch in on obnoxious Pokemon like Durant, Golisopod, and Obstagoon. Choice Scarf Gardevoir provides speed control outside of sun and most importantly, Healing Wish support. Healing Wish gives a lot of breathing room to the team, as you can give any of your Pokemon a second chance. Teleport on Gardevoir is helpful for providing free switches to Entei against Steel-types.

Snorlax can be tough to deal with, but the easiest way is to go Torkoal and Yawn it then go to Shiftry and hit it with +2 Low Kick. Focus Sash Polteageist is another huge threat, as it can heal small damage off with Giga Drain so it'll eat Shiftry's Knock Off and proceed to KO it with Shadow Ball. Make sure to always get a big hit off when Polteageist sets up with Shell Smash.

Description

This team is built around the idea of using Toxic Spikes to poison Diancie, which is one of the best counters to Dragon Dance Regidrago. Roserade is the T-Spiker of choice and switches into Water- and Electric-types for the team. Bronzong provides Stealth Rock and is the team Steel-type while checking Flygon. Golisopod means that nothing is lost by running Toxic Spikes over Spikes on Roserade. Leech Life is used over Liquidation because it helps with Reuniclus. Calm Mind Raikou is another Pokemon that takes advantage of Toxic Spikes once Golisopod Knock Off Gastrodon's Heavy-Duty Boots. Raikou is also great for weakening Steelix for Regidrago to clean up late-game. Noivern is last, as it has a great speed tier and helps with otherwise hard to deal with Pokemon like Durant and Volcanion.

The team lacks any Ghost resist, so it's no surprise that Ghost-types can be a nuisance. Chandelure has to take an Earthquake or Toxic from Bronzong, or risk a potential Sludge Bomb from Roserade if it ever wants to hard switch. Noivern can also take a Shadow Ball from full and get a big Draco Meteor off if necessary. The team has no switch-ins to the likes of Golurk and Decidueye but hopefully, Raikou might lure them with Shadow Ball, and if not their slow speed means that can be dealt with. Polteageist pretty much 6-0s after a Shell Smash, so make sure Toxic Spikes are up as soon as possible. With poison damage and a hit from it sets up will always be enough to put Polteageist in range of Golisopod's First Impression. Sucker Punch is an option on Golisopod over Spikes if you find Polteageist to be too much trouble.

 

[Mac3]

after the rise of zarude i really wanted to give cm necrozma a try as you could take advantage of both the common darks as you can usually beat them over the course of a game, especially paired with heal bell support. due to this, necro's main answers i felt were the bulky waters in gastrodon and milotic which is why i added sd cobalion as the next mon, in order to pressure them heavily, if not kill them. this is also why i decided to go for magnet rise as the 4th move, as you can then use gastrodon that dont carry scald as setup bait, which is usually always the case. in addition to this, i wanted heal bell support for necrozma, which led me to diancie for rocks as well. after this i added no item flygon as both an incineroar switch in as well as a poltergeist immunity, while adding wishturn vapo to further solidify the defensive backbone. wishturn vapo also allows me to play the steelspam portion of this team extremely aggressively as you can usually wish them back to full, especially against milo + rose teams. lastly i added durant in order to pressure every team and also provide speed control through first impression as well as breaking bulky waters super easily, especially paired with sd cobalion.

adjustments you can make to this team is changing the necro set to things like bulky sd and knocktoxic, rock coverage on durant instead of stantrum, or changing 4th move on coba to stone edge/rock polish while simultaneously going shuca.


this team was originally built around the idea of xurkitree + volcanion, as they form a great offensive pairing as gastrodon teams generally are pressured by xurkitree while non gastro teams, specifically lix ones, find volc hard to deal with. to further push the offensive capabilities of this core i added durant which pressures lix and bulky waters for xurk and volc respectively, while benefitting from xurk's volt switch against roserade. after this i added the defensive core of diancie + vileplume which beats a large portion of the meta and lastly went scarf flygon for speed control and an elec immunity. this team has to be played quite aggressive as the backbone isn't the most solid and the psychic resist is diancie so reuniclus is generally quite problematic.

 

[Nezloe]

Team I built around pangoro,I explained the process of the build here but ill explain what pangoro does anyway. Pangoros job is to threaten mons like diancee with bullet punch (iron head is prob the more ideal move) and deliver strong knock offs to mons like bronzong and and other defensive walls that the rest of the team may struggle against.

Calc vs bronzong and other Defensive tanks:
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Bronzong: 444-524 (131.3 - 155%) -- guaranteed OHKO.

252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 12 Def Diancie: 217-256 (71.6 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 286-337 (67.1 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Anyway,this team worked well for me before and after mienshao ban and I do in fact believe this team is even better after mienshaos ban due to the fact it kinda struggled vs LO shao mostly bc of its good coverage. (Feel free to change xurx to boots I only made it scarf for speed control and to catch LO shao off guard.)


Version with iron head pangoro: https://pokepast.es/d786dbc6137119ee

 

[Yourwelcomethanku]

Click on the sprites for the teams

Description and other options

With the removal of Mienshao from the tier Arctozolt but also Arctovish have lost their Number 1 revenge killer, now you can afford run both Arcto's on the same team more easily now the most common Choice Scarf Pokemon to outspeed them in hail is Flygon, however Flygon is only very good at revenge killing Arctozolt, Arctovish has Protect and the bulk to eat a Stone Edge anyways. Protect on Arctovish and Arctozolt is used in order to deal with First Impression from Durant and Golisopod. Starmie is phenomenal on hail teams for its ability to check Steel-types, reliably Rapid Spin, and pivot in its team with Teleport. Bronzong hasn't been seen much on hail, however I have found it a very good chocie for its ability to keep especially Choice Scarf Flygon in check but also Autotomize Necrozma which can be very threatening to hail. Flygon is pretty much the best Ground-type to fit on hail teams, Flygon providing a good Electric check.

Incineroar is an obvious threat to this team your almost always going to be forced to trade with it in some way. Sharpedo if it manages to get going can threaten a large portion of this team with an OHKO, however it will need 2 protects to outspeed the Arcto's, and struggles to switch in safely on its own. Xurkitree can be pretty threatening considering Flygon is the only Ground-type, however Xurkitree is slow so you can try and out offense it. Opposing weather, but especially sun can be very problematic for this team as it cuts off the primary way of speed control that this team has, and the teams options to thwart Torkoal are limited. This teams only bug resist is Ninetales-A making it a problem with First Impression, but this team does have Protect on Arctovish and Arctozolt

Other options
A bulky pivot Flygon with Roost helps better check Incineroar, however its less threatening, and doesn't take advantage of opposing Flygon Earthquake choice locks as well. Low Kick on Arctozolt deals much more damage to Steelix, however this makes Durant much more a problem as you give up Protect.

I forgot Recover on Quagsire its fixed now thank you Odr for pointing this out

Description and other options

Stall isn't the most consistent strategy in RU, however it is viable. Umbreon and Weezing-Galar form a very strong defensive core, Umbreon being able to check Ghost-type threats and strong special attackers for Weezing-G and in return Weezing-G checks Fighting-types. Talonflame is pretty much the best Durant check in the tier, only fearing the rare Rock Slide which is the reason Talonflame has been chosen over the Roserade countering Crobat. Tangela is the best check to Golurk in the tier, as it is even capable of stomaching 2 Choice Band Adamant poltergeist's, also with its regenerator and Grass-typing it helps check the Electric-types of the tier in Raikou and Xurkitree. Quagsire with its Unaware is able to check many set up sweepers such as Reuniclus, Cobalion, and Raikou. Registeel gives a Fairy- and Flying-type resist which this team before lacked helping with threats such as Crobat and Gardevoir.

Since this is a stall team threats to it are pretty obvious and generally hard to play around. Trick users such as Gardevoir, Golurk, and Indeedee can cripple the walls of this team making them significantly harder to deal with. Life Orb Psychic variants of Reuniclus can pretty easily get past Quagsire and 6-0 this team. Since the team is using Talonflame over Crobat Roserade and especially Vileplume can be very annoying to deal with, Roserade able to Spike pretty freely and Vileplume threatening Sludge Bomb and Corrosive Gas onto the team. Nasty Plot Togekiss destroys this team pretty easily as a boosted Flamethrower can get past Registeel, and it can potentially flinch down Quagsire. Life Orb Psychic Reuniclus destroys this team as it can pretty easily get past Quagsire. This team is stacked with Heavy-duty boots, however the combination of Spikes and Knock off can prove quite problematic given that this team lacks a Crobat to reliably switch into Roserade and remove Spikes. Mixed Sharpedo is able to 2HKO the entire team.

Other options
Specially defensive Quagsire is able to check some threats to the team such as LIfe Orb Psychic Reuniclus, and better handling Nasty Plot Togekiss, however it is worse off in checking Pokemon such as Cobalion and Mimikyu.

 

[Expulso]

Team I built around pangoro,I explained the process of the build here but ill explain what pangoro does anyway. Pangoros job is to threaten mons like diancee with bullet punch (iron head is prob the more ideal move) and deliver strong knock offs to mons like bronzong and and other defensive walls that the rest of the team may struggle against.

Calc vs bronzong and other Defensive tanks:
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Bronzong: 444-524 (131.3 - 155%) -- guaranteed OHKO.

252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 12 Def Diancie: 217-256 (71.6 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Gastrodon: 286-337 (67.1 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Anyway,this team worked well for me before and after mienshao ban and I do in fact believe this team is even better after mienshaos ban due to the fact it kinda struggled vs LO shao mostly bc of its good coverage. (Feel free to change xurx to boots I only made it scarf for speed control and to catch LO shao off guard.)


Version with iron head pangoro: https://pokepast.es/d786dbc6137119ee

Hello, this thread requires approval before posting in it and you didn’t PM me. Pangoro is definitely a cool Pokemon to build with, but this team has some issues -- most notably the lack of a water resist -- that would make me hesitant to include it as a sample. Feel free to discuss the team (or other ideas) with people in the RU Discord and/or post any experimental teams such as this in the RU Bazaar.


======


In other news: I would like to close this thread in 24-48 hours and post the teams i've selected in the OP. We could still use some samples in the following categories, which I believe are viable, relevant, and should be represented:
CM Reuniclus Balance/BO
Rain
Sharpedo/Mimikyu Hyper Offense

If anyone has a team they like that fits one of these categories, please PM me asap (Expulso#7025 on Discord) to discuss it. Thanks!

 

[Expulso]

New meta, new samples! We are now going to begin accepting samples for teams built in the new meta.
-
+

I do recommend that you wait a week or so to try out Grimmsnarl and see if the loss of Seismitoad/Tales-A/Barraskewda changes much, though I expect these changes to be somewhat minor.

=========

A larger update about the sample teams project:

The frequency of tiering shifts and suspects makes it very difficult to keep up with the meta in time to release samples; the meta is not constant for the length of one or more of our major tournaments, making it hard to provide teams for any given meta that are exceptionally proven. Thus, this will operate more casually. I will still have the same standards about accepting teams (must PM me with description + replays), but once the team is posted in the thread that counts as it passing the curation process. In other words, after teams are posted here they're ready for you to use!

you still need my approval to post here, though

 

[hjkhj]

Guzzlord Stall:
Standard Umbreon set that has speed that allows it to outspeed max speed adamant golurk and max speed alolan marowak. Registeel has rest in order to self-sustain without relying on umbreon to wish it up and also helps it not be super easy to chip down after leftovers have been knocked off. Quagsire is the standard unaware set to help with set up threats, and it is equipped with haze in order to help the reuniclus matchup, without having to waste all of its recover pp trying to stay in as it sets up and attacks. The speed IVs on quag allow it to be slower than min speed alolan marowak, helping in the trick room matchup. Crobat is meant to be the primary defogger, but also has haze equipped in order to help in the togekiss matchup by stalling out nasty plots/air slashes and then using registeel to beat it down afterwards. Reuniclus is just the standard set meant to function as a win condition since it seems like a lot of teams get 6-0d by cm reuniclus upon matchup. Guzzlord provides this team with knock-off spam, as well as a special wall alongside umbreon and registeel to help ease the matchup against special threats such as toxtricity and nidoqueen.

 

[Fusion Flare]

What's up you hideous little gremlins, today I've been given the go-to hand you not one, but TWO spooky teams for October!

First let's begin with our local Lumiere, the moth mingler, Chandelure!
I call this story: ATTACK OF THE POOR LIGHTING SYSTEM!!! (specs chandy BO)

So first we got this Specs Chandy squad, with an absolutely Dreepy wallbreaker, Specs Chandelure. This pokemon's not only reverred for its absolutely Ghastly damage output, but on the ladder, the little kids don't know what to do when they're staring down a pokemon with 145 base special attack, so you're sure to haunt'er!

anyways, shit ghost jokes aside, nidoqueen works well alongside chandelure since it's rocking focus blast on this set, which lets it smash umbreon on the switch if it looks to chew up it and chandelure's attacks. bronzong is the reason it's able to run four attacks, as it fills the role of rocker, and check of like, 20 things in the tier. Togekiss, Flygon, Nidoqueen itself, you name it. next, we have scarf kissy, because as we all know, clicking air lash and moving first has never been more of a joy. but in the meantime, it tricks, it clicks, and it fricks offensive teams thanks to that big bird (yes, togekiss is in fact based on a bird and not some weird beakless lump with wings, I checked.) Next up is Golisopod, which frustratingly breaks my streak of BW sprites. Anyways, it's able to lay down hazards, mess with sweepers with first impression, it's golisopod, everyone knows that guy. lastly, but not least, is...defensive flygon?? yep, turns out i needed a defogger. notice how a solid third of my team folds to rocks outright. flygon can fix that, and it's literally my primary switching for mons like incineroar's knock off, surprisingly. so, that's really all there is to the team.

The NEXT team however, is one I can say with CONFIDENCE is sure to Maro-whack you clean off the map. one that, if you were to face it in battle, would be your DHELMISE! Best to Go-lurk in the Mar-shadow-s before the team digs your Spiri-TOMB for you, so make sure you watch your back, or that ladder encounter is your Fros-LAST.

...Look, I thought they were pretty clever when i put them together, alright? Sheesh.

My next story is this: The Ugly Rag (mimikyu offense)

Mimikyu is actually a pretty decent sweeper in a metagame where it's faced with poisons and steels and a bulky scarfer that forces it into shadow sneak or face revenge killing (togekiss). Regardless, it's still a terror for all the reasons I mentioned above. SD with a stab like that can't go wrong. And who wouldn't want a free sub in the form of its Disguise ability? Next, we have Scarf Flygon, blah blah scarfer this, revenge killer that, we know the deal for how this works. We U-turn for more oppurtunities to get in our breakers, includin our hazard setter, Metagross! that's right folks, we got a new Steel/Psychic on the block, and they're a KILLER! this supercomputer can calculate how many bulky waters it's gonna cripple, how many hazards will damage your ass, and how much we NEED the fairy resist. Anyways, let's talk breakers. Heracross + Sharpedo. Heracross, big breaker. basically nothing that wants to catch those CC's, knock-offs, or facades. even placed megahorn in for cresselia. Sharpedo. It cleans up the game with its mixed set, knocks down grounds, both can overwhelm togekiss for the other to benefit. Lastly, Raikou. Messes with bulky waters like Suicune, is an actual Togeksiss check that doesn't get paralyzed, hip hip hooray. And with Flygon, it forms a VoltTurn core to get the breakers in! How nice!

Anyways that's really it.

 

[Yourwelcomethanku]

Click on the sprites for the paste
Here is a balance with Nidoqueen as the primary wallbreaker, Raikou and Noivern can help pivot it in on Grass- and Steel-types like Roserade and Stakataka respectively. Noivern provides the team with a much needed Golisopod answer and more speed control and hazard removal via Defog. Raikou provides an offensive Togekiss check and its simply an incredibly effective pivot for facilitating its teammates. Bronzong was chosen as the Steel-type considering the team is very weak too offensive Flygon variants otherwise, mainly Dragon Dance. A physically defensive Bronzong with Body press is used as it doesn't let stuff like Pangoro and Incineroar in as easily, as well being an even better countermeasure to Flygon. Because Bronzong is the Stealth Rock setter Nidoqueen can run Taunt too better mess with special walls such as Milotic and Umbreon that could trouble it. SD Incineroar provides the team with Knock Off, a Chandelure check, and a Reuniclus check be it shaky due to potential Colbur Berry. Vaporeon is great for this team providing the lacking in recovery Bronzong, Raikou, and Incineroar with Wish and cleric support. Its just a good bulky water good for checking stuff like Darmanitan and Cobalion.

In terms of things too be mindful of with this team, you should be careful around Raikou and Xurkitree especially considering there isn't a Grass-type or Assault Vest Reuniclus on this team so you often should trade damage with them. Assault Vest Reuniclus can also be hard to play around potentially involving aggressively doubling too Incineroar in order to stop it from making progress. Calm Mind Reuniclus can of course be difficult to deal with especially if its Colbur for Incineroar. but hey! if Reuniclus gets banned you don't need too! pls ban broke mon

 

[GoldCat]

Description

This is a revamp of one of my RUPL teams with the sets updated for the current meta. I went with a Jolly nature on Golurk, so you get the jump on all of the Umbreon and Milotic running Speed EVs to outrun Adamant Golurk. Roserade is on the team for Spikes, a Xurkitree answer, and with Grass Knot you can better check Calm Mind Suicune. Like usual, Bronzong provides a ton of role compression to the team with its Steel typing and immunity to Ground so it checks Nidoqueen and Flygon. Raikou is a secondary Flying resist and deals with Torndadus, Togekiss, and Crobat, which all can annoy Bronzong. Swords Dance Incineroar helps with Calm Mind Reuniclus in case it's itemless and Polteageist. I chose to run Close Combat over Fire STAB, as it still hits Steel-types hard and it's just a strong move, so you don't have to spam Knock Off and render Golurk's Poltergeist useless. Noivern patches up some weaknesses like Volcanion and provides a great Speed tier to the team. The bulk ensures that Noivern always lives a Facade from Guts Obstagoon from full.

 

[Feliburn]

Yo, w/ SCL over, I thought I'd post some of my fav teams I made during the tour. A couple may be falling behind due to the meta evolving, but they are still very much usable and fun, so why not.

Description

So this is probably the least updated team here, but CB Dhelmise is super fun. It basically just picks KOs, and it works well with the voltturn core of Raikou, Incineroar and Flygon. The fun pick here is Mantine, a fat water that fills the role of soft checking a lot, like Cobalion, Volcanion, Golisopod, etc, while also filling the role of the removal of the team. This team is probably behind of the meta right now due to Demon gross being so popular, but u can probably do something w/ cb dhelm vs it.

Description

This team is a banger. DD Flygon was such an underrated pick, and I'm happy it picked up for a bit. Using adamant muscle band for max damage output while keeping certain longetivity. You are not supposed to set up once and clean, as flygon works amazing as a breaker. Then late game you have to hwish it up, set up and clean.

Description

I jumped on the Obstagoon train cause this mon is epic. It's so hard to properly check. Pairing it with a NP Celebi, a very underrated and hated pokemon that I personally love, in order to muscle past mons like Registeel (you can do like 60% with boosted leaf storms and weaken it, so Gooner can pick up the kill), while Obstagoon is very good vs Umbreon cores. The rest is just standard mons, with haze milo, so cheese isn't an insta win vs the team.

Description

Now this team is epic. Featuring Guzzlord and Jellicent, 2 mons who have picked up usage recently, due to their usefulness in the meta. I wanted a fun core of CB Lucario and Celebi to break teams, as they are underrated picks. Jellicent was mainly to handle Reuniclus and Metagross. While Guzzlord provided the defensive backbone of a fat dark type. This set is different from the usual rest one, as it's meant to chip at mons like Cobalion, Incineroar, the fairies, etc. And finally the usual Crobat + Steelix.