Scourge of the Tier: RU
A DFrog RMT
A DFrog RMT
Welcome to my RMT fellow smogon members, this is an RMT based on a run in with a Life Orb Hitmonchan in UU. After seeing the damage it did the UU team that I was running at the time, I decided to create an RU team using the boxer. To my astonishment the team is quite the success, at the moment peaking at #41 on the smogon ladder, needless to say that is quite impressive with the help of you, the smogon members, I hope to break into the top 20 of the RU ladder.
TEAM BUILDING:
Seeing the damage the boxer could do he was a shoo-in to the team. Using a life orb variant to punch holes in walls (literally). I needed another sweeper who could do the same for Hitmonchan to let him clean up or vice versa.
Choice banded Entei is Hitmonchan’s partner in crime. Using its powerful Flare Blitz’ to take massive chunks out of opposing walls and having strong priority in the form of Extreme Speed. At this point I saw ghosts being a threat, the immunity to the duo’s priority and Hitmonchan’s stab fighting I needed a solid check/counter to the undead opponents.
In previous explorations into the RU tier I have always included Skuntank to my team, being one of the best pursuit trappers and priority user in the tier. Skuntank never fails to deliver with powerful Pursuits, and even more priority in the form of Sucker Punch. The team however at this stage is weak to status, primarily burn and paralysis. A cleric was required.
Lanturn is similar to Skuntank in regards that I have used it before (in RU and higher tiers) to great success, so it was natural to make it the new addition to my team. Having access to a slow Volt Switch and Heal Bell provides great support it way of getting momentum and healing the status of herself and her team mates. At this point I had ⅔’s of the FWG core, and my search for a Grass type begun.
Sceptile is an absolute monster. Blowing holes is walls with powerful Leaf Storms, crippling potent physical walls that Hitmonchan and Entei cannot hope to conquer. Demolishing walls such as Steelix, Lanturn, Slowking, the list goes on. These are many of the defensive threats that are swept aside with Sceptile. Realising that I do not have Stealth Rocks at my team, I made that move priority in selecting my last member.
Honestly Sandslash, was not my first choice, Claydol was. Being able to do everything Sandslash could and sporting an immunity to ground type moves and a resistance to fighting. However in a cruel twist of fate, I started building on this team after Claydol was bumped up to UU. Sandslash fills the void however, being able to get rocks up and spin them away is a niche position that many pokemon can only do half of (spin or set up). With the inclusion of Sandslash the team was complete.
AT A GLANCE:
IN DEPTH:
Hitmonchan - The Punching Pokemon
(M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- ThunderPunch
- Mach Punch
Hitmonchan, the star of the show. Leading the team to an early victory. Often times I do lead with Hitmonchan if the team members of the other team are weak to Hitmonchan’s stab and coverage moves. Drain Punch and Mach Punch are Punching poke’s primary tools of destruction punching holes through the opposition and picking off weakened or frail combatants. Drain Punch doing half to the standard Steelix set which not many physical sweepers can boast. Drain Punch is used over Close Combat as Drain Punch gets the Iron Fist boost, the move serves as a means of recovery and Close Combat forces you to switch after use due to the defense drop whereas Drain Punch does not have the same drawback. Often coming in after Lanturn’s Volt Switch, Thunder Punch is complementary dealing the finishing blow to Qwilfish arguably one of Hitmonchan’s biggest threats. Ice Punch is there to create a pseudo Bolt Beam combination. Ice Punch does not see much usage unless frail grass types are in, i.e. anything but Tangrowth as Ice Punch only manages a measly 30%-40% to the spaghetti monster.
Weaknesses:
PSYCHIC - Skuntank
FLYING - Lanturn
Replacements/Changes:
N/A - Hitmonchan performs consistently, blowing holes in the opposition being an irreplaceable member of the team. Bullet Punch may be a worthy option on the set to hit frail ghost types however if I were to make room for it Ice Punch would go making it difficult of Hitmonchan to touch Tangrowth
Entei - The Volcano Pokemon
@ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Entei is not used a lot compared to his fighting brother. However when he is used, Entei shines. Offering one of the most powerful stab moves in RU, Flare Blitz is a wrecking machine. Offensive variants of Slowking can be two hit KO’ed on the switch, given max damage twice. Extreme Speed is very complementary to the other priority moves in the team, being able to pick off frail pokemon from 75% of health and below which is something Hitmontop finds difficult to do. Stone Edge and Hidden Power Grass are both fillers they find no use on the set, a resisted Flare Blitz often does the same as Hidden Power and Extreme Speed is more reliable at picking off Moltres than Stone Edge’s shaky accuracy. Tangrowth is eaten alive by the Volcano pokemon, being is immediately threatened out as Entei enters the field, for fear of being burned by the powerful Flare Blitz. Qwilfish is a hard counter to this choice locked Entei taking nothing from Flare Blitz after intimidate.
Weaknesses:
WATER: Sceptile, Lanturn
ROCK: Sandslash, Hitmonchan
GROUND: Sceptile, Sandslash
Replacements/Changes:
N/A - Entei offers a lot in gaining momentum and wall breaking. It is difficult to bring in Entei appropriately given amount of water/rock/ground pokemon that litter the tier. If you provide a good argument Entei may be replaced
Skuntank - The Skunk Pokemon
(M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
- Poison Jab
Skuntank is performs a vital role to the team, disposing of ghost/psychic pokemon with its powerful Dark stab moves. Taunt is the crux of this set, forcing many of the ghost or psychic pokemon to switch as they don’t have a attacking move (that can harm Skuntank) or are unwilling to take a Sucker Punch, only to be nailed by Pursuit. Skuntank is a solid check/counter to many of the ghost and psychic pokemon in the tier. Poison Jab is a stab coverage move allowing me to hit set up sweepers who are anticipating a Sucker Punch or allowing me to finish off a sweeper that is slower without worry of missing a Sucker Punch. The move pool of Skuntank however allows him to be completely countered by Steelix. Skuntank’s poison typing allows me to absorb toxic and toxic spikes that threaten Lanturn. This is useful when countering pokemon that commonly like to poison Lanturn for example Crygonal is killed by Pursuit when switching.
Weaknesses:
Ground: Sandslash, Sceptile
Replacements/Changes:
N/A: Skuntank is an irreplaceable member of the team, rarely failing to nab 1 or 2 KO’s a battle. The pursuit trapping service is very hard to find in the lower tiers and Skuntank delivers.
Lanturn - The Light Pokemon
(F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 244 Def / 8 SAtk / 216 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
Lanturn is the team cleric and resident bulky water. Lanturn provides Heal Bell which is much appreciated by her team members. The slow Volt Switch she provides an extremely useful service to the team when switching in other team members that can squash whoever Lanturn is facing. The fact that Volt Switch is also stab makes its even sweeter to use. Scald is extremely useful when facing ground types and physical sweepers as the super effective coverage and the burn chance is desirable to Lanturn to effectively sponge hits. Ice Beam is only used towards the endgame, when Entei is gone, to maim Tangrowth so Sceptile can finish the job. Volt Absorb is very useful to stop other Lanturn from Volt Switching and absorbing Thunder Waves from Qwilfishes.
Weaknesses:
GROUND: Sceptile, Sandslash
GRASS: Sceptile, Entei, Skuntank
Replacements/Changes:
N/A: Lanturn provides valuable services to the team, in the form of Volt Switch and Heal Bell. She is also one of the more bulkier members of the team. This being said the are very few pokemon that can do the same duties as Lanturn can. The only thing that could make Lanturn better is instant recovery
Sceptile- The Forest Pokemon
(F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]/[Rock]
- Focus Blast
Sceptile is the special powerhouse of this team. Blowing the opposition away with Leaf Storm, rarely failing to do less than a 50% to most threats. Spec’s Sceptile is a true threat in the RU meta game. I often rely on sceptile to muscle through physical walls that Entei or Hitmonchan cannot hope to break through. Being one of the fastest pokemon in the tier with a blistering 120 base speed I also rely on Sceptile to revenge fast threats like Galavantula and Moltres with Hidden Power Rock. However I also rely on Sceptile to dispose of Tangrowth who is crushed under Hidden Power Ice. Therein lies the problem which Hidden Power type do I choose? Giga Drain is used when Sceptile is the last pokemon left or I only need to take out one pokemon without risking a Lead Storm miss (which happens more often than you’d think). Sceptile is usually left at full HP for most of the game due to the amount of recovery that is gained from Giga Drain. Focus Blast is for Boufallant who eats my grass stabs for breakfast although Hitmonchan is the resident fighting type, Focus Blast is very useful for coverage against steel types.
Weaknesses:
FIRE: Lanturn, Entei
FLYING: Lanturn
BUG: Entei, Skuntank, Hitmonchan
ICE: Entei, Lanturn
POISON: Sandslash, Skuntank
Replacements/Changes:
N/A - Sceptile is another irreplaceable member of the team. She deals with the faster threats that cannot be handled with priority and physical walls that the Hitmonchan and Entei core cannot touch without prior damage. At the moment I am not testing HP Rock over Ice.
Sandslash - The Mouse Pokemon
(M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Sandslash is the other half of my defensive core. Being able to tank earthquakes that severely harm my team. In addition to this Sandslash is the resident spinner and the pokemon in charge of setting up Stealth Rocks to support the rest of the team. As Sandslash carries rapid spin, it is a lure for ghost types to block the spin. Toxic is especially useful as the ghost switch is fairly predictable, the poison reduces the life span of the ghost provoking the switch for pursuit trapping. Sandslash is rather replaceable, most games I do not get stealth rocks up however the shrew serves as a great buffer of physical attacks.
Weaknesses:
WATER: Lanturn, Sceptile
ICE: Entei, Lanturn
GRASS:Sceptile, Skuntank
Replacements/Changes:
Yes - Uxie seems like a viable replacement for Sandslash. Having greater bulk, access to U-turn, Heal Bell and Stealth Rock and extra resistance fighting and an immunity to Ground moves make Uxie better than Sandslash in most situations. However the ability to spin hazards away makes Sandslash useful for Entei’s survivability and luring ghosts.
Final Look
Importable:
Code:
Armstrong (Hitmonchan) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- ThunderPunch
- Mach Punch
Mustang (Entei) @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Marcoh (Lanturn) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 244 Def / 8 SAtk / 216 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
Grand (Sandslash) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Hawkeye (Sceptile) (F) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
Kimblee (Skuntank) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 12 HP / 252 Atk / 244 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
- Poison Jab
