Smashed!

[Organization Member XIV]

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I've posted an RMT, but I'm here with an RU one. When I heard Emboar moved up to RU, I decided to make a new team using him. After some testing, here is what I feel is the best result after some of my own changes.

Emboar@Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Jolly Nature (+Speed,-SpAtk)
Flare Blitz
Head Smash
Wild Charge
Superpower

This Emboar set is probably the best in terms of surprise value. Not a lot of people I've faced expect Scarfed Emboar, and it works really well for revenge killing. The EVs are self-explanatory, maximize speed and power. Flare Blitz is the best STAB move, destroys stuff like Tangrowth and Scpetile, as well as Rotom-F and Regice on Hail teams. Head Smash is really just filler, I was thinking of changing it for HP Grass to hit Quagsire. I guess it works to hit Magmortar and Typhlosion though. Wild Charge is for bulky Waters and Moltres, although Quagsire is a pain in the ass to this set. Finally, Superpower gives Emboar a move that DOESN'T kill itself, and hits Steelix as an alternative to Flare Blitz.

Gallade@Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 240 HP, 212 SpDef, 56 Speed
Careful Nature (+SpDef,-SpAtk)
Bulk Up
Substitute
Drain Punch
Night Slash

Meet Gallade, my special tank. After testing various dedicated special walls, I felt that this Gallade set was a much better fit. The set and EVs are on-site, and I don't really feel it needs to be tinkered around with. EVs are for getting plenty of special bulk, with the Speed for outspeeding things such as fully invested Crawdaunt. Bulk Up allows Gallade to get more physical bulk and dish out more damage as well. Substitute is mainly for preventing burns from Will-O-Wisp and Scald, as well as Toxics, and further enhances Gallade's ability to set up. Drain Punch is for semi-reliable recovery and is a good fail-safe in case Leftovers just aren't doing it. Finally, Night Slash gets unresisted coverage in RU with Drain Punch, and hits stuff like Sigilyph and regular Rotom.

Crawdaunt@Lum Berry
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
Dragon Dance
Waterfall
Crunch
Superpower

Meet one of my favorite RU Pokemon. As soon as I started using this thing I fell in love with it. The power this thing has once when it gets to set up is pretty incredible. Dragon Dance is the main reason I used Crawdaunt, and it allows Crawdaunt to get more power and Speed, the latter of which is vital for Crawdaunt to sweep. Waterfall is the main STAB move and hits a lot of Pokemon hard, such as Steelix and Nidoqueen. Crunch is secondary STAB and hits Ghosts and Psychics. Finally, Superpower is coverage against things quad-weak to it, such as Aggron. I picked Lum Berry over Life Orb or Leftovers as it keeps crippling burn or paralysis away from Crawdaunt. Testing Lanturn in this slot.

Steelix@Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def, 252 HP, 4 Atk
Impish Nature (+Def,-SpAtk)
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Roar
Toxic

Steelix is a really cool physical wall in my opinion. It takes barely anything from most physical attacks unless they are super-effective, and has STAB EQ to deal some damage. Stealth Rock is great in RU as there are a lot of threats weak to it, such as Moltres, Typhlosion, and a lot of other things. Earthquake is mainly for dishing out damage and hurts Qwilfish if it decides to just set up Spikes. Roar is mainly for getting rid of boosting sweepers such as SD Gallade and CM Mesprit. Toxic allows Steelix to break down opposing walls such as Slowking and Uxie. Testing Uxie in this slot.

Nidoqueen@Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
Modest Nature (+SpAtk,-Atk)
Earth Power
Sludge Wave
Thunderbolt
Fire Blast

This is probably one of the greatest Pokemon in RU. Has just enough bulk to live some hits, and good Special Attack backed by Sheer Force to dish out some serious damage. Earth Power is good STAB and hurts many Pokemon in RU, such as Aggron and Electivire. Ice Beam and Thunderbolt get unresisted coverage together, except on Volt Absorb Lanturn. Ice Beam hits Sandslash for a nice amount of damage, as well as Tangrowth. Thunderbolt hits Flying types like Archeops and Aerodactyl, as well as Moltres, one of the biggest threats in RU. Finally, Fire Blast hits Ferroseed and Galvantula. EVs are mainly for maximum bulk and power, as Nidoqueen is really too slow to make Speed investment worth it. Testing Sludge Wave over Ice Beam currently, as well as an EV spread of 252 SpAtk/252 Speed/4 HP.

Sceptile@Petaya Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpAtk, 252 Speed, 4 SpDef
Modest Nature (+SpAtk,-Atk)
Giga Drain
Focus Blast
Substitute
Hidden Power [Rock]

Ah, Sub Petaya Sceptile, how I love you. This thing is great because it forces a lot of switches just by being Sceptile, so it often gets a free Sub. Substitute is mainly for whittling Scpetile's HP down so it can get into Petaya Range. Giga Drain is good STAB and hurts Omastar a lot. Focus Blast is good for slapping Steelix around, as well as Absol if I'm behind a Sub. Finally, HP Rock is Sceptile's best option against Moltres, and is good against Ice and Fire types in general. Testing LO over Petaya Berry.

So there you have it. That's my team, I hope you enjoyed reading it, and any and all feedback is appreciated. Sorry about some of the picture sizes though. :( Thanks Constantinipple. I'll do that now. Didn't want to make a new post just for 2 words.

Importable

Emboar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
- Head Smash

Gallade (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 240 HP / 212 SDef / 56 Spd
Careful Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Substitute
- Night Slash

Crawdaunt @ Lum Berry
Trait: Adaptability
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SAtk
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Superpower

Steelix @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Toxic

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt

Sceptile (M) @ Petaya Berry
Trait: Unburden
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Substitute
- Hidden Power [Rock]

 

[Constantinipple]

i'm not an experienced ru player/rater but i can at least tell you that Emboar really needs the Jolly nature to get the jump on max speed Galvantula Durant and Cinccino.

 

[BattleStar]

Hey there,
Nice RU team you have here. I am going to give you a really quick rate but hope I can do a more detailed one later. One thing that immediately stands out is you having Ice Beam on your Nidoqueen. Sludge Wave is much better over Ice Beam and you basically have the same coverage. However you get a STAB :)
Nidoqueen may not be the fastest mon in RU, but it really aprrediates it. Without any speed investments Pokemon like max speed Kabutops will outspeed you, being able to use move other than Aqua Jet.

Here is the standard set:

Nidoqueen

Nidoqueen@Life Orb
252 SpAtk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
Modest
-Earth Power
-Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt

Also I pro I noticed about your team is it isn't really Stealth Rocks weak bar Embaor. Though you may want to look into a Spin Blocker seeing as your team can benefit from stealth rocks. What are some of the threats you have noticed for his team?

Best of luck!

 

[Organization Member XIV]

Hey there,
Nice RU team you have here. I am going to give you a really quick rate but hope I can do a more detailed one later. One thing that immediately stands out is you having Ice Beam on your Nidoqueen. Sludge Wave is much better over Ice Beam and you basically have the same coverage. However you get a STAB :)
Nidoqueen may not be the fastest mon in RU, but it really aprrediates it. Without any speed investments Pokemon like max speed Kabutops will outspeed you, being able to use move other than Aqua Jet.

Here is the standard set:

Nidoqueen

Nidoqueen@Life Orb
252 SpAtk/ 252 Spe/ 4 HP
Modest
-Earth Power
-Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt

Also I pro I noticed about your team is it isn't really Stealth Rocks weak bar Embaor. Though you may want to look into a Spin Blocker seeing as your team can benefit from stealth rocks. What are some of the threats you have noticed for his team?

Best of luck!

Alright, I'll give that a go and see how it works out. Thanks.

Threatlist because BattleStar asked:

Druddigon: Not fun to handle without Steelix. I'll try to keep Steelix alive if I see one.

Hitmonlee: Best bet is Nidoqueen, but if it and Steelix are gone it'll run rampant if it's an Unburden set. I think Emboar MIGHT be able to outspeed.

That's all I see for now, I'll try and think of other things.

 

[col49]

Hey Organization Member XIV, I'm digging the team and the props for Choice Scarf Emboar =)

Looking at your team, the lack of immediate speed is a little concerning (especially for a more offensively based team such as this), with the fastest Pokemon being the only moderately speedy Emboar and having no priority to accommodate for this. As a result of this, Speed-boosting Water-types such as Feraligatr and Omastar have a field day if given a chance to set up, which they can find in Emboar and Steelix (to an extent). Moltres also appears to be an absolute chore to play around, finding opportunities to switch in on Emboar, Gallade, Steelix, and occasionally Nidoqueen and basically securing a guaranteed KO from there. As you indentify, Hitmonlee also appears somewhat problematic, being able to clean up after getting some residual damage on Nidoqueen and Steelix.

First of all, I feel as though Steelix, while granting your team some nice assurance against Druddigon, really hurts your team's overall offensive momentum, and might be better occupied by Fast Support Uxie. This change would mitigate your issues with Himtonlee quite niftily, while providing paralysis support via Thunder Wave (mitigating Speed issues to an extent) and momentum via U-Turn, while of course serving as an adept user of Stealth Rock. This change also gives your team a much-appreciated Ground immunity, making switching into Pokemon such as Nidoqueen much easier. Moreover, by utilizing Lum Berry Uxie can effectively match up with Lead Smeargle, allowing it to limit it to 1 (or less) hazards, making up for your team's lack of Rapid Spin user. For reference, here is my proposed set:

Hide

Uxie @ Lum Berry
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Secondly, while Crawdaunt is a very cool 'mon and all, I feel as though it doesn't quite fit your team as well as Lanturn would. Though you drop a good amount of offensive presence, Lanturn offers your team a solid pivot for Moltres and assorted Water-types (barring stuff like Kabutops) and general status platform, while still maintaining momentum. Here would be my proposal:

Hide

Lanturn (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 216 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam

As mentioned prior, Choice Scarf Emboar can't realistically afford to run an Adamant nature to function, and I would think that it would function better with a Jolly nature. This boost in Speed allows Emboar to outpace Pokemon such as (but not limited to) Sceptile, Durant, and Galvantula, all very relevant to Emboar as a Choice Scarf user.

While I do like the idea of SubPetaya Sceptile, I feel as though the amount of priority in RU doesn't readily allow for such a set to run consistently, and I feel as though a Timid nature alongside a Life Orb would serve it better as a whole, guaranteeing consistently supplemented damage and immediate Speed, allowing it to safely revenge-kill Pokemon such as Galvantula and Scollipede while above 25%.

tl;dr:

Hide

• Adamant ---> Jolly

--->

--->

• Petaya Berry ---> Life Orb
• Modest ---> Timid

That said, I hope my suggestions have been of use to you, good luck bud :]

 

[Organization Member XIV]

thanks for the rate col. i will test your suggestions and update once i'm on my laptop.