Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Fire Fang
- Substitute
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-339681 Week 1 vs Manip
Mega Aerodactyl is one of those mons where it's just so much fun to have a free moveslot. We already had Pursuit in the form of CB Scizor and luckily offensive birds hadn't picked up due to Rotom-W's presence, meaning Roost wasn't incredibly necessary on a more offensive team like this. If I remember correctly we threw around some ideas for a while then me and Pearl came to a realization that offensive teams often rely on sacking then revenging killing Mega Aerodactyl with either priority from mons like Scizor or with scarfers like Latias/Hydreigon/whatever else. This led Pearl to suggest Substitute as the 4th move and we ran with it. It went pretty much as theorized in the game itself, forcing Mega Manectric to stomach a Stone Edge to break it and dodging any potential TWaves from Klefki. As for the other moves, Ice Fang obviously provides a meaningful way of threatening the ever-present Dragons and Gliscor, another Pokemon this set can take advantage of as it can avoid Toxic and keep a Sub after U-turn. And of course, Fire Fang is necessary to OHKO Scizor, one of the primary reasons this set was theorized in the first place.
Gliscor @ Groundium Z
Ability: Poison Heal / (Hyper Cutter)
EVs: 88 HP / 216 Atk / 28 SpD / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-345761 Week 4 vs AHD
My initial thought when preparing for AHD was some sort of standard Toxic Orb SD Gliscor but me and Pearl couldn't seem to put anything together that we both liked. Somehow we eventually decided on a team utilizing this much rarer set, as it could also take advantage of his relative inexperience to the rest of the pool. It's pretty ridiculous how quickly this thing can get the ball rolling once it gets a turn or 2 to set up, as shown by the game itself. I'll admit the way I brought it in wasn't ideal in the slightest, since I was expecting either Earthquake or Pursuit (and possibly so I could bluff in chat that I put Toxic Plate by accident), but I figured it was as good a time as any to go for it. Luckily it worked out perfectly and got me a pretty quick win and some more momentum heading into midseason. (honestly couldn't tell you what TDK's EVs do, plz don't ask)
Togekiss (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 200 HP / 20 Def / 80 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- Trick
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-358536 Semis vs Christo
This set was something
TDK (again with the insane EVs) theorized for semis. Scarf Togekiss provided the team with some necessary speed while crippling special walls with Trick and potentially getting off Thunder Waves on unsuspecting Mega Aerodactyl and other fast mons once they see it was scarf. These factors obviously made it an ideal partner alongside Mega Houndoom, as those two groups of mons are some of its most common answers. Mega Houndoom could also deal with steels in the way of it cleaning with its scarf Air Slash late-game. As for the game itself, it functioned mostly as planned, crippling Klefki and limiting its overall effectiveness in the game. Otherwise, not too much to say, just a cool set.
Moltres @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Agility
Moltres @ Choice Specs
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Flamethrower / Hidden Power Ice
- Sleep Talk
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-344263 Week 3 vs Lycans
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-355253 Week 8 vs dodmen
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7uu-362853 FInals vs rob
While Moltres has picked up some popularity lately and is the least out-there of the bunch, it's pretty safe to say it was the defining mon of my SPL season and deserves a mention. Following Rotom-W's departure, me and Pearl wanted to abuse the shit out of special attacking birds like Moltres of course in weeks 3, 8, and in finals and Mega Pidgeot week 5. At first I was skeptical of the fire bird due to its obvious flaws, mainly its rocks weakness, but after testing with it a bunch, we both kinda fell in love with the thing. It's a great offensive check to some big stuff like Scizor, Mega Altaria, Cobalion, and Breloom later on. Initially, we settled on an Agility set with Flyinium Z, a great sweeper against more offensive teams that often lack good flying resists besides Mega Aero, but unfortunately it didn't get the matchup necessary to do much offensively in its week 3 appearance. Pressure stalling rocks was pretty slick but yeah, not a great showing for a set with a lot of potential.
A couple things me and Pearl noticed following Breloom's introduction: sleep moves were everywhere between Breloom itself and the rising Amoonguss, and that Specs Moltres kills everything. Oh, and Specs Moltres can run Sleep Talk and shit all over our annoying, ever-present Spore users. When it hits moves and rocks are kept off at a reasonable rate, this thing is fucking dynamite, as shown by its two appearances. It pretty much carried me to my week 8 victory and it likely would've in finals had I not misplayed with my Mega Altaria. Between offensively checking the aforementioned stuff and punching holes in everything, Specs Moltres was just amazing and I highly recommend it, with the proper support of course.
This SPL was a positive experience overall and I had a lot of fun with the tier. Thanks again to the raiders for picking me up and
Pearl for helping with building every week.
