Project SS ZU Secret Santa

[Jett]

Seasons Greetings pileosand who asked for a team build around Grapploct and Mr. Rime .

Firstly, I had to figure out what a Grapploct was since I didn't know what it was... (This is what happens when you unfortunately get an NFE main as your ZU Secret Santa). Anyways I quickly decided to build around Bulk Up Grapploct, which I wanted to be the late-game cleaner. Initially I was running Substitute in its filler slot but I later replaced it with Sucker Punch since fast setup sweepers were super annoying, and this also allowed me to threaten faster Pokemon in general. I made Mr. Rime specially defensive with Rapid Spin so I wouldn't need to worry about trying to fit hazard control somewhere else on the team.


Next, I wanted to add a Stealth Rock user and decided to go with Marowak. I felt it fit well onto a bulky offense style team since it was a Volt Switch immunity, secondary Rock-type resist and a potent physical attacker.

(Bug)
Silvally-Bug was added next as it was a wallbreaker, which could more reliably deal with Psychic-types for Grapploct, and gave the team a Grass- and Fighting-type resist.

(Bug) (Large)
Gourgeist-Large was the next addition as I very much needed a physical wall at this point since I was very weak to Bouffalant and other physical setup Pokemon.

(Bug) (Large)
Lastly, I decided on Golduck, as it provided the team with some very much needed speed control and gave me a check Fire-types such as Ninetales which were very threatening at this point. Golduck also made a nice little pivot core with Silvally-Bug.

(Bug)
The last change I made was swapping Gourgeist-Large to Dubwool, as Dubwool could also perform the role of a physical wall but since it was also a Normal-type, it meant that Cursola wouldn't be able to freely spam Shadow Ball and break apart my team.

Final paste of the team: https://pokepast.es/208f3f3375df475e Enjoy!!

 

[Mintly]

TAROT

(Click for PokePaste)


I got 5gen for Secret Santa, and he asked for Swords Dance Fraxure + Healing Wish Future Sight Musharna. Now, I'm a memer, but luckily for 5gen, most funny mons I attempted to use ended up in failure, so I was forced to give you a completely normal team. Be grateful because you almost got Lombre.

The Emperor / The Empress
Swords Dance Fraxure is a neat enough mon, but Healing Wish and Future Sight Musharna? What the hell is this? No matter what I did, I just could not get Healing Wish to be useful. It might just be the way that I play it. Fraxure provides the back pocket wincon, as Scale Shot and Swords Dance allow Fraxure to be a menacing DualDance truck. Stomping Tantrum is a hidden gem with the Dragon STAB, as fairies such as Mawile and Dedenne fold after the boosted Stomping Tantrum.

The Hermit
First thing I did was actually start with Mawile, as it resisted Ice, Dark, Bug, and Dragon, which covers most of FraxMush's weaknesses, however, later, I realized that despite my efforts, Mawile proved to be too frail, until the shifts dropped, and it was quickly swapped for Stunfisk-Galar, as its moveset

The Magician
Ninetales was my pick as a support sweeper that pairs with Fraxure's type, gaining Scorching Sands this time around is great because now it can hit other Fire types as well as Rock types like Lycan and Rockvall. Ninetales is also one of the two Pokemon that interacts with Future Sight the best, allowing Future Sight to chip down to a KO percent and Nasty Plot just hardening the blow.

Wheel of Fortune
Now I needed a Dark-type to pair with Musharna, but uh, we don't have very many of those. While Spiritomb is neutral to everything, it does offensively take care of Ghost-types, and gained a strong STAB move this gen in the form of Poltergeist. Will-o and ChestoResto are useful for longevity, and even when that fails, Mush is there to keep it going.

Justice
Lurantis is a cold blooded killer, as it makes a perfect Water resist as well as providing hazard removal for the whole team, while having Synthesis is nice, the real bounty is with Superpower and Leaf Storm. If pulled off correctly, Musharna can Future Sight and switch into Lurantis, who can pull of a Leaf Storm and deal massive damage, and all those stat boosts make Lurantis a beautiful set-up sweeper to finish the team off.

Sorry about the lack of memes, 5gen, and never make me look at FS/HW Mush again. Happy Holidays!​

 

[5gen]

I got Marjane and they wanted a team around Choice Band Walrein and Toxic Protect Dedenne

Import

Walrein @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Liquidation
- Icicle Spear
- Toxic

Dedenne @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Super Fang
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Protect

Off the bat, I thought this core looked fun and interesting, and that building might be a pain considering both of these Pokemon aren't great in this meta. Regardless, building around this core proved to be fun and kind of challenging.

Before I post the final product, I want to describe my thinking process a little. Walrein checks slower Ground- and Grass-types that Dedenne baits was my rough approach to this core. Also, Dedenne does a nice job at wearing things down that annoy CB Walrein such as Mawile, Avalugg, Falinks, etc. I thought the core would work best on a balance build because of those factors and because CB Walrein still needs additional support to really function.

Import

Walrein @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Liquidation
- Icicle Spear
- Toxic

Dedenne @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cheek Pouch
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Super Fang
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Protect

Drifblim @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Def / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Strength Sap
- Defog
- Haze
- Hex

Gabite @ Eviolite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw

Bouffalant @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Body Slam
- Throat Chop

Gourgeist-Small @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poltergeist
- Power Whip
- Trick
- Destiny Bond

Admittedly, I built two teams before this one that I wasn't really happy with. This team felt like it handled meta threats more consistently than the other two, hence posting it. I added Drifblim+Gabite to further support CB Walrein through entry hazard removal, Stealth Rock, and covering more of its weaknesses. Sub SD Bouffalant gives the team a wincon while also giving the team a Poltergeist switch-in. Also, it appreciates CB Walrein breaking down checks like Mawile, Gourgeist-L, Crustle, and so on. Choice Scarf Gourgeist-S rounds out the team and provides speed control.

Drifblim's EVs are to creep max Speed Falinks and maximize physical bulk. Gabite creeps Pawniard. Bouffalant creeps neutral base 45s like Adamant Marowak.

As for how the team plays, you want to generate as many turns as you can for Walrein to break in the early game. It is a nice lead against common stuff in the metagame and can also come in throughout the early to mid-game since Dedenne baits in stuff for it such as Lurantis, Cradily, and Stunfisk. Similarly, Dedenne is a key Pokemon for the team to make progress. Its ability to cripple things with Toxic, pivot around, scout with Protect, and whittle things down with Super Fang is crucial for momentum. Drifblim and Gabite are your defensive pivots so you'll need to keep their health in mind, preserve them for threats like Falinks, Lurantis, Pawniard, and SD Combusken. Sub SD Bouffalant is your main way of breaking alongside Walrein and is also the team's main answer to Lilligant, so you must be wary of that. Choice Scarf Gourgeist-S is simple enough to use, only thing I'd say is sometimes you have to make hard reads with it due to the weaknesses the team has.

While I tried to make a team as best I could around the core, the team has its fair share of weaknesses. For example, Marowak, opposing Bouffalant, Shell Smash Crustle, and Spiritomb are the main Pokemon I found the team struggles with. Special Combusken is another. All in all this team is not super easy to play and often you will have to outplay, and that's part of what it made it fun in testing.

This was the team I initially had before the above one. More of a defensive approach, but outside of losing to SD Combusken I found it to be decent.

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

Sandstorm Balance

click on sprites for pokepaste

Happy holidays Mirbro!!! I hope you enjoy :)
​

The Team:
Mirbro specified the team to be Hippopotus + Stoutland, so the sand duo in the new meta. This was a little tough only because their power level totally took a hit from last time I've built with them, as there's better sweepers and playstyles today than when we first got Stoutland. Regardless, Stoutland is the revenge killer and wallbreaker for the most part, as I opted for its Choice Band set and Hippo to be Eviolite, so it's not likely to be a sweeper. Instead, Sivally-Rock is Swords Dance + Flame Charge, which can be a threat late-game. It's also the team's Fire resist, and while under Sandstorm, Ninetale's Energy Ball is only a 3HKO; it can be a safe switch-in barring Scorching Sands doesn't burn. Past that, the defensive core to supplement physdef Hippo is physdef Sableye, special def Mr. Rime, and offensive Roselia. Sableye is pretty standard, and is phys def to help out Hippo for the most part. Mr Rime has unique EVs so that it outspeeds and 1HKOs offensive Marowak with Ice Beam, and still functions as a good general special wall. Roselia is last in line, and even without defensive investment, it's still a decent check to Liligent, Lurantis, and most specially offensive Water-types.

The Pros:

• Stealth Rock + Spikes helps wear down defensive teams. The two hazards are supported with Whirlwind, a spinblocker, and Silvally-Rock to punish Defog users and Ice-type Rapid Spin users. The team's Mr. Rime uses Rapid Spin itself so there's no need for Defog ruining Roselia's Spike attempts.
• The defensive core all has great recovery–Rest on Natural Cure Roselia is opted over Synthesis so that it's not bad syngery with sandstorm–and makes up for the limited passive recovery.
• Stoutland and Prankster Encore Sableye makes it very unlikely for sweepers to clean so long as these two are still around.
• Defensive teams have a hard time with all the passive forms of damage and Knock Off, with Roselia also being a star player spreading Sludge Bomb Poisons and absorbing status attempts + Toxic Spikes.

The Cons:

• Ground-types, as there's no Ground resist nor immunity on the team. There's offensive pressure for them, especially Ground-type walls, but it's more punishing against offensive ones. Specifically, Marowak can be tough with bad positioning, and Silvally-Rock especially has a hard time targeting it while it may snag a KO.
• Opposing Knock Off is concerning with two Eviolite users, a Psychic- and Ice-type with Heavy-Duty Boots, and a wallbreaker desperately in need of Choice Band for good damage output. Silvally-Rock is a good switch-in against some users, but it's lack of recovery and reliance as a cleaner / Fire resist can make Knock Off spam match ups tough.
• Wallbreaking can be tough as it's largely reliant on the long term effects of entry hazards and passive damage. Sableye really needs to spread Knock Off on teams with a lot of Heavy-Duty Boots users, and Stoutland is usually just too weak to break most walls as is and won't come into play until very later in some matches.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1247438979
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1247376608
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1247335819
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1247229628

I tested this out a ton and I think it's more than usable :) It gets the Ho3n stamp of approval, so once again I hope you enjoy and happy holidays

 

[Procrastinasian]

Hey all, my foray back into ZU after a few months' break involves delivering a cute team to my ZUPL manager, a fruitshop owner, who asked for a SS Crustle team! After the grueling task of figuring out the state of ZU after my extended leave, (spoiler: every team in low/med elo is the same thing, I hate you galardash), I began my teambuilding marathon, which cumulated in this bulky balance team:

Merry Christmas Fruits!

Crustle @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 248 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Knock Off

Vespiquen (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Defog
- Roost
- Aromatherapy
- U-turn

Whiscash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Hydro Pump
- Future Sight
- Earth Power

Gourgeist-Large
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
- Synthesis
- Power Whip
- Shadow Sneak
- Poltergeist

Sableye @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Encore

Pyukumuku @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Rest
- Toxic
- Taunt

As you all may well know, I don't bring hazard removal for my teams, but for the sake of not getting fruits flamed by the entire community, I decided to bring defog on Vespiquen for his sake. Beyond that, Vespiquen provides status removal for the whole team, and 252+ Atk is one of my personal favorite EV spreads since Bug typing chips hard against most things that this team struggles to eliminate very easily, allowing you to pressure opponents on the switch that much more easily.

My thought process for Specs Whiscash was to put immense pressure on the opponent after a U-turn, as well as provide a hard check to most relevant electric types in the tier, where there are currently aplenty. Whiscash is also a great opening option on this team, as it usually has a move that beats any opposing lead, and Future Sight allows for late game play if they choose a lead that is forced to switch out immediately.

Gourgeist-Large provides another threat that doesn't completely rely on a shell smasher to come in and do consistent physical damage with, as well as provides pressure on common ghost types and galardash, which currently are everywhere. No item prevents Gourgeist-Small from nuking your entire team minus Sableye, and the moveset is pretty standard. I did try iron ball gyro ball to easily nuke galardash, but Gourgeist-L just would rather have less situational items and moves in general.

Sableye is part one of the anti-setup duo (physical wall) on our team, since literally everybody wants to run some form of e-seed calm mind or no retreat swords dance nowadays. Will-O-Wisp puts tons of pressure on all physical attackers, but primarily Falinks, Recover and Knock Off is standard, and Encore annihilates setup sweepers thanks to Prankster.

Finally, we have my favorite pokemon to use and least favorite to play against: Pyukumuku. His goal is self explanatory, but Taunt is in because Galardash and stored power users suck. Feel free to switch with Block though, which might be more optimal, or meme with Memento/Counter/Mirror Coat. P. S. Spdef tanks freeze-dry from any non-specs user, hah

 

[Tuthur]

Merry Christmas Temporal Totodile,

(click on the sprites for pokepaste)
You requested a team arround Lickilicky, but not any Lickilicky u_u

set

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 172 HP / 180 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Block
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Body Slam

I have to say this set is completely garbage and during the numerous games I have played it never did anything great and was mostly a sack fodder because it can't hit Ghost-types, doesn't trap anything relevant bar Haze-less Mareanie and Stunfisk and doesn't counter anything. That being said, I still tried to make this mon work without changing the set at all building several teams where it is featured.

Mareanie is imo the best partner possible for this Licki, since it can setup Toxic Spikes letting Lickilicky not being completely dead weight versus Ghost-types while providing a Toxic Spikes absorber (also required for this Licki set) and a Fighting resist for Combusken and Falinks.

I wanted a specially bulky Pokémon that was able to check the many special attackers that threaten Mareanie (remember that this Licki brings 0 defensive utility), I realized that Munchlax walls Ninetales, Glaceon, Lilligant and most special attackers thus I added it.

Spiritomb fit well as a spinblocker, secondary fighting resist for zen headbutt Falinks, and abuse Toxic Spikes with Hex. The set is a bit farfetch'd, but it works and brings surprise factor that can be handy sometimes (unlike that Licki set whose surprise effect doesn't make up for its flaws).

I needed Defog, something for Lurantis and a bit of Speed control, Silvally-Bug was naturally added to the team. Thanks to Flamethrower it can lure some Lickilicky answers such as Avalugg, Mawile and Gourgeist.

Finally I needed SR and Speed control thus I added Scarf Lycan which is the best at it (rip Stonjourner). It's also a Normal resist that can threaten Bouffalant unlike Spiritomb, even if Bouffalant won't come on this Spiritomb before scouting for WoW.

I did my best for this team, but I don't think it's possible to make a good team with the set I was given, Lickilicky is literally a dead weight ;________;
I'm sorry Toto I have failed in my mission.

pre-shift team

import

Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 172 HP / 180 Atk / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Block
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Body Slam

Mareanie @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze

Calyrex @ Leftovers
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Encore
- Leech Seed
- Psychic

Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Discharge
- Toxic

Golduck @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Flip Turn
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Mr. Rime @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Screen Cleaner
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Rapid Spin
- Freeze-Dry
- Focus Blast

I made this team pre-shift since we didn't know they were happening. I am sharing it because it wasn't that bad, even if Lickilicky suffered from the same problem.

 

[Eris]

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone, today I am sharing a team built for giove97, hope you like it!
I had the option of building around + or + , originally wanted to build you two teams for each core but I ran out of time sorry.



Starting with Musharna and Pawniard core was quite fun since I have not had the chance to try building around Musharna before and this gave me a great opportunity to do so. I decided to not go with the set up set as I felt like it would render the team too passive against more offensive archetypes which wouldn't be ideal, and I preferred for Pawniard to be kept as a wincon, so I decided to rely on it for better offensive momentum through Future Sight and support in Healing Wish. Pawniard is the desired wincon in probably 90% of situations and something that must be conserved or used carefully, +2 Sucker Punch is a big threat in this tier but you do need constant chipping for it to work.

Gabite is our entry hazard setter and our physical wall or what I like to refer to it as the Lycanroc switch in. Roar is super useful in phasing out most set up sweepers that threaten us like Dubwool and Crustle. Bouffalant is a bit of our main way of pressuring special mons out of the field or just inflicting good offensive pressure. I use taunt on it for the ghost switch-ins which are a bit annoying for this team. Lurantis is fantastic at what it does and gives us pretty much an auto win against stall or really bulky teams, originally only had it because it was super cute but kept it for its wallbreaking and suprising sweeping abilities on top of being our hazard removal. Manectric balances the team out with speed control and revenge killing abilities incase Pawniard can't finish the game. I have had a lot of fun on ladder and roomtours with this team and I like to think that it works well though it has a few mu problems.

Overall I think this team has a good match up against mostly everything and is pretty flexible in how you want to play it. I think biggest weakness this team has is just the incapacity to really wall special set up sweepers but then again I think that's also a big part of a ZU problem which hopefully will change next month. I would say that the biggest threat this team has struggles against are and where the former 3 do have an ease in wallbreaking. Sableye can just threaten our momentum a bunch and your only real way out of it is Lurantis.

some replays;
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246725490-czuc19x123nwaecrzxzwn86v10kpb06pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1247288318
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246585407-2ws1di931vutoig6ozo99rz0ckfgrjnpw

thank you for having me in on this project had a lot of fun building and playing the past couple of weeks!

 

[Angboy180]

Merry early Christmas everyone! I was risin_glory's Secret Santa! They wanted a team with Ninetales + Nasty Plot Gourgeist-Small with a Rapid Spinner! This was pretty interesting to build around especially since I'm not the greatest of teambuilders.


https://pokepast.es/47bab6d209ad1292

Ninetales provides some crucial Fire immunity to the team, which let's Gourgeist and Rime to do their thing later in the game. Ninetales also has some offensive capabilities, hitting what would otherwise KO Gourgeist and/or Rime.


I ultimately went with three attacks + Nasty Plot to maximize Gourgeist's coverage. I felt like it needed Life Orb and a Modest nature in order to make the most use out of Gourgeist's less than impressive Special Attack.

I usually use Sableye in order to Wisp the opponent to get some chip damage to make it easier for it's teammates to KO a Pokemon. Spiritomb walls this set pretty well, but Spiritomb doesn't appreciate getting hit by Knock Off. Speaking of Knock Off, this is a crucial move that can cripple many threats.

Bouffalant is a decent Banded attacker that can destroy neutral targets with Reckless-boosted Banded Head Charges. Sableye can absolutely cripple this set with Will-O-Wisp, but Sableye runs the risk of a Flash Flare Ninetales switching in on the Wisp.

This is the Rapid Spinner of the team. Mr. Rime can hit some of the Ghost types in the tier with Shadow Ball. There's not much else to say about it this Pokemon other than helping chip the opponent down when the hazards setter goes down.

Falinks provides STAB Close Combat that hits Pokemon that are otherwise neutral to Ninetales' and and Gourgeist's STABs. Falinks can hit Rock, Steel, and Ice types if one or both of the previously mentioned mons faints. Alternatively, Falinks can set up with No Retreat to sweep late-game.

Hopefully you enjoy using this terrible yet fun to use team and have a save Christmas! I'll provide some replays below.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246033176-o2fm80tmy80orolftmfu7xjw6z310hgpw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246029500

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246046513-r31s6rjvnsix2m08cdbeyd4dri7e3pfpw

 

[Antares]

Merry Christmas OranBerryBlissey10 ! Here is ur Christmas Present !

I wonder what it is... ​

Wailord gang

The past is on the box
The idea of the team is being able to prevent wailord to take cheap damage and to manage to keep the sticky web all along
You wanted a Wailord for christmas, there it is ! I went for offensive Wailord with a Choice Specs since only villains are playing Wailord Stall
The only way Wailord can do things is with a choice scarf or with a web and I am the #1 web enjoyer, so I went for a web. Charjabug can also bring Wailord safely with a slow volt switch.
Gourgeist can wallbreak special wall for Wailord and spinblock (not the best spinblocker with M. rime around tho).
Fire Blast is played so you don't have to switch out against Avalugg and Explosion is played to prevent some mon from using defog when he cant smash them. Explosion or Fire Blast cant be switched for Shadow Sneak if needed.
Pawniard is the stealth rock setter of the team. With Defiant he can discourage defogger to use his presence to defog on him. His Steel-Dark Typing us useful to come on priority move which can weaken Wailord (Shadow Sneak, Fake out, Sucker Punch...).
hattrem is a good teammate as he avoid him to be weaken with entry hazard and provide him support with healing wish. Hattrem cant unfortunately pressure defog user, but he is fast enough to outspeed vally with the sticky web and to sacrifice himself before they can try to remove the web.
Ninetales is a set up sweeper who can clean a team once special wall have been weakened by Wailord, can take down annoying grass mons, have a nice fire immunity. Scorching Sand can be played to deal with others ninetales

And I have to thanks Apagogie who took a look at the team before I posted this.

 

[OranBerryBlissey10]

Merry Christmas yovan33321! You wanted a rain team with Luxray so here you go!



https://pokepast.es/b7f12d37b592859c

Most of my time was spent trying to figure out how Luxray would fit on rain. Originally I was going for a bulky Intimidate pivot with Rain Dance, but it seemed to be outclassed in this role, so I settled for an offensive variant.


I started with the standard rain setters, one providing screens and guaranteed rain while the other provides rocks and pivoting.


Adding two sweepers that complement each other well seemed like safe bet. Bulldoze on Beartic is for Mareanie and Lampent, as well as being able to hit other fires without dropping your stats.


I added Armaldo with Luxray's role already in mind, purposely doubling up on physical sweepers and mons that don't like bulky waters. I had Rapid Spin on it at first but changed to Liquidation for bulky grounds (especially Galarfisk). This shouldn't be a big problem as the rock-weak mons have boots anyway and your opponent likely won't be able to set up a lot of hazards.


Can't have Luxray rain without Luxray, and luckily I found a number of ways to make it useful to the rest of the team. First of all, it's way to deal with bulky waters in general, and especially loves Mareanie as it can catch a scald burn or provide tspikes counterplay. It's also a countermeasure to stall in general due to its heavy reliance on Toxic. Last but not least, I made the team relatively weak to Sableye to bait out wisps for Luxray. Sableye can easily stop a sweep by Beartic or Armaldo by coming in after a kill, causing a huge momentum drain. Non-Florb Luxray means it can still carry an item while being statused and Life Orb Play Rough always ohko's Sableye. Originally I had Silk Scarf Quick Attack (as Facade is its strongest neutral move) but Sableye could just recover stall the wild charges while the burn and recoil end up taking Luxray out.

I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to make any changes you think are for the best :)

 

[RawMelon]

Give Luxray Flame Orb>Life Orb OranBerryBlissey10

 

[Mirbro]

Ho Ho Ho!! Merry/Happy Christmas to everybody and specially to Spook who wanted a team involving both Terrain + Weather. I am going to be honest, I had a hard time doing it... I think that both strategies are really good but mixing them is not an easy job. Firstly, I thought I could put electric terrain + rain. I chose Musharna because CM + Stored Power is highly destructive and it has enough bulk to resist some moves. However, there is no synergy between Morning Sun and Rain and that's why I chose Sun. I also added scarf-Manectric (czim and Ho3nConfirm3d suggestion) as speed control and to claim a kill with Overheat under a splendid and shiny Sun. Grookey was the Grassy Terrain setter and with Solar Blade under the Sun it can deal a ton of damage. Knock Off for utility and Grassy Glide for priority (its speed is not really good). U-turn let me some times to keep momentum. Ivysaur is quite awesome, really. It has decent bulk and Growth with Weather Ball Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb are an awesome combination. It would be the best Pokémon of the team if it was not for Slowspot 1 which is incredibly good. Regen + high physical defense + Teleport is really good. Moreover, it helps a lot the team as it is the second sun setter (wiggly is the first one with Stealth Rock and Teleport too).

Click sprites for the importable

And a happy new year!

/SPOILER]

 

[275p]

Alright, it's my turn! SpookMÆN requested a team with the core of Pinsir x Manetric! Building around that core was pretty hard for me, which was strange given the core's greatness. Manetrics deals with physical Walls like Mareanie, Gourgeist and Avalugg, while Pinsir himself deals with mons who Manetric has trouble breaking like Lickilicky, Whiscash and Seaking. It wasn't easy, but here is the team:

https://pokepast.es/c2c62911a6c9f296

Now let's go over every role shall we?

Explanation of the team

Manetric and Pinsir form a pretty decent offensive core as I stated earlier. I used Specs as the item for Manetric, in order to increase it's offensive power of it's Volt Switch in order to keep up momentum against the opponent and to pressure them slowly. Both Tbolt and Volt Switch are self-explanatory, Flamethrower is against Grass types like Gourgeist and Lilligant and Switcheroo is on the last spot just to potentially lock a wall into a move.

Now with Pinsir, things were a bit different. I at first opted for a Choice Band/Choice Scarf set in order to potentially sweep the team with Moxie, but during testing I realized that this was not as efficient as I had hoped so I turned this set into a SD one. In conjunction with Mold Breaker and Sword Dance, Pinsir is able to tear out potentially an entire team, with it being one of the few non grass/electric set up sweepers to actually threaten Pyukumuku. Swords Dance is used to boost the attack, X-Scissor is for STAB while Earthquake and Knock Off are for coverage. Now one of those coverage moves can also be replaced with Stone Edge, if you're that scared of Flying types like Vespiqueen, but otherwise it should suffice. For the item, I used a Lum Berry, simply to give Pinsir some sort of one time protection against status, given Sableeye is in the tier with its Will-O-Wisp.

Now onto our main spinner Mr. Rime. It is one of our best spinners in the tier, as it is able to threaten common tspike users like Vespiqueen, Mareanie and Roselia. Rapid Spin is there to remove hazards, Freeze Dry is for STAB and to hurt water pokemon, Slack Off serves for recovery and Focus Blast is for coverage. With it, it may also protect the team from being worn down by hazards. I gave this mon more of an offensive spread, but you can change it into a more bulkier one if you'd like.

Next is our revenge killer in the form of Raboot. Thanks to Libero, it gets STAB on every move and being able to outspeed Lilligant is pretty cool as well. Flare Blitz is used as the main STAB, while High Jump Kick is just used for coverage, U-Turn is there to pivot out and Sucker Punch is there to potentially kill faster threats, if they have set up like Sivally with SD. Choice Scarf is used as the item in question, so Raboot can outspeed everything and revenge kill threats that may sweep the team.

Now time for our Stealth Rock setter and I belive Corsola is the best choice in mind. With investment in it's physical defense, this mon can tank a lot, while spreading passive damage with Toxic and potentially burning a foe with Scald in order to weaken the opposing team. Recover is used to keep itself healthy, while Regenerator can heal you if you switch to another mon. Rocky helmet is used in order to give physical wallbreakers some Chip Damage.

Now onto our last teammate, Roselia! With an eviolite and SPDEF investment, it can tank quite a lot while also using spikes and t-spikes to weaken the opposing team and to give Pinsir and Manetric an easier time for wallbreaking, while Giga Drain serves as a STAB move and to gain back some health and Sludge Bomb is used against opposing grass types like Lilligant. Now of course you could replace Sludge Bomb with Synthesis, but I'm afraid that may give you problems against Bouffalant.

Well that's it basically! Hope you enjoy the team and have a good time. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

 

[missangelic]

A very happy ZU Secret Santa to 85percent ! I hope you enjoy this Beheeyem team I tried to cook up!
https://pokepast.es/a26407c1c40c4ee2

Beyond the Paste

Beheeyem @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Teleport

Lurantis @ Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Superpower
- Synthesis
- Defog

Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Fire Punch

Zweilous @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Dragon Tail
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Falinks @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Close Combat
- Throat Chop
- Rock Slide

Manectric @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Switcheroo
- Volt Switch

I wasn't given any direction other than to build for Beheeyem, so I came up with a Specs Beheeyem team. Each member of the team is pretty bulky but has the power to still tear apart defensive teams.

Lurantis and Marowak are the team's hazard core, though they tend to support each other more than they support Beheeyem necessarily. However, Beheeyem really enjoys having Marowak to take care of the Steels of the tier, while Lurantis is a Defogger that doesn't fear Pawniard.

Zweilous and Falinks are my big emergency threats to the biggest weaknesses of the team. Zweilous is a great blanket check to many top threats, including Ninetales, Gourgeist, and especially Sableye. Falinks is extra insurance versus Pinsir while giving the team more breathing room against offense. I've chosen to go the all out attacker route and include Rock Side for the Bugs that might otherwise clap their pincers together in glee at seeing a Fighter come in. Overall, I think these two are the best supports for Beheeyem, and it's great to see Zweilous have not just a niche but form a great core with Beheeyem.

Finally, my Specs Manectric addiction rears its ugly head once more. I think Mane is one of the best fast scarfers in the tier, and having Volt Switch can open up some free opportunities for Beheeyem to break a special wall that came in. Of course, having an Electric type that doesn't give free switches to Stunfisk-Galar is also nice.
Hope you enjoy, and happy holidays :)

 

[Aaronboyer]

Hey, everyone! So this year I got to build for CashKP which is awesome! What isn't so awesome is what I got as my request: Armaldo on Rain. Armaldo on Rain? Really? I'll admit I was really let down both building and playing. Rain is, in and of itself, a fairly standard playstyle, but in the post-Drednaw metagame it once again became a really matchup heavy archetype. New drops imo actually hurt rain more than it helped with water-immune Cradily and Politoed rejoining ZU, and though Armaldo and rain as a whole certainly have avenues around them, it was rather difficult putting my own unique spin on a rain team. But at any rate, here it is! Rain featuring Armaldo.


I went through a bajillion rain setters from Meowstic to Wigglytuff to Persian to Drizzile and more, and I was pretty disappointed with each one. But finally I settled on Lickilicky for a number of reasons. Explosion Lickilicky is criminally underrated and helps bring in Armaldo or Seaking for free, and yet its naturally tanky enough to ensure Rain goes up whilst being unable to become Taunted. Knock Off is also quite annoying, as surprisingly is Disable which has caught an opponent or two off-guard. There are so many sets Lickilicky can pull off, its definitely unexplored, and getting to use it on here I thought was pretty unique, at least to me.


And here's the requested Pokemon. If I am completely honest, I am actually a bit embarrassed by Armaldo's lack of firepower. Base 125 Attack with an Adamant nature seems like everything yet it can't always pick up crucial KOs without a prior Swords Dance boost, which is extremely difficult to get in when its either KO the opponent or get KO'd yourself. It can get the job done but I wish it was just a little stronger or didn't get outsped by literally every Choice Scarf user ever.


Seaking, however, I was surprisingly shocked by how well it performed under the rain. It's hella fast and with its Choice Band puts immense pressure on teams that lack a water immunity. Flip Turn can force switches and allow Seaking to bring in a teammate for free, sometimes VoltTurning with Raichu in games where I dropped NP for Volt Switch. I wish it had a bit of a better move for Lapras/Politoed and that it would be easier and more free-er to lock yourself into its coverage moves but for a Swift Swim user people have neglected since the days of SwSh ZU old, this thing was an absolute monster.

If we were to get Jolteon next month I would definitely replace Raichu with Jolteon, but for now Raichu is pretty cool. Manectric is also cool but its secondary coverage in Flamethrower/Overheat is weakened in the rain, plus Raichu gets Surf so eh its fine. Nasty Plot lets Raichu potentially act as a win-con, but as hinted at earlier you can drop it for Volt Switch and try to VoltTurn some with Seaking while rain is up and Seaking is Swift Swim-boosted.


Lilligant is Lilligant. If it's played well and is a little lucky with Sleep Powder, it can be absolutely busted. Lilligant also appreciates Rain keeping Ninetales from being able to reliably check it. Lilligant by itself being just a moderately-fast sleep-inducer is great for Seaking and especially Armaldo potentially getting the chance to SD up.


Lastly, Galarian Mr. Mime rounds out the team as a whole, providing hazard control and a bit more counterplay to Water immunities like Politoed, Lapras, and Cradily, and Grass-types like Leafeon, Gourgeist-Small, and opposing Lilligant.


Overall, the mostly half-rain team seems pretty decent, and I'm proud I got to show off a couple cool Pokemon using a currently underperforming archetype. Merry Christmas Cash, and can't wait for what lies in store for ZU in 2021!
Team Importable

 

[lepton]

hello! i built for uhuhuhu7 and he requested sash memento spikes delibrid.


(click on mons for paste)

the obvious direction to go with that set is hyper offense, which i struggled with a lot at first so thank you to czim for helping me a ton with the team. the set uhu gave me acts as a lead a lot of the time, setting up spikes and keeping hazards off with spin. memento is great to get a free switch into one of the breakers on the team. blocks spin and punishes defog to keep hazards up. is speed control and has 4th move rocks as they didnt really fit anywhere else. and are great breakers and have useful resistances. Overall, this plays like fairly standard offense team but with a delibird on it.
(sorry if this explanation sucks im not very good at it lol)

 

[SpookMÆN]

Merry christmas JonAmon 25, who requested a team built around these tanky mons. ( + ) I did not recieve any instructions beyond this core's members, but I can already see the defensive synergy the two share so I went with a more balance team archetype to make the most out of the roles the pairing provided.

MUD + LICKI TEAM


https://pokepast.es/23e238ce45af973d

+ Starting off with the chosen two, mudbray acts as both a stealth rocker and a physical blanket check, eating hits for licki while it in return can keep it healthy with wish, as mudbray relies solely on rest for recovery, or in that case heal bell to awaken mudbray instantly if need be and even serves as a sponge for incoming special attacks. Mudbray's given a unique trick with roar to phaze out mons that take advantage of its passive nature, along with the investment to outspeed opposing lickis clicking wish and force them out.

Sableye lifts some burden mudbray carries in checking physical threats thanks to priority will o wisp, and overall discourages the opponents setting up with encore, most notably walling dubwool thanks to its ghost type. Foul play was needed to deal with set up handle mons that were immune to the previously moves. (ex and )

Hehe Shift Gear go brrrrrrrrrrr. Chosen as the main win con with the added benefit of Restalk not caring about sleep and burns and coveted defensive qualities its typing brings. Speed EVs are for outspeeding Gapidash after a shift gear with the rest ensuring it can check special wall breakers.

Bro if your team lacks tspikes, can you really say it's balance? Mareanie exists for being yet another defenive mon that covers up the lack of fire resists. Tspikes just kinda synergizes really well with the rest of the cast, especially sableye who spinblocks and encore defogs.

Here comes the best hazard removing mon in the tier (followed by mr rime) and helps with defoging, providing a ground immunity and a slow u turn. The speed EVs hit a specific bench mark that outspeed hattrem, but still go last agaisnt base 50 mons (notably lickilicky, encore that fat bastard when it clicks wish). Decent glue mon.

Yeah I gave up writing detailed notes halfway through, so in summary it's a balance team centered around a horse and whatever in god's earth lickilicky is, featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry Series tspikes and a win con. Merry Xmas everyone :)

Also 275p, I really enjoy the team you built, but one change I would make is to give enough speed EVs for roselia to outspeed Palpitoad. Other than that the squad looks great, thanks again.


Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 220 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
​

 

[CashKP]

Okay Merry Christmas everyone. No fancy formatting from me on mobile so sorry. I had Aaronboyer who wanted an SD Explosion Licki team. So this is what came up with

https://pokepast.es/f84cff0f2fb0a9f5

I used some inspiration from an old PU team I had and have the team made around trying to break stuff for Buffalo. SD Licki lures in fighting or steel types and kills or weakens them. This allows Buffalo to come in later and try to sub up and win.

Although I love tspikes, no tspikes on this because we would rather burn/para everything if possible to get in a better position for late game. Rapidash is also there for some speed/breaking/healing wish support.

The team is very slow but should still function (I hope :))

Thank you to toto for looking the team over with me and answering the few meta questions I had. Also thanks for setting this up!

 

[Procrastinasian]

Better than Temporal Totodile's Licki for sure

 

[giove97]

Happy Christmas to Rexthenoname! you asked a team with Maractus
https://pokepast.es/4fc9694269acc3db
I chose to make a sun team with the pokemon you chose Meowstic and Onix are the two sun setters, onix also has rocks and explosion to let its teammates sweep Other than Maractus I decided to put Combusken and Leafeon as physical attackers and Ivysaur as special attacker
Hopefully you enjoy using this team I'll provide some replays below.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1246015768-pjssam4i554eyzquc1xti578s9biyskpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1245621771-frt5mjleelqkxwi92v5bitbt3i9qlctpw
s/o to sificon, Temporal Totodile and to Albinson for helping me both test it and how to improve the team

 

[a fruitshop owner]

Merry Christmas Tuthur I had the assignment of creating offensive spikes Roselia and Spiritomb. I figured I wanted a stealth rock user as well that could pressure common defog so I picked Corsola for this assignment it also provides a strong backbone to the team staying alive late into battles with regenerator if needed. To check my own hazards I selected Mr. Rime as hazard control and a good special attacker that provides coverage. Next, I wanted a physical attacker that would help clear for Spirtomb late game, I selected 4 attacks Machoke. I like 4 attacks Machoke more than rest talk for this team because I have a defensive mon and wanted more offensive orientated. Guts Machoke can also be used as a status absorber and its speed can catch the opponent off guard. The last pokemon I selected I usually don't like speed control but apparently it is helpful for teams so I added choice scarf Manectric. Manectric can also trick its scarf if required but also very easy to bring Machoke in against specially defensive pokemon. Hope you like the team I had some fun on ladder with it, kinda got wiped by H03n a few times but I think it is a solid build nonetheless.

https://pokepast.es/8d094c3212b76a6c

 

[JonAmon 25]

Merry Christmas 275p! You asked for CB Bouffalant + Specs Rime, which ended up being an incredibly fun core.
https://pokepast.es/6030d96caa60e6dd

Choiced Bouff and Rime are both ridiculous breakers that can tear through walls and resists with ease (seriously, these two can 2HKO a lot more than you’d expect with just their stabs). I chose Sap Sipper Bouff because while Reckless would make Head Charge do even more nuclear damage, its ability to wall Lilligant and offensive Gourgeist adds a lot more utility to it more than makes up for the lost damage. Boltund provides some speed control that can RK otherwise troublesome mons like Ninetales and Silvally formes. This Sableye is here to specifically deal with Falinks and to annoy walls as much as possible to allow Rime and Bouff to get in safely. Avalugg is the hazard control that blanket checks a majority of physical attackers on its own and threaten them back with powerful Body Presses and Avalanches. Finally, I chose a specially defensive Stunfisk as a Rocker as it’s able to not get OHKO’d by +2 Ninetales Energy Ball and is able to wall Specs Manetric.

This is easily one of my favorite teams I’ve ever made and I hope y’all like it too!

 

[Tack]

JyGein asked for calyrex+machoke trick room

merry christmas

https://pokepast.es/86dae5601ec7bd48

 

[czim]

I think all teams have been posted now!
If you didnt get a team pm me and we can look it up if I made a mistake.
Happy holidays to everyone and I hope you all enjoy your teams!
See you next year!