Standard Balance

[(makeup)]

Hi guys, Charmander here with a LC RMT. I made this team pretty recently and it seems to be doing pretty well. The idea of the team is to Get hazards down and apply insane pressure with an offensive core of Drilbur, Fletching, and Pawniard, while having solid tanks to take hits from popular attackers. Another important part of the team is using a defensive core that will not give up momentum easily, and I achieved that by using moves like Knock Off, Encore, and Gunk Shot to deter my opponent from setting up.

I realize that the team is not perfect, and I would love to hear input from everyone! In fact, that is the main I posted this thread.

Tirtouga @ Eviolite
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 5
EVs: 244 HP / 172 Def / 76 SDef
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Rock Slide

Tirtouga serves a few roles; it sets up Stealth Rock, which really helps my late-game cleaners, and it can tank physically hits, especially from Fletchling. Tirtouga also gets Knock Off, which is super important, since it differentiates Tirtouga from other Rock-types that are free switch-ins for Mienfoo or Scraggy
to set up or apply offensive pressure. It is also important to note that I am running Trubbish, which is an extremely safe Mienfoo switch in, making Tirtouga's Knock Off safe for me no matter what switches in basically. Aqua Jet is pretty cool for extra priority.

Trubbish @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sticky Hold
Level: 5
EVs: 196 HP / 180 Def / 100 SDef
Impish Nature
- Recycle
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch

Trubbish really holds my defensive core together; Berry Juice is a really cool form of recovery because it can never be knocked of thanks to Sticky Hold and it can activate past Taunt, making Trubbish a really good Mienfoo switchin. Spikes are also extremely useful, as they net Drilbur, Pawniard, and Fletchling many KOs they would not normally reach. Gunk Shot has decent power even with investment and has a chance to poison, giving Trubbish decent damage output. Drain punch is also surprisingly useful, as it allows Trubbish to beat non-boosting Fletching one on one (by allowing it to do damage while getting out of Acrobatics 2HKO range, giving me a chance to Recycle Berry Juice and repeat) and also makes Trubbish a decent Pawniard switch.

Drilbur @ Life Orb
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 212 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
- Rapid Spin

This is probably the only non-standard set on my team, but it is pretty important. With Mold Breaker and 17 Speed, Drilbur has the tools to OHKO Dwebble at the start of the game (75% of the time), which can give me a tremendous lead. It also hits extremely hard with Life Orb Earthquake, and is almost impossible to switch into, as many teams run Misdreavus as their only Ground-type switchin, which obviously is not an option with Mold Breaker in play. Substitute is key to this set working offensively, as it allows Drilbur to present a threat against switches without any level of prediction. Drilbur behind a Sub is extremely scarely; Earthquake and Rock Slide hits everything in the metagame neutrally, and a free Rapid Spin is very strong early game once Drilbur eliminates the opposing hazard setter. Also, Drilbur is immune to Electric-type moves, which makes Volt Switch very manageable!

Fletchling
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 5
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Atk / 12 Def / 100 Spd
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
- Overheat
- Tailwind

Fletching is super useful on basically every team, and my team needed a Ground immunity as well as a Pokemon to hit Fighting-types hard, so Fletching seemed obvious. I choose to run no item instead of Berry Juice so I can put on the hurt with Acrobatics immediately, which is key when revenge killing Mienfoo or Scraggy, who would otherwise just survive a weak Acrobatics and OHKO Fletching. Overheat hits Pawniard, and Fletching actually beats most Pawniard since it has no item, so Overheat is intuitive. U-turn isn't actually as useful as you might think since Fletchling is pretty slow for an attacker, but it can be useful on predicted switches. Tailwind is strictly filler, but it seemed like a good way to mitigate Sticky Web in an emergency or just provide an extra speed boost.

Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Def / 60 SAtk / 196 SDef
Bold Nature
- Encore
- Dazzling Gleam
- Memento
- Stun Spore

Cottonee is a really anti-meta defensive pivot with great typing. This set is probably(?) standard but I am not sure since I just copied it from The Unlucky One. Encore is another option to beat setup sweepers that Fletchling can't touch such as Omanyte. Stun Spore can cripple fast Pokemon or just be a really safe move to use on a predicted switch, since nothing really wants to be paralyzed. Dazzling Gleam is a great STAB coverage move that hits Mienfoo and especially Scraggy, who would otherwise always take out one of my Pokemon before Fletchling revenge KOed it. Cottonee is actually pretty bulky, but Memento has been useful anyway, as it forces switches, which can make Drilbur super threatening. It can also probably act as a YOLO U-turn in situations where you want a counter to whatever your opponent switched in.

Pawniard @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Spd / 236 Atk / 76 HP
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Iron Head
- Brick Break

Pawniard is the most threatening attacker on my team and a great revenge killer. Using Knock Off as an attacking move is really cool since almost no Pokemon can switch in without permanent damage. Choice Scarf Pursuit is a great way to end Misdreavus and Abra after they have been weakened. Iron head is another great STAB move to hit Fighting-types. I choose Brick Break instead of Sucker Punch in the last slot since hitting other Pawniard is more important than priority when you are running Fletchling. Defiant is a cool ability, since Pawniard can get rogue boosts against Shadow Ball defense drops, Intimidate, or even Sticky Web! Who knows, Pawniard under Tailwind and Sticky Web might be a huge threat. Overall, Pawniard is an extremely consistent weakener early-game and cleaner late-game.

There's my team! Please comment advice or rates if you have any. Any input is appreciated. Thanks =)

oh also here's a replay of my team wrecking some random ladder noob http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/lc-125357814

 

[Rowan]

Hey Charmander, glad to see you taking an interest in LC again :)

Your team is really solid, with a core of Tirtouga, Trubbish and Cottonee, you are able to counter almost every threat in the LC metagame. Paired with a revenge killer with useful typing in the form of Scarf Pawniard you're not even that susceptible to common hyper offensive cores such as birdspam, despite lack of reliable recover on 2/3 of your mons.

However there is 1 giant issue with your team and that is Ponyta, particularly the Special Sunny Day set.

76 SpA Ponyta Solar Beam vs. 244 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Solid Rock Tirtouga: 21-27 (84 - 108%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (75% with Rocks, and take into account that Tirt doesn't have recovery at all.)
(21, 21, 21, 21, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 27)
0 Atk Tirtouga Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 236 Def Eviolite Ponyta in Sun: 2-6 (9.5 - 28.5%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO
(2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6) (weird af rolls here for some reason)

Also Pony can wreck Fletch+Pawniard with Flame Body and it can always survive a hit from them and do damage back: basically your best option is using encore with Cottonee or using Stun Spore before sacking Cottonee so you can revenge with drilbur. Basically you can't really do a lot, especially since the only thing that can outspeed gets burned and fails to 2hko with knock off.

I have an idea for a solution here:
The best idea in my mind is to change Trubbish -> Eviolite Ponyta of your own. A set of Flare Blitz, Toxic, Morning Sun, Wisp/Wild Charge/Sunny Day. Toxic will always wear down opposing Ponyta because you don't take anything from its moves. Ponyta also doesn't care too much about its eviolite so can make a nice knock off switch in thanks to the threat of flame body. You still have a solid counters to fighting types with pony+cottonee+fletchling so i don't see trubbish as being the most necessary mon on your team. With a spread of 236 Def/76Atk/196 Spe you're never 2hkoed by Pawniard unless rocks are up and you can just keep recovering till a burn happens.

other ideas of changes but aren't the most advisable for reasons

You can use Eviolite Archen>Eviolite Tirtouga: You can easily take on SunnyBeam Pony with Archen, and you can still set up SR and have a nice flying-counter. However, this just leaves you more susceptile to wild charge variants which are more common.

You can use Scarf Houndour>Scarf Pawniard. Still has the ability to trap Missy+Abra, checks Pawniard still and can still help wallbreak slightly with FireBlast/Dark Pulse. The lack of Knock Off reallly hurts and you're much more weak to birdspam.

Finally, Eviolite Drilbur can survive a hit and KO Ponyta back, but can't do much vs. Will-O-Wisp versions. With Swords Dance>Substitute you can boost to +2 vs. lead dwebble, KO it and usually get off a spin vs. anything that switches in because it's now at +2 and is very threatening. just a shame to get rid of LO drilbur and you're cool af set

 

[(makeup)]

hmm I like the suggestion of Ponyta a lot. I will try that out and see how it goes. I definitely agree that the team has a problem with sun and this looks like it'll fix it. thanks!!!