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Now that Alolan Exeggutor is banned, I feel good dropping this team since Lilligant is also broken. This is actually my second ever RMT but my first one was back in ORAS when I was still a super bad player and the team didn't even have a wincon (I'd link the thread but I can't find it). A few years later, and I'm much more confident in my ability to teambuild and play with actual good mons instead of Solrock and fat Monferno. So today I wanted to show off a team that's done pretty well for me recently and I think is a fairly good indicator of the current meta. Not gonna lie, the entire reason I wanted to build this team was because I fell in love with the song Sunflower after watching Into the Spider-Verse and didn't want to make the stretch of making Sunflora actually work. Lilligant has a big flower so I figured it was close enough.
Upcoming serious bit, don't read if you want to just hear about the team
I'm also making this post as hopefully a way to step a little back from the tours/competitive scene even though I've been nowhere near a big name even among just PU players. I've always wanted to be better at mons but unfortunately, I think I just got started with competitive too late to actually be able to change the way I think about plays and such. I figure that if I'm not gonna have extreme success in a video game, it might be better to put it to the side for a while and focus on IRL stuff like graduating college at the end of this year and actually getting a teaching job. I feel like I'm at a point in my life where I need to start really growing up and I don't think Pokemon is a part of that for me. And I don't mean to bash on people who are my age or older that still play mons, because it obviously works for some people. I also don't mean to say that I'll quit mons cold turkey, I'll definitely still play on PS and in game stuff, just much less tours and taking it seriously. So I want to thank the people that have made the last almost 5 years (!!!) great and really brought me into the Pokemon and PU community but I'll do that in the shoutouts, on to the team
So I started with the offensive core of Lilligant+Stoutland. Stoutland supports Lilligant's offensive capabilities by breaking through bulkier Grass-resists like Roselia, Drampa, Alolan Sandslash, and Altaria while also appreciating Lilligant's ability to break through Regirock, Gurdurr, and Quagsire.
Next, I added a momentum core to allow the previous two to get in much easier. Lanturn provided a decent Jellicent check (which I've always been very paranoid about prepping for) and a defensive Mesprit acted as a Fighting-check, while also providing Stealth Rock support.
Then I added some speed control as the team was looking fairly slow outside of Lilligant after setup. Kabutops gave me a form of hazard control and also a soft rain check. I also felt a bit weak to Aggron, so I slapped a Mudsdale on the end and made Mesprit more offensive.
It was at this point that I realized that I didn't really like the structure of the team, and after some advice from MZ and ptf, I changed some mons around. I exchanged Lanturn and Mudsdale for the combination of Poliwrath and Eelektross. Poli acts as a solid Aggron check, and Eel stops opponents from spamming Earthquake which would've been a problem in the previous build. The combination of the two also gave me two soft checks to Jellicent instead of one hard counter, which I figured was okay for the utility they brought to the team. Mesprit was also turned back into a defensive set.
After testing, I saw didn't like Scarf Kabutops. I swapped it out for a SpDef AlolaSlash, adding an Ice-resist and combining the rock setter and spinner role into one slot. I turned Mesprit into the scarfer.
In-Depth Analysis:
You're the Sunflower,
I think your love would be too much
Lilligant @ Grassium Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Rock]
So the main member of the team, not too much
reasoning as to why I picked it that hasn't already
been said. It's a super good mon and I love using
it. That being said, it's also one of the members
that has changed the most over the course of the
team. I prefer Grassium over Normalium, as the
added ability to get an extra speed boost from
Z-Sleep Powder can come in handy in certain
situations. The last move however, has been
changed between HP Fire, Ice, and eventually
Rock. Fire was to deal with Alolaslash and
opposing Lilligant. Then Ice was to better deal
with Eggy. But I think now with Eggy banned,
Rock works best for hitting birds but the other
two could still be subbed in if needed.
Fightin' for my trust and you won't back down,
Even if we gotta risk it all right now
Stoutland @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Facade
Stoutland is high-key one of my favorite mons in
this meta. It just punches holes super easily and
Lilligant really appreciates having more specially
bulky Pokemon worn down by this thing. I really
shouldn't have to explain the moves but I will for
the sake of quality. Frustration is strong STAB,
Superpower breaks through Rock- and Steel-
types, Pursuit helps trap weakened Mesprits and
other stuff, and Facade allows you to still do
damage if you get burned.
She wanna ride me like a cruise,
And I'm not tryna lose
Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpA / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Toxic
- Protect
So Poliwrath was added as a bulkier switch-in
to things like Jellicent and Aggron that really
put a dent in the team before it was added. Its
main purpose is to check those kind of attackers
and then threaten the incoming mons with Scald
or Toxic. It was also just a good pivot that allowed
the team to sponge a hit and then get in something
else to keep up offensive pressure. Poli hasn't
been the star of the team like Lilligant, but the
team would be worse off without it for sure.
I know I always come and go,
But it's out of my control
Eelektross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
Eel was added as a soft check originally
for things like Alolan Exeggutor (one of
the earlier builds even ran HP Ice on this
for that purpose). But with Eggy's ban, it
has turned into a better check for stuff like
Oricorio, Quagsire, and Alolan Raichu. Slow
Volt Switch is always appreciated by Lilligant
and Knock Off is really useful for getting rid
of the rising Rocky Helmet users that like to
chip Stoutland.
Callin' it quits now baby I'm a wreck,
Crash at my place baby you're a wreck
Sandslash-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 208 SpD / 48 Spe
Careful Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
So this mon was one of the additions that
changed the rest of the team a lot. And by
the rest of the team, I really mean Mesprit.
Originally I had an offensive Shuca set with
spin while Mesprit had rocks, but after some
advice, decided to change it to a more
SpDef set, combining both rock and spin to
free up Mesprit for a more offensive set.
Not too much to say about the moves
except maybe Knock Off as last move to
again, get rid of Helmets especially from
Quagsires that like to switch into this thing.
Ooh some things you just can't refuse
Mesprit @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
It's the most used mon in the tier for a
reason. Scarf Mesprit is super nice imo
and I think is rising as one of the best sets.
It allows you to check Oricorios, Dodrios,
even weakened Alolan Persians. It also put
on some decent offensive pressure, which
allows for U-turn to be used to get in
Stoutland a lot of the time. The utility of
Healing Wish can never be overlooked,
especially on a team with Lilligant.
Weaknesses:
I'm sure there's a ton of other weaknesses this team has but I've been sitting on this draft for like 2 weeks and want it out.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-860616500 Lilligant is able to sweep after Skuntank is taken care of and uses Z-Sleep Powder to show why it's so good
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-855695124 Another example of a team with two Lilligant checks being worn down (though I do crit the skunk to win)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-852150541 Weakening the AV chan and Scarf Mes killing Dodrio for Lilli
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-857250490 This game vs fagtron probably would've gone differently if I hadn't frozen Drampa turn 1 but I had to add it
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-839398163 Same shit, taking care of AV chan and Toge
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pu-847869302 Working against the grain with Lilligant wearing stuff down for Stoutland to sweep
Conclusion and Shoutouts:
So yeah, that's the team. I spent quite a while testing it, and really it performed its best during the Eggy meta which to me seems weird because it looks super Eggy weak. I feel this is super representative of the current meta, especially with Lilligant's recent rise to S rank and everyone hyping up Lilli+Stoutland core. As I said in the intro, I think this may be one of the last serious things I do with Smogon and I hope to take a step back and keep Pokemon as a fun thing, saving seriousness for the stuff that will actually affect my future. I love the whole PU community so I'm not leaving just yet, but I'm tired of being just another one of those mediocre tour players that don't really have a close chance of winning. I'm glad to have made more friends through this site and who knows, maybe I'll get some more free time in the future and actually come back to the competitive scene with a new and improved better playing mentality. I don't wanna get too drawn out and lengthy so I'll just go ahead and do some shoutouts.
Megazard Thanks for being a really great TL and making PU such a fun tier to play. You along with Taskr and the rest of the council are all great people and I hope to see the tier improve more under you guys. And thanks for always telling me to chill out when I complain about hax (which is all the time).
PTF Not sure if you remember it, but you gave me a ton of advice on this team one day, specifically adding the SpDef AlolaSlash, and I really attribute a lot of this team's success to you. So thanks for making it a lot better
z3ll1 ofc I've been sitting on this draft for two weeks, trying to find the right words to say and they post almost the exact same team but with Pom-Pom > Eel two hours before I finish (I'm just playing dude, just a coincidence)
OG Scavengers Auth and Staff (this is a list so I'm making a spoiler tag
ashiemore Painter Espeon GoodMorningEspeon Rory Mercury Meicoo 3.14dgeot-Mega and really anyone who's been an auth/staff member over the years
This isn't goodbye to Scavengers (even though I know I haven't made a hunt in like a year) but I just want to shout you all out because you all have been great friends and Scavs was the first room that I really got into on PS in 2014. So without the welcoming and friendly environment that you guys gave me starting out, who knows how long I would've stayed around. Some of you have drifted away from PS, sometimes for reasons similar to mine, but I all still think of you as great friends and wonderful people.
Abyssal Ruins Man, you've been my best friend on this site for so long and I love messing around with weird mons together with you. You've helped me become a better player in the past year or so and I always hope that whatever you do in life, you'll be great at it because you're awesome. Don't ever think I forgot that one team you made with Grass Knot+HP Fire Mega Metagross and Head Smash Hydreigon back in ORAS, that team was flames.
So if you've read this far, thank you so much for giving me views. Now check out my YouTube channel where I actually might post stuff more often in the near future.
But in all seriousness, thanks for reading and if you have any feedback for the team, I would love to hear it! I hope to see you all around!
