Resource SV National Dex Monotype Sample Teams ver.2 | Submissions OPEN

Hello folks! I bring some teams which I've found to be pretty decent during testing.
Dark:
:grimmsnarl::bisharp::greninja::moltres_galar::meowscarada::sableye_mega:
Description
I had to restore my honor (If u get that reference ily) with dark, so here it goes. This is a very standard screens HO team. Grimmsnarl will be your lead most of the time. Parting shot provides good pivoting support and spirit break makes it less weak to taunt setup, etc. Bisharp is your physical wallbreaker, which helps against fairy, ice, and rock MUs. Sucker punch is also nice for getting some guaranteed damage and picking off weakened mons. Greninja is a standard 4 attacks set, which helps against many MUs, including dragon, fairy, fighting, flying, and grass, which would otherwise be difficult to handle. Moltres-G is the setup sweeper for the team. He helps with the bug, fighting, and grass MUs. Taunt allows it to create setup opportunities for itself. Meowscarada is the scarfer of the team. It helps against the dark mirrors, as well as other MUs such as dragon, fighting, and water. However, it can clean up pretty much any type it has a super effective move for. Sableye is the defensive backbone for the team, is your secondary lead and your hazard control. This mon is here entirely because of boomp's suggestion btw.

Replays
Alright, listen. I know that this is low ladder and that I am not exactly soulwind, or really that good, but here are some replays.
:grimmsnarl::bisharp::greninja::moltres_galar::meowscarada::sableye_mega: VS. :kleavor::volcarona::pinsir_mega::scizor::galvantula::forretress:
Alright, so in this one it's a little luck based at the end with the dark pulse flinch on scizor, I should've probably gone for hydro, which was likely to ohko (also had dark pulse bc I forgot to change it).
:grimmsnarl::bisharp::greninja::moltres_galar::meowscarada::sableye_mega: VS. :hippowdon::nidoking::gastrodon_east::gliscor::mamoswine::steelix_mega:
A little luck based with the ice beam freeze, but I still think I win with or without freeze, as ice beam is a 2hko anyway, and I can just predict gastro switch again.
:grimmsnarl::bisharp::greninja::moltres_galar::meowscarada::sableye_mega: VS. :volcarona::ceruledge::volcanion::charizard_mega_y::cinderace::victini:
A bad yet lucky early game with a bad mid game, but I make the comeback in the end (also got a little lucky avoiding flame body).
Water:
:gastrodon_east::empoleon::toxapex::ogerpon_wellspring::samurott_hisui::greninja:
Description
This team I feel a little more iffy about (it's that doubt in which everything feels fine, but your brain refuses to let it go for some reason), but I'm satisfied with how it turned out. This is a semi-standard rainless water hazard stack team (what a mouthful). Gastrodon is useful for the mirror matchups against water and for electric, giving you at least a little breathing room against electric. It also sets up stealth rock which is obviously good. Empoleon gives you decent breathing room vs grass, a very good spdef wall (seriously sometimes it can beat supereffective mons 1v1), and a very good pivot. Toxapex is probably a contender for best physical wall of all time. In this team, it also provides anti-setup and another way of dealing with grass and fairy types. Ogerpon is a fast and strong attacker which also helps with the ground types that empoleon and toxapex are weak to. Samurott is here over urshifu for 2 reasons. 1, It allows gastro to run rocks, which in turn alows empoleon to have flip turn and flash cannon. 2, It's still a pretty good scarfer. Greninja is the special wallbreaker. It helps with many difficult matchups, such as dragon, fairy, fighting (tbh, there's not much you can do against fighting teams with breloom), flying, and grass.

Replays
Listen, I haven't gone through my training arc, so don't laugh or you finna get beat by my ogerpon using only breathing techniques (/j).
:gastrodon_east::empoleon::toxapex::ogerpon_wellspring::samurott_hisui::greninja: VS. :avalugg::ninetales_alola::darmanitan_galar::weavile::mamoswine::kyurem:
Not played the best, especially in front of mamo, but managed to win in the end (maybe with a little luck idrk the calcs).
Look, I know it's only one replay atm, but I literally can't grind replays right now so uhh, I'll maybe have more up after a few days.

I'd Like to thank 2 people.
First, I'd like to thank boomp for helping with the dark team. He's the one who suggested spirit break on snarl, ice beam and extrasensory on gren (I had dark pulse and u-turn before), taunt on goltres (had double dance before), and mega sableye over mega ttar. Since he changed an entire mon, I think he should get credit on the post (if the team gets accepted).
Second, I'd like to thank style.css for giving advice with the water team.
 
Ghost: :gholdengo: :sableye-mega: :blacephalon: :mimikyu: :corsola-galar: :brambleghast:
I made this team right after the :spectrier: ban and to be honest it’s aged well into this meta being able to beat most if not all balance teams with its hazard stacking abilities. I remember the idea behind the team was to abuse :gholdengo: ability and rocks and spikes from :corsola-galar: and :brambleghast:. With their access to strength sap and :sableye-mega: and :corsola-galar: will-o-wisp nearly every physical attacker can be neutralized. :corsola-galar: can take hits from :lopunny-mega: and other breakers that threaten ghosts such as :ursaluna: and :swampert-mega:. :sableye-mega: can bounce all incoming hazard and status while :brambleghast: can remove them giving two forms of removal/prevention and :sableye-mega: spdef investments allow it to be used as a consistent check to special breakers such as :charizard-mega-y: and :heatran: by punishing with metal burst. :mimikyu: and :blacephalon: lead the charge with offensive presence being able to sweep teams if allowed to setup and trick on :blacephalon: to cripple bulkier mons such as :muk-alola: and :clodsire:.
 
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Since I'm not in any tours atm, I thought I would post a couple of teams to possibly be samples in areas we're lacking overall.

:empoleon: :swampert: :Ogerpon-Wellspring: :gyarados: :toxapex: :greninja:

This team functions as a goodstuff balance with most of the offense focused on the breaking power of :Ogerpon-Wellspring: with SD & Ivy Cudgel to do solid damage. Greninja is a viable revenger in key matchups, while serving to also keep threats like :Tapu Koko: at bay. The defensive pieces form a solid core of hazard setting and removal. Additionally, toxapex serves as a crucial fighting resist for the naturally prone team. The main premise of the team is to chip and/or kill blocks to DD M-Gyara sweeping, while soaking up damage like a sponge.


:Gholdengo: :Excadrill: :Goodra-Hisui: :Ferrothorn: :Skarmory: :Heatran:

Steel at its most seeliest. The gameplan of the team is quite simple: Set up hazards (Spikes & Rocks) and phaze away the opponent and slowly chip them down with leech seed and body press while also neutralizing their threats with knock off and Heatran. Heatran helps to trap and remove threats that ignore the hazard stack with taunt and magma storm. Excadrill serves as a revenge killer in necessary situations. Further, it carries rapin spin just in case you lose the hazard game and need to relieve pressure. Finally, Gholdengo serves as a glue mon that can threaten others with NP + Z as well as prevent removal of well-fought for hazards.

:Archaludon: :Kyurem: :Latias: :Goodra-Hisui: :Altaria: :Garchomp:

This is a rather basic dragon team that strives to get up hazards early with Archaludon and chip a couple key mons to enable a particular sweeper. The set-up mon that "sweeps" a MU is dependent on the type matchup, but is relatively straightforward to determine. Kyurem helps to fight the sturdier types more efficiently with SubRoost in combination with Goodra-Hisui's knock off. Archaludon and Goodra-Hisui serve as offensive stopgaps that and neuter threats with t wave/knock or even phase them out with Goodra-Hisui's dragon tail. Latias is the kerosene to the bonfire with healing wish to enable a sweeper to terrorize once more and defog to allow Altaria to safely come in. Additionally, it has damaging options which are helpful versus fighting and in the mirror.

Hope y'all enjoyed these and I hope these can become samples to help inspire some newer players. I'll probably post more for submission at a later point after circuit and/or around my Winter Break,
 
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Heyyy!

We have removed the original Mega-Aerodactyl Flying to update and add in a new Mega-Aerodactyl Flying, along with Charizard-Y Balance in which we also implemented a new updated version.

The following types have had some additions:
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flying.gif
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ghost.gif
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steel.gif
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fairy.gif
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fighting.gif
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Sample teams are now updated for all types!

We'll be leaving submissions open for the whole generation as well, with the goal of having a varied amount of sample teams. Priority are these archetypes:

  • Sandless Ground
  • HO/Offensive Ghost
  • Balanced/ a Sinistcha Grass
  • Slowbro / alternative mega(s) Psychic
  • consistent Water teams

You may suggest a sample of any type, however.
 
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This'll be my first post, so do forgive any possible informalities. When it comes to making a consistent Water team outside of the typical rain archetype, I had to tinker around a bit to make something that felt okay. That being said, I think this is as sample-friendly as Rainless Water is gonna get.
HSam Rainless (Again forgive the informality, I'll figure out the sprite stuff eventually)

Before this team really came together, I had the idea in mind to build around Hisuian Samurott. It's a unique threat that I rarely see in this tier, so I wanted to give it some spotlight. That said, its set came after the other team members were added. First on my mind was a strong special wallbreaker, and thus Specs Greninja was added. Between its high speed stat, usable special attack and great movepool, Specs Greninja is able to muscle through certain matchups such as sand variants of ground. That matchup in particular isn't as much of a steamroll without support from Pelipper, but its still a noteworthy advantage. Greninja also helps this team vs troublesome Dragon and Poison teams with chip from its teammates. With two dark types on the team, I needed some support for their less than favorable matchups with the countless Grass, Fairy and Fighting types plaguing the tier. The duo of Tapu Fini and Toxapex is able to remedy this fairly well. Outside of type matchup support, these two offer many useful applications between them. Tapu Fini offers hazard removal/prevention with Defog and Taunt along with status prevention to support its teammates with Misty Terrain and Taunt. As for Toxapex, it offers Toxic to support Waterpon + Greninja, along with Z-Haze to shut down setup sweepers such as Kommo-o. The last defensive piece of this team is Gastrodon. It takes up the mandatory water/ground slot on the team while offering stealth rock support and longevity with recover, which is the main advantage it has over Swampert. To support Greninja, I added Ogerpon-Wellspring, which (outside of Greninja), is the fastest viable Pokemon on Water bar Scarf users. Speaking of Scarf users, that's the set I decided to go with on Samurott. Seeing as how this team has no speed control for anything faster than Greninja, Scarf on Samurott here felt necessary.

I hope this team is consistent enough to be considered for a sample, as I did put a fair bit of thinking into its creation.
 
Alrighty here's a couple teams I've built that I think would work as samples we don't have yet

(Bug) Mega Scizor + Vikavolt
:Scizor-Mega: :Buzzwole: :Araquanid: :Vikavolt: :Kleavor: :Volcarona:
https://pokepast.es/152132c7b9ffc54e
This is a pretty standard bug team with more of a focus on a decent defensive profile, Araquanid, Volc and Kleavor all fill their usual roles. Buzzwole with Darkest Lariat is great for Steel and Ghost teams and is a strong wincon in general. Vikavolt is the star here, it's a great pivot into Flying types like Staraptor and Torn-T and breaks through Water teams with Energy ball. (28 SpA Vikavolt Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 152-182 (50.1 - 60%) -- guaranteed 2HKO :D) Of course Scizor as your mega is another great wincon, Dual Wingbeat deals with Mega Venusaur and neutral targets like Ceruledge.

(Ground) Sandless Bulky offense
:Steelix-Mega: :Garchomp: :Great Tusk: :Clodsire: :Gastrodon: :Landorus:
https://pokepast.es/12a1125010a16f0a
There are alot of different variants of sandless Ground that have been tried and in my experience this is a very consistent one. (Though I do prefer Treads over Steelix as a scarfer since that lets Lando set Gravity) Gastrodon and Clodsire form a strong defensive core that provide hazards + counter Water types and set up sweepers respectively. Mega Steelix deals with Ice moves and helps with Fairies and Landorus is a strong revenge killer. Tusk and Chomp are your wincons with Tusk doubling as hazard control and a breaker. (Knock off or Ice spinner can be slotted over Headlong Rush)

(Grass) Hisuian Lilligant
:Lilligant-Hisui: :Meowscarada: :Brambleghast: :Ferrothorn: :Ogerpon-Cornerstone: :Venusaur-Mega:
https://pokepast.es/03148d9bd424f815
Just a simple Grass team with hilligant my beloved. Standard sets across the board apart from a bulkier brambleghast. Hilligant is a fast wincon with Fightinium Z that helps with the difficult Steel and Dragon Matchups. Venusaur and Ferrothorn are the defensive core, Meow is your scarfer, and Ogerpon is a breaker.

(Fire) Double Sun ho turbo
:Torkoal: :Cinderace: :Volcarona: :Charizard-Mega-Y: :Ceruledge: :Heatran:
https://pokepast.es/d3201d0281c9a8b3
Alright this one is a bit goofy but it's fun, I considered Scovillain here and I think it has potential but it's too inconsistent. Yawn + Overheat Torkoal is so much better than the standard I don't get why it's not used more. Torkoal's weakness is it's passivity and this set makes it an actual threat that can force switches and keep momentum up. With Z Volc, Sash Ceruledge, and Zard-Y you need consistent removal which Cinderace provides as well as priority and pivoting with U-Turn. Volcarona is your strongest wincon with Inferno Overdrive destroying resists and even special walls in the sun. (+1 252 SpA Volcarona Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 116 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Iron Hands in Sun: 406-478 (84.9 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO, +1 252 SpA Volcarona Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 248+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola in Sun: 318-375 (76.9 - 90.7%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock, +1 252 SpA Volcarona Inferno Overdrive (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Blissey in Sun: 505-595 (70.8 - 83.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) Ceruledge is another wincon and breaker with it's nearly unresisted stab and violatile ability to boost it's speed, Shadow Sneak is great for priority but Close Combat deals with bulkier Dark types like Mega Ttar and Ting Lu. Heatran traps passive opponents like Toxapex, Hisuian Goodra and Blissey opening the way for Volcarona and zard Y. Finally Charizard Y provides more sun and great coverage. This team could be touched up in alot of ways (Speed control is lacking) but I enjoy this structure alot.

I'll prolly add more to this post later, I hope these teams are considered I've tested them all alot :3
 
https://pokepast.es/1659615d4c52b79a
:venusaur-mega: :ferrothorn: :meowscarada: :ogerpon-wellspring: :serperior: :brambleghast:
An alternative Grass sample I've concocted, with Ogerpon-Wellspring and Serperior for slightly off-beat picks.
Here's my somewhat different take on Grass than what's already sampled. I originally was going to make this extremely similar to the posted sample, with the main difference being Serperior over :celebi:. But I wanted it to be a little more different. So that's where Ogerpon Wellspring comes in. The main core three (Mega Venusaur, Meowscarada and Ferrothorn) are all pretty standard mons and with standard sets for the type. So I won't bog you with too many details of those three. Brambleghast brings its bag of tricks, including Spikes, Rapid Spin, Ghost typing to act as a spinblocker, and Wind Rider for stuff like :zapdos: and :pidgeot-mega:. The speed EV's let you outspeed most variants of :gholdengo: so you can threaten it with Poltergeist.

Now for the actually interesting stuff. Let's start with Ogerpon Wellspring. It's a pretty underrated alternative to :ogerpon-cornerstone:, with Ivy Cudgel + Zen Headbutt to tear apart Poison teams, and Ivy Cudgel + Superpower to tear apart Steel teams. Cudgel smokes :heatran:, :iron treads: and :excadrill:, while also putting the hurt on the Flying/Steel's and Gholdengo after a Swords Dance, aided by its Steel resistance. Superpower handles Water resists like Ferrothorn and :archaludon:. Low Kick is an alternative that can beat down other bulky Steel types without the stat drops, but it may prove underwhelming against certain things like the aforementioned Archaludon and :porygon2: Water Absorb can help block Scald attempts or Flip Turns from the opponent.

Lastly, Serperior. A personal favorite of mine lately. Yes, it brings Contrary Leaf Storm, we already know that. It also brings a useful speed tier of 357, outspeeding the likes of :diancie-mega:, :gallade-mega:, :zoroark-hisui:, and Ogerpon. Glare + Substitute can grant you opportunities to snowball with Leaf Storm. HP Fire is for stuff like Ferrothorn and :scizor-mega:. While its true that the lack of viable coverage holds Serperior back, you'd be amazed how Leaf Storm can still manage to muscle past resists after a Contrary boost or two. Serperior makes it very hard to lose the matchups that you want to catch with Grass: Water, Ground and Rock. Contrary can also result in fun interactions beyond just Leaf Storm boosts. Sticky Web grants you a speed boost that can help you catch setup mons like :volcarona: with a Glare, it's also useful to outspeed :lopunny-mega: against Webs Normal and to steamroll Webs Rock. Switching Serperior in on a Defog gives you an evasion buff, like Serperior needed to be even more annoying to deal with. You can try to fit Dragon Pulse over Substitute or Glare to aid against Dragon types like :kyurem: and :latias-mega:, also gives Serperior another strong attack to use when Leaf Storm runs low on PP.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2289894353-8r3zth26jgmyisa0th4x2mg9etk49kmpw

A great Wellspring showcase against a Steel team. If more replays are needed to solidify this team for a sample, I'll be happy to provide them.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2290005870-yt725hq42zr5w4c2ij31eg1eexlp88dpw

Vs Dragon

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2290666108-k0vm3c7p7yyc9xuk67bcdp9exp2nlw7pw

Vs opposing Grass

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2291132080-mlt7elrxhscwugn4rnrljpt0ah2q29vpw

Vs Ice

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2292582219-yg0joahhshf2vn3dtgwv6vywndpy58kpw

Vs Ground

https://pokepast.es/8ac02e4e8436b8cb
:venusaur-mega: :ferrothorn: :meowscarada: :sinistcha: :ogerpon-wellspring: :hydrapple:

Since one particular request was for Sinistcha Grass, here is what I came to.

Sinistcha is an interesting pokemon that's capable of cheesing certain pokemon like :ursaluna:, :sneasler:, and :great tusk: thanks to its typing and Fire neutrality from Heatproof, while being a nuisance to a plethora of physically offensive pokemon with the burn chance from Matcha Gotcha. Substitute can give you setup opportunities with Calm Mind.

Credit to Mateeus for the Hydrapple idea and set. Hydrapple provides a sorely needed special wall to the type, bolstered by Assault Vest and Regenerator. Earth Power gives you a means to handle certain Steel types better than just using Dragon Tail. Speaking of which, Dragon Tail gives you a good way of phazing out setup sweepers like :ceruledge: and :kommo-o:, and pairs well with Stealth Rock. Other options for this set can include swapping out Fickle Beam for the more consistent Draco Meteor. Infestation is also a move to consider to gain momentum.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2291541668-b594973obgik63ivki2o6iihp7434b0pw

Vs Double Steel Dragon, after throwing away Meowscarada early like a moron.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2291564047-cmx391grbv1sucmpa3tgsxj8ijgkpfapw

Vs Electric, Hydrapple really got to shine in this one.
 
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Good evening NDM! While I believe our current Ice sample is good, I wanted to offer something that plays a little differently since I believe that this type can offer a little bit more than just pure HO.

Chople Berry Kyu + Darm G Balance
:kyurem: :ninetales-alola: :cloyster: :piloswine: :weavile: :darmanitan-galar:

https://pokepast.es/35ab0e67fb61bc04

Kyurem @ Chople Berry
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 56 HP / 192 SpA / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Roost



Ninetales-Alola (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Snow Warning
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aurora Veil
- Moonblast
- Freeze-Dry
- Encore



Cloyster (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Surf
- Teleport



Piloswine (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Slide
- Toxic



Weavile (M) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Throat Chop
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard



Darmanitan-Galar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn

This team is a more balanced take on Ice, with a focus on having an actual defensive profile. This is accomplished with three specific sets which I will go over here.

:kyurem: SubRoost Kyurem makes its way onto this team as our main defensive answer to Fighting type attacks, despite usually being a Dragon staple. Under Snow + Veil with the Chople Berry, Kyurem is able to shrug off Close Combats from the likes of Sneasler, Mega Gallade and Iron Valiant, causing massive damage in return, and even OHKOing Sneasler with Earth Power after the defense drops. Outside of this, SubRoost Kyu offers a way to punish passive mons such as Toxapex.

:ninetales-alola: This is your standard Alolatales set, nothing special here. Snow + Veil support, can threaten Fighting types with its decent speed tier and Fairy STAB, and punishes setup with Encore.

:cloyster: Here is the first member of our main defensive core, Rocky Helmet Cloyster. This is our spinner and blanket physical check, a role sometimes filled by Avalugg. However, I would almost always prefer Defensive Cloyster for a team like this. This is for a few reasons, but the main one is Cloyster's more favorable defensive typing. Having a secondary Water type is objectively better defensively since it grants real resists, and crucial neutralities to Fire and Steel. This is our main answer to BP Scizor and Fire type phys attackers due to its secondary typing, and exceptional physical bulk. With its job as a spinner, Cloyster often needs to hit the field safely. In many ways, it does this better than Avalugg due to its typing alone, since it's not that much less bulky than The Lugg.

:piloswine: Eviolite Piloswine makes its way onto this team as the last defensive piece, and a very important one. Pilo covers the special threats that overwhelm Cloyster, such as MZard-Y. With its Fire neutrality and bulk with eviolite, Pilo is able to survive even Sun boosted Weather Ball from MZard-Y, and KO it back with Rock Slide. Aside from its defensive attributes, Pilo also acts as this team's Stealth Rock setter.

:weavile: This mon surges back to glory on Ice in the absence of Chien-Pao, doing much of the same things that it has done in previous generations. On this team, Weavile offers a few crucial offensive attributes. An exceptional speed tier, boosting with Swords Dance, item removal with Knock Off, a Dark type Z-Move, and priority in Ice Shard make it a potent offensive threat for this team.

:darmanitan-galar: While the preferred Cetitan may generally be better, this ape still has a number of advantages over the whale. Mainly, it does not require Snow + Belly Drum setup to be threatening. Additonally, fast pivoting with U-Turn can help get Kyurem/Weavile in better if they are preferred. Possessing Fire and Ground coverage and a built-in choice band, Darmanitan-Galar makes the dismal Steel matchup just a bit less hopeless.

Replay(s):
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-2268732641-ind0qqzyw88vsdtsnxvfj39bsnrm943pw vs. Fire :fire gem:
I feel that this replay is the best showcase that I have of the defensive aspects of this team really doing their thing, and its also not the greatest matchup for Ice typically.
 
I haven't been active in this tier in a long while but I've been getting back into it, I've recently used this team: https://pokepast.es/6b6440b2dd7dd8cf

Darmanitan-Galar Snow Offense.


I made another sample team a long while back: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...e-teams-indigo-disk-open.3716842/post-9519710

This new sample team is slightly different, relying less on Slush Rush which could help in traditionally bad matchups for Ice.

:ninetales-alola: Can be used to set up Aurora veil. Heal Bell is slightly unconventional, but I believe it's extremely useful for warding off problematic burns or other status conditions.

:Avalugg: A defensive Pokémon may be strange-looking on ice, but with its massive defense, snow, and Aurora Veil, it can take even super-effective physical attacks. Special attacks may be harder to take, but Aurora Veil can still help it out. I’m using this for rapid spin support, which is crucial as it allows its teammates to not worry as much as hazards, though it's far from reliable. If you find yourself succumbing to hazards, consider replacing some other teammates' items with Heavy Duty Boots.

:Darmanitan-Galar: The classic menace does its job well. Click Choice Scarf. Run Ice Stab. Run Flare Blitz and EQ for coverage. Use U-Turn for pivot. Done.

:Kyurem: The lone special attacker here. It’s surprisingly bulky after a snow boost and offers lots of valuable resistances and neutralities to common types that are strong against ice. HP fire helps you lose slightly less against Mono Steel. I personally prefer replacing it with Blizzard, because Specs Stab Blizzard with Snow is devastating against most neutral targets.

:Weavile: A simple SD sweeper. You can also run sash or life orb. Both abilities are useless, but Pickpocket works to help absorb knockoffs and then steal the opponent's item. Besides that gimmick, you just SD and cleanup.

:Mamoswine: Helps you lose slightly against fire, but you can also help protect against random fire coverage. You can use it to wallbreak (helping massively in Poison or Rock), or clean up with Ice Shard.


Here's the general gameplan:

1. Lead with Ninetales-Alola to set Aurora Veil.

2. Do massive damage with one of the fast offensive threats (Darm, Weavile)

3. Use Kyurem and Avalugg as a temporary defensive fallback if your opponent threatens you

4. Setup sweepers may be an issue, make sure to use snow’s defense bonus and Aurora Veil to switch around

5. Use the fast threats to clean the rest of the team.
 
Hello again to you all, I'm back for the second time this month with yet another bad type, this time being Fire! I've been using this team for a while now and I credit it as the main reason why I mostly play Fire (Fire main possibly). I also believe that it's very sample-friendly, so let's get into it.


Volcanion Sun HO
:torkoal: :volcanion: :ceruledge: :heatran: :iron moth: :charizard-mega-x:

https://pokepast.es/be472fd2d8e728b1

Torkoal (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Rapid Spin
- Yawn



Volcanion @ Air Balloon
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower


Ceruledge (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Poltergeist
- Bitter Blade
- Close Combat

Heatran (M) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon
- Taunt



Iron Moth @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Dazzling Gleam



Charizard-Mega-X (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
The main idea for this team was to create a Fire-Type team that doesn't suck AS bad into its poorer matchups, but still effectively retains the pure HO aspect of the type.

:torkoal: As the first member of this team, Torkoal serves the same purpose that it does on almost every Fire team. It's the slowest weather setter in the game, allowing it to override the weather of other lead setters like Pelipper, preventing them from getting their rain up on turn one. Heavy-Duty Boots + Rapid Spin makes Torkoal a consistent hazard remover, which is gravely necessary for all of its teammates here bar maybe Heatran. Yawn keeps Torkoal from being a do-nothing Pokemon, allowing it to force switches and make consistent progress. Lastly, its own Stealth Rocks allow Torkoal to support Ceruledge, Charizard and Iron Moth by wearing down opponents, making sweeping easier.

:volcanion: The first sort of uncommon pick on this team is Air Balloon Volcanion. This set aims to ease the Ground and Water matchups, while also remaining an offensive presence in doing so. It does this off the back of its good coverage and great 130 Special Attack stat. When holding an Air Balloon, Volcanion is able to completely prevent would-be sweeps from foes like Swords Dance Excadrill on Ground, Choice Band Barraskewda on Water, and Belly Drum Azumarill on Fairy.

:ceruledge: One of Fire's best physical attacking options, not much needs to be said about this Pokemon. The only thing special here is that this one has Close Combat for Dark Types, and is EV'd to be just faster than max speed Choice Scarf Iron Boulder after a Weak Armor boost, with the leftover EVs going into HP.

:heatran: The second Air Balloon user on this team, this set ensures that this team will not just fold to a miscellaneous Ground-Type move. Heatran is better at handling the Choice Band variants of Excadrill that Volcanion normally can't by itself due to Rock Slide. Another one of Heatran's best advantages is the ability to trap and pretty much remove Toxapex for free with Magma Storm, Taunt and Earth Power. On top of both of those, Heatran poses a great risk towards any physical attacker attempting to hit it due to its Flame Body ability.

:iron moth: This Pokemon serves as one of Fire's best tools in the Dragon matchup, one that is notoriously difficult for Fire. With a held Choice Scarf, Iron Moth is able to outspeed and OHKO Kommo-o (it even has a favorable chance to do this post-omni boost), and Dragon Dance variants of Roaring Moon. This robotic moth also greatly eases the Water matchup, eliminating foes like Gastrodon with Energy Ball, and even outspeeding and OHKOing Mega Swampert under rain.

:charizard-mega-x: The widely preferred Mega form on Fire makes its way onto this team as well, doing much of the same things that it does everywhere else. Arguably Fire's main claim to fame in the Steel matchup, Mega Charizard X's Fire and Ground coverage just wins once Heatran's Air Balloon is popped with almost zero counterplay on the Steel user's end. Outside of that, Charizard is also a fantastic tool vs Dragon once the other members of this team have worn down the opposition. After one Dragon Dance, Flare Blitz destroys the Steel duo, and Tough Claws boosted Dragon Claw handles the majority of the others bar Mega Altaria and Scarf variants of Roaring Moon.

Replay(s):
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2255570633?p2 vs. Ghost :ghost gem:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2256155804 vs. Water :water gem:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2256246715 vs Flying :flying gem:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2256373154?p2 vs Fire :fire gem:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2256374898?p2 vs. Normal :normal gem:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-2279018882?p2 vs. Dragon :dragon gem:
 
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