Project SV ZU Teambuilding Competition

Teambuilding competition is finally back!

:decidueye-hisui: :sv/decidueye-hisui: :decidueye-hisui:

Decidueye-Hisui has been a very dominant Pokemon in the current meta: its defensive sets combine a solid defensive typing with the Roost + Defog combination and slow pivoting via U-Turn; while its offensive set utilise its broken move Triple Arrows to its fullest potential, also thanks to its Scrappy ability, and pair it with other great options like Swords Dance or Sucker Punch.

Build a team featuring Decidueye-Hisui and post it in this thread with a brief description.
Deadline is Friday 4th at 10pm GMT+2.
Have fun!
 
:decidueye-hisui: :dodrio: :grafaiai: :weezing: :mesprit: :lanturn:
Defensive, Band, SD, AoA, these Hecid sets are cool and good, but ynow whats awesome? Thats right, Specs. At a glance, 95 special attack is nothing crazy, but looking at our other special attacking grasses in Whims and Viriz, you realize that Hecid has the highest special attack of them (arbo isnt real) Plus, specs lures and does considerable damage to Weezing and Dipplin, which can help both Dodrio and Grafaiai immensely. Qkiller Dodrio and Scarf Grafaiai can team up to overwhelm these walls with Hecid. Weezing handles most physical attackers pretty well, Mesp and Lanturn can beat most special attackers and bring in our attackers pretty well too.
 
:decidueye-hisui::lanturn::dudunsparce::sandslash::whimsicott::typhlosion:
Building a cute little Paraspam kinda team utilising none of the shifts we got earlier today because I'm quirky like that :3
I've actually never used SD :decidueye-hisui: before, so I thought it'd be fun to build around.

Now, with the theme for this week being :decidueye-hisui:, it's only natural I start my team with this guy. I gave it the aforementioned Swords Dance set with Sucker Punch for priority and tera Dark to boost it while also helping a bit with 'mons like :mesprit:. The rest of the moveset is relatively standard with dual STABs and a Lum Berry to deal with annoying status like Burn and Para.

:decidueye-hisui: has slight issues with its speed-stat, so I aim to fix that with the next few picks. :lanturn: seems like a pretty ideal partner for :decidueye-hisui:, seeing as it can provide Paralysis support to slow down faster threats and let :decidueye-hisui: outspeed them. Furthermore, :lanturn:'s unique type allows it to switch in to common Fire- and Flying-types that have :decidueye-hisui:'s number. As for its other moves, Scald allows :lanturn: to pressure burn and damage Grounds like :sandslash:, though :lanturn: obviously isn't comfortable switching in. Tera Flying helps this matchup out a bit, though my choice of leftovers and Protect to improve :lanturn:'s longevity means it's a bit reliant on my own :sandslash: after terastallizing. Lastly, Volt Switch allows for some pivoting and doubles as Electric-STAB. I've chosen to not really invest in :lanturn:'s HP, as I believe it's got enough of the stuff to make investing in solely its defenses worth it. If I invest in HP, :lanturn: ends up a bit frailer on one side of the spectrum than I'd prefer.

At this point, I'd prefer having a 'mon with actual reliable recovery in order to solidify my defenses a bit. I also need some entry hazards. :dudunsparce: kills two birds with one stone in this regard, with access to both Stealth Rock and Roost for healing. I chose to add Body Slam in order to potentially paralyze more things, as :lanturn: can still get a bit overwhelmed. Dragon Tail makes it so :dudunsparce: doesn't get overrun by setup sweepers like :snorlax:, which would otherwise turn :dudunsparce: into setup fodder. Lastly, tera Fairy grants :dudunsparce: a Fighting-resistance, allowing it to take out or phaze hard-to-stop Fighting-types.

Now, all that bulk is fun and all, but it doesn't mean much if hazards can easily wear away at it, so I'd like to have a way to remove any hazards that end up on my side of the field in order to grant :typhlosion:, and to a lesser extent, :lanturn: after tera unimpeded access to the field. Enter :sandslash:, which can clear the field of hazards with Rapid Spin. It also has access to useful utility in Knock Off, which nobody else on the team has, and often chips in defensively with its solid Defense stat and threat of Earthquake.

My matchup into :snorlax: still isn't excellent, and my offenses are slightly lacking, so at this point I chose to add :whimsicott:, which can be a problem for :snorlax: with Encore and U-turn allowing it to lock :snorlax: into Curse and tag out to a pokémon that can deal with it (Maybe :decidueye-hisui: can even get in a Swords Dance). Moonblast and Giga Drain are :whimsicott:'s STABs, with Giga Drain giving it a bit of recovery that this more utility-focused set appreciates. :whimsicott: almost forms a kind of pivot core with :lanturn:, for some added synergy.

To end off, I chose to add :typhlosion:. It's running a standard Scarf set which grants my team some revenge killing potential should :whimsicott: not cover a specific threat. :typhlosion: really appreciates the hazard removal :sandslash: provides, as stated before, and enjoys :lanturn:'s slow pivoting, allowing it to get on the field with Eruption's power minimally affected. Tera Fire beefs up :typhlosion:'s powerful Fire-type moves to maximize its damage output, which is much appreciated on a team slightly lacking in other immediate threats.

(ngl :typhlosion: is also a bit of a comfort pick: I have it on like half my teams I've built over the past month or two :p)
 
Admittedly this is less a team built to feature Decidueye-Hisui and more “team I liked using pre-drop that happened to have it in a great role with a slightly-unorthodox partner", but hey, might as well:
:decidueye-hisui::qwilfish-hisui::mesprit::jolteon::clawitzer::charizard:

https://pokepast.es/d25d5b5509cca9c4

As the prompt points out, Hecid is a useful defensive option, and I've loved how it's paired well with Qwilfish-Hisui to form a great defensive pair. On this team, it provides great support through Defog and Knock Off while also chipping the opponent down some through Triple Arrows. Originally U-Turn was in the final spot, but I never found myself using it much, so Knock Off ended up becoming the final move of choice. Meanwhile, Qwilfish-H has Haze and Pain Split over entry hazards to not only stay alive better but also keep setup sweepers in check, which is especially useful for things like Snorlax where I don't have the best answers otherwise. It's not always perfect, and there's a few things that they don't do quite handle as well as I'd like (namely Coil Sandaconda). That being said, for the most part they do a good job of keeping a lot of things in check and off of each other.

Meanwhile, the offensive options come in the form of three Choiced options and Belly Drum Charizard. Mesprit does a good job of keeping faster options in check through Choice Scarf while whacking opponents through STAB Psychic and Dazzling Gleam, all while serving as an extra check against set-up sweepers through Trick. Clawitzer is a bit tricky to use in battles but can be fun to put opponents in binds by putting them in a game of "what are you willing to potentially sacrifice?" Meanwhile, Specs Jolteon combines aspects of its other Choiced brethren while also being a good pivot option, and it's been fun using it as a lead to get early kills from opponents letting down their guard. It's also generally what I end up burning my Tera on, but generally I'm fine with it since it usually results in forcing opponents to make awkward choices. Finally, Charizard basically comes down to whether I can get it in safely; if I can, I usually win, but if my opponent screws with my support, it generally doesn't do as much as I'd like. Honestly, it's probably the weakest link on the team, but it's really shined when the setup has gone well.
 
This weeks marks the one-year birthday of teambuilding competition, so I thought I'd give a bit of a different prompt :)

Build a team featuring your favourite ZU Pokemon and post it in this thread with a brief description.
Deadline is Friday 11th at 10pm GMT+2.
Have fun!
 
:charizard::passimian::palossand::brute bonnet::cramorant::magneton:
Click the mons for the paste
This team is technically older than this competition but I fiddled with it a lot after Delphox and Hariyama were banned (it originally had Delphox so...) and Brute Bonnet has become my favorite Pokemon to use in the tier so I can't not put it here. Basically Booster Energy Brute Bonnet is an absolute monster late game, especially if you preserve your Tera. With Synthesis you can keep yourself healthy and win out in longer end game engagements as well. Tera Poison gives you notable resistances to Fighting, Bug, and Fairy, and lets you outlast a lot of Fighting-types in the tier. Sucker Punch becomes very hard for offensive teams to deal with when their faster Fighting or Poison-types suddenly lose. The rest of the team is designed to facilitate this beast. Charizard and Magneton provide a quite brutal specially offensive core that threatens a huge portion of the meta. Cramorant checks dangerous Fire-types, and Gulp Missile has surprisingly good synergy with Brute Bonnet by just adding chip and potentially paralyzing things. Scarf Passimian is speed control, a backup wincon, its scarf Pass it does its thing. Helmet Palossand helps to wear down opponents and provides a volt immunity. Sludge Bomb can spread poison and lets it actually hit Braviary. The Tera types on Cramorant and Magneton are designed to trip up and stop sweeps by very specific sweepers, as Tera Flying on Magneton trips up Tera Ground+Tera Blast Frosmoth, and Tera Rock Cramorant to better secure myself against Charizard, Oricorio, and Pyroar. Magneton could be a different Tera probably but Tera Flying has other uses so I went with it despite the risk. They rarely ever Tera anyway so I felt comfortable using this to cover very specific threats. The rest of it should be pretty straight forward. Really fun team, just be prepared to Tera Bonnet unless you really need to Tera something else to prevent an outright loss. Please use more of Bonnet though, the mon is absolutely bonkers imo.
 
Decided to take this literally, so here's a team with my 9th, 177th, 16th, 70th, 29th, and 13th favorite pokemon, which are also ZU (i rank every pokemon in december):

:Articuno: -:Typhlosion: -:Jumpluff: -:klawf: -:Piloswine: -:Virizion:

My first thought was Typhlosion because whenever I rerank every pokemon this December, it will not be 177th. Typhlosion stocks are high for me rn, and when I check where I ranked it last year, I very quickly noticed that most of my top 100 was somehow ZU legal, so I basically went in order and slapped them onto a team. The only affordances I made were Typhlosion, because I thought bro was higher and Cyndaquil was #14 anyways, and Klawf, as Dachsbun and Palossand were higher but the Regirock I wanted was 528th.

The most questionable choice, yet most on-brand imo, is the Jumpluff. It's surprisingly a good fighting switch-in, as long as you stun spore and don't strength sap the Passimian. Articuno + Jumpluff are also pretty fun at stopping slow setup sweepers, because you either lose the Jumpluff that was doing nothing and bring in Typhlosion, or Encore -> U-turn -> Roar or otherwise force something out. Maybe low ladder just doesn't switch. The Cuno is a good special wall and slow pivot either way, which helps bring in Typhlosion. I like Typhlosion and wanted a fast nuclear option.

The Klawf is a different flavor of Regirock, in that its a regen pivot but also physically defensive. I don't know what it really does, but it put in work against the one high ladder opponent I faced (ur cool FoldedLaundry and thanks for ur help).

Piloswine is a good hazard setter and is able to put in work with Ice Shard, being ground, being tera ghost, having rocks, and being an ice type that can counter fire types because thick fat.

Virizion set is also the only one anyone should ever run. Nobody expects mixed, and if your SpA is -2 from leaf storm, you just start clicking CC. Rock coverage > Psychic because Weezing isn't real.

...anyways back to homework lol
 
:malamar: :brute bonnet: :whimsicott: :mesprit: :qwilfish: :rotom:
:Malamar: I absolutely love Malamars design, its like a cross between an eldritch abomination and a witch or smth. Contrary is also one of my favorite abilities, so extra points there. Anyways I had been wanting to build around Malamar for a while now. Spikestack was my main idea bc of Mal having Knock and Contrary. i experimented with some bulkier spikes teams, but a more offensive approach was more succesful overall. Resttalk lets Mal ignore status and steamroll if positioned right. Sneasel or smth else could of worked instead but hey, i like malamar so...

:Brute Bonnet: BB's a pretty fun-guy (hahahahahahha). Funny dinosaur mushroom works surprisingly well as a design. BB is p underattedmethinks, it hits like a truck and is surprisingly damn bulky. The idea here is to have Mal and BB overwhelm stuff together. Tera Poison flips all of BBs weakneses. Booster Bonnet in the lategame is absolutely horrifiying, use this thing more.

:Whimsicott: Whimsy is just a little cutie, not much else to say about it. I originally had Specs but hazards were a bitch and the utility of Encore is pretty nice. Whims helps with opposing Bonnet and Hecid and is super nice into HO teams which can be problematic sometimes.

:mesprit: :qwilfish: Mesp and Qwil make a nice offensive spikestack core. Qwil in particular punishes U-turn which is an otherwise free click into many of the mons on this team. The slow pivoting is pretty nice to bring in the offensive mons on the team aswell.

:rotom: I wanted some speed control and scarftom is a nice solution here. Passimian is an alternative but i wanted more special attackers and a fighting immune for the team. Trick comes in handy too here, crippling walls to make Bonnet and Malamars job easier. Levitate is useful here bc hazard removal is shit so being spikes immune is handy.
 
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:Monferno: - :Charizard: - :lanturn: - :Mesprit: - :Decidueye-Hisui: - :Orthworm:

They asked for your favourite mon and im seeing standard ZU mons? weak

Monfernos literally the only reason I started playing lower tiers, with it being viable in PU during ORAS and ZU during SM. It's obviously ass now but we'll make it work. Choice Banded because its really weak, needs it for some power. Iron Fist mach punch isnt insanely weak and can clean up if you've chipped the opponents mons down enough. It's speed tier is kinda good considering we have a few good base 80s.

Next I put in Zard since alot of the fire resists that are built to check Zard dont switch in on Monferno well. Lanturn, Snorlax, P2, Regirock etc. The only Zard check which resists both Monfernos stabs was Cramorant but that gets 2HKO'd on switch in. Zards also one of the better mons in the tier so it made sense to bring.

Next I needed a defensive backbone for this team alongside some pivots because Monferno has 0 defenses and needs pivots to come in. Lanturn and Decidueye were easy choices as they complete the FWG core and check offensive waters and electrics that Zard and Monferno cant, alongside bringing some hazard control and speed control. Mesprit next for some rocks + a more sturdy fighting resist than zard. Lastly Orthworm which gives me a more sturdy fairy resist alongside spikes. I had Naclstack over Orthworm before but I really felt spikes would have really helped Monferno.
 
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Well, looks like a few people already had similar favorites and ideas (especially Sputnik), but let's throw this one in the ring with a slightly different Brute Bonnet take since I love using it:

:brute-bonnet::dudunsparce::cramorant::passimian::mismagius::typhlosion:

:brute-bonnet: - As others have said, Booster Energy Brute Bonnet is fun to use and can be dangerous with the right setup. Unlike them, however, I've had more fun with one that swaps healing for Trailblaze and a Tera Type of Poison for Stellar. After a Trailblaze Speed boost, BB outspeeds everything that's slower that Max Speed Pyroar and can be a major pain to take out if the remaining members don't have a Scarf. While Poison is a solid Tera Type, Tera Stellar is pretty useful to help muscle past whatever resistance is remaining on other teams while working well with BB's wide coverage. It doesn't always end up being the Tera'd Pokemon, but when it does, it's fun.

:dudunsparce: - I got my competitive start in Gen 4 when ParaFlinch Jirachi was everywhere, so I have no qualms being that guy with Dudunsparce if needed. Aside from inevitably annoying my opponent, though, Dudunsparce provides valuable entry hazard and paralysis support while generally being a useful bulky option to wear opponents down. Tera Poison is mainly for SD Qwilfish to help slow it down, since otherwise the team struggles fairly heavily against it.

:cramorant: - Set is lifted straight from the on-site analysis. I'm lazy, I know. Anyway, Cramorant provides useful Defog support while also wearing down opponents and potentially further spreading paralysis. Not much to say otherwise, everyone kinda knows what it does.

:passimian: - This team also ends up having my second-favorite option in this tier, because it does a ton well. Need something to hit the opponent hard? Time for Close Combat. Need to scout out the opponent's response? U-Turn. Need speed control? It outspeeds a lot of things with Choice Scarf. Opponents have set up Sticky Web? Sucks to be them if they can't handle the Defiant boost. Only note is that Iron Head is in the final spot because stuff like Daschbun and Tera Fairy Snorlax are problems otherwise, and it works well with the paralysis-spreading.

:mismagius: - Missy is my secondary win-con, emergency special switch-in, and general wrench into my opponents' plans. Opponents can't really sit still against it, and if they're too lax in dealing with it, Nasty Plot will wreck them in a hurry. Plus, it's a very useful spinblocker, and the immunity to entry hazards make it a great default "fix this NOW" option.

:typhlosion: - Since the team's speed control is generally solid to begin with, that gives me enough room to go with Specs Typhlosion instead of the Scarf version. This usually ends up getting the Tera, but it's often fine because Tera Fire Specs Eruption/Fire Blast does a great job at making opponents' Typhlosion checks much shakier. Only other note is that Blaze isn't "me forgetting to change the ability" but a deliberate choice, as I've never had a good opportunity for Flash Fire while the wear and tear that can happen in a battle helps in some situations when the Blaze boost is needed.
 
:brute bonnet: :sv/brute bonnet: :brute bonnet:

A community favourite, Brute Bonnet is the first paradox Pokemon to drop in the ZU tier. Despite its many defensive weaknesses, poor speed and lack of a great STAB move, Brute Bonnet can still put in a lot of work thanks to its great bulk and base Attack, combined with its pretty wide movepool.
Build a team featuring Brute Bonnet and post it in this thread with a brief description.
Deadline is Friday 18th at 10pm GMT+2.
Have fun!
 
:Brute Bonnet: :Mesprit: :Grafaiai: :Charizard: :Scovillain: :Leafeon:
Standard Sun. Brute Bonnet with the Proto boost + Life orb + tera dark sucker punch hits like a truck, so I thought it would be cool to use. Synthesis as the last slot as people try play around the sucker punch/stall sun by switching or using random status moves and you can punish them by recovering the Life orb recoil off. Dragon pulse zard because trying to break through tera dragon special walls with this team is kinda tough, zard makes it easier. You are rarely clicking anything other than fire blast or solar beam anyway and overheat is a cool nuke.
 
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