Underused was the second tier I played on PokemonShowdown!, and I used a team that did very well at first, especially when you consider the fact that I had never touched competitive battling before, and was jumping into a brand new tier. However, over the next month or so it became worse and worse until it was unusable. (Reversal Hitmonlee, Life orb Mew, Amoongus [later Chestnaut], Chandelure, Shaymin, and Ditto for anyone wondering) I was trying to figure out how to remedy this to do well in my favorite tier, and realized that a whole bunch of my favorite Pokemon were UnderUsed, whether they dropped this Gen or already were, and I wasn't using really any of them except Chestnaut, which sucks. So I tried to build a team around my first in-game 6IV, Machamp.
Machamp@ Black Belt
No Guard, Adamant
EVs: 136HP/196+Atk/55Spe
-Stone Edge
-Bulk Up
-Facade
-Dynamic Punch
I've always been a bit attracted to the gimmick Machamp has in No Guard Dynamic Punch, and the raw power it provides. Most of what I have to say here is pretty straightforward. I can take out everything that doesn't resist in two hits, even strong physical walls, and if it's frail enough, like Mega Alakazam, I can 2HKO it anyway. Stone Edge obviously provides fantastic coverage, and becomes my answer to Honchkrow. Machamp actually consistently outspeeds Honchkrow, and Stone Edge is an easy OHKO if I can (assuming I even have to) take a sucker punch. Although Bulk Up itself hasn't been incredibly useful in general, it lets Stone Edge net the KO on Slowbro after it switches into a Dynamic Punch. Facade was stuck on a bit last minute, but burn has come up somewhat more often in the past week or so, so I still manage to hurt for a few turns.
Porygon-Z@ Life Orb
Adaptability, Modest
Evs: 80HP/156+SpA/252Spe
-Hyper Beam
-Tri Attack
-Shadow Ball
-Recover
Porygon-Z is an awesome lead, which I send out first basically every time unless I'm absolutely 100% sure what my opponent is going to lead with so I can counter it, because normal coverage is pretty great. Thanks to the steel nerf, Shadow Ball hits both types which resist normal for neutral damage, but with Adaptability not very effective STAB moves hit the same as neutral coverage moves anyway, and Tri Attack just might cause a major status effect. Shadow Ball does, however, hit super effectively on ghost types, oftentimes surprising opponents on the switch or in general, and most relevant steel type threats tend to have secondary types that have a weakness to ghost. It does not, however, quite OHKO Trevenant, so if Porygon-Z is weakened, it can be finished off from one of Trevenant's attacks. Recover obviously helps a lot with Life Orb recoil and all, and Hyper Beam can finish off opponents when I'm in death-by-life-orb range, and actually seems to surprise opponents sometimes.
Shaymin@Leftovers
Natural Cure, Timid
4HP/252SpA/252+Spe
-Seed Flare
-Earth Power
-Psychic
-Air Slash
Shaymin is the only leftover member from my original team, and definitely performed the best out of those six (seven). Seed Flare definitely lets Shaymin manage its own against special walls, if I'm lucky on the first turn it nets a clean 3HKO on Florges. Grass coverage comes in handy a lot more than other people seem to think it does. Shaymin outpseeds most relevant fire types, including Darmanitan, and can easily KO with Earth Power. It does not, however, if I remember correctly, outspeed Arcanine or Mega Manectric, and definitely can't take Fire Blast or Overheat (irrespectively). Mega-Manectric doesn't come up very much anymore, however. Air Slash cleanly OHKOs Heracross in my experience, and comes in handy somewhat often. Psychic is never worth it ever, as I mostly had it on my old team for Crobat, which outspeeds and OKHOs Shaymin far more often than it used to. I have been meaning to replace it with Synthesis.
Cloyster@Focus Sash
Skill Link, Serious
Evs: 184Atk/72SpA/252Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Shell Smash
-Icicle Spear
-Rock Blast
Cloyster, if played right, is the end-all to the battle. My in-game Cloyster is the whole reason there are priority moves on my friends' teams. I've been told a few times to run White Herb instead of Focus Sash, but Cloyster gets OHKOd by everything that isn't a neutral moderately powerful physical attack or a 1/4 effective special attack from a defensive pokemon. If, however, I smash on the switch or manage to stay above half health on the smash, I basically win the game right there. I've also been told several times to run Ice Shard instead of Hydro Pump, as Cloyster obviously struggles with priority attacks, and Hydro Pump gets neutral coverage on those pesky steel types, and usually nets a 2HKO. I don't usually survive that long, but if I did I would be better off than with Icicle Spear. Ice Shard doesn't seem to have a significant power, although I admit to having never tested it. There are a few pokemon however, such as bulky water types and the aforementioned steel types, who are only 2HKO and finish off Cloyster (who usually has 1hp left). However, I usually don't send him out until late game, often when its 2v3 in my opponents favor, to make sure all priority is gone; therefore most of these pokemon tend to be already off the field. Although, eliminating priority can be difficult as the opponent sees Cloyster and preserves his or her priority for as long as possible. Cloyster is Serious because I didn't want to take away from any stats, but I'm sure there's something I could put in, as I'm sure some of those bulky water types could be taken out in one hit if I ran a plus attack nature I've been leaning toward Naughty (-SpD), since its Special Defense sucks anyway.
Victini@ Choice Band
Victory Star, Serious
Evs: 4HP/252Atk/252Spe
-V-Create
-Bolt Strike
-Energy Ball
-Zen Headbutt
Banded Victini was an obvious choice for me, as his power level is over 9000!! He OHKOs generally everything assuming I use the right move, and even then I can 2HKO almost always if I'm confident that I'll still outspeed. I stay still outspeed because I usually only use the wrong move if I try to V-create a resist, usually Water or Ground, as Bolt Strike has very few relevant resists and hits hard enough neutral. Water types don't come up often, however, as I usually predict correctly and Bolt Strike on the switch. Victini has a bit of trouble with ground types obviously, being weak and not very effective with the moves he will always be locked into, but V-Create tends to 2HKO fairly regularly if Victini survives the first Earthquake/Earth Power and remains faster. This can take care of Nidoking if it's previously weakened, which makes Zen Headbutt redundant. I really never, ever use Zen Headbutt, it's purely a filler slot. I never us Energy Ball ever either, it seems, despite having a far more obvious use on bulky Water/Ground types (read: Water/Ground types [read: Swampert]) but it seems I'm always locked into V-Create or Bolt Strike by the time I'm out against them so I'll always switch out anyway. Any options for useful moveslots here are welcome. The nature goes the same way as Cloyster, although I've been leading strongly toward Adamant here, as the only reason I didn't make it that was for Energy Ball.
Mew@ Focus Sash
Synchronize, Modest
Evs: 208Def/168SpD/132Spe
-Defog
-Heal Bell
-Psychic
-Aura Sphere
Mew is technically a member of my old team, but it functioned as an all purpose sweeper there, which is precisely the opposite of the utility it has become. I have learned from my adventures with Shellder in Little Cup that Stealth Rock removal is absolutely necessary to use a sweeper which relies so heavily on Focus Sash as Cloyster. So what better for the role than the new and improved, unblockable Defog? I also have had a lot of trouble with status in the past, especially in Ubers, so I've always been meaning to put a cleric on my team- but I always forget, so I put one on this team as I made it. Sometimes I wish that there was something a little less predictable than Mew for this role, (When I used Life Orb Mew I actually caught opponents by surprise when my Mew proved not to be support,) alas I, along with many others, discovered that Mew is the only pokemon which can learn both Defog and Heal Bell/Aromatherapy. However, Heal Bell comes up basically never, as opposed to how often I thought I would use it when making this team, so I have recently began considering replacing it with Softboiled- meaning I may be able to replace it with something a little more unexpected. Psychic is a basic STAB move, and Aura Sphere is some much needed coverage, especially when your primary STAB doesn't affect an entire type, and it comes in handy often enough to not warrant removing it for all three support moves like most people seem to have. I sometimes use Mew as a clear for Victini's V-Create stat drops, just switch in and let Mew take the hit, as Victini is infinitely more valuable than Mew assuming no hazards or Cloyster is already out. I want to put on a more defensive nature, but I'm not sure what way to go with it.
Unlike my first UnderUsed team, which started solid and deteriorated, this team started off rather iffy, but quickly began to win most of its battles, a little above 3/4 despite being chosen with about the same regard to synergy (none). For a while I was scared to death of Honchkrow, but as mentioned Machamp is a solid answer assuming its still alive, which works because they usually send it out into Porygon-Z after their lead dies. Galvantula has started to come up more often in the past week or so though, and I cannot handle it at all. A lead Galvantula, assuming a Focus Sash, will take a hit from Porygon-Z to set up Sticky Web, and proceed to OHKO my entire team, except Mew and Cloyster for the Focus Sash. It forces me to choose between killing my Cloyster, or activating Mew's Focus Sash to kill it and when Mew dies, Sticky Web stays up for the whole battle and Cloyster (and everything else) is slower than the entire opposing team anyway, even after Shell Smash a lot of the time. Galvantula is actually the main reason I made this RMT, but I'm interested what other weaknesses I may have. Nidoking on paper seems to take care of most of my team, but in practice I seem to manage well with him. More recently, Blissey's appearence in the tier screws me up pretty bad, but sometimes I do manage to win around her.
Keep in mind that the EV spreads were not carefully calculated, and done with about the precision I use when Super Training in-game, which is going with whatever looks right. However, also keep in mind that this team absolutely works.
Machamp@ Black Belt
No Guard, Adamant
EVs: 136HP/196+Atk/55Spe
-Stone Edge
-Bulk Up
-Facade
-Dynamic Punch
I've always been a bit attracted to the gimmick Machamp has in No Guard Dynamic Punch, and the raw power it provides. Most of what I have to say here is pretty straightforward. I can take out everything that doesn't resist in two hits, even strong physical walls, and if it's frail enough, like Mega Alakazam, I can 2HKO it anyway. Stone Edge obviously provides fantastic coverage, and becomes my answer to Honchkrow. Machamp actually consistently outspeeds Honchkrow, and Stone Edge is an easy OHKO if I can (assuming I even have to) take a sucker punch. Although Bulk Up itself hasn't been incredibly useful in general, it lets Stone Edge net the KO on Slowbro after it switches into a Dynamic Punch. Facade was stuck on a bit last minute, but burn has come up somewhat more often in the past week or so, so I still manage to hurt for a few turns.
Porygon-Z@ Life Orb
Adaptability, Modest
Evs: 80HP/156+SpA/252Spe
-Hyper Beam
-Tri Attack
-Shadow Ball
-Recover
Porygon-Z is an awesome lead, which I send out first basically every time unless I'm absolutely 100% sure what my opponent is going to lead with so I can counter it, because normal coverage is pretty great. Thanks to the steel nerf, Shadow Ball hits both types which resist normal for neutral damage, but with Adaptability not very effective STAB moves hit the same as neutral coverage moves anyway, and Tri Attack just might cause a major status effect. Shadow Ball does, however, hit super effectively on ghost types, oftentimes surprising opponents on the switch or in general, and most relevant steel type threats tend to have secondary types that have a weakness to ghost. It does not, however, quite OHKO Trevenant, so if Porygon-Z is weakened, it can be finished off from one of Trevenant's attacks. Recover obviously helps a lot with Life Orb recoil and all, and Hyper Beam can finish off opponents when I'm in death-by-life-orb range, and actually seems to surprise opponents sometimes.
Shaymin@Leftovers
Natural Cure, Timid
4HP/252SpA/252+Spe
-Seed Flare
-Earth Power
-Psychic
-Air Slash
Shaymin is the only leftover member from my original team, and definitely performed the best out of those six (seven). Seed Flare definitely lets Shaymin manage its own against special walls, if I'm lucky on the first turn it nets a clean 3HKO on Florges. Grass coverage comes in handy a lot more than other people seem to think it does. Shaymin outpseeds most relevant fire types, including Darmanitan, and can easily KO with Earth Power. It does not, however, if I remember correctly, outspeed Arcanine or Mega Manectric, and definitely can't take Fire Blast or Overheat (irrespectively). Mega-Manectric doesn't come up very much anymore, however. Air Slash cleanly OHKOs Heracross in my experience, and comes in handy somewhat often. Psychic is never worth it ever, as I mostly had it on my old team for Crobat, which outspeeds and OKHOs Shaymin far more often than it used to. I have been meaning to replace it with Synthesis.
Cloyster@Focus Sash
Skill Link, Serious
Evs: 184Atk/72SpA/252Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Shell Smash
-Icicle Spear
-Rock Blast
Cloyster, if played right, is the end-all to the battle. My in-game Cloyster is the whole reason there are priority moves on my friends' teams. I've been told a few times to run White Herb instead of Focus Sash, but Cloyster gets OHKOd by everything that isn't a neutral moderately powerful physical attack or a 1/4 effective special attack from a defensive pokemon. If, however, I smash on the switch or manage to stay above half health on the smash, I basically win the game right there. I've also been told several times to run Ice Shard instead of Hydro Pump, as Cloyster obviously struggles with priority attacks, and Hydro Pump gets neutral coverage on those pesky steel types, and usually nets a 2HKO. I don't usually survive that long, but if I did I would be better off than with Icicle Spear. Ice Shard doesn't seem to have a significant power, although I admit to having never tested it. There are a few pokemon however, such as bulky water types and the aforementioned steel types, who are only 2HKO and finish off Cloyster (who usually has 1hp left). However, I usually don't send him out until late game, often when its 2v3 in my opponents favor, to make sure all priority is gone; therefore most of these pokemon tend to be already off the field. Although, eliminating priority can be difficult as the opponent sees Cloyster and preserves his or her priority for as long as possible. Cloyster is Serious because I didn't want to take away from any stats, but I'm sure there's something I could put in, as I'm sure some of those bulky water types could be taken out in one hit if I ran a plus attack nature I've been leaning toward Naughty (-SpD), since its Special Defense sucks anyway.
Victini@ Choice Band
Victory Star, Serious
Evs: 4HP/252Atk/252Spe
-V-Create
-Bolt Strike
-Energy Ball
-Zen Headbutt
Banded Victini was an obvious choice for me, as his power level is over 9000!! He OHKOs generally everything assuming I use the right move, and even then I can 2HKO almost always if I'm confident that I'll still outspeed. I stay still outspeed because I usually only use the wrong move if I try to V-create a resist, usually Water or Ground, as Bolt Strike has very few relevant resists and hits hard enough neutral. Water types don't come up often, however, as I usually predict correctly and Bolt Strike on the switch. Victini has a bit of trouble with ground types obviously, being weak and not very effective with the moves he will always be locked into, but V-Create tends to 2HKO fairly regularly if Victini survives the first Earthquake/Earth Power and remains faster. This can take care of Nidoking if it's previously weakened, which makes Zen Headbutt redundant. I really never, ever use Zen Headbutt, it's purely a filler slot. I never us Energy Ball ever either, it seems, despite having a far more obvious use on bulky Water/Ground types (read: Water/Ground types [read: Swampert]) but it seems I'm always locked into V-Create or Bolt Strike by the time I'm out against them so I'll always switch out anyway. Any options for useful moveslots here are welcome. The nature goes the same way as Cloyster, although I've been leading strongly toward Adamant here, as the only reason I didn't make it that was for Energy Ball.
Mew@ Focus Sash
Synchronize, Modest
Evs: 208Def/168SpD/132Spe
-Defog
-Heal Bell
-Psychic
-Aura Sphere
Mew is technically a member of my old team, but it functioned as an all purpose sweeper there, which is precisely the opposite of the utility it has become. I have learned from my adventures with Shellder in Little Cup that Stealth Rock removal is absolutely necessary to use a sweeper which relies so heavily on Focus Sash as Cloyster. So what better for the role than the new and improved, unblockable Defog? I also have had a lot of trouble with status in the past, especially in Ubers, so I've always been meaning to put a cleric on my team- but I always forget, so I put one on this team as I made it. Sometimes I wish that there was something a little less predictable than Mew for this role, (When I used Life Orb Mew I actually caught opponents by surprise when my Mew proved not to be support,) alas I, along with many others, discovered that Mew is the only pokemon which can learn both Defog and Heal Bell/Aromatherapy. However, Heal Bell comes up basically never, as opposed to how often I thought I would use it when making this team, so I have recently began considering replacing it with Softboiled- meaning I may be able to replace it with something a little more unexpected. Psychic is a basic STAB move, and Aura Sphere is some much needed coverage, especially when your primary STAB doesn't affect an entire type, and it comes in handy often enough to not warrant removing it for all three support moves like most people seem to have. I sometimes use Mew as a clear for Victini's V-Create stat drops, just switch in and let Mew take the hit, as Victini is infinitely more valuable than Mew assuming no hazards or Cloyster is already out. I want to put on a more defensive nature, but I'm not sure what way to go with it.
Unlike my first UnderUsed team, which started solid and deteriorated, this team started off rather iffy, but quickly began to win most of its battles, a little above 3/4 despite being chosen with about the same regard to synergy (none). For a while I was scared to death of Honchkrow, but as mentioned Machamp is a solid answer assuming its still alive, which works because they usually send it out into Porygon-Z after their lead dies. Galvantula has started to come up more often in the past week or so though, and I cannot handle it at all. A lead Galvantula, assuming a Focus Sash, will take a hit from Porygon-Z to set up Sticky Web, and proceed to OHKO my entire team, except Mew and Cloyster for the Focus Sash. It forces me to choose between killing my Cloyster, or activating Mew's Focus Sash to kill it and when Mew dies, Sticky Web stays up for the whole battle and Cloyster (and everything else) is slower than the entire opposing team anyway, even after Shell Smash a lot of the time. Galvantula is actually the main reason I made this RMT, but I'm interested what other weaknesses I may have. Nidoking on paper seems to take care of most of my team, but in practice I seem to manage well with him. More recently, Blissey's appearence in the tier screws me up pretty bad, but sometimes I do manage to win around her.
Keep in mind that the EV spreads were not carefully calculated, and done with about the precision I use when Super Training in-game, which is going with whatever looks right. However, also keep in mind that this team absolutely works.