The Artist

[kd24]

I give RU a lot of flak whenever I speak about it but after playing it, I think the tier is actually pretty unique and fun but really lends itself to be dominated by offensive minded teams. So, being the offensive genius who only plays stall, I decided to break out the big guns and use a team focused on one of my favorite mons ever....as in ever. I am of course talking about Smeargle, who I always feel is one of the best hazard setters ever created and just takes advantage of too many Pokemon. Deciding Smeargle as a Pokemon made it pretty obvious I wanted to just forgo using any concept of "resistances" or "countering threats" so I instead focused on just making the team based on "how hard I can hit you?" and "how well can I apply pressure?" So far, it's been a resounding success as RU was a tier I constantly struggled with but with this team, I just put on so much offensive presence it's hard for opposing teams to keep up.

I did the drawings in Black and White cuz I'm an artsy (BAN ME PLEASE) :]

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Endeavor

I was skeptical about Smeargle at first - with team preview, surely they'll have an answer to lead with. But truth be told, I don't really think teams have "great" answers for a fast sasher with Spore. The goal is Stealth Rock or Spikes as quickly as possible which Smeargle is always guaranteed to do at least once. Spore can be risky at times but a good rule of thumb is that 30% of the time, they have no actual answer to Smeargle and I can and will get off 1 Spore, 1 SR, and 1 Spikes/Endeavor. If that happens, the game is basically over right there.

I think a good way to emphasize how key Smeargle is to my team is by showing how it matches up vs "S-Rank" mons decided in the RU Viability thread:

Druddigon - Outspeeds and Spores
Entei - Spores as they Flare Blitz and then sets up SR
Escavalier - Outspeeds and Spores
Moltres - Spore as they Fire Blast and then sets up SR
Nidoqueen - Outspeeds and Spores
Sceptile - Spore as they do whatever
Slowking - Outspeeds and Spore
Uxie - Outspeeds and Spores standard set, if they Sub as your Spore, then you just set up SR

Right away, that potential to me is just scary. Smeargle flat out dominates most of those mons via Spore and is guaranteed to set up hazards. Because Taunt isn't as common in these higher class mons, Smeargle really only falters vs the "lesser" mons. And I maintain that in the hands of a competent Smeargle user, Smeargle will Spore and get up hazards within a single match vs any competitive team.

Endeavor is a "cute" choice for the last slot, but I've been using it since DPP where I also use Smeargle. It is such a momentum swinger and can turn Smeargle into a last resort answer to Life Orb sweepers that have me on the ropes, provided his health is full and a mon is asleep already (not an uncommon scenario by any stretch of imagination). It also punishes Psychic-types in the late game where Smeargle is low on health if Absol is dead - if they begin setting up Calm Minds, I can Endeavor them down and revenge with my fighting-types, which ends up in a sweep anyway.

Absol @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Night Slash
- Superpower

Absol is purely about power which is why I am using Life Orb and Adamant. Sucker Punch's power is absolutely ridiculous in the late game, especially vs sweepers who give my team problems if left unchecked. A common example would be SD Sceptile vs Absol, where I just Sucker Punch 8 times and eventually they'll get "sneaky" and go for an attack on like the 5th turn. Absol is actually really dangerous just because of how much the rest of my team benefits from Absol. Pursuit takes care of Cyrogonal who has the defenses of a wet paper bag and can be a problem for this team when I have to deal with its ability to Spin and wall Nidoqueen. Pursuit also deals with the Psychic-types who wall Hitmonlee and Primeape. Absol fits snugly into the small volt-turn-pursuit trio I have where he can deal with the special walls and psychics who attempt to stop Rotom-C and Primeape.

I opted for Night Slash because Super Luck is actually really good, and because I hate being stuck with Sucker Punch and Pursuit for STAB. Superpower is just a neat little way of dealing with Clefable and random Ice/Steel-types but admittedly, I hardly ever need Superpower. It's all the STAB for this ... dog.

Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt

I first got interested in RU when I found out how good this thing was. It's even better than I thought. Windsong told me to use Timid Nidoqueen a while ago when I was stuck on Modest being superior and sadly the better RUer was right here because Timid is just so much better. I hardly ever notice a real difference in power but I certainly have outsped and won far more games due to Timid than I would have due to Modest. Nidoqueen is surprisingly more of a glue to this team than anything else. It deals with slower stall teams alongside Absol that trouble the Fighting duo, while being able to take opposing Fighting-type attacks fairly well. It's Electric immunity is actually very useful in a tier where Rotom formes are pretty shockingly good (pun pun pun). Honestly, it's not perfect but it gets the job done and with that, Nidoqueen is here to stay.

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 208 Spd / 48 HP
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt

Rotom-C is pretty good although I've debated removing it for standard Rotom. Speed, the ability to spam Shadow Ball, and the immunities is well worth the change, but Rotom-C plugs a few holes as well, particularly against Water-types. I originally used Specs but Volt Switching and U-Turning with Scarfers is way better and this allows Rotom-C to actually function as a revenge killer. You would be surprised at just how good a Scyther -was- vs this team shudddddder. Trick has caught Clefable a few times, allowing Nidoqueen to beat it later on, and it also stops opposing set up mons from absolutely ravaging me. The EVs are just for outspeeding Gallade and fucks post Trick and gives Rotom-C room to invest in just a wee bit of bulk. I could consider using a Hidden Power over a different move but I honestly wouldn't see the point. Very rarely am I ever not spamming Thunderbolt or Volt Switch.

Hitmonlee (M) @ Normal Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

The first of the Fighting-types, Hitmonlee is a beast. I really am surprised no one else uses him, as his role of cleaning late game is just really invaluable. Nothing "likes" taking Hi Jump Kicks, especially when an Absol is hanging around, and I find what Hitmonlee doesn't take out, Primeape finishes. Obviously, the correct way to use Hitmonlee is late game where I feel primed to sweep with him + Ape. But sometimes I do have to change my gameplan up and have Lee focus as a early answer to a threat that has me on the ropes. a 60 BP Fake Out will stop a lot of mons and when followed by HJK/EQ/SE will finish off what I needed to stop. EQ actually seems redundant but Nidoqueen is literally that good, and it helps when people actually rely on Nidoqueen as their fighting-type answer - Primeape is eagerly awaiting those scenarios.

Primeape @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Punishment

I don't care what anyone says, this thing is not garbage. Immune to sleep, U-Turn access, Close Combat, it has it all. Again, like Hitmonlee, it abuses the fact that Absol can answer to many of its counters and then cleans up vs teams that don't prepare well for multiple fighting-types. I really just enjoy how much pressure it puts on you to make the right decision, otherwise, you're losing your fighting-type counter long term and then Hitmonlee has a field day. I honestly think Primeape is almost irreplaceable as he brings everything together in a weird sort of way.

So that's the team. No Stealth Rock weaknesses and an onslaught of offensive fury. Entei ExtremeSpeed actually worries me a lot but Stealth Rock is a thing and so it can eventually be taken down. A change I could opt for is throwing in a Kabutops or even a Timid Specs Rotom, both of whom would deal with Entei pretty well. Again, this is just more evidence that Rotom is the right choice but it's a RMT and that's what you guys are for. So thanks for reading and rate :]

 

[shiranai]

You got a pretty good team here! Almost everything is covered here, but I think that Rotom original form would be a lot better than Rotom-C: as you said, Rotom helps in dealing with Entei's Ex-speed, but it can also take Moltres Hurricane, which can OHKO your entire team, meaning that it will most likely take down one of your pokes (and most of the times it woun't be Smeargle); Rotom will still be OHKO by Fire Blast, but can survives all other moves from Moltres and retaliate with a Tbolt or Volt Switch, and Timid Rotom will always outspeed non-scarfed Moltres.

Otherwise, there isn't anything more I could say about now. Hope I could be of some help.

 

[col49]

Hey kd24, cool team =) I've always been a fan of the concept of overloading defensive 'mons, and the little things like Pursuit Absol are really nice. Also the art is cool !_!

At a glance, Amoongus and Tangrowth (the former more so than the latter), look to be complete nuisances to your team, checking all of your attackers barring Nidoqueen to an extent, not being Pursuit weak, and not being as effectively overloaded due to access to Regenerator. A well-played Uxie, looks to trouble your team to an extent as well, checking your Fighting-types+Nidoqueen and being able to avoid Pursuit damage from Absol with well-timed U-Turn, while being immune to Spikes and thusly being more difficult to wear down.

That being, I wanna preface my rate by saying that I would encourage you to keep Rotom-C over Rotom-N. Though it is true that Entei's ESpeed is a pain should you give it too many opportunities to come in and spam it, but as long as you keep hazards up and apply proper offensive pressure it shouldn't be able to switch in on anything. Rotom-C's better durability and ability to deter Ground-type switch-in's better seem pretty important to the team as a whole, allowing it to better pivot into attacks.

Moving on to my suggestions, I feel as though Endeavor is suboptimal on Smeargle in the context of your team. As it stands, a smart player with a spinner can simply force the Spore with something else and then switch in the spinner and spin, KOing in the proceeding turn. Moreover, this makes Smeargle susceptible to being set up by Substitute using sweepers such as Crawdaunt and Klinklang, the latter of whom can use Gear Grind to forgo Smeargle's sash and can clean through your team with a little prior damage on Rotom-C or Nidoqueen (or a free sub, something Smeargle currently allows x_x). Have you considered running Explosion in it's place? Explosion, alongside a spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe would allow Smeargle to self-spin block rather effectively, while also preventing sweepers from setting up on it for free. For reference, its Explosion does 24.47 - 29.02% to the standard Klinklang set, meaning it will almost always break its sub, allowing you to scare it off with either Nidoqueen or Rotom-C. The loss in bulk from investing in Attack is rather insignificant when taking into account it usually 2HKOed by whatever attack(s) are thrown at it anyway.

While I do agree that Primeape is under-appreciated, I feel as though it isn't the best fit for this team. If I were to make a suggestion, I would suggest looking into SD Gallade. Gallade gives your team a more solidified win condition for late-game that can set up Tangrowth and Amoongus easily by merit of its chill natural special bulk and Lum Berry (as well as Uxie to an extent, though it needs to be worn down a bit to be beaten 1v1), while still adhering to the theme of overloading the opponent with Fighting-types. Here would be my proposed set:

Hide

Gallade (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
- Zen Headbutt

Note: Jolly can be used to allow Gallade to pressure opposing Smeargle, though generally Adamant is more useful.

tl;dr:

Hide

• 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe ---> 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Endeavor ---> Explosion

--->

I hope any of my suggestions have been of use to you, good luck in the future :)