The Blob is Here! A First Attempt at RU!
(Yes, Galvantula is floating like a boss. Deal with it.)
INTRODUCTION
Hey there, Smogon! Leafshield here, introducing my second RMT, and this time it's in RU. I started getting into RU about a month ago, and instantly fell in love due to its impeccable balance, various styles of teambuilding, and multifarious selection of viable Pokémon that you can't help but love. Not only that, but tons of my favorite Pokémon were viable, and even good in this tier! Let me tell you, that's not something I get to say about every tier. After about a week of surfing the RU board, learning about what's good and what I should look out for, I built a team. Needless to say... it was pretty mediocre (as most of my teams are, to be frank). So, with the help of Smogoon and Molk on Smogon, I crafted a new, much better team, focused around Choice Banded Lickilicky, who boasts one of the strongest single moves in the game; an Adamant, STAB Explosion backed up by a Choice Band is nothing to mess around with. I added some strong partners, and voila!, Team "The Blob is Here!" was born! Enough with the introductory talk, let's move on to -
THE TEAM
Lickilicky @ Choice Band | Cloud Nine
Adamant | 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Return | Power Whip | Fire Punch / Earthquake | Explosion
Oh yeah, the blob is here! Lickilicky is the star of the team, and for good reason: Adamant, Choice Banded, STAB Explosion is nothing to fuck with. Lickilicky has the ability to severely dent anything that does not resist his strong Explosion, but that's not all the big man can do. In fact, I find Lickilicky to be one of the most potent wallbreakers in the tier, being able to punch holes in the likes of Tangrowth, Ferroseed, Slowking, and Steelix with relative ease with its useful coverage options. Return is a high-powered, drawback-free STAB that allows the blob to hit like a sledgehammer. Power Whip is the first coverage option. With great coverage in tandem with Normal-, Power Whip decimates the Rock- types that normally take pittance from Lickilicky's STAB Return. Fire Punch is used here over EQ to hit Tangrowth and Ferroseed harder, as well as Escavalier on the switch in, trying to tank a Normal-Type move after I reveal my set. It also helps a ton against Ice-Types, assuring Rotom-F is going to have one hell of a time switching in, as well as Jynx, who is hard pressed to kill Lickilicky with anything bar Focus Blast. I have tested Earthquake in this spot, and it does work decently, allowing me to do more damage to Aggron and to Steelix (I think...? I may have to calc that later). Finally, we have Explosion, the main reason I wanted to use Lickilicky; this thing is not only potent, but its fun as hell to whip out when Licki's getting close to death. The reaction the opponent gets when I blow up on their Slowking and scrape off an enormous chunk of health is absolutely priceless. This is most likely the one member of the team I am completely against replacing.
Galvantula @ Expert Belt | CompundEyes
Timid | 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Bug Buzz | Thunder | Giga Drain | Hidden Power [Ground]
I can't believe that people would rather run any Choice item on Galvantula over an Expert Belt. This set is so good, it's not even funny. Not only is it potent in itself, but it packs a lot of surprise factor, as most players like to assume that the spider is locked into a move. Aside from that, I chose EBelt Galvantula as a way to keep switch momentum and to deal better with physically bulky Waters like Quagsire and Poliwrath. The EVs and set are fairly standard, so I'll only sum them up; Bug Buzz and Thunder are the main STAB, hitting many problem Pokémon, such as the ever-common, ever bulky Slowking and Tangrowth, for Super-Effective damage. Giga Drain is used to hit Ground- and Rock- Types hard, such as Rhydon and Golurk, who can easily switch in on my Thunders. Hidden Power Ground fits in the last spot to punish Steel-type switch ins, such as Aggrons and Klinklangs, as well as Fire-types wanting to come in to revenge kill, still believing I'm locked into Giga Drain. I haven't used it all that much, and was honestly thinking about changing it to Hidden Power [Ice] to help my team against Druddigon, but I haven't seen much of a need for it.
Emboar @ Choice Scarf | Blaze
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Flare Blitz | Wild Charge | Superpower | Sleep Talk
Emboar is an absolute beast in RU due to its high Attack and great coverage. When I was making the team, I knew that I needed a Scarfer, and Emboar fit the bill nicely, being able to come in and hit problem Steel-Types and Grass-Types extremely hard, something that the team sort of struggles with from time to time. Initially, I had a CB Entei in this spot, but I changed it out because duplicate Choice-Items sorta bug me. The EVs and set are, yet again, standard, assuring that Emboar is going to hit as hard and fast as possible. Sleep Talk is used over another coverage move because, to be fair, the combination of Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and Superpower have damn good coverage, allowing me to free up a slot to switch in on sleepers, most if not all of which are weak to one of the moves on this set. Emboar's main job on this team is to deal with Escavalier, Scarf Absol, and Klinklang, all of which bother the rest of the offensive part of my team immensely, as well as having the ability to damage my walls on the switch in with ease. Emboar can easily outspeed these threats due to Choice Scarf and hit them with the appropriate coverage move. In fact, Emboar can even switch in on Escavalier, due to a handy x4 Bug-Type resistance.
Slowking @ Leftovers | Regenerator
Calm | 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpDef
Scald | Toxic | Slack Off | Psyshock / Fire Blast
The King of RU makes his entrance! Slowking is an absolute tank in RU, being able to shrug off powerful attacks like nothing and Slack Off to full health or switch out and heal up with Regenerator. This EV Spread is the only one on this team that is not max/max, and may need some explaining. Slowking's Special Defense is already stellar, meaning that I did not need to fully invest in it. To help my team combat against Entei, Molk suggested to me to use 144 Defense EVs, which allow me to take Banded Flare Blitz's for days. The set is pretty standard; Scald and Toxic provide useful status and, in the former's case, adequate damage, that allow me to wear down the opponent's walls so that Lickilicky can go to work later. Slack Off provides the always useful recovery, assuring Slowking will stay healthy for the remainder of the match. I'm very, VERY torn between Psyshock and Fire Blast, though: I've tested both, and I wasn't disappointed with either of them. On one hand, Psyshock allows me to punish Fighting-Types much easier, but on the other, Fire Blast gives me assurance against Escavalier, which is always nice. Really, help me out guys, I don't know which one to choose!
Tangrowth @ Leftovers | Regenerator
Relaxed | 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Atk
Sleep Powder | Power Whip | Earthquake | Hidden Power [Fire]
Tangrowth is my dedicated physical wall, as well as the second part of my Regenerator core. This set is almost entirely constructed by Molk, if not 100% constructed, so I again thank Molk for that. While the set itself may seem more offensive, The EVs are Max/Max in Defense in order to take even Super-Effective hits with ease. I chose a relaxed nature due to not wanting to diminish the power of my attacks, and Tangrowth doesn't particularly miss the speed, anyhow. Sleep Powder is almost a given on Tangrowth, allowing him to cripple an opponent's Pokémon for the remainder of the match. Power Whip and Earthquake are used to punish various switch ins, such as (you guessed it!) Steel-types and Rock-types that resist Lickilicky's STAB. Hidden Power [Fire] is specifically for Escavalier switch-ins, which is why I'm shaky on putting Fire Blast on Slowking, as I can handle Esca pretty easily from this front. I am considering replacing HP Fire for Leech Seed, though. If I have Fire Blast on Slowking, I can use that to stop Esca and utilize Leech Seeds to get recovery and force switches with Tangrowth. Idk, just something I was thinking of.
Crustle @ Custap Berry | Sturdy
Jolly | 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Spikes | Stealth Rock | Rock Blast | X-Scissor
How ironic that my usual lead has found itself at the bottom of my RMT! Crustle is a fantastic Spike-Stacker in the current metagame, utilizing Sturdy and a Custap Berry to ensure at least 2 layers of hazards if I need them. The EVs are so due to me wanting to get into Custap range as quickly as possible. It also helps to pack a punch against subborn "inb4 rocks" Moltres and lead Gallades getting spunky and trying to set up, so I can hit them with my strong STABs. To be honest... there isn't much to say about this guy! He does his job, and he does it exceedingly well, allowing Lickilicky to ensure pivotal KOs on bulkier opponents.
CONCLUSION
Well, that's the team! I hope you all enjoyed the RMT, and feel like leaving a rate in order to help me make it even better! I have noticed a problem with Moltres on this team once Crustle is wasted. Slowking handles the Choice variants well enough, but the Life Orb and SubRoost variants give me a hard time. Status is also a large problem: I lack a Toxic absorber AND a TWave absorber, and nothing likes to be burned. I am seriously considering finding room for a Steel-Type on this team, but I'm not sure as to what I should replace. So, if you have a recommendation, please give it to me below. I'll test it, and reply back with results and thoughts! I will then edit the RMT accordingly to my decision.
Once again, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the team as much as I enjoy using it :]
Once again, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the team as much as I enjoy using it :]