The Pixie that Could (Final BW RMT)

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

THE PIXIE THAT COULD
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Introduction

Hey guys, it's ScraftyIsTheBest here (or Scrafty or sitb for short). A little over a year ago, I joined Smogon's community and began actively participating; notably in RU and UU. Even today, I'm still active and enjoying being a part of Smogon, and I've become a relatively knowledgable and competent player at both RU and UU, probably moreso RU. I would like to thank everyone here who's been a part of my time here on Smogon. This is, as of now, my 1000th post here on Smogon, and I'm making this RMT not just in celebration of this, but also because I like this team. Of course, there's more; but here's my final RMT for the fifth generation.

As for the team itself, this team is a bulky offense team built around Mesprit, who is probably my favorite Pokemon. This team is mostly around team synergy and hazards to get Mesprit to be able to do some hefty work in the game, and this team aims to get both Rocks and Spikes up while breaking down Mesprit's checks and counters so it can pull off a sweep later. This team is overall pretty solid for me; and I've been using it to great success so far. Before you get bored, let's get onto the team!

Team in Detail

Qwilfish @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Pain Split

Qwilfish is one of the most useful Pokemon in RU; and arguably the best spiker in the tier tied with Smeargle. This thing checks a horde of threats in RU; Emboar, Entei, Escavalier, Hitmonlee, etc, and provides great support in both hazards and paralysis. Intimidate is also an amazing ability to soften blows from physical attackers in general. Qwilfish checks Escavalier and Durant for Mesprit, while also the spikes and paralysis make up for Mesprit's slight lack of speed and power. Spikes is obvious support, and Spikes are absolutely incredible in RU and imo are a must on any team. Thunder Wave handles a lot of faster threats like Cinccino, Sceptile, Scolipede, Accelgor, etc. Waterfall is just there for some decent STAB; Qwilfish doesn't hit all that hard, but this allows it to deal some decent damage and the flinch is nice with T-Wave. Pain Split provides Qwilfish some nifty recovery so it can last around longer, which I like for the fish to repeatedly check the threats it needs to.

Mesprit @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 96 HP / 248 SpA / 164 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

Despite my username, I must say Mesprit is probably my favorite Pokemon ever. Idk, I just really like it; it's pretty cute imo and Mesprit's not exceptional at one particular role, I've always liked the jack of all trades aspect in it. Anyways, in this team I'm using a pretty underrated set atm; SubCM, which can pose a pretty strong threat to a lot of things, and I like using defensive Pokemon like Uxie and Poliwrath as setup fodder. Mesprit can run Substitute to dodge status like paralysis from Uxie, and from there it can grab free CM boosts, which allow Mesprit to hit pretty hard. I prefer Psyshock because it allows Mesprit to deliver a stronger blow to Cryogonal and Clefable, which is pretty neat imo. Ice Beam is pretty nice to hit Druddigon hard, and it also smacks stuff like Sceptile and Lilligant for something too. This thing is pretty underrated imo, and should see more usage.

Escavalier @ Choice Band
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Sleep Talk

Escavalier has always been a Pokemon that's impressed me every time I've used him-his sheer power and excellent typing are just hard to overlook. Escavalier really is an amazing Pokemon in RU atm, being able to check many threats like Lilligant, Sceptile, Mesprit, and a bunch of others because of his typing and power. He can wallbreak, trap, and absorb sleep all on one Pokemon, which is also pretty awesome. He also patches up a couple weaknesses of Qwilfish and Mesprit. Megahorn is basically Escavalier's main STAB, hitting stupidly hard off of 135 Attack with CB. What's also really awesome is that Bug STAB is super good in RU atm, threatening a lot of things in the tier. Iron Head is second STAB to hit some things that resist Megahorn, such as Braviary and Golurk, pretty hard while having some reliability. Pursuit gives Escavalier a nice niche to trap things like Cryo so they don't pose much of a threat. Sleep Talk is super useful, because Escavalier can take on a lot of sleep users like Smeargle, Lilligant, Jynx, etc. Escavalier also has a nice chance against these Pokemon. Overall, Escavalier is a pretty underrated Pokemon in RU atm; I don't see why he's not used more, he really is pretty solid.

Druddigon @ Leftovers
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Druddigon is easily one of the most defining Pokemon in RU atm, and is either the first or second best Pokemon in the tier imo. Honestly, it's really difficult for me to make a team without Druddigon. Anyways; Druddigon here serves as my Stealth Rock user, being able to set up Rocks, while it checks FWG cores, and he's my pick because he checks threats like special Fire-types like Typhlosion and Magmortar, which is rather important because Qwilfish has no special bulk. Rough Skin and Stealth Rock also go well together in wearing down opponents. Outrage provides Druddigon some power, and even without CB (most of the time I prefer CB Drudd lol), it hits decently hard. Earthquake is a pretty good move to hit Magneton and Emboar for good damage, and has nice coverage with Outrage. Sucker Punch is a useful priority move, so Druddigon can pick off faster opponents like Sceptile. Druddigon is a pretty strong piece of this team overall, and it's a meta defining threat imo.

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]

There's not much to say about Sceptile tbh; if you play RU, you probably know what this thing does by now. Sceptile is a pretty strong threat, with its Speed, power, and coverage, it's something to look out for. SubTile is a great set imo that has always performed for me, and it's arguably the best Sceptile set imo. Sceptile can set up Subs to dodge status while if it spams, it can hit Overgrow range and fire some real powerful Giga Drains; and with the recovery Sceptile can repeat this process. Focus Blast provides good coverage to hit Ferroseed and Magneton, along with Clefable and Cryogonal. It's fairly inaccurate but if Sceptile's behind a Sub, it's a decently safe bet. Hidden Power [Rock] hits Fire- and Flying-types, notably Moltres, which is great. Overall Sceptile is a pretty great Pokemon; and rather simple too.

Emboar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
- Sleep Talk

Emboar has become a Pokemon I've almost always found to be a must on a team. An NU obscurity that got pushed to RU (albeit by spam), it has since become one of the most useful Pokemon in the tier. Emboar has a nice typing; and is a good revenge killer, handling threats like Durant, Escavalier, Lilligant, and a bunch of others with its typing and stats. Being able to handle Durant and Escavalier for Mesprit is also good; the two also have decent synergy. Scarf Emboar also has a good amount of power, so it can hit pretty hard and revenge kill at once. Flare Blitz is the move Emboar is spamming most of the time, hitting most of the threats it needs to revenge kill. Superpower hits Kabutops, Omastar, etc. so Emboar doesn't provide them a safe switch-in. Wild Charge is a decent coverage move to do something to Slowking and Qwilfish, so it's not completely helpless against Water-types not named Kabutops or Omastar. Sleep Talk is a good move too, so Emboar can absorb sleep. It's kinda redundant with Escavalier, but two sleep absorbers is still kinda nice imo so Lilligant poses almost no threat to this team. Overall, Emboar has been one of the most useful Pokemon on this team, and does some pretty helpful stuff.

Threats to this team

If this thing gets one Shell Smash boost, I am basically screwed. Seriously, this thing's power and coverage after the boost make this thing nigh unstoppable. My only hope is to paralyze it with Qwilfish.

Smeargle can set up hazards to wear down practically everything except Mesprit, so I've got to watch out for this thing.

Conclusion

Well, there you've got it; my final fifth gen RMT. Obviously, this is not a finished product, but this here is a team I've been liking a lot; and it's also special because this is my 1000th post here on Smogon. This is all I've got to say; I've had a great time so far on Smogon, and I'm definitely looking forward to what XY has to offer to the competitive scene. And of course, here's the importable:

Importable

Qwilfish @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spd
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Pain Split

Mesprit @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 96 HP / 248 SAtk / 164 Spd
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

Escavalier @ Choice Band
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 132 HP / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Pursuit
- Sleep Talk

Druddigon @ Leftovers
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]

Emboar @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
- Sleep Talk

 

[col49]

Hey ScraftyIsTheBest, nice team n_n Clean example of RU bulky offense imo, and wouldn't feel right if it didn't feature Mesprit lol. If it's all the same, I'm gonna be pretty nit-picky here, since tbh I think it's only fair (even if I suck, my opinion doesn't matter, etc.).

Anywho, an issue I can observe with this team is that, while it's defensive synergy is generally quite solid, it's synergy offensively is somewhat off. That is to say, while in a vacuum you are capable of hitting everything in the tier with one thing or another, your team is composed almost entirely of immediate attackers with the exception of Mesprit (your designated "win condition", and thereby something that I can't imagine coming in early- to mid-game), all of whom don't aim to break down any particular defensive cores. This generally means that a solid defensive core (let's say amoonguss+slowking+steelix, for the sake of argument) is capable of combatting your Pokemon on their own, an issue you attempt to remedy by incorporating both spike-stacking to apply addition pressure on such a core and Escavalier to isolate and KO certain key members of such a core. In this example, as well as against similar defensive cores utilized by balanced playstyles, this method is effective, as they cannot as effectively inhibit your switches as you can theirs, whilst many of their common defensive cores retain a 'mon that can be substantially affected by Pursuit to the point that another 'mon can exploit it. However, against a stall build, this team looks to struggle heavily, as its inability to preserve its hazards, supplemented by the fact that such teams account for Pursuit use more doggedly than balance from a defensive outlook, seems to indicate that it will inevitably be outlasted.

A possible reason I see for these issues arises, in addition to some of those you mention yourself, can be traced to an excessive preparation for certain threats, which in turn opens you up substantially further to other threats. For instance, a practically fully defensive Qwilfish+Scarf Emboar, while putting you in a really good position against opposing Escavalier and Durant, doesn't hugely benefit your team as a whole, and if anything makes you more vulnerable to opposing Spikes setters. I would consider the use of a Jolly nature with 240 HP / 92 Def / 176 Spe spread on Qwilfish, opting out Thunder Wave for Taunt. Your team's necessity for TWave support is rather low from what I can tell, and Taunt preforms similarly in deterring set-up. The key difference between the two moves is that Taunt, in conjunction with the Speed investment, makes Qwilfish substantially less vulnerable to opposing hazard setters, including Smeargle (thereby giving you a solidified answer to Turn 1 Smeargle, giving you a layer immediately afterwards which makes it vulnerable to being stuffed by Emboar upon its next switch-in), which also helps you keep your head above the water vs.stall until you can set up a win condition comfortably. Moreover, by It may well be worth re-visiting TWave as an option over Pain Split should you find yourself particularly threatened by Rotom-C, but I'll leave that to your judgment.

To push yourself into a more comfortable position against stall, I would recommend a more aggressive Druddigon set; I personally do not feel as though Drudd is necessarily valuable to your team in a pivotal sense, and by utilizing a more offensively inclined variant, you can push important damage on a variety of 'mons. For this purpose, I would suggest the use of a Mixed Druddigon set, utilizing Flamethrower > Sucker Punch, Sheer Force > Rough Skin, and of course Life Orb and an alternate spread / nature, namely 192 HP / 252 Atk / 44 SpA / 20 Spe w/Lonely. A mixed Druddigon serves a few roles for your team: against balanced teams, this baits 'mons like Esca and Ferroseed (the former being a sizable roadblock for Mesprit, the ladder being a general pain and a source of Spikes) and wears down their generalized pivots like Uxie (good for everything), and against stall, this can apply pressure to basically everything (since Momo can't take on LO-boosted Outrages after SR+Spikes well, and Steelix obviously is cleanly 2HKOed. The matter of stall is particularly nice, since many stall builds are often forced to settle on trading their Steelix for wearing down or otherwise dispatching an offensive Drudd, which in turn opens a window for CB Esca to do work. While this change does leave you with a much less consistent SR user overall, its benefits from an offensive outlook greatly outweigh these issues imo (plus this team is pretty capable of pressuring spinners anywho).

So yeah, give it some thought, it's whatever. Oh, and I personally prefer 144 HP / 188 SpA / 176 Spe on CM Mesprit (outpacing Magneton never hurts, and the added bulk helps buffer it out against Gallade / Foul Play users pretty nicely iirc), but that's just me haha. Chill team, liked it, like, an hour ago, etc. etc. n_n

 

[mikekap]

Seems solid.I'll steal it ,cause I have always wanted to use Mesprit (which is OP in Random Mode with it's Sub calm mind set :p ). Luvdisc'd. I think that the changes stated above are solid , too :p