Hi guys. This is the pokemon team i used a good amount last round in RU. This team has no suspects, and uses some underrated pokemon and some interesting sets to win. It got me the #3 spot on ladder pretty easily but BS molk was too hard to catch. It has a hazard setter and FWG core. It is made around Tauros!! Enjoy
Smeargle @ Focus Sash **** TURRETBOT
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
In order to gain an early advantage, i tend to lead with Smeargle since im essentially guarenteed Spikes + Stealth Rock vs slower Defensive teams and Stealth Rock + 1 sleeping pokemon vs faster paced offensive teams. Since I do not have a ghost, I opted for Explosion over Whirlwind. With Explosion, i can Explode on Kabutops before it can spin on me, activate Weak Armor, and then KO with my own Kabutops before it even has a chance to Rapid Spin. If it is non Weak Armor, I can easily force it out with Sceptile. Cryogonal is easily OHKO'd by Explosion. Sandslash takes around 40% iirc, enough for me to force it out and then pick it off later in the game when it is weakened by hazards. Explosion is also useful for pokemon that try to set up in front of me with my Sash activated, like Swords Dance Absol, SD Gallade, etc. Also hits Nidoqueen hard enough to KO with Kabutops Aqua Jet or Sceptile Leaf Storm, but to be honest i'm really not worried about Queen.
Smeargle has unfavorable lead match ups against Lum Lead Uxie and faster Lum mons in general which kinda sucks, but fortunately i have prepared for it. Most times against lead Uxie, I will Stealth Rock first, and if they are slower, I will Sleep them or set up Spikes. Smeargle especially excels against slower teams though, and will give the proper support that the rest of my sweepers need to bludgeon through the opposing core.
Slowking @ Choice Specs **** HENRYVIIIBOT
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Trick
- Fire Blast
Without a doubt the best Slowking set in RU. Slowking acts as the bulky pivot of the team and helps to prevent me from getting smashed by Choiced Fighting-types, Hitmonlee in general, Fire-types, and random boosters like Shell Smash Omastar. Slowking 2HKOs a ton of shit with Specs Surf with hazards down, and does a really good job against offense if i can get it in safely against something like Moltres on a predicted Roost, as otherwise offense is hard pressed to switch into Specs Slowking. Sceptile, Lilligant, Escav, Uxie? 2HKO'd. Nidoqueen, Moltres, Absol, Kabutops, Entei etc are all OHKO'd. Fire Blast roasts Tangrowth who can be a pretty big pain in the ass. Psyshock hits Munchlax, Roselia, and smashes stuff like Poliwrath. I originally had Nidoqueen in place of Slowking, but Slowking was much better as a pivot in general and helped more vs offense. Plus Regenerator is boss. The only thing changing Nidoqueen to Slowking opened me up to is OTR Cofag, which can be handled with smart playing.
Slowking is what i tend to lead with when Smeargle has a poor lead matchup, ie: Uxie. Kabutops can usually just spin away rocks later so i dont care if they set SR up. Slowking usually tends to do better vs offensive teams since its so hard to switch into for offense, but Trick helps to cripple defensive teams, mainly other Slowking, who can be annoying. After opposing Slowking gets Tricked, the Growth King core will generally fall to Sceptile if I let something take Sleep. In general, Slowking is the glue to this team and when it dies early, things can fall apart pretty fast.
SCYTHEBOT (Kabutops) @ Life Orb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
Let me just start off by saying fuck any other spinner in this tier. Kabutops is hands down the best. Unlike the incredibly frail and Pursuit vulnerable Cryogonal, Kabutops doesnt give a shit about Pursuit and can smash any ghost that stands in its way when he needs to spin. LO Stone Edge does a ton to anything that does resist it, which generally means Kabutops can force switches and spin no problem. Misdreavus is OHKO'd by Swords Dance Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, so Kabutops easily spins after that. Aqua Jet is the teams secondary priority after CB Extreme Speed, and both are powerful enough that i will generally never get swept by a frail boosting sweeper. The 29 HP IV is to minimize Life Orb recoil, which isn't really that important but whatever!!
On a team like this, my goal is to keep my hazards up while keeping my opponents hazards off of the field, and Kabutops is threatening enough to easily help with both. After a Swords Dance, Tops OHKOs every spinner in the tier with hazards support, while also scaring away ghosts as i mentioned before. The Grass-type attacks aimed at Kabutops will generally go to Sceptile or Entei, and Electric-type attacks will generally go to Sceptile or Entei as well. The only Electric-type that I really fear is LO Galvantula because of Compoundeyes Thunder and STAB Bug Buzz, but Entei can take a hit at full health and OHKO back, or simply 2hko with E Speed. Tauros also outspeeds and OHKOs, but generally ill have to sac a mon to revenge kill it or predict like a mad man (and sometimes still lose a poke)
In general though, use Kabutops. He's a man
Entei @ Choice Band ****DOGBOT
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
The heavy hitter and priority user. CB Entei is one of, if not my favorite pokemon in RU. CB Flare Blitz smashes even heavy resists. I would go as far as to compare CB Entei in RU to CB Dragonite in OU, without the godly ability. Kabutops provides the Rapid Spin support that Entei needs in order to ensure it does not get worn down quickly. Sleep Talk may seem a bit silly, but it absorbs Sleep from Lilligant and smashes it as it tries to boost for atleast 60%, which is enough to revenge kill with Tops. If it is HP Fire Quiver Lilligant, Entei wins anyway. This also absorbs Sleep from Tangrowth generally. Entei is my answer to a good amount of random Grass/Bug-types, like Galvantula, Scyther (sometimes), Tangrowth, Lilligant, Sceptile. Entei also checks Klinklang, which otherwise tends to wreck offense :happybrain: I have to play Entei carefully when i see Kabutops in team preview, because Entei will almost always give Kabutops a chance to Rapid Spin and remove the hazards that my team loves
I have considered Flame Plate Entei after DittoCrow told me about it, but overall i think i need the power that Choice Band Entei brings to my team, like doing 60% to Sandslash and 3HKOing Lanturn. I dont really use Stone Edge, so i considered HP Grass, but i really dont want to have to lower either of my defenses since i rely on Entei's decent bulk to check/stop a lot of pokemon. Slowking and Entei work well together, since Slowking easily switches on common Entei counters like Defensive Poliwrath, Defensive Rhydon, and Intimidate Qwilfish (which i fucking hate, fuck that pokemon). Entei is the secondary glue of the team, and as i mentioned before it helps me prevent getting swept by random boosting sweepers alongside Kabutops.
Tauros @ Life Orb ****ANGRYBOT
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Fire Blast
The other heavy hitter and wallbreaker. You may think i am crazy for using Fire Blast off of a whopping 116 Special Attack, but it 2HKOs Tangrowth and Steelix thanks to Life Orb and Sheer Force. Tangrowth is KO'd by Stealth Rock + Rock Climb + Fire Blast most of the time, and 100% of the time with Spikes + Stealth Rock. Sandslash takes about 45% from Rock Climb, meaning with any prior damage i can easily take it down assuming Rock Climb doesn't miss.... Zen Headbutt is a 3HKO on Defensive Poliwrath, but i will generally just bring in Slowking anyway since Circle Throw does a good amount. Zen Headbutt does OHKO Nidoqueen though and Sheer Force makes it so the only move i take recoil from using is Earthquake.
A big part of why i'm posting this RMT is that Tauros is incredibly underrated as an attacker, and actually functions better with Nidoqueen present, as it can OHKO Queen rather easily and fits in very well overall with the fast paced offensive metagame. Most of Tauros' counters are grounded, meaning that they take damage from Spikes, which made Tauros an excellent addition to the team (it was actually the first mon i added). Tauros and Sceptile clean offense up late game, and Tauros also revenge kills SD Gallade thanks to a Shadow Sneak immunity. 75/95 physical bulk means that in general Tauros can take priority attacks and hit back, especially since its main attack doesn't take LO damage thanks to Sheer Force.
Use Tauros more.
Sceptile @ Flying Gem ****GEICOBOT
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 224 SAtk / 32 Spd
Naive Nature
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Rock Slide
The end game cleaner, and the best one i've ever used. This set scares away pretty much every spinner, as well as wrecking offense when hazards are down. I usually save Sceptile for late game when everything is weakened and i won't have to switch out after my Unburden boost, since i only run enough Speed to beat Max Timid Rotom. Acrobatics hits Fighters like Primeape, Gallade, and Medicham hard while also giving me a boost in Speed. I generally fire off Acrobatics against a Grass-type or something that i can easily pick off and KO. Early game though, Sceptile can scare off Sandslash and Kabutops while also surprising Cryogonal (although i don't ohko the set that runs a lot of Defense). Rock Slide smacks Moltres around and hits Entei switch ins. Hidden Power [Fire] hits Escavalier and Steelix without having to drop 2 Special Attack stages.
As DittoCrow said when i showed him this team, Acrobatics Sceptile has become so umcommon that Roselia and Cryo think they can come in easily. Acrobatics OHKOs Roselia easily, which means that Sceptile is free to Leaf Storm later in the game without a 4x resist coming in every time. I originally made this set to also help beat stall, but I haven't seen much stall this round so it basically functions as a late game offense cleaner. There's not really much more to say about this set, give it a shot
So yeah thats the team. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Use Tauros more!!
Smeargle @ Focus Sash **** TURRETBOT
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Explosion
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
In order to gain an early advantage, i tend to lead with Smeargle since im essentially guarenteed Spikes + Stealth Rock vs slower Defensive teams and Stealth Rock + 1 sleeping pokemon vs faster paced offensive teams. Since I do not have a ghost, I opted for Explosion over Whirlwind. With Explosion, i can Explode on Kabutops before it can spin on me, activate Weak Armor, and then KO with my own Kabutops before it even has a chance to Rapid Spin. If it is non Weak Armor, I can easily force it out with Sceptile. Cryogonal is easily OHKO'd by Explosion. Sandslash takes around 40% iirc, enough for me to force it out and then pick it off later in the game when it is weakened by hazards. Explosion is also useful for pokemon that try to set up in front of me with my Sash activated, like Swords Dance Absol, SD Gallade, etc. Also hits Nidoqueen hard enough to KO with Kabutops Aqua Jet or Sceptile Leaf Storm, but to be honest i'm really not worried about Queen.
Smeargle has unfavorable lead match ups against Lum Lead Uxie and faster Lum mons in general which kinda sucks, but fortunately i have prepared for it. Most times against lead Uxie, I will Stealth Rock first, and if they are slower, I will Sleep them or set up Spikes. Smeargle especially excels against slower teams though, and will give the proper support that the rest of my sweepers need to bludgeon through the opposing core.
Slowking @ Choice Specs **** HENRYVIIIBOT
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SAtk / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Trick
- Fire Blast
Without a doubt the best Slowking set in RU. Slowking acts as the bulky pivot of the team and helps to prevent me from getting smashed by Choiced Fighting-types, Hitmonlee in general, Fire-types, and random boosters like Shell Smash Omastar. Slowking 2HKOs a ton of shit with Specs Surf with hazards down, and does a really good job against offense if i can get it in safely against something like Moltres on a predicted Roost, as otherwise offense is hard pressed to switch into Specs Slowking. Sceptile, Lilligant, Escav, Uxie? 2HKO'd. Nidoqueen, Moltres, Absol, Kabutops, Entei etc are all OHKO'd. Fire Blast roasts Tangrowth who can be a pretty big pain in the ass. Psyshock hits Munchlax, Roselia, and smashes stuff like Poliwrath. I originally had Nidoqueen in place of Slowking, but Slowking was much better as a pivot in general and helped more vs offense. Plus Regenerator is boss. The only thing changing Nidoqueen to Slowking opened me up to is OTR Cofag, which can be handled with smart playing.
Slowking is what i tend to lead with when Smeargle has a poor lead matchup, ie: Uxie. Kabutops can usually just spin away rocks later so i dont care if they set SR up. Slowking usually tends to do better vs offensive teams since its so hard to switch into for offense, but Trick helps to cripple defensive teams, mainly other Slowking, who can be annoying. After opposing Slowking gets Tricked, the Growth King core will generally fall to Sceptile if I let something take Sleep. In general, Slowking is the glue to this team and when it dies early, things can fall apart pretty fast.
SCYTHEBOT (Kabutops) @ Life Orb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
Let me just start off by saying fuck any other spinner in this tier. Kabutops is hands down the best. Unlike the incredibly frail and Pursuit vulnerable Cryogonal, Kabutops doesnt give a shit about Pursuit and can smash any ghost that stands in its way when he needs to spin. LO Stone Edge does a ton to anything that does resist it, which generally means Kabutops can force switches and spin no problem. Misdreavus is OHKO'd by Swords Dance Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, so Kabutops easily spins after that. Aqua Jet is the teams secondary priority after CB Extreme Speed, and both are powerful enough that i will generally never get swept by a frail boosting sweeper. The 29 HP IV is to minimize Life Orb recoil, which isn't really that important but whatever!!
On a team like this, my goal is to keep my hazards up while keeping my opponents hazards off of the field, and Kabutops is threatening enough to easily help with both. After a Swords Dance, Tops OHKOs every spinner in the tier with hazards support, while also scaring away ghosts as i mentioned before. The Grass-type attacks aimed at Kabutops will generally go to Sceptile or Entei, and Electric-type attacks will generally go to Sceptile or Entei as well. The only Electric-type that I really fear is LO Galvantula because of Compoundeyes Thunder and STAB Bug Buzz, but Entei can take a hit at full health and OHKO back, or simply 2hko with E Speed. Tauros also outspeeds and OHKOs, but generally ill have to sac a mon to revenge kill it or predict like a mad man (and sometimes still lose a poke)
In general though, use Kabutops. He's a man
Entei @ Choice Band ****DOGBOT
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
The heavy hitter and priority user. CB Entei is one of, if not my favorite pokemon in RU. CB Flare Blitz smashes even heavy resists. I would go as far as to compare CB Entei in RU to CB Dragonite in OU, without the godly ability. Kabutops provides the Rapid Spin support that Entei needs in order to ensure it does not get worn down quickly. Sleep Talk may seem a bit silly, but it absorbs Sleep from Lilligant and smashes it as it tries to boost for atleast 60%, which is enough to revenge kill with Tops. If it is HP Fire Quiver Lilligant, Entei wins anyway. This also absorbs Sleep from Tangrowth generally. Entei is my answer to a good amount of random Grass/Bug-types, like Galvantula, Scyther (sometimes), Tangrowth, Lilligant, Sceptile. Entei also checks Klinklang, which otherwise tends to wreck offense :happybrain: I have to play Entei carefully when i see Kabutops in team preview, because Entei will almost always give Kabutops a chance to Rapid Spin and remove the hazards that my team loves
I have considered Flame Plate Entei after DittoCrow told me about it, but overall i think i need the power that Choice Band Entei brings to my team, like doing 60% to Sandslash and 3HKOing Lanturn. I dont really use Stone Edge, so i considered HP Grass, but i really dont want to have to lower either of my defenses since i rely on Entei's decent bulk to check/stop a lot of pokemon. Slowking and Entei work well together, since Slowking easily switches on common Entei counters like Defensive Poliwrath, Defensive Rhydon, and Intimidate Qwilfish (which i fucking hate, fuck that pokemon). Entei is the secondary glue of the team, and as i mentioned before it helps me prevent getting swept by random boosting sweepers alongside Kabutops.
Tauros @ Life Orb ****ANGRYBOT
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Fire Blast
The other heavy hitter and wallbreaker. You may think i am crazy for using Fire Blast off of a whopping 116 Special Attack, but it 2HKOs Tangrowth and Steelix thanks to Life Orb and Sheer Force. Tangrowth is KO'd by Stealth Rock + Rock Climb + Fire Blast most of the time, and 100% of the time with Spikes + Stealth Rock. Sandslash takes about 45% from Rock Climb, meaning with any prior damage i can easily take it down assuming Rock Climb doesn't miss.... Zen Headbutt is a 3HKO on Defensive Poliwrath, but i will generally just bring in Slowking anyway since Circle Throw does a good amount. Zen Headbutt does OHKO Nidoqueen though and Sheer Force makes it so the only move i take recoil from using is Earthquake.
A big part of why i'm posting this RMT is that Tauros is incredibly underrated as an attacker, and actually functions better with Nidoqueen present, as it can OHKO Queen rather easily and fits in very well overall with the fast paced offensive metagame. Most of Tauros' counters are grounded, meaning that they take damage from Spikes, which made Tauros an excellent addition to the team (it was actually the first mon i added). Tauros and Sceptile clean offense up late game, and Tauros also revenge kills SD Gallade thanks to a Shadow Sneak immunity. 75/95 physical bulk means that in general Tauros can take priority attacks and hit back, especially since its main attack doesn't take LO damage thanks to Sheer Force.
Use Tauros more.
Sceptile @ Flying Gem ****GEICOBOT
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 224 SAtk / 32 Spd
Naive Nature
- Acrobatics
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Rock Slide
The end game cleaner, and the best one i've ever used. This set scares away pretty much every spinner, as well as wrecking offense when hazards are down. I usually save Sceptile for late game when everything is weakened and i won't have to switch out after my Unburden boost, since i only run enough Speed to beat Max Timid Rotom. Acrobatics hits Fighters like Primeape, Gallade, and Medicham hard while also giving me a boost in Speed. I generally fire off Acrobatics against a Grass-type or something that i can easily pick off and KO. Early game though, Sceptile can scare off Sandslash and Kabutops while also surprising Cryogonal (although i don't ohko the set that runs a lot of Defense). Rock Slide smacks Moltres around and hits Entei switch ins. Hidden Power [Fire] hits Escavalier and Steelix without having to drop 2 Special Attack stages.
As DittoCrow said when i showed him this team, Acrobatics Sceptile has become so umcommon that Roselia and Cryo think they can come in easily. Acrobatics OHKOs Roselia easily, which means that Sceptile is free to Leaf Storm later in the game without a 4x resist coming in every time. I originally made this set to also help beat stall, but I haven't seen much stall this round so it basically functions as a late game offense cleaner. There's not really much more to say about this set, give it a shot
So yeah thats the team. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Use Tauros more!!
