THE WICKED SQUAD
A bulky offense team by RottenInfernape
Hello, i'm RottenInfernape and welcome back to another RMT of mine. After the rise of the first DLC has widely impacted the metagame, I decided to create a team that reflects on the newfound chaos currently. This team was centered around arguably one of the most strongest breakers right now, Urshifu. Coupled with a Choice Band, this thing is able to hit through many walls such as Toxapex and has decent Speed to go along with it. With these traits, I went with the bulky offense playstyle as it contains wallbreakers that can blast through teams and defensive holes that are able to cover up most other wallbreakers and pivots. This team peaked at 1447, but I seemed to have struggles reaching above, which is why i'm posting the team here in RMT to look for guidance and feedback on the team!
TEAMBUILDING PROCESS
Starting off with the main wallbreaker of the team, Urshifu enjoys being able to wear down the likes of many bulky Pokemon and has a great offensive typing in Fighting/Dark that beats pretty much most of the meta, and can 2HKO even its biggest checks like Clefable with Poison Jab. Also has U-Turn which is nice for pivoting.
Volcarona appreciates Urshifu's ability to threaten bulky things and is the setup sweeper and cleaner of the team as a result. The new addition of Heavy-Duty-Boots let Volcarona pivot in much easier and can already sweep a bunch of teams on its own, so it doesn't require an adequate amount of team safety. Some excellent coverage moves also back up this things capabilities of weakening many Pokemon.
Now this is where the team starts off with a defensive backbone. Mandibuzz is very splashable on teams right now thanks to its ability to check most physical attackers such as Excadrill, Rillaboom, and even Azumarill after a Foul Play. Mandibuzz's ability to remove hazards and immunity to Ground moves is also appreciative for the team. As a plus, it also generally has a good typing and can check some special attackers as well like Dragapult.
I needed a fast special attacker that was able to potentially revenge kill many Pokemon and have good offensive coverage, so I knew I had to go for Dragapult. Despite the popularity of Chansey and Magearna this generation, Dragapult can scare many things out with its neat STAB combination of Draco Meteor and Shadow Ball, notably things like Rotom-Heat, Kommo-o, and opposing Volcarona. With max defense Clefable also being fairly common, Shadow Ball can 2HKO, then switch out on a Moonblast or Protect.
Toxapex provides a solid defensive core with Mandibuzz, with the two being able to take on Urshifu together. Realistically, Toxapex is also able to deal with many Water-types this generation, including the likes of Kingdra, Pelipper, and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike thanks to its high bulk. Toxapex also pays off very well thanks to its great utility moves such as Toxic, Toxic Spikes, Haze, Recover, Baneful Bunker, and Knock Off. Scald is also able to burn through physical attackers.
Chansey was a high special wall that could tank the likes of Hydreigon and opposing Volcarona, while also being able to set up Stealth Rocks and wear down Pokemon with the likes of Toxic + Seismic Toss.
Chansey was replaced with Alolan Marowak to give more offensive pressure to opponents with its access to wide coverage moves that hit hard and has solid bulk. While being able to set up Stealth Rocks as well to make its teammates more capable of wearing down opponents overtime, Alolan Marowak's solid bulk is also able to check Volcarona with HP investment.
THE TEAM
"This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in the one-hit KO. Its strategy is to leap in close to foes and land a devastating blow with a hardened fist."
"Inhabiting the mountains of a distant region, this Pokémon races across sheer cliffs, training its legs and refining its moves."
Urshifu @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
- U-turn
Coupled with a Choice Band, Urshifu is one of the top tier threats in this metagame. A Jolly nature on Urshifu can be used to outspeed Rotom-Heat, opposing Urshifu forms, and Modest Hydreigon. Wicked Blow always guarantees a critical hit, making it more stronger neutrally and also ignores the stat changes of Pokemon as a result. Close Combat is strong Fighting STAB that can breaks through many Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Magearna, Mandibuzz, etc. to list a few. Poison Jab can hit the likes of Clefable, Azumarill, and Primarina to prevent them from consistently switching in. Iron Head is also nice for Galarian Weezing. U-Turn turns Urshifu into a solid offensive pivot. Urshifu is honestly very centralizing in a metagame like this and I would probably warrant a suspect test on it if I could, but the best way to deal with it currently is defensive cores and revenge killing. A unique ability in Unseen Fist also allows it to catch people that use protecting moves off guard and continue to wreck havoc.
"Volcarona scatters burning scales. Some say it does this to start fires. Others say it's trying to rescue those that suffer in the cold. "
"This Pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire."
Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Bug Buzz
Fire/Bug/Psychic is able to cover most of the metagame while checking most things after one Quiver Dance. Flamethrower is used over Fire Blast for consistency over power, and still generally hits things pretty hard. Psychic is really good for opposing Fire-types like Cinderace, Alolan Marowak, and Rotom-H (which are all great checks against it) and other stuff like Toxapex and Kommo-o which otherwise walls Volcarona without Psychic. Bug Buzz is powerful STAB that's especially useful against things like Hydreigon, Mew, and Slowbro as well as a general nuke against many other Pokemon.
"Although it's a bit of a ruffian, this Pokémon will take lost Vullaby under its wing and care for them till they're ready to leave the nest."
"They adorn themselves with bones. There seem to be fashion trends among them, as different bones come into and fall out of popularity."
Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- U-turn
- Defog
This set of Mandibuzz is able to function as both a physical and special wall thanks to its good bulk, and Foul Play being able to wreck most setup sweepers. This is the second Pokemon on the team with Heavy-Duty-Boots, which allows it to get rid of hazards without being affected by one of them, Stealth Rock, itself. U-Turn is able to pivot out of tough situations, such as being against a Clefable or Magearna, and pivoting into another teammate. Of course, Roost is for keeping recovery on Mandibuzz and you never want it too weakened anyway since it's your best checks to a few Pokemon like Dragapult and Wicked Blow Urshifu. The 96 Speed EVs are able to outspeed non-max speed Aegislash and Azumarill, but suppose a bunch of more defense EVs could be used to effectively deal with physical attackers much better. In addition, it can prevent itself from being further weakened by weather chip damage, notably from Hippowdon or Alolan Ninetales, so it doesn't get too weakened if it stays in the process.
"When it isn't battling, it keeps Dreepy in the holes on its horns. Once a fight starts, it launches the Dreepy like supersonic missiles."
"Apparently the Dreepy inside Dragapult's horns eagerly look forward to being launched out at Mach speeds."
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
This thing is literally 3 Pokemon in one, 2 Dreepy's and its parent. Jokes aside, Dragapult has a colorful movepool paired with Choice Specs that turn it into a fast and adequate special attacker that can especially be very good mid-game or late-game. I mentioned things about its movepool in the Teambuilding Process earlier, such as Draco Meteor being able to almost OHKO a Volcarona and is a very good general nuke. Shadow Ball has good consistency and is also good against Pokemon that are weak to it, such as Gengar, Aegislash, and Mew. Flamethrower is an excellent coverage move on Choice Specs Dragapult for Steel types such as Ferrothorn and Magearna, which otherwise can deal with the rest of its moveset. Thunderbolt nukes most Water-types such as Toxapex and Pelipper. Dragapult is especially good when it is given a safe pivot through the likes of Mandibuzz and Urshifu on this team.
"To survive in the cold waters of Galar, this Pokémon forms a dome with its legs, enclosing its body so it can capture its own body heat."
"Within the poison sac in its body is a poison so toxic that Pokémon as large as Wailord will still be suffering three days after it first takes effect."
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Baneful Bunker
- Toxic
Toxapex is a decent wall with lots of merit in this metagame thanks to its useful typing that goes along with it. What sets Toxapex apart from other bulky waters such as Slowbro is the useful utility moves that it contains. Scald is STAB that is able to burn physical attackers, which is useful. Recover + Regenerator makes Toxapex an extremely difficult Pokemon to kill, as even severely weakening it wouldn't matter too much since it can recover most of the damage dealt when it switches out and in. Baneful Bunker is useful for scouting against moves from Pokemon, and can annoy most physical attackers such as Zeraora and Rillaboom thanks to its poison chance. This also gives Toxapex an opportunity to heal up a bit of its remaining health with Black Sludge. Of course, Baneful Bunker won't always poison the opponent as it only activates upon contact moves, so Toxic is just here to wear down things.
"This Pokémon overcame its sorrow to evolve a sturdy new body. Marowak faces its opponents bravely, using a bone as a weapon."
"When this Pokémon evolved, the skull of its mother fused to it. Marowak's temperament also turned vicious at the same time."
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Poltergeist
- Flare Blitz
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Alolan Marowak is an offensive stealth rocker that puts many offensive pressure against slower or bulkier Pokemon. What gives Alolan Marowak lots of power is its item, Thick Club, which basically doubles its Attack stat. Poltergeist is a very spammable STAB that can even 2HKO Quagsire and Pyukumuku. Flare Blitz is also very strong STAB, but is less spammable due to all the recoil. Lightning Rod was given over Rock Head on this Alolan Marowak set for a valuable Electric immunity that catches some opponents off-guard as well. Stealth Rock gives more offensive capabilities to this team, especially Urshifu. Earthquake is nice for Snorlax and Toxapex.
CLOSING POINTS
Overall, I think this is a pretty standard structure for a balance DLC team and in my opinion had a bit of success on the ladder. As I said before, you can always give feedback on the team! :)
THREATLISTS
This team is very problematic against Zeraora, who just clicks buttons. The best ways to deal with it are using Volcarona and switching into Plasma Fists using Alolan Marowak. Baneful Bunker Toxapex is also able to cripple it severely while it spams Recover. Zeraora also has a hard time switching in. You'd also be lucky that Zeraora is not as common anymore.
Sub + CM Keldeo is also very much a problem for the team, especially when Dragapult is gone. Toxapex can be completely shut down with Taunt variants, turning it into setup bait. Like Zeraora, it's also not too common right now and manageable.
NOTABLE REPLAYS
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148302098 - Volcarona sweeps through
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148267436 - Interesting team with Mamoswine and Zeraora, Toxapex ended up winning the game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148250100 - A Magearna setup with the opponent ended up going really badly and was Volcarona bait
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148161109 - Once again another interesting rain team, ended up losing to Volcarona under Scizor though
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148152573 - This guy had a really cool team with Flygon and Tsareena, but Toxapex was a huge problem
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1148147919 - This guy was nice and also had a cool team with Araquanid and Dragalge, ended up being a close match
IMPORTABLE
https://pokepast.es/cb128ffb366c5fa
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