THUGNIFICENT
Hey everybody, this is a team I've been playing around with for a little while and I've found it to be extremely successful. It plays and looks similar to a lot of my other teams but it plays a bit differently. I still love the SkarmLatias core, but I use a slightly tweaked version on this team. Unlike the other teams I utilize this core on, this is a more offensively inclined team. The team is centered around Scrafty and getting him a sweep. Whereas the others teams typically rely on Roar/Whirlwind to rack up entry hazard damage this team capitalizes on the combination of 2 mons: Ebelt Landorus and Scarf Rotom-W. Through the use of U-turn and Volt Switch I can easily force a ton of switches that softens the opponents team up tremendously, typically leading to Scrafty having little trouble sweeping after a single Dragon Dance. Cometk gets a special mention as well for putting together the threat list for this team so kudos to him. So here it is in all its glory: Team Thugnificent.
Tyranitar(M)@ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Careful
EVs: 252 HP | 252 SpD | 4 Att
-Stealth Rock
-Crunch
-Pursuit
-Rock Slide
This is a variant of the standard SpD Tyranitar. I didn't include fire blast or anything on this set because Skarm is already lured in and beat by Landorus and is a free switch-in for Rotom-W to Volt Switch anyways. Ferrothorn is also already hit hard by superpower and isn't really a big threat to this team since most of the mons on this team can threaten it in one way of another. I run almost max SpD with max HP so I can switch in and effectively trap latios and latias and either KO or maim them to the point that they won't be able to come in again. he's also really handy at beating other Tars who don't have a Chople Berry of their own. He also sets down Stealth Rock reliably which of course is important for any team since it damages everything that switches in and can be important for some KOs. This set also helps my gengar weakness significantly since it typically beats most Gengars reliably. With Chople Berry I can live most fighting attacks and serve back a KO on a variety of mons like Reuniclus who can be very annoying for this team otherwise. In general Dark/Fighting is really good coverage and this is an extremely good defensive pivot for taking out things that threaten Scrafty. Tyranitar is of course the weather for this team as well though the team is not reliant on sand and can reliably function in other weathers which is another reason why I like it quite a lot.
Skarmory(F)@ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP | 240 Def | 16 Spe
-Spikes
-Roost
-Whirlwind
-Brave Bird
Skamory is ever important to this team as a support and a counter to many physical attackers. Its incredible how much spikes support can do for a sweeper. Scrafty is a pokemon that especially appreciates the extra damage done to the opponent's team from spikes. I really love the how much **** Skarm can effectively wall too. Anyways onto what Skarm actually does. Skarm is here to spike all over the place and then wall things while spamming whirlwind to rack up damage on the opponents team to soften them up to give Scrafty an easier time sweeping. The moveset is really obvious its the standard Skarmory set, with spikes giving it something to do against the many things it walls. Roost is of course for reliable recovery and increases Skarmory's longevity tenfold. Whirlwind is an incredibly useful move it phazes out stat boosters trying to muscle through Skarm and helps to rack up entry hazard damage on whatever comes in. Brave Bird is there so I'm not complete set up fodder and it means that I can pop Excadrill's balloon so he can't repeatedly switch in for free. Skarmory is a crux for this team and I rely on it for a lot. It does well at its job and is still, in my opinion, the best spiker in the game. I use leftovers when I'm just laddering and what not, but typically in important matches I run shed shell to lower the threat Magnezone poses.
Rotom-W@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest
EVs: 196 HP | 144 SpA | 168 Spe
-Hydro Pump
-Volt Switch
-Signal Beam
-Trick
Rotom-W is my revenge killer and the first part of my duo of pivots that cause the opponent to constantly change their mons and rack up spikes damage with extreme ease. With a Choice Scarf Rotom-W gains the ability to effectively check a ton of threats. and with his constant Volt Switching he not only damages the opposing team he also racks up passive damage through stealth rock+spikes and sandstorm as well. this is extremely useful at wearing down the team and leads to Rotom-W even being able to clean up the opponent's team by itself should Scrafty not have an opportunity. The moeveset is fairly self-explanatory but here it is anyways. Hydro Pump is for STAB and an incredibly hard hitting move in general. Volt Switch is the crux of the set allowing me to escape from an unfavorable match-up and send in an appropriate counter. It also forms an insanely potent pair when used in conjunction with Landorus' U-turn. Signal Beam may seem silly and stupid but its incredibly useful for hitting a lot of Rotom-W's normal switch-ins such as the Lati twins and celebi. I don't care to use a hidden power because things like ferrothorn and gastrodon won't appreciate getting tricked a scarf anyways so I'd rather use the other slot to deal with the other common switches. Trick is of course used to dick over walls coming in to harass Rotom-W and is incredibly useful for incapacitating things like blissey, gastrodon, and ferrothorn. Rotom-w is also my main tool against rain alongside Latias and allows me to effectively deal with most things rain has to throw at me.
Latias(F)@ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP | 252 Spe | 4 SpA
-Calm Mind
-Roost
-Substitute
-Dragon Pulse
Latias is an incredibly versatile and useful pokemon. She is my main answer to many stat boosters like CM Reuniclus and Virizion. Even without roar she still effectively checks both of these mons and can beat them 1 on 1. She is also my main water resist and helps tremendously in checking rain. She can rack up spikes damage on her own even without roar because she typically lures in a lot of steel mons such as scizor and ferrothorn only to sub as they either try to status her or u-turn out leaving her with an extra CM that could potentially lead to her getting an easy sweep. Typically I play her more conservatively though as she is an important member of the team that has a ton of resists that I would be in trouble against if I didn't have her. Her set is fairly easy to see function. Calm Mind is to boost her incredible SpD and her decent SpA to insane levels and let her sweep should she get the opportunity. Substitute is a really fantastic move for Latias on this team. Since she is so important I can't risk losing her to the likes of tyranitar and scizor so I can sub on the switch and effectively get a free switch from those 2 or anything else trying to pursuit her. Roost is for incredibly handy and reliable recovery to keep her in high health especially since she will be subbing a lot its nice to be able to keep her health high. Dragon Pulse is for reliable STAB and after a couple boosts can destroy most anything going against her. The EVs are geared for her to have max speed and max hp to give her solid overall bulk. Together with Skarm, Latias forms a very strong defense core that checks a vast majority of the metagame.
Landorus(M)@ Expert Belt
Ability: Sand Force
Nature: Naive
EVs: 252 Att | 252 Spe | 4 SpA
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Hidden Power[Fire]
-U-turn
Landorus is so incredibly useful for this team its retarded. Seriously in all respects he is one of the main things that allows this team to function. He is one of the best lures around and just does the job so very very well. He may not seem like much at first glance but when you come to understand his function you'll realize how good he is. Earthquake and Stone Edge of course are just obligatory standard attacks that form the infamous Edgequake combo. The next move is where the fun starts. Skarmory is a very common switch-in to landorus and hinders Scrafty in his attempt to sweep, so to remedy this problem I utilize hidden power[fire]. With the expert belt I will typically spam u-turn early game to give off the thought that I'm choiced. Then I will use Earthquake to lure Skarmory out and then 2HKO with hidden power. Even if they don't leave Skarm in to die on the second hidden power fire, he's weakened to the point that Scrafty's Hi Jump Kick will KO it if it attempts to come in on it during its sweep. This is so useful and works fantastically. Even though I can no longer beat Gliscor its not a big problem because Rotom-W walls it anyways and Scrafty can beat it with ice punch as well. Landorus also forms the other half of my pivot pair alongside Rotom-W and causes an insane amount of switches to soften the opponents team up for scrafty to beat it in the late game.
Scrafty(M)@ Leftovers
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Att | 252 Spe | 4 Def
-Dragon Dance
-Hi Jump Kick
-Crunch
-Ice Punch
Scrafty is the big dog on the team and the whole reason I made it. He's sucha incredible, destructive monster and he's got swagger too. Scrafty is one of my favorite new mons and for good reason, he has a good stat distribution alongside a movepool filled with options. His only short coming is his low speed which of course is remedied by his access to the fantastic set up move Dragon Dance. Not only was he blessed with all that he gets the incredible ability Moxie to make him that much more threatening. After a single DD he reaches enough speed to outrun base 110s and below and utterly destroy most anything that gets in his way. With most of his threats being taken care of by other members of the team his only concern is finding the opening to set up and start to clean the opponents team up. Scrafty loves having spikes down to weaken teh opposing team since it makes for easier KOs that lead to more moxie boosts. After a certain point he gets to a level that it just doesn't matter anymore and he'll just kill everything no matter what they are. The set is pretty easy to comprehend, The EVs are for maximum attack and speed to best utilize Dragon Dance. Hi Jump Kick is for powerful STAB and even though he had Drain Punch as an option I prefer the raw power which lets me deal tremendous damage to most anything after a boost or 2. Crunch is the other half of its STAB and forms the amazing Dark/Fighting coverage combo only resisted by toxicroak and heracross. Ice Punch rounds out the set by hitting mostly gliscor but it can also be used to hit bulky dragons that might be able to live a crunch. I chose leftovers over something like Life Orb because between sandstorm and possible attacks he might take he needs all the help he can get surviving to sweep.
Conclusion
This Team is incredibly potent and a lot of fun to play with. It utilizes a lot of the new mons that BW has offered and many old ones that are still as great as they were when they were first introduced. You're welcome to use it if you desire. Its definitely a very offensively inclined team but still retains defensive qualities so if you're interested give it a shot. The team has given me great success but I'm always open to suggestions on things that could make it better, so if you have ideas throw them out. Anyways thanks for reading this RMT presented by myself and Cometk.
Team Export
Credit for the art goes to the great Blue Harvest.
