Unexpected Standalones

[chitinase]

This team was based around a Cradily/Simipour/Carracosta core, which works surprisingly well together. There were a few more "common" threats which I couldn't seem to be able to try this out on (since for some reason I never met any of them), so I think it's still lacking in some aspects.

Skuntank @ Black Sludge
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 220 SpDef / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpAtk)
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Pursuit
- Taunt
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Bulky Attacker Skuntank to absorb attacks. Used to be a Swalot. Revenge, coverage and attack absorber.

Cradily (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Suction Cups
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Curse
- Recover
- Rock Slide
- Seed Bomb
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Cradily absorbs almost anything unboosted. In return it can boost with Curse, Recover off damage as needed, then proceed to spam attacks. Although it's weak to some status problem such as Toxic, it's able to out-stall most Tangela variants even with a burn.
(I used to run a RestTalk set on this but I realised the type coverage was pathetic.)

Torkoal @ White Herb
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rapid Spin
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
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Changed this to a more offensive set, courtesy of WhiteDMist. Takes the pressure off Torkoal to spin and set up Stealth Rocks, and gets past Ghost spinblockers. Ran Earth Power instead of HP Grass because I don't expect to win a stall war with a bulky water anyway, given typing and speed.

Simipour (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Gluttony
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
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Half the time I don't have the luxury of setting up a Nasty Plot so hitting with Hydro Pump off the bat is useful (although sometimes the inaccuracy is off-putting). This set, if given the luxury to set up, acts as an effective mid-game special sweeper and is there to plow yawning holes so that its teammates can clean up late-game (such as Carracosta with Aqua Jet).

Carracosta @ Leftovers/Rocky Helmet
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet
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Thanks again WhiteDMist for the suggestion! Carracosta now walls Physical Emboar and helps to set up Stealth Rock at the same time on the switch. Aqua Jet to pick off weakened opponents, and Waterfall and Stone Edge for some powerful STAB.

Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Trait: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Fake Out
- Return
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
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Kangaskhan evidently got one of the best abilities from DW, so it can land at least one hit with Fake Out then use any of its other attacks to finish up the opponent. This switches in to opponents' Ghost-types (like Haunter, which my team has problems with otherwise) on the turn they set up Substitute then proceeds to break them with Fake Out.
(I'm still considering whether Drain Punch or Hammer Arm is more useful. Although Hammer Arm is more powerful, Drain Punch helps to heal possible damage by frail sweepers who expect to die on the next turn anyway, like Belly Drum Linoone.)

I haven't really faced any of the top threats of the tier, and although I sometimes have problems with special sweepers Cradily seems to be taking them quite well at the moment. (I may even consider a Stockpile set instead.)

This is more of a stall/attacking team, so there's always the problem of Amoonguss, Alomomola, etc. outstalling me, but oddly enough I haven't seemed to face them yet. I figured I had an issue with Fighting-types but I was hoping Cradily could handle them (haven't met a single one yet even after three hours of testing).

Admittedly though I wouldn't mind replacing Carracosta for something more useful on my team.

Comments/suggestions will be appreciated!

Currently playtesting different bulky Exeggutor sets in place of Cradily.

 

[WhiteDMist]

Ok, so I lost my previous rate at work, so I'm not in the mood to type it all out again. This team needs work in order to truly compete in the current metagame. You must understand that the ladder on both PS and PO aren't perfect, and you'll face all kinds of skill levels (though mostly average players) for the most part.

Your team has weaknesses to Psychic, Dark, Ground, Fighting, and Rock types just in terms of actual type weaknesses. Seeing as at least 3 of these types are major factors in the metagame, that is a big no-no.

Cradily provides a redundant Rock typing with Carracosta, and Simipour provides a redundant Water typing. However, Water is a much more useful type overall for your team, so I'd get rid of Cradily. The best option for its place would be Exeggutor, who provides your team with a Fighting resist as well as a back-up Water, Psychic, and Grass check. There are quite a few sets that you can run, though I think you can't go wrong with the standard Specs Exeggutor to provide your team with some pure power as a bonus.

Swalot's usefulness lies in Encore, and Destiny Bond to a lesser extent. With a base speed of 55, you can really only expect to cripple walls at most (unless you get lucky with someone not expecting Encore or Destiny Bond, though Encore is pretty well known as Swalot's best distinguishing figure over Muk/Arbok/Seviper). Skuntank is a much more useful Poison type for your team, since it provides you with a Dark resist, a Psychic immunity, and Priority. Taunt also fulfills a utility factor that, though different, is highly appreciated by your team.

Torkoal is a better Rapid Spinner when it uses the Offensive Rapid Spin set, since it has a better chance of getting through Ghost types. Because of that, Carracosta would work much better with a Tank set so that it can set up Stealth Rock for you. It also means that Torkoal has less of a burden on its shoulder, which is appreciated since you can't expect too much of it.

Changes:

Sets

Exeggutor>Cradily
Skuntank>Swalot
Torkoal: Offensive>Defensive
Carracosta: Tank>Shell Smash

Exeggutor @ Choice Specs
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Psychic
- Hidden Power Ice
- Sleep Powder/Giga Drain

Skuntank @ Black Sludge
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Pursuit/Crunch
- Taunt

Torkoal @ White Herb
Trait: White Smoke/Shell Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shell Smash
- Rapid Spin
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power/Hidden Power Grass

Carracosta @ Leftovers/Rocky Helmet
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Jet

Hope I helped. Welcome to Smogon!

 

[chitinase]

Hey WhiteDMist, thanks for the rate and feedback.

I've tried Specs Exeggutor but I think a more specially defensive spread will fill Cradily's current role at absorbing grass type attacks yet, so I'll test that. Thanks for the suggestion though, I never considered Exeggutor and I think it'll be useful for this team.

Playtesting Skunktank and a more offensive Torkoal right now, to see which works with my team. So far there hasn't been much change in the overall effectiveness, but Skuntank has been a lot more useful in taking on Musharna, so I'll probably be taking that and possibly bulking it to tank other pokemon as well.