This is the first time I have witnessed a generational shift as a Pokemon fan, as I've only been one for just over a year now. Regardless, it has been an interesting experience to see the onslaught of Fairies take their respective places in the tiering system (Florges, from my experience in UU, is really one to watch) and the various Dragons falling from grace, but much has already been made of that elsewhere so let's move on to the team.
First, a mention of those who were part of The First Foray but had to be substituted out of the starting lineup. Delphox was dropped because I needded a Stealth Rock lead to assist with SR-weak threats like Victini and Darmanitan which were ripping holes in my side. Delphox was taking absurd amounts from even resisted hits, and Chesnaught was actually a damaging lower-order competitor with insane physical bulk, but just didn't have the overall ability to pull the whole team home. So let's examine what exactly the current lineup is at the moment.
Empoleon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 88 Def / 164 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Flash Cannon
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
Replacing Delphox as the standard opening batsman for my side is Empoleon, who I picked due to having better or just more resistances than the typical UU rock-setters like Celebi or Deoxys-Defense. Most people didn't expect Empoleon to have more than one attack either, which has discouraged would-be checks or counters like Roserade or Weavile. Overall, Empoleon has been a resounding success so far and doesn't look to be slowing down.
Krookodile (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Rock Slide
Coming in at No.6 for Chesnaught, Krookodile was immediately moved up the order when it got completely remodeled, from the moderately successful 252 HP, Intimidating, Adamant Crunch Krookodile shifted gears into this monster! I moved it in when I became so sick of Heracross blowing the team apart, but a more defensive approach wasn't working so i had to fight a ScarfMoxie with a ScarfMoxie. The result has been massive in the side becoming more resistant to more of the top threats of the metagame. It's developed into a potent revenge-killer which slowly morphs into a sweeper.
Latias (c) (Latias) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 92 Spd / 252 SAtk / 164 HP
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Presenting the team captain, unchanged since inception. It brings back memories of when I would never, ever use a Pokemon on Showdown if I didn't have it in-game. That lost me a lot of matches, but now I'm over it I can finally realise the potential of Latias, in a tier I'm more comfortable with as well. Originally, it had Substitute in the place of HP Fire making it more of a conventional bulky type of Latias, but Bisharp has really risen to prominence this generation and with that came an approx. 0% success rate for Latias. In these times, Latias's best role, comes in its sacrifice for the lower order, as threats like Mega Gardevoir prey on Latias and if they are around, Latias can work in some last-minute damage (Psyshock still does a fair bit) for the rest to clean up.
Diggersby (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch
Yes, that's correct. The item does not start with the word "Choice", but looking at the ladder you wouldn't believe there could be such a thing as this! After Chandelure, Florges or Bisharp have been worn down a little but still defeated Latias, this is where Diggersby shines. It almost always forces an opponent out, which in part eliminates the need for U-turn or a Choice item as it can stay in on a usual check like Slowbro (and by usual, I mean all the time) and start setting up with Power-Up Punch. Bisharp, as much as it thinks it can, cannot KO with Life Orb Sucker Punch and therefore is basically dead. Diggersby has also improved since usage of Eviolite Doublade apparently just wore off all of a sudden.
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]
What kind of RMT of mine would it be if it didn't have at least one rather predictable set with little explanation to it? Raikou is the only thing capable of Substalling and boosting thanks to the change I made to Cap'n Latias, and its SubCM combo only really thwarted to great success by Florges and Heracross.
Medicham (vc) (Medicham) (M) @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Psycho Cut
I was actually kind of hoping Latias would have been banned by now, because Medicham has made a most excellent vice-captain and I was hoping Latias would go so as to elevate Medicham like it has shown to be worthy of. Despite Medicham's well-known case of 4MSS, it has been ridiculously powerful in all of its endeavours, and since it almost always comes in against a damaged opponent, it doesn't really need Fake Out to ensure a safe transition to Mega form. It feasts on Mega Gardevoir and Florges with Bullet Punch, who otherwise deal heavy blows to the rest of the team. Once Fairies are out of the way, it really runs through just about everything that isn't Slowbro or ScarftTini. It's for this reason I've opted for High Jump Kick over Drain Punch, just the sheer power increase that makes MegaCham so fearsome.
So there's another RMT wrapped up, this one having peaked at #16 on the UU ladder under the alt Breaking 2 Chainz. It's been a struggle with less time to play since then, but the Huge/Pure Power combination of Diggersby and Medicham still leave opponents struggling for answers. If there's one thing I might need help with, it's a better way to fight off Weavile once Empoleon's out of the way.
Empoleon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 88 Def / 164 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Flash Cannon
- Stealth Rock
- Protect
Replacing Delphox as the standard opening batsman for my side is Empoleon, who I picked due to having better or just more resistances than the typical UU rock-setters like Celebi or Deoxys-Defense. Most people didn't expect Empoleon to have more than one attack either, which has discouraged would-be checks or counters like Roserade or Weavile. Overall, Empoleon has been a resounding success so far and doesn't look to be slowing down.
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Rock Slide
Coming in at No.6 for Chesnaught, Krookodile was immediately moved up the order when it got completely remodeled, from the moderately successful 252 HP, Intimidating, Adamant Crunch Krookodile shifted gears into this monster! I moved it in when I became so sick of Heracross blowing the team apart, but a more defensive approach wasn't working so i had to fight a ScarfMoxie with a ScarfMoxie. The result has been massive in the side becoming more resistant to more of the top threats of the metagame. It's developed into a potent revenge-killer which slowly morphs into a sweeper.
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 92 Spd / 252 SAtk / 164 HP
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Presenting the team captain, unchanged since inception. It brings back memories of when I would never, ever use a Pokemon on Showdown if I didn't have it in-game. That lost me a lot of matches, but now I'm over it I can finally realise the potential of Latias, in a tier I'm more comfortable with as well. Originally, it had Substitute in the place of HP Fire making it more of a conventional bulky type of Latias, but Bisharp has really risen to prominence this generation and with that came an approx. 0% success rate for Latias. In these times, Latias's best role, comes in its sacrifice for the lower order, as threats like Mega Gardevoir prey on Latias and if they are around, Latias can work in some last-minute damage (Psyshock still does a fair bit) for the rest to clean up.
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Power-Up Punch
Yes, that's correct. The item does not start with the word "Choice", but looking at the ladder you wouldn't believe there could be such a thing as this! After Chandelure, Florges or Bisharp have been worn down a little but still defeated Latias, this is where Diggersby shines. It almost always forces an opponent out, which in part eliminates the need for U-turn or a Choice item as it can stay in on a usual check like Slowbro (and by usual, I mean all the time) and start setting up with Power-Up Punch. Bisharp, as much as it thinks it can, cannot KO with Life Orb Sucker Punch and therefore is basically dead. Diggersby has also improved since usage of Eviolite Doublade apparently just wore off all of a sudden.
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Ice]
What kind of RMT of mine would it be if it didn't have at least one rather predictable set with little explanation to it? Raikou is the only thing capable of Substalling and boosting thanks to the change I made to Cap'n Latias, and its SubCM combo only really thwarted to great success by Florges and Heracross.
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch
- High Jump Kick
- Psycho Cut
I was actually kind of hoping Latias would have been banned by now, because Medicham has made a most excellent vice-captain and I was hoping Latias would go so as to elevate Medicham like it has shown to be worthy of. Despite Medicham's well-known case of 4MSS, it has been ridiculously powerful in all of its endeavours, and since it almost always comes in against a damaged opponent, it doesn't really need Fake Out to ensure a safe transition to Mega form. It feasts on Mega Gardevoir and Florges with Bullet Punch, who otherwise deal heavy blows to the rest of the team. Once Fairies are out of the way, it really runs through just about everything that isn't Slowbro or ScarftTini. It's for this reason I've opted for High Jump Kick over Drain Punch, just the sheer power increase that makes MegaCham so fearsome.
So there's another RMT wrapped up, this one having peaked at #16 on the UU ladder under the alt Breaking 2 Chainz. It's been a struggle with less time to play since then, but the Huge/Pure Power combination of Diggersby and Medicham still leave opponents struggling for answers. If there's one thing I might need help with, it's a better way to fight off Weavile once Empoleon's out of the way.
