SM NU volturn despacitoad (peaked #1)

[PrinceLucian]

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Hi everyone, its lucianvega and im here to showcase a team ive had most success with lately, allowing me to peak the ladder HERE and get reqs for aboma suspect test along with my friend poh , and since tier shift is coming soon while Abomasite being unbanned, i thought it would be a perfect time to finish with a RMT. Personally, i dont think Abomasnow is that good to make impact on metagame alone, but considering NU lacks splashable and consistent ice checks, it does put some restrictions on teambuilding which was already a challenge, but could be quite rewarding one as well. Anyways, this team shifts from generic slowbro-xatu-steelix cores into a more offensive direction, and altough not as common its pretty much a standard bulky offense. Now, lets go on the teambuilding part.

Teambuilding Phase:​

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  This team is made same day as seismitoad dropped in the tier, and initial idea was starting with offensive seismitoad+stealth rock diancie, however with some testing i came to conclusion that offensive toad without rocks is not worth using, it cant break walls like vileplume and vaporeon that generally switch into it anyway, so i changed the rolls to standard rocks toad and offensive diancie. My friend Natsu testing first version here, as you see specs toad barely does something in this game, as well as in majority of testing phase since its dual stabs can be easily countered in current NU and its coverage is lackluster, compared to diancie which is a fearsome wallbreaker.
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  Next pokemon added was vileplume, as it pairs well sinergy wise and checks most of the special grass and water types for the core, as well as heliolisk which was very popular in that metagame due to everyone gossiping about its potential suspect, however vileplume just keeps getting better as the meta changes.
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  Incineroar was obvious choice for next slot, it makes sure no common special fire type can break the team, it covers ice weakness, and keeps physical grass types like decidueye and dhelmise in check, since vileplume cant switch into them safely.
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  Uncommon wallbreakers like gallade and medicham annihilate every team without slowbro or a ghost type, so rotom was added as hazard removal, it has great matchup vs balance teams who rely on steelix as rocker which cant touch it, while other more threatening like rhydon can get crippled by burn. It also gives me a secondary flying resist so ill take it.
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  I wanted speed control for last pokemon, so I added gallade because its typing offensively fit well with rest of the team, the idea was to Trick the scarf to AV slowbro or slowking so diancie can wallbreak more easily, however in practice it was rather lackluster and frail, so carcy suggested scarf passimian
  
  instead, which is usually a go to scarfer, its overall more bulky on the physical side which this metagame favours, and can take a knock off or act as secondary SD incineroar check, while providing momentum.

Moveset changes:​

Moveset changes: Hp Fire = > Psychic on Diancie

• Originally i had hp fire to hit ferroseed, which is a pretty bad pokemon to run in xatu filled metagame, it allowed me to hit few grasses more but sp.def vileplume evades 2ko and it doesnt hit anything else, while psychic is easy 2ko on plume, lets me hit other poison types like garbodor that may set hazards vs it, and hits more pokemon for neutral damage.

Strength Sap =>Synthesis/Sleep powder => Growth on Vileplume

• strength sap specially defensive vileplume was pretty mediocre in practice, it still checks stuff like passimian without it and still dies to stuff like incineroar with it, while synthesis is more reliable in night shade xatu metagame and can safely recover vs sp.atkers it usually switches into without getting 3 koed. Running both isnt too bad, but i feel like there are better options as a filler move. In this case, i found growth most valuable since it gives me win condition vs bulkier builds as it sets up easily vs many passive walls.
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  Ive tried few different Incineroar movesets so i cant say which ones i had exactly, but it sums down to only 2 options on this team, which is Fake out and Iron Head, which ill be explaining in team description

Usage tips:

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Most new NU-ers can get overwhelmed on which pivot checks which pokemon, if several pokemon have similar counters they might mess up on what to allow to get weakened and what to preserve more, so the key here is knowing the tier like your pocket, NU pokemon are known to get wore down easier compared to other tiers. You can make as many doubles as you want or try playing momentum game, but in the long run not realising only thing youre doing is chipping yourself instead of opponent and then wonder why you lose. The key is knowing how to play your offense depending on your opponents defensive core, some of them could just infinitely switch and stall you with hazards and recovery if youre just trying to outpredict, so if youre versing a bulkier team with golbat/diancie cores or vaporeon with wish pass, its important to knock off the eviolites or leftovers at any cost even if it means absorbing scald from vaporeon vs inc, none of them can revenge kill any of the mons here, and next opportunity diancie switches in gets an easy 2 KO on any of those pokemon. Mind games with growth vileplume are also important, they may allow you to growth first turn since they didnt see it coming and then go into the counter so dont recklessly set up. Use defog depending on opposing rocker, weaken stuff like diancie or toad before mindlessly sacking rotom just to clear hazards. And for passimian, i think everyone is aware how to use that xd If versing a bulkier build you can use it as knock off absorber if incineroar is prefered to be healthy.

Team Preview

Diancie @ Choice Specs
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Power Gem
- Earth Power
- Psychic​

Choice Specs Diancie is a pretty powerful threat in NU, as there isnt much consistent answers to fairy stab, especially when combined with coverage it carries , it can 2KO almost all of its checks with the right play. Moonblast is mandatory stab, complemented with Power gem that hits most fairy resists for super effective or decent neutral damage. Earth Power hits steel types like Silvally and Steelix who cant take it too well, as first one doesnt have any recovery. Psychic is another move that hits stuff like Golbat, Vileplume and Garbodor, which normally resist Moonblast.
EV spread allows me to creep max speed Mega Abomasnow and KO with power gem, while the rest of evs is put in HP for some bulk, Modest nature is always prefered for maximum damage.

Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
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Standard Passimian set, he is a pretty good speed control while forcing many switches with Close Combat+powerful attack stat and gaining momentum for team while allowing your wallbreakers to come in. Nothing fancy about the set though, Close Combat is a strong main stab and U-turn is for momentum, Knock off is very useful to remove passive recovery from bulky walls, while Earthquake is prefered over Gunk Shot since i have 2 decent fairy answers, and I prefer 2ko-ing Garbodors which would otherwise wall it.

Incineroar @ Figy Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 56 Def / 132 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Flare Blitz
- Iron Head​

Figy berry incineroar, I would prefer to run more defense but I didnt want to risk being potentially outsped by Mega Abomasnow, considering how common it was on suspect ladder and focus blast being a guaranteed 2KO, so I took some Evs out defense and put it to speed creep aboma by 1 point, while special defense EVs are same as standard due to my team benefiting from more special bulk. Moveset is pretty basic but on -sp.atk nature i always prefer flare blitz over fire blast as its a strong stab even uninvested, besides it doesnt hurt it much since you usually prefer to click u-turn or knock off anyway.
Iron Head is my filler move, as i dont think Earthquake really does much except revenging opposing Houndoom which U-turn+bringing Passimian takes care of, while Knock off kills Delphox anyway, and this way i dont have to primarily rely on Vileplume checking fairy types alone. As a bonus, Iron Head 2-koes Diancie, and makes Rotom Defog lot easier, sometimes potentially stopping rocks.

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Growth
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Specially defensive Vileplume is just as good if not more useful than physically defensive, due to checking majority of common threats like Heliolisk, Comfey, Diancie, specially offensive grass and water types etc.. I opted for a spread that allows me to evade 2ko from specs Heliolisk, while investing the rest into defense.
Synthesis is prefered over Strength Sap as you are here to check special attackers and you still reliably check fighting types, while double stab takes advantage of its naturally high sp.atk.
Shotouts Kiyo for Growth, I saw him use it on ladder and was pretty intrigued to try the set. It beats Steelix balance as you can set up vs half of the teams and Xatu cant even touch you since it doesnt run a stab move.

Rotom @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch/Thunderbolt
- Defog
- Hex
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Defog additions in USUM were pretty generous to the lower tiers, as we didnt have a lot of viable hazard control, so any mon with useful typing and Defog is like a blessing. As ive explained earlier Rotom can Defog vs majority physical rock setters, however it shouldnt be played recklessly as Rotom doesnt have a space to run recovery move. As an item, i like Colbur Berry for emergency situations vs things like Incineroar or Scarfed Passimian as they generally click Knock off vs it, and then you can preserve Rotom as a sack fodder.
Volt switch/Thunderbolt is an option of choice, Volt Switch is pretty good for momentum and i primarily used it, however Thunderbolt is alternative option bcz it allows me to take on Bulk up Braviary better, while being a decently strong stab.
Will o wisp+Hex goes in conjunction with each other as you can feel free to burn something, while max hp allows it to take advantage of its decent typing.

Seismitoad @ Waterium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Toxic​

This set allows me to outspeed SD Incineroar and ohko it with Z move when they think they can kill you at +2, while outspeeding Xatu and having pretty good chance to kill it with Scald + Z move on a switch, rest is dumped in defense to take on pokemon like Steelix and Klinklang better, and act as Knock off sponge. Conventional seismitoad is cool and all but it gets ohkoed by +2 incineroar which isnt a risk im willing to take on ladder, and besides that even if you waste a Z move on something else you can still get a good chip on incineroar since you outspeed it. Surprize factor on ladder is always good and youre not missing on much, as toad still checks what its supposed to. Moveset is standard, while Knock off might sound appealing as an option to remove an item from grass types or Slowbro, Toxic does better in the long run while beating cm Slowbro 1v1.




I wasnt originally planning on making a rmt, but i had lots of fun using this team since volturn cores are pretty rewarding vs most archetypes if you play well. There are some threats to be more careful vs to keep the fun going though. Ive got a general idea of what the weaknesses are and how to play around them so here we go.

Threatlist and set alternatives:

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not impossible, but very annoying to deal with, as vaporeon is known to stay alive throughout the matches, and abomasnow is hard to switch into safely. The way you deal with the core is trying to poison vaporeon as it usually doesnt carry heal bell itself since it needs to cripple opposing water types, that or either knock off the leftovers which allows diancie to freely spam moonblast. As for abomasnow, i speed creep it so i can revenge kill it, but it can get in vs seismitoad for free and get a strong hit, so sometimes be careful about if you want to click stealth rocks, as incineroar cant switch forever into it
*insert wish passers* +

golbat can be insanely annoying to beat, as my only poison immunity is vileplume and golbat can potentially beat it 1v1, so be careful and scout its set, at least there is 2 knock off users + diancie on team that can kill it

i dont have steelix and silvally-steel is pretty bad, so naturally vivillon can be pretty threatening if you allow it to setup, luckily i have 2 flying resists in rotom /diancie so try to preserve them as much as possible, as +2 energy ball can never kill diancie from full, while incineroar has naturally high spdef to take a hit.

i have immunity to both medicham stabs on paper, but have fun outplaying it in practice. Luckily, its not that easy to fit on teams and there are more rewarding wallbreakers that dont require mind games, brb getting some ice cream

Vikavolt is generally hard to switch into if you dont get the lead right, as bug buzz stab is amazing and it can break through vileplume as electric type. So being more thoughtful together with offensive pressure can deal with it, and if you dont lead right, you can scout with rotom or incineroar, since theyll probably try to energy ball your seismitoad

standard torterra cannot 2KO vileplume, and they have equal amount of recovery, so you can play around with growth as well. You can also switch rotom on a EQ and try to wisp it or volt switch if youre better, and offensive mons can pressure it if you get of a toxic or knock off. Anyway torterra isnt as great as it used to be and not as common, but it can still be a nuissance to deal with

only assault vest slowbro, however 1 knock off or toxic and its gone next time you click moonblast. Spdef vileplume tanks fire blasts pretty well, and you can always bring incineroar on gknot/fblast and remove its item. Its easy to deal with in practice

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sunny day zard just obliterates the team if you dont try to outplay, but its rare and they run solar power so it gets wore down while sun lasts only 5 turns, so try to do a damage or toxic while he didnt setup sunny day and then gl dancing around it like a clown in circus parade
Magmortars usually run 3 atks+ taunt since otherwise they cant touch stall, so usually they cant kill seismitoad or diancie and you can revenge kill it pretty well. However if you face choice specs try to think whats most benefitial and rewarding move your opponent can click and play based around that

Best way to play around minior is to have rocks up and carefully preserve whatever can ohko it with rocks damage late game or kill it whenever you get a chance, however if it manages to setup click x. Luckily its D rank and only low ladder uses it

Replays:

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https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-826844941 vs common ladder team , showcasing the growth vileplume
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-826239750 vs abomasnow team , showcasing the Z move toad
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-824925388 another abomasnow team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-824922814 vs random offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-825189040 tough articuno matchup
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-829595001 wish passer+abomasnow

Shotouts:

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carcy poh Eternally Assassin Rogue FlowerHater45 for being cool

Importable:

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Seismitoad @ Waterium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Toxic

Diancie @ Choice Specs
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Power Gem
- Earth Power
- Psychic

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 192 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Growth

Rotom @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch
- Defog
- Hex

Incineroar @ Figy Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 244 HP / 56 Def / 132 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Flare Blitz
- Iron Head

Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Earthquake