Washed Up With TingPex
Well, here we are. Generation 9 has been a wild ride so far, but its finally time to post my first RMT for it. "Washed Up with TingPex" is a double-meaning: while I think the team was founded on some potentially outdated ideas (thus being "washed up,") one of its defining characteristics and a major contributor to success was the addition of the washing machine Pokemon itself. You could also say that it reflects a bit of the journey I took in getting here, feeling a bit lost as to what to do and finally resolving to try something a bit more mainline or "boring," so to speak. That's already getting ahead of myself though, so let's dive in.
Construction History
Two goals emerged when building this team:
- Build around an established core and analyze the effect of “information warfare” on that core’s ability to perform consistently.
- Understand the thought process top players go through when building and refining their teams.
The core I chose to build around was Ting-Lu and Toxapex, a core that had several top 100 finishes for season 8:
This core uses its incredible bulk and momentum tools to wear down opponents into cleaning range. In isolation, Ting-Lu and Toxapex is a very tight synergy:
- There are no overlapping type weaknesses, and in particular Toxapex resists Ting-Lu’s most troublesome weaknesses (Water, Ice and Fighting)
- Synergy in bulk and typing allows for strong output from Ting-Lu’s Leftovers and Toxapex’s Regenerator, and forcing the opponent to switch can rack up Stealth Rock chip.
- Ting-Lu’s Earthquake hits many Steel-types and Poison-types that block Toxic from Toxapex. On the other hand, Toxapex can use Toxic against many Flying-types and Levitate targets that Ting-Lu can’t cleanly defeat.
- Both can ruin setup with Whirlwind / Haze, and Whirlwind in particular is a way around Substitute usage deployed to deal with Toxapex.
Regarding the exploration of new members, the earliest iteration of the team was completed by adding common partners seen across reports. One such “all-star” iteration of the team can be seen below:
Scarf Chi-Yu, Balloon Gholdengo, Banded Dragonite and Specs Bundle were all on the team at one point. Of the original “all-stars” that got slotted in, Chi-Yu and Gholdengo are the ones who stayed.
Scarf Chi-Yu quickly became the team’s go-to cleaner. It pressures one of our biggest counter matchups in Gholdengo, and with investment outspeeds common fliers like Dragonite and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. It also synergizes fantastically with Ting-Lu’s Whirlwind support, as dragging out and wasting a Mane’s or Bundle’s Booster Energy can be pivotal for winning late-game Speed wars.
Gholdengo was added as a Special Defense cushion into Iron Bundle, but its main claim to fame is using Air Balloon to stop Ursaluna wallbreaking and Clodsire attrition commonly employed against this type of team. Many Dragonites are also still using Extreme Speed and Earthquake coverage, which is also blocked by Balloon Gholdengo; this isn’t necessarily something you bank on at preview, but it’s great when it plays out in your favor.
After some testing, it became clear that the team was still too vulnerable to Tera Flying assaults from the likes of Dragonite and Landorus-T. I racked my brain a bit on this one as I was trying to avoid adding another defensive piece. Bachy eventually suggested Rotom-Wash, a piece I had considered but wasn’t sure how to make offensively-oriented while simultaneously hard-stopping Tera Flying momentum. I eventually came to the conclusion that physically bulky Helmet Rotom was the only viable way to go, and resigned myself to that.
I know some of my Discord peeps laughed, but it didn’t take me long to realize that Helmet Rotom-Wash was actually extremely good on this kind of team. It became a pivotal glue mon for the team’s secondary mode of operation. I think its a good reminder that sometimes the most obvious solutions are, in fact, the best ones.
To round it out, the team needed a sweeping complement to Rotom-Wash in order to process these Flying-type sweepers; this would also help cover Tera Flying Gholdengo in response to Ting-Lu Earthquake pressure. The two most obvious choices were Iron Bundle and Chien-Pao. Iron Bundle still needed Choice Specs to consistently OHKO Tera Flying Gholdengo from full and I didn’t feel like that set would be as splashable with the team’s configuration, so Chien-Pao got the call.
Individual Sets
Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 156 SpD / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Ruination
- Whirlwind
- Stealth Rock
Standard Targets : Dragonite (non-Tera Flying,) Landorus-T (non-Tera Flying,) Gholdengo, Heatran, Goodra-H
Tera Targets : Chien-Pao, Urshifu, Iron Bundle
HP + Def : 252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 212 HP / 116+ Def Tera Fairy Ting-Lu: 63-75 (24.5 - 29.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
Spe : Outspeeds uninvested Hippowdon
Summary : The first half of the team’s core axis. Ting-Lu’s job remains pretty standard: it usually doesn’t secure kills but it sets up for others using the tools of the trade. It’s also meant to pressure Steel-types with Earthquake, which it can do with some recklessness depending on the sweeper in the back. Expect to Tera it often, as it is often the critical element in wearing down the opposing team.
While Protect is often used with Leftovers, Stealth Rock had better synergy with Rotom-Wash. Furthermore, it helped keep Dragonite and Focus Sash Chien-Pao in check.
"Describe BSS in a single picture" challenge.
Toxapex @ Mental Herb
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 12 SpD
Impish Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze
Standard Targets : Urshifu-R, Flutter Mane, Ting-Lu, Dondozo, Wo-Chien, Annihilape
Tera Targets : Tera Electric Urshifu-R, Dragonite, Breloom
HP + Def : 252 Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Tera Electric Chien-Pao Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Toxapex: 125-148 (79.6 - 94.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Summary: The second half of the team’s core axis. Toxic Spikes are the best way to generate momentum in the face of obvious Steel-types switchins, and it also makes Toxapex the more valuable hazard setter against fatter teams. Because bulky teams often bring some form of status move control (mostly Taunt but also Encore,) I started running Mental Herb to make sure I could get the drop on key targets.
Rising usage of Steel-types and Tera Electric really made things difficult, but switching from Liquidation to Toxic Spikes really gave Toxapex a new lease on its usage. Tera Grass was also eventually settled on in response to things like Tera Electric Urshifu-R and Breloom, but it was a late season change that ultimately saw little testing.
I imagine this is one of the most heartbreaking messages a bulky team can see turn 1.
Now there's something you don't see every day.
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Gholdengo @ Air Balloon
Ability: Good as Gold
Level: 50
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 228 HP / 132 SpD / 148 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Make It Rain
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- Nasty Plot
Standard Targets : Iron Bundle, Ursaluna, Clodsire, Dondozo, Hippowdon, Breloom, Annihilape
Tera Targets : Ursaluna, Clodsire, Dondozo
HP + SpD : 252 SpA Iron Bundle Hydro Pump vs. 228 HP / 132+ SpD Gholdengo: 78-93 (40.8 - 48.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Spe : Outspeeds Adamant Breloom
Summary : Essentially the team’s role player. This set covers non-Tera Iron Bundle and was the main go-to before Rotom-Wash was added later, but its main purpose is to hard stop some of the biggest TingPex counters in the current meta (Ursaluna and Clodsire.) Its usage fell some alongside with the main core as we climbed, but it was a pivotal player against many setups specifically tuned to break down TingPex.
Without strategic Gholdengo usage, Clodsire is about as hard an autoloss as you can get.
This is a lot funnier when you consider that this opponent's other brings were Sneasler and Ursaluna.
Chi-Yu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beads of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 68 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Flamethrower
- Dark Pulse
- Psychic
Standard Targets : Gholdengo, Landorus-T, general cleanup
Tera Targets : Garganacl, Cresselia
HP + Def : 252+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Aqua Jet vs. 68 HP / 4 Def Chi-Yu: 90-108 (64.7 - 77.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Spe : Outspeeds Jolly Landorus-T
Summary : The team’s special ace. Not only does it take Gholdengo well, but it also has enough Speed investment to outspeed Scarf Landorus-T and +1 Dragonite. Beyond that though, it was simply a strong overall cleaner into weakened teams that was well supported by the team’s bulk profile. I’d also be lying if I claimed that the word “flinched” wasn’t a common sight on my way to several victories.
I’d estimate well over 90% of my clicks were on Dark Pulse since it is often the most reliable way to cover switches. This made Tera Dark a no-brainer, which also removed our Aqua Jet and Earthquake weaknesses in the process. The extra boost is also nice against fat teams, particular those that have immunity to Toxic Spikes.
One of the most frequent ways matches ended this season. This particular battle was Chi-Yu bringing it home one last time before calling the season.
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Rotom-Wash @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Foul Play
- Thunder Wave
Standard Targets : Dragonite, Landorus-T, Chien-Pao, Garchomp, Scizor, Urshifu-R
Tera Targets : Dragonite, Landorus-T, Ursaluna, Garchomp, Iron Bundle, Glimmora
Summary : The team’s tertiary cushion, but in reality it was the hidden MVP. So many selections brought to counter Ting-Lu and Toxapex folded before Helmet Rotom-Wash. Don’t be afraid to Tera early for maximum survivability, though you will want to weigh this against flipped matchups like Urshifu-R and how your supporting cast covers such flips.
Thunder Wave was chosen to screw up Booster Flutter Manes, which are difficult leads to handle for the secondary mode; Chi-Yu certainly appreciates the support in the absence of Ting-Lu Whirlwind. However, I do think Will-O-Wisp would have been a great option too with how many Swords Dance Chien-Paos were running around.
A surprise to be sure, but not the one needed to punch through Rotom-Wash.
This, on the other hand, did catch me. I hadn't used Tera (normally don't against lead Landorus-T) and I missed Hydro Pump. So it goes.
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Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 12 HP / 220 Atk / 20 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Sucker Punch
- Crunch
- Psychic Fangs
Standard Targets : Dragonite, Landorus-T, Tera Flying Gholdengo, general clean-up
Tera Targets : General offense
HP + Def : 252+ Atk Punching Glove Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 12 HP / 20 Def Chien-Pao on a critical hit: 138-165 (87.8 - 105%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
Summary : The team’s physical ace. Because Toxapex and Rotom-Wash either beat or force the opposing Chien-Pao to Tera, Sacred Sword was foregone in lieu of having both Dark STAB’s. This makes pressuring status users and switches much easier. Because Rotom-Wash is also expected to take Tera and lose its positive matchup into Urshifu-R, Chien-Pao takes up that responsibility by running Psychic Fangs; notably, Psychic Fangs by itself is nowhere near enough to OHKO, so it still generally needs chip support to deal with Urshifu-R. Admittedly, Psychic Fangs didn't get clicked much.
Finally, Chien-Pao is the main go-to against Tera Flying assaults with Rotom-Wash, using its Ice-type STAB to punch through them. As mentioned earlier, OHKOing defensive Tera Flying Gholdengo is another big selling point.
Bundle predicting a move I didn't have.
That look on someone's face moments before disaster...
Selection Process
Vs. “Big 6” (Ting-Lu, Urshifu, Dragonite, Flutter Mane, Gholdengo, Chien-Pao)
Vs. Fat Teams (Dondozo, Wo-Chien, Ting-Lu)
+ + 1Predictability is arguably where TingPex is at its best. Cycle between Ting-Lu and Toxapex and slowly wear down the opponent into cleaning range. Against “Big 6,” you generally lead Ting-Lu; against fat, you lead Toxapex to spread Toxic/Toxic Spikes as quickly as possible. You can also lead Toxapex if an Urshifu lead is suspected.
Chi-Yu is just a good all-around choice as the ace, while Chien-Pao is better reserved for the “Big 6” matchups where it can better abuse Focus Sash and Sucker Punch to dismantle offenses.
If you have to play TingPex into Ursaluna then Gholdengo is a must; use Ting-Lu to scout for Trailblaze and Whirlwind it out if it does boost its Speed. If no Trailblaze is revealed, then it's generally safe to hard switch to Gholdengo.
Vs. Tera Flying Offense (Dragonite with Landorus-T / Scizor / Iron Hands)
Vs. Physical-leaning Offense (Chien-Pao, Urshifu-R, Dragonite, Landorus-T, etc.)
Vs. Phazing (Hippowdon, Dragon Tail Garchomp)
+ + 1Rotom-Wash eats when the team successfully baits in common TingPex counters or just heavy physical offense in general. Ting-Lu still works wonderfully next to Rotom-Wash.
Rotom-Wash also does well against opposing phazers that can outspeed Ting-Lu, such as opposing fast Ting-Lu (though this MU is usually more coincidental) and Dragon Tail Garchomp. Gholdengo is preferred against Hippowdon to avoid Yawn loops, though sometimes Hippowdon teams are better fought using face-to-face (see below.)
Chien-Pao is the main ace against Tera Flying because of its Ice-type STAB, as well as often being just as viable as Chi-Yu into bulky phazing teams since they also tend to be Ice weak. I still recommend keeping Pao in back, even if it means losing Sash; many phazers run defensive Terastallization for Chien-Pao.
The team taking its first Tera Flying Dragonite victim.
Vs. Breloom
+ + 1While Tera Grass Toxapex arguably gives a worse overall defensive typing than the base typing, pairing it with Rotom-Wash as its bulky complement helps maintain some semblance of defensive synergy. The occasional Tera Fire Tera Blast Breloom can foil this, of course, but that’s just a risk this team accepts.
Chi-Yu is almost a given against any opposing Gholdengo play, as it becomes both the ace and stand-in for our own Ting-Lu as a defensive switch.
Vs. Multiple Heavy Matchups (Ursaluna, Iron Bundle, Breloom, Glimmora)
+ 2Essentially, you run face-to-face into some of the more unique team compositions.
Rotom-W often leads here and Teras immediately, since Tera Steel lets it square up with both lead Iron Bundle and Glimmora (always expect this to come when you see it) without losing too much ground. It often forces opposing Tera against these threats too, which can be beneficial in the long run. Against Glimmora specifically, Rotom-W should be going for Hydro Pump since Volt Switch into Chi-Yu Dark Pulse is not a consistent out.
Since we assume Toxapex isn’t coming, Gholdengo is needed as a switch-in against potential Breloom play. You will also generally want Gholdengo for Ursaluna, though Rotom-Wash is also capable of putting it in kill range with Hydro Pump.
And of course, you should have either Chien-Pao or Chi-Yu as your main ace. Running both isn't out of the question either.
Turn 1 double Terastallization was a common sight for Rotom-Wash.
In short, I felt the team saw the most consistent success when able to do one of two things:
- Run the primary TingPex mode, chipping opponents and cleaning up afterwards with a sweeper.
- Create very favorable Rotom-Wash matches through TingPex preview pressure.
All that being said, I do think this was a worthwhile exercise that shows me a lot about how to build a solid foundation for a team. It really takes a combination of good, overall synergy combined with a very high awareness of the top level meta and how it interacts with your core turn by turn. For example, Tera Ting-Lu has flinch awareness against unboosted Chien-Pao simply because it can live so many of them; getting flinched just once is usually not enough to invalidate it.
Regarding #2, I really like how Rotom-Wash turned out for this team. However, I finally came to the conclusion that Rotom-Wash was not only the glue but the ace in a lot of those counterteam situations. Beyond that, the cohesion between teammates with Rotom-Wash mode felt only above average. One lightbulb moment I had near the end was that my offensive matchup into Dragonite was actually pretty terrible; I was very reliant on Rotom-Wash to take care of that and, if it went down handling something else, a healthy Dragonite in the back was usually “good game.” It made me think that maybe Tera Ghost should’ve stayed on Chi-Yu, but that presents its own problem because Rotom-Wash is already a Tera hog. Perhaps I just didn’t prioritize Rotom-Wash’s survivability enough.
To summarize: when forced out of our primary mode of operation (which was more and more frequent as time went on,) the chain links between members just weren’t strong enough to win consistently. Rotom-Wash either did the heavy lifting or games turned into a bit of a toss up. While the team preview manipulation was successful at times and something I am definitely interested in building on for my next concept, it was often myself that felt strained at team preview.
With that in mind, I see several objectives to consider for my next team:
- Utilize a core with stronger top threat awareness. The next core I build should have at least one top 5 matchup that it is tuned to consistently beat rather than having only general synergy.
- Tera Awareness:
- Continue building setups understanding where Tera is likely to go, like using Tera Steel Rotom-Wash with Psychic Fangs Chien-Pao to maintain some viability against Urshifu-R.
- Understanding how to utilize Tera across all team members, even if only for specific matchups and cores; for example, I might have been able to capitalize earlier on Tera Grass Toxapex had I given more thought to Rotom-Wash as a partner instead of Ting-Lu.
- In tandem with #1, continue exploiting the opponent’s Tera to create favorable matchups, such as forcing Gholdengo into Tera Flying to the benefit of Chien-Pao. Furthermore, shift this interaction into the DNA of the main core.
- Team Preview Awareness
- Increase awareness of how preview pressure manipulates opposing picks and how that can inform selection. I believe I’ve gotten off to a good start with predicting isolated picks, but I feel there is room for improvement.
- While this is dependent on core choice, use awareness of the pressure referenced above to create a secondary mode that can consistently compress and exploit pressure points.
To end this report, I've got some "special thanks" to give out.
First, I appreciate Theorymon recruiting me to help out with Dex updates and analyses. It gave me some extra motivation to get in there and really know my stuff, and I've had a lot of fun researching and helping out with meta trends. TingPex likely would not have happened without that push.
Bachy helped me decide on a couple pivotal tweaks for the team, most notably Rotom-Wash. That change alone meant a lot for this team's success, and the frequent insights given on Discord are a welcome perspective in many conversations.
Definitely have to thank Pearl for their continued involvement and unwavering support on Discord; I know I'm not the only one that has felt it! Pearl was also the most frequent participant of my many, many public TingPex and meta-related ramblings, so thanks for putting up with that!
As is the case with many people here, not sure when my next big break will come since a busy fall schedule is already upon me. Either way, thanks for reading this far; hopefully you too can find the fun too in this crazy generation of Pokemon!
