I Just Want To Be Well Liked.
Hello Smogon! This is actually both my first RU team and obviously my first RU RMT. I started playing RU right before Nidoqueen and friends moved down from UU. I originally started to play it because it reminded m a lot of DPP UU which has to be one of my favorite tiers by far. I tested out many things and found out the good, the bad, and the ugly, and this is the final product. Usually my first teams don't end too well, but this is different, as the RU tier is (in my opinion) easier to learn and get a grasp on when compared tiers like OU. This team uses some underloved yet still great pokemon in Escavalier and Lickilicky, while still incorporating many classics such as Kabutops. Now that Cofagrigus has left RU, I feel like this is a great time to post this team as it was built when one of the most dangerous pokemon was running around in RU. Without further adu, I bring you, Well Liked!
Hello Smogon! This is actually both my first RU team and obviously my first RU RMT. I started playing RU right before Nidoqueen and friends moved down from UU. I originally started to play it because it reminded m a lot of DPP UU which has to be one of my favorite tiers by far. I tested out many things and found out the good, the bad, and the ugly, and this is the final product. Usually my first teams don't end too well, but this is different, as the RU tier is (in my opinion) easier to learn and get a grasp on when compared tiers like OU. This team uses some underloved yet still great pokemon in Escavalier and Lickilicky, while still incorporating many classics such as Kabutops. Now that Cofagrigus has left RU, I feel like this is a great time to post this team as it was built when one of the most dangerous pokemon was running around in RU. Without further adu, I bring you, Well Liked!
Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
Lickilicky is just awesome. First, he looks adorable and is such a boss. Second of all, he can tank hits like it's no one's business with 110 / 95 / 95 base defenses. With Special Defense investment, Lickyilicky can handle a number of threats that are popular in the meta game like Nidoqueen. It has niche uses over Lanturn and Clefable in that it has a good offensive presence and has reliable recovery, as well as just being overall bulkier. To give you an example of how fat Licky is, he is never OHKO'd by Scarf Primape's Close Combat. Crazy!
Wish and protect allow Lickilicky to recover it's health and support it's teammates. It's also incredibly funny when a Medicham comes in and kills itself when I use Protect because it's too eager to High Jump Kick. Wish is important because thanks to Licky's great HP stat, it restores the team's health which is important because they all lack recovery. It works especially well with Spirtitomb because the first thing people do is bring out a Ghost or Fighting type when they see Licky, which means a free recovery to Spirtitomb. Body Slam is for the STAB and hits resonably hard and gives Hitmonlee, Medicham, and Gallade something to think about before they switch in. Power Whip may seem odd but it 2HKOs 172 HP Spiritomb, OHKOs Omastar, Kabutops, and 2HKOs Feraligator, all who love to switch in on Licky and are otherwise big threats to the team. However, most of time I use Heal Bell because it makes Licky virtually invincible because it laughs at toxic and burn. It also heals and burns that would make Esca useless, and paralysis that makes Galvantula sad. Although I'm open o change, Lickyilicky isn't going anywhere, and if you say to replace it with Clefable I'll die a little inside.
Trait: Swarm
172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spd
Adamant Nature
What does 405 Attack with a base 120 power STAB move bakced by Choice Band mean? Something will die. With good Defensive and Offensive typing, Esca is one of my favorite pokemon to use in RU. It can check a bunch of threats, mainly grass types that use Hidden Power Rock to hit that oversized flame bird. Esca can easily take a hit if need be and just impale anything that comes in it's way with Megahorn. Anything that doesn't resist bug is not safe, and even things that do aren't. For example, 12 HP Hariyama is 2HKO'd, and Hitmonlee (which resists bug, mind you) is OHKO'd anyway. The amount of power this thing has is ridiculous. The Evs really aren't too relevant now because Cofagrigus is gone, but it does allow me to outspeed Slowking too which is awesome because they would otherwise toast me with Flamethrower.
Usually I just click Megahorn and watch things die, but sometimes I indeed use something else. Iron Head is a second STAB I use in case I can't afford to miss and still has good power. Return is just for Fire Types, it OHKOs Moltres after Stealth Rock and it hits Entei so hard it's head will spin; this is really important because this team really hates Entei. Reversal seems odd, but if I'm at 34% to 20% it becomes a 80 base power move that I can use to break through Steelix and Aggron, which otherwise can take anything I throw at them. Situational, yes, but it's not like you need that slot for anything else, right?
Trait: Sturdy
252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Relaxed Nature
Eh, not too much to say about this guy, since everyone really knows Steelix walls a lot of threats like Esca, Aggron, and Klinklang. His defense is through the roof, which actually means he can shrug off even super effective hits which is just insane. He doesn't have the best attack, but high power moves in Gyro Ball and Earthquake help compensate for this. Sturdy is pretty cool on this guy because leftovers will cancel out the stealth rock damage which means he'll still have it around a bit. Steelix usually gets Stealth Rock up fairly easily and reliably thanks to sturdy and great bulk. Roar is here for random baton pass users like Volbeat which I'd rather not deal with. The EV spread is pretty standard and 0 IVs in speed make gyro ball hit as hard as possible.
Trait: Compoundeyes
252 SAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
Oh man, this guy is amazing in this metagame. It outspeeds most of the common threats with it's awesome speed and it's coverage is excellent in this metagame when Bug hits key threats like Tangrowth, Slowking, Uxie, Mesprit, for super effective damage, while bug resistors, like Moltres, just get hit hard by STAB Thunder boosted by Compundeyes.
Bug Buzz and Thunder are great STAB moves that complement each other rather well. Energy Ball is mainly for Lanturn and Ground types that want to come in expecting a Thunder, like Sandslash. Hidden Power Ground is useful for Steelix and Nidoqueen which would otherwise give me trouble. So yeah, Ground is the best choice on Galvantula, stop using Ice!
Trait: Swift Swim
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Best Spinner in RU? Quite possibly! Kabutops is not only here to spin, but to check fire types who can get past lickyilicky, like Entei. This role is major which is why I don't play games with this thing, because it needs to be alive. This means I won't go for an early Swords Dace boost unless I see it's good. Aside from checking those aforementioned fire types, Kabutops can also act as sweeper or mid-game wall breaker, which other spinners can't boast.
Aqua Jet is cool because you can never have too much priority right? With Aqua Jet and Shadow Sneak, I have some emergency panic buttons against a few sweepers that manage to set up on me.
Trait: Pressure
248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Brave Nature
Another weird set, but let me explain. This set is kind of custom built for my team. Physical Spritomb is too unreliable to do consistent damage to walls or things that just plain don't attack, while Special Spritimb lacked the utiltity of Priority, so I married the two together to get the boost of both worlds. Shadow Sneak is here for one thing and that is Gallade which would otherwise run through my team. It is one of the most solid answers to it so I can be comfortable in it. The Evs are tailored so I can 2HKO 200HP Gallade which is necessary. Will-o-wisp is actually pretty unexpected on spritomb because they tend to be choiced. It cripples a lot of physical threats that I can be weak to. Dark Pulse might seem weak with no investment, but it's main purpose was to 2HKO OTR Cofagrigus , which it did without investment. 8 Spe EVs allow me to outspeed those same base 30's like Slowking. Pain Split, when combined with Wish support makes Spiritomb last for a really long time to spread burn and support the team against dangerous Fighting types.
Threats:
Ground types seem bad, but there really aren't that many ground types in RU and Steelix can usually tank weak ones.
There are probably more but they are escaping my mind right now. I'll add more later
Escavalier @ Choice Band
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 84 Spd / 172 HP
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Megahorn
- Return
- Reversal
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 8 Spd / 248 HP / 252 Atk
Brave Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dark Pulse
- Pain Split
Galvantula @ Choice Specs
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Steelix @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 32 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Gyro Ball
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 84 Spd / 172 HP
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Megahorn
- Return
- Reversal
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Heal Bell
- Wish
- Protect
Spiritomb @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 8 Spd / 248 HP / 252 Atk
Brave Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dark Pulse
- Pain Split
Galvantula @ Choice Specs
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Thunder
- Energy Ball
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Steelix @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 32 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Gyro Ball
