You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

[Imperial Magala]

I'm taking it easy this time. Druddigon is based on gargoyles, is generally craggy, and learns Stealth Rock in B2W2 as a tutor move, while Haxorus as Fraxure sharpen their tusks on river stones like a whetstone.

 

[Axiemeister]

ooooh, good choice!! as mentioned by many, tricky to get all the rock types together. let's see if i perform a bit better this time!

ROCK ONNN

The gameplay focus of the team is sand, as much as it's possible without a Sand Streamer (in this generation). Its theme connects to this by belonging to a Trainer who acts as a sort of lifeguard to the Desert Resort. It's easy to get lost in the desert, and this Trainer has a team equipped to help anyone who gets lost. It's supposed to bring tourists in, after all.

@ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Force
- Sandstorm
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Explosion

Unova, please be more Alola now. I needed Sand Stream here, and having to set it manually requires some suspension of disbelief with that background.
Anyway, Gigalith acts as our lead both in theme and in gameplay. Not naturally from the desert, but incredibly adept at dealing with sandstorms, it supports the Trainer by guiding the storm in their favour. As a game lead, it sets up Sandstorm and hopefully lasts long enough to make use of Sand Force, but it can always explode instead.

@ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
- Howl
- Return
- Superpower
- Crunch

The Pokédex says Stoutland "excels at rescuing people stranded at sea or in the mountains", but, um. It has Sand Rush, so it probably excels at doing that in a desert too, and the Trainer needs his talents. People can get buried!
In battle, Stoutland uses the sand to become faaaast, Howl to set up and its simple but effective coverage to wallbreak and, later, revenge kill weakened foes.

@ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Taunt

Unova, be more Kalos now, I wanted to include Knock Off.
Sometimes the Trainer encounters bad characters on the job. It's inevitable when you deal with people. And they are not above some intimidation (heh) tactics, so enter Krookodile.
It uses Intimidate to nerf physical attackers giving this team trouble, Taunts them if they try to set up and Pursuits them if they try to escape. It also uses the opportunity to set up rocks, making foes think twice about coming in.

@ Flame Orb
Shiny: Yes
Ability: Magic Guard
- Psycho Shift
- Psyshock
- Heat Wave
- Sandstorm

Both a guardian and an emissary of ancient times, Sigilyph helps the Trainer by guarding the area with utmost vigilance, and helps rescue people with their psychic powers, which in the desert are probably better than technology.
Sigilyph survives the sandstorm with its Magic Guard, which also allows it to wield the Flame Orb, becoming a status absorber and spreader for the team. It also acts as a secondary Sandstorm setter if Gigalith falls.
Also, the Shiny matches the colours of.this team so well!

@ Flying Gem
Ability: Defeatist
- Acrobatics
- Head Smash
- U-turn
- Roost

An intelligent hunter, Archeops helps the Trainer locate stranded people with Stoutland, by being able to fly and actually even run on ground very competently. Very little escapes its sight.
Like Stoutland, it's a wallbreaker and revenge killer, though it's also a pivot able to bring allies in more safely, including our ace and wincon.

@ White Herb
Ability: Shell Armor
- Shell Smash
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor

Crustle carries the team. Literally - its huge boulder and strong legs enables it to carry heavy weights for a long time. How are we going to save people when they might be too weak and we can't carry them out?
It also carries the team by setting up Shell Smash late game and ending the battle quick, one way or another. If its teammates did a good job weakening their foes, very little can stop the little rock slab that could.

 

[R_N]

I have no theme or backstory to this:

Crustle
Archeops
Tirtouga
Gigalith
Ferrothorn
Cofagrigus

I was just miffed that nobody said Cofagrigus, one of the Pokemon that felt had a lot of people go "shouldn't this have been Ghost/Rock" followed by "okay so surely Runerigus should have been rock instead at least???"

Someone's gotta rep the thing and it may as well be me.

And I chose Ferrothorn because steel always has a rocky connection and while it is based on brambles, seeing its pre-evolution stuck in the ground or both parts of th eline fully integrated with rocks feels "right". Has a very rocky shape with all those thorns.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I was just miffed that nobody said Cofagrigus, one of the Pokemon that felt had a lot of people go "shouldn't this have been Ghost/Rock" followed by "okay so surely Runerigus should have been rock instead at least???"

I always saw people say Cofagrigus should have been Ghost/Steel since its coffin in made of gold (and it eats gold nuggets).

It is odd Runerigus isn't Rock.

My only guess why is maybe because Cofagrigus itself is a ghost and its simply possessing, manipulating, and modifying its coffin, but only thing it gains from doing so is a high defense. Likewise, maybe Runerigus has a similar relation with the stones its possessing, BUT it has the additional Ground-type because, unlike Cofagrigus, its cursed and bound to both the stone and the mortal realm.

 

[R_N]

I always saw people say Cofagrigus should have been Ghost/Steel since its coffin in made of gold (and it eats gold nuggets).

I have never seen someone suggest Cofagrigus be part Steel, with the rock being used for the same reasoning of "made of gold". Since its a really obvious mineral and the coffin/nuggets have very rocky appearences

It is odd Runerigus isn't Rock.

My only guess why is maybe because Cofagrigus itself is a ghost and its simply possessing, manipulating, and modifying its coffin, but only thing it gains from doing so is a high defense. Likewise, maybe Runerigus has a similar relation with the stones its possessing, BUT it has the additional Ground-type because, unlike Cofagrigus, its cursed and bound to both the stone and the mortal realm.

I am pretty sure the only reason Runeigus is ground because they go "oh well its a CLAY tablet" but it's like come the heck on gamefreak. that is a giant stone slab and you gotta walk it under a stone arch! Give us the dang ghost/rock type already!!

 

[SpyderMarz]

I have never seen someone suggest Cofagrigus be part Steel, with the rock being used for the same reasoning of "made of gold". Since its a really obvious mineral and the coffin/nuggets have very rocky appearences

Gholdengo would like to have a word with you.

 

[R_N]

Gholdengo would like to have a word with you.

That's now, but back then Rock was the one I saw, probably because the coffin had such a heavy carved aesthetic as opposed to Gholdengo's shiny coin golem body.

Aesthetics can go a long way, see also our grumbling over Runerigus the clay slab ghost

 

[Ironmage]

I wouldn't be surprised if Cofagrigus didn't show much because it was the second-choice Ghost type after Golurk. I know I was worried about potentially overdoing Ghost for my own submission (which is why Golurk itself was dropped for another Ground-type).

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

I don't think I've ever seen someone suggest that Cofagrigus should've been part-Rock or part-Steel until now, but I like its inclusion for this prompt regardless.

Looking back over last round's submissions, I'm finding it funny that despite winning, I was completely at odds with everyone else in terms of voting. I think I voted for 4 of the bottom 5? There's a good chance it'll be the other way round this time, though.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Good evening - newest poll is up.

https://strawpoll.com/40ZmqQrmlZa

You have until January 24th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!​

Analysis time. This one got long.

Numbers

Gigalith - 12
Archeops - 12
Carracosta - 12

Crustle - 9

Boldore - 1

Sigilyph - 3

Excadrill - 2
Conkeldurr - 2
Stoutland - 2
Cinccino - 2
Chandelure - 2
Druddigon - 2

Eelektross - 1
Darmanitan - 1
Durant - 1
Mandibuzz - 1
Scrafty - 1
Sawsbuck - 1
Hydreigon - 1
Zweilous - 1
Ferrothorn - 1
Escavalier - 1
Garbodor - 1
Seismitoad - 1
Emboar - 1
Vanilluxe - 1
Cofagrigus - 1
Basculin - 1
Golurk - 1
Bisharp - 1
Haxorus - 1
Simisage - 1
Simisear - 1
Simipour - 1
Krookodile - 1


Poor Crustle.

So, we come to Rock at last.

I've seen a lot of people say that they dislike Rock and Ground being separate types, and honestly after this round I'm inclined to agree. Well, not entirely, but I do see their point. Rock and Ground are different things, but the difference isn't always entirely clear. Rather, it's more akin to the relationship between Water and Ice: highly similar, and there's always been a lot of overlap, but the two types are distinct in a lot of ways.

Nevertheless, Rock does often struggle to carve out a fully realised identity. It's so unspecialised that it even notably lends its name to two moves that are not Rock-type (Rock Smash and Rock Climb). Because of this, Rock and Ground (and eventually Steel) often wind up becoming associated despite frequently not having all that much to draw them together. And there are a lot of Pokemon in Unova with Ground affinity, like Stoutland, so the temptation is there to include it - and others - despite there being a lack of immediate relevance.

This also brings home how limited Unova's dex is, or really more pertinently how limiting any dex of ~150 Pokemon is. And Unova has a conspicuous lack of Pokemon whose gimmick revolves around changing their type so it's difficult to bulk out a team with versatile species in the way other regions might with, say, Ditto or something.

So finding a theme here is hard. Evolution stones? I actually did wonder if anyone would go for an all-evolution stone team, so props to bdt2002 for being the one to take the plunge on that one I guess. Stone items in general? Just about, actually: Float Stone, Eviolite, Hard Stone, Rocky Helmet, Smooth Rock... could work, I suppose. Sandstorm-themed teams are definitely workable thanks to the relative array of Sandstorm-friendly adjacent Pokemon (even those not Ground- or Steel-typed): Sigilyph, Reuniclus, Stoutland, Mandibuzz, Leavanny.

So then you find yourself looking outside the Pokemon. Which NPCs use Rock-types? Ruin Maniacs, Hikers, Workers. The first lends itself to teams based around ancient locations; caves; myths and legends. Because of that, it's interesting to see a relative lack of Ghosts - Cofagrigus in particular, since it goes hand-in-hand with the fossils. It's a Pokemon themed around the idea of exploration and discovering buried treasures. Dragons also seem a natural go-to - you'll meet dragons in ancient, dark tombs and caves, after all.

But you could also go with the vibe of building things. And that brings you to Workers: people who want to build things, fix things, achieve things. Fighting is the obvious association as a lean-in here - especially Conkeldurr, whose whole theme is construction. Really I think there's a whole swathe of potential ways to go with Rock, so it's fitting that we got so many teams here, all going in different creative directions. Probably one of the most interesting rounds so far. I would not have guessed Sigilyph being the most common wildcard in a million years.

Stuff I expected to see more/at all

Almost had no NFEs this time. Eviolite Boldore could have been an interesting option, or even Dwebble utilising Sturdy to set up Sandstorm or Spikes or Toxic.

Throh and Sawk. Conkeldurr is the obvious choice for a Fighting lean-in, as I said, but I suppose Throh and Sawk have association with that big rock in Pinwheel Forest so my mind went there. In general Rock and Fighting share a vibe of toughness and strength and Throh in particular embodies that very firmly.

Leavanny. Overcoat, innit. Adds a bit of funk and spice to a potential Sandstorm team much like Cacturne often does in Hoenn.

Scolipede. Weird option, but learns Rollout so can fit in a Rollout team - wait, ROGGENROLA DOESN'T GET ROLLOUT?! It's in the name! ...well, never mind then.

Haxorus and Druddigon. Both cave-dwellers. I'd thought Haxorus' dex entries reference its tusks being able to crush/cut rocks but actually they can slice through steel! Even better. Both of these guys were used a couple of times but I'd expected to see them way more.

As a final note, since Shell Smash is a move learned by a lot of Rock-types including Crustle and Carracosta and Weak Armour is an ability many Rock-types get (though Roggenrola and Boldore had to wait a couple of generations), I had a half-formed idea of a team in which every member makes use of one or the other for an "all or nothing" strategy*: most likely Crustle, Carracosta, Garbodor, Mandibuzz, and Vanilluxe, with either Head Smash Archeops or Custap Berry-equipped Gigalith as an equally daring final member. All of the non-Rocks get a Rock move except Vanilluxe, which could utilise either Hidden Power or a Charti Berry with Natural Gift for a "lol just about good enough" option.

*which ironically stands as a fun opposition to Rock's usual characterisation as stolid, slow, and reactive, but I guess you could characterise as "the rocks smash!"

 

[Hugin]

As a Sigilyph fan, I am SHOCKED that it showed up 3 times. I assumed I'd be the only one.

I think the NFEs were avoided because there were so many decent options. Once one person made a 6-rock team, the concept is kind of off the table(which is why I don't look until I've posted).

I think a lot of people(myself included) wanted to stretch beyond the 4 rocks+Ground+Steel mold that seemed obvious, but that kind of led to the wildcards being truly wild this time, while most of the concepts were pretty standard. Of course, the games have done basically every type of Rock trainer a few times over by now, so you really can't make any non-standard concepts.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Poll Voting - Rock Not Required: Huh, there's quite a lot of teams which have at least one non-Rock team member that doesn't know any Rock-type Moves. While these Pokemon had other "rocky" justifications to be on the team, I feel this is the first time so many opted to do so even though they had plenty of options to have a Pokemon with a Rock-type Move (especially with how widely distributed Rock Slide, Stone Edge, and Sandstorm are; this isn't like Gens 1 through 2 (maybe also 3) where you could easily run into a wall where you have to include a team member that had no Moves of the specialty Type). I wonder what this says about the Rock-type? Is it really that much of a hinderance to force one of the non-Rock Pokemon's 4 moves to be Rock-type? Or is it that Rock is sort of a niche Type that it's not just beneficial but almost mandatory that a "good" Rock team needs a member that doesn't have anything to do with the Rock-type?

QQ's Quandaries:

• I'm surprised Crustle was the most left out, I would have guessed Carracosta as they both share the same niche (Shell Smash) but just feels like Crustle does it better.
  
  
• Rock & Ground's relation is certainly interesting. While most other franchises are satisfied with a single "Earth" element, GF decided at some point in Pokemon's development that Rock & Ground had enough physical differences they should be separate and, while often paired together, can exist apart. Of course, that does bring up the issue of other Types which this could be done with: there's quite a physical difference between fibrous plant material and wood yet both are Grass; Ice isn't only frozen water but also includes the powdery snow (and let's not get into the stranger kinds of ice); and Rock itself could be split into different categories like grainy rocks and crystalline gems. I can only conclude Rock and Ground's separation was more for gameplay: Flying is immune to Ground but weak to Rock, meanwhile Ground is weak to Ice but Rock smash Ice to pieces. While we have "wood" and "snow"-based Moves, with how they're used there's little difference in how they would affect the Type Chart; their "special" traits can be reflect via Move's secondary effects and Abilities. Meanwhile both Rock and Ground have proven how the difference can affect a Pokemon's design. Here's a fun though experiment, swap the typing of Pokemon with Rock and Ground and think how that would affect their design.
  
  
• I also noticed that, while past competition entries mostly focused on a conceptual theme, here we have quite a few mechanical themes as you pointed out. I almost went with a mechanical theme before stumbling onto and leaning into the boxer concept. There was even a few teams which were just "here's Rock and Rock-adjacent Pokemon".
  
  
• Sigilyph is a surprise Type-wise, but conceptually being a living relic fits into both an archeology and desert/sand theme. I'm more surprised to see Chandelure was used twice.
  
  
• I think the issue of no one using Eviolite Boldore (as well as Gigalith) was that, if you do, well you're sorta aiming for an all Rock-type team. And so with that which other NVE are you having: Dwebble, Archen, Tirtouga, or Roggenrola? But the thing is, aside from Archen who is just not good due to its low Speed, all of others would want the Eviolite, but it's the only reason you'd consider Boldore in the first place. So you're sorta stuck in this Eviolite paradox where the only winning move is just not to use the Eviolite thus also none of the NVE Rock-types.

I think the NFEs were avoided because there were so many decent options. Once one person made a 6-rock team, the concept is kind of off the table(which is why I don't look until I've posted).

Except no one made a full Rock team.

Of course, the games have done basically every type of Rock trainer a few times over by now, so you really can't make any non-standard concepts.

Let's see

Brock: Brock doesn't really have a concept. Later on its revealed he likes to dig up fossils, but he's not exactly an archeologist. His Gym Title is "The Rock-Solid Trainer", and from what I can find that's it. The FRLG's Fame Checker suggests Brock is super serious, though looking at other game quotes such as Masters paints Brock sort of as a tutor/mentor character and just a general nice guy. He is super into training though, so maybe that's what they meant. Being Brock is the "first" Gym Leader (obviously metawise and not lore), maybe GF purposely made him a otherwise normal guy who's really into training his Pokemon of choice which includes a giant rock snake, unlike anything you saw before challenging the Powter Gym in the Kanto games. Brock is the introductory character and later on the Gym Leaders get more "unique" by matching their theme with their Type specialty: Misty is a swimmer (makes sense for a Water trainer though still normal relatively), Lt. Surge is a foreign army vet (beginning to get a bit unique), Erika is a kimono girl (getting into fancy territory), Koga is a ninja (and now we've gone straight into fantasy), Sabrina is a psychic, Blaine is a mad scientist, and Govanni is a criminal boss. Quite the build-up starting from "plain as rock" Brock.

Roxanne: She's an honor student. Even after all these years that is her Gym Title. Disregarding Masters which has some time travelling nonsense going on, even in B2W2 that's her title. Now, Masters does mention at the Rustboro Trainer School she teaches junior trainers, though she also says she's still a student herself. Of course the reason for this is because GF keeps the characters stuck in their last major NPC appearance despite being in a situation where some time has clearly passed, like by B2W2 she should have graduated from the Trainer School and be on her next part of life (even if they just made her a teacher that would be some progress), but nope, her last major appearance are the Hoenn games thus where her character is "stuck". Anyway, this is about her trainer class relating to Rock-types. Oddly enough Roxanne is sort of in the same boat as Brock, being the first Hoenn Gym Leader. And unlike in Johto which also had the Kanto Gym Leaders thus they could be more expansive on the Gym Leader concepts, Hoenn brings things back to basics thus also repeating the "build up" of the bosses. So Roxanne is a relatively normal person but she's highly skilled, though while Brock was skilled in physical training, Roxanne is book smart so that's where the difference lies. Of course, while with Brock that's easier to relate to rock (he's Rock-Solid), not so much with Roxanne as relating intelligence/knowledge with a rock usually isn't a positive one. Her Gym Title is "The Rock-Loving Honor Student"; she's an honor student, and she likes rocks. Maybe they're going for something like "she studies hard"?

Roark: A coal miner.

Grant: A rock clumber.

Olivia: A jeweler.

Gordie: So I think the idea behind Gordie is he's a "rock star", but not the music kind. He's a "rock star" in personality but his fame comes from being a Gym Leader (which in Galar makes you just as big of a deal as a rock star). So, they took a term and used it literally, which they had done before Gordie (Shauntal of the Unova Elite Four is a writer who uses Ghost-types; she's a "ghost writer") so not a stretch.

Tyme: A math teacher. If any teacher I'd match with Rock-type it would probably be history, with math I'd more relate to Psychic (just general smarts), Electric or Steel (aka the science & engineering Types). But, you know what, I think it fits, or at least with Tyme is does. Going back to the history thing, while the Japanese and some other languages don't make the connection (so up to you if you consider it on purpose), her name is a misspelling of "time". As for her topic being math, math generally speaking is a "stiff and solid" subject; math doesn't change overtime like writing, language, art, science, or even our understanding of history. In addition to that, math has "hard rules", there's really no different perspectives (you can maybe get to an answer with different methods & formulas, but there's still only one answer). And, yes, to some, math is "hard".

Previously I did my Poll Result Review of HGSS Dragon before we went on hiatus, thus why I didn't do one during the previous voting session. But now is a different story so let's review the winners of Kitakami Ice.

The Ice Mask Cometh

Cobalt Empoleon (30 Votes): If the perfect theme was any more obvious it would smack me in the face . What else is there to say? For a DLC based on masks being able to make an Ice team with mask theming deserves all the votes.

bdt2002 (18 Votes): While no obvious connection was made between Kitakami and Sinnoh (or any of the other Japanese-based regions), the aesthetic is still there. And with Gen IX bringing back the cross-gen evolutions (and Legends, but that's a side main series game; it wasn't until Gen IX you could have its cross gen evos in the core series & it introduced a few more), it harkens back to Sinnoh which was famous, and some cases infamous, with how many cross-gen evos it had; and it just so happens Kitakami's dex had a lot of them AND three of them are Ice-types! I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers showed Cobalt Empoleon's "mask" theme completely stole this theme's thunder, but that's just sometimes how the mochi crumbles.

CTNC (16 Votes): It was both Hugin and CTNC posts that made me feel like a dummy. I completely forgot about the Terastallizing! I could have made any Pokemon Ice-type and gave it a powerful Ice-type Move. Decided to stick with my original team as I spent some time putting it together, but I realized I was sort of "done", especially how CTNC melded it with their "Teal Mask Mechanic Showcase" and using it with one of the new Pokemon introduced in the DLC, Sinistcha (which no one else did). Honestly I thought CTNC would be second, though I guess the higher concept of a mechanic showcase wasn't as appealing as Sinnoh Cross-Gen Evo team, but just by two votes.

Hugin & Railroader17 (13 Votes):
Fusion Flare (12 Votes):
Decided to add Fusion Flare as they were just 1 vote less than Hugin & Railroader17, plus I get in all the people above me (guess not that many people had fun hunting for the Ogre Clan, or were a bit disappointed by the twist reveal they're just pretending to be bad). Hugin ditched the Ogre Clan and just did a Yokai team, Railroader17 did a "Dangerous Icy Mountain Pokemon" theme, and Fusion Flare did an "Alabaster Iceland" theme. All relate to Kitakami in one way or another (Hugin's via the culture around the ogre, Railroader17 via the geography, and Fusion Flare via Kitakami being one of the few modern day places Hisuian Pokemon exist). It's just the top 3 spots ate up most of the votes, Cobalt Empoleon taking the lion's share.

 

[Hugin]

Except no one made a full Rock team.

...huh. I thought I saw one when I was reading through the thread before the poll was made, but nope. My brain just glitched. I'm shocked, it seems like this is the easiest type to make the pre-evos viable, given Sturdy and hazards/weather/suicide moves all being common.

Also, fun fact, Rock/Ground is not a common typing. It's Geodude, Larvitar, and Rhyhorn(and their evos). It's just that, like Grass/Poison or Water/Ice, the mons were so common in Gen 1 and brought back so often that people forget that it's a very rare dual-type.

 

[Pikachu315111]

lso, fun fact, Rock/Ground is not a common typing. It's Geodude, Larvitar, and Rhyhorn(and their evos).

 

[Imperial Magala]

To be fair, Geodude and Graveler probably make up 90% of all Rock types encountered due to the devs insisting them being commonly available throughout the first four regions.

 

[Axiemeister]

To be fair, Geodude and Graveler probably make up 90% of all Rock types encountered due to the devs insisting them being commonly available throughout the first four regions.

honestly this is a factor. poison/flying is actually a combination exclusive to the zubat line but zubat has been so damn common in the first... 7 minus unova...? generations that the fact is barely acknowledged lol

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Also, fun fact, Rock/Ground is not a common typing. It's Geodude, Larvitar, and Rhyhorn(and their evos). It's just that, like Grass/Poison or Water/Ice, the mons were so common in Gen 1 and brought back so often that people forget that it's a very rare dual-type.

No, but many people (IRL and online) still blithely insist that Rock is immune to Electric, which I think is pretty much entirely due to Brock's Onix. A lot of people in my Pokemon Go group either only played RBY and then came back to the series with SwSh and/or watched the Indigo League anime when they were younger, so there's a lot of gaps of knowledge; I had a guy in my Whatsapp group argue my leg off that Zorua was a mythical Pokemon when they released it last year (presumably because he'd had a garbled impression of the fact that Zorua was treated like a mythical in its first game). Brock's Onix is identified as a Rock-type first and foremost due to Brock being a Rock-type gym leader, so the misappropriation stuck.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Votes are in - a tight result, but congratulations Eeveeto on winning this round! Will DM you shortly.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

And we're back - our winner has chosen a new concept.

I could have sworn we've had more than one Ghost round, given that it does tend to be one of the more uncommon types in the games. But a look back over the thread's history tells me otherwise. Equally, I could have sworn we'd gotten around to this particular location before. But apparently not! So it's a blend of old and new as I ask the question...

You are a Ghost-type specialist on The Isle of Armour. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

(Yes yes, technically I misspelled Armour, but it's my right as a Brit to refuse to use the dumbed-down American spelling and I will continue to do so)

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread. You have until February 4th, 9PM GMT to make your case!

IoA Pokedex is here for those who need it: https://www.serebii.net/swordshield/isleofarmordex.shtml

Teams so far

Antihaxxer: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Zoroark, Slowbro
DaRotomMachine: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Zoroark, Malamar
Ironmage: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Gallade, Gardevoir, Pincurchin
Bedal Roscoe: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Klefki, Slowking
Pikachu315111: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Amoonguss, Mandibuzz
jhm5: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Vespiquen, Sharpedo, Malamar
WarriorGallade: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Exploud, Slowking, Accelgor
DrPumpkinz: Jellicent, Dhelmise, Malamar, Pincurchin, Dragalge, Grapploct
Hugin: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Mandibuzz, Stoutland
StupidFlanderz48: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Sandaconda, Zoroark, Porygon-Z
Cobalt Empoleon: Drifblim, Jellicent, Porygon-Z, Orbeetle, Malamar, Magnezone
Eeveeto: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Porygon-Z, Magnezone
Axiemeister: Drifblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Lurantis, Mareanie, Comfey
CTNC: Driblim, Palossand, Jellicent, Marowak, Zoroark, Mandibuzz

 

[Antihaxxer]

My first time here !

Here's the explanation ! Of course we have the 3 Ghost types available in Island of Armor, a big purple Balloon, a sand castle, and a Blue Mr. Pringles !
Zoroark add some "false" Ghost type with Illusion and reduces the team weakness to Ghost and Dark, Marowak should have been a ghost type (event before his Alolan counterpart), and Slowbro of Galar is clearly a Pokemon associated with the DLC/IoA and he seems to be "dead" killed by the Shellder

Zoroark (Illusion. Life Orb . Knock Off, U-turn, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb)
Slowbro-G (Regenerator. Life Orb . Shell Side Arm, Psyshock, Flamethrower, Ice Beam)
Drifblim (Unburden. Sitrus Berry . Calm Mind, Shadow Ball, Air Cutter, Strength Sap)
Palossand (Water Compaction. Leftovers . Shadow Ball, Earth Power, Shore Up, Giga Drain)
Marowak (Battle Armor. Thick Club . Bonemerang, Fire Punch, Electric Punch, Ice Punch)
Jellicent (Water Absorb. Leftovers . Hex, Scald, Will-o-Wisp, Recover)

 

[StupidFlandrs48]

My first time here !

Here's the explanation ! Of course we have the 3 Ghost types available in Island of Armor, a big purple Balloon, a sand castle, and a Blue Mr. Pringles !
Zoroark add some "false" Ghost type with Illusion and reduces the team weakness to Ghost and Dark, Marowak should have been a ghost type (event before his Alolan counterpart), and Slowbro of Galar is clearly a Pokemon associated with the DLC/IoA and he seems to be "dead" killed by the Shellder

Zoroark (Illusion. Life Orb . Knock Off, U-turn, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb)
Slowbro-G (Regenerator. Life Orb . Shell Side Arm, Psyshock, Flamethrower, Ice Beam)
Drifblim (Unburden. Sitrus Berry . Calm Mind, Shadow Ball, Air Cutter, Strength Sap)
Palossand (Water Compaction. Leftovers . Shadow Ball, Earth Power, Shore Up, Giga Drain)
Marowak (Battle Armor. Thick Club . Bonemerang, Fire Punch, Electric Punch, Ice Punch)
Jellicent (Water Absorb. Leftovers . Hex, Scald, Will-o-Wisp, Recover)

Hi! Also new to the thread, kudos for being brave enough to post first. My early concept is similar to this in some areas but I really like what you did here (I have a feeling Zoroark leads will be quite a trend, now you can take credit for setting it ).

One thing to point out though: I think Galar Slowking would be a better choice than Slowbro, you said it's seemingly been "killed" by the Shellder but I think the concept of Slowking being possessed by the Shellder would really fit here and add some nice flavoring to the ghostly theme. Possession is a staple trope of ghostly horror movies/other media after all

 

[Antihaxxer]

One thing to point out though: I think Galar Slowking would be a better choice than Slowbro, you said it's seemingly been "killed" by the Shellder but I think the concept of Slowking being possessed by the Shellder would really fit here and add some nice flavoring to the ghostly theme. Possession is a staple trope of ghostly horror movies/other media after all

I first started with Galar Slowking because Shellder is more important here and it seems to be more "dead" but IIRC it's only available in Crown Tundra

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Hi! Also new to the thread, kudos for being brave enough to post first. My early concept is similar to this in some areas but I really like what you did here (I have a feeling Zoroark leads will be quite a trend, now you can take credit for setting it ).

One thing to point out though: I think Galar Slowking would be a better choice than Slowbro, you said it's seemingly been "killed" by the Shellder but I think the concept of Slowking being possessed by the Shellder would really fit here and add some nice flavoring to the ghostly theme. Possession is a staple trope of ghostly horror movies/other media after all

My first time here !

Here's the explanation ! Of course we have the 3 Ghost types available in Island of Armor, a big purple Balloon, a sand castle, and a Blue Mr. Pringles !
Zoroark add some "false" Ghost type with Illusion and reduces the team weakness to Ghost and Dark, Marowak should have been a ghost type (event before his Alolan counterpart), and Slowbro of Galar is clearly a Pokemon associated with the DLC/IoA and he seems to be "dead" killed by the Shellder

Zoroark (Illusion. Life Orb . Knock Off, U-turn, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb)
Slowbro-G (Regenerator. Life Orb . Shell Side Arm, Psyshock, Flamethrower, Ice Beam)
Drifblim (Unburden. Sitrus Berry . Calm Mind, Shadow Ball, Air Cutter, Strength Sap)
Palossand (Water Compaction. Leftovers . Shadow Ball, Earth Power, Shore Up, Giga Drain)
Marowak (Battle Armor. Thick Club . Bonemerang, Fire Punch, Electric Punch, Ice Punch)
Jellicent (Water Absorb. Leftovers . Hex, Scald, Will-o-Wisp, Recover)

Hi! Also new to the thread, kudos for being brave enough to post first. My early concept is similar to this in some areas but I really like what you did here (I have a feeling Zoroark leads will be quite a trend, now you can take credit for setting it ).

One thing to point out though: I think Galar Slowking would be a better choice than Slowbro, you said it's seemingly been "killed" by the Shellder but I think the concept of Slowking being possessed by the Shellder would really fit here and add some nice flavoring to the ghostly theme. Possession is a staple trope of ghostly horror movies/other media after all

Hey both,

Welcome! Great to see new people getting involved and I hope that continues.

With that said, I'd just like to gently point out that it's not in the spirit of what this thread's about to call people out on their team choices and/or suggest alterations. The objective is for people to choose the teams they think are most fitting and/or creative: therefore, there are no right or wrong choices (with the obvious exception of species not eligible to be chosen at all).

I have had a couple of people DM me at various points to ask whether it's okay to edit their teams after posting them, which is perfectly fine - as I said, the objective is for you to create the team you personally consider most fitting to the theme. Personally I'm always happy to see unconventional picks and/or team concepts and I don't want to discourage anyone from contributing their ideas.

As you were, everyone.

 

[Scorpio]

I have a couple questions concerning eligibility for this challenge: you do get an Alolan Marowak as a gift, and it is in the Dex - albeit because the Kantonian form is catchable, but still, would it be OK?

Also, what about Dhelmise? It is notably catchable in the IoA, but not actually in the Dex. Is this enough to DQ it, or is it still good?

 

[QuentinQuonce]

I have a couple questions concerning eligibility for this challenge: you do get an Alolan Marowak as a gift, and it is in the Dex - albeit because the Kantonian form is catchable, but still, would it be OK?

Also, what about Dhelmise? It is notably catchable in the IoA, but not actually in the Dex. Is this enough to DQ it, or is it still good?

re: Alolan Marowak - fine. In general regional forms are usually allowed, though there's a bit of ambiguity. My thinking is that non-native regional forms are fine as long as the game in question offers the player a way to get it: so Kantonian Mr Mime would be fine in base Galar but Kantonian Tauros would not be in base Paldea (as random examples). Though it's highly unlikely we'll ever do a straightforward Galar or Paldea round so both of those are largely moot.

re: Dhelmise: we had the same issue arise with Wailord in the Crown Tundra. My thinking at the time was that it wouldn't technically be eligible as it's not a part of the dex despite being an overworld encounter; this was based on the fact that there is precedent for species appearing in an area without being included in that area's Pokedex listing: Pikachu appears in Castelia City in BW, Torchic is on Amity Square's billboard in Platinum, the Regi trio have dedicated locations in Sinnoh that can be visited pre-National Dex, and so on. However, I opted to allow it because it wasn't a Pokemon of the type in question at the time (Fighting).

As far as I'm aware Dhelmise is the only species for which the same is true in the IoA: however, as Dhelmise 1.) is not a prominent overworld encounter in the same manner Wailord is 2.) happens to be a Ghost-type, purely for the sake of challenge I'm going to take the executive decision to disallow it. Good catch though, thank you for flagging it.