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

[QuentinQuonce]

...and our winner has chosen a new concept for us all. Without further ado:

You are a Dragon-type specialist in RSE Hoenn. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread. You have until June 2nd, 9PM GMT to make your case!

Original Hoenn dex is here for those who need it: https://www.serebii.net/rubysapphire/hoennpokedex.shtml

Teams so far

Eeveeto: Salamence, Flygon, Altaria, Kingdra, Seviper, Aggron
Ironmage: Salamence, Flygon, Altaria, Tropius, Skarmory, Gyarados
Cobalt Empoleon: Salamence, Altaria, Kingdra, Crawdaunt, Tropius, Whiscash
Hugin: Salamence, Flygon, Kingdra, Milotic, Aggron, Tropius
Pikachu315111: Salamence, Flygon, Altaria, Kingdra, Exploud, Crobat
Chaos!ncarnate: Salamence, Flygon, Kingdra, Shelgon, Ninjask, Gyarados
DrPumpkinz: Flygon, Altaria, Kingdra, Milotic, Beautifly, Rhydon
WarriorGallade: Shelgon, Medicham, Sceptile, Masquerain, Dodrio, Seviper

 

[Eeveeto]

Item: Poison Barb. Moves: Glare, Sludge Bomb, Flamethrower, Giga Drain. A reptile, very asociated to dragons. Paralyzes and does some damage. Unfortunately has no Dragon moves, but learns them in future Gens. Still draconic enough (Pelipper learns Twister but for me isn,t draconic enough)
Item: King's Rock. Moves: Rain Dance, Twister, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam. A Dragon. Has King in the name and has an item related to that too. Does damage and helps next Pokemon to solve its Fire weakness.
Item: Dragon Fang. Moves: Leaf Blade, Dragon Claw, Crunch, Thunder Punch. This Pokemon has a Dragon Mega in the future, also learns Dragon Claw. Hits with everything it has.
Item: Leftovers. Moves: Dragon Breath, Dig, Protect, Substitute. Another Dragon. Stalls the opponent with Dig, hopefully paralyzing it with Dragon Breath too.
Item: Quick Claw. Moves: Rock Slide, Iron Tail, Dragon Claw, Dynamic Punch. Resembles a Steel dragon. Could be a reptile. Learns Dragon moves too. Some Dragon Tamers use this Mon in Battle Tower, so I think it has enough of association to the type. Attacks with everything it has, sometimes moving first. Aggron is sent after Flygon due to resisting all its weakness, while the ace Pokemon resists all Aggron ones.
Item: Lum Berry. Moves: Dragon Dance, Fly, Earthquake, Brick Break. Ace Dragon, it really was between it and Kingdra, others didn,t look right. Taking advantage of the defensive sinergy with Aggron, Salamence boosts with Dragon Dance and sweeps with STAB Fly or coverage.

Its a shame to not be able to use Outrage. There are exactly 6 Dragon type moves in Gen 3, but Outrage is locked only to Charizard, Dragonite and Tyranitar, since I couldn,t use all Dragon Moves anyway, there was no point in bringing something (Gyarados, Kingdra or Mence) with Dragon Rage either.

 

[Ironmage]

Pretty tight spread in rankings. If I had gotten around to voting, I could have seriously shaken things up. Anyway...

We joke a lot about Lance here, but the entire region of Hoenn can't seem to separate the Dragon and Flying types either. We've got a Flying leader having the most prominent Dragon Dance user, a pseudo with primary lore about wanting to fly, Levitating minor legends based on jets, and a sky-themed title legend with Dragon-associated worshipers in ORAS.

That's it. That's the theme this time.


Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
- Spikes
- Drill Peck
- Steel Wing
- Whirlwind
It's not entirely because it's my favourite mon. Skarmory having nests full of sharp objects along cliffs and mountainsides felt reasonably close to the classic dragon's hoard, and Whirlwind seemed like the closest productive equivalent to the Dragon-type wind move Twister. An Ice neutrality is also very much appreciated.


Gyarados @ Persim Berry
Ability: Intimidate
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Thrash
- Roar
I chose to run Thrash here since it's an equivalent to Outrage which doesn't have great users yet due to being Special in this gen. I feel like the mon itself is pretty self-explanatory.


Altaria @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Natural Cure
- Agility
- Dragon Claw
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
The only full special set here, and as a result the only user of Dragon STAB.


Flygon @ Soft Sand
Ability: Levitate
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Flamethrower
- Steel Wing
The one non-Flying member of the team, I've chosen to allow Levitate as well (I did count Lati@s in the intro blurb, after all).


Tropius @ Bright Powder
Ability: Chlorophyll
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Synthesis
- Body Slam
In addition to appearance, Tropius would later pick up a decent variety of wind and Dragon moves (including getting Dragon Hammer by breeding). Right now it's dealing with Item clause being awkward until about gen 5.


Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
- Aerial Ace
- Dragon Dance
- Earthquake
- Return
I made sure to provide a solid Normal attack here since it would become the default Flying STAB in gens 6-7. Went with Return specifically since the Draco Meteor tutor puts "dragon type=high friendship requirements" in my head.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

Not only did Double Battles debut in Hoenn, but Doubles-exclusive trainer classes did too!

A Draconic Demonstration

Kingdra
Ability: Swift Swim
- Dragon Dance
- Surf
- Double-Edge
- Blizzard

Crawdaunt
Ability: Hyper Cutter
- Mimic
- Rain Dance
- Surf
- Crunch

Altaria
Ability: Natural Cure
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Protect

Tropius
Ability: Chlorophyll
- Mimic
- Fly
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Salamence @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Hydro Pump
- Rock Slide

Whiscash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Oblivious
- Mimic
- Surf
- Earthquake
- Blizzard

These are the final bosses of the Sr. and Jr./Senpai and Kōhai trainer class. The Sr. uses Dragon-types that each know Dragon Dance, while the Jr. uses three Hoenn-native Pokemon which gained Dragon Dance as an egg move between Platinum and HGSS (the only Pokemon with that distinction). This one-generation knowledge gap mirrors the one-year age gap between the two trainers, with the Sr. demonstrating how to use Dragon Dance for the Jr. to learn. Each of the Jr.'s Pokemon knows Mimic so they can get hands-on experience by copying the move.

As with previous rounds, Gen 3's underwhelming move and item pools freed me up to not really worry about competitive sets. Once again, it's mostly pairwise, e.g. Crawdaunt sets up rain for Kingdra, Altaria and Tropius use Fly and Protect to stall for Leech Seed damage, Salamence and Tropius both dodge Earthquake from their intended partners, etc. Surf, Blizzard, Earthquake, and Rock Slide are all present for that classic spread move spam.

 

[Hugin]

Thanks for the win, y'all. Fighting was fun, and now we get to return to my favorite region.

"You? You think you can take on the Super-Ancient Pokemon? My team of the greatest beasts in these lands is all that could possibly contain them. Have at you!"

So this trainer has been preparing for the release of Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza for years, and has built a team of dragons capable of containing them. If you want to catch them in the endgame, you have to go through him first.

Salamence/Kingdra/Flygon are all actual Dragons. Tropius is a giant dinosaur, Aggron is a Kaijou, and Milotic is a classic rare sea serpent. Nothing complicated.

Spoiler

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Claw
- Toxic
- Sunny Day
- Rain Dance

Tropius @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
- Sunny Day

Kingdra @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Breath
- Substitute

Flygon @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sandstorm
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Aggron @ Quick Claw
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Rock Slide
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam

Milotic @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA
- Surf
- Rest
- Hidden Power [Electric]
- Light Screen

For movesets, I definitely went more on the anti-Legendary side rather than the competitive side. Salamence is a solid lead with a wide support movepool+Intimidate. Tropius has sustain and status, Kingdra is a solid offensive mons, both are officially here to take advantage of Rain/Sun. Flygon sets Sand to guaranteed remove other weather and is again very good offensively. I went with Sturdy Aggron because in Emerald Groudon/Kyogre both have OHKO moves, and I went special because his learnset is depressing. And then it ends off with a Milotic that none of the three can kill. Movesets are specifically anti the super-ancient legendaries, while also being a reasonable boss fight.

 

[Pikachu315111]

As Ironmage mentioned, ORAS introduced us to the Draconids, an ancient tribe who worshipped Rayquaza and raised Dragon-type Pokemon. In the games we only meet two: Zinnia and her grandmother, but there was a third mentioned who held a lot of importance to Zinnia and probably guided some of her actions: The previous Lorekeeper, Aster.

(A young Zinnia (& Aster the Whismur(?)) sitting next to a woman who is presumed to be Aster)

By the events of the game Aster had passed away... of course, that's in the "Mega Evolution" timeline. In ORAS its suggested that the RSE games are their own timeline, the difference being the Ultimate Weapon was never fired thus Mega Evolution doesn't exist (nor Mega Rayquaza nor probably the Primals). Now Groudon and Kyogre still fought and Rayquaza stopped them, so there's still a possibility that the Draconid People still exist (there was just no meteor threatening the world that they had to take action & reveal themselves). And this could even possibly mean that Aster is alive. If you haven't guess the theme of my team already:

RSE Aster's Team:

(Aster disguises herself as a Pokemon Ranger as not to attract attention while serving her Lorekeeper duties outside of the Draconid Village)

Salamence. Intimidate. Dragon Fang . Dragon Claw/Aerial Ace/Steel Wing/Dragon Dance
(Shiny) Altaria. Natural Cure. Leftovers . Dragon Claw/Aerial Ace/Sing/Perish Song
Flygon. Levitate. Soft Sand . Dragon Claw/Earthquake/Rock Tomb/Sand-Attack
Kingdra. Swift Swim. Shell Bell . DragonBreath/Hydro Pump/Blizzard/Rain Dance
Crobat. Inner Focus. King's Rock . Sludge Bomb/Aerial Ace/Shadow Ball/Confuse Ray
Exploud. Soundproof. Quick Claw . Hyper Voice/Overheat/Brick Break/Earthquake

Keepers Of Lore

Salamence: Aster's strongest Pokemon and serves as her enforcer of authority; its a reminder of the power of dragons and believed to be envoys of Rayquaza by the Draconid people. It hits hard, as dragons do, while also having a focus on its flying ability.

(Shiny) Altaria: Glimmering like a golden dawn, Altaria serves as Aster's flying transport so that her Salamence may always be ready to battle (though in emergencies or stealthy night travel she'll fly on the faster Salamence). It's cloud-like feathers naturally camouflage them in the air during the day, and at night its shine lights through the darkness. Altaria differs from Salamence by being more defense focused, using its beautiful voice to lull opponent's to sleep... or strike them with a curse (this would hopefully keep the opponent switching out, buying Altaria turns to heal with Leftovers until it needs to switch out).

Flygon: Known as the desert spirit, Flygon guides Aster through sand & stone to long forgotten ruins which now serve as a record of first-person witness of history. Though Flygon can create a sandstorm, it would not be beneficial to the rest of the team so instead refocuses its sand power to strengthen its Earthquakes and hinder its opponents.

Kingdra: Royalty of the sea, Kingdra is Aster's partner for exploring the 50% of Hoenn that is water, both above and below. That's a lot of sea, and a lot of strong Pokemon live in the sea, so Kingdra is another powerhouse. On top of powerful attacks it has some utilities such as summoning rain to work with its Ability and healing a bit of HP with every attack it uses from an equally aquatic-based item.

Crobat: Now in the Pokemon Special manga, it's revealed that Zinnia's Noivern belonged to Aster before her passing. Whether or not that is true for the game's "Mega Evolution" timeline remains to be seen (the Pokemon Special manga never split their timeline, though of course are an entirely separate timeline of their own), but it's plenty possible that she at least had a Noivern.
Of course, RSE doesn't have a Noivern, but it does have another bat Pokemon: the Zubat family, and in our case Crobat. While most definitely not a dragon (though dragon wings are depicted being more bat-like than avian, especially wyverns), Crobat would fulfill the same role as Noivern does (maybe not as a mount, but certainly as a fast aerial scout and uses echolocation instead of sight so can operate just as easily at night). Crobat learns strong attacks in addition to some tricks Moves like Confuse Ray and likely one Pokemon who's able to reliably Flinch with a King's Rock.

Exploud: Addressing a Donphan in the room: it's kind of odd that Zinnia's partner Pokemon to remind her of Aster, both Dragon-type specialists (let alone Draconids) is a Whismur (which according to Pokemon Generations she had since she was a child and knew the living Aster). You can argue this is a bit cliche, but with how much Zinnia admired Aster I could see her partnering with a Whismur because Aster had an Exploud.
As with Crobat, Exploud is not a dragon (but unlike Crobat there's no easy way to associate Exploud with dragon's unless you want to argue its reptillian, which I'm not quite sure it is). Further unlike Crobat, Exploud doesn't have a special utility which you could explain why a specialist of another Type would have it. So, why would Aster have an Exploud (and we're assuming it's not because she knew someone who had a member of the Whismur family)?
It's been said many times in the games that Dragon-types are a very tough Type to train, that people who are Dragon specialists are special exceptions, especially ones who are children. I could see that, for Draconid children, though they're raised around Dragon-types, unless they're super special they may form a bond with one of the native non-Dragon-types as their first Pokemon. A bond like this goes beyond Type specialty and more into building a character's backstory, something we know very little about Aster. Therefore I'm just going to leave this at that, a young Aster's first Pokemon was a Whismur, if there's anything special about it only Zinnia and other Draconids would know.
ANYWAY, I can see Exploud being a good Pokemon to help with raising Dragon-types. It's Soundproof Ability plus its amplified voice puts its roar on par with dragons and able to stand up to them. And being a Normal-type is learns plenty of elemental Moves so it can serve as both a counter and an assistant to Dragons (obviously, while on her duties, Aster's Exploud would have Moves that would assist her dragons). It may not match Aster's Type specialty, but it synergizes & compensate with it, and most importantly, with her.

 

[chaos!ncarnate]

here is my hoenn gym
Lemme explain the Pokemon
1: NINJASK
I chose ninjask cuz I wanna mix in a lil uniqueness in my deck
2: SHEDGON
I chose shedgon for the same reasons as ninjask for unique-ness but also cuz shelgon was a MVP in my Emerald run
3: GYARADOS
I chose him cuz he looked like a dragon plus he's just really awesome not decent not good not even great but awesome
4: KINGDRA
I chose kingdra because his move set is op
5: FLYGON
I chose flygon cuz I used him in ruby, my first ever hoenn game
6: ACE SALAMANCE
I chose salamance because his pseudo rarity and because his the only reason I actually beat the elite 4 in Emerald
Move sets
NINJASK: swords dance/fury cutter/Slash/fury swipes
SHELGON: dragon claw/Crunch/double edge/ember
GYARADOS: Hydro pump/Twister/Dragon dance/Hyper beam
KINGDRA: Agility/Smokescreen/hydro pump/Dragon dance
FLYGON: Dragon breath/Sand Tomb/Hyperbeam/Sand attack
SALAMANCE: Fly/Dragon claw/Crunch/Protect

 

[DrPumpkinz]

"Across earth, sea, and sky, beauty is everywhere!"

(it's the Beauty trainer class, get it?)

If you discard Salamence, each of Hoenn's Dragons have some interesting things in common. First, they're all varying degrees of elegant and beautiful. Second, their types fit nicely with the concept of earth, sea, and sky. Third, and most interestingly, none of them start out as Dragons. Trapinch is pure Ground, Horsea pure Water, and Swablu would probably be pure Flying if Game Freak had been okay with that back in the day. Because of this, I thought it would be cool to make less of a Dragon specialist and more of a combination Ground-Water-Flying specialist, with the Dragon typing representing the common beauty between them. The Dragon type is often associated with mighty beasts, but that's not all they are.

Hide

Rhydon
Ability: Lightning Rod
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Attract
- Sandstorm

Rhydon is sort of the odd one out, since it isn't traditionally beautiful, but it's the only vaguely draconic Ground-type in Hoenn, so it'll have to do. It's been given Attract to make up for it, which segues awkwardly into the structure of the team. In addition to two attacks, each of the non-Dragons has a status-inflicting move (in this case Attract) and a weather-setting move. The status infliction is honestly kinda just a coincidence, but the weather is designed to be used by the Dragon that shares the setter's type. In this case...



Flygon @ Soft Sand
Ability: Levitate
- Dig
- Dragon Claw
- Giga Drain
- Quick Attack

Flygon stalls for sand chip with Dig, and keeps itself healthy with Giga Drain. Then, when the player's health is low, it picks them off with Quick Attack. It also holds the Soft Sand. None of the non-Dragons hold items, but the Dragons all hold the type-boosting item of their respective type.



Milotic
Ability: Marvel Scale
- Surf
- Blizzard
- Hypnosis
- Rain Dance


Kingdra @ Mystic Water
Ability: Swift Swim
- Waterfall
- Dragon Breath
- Flail
- Ice Beam

Using the rain set by Milotic, Kingdra can paralyze the player with a fast Dragon Breath, then paraflinch them down with Waterfall even after the rain clears.



Beautifly
Ability: Swarm
- Aerial Ace
- Silver Wind
- Stun Spore
- Sunny Day

Listen, if you don't think Beautifly belongs on a Dragon team then I don't know what to tell you.



Altaria @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Natural Cure
- Sky Attack
- Dragon Dance
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam

The ace. Beautifly's sun powers up Flamethrower and enables Solar Beam, while a beautiful Dragon Dance powers up the blinding brilliance of Sky Attack.

 

[WarriorGallade]

Dragons are revered in Hoenn, for there exist the Draconid tribe to worship Rayquaza, even building the Sky Pillar for it to rest. However, not all people share this fascination with the green deity; others believe in the power of a chimera, a mythical beast with untold draconic powers, rumored to far outclass Rayquaza if correctly assembled. Of course, the Draconids wouldn't take too kindly to this kind of research, expelling our hypothetical leader from the tribe. Despite this, their dreams weren't dampened and they went around Hoenn's mainland, finding a team of six Pokemon to become the perfect dragon chimera, waiting the day science catches up to their dreams. To them, the essence of a Dragon is in being adaptable and making opponents fear them, rather than just having the Dragon type.

Each pokemon in this team embodies a different body part of the chimera. In this vein, they all use moves that benefit from their choice of body part. For example, the chimera's head will learn moves you'd expect a head to know, and so on.

@ King's Rock
Ability: Early Bird
- Tri Attack
- Double Team
- Drill Peck
- Taunt
First up, Dodrio. The chimera's heads.
Taking some inspiration from Cerberus, Dodrio acts as the chimera's head - three heads are better than one after all. Tri Attack and Drill Peck use Dodrio's assortment of heads quite effectively, while Double Team can confuse a foe into thinking they're fighting the Lernean Hydra instead, with how many heads they end up seeing. Taunt helps further scare foes, preventing them from taking out the chimera indirectly.

@ Quick Claw
Ability: Shed Skin
- Glare
- Poison Tail
- Iron Tail
- Snatch
Second up, Seviper. The chimera's tail.
Seviper's sharp, poison-bladed tail strikes fear into the hearts of all but Zangoose. Being Dragon-adjacent thanks to its egg groups, it fits in well with the team's type too. Poison and Iron Tail hit with substantial strength (somehow these are the only damaging tail moves in Gen 3), while Glare ties further into the aspect of inflicting opponents with fear. Finally, Snatch helps Seviper gain an upper hand on any foes attempting to set up or debilitiate it with status.

@ Leftovers
Ability: Pure Power
- Bulk Up
- Calm Mind
- Baton Pass
- Recover
Third up, Medicham. The chimera's spirit.
The goal of one's spirit is to strengthen oneself, and keep strong even in harsh situations. Positive reinforcement from the spirit can go a long way - and it's all the more needed in a chimeric creature. In turn, Medicham's role here is to support the rest of the team via Baton Pass, either passing Physical or Special stats, while Recover keeps it healthy all the time. One might say that it's a waste to not use Medicham for its Pure Powered attacks, or to use something with a more draconic essence, but without a pure spirit to anchor the chimera, there would be no chimera at all.

@ Scope Lens
Ability: Overgrow
- Crush Claw
- Dragon Claw
- Focus Punch
- Leaf Blade
Fourth up, Sceptile. The chimera's claws.
Sometimes, the best tools aren't the flashiest or most powerful around - just getting a hit off before the foe can snowball into a decisive advantage. Sceptile's agility and good movepool let it use a multitude of claw and punch related moves that cover a startling variety of types, embodying the adaptability a Dragon should have.

@ Mystic Water
Ability: Intimidate
- Icy Wind
- Silver Wind
- Whirlwind
- Hydro Pump
Fifth up, Masquerain. The chimera's wings.
This was a tough choice - what wings looked the scariest among Hoenn's Pokemon? The ones that intimidate others, of course! As scary as they are, Masquerain's wings can whip up a diverse variety of wind-related moves, and Hydro Pump because it doesn't learn any others.

@ Starf Berry
Ability: Rock Head
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Brick Break
- Double-Edge
Last up, Shelgon. The chimera's body (and legs).
With so many features from other Pokemon, it makes sense that the base of the chimera would need a well-rounded body, and Shelgon's roundness is difficult to beat - conferring incredible stability even if at the cost of some power. In turn, it uses an assortment of moves not restricted to any one body part. The chimera's full power might as well be a mirage in the era of our hypothetical leader, which is why it holds the Starf Berry - to give them a glimpse of what its potential might eventually be expressed as.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

"Across earth, sea, and sky, beauty is everywhere!"

(it's the Beauty trainer class, get it?)

If you discard Salamence, each of Hoenn's Dragons have some interesting things in common. First, they're all varying degrees of elegant and beautiful. Second, their types fit nicely with the concept of earth, sea, and sky. Third, and most interestingly, none of them start out as Dragons. Trapinch is pure Ground, Horsea pure Water, and Swablu would probably be pure Flying if Game Freak had been okay with that back in the day. Because of this, I thought it would be cool to make less of a Dragon specialist and more of a combination Ground-Water-Flying specialist, with the Dragon typing representing the common beauty between them. The Dragon type is often associated with mighty beasts, but that's not all they are.

Hide

Rhydon
Ability: Lightning Rod
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Attract
- Sandstorm

Rhydon is sort of the odd one out, since it isn't traditionally beautiful, but it's the only vaguely draconic Ground-type in Hoenn, so it'll have to do. It's been given Attract to make up for it, which segues awkwardly into the structure of the team. In addition to two attacks, each of the non-Dragons has a status-inflicting move (in this case Attract) and a weather-setting move. The status infliction is honestly kinda just a coincidence, but the weather is designed to be used by the Dragon that shares the setter's type. In this case...



Flygon @ Soft Sand
Ability: Levitate
- Dig
- Dragon Claw
- Giga Drain
- Quick Attack

Flygon stalls for sand chip with Dig, and keeps itself healthy with Giga Drain. Then, when the player's health is low, it picks them off with Quick Attack. It also holds the Soft Sand. None of the non-Dragons hold items, but the Dragons all hold the type-boosting item of their respective type.



Milotic
Ability: Marvel Scale
- Surf
- Blizzard
- Hypnosis
- Rain Dance


Kingdra @ Mystic Water
Ability: Swift Swim
- Waterfall
- Dragon Breath
- Flail
- Ice Beam

Using the rain set by Milotic, Kingdra can paralyze the player with a fast Dragon Breath, then paraflinch them down with Waterfall even after the rain clears.



Beautifly
Ability: Swarm
- Aerial Ace
- Silver Wind
- Stun Spore
- Sunny Day

Listen, if you don't think Beautifly belongs on a Dragon team then I don't know what to tell you.



Altaria @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Natural Cure
- Sky Attack
- Dragon Dance
- Flamethrower
- Solar Beam

The ace. Beautifly's sun powers up Flamethrower and enables Solar Beam, while a beautiful Dragon Dance powers up the blinding brilliance of Sky Attack.

Ooooohh I really like this! I agree that Rhydon is the odd one out (I probably would have fudged the 'earth' concept to include flora so I could justify a Grass-type) but having at least one unconventional pick is honestly very fitting for a team themed around beauty and transformation in the modern era, especially given how expansive and all-encompassing 'earth, sea, and sky' is as a concept.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Ooooohh I really like this! I agree that Rhydon is the odd one out (I probably would have fudged the 'earth' concept to include flora so I could justify a Grass-type) but having at least one unconventional pick is honestly very fitting for a team themed around beauty and transformation in the modern era, especially given how expansive and all-encompassing 'earth, sea, and sky' is as a concept.

Yeah, I myself was thinking of tackling a "Sky, Land & Sea" theme; associating Salamence, Flygon, & Kingdra with Rayquaza, Groudon, & Kyogre respectively. But I felt I didn't really have a hook outside of that so didn't follow through, which is good as I was then reminded of Zinnia/Draconids which led me to my theme. DrPumpkinz associating it with the beauty of a nature is a good hook as that was part of the message of Hoenn's environmental themes.

Rhydon may not traditionally be beautiful but beauty, especially in terms of nature, doesn't have to mean visually appealing. Rhydon is a cool design, a solid built Pokemon that nicely combines animal motifs with the fantastical. Its a rhinoceros, except its bipedal like a kaiju version of one, and its horn is a FREAKIN' DRILL! If you can't see the beauty in that you haven't been a kid.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

A very good evening to you all - new poll is up.

https://strawpoll.com/40Zm465vKga
​

You have until June 4th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!

Let's talk numbers.

Numbers

Salamence: 6
Flygon: 6
Altaria: 6
Kingdra: 6

Shelgon: 2

Tropius: 3

Milotic: 2
Gyarados: 2
Seviper: 2
Aggron: 2

Exploud: 1
Sceptile: 1
Rhydon: 1
Beautifly: 1
Ninjask: 1
Dodrio: 1
Skarmory: 1
Crobat: 1
Masquerain: 1
Crawdaunt: 1
Whiscash: 1


Analysis

We come at last to Dragon in Hoenn. One I'm surprised we've not had before, but Dragon has so many opportunities for use I'm trying to space them out.

Much like last week's Fighting, Dragon has a very wide scope for inclusivity. In fact, it's the only one the series explicitly calls out: as Lance famously put it, not all Dragons are Dragon-types.

Ironmage made a typically rather perceptive comment that Dragon is inextricably linked with Flying in both Hoenn and Kanto... this is true, but I think that's less of a Hoenn and Kanto phenomenon and more a characteristic of the type in general. Even though Dragon/Flying isn't quite as ubiquitous a typing as it used to be, the continued preponderance of levitating or part-Flying Dragon species (Hydreigon, Noivern, Flygon) and even those who appear to fly or float regardless of their actual type (Dragapult, Giratina, Eternatus, Roaring Moon, Origin Dialga, Mega Charizard X, Mega Altaria, Ultra Necrozma) means that the image of airborne Dragons remains very much tied to the concept. Hell, Salamence's whole backstory revolves around its desperate desire to fly. Even Pokemon Go brackets Dragon, Flying, and Psychic into a group all boosted by the same weather, which is fitting since each in their own way represents an exalted, enlightened, ethereal, higher form of being.

One other interesting thing to note is that Dragon, unlike most other types, doesn't generally lend associations via move access. Look at how exclusive the pool of Pokemon able to learn Dragon Rage, Dragonbreath, and Dragon Claw via TM in their respective generations is - even Twister only ever got given to one non-Dragon family by breeding, and only two by level. It's only in Gen IV that things start to open up, with lots of species granted access to Twister and Outrage via move tutors - Gen V continued in this direction by making Dragon Tail a move numerous Pokemon without immediately obvious draconic features could learn (and even then, the species in question were those with a loose but still very definite link - Lickitung and Slowking for their kaiju inspirations, Scrafty for being a reptilian Pokemon in the Dragon egg group, Rampardos and Archeops and Eelektross for their prehistoric originations.

Nor are there many - or really any - abilities one could credibly claim to be "Dragon-coded", unlike nearly all of the other types in the chart. This isa result of Dragon's famed versatility - they're all so different, there's not really a tactic or style of play that unites them beyond "hit hard". Instead Dragon flavour comes mostly through design and associations with legends or magic - and, of course, inclusion in the Dragon egg group, the one aspect discussed so far which isn't massively exclusive in nature.

All that said, Hoenn, perhaps more so than any other region we could have chosen, has a truly staggering amount of Dragon-adjacent species (something reflected in the diverse pools of Dragon Tamers in the Frontier). The longstanding Dragon wannabe Gyarados, the reptilian Seviper, Milotic, and Sceptile, the monstrous Aggron and Rhydon, and even the trio of species which obtained Dragon Dance later on (Tropius, Crawdaunt, and Whiscash). There's even a few more possibilities depending on the tack one opts for: Huntail and Gorebyss share certain reptilian similarities with Milotic, Relicanth is an ancient Pokemon evocative of prehistoric dragons, and Tentacruel's menacing sea monster vibe echoes Gyarados in many respects. Of note is how many of those Pokemon are Water-type: as with Dreepy in Galar, there's a lot of conceptual linkage between lizards and the ocean. We're even told that the desert on Route 111 was formerly a sea.

So what themes do you go for? Fitting with Hoenn's essential mythology, I also found the mooted land/sea/sky dichotomy quite intriguing. Flygon works as land, Kingdra works as sea, and Altaria and Salamence both fit as sky - so add a second land and sea Pokemon? Rhydon and Milotic? Yeah, I could see that. Beyond that, I'm actually kind of stumped. As noted, focusing on the sky alone is an entirely valid choice - as is focusing on Dragon-adjacent species who would later get access to coveted techniques like Dragon Dance and Outrage. Some great concepts this round.



Stuff I expected to see more (or at all)

Sceptile. If there's a natural fit, this is it. It's one of the few non-Dragons to learn Dragon Claw and Dragonbreath in Gen III and it became a Dragon later on. And yet it only got picked once!

Claydol, Lunatone, and Solrock. None of these have a massive amount to do with dragons, but if there had been a team focusing on ancient history and legends, they'd all seem relevant flavour picks.

Vibrava. It's one of the more curious middle stages: weaker than its brethren Dragonair, Fraxure, and Gabite and even (hilariously) not much stronger than its own base form! Still, I was interested to see if anyone would find a way to use it well.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I think this is the first time in a while that all the fully evolved mons of the given type have had equal distribution.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

I think this is the first time in a while that all the fully evolved mons of the given type have had equal distribution.

Yes, funny how that turned out.

 

[Hugin]

Numbers

Salamence: 6
Flygon: 6
Altaria: 6
Kingdra: 6

Shelgon: 2

Tropius: 3

Milotic: 2
Gyarados: 2
Seviper: 2
Aggron: 2

Exploud: 1
Sceptile: 1
Rhydon: 1
Beautifly: 1
Ninjask: 1
Dodrio: 1
Skarmory: 1
Crobat: 1
Masquerain: 1
Crawdaunt: 1
Whiscash: 1

Definitely no surprises here, other than the perfect balance of Full Dragons. I was wondering about Doubles Leads-Arena Trap Trapinch-Perish Song Altaria, but relying on the AI for that is iffy. Otherwise, all the wildcards seem to fit and there's not really any obvious missing options. It also felt like everyone got their teams in early, which to me is a sign people weren't struggling. (sometimes I'll have 2 separate teambuilder pages open for a week before I stop adding and removing things, this time it was under a day). Dragon's just one of those types, maybe because so many of it's specialists have to go outside their type, we're all used to the exact distance from "this is a dragon" that's acceptable.

 

[Pikachu315111]

QQ's Numbers:

• If any Gen was going to have a strong connection between Dragon & Flying, it would be Hoenn as Rayquaza is the Pokegod of the sky. Though in general I can see why Dragon, especially in the early gens, had a strong connection with Flying, and not just cause dragons are usually depicted with wings and able to fly. Well, sorta, it's more of the concept of the POWER of flight, that if you're not a bird or other animal which evolved to fly that flight is seen as a superpower (it and super strength are probably the most common powers heroes have and most people would say they'd like to have; dragons already have the power, they just need the flight).
  
  
• Dragon keeps on being the Type I have to break my "try to at least have a Move of the specialist Type" rule. Granted, I could have done it here, but it would probably be so close to Eeveeto's that I didn't feel it would be worth splitting the votes between us.
  
  
• Quite a few of us leaned on Hoenn's mythology, either from the original Land/Sea/Air conflict or the Draconids added in ORAS. While I don't lke Zinnia that much, I do find the Draconids an interesting idea as I think they were the first group of people who were shown to specifically worship a Legendary Pokemon. We've have civilizations who recorded legends and some who worked alongside a Legendary, but I don't think it was until the Draconids was there one who saw the Legendary as a savior they actively appealed to. This also links to my interest in the Aster character, we don't often get a character's death in the Pokemon games, or at least one which affects another character. We never see Aster, so much so that manga and above shot from the Origins special has a different idea who Aster was (Aster was much older in the mange while Origins suggests she was a young adult), but she drives Zinnia's actions. Heck, for all we know Aster wasn't that great as any info on her we're getting from Zinnia who admired her, but with how capable Zinnia is I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt (which makes me wonder how Aster died). Of course this isn't what this thread is about, but it gave me an idea for a RSE Dragon team.
  
  
• Skipped Sceptile for the Eeveeto reason I mentioned above, and maybe why all of us did. Eeveeto made THE Dragon team you could possibly make, and while I'm sure there could be other themes where Sceptile would fit, I think you'd have to want to include Sceptile for many of them which no one kept in mind as they thought of other concepts.
  
  
• Vibrava and Shelgon may have had more inclusion if we had Evoilite.

Fighting Mountain Kalos:

Climbing The Ladder

Wow, this one was pretty close! Though still only one came out on top, the point spread between everyone else being pretty generous even as we get to the bottom.

Hugin (23 points): Hitting things hard, it's just what Fighting-types do. Though a simple theme, Hugin takes the concept a bit further by coming up with different ways different Pokemon can swing back just a bit harder than it or their opponent. It's a team that hits the right checks.

Me & G-Luke (21 pts): We make an interesting duo of world building (me) & mechanic focused (G-Luke). We both achieved making a strong Fighting team, but I can see how our approach appeals to different extremes. My construction team is liked by those who want a little story and seeing how Pokemon can be used in scenarios outside of battle, while G-Luke's Power-Up Punch team is the type of gimmick trainer that is fun to see & combining it with a trainer concept that doesn't bog things down except making a fun team to battle. Story vs Gameplay, the neverending video game debate.

Eeveeto & Cobalt Empoleon (18 pts): I feel we have a similar struggle here, though dealing with more abstract concepts. On the gameplay side is Eeveeto who made a Hail endurance team, a sort of risky gimmick (if Hail is activated, which no one on his team can do) for a non-Ice team though they built their team I can see it working. Story side is Cobalt Empoleon who also did a job-based team, though their's are firefighters which you can see having a Fighting-type lean with firefighters needing to be fit and strong. They are themes which would fit other Types better which may have given my and G-Luke's team the leg up, but they're also not hurting in votes.

DrPumpknz (17 pts): Bro, glad your gains gained you plenty of votes *flex*! Joke teams can be hard to do, but when they come together they can get a laugh (can only imagine what their dialogue would be like, sure it would end up in some "funniest trainers" compilation video) and a fun battle.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Voting over - and a hearty congratulations to DrPumpkinz on your first win!

Will DM you shortly.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

...and we've got our new concept courtesy of last round's winner.

You are a Ground-type specialist in Central Kalos. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread. You have until June 16th, 9PM GMT to make your case!

Once again to be perfectly clear: you may only select Pokemon from the Central Kalos Pokedex, i.e. Chespin-Haxorus. Any teams which include Pokemon from either the Coastal or Mountain Kalos dexes will not be valid for this round and will be disqualified.

Central Kalos Dex is here for those who need it: https://www.serebii.net/xy/centralpokedex.shtml

Teams so far

Eeveeto: Diggersby, Beedrill, Bibarel, Furret, Raichu, Linoone
Pikachu315111: Diggersby, Charizard, Shedinja, Ninjask, Chesnaught, Azumarill
CobaltEmpoleon: Diggersby, Nincada, Aromatisse, Simisear, Quilladin, Crawdaunt
Seta0052: Diggersby, Haxorus, Dodrio, Furfrou, Snorlax, Scolipede
Ironmage: Diggersby, Shedinja, Talonflame, Smeargle, Scrafty, Dunsparce
Chaos!ncarnate: Diggersby, Toxicroak, Linoone, Exploud, Lucario, Shedinja
igiveuponaname: Diggersby, Wormadam, Nincada, Dunsparce, Crobat, Haxorus
DrPumpkinz: Diggersby, Wormadam, Swalot, Masquerain, Simisage, Florges
Bog Monster: Diggersby, Wormadam, Snorlax, Ninjask, Haxorus, Smeargle
Gimmicky: Diggersby, Bibarel, Gogoat, Alakazam, Scolipede, Scrafty
WarriorGallade: Quilladin, Shedinja, Pangoro, Wormadam, Toxicroak, Seaking
Wriothesley<3: Diggersby, Scrafty, Greninja, Pangoro, Linoone, Toxicroak
Hugin: Diggersby, Meowstic, Shedinja, Crawdaunt, Toxicroak, Linoone

 

[Eeveeto]

What better way to represent Ground types than to use a team full of regional "rodents" (who tend to live in the ground).

Item: Focus Sash. Ability: Unaware. Moves: Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Bulldoze, Surf. First rodent, from Sinnoh. Unlike other rodents, this one doesn,t live underground, but under water instead. Its still a regional rodent, so it fits for the theme. Puts Rocks and drops opponent's Speed in 2 different ways. This is important for the next Mon.
Item: Beedrillite. Moves: U-Turn, Poison Jab, Drill Run, Knock Off. Not a rodent, but a regional Bug instead. The only reason this guy is here is because its the Mega that fitted best out of available ones. Bees and wasps often make nests in the ground (which often leads to tragedy when someone steps on them accidentally). Beedrill actually learns a Ground Move in Drill Run, so it fits. This Beedrill acts as a second lead and Revenge Killer. It benefits from the Speed drop Bibarel provides, so it will outspeed everything on the Mega turn (in which usually the Speed is the one of base Pokemon). Beedrill will kills something or escape with U-Turn to come back later and repeat.
Item: Leftovers. Moves: Super Fang, Sand Attack, Charm, Body Slam. The regional rodent from Johto is not an actual rodent, but a ferret. Those live underground and even Pokedex writes that fact. Should have definetely been Normal-Ground. This Furret annoys the opponent and facilitates set-up of some of the remaining Mons by paralyzing them and dropping Accuracy or Attack.
Item: Sitrus Berry. Moves: Belly Drum, Extreme Speed, Thief, Dig. The regional rodent from Hoenn. Like Furret, its not an actual rodent, being a badger instead. However, those still make their dens underground, so it qualifies. Set is simple, use Belly Drum and try to sweep with Extreme Speed.
Item: Air Balloon. Ability: Lightning Rod. Moves: Nasty Plot, Thunderbolt, Surf, Mud Slap. Not the normal regional rodent, but an electric one. Unlike Linoone or Furret, this is based of a Jerboa, an actual rodent that lives in dry desertic areas. It also lives underground. Raichu uses Nasty Plot and tries to sweep. If opponent walls both Thunderbolt and Surf, well, we have Mud Slap to facilitate set-up of another Mon.
Item: Life Orb. Ability: Huge Power. Moves: Sword Dance, Earthquake, Return, Quick Attack. The only Ground types (discounting Nincada). Main sweeper of the team. Funnily enough, rabits are not actual rodents, but close enough (and also live underground).

 

[Pikachu315111]

Going to do something experimental here, stick with me:

Ol' Stomping Grounds:
You just finished a Pokemon journey spanning across Kalos and now returning home, your old stomping grounds. You look back at you team, all whom you picked up early in your adventure and had your back all of the way through:

Duster (Diggersby)(Cheek Pouch. Custap Berry. Earthquake/Super Fang/Hammer Arm/Stone Edge)
Chippy (Chesnaught)(Overgrow. Leftovers. Earthquake/Wood Hammer/Power-Up Punch/Spiky Shield)
Igneus ((Mega) Charizard (X))(Blaze/Tough Claws. Charizardite X. Earthquake/Flare Blitz/Dragon Claw/Roost)
Flo (Azumarill)(Huge Power. Life Orb. Bulldoze/Waterfall/Play Rough/Aqua Ring)
Mushi (Ninjask)(Speed Boost. Focus Sash. Mud-Slap/X-Scissor/Aerial Ace/Baton Pass)
Crushi (Shedinja)(Wonder Guard. Safety Goggles. Mud-Slap/X-Scissor/Shadow Sneak/Toxic)

From Home To Back Again

As you walk under the gate of Aquacorde Town you come to familiar territory:

It felt like only yesterday you were walking the other direction, out of the townhouse gatehouse and away from home with only a newly obtained Starter at your side; barely friends, and two strangers to the world.

Chippy: As with any new Trainer you got a pick of three Starter Pokemon, Kalos having Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie. While the fire fox and bubble frog were a bit stand-offish, the spiky shelled critter came right up to you already excited and ramped up to go. Through beginning scrapes and growing pains, that eager Chespin is now a gallant Chesnaught, a shell as hard as steel (but much more spiky) and a punch strong enough to split the earth. If it can't overpower it can outlast, both traits that has come into play as you both explored Kalos and battled Wild Pokemon and trainers of all kinds.

Kalos Route 1, or you better know it was Vaniville Pathway, has infamously been a butt to many jokes. You've heard how other Region's first routes are "proper" routes with a few bends in the path, sometimes the path branches to someplace a new trainer can't go further into, and of course tall grass where wild Pokemon reside. But Vaniville Pathway has a sort of welcoming feel to it, it's straight path lined by grass, bushes, and trees easing you out of the familiar. This also extends to Aquacorde Town, you'd say its a sister town to Vaniville Town but it more feels like they split the two apart: Vaniville for residents, Aquacorde for tourists. Still, its simple store is where you stocked up the first time on Potions and Poke Balls before going to the first "proper" Kalso route, Route 2, Avance Trail. That's where you got your second Pokemon and the one who would shape your team's strategy.

Duster: Route 2 offered a team's worth of Pokemon to help fill in gaps, but out of all of them the one who stuck around was a Bunnelby. Not that you knew that when you got it, and as you got more Pokemon you were thinking of boxing it at times, but time and time again it did come through as a good partner with Chippy. When it finally became a Diggersby and got stronger Ground-type Moves things just clicked. Not much could stand an Earthquake, and what could your other Pokemon had easy coverage for. Duster may not have hit the hardest but got enough tricks tucked in its cheek to keep it from falling behind (especially when it got Super Fang, best opening Move next to a Super Effective attack).

Flo: We started down memory lane so might as well keep going. Santalune Forest proved to be a greater challenge than expected, the Elemental Monkeys, poisoning Weedles, and paralyzing Pikachu has thrown your tag team for a loop. You needed another teammate, one who meshed well with the Grass and Ground combo you have going. As you thought about that gettng onto Route 3, Ouvert Way, from aside a small pond at the start of the Route an Azurill hopped across your path. While it did learn Water Moves it wasn't a Water-type, but at the start of the journey that was only a small setback; it not only took hits fairly well but surprisingly hit like a wrecking ball. Plus when it evolved the Water-type issue worked itself out. It was more of a 1-on-1 Pokemon, preferring to bulldoze the enemy then causing mass havoc, but it put its all into its attacks which it also made sure to heal back for a stable back-and-forth style.

Igneus: A visit to Professor Sycamore's lab in Lumiose City gave a major boost to the team, adding one of the Kanto Starters which had a Mega Stone its final evolution could use. With Chippy as your Grass Starter and Flo covering Water, not to mention Duster having nothing to help it against Grass-types, Igneus the Charmander joined the team (and good thing too, Ice-types would later be an issue for everyone but Igneus). Funny thing, while Flo and Igenus started as Special attackers giving an equal physical-special to the team, both would lopside things toward physical as Flo learned better physical Moves and Igneus upon evolving to Charizard giving it access to its Mega Evolution, Mega Charizard X. Sure, could have gone with Y, but then Charizard wouldn't hit so hard with Earthquake (sadly not boosted by Tough Claws, but that's what its other Moves are for; and Roost when it takes too much Flare Blitz recoil). With a core of Grass, Water, and Fire and a Ground-type to shake things up, the team was pretty solid you don't think you need any other Pokemon.

Mushi & Crushi: For a while the fifth and sixth team slots (and fourth before getting Igneus) was a revolving door. You'd catch some Pokemon, use them for a bit, but they were quickly replaced with new ones. Not that was a problem, it was just the core three/four was so solid you didn't really need the back-up. Besides, it fun to have new couple of friends every route to keep shaking things up. But then going up to check out Parfum Palace you caught the next Pokemon to change the team's strategies: Nincada. Naming it Mushi, you were intrigued to see if a rumor was true. Sure enough, if you have an empty party slot and extra Poke Ball when Nincada evolves, you get two Pokemon: a Ninjask and Shedinja! Ninjask you figured was still Mushi; the Shedinja was a random spirit that for some reason possessed its old exoskeleton, so named it Crushi. Both turned out to provide support that really shot the team ahead. Mushi passed around speed boosts to the usual slow heavy hitters, and Shedinja's strange Ability gave plenty of switch-in and set-up opportunities. And as a bonus, Nincada being a very temporary Ground-type got Mud-Slap that passed on to both to try and get some additional turns (Mushi to gain more speed to Baton Pass, Crushi for Toxic damage).

Some may say you cut yourself off from other later Pokemon, but this team made early on got you through the Kalos circuit and defeated every Gym Leader. Next up is Victory Road and the Elite Four, but for right now its time to return home where it all started.

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

Presenting...

Team Uggo!


This trainer has unwittingly raised a team of Pokemon that are all ugly, whether that's an intimidation tactic, a popular fan opinion, or an evaluation of the depths of their soul.

After receiving their starter, this trainer tried to begin their journey around Kalos, but alas, the ugliness of their team singlehandedly brought down most of the Lumiose power grid. At every turn, people who might have helped them on their travels were instead repulsed by their ugly ugly team. Lysandre himself pulled strings behind the scenes to confine them to Central Kalos, his vision of a beautiful world threatened by the sheer hideousness of their six trusted partners.

I'm With Ugly

Quilladin @ Eviolite
Ability: Overgrow
- Wood Hammer
- Low Kick
- Leech Seed
- Spikes

I think people have softened on Quilladin now, but I remember in Gen 6 people really did not like this design! To this day it's a very unpopular mon, appearing on Bulbapedia's list of least-visited Pokemon pages for last month:

:(

Simisear @ Salac Berry
Ability: Gluttony
- Fire Punch
- Dig
- Rock Slide
- Hone Claws

At the very bottom of that infamous popularity poll, Simisear had to make the squad. Honestly, I was tempted to include Simipour too...


Crawdaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
- Crabhammer
- Crunch
- Dig
- Dragon Dance

Crawdaunt's sunken eyes, out-of-place star ornament, and clown mouth makeup make for a great design, but an undeniably ugly one. At least it owns its appearance, though!


Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind
- Wish

Confession: I really like Aromatisse's design concept, but I'm well aware that I'm in the minority. The can-can dancing plague doctor is despised by many, particularly those wanting a more elegant bird-like evolution for sweet little Spritzee.


Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Swords Dance

The inspiration for this team theme! I've never seen a more literal representation of a 'sh*t-eating grin'. I don't like how it tucks its front paws into its fur belt thing, nor do I like how the colour scheme makes it look incontinent.


Nincada @ Bright Powder
Ability: Compound Eyes
- Struggle Bug
- Mud-Slap
- Swagger
- Toxic

Nincada may seem like an odd inclusion. After all, while few would call Nincada beautiful, it's a pretty standard Bug-type design. Some might even find it cute! Ugliness isn't just what's on the outside, though. This Nincada is a sadist, with a moveset and item designed to extract maximum suffering from its opponents. It doesn't even have the decency to end things quickly.

Overall the team features a lot of setup moves, inadvertently taking advantage of their striking ugliness to accumulate boosts and apply debuffs while the opponent is too repulsed to attack.

 

[seta0052]

COME ON AND SLAM

This is a "Ground Slam" team where you try to fish for paralysis with Body Slam then try to set up for a late game sweep involving flinch hax with various flinching moves in conjunction with King's Rock. I'm sorry in advance if this team upsets you in any way, shape, or form.

Furfrou (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fur Coat
- Headbutt
- Thunder Wave
- Swagger
- Sand Attack

Furfrou would be utilized as a lead as this is a parafusion set. You're primarily utilizing it for guaranteed speed control with Thunder Wave. With Swagger, it's pretty self explanatory, helping to increase variance on the opposing side with the hax. Sand Attack makes this thing even more obnoxious with guaranteed accuracy drops, although it doesn't do damage. Furfrou also has an offensive option in Headbutt, which has a 30% flinch chance, essentially making it very difficult for the opposing Pokémon to move with all the hax involved. To really stick with this week's concept, Furfrou is rocking the Diamond Trim along with the Rocky Helmet, which pairs very nicely with its ability Fur Coat, allowing Furfrou to soak up physical damage while dealing chip in return.

Diggersby (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Huge Power
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn

Diggersby could also be utilized as a lead thanks to the Choice Scarf and its ability Huge Power, exerting a lot of immediate offensive pressure. It is one of the Pokémon that carry Body Slam and it carries Earthquake for big STAB damage. It also has U-turn as a way to pivot in and out while dealing damage and finally, it has Rock Slide for additional flinch hax and to cover for Flying-types that would switch in expecting an Earthquake.

Snorlax (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
- Body Slam
- Seismic Toss
- Earthquake
- Fissure

This is a rather interesting take on Snorlax as I wanted it to be a meme set to make the team even dumber than it actually is. Instead of the usual Curse or Belly Drum sets with Gluttony, it instead has an Assault Vest with Thick Fat. It's nice for this team specifically as it would do the opposite of what Furfrou does, which is to be a special sponge. It is the second Pokémon carrying Body Slam and along with that, it's utilizing Seismic Toss for more consistent damage across the board, Earthquake as a strong Ground-type option, and...Fissure. Yes, you read that right: Fissure. Snorlax has the bulk to be able to afford running this move, allowing you enough chances to fish for the cheeky surprise.

Dodrio (F) @ Power Herb
Ability: Early Bird
- Body Slam
- Drill Run
- Sky Attack
- Work Up

And for our last Pokémon carrying Body Slam, we have Dodrio. This is actually the Pokémon I started off with because I thought the idea of starting off a team for this week's concept with a flightless bird is funny. What sets Dodrio apart from the other Body Slam abusers would be that it's able to set up with Work Up, boosting its attack stat by one stage for each use. On top of that, it has two moves with a higher critical hit ratio, which are Drill Run and Sky Attack. Dodrio getting access to Drill Run is already funny in itself and Ground is a pretty strong offensive type. Sky Attack on the other hand would be Dodrio's big nuke as Flying is also a strong offensive type and it can be used with ease thanks to the Power Herb. On top of its sky high base power (no pun intended) and higher critical hit ratio, Sky Attack also has a 30% flinch chance. As for its ability, it has Early Bird which helps to make sleep a little less daunting.

Haxorus (M) @ King's Rock
Ability: Mold Breaker
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

Here is our first King's Rock abuser, Haxorus. Thanks to its ability Mold Breaker, it doesn't need to worry about Pokémon with the ability Levitate when using Earthquake. As it's not exactly the fastest Pokémon, it would set itself up using Dragon Dance, boosting its attack and speed by one stage per use, which is helpful for when it uses Iron Head or Rock Slide for the flinch hax.

Scolipede (F) @ King's Rock
Ability: Speed Boost
- Steamroller
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

And finally, we have Scolipede, our other King's Rock abuser. Because it has Speed Boost as its ability, it is a very solid candidate for Swords Dance, allowing it to deal massive damage after it sets up. On top of that, Scolipede is utilizing Steamroller, Rock Slide, and Earthquake. Steamroller and Rock Slide both have a 30% flinch chance, while Earthquake is a strong Ground-type attack.

 

[Ironmage]

What jumped out to me is that the starting options had some of the most threatening abilities around, so I decided to have that be the common point. I suppose, given it's an earlier section, there could be something here about teaching new trainers that abilities can matter a lot. Honourable mentions are Speed Boost (ninjask), Magic Guard (alakazam), Prankster (meowstic) and Regenerator (audino).


Smeargle @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Moody
- Spore
- Sticky Web
- Protect
- Baton Pass
Partially from when I was doing a broader "don't underestimate route 1 stats," though a lack of more solid earthy options means that the Field/Ground egg group also shows up some. Especially under AI control, I expect the majority of this mon's time is going to be spent violating competitive conventions. It leads because of the hazard move.


Diggersby @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Return
- Fire Punch
Huge Power is good, but it being straightforward and on a Ground type means there isn't much to say on it.


Shedinja @ Focus Sash
Ability: Wonder Guard
- Toxic
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
One mon that evolves into a ground type, one mon that evolves out of it. Shedinja is the poster child for "abilities matter," with basically everything else about it limiting the strength of Wonder Guard (rolling over to making Sturdy terrifying in hackmons formats). Fun fact: Tera Ground was ocassionally used before gen 9 natdex AG was sunk because it conferred sandstorm immunity and the weather was one of the few ways to hit Electric Balloon Shedinja behind a substitute.


Dunsparce @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
- Headbutt
- Glare
- Rock Slide
- Roost
Thematically fits into the ground type since it burrows using a drill, it's also the only eligible user of Serene Grace flinch strats.


Scrafty @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
I decided to include an Intimidate mon as a nod to its prominence in doubles. Scraggy was also originally found on a desert route.


Talonflame
Ability: Gale Wings
- Acrobatics
- Roost
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
This is gen 6 after all. Nothing says "pay attention to abilities" like the regional bird, with what is often considered not a great typing, needing to get nerfed.

 

[chaos!ncarnate]

Welcome to the ground gym lemme Explain each and every one of my pokemon
1: shedninja I chose This pokemon because Nicada which is it's pre-evolution Is it ground type and since I chose ninjask For the last time I'm choosing this 1 for this time
2: exploud If there's anything you would know about me is that exploud Is my favorite normal type pokemon Besides Tauros Plus he kind of gave me ground type vibes so I decided to add him
3: linoone Just like exploud She gave me Kind of ground type vibes especially the color scheme So welcome her to the team
4: toxicroak I chose this 1 because I don't know I just want to make my team a little more unique
5: diggersby I chose this 1 because well it's the only Fully evolved ground type In central malls
6: Mega lucario I chose this 1 because it was the only mega I had access to And plus Personally lucario is my favorite mega ever
So yea there's my team And I'm too lazy to put in the movesets so yeah

Also For people who are wondering what my future teams are like cause why not I'm limiting myself to at least 1 pseudo legendary And absolutely no starters Because I don't know why people why peopleChoose like more than 1 pseudo legendary And starters Like you're a gym leader not a Protagonist it just kinda annoys me when people like Do those type of teams so Yeah I just had to get that way cause why not

 

[igiveuponaname]

Work in progress because I'm lazy

Our trainer this week is a hermit who has gone to live in underground caves and is accompanied by the Pokémon who spend much of their time burrowing underground and in the darkness of caves.

Dunsparce @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
- Dig
- Glare
- Headbutt
- Roost

Dunsparce uses its drill-like tail to burrow its way underground where its nest lays.

Diggersby @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
- Dig
- Return
- Rock Smash
- Knock Off

Bunnelby and Diggersby like to dig burrows to sleep in at night, and our trainer also has Diggersby help clear the cave in which they reside with Rock Smash.

Nincada @ Eviolite
Ability: Compound Eyes
- Dig
- Sand Attack
- Hone Claws
- Night Slash

Nincada spends the vast majority of its pre-evolved life undeground.

Haxorus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
- Dig
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw

While no member of the Haxorus line is mentioned ever living and/or burrowing underground, they are often found in caves to be caught. In the case of Central Kalos Axew can be found in Connecting Cave which is where our trainer made their Haxorus friend. Dig isn't too relevant flavour wise I just found it funny that 5 out of the six team members can use Dig.

Wormadam-Sandy (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
- Dig
- Rock Blast
- Flash
- Rest

Wormadam's cloak changes on where it evolved, with the Sandy cloak in particular being what it has if it evolves in a cave or generally sandy area.

Crobat @ Black Sludge
Ability: Inner Focus
- Screech
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Poison Fang

What's living in an underground cave without being harassed by Zubat and its evolutions? Our trainer encountered of many of these cave dwelling Pokemon and has it help them navigate the dark caves with Screech for echolocation.