So I've been doing decently with this team so far, but I'm getting out of low elo territory so I want to see what adjustments I can make for this team to be more solid against better opponents (and of course develop a successful long-term team).
I didn't do a lot of research into the Sun/Moon VGC meta, due to school and Nugget Bridge being down. My learning was watching a few tournament videos and looking at sets on Pikalytics, then jumping straight into battle. Here is the team at a glance, the idea being a core of Gyarados + Togedemaru. I'm pretty open to any suggestions:
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Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Protect
The centerpiece of the team. Even without a lightning rod partner, he finds a surprising amount of oppotutnities to get up at least one Dragon Dance. The EVs allow it to outspeed max speed Tapu Koko after one Dragon Dance (by exactly one point). At +1, Hyrdo Vortex does almost 90% to the standard, SpD-based Celesteela.
Togedemaru @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Zing Zap
- Encore
- Spiky Shield
When I show this team I always have to explain why I chose the mouse over Marowak-Alola. Unlike the common Dos/Wak core, this has a way to hit Milotic. Best of all, he can Encore the scores of Pokemon slower than him in this tier, locking them into Protect, making them dead weight or forced to switch. Fake Out gets a lot of use despite the frequency of Tapu Lele, and becomes an asset in many situations.
He can also get those KOs. Base 98 Atk is not insignificant, and deals some really good damage on Pokemon it hits super-effectively. Definitely my favorite support mon in this tier so far.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 44 Def / 204 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
Lele was chosen next because it seemed to fit on just about any team archetype. Excellent typing, huge power, terrain control and protection from priority. The scarf variant is very useful despite the prevalence of Trick Room, because (if not running TR) you need at least one thing faster than Garchomp and Pheremosa. This one can also survive a Heavy Slam from some Celesteelas.
There's not too much more to say. It pairs well with Gyarados and is an excellent late-game cleaner.
Muk-Alola @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 108 Def / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Disable
- Protect
Basically the new standard, won't see these with Black Sludge that much anymore. In fact, the set is taken straight from Wolfe Glick's video analysis. It's a good all-around Tapu counter that the team needed, and allows me to remove Marowak's Thick Club (so far Gyarados was my only answer to that). You can also knock off Celesteela's Leftovers and then inhibit it by Disabling Leech Seed. Muk performs on close to the same level of Gyarados in terms of contributing to KOs.
Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 148 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 28 SpD / 164 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Used to be a Relaxed Porygon2 with Ice Beam/Shadow Ball/Recover/Trick Room. But that makes a team that struggles with Celesteela a bit and has a hard time with Magnezone. Strong fire attacks were needed and Will-O-Wisp sweetened the deal. Dos + Canine are a great lead for any team with Garchomp and or lacks Milotic.
The EVs need a little explanation: this is Dark Psiana's set from the London International. Flamethrower has a 98% chance to 2HKO 180 HP / 148+ SpD Celesteela, exactly something my team needed. He has a 94% chance to survive a 252 SpA Power Gem from Nihilego at full health. Best of all, after Intimidate, an Earthquake from 252 Atk Garchomp does about 55.4-65.2%, then triggers the Sitrus Berry recovery. The actual moveset is pretty standard support.
Tapu Bulu @ Miracle Seed (formerly Leftovers)
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Substitute (formerly Rock Slide)
- Protect
Even before Porygon2 or Arcanine I knew I wanted a very slow and powerful Pokemon to punish use of Trick Room. Tapu Bulu looked very appealing, especially because he weakens Ground Attacks aimed at Muk (and Arcanine, of course). Extra terrain control and the feared power of Wood Hammer. He's strong and he gets kills, although he is probably the least used member on the team so far.
I cut out his coverage moves and gave him substitute because there are so few instances where he's not using the first two moves, both of which are insanely powerful under Grassy Terrain. As for the item: Life Orb + Wood Hammer recoil killed him too quickly, and Leftovers was neat but I still felt the lack of power. Miracle Seed seemed a decent compromise, and he still has HP recovery from the terrain (he has not been in a battle since I made the change in item).
Leads:
- Gyarados + Togedemaru: Fake Out to help nab a free DD. Zip Zap hits hard to do very good chip damage to Celesteela and Threaten Pelipper.
-Gyarados + Tapu Lele: Aggressive offensive lead and Lele also gets its defenses padded.
-Togedemaru + Tapu Bulu: cancel Psychic terrain on lead, get a Fake Out on what looks like it'll hurt Bulu, and set up a sub for free, making Bulu that much more dangerous. Does not significantly help Toge with Ground ...
-Arcanine + Anything: He's always a good choice because of his moves and Intimidate.
Troubles:
- Trick Room, potentially
- Sometimes Garchomp. He does a lot of damage on 4/6 of my team.
- Rain can be an issue...Politoed/Pelipper need to go down before I start KOing thier steels
Options considered so far:
- Bulu --> Gastrodon. Can stand up to chomp and make it tough for Rain teams, without giving up that last slow slot. But I lost the grassy terrain that helps a team that's half weak to Ground.
Any feedback is appreciated. I jumped into the tier very fast and teambuidilng feels a little bit tougher than it should. Also, merry Christmas
I didn't do a lot of research into the Sun/Moon VGC meta, due to school and Nugget Bridge being down. My learning was watching a few tournament videos and looking at sets on Pikalytics, then jumping straight into battle. Here is the team at a glance, the idea being a core of Gyarados + Togedemaru. I'm pretty open to any suggestions:
===========================================
Gyarados @ Waterium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Protect
The centerpiece of the team. Even without a lightning rod partner, he finds a surprising amount of oppotutnities to get up at least one Dragon Dance. The EVs allow it to outspeed max speed Tapu Koko after one Dragon Dance (by exactly one point). At +1, Hyrdo Vortex does almost 90% to the standard, SpD-based Celesteela.
Togedemaru @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Zing Zap
- Encore
- Spiky Shield
When I show this team I always have to explain why I chose the mouse over Marowak-Alola. Unlike the common Dos/Wak core, this has a way to hit Milotic. Best of all, he can Encore the scores of Pokemon slower than him in this tier, locking them into Protect, making them dead weight or forced to switch. Fake Out gets a lot of use despite the frequency of Tapu Lele, and becomes an asset in many situations.
He can also get those KOs. Base 98 Atk is not insignificant, and deals some really good damage on Pokemon it hits super-effectively. Definitely my favorite support mon in this tier so far.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 44 Def / 204 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunderbolt
Lele was chosen next because it seemed to fit on just about any team archetype. Excellent typing, huge power, terrain control and protection from priority. The scarf variant is very useful despite the prevalence of Trick Room, because (if not running TR) you need at least one thing faster than Garchomp and Pheremosa. This one can also survive a Heavy Slam from some Celesteelas.
There's not too much more to say. It pairs well with Gyarados and is an excellent late-game cleaner.
Muk-Alola @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 108 Def / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Disable
- Protect
Basically the new standard, won't see these with Black Sludge that much anymore. In fact, the set is taken straight from Wolfe Glick's video analysis. It's a good all-around Tapu counter that the team needed, and allows me to remove Marowak's Thick Club (so far Gyarados was my only answer to that). You can also knock off Celesteela's Leftovers and then inhibit it by Disabling Leech Seed. Muk performs on close to the same level of Gyarados in terms of contributing to KOs.
Arcanine @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 148 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 28 SpD / 164 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Used to be a Relaxed Porygon2 with Ice Beam/Shadow Ball/Recover/Trick Room. But that makes a team that struggles with Celesteela a bit and has a hard time with Magnezone. Strong fire attacks were needed and Will-O-Wisp sweetened the deal. Dos + Canine are a great lead for any team with Garchomp and or lacks Milotic.
The EVs need a little explanation: this is Dark Psiana's set from the London International. Flamethrower has a 98% chance to 2HKO 180 HP / 148+ SpD Celesteela, exactly something my team needed. He has a 94% chance to survive a 252 SpA Power Gem from Nihilego at full health. Best of all, after Intimidate, an Earthquake from 252 Atk Garchomp does about 55.4-65.2%, then triggers the Sitrus Berry recovery. The actual moveset is pretty standard support.
Tapu Bulu @ Miracle Seed (formerly Leftovers)
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Wood Hammer
- Horn Leech
- Substitute (formerly Rock Slide)
- Protect
Even before Porygon2 or Arcanine I knew I wanted a very slow and powerful Pokemon to punish use of Trick Room. Tapu Bulu looked very appealing, especially because he weakens Ground Attacks aimed at Muk (and Arcanine, of course). Extra terrain control and the feared power of Wood Hammer. He's strong and he gets kills, although he is probably the least used member on the team so far.
I cut out his coverage moves and gave him substitute because there are so few instances where he's not using the first two moves, both of which are insanely powerful under Grassy Terrain. As for the item: Life Orb + Wood Hammer recoil killed him too quickly, and Leftovers was neat but I still felt the lack of power. Miracle Seed seemed a decent compromise, and he still has HP recovery from the terrain (he has not been in a battle since I made the change in item).
Leads:
- Gyarados + Togedemaru: Fake Out to help nab a free DD. Zip Zap hits hard to do very good chip damage to Celesteela and Threaten Pelipper.
-Gyarados + Tapu Lele: Aggressive offensive lead and Lele also gets its defenses padded.
-Togedemaru + Tapu Bulu: cancel Psychic terrain on lead, get a Fake Out on what looks like it'll hurt Bulu, and set up a sub for free, making Bulu that much more dangerous. Does not significantly help Toge with Ground ...
-Arcanine + Anything: He's always a good choice because of his moves and Intimidate.
Troubles:
- Trick Room, potentially
- Sometimes Garchomp. He does a lot of damage on 4/6 of my team.
- Rain can be an issue...Politoed/Pelipper need to go down before I start KOing thier steels
Options considered so far:
- Bulu --> Gastrodon. Can stand up to chomp and make it tough for Rain teams, without giving up that last slow slot. But I lost the grassy terrain that helps a team that's half weak to Ground.
Any feedback is appreciated. I jumped into the tier very fast and teambuidilng feels a little bit tougher than it should. Also, merry Christmas
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