Other Metagames Mono-type Ghost

[atane]

Hi everyone, this is my second thread, and even if i've red the rules, if i forget something, just advise me and i'll try to improve. Sorry for my bad english but it isn't my native english... i'll do my best anyway.

I'm writing here cause i'm having troubles in my local meta with my team. Me and my friends play local tournaments with our 3ds, where the rules are - evasion clause - no Toxic Spikes. That's all. So, this is the team that i'm trying to run, but i'm having some troubles, expecially against the Monobug one.


Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 110 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off

This Sableye is usually my lead. I've always played it with Lagging Tail and Trick, but with Prankster being uneffective against other Dark mons, i've decided to try the Megastone (to get rid of Prankster). This Evs set allows me to check almost everything, and it becomes less effective when my oppo decides to start with a strong Special Sweeper like Volcarona, or Magnezone. This is the only case that i'm forced to switch it out, otherwise, WoW or Knock Off are amazing. I've built it thinking to a good way to stop Scizor, Bisharp, Scarfed Electivire, M-Salamence/M-Areodactyl, and it accomplishes that job nicely. It becomes less effective against Talonflame and Araquanid.

Mimikyu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw

This is its standard set. Sash allows me to play it adamant. I'm playing Mimikyu cause of a Dragon Monotype in my team and a Dark Type. The Dark Type in particular is a thought mu, but this mimikyu can balance it thanks to play rough. I'm pretty happy with this set, cause eventhought it is outsped by almost everything, after an SD Shadow Sneak can clean the awakened pokemon really easily. Plus with sash i can -switch it after loosing Disguise, for a second chance -set a second SD eventually.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Atk / 252 SpA
Ability: Stance Change
Quiet Nature
- King’s Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

This is my Special Wall. I've choosen this set cause 1) i needed a Special Wall in the team and 2) it gains access to 2 strong stab moves (SB and FC). The Hidden Power is there to counter other Steel Types (scizor). Leftovers is there to get it more Survability, and value to King's Shield, that, if played correctly, can counter a physical sweeper.

Golurk
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 178 Spe
Ability: Iron Fist
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Drain Punch

This is my second Physical Sweeper. I'm still unsure about it, cause Marowak is another solid option, but this guy can help me checking Earthquakes. This set allows me to easily outspeed Walls and Wallbreakers, and thanks to its HP is not easy to bring it down. I don't play Shadow Punch, just because i already play Mimikyu for that, and with thunderpunch i can cover from Talonflame and Araquanid, while with Fire Punch i can cover from Grassy types. Drain Punch is there for Normal Types (Snorlax, in particular). Earthquake because it is stab and doesn't make contact (it can one shot volcarona without touching its flame body).

Lunala @ Psychium Z
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Shadow Shield
Modest Nature
- Moongeist Beam
- Psyshock
- Hypnosis
- Calm Mind

I'm still unsure about the timid or modest nature, just because an Excadrill scarfed outspeeds it with 2 points if i run it modest (after the Z move obviously). Lunala is here as my second Special Sweeper. After a Hypnosis Z it can outspeed almost (almost) everything, even Solgaleo, and the damage is relevant. Do i really need more speed? I play Psyshock instead of the suggested Focus Blast because 1) I don't like the low accuracy of FB and 2) Psyshock is a good way to pass Special Walls. Plus, i don't have any other pokèmons with Psychic moves.

Drifblim @ Weakness Policy
EVs: 14 HP / 252 Atk / 32 Def / 36 SpD / 176 Spe
Ability: Unburden
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp

This is another common set. Weakness Policy is there 'cause one shotting Drifblim is really difficult, and if i can switch in it correctly it can clear the game even better than mimikyu. Substitute is there just for annoyers but i was thinking about playing Baton Pass instead. Will-o-Wisp is there to have more chances to stand the shot of physical sweepers and to activate the policy.

So, this is the set that i'm playing now, and honestly i'm enjoying it, but sometimes i find myself in real troubles because of these:

M-Scizor with SD, Knock Off, Roost and Bullet Punch.
Araquanid (Assault Vest) with Liquidation and Mirror Coat
Volcarona with Quiver Dance, Fire Blast, GigaDrain and Hidden Power (ground) (and Z move Fire)
Scarfed Excadrill
Bisharp (with Sucker Punch).

Thanks for the help. If i've done some mistakes, just tell me and i'll update the post =).

 

[iLlama]

I think this will be the first time I'll be rating a cartridge team so this should be interesting. Whether you can obtain different Pokemon easily or not it is pure speculation to me, so I'll be trying to work around this issue as best as I can. Other than that, let's hop right in.

- Only one change I can see here that would help alleviate some of your problems with physical Pokemon like Mega Scizor and Bisharp, and that would be swapping Knock Off with Foul Play. You lose the ability to check a Pokemon's item in the process of this switch, but you can now act as a strong overall check to physical Pokemon, without needing to rely on Will-O-Wisp and hoping your opponent isn't Lum Berry. This should immediately put work in against physical threats that could otherwise run through your team.

- I don't really see the point in using Focus Sash on Mimikyu since it already has Disguise, plus since you're running Ghost, you don't want to have to full depend on Mega Sableye keeping hazards off on its own so Sash is almost assured to break at some point. Also, by utilizing Focus Sash, rather than a more offensive item, you are giving up crucial strength that a Pokemon like Mimikyu absolutely depends on to be an effective set-up Pokemon. Because of this, I would suggest you change Focus Sash to Life Orb. With the boosted damage from Life Orb, you can provide a much stronger source of support to your team and can take some of the pressure off of Golurk for needing to put out immense amounts of physical damage. This would also help with mitigating the issues you are having with Pokemon like Araquanid and Araquanid, which are proving to be a huge problem for you.

- The only difference I'd make with Aegislash is changing Leftovers to Life Orb. You're using a fully special attacking Aegislash set, so there's no reason to have passive recovery over additional strength. You could also run Weakness Policy if you're looking to take non-boosted super effective attacks and be able to hit back even harder, but that's up to you and what you want to work with.

->

- The first rather important change to your team comes in your main physical wallbreaker. Although Alolan Marowak is higher in viability for Monotype or is considered a better Electric check and all that shpeel, doesn't matter here. The reason you should make this change, if you are able to, is because Alolan Marowak solves a lot of the problems for you team that you mentioned. Having a physical Fire-type STAB Pokemon allows to check Mega Scizor and Volcarona immediately, while also being able to hit the rest of Bug for great damage. Another benefit of having Alolan Marowak is it can replace Golurk as your teams Stealth Rocker, even though you weren't using them. Which brings us to another point, your team needs a hazard setter, namely Stealth Rock. This move alone will provide immense support when facing Bug, especially since the only way that Bug can remove it against you is if the team is carrying Defog, because Rapid Spin is blocked by your Ghost typing! This matchup is very winnable for you with more optimal movesets.

On the other hand, if you are unable to make this Pokemon switch, you should turn Golurk into a suicide lead/physical check to Volcarona with a Focus Sash. I would change a couple of your moves around as well, making Drain Punch -> Stealth Rock and Thunder Punch -> Stone Edge. I already mentioned why having Stealth Rock is important, but the reason you want to run Stone Edge is to have an assured way to OHKO Volcarona and other Bug-type Pokemon that Fire Punch can't deal super effective damage to, such as Araquanid, Armaldo, and Shuckle. It's also just a great coverage combination with Earthquake for any matchup.

- Lunala seems fine to me. I think Psychium Z Is a great item to use on the set you're running so that you can choose between Z Psyshock, Z Hypnosis, and Z Calm Mind in any situation. However, if you happen to run into more problems with Dark-types other than Bisharp, you could look into running Moonblast instead of Hypnosis, but the current set-up should be fine for you to do well.

->

- Another change that you should make, if you can, is swapping Drifblim with Jellicent. As your team stands before and after any of the noted changes, Drifblim doesn't provide that great of support for Ghost in general. Sure, it has Flying STAB, but it's highly dependent on Weakness Policy to be an effective physical attacker, and even with the boost, it still comes up short in its sweeping potential. Jellicent, on the other hand, can act as a solid specially defensive support for your team, to work in tandem with Mega Sableye and to cover weaknesses for your main physical wallbreaker in Golurk and Alolan Marowak. Additionally, it provides STAB Water coverage for your team that let's you hit Excadrill and Fire-types super effectively, which can cause issues with Ghost teams. You are also able to then fish for burns with Scald which can shut down many physical threats.

New Sets

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 110 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Foul Play

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak
- Shadow Claw

Aegislash @ Life Orb / Weakness Policy
EVs: 252 HP / 6 Atk / 252 SpA
Ability: Stance Change
Quiet Nature
- King’s Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

OR

Golurk @ Focus Sash
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 178 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Acid Armor
- Recover

Lunala @ Psychium Z
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Shadow Shield
Modest Nature
- Moongeist Beam
- Psyshock
- Hypnosis / Moonblast
- Calm Mind

Good luck!

 

[atane]

First of all, THANK YOU very much! I'll definetly try all your ideas. I don't have any problems changing pokèmon or moveset, ' cause i have all the previous gens, so don't worry about that. What concerns me more about swapping Golurk with marowak, is that Golurk with 178 spe can outspeed Scizor by 6 points (Scizor Mega Pursuit build with knock off), while Marowak needs 252 in spe, so i'd play A-Marowak aggressively with 252 atk and 252 spe (adamant), or 252 hp and 252 spe (it has thick Club after all).

Hypnosis on Lunala is there for the Z-move, and guarantee it the +1 in Spe, which lets me outspeed tons of threat in the meta (if Timid, even scarfed excadrill).

Life Orb on Mimikyu is there because it is usually outsped, and it's really easy to get hitted 2 times.

Anyway, thank u again! I'll try your changes today! =)

 

[iLlama]

First of all, THANK YOU very much! I'll definetly try all your ideas. I don't have any problems changing pokèmon or moveset, ' cause i have all the previous gens, so don't worry about that. What concerns me more about swapping Golurk with marowak, is that Golurk with 178 spe can outspeed Scizor by 6 points (Scizor Mega Pursuit build with knock off), while Marowak needs 252 in spe, so i'd play A-Marowak aggressively with 252 atk and 252 spe (adamant), or 252 hp and 252 spe (it has thick Club after all).

Hypnosis on Lunala is there for the Z-move, and guarantee it the +1 in Spe, which lets me outspeed tons of threat in the meta (if Timid, even scarfed excadrill).

Life Orb on Mimikyu is there because it is usually outsped, and it's really easy to get hitted 2 times.

Anyway, thank u again! I'll try your changes today! =)

The problem with Mega Scizor, is you really don't know if it's going to outspeed you or not, because it might be max speed and it might be bulky, but you can't know until you face it. If it happens to be max speed, then both Golurk and Alolan Marowak technically lose to it, so there isn't much you can do other than work with your other team options in Mega Sableye and Aegislash to take care of it. Also, I didn't mention this before, but you can run either the EV spread I gave you for Alolan Marowak or max speed with an Adamant or Jolly Nature. I just happen to prefer having the extra bulk that near max HP provides, but it comes down to what you want to get out of it.

I assumed Psychium Z was for Hypnosis because Z Hypnosis is a common enough set in Monotype that I've used it a number of times.

 

[atane]

The problem with Mega Scizor, is you really don't know if it's going to outspeed you or not, because it might be max speed and it might be bulky

I'm pretty sure that it is the bulky one. That's why i've built a specific Marowak :

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 6hp
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Bone
- Flare Blitz
- Bonemerang
- Stealth Rock

This is the only investment that allows me to outsped that scizor. Flare Blitz is required to OHKO Choice Heracross after a Knock off and Shadow Bone stab can OHKO Volcarona Quiver Dance.
What's your opinion about it?