Team At A Glance
Introduction
Started with a bulky FWG core of Bulu + Marowak + Tentacruel. Added Nihilego for rocks and special offensive pressure. Mandibuzz to mess with setup mons (Foul Play) and stall mons. Tentacruel wasn't doing much so I replaced it with Magnezone to trap the steels that resist Scizor and Nihilego.
The Details
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Woodhammer
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Tapu Bulu was chosen for its Grassy terrain which helps patch up my team's glaring Earthquake weakness. Its second use is to tear down walls with its Banded Woodhammer 2HKOing them. If vs a non-bulky mon then Horn Leech does more than enough damage with this setup. Stone Edge and Superpower are my coverage options.
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Will-O-Wisp
My go-to partner for Tapu Bulu. I chose Bonemerang over Earthquake to break sashes/Mimikyu disguise, but also because of Grassy Terrain weakening EQ. Flare Blitz and Shadow Bone for STAB/coverage. Nine times out of ten I click one of its 3 attacking moves, so WoW is filler-ish. This mon is great right now since it checks so many threats like Koko, Lele, and Pheromosa. Defensive build to take a hit from Tapu Lele and OHKO back with Shadow Bone.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Mega-Scizor is more of an anti-meta pick if anything. It combats most Tapus, Ultra Beasts, and new Gen 7 mons in general with ease. I went with U-Turn over another attacking move to compliment Magnezone's Volt Switch. Also as pitiful as it sounds I end up using U-Turn to hit Psychics and Fighting type Pokemon super effectively in a pinch. I might try Brutal Swing to help vs Tapu Lele and to catch the opposing Marowak switch-in.
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Roost
- Taunt
My initial thought to counter-act the recent Psychic spam. Too bad Tapu Lele carries Moonblast 100% of the time. It also acts as a vital ground immunity that my team needs. Taunt and Foul Play are to stop setup mons both offensive and defensive. No Defog since I don't want to remove my own rocks. Last ditch stalling with Toxic+Roost has gotten me a few grimy wins.
Nihilego @ Focus Sash / Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
At this point my team was looking very physical heavy with no hazards, so I decided on Nihilego to balance it out. Focus Sash is the typical item for guaranteed rocks, although Air Balloon has it's niche uses. Hidden Power ICE was chosen to take out Garchomp (Nihilego outspeeds non-scarf) and Landorus. Dual STABs in Sludge Wave/Power Gem for coverage. With its great speed-tier and Beast Boost it can snowball lategame if it lives that long.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Went with Magnezone as my sixth mon to trap the steels that resist Scizor and Nihilego. Hidden Power Fire combined with Thunderbolt take out all common steels. It also acts as the second half of my VoltTurn core with Scizor. Flash Cannon for coverage STAB. Iffy success rate so far considering Celesteela's varied movepool and Shed Shell Skarmory.
Problem Pokemon (or maybe I just suck? very new to competitive here):
Porygon-Z: Outspeeds Mandibuzz so I can't taunt the Z-Conversion. Can't Superpower (Tapu Bulu) it once it turns into a Ghost type. Sweeps my team.
Greninja: Very scary. Sweeps my team after Battle Bond. Only hope is to take advantage of its Bug and Fighting weakness.
Celesteela: Magnezone/Marowak check this in theory but Celesteela can pack Fire/Ground attacks to OHKO them. Crazy movepool. Hard to deal with after Magnezone is out of the picture.
Will add more after additional playtesting.
ANY feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Introduction
Started with a bulky FWG core of Bulu + Marowak + Tentacruel. Added Nihilego for rocks and special offensive pressure. Mandibuzz to mess with setup mons (Foul Play) and stall mons. Tentacruel wasn't doing much so I replaced it with Magnezone to trap the steels that resist Scizor and Nihilego.
The Details
Tapu Bulu @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Woodhammer
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Tapu Bulu was chosen for its Grassy terrain which helps patch up my team's glaring Earthquake weakness. Its second use is to tear down walls with its Banded Woodhammer 2HKOing them. If vs a non-bulky mon then Horn Leech does more than enough damage with this setup. Stone Edge and Superpower are my coverage options.
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Will-O-Wisp
My go-to partner for Tapu Bulu. I chose Bonemerang over Earthquake to break sashes/Mimikyu disguise, but also because of Grassy Terrain weakening EQ. Flare Blitz and Shadow Bone for STAB/coverage. Nine times out of ten I click one of its 3 attacking moves, so WoW is filler-ish. This mon is great right now since it checks so many threats like Koko, Lele, and Pheromosa. Defensive build to take a hit from Tapu Lele and OHKO back with Shadow Bone.
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 16 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Mega-Scizor is more of an anti-meta pick if anything. It combats most Tapus, Ultra Beasts, and new Gen 7 mons in general with ease. I went with U-Turn over another attacking move to compliment Magnezone's Volt Switch. Also as pitiful as it sounds I end up using U-Turn to hit Psychics and Fighting type Pokemon super effectively in a pinch. I might try Brutal Swing to help vs Tapu Lele and to catch the opposing Marowak switch-in.
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Roost
- Taunt
My initial thought to counter-act the recent Psychic spam. Too bad Tapu Lele carries Moonblast 100% of the time. It also acts as a vital ground immunity that my team needs. Taunt and Foul Play are to stop setup mons both offensive and defensive. No Defog since I don't want to remove my own rocks. Last ditch stalling with Toxic+Roost has gotten me a few grimy wins.
Nihilego @ Focus Sash / Air Balloon
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Stealth Rock
- Power Gem
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
At this point my team was looking very physical heavy with no hazards, so I decided on Nihilego to balance it out. Focus Sash is the typical item for guaranteed rocks, although Air Balloon has it's niche uses. Hidden Power ICE was chosen to take out Garchomp (Nihilego outspeeds non-scarf) and Landorus. Dual STABs in Sludge Wave/Power Gem for coverage. With its great speed-tier and Beast Boost it can snowball lategame if it lives that long.
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
Went with Magnezone as my sixth mon to trap the steels that resist Scizor and Nihilego. Hidden Power Fire combined with Thunderbolt take out all common steels. It also acts as the second half of my VoltTurn core with Scizor. Flash Cannon for coverage STAB. Iffy success rate so far considering Celesteela's varied movepool and Shed Shell Skarmory.
Problem Pokemon (or maybe I just suck? very new to competitive here):
Porygon-Z: Outspeeds Mandibuzz so I can't taunt the Z-Conversion. Can't Superpower (Tapu Bulu) it once it turns into a Ghost type. Sweeps my team.
Greninja: Very scary. Sweeps my team after Battle Bond. Only hope is to take advantage of its Bug and Fighting weakness.
Celesteela: Magnezone/Marowak check this in theory but Celesteela can pack Fire/Ground attacks to OHKO them. Crazy movepool. Hard to deal with after Magnezone is out of the picture.
Will add more after additional playtesting.
ANY feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading.
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