I'll do my best to explain myself so you can follow my train of thought and maybe assist me in tweaking this team here and there or straight up telling me the team is cheeks and to go back to the drawing board. Long story short I played a bit of VGC in SWSH and wanted to get back into it but Tera was a little intimidating alongside paradox mons. I recently caught a Shiny Pawmot in game and it's given me the motivation to dive back into this world and build a team I can take to events and make friends. My team goal is to build around Pawmot in a way that gives the team some sort of longevity. I know the format changes but Pawmot is fairly underrated so I don't see it ever getting banned. I'd like to be able to have a team I can keep using till the end of SV with minor changes along the way. I hope this doesn't sound like a cop out, but I do work a lot so building teams in game is a lot more tedious and I won't have time to make new teams every format change, but I do want to play and do well. Anyways that's the story, let's get into the actual team.
Pawmot @ Focus Sash
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double Shock
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Revival Blessing
Pawmot is the main man of the team. Everything is centered around this fella thanks to Fake Out and Revival Blessing. Besides the obvious moves, I like Tera Electric to help against Steel and Flying types. I find that I don't tera Pawmot too often anyways since it mainly just spams Fake Out and Revival Blessing. Also pretty fast too, so far my biggest threats have been Scarfs and Flutter Mane but besides that it gets it's job done. It supports the team pretty well.
Houndstone @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Last Respects
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond
I'll be honest, like my undead friend here, I kind just Frankenstien'd this team together and I wanted another variety of speed outside of Tailwind. I was between Sun or Sand and honestly I like the residual sand damage and having a Sand Rush to go with it would be great. With Revival Blessing on hand, Last Respects puts in work late game sometimes going between 150 to 250 damage depending on the game. I was not sure what to go with, I played around with Band, but I like the flexibility of changing moves. Since Ursaluna runs around, I don't want to be in a matchup where all I can use it a ghost move against a normal type opponent. Like some of these mons, I just hit up Smogon and Pikalytics for help so don't ask me about EVs, they just looked good. I'll also be honest and say I haven't used D-Bond yet but I feel like it has a lot of potential alongside Revival Blessing.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 236 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Assurance
- Low Kick
- Heavy Slam
I'm always a big fan of Tyranitar and with a lot of strong special attackers in the meta, taking those hits and smacking back is very important. Sand setter for Houndstone and like I said before the residual sand helps with and Focus Sash. Simple coverage on the moves and Fairy tera to keep Fighting types in check. Although looking now I am open to changing this since I don't really have an answer for Steel types still.
Talonflame @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Tailwind
Besides Pawmot, Talonflame has been the GOAT for me. I noticed a lot of Tornadus running around and with so many dark types I was also iffy on Prankster mons. I ended up picking Talonflame to outspeed the Tornadus for faster tailwind or Taunt alongside Pawmot Fake Out. Will-O helps hinder the physical attackers. It's just a super fast mon and since it doesn't rely on Prankster I can move around priority blocking abilities/types/terrains easier. It feels silly to say, but I value being able to change up my strategy on the fly than relying on/building around one central strategy.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 108 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Pollen Puff
- Clear Smog
Sorta the weakest link of the team. I know I just said I don't like relying on a single strategy, but I kind I rotate the other 5 mons a lot more than I bring Amoonguss into the mix. Don't get me wrong he isn't bad by any means but if you had to ask me why I put Amoonguss here, I'd shrug my shoulders. It's really solid though. Takes hits like a champ, Clear Smog for Dondozo, spam Spore and Pollen Puff for the rest of the team. Personally I think I just haven't done many battles I felt I needed to bring it to, but also on Showdown I'm not doing best of 3 so going in with a strong play vs a defensive play means Amoonguss isn't seeing the field too often. I won't count him out, but currently the mon I use the least.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Level: 50
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sandsear Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Tera Blast
Big Lando! I almost forgot about Incarnate form, but it is super solid. Similar to it's siblings, it backs a new strong move in Sandsear Storm. Poor accuracy aside, it hits like a train. I originally had Pawmot paired with Dragonite for a strong flying threat, but Lando can do that as well with Tera Blast and pack a double punch in Sandsear. I was using Sand Force at first for a whopping hit but I find that:
A. Weather can change or something happens to TTar
B. The 20% burn chance does not come up as often as I would like
I ended up going Sheer Force instead to make it more powerful than Sand Force and I don't take LO damage. I've found the only downside to this (besides accuracy), is flying types/Levitate, but generally Pawmot and TTar cover those well.
Final thoughts about this team is I like it and am fairly confident I'm going in a good direction with it making only a few changes here and there. I've gotten a nice handful of games with it (like 20 give or take) so I'm getting the swing of it. Ice types are looking to be scary. I haven't run into any Chien Pao yet but I know when I do it'll bust me up if I'm not careful. Scizor is also kind of scary, I'll see if I can drop some replays I like, I'm still low ladder but I think if I can break into top 500 at some point, then I'd be happy building this team in game. Feel free to use the team yourself and have a crack at it. I based this team off of Luca's 2023 Liverpool Regional's Champion team.
Replay 1
Replay 2
Replay 3
Pawmot @ Focus Sash
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double Shock
- Fake Out
- Close Combat
- Revival Blessing
Pawmot is the main man of the team. Everything is centered around this fella thanks to Fake Out and Revival Blessing. Besides the obvious moves, I like Tera Electric to help against Steel and Flying types. I find that I don't tera Pawmot too often anyways since it mainly just spams Fake Out and Revival Blessing. Also pretty fast too, so far my biggest threats have been Scarfs and Flutter Mane but besides that it gets it's job done. It supports the team pretty well.
Houndstone @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Last Respects
- Will-O-Wisp
- Destiny Bond
I'll be honest, like my undead friend here, I kind just Frankenstien'd this team together and I wanted another variety of speed outside of Tailwind. I was between Sun or Sand and honestly I like the residual sand damage and having a Sand Rush to go with it would be great. With Revival Blessing on hand, Last Respects puts in work late game sometimes going between 150 to 250 damage depending on the game. I was not sure what to go with, I played around with Band, but I like the flexibility of changing moves. Since Ursaluna runs around, I don't want to be in a matchup where all I can use it a ghost move against a normal type opponent. Like some of these mons, I just hit up Smogon and Pikalytics for help so don't ask me about EVs, they just looked good. I'll also be honest and say I haven't used D-Bond yet but I feel like it has a lot of potential alongside Revival Blessing.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 236 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Assurance
- Low Kick
- Heavy Slam
I'm always a big fan of Tyranitar and with a lot of strong special attackers in the meta, taking those hits and smacking back is very important. Sand setter for Houndstone and like I said before the residual sand helps with and Focus Sash. Simple coverage on the moves and Fairy tera to keep Fighting types in check. Although looking now I am open to changing this since I don't really have an answer for Steel types still.
Talonflame @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Tailwind
Besides Pawmot, Talonflame has been the GOAT for me. I noticed a lot of Tornadus running around and with so many dark types I was also iffy on Prankster mons. I ended up picking Talonflame to outspeed the Tornadus for faster tailwind or Taunt alongside Pawmot Fake Out. Will-O helps hinder the physical attackers. It's just a super fast mon and since it doesn't rely on Prankster I can move around priority blocking abilities/types/terrains easier. It feels silly to say, but I value being able to change up my strategy on the fly than relying on/building around one central strategy.
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 244 HP / 156 Def / 108 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Pollen Puff
- Clear Smog
Sorta the weakest link of the team. I know I just said I don't like relying on a single strategy, but I kind I rotate the other 5 mons a lot more than I bring Amoonguss into the mix. Don't get me wrong he isn't bad by any means but if you had to ask me why I put Amoonguss here, I'd shrug my shoulders. It's really solid though. Takes hits like a champ, Clear Smog for Dondozo, spam Spore and Pollen Puff for the rest of the team. Personally I think I just haven't done many battles I felt I needed to bring it to, but also on Showdown I'm not doing best of 3 so going in with a strong play vs a defensive play means Amoonguss isn't seeing the field too often. I won't count him out, but currently the mon I use the least.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Level: 50
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sandsear Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect
- Tera Blast
Big Lando! I almost forgot about Incarnate form, but it is super solid. Similar to it's siblings, it backs a new strong move in Sandsear Storm. Poor accuracy aside, it hits like a train. I originally had Pawmot paired with Dragonite for a strong flying threat, but Lando can do that as well with Tera Blast and pack a double punch in Sandsear. I was using Sand Force at first for a whopping hit but I find that:
A. Weather can change or something happens to TTar
B. The 20% burn chance does not come up as often as I would like
I ended up going Sheer Force instead to make it more powerful than Sand Force and I don't take LO damage. I've found the only downside to this (besides accuracy), is flying types/Levitate, but generally Pawmot and TTar cover those well.
Final thoughts about this team is I like it and am fairly confident I'm going in a good direction with it making only a few changes here and there. I've gotten a nice handful of games with it (like 20 give or take) so I'm getting the swing of it. Ice types are looking to be scary. I haven't run into any Chien Pao yet but I know when I do it'll bust me up if I'm not careful. Scizor is also kind of scary, I'll see if I can drop some replays I like, I'm still low ladder but I think if I can break into top 500 at some point, then I'd be happy building this team in game. Feel free to use the team yourself and have a crack at it. I based this team off of Luca's 2023 Liverpool Regional's Champion team.
Replay 1
Replay 2
Replay 3
