Resource Ask a Simple Question, Get a Simple Answer: Monotype Edition

[TheWyvernKing]

What is a good set for Kleavor, I’m making a bug monoteam and need some advice?

Hihi, I'm a big mono bug guy.
For Kleavor most people have been running scarf, with something like this:

Kleavor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sharpness
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Axe
- U-turn
- Close Combat/Aerial Ace/X-Scissor
- Night Slash/Close Combat/X-Scissor

Stone axe gets rocks up, U Turn allows it to pivot, I like Night Slash and Aerial Ace together, as I found with the rest of my team that Close Combat's coverage isn't as necessary there. Night Slash hits ghosts and is Sharpness Boosted, Aerial Ace is also Sharpness boosted and hits Fighting Types, Close Combat has solid coverage with Stone Axe and hits Steel types, X Scissor is Sharpness Boosted for a more powerful STAB option. I generally limit the amount of bug coverage I have on a bug mono, usually the types they're super effective against you can handle pretty well without needing more than 1-3 Bug type attacks.

Some other sets, I tried an assault vest a bit -- kinda works, but slightly diff team comp that I find a bit awkward so far, though it definitely does help with some of bug's issues and increases Kleavor's longevity. A double dance set is another thing I'd seen, SD/Agility/Stone Axe/Filler, makes Kleavor more of a wallbreaker or cleaner depending on the situation. Scarf is most common though if you want a starting point.

Generally speaking the Bug team composition looks something like: Steelbreaker/Spinner/Speed Control/Volcarona/Scizor/Filler.
For steelbreaker I'm talking something like Slither Wing or Heracross, which allows you to break in Steel cores a bit since Volc usually finds itself in trouble vs. Heatran, using Volc as a lure you can often double out and gain momentum with this mon. Usually it helps with some other matchups as well, depending on what you want.

Spinner is Forre. Speed Control in this case could be Kleavor/Hera/Slither as a scarf, pre Home I kind of counted Lokix in this spot. Volcarona and Scizor I see as mandatory for a couple matchups. Last slot is where you usually see Vivillon, Lokix, Rabsca, Frosmoth, Masquerain,whatever.

This is more a general look at it, and also a day 2 look at bug builds. Some people been going without Forre, I generally see the last slot as a secondary special attacker but it's not always the case, you can drop slither/hera depending on what you want to cover, but overall this kinda how I see bug right now with options.

 

[singaporygon]

I'm curious why was it that Last Respects was banned, instead of Houndstone like how OU dealt with it?

Is there something about Monotype specifically that justifies it having different policy than OU?

 

[TheWyvernKing]

I'm curious why was it that Last Respects was banned, instead of Houndstone like how OU dealt with it?

Is there something about Monotype specifically that justifies it having different policy than OU?

It was dealt the exact same way, Houndstone was banned before home transfer and not Last Respects. Post Home Transfer multiple pokemon get Last Respects so the move is banned instead. As of right now Houndstone is legal in OU, and Last Respects is not. Since Houndstone was the only pokemon to get the move in the past, it was the mon banned, now since there's also basculegion which has it - the policy changed to ban the move instead.

 

[Wavebird]

Has anyone experimented with bulky water teams? Most water teams I see seem very offensive. I like the idea of Pex/Slowking and a bulky Boots Quaquaval as the core of a team

 

[Neko]

Has anyone experimented with bulky water teams? Most water teams I see seem very offensive. I like the idea of Pex/Slowking and a bulky Boots Quaquaval as the core of a team

Bulky water sort of hinges on the combination of Toxapex, Ground/Water, and Quaquaval. Slowking isnt considered as much due to its horrid weakness to the tier's special attackers, namely Flutter Mane, Gren , and Dragapult. Take note that these teams suffer from fast mons with the correct coverage (eg. Mixed Valiant, boots FM, NP Landorus, CM ID Enam-T)

Some possible combinations would be:
()

(can be or NP) or

If fitting Slowking, it has to be supported by another specially defensive guy (likely Toxapex), making it a fsight bot for something like Urshifu/Quaquaval. This means you technically dedicate 2 slots for spdef, which can be undesireable as most threats are otherwise physical.

Also Samurott-Hisui is great on rainless, freeing up a slot on Quag for Toxic or Gastro for Ice beam can reduce the team's exploitability.

I hope this helped (?)

 

[Wavebird]

I hope this helped (?)

Yeah this was super helpful, thank you! I really like the look of the first team with Samurott-H

 

[Wavebird]

Not sure if this is the right place for a "rate my team" type post, but I don't see a better thread. I've been playing the bulky Water team posted here as my first Monotype team, as well as this Dragon team I threw together:

https://pokepast.es/63448c75dcfda546

I lifted most of the EV spreads from Smogon, but I'm not sure if they are optimal. That Garchomp set may not be legit either, but it definitely catches people off guard, and I wanted something that could switch into the Urshifus since SpDef Goodra-H kinda gets smoked by them. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I'm still learning how to team-build properly.

 

[Neko]

Not sure if this is the right place for a "rate my team" type post, but I don't see a better thread. I've been playing the bulky Water team posted here as my first Monotype team, as well as this Dragon team I threw together:

https://pokepast.es/63448c75dcfda546

I lifted most of the EV spreads from Smogon, but I'm not sure if they are optimal. That Garchomp set may not be legit either, but it definitely catches people off guard, and I wanted something that could switch into the Urshifus since SpDef Goodra-H kinda gets smoked by them. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I'm still learning how to team-build properly.

Hi, this honestly isnt a bad first attempt, as Dragon teams do use these Pokemon you added. Great job >:3

If you've used this team a few times though, you'll see that there's a few things you're probably struggling against. These can include:

>Pokemon too fast to handle like Choice Scarf Great Tusk, Galarian Zapdos, and even Chien-Pao with Ice Shard can feel overwhelming.

• Tip: Use a Choice Scarf to revenge-kill these speedsters. These include Roaring Moon, Dragapult, Walking Wake (you only need to stick 1 Scarfer, 2 at max.)

>Flying, Steel, and Ground teams can be uncomfortable to fight with this team, due to the lack of Pokemon who breaks these types. Furthermore, Poison teams can be a struggle to break, as locking Band Roaring Moon into Outrage opens it to the Poison guy sacking -> revenge killing it with Band/Scarf Sneasler = Poison is now almost unbreakable.

• Tip: Dragon teams have good setup sweepers like Hydreigon (beats up Steel and puts pressure on Ground, Poison, and Flying teams), Baxcalibur (beats Flying and Ground teams, puts pressure on Poison and Dragon teams [cant OHKO Sneasler with Adamant Ice Shard at +1, but you can wear down that guy])
  • Addenum: Cyclizar can pass Shed Tail, which makes setting up easier. You're currently not using that.

>Ground STAB always strong. Ground beats pex and dissuades Steel and Poison-types which are the ones that commonly lay down hazards from setting up these Spikes alongside Garchomp. As for flying types coming in to absorb Eq, thats what Dragon Tail is for. Also, you said Garchomp is the one who deals with Urshifu, but you seem to not have moves to harm it though...more reason to use Eq

• Not really a tip nor a hard rule: When in doubt, prioritize getting STABs in the moveset first, especially if its something as strong as Earthquake. There's a lot of exceptions, such as when your type has bad coverage (eg. Glimmora should almost never run Sludge Bomb since its a bad attacking type and Heatran should probably not run a Steel move on Steel), but most Dark, Water, Ice, Ghost, Ground, Fairy, Fire, and Dragons should have at least a STAB in due to hitting a lot of mons for neutral at the very least.

These are only some pointers, I hope these helped. If you want to have a team rated, go here and supply descriptions for your team. I hope this helped and have fun!

 

[ThymeTwoDye]

Is there a reason why Meloetta (or more specifically Relic Song) is allowed in Monotype at the moment? Because having a Normal/Fighting type on a Mono Psychic team feels wrong (yes, I know it takes a move to set up but it's the principal of the matter).

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Is there a reason why Meloetta (or more specifically Relic Song) is allowed in Monotype at the moment? Because having a Normal/Fighting type on a Mono Psychic team feels wrong (yes, I know it takes a move to set up but it's the principal of the matter).

I mean Meloetta doesn't stay Pirouette form when switching out, if it did you'd have an argument. As it is you could probs compare Relic Song to Color Change/Conversion/Protean/Soak/Double Shock/Imposter/Reflect Type/Ion Deluge...tons of moves overall and abilities. You could probs even argue against Roost at that point, as the pokemon temporarily loses Flying typing. I think in alot of these comparisons you would probably see a ban as irrational, but end of the day it wouldn't be too different from Relic Song. The reason why Megas were not allowed on types different from the mega's in old gens such as Mega Gyara on Flying, and similarly why Tera was never implemented beyond the type of the mono team, is because those type changes are permanent and last the remainder of the match. Meloetta Pirouette on the other hand loses it's fighting type upon switching out, meaning it's incapable of using that said fighting typing to aid in a defensive core in any way shape or form. You're not able to switch a Meloetta into a dark or bug type attack for resisted damage, and when you first bring it in you need to take a turn to activate it as well. When you really get down to it playing with Melo-P is nowhere near the equivalent of playing with a fighting type in your party.

 

[Gartarnite707]

When are sample teams and viability rankings coming? Been playing random monos while waiting because I am trash at team building.

 

[iBones]

When are sample teams and viability rankings coming? Been playing random monos while waiting because I am trash at team building.

Sample teams are in the making, you can try sample sets in the meantime, some of them are out, some aren't.

 

[Gorechomp]

What’s the worst type in the meta right now (maybe I can save it)?

 

[Ultraman1]

What’s the worst type in the meta right now (maybe I can save it)?

I think it is Grass or Rock .

 

[TheWyvernKing]

What’s the worst type in the meta right now (maybe I can save it)?

Ice I put at bottom, though Grass and Rock are pretty much Matchup Fish types with a few autoloss matchups.

 

[wkxkevin]

Ice I put at bottom, though Grass and Rock are pretty much Matchup Fish types with a few autoloss matchups.

I think ice is not last. Personally, my bottom 3 from best to worst is ice, rock, grass. However, chien-pao is bouta get booted(or I least I hope so). Therefore, saying ice is last isn't too farfetched.

What’s the worst type in the meta right now (maybe I can save it)?

If you want to know, try ice without chien-pao, or try grass. Both are pretty bad.

 

[Gorechomp]

Anyone know a good scarfer for psychic?

 

[wkxkevin]

Anyone know a good scarfer for psychic?

I personally run choice scarf meloetta, but doubling on normal psychic is not the best. You can also try scarf on hoopa or hoopa unbound.

 

[Giyu]

Anyone know a good scarfer for psychic?

Indeedee/Gallade are pretty good, since the former offers Healing Wish and the latter provides a buffer in the Dark matchup.

 

[Wavebird]

Why is Poison never mentioned in discussions of the worst type this gen? It seems completely unplayable every time I face it, even with stuff like Balloon Sneasler to prevent a strong Earthquake user from just 6-0'ing. I guess Grass and Ice are even worse?

 

[Neko]

Why is Poison never mentioned in discussions of the worst type this gen? It seems completely unplayable every time I face it, even with stuff like Balloon Sneasler to prevent a strong Earthquake user from just 6-0'ing. I guess Grass and Ice are even worse?

Poison almost always stonewalls Water teams due to the core of Pex+Amoongus, aside from being able to deal with Electric (if using Clodsire), Fairy (Especially once Tspikes are up and Poison plays proactively), Steel (the aforementioned Balloon Sneasler cleans non Scizor Steel very efficiently), and has a fair matchup with Dark if using Sneasler. The lack of Ground immune is solved by using an Air Balloon, usually on Glimmora or Sneasler or (rarely) Salazzle or Iron Moth + Amoonguss sponges non-special Ground attacks easily. These factors make Poison a type worth taking note, both in building and playing.

Poison has glaring issues though, notably its relatively easy to choke a Poison team by using setup sweepers like NP Gholdengo (if it doesnt have Clodsire), DD Baxcalibur (if it doesnt have Scarf Iron Moth, as Scarf Sneas gets worn down and picked off by +1 Ice Shard late-game), CM Spectrier, NP Hydreigon with Earth Power, Landorus, BU Landorus-T, and SD Kingambit (especially if no Sneasler), but these are not as extensive as Grass' and Ice's woes.

Ice is also not as bad as Grass at least (Grass isnt even the de-facto worst type, its Rock/Normal most likely), as it still has a good matchup with Flying, Poison, and Ground, and a workable matchup with Water and Dark. Gholdengo absolutely murders this type however, along with a lot of other miscellaneous sweepers.

Grass also isnt that horrible, having a decent chance against Flying (when using Hisui Liligant) or Steel (with SD Zarude) is notable, if you disregard the fact that Chien-Pao slaughters the type.

 

[Wavebird]

These factors make Poison a type worth taking note, both in building and playing.

You always come in clutch with detailed explanations of the metagame, thanks! It's really helpful as a new player.

I guess I was biased in my impression of Poison because I play play Dragon mostly, and as you mentioned, Dragonite/Baxcalibur pretty much dismantles any Poison team after one DD.

I do see the appeal of the double Regenerator core and trying to play like a perfect reactive chess match of a game to keep your pieces alive, but damn at least give my Poison brethren a Crobat or something to work with lol

 

[wkxkevin]

Steel (the aforementioned Balloon Sneasler cleans non Scizor Steel very efficiently),

I'm assuming after dengo has been delt with because I find it kinda hard to break steel even if it's scarf dengo. This is made much worse when I see an orthworm steel team because it means that knock off treads is going to spam the move like crazy and hazards are gonna be up. Also, I noticed a lot of dengo's running psychic which when playing poison seems really annoying.

 

[Neko]

I'm assuming after dengo has been delt with because I find it kinda hard to break steel even if it's scarf dengo.

If you're balloon sneas and get an SD up and your balloon gets popped, you just kill everyone post-unburden.

This is made much worse when I see an orthworm steel team because it means that knock off treads is going to spam the move like crazy and hazards are gonna be up

Orthworm Steel isnt really that much of a thing, since Orthworm offers less than what Iron Treads/Hisui Goodra would. Using Orthworm clogs you up much more too (since Kingambit/Heatran/Ghold/Corv are fixed, mentioning Treads is 5, 6th being Orth). Also, what kind of Treads would this be? If its Scarf, its not doing much since Amoonguss would just be unbreakable for it, and opens up for Sneas to get in.

Also, I noticed a lot of dengo's running psychic which when playing poison seems really annoying.

Scarf Ghold is the easier Ghold to manage for Poison, being choiced locked and not specs means it cant setup or do astronomical damage, which means it cant really beat Alolan Muk in the long run.

 

[Gorechomp]

Anyone know the best Iron Treads set to run on steel?