Hello Smogon! I have been lurking on this site for several years and have never really gotten around to creating an account and actually contributing. I played BW UU for a long time and was very successful, but I took a huge break and returned to play XY/ORAS NU. I want to start actually laddering instead of just creating a new account each time I go to showdown. I can never really focus on one team but this one has a good feel to it so I would love to see how I can fine tune/improve it for climbing the NU ranks! So without further ado:
BernieBros
Teambuilding Concept
I wanted to start the team with a core I came across in the NU forums that looked really interesting: Rotom-S/Golurk/Magmortar. These three mons form a good offensive core that can handle a good amount of threats in the NU metagame. I wanted to kinda stray from the standard teams that you see on the ladder. I also had two mons week to SR so I added Scarf Kabutops as my hazard control and speedy sweeper. Next I wanted a good switch in to water types and someone who could glue my team against physical attacks so vileplume was added. Finally, I needed a psychic type answer and a setup-sweaper/win condition. I settled on Klinklang because the meta seems to be shifting away from Steelix and this thing is not being prepared for like it used to.
The Team
@ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 Sp. Def
Timid Nature
Volt Switch
Air Slash
Hidden Power Water
Will-O-Wisp
Rotom Fan was something that I have rarely used and really wanted to try since it seems to be so anti-meta. It is a good check to a lot of common pokemon such as Steelix, Grass Types, Fighting Types, and slower physical attackers. Volt switch is a good stab that provides momentum which is sorely needed on a bulky offensive squad. Air Slash hits grass types and fighting types for good damage especially with expert belt. HP Water was chosen over grass to hit steelix harder since this is my primary switch-in. Will-O-Wisp is great for spreading burns and for helping Vileplume not get overwhelmed throughout the match.
@ Colbur Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVS: 252 speed / 252 Attack / 4 Sp. Def
Adamant Nature
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Ice Punch
Dynamic Punch
Golurk bring rocks to the team. He is another "Anti-Meta" Mon that is not seen very often but is good for it's unpredictability. I usually use him as a lead because it has a great matchup versus other Lead SR users. Golurk is a semi-check to fighting types with colbur berry, and forces a lot of switches which help it get up rocks.
Stealth Rock is there for obvious reasons. Earthquake is Golurk's strongest STAB which deals good damage when it needs to. Ice punch hits Grass and Flying types who may want to switch in to Golurk. Dynamic Punch is the key to the set, forcing shenanigan predictions and easing matchups which usually help it punch holes in teams and get SR up when it can. Overall, Golurk is super fun to use and a great member of the team.
@ Assault Vest
Ability:Levitate Vital Spirit (LOL typo)
EVs: 196 speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 60 HP
Modest Nature
Fire Blast
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power Grass
Flame Charge
Magmortar is my general Special Attack sponge, Will-O-Wisp Eater, and late game sweeper, and wallbreaker. Anyone who has used this mon knows how valuable and how many roles it can fill at once. Assault Vest allows magmortar to switch into rotom which is a huge threat to the team. Fire Blast/TBolt are standard coverage which pokes holes in slower teams. HP Grass was the coverage move of choice because Quagsire, Omastar, and Rhydon are threats to this team that may thing they can switch in. Flame Charge was chosen as the last move because my team is pretty slow and it allows magmortar to outspeed everything up to Sceptile with the boost. Mag gets worn down quickly so its important to keep hazards off the field.
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 speed / 252 attack / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Rapid Spin
X-Scissor/Knock Off
Kabutops was chosen as my hazard control mon. I also needed speed since my team appeared very slow, and I have been hearing hype around Kabu as a scarfer. To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about this mon. It has games where it is essential and others where it is dead weight. The biggest draw is the surprise factor of this mon. It hits very hard with Adamant nature and Stabs, and it can KO several faster threats before its item is revealed such as archeops, swellow, pyroar, charizard, and sceptile. Waterfall and Stone Edge are strong Stab moves that have great coverage on most of the tier. Rapid spin is not used often as it usually required Kabu to sacrifice itself. The last slot is up for grabs - X-Scissor hits grass and psychic types more reliably than Stone Edge and is there for Malamar which my team really struggles with. Knock Off can also be useful for wearing down common switches to Kabutops such as Weezing and Quagsire. Overall, I think this is the most replacable mon on the team but it serves a fun and effective role when the matchup allows.
@ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Defense / 8 Speed
Bold Nature
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb
Moonlight
Aromatherapy/Sleep Powder/ HP Ground
One thing I have learned from play NU is that if you don't have a good Physical check to the threats in this tier, you can get overwhelmed. Vileplume is just a fantastic mon which does so much for the team. It is my scald switchin, sceptile switchin, solid fighting check, and overall physical check. Effect spore is a great ability which allows plume to spread status while checking threats. Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb are stab moves which can OHKO a lot of troublesome mons for this team such as Quagsire and Sceptile. Moonlight keeps Plume healthy throughout the match. The final slot is a toss up but I find that Aromatherapy is mostly used because my team is pretty week to status.
@ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Attack / 176 Speed
Shift Gear
Gear Grind
Substitute
Wild Charge
My final team member had to be able to handle Psychics. I also needed some sort of boosting sweeper and a secondary check to Sceptile because Vileplume can sometimes get worn down. I have found that a lot of teams are grossly un-prepared for Klang due to the trend of the meta toward faster frailer sweepers. Klang is generally used to stop calm mind psychics mid game, and end-game once its counters are gone.
The EVs allow Klang to outspeed neutral nature max max speed base 80 mons. Max attack and the rest in Speed to help it sweep. Shift Gear and Gear Grind are standard moves for Klang to sweep. Substitute helps avoid status and ease predictions. Wild Charge was the chosen coverage move to hit flying and water types hard and I find that Return is not as useful.
Threats
The single biggest threat to this team is Malamar. I do not have a super solid way of dispatching it once it boosts up. I can hope for golurk to switch on a superpower and then weaken it, or vileplume to wear it down, or kabutops to kill it before it gets to +2/+2. But still, I don't have a good way to stop it if it gets a rest off.
I also have trouble with Psychics who carry focus blast or a SE coverage for Klinklang. This includes grumpig, xatu, and especially musharna. If Klang cannot handle them then its GG because I dont have strong enough physical attackers or a toxic user to break them.
Thank you for looking at my team, and I am excited to see what kind of suggestions the community may have!
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nususpecttest-334609166
BernieBros
Teambuilding Concept
I wanted to start the team with a core I came across in the NU forums that looked really interesting: Rotom-S/Golurk/Magmortar. These three mons form a good offensive core that can handle a good amount of threats in the NU metagame. I wanted to kinda stray from the standard teams that you see on the ladder. I also had two mons week to SR so I added Scarf Kabutops as my hazard control and speedy sweeper. Next I wanted a good switch in to water types and someone who could glue my team against physical attacks so vileplume was added. Finally, I needed a psychic type answer and a setup-sweaper/win condition. I settled on Klinklang because the meta seems to be shifting away from Steelix and this thing is not being prepared for like it used to.
The Team
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 4 Sp. Def
Timid Nature
Volt Switch
Air Slash
Hidden Power Water
Will-O-Wisp
Rotom Fan was something that I have rarely used and really wanted to try since it seems to be so anti-meta. It is a good check to a lot of common pokemon such as Steelix, Grass Types, Fighting Types, and slower physical attackers. Volt switch is a good stab that provides momentum which is sorely needed on a bulky offensive squad. Air Slash hits grass types and fighting types for good damage especially with expert belt. HP Water was chosen over grass to hit steelix harder since this is my primary switch-in. Will-O-Wisp is great for spreading burns and for helping Vileplume not get overwhelmed throughout the match.
Ability: No Guard
EVS: 252 speed / 252 Attack / 4 Sp. Def
Adamant Nature
Stealth Rock
Earthquake
Ice Punch
Dynamic Punch
Golurk bring rocks to the team. He is another "Anti-Meta" Mon that is not seen very often but is good for it's unpredictability. I usually use him as a lead because it has a great matchup versus other Lead SR users. Golurk is a semi-check to fighting types with colbur berry, and forces a lot of switches which help it get up rocks.
Stealth Rock is there for obvious reasons. Earthquake is Golurk's strongest STAB which deals good damage when it needs to. Ice punch hits Grass and Flying types who may want to switch in to Golurk. Dynamic Punch is the key to the set, forcing shenanigan predictions and easing matchups which usually help it punch holes in teams and get SR up when it can. Overall, Golurk is super fun to use and a great member of the team.
Ability:
EVs: 196 speed / 252 Sp. Attack / 60 HP
Modest Nature
Fire Blast
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power Grass
Flame Charge
Magmortar is my general Special Attack sponge, Will-O-Wisp Eater, and late game sweeper, and wallbreaker. Anyone who has used this mon knows how valuable and how many roles it can fill at once. Assault Vest allows magmortar to switch into rotom which is a huge threat to the team. Fire Blast/TBolt are standard coverage which pokes holes in slower teams. HP Grass was the coverage move of choice because Quagsire, Omastar, and Rhydon are threats to this team that may thing they can switch in. Flame Charge was chosen as the last move because my team is pretty slow and it allows magmortar to outspeed everything up to Sceptile with the boost. Mag gets worn down quickly so its important to keep hazards off the field.
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 speed / 252 attack / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
Waterfall
Stone Edge
Rapid Spin
X-Scissor/Knock Off
Kabutops was chosen as my hazard control mon. I also needed speed since my team appeared very slow, and I have been hearing hype around Kabu as a scarfer. To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about this mon. It has games where it is essential and others where it is dead weight. The biggest draw is the surprise factor of this mon. It hits very hard with Adamant nature and Stabs, and it can KO several faster threats before its item is revealed such as archeops, swellow, pyroar, charizard, and sceptile. Waterfall and Stone Edge are strong Stab moves that have great coverage on most of the tier. Rapid spin is not used often as it usually required Kabu to sacrifice itself. The last slot is up for grabs - X-Scissor hits grass and psychic types more reliably than Stone Edge and is there for Malamar which my team really struggles with. Knock Off can also be useful for wearing down common switches to Kabutops such as Weezing and Quagsire. Overall, I think this is the most replacable mon on the team but it serves a fun and effective role when the matchup allows.
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Defense / 8 Speed
Bold Nature
Giga Drain
Sludge Bomb
Moonlight
Aromatherapy/Sleep Powder/ HP Ground
One thing I have learned from play NU is that if you don't have a good Physical check to the threats in this tier, you can get overwhelmed. Vileplume is just a fantastic mon which does so much for the team. It is my scald switchin, sceptile switchin, solid fighting check, and overall physical check. Effect spore is a great ability which allows plume to spread status while checking threats. Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb are stab moves which can OHKO a lot of troublesome mons for this team such as Quagsire and Sceptile. Moonlight keeps Plume healthy throughout the match. The final slot is a toss up but I find that Aromatherapy is mostly used because my team is pretty week to status.
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Attack / 176 Speed
Shift Gear
Gear Grind
Substitute
Wild Charge
My final team member had to be able to handle Psychics. I also needed some sort of boosting sweeper and a secondary check to Sceptile because Vileplume can sometimes get worn down. I have found that a lot of teams are grossly un-prepared for Klang due to the trend of the meta toward faster frailer sweepers. Klang is generally used to stop calm mind psychics mid game, and end-game once its counters are gone.
The EVs allow Klang to outspeed neutral nature max max speed base 80 mons. Max attack and the rest in Speed to help it sweep. Shift Gear and Gear Grind are standard moves for Klang to sweep. Substitute helps avoid status and ease predictions. Wild Charge was the chosen coverage move to hit flying and water types hard and I find that Return is not as useful.
Threats
The single biggest threat to this team is Malamar. I do not have a super solid way of dispatching it once it boosts up. I can hope for golurk to switch on a superpower and then weaken it, or vileplume to wear it down, or kabutops to kill it before it gets to +2/+2. But still, I don't have a good way to stop it if it gets a rest off.
I also have trouble with Psychics who carry focus blast or a SE coverage for Klinklang. This includes grumpig, xatu, and especially musharna. If Klang cannot handle them then its GG because I dont have strong enough physical attackers or a toxic user to break them.
Thank you for looking at my team, and I am excited to see what kind of suggestions the community may have!
Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nususpecttest-334609166
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