Introduction:
Welcome to another one of my NU RMT's Smogon! Break Free was designed around 2-3 months ago, around what was a SpecZard. Around a month or so ago, that changed to Ebelt Zard, a complete beast in the metagame, tearing holes through teams with it's wallbreaking power even without a specs boost, as well as newfound versatility in its Expert Belt. With that in mind, I built a tight team around it to try to beat out any and all threats to it, so that it can comfortably clean up games with little to no issue. While I do not feel like posting any ladder ACREs on this one (comfortably reached 1984), it did go around 500-100 in terms of games, giving me a pretty chill 5-1 win / loss ratio, which I'm perfectly alright with. As a whole, this team relies on synergy in both bulk and offense, and does not have defined roles. All Pokemon act as Sweepers as well as Defensive pivots dependent on the situation taking on a interesting style of Bulky Offense. So without further ado, here is one of my best teams, Break Free!
PEAK #1:
The Team:
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5,778 Kelvin
Charizard @ Expert Belt
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Air Slash
- Roost
Easily one of the best sets I've come across in the NU tier. In it's essence, Expert Belt Charizard isn't amazing. But it's because of the serious hype that Specs and Scarf Charizard have gotten across the tier these past few days that this set becomes effective. Being able to comfortably bluff because of the common-ness of choiced sets is what makes this set such a major threat in the tier. Fire Blast is the primary STAB, being stupid strong. It's scarily unresisted in a tier where water and rock types take a rather offensive role in general. In Blaze range it is even more ridiculous, hitting for 50%+ against even resists, bringing it near the power of Specs. Roost helps us gain back lost HP when livability is more important than hitting hard. Hidden Power [Grass] is the primary move that we attempt to bluff, assassinating Seismitoad, Golem, and other standard Choice-Locked zard sets with little to no issue. Finally, Air Slash offers a second STAB, hitting hard across the board, and offering a rather appealing flinch rate!
#STEROIDS
Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
Good old gurdurr. Reliable. Strong. Bulky. It's easily the best fighting type in NU in the current metagame in my opinion, being the team's go to check to things like opposing Kangaskhan, Primeape, and other monsters who typically tear through my team. He also acts as my primary setup sweeper, being able to completely tear through teams after a single bulk up. Drain Punch, our main STAB, is quite powerful even when unboosted, doing fair amounts to many opponents. Mach Punch aids Gurdurr by patching it's sub-par speed, as well as allowing it to revenge kill a variety of threats when I need it to. Ice Punch is my final move, covering Golurk, Drifblim, Exeggutor, and just Psychic / Ghost types which typically wall Gurdurr as a whole, and packs a nasty 10% freeze chance to aid me in my sweeping. Gurdurr is honestly the MVP2 of the team, and easily finds its place as one of the best bulky setup sweepers in NU.
Wrath of Khan
Kangaskhan (F) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
Our team lacks a revenge killer, as well as threat check against setup sweepers. This is where Kangaskhan comes in. With Fake Out + Sucker Punch, he can reliably take out already set-up sweepers. He also acts as emergency check to fast scarfers such as Jynx who may pose a threat, hitting hard with Fake Out to aid me in revenge killing. It is so crucial that I am having threat control from Kangaskhan, because without him, so many pokemon simply tear holes through my team with little to no issue. Silk Scarf is a great tool for boosting the power of Fake Out and Double Edge, letting me hit harder than normal, but not being as recoil-indusive as a Life Orb. Scrappy is the single best ability out there for normal types, becoming worry-free when spamming their primary STABs. Double Edge capitalizes on Kangaskhan's sheer power, hitting for high amounts of damage even on bulky pokemon. Earthquake and Sucker Punch round off our coverage and utility, wrecking Rocks + Steels who may even attempt to take our Fake Out, as well as offering a final form of priority to give Khan the edge in speed.
Bubble Gum
Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
Musharna replaced Eelektross for the sole reason that it is the perfect glue to hold my team together. While Eelektross put my team in a favorable position against stall teams with it's perfect coverage, I lost the ability to defensively pivot consistently due to lack of reliable recovery, as well as Volt Switch being occasionally stopped by Ground type switch ins. As pointed out by Jonater and Dat Blast, Musharna was definitely the better choice, giving my team much better defensive presence, as it is able to pivot constantly in and out of attacks, while healing off any damage with Moonlight. Psychic is a surprisingly hard hitting attack, dealing harsh damage to any offensive pokemon willing to switch in. Thunder Wave is the crux of the set, letting me slow down opposing pokemon, allowing my own team to go hyper offensive, quickly and efficiently taking down opposing threats with sheer offensive pressure. And baton pass lets me scout for an opponent's moveset, as well as gaining advantage on forced switches, and viewing what his checks and counters to my pokemon are. Overall, Musharna is a wonderful replacement with her stellar mixed bulk and amazing pivoting capabilities, and I have not looked back once.
Deodorant
Skuntank @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Spd / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Taunt
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Being able to check psychic pokemon is so key to this team's success. Without Skuntank, CM Musharna, LO Gardevoir, and Jynx will simply tear gargantuan holes through my team with little to no issue. His ability to force the opponent into Sucker Punch + Pursuit mind games is invaluable, as it easily makes opponents choke, giving me an edge oftentimes. The set is very much standard. Poison Jab acts as a reliable STAB, eliminating Grass types, and hitting the tier as a whole pretty relentlessly and quite powerfully. A 30% chance to poison the opponent is the icing on the cake, putting consistent pressure on the opponent, and holding their life on a timer. Sucker Punch is really the crux of the set, being the strongest priority my team packs, hitting equally as hard as poison jab but much harder. It can quickly and efficiently eliminate frailer offensive Pokemon, dealing respectable damage to a variety pokemon. Finally, pursuit lets us trap annoying pokemon such as Haunter, Jynx, or Musharna, eliminating them permanently for the rest of the match. Taunt lets us consistently beat walls that we normally cannot, and also can potentially keep hazards or screens off the field if need be. Overall, Skuntank provides a undeniably large amount of support to my team, that simply cannot function without it.
Porous Fissures
Porous Fissures (Seismitoad) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 36 Spd / 220 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Seismitoad is invariably important to my team, taking Electric, Water, and Rock moves for Zard, and providing amazing synergy with the rest of my team as well. Toxic is often my only way to wear down something like Alomomola, so it is extremely important that he carries it. I chose the offensive stealth rocks set, as I did not want to lose offensive pressure with the more defensive sets. Hydro Pump is surprisingly strong, hitting for large chunks against even defensive pokemon, and Earth Power is the secondary STAB, hitting with just as much power, but a added chance for a SDef drop, which sometimes can be key to my win. Stealth Rocks is the final move on the set, bringing a lot of pokemon into the OHKO range of my mons, often putting a surprising amount of pressure on opponents, even if its only doing 12% on the switch.
5,778 Kelvin (Charizard) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Air Slash
- Roost
#STEROIDS (Gurdurr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
Khan (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
Bubble Gum (Musharna) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
Deodorant (Skuntank) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Spd / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Taunt
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Porous Fissures (Seismitoad) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 36 Spd / 220 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Air Slash
- Roost
#STEROIDS (Gurdurr) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
Khan (Kangaskhan) (F) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
Bubble Gum (Musharna) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SDef
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
Deodorant (Skuntank) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 Spd / 176 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Poison Jab
- Taunt
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Porous Fissures (Seismitoad) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 36 Spd / 220 HP
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
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Well, thanks for reading! I'm going to leave the RMT off here as I need to go do HW and study for finals, but I appreciate any and all comments on how I can improve the team, and I will see everybody soon! Bye!
- Brawlfest
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