It is my personal belief that you could make any pokemon (well, almost any pokemon) work on a team so long as you have proper support. This is a Bulky Offense Team which focuses on setting up Mega-Mawile for the late-game sweep (featuring Rotom-Toaster).
___________________
TeamBuilding:
I started by choosing a Swords Dance set for my Mawile and Play Rough, Iron Head, and Suckerpunch for my other slots because having Thunderfang for coverage is less important than covering your important STABs and priority for such a slow pokemon is important to me.
I started listing bulky pokemon that could feasibly help thin the field for an endgame MegaMaw sweep and came up with Ttar, Diggersby, Dragonite, Azumarill, Conkeldurr, and Scizor. I started by setting-up a Leftovers Ttar for Stealth Rock support (I hate you, Talonflame/Volcarona) and a Weakness Policy DD Dragonite to set-up and hurt people. I choice Banded Scizor and gave him the U-Turn set and filled the gaps with Choice Band Azumarill and CB Diggersby. Then I realized how stupid I was to be doing this and took out CB Scizor and CB Azumarill.
I have been lurking in these forums for ages and saw some excellent examples of Conkeldurr/MegaMaw synergy with the GUTS, steel removal, knock off, and longevity of Conkeldurr, so on SHowdon I started testing a Conkeldurr/MegaMaw set which worked great. When I started breeding these pokemon in my game, I realized I had no way to get a Knock Off/Ice Punch Conk since those moves are transfer only and I have nowhere near the patience to breed him in my black 2 cartridge (can never go back after using destiny knot).
Now I decided to sit down and think: who does Mawile hate the most? Steels and Fires and Earthquake users I suppose. Also Greninja, because fuck Greninja.
Heatran. That's what he hates the most.
At this point I decided that I wanted a bulkier water. My first thought was Milotic because it is a favorite of mine, but then decided my team was too gimmickey to begin with and decided on Tentacruel. Basically I went from one gimmick to another, but at this point I'm screwed either way, so I decided to just say "fuck it" and try the set out. In test, Tentacruel@Assault Vest (252 SpAtk/252 HP/4 SpDef) worked great with Scald, Ice Beam, Sludge Bomb, and HP Electric because it took all the hits Mawile feared: Bug Buzz and Firey Dance from Volcarona, everything Greninja threw at it, even smartass Excadrill coming in off Ttar’s Sand boost due to Scald. The problem is that I ended-up relying on Tentacruel too often to cover for everything else on my team and I needed something to avoid all those Earthquakes my foes would be tossing around once they got rid of Dragonite.
I brought-in Gliscor and decided to make it a bulky attacker, which ameliorated a bit of the Earthquake problem, but I’ll be damned before I allow two 4x ice weaknesses onto my team. I removed Dragonite (and ultimately, Gliscor as well). I brought in Rotom-Wash for Tentacruel’s spot.
I really have no clue why I had forgotten about everyone's favorite household appliance up to this point. I blame general idiocy on my part.
But Steel pokemon like Aegislash were still giving me hell and I needed something to come in and wear things down. I switched The Washing-Machine Rotom for a Toaster-Oven Rotom and brought my bulky Tentacruel back in, but with Black Sludge instead of the Vest and Knock Off. Finally I had knock off back, which is something I honestly missed.
I gave Scizor the final team-slot in place of Gliscor, whose presence really failed to add anything to my team.
_____________________
The Team:
Ultimately, I ended-up with a little Volt-Turn, some gimmickey nonsense, and a team which has served me well on the Battle Spot thus-far. So this can't really be called Bulky Offense anymore--it is more Bulky Bulk with more Bulk (featuring MegaMaw, Mandibuzz, and T. Payne).
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sandstream
EV: 252HP/252SpDef/4Atk
Adamant
-Stone Edge
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast
The Tyranitar set that I originally ran was a stealth rocks lead with Adamant and 252HP/252Atk. I liked that set, but I wasn't really in love with the fact that nonsense like Skarmory kept coming-in on me and wrecking everything up. The nice thing is that predicted Skarm-roosts can be Earthquaked since Ttar is outrun by that vulture, but I found that my opponents started getting smart about this after one hit (two if they were REALLY fucking stupid) and 252HP/252Def Impish Skarmory is JUST defensive enough to survive long enough to piss me off, so I put in Fire Blast and removed the rocks. I still have him in there as a lead (sometimes, alternating with Scizor), but I switched to the Assault Vest and decided I might as well made it a special tank with full attacking power. I know Adamant is not ideal for the Fire Blast, but the alternative is Brave and I still want to outrun uninvested Aegislash (when they're not using Shadow Sneak, of course) so that I could figure their set out at least. This guy is also a Mega-Lucario magnet, so spamming Earthquake or Fire Blast on a possible switch has helped me out in the past.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EV: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 SpDef
Adamant
-U-Turn <-----dash, U, dash looks really silly to me typed out
-Bullet Punch
-Brick Break
-Pursuit
Okay, right up front: yes, I understand that superpower is the better choice over brick break, but as I said, I have to work with the things I have. Superpower is, as yet, a transfer-only move but I needed a fighting move for coverage. I missed the power drop when I made the jump from Showdown to wi-fi, but I think I have gotten accustomed to it after all. Scizor is really mostly used for me to scout-out any potential Mawile-eaters that may come-in later. Mawile and Scizor share a critical weakness in Fire, so I can get Scizor in and immediately U-Turn out for some Choice damage (literally) and see who they have to check a bulky physical attacker with a fire weakness. Sometimes, this ends-up being a bulky Scalder like physical Rotom-Machine and I have met my fair share of Chandelure and Volcarona as well. Ultimately, if Scizor is able to reveal my opponent's hand and mortally wound even one pokemon, it has done its job.
I have yet to find one Heatran on wi-fi. I feel that Heatran is the pokemon that everyone loves on Showdown, but noone in the known universe actually owns in their game. That doesn't mean it isn't a big deal--just something I have noticed on the side.
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EV: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp Atk
Bold
-Overheat
-Will-O-Wisp
-Volt Switch
-Thunderwave
I find toaster Rotom to be (understandably) underestimated. The washing-machine will always be the superior form of Rotom due to typing and overall utility, but it never really fit-in on the team I started building. I tested-out a Modest Rotom-Wash (shit, are they hard to breed) and it worked well, but not quite for the capacity that I wanted it for. My team is slow and I wanted to be able to shut down speedy threats and burn the strong ones that threatened to out punch my bulky team, so I chose dual status for the toaster-oven. Plus, Mawile really has no answer to many steel pokemon, so I wanted something to frighten them. The set may be gimmickey, but dual status on a bulky defensive pokemon is just plain money. Rotom-H survives many of the more common physical moves and even stands-up to volt-turn cores. Common switch-ins that I have found on battle spot are Tyranitar and Garchomp and neither one likes burn. On showdown there are Heatran running all over the place, but if I see a Heatran I obviously won't be spamming WoW, but Thunderwave instead. This pokemon has given my team excellent utility.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EV: 252 HP/252 Sp Atk/4 SpDef
Modest
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Knock Off
-Sludge Bomb
I was on the fence about Tentacruel for the longest time. I was trying to find a pokemon that could come-in on many of the fire and fighting pokemon running around and immediately threaten them. Rotom-Wash is most certainly the better choice for this, but as I stated before, I wanted to try to make a team featuring the Brave Little Rotom (Toaster), so this wasn't an option. Having a pokemon that is Earthquake weak is certainly not ideal, but Tentacruel's utility has definitely been useful thusfar. Knock Off is so useful that it hurts and Scald/Ice beam is standard. There is a reason that it is standard and that is because it works. Burn is one thing I have stressed is important for this team in particular--having a bulky team that can't survive is pointless, so if I can burn one or two of an opponent's main threats, I basically have the W in the bag. Ice Beam was chosen for coverage and Sludge Bomb is there more-or-less exclusively for Azumarill, but having dual STAB moves is always nice. In the choice between Clear Body and Liquid Ooze, the choice was easy: Liquid Ooze was best in a metagame with leech seed and giga-drain running all over the place.
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EV: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpDef
Bold
-Foul Play
-Defog
-Taunt
-Roost
This set is eaten-alive by fairies, but the presence of tentacruel somewhat ameliorates this issue. I have found a huge frequency of players that are running Draining Kiss on one pokemon or another on the wifi and one timely switch-in to liquid ooze tentacruel is really all it takes to stop this mode of attack, it seems. Mandibuzz is there to remove rocks and taunt jerks who are trying to either set up or act as clerics. It is just fact enough to ruin bulky wish-passers like umbreon and vaporeon (who I have seen in the last three wifi matches I have had. This was ModelT's suggestion and it is honestly a fantastic adjustment. This pokemon removes hard-hitters like Talonflame, Megachomp, and Excadrill who would otherwise give MegaMaw some trouble.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate --> Huge Power
EV: 156 HP/252 Atk/96 Speed
Adamant
-Swords Dance
-Play Rough
-Sucker Punch
-Iron Head
And here we are! As previously stated, this team's goal is to wear-down foes and remove direct threats to Mawile to pave the way for a late-game sweep. The plan is to bring in Mawile to intimidate something that doesn't want to stay in, possibly off of a slow U-Turn by Scizor or Volt Switch by Ro-toaster, then Megavolve while setting-up the Swords Dance. I was playing around with the Sub-Punch set on Showdown and fell in love with it, but found out that this is another one of those fucking transfer-only sets, so I resigned myself to Swords Dance/Sucker/Dual STAB. Iron Head has always been a little bit superfluous on this set, but the only alternatives that would fit here are Thunderfang for the odd Gyarados that could come-in or Brick Break for any leftover Steel pokemon. I concentrated on survivability and bulk--and the EV spread allows me to out-speed uninvested and 4 EV speed-invested Tyranitar who has been a late-game pain for me on more than one occasion.
_________________________
KNOWN THREATS:
Gyarados - no one really likes that intimidate/water/flying combination
Gastrodon - Recovery and Water/Ground is tough for this team, but definitely possible to beat through attrition.
Greninja - If you have found a counter to Greninja then you are a liar...wait...Tentacruel resists everything it gets...found it!
Excadrill coming-in off the sandstorm I set up, but Mandibuzz has recently been making short work of that jerk.
Rotom-fucking-Washingmachine is something I usually have to defeat through attrition. What I have been doing is allowing Tentacruel to take its burns and then knock off its leftovers/chesto berry. This sounds really dumb, but defensive Rotomwash actually tends to fall apart without its item and offensive Rotomwash takes big damage from plenty of my pokemon. I know not to abuse Earthquake when there is a levitator on the bench.
_________________________
REMARKS:
This team has been working well for me so far, especially on wi-fi (where the real men hang-out). I wish I had the patience to breed the transfer-only sets as well as Genesect, but unfortunately I am myself.
Please critique!
_________________________
EDITS:
1/24/2014-Switched Conkeldurr to Mandibuzz.
1/30/2014-Bred alternates that I switch in and out: Physical Swampert, Choice Azumarill, Jollychomp.
___________________
TeamBuilding:
I started by choosing a Swords Dance set for my Mawile and Play Rough, Iron Head, and Suckerpunch for my other slots because having Thunderfang for coverage is less important than covering your important STABs and priority for such a slow pokemon is important to me.
I started listing bulky pokemon that could feasibly help thin the field for an endgame MegaMaw sweep and came up with Ttar, Diggersby, Dragonite, Azumarill, Conkeldurr, and Scizor. I started by setting-up a Leftovers Ttar for Stealth Rock support (I hate you, Talonflame/Volcarona) and a Weakness Policy DD Dragonite to set-up and hurt people. I choice Banded Scizor and gave him the U-Turn set and filled the gaps with Choice Band Azumarill and CB Diggersby. Then I realized how stupid I was to be doing this and took out CB Scizor and CB Azumarill.
I have been lurking in these forums for ages and saw some excellent examples of Conkeldurr/MegaMaw synergy with the GUTS, steel removal, knock off, and longevity of Conkeldurr, so on SHowdon I started testing a Conkeldurr/MegaMaw set which worked great. When I started breeding these pokemon in my game, I realized I had no way to get a Knock Off/Ice Punch Conk since those moves are transfer only and I have nowhere near the patience to breed him in my black 2 cartridge (can never go back after using destiny knot).
Now I decided to sit down and think: who does Mawile hate the most? Steels and Fires and Earthquake users I suppose. Also Greninja, because fuck Greninja.
Heatran. That's what he hates the most.
At this point I decided that I wanted a bulkier water. My first thought was Milotic because it is a favorite of mine, but then decided my team was too gimmickey to begin with and decided on Tentacruel. Basically I went from one gimmick to another, but at this point I'm screwed either way, so I decided to just say "fuck it" and try the set out. In test, Tentacruel@Assault Vest (252 SpAtk/252 HP/4 SpDef) worked great with Scald, Ice Beam, Sludge Bomb, and HP Electric because it took all the hits Mawile feared: Bug Buzz and Firey Dance from Volcarona, everything Greninja threw at it, even smartass Excadrill coming in off Ttar’s Sand boost due to Scald. The problem is that I ended-up relying on Tentacruel too often to cover for everything else on my team and I needed something to avoid all those Earthquakes my foes would be tossing around once they got rid of Dragonite.
I brought-in Gliscor and decided to make it a bulky attacker, which ameliorated a bit of the Earthquake problem, but I’ll be damned before I allow two 4x ice weaknesses onto my team. I removed Dragonite (and ultimately, Gliscor as well). I brought in Rotom-Wash for Tentacruel’s spot.
I really have no clue why I had forgotten about everyone's favorite household appliance up to this point. I blame general idiocy on my part.
But Steel pokemon like Aegislash were still giving me hell and I needed something to come in and wear things down. I switched The Washing-Machine Rotom for a Toaster-Oven Rotom and brought my bulky Tentacruel back in, but with Black Sludge instead of the Vest and Knock Off. Finally I had knock off back, which is something I honestly missed.
I gave Scizor the final team-slot in place of Gliscor, whose presence really failed to add anything to my team.
_____________________
The Team:
Ultimately, I ended-up with a little Volt-Turn, some gimmickey nonsense, and a team which has served me well on the Battle Spot thus-far. So this can't really be called Bulky Offense anymore--it is more Bulky Bulk with more Bulk (featuring MegaMaw, Mandibuzz, and T. Payne).
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sandstream
EV: 252HP/252SpDef/4Atk
Adamant
-Stone Edge
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast
The Tyranitar set that I originally ran was a stealth rocks lead with Adamant and 252HP/252Atk. I liked that set, but I wasn't really in love with the fact that nonsense like Skarmory kept coming-in on me and wrecking everything up. The nice thing is that predicted Skarm-roosts can be Earthquaked since Ttar is outrun by that vulture, but I found that my opponents started getting smart about this after one hit (two if they were REALLY fucking stupid) and 252HP/252Def Impish Skarmory is JUST defensive enough to survive long enough to piss me off, so I put in Fire Blast and removed the rocks. I still have him in there as a lead (sometimes, alternating with Scizor), but I switched to the Assault Vest and decided I might as well made it a special tank with full attacking power. I know Adamant is not ideal for the Fire Blast, but the alternative is Brave and I still want to outrun uninvested Aegislash (when they're not using Shadow Sneak, of course) so that I could figure their set out at least. This guy is also a Mega-Lucario magnet, so spamming Earthquake or Fire Blast on a possible switch has helped me out in the past.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EV: 248 HP/252 Atk/8 SpDef
Adamant
-U-Turn <-----dash, U, dash looks really silly to me typed out
-Bullet Punch
-Brick Break
-Pursuit
Okay, right up front: yes, I understand that superpower is the better choice over brick break, but as I said, I have to work with the things I have. Superpower is, as yet, a transfer-only move but I needed a fighting move for coverage. I missed the power drop when I made the jump from Showdown to wi-fi, but I think I have gotten accustomed to it after all. Scizor is really mostly used for me to scout-out any potential Mawile-eaters that may come-in later. Mawile and Scizor share a critical weakness in Fire, so I can get Scizor in and immediately U-Turn out for some Choice damage (literally) and see who they have to check a bulky physical attacker with a fire weakness. Sometimes, this ends-up being a bulky Scalder like physical Rotom-Machine and I have met my fair share of Chandelure and Volcarona as well. Ultimately, if Scizor is able to reveal my opponent's hand and mortally wound even one pokemon, it has done its job.
I have yet to find one Heatran on wi-fi. I feel that Heatran is the pokemon that everyone loves on Showdown, but noone in the known universe actually owns in their game. That doesn't mean it isn't a big deal--just something I have noticed on the side.
Rotom-H @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EV: 252 HP/252 Def/4 Sp Atk
Bold
-Overheat
-Will-O-Wisp
-Volt Switch
-Thunderwave
I find toaster Rotom to be (understandably) underestimated. The washing-machine will always be the superior form of Rotom due to typing and overall utility, but it never really fit-in on the team I started building. I tested-out a Modest Rotom-Wash (shit, are they hard to breed) and it worked well, but not quite for the capacity that I wanted it for. My team is slow and I wanted to be able to shut down speedy threats and burn the strong ones that threatened to out punch my bulky team, so I chose dual status for the toaster-oven. Plus, Mawile really has no answer to many steel pokemon, so I wanted something to frighten them. The set may be gimmickey, but dual status on a bulky defensive pokemon is just plain money. Rotom-H survives many of the more common physical moves and even stands-up to volt-turn cores. Common switch-ins that I have found on battle spot are Tyranitar and Garchomp and neither one likes burn. On showdown there are Heatran running all over the place, but if I see a Heatran I obviously won't be spamming WoW, but Thunderwave instead. This pokemon has given my team excellent utility.
Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EV: 252 HP/252 Sp Atk/4 SpDef
Modest
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Knock Off
-Sludge Bomb
I was on the fence about Tentacruel for the longest time. I was trying to find a pokemon that could come-in on many of the fire and fighting pokemon running around and immediately threaten them. Rotom-Wash is most certainly the better choice for this, but as I stated before, I wanted to try to make a team featuring the Brave Little Rotom (Toaster), so this wasn't an option. Having a pokemon that is Earthquake weak is certainly not ideal, but Tentacruel's utility has definitely been useful thusfar. Knock Off is so useful that it hurts and Scald/Ice beam is standard. There is a reason that it is standard and that is because it works. Burn is one thing I have stressed is important for this team in particular--having a bulky team that can't survive is pointless, so if I can burn one or two of an opponent's main threats, I basically have the W in the bag. Ice Beam was chosen for coverage and Sludge Bomb is there more-or-less exclusively for Azumarill, but having dual STAB moves is always nice. In the choice between Clear Body and Liquid Ooze, the choice was easy: Liquid Ooze was best in a metagame with leech seed and giga-drain running all over the place.
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EV: 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpDef
Bold
-Foul Play
-Defog
-Taunt
-Roost
This set is eaten-alive by fairies, but the presence of tentacruel somewhat ameliorates this issue. I have found a huge frequency of players that are running Draining Kiss on one pokemon or another on the wifi and one timely switch-in to liquid ooze tentacruel is really all it takes to stop this mode of attack, it seems. Mandibuzz is there to remove rocks and taunt jerks who are trying to either set up or act as clerics. It is just fact enough to ruin bulky wish-passers like umbreon and vaporeon (who I have seen in the last three wifi matches I have had. This was ModelT's suggestion and it is honestly a fantastic adjustment. This pokemon removes hard-hitters like Talonflame, Megachomp, and Excadrill who would otherwise give MegaMaw some trouble.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate --> Huge Power
EV: 156 HP/252 Atk/96 Speed
Adamant
-Swords Dance
-Play Rough
-Sucker Punch
-Iron Head
And here we are! As previously stated, this team's goal is to wear-down foes and remove direct threats to Mawile to pave the way for a late-game sweep. The plan is to bring in Mawile to intimidate something that doesn't want to stay in, possibly off of a slow U-Turn by Scizor or Volt Switch by Ro-toaster, then Megavolve while setting-up the Swords Dance. I was playing around with the Sub-Punch set on Showdown and fell in love with it, but found out that this is another one of those fucking transfer-only sets, so I resigned myself to Swords Dance/Sucker/Dual STAB. Iron Head has always been a little bit superfluous on this set, but the only alternatives that would fit here are Thunderfang for the odd Gyarados that could come-in or Brick Break for any leftover Steel pokemon. I concentrated on survivability and bulk--and the EV spread allows me to out-speed uninvested and 4 EV speed-invested Tyranitar who has been a late-game pain for me on more than one occasion.
_________________________
KNOWN THREATS:
Gyarados - no one really likes that intimidate/water/flying combination
Gastrodon - Recovery and Water/Ground is tough for this team, but definitely possible to beat through attrition.
Greninja - If you have found a counter to Greninja then you are a liar...wait...Tentacruel resists everything it gets...found it!
Excadrill coming-in off the sandstorm I set up, but Mandibuzz has recently been making short work of that jerk.
Rotom-fucking-Washingmachine is something I usually have to defeat through attrition. What I have been doing is allowing Tentacruel to take its burns and then knock off its leftovers/chesto berry. This sounds really dumb, but defensive Rotomwash actually tends to fall apart without its item and offensive Rotomwash takes big damage from plenty of my pokemon. I know not to abuse Earthquake when there is a levitator on the bench.
_________________________
REMARKS:
This team has been working well for me so far, especially on wi-fi (where the real men hang-out). I wish I had the patience to breed the transfer-only sets as well as Genesect, but unfortunately I am myself.
Please critique!
_________________________
EDITS:
1/24/2014-Switched Conkeldurr to Mandibuzz.
1/30/2014-Bred alternates that I switch in and out: Physical Swampert, Choice Azumarill, Jollychomp.
Last edited:
