Introduction
So, OMWC wrapped up and the team I was on managed to win. I wanted to make a post for some team I built that either I or Meta brought to any of the weeks. However, I never really favored anything in particular I wanted to showcase exclusively. UT wanted me to share a certain Falinks webs team I made a while ago that had a surprise victory against Quantum Tesseract during the Godly Gift Seasonal, but unfortunately after a lot of testing I really never felt content with that team. There was, however, a fun team I built a while back for a ladder run that I rebuilt for OMWC but never got to use for good reason, and only a few days ago did I refine it enough that it had surprising results. While it's obviously not perfect, it fits my playstyle a lot, and even when I lost with that team, I still had fun.
Teambuilding (note: order is relevant)
Acupressure Drapion is the funniest set up sweeper imaginable. Imagine just auto winning because you rolled the game winning Evasion boost? It's an incredible feeling, so I wanted to build around it. Drapion's SpD is incredibly lackluster so I decided to invest the good stat there.
Shuckle felt like the obvious choice as the God of the team. It provides rocks and can give opportunities to set up with encore. Clefable felt natural for this team as Unaware Clefable is really good as a Defense receiver. It's very consistent, and acts as a separate wincon in case Drapion dies early and a second wall is needed. Heal Bell Clefable also allows Drapion to wake up from a rest for when the situation arises.
Rillaboom does a lot for this team. It gives the team a strong revenge killer with Grassy Glide, it can snag momentum with U-turn, and it gives the team Grassy Surge, which provides a ton of benefits for Drapion. Grassy Terrain halves Earthquake damage and overwrites terrains that prevent sleep, so Drapion can set up easier.
Gastrodon gives the team a cushy special wall that acts as a buffer for annoying special sweepers, such as Moltres-Galar, thanks to Clear Smog. More importantly, however, is that having Gastrodon means my team doesn't autolose to Tapu Koko or Heatran. Gastrodon is also noticably slow, so I can take advantage of that flaw to tank its speed further.
The 10 Attack slot was a bit of a conundrum, and I needed a defogger that can scare Kartana and Necrozma-Dusk-Mane away. Kartana specifically as both Clefable and Drapion absolutely hate Smart Strike and Sacred Sword for super effective damage and ignoring important stat boosts. After multiple options, I went with Moltres, specifically because of its typing. It fits well as a defogger that can also threaten Kartana with an important burn, making it near useless for the rest of the game. It's really good at annoying steel attackers on both fronts, so it became the final piece to this annoying puzzle.
The Team
Shuckle @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Infestation
- Stealth Rock
- Encore
- Knock Off
Shuckle's sky high defensive stats made it the God of this team. While it does a lot of nothing, it should be noted that Shuckle carries a lot of early game momentum. Encore and Infestation allow you to take advantage of greedy opponents by locking them into a setup move and trap them for additional damage. Knock Off gives a way to force progress against Pokemon who would rather be wearing boots instead, making its rocks more effective. While Shuckle is the God of the team, it is also the most expendable. This Pokemon should be the one to die first so the other five can play damage control later, as Shuckle doesn't have the power to fix mistakes.
Moltres @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mystical Fire
- Defog
- Hurricane
- Roost
While Moltres doesn't get any defensive bonuses, its typing and role is imperative to this team's success. Flame Body gives Kartana and other physical attackers a reason to think twice before barging in. Mystical Fire is the Fire move of choice because it can mess up offensive threats who would want to switch in against, such as Kyurem-White and Tapu Koko, allowing Drapion to come in and set up later. Hurricane was picked as the Flying attack gives me options against Fighting-type Pokemon who can switch in comfortably to Mystical Fire, notably Pangoro, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike, and Zapdos-Galar.
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Heal Bell
- Soft-Boiled
With Shuckle's astronomical Defense stat, Clefable can live almost any physical hit, set up comfortably, and kill back with Moonblast. Heal Bell is so the rest of the team can reliably handle any sort of status that gets thrown, notably waking up Drapion from resting. However, one attack Clefable has a hard time breaking through Steel and Poison-types, but in return it is obnoxious to whittle down. It is exponentially a more consistent set up sweeper than Drapion, so this is the Pokemon to win with if all else fails. The bigger problem, however, is that this Pokemon will also be your primary physically defensive switch in, meaning that you need to be mindful about its health. If Clefable gets too worn down then you will be playing at a severe disadvantage.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
Choice Band Rillaboom is a fabulous revenge killer for this team. While it's attacking stat isn't buffed, it still puts in a large amount of work. Grassy Terrain gives the team a second way to recover in a pinch, an important damage reduction on Earthquake for Drapion, and also overwrites Misty and Electric terrains so Drapion can click rest. U-turn is the only way for this team to generate momentum so a teammate can come in safely, while being the overall muscle on top of everything with a Choice Band Wood Hammer. This Pokemon is incredibly valuable to make sure the rest of the team doesn't get overwhelmed by fast attackers, while giving its partners the tools to set up as well.
Drapion @ Black Sludge
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- Acupressure
- Knock Off
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Drapion's paltry 70 Special Defense gets shot up to an astronomical 230 special defense, giving more opportunities to fish for Evasion. This set is the same one as the ones you see elsewhere. Battle Armor makes Drapion immune to critical hits, so you can't nullify any potential Defense or Special Defense boosts with Surging Strikes or by attempting to be lucky. Rest is Drapion's only way to recover lost HP, while being coupled with sleep talk so you can further fish for acupressure boosts or attack after resting. The Speed is EV'd to outspeed 252 neutral base 60 Pokemon, such as Magnezone. The rest of the EVs is to further its lesser, but respectable, defense stat and overall bulk. Drapion is the star of the team, and it is very easy to use, but very hard to use effectively without a bit of luck on your side.
Gastrodon-East @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Clear Smog
- Earth Power
- Recover
Gastrodon is the usual switch in to obnoxious special attackers that either click taunt or try to sweep. Its defensive typing gives me an important dedicated switch in against Electric-types and Heatran. Earth Power is used so I have no damage reduction alongside Grassy Terrain. Scald is to threaten Pokemon who try to switch in with a burn while also being a great way to catch other ground types that try to take advantage of the team. Clear Smog prevents most opponents from setting up on Gastrodon so the team has multiple options against hyper offense.
Threats
Fully offensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: Moltres needs to get a Flame Body burn, and say good night if it has any move that can hit Moltres safely such as Stone Edge or Photon Geyser. Alternatively if you can win faster with Drapion, then it should be no big deal overall. It really sucks that Sunsteel Strike ignores abilities or else Clefable could be able to switch in against it.
Bad RNG: Drapion getting stuck with Accuracy or Special Attack boosts is not ideal, because you give the opponent free momentum to do whatever they want and you need to pick up the slack. Not being able to get Flame Body burns from Moltres when you need it can hamper Clefable and Drapion's ability to sweep.
Kyurem-White: Freeze-Dry is very scary, the best thing you can do is bait a Special Attack drop and then try and set up. 170 Special Attack isn't particularly scary for this team but having no Ice resist is.
Losing Clefable: You are really going to struggle if you lose the fattest thing on the planet. Try fishing for burns and if that doesn't work, at least you can say that you tried. Losing Drapion isn't as bad as Gastrodon is pretty good, but it will still be a struggle.
Haze and Unaware: Yeah that's going to be a long fight, probably without you winning, good luck though.
Conclusion
I had a decent record, and I can't complain about being carried. More so, I just want to shoutout the Northeast team and the support (esp. Ducky Meta Lumii Dr. Phd. BJ HoeenHero TTTech) for being exceptional help when I needed it the most. Shoutouts also are going to Eggs, Byleth, in the hills, UT and ponchlake for helping me with my uphill battle when my self confidence was at an all time low the week after OMWC ended. One other shoutout to spoo for being extremely paitent while I procrastinate the thing I promised I would program.
Fully offensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: Moltres needs to get a Flame Body burn, and say good night if it has any move that can hit Moltres safely such as Stone Edge or Photon Geyser. Alternatively if you can win faster with Drapion, then it should be no big deal overall. It really sucks that Sunsteel Strike ignores abilities or else Clefable could be able to switch in against it.
Bad RNG: Drapion getting stuck with Accuracy or Special Attack boosts is not ideal, because you give the opponent free momentum to do whatever they want and you need to pick up the slack. Not being able to get Flame Body burns from Moltres when you need it can hamper Clefable and Drapion's ability to sweep.
Kyurem-White: Freeze-Dry is very scary, the best thing you can do is bait a Special Attack drop and then try and set up. 170 Special Attack isn't particularly scary for this team but having no Ice resist is.
Losing Clefable: You are really going to struggle if you lose the fattest thing on the planet. Try fishing for burns and if that doesn't work, at least you can say that you tried. Losing Drapion isn't as bad as Gastrodon is pretty good, but it will still be a struggle.
Haze and Unaware: Yeah that's going to be a long fight, probably without you winning, good luck though.
Conclusion
I had a decent record, and I can't complain about being carried. More so, I just want to shoutout the Northeast team and the support (esp. Ducky Meta Lumii Dr. Phd. BJ HoeenHero TTTech) for being exceptional help when I needed it the most. Shoutouts also are going to Eggs, Byleth, in the hills, UT and ponchlake for helping me with my uphill battle when my self confidence was at an all time low the week after OMWC ended. One other shoutout to spoo for being extremely paitent while I procrastinate the thing I promised I would program.
Importable: https://pokepast.es/f594e8cea46c6a46
Expect an actual team dump... eventually.
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