Hey y'all, this is my first time posting a RMT, so if there's any formatting mistakes please let me know!
As for my team...
This is the first generation i've really gotten into competitive battling on the actual game, as usually i would make a team on Pokemon Showdown, play around with it for a few days, and then move on. Now i've actually bred a team in game that i think would work well, and have been using it in ranked to get a generally good win rate. My issue arises from the fact that i originally made my team in regards to a full 6 person team, taking into account everyone's weaknesses and strengths. After playing in ranked and finding out you can only choose 3 pokemon, i ended up sort of dividing my team into a "slow" core and a fast core, with the "slow" core being led by Trick-Room Hatterene. I've actually been having decent success with my Trick Room trio, and end up using it much more often than my other trio. Which leads me here. What can i do to improve my Trick room trio, and what can i do to make my other Trio more appealing. I am open to switching out pokemon, in particular Weezing has not been seeming to pull his own, but i have not used him much. Enough beating around the bush, lets get into my Cores.
Trio 1: Made in Heaven
Hatterene (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
-The leader of the bunch, and pretty much my start every time. I used to have a life orb on her, and was more careful about sending her out first. But through testing i've found that having a focus sash and getting at least a guarunteed trick room off is worth the loss of damage from the life orb, but i'm not too sure i made the right decision, looking for a little input. Dazzling gleam and Psyshock are pretty self explanatory. I use Mystical Fire as opposed to Shadow Ball or Giga Drain for coverage, as both Copperajah and Corsola already have moves of those types, plus Mystical Fire lets me get super-effective hits off on Ferrothorn and Excadrill, two of the most common starters in my experience.
Copperajah @ Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Play Rough
- Power Whip
- Iron Head
-The underdog of the century, didnt expect much when i put him in my team, but good lord he hits like a truck. I had him originally with leftovers, but the damage from Choice band combined with Sheer force is monstrous. Combine that with an almost guarunteed first hit when trick room is up, and youve got yourself a bulky physical sweeper that can do it all. Wish there was a better move than rock slide for the last spot for him, but he's still a work in progress of sorts, so let me know what you would do here!
Cursola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Perish Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Hydro Pump
- If Copperajah is an underdog, i dont know what that makes Cursola. I see a lot of people saying she's not that great, but in my experience she is an excellent special attacker with an amazing special defense, even more so with an Assault vest. With cursola taking the special hits and Copperajah taking the physical ones i have all my bases covered. I will say i dont see perish body go off as much as i'd like (or ever for that matter) but that doesnt change the fact that she still acts as a corner-stone of my team. Tanking fat special dynamax hits or dishing fat special dynmax hits, Cursola has become one of my favorite special sweepers for my trick room trio. I have Giga Drain here for the small healing it provides, and Hydro pump and earth power for the ground and steel/poison coverage respectively.
Trio 2: Lead Zeppelin ( get it, cause there's two floaters and a steel guy ;) )
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 222 HP / 30 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
-I may have less to say overall about these guys, as i havnt tested them as thouroughly as my trick room team. This is who i start with when i choose this trio, usually leading into trick if i think they are going to try to set up or something of the sort. IF they dont send out a pokemon i think will be setting up, i either Volt switch out, or go for a Hydro pump. I originally imagined Rotom as a bulky special pivot, but with Specs hes seeming more like a sweeper. I need to change Will-o-wisp but im not sure what to change it to anymore, as Rotom's moveset was slightly culled. This is probably the second weakest of this trio, hes got spunk, but a lot of room for improvement.
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Psycho Cut
-Pretty much the reason i have this second trio. Ive always been a big fan of Bisharp and was glad to see him return to the Galar region. The only problem is he doesnt really fit in a trick room team with my other favorites, so hes found himself here with Rotom-W and Weezing-G to cover his weaknesses. The main reason i ask for help on this trio is because Bisharp is doing too much. When i send out Weezing or Rotom i just feel like im waiting until i ca send out Bisharp. Which isn't terrible, i know hes my physical sweeper, it just puts me in a tight position if he gets killed by a crit or a misjudged move on my part. Psycho cut is the only move i can see drawing questions, i just like it for the fighting coverage, even though leaving Bisharp in against a fighting type is a recipe for disaster. Black Glasses cause that's what smogon suggested and i honestly don't know what else to give him.
Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Strange Steam
- Sludge Bomb
- Defog
-Ah, we've reached the end of the road. Weezing... i expected more from this regional. Maybe im just not using him to his full potential, but from my experience he just doesnt get the job done. Hes got a good defense, but most of what is super effective against him is special. Hes proving grass and fighting coverage for my Rotom and Bisharp respectively, but he doesnt do much else... I really wish he did, as he has a cool design and i like his move-set. I just dont know how to properly make use of him i suppose. He's the pokemon i'm most open to switching if anyone has a better idea. The original reason i put him in was to take down g-corsola, but i havnt been seeing that lil eviolite bastard as much, and he's just seeming less and less useful. As a rare toxic user i thought he would bring more to the team, but i'm only left wanting more.
I also feel like i should mention some of the pokemon i have thought of switching out Weezing for.
Togekiss - Ground immunity, fighting type punisher, this seems like one of the best choices to swap out Weezing for, i would just lose a bit of utility and toxic.
Corviknight - Havnt used this guy, but his defensive stats and sweet steel/flying typing makes him a perfect replacement for Weezing. Unfortunately this would add another fire weakness in tandom with Bisharp, which could get a little messy if Rotom-W dies.
Mandibuzz - Damn i just like his design. If only he had some better stats and movepool. I also feel like having another dark in the trio would just open me to too many specific counters.
As for my team...
This is the first generation i've really gotten into competitive battling on the actual game, as usually i would make a team on Pokemon Showdown, play around with it for a few days, and then move on. Now i've actually bred a team in game that i think would work well, and have been using it in ranked to get a generally good win rate. My issue arises from the fact that i originally made my team in regards to a full 6 person team, taking into account everyone's weaknesses and strengths. After playing in ranked and finding out you can only choose 3 pokemon, i ended up sort of dividing my team into a "slow" core and a fast core, with the "slow" core being led by Trick-Room Hatterene. I've actually been having decent success with my Trick Room trio, and end up using it much more often than my other trio. Which leads me here. What can i do to improve my Trick room trio, and what can i do to make my other Trio more appealing. I am open to switching out pokemon, in particular Weezing has not been seeming to pull his own, but i have not used him much. Enough beating around the bush, lets get into my Cores.
Trio 1: Made in Heaven
Hatterene (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Psyshock
- Dazzling Gleam
-The leader of the bunch, and pretty much my start every time. I used to have a life orb on her, and was more careful about sending her out first. But through testing i've found that having a focus sash and getting at least a guarunteed trick room off is worth the loss of damage from the life orb, but i'm not too sure i made the right decision, looking for a little input. Dazzling gleam and Psyshock are pretty self explanatory. I use Mystical Fire as opposed to Shadow Ball or Giga Drain for coverage, as both Copperajah and Corsola already have moves of those types, plus Mystical Fire lets me get super-effective hits off on Ferrothorn and Excadrill, two of the most common starters in my experience.
Copperajah @ Choice Band
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Play Rough
- Power Whip
- Iron Head
-The underdog of the century, didnt expect much when i put him in my team, but good lord he hits like a truck. I had him originally with leftovers, but the damage from Choice band combined with Sheer force is monstrous. Combine that with an almost guarunteed first hit when trick room is up, and youve got yourself a bulky physical sweeper that can do it all. Wish there was a better move than rock slide for the last spot for him, but he's still a work in progress of sorts, so let me know what you would do here!
Cursola @ Assault Vest
Ability: Perish Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Hydro Pump
- If Copperajah is an underdog, i dont know what that makes Cursola. I see a lot of people saying she's not that great, but in my experience she is an excellent special attacker with an amazing special defense, even more so with an Assault vest. With cursola taking the special hits and Copperajah taking the physical ones i have all my bases covered. I will say i dont see perish body go off as much as i'd like (or ever for that matter) but that doesnt change the fact that she still acts as a corner-stone of my team. Tanking fat special dynamax hits or dishing fat special dynmax hits, Cursola has become one of my favorite special sweepers for my trick room trio. I have Giga Drain here for the small healing it provides, and Hydro pump and earth power for the ground and steel/poison coverage respectively.
Trio 2: Lead Zeppelin ( get it, cause there's two floaters and a steel guy ;) )
Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 222 HP / 30 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Trick
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
-I may have less to say overall about these guys, as i havnt tested them as thouroughly as my trick room team. This is who i start with when i choose this trio, usually leading into trick if i think they are going to try to set up or something of the sort. IF they dont send out a pokemon i think will be setting up, i either Volt switch out, or go for a Hydro pump. I originally imagined Rotom as a bulky special pivot, but with Specs hes seeming more like a sweeper. I need to change Will-o-wisp but im not sure what to change it to anymore, as Rotom's moveset was slightly culled. This is probably the second weakest of this trio, hes got spunk, but a lot of room for improvement.
Bisharp @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Psycho Cut
-Pretty much the reason i have this second trio. Ive always been a big fan of Bisharp and was glad to see him return to the Galar region. The only problem is he doesnt really fit in a trick room team with my other favorites, so hes found himself here with Rotom-W and Weezing-G to cover his weaknesses. The main reason i ask for help on this trio is because Bisharp is doing too much. When i send out Weezing or Rotom i just feel like im waiting until i ca send out Bisharp. Which isn't terrible, i know hes my physical sweeper, it just puts me in a tight position if he gets killed by a crit or a misjudged move on my part. Psycho cut is the only move i can see drawing questions, i just like it for the fighting coverage, even though leaving Bisharp in against a fighting type is a recipe for disaster. Black Glasses cause that's what smogon suggested and i honestly don't know what else to give him.
Weezing-Galar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Strange Steam
- Sludge Bomb
- Defog
-Ah, we've reached the end of the road. Weezing... i expected more from this regional. Maybe im just not using him to his full potential, but from my experience he just doesnt get the job done. Hes got a good defense, but most of what is super effective against him is special. Hes proving grass and fighting coverage for my Rotom and Bisharp respectively, but he doesnt do much else... I really wish he did, as he has a cool design and i like his move-set. I just dont know how to properly make use of him i suppose. He's the pokemon i'm most open to switching if anyone has a better idea. The original reason i put him in was to take down g-corsola, but i havnt been seeing that lil eviolite bastard as much, and he's just seeming less and less useful. As a rare toxic user i thought he would bring more to the team, but i'm only left wanting more.
I also feel like i should mention some of the pokemon i have thought of switching out Weezing for.
Togekiss - Ground immunity, fighting type punisher, this seems like one of the best choices to swap out Weezing for, i would just lose a bit of utility and toxic.
Corviknight - Havnt used this guy, but his defensive stats and sweet steel/flying typing makes him a perfect replacement for Weezing. Unfortunately this would add another fire weakness in tandom with Bisharp, which could get a little messy if Rotom-W dies.
Mandibuzz - Damn i just like his design. If only he had some better stats and movepool. I also feel like having another dark in the trio would just open me to too many specific counters.
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