Project PU General RMT Thread

[g]

approved by me, myself, and I

THE PU GENERAL RMT THREAD

​

Have you ever had problems with getting your PU teams rated? Do you often think that the RMT (Rate my team) section of this site is not enough regarding other metagames such as PU itself? Well, this is the thread for you in which anybody and everybody can post to get his team rated and improved. However, you must follow a few rules.

• Introduce your team. Any team must have at least an introduction to what is its purpose and why you picked your Pokemon. We don't request exceptionally high descriptions but please give us a general idea. However remember that the better your post looks, the higher are the chances for you to get a good rate
• Make your problems clear. You must include a threatlist or at least list a few big threats to your team (like specific Pokemon or sets, entry hazards, defensive teams, etc) so that we can more easily focus on fixing your weaknesses.
  
• Know what you are doing. I won't stop anybody from suggesting changes but if you plan on participating in that sense at least be sure that you know what you are doing.
• Accept constructive criticism. If there is a thing that bothers a rater a lot it is stubborn people that admit their team has weaknesses but refuse to make changes without a good reason to. It is fine if you don't want to change the Pokemon you built around but most of the time changes are for the best of your team.

Have fun!

 

[tom holland]

Hazard Stack Balance
-This team is the first one I made in this tier, and I used it to get reqs for the suspect test. When i first looked at this tier I saw that there werent many reliable defoggers/rapid spinners, which made me want to create a hazard stack team that focused around wearing down the opponents team with hazards, allowing kadabra to clean up.
-I started with the core of Piloswine+Roselia, because they seemed to synergize very well while getting the hazards i needed. Immediately I noticed that I was weak to knock off, so Poliwrath was added to absorb knock offs from most pokemon.
- After that, I wanted to be able to keep hazards up on the field at all times, so I slapped on Misdreavus and Pawniard to punish defoggers and rapid spinners.
-Lastly, I added Kadabra because I used to use it in BW and i really just like using it. I know it is a bad reason, but idc i like kadabra :]​

-This is what the team looked like

I like to call this team the NFE Squad (exclude poliwrath).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, on to the team.

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This is usually what I lead with, it has a great matchup against most stealth rockers and threatens most physical attackers. I go max HP and Atk with adamant to maximize my tankiness and damage output, with stealth rock to hurt the opposing team reliably. Icicle Crash is ice STAB, Ice Shard is very useful priority, and Earthquake is my ground STAB. Not much to say about this really.

Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 100 Def / 52 SpD / 108 Spe
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Spikes

I got the EVs for this pokemon off the EV Spread thread, because I was new to the meta and wasn't sure what to run. I think it outspeeds 252 neutral 50's but I am not for sure. the 100 def evs allow me to always live a +2 Leafeon knock off i am pretty sure, and the rest is in spDef. It is very reliable at spike stacking, and its great at what it does. I honestly couldn't see replacing this pokemon.

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt

I have tried both this set and the Defensive set, but I seem to gravitate towards this one more. I love this pokemon in pu, and it might be my favorite pokemon in the tier right now. It is great at spinblocking, and it can set up on a plethora of things, including most spinners and defoggers. It really sufferes from 4MSS but that is ok, I really love misdreavus on this team, being able to set up and punish around things that try to get rid of my entry hazards, or just walls in general. It is a great stall breaker.

Pawniard @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance

Pawniard is the second part of my anti-defog/rapid spin core, and it does its job fabulously too. it is great against the defoggers, and its priority is amazing to have on this team. I can't decide whether to use eviolite or life orb, because there have been many instances where the extra power has gotten necessary ko's but there has also been instances where more bulk would have won me the game. I would love some feedback on that.

Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Circle Throw
- Scald
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Poliwrath is one of those pokemon that fit on almost every team. with the absence of dark checks/counters, Poliwrath fit on my team to take all the knock offs that would cripple roselia and piloswine. The only pokemon i personally can think of that runs knock off and beats poliwrath is leafeon, oh and some tangela. I run rest talk because shuffling through the opponents team with hazards up really racks up the damage, and the recovery is necessary to be a reliable switchin on dark types and fire types. This pokemon is really glue on my team to hold it together.

Kadabra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power FIghting
- Disable
- Psychic
- Signal Beam

Good old Kadabra is the pokemon that i am most iffy about on this team. I really love what it does, but I can't figure out what set i want most for it, and It also is a big liability for its lack of any bulk at all. I really don't like using hidden power fighting because I speedtie with other kadabra at most. It does good at what it does though, which is cleaning up pokemon without priority. However, i could definitely see a better fit for this somewhere, i just don't know what yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Threats:

This dog always ruins my day, as it can 2hko my entire team usually; that is a huge problem. I know i should probably change pilo for something else to get a normal resist, but idk what. this thing is my main issue.

This thing also does huge damage against me, and it is really hard to deal with it when it gets up a nasty plot. It ohko's my roselia at +2 i'm pretty sure, and it would be nice to find an easier way to get rid of this thing when i'm against it.

Hyper offense in general really is a struggle to be up against thanks to the sheer amount of overwhelming offense against me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my RMT, i hope i did it right. I want to get this team polished up so maybe i can post it in the sample teams, it is my first team and has some sentimental value to me. Please make it better and thank you galbia for making this thread!​

 

[Raiza]

Hi Ztstaffo , nice team you got there! I used to dig entry hazard stacking a lot when I started playing the tier, so I'm confident I can help fixing your problems.
First of all, going through sets, I'd give Pawniard Eviolite over Life Orb, Eviolite is just so much better as the increase in bulk can be clutch in many situations, also against threats to your teams such as Stoutland locked in Return. Eviolite allows Pawniard to set up with much more ease and also running Life Orb while lacking hazard control by yourself can make Pawniard worn down quickly.
Second of all, I saw you have problems against Simipour, especially the Nasty Plot variant, I suggest you running a spread inclined more on the special defense regarding Roselia. It will allow Roselia to tank a +2 Ice Beam and will just make it easier to switch in against Simipour and other special attackers that also give you trouble such as Choice Specs Floatzel and Special Tank Poliwrath. Also Sleep Talk Poliwrath already helps you covering most physical threats.
I suggest you to revaluate running a defensive set on Misdreavus. The metagame is way harsher to the offensive set than a defensive one because of its offensive nature, but that's not the main reason for the change, a defensive set would help you dealing with Stoutland while being more durable, it would have more synergy with your team as it is more inclined to a bulky offense/balanced than a purely offensive team, Will-O-Wisp support can give setup opportunities to Pawniard and further wear down foes especially because you don't run Toxic Spikes, and as a last note you already carry two wins condition(Pawniard and Kadabra), so you don't need to pack another one(the Defensive set can still work decently as a stallbreaker).
As a last change I'd run Encore over Disable on Kadabra. I don't see really the utility Disable can provide to Kadabra, as it is still too frail to force a foe switch even if for example its SE move is disabled. Instead, Encore will allow Kadabra to better deal with Sucker Punch users such as Pawniard or Mightyena which give a lot of problems to your team, especially the latter if it gets a Moxie boost, but can also allow Kadabra to lock threatening Pokemon to your build such as Regice in a an attack such as Ice Beam, making it unable to sweep.

read me

Roselia Spread
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD

Misdreavus Set
Misdreavus @ Eviolite
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Timid Nature
- Foul Play
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Taunt

 

[tom holland]

All of your ideas sound very good to me Raiza . The Roselia thread is definitely going to change to yours, and I will change disable to encore. Pawniards change makes a lot of sense considering my stoutland problem, and I will test out using the defensive Misdreavus set again. Thank you!

 

[2xTheTap]

Hey, Ztstaffo, nice team. I also enjoyed your posts in the Vic suspect thread. They were pretty spot on and indicate good meta knowledge. :]

I have a team that's pretty similar to this, except that it was current meta when it was made back in early March. The only differences were, I used Special Poli over Resttalk, with Eviolite Pawn over LO, and Scarf Healing Wish Mr. Mime over Kadabra. The Piloswine spread I had was also slightly faster to deal with standard Probopass. You can find it here for a comparison: http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...s-look-at-post-30.3527281/page-2#post-6085279

You've already touched on this issue, but I'm finding more and more that the meta has changed a bit since then and now favors Stoutland-centric teams. In other words, you need a bulkier check for Stout for this team to be successful against higher level opponents. Raiza's Defensive Misdreavus works, but you should be careful of using WoW as it provides Stoutland with a Facade Boost, and then Foul Play becomes less effective against it after it's been Burned.

252+ Atk Choice Band Stoutland Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 240 Def Eviolite Misdreavus: 244-288 (75.3 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I would really recommend something that has the defensive levels of Foul Play Defensive Vullaby / Defensive Tangela / Defensive Carracosta / Foul Play Defensive Gourgeist-Super for Stoutland.

You do have the option of running Nasty Plot Modest 252 SpA Misdreavus with 261 Speed Total, so that you can Nasty Plot on the switch (making Stout come in thinking it'll get a WoW for a Facade Boost) and OHKOing with Hidden Power Fighting. You do need a little prior damage for this to work, but if you wanted to stay offensive, that would be alright. However, it doesn't leave you with a defensive answer to Stout.
+2 252+ SpA Misdreavus Hidden Power Fighting vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Stoutland: 236-278 (75.8 - 89.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Raiza already touched on this, but Encore has a lot more utility on Kadabra than Disable does. Even though it can disable Stoutland's attacks if it's using CB, Encore forces a lot more switches and doesn't require you to use up your Sash (thus making Spikes Offense a bit more effective).

 

[tom holland]

Thank you 2xTheTap I am definitely using encore over disable, and I will try offensive missy you posted as well as the defensive missy Raiza recommended already. I know you also prefer me to have a bulkier stoutland switchin, but none of the options really fit on my team too well tbh. I might try vullaby or gorgeist, but I really need the spinblocking against things like torkoal, and gorgeist can't handle torkoal well and vullaby can't spinblock. I will test those two as well though!

 

[2xTheTap]

Yeah, I see what you mean. Carracosta is the only mon out of the ones I mentioned that would really fit on Spikes Offense; it could be used in Poliwrath's slot for a reliable Stoutland answer (and also provides you with a nice defensive core based around Roselia + Carracosta), which would let you keep NP Misdreavus. Even though you lose Poliwrath's phazing, Costa can take 2 Superpowers and Knock off Stoutland's Choice Band or get up Stealth Rock.

Tangela could also be used over Roselia if you wanted to keep a more reliable counter to Shell Smash, but then you'd lose Spikes. There is literally always something that comes up after you change a mon, but the mix that you have works pretty well in my experience. I would go with Raiza's Defensive Misdreavus, but if you notice that doesn't work, I might try Offensive Misdreavus with 261 Speed total in combination with Defensive Carracosta over Poliwrath.

Thanks for also letting me see that those spreads in my thread need to be updated! Stoutland's rise in usage makes some of them irrelevant; the Roselia spread / Misdreavus spreads are good examples of that.

But in any case, great team. It's going to crush ladder for sure lol

 

[ExplosiveChaos]

Balance Volt-Switch
With a friendly balanced tournament coming, I started building another balanced team. But this time, because I had made so many cookie cutter balanced teams, I really wanted to make a more unique Balance team. That is where I got the idea of Volt-Turn Balance.

Teambuilding Process

To make a Volt-Turn team, I needed to find a nice offensive core. Candidates that came instantly to my mind were Raichu and Ninjask due to their power and good speed tiers. In addition, they cover different threats making them good partners.

The next thing any balance team needs is a Lead / Anti Lead. Misdreavus had done me very well in the past, and it also /checked/ Stoutland pretty well, so I decided to choose this Pokemon.

Both Raichu and Ninjask were extremely frail, so a defensive core was perfect to take damage after a U-Turn or a Volt Switch. I remembered a successful team I had created a while back with a GourgLax core that could take hits after hits. So there was my two new add-ons to my team, Munchlax and Gourgeist-Super.

My team had trouble with Ghost-types; Misdreavus and Gourgeist are weak to them, Ninjask's U-Turn is resisted, and Munchlax is completely walled. A pursuit user seemed needed, and Stoutland seemed as good as any.

================================================================
Note: I spared you people from my aweful names.

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Coat
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Credit to 2xTheTap for the set.
Misdreavus is an amazing anti lead. It can Taunt maximum speed Poliswine, Golem, Probopass, Armaldo, and Gigalith (but who uses that?) after getting Stealth Rock on there side by using Magic Coat. Magic Coat is also very useful against Leavanny to stop an early sweep from the likes of Stoutland or Ursaring. The speed also lets Misdreavus burn and Taunt Jolly Mightyana and Jolly Barbaracle respectively. Lastly, Shadow Ball is used to do some good damage.

Ninjask @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Night Slash
- Aerial Ace
- X-Scissor

The set is pretty self-explanatory. I like Night Slash though because Ghost-types give me trouble on this team. Ninjask is a great late-game cleaner and can make huge gaps in teams early on, and it has pretty good synergy with Raichu. It's huge weakness is Stealth Rocks, but Ninjask's EVs make sure
Ninjask can come in on Stealth Rocks twice.

Raichu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Raichu started out as a Choice Specs user, but Choice Scarf users were really giving trouble to my team. Megazard (I believe) recommended Choice Scarf Raichu and it has been working wonders! Not much more to explain, it works the same then Ninjask. Sweep or use it to make big gaps in the opponent's team.

Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Seed Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Synthesis

Gourgeist-Super is the physical wall of my team. The EVs are to maximize Gourgeist's defensive capabilities while still letting it take some special hits. Because non of the abilities are very helpful, Frisk is always good to scout out what item a Pokemon has. An item often reveals the set that Pokemon uses too. Synthesis is extremely important to keep taking hits after hits, Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers, Seed Bomb does quite a bit of damage, and Foul Play can destroy Pokemon's who have set up. Gourgeist can take hits after hits so Ninjask and Raichu can go to work.

Munchlax @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Curse
- Sleep Talk

Munchlax is the special counterpart of Gourgeist. Curse lets Munchlax sweep after any Ghost-types are gone and Steel-types are weakened. RestTalk makes Munchlax extremely hard to kill, even under the worst of luck. Thick Fat is so helpful. +2 Fire Blasts from Ninetales are completely eaten by Munchlax, and Munchlax is actually a pretty good check against Victreebel. I am not sure if I want Body Slam or Return. Curse makes Munchlax so slow that paralysis seems worse than being burnt by Will-O-Wisp.

Stoutland @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Return
- Facade
- Superpower

Stoutland is a Pokemon I am not sure about. Not only does he add another choice user, he only really helps Munchlax sweep. Stoutland is the Pursuit user so Ghost-types can't plague Munchlax's existence, but that is all he really does. The only thing else he does is take Will-O-Wisp's to boost Facade. I am not sure if Stoutland should be used or a Defogger / Rapid Spinner.

================================================================

Threats:

Hazards:

Misdreavus is the only Pokemon that can stop hazards from being set up. I have no Defogger or Rapid Spinner, and that is a huge problem with Ninjask being 4 times weak to rocks. Also, a Volt-Turn team switches a lot, and the residual damage doesn't help.

Ghost-types:

Misdreavus can't really do much to them with no Special Attack EVs. The rest are either resisted, walled, or killed by Ghost-types. The only viable killer is Stoutland.

Knock-Off:

Not one of my Pokemon can take a Knock Off without getting severly crippled (thank god that Sneasel is gone).​

 

[Dundies]

Balance Volt-Switch
With a friendly balanced tournament coming, I started building another balanced team. But this time, because I had made so many cookie cutter balanced teams, I really wanted to make a more unique Balance team. That is where I got the idea of Volt-Turn Balance.

Teambuilding Process

To make a Volt-Turn team, I needed to find a nice offensive core. Candidates that came instantly to my mind were Raichu and Ninjask due to their power and good speed tiers. In addition, they cover different threats making them good partners.

The next thing any balance team needs is a Lead / Anti Lead. Misdreavus had done me very well in the past, and it also /checked/ Stoutland pretty well, so I decided to choose this Pokemon.

Both Raichu and Ninjask were extremely frail, so a defensive core was perfect to take damage after a U-Turn or a Volt Switch. I remembered a successful team I had created a while back with a GourgLax core that could take hits after hits. So there was my two new add-ons to my team, Munchlax and Gourgeist-Super.

My team had trouble with Ghost-types; Misdreavus and Gourgeist are weak to them, Ninjask's U-Turn is resisted, and Munchlax is completely walled. A pursuit user seemed needed, and Stoutland seemed as good as any.

================================================================
Note: I spared you people from my aweful names.

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Coat
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Credit to 2xTheTap for the set.
Misdreavus is an amazing anti lead. It can Taunt maximum speed Poliswine, Golem, Probopass, Armaldo, and Gigalith (but who uses that?) after getting Stealth Rock on there side by using Magic Coat. Magic Coat is also very useful against Leavanny to stop an early sweep from the likes of Stoutland or Ursaring. The speed also lets Misdreavus burn and Taunt Jolly Mightyana and Jolly Barbaracle respectively. Lastly, Shadow Ball is used to do some good damage.

Ninjask @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Night Slash
- Aerial Ace
- X-Scissor

The set is pretty self-explanatory. I like Night Slash though because Ghost-types give me trouble on this team. Ninjask is a great late-game cleaner and can make huge gaps in teams early on, and it has pretty good synergy with Raichu. It's huge weakness is Stealth Rocks, but Ninjask's EVs make sure
Ninjask can come in on Stealth Rocks twice.

Raichu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Raichu started out as a Choice Specs user, but Choice Scarf users were really giving trouble to my team. Megazard (I believe) recommended Choice Scarf Raichu and it has been working wonders! Not much more to explain, it works the same then Ninjask. Sweep or use it to make big gaps in the opponent's team.

Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Seed Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Synthesis

Gourgeist-Super is the physical wall of my team. The EVs are to maximize Gourgeist's defensive capabilities while still letting it take some special hits. Because non of the abilities are very helpful, Frisk is always good to scout out what item a Pokemon has. An item often reveals the set that Pokemon uses too. Synthesis is extremely important to keep taking hits after hits, Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers, Seed Bomb does quite a bit of damage, and Foul Play can destroy Pokemon's who have set up. Gourgeist can take hits after hits so Ninjask and Raichu can go to work.

Munchlax @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Curse
- Sleep Talk

Munchlax is the special counterpart of Gourgeist. Curse lets Munchlax sweep after any Ghost-types are gone and Steel-types are weakened. RestTalk makes Munchlax extremely hard to kill, even under the worst of luck. Thick Fat is so helpful. +2 Fire Blasts from Ninetales are completely eaten by Munchlax, and Munchlax is actually a pretty good check against Victreebel. I am not sure if I want Body Slam or Return. Curse makes Munchlax so slow that paralysis seems worse than being burnt by Will-O-Wisp.

Stoutland @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Return
- Facade
- Superpower

Stoutland is a Pokemon I am not sure about. Not only does he add another choice user, he only really helps Munchlax sweep. Stoutland is the Pursuit user so Ghost-types can't plague Munchlax's existence, but that is all he really does. The only thing else he does is take Will-O-Wisp's to boost Facade. I am not sure if Stoutland should be used or a Defogger / Rapid Spinner.

================================================================

Threats:

Hazards:

Misdreavus is the only Pokemon that can stop hazards from being set up. I have no Defogger or Rapid Spinner, and that is a huge problem with Ninjask being 4 times weak to rocks. Also, a Volt-Turn team switches a lot, and the residual damage doesn't help.
​

Hi there Explosive Chaos. Cool idea behind this team, but I definitely see problems with it that are easily exploited.

First off, you have a Ninjask and no hazard control. As you stated, you're switching in and out a lot with VoltTurn and Misdreavus really isn't enough to prevent hazards. You also have no hazards of your own, which are pretty essential, especially when youre causing a lot of switches with VoltTurn. I'd like to recommend you change Stoutland --> Armaldo. Armaldo is the best spinner in the tier at the moment, and it also provides Stealth Rock. Rocks + Spin Armaldo definitely isn't the greatest set, but for your team right now, it is really hard to fit a spinner and a rocker on the same team without completely changing it, so I think this is your best choice. I figured Stoutland was the better Pokemon to remove than Munchlax, since youre more balanced and Munchlax allows you to take on Pokemon like Ninetales more effectively, which is annoying for your team.

Armaldo

Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off / Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

Secondly, I think Spikes would really be helpful for your team, as VoltTurn forces a lot of switches and this will help to wear your foes down. For this reason, I'd like to recommend you change Gourgeist --> Quilladin. Quilladin still provides a solid Shell Smash check while also providing Spikes and phasing for your team.

Quilladin

Quilladin @ Eviolite
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Spikes
- Roar
- Synthesis

I tried my best to improve the team without changing too much of it, and I think this is the best way. Hope I helped

 

[2xTheTap]

Thanks for the credit on that Misdreavus. :]

I am actually a really big fan of Volt-Turn cores, but this one needs hazard removal! Pelipper, Vullaby, Armaldo, Vibrava or even Swanna are all solid options for you. They are especially necessary if you're volt switching / u-turning in and out and thus taking SR damage every time you come in. Misdreavus does help this a lot by bouncing back Rocks and then preventing them via Taunt in the same set, but one of the above Pokemon is still necessary.

Just like it needs Hazard removal, it also needs Stealth Rock still. I know it's tempting to leave that to Misdreavus' Magic Coat, but it's not always guaranteed that Misdreavus will be out as your opponent is laying Stealth Rock.

I'm not too keen on Ghost + Ghost team synergy, and feel that one of them could be replaced with a Defogger. After that, I feel you'd be weak to Rocks, so a fighting type like Machoke or Poliwrath could add some better synergy.

Simipour's old sample team with Taunt Rocks Barb / Avalugg / NP Misdreavus / CB Scyther / Scarf Raichu / Bouffalant is a perfect example of a functional Volt-Turn core. It has strong offensive presence, a fast ghost killer in Misdreavus so that Avalugg can spin, a spinner that's resistant to Piloswine to take care of rocks reliably for Scyther, a reliable grass immunity for Barb in Bouffalant, and overall great defensive synergy. If you follow this model of Ninjask + Raichu + hazard removal + ghost killer + rocks setter, I think that'd be a perfect way to run this team.

Finally, if you replace Gourgeist-Super for some hazard control, that will mean you'll need different check to Stoutland. You can even compress these roles together, and use something like Defensive Vullaby, as that checks Stoutland and beats it 1 on 1 with Foul Play.

Consider: Ghost: Misdreavus / Volt: Raichu or Zeb or Rotom-F / U-Turn: Ninjask or Jumpluff / Rock Resist / Knock Off Resist: Poliwrath or Machoke / Fat Defogger/Spinner: Vullaby or Pelipper/Swanna / Fat Rock Setter: Piloswine or Probopass or Carracosta

 

[g]

Balance Volt-Switch
With a friendly balanced tournament coming, I started building another balanced team. But this time, because I had made so many cookie cutter balanced teams, I really wanted to make a more unique Balance team. That is where I got the idea of Volt-Turn Balance.

Teambuilding Process

To make a Volt-Turn team, I needed to find a nice offensive core. Candidates that came instantly to my mind were Raichu and Ninjask due to their power and good speed tiers. In addition, they cover different threats making them good partners.

The next thing any balance team needs is a Lead / Anti Lead. Misdreavus had done me very well in the past, and it also /checked/ Stoutland pretty well, so I decided to choose this Pokemon.

Both Raichu and Ninjask were extremely frail, so a defensive core was perfect to take damage after a U-Turn or a Volt Switch. I remembered a successful team I had created a while back with a GourgLax core that could take hits after hits. So there was my two new add-ons to my team, Munchlax and Gourgeist-Super.

My team had trouble with Ghost-types; Misdreavus and Gourgeist are weak to them, Ninjask's U-Turn is resisted, and Munchlax is completely walled. A pursuit user seemed needed, and Stoutland seemed as good as any.

================================================================
Note: I spared you people from my aweful names.

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 124 Def / 136 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Coat
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Credit to 2xTheTap for the set.
Misdreavus is an amazing anti lead. It can Taunt maximum speed Poliswine, Golem, Probopass, Armaldo, and Gigalith (but who uses that?) after getting Stealth Rock on there side by using Magic Coat. Magic Coat is also very useful against Leavanny to stop an early sweep from the likes of Stoutland or Ursaring. The speed also lets Misdreavus burn and Taunt Jolly Mightyana and Jolly Barbaracle respectively. Lastly, Shadow Ball is used to do some good damage.

Ninjask @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- U-turn
- Night Slash
- Aerial Ace
- X-Scissor

The set is pretty self-explanatory. I like Night Slash though because Ghost-types give me trouble on this team. Ninjask is a great late-game cleaner and can make huge gaps in teams early on, and it has pretty good synergy with Raichu. It's huge weakness is Stealth Rocks, but Ninjask's EVs make sure
Ninjask can come in on Stealth Rocks twice.

Raichu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Raichu started out as a Choice Specs user, but Choice Scarf users were really giving trouble to my team. Megazard (I believe) recommended Choice Scarf Raichu and it has been working wonders! Not much more to explain, it works the same then Ninjask. Sweep or use it to make big gaps in the opponent's team.

Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Seed Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Synthesis

Gourgeist-Super is the physical wall of my team. The EVs are to maximize Gourgeist's defensive capabilities while still letting it take some special hits. Because non of the abilities are very helpful, Frisk is always good to scout out what item a Pokemon has. An item often reveals the set that Pokemon uses too. Synthesis is extremely important to keep taking hits after hits, Will-O-Wisp is to cripple physical attackers, Seed Bomb does quite a bit of damage, and Foul Play can destroy Pokemon's who have set up. Gourgeist can take hits after hits so Ninjask and Raichu can go to work.

Munchlax @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Curse
- Sleep Talk

Munchlax is the special counterpart of Gourgeist. Curse lets Munchlax sweep after any Ghost-types are gone and Steel-types are weakened. RestTalk makes Munchlax extremely hard to kill, even under the worst of luck. Thick Fat is so helpful. +2 Fire Blasts from Ninetales are completely eaten by Munchlax, and Munchlax is actually a pretty good check against Victreebel. I am not sure if I want Body Slam or Return. Curse makes Munchlax so slow that paralysis seems worse than being burnt by Will-O-Wisp.

Stoutland @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Return
- Facade
- Superpower

Stoutland is a Pokemon I am not sure about. Not only does he add another choice user, he only really helps Munchlax sweep. Stoutland is the Pursuit user so Ghost-types can't plague Munchlax's existence, but that is all he really does. The only thing else he does is take Will-O-Wisp's to boost Facade. I am not sure if Stoutland should be used or a Defogger / Rapid Spinner.

================================================================

Threats:

Hazards:

Misdreavus is the only Pokemon that can stop hazards from being set up. I have no Defogger or Rapid Spinner, and that is a huge problem with Ninjask being 4 times weak to rocks. Also, a Volt-Turn team switches a lot, and the residual damage doesn't help.
​

First thing i notice is that you really suffer the lack of a defogger since you rely on ninjask to beat quite a number of Pokemon (especially opposing grass types). I'd say that replacing Munchlax with spdef pelipper could help you quite a bit since you get defog, a pokemon with nice synergy with gourgeist, and an actual Pawniad check since it looks like quite a bit of a threat to your team while retaining the needed fire resist. You also have two ghost types and no entry hazards setter so my suggestion is to replace your gourgeist with a tank torterra or Piloswine since Stealth rock at least are needed to take advantage of the switches you force with volturn and they are also essential to help in beating flying and fire type pokemon. They both give you much needed electric immunities with the former having access to recovery and the latter being a better electric check and giving you priority in ice shard (I'd say pilo works better with pelipper too). also use pain split over coat on missy since its counterproductive w/ taunt

->

set

Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Scald

->

or

set

Torterra @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Synthesis

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

 

[Raiza]

Hi ExplosiveChaos
I'll keep this short so here we go.
VoltTurn teams need both Entry Hazard control and Entry Hazard support to wear down foes while not getting worn down by itself. Misdreavus can't reliably predict with Magic Coat the enemy every time, so I suggest you to follow Simipour 's suggestion in adding Armaldo to your team, it will provide you both Hazard control and Entry Hazard support, though I think it will fit better over Misdreavus. I'm not a big fan of double Ghost-type builds, and your team doesn't necessarily need a big fat backbone, as you still carry two fast revengekillers in Raichu and Ninjask that can deal with most threats, and I'd rather keep a more solid answer to physical attackers with reliable recovery in Gourgeist than Misdreavus. Also you still need Stoutland to break through walls, Ghost-types, and support Munchlax in sweeping, which already has near to no immediate power.
Talking about other changes, Stoutland needs Scrappy to deal better with Pokemon such as Misdreavus which are a major pain to your team, and you still carry both a solid backbone and two revengekillers so Intimidate isn't as needed, as it is mainly used to soft check threats or become sort of a revengekiller.

 

[ExplosiveChaos]

Thank you Simipour galbia 2xTheTap and Raiza for all the feedback! Don't worry, Stoutland is Scrappy, I typed in the wrong ability. And I guess it is good bye to Magic Coat Misdreavus.

Hi there Explosive Chaos. Cool idea behind this team, but I definitely see problems with it that are easily exploited.

First off, you have a Ninjask and no hazard control. As you stated, you're switching in and out a lot with VoltTurn and Misdreavus really isn't enough to prevent hazards. You also have no hazards of your own, which are pretty essential, especially when youre causing a lot of switches with VoltTurn. I'd like to recommend you change Stoutland --> Armaldo. Armaldo is the best spinner in the tier at the moment, and it also provides Stealth Rock. Rocks + Spin Armaldo definitely isn't the greatest set, but for your team right now, it is really hard to fit a spinner and a rocker on the same team without completely changing it, so I think this is your best choice. I figured Stoutland was the better Pokemon to remove than Munchlax, since youre more balanced and Munchlax allows you to take on Pokemon like Ninetales more effectively, which is annoying for your team.

Armaldo

Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off / Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

Secondly, I think Spikes would really be helpful for your team, as VoltTurn forces a lot of switches and this will help to wear your foes down. For this reason, I'd like to recommend you change Gourgeist --> Quilladin. Quilladin still provides a solid Shell Smash check while also providing Spikes and phasing for your team.

Quilladin

Quilladin @ Eviolite
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Spikes
- Roar
- Synthesis

I tried my best to improve the team without changing too much of it, and I think this is the best way. Hope I helped

Thank you for the suggestions! I really like the idea of Quilladin > Gourgeist. Quilladin always has been a solid physical wall and it has the very important recovery! The Armaldo set seems okay, although I am still worries about Knock-Off. All in all, I love the suggestions.

Thanks for the credit on that Misdreavus. :]

I am actually a really big fan of Volt-Turn cores, but this one needs hazard removal! Pelipper, Vullaby, Armaldo, Vibrava or even Swanna are all solid options for you. They are especially necessary if you're volt switching / u-turning in and out and thus taking SR damage every time you come in. Misdreavus does help this a lot by bouncing back Rocks and then preventing them via Taunt in the same set, but one of the above Pokemon is still necessary.

Just like it needs Hazard removal, it also needs Stealth Rock still. I know it's tempting to leave that to Misdreavus' Magic Coat, but it's not always guaranteed that Misdreavus will be out as your opponent is laying Stealth Rock.

I'm not too keen on Ghost + Ghost team synergy, and feel that one of them could be replaced with a Defogger. After that, I feel you'd be weak to Rocks, so a fighting type like Machoke or Poliwrath could add some better synergy.

Simipour's old sample team with Taunt Rocks Barb / Avalugg / NP Misdreavus / CB Scyther / Scarf Raichu / Bouffalant is a perfect example of a functional Volt-Turn core. It has strong offensive presence, a fast ghost killer in Misdreavus so that Avalugg can spin, a spinner that's resistant to Piloswine to take care of rocks reliably for Scyther, a reliable grass immunity for Barb in Bouffalant, and overall great defensive synergy. If you follow this model of Ninjask + Raichu + hazard removal + ghost killer + rocks setter, I think that'd be a perfect way to run this team.

Finally, if you replace Gourgeist-Super for some hazard control, that will mean you'll need different check to Stoutland. You can even compress these roles together, and use something like Defensive Vullaby, as that checks Stoutland and beats it 1 on 1 with Foul Play.

Consider: Ghost: Misdreavus / Volt: Raichu or Zeb or Rotom-F / U-Turn: Ninjask or Jumpluff / Rock Resist / Knock Off Resist: Poliwrath or Machoke / Fat Defogger/Spinner: Vullaby or Pelipper/Swanna / Fat Rock Setter: Piloswine or Probopass or Carracosta

Great suggestions, although you did completely shred my team apart, I will certainly try this new team! And you're welcome for crediting you, it was the least I could do :)

First thing i notice is that you really suffer the lack of a defogger since you rely on ninjask to beat quite a number of Pokemon (especially opposing grass types). I'd say that replacing Munchlax with spdef pelipper could help you quite a bit since you get defog, a pokemon with nice synergy with gourgeist, and an actual Pawniad check since it looks like quite a bit of a threat to your team while retaining the needed fire resist. You also have two ghost types and no entry hazards setter so my suggestion is to replace your gourgeist with a tank torterra or Piloswine since Stealth rock at least are needed to take advantage of the switches you force with volturn and they are also essential to help in beating flying and fire type pokemon. They both give you much needed electric immunities with the former having access to recovery and the latter being a better electric check and giving you priority in ice shard (I'd say pilo works better with pelipper too). also use pain split over coat on missy since its counterproductive w/ taunt

->

set

Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Air Slash
- Scald

->

or

set

Torterra @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Synthesis

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

The idea of changing my defensive core is surprisingly interesting. Not only do they do the job the same (I still love you Munchlax), but they help fix the crucial points I was missing. I will be sure to try your suggestions! And again, thank you for this thread.

Hi ExplosiveChaos
I'll keep this short so here we go.
VoltTurn teams need both Entry Hazard control and Entry Hazard support to wear down foes while not getting worn down by itself. Misdreavus can't reliably predict with Magic Coat the enemy every time, so I suggest you to follow Simipour 's suggestion in adding Armaldo to your team, it will provide you both Hazard control and Entry Hazard support, though I think it will fit better over Misdreavus. I'm not a big fan of double Ghost-type builds, and your team doesn't necessarily need a big fat backbone, as you still carry two fast revengekillers in Raichu and Ninjask that can deal with most threats, and I'd rather keep a more solid answer to physical attackers with reliable recovery in Gourgeist than Misdreavus. Also you still need Stoutland to break through walls, Ghost-types, and support Munchlax in sweeping, which already has near to no immediate power.
Talking about other changes, Stoutland needs Scrappy to deal better with Pokemon such as Misdreavus which are a major pain to your team, and you still carry both a solid backbone and two revengekillers so Intimidate isn't as needed, as it is mainly used to soft check threats or become sort of a revengekiller.

An other interesting suggestion! Changing the anti lead to a lead / rapid spinner seems pretty solid!

Thank you all for the suggestions and I am sure to test them all!

 

[Melons-N-Soda]

Somewhat Bulky Offense:

- This team is currently what I am using for the PU tier. I got the idea of making a core between Grumpig and Machoke and trying to center a team around it. I found new members based on what they added to core like if they added support moves (Such as hazards as well as a Defog user in Pelipper (I actually wish Prinplup was still in the tier)) because most of my other team mates get worn down by hazards. The team is in need of help though. (I suck at building teams most of the time)

Now, onto the team itself:

Grumpig @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave
- Signal Beam

Main man number one. Grumpig gives me a check to mons such as Aurorus and Rapidash, as well as provided Thunder Wave support which is chosen over the usual Toxic because it helps with the slowness of the team. Psychic is the main STAB, Focus Blast hits pesky Dark-types when Machoke isn't around, and Signal Beam is there to help beat mons like Kadabra and Torterra. (Though maybe switch it for Shadow Ball to hit Misdreavus)

Machoke @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 20 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch

The other part of core, Machoke became viable ever since Throh was chased out of the tier (And like Typhlosion he is not viable in any tier he is usable in anymore, bummer). Anyways, this set is the standard Offensive Machoke and helps Grumpig with Ghost (Not affected by burns because Guts) and Dark-types. Close Combat is STAB, Bullet Punch is priority and hits Clefairy, Knock Off hits Ghost-types and Ice Punch targets Flying-types as well as Grass-types.

Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes

Standard offensive Roselia. Handles most Grass-types and cockblocks Clefairy for the most part. What is also cool is that it gives off hazards in the form of Spikes and its Toxic counterpart. Very good for wearing down opposing teams in my book. Giga Drain gives recovery, which is needed because of the lack of Synthesis on this set, and Sludge Bomb is STAB that can potentially Poison which is nice.

Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Scald
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog

My other Pokemon get worn down by hazards due to the lack of reliable recovery. The best option in this case was Pelipper because his weaknesses are covered by the other members of the team, is less momentum sappy then most other Defoggers, and well, the spinners in this tier suck to put it bluntly. Standard fare here again, Physically Defensive Pelipper. His main job is to Defog, which is great for hazard control, Scald is STAB and can burn stuff which is cool, Roost is reliable recovery, and U-turn increases momentum.

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Toxic

Piloswine is the third overall fuck you to Grass and Flying types, but is also here because it handles Zebstrika and Raichu and sets up Stealth Rock. Toxic is also great for wearing down opponents. Ice Shard is also another form of priority for the team. EQ is strong STAB of course.

Pawniard @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Low Kick

Filler mon really. Pawn is here for the purpose of cock blocking Defog users, but he no real use here as that's not really a useful trait on here. Getting rid of him is the biggest priority here. What is notable about this Pawn is that Low Kick is there to hit things like Probopass. And Sucker Punch is another form of priority, which is cool.

Threats:
Team is very slow at the moment. Maybe add a faster Pokemon (Likely over Pawn because he's the most useless member in my opinion). Something like Zebstrika or Raichu maybe.
Problems with opposing Machoke, especially because Pelipper has no Flying STAB.
Simipour is an issue but Roselia and Grumpig handle it fine for the most part. (Unless it carries something like Knock Off, in which case I'm screwed)

Other possible changes:
Piloswine: Icicle Spear > Toxic? (Or maybe Freeze-Dry as an unorthodox way of handling Water-types?)
Grumpig: Toxic > Thunder Wave?
Roselia: Synthesis > Spikes/Toxic Spikes? More defensive EV spread?

 

[Raiza]

hi Melons-N-Soda
Rotom-Frost>Pawniard: Choice Scarf Rotom-F will help you get some momentum, while giving you a more reliable revengekiller to Pokemon such as Double Dance / Rock Polish Torterra and Simipour which give to you some problems. Ice-type coverage is still nice to hit Grass-types Pawniard dealt with, while Trick allows it to cripple Pokemon such as Grumpig and Hypno, which also Pawniard dealt with.
Taunt>Signal Beam and Colbur Berry on Grumpig: Now that you don't carry a Defiant user, you'll have to make it harder for opposing Defog users to manage to remove entry hazards, so Taunt is a good pick because it allows Grumpig to block Defog from Pokemon such as Pelipper and Vibrava, the most popular defog users. Also you don't really need Signal Beam for Kadabra as Thunder Wave already cripples it a lot and for Torterra, as you have now Rotom-F that is kinda an answer to offensive sets(unless you miss). If you want to be even more sure about Torterra, give to Grumpig 148 so you can outspeed and Taunt it, as it doesn't find set up on your other Pokemon anyway. Colbur Berry is a staple on offensive sets, and allows Grumpig to be kinda a check to Machoke as it allows to live Knock Off and hit back with Psychic, while also making Grumpig a lure and answer for Dark-types, since your own Machoke hates getting its Eviolite removed. Also helps with Knock Off Simipour.
Physical Defensive spread and Synthesis on Roselia: A physically defensive spread on Roselia allows it to be a decent check for opposing Machokes you have trouble with(unless they run Ice Punch but that's unlikely). This can also take an Earthquake from Torterra so it can pull off some damage and put it in range of Ice Shard from Piloswine or eventually Bullet Punch from Machoke. Simipour will still be kind of handled because of Colbur Grumpig which doesn't fear Knock Off, but I'm still sure Roselia will still able to take an Ice Beam if at high health. Synthesis over one between Spikes and Toxic Spikes will help Roselia be more durable in general and it's a staple for all defensive-ish sets. Also you already have Piloswine to take care of Electric-types and Roselia can still deal with Choice Scarf Raichu fairly well.
Special Defensive spread and Air Slash on Pelipper: Ok so after you make Roselia physical defensive, you'll need another backbone for Special Attackers. Specially Defensive Pelipper will be a better check to the unfamous Simipour than Roselia, as it doesn't fear Knock Off that much and can stall out Life Orb turns while recovering or using Defog if at high health, so both Simipour and Machoke problems are solved. To be more safe against Machoke and Pokemon such as Poliwrath which can burn and cripple Pelipper, Air Slash is a good pick, as you also got another momentum gainer in Rotom-F already.

Sets

Rotom-Frost @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

Roselia spread
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature

Pelipper spread
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature

 

[Melons-N-Soda]

Thanks for help!

 

[Yettison]

If this thread was dead and I just necro'd it, please forgive me, I'm new here.
Hey all,
This is my first post here, and I was just looking to get some feedback on a team I've been toying around with recently in PU. I am by no means a hardcore PU player, but I've enjoyed playing with this team a lot, and I figured making it better can't hurt. Hell, maybe some other people will get a kick out of playing it too.
Anyways;

Stoutland @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Wild Charge

Stoutland is the core of this team. About 80% of the wins I have with this team result from this guy sweeping. His attack is actually surprisingly high for a pokemon stuck down in PU, and while his speed isn't anything to right home about, he's nigh untouchable with a sand rush boost. The entire rest of the team is built around breaking down stoutlands checks and counters, then sacking something to get him in safely with enough turns of sand left to clean up.
One thing I have considered doing with stoutland is replacing Wild Charge with Rock tomb, just sto score a guaranteed 2HKO on defensive articuno, which otherwise can stall this set out of sand turns and block a sweep.

Onix @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Roar
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Sandstorm

I dont really know what to say about Onix. It sets up rocks, maybe taunts something, roars setup sweepers occasionally, and then dies. I refuse to replace roar with explosion. People keep telling me to, but honestly roar has stopped so many sweepers for me that I really dont see the point. I don't need onix to be dealing any damage - that's stoutlands job. I run sandstorm on it just in case.
I have considered making this into a level one lead with sturdy and berry juice. I dont know about that though.

Hippopotas @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Slack Off
- Toxic

This pokemon exists only on this team for sand stream. It can't switch in on anything, it cant beat anything one on one, you just switch it in when you want stoutland to sweep, and then let it go down.

Rampardos @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Superpower
- Fire Punch
- Crunch

This guy is the second MVP. It can break piloswine with superpower, it severely weakens most walls with head smash, and it can beat tangela with fire punch. It's my go-to when I need to get something ready for stoutland.

Maractus @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Spiky Shield

I like spikes, and I thought a cactus would be nice to have thematically on a sand team.
Really though, Maractus is pretty cool. It doesn't really beat a whole lot, but it can wear down some pokemon nicely, and really it's just there for the spikes. This thing I would be willing to replace.

Mr. Mime @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Ice]

This thing is kinda bad. I wanted a fast special wallbreaker, and this thing absolutely does not do that at all. But it's also a fighting switch in which is nice I guess. I really need a replacement for this thing. Maybe focus sash kadabra?

Threat List:
-Piloswine
-Shell Smash Sweepers
-Strong Priority
-Relicanth
-Hilariously, Delcatty
-Ninjask

Notes:
-This team really relies on stoutland. If it gets burned or severely weakened, you're pretty much boned.
-It is 100% okay to sack multiple pokemon to get rid of one of stoutlands checks. I've sacked my onix and mr. mime (and lost about 80% hp on my rampardos) to get rid of a single piloswine before, and still won.
-Keeping hazards up is nice, but not required.
-Keeping the hippo alive until you're SURE stoutland can sweep is absolutely necessary
-Break sashes first whenever possible
-Hazards aren't really a huge deal to this team

And that's really it I guess. If people have any comments or criticisms, please, don't hold back.
Thanks!

 

[Raiza]

Hi Yettison
Silk Scarf / Choice Band > Life Orb on Stoutland: Replacing Life Orb with Silk Scarf or Choice Band will still allow you to have a significant boost in power, while being able to not get stalled by Articuno anymore, so you'll have no need to put Rock Tomb, which is a terrible move on Stoutland, on the set anymore. Also not having Life Orb recoil is very nice especially if Stoutland is your main win condition and you don't want it to get worn down for the sweep. The choice between Silk Scarf and Choice Band is preferential, Choice Band gives you more power but it gets you locked in a move, while Silk Scarf gets you less power but you are not locked. I suggest you to go for Silk Scarf as you won't get locked into a Normal-type move and become setup fodder for the Shell Smash users.
Defensive Carracosta>Onix: You don't really need a second Sand setter, as Hippopotas is reliable in terms of being durable thanks to its access to Slack Off and in setting up Sand by itself with Sand Stream, also Onix is kind of shaky as a setter itself a most of the time it wont be able to set up both Sand and Stealth Rock. Replacing it with Defensive Carracosta will grant you a good Stealth Rock setter, and also a decent way to deal with Piloswine and the Shell Smash users. Carracosta can also consistently wear down and cripple foes with Scald and Knock Off so yeah.
Roselia>Maractus: You need a specially defensive backbone or Water-types will run through your team, and Maractus has horrible defenses to do that, so replace it with Roselia. Roselia has decent defenses along with Eviolite, and it can provide a lot of support to Stoutland by setting up Toxic Spikes, which cripple the most common Stoutland switch-in, Tangela. Also Roselia is way more durable than Maractus because of access to Synthesis and has a better type synergy with it too.
Make Mr. Mime Choice Scarf : Changing the Mr. Mime set to a Choice Scarfed one would really benefit your team especially now that you have a good wallbreaker in Simipour and you don't need another wallbreaker in Mr. Mime anymore. Choice Scarf Mr. Mime might not be the most excellent revengekiller on the board right now, but it provides an invaluable Healing Wish support to your team, which is really good paired with Stoutland if it gets weakened, as you can heal it up completely. Also Mr. Mime also has access to Focus Blast to deal with Piloswine.
Simipour>Rampardos: As we now have a new revengekiller in Mr. Mime, you don't really need Rampardos anymore, and since you lost Mr. Mime, we now need a good wallbreaker, so Simipour is a good fit here. Simipour gives you another win condition in the case you lose Stoutland, it is able to break through most walls, and once it set up a Nasty Plot, it can open many holes in the opposing team during the mid-game, for a Stoutland sweep. Simipour also gives you a further answer against Piloswine, even though it can't directly switch into it and also appreciates Healing Wish support by Mr. Mime.

sets

Carracosta @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Aqua Jet
- Stealth Rock
- Knock Off

Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain

Mr. Mime @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish
- Focus Blast

Simipour @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

 

[Dundies]

Hi Yettison, I figure I'll try to help you out with your team where I can. I suggest you implement all of Raiza's suggestions, as they'll all greatly improve your team, except for one:

Make Mr. Mime Choice Scarf : Changing the Mr. Mime set to a Choice Scarfed one would really benefit your team especially now that you have a good wallbreaker in Simipour and you don't need another wallbreaker in Mr. Mime anymore. Choice Scarf Mr. Mime might not be the most excellent revengekiller on the board right now, but it provides an invaluable Healing Wish support to your team, which is really good paired with Stoutland if it gets weakened, as you can heal it up completely. Also Mr. Mime also has access to Focus Blast to deal with Piloswine.

Changing Mr. Mime's set to Choice Scarf wouldn't be bad at all, but I think Kadabra is a better overall fit for your team. Looking at the team, you lack a reliable check to Shell Smashers such as Barbaracle and Carracosta. Both of the two can set up on Stoutland locked into a Normal-type move, or defensive Carracosta, only risking a 30% burn chance from Scald. Once either of the tier have set up a Shell Smash, they clean sweep your team, which is why I'm going to recommend Focus Sash Kadabra > Mr. Mime. Setup sweepers in general can be problematic for your team and Kadabra is able to fairly easily check the more popular ones. I don't think the Speed from Choice Scarf Mr. Mime is a necessity for your team, as Stoutland reaches an extremely high Speed with sand up and Simipour and Kadabra can outspeed a lot of common threats. Hope this helped :]

Kadabra @ Focus Sash | Magic Guard
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe | Timid
Psychic | Signal Beam | Hidden Power Ground | Thunder Wave / Encore

(also cheers for now being able to run hp ground > hp fight more effectively)

 

[Yettison]

Thanks so much for both your suggestions, I'll try them out and see how it goes! I really appreciate your time!

 

[ExplosiveChaos]

Hazard Stacking Bulky Offense
This is a post-smasher ban team, so fix it like the Smashers were already banned.

The team was the second team I built for ScarfedSylveonYT a couple days ago when he saw me use Acid Armor Calm Mind Duosion and really wanted a team for it.

Teambuilding Process

Duosion was the first Pokemon to be added. The team was originally going to be based completely around Duosion, but I decided to make Duosion part of a core so the team doesn't fall apart if Duosion dies. Duosion is the main setup sweeper and can tear through stall.

Machoke and Mightyena were soon added to make a nice core with Duosion (Dark/Fighting/Psychic). Mightyena served as the cleaner of the team while Machoke was meant to be the Knock Off user and Status Absorber on Will-o-Wisps intended to Mightyena. It can also serve as nice lead and Roselia killer.

The next thing that was really needed was a lead. The reason that I choose Probopass is for slow Volt-Switches, great matchup against the most common leads because of Air Balloon, and being able to trap Klang.

The team was really lacking water-spam stops, so I decided why not make a defensive core compromising of two of the best stoppers to water spam. Politoed is the main water-spam stopper, and Roselia is the hazard stacker and second water-spam stopper. Roselia also works well as a Special Wall which the team needs.

================================================================

The Team

The Team

Duosion @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Acid Armor
- Psyshock
- Recover

Duosion is the main setup sweeper of the team. Not a lot of things can kill it once it starts setting up, even against a Knock Off user. Bold Nature with max Def EVs is used so that not only can it appreciate the Acid Boost more, but so it has an easier time setting up on Knock Off users like Machoke. I used Psyshock because I didn't want Special Walls from shutting this down.

Mightyena @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Thunder Fang

Mightyena is the main cleaner of the team. It is slow, but that is made up with Sucker Punch. Mightyena can deal with a Roselia who is a little bit of a pain for this team easily, doing about 70% a hit, and is hard to stop after even 1 Moxie boost. Thunder Fang is overhyped, but I would rather get a kill on Pelipper or Swanna than use a move that is 9 / 10 out of the ten times I could use it, it is less good than Crunch or does about the same damage.

Machoke @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 20 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch

Machoke finishes the Dark / Fighting / Psychic Core that I used. In some situations, against a Misdreavus for example, Machoke can make a great lead, but that is rarely and I usually use Probopass as the lead. It also works well with Mightyena because Machoke can get a huge Guts boost from a lured Will-o-Wisp intented to go on Mightyena. Ice Punch is for Roselia, and it also has nice coverage with Close Combat + Knock Off.

Probopass @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

Probopass is the best lead I could of though up of. It has the ability to beat almost every single other lead with the Air Balloon, has slow Volt-Switches into my Mightyena or Duosion, and can also deal with Klang or other Probopass that shut down my Duosion. The 12 extra Speed EVs are to speed creep other Probopasses. Probopass is such a handy Pokemon on this team and can come in on some many attacks.

Roselia @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain

Roselia is the second Hazard setter of this team and also my Special Wall. The EVs are so I don't get 2HKOed by neither Specs Ice Beam Floatzel nor Life Orb Ice Beam Simipour. I feel like these EVs are a little better in this metagame than the original EV spread, but that is my opinion. The rest of the set is pretty standard. Roselia is just such a nice wall and another Status absorber.

Politoed @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Encore
- Protect

Politoed is the last Pokemon on my team and the one I am the most iffy about. I put it on my team to stop water-spam, but I feel like Roselia does that well enough. Politoed is also a setup stopper with Encore + Toxic + Protect, and can stall out enemies, but that isn't that great in this metagame filled with Offensive Pokemon.

================================================================

Threatlist

Knock Off: The team is so weak to Knock Off. Half of my Pokemon run Eviolite, and I have no Pokemon that takes little damage from a Knock Off bar maybe Politoed (times like these I wish for Poliwrath to be here). No one appreciates no item, and it is just a pain to deal with.

Hazards: Although no Pokemon on my team is weak to Hazards, every single one of them are grounded. A little bit of hazard like some rocks or something like that isn't that bad, but when the hazards start stacking, it becomes an issue. In addition, I have no one to take them off and Mightyena starts taking a lot of residual damage from LO + Hazards.

[Edit] Speed: Speed is a huge problem on this team. PU is a VERY offensive tier, meaning that faster teams are everywhere with strong nukers (in Dota 2 terms). My team is so slow and really is damaged by that, although Mightyena and Machoke do come with priority.​

​

 

[MZ]

ExplosiveChaos just saying I'm looking at this rate as if smashers are already banned, as obviously barb/costa give the team a lot of issues

I honestly think this is a really solid team, and can cover most threats fairly well. Natural Gift Dodrio that surprises Probopass is fairly threatening, or just Dodrio+Probopass, as it's your main bird check. SD Ursaring is also an issue here as it can sorta bust through your team. Other than that it's more random niche things like SD Leafeon and Krokorok that pressure you, and I think you can handle them just fine. I feel like Machoke isn't doing much for you though, it's mostly just a bulky thingy and that's just about it, I don't think its wallbreaking is really needed here and you don't exactly need status absorbing on a team with both roselia and duosion. One mon that checks both that comes to mind is Intimidate Luxray, this is the first thing that popped into my head on paper but you might want to fiddle around with a bulky offensive Luxray set that could fit nicely here. If I'm being slightly more serious, a more semi-stall ish route with bulky gabite should work well. Rough Skin damage racking up is nice for ursaring and dodrio, it gives you an Electric-immunity which can sorta help check Raichu (rose needs to be played very carefully versus opposing NP chu), and you've got a free slot thanks to SR Probopass. I honestly think Luxray is worth looking into but bulky gabite seems like it helps patch up your main weaknesses here.

set

Gabite @ Eviolite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Def / 164 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Roar
- Toxic
- Dragon Claw

Seeing as Vigoroth destroys the team without Machoke I've included creep to toxic it, this could also be helped with Tspikes roselia, although phys def scald toed already annoys it quite a bit.

On a final note, if you don't want to change anything on the team, I think Rest/Talk Machoke probably fits better here over wall breaker, it's a nicer long-term answer to pretty much everything and you already have priority. The extra survivability should be more useful on semi-stall than the immediate coverage imo, plus I don't think bullet punch's priority is even that useful here and you weren't luring pelipper with thunderpunch anyway. I hope these changes helped!

 

[2xTheTap]

Hey, Chaos - I'm not sure I have time for a full rate, but just wanted to talk about Roselia's EVs real quick. Full rate later!

Running different EVs for Roselia doesn't really work in Simipour's case because of its tendency to use Knock Off on predicted switch-ins:

4 Atk Life Orb Simipour Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 44 Def Eviolite Roselia: 103-122 (33.9 - 40.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Simipour Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 216+ SpD Roselia: 182-216 (60 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This combination 2HKO's Roselia most of the time, and all of the time with Rocks. But, you'd be right with the calc on Floatzel (however, if SR is on the field, that doesn't work anymore):

252 SpA Choice Specs Floatzel Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 216+ SpD Eviolite Roselia: 126-150 (41.5 - 49.5%) -- 84.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

In other words, you need hazard removal for that new EV spread on Roselia to be useful in the cases you mentioned. This means, if you wanted, you could replace Politoed with something with more utility, like Pelipper. Pelipper also has really nice defensive synergy with Probopass, as it resists Ground / Water / Fighting (you lack a Ground switchin on this team, so switching into something repeatedly like Piloswine hurts a bit).

Similarly, if you didn't want to Defog on this team as you lay your own hazards, you could use Solrock as your Ground immunity in tandem with the conventional 252 hp / 128 def / 128 spdef calm spread on Roselia. This achieves the same type synergy as my suggestion above (more or less), but without hazard removal. Using Solrock over Probopass also gives you a more dedicated switch into Piloswine, so that's an option. Rocky Helmet on Solrock also blocks Spin if the spinner has less than 12% HP left, and can put things in range of a Mightyena KO more easily.

To sum up: either Solrock over Probopass with a normal Roselia spread, or something like Pelipper over Politoed with your Roselia spread. Both would be fine. Will hit on the rest of the team later. :]

 

[ExplosiveChaos]

Thanks, I am trying out all the variations right away :]

 

[iChatot]

Clefairy (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

I wanted to make something out of Calm Mind Clefairy so I made a team to support it by taking things out that may prevent it from setting up and taking the victory.



Golem @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Rock Blast

I chose Golem as a rock setter suicide lead for things because I want to be able to bring Probopass to it's Sturdy for Clefairy not to have a problem with it if it's the only counter on the opponent team also if Piloswine decides to lead then it can get off atleast near to 50% to it then send in Floatzel to get rid of it.


Gourgeist-Super @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Synthesis

I have Gourgeist-Super on this team for things in this tier like Stoutland, Floatzel (Physical), and Huntail. I have Foul Play over Stab on Gourgeist is because I feel
Gourgeist can loose to set up such as Substitute Swords Dance Sawsbuck and it might just catch the other player off guard as their mon drops to the 2+ attack.



Mr. Mime @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Soundproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Healing Wish

I have Mr. Mime on this team for things such as Machoke and Roselia. Also Mr. Mime could be used a Healing Wish necessity if you need a mon to be in healthy
condition!



Floatzel @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Aqua Jet
- Hidden Power Electric

I have Floatzel on this team for offense and speed! Teams that are water weak will have a problem dealing with Floatzel if played correctly, the reason I have special Floatzel over standard physical Floatzel is because usual counters to floatzel are things as in Gourgeist and Avalugg that do not take special hits very descent.



Mightyena @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Thunder Fang

The last mon I chose was Mightyena because I wanted a mon that will apply pressure to my opponent's team and Moxie really helps it happen. I decided to give Mightyena Thunder Fang for Pelliper!