BSS Sun Support Torkoal [QC 1/1][GP 1/1]

[Photon]

[SET]
Name: Sun Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Yawn
move 3: Overheat / Lava Plume
move 4: Solar Beam / Gyro Ball
Item: Eject Pack / Heat Rock
tera type: Grass / Fire
ability: Drought
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Torkoal's Drought and disruption support helps set up heavy-hitting Protosynthesis users like Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, and Gouging Fire.

* **Overheat versus Lava Plume**: Overheat with Eject Pack lets Torkoal act as a one-use pivot to safely let good sun teammates in. If running Heat Rock as Torkoal's item instead, Lava Plume is used for the consistent damage and decent burn chance.

* **Solar Beam**: Solar Beam takes advantage of Drought to let Torkoal pressure offensive Water-types like Urshifu-R.

* **Gyro Ball**: Torkoal makes excellent use of a slow Gyro Ball and can surprise semi-bulky Flutter Mane that try to use Taunt against it with a potential OHKO.

Other Options
========

* **Clear Smog**: Clear Smog allows Torkoal to disrupt opposing setup while still attacking. However, its weak Base Power usually means it does not fix Yawn's problem of being weak against Substitute.

* **Fissure**: Torkoal's great defensive profile complements Fissure well, sometimes allowing it to bail itself and its team out of a bad matchup.

Tera Types
========

* **Tera Dependency - Low**: Torkoal's high bulk and support focus means that it normally saves Terastallization for its teammates.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass flips Torkoal's Water and Ground weaknesses into resistances and is Torkoal's best option for cushioning Hydro Steam from Walking Wake.

* **Fire**: Tera Fire can be used in a pinch to give Torkoal more offensive presence with Overheat or Lava Plume.

* **Flying**: Tera Flying's Ground immunity is an alternative to Tera Grass that doesn't make it weak to opposing Flying-type moves, making it situationally better against Tera Flying sweepers like Dragonite and Landorus-T.

Items
========

* **Eject Pack**: Eject Pack with Overheat is the preferred choice for pivoting in teammates safely.

* **Heat Rock**: Heat Rock gives some extra flexibility with managing sun turns, which can be particularly useful if running multiple sun teammates.

EV Spreads
========

* **Negative Speed nature and 0 Speed IV**: This is the standard for the slowest Eject Pack pivot possible, as well as maximizing Gyro Ball's power.

* **252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD with Sassy**: This avoids an OHKO from Choice Specs Latios from all but the highest damage roll. It also gives Torkoal a decent chance of surviving Modest Ursaluna-B's Earth Power as well as Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Tera Stellar Power Gem.

* **252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with Relaxed**: Maximizing physical bulk doesn't help in nearly as much places as special bulk, but one place it does is avoiding a 2HKO from Adamant Dragonite's Earthquake.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/photon.516307/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/derpysux.528485/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/

 

[DerpySuX]

Rapid Spin might be worth a mention in other options, it’s extremely, extremely specific but clearing rocks for teammates like gouging fire and allowing them to keep their hp intact can sometimes prove extremely useful. Iirc it wasn’t used enough to register on home tracking but I still think it’s an option that can be worth considering should you stack rocks weak mons like Dnite and Gfire.

QC APPROVED

 

[Photon]

Rapid Spin might be worth a mention in other options, it’s extremely, extremely specific but clearing rocks for teammates like gouging fire and allowing them to keep their hp intact can sometimes prove extremely useful. Iirc it wasn’t used enough to register on home tracking but I still think it’s an option that can be worth considering should you stack rocks weak mons like Dnite and Gfire.

QC APPROVED

Yeah, I'd have to agree that Rapid Spin sounds really situational. Outside of Archuladon (which is significant I will admit,) its gonna have a hard time clicking that against other popular rockers like Lando, Ting-Lu and Hippo. I'm inclined to add that one later if it ends up gaining some traction.

Otherwise, this is ready for GP Team

 

[autumn]

1/1 GP Team done

Hide

[SET]
Name: Sun Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Yawn
move 3: Overheat / Lava Plume
move 4: Solar Beam / Gyro Ball
Item: Eject Pack / Heat Rock
tera type: Grass / Fire
ability: Drought
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Torkoal's Drought and disruption support helps set up heavy-hitting Protosynthesis users like Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, and Gouging Fire.

* **Overheat versus Lava Plume**: Overheat with Eject Pack lets Torkoal act as a one-use pivot to safely let good sun teammates in. If running Heat Rock as your Torkoal's item instead, Lava Plume is used for the consistent damage and decent burn chance.

* **Solar Beam**: Solar Beam takes advantage of Drought to let Torkoal pressure offensive Water-types like Urshifu-R.

* **Gyro Ball**: Torkoal makes excellent use of a slow Gyro Ball (RC) and can surprise semi-bulky Flutter Manes Mane that try to use Taunt against it with a potential OHKO.

Other Options
========

* **Clear Smog**: Clear Smog allows you Torkoal (don't refer to pokemon as 'you') to disrupt opposing setup while still attacking. However, its weak base power Base Power usually means it does not fix Yawn's problem of being weak against Substitute.

* **Fissure**: Torkoal's great defensive profile complements Fissure well, sometimes allowing it to bail itself and its team out of a bad matchup.

Tera Types
========

* **Tera Dependency - Low**: Torkoal's high bulk and support focus means that it normally saves Terastallization for its teammates.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass flips Torkoal's Water- and Ground-type weaknesses into resists, and Water and Ground weaknesses into resistances and is your Torkoal's best option for cushioning Hydro Steam from Walking Wake.

* **Fire**: Tera Fire can be used in a pinch to give Torkoal more offensive presence with Overheat or Lava Plume.

* **Flying**: Tera Flying's Ground-type immunity is an alternative to Tera Grass that doesn't make it weak to opposing Flying-type moves, making it situationally better against Tera Flying sweepers like Dragonite and Landorus-T.

Items
========

* **Eject Pack**: Eject Pack with Overheat is the preferred choice for pivoting in teammates safely.

* **Heat Rock**: Heat Rock gives some extra flexibility with managing sun turns, which can be particularly useful if running multiple sun teammates.

EV Spreads
========

* **Negative Speed nature and 0 Speed IV**: This is the standard for the slowest Eject Pack pivot possible, as well as maximizing Gyro Ball's power.

* **252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD with Sassy**: This avoids a an OHKO from Choice Specs Latios from all but the highest damage roll. It also gives Torkoal a decent chance of surviving Modest Ursaluna-B's Earth Power as well as Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Tera Stellar Power Gem. (if none of these rolls are guaranteed why not just go max spdef instead? 12 def isn't explained to do anything)

* **252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with Relaxed**: Maximizing physical bulk doesn't help in nearly as much places as special bulk, but one place it does is avoiding a 2HKO from Adamant Dragonite's Earthquake.

 

[Photon]

1/1 GP Team done

Hide

[SET]
Name: Sun Support
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Yawn
move 3: Overheat / Lava Plume
move 4: Solar Beam / Gyro Ball
Item: Eject Pack / Heat Rock
tera type: Grass / Fire
ability: Drought
nature: Sassy
evs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD
ivs: 0 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]

* Torkoal's Drought and disruption support helps set up heavy-hitting Protosynthesis users like Flutter Mane, Roaring Moon, and Gouging Fire.

* **Overheat versus Lava Plume**: Overheat with Eject Pack lets Torkoal act as a one-use pivot to safely let good sun teammates in. If running Heat Rock as your Torkoal's item instead, Lava Plume is used for the consistent damage and decent burn chance.

* **Solar Beam**: Solar Beam takes advantage of Drought to let Torkoal pressure offensive Water-types like Urshifu-R.

* **Gyro Ball**: Torkoal makes excellent use of a slow Gyro Ball (RC) and can surprise semi-bulky Flutter Manes Mane that try to use Taunt against it with a potential OHKO.

Other Options
========

* **Clear Smog**: Clear Smog allows you Torkoal (don't refer to pokemon as 'you') to disrupt opposing setup while still attacking. However, its weak base power Base Power usually means it does not fix Yawn's problem of being weak against Substitute.

* **Fissure**: Torkoal's great defensive profile complements Fissure well, sometimes allowing it to bail itself and its team out of a bad matchup.

Tera Types
========

* **Tera Dependency - Low**: Torkoal's high bulk and support focus means that it normally saves Terastallization for its teammates.

* **Grass**: Tera Grass flips Torkoal's Water- and Ground-type weaknesses into resists, and Water and Ground weaknesses into resistances and is your Torkoal's best option for cushioning Hydro Steam from Walking Wake.

* **Fire**: Tera Fire can be used in a pinch to give Torkoal more offensive presence with Overheat or Lava Plume.

* **Flying**: Tera Flying's Ground-type immunity is an alternative to Tera Grass that doesn't make it weak to opposing Flying-type moves, making it situationally better against Tera Flying sweepers like Dragonite and Landorus-T.

Items
========

* **Eject Pack**: Eject Pack with Overheat is the preferred choice for pivoting in teammates safely.

* **Heat Rock**: Heat Rock gives some extra flexibility with managing sun turns, which can be particularly useful if running multiple sun teammates.

EV Spreads
========

* **Negative Speed nature and 0 Speed IV**: This is the standard for the slowest Eject Pack pivot possible, as well as maximizing Gyro Ball's power.

* **252 HP / 12 Def / 244 SpD with Sassy**: This avoids a an OHKO from Choice Specs Latios from all but the highest damage roll. It also gives Torkoal a decent chance of surviving Modest Ursaluna-B's Earth Power as well as Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Tera Stellar Power Gem. (if none of these rolls are guaranteed why not just go max spdef instead? 12 def isn't explained to do anything)

* **252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD with Relaxed**: Maximizing physical bulk doesn't help in nearly as much places as special bulk, but one place it does is avoiding a 2HKO from Adamant Dragonite's Earthquake.

Regarding the Special Defense EV spread: I think the logic behind the report spread I pulled was that 8 extra SpD does not improve the Choice Specs Latios matchup. Since it does slightly improve the Mane and Bloodmoon matchup though, I think changing it to full SpD is perfectly fine for simplifying the spread.

This should be ready for dex now!

 

[Photon]

Forgot to add credits... NOW this is ready for dex!