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Rotom-Fan @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp
Choice Scarf Rotom-S rounds off the team nicely because of its ability to pivot, revenge kill, and check things like Combusken, Silvally-Water, Floatzel, and Pinsir which the team appreciates. Having Scarf Fantom also gives the team the freedom to run powerful attackers or even an extra defensive glue mon in the last two slots.
A Z-move user is lacking rn in the team and we already have at least a defogger (Shiftry). Swanna gives a new win condition altogether with Muk and it is our ground immune Pokémon. Our team appreciates a late-game cleaner and this Swanna's set nails it: Z-Rain to boost attacks + Hurricane-no-miss and +2 speed is all it needs to destroy Pokémon that annoys both Shiftry and Muk and are lured a bit by Golem (steel Pokémon for example).
Choice Scarf Electivire gives the team some much needed speed control as well as a way to deal with Pokemon like swanna who can be problematic for the team if it is a physical set.
I was thinking an offensive Silvally would be a good fit, since we have a surprisingly reliable defogger in lefties/synth Shiftry, and the one I settled on was Ghost.
Offensive Vally-Ghost is good for this team, as it provides offensive momentum with a combination of parting shot and offensive pressure, specifically versus things which give the team trouble (Bronzor, Gourgeist, and opposing Golem, specifically). It also provides much-appreciated boppage for Mareanie and can provide an emergency Swan check with Thunderbolt (or Pinsir with Shadow Ball/Flamethrower; takes 43% max from unboosted EQ).
I've tested this on a more BO-focused completed version of this team and it has performed its role pretty well; additional pressure on Bronzor and Gourgeist is almost mandatory for this team, even if it's not coming from Silv-G.
Sorry for the delay, the voting phase for R3 has began. You have until Saturday to get your votes in for the set you want to have added to the team. Do not vote for your own submission.
The choices are:
Choice Scarf Rotom Fan
Z-Rain Dance Swanna
Choice Scarf Electvire
Specially Offensive Silvally-Ghost
Mirbro's Z-Rain Dance Swanna has won in the voting phase for round 3. Nominations for round 4 have began and will end on Friday March 29th. Be sure to nominate Pokemon that synergize well with the established team.
Choice Scarf Electivire gives this team a form of Speed Control, can potentially create a VoltTurn core with whatever we choose for Pokemon #6, and forms the most solid offensive core in the current ZU metagame: Electivire + Swanna + Shiftry.
The team so far has a neat backbone in Defog Synthesis Shiftry/Curse Muk/Phys Def Golem, and opts for a wincon in Z-Rain Dance Swanna, but lacks offensive outlets against faster threats imo. While the current team covers a lot of the meta, Pokemon such as Kadabra, Silvally-Dragon, and opposing Swanna stand out as threats and the team heavily relies on Swanna to ouplay threats like SD Combusken, SD Pawniard, and even Gourgeist-XL.
My initial thought was Choice Scarf Mr. Mime because of its ability to revenge kill SD Combusken and soft check Pokemon like Silvally-Dragon and Kadabra. With Mime the team would need a good breaker in the sixth slot and Trick also means it'd be useful against bulkier teams.
Another idea is adding a bulky Normal-type such as AV Bouffalant or AV Kecleon with Fake Out to alleviate the reliance on Muk to check special attackers. AV Bouff could run Pursuit to whittle down certain special attackers and trap Kadabra, and AV Kecleon with priority can really help sponge attacks and break down teams. With these mons though the team would be slow and still need more breaking power.
In theory, CB Silvally gives the team the breaking power it needs and appreciates Knock Off support from Shiftry. While it doesn't help a lot vs special attackers and faster threats, it does free up the team's options for speed control imo.
On paper Mago Grumpig acts as nice glue for the team because of its natural bulk and resistances. It'd still be kind of passive and not be the offensive outlet the team needs imo, but it could definitely be an option for bulkier variant of the team.
I like the idea of an Electric-type, though I think this build would benefit more from a breaker than a Choice Scarf one. For example, LO mixed Evire rather than Scarf or even NP Raichu to help the team break better.
Overall I think certain matchups like Silvally-Dragon are going to be inherently tough for the team and that's something you gotta live with, unless the team goes for bulk>offensive counterplay (i.e Wish Licky).
Pros:
- Outspeeds almost entire unboosted metagame (curse you, Floatzel)
- Notably, unboosted base 95s, Rapidash, and Kadabra
- Spams/Threatens blizzard v Gourgeist (the defensive mon that currently gives the team the most trouble; Swanna needs to hit 2 straight Canes and Muk can win but it's slow and painful), along w/a lot of other thingsin the tier
- A skilled player should be able to capitalize on these switches with appropriate doubles or 50/50s
- If opp has bronzor, we have defog shiftry to double into
- Bops incoming SpDef mons with Wood Hammer and cripples them or forces them to recover
- Beats opposing offense almost singlehandedly
Cons:
- Not a fast scarfer (doesn't deal with aforementioned SD Busken or opposing ScarfVires, though we have other ways of dealing with Vire)
- Switches into rocks hurts a lot, so using Shiftry as a defogger may be important (somethnig which Shiftry is OK at in theory but in practice often has trouble performing)
We should definitely settle on a Scarfer here, as it determines how we fill out the rest of the team (defensively vs offensively). We don't actually have a lot of theoretical defensive holes, so the scarfer may be a slot we can play around a little with.
