AAA Almost Any Ability

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
How will this affect the metagame?
Okay one time in Discord I almost got scolded to death because I said "banning Terrakion, while I support it, is a change that removes the last top-tier scarfer in the metagame". I mean, I get it. Stuff like Victini exists. But if we take a look at banned 'mons like Hoopa-U, Keldeo, and Terrakion, most of them have Stealth Rock resistances which means they can come in more than just a couple times to bring pain, and they all (except Poopa-U) can safely retreat against Weavile which kills like almost every Pokemon with adapt + band + pursuit at this point (in Hoopa-U's case, it can just win against Weavile 1v1 unless Weavile is scarf(???) or it is locked into Psychic-type moves). Now what I want to say by making reference to scarf users is that revenge killing is gonna be very reliant on priority meaning anti-priority stuff might be more prevalent.
Well this is just my perspective, it might be totally wrong but this is how I generally predict about this meta.

Do you see any specific mons that will appreciate this ban?
* Now birdies like Zapdos, Mandibuzz, and Skarmory (which is 2HKO'd by adapt + band + CC) have one less pain to face and I think they will carry Magic Bounce more than before. This doesn't mean Delta Stream won't be a good ability for them, however.
* No more Doublade memes
* Idk, people will still use Gligar / Hippowdon because of Landorus-T and stuff so I don't think walls that were dedicated to stop Terrakion will decline in usage or anything.

----​

One thing I noticed during Terrakion suspect that is possibly more significant issue than the suspect itself (doesn't mean I took suspect lightly, everyone was voting ban's etc etc) is the controversy on Adaptability.

No one asked what I think about it but I will just say what I think about this issue. While I understand Adaptability is powerful ability that is somewhat unpredictable that cannot be indicated easily, I don't think it needs a ban.

This ability is just absolutely insane, slap it on anything offensive and it turns into this unwallable fucking beast of a Pokemon. - avocado
Tbf I half agree and half disagree. Some people might know this already but Adaptability shines when STAB combination is good enough to threaten the notable portion of the metagame. Let's take a look at banned stuff:

* Keldeo
- Notable walls that can take care of dual STABs are Tapu Fini, Toxapex, and that's about it.
- Chansey gets dunked on by Secret Sword

* Terrakion
- Only possible switch-ins are Hippowdon, Buzzwole, and Gligar. (Tapu Fini lacks reliable recovery outsides Poison Heal)
- Due to excellent STAB combination and ability to force shitload of switches it can free a moveslot to slap in stuff like Stealth Rock and Toxic

But if we move on to other stuff, Adaptability isn't good in reality. Garchomp? Landorus-T? Well, it has p good Attack, good Speed as a potential Scarf user, but guess what, Skarmory says hi, and Buzzwole / Hippowdon are impossible to surmount without SD boost and they just won't die if they have Intimidate.

An ability is deemed banworthy when we believe that the ability itself is the issue, and that a disproportionate amount of users become "broken" with the ability. - Laxpras
This kinda finalizes my reasoning; very few Pokemon are able to simultaneously threaten most of the metagame, make efficient lure sets, always do something meaningful against any archetype of teams while possessing top tier Speed and enough offensive stats. Keldeo just wrecks any teams that is not specifically prepared for it, and the same goes Terrakion except it has an access to stuff like Swords Dance and Stealth Rock. The only good Adaptability users we have, I would say, are Bisharp, which cannot set up at all and is reliant on inconsistent priority move against hyperoffense, and Lucario, which has less powerful priority move and therefore has to choose between carrying scarf (who tf uses scarf lucario) and be dead weigh against stall, or, carry Swords Dance / Nasty Plot and don't do much against hyperoffense.

So yeah. I have been actively playing AAA during Terrakion suspect and this is what I think.
 
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aVocado

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Garchomp doesn't struggle that much vs Skarmory imo, +2 Outrage is pretty close to 2HKOing with SR:

+2 252 Atk Adaptability Garchomp Outrage vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 148-175 (44.4 - 52.5%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

and z-outrage does a whopping 70% so breaking past Skarmory for Garchomp has been easy for me in any game. I don't think choice band would be an item I'd slap on Garchomp, z-outrage seems to be the best set to me for this very reason, and dragon/ground stab combo only misses on celesteela, skarmory, and levitating fairies (if such thing exists, I don't think it does but I've come across levitate magearna which I assumed isn't optimal lol), and cele is 2hko'd by outrage while skarm can be broken with a z-move.

Hippowdon also drops to +1 Outrage (assuming you SD and they come in for intimidate). Idk what cele runs but if its max/max+ def it's in the same boat as skarmory.

I suppose this could be a stretch though but it's just food for thought and what I experienced during my laddering. I also suppose you could make the argument of playing around z-move, but that sounds like a shaky argument to me cuz you'd be sacking a mon or taking a risk doing this.

I could see the argument though, adaptability was good enough to get a few mons banned but not good to the degree where it should be banned itself.
 
Garchomp doesn't struggle that much vs Skarmory imo, +2 Outrage is pretty close to 2HKOing with SR:

+2 252 Atk Adaptability Garchomp Outrage vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 148-175 (44.4 - 52.5%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

and z-outrage does a whopping 70% so breaking past Skarmory for Garchomp has been easy for me in any game. I don't think choice band would be an item I'd slap on Garchomp, z-outrage seems to be the best set to me for this very reason, and dragon/ground stab combo only misses on celesteela, skarmory, and levitating fairies (if such thing exists, I don't think it does but I've come across levitate magearna which I assumed isn't optimal lol), and cele is 2hko'd by outrage while skarm can be broken with a z-move.

Hippowdon also drops to +1 Outrage (assuming you SD and they come in for intimidate). Idk what cele runs but if its max/max+ def it's in the same boat as skarmory.

I suppose this could be a stretch though but it's just food for thought and what I experienced during my laddering. I also suppose you could make the argument of playing around z-move, but that sounds like a shaky argument to me cuz you'd be sacking a mon or taking a risk doing this.

I could see the argument though, adaptability was good enough to get a few mons banned but not good to the degree where it should be banned itself.
Skarmory’s standard set is unaware, so adapt chomp has difficulty 4hkoing it. Even intimidate skarm, though, isnt koed by +1 zoutrage->outrage even with rocks. Tapu Fini can switch into sd and take the +2 eq even with rocks up (although its easily worn down by eq), and tapu Bulu deals easily. Garchomp is an excelent wallbreaker in the vein of mamoswine, but isnt really a threat from the same cloth because:
  1. It has already viable answers on stall, semistall, and balance (mainly skarm but also fini or celesteela) that arent a tiny bit of chip damage away from death ala buzzwole or intimidate skarmory for terrakion
  2. Its stabs are worse; both have immunities and earthquake may have custom answers such as levitites or grassy surgers.
  3. It is reliant on zmoves and setup, which hurts both is breaking multiple build in soft answers (such as ff skarmory+ intimi buzzwole and against teams with unaware and means it needs more than just a pivot into something it beats.
  4. Its less effective against offense, both because of its lower speed tier and its reliance on setup and zmoves for OHKOes
  5. It can be trapped, either by weavile after chip or by anything (especially fairies) if it ends up clicking outrage.

In terms of defensive counterplay, theres much more variaty in what may be chosen to answer it and more reliability thanks to the lack of fear of random toxic putting it just into 2HKO range, especially given the ability to use fairies to play around with outrage and Zoutrage.
 

aVocado

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Skarmory’s standard set is unaware, so adapt chomp has difficulty 4hkoing it. Even intimidate skarm, though, isnt koed by +1 zoutrage->outrage even with rocks. Tapu Fini can switch into sd and take the +2 eq even with rocks up (although its easily worn down by eq), and tapu Bulu deals easily. Garchomp is an excelent wallbreaker in the vein of mamoswine, but isnt really a threat from the same cloth because:
  1. It has already viable answers on stall, semistall, and balance (mainly skarm but also fini or celesteela) that arent a tiny bit of chip damage away from death ala buzzwole or intimidate skarmory for terrakion
  2. Its stabs are worse; both have immunities and earthquake may have custom answers such as levitites or grassy surgers.
  3. It is reliant on zmoves and setup, which hurts both is breaking multiple build in soft answers (such as ff skarmory+ intimi buzzwole and against teams with unaware and means it needs more than just a pivot into something it beats.
  4. Its less effective against offense, both because of its lower speed tier and its reliance on setup and zmoves for OHKOes
  5. It can be trapped, either by weavile after chip or by anything (especially fairies) if it ends up clicking outrage.

In terms of defensive counterplay, theres much more variaty in what may be chosen to answer it and more reliability thanks to the lack of fear of random toxic putting it just into 2HKO range, especially given the ability to use fairies to play around with outrage and Zoutrage.
fair points on everything but offense would be obliterated by either stab without set up tbh
 
Talking about Adaptability, I made a team around Adaptability Z Victini for the suspect and I can say that isn't that good like Terrakion, yes, most of the wins that I got with the team were Victini sweeps, but the difference between Terrakion and Victini is that Terrakion is good for itself, while Victini needs support to do its job.

Terrakion has a better type combination that gives it an almost perfect coverage and resistence to SR while Victini has one that makes it weak to SR and it's so bad if you consider that it also needs a turn to set up (and a waste a moveslot) meaning that it can be weaken enough with that turn and the SR damage to revenge kill it with priority. It can take advantage of the phychic Terrian but it requires support of one of its teammates and Terrakion can have it as well to get rid of the Triage users so isn't a valid point.

Other thing is that the fire attacks can be walled with Primordial sea and Flash fire that are used mainly in steel types a type that resist psychic so it had to rely in focus blast, a move that has less accuracy than Stone Edge and if you choose that coverage move, it gets walled by Aegislash and Doublade, meaning that it needs another support with magnet pull to get rid of the Flash Fire mons.

The last point is the speed, that 8 points makes a huge difference, even at +1, Victini can be revenge killed easily with common scarf users Such Garchomp, Terrakion, Nihilego, etc. So it needs Sticky web support to be able to sweep.

If a mon needs a lot of support to do its job, then it's not broken because not every battle you will be able to set up all you need meaning that you will be in desfavorable matchups if the rival is using an agressive team that not allows you set up, while Terrakion is able to pressure since the first turn, other Adaptibility users has more flaws than Terrakion such Garchomp being weak x4 to Ice shard and Refrigerate Extreme speed, Bisharp and Weavile to Triage Drain Punch and match punch (while Terrakion is able to take one sometimes).
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
Does this mean we can take a look at mamo now? That mon is almost a terrak level problem imo.
I would say we should.

Terrakion does stuff like, breaking havoc with Choice Band / Swords Dance, or revenge kill threats like Volcarona using Choice Scarf. Mamoswine, on the other hand, does something similar but it has even better dual STAB which only leaves Buzzwole as a reliable switch-in barring gimmicky shits like Levitate Heatran or some sort. Also it isn't even useless against HO because Life Orb + Adaptability + Ice Shard hurts hella a lot to frail stuff like Xurkitree:

252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Xurkitree: 151-179 (49.1 - 58.3%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Xurkitree: 166-198 (54 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Mamoswine is also capable of bypassing two prevalent Intimidate users called Gligar and Hippowdon. Skarmory is stressful at times but it can be lured in and be taken out by Magnet Pull user or your Mamoswine can use Stealth Rock while forcing a switch. No setup move is bummer but its dual STAB in current meta is just, excellent.

That is not to mention Mamoswine running special moves is not a meme at all:

0 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 208-247 (49.7 - 59%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

0 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Skarmory: 166-198 (49.8 - 59.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

One time I said "Mamoswine in AAA is like Primal Groudon in BH for certain degree". Well that's kinda exaggerated but this guy theoretically has 0 switch-ins; and those who are meant to check physical Life Orb variants get memed by lure. I mean, you can run stuff like Thicc Fat Buzzwole or Grassy Surge Mew but that's about it. You need to run something really specific to handle this Mamoswine.

But there are drawback too; in order to maximize wallbreaking-efficiency Mamoswine needs Life Orb; running Choice Band leaves you unable to use Ice Shard after using other moves, and after you use Choice Band Ice Shard for revenge killing, you will most likely be a setup fodder against the next guy that comes in. So vulnerability to entry hazards and Life Orb kinda puts Mamoswine on timer (unlike Terrakion which didn't have a reason to choose Life Orb, had Stealth Rock weakness, resistance to Pursuit, etc). Also its Speed tier of 80, while decent as a wallbreaker, isn't stellar enough to kill everything in any playstyle like Terrakion did.

Yes I said we should look over this Mamoswine but I am not sure whether it is banworthy or not when it has this many notable strengths / drawbacks as a wallbreaker. I personally pressure it with stuff like Genesect but sometimes it isn't enough.
 
I would say we should.

Terrakion does stuff like, breaking havoc with Choice Band / Swords Dance, or revenge kill threats like Volcarona using Choice Scarf. Mamoswine, on the other hand, does something similar but it has even better dual STAB which only leaves Buzzwole as a reliable switch-in barring gimmicky shits like Levitate Heatran or some sort. Also it isn't even useless against HO because Life Orb + Adaptability + Ice Shard hurts hella a lot to frail stuff like Xurkitree:

252 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Xurkitree: 151-179 (49.1 - 58.3%) -- 98.4% chance to 2HKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Xurkitree: 166-198 (54 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Mamoswine is also capable of bypassing two prevalent Intimidate users called Gligar and Hippowdon. Skarmory is stressful at times but it can be lured in and be taken out by Magnet Pull user or your Mamoswine can use Stealth Rock while forcing a switch. No setup move is bummer but its dual STAB in current meta is just, excellent.

That is not to mention Mamoswine running special moves is not a meme at all:

0 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 208-247 (49.7 - 59%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

0 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Mamoswine Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Skarmory: 166-198 (49.8 - 59.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

One time I said "Mamoswine in AAA is like Primal Groudon in BH for certain degree". Well that's kinda exaggerated but this guy theoretically has 0 switch-ins; and those who are meant to check physical Life Orb variants get memed by lure. I mean, you can run stuff like Thicc Fat Buzzwole or Grassy Surge Mew but that's about it. You need to run something really specific to handle this Mamoswine.

But there are drawback too; in order to maximize wallbreaking-efficiency Mamoswine needs Life Orb; running Choice Band leaves you unable to use Ice Shard after using other moves, and after you use Choice Band Ice Shard for revenge killing, you will most likely be a setup fodder against the next guy that comes in. So vulnerability to entry hazards and Life Orb kinda puts Mamoswine on timer (unlike Terrakion which didn't have a reason to choose Life Orb, had Stealth Rock weakness, resistance to Pursuit, etc). Also its Speed tier of 80, while decent as a wallbreaker, isn't stellar enough to kill everything in any playstyle like Terrakion did.

Yes I said we should look over this Mamoswine but I am not sure whether it is banworthy or not when it has this many notable strengths / drawbacks as a wallbreaker. I personally pressure it with stuff like Genesect but sometimes it isn't enough.
Not to mention that the primary stab has a 30% flinch chance making a lot of those 3hkos happen. Plenty of matches are won or lost because skarmory flinches and dies.
 

Laxpras

One small yeet for man, one giant yeet for mankind
Laxpras's AAA Teambuilding Challenge Introduction

Hey everyone, I'm starting a new AAA specific challenge, here are the rules:

  • You have 10 days to create a team, test it, and tell me why it is the best.
  • You will post your team with accompanying descriptions of why it works.
  • Replays (especially against good players - feel free to challenge me) and high ladder rankings with a Name_Challenge ("Laxpras"_TR in this case) alt will be looked on especially favorably!
  • Any willing council members and I will be the judge of teams on an extremely subjectively objective basis
  • Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention awards will be handed out
  • Award winning users will be placed in the AAA Teambuilding Hall of Fame! (Once I get help getting a new post in under the OP), the best team will be added to the samples!
Challenge #1: Trick Room
Who can build the best Trick Room team? Let's find out!
Things that judges will consider:
  • Is Trick Room the core of the team? Or do you just simply have a one or two mons that utilize the conditions?
  • Creativity (ie don't just copy my team!)
  • Viability (How do you beat common mons like Magearna? Poison Heal stalling out your TR? What about priority?)
  • Ability to beat different playstyles (offense, stall, weather, balance)
  • Can you reliably get Trick Room up? (Can you get it up against HO, what about against Taunt users?)
  • Let us know how your team meets these goals!
Things judges don't care about:
  • A replay of your team beating another Trick Room team. Let's be real no one uses TR in AAA besides yours truly, how your team matches up against TR is fairly irrelevant

You have until October 30th

Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Tinted Lens
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Adaptability
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance

Golisopod @ Life Orb
Ability: Tough Claws
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Aqua Jet

Diancie @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pixilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Diamond Storm
- Explosion

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Download
Happiness: 0
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch


Edit to below: Crabominable is a personal fave, take that as you will (damn you Tapu fini)
 
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aVocado

@ Everstone
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Trick Room is a disgraceful move that is 1) incredibly easy to build around 2) incredibly easy to play and 3) incredibly match-up dependent. It's a crutch for players that cant build :(

also, terrakion is still legal on the ladder more than a week after it's ban .-.

And about trick room in AAA, maybe Oblivious Diancie would be good so that you don't get taunted :o tho pixilate explosion sounds nice.
 
Honestly I think the issue with tr is pretty straightforward, you simply don't have enough turns. If there was a tr extender item, completely different situation, but with that lacking well it's really hard to win with it. For starters, because of the lack of turns, ur lead almost always has to be suicide, otherwise by the time it dies, ur gonna have like 1 turn left. In fact, all tr setters on ur team are gonna have to be suicide or slow pivot, or a self setting tr sweeper which is hard to find in aaa. Furthermore, setup sweepers almost never work, because by he time you get into ur setup mon, and actually setup, well u have like 1-2 turns left which is nothing, and once it's over ur normally screwed. The only setup that might work is something like PH snorlax in tr which boosts defenses as well attack, so even once tr is over, you are still a massive threat, but tr seems wasted on something like that especially as you most likely are wasting a mon just to set tr, and literally any unaware mon will hardwall it. So with setup pretty much a no, all tr teams must resorted to pure instant power, which is apparent with the example team having stuff like adapt awak, download mawile, and adapt bisharp, some of the scariest offensive threats on a purely immediate power basis. And while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it again boils down to the lack of turns. Under tr mons like adapt sharp and awak are terrifying, but without tr they get blown away by most offense. Finally, tr is really really obvious to spot at team preview, meaning that you don't even have much surprise element. I'm not saying tr is impossible, I just think that most solid teams will deal with even the best tr team with a good deal of ease, and I will be very impressed and surprised if someone actually makes a tr team that's on par with some of the other better samples. I wouldn't put it past someone like laxpras or jrdn, but I've played lax a fair bit and the only matchup I've never lost has been tr, all the others he usually wins.
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
As a player with limited experience with OU Trick Room teams, I would say any teams that will ever be submitted for this project will never be consistent.
Racool said it but your lead has to suicide for your first breaker to come in safely; because of this you use stuff like Memento Uxie, Explosion Diancie, or in my case, Lagging Tail + Trick Room + Final Gambit Victini. After you make that sacrifice, you have to score as many KO's as possible with your next 'mon. For instance, after you set rocks (without getting Taunted) and let your next guy come in safely against something like Heatran, you send Alolan Marowak. Then it comes to mind games. Opponent can switch to something that takes Bonemerang or he might stay in expecting Swords Dance. Every single turn in Trick room is intense and is extremely mind-game reliant because a single misprediction leads to possible a waste of the entire cycle of Trick Room. If you don't set up on switch, you can't break anything, and if you overpredict, you possibly let your sweeper die where it stands. In AAA, chances of failing to execute plans perfectly under Trick Room is even higher; say, you send physically oriented wallbreaker with stuff like Adaptability after your suicide lead is gone. If you want to be successful with that 'mon, your attacker has to be able to deal with Intimidate Hippowdon / Gligar / Buzzwole / Skarmory which will most likely switch-in, and this is not to mention prevalent Unaware walls are able to invalidate set ups. Mold Breaker users will be stopped cold by Intimidate users and special attackers will struggle with stuff like Magearna / Chansey.
Also Trick Room is very offensive teams and most sweepers and attackers are frail and has very terrible longevity (except the likes of Magearna and Cresselia), and are generally on timer to KO 6 'mons because the team usually can't afford walls that are dedicated to provide important utilities such as hazard removal or status cleric.
Again, teams that will be built around Trick Room around AAA will be very inconsistent, but after all this is a "challenge" and it still sounds fun to give a shot.
 
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I love this idea but I don't care enough about Trick Room to participate this time around. Throw me some weather/terrain stuff next round please, that's my forte :)
 
So, I like literally just joined but I've been playing AAA for a like a year, but I've never played so I hope this is okay? The EVs haven't been given for exact stats, so its all 252 on its desired stats.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam
- Tri Attack
- Recover

Sets up the TR, as well as performs as a tank if the trick room fails or if an opponent begins to set up on it.

Garchomp @ Garchompite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

The setup and hard-hitter, it forces a switch, Mega-Evolves, SD's and begins to nuke things with Earthquake.

Volcanion @ Waterium Z
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Used to shut down Xurkitree and other electric types and obliterate a mon with Z-Steam Eruption.

Buzzwole @ Choice Band
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Life
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge

Another nuke, Tough Claws gives a huge boost in damage, as well as choice band, destroys mons with Superpower.

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]

This thing does too much damage Volt Switch is easy to spam and can do significant damage to most neutrally hit tanks.

Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Return
- Wild Charge
- U-turn
- Taunt

This is for if TR fails and it can help shut down setup and do good damage against a lot of mons with its speed.
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
I'll give it a shot.



마기아나(Magearna) @ Fairium Z
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch

이븐곰(Bewear) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Hammer Arm
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

유크시(Uxie) @ Red Card
Ability: Turboblaze
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- U-turn
- Memento

텅구리(Marowak-Alola) @ Thick Club
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Bonemerang
- Swords Dance

입치트(Mawile-Mega) @ Mawilite
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch
- Swords Dance

크레세이아(Cresselia) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Lunar Dance
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight


Description:

Magearna, Uxie, and Cresselia exist to set up TR. Uxie is suicide lead with Stealth Rock and Memento to keep momentum and let other 'mons set up easier. Magearna takes care of annoying shits like Weavile and Leech Life Triage users, and is able to set Trick Room once in the worst situation thanks to Sturdy. Cresseila on the other hand punishes Triage users like Breloom / Conkeldurr and keeps stuff like Ferrothorn from messing around while simultaneously handling Substitute Zygarde which abuses the turn I use to set Trick Room and uses SubCoil or SubDD.

Marowak-A has Adaptability because its STAB already hits the entire metagame neutrally and with Swords Dance, very few 'mon that is not Unaware / Intimidate can handle Shadow Bone and Flare Blitz. For Mawile, I didn't have any ability to choose over Download. I hope this clarifies that I have not just copied and pasted Marowak-A and Mega Mawile from sample; both of them are already the best 'mons that run rampant in Trick Room. Mawile has Thunder Punch over Sucker Punch to handle Toxapex and Skarmory.

Now here is the real star of the team: Bewear. The set's idea has been derived from Poison Heal Regigigas in BH. Bewear possesses the second highest attack among Normal-types that have access to Facade, and unlike Ursaring it has access to secondary typing which is handy against Steel-types. I was alternating between Thunder Punch and Earthquake and I decided to stick to Earthquake because Marowak-A and Mawile can handle Skarmory, and Earthquake lets Bewear to hit rare yet cancerous Doublade and Aegislash. Speed was not minimized to improve matchup against stall teams.

Edit:
Forgot to explain why Bewear is op
Flame Orb + Guts hit like a truck; +2 Facade / Hammer Arm OHKO's Hippowdon / Skarmory / Gligar / Buzzwole. Even if they are Unaware they take hefty damage from switching in and risk getting 2HKO'd after Stealth Rock. Here is a quick summary of the sheer power:

252+ Atk Guts Bewear Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tapu Fini: 324-382 (94.1 - 111%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Guts Bewear Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 726-855 (103.1 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Guts Bewear Facade (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 352-415 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Why is this team acceptable? Well, the trio of Marowak-A, Mega Mawile, and Bewear has next to no counterplay; Skarmory falls to Marowak-A and Thunder Punch from Mawile, Gligar is taken out by +2 Marowak-A after Stealth Rock and 2 Facade from burnt Bewear, Buzzwole can't handle the core for obvious reasons, and Intimidate Hippowdon has a roll to be OHKO'd by +1 Bewear after Stealth Rock damage.

As I have mentioned, no Trick Room teams are consistent, and mine is no exception. But I can confidently say with right predictions, this team will have some success.


Replays:

So yah I'm not the best AAA player and most of these are not against high ladder players but I tried my best to accumulate replays against various archetypes.

vs.
Against Aurora Veil Team

vs.
Predictions after predictions & Sturdy Magearna showcase

vs.
-> The reason why Cresselia needs Magic Bounce

vs.
Against sample team from Jrdn, Sturdy Magearna saves my ass again

vs.
Against [UNKNOWN THEME] team
Oh on the second replay, Teambuilder fucked up and gave my Bewear 0 Attack EV's
 
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Prepare for a wet trick room!
Magearna @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
- Fleur Cannon

Volcanion @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Steam Eruption
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast

Cresselia @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Lunar Dance
- Ice Beam
- Protect

Ampharos-Mega @ Ampharosite
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunder
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soft-Boiled
- Aromatherapy
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Power Whip


Description

This is a bulky TR team which also uses rain to further boost the breakers's damage output.

Magearna is the first TR setter and also the team's rain setter with Drizzle and Damp Rock. Thanks to rain, it loses its fire weakness, so that only the ground weakness remains. Thanks to its great bulk, a TR is almost guaranteed, even without sturdy. It can either use the TR for itself to finish off weakened mons with quick fleur cannons or pivot out to let Ampharos or Volcanion come in. Pain Split gives it a little recovery, and is especially effective against Chansey which often switches into Magearna to soak up its special attacks, altough another attacking move over it is also an option. Too bad that it doesn't get thunder...

And here is the star of the team: Volcanion. I have used it in several of my AAA teams ago, sometimes with Sheer Force for awesome firepower without choice-lock and sometimes Swift Swim variants in rain to outspeed all other mons and do severe damage with rainboosted Steam Eruptions. And here, the power of Rain and Sheer Force is combined to cause destruction. There are almost no switchins for those Steam Eruptions - even Chansey with eviolite has a good chance of being 2HKOed after rocks:
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Rain: 257-304 (40 - 47.3%) -- 47.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
And thanks to the Life Orb, it can freely change moves, so that it isn't forced out by water absorbers or bulky waters like Tapu Fini or Toxapex.

Ampharos-Mega is the second TR abuser and was chosen over Xurkitree due to its better bulk, typing and lower base speed. Never missing thunders coming from 165 SpA are quite destructive, especially when it gets the SpA boost from Download. Mold Breaker has been quite helpful, as it allows Ampharos to get past Volt Absorb/Lightning Rod, which are commonly used on electric-weak mons like Manaphy or Gyarados.

Cresselia is the second TR setter, and also can be used as a tank if necessary. Poison Heal was chosen over another ability to give it reliable recovery, as Moonlight is crippled by rain and has only 8 PP. Being immune to status can be very useful when facing stuff like Spore users or No Guard Zap Cannon spammers. Ice Beam is the chosen attacking move to nail Zygarde, which is usually walled by Cresselia. Lunar Dance lets Creesselia sacrifice itself to revive another mon. Another option might be a CM Psyshock set, but I found Lunar Dance and Ice Beam more useful.

Unaware Chansey stops opposing setup sweepers, keeps the team healthy and soaks up special hits.

Ferrothorn with Regenerator completes the defensive core. Thanks to rain, it lose one of its two fire weaknesses, so that it can afford to run Regenerator without having to fear Hidden Power Fire. It provides useful resists, checks Tapu Koko and others, sets Stealth Rock and has some offensive presence with Gyro Ball under Trick Room.

Replays
Too bad that it takes so long to find opponents on the ladder...
 
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I'll submit my team too, but I would like to preface it by saying I agree with above sentiments about TR in this meta. It's too damn hard. The abuse of immediate power is necessary to make use of it, and set-up is risky business. It is nice that you can run max HP with a boosting nature in whichever attack stat you prefer without having to worry about speed investments, at least. That being said, here's my team!

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Toxic
- Recover

Max Defense Unaware P2 is such a tank. I like this set as it switches in to physical attackers with set-up like Zygarde no problem and does serious damage with Ice Beam. Also improves the matchup a little bit on things like Hippo and Gligar. It's a remarkably reliable TR setter, save Taunt. It is my go to lead for teams that have a Steel I might want to trap later with Chandelure.

Rampardos @ Choice Band
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm

A set described by amazing AAA player jrdn as "pretty shitty," which could very well be accurate. Banded Head Smash with no recoil? Yes please. The issue with Rampardos is its awful bulk and uselessness outside of TR, and its extreme weakness to priority. If we're being honest though, most TR abusers are pretty screwed without it and the difference in damage between Rampardos and something like Tyrantrum is pretty significant. It doesn't have many (or practically any) switch-ins, bar savvy Intimidate users like Doublade/Hippo. It really destroys any offensive mon, resist or not.
Also: You will be clicking Head Smash 99% of the time.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rampardos Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 315-372 (91.8 - 108.4%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rampardos Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 637-751 (90.6 - 106.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rampardos Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Gligar: 225-265 (67.3 - 79.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (although what Gligar is not Intimidate)
252+ Atk Choice Band Rampardos Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 273-322 (81.9 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Rampardos Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 348-409 (86.1 - 101.2%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO (is this even a Mew spread??)

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

I love this Conkeldurr for its ability to function in and out of TR quite well. After Bulk Up, even after TR runs out it can stay alive for a very long time thanks to the recovery from Drain Punch, its nice bulk, and its power. Poison Jab for fairies, Earthquake for coverage. It's nice.

Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Levitate/Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Thunder Punch

Download Mawile Mega is nice, but somewhat unreliable. Having an immunity eases switching in Mawile from something like Magearna. I had been using Levitate, but I think Flash Fire might be better when Victini is everywhere. Otherwise, Victini has little risk in clicking V-Create and killing something. Once you're in on whatever you're immune to, you can SD and just obliterate (in the 2 turns you have left lol). Thunder punch is for bulky waters like Golisopod and Steel/Flying types.

Magearna @ Fairium Z
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam

Same Magearna as Laxpras' sample, except with Ice Beam instead of Flash Cannon for when you want to get rid of Zygarde or Lando without tanking your Sp.A or wasting your Z move. This set is amazing, as Z-Fleur Cannon obliterates defensive Ferrothorn, Victini, you name it. Also, a self-setting threat is amazing in TR. Way to go, Magearna!

Chandelure @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick Room
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Memento

The only "fast" mon on the team, Magnet Pull Chandelure is amazing as a suicide lead TR setter for a team with no problematic Steels, or as a trapper for those that are. TR + Memento is a great combo and ensures that the next mon can come in safely and even set-up if I'm lucky. s/o jasprose for helping me with coming up with this one!

Weaknesses
Lots. This team's answer to Taunt is just to predict they're going to use it and smack the Taunter with a move instead. It also is weak to any form of protecting move that can stall out the turns, and it is weak to good predictions with defensive play. As mentioned above, Intimidate users, especially those that resist Head Smash like Hippowdown, are a problem. Strong priority as always is a problem for TR teams, but both Mag and Mawile can handle the common Triage moves (Leech Life and Horn Leech) and won't die to Weavile. It is by no means perfect, but the team does a lot of damage and that's nice. However, Rampardos basically dies to a feather touch so be wary! This team also does not have a rocker, which may or not be a deal breaker for some people.

Replays
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648207011 against someone with a decent ELO?
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648445949 against someone extremely handsome (GL Volkner)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648115238 replay in which Gallade gets obliterated by Head Smash
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648104601 replay in which Triage Conk decimates out of TR
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648099625 replay in which there are webs on my side which is fine by me
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-648096963 replay in which Chandelure shows off its dual trapper/setter role

Thanks for reading! :)
 
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Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
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I see something that really benefits from Terrakion's ban:

Snorlax @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Facade
- Protect
- Curse
- Fire Punch


Before:
Snorlax wasn't common in the meta mainly due to Terrakion being on 75% on every team. Not only Snorlax couldn't set-up safely, it further could be defeated even if it had boosts, mainly because Terrakion could run Sacred Sword to bypass the defensive boosts.

After:
With Terrakion banned, Snorlax now can find opportunities to set-up. Its high special bulk and HP allows it to live a hit from Noivern and kill it back assuming it has some boosts first. Although there are still some Fighting-types, they are significally worse than Terrakion and are better handled, which means that team support for Snorlax is less needed, but still required. If you're able to set up screens for Snorlax, setting up shouldn't be a problem, especially against some Fighting-types after prior boosts before they switch-in.
 

Laxpras

One small yeet for man, one giant yeet for mankind
Laxpras Challenge #1 Results
(click name for team)
Gold: Semako

Semako gets points for creativity with the combination of weather and Trick Room. Volcanion is an established threat in the meta, though Semako opts for Sheer Force rather than Tinted Lens. Mega Ampharos has seldom seen use since I used it as a Magnet Puller last gen, but this is a very dangerous set that actually has a good matchup against a lot of SpD walls in the meta, especially with Volcanion's ability to defeat Magearna. I do worry that this team only has 2 legitimate attackers, but I think there is enough balance to be able to wear teams down to win. This team would require more skill and planning to use, but I believe would have the highest ceiling. I'm awarding Gold due to this being the first time I've seen TR + Weather.
Silver: RNGIsFatal

This team introduces Bewear to AAA with a fun set to avoid harm of scald burns and other status. He has several setters allowing him to safely get TR up, but these setters are extremely passive. He chose a trio of physical attackers, which, whether planned or not, have the chemistry necessary to beat most of the physical walls in the meta. Could have competed for Gold if it wasn't for the replication of Marowak & Mawile from my sample.
Bronze: TheCoastofToast
TCoT comes in with a very reliable TR setter in Porygon2 and a devastating attacker in Rampardos. This is what many would consider a very standard Trick Room team, lacking significant creativity even though it may be the easiest team to win with out of the three. Another dilemma is Chandelure; the presence of a Magnet Puller isn't very effective for the rest of the teambuild, and Chandelure does not mesh well with the rest of the team as there is no hazard removal to protect the sash.

Honorable Mention: MaxBazooka
This is a good team but I would have liked to seen a better post to establish it, please look at the other teams posted to get an idea of what I expect.
Laxpras Challenge #2 - Magearna Lure

  • You have 10 days to create a team, test it, and tell me why it is the best.
  • You will post your team with accompanying descriptions of why it works.
  • Replays (especially against good players - feel free to challenge me) and high ladder rankings with a Name_Challenge ("Laxpras"_ML in this case) alt will be looked on especially favorably!
  • Any willing council members and I will be the judge of teams on an extremely subjectively objective basis
  • Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention awards will be handed out
  • Award winning users will be placed in the AAA Teambuilding Hall of Fame! (Once I get help getting a new post in under the OP), the best team will be added to the samples!


Magearna is by far the most used Pokemon in Gen7 AAA; who can build the best Magearna lure and corresponding team to take advantage of this? Let's find out!

Things that judges will consider:

  • What is your Magearna lure - is it a threat that Magearna usually switches into but now can beat it?How well does the rest of your team take advantage of the loss of Magearna? Ideally, you should have powerful threats which one of its few checks is Magearna.
  • Creativity
  • Viability (Does the mon do literally anything besides beat Magearna? Does it possibly lure other things like Chansey?)
  • Let us know how your team meets these goals!
Things judges don't care about:
You having a mon that U-Turns into a Magnet Pull user. Lame.

You have until November 15th


Tyranitar @ Rockium Z
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit

Magearna resists both of Tyranitar's STABs, however this set can Dragon Dance and OHKO Magearna with Rockium.
 
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MZ

And now for something completely different
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CLC1 (Weavile) @ Groundium Z
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Dig
- Knock Off
- Fake Out

CLC2 (Buzzwole) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Ice Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Rock Slide

Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Calm Mind

Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Fleur Cannon
- Flash Cannon
- Aura Sphere
- Volt Switch

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Trick

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7almostanyability-584392001 replay of lure actually working in OMGS

I'd say that Mega Alakazam and Victini are some solid offensive Magearna lure abusers, since Zam hates the most common RegenVest stuff and Victini hates Flash Fire stuff, while Buzzwole and Skarmory also generally enjoy not having a Magearna around. Z-Dig also hits Heatran, Volcanion, weakened Toxapex, Bisharp, Entei... yeah Ground coverage is good for Weavile so I think it's fine on that criteria. Also wanna say it was creative at the time, revealing a set in OMGS sorta means that it probably won't surprise anyone afterwards but back then it was nice. I still pull this team out sometimes, it really doesn't like the rise of offensive Magearna and Tapu Koko kinda murders it just a little bit but other than that ur good really.

I don't really have the devotion to make a new team for this project, but I really really like it as a way to boost activity and already had something that fit perfectly so hopefully this isn't too lazy for u guys
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 216 HP / 208 Def / 56 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Taunt

Tapu Bulu @ Life Orb
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 240 HP / 120 Def / 148 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Tail
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake

Buzzwole @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Triage
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Superpower
- Ice Punch
- Bulk Up

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 228 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Defog

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate / Flash Fire
EVs: 240 HP / 84 Def / 184 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Wish
- Protect


This is the team I am having fun in the low ladder with after Terrakion suspect test. Because I was working on some conventional and new sets, the team naturally became resilient to some threats like Magearna and Volcarona.

One thing I was testing was Volt Absorb Heatran, the set I made out of hatred towards Magearna in general. It walls so many things, pivots out of a wall with Volt Switch and punishes Ground-types like Hippowdon or Zygarde using Ice Beam. Putting all of these Magearna's selling points into an account, I came up with Volt Absorb Heatran which theoretically takes 0 damage, unless Magearna proceeds to straight up counterteam and carries something like Aura Sphere or Focus Blast which doesn't hit anything else in particular.

Thanks to its typing, Heatran x4 resists Magearna's dual STAB / Ice Beam, and now it is immune to Volt Switch, and this means Heatran can just switch into Magearna all day and cut off the momentum. Some Magearna thinks it is fat enough to take the Fire move and shake off damage by switching out using Volt Switch, and that is basically when they find themselves trapped into a hell. This essentially leaves Magearna almost dead weight for the entirety of the match and an opponent to think twice before mindlessly pressing Volt Switch.

EV spread on Heatran allows to it to use Leftovers as efficiently as possible, keep uninvested Alolan Muk to break Sustitute with a Knock Off (and thus it is able to trap and remove it with Magma Storm + Earth Power), and survive two Grass Knot from +6 Xurkitree after Stealth Rock. Volt Absorb Heatran, rather than a lure, would better be considered as a Pokemon that leaves Magearna useless. This Heatran also handles with the rest of the meta excellently. If you take a careful look, Electric-types like Tapu Koko, Xurkitree, or Zapdos has exactly 0 ways to do meaningful damage to Heatran. It eats Fairy-type moves, Grass Knot's, and HP Ice for a breakfast.

tldr; a trapper that walls / removes Electric-types to oblivion. Gaining free HP & momentum by switching into Electric-types lets it use Substitute to harass the next 'mon that comes in. Heatran takes advantage of Magearna's existence and uses it to set Substitute or hurt switch-in with Magma Storm.

--

Rest of the Team


Tapu Bulu appreciates Heatran's ability to remove the likes of Zapdos and Skarmory, the most common check to itself, and it can handle Water-types in return. Also Tapu Bulu is my so-called second Magearna lure because of the damage output after one SD:

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Tapu Bulu Superpower vs. 240 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 331-390 (91.6 - 108%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


Goodra, while unrelated to challenge topic, is a fun meme I use and it surprisingly works well as a wall that leaves the likes of Volcarona / Volcanion / Alakazam / opposing Heatran hopelessly walled while surviving two Draco Meteor from Choice Specs Noivern and Tinted Lens Victini's V-create after Stealth Rock damage.


Buzzwole is a second partner that appreciates Heatran's ability to threaten problematic walls and it switches into Ground-types like Mamoswine, Zygarde, and Garchomp.


Zapdos is a defogger and my Landorus-T switch-in.


Jirachi was stapled in with no particular reason other than being a Wish passer and Stealth Rock support. I slashed Levitate and Flash Fire but I think the latter is better for my team i guess lul


--

Replays

Okay my team look different but I was testing / replacing stuff lol don't bash on my ladder

- How to **** Magearna & Xurkitree cries - satisfying to watch for Magearna anti-fans

- Zapdos just wanted to Defog but it died - Heatran's utility even when Magearna is absent from the other team

- Walling Xurkitree and Klinglang(???) to no end in Freeze RNG hell

--

Thanks
 
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RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
Some Magearnas carry Aura Sphere. Then, your Heatran might cry ;)
...unless Magearna proceeds to straight up counterteam and carries something like Aura Sphere or Focus Blast which doesn't hit anything else in particular.
0 SpA Magearna Aura Sphere vs. 216 HP / 56 SpD Heatran: 130-154 (34.4 - 40.8%) -- 54.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

The set itself abuses the fact that Magearna loves to press Volt Switch and Heatran discourages it from doing so in the first place. Also even if it is hit by Aura Sphere due to ct or whatever Jirachi has Wish support and it is not like Magearna will stay in and eat Magma Storm eagerly anyway.
 

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