Resource Battle Spot Past Generations Discussion Thread

DragonWhale

It's not a misplay, it's RNG manipulation
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Past Generations Discussion Thread

Talk about the Battle Spot formats of past generations here. I don't expect this to be a really active thread but it's important to keep track of our history :heart:. It's mostly for people who either joined Battle Spot in Sun and Moon and wants to know what it was like in past generations, or people who want to share their thoughts on these formats either by comparing it to Sun and Moon or through their experiences in future tournaments that involve these metagames.

Link to Gen 7 Battle Spot: https://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/sm-battle-spot-singles.265/

Link to Gen 6 Battle Spot: http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/gen-6-battle-spot.392/

Link to Gen 5 Battle Spot (Global Battle Union): http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/global-battle-union.171/

Long live the Queen, based Mega Kangaskhan.
 
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MZ

And now for something completely different
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Considering there isn't really a better place to dump this and I probably won't use them again, here's all my GBU teams except the best one that I might have to whip out if GBU ever sees some kind of tour or somth. Anyway, here's my low effort team dump

Rain is cool obv, made this with some help from Cant Say (like every other team) and it felt decent enough. Only pulled it out against Feen where Toxicroak proved to be a total beast, although in hindsight there was no reason not to bring it in the finals once it was clear that it was a very dumb team designed to CT the same builds I was bringing every game (aka not rain)
Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hypnosis

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Dragon Pulse

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed

Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunder Wave
- Thunder
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain

Toxicroak @ Muscle Band
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Ice Punch

Dragonspam was the first team I made, thought it'd be funny with no fairies but I didn't really comprehend exactly how stupid it was before Sylveon and co. While it ended up getting tamed down to just 4 Dragons, it's still a boatload of fun. Like rain, it's all p basic and I dont see the need to explain the sets much
Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch

Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Iron Tail

Latios @ Yache Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Surf

Tyranitar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

Magnezone @ Occa Berry
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Blast

Jibaku gave me a framework of Lati+Ttar+Ferro and I made+used 3 different variants, but this was my favorite. Specs lati is really really stupid and sash ttar is incredible at trading with most things not named suicune, which lati checks and ferro covers. The rest is fairly offensive with blaziken being ye old strong cleaner, exca being other ye old strong cleaner that's better at beating cress but requires you also bring ttar 99% of the time, and Suicune is just a very good mon for checking random stuff when you realize that you need to blanket defensive switchin to all those threats rather than just relying on a ton of offensive pressure.
Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Trick

Tyranitar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam

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

Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 244 Atk / 52 SpA / 212 Spe
Naive Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Relaxed Nature
- Sheer Cold
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
cavs #1!
 

RNGIsFatal

Banned deucer.
I am not sure if this team is new (p sure someone addressed this), but this is my favorite toy in ORAS BSS:

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 238 Def / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
- Assist
- Foul Play
- Swagger
- Substitute

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 54 SpD
Impish Nature
- Focus Punch
- Counter
- Spore
- Protect

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Transform

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Dragon Dance

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Icy Wind
- Destiny Bond


Assuming I send Liepard, Breloom, and Ditto, Assist will always call the move Spore which has Prankster priority that no one is safe from, except Talonflame and Grass-types.

Talonflame punishes Grass-types that are lured by the first three (aforementioned) members, Tyranitar deals with opposing Talonflame and Thunderus-I (that can paralyze or Taunt Liepard first). Gengar has always been a premier revenge killer that can take down any troublesome opponent for my team, assuming SR is not there or I send it as a lead.

Very uncompetitive and luck-based... but fun as hell when it works. I always had to hide the chat when I used this team.

Lastly, for those who don't understand what this team does... I put a video here. Not advertising, just a reference.
I know it is not in English but you should be able to tell what is going on.

DISCLAIMER: not my video
i.e. First battle Garchomp uses Sleep Talk. It later Sleep Talks while it is awake and it fails.
 
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Dumping a handful GBU sets I made and brought to the BSSClassic. I did no research prepping for this gen, just used knowledge and experience from oras/sm bss and bw ou (the last time I played ou semi-seriously). But I came up with some pretty interesting stuff, imo.


Mamoswine @ Chople Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 12 HP / 52 Atk / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
Hits 136 speed, which is 2 points faster than Jolly Breloom.
3-hit Spear KOs both 4/0 Breloom and Multiscale Dragonite.
The bulk is what's interesting though.
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Outrage vs. 12 HP / 252 Def Mamoswine: 157-186 (83.9 - 99.4%) , Allowing it to take on DD or CB Dnite
252 Atk Fighting Gem Terrakion Close Combat vs. 12 HP / 252 Def Chople Berry Mamoswine: 139-165 (74.3 - 88.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Life Orb Blaziken High Jump Kick vs. 12 HP / 252 Def Chople Berry Mamoswine: 136-161 (72.7 - 86%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Chople allows it to act as a pretty effective lure to these common Fighting-types without having the same worries as Sash does in regards to SR. And letting something else have the Sash.


Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 52 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Low Sweep
- Bullet Seed
- Substitute
- Spore
Without Spore immunes I think this style of set is more effective than the standard Sash SD Breloom. It can completely control the game after it's been given an opening.
I use Bullet Seed and not Bulk Up as I just find boosting unnecessary, you beat most thing slowly by cylcing Spore-Sub and Low Sweep anyway. Having Bullet Seed means you're not hard walled by Jellicent or other Ghosts and are able to take on threats such as Sub Suicune more effectively.
Speed can be reworked on this set. 134 isn't actually too valuable, really just playing for ties, and more bulk would likely be a positive more often.


Conkeldurr @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Toxic
Chesto lets it check Breloom if positioned well, while Guts take's advantage of other status afflictions. This saves the Lum for another mon, if needed. Heavy SpDef investment is to better bulk it up against some of the major threats of this metagame and Toxic was to catch the common Cress switch-in, among other defensive mons such as Jellicent and Suicune.



Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Endure

A kind of ORAS OU looking Tank Chomp. Endure with Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet can be pretty devestating against the right mons. But Fire Blast or Toxic could work just as well in that last slot to improve its effectiveness against Scizor or Cress respectively.


Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
Okay, this one isn't too interesting but I didn't see anyone else using it. Quick Attack is a pretty nice tech as it does more damage to common threats such as Blaziken, Thundurus, Gyarados, Kingdra etc.; it can come in pretty clutch. This isn't restricted to CB either, SD sets can use it just as well, though working with one fewer attack does make it harder to find the room for it.

-
Another small thing worth considering is Lum Berry on fast setup sweepers, to hamper the effectiveness of Thundrus's Prankster T-Wave. Blaziken and Cloyster are both strong examples of this. Dragonite of course often runs this anyway as it works very well with Outrage.
 

Darkinium

the mighty nuaguunibi
I was making a set dump too, but Jhon beat me to it :psyduck: These might not necessarily be cool or unique sets, but they're sets that I very much enjoyed and think are pretty decent in the meta.


Ferrothorn @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Bullet Seed / Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock / Thunder Wave / Protect

This thing is just so good; I have it on all but two of my teams, and one of those two was Hyper Offense anyways. Ferrothorn is a splashable Dragon-type and Rain check that's easy to fit onto most teams, which takes care of two enormous threats in one slot. The EVs dodge the 2HKO from a Choice Specs Kingdra Hydro Pump under Rain without rocks up, and the rest is dumped in Defense. It used to have 196 SpD EVs, but after running some calcs I couldn't figure out what it did so I squeezed a free Defense point out of it.


Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 252 SpA / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Although this definitely isn't as solid a Dragon-type check as Ferrothorn, it still stops things like Latios and Garchomp from tearing through with Draco Meteor or Outrage. It's also a decent option against Suicune, Thundurus, Scizor, and most Pokemon if Sturdy is intact. This is the bulkier of the 2 spreads I've used, outspeeding 4 Speed Heatran. Another far faster and frailer spread of 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe outspeeds 4 Speed Rotom formes at the cost of a lot of bulk.


Latias @ Chesto Berry / Lum Berry / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 56 SpA / 84 SpD / 40 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Psychic
- Draco Meteor
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Thunder Wave / Healing Wish

A few things that give Latias an edge over other bulky Psychic-types such as Cresselia and Slowbro are its secondary Dragon-typing, allowing it to better check Electric-types such as Thundurus and certain Fighting-types, namely Breloom and Blaziken. Its forme of recovery, Roost, is also unaffected by the weather, a huge detriment to Cresselia. The SpD investment dodges the 2HKO from LO Thundurus-I's HP Ice before SR; the Speed investment outspeeds Jolly Breloom; the SpA EVs guarantee the OHKO on Blaziken with Psychic, and the Defense is a dump. The berries are good for optimizing the Breloom MU and random paras, burns, or toxics. Rocky Helmet is nice for some extra chip on other random Pokemon. Lefties and Sitrus Berry can be used too, but should probably be EVed differently because of the extra recovery. A faster spread could be used to get the jump on stuff like Garchomp and Thundurus-T, but I prefer Latias's defensive qualities.


Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf / Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Choice Scarf Politoed is a pretty cool revenge killer, with its main appeal being a answer to Sand. It can also support Fire-type weak teammates such as Ferrothorn and Scizor, perhaps not with stuff like Blaziken, but more Fire-type coverage from stuff like Latios. It packs a decent punch as well, especially with Modest. Random utility options such as Encore, Perish Song, and Hypnosis work, but I prefer 4 attacks. Modest, as I mentioned, gives more oof, but Timid outspeeds +1 Adamant Gyarados (you can't do much without HP Electric though), +1/Choice Scarf base 80s, +1 Jolly Tyranitar and random, mostly irrelevant things above 115 speed.

Thankfully, I saved the best for last...


Octillery @ Leftovers
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 44 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Protect
- Dive
- Bind

OK, I know what you're thinking: "Why not Glalie?" I brought Glalie to both my finals games planning to skillfully™ out play my opponents, and... It's just really, really underwhelming: you cannot get anywhere without seeing one of Conkeldurr, Breloom, or Scizor, who all hard stop Glalie with their super-effective priority. After my games Jhon convinced me on Discord that Octillery was most likely the best option for Moody, which makes a lot of sense; it ditches the problems with super-effective priority, and Dive helps you a lot in racking up extra boosts. I slapped on Bind for consistent damage on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Suicune, and there was no going back. Max Speed for the fastest Subs, HP optimized for Leftovers, rest in SpD. Admittedly due to its lower speed Octillery is a lot more reliant on paralysis than Glalie, but I'm still convinced Octillery's the best option, odd as it may seem.

So that was part of my experience with GBU in BSS Classic. Is it perfect? Of course not, Dragon-types and weather can at times be a bit... too good. Is it fun and open to exploration? Sure is. Hopefully GBU'll get back in the game for BSPL. Whether it does or not, I'll see you guys then!
 
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I'll pop the GBU team I used vs. Dark here too that I created as an anti-weather team. You literally struggle hard to beat this team if you are playing as rain which was very popular playstyle in the GBU scrims I played, which limits the opponents options severely. Made this last minute more as a bit of fun than very serious on the sets. Certainly a very janky team, but I had a lot of fun using it.



Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect

Ferrothorn is basically the best rain check in the game, defensive as well to take on physical hits. Honestly if you need a rain check, place this boy right on your team. Other than that, max defence with rocky helmet to chip away at physical attackers like outrage from drake teams. Generally I like having this in the back once rain is set up rather than as a lead. If you play ferro right in any gen, it's an S mon, you need balls to use mons like ferro to their full potential.



Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 212 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Trick
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Rotom-W I didn't bring too much, but another powerhouse in the tier. Specs pump hits like a truck, the Speed investment to outspeed jolly loom, Hp ice there for drakes. Trick for fat. I was considering changing this out for banded Dnite which I think is a phenomenal mon in both GBU and ORAS BSS, but haven't done yet.



Hitmonlee @ Normal Gem
Ability: Unburden
Level: 50
EVs: 148 Atk / 188 Def / 172 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- High Jump Kick
- Blaze Kick
- Stone Edge

Ah hitmonlee the GOAT himself. The defense investment there to eat adamant band loom or scizor bullet punch. Can blow both these mons back, koing scizor even in rain with blaze kick. After unburden it outspeeds everything in the game. HJK sends driller and ttar packing, stone edge for coverage. After a life orb hit, can use it to revenge kingdra.



Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 248 SpA / 12 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball/Icy Wind/Destiny Bond
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Focus Blast

Ah, another don right here in sash gar, one of my main leads. Put this on because I thought, gengar is actually kinda amazing in old gens. This thing wipes out teams on its own. I nearly got the GBU game vs. Finalist Dark just using this mon but decided to make a dumb play. Shadow ball for the stab, Hp fire for scizor, focus blast for stuff like zone, ttar, ferrothorn etc. then one coverage move. I personally like icy wind, but destiny bond can be great too.



Gyarados @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 172 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang

Ah good old gyarados. Another wind-up to rain. Sub-Dd with max attack adamant for the power. Can sub on adamant loom spore if need be. Rest put in HP. Yes does great vs. Rain and as a general sweeper but also excellent vs dragon teams due to intimidate and ice fang.



Thundurus @ Magnet
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 52 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Rain Dance/Hp Flying
- Focus Blast
- Thunder

My second lead, works vs. Toed or Tar perfect. Magnet is enough to knock out Toed so no need for electric gem. Substitute is for stalling Kingdra in rain. Rain dance for Sand. You can put HP Flying over Rain dance if you are feeling a little less heat and want a conk/loom check.

Unfortunately I only played 1 week of GBU so I didn't really get a chance to properly learn the meta.

Also although it is not mostly my team as I mostly adapted it from a top Japanese team, I recommend anyone playing ORAS BSS to pick up this team. Crushed face pretty much every time I brought it out in scrims. Got the ever popular Kangaskhan + Cresselia Core with two late ORAS powerhouses in the Specs Volc and Banded DNite, finally got emergency check in Cloyster and disrupter in Thundurus. I also gave it to Dark who had good showings with it in tournament.



Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Double-Edge

Fastest possible mega Kang which allows it to gain information in the mirror lead turn 1 that it wouldnt otherwise. Key to using it is scouting fake out turn 1 damage, bulky opposing kang go to cresselia.



Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Trick Room
- Toxic
- Moonlight

Moonblast is chosen over any other offensive move for dark type switch ins. This team already has volc checks so doesn't need cress to be able to put damage out for that. Trick room is for the situation where you are in vs. mega kang, you can trick room so if they double (lets say into greninja), you win either ways.



Volcarona @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swarm
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 HP / 228 Def / 124 SpA / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic

This EV spread is essentially for mega blaziken. Always lives flare blitz from mega blaziken, KOs with Psychic. Lives rock tomb from garchomp over than 1 number, 1 shots with bug buzz. Can also live a waterfall from regular Gyarados. Fiery Dance can allow you to break through Porygon2.



Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 228 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
- Superpower

There as a check to opposing volcarona. It always lives pretty much every ice attack including +1 Porygon2 ice beam, gren ice beam. Outspeeds adamant loom. Mostly lives 3 hits of mamo icicle spear. Also incidentally hits like an absolute truck



Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Protect

Always takes +6 Azumarill Aqua jet which can otherwise wind up the team. Just a stalling set there to wind up fatter mons.



Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 156 HP / 252 Atk / 100 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Rock Blast
- Ice Shard
- Shell Smash

Speed allows an outspeed of Mega lopunny after shell smash. Pretty much there as a dragon check. Great sweeper in general to have in the back
 
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DragonWhale

It's not a misplay, it's RNG manipulation
is a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Classic Usage Stats:

Gen 5:
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Breloom            |   21 |  43.75% |  71.43% |
| 2    | Thundurus          |   19 |  39.58% |  52.63% |
| 2    | Suicune            |   19 |  39.58% |  52.63% |
| 2    | Latios             |   19 |  39.58% |  52.63% |
| 5    | Scizor             |   18 |  37.50% |  61.11% |
| 6    | Ferrothorn         |   16 |  33.33% |  31.25% |
| 7    | Tyranitar          |   14 |  29.17% |  35.71% |
| 8    | Conkeldurr         |   11 |  22.92% |  36.36% |
| 8    | Blaziken           |   11 |  22.92% |  36.36% |
| 10   | Dragonite          |   10 |  20.83% |  60.00% |
| 10   | Cresselia          |   10 |  20.83% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Garchomp           |    8 |  16.67% |  62.50% |
| 12   | Excadrill          |    8 |  16.67% |  62.50% |
| 12   | Politoed           |    8 |  16.67% |  50.00% |
| 15   | Kingdra            |    7 |  14.58% |  42.86% |
| 16   | Gyarados           |    6 |  12.50% |  50.00% |
| 16   | Gliscor            |    6 |  12.50% |  33.33% |
| 18   | Cloyster           |    5 |  10.42% | 100.00% |
| 18   | Mamoswine          |    5 |  10.42% |  60.00% |
| 18   | Thundurus-Therian  |    5 |  10.42% |  60.00% |
| 18   | Rotom-Wash         |    5 |  10.42% |  40.00% |
| 22   | Volcarona          |    4 |   8.33% | 100.00% |
| 22   | Heatran            |    4 |   8.33% |  25.00% |
| 24   | Magnezone          |    3 |   6.25% |  66.67% |
| 24   | Hippowdon          |    3 |   6.25% |  33.33% |
| 24   | Salamence          |    3 |   6.25% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Chansey            |    3 |   6.25% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Porygon2           |    3 |   6.25% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Zapdos             |    3 |   6.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Wobbuffet          |    2 |   4.17% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Hydreigon          |    2 |   4.17% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Latias             |    2 |   4.17% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Tornadus-Therian   |    2 |   4.17% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Jellicent          |    2 |   4.17% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Glalie             |    2 |   4.17% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Venusaur           |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Ninetales          |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Zoroark            |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Ditto              |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Gothitelle         |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Raikou             |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Weavile            |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Espeon             |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Reuniclus          |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Starmie            |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Sableye            |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Cobalion           |    1 |   2.08% | 100.00% |
| 36   | Terrakion          |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Skarmory           |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Hitmonlee          |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Gengar             |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Landorus-Therian   |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Abomasnow          |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
| 36   | Piloswine          |    1 |   2.08% |   0.00% |
Gen 6:
Code:
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Kangaskhan         |   22 |  44.00% |  63.64% |
| 2    | Garchomp           |   21 |  42.00% |  57.14% |
| 3    | Gengar             |   19 |  38.00% |  31.58% |
| 4    | Thundurus          |   18 |  36.00% |  55.56% |
| 5    | Cresselia          |   17 |  34.00% |  70.59% |
| 6    | Talonflame         |   13 |  26.00% |  23.08% |
| 7    | Suicune            |   11 |  22.00% |  45.45% |
| 8    | Heatran            |   10 |  20.00% |  90.00% |
| 8    | Volcarona          |   10 |  20.00% |  70.00% |
| 8    | Salamence          |   10 |  20.00% |  30.00% |
| 11   | Heracross          |    7 |  14.00% |  85.71% |
| 11   | Azumarill          |    7 |  14.00% |  71.43% |
| 11   | Porygon2           |    7 |  14.00% |  14.29% |
| 14   | Hydreigon          |    6 |  12.00% |  83.33% |
| 14   | Blaziken           |    6 |  12.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Venusaur           |    5 |  10.00% |  80.00% |
| 16   | Landorus-Therian   |    5 |  10.00% |  80.00% |
| 16   | Greninja           |    5 |  10.00% |  60.00% |
| 16   | Cloyster           |    5 |  10.00% |  60.00% |
| 16   | Aegislash          |    5 |  10.00% |  40.00% |
| 16   | Breloom            |    5 |  10.00% |  40.00% |
| 16   | Mawile             |    5 |  10.00% |  20.00% |
| 16   | Excadrill          |    5 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 16   | Ferrothorn         |    5 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 25   | Dragonite          |    4 |   8.00% |  75.00% |
| 25   | Tyranitar          |    4 |   8.00% |  25.00% |
| 25   | Raikou             |    4 |   8.00% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Weavile            |    3 |   6.00% | 100.00% |
| 28   | Skarmory           |    3 |   6.00% |  66.67% |
| 28   | Gardevoir          |    3 |   6.00% |  66.67% |
| 28   | Rotom-Wash         |    3 |   6.00% |  66.67% |
| 28   | Lopunny            |    3 |   6.00% |  33.33% |
| 28   | Swampert           |    3 |   6.00% |  33.33% |
| 28   | Zapdos             |    3 |   6.00% |  33.33% |
| 28   | Hippowdon          |    3 |   6.00% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Espeon             |    3 |   6.00% |   0.00% |
| 37   | Metagross          |    2 |   4.00% | 100.00% |
| 37   | Gothitelle         |    2 |   4.00% | 100.00% |
| 37   | Sylveon            |    2 |   4.00% | 100.00% |
| 37   | Mamoswine          |    2 |   4.00% |   0.00% |
| 37   | Jellicent          |    2 |   4.00% |   0.00% |
| -    | Gourgeist-*        |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Rotom-Heat         |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Rhyperior          |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Conkeldurr         |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Terrakion          |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Togekiss           |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Thundurus-Therian  |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Klefki             |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Serperior          |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Sableye            |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 42   | Slowbro            |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Chansey            |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Lucario            |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Alakazam           |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Gyarados           |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Altaria            |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Drifblim           |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Gliscor            |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Magnezone          |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Manectric          |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Charizard          |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 42   | Vivillon-River     |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
 
I thought, given that I actually have a day off today, I'd talk a bit about the GBU metagame and give a comprehensive overview of the tier as well as tier list. Keep in mind that the vast majority of this is solely my research and my own personal opinion rather than necessarily objective fact, I hardly have anyone to talk GBU with on a theoretical level but I do want to share whatever I have learned so that others can better understand and enjoy this underappreciated tier.

What is GBU and how does it compare to B/W2 OU?:

Generation 5 is typically seen as the weather war generation, with permanent rain, sand and to a lesser extent sun and hail dominating the BW2 OU metagame. Sand Balance in particular is currently the peak playstyle in OU, with the general objective to get up hazards with a setter such as Skarmory or Ferrothorn and then proceed to break through teams with hard hitters such as latios, wearing down opposing teams quickly with the sand chip provided by Tyranitar. In GBU, due to the need for further role compression and lack of available pokemon to bring to battle in a 3v3 metagame, games tend to be a lot faster paced than their BW2 OU counterparts with the only major hazards used being stealth rock, generally to break sashes or provide chip on later game threats such as Volcarona or to break Dragonites Multiscale. Due to balance not working as well naturally in a 6v6 format where it is difficult to have full on counters to pokemon, like most battlespot formats Bulky Offence, or more specifically Goodstuff teams seem to be the most prominent style. This is not to say that GBU doesn't have a wide variety of styles that are very viable though and I'll try go over them briefly.

GBU team archetypes:

What is Goodstuffs?


Goodstuffs is basically when you chuck on a bunch of strong pokemon on a team. Generally these consist of pokemon with high base stat totals such as pseudo legendaries and legendaries, who are both naturally due to their stat totals or typings both able to take and give out hits. This is not to say that these teams do not have structure at all and don't account for metagame threats, but rather that their power comes from the inherent strength of how broken the pokemon on their teams are. This doesn't neccessarily restrict the teams to purely bulky offence, a lot of these teams can have a trick room or a sand element to them for speed control as it is important in certain matchups, though I will cover these specifically later on. Prominent pokemon include: Tyranitar, Suicune, Conkeldurr, Garchomp, Dragonite, Latios, Thundurus-Incarnate, Cresselia, Excadrill, Scizor and Heatran.

A specific example of a team (shoutouts to Noved for the team) has been listed below

https://pokepast.es/47976d606547fbfe

Ignore the EVs and specific techs for now, just look at the general nature of the pokemon on the team. Essentially these sorts of teams bank on how good their pokemon are naturally.

Rain:

After Goodstuffs, rain is probably one of the most dangerous styles in GBU. Rain is generally classified as a team with Politoed plus Kingdra and far more rarely other rain sweepers such as Gorebyss or Ludicolo on. Politoed as an individual mon is just about bulky enough and powerful enough to offer utility in the metagame, whilst having a bunch of interesting options such as perish song and encore, but what makes rain so deadly is Kingdra, which is generally specs, life orb or gem. A common failing of newer builders in GBU is to create teams that are very Kingdra weak and whilst it is pretty much impossible to create a completely Kingdra proof team, a testament of what a monster it is, a solid team is forced to have a Kingdra check much in the same way as an USUM team is almost shoelined into to having a Steel for Tapu Lele and other prominent special attackers if it wants to be successful on ladder. The most common third on a rain team is ferrothorn, serving as an opposing rain check as well as a check to priority from the likes of banded Dragonite, then teams are rounded off with generally thundurus-i and either a non-rain component or doubled down on rain.

A specific example is below, I've just copy pasted this off Megazard above:

https://pokepast.es/76b0257e0d26887a

Sand:

Sand is very similar to rain in many aspects, with the main intention to sweep your opponent with a pokemon that outspeeds the rest of their team. In the case of sand, this is excadrill, another fantastic sweeper however inherently different to Kingdra. The strength of Sand lies in their setters, Tyranitar and to a lesser extent Hippowdon are better naturally than Politoed and can be ran on non-sand offence without second thought. Excadrill is also an excellent pokemon outside of sand, however it is not as naturally threatening as Kingdra, often preferring to have a swords dance to break through some of the most prominent walls such as Suicune. Generally sands look pretty similarish to Goodstuff teams in terms of the mons they have, the major difference is the focus on excadrill as a sweeper. One thing to note about Sand is that it will be naturally weak to rain due to automatically having two mons on that loathe kingdra/politoed. Beating rain with sand and vice versa requires intelligent weather management.

I've given an example (Thanks again Noved) below:

https://pokepast.es/7448af5f3c7e5746

DragSpam:

Loading up a team with a bunch of Dragons and a Magnezone to trap steels has been a thing in BW for a long time though. It essentially banks on the fact that dragons can take most moves and nothing wants to really switch in on a banded outrage or a specs draco and essentially you just muscle through the opponents teams, even their walls. The main dragons in GBU are Dragonite, Garchomp, Latios, Salamence, Hydreigon and Kingdra. You want to have at least three/four of these on your team with items such as band, specs, life orb and dragon gem. From there you generally, though not always want a magnezone. This is to trap defensive Skarmory and Ferrothorn in particular which sponge up banded outrages and can recover it off with roost/leech. I believe the last one or two slots should consist of a mamoswine switch-in as well as a kingdra check.

I've whipped up something in 5 minutes, don't actually use this team as the EVs are not optimised and I have not tested it for the environment but essentially this is the general idea:

https://pokepast.es/ea1e501d944b28ff

If this team was more solid, it would perform better specifically vs. Porygon2 and Cresselia, a yache dragon can break through them.

Stall, Sun and Other Styles:

I'll very briefly go through some other styles that you will see around as well as some cheeses that you might expect to see.

Sun operates a little differently to Rain/Sand in GBU. Whilst you can make the typical Ninetales + Venusaur work, it's a lot harder than either Rain or Sand due to the mons being objectively worse and having more checks (Tyranitar is awful for said archetypes), therefore it is far more common to see Sun + Cresselia. Cresselia's moonlight under sun restores 75%, making it even more unkillable than it is normally. Most suns will be stally naturally.

Stall works similarly, though you won't generally be seeing pure stall, rather a few prominent mons such as Chansey, Skarmory, Slowbro, Porygon2, Gliscor and Mandibuzz making up stallier semi-stall cores with an offensive componet. A good example of a stall matchup took place between Dark/Jmal:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-891822343

There's another example of a more stallier stall here piloted by Dragonwhale:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-756092245

Smashpass works the same as in any game except gorebyss being your main passer, here's one piloted by Average Fella:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-789234439

Other stuff that you might see but I won't go into due to time constraints and lack of tournament replays is sporecat, essentially abusing prankster spore and teams based around moody/evasion strats. There are also teams based around shadow tag trapping.

Of course these styles have more defined weaknesses and are more matchup dependent than other styles.

Tier List:

Before I end this, I've made up a tier list of GBU Singles from my experiences playing it and given reasonings. Of course this is just my personal opinion, though some of it is based loosely off of this (http://d.hatena.ne.jp/nabeken_9989/touch/20130205/1360056958). They are done in alphabetical order when I think the ranking is mostly equal, I've left spaces where I think there are gaps within tiers. I've probably forgotten some pokemon, so if I haven't mentioned them they probably go in C rank or below. I've put in explanations for S -> Top of B rank.

S Rank

Reserved for Pokemon that are amazing in the GBU Singles metagame. These Pokemon are usually able to perform a variety of roles effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Pokemon in this rank have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits.

- Conkeldurr
- Dragonite
- Garchomp
- Suicune
- Thundurus-I


A Rank

Reserved for Pokemon that are fantastic in the GBU Singles metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Pokemon require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be overlooked when compared to their positive traits.

- Excadrill
- Ferrothorn
- Kingdra
- Latios
- Politoed
- Salamence
- Scizor
- Tyranitar


- Breloom
- Chansey
- Cresselia
- Gliscor
- Heatran
- Landorus-Therian
- Skarmory


- Hippowdon
- Mamoswine
- Wobbuffet


B Rank

Reserved for Pokemon that are great in the GBU Singles metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the format. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential.

- Abomasnow
- Blaziken
- Latias
- Gyarados
- Haxorus
- Metagross
- Rotom-Wash
- Terrakion
- Thundurus-Therian
- Volcarona
- Zapdos


- Gothitelle
- Ninetales
- Raikou
- Reuniculus
- Slowbro
- Venusaur


- Cobalion
- Cloyster
- Ditto
- Mandibuzz
- Porygon2
- Whimsicott


C Rank

Reserved for Pokemon that have a niche in the GBU Singles metagame. These Pokemon fill unique roles that are valuable on certain teams but have numerous flaws that hold them back. Pokemon in this rank may actually outperform those in higher ranks with specific team support but often depend too much on their teammates to function.
- Chandelure
- Gengar
- Gorebyss
- Heracross
- Hydreigon
- Jellicent
- Magnezone
- Tornadus
- Tornadus-Therian


(UNORDERED)

- Dusclops
- Blissey
- Starmie
- Quagsire
- Walrein
- Empoleon
- Driftblim
- Lilligant
- Sawsbuck
- Uxie
- Bronzong
- Gallade
- Scolipede
- Toxicroak
- Weavile
- Zoroark
- Aron
- Cottonee


S Rank:

Conkeldurr - What can I say about this beast. A lot of people who are new to GBU are surprised about how good Conkeldurr is in GBU. It has everything you want in a pokemon really, decent bulk, strong attack, the fighting and ice coverage is excellent, has priority in mach punch, arguably the best sleep talker in the tier whilst being able to block status/benefit from it with guts, three viable and strong abilities in guts, sheer force and iron first and can perform a huge variety of roles. Conk can sweep with bulk up, be a defensive check or a special defensive check to variety of mons in the tier since it naturally OHKOs a lot of pokemon. For example, you can take a non specs Latios's psyshock or psychic and KO back with the payback or ice punch, you can EV conk to take attacks from Kingdra and then KO with Drain punch into Mach Punch, you can take banded scizors aerial ace or banded outrages from Dragonite. Conkeldurr can take hits that it has no business taking and there are very few things that outright wall it, Cresselia being the main one.

Dragonite - What makes Dragonite amazing is it's absurd power. Whilst this is shared by other dragons such as Garchomp or Latios, what sets Dragonite apart is the fantastic ability Multiscale as well as Extreme Speed. Multiscale means that is unlikely to be Ohkoed by any pokemon as long as it is intact. Banded Extreme Speed is a win condition in the vast majority of games and will 2hko the majority of the tier. Whilst Banded is arguably its best set that really pushes it over the edge, Dnite can run DD + Gem or even special, Multiscale will allow Dragonite to almost always get a dragon dance off.

Garchomp - The best revenge killer and scarfer in the tier, also an excellent sash mon. Has the power of Dragonite, but despite not having Multiscale, comes with a bunch of other benefits including a higher speed tier and an electric immunity so it cannot be prankster Twaved by Thundurus-I. Rough Skin and Sand Veil are excellent abilities, the latter is very good in a tier where Tyranitar is rampant allowing you to potentially hax your opponent every turn. Lacks dragon dance unfortunately, though Sub + SD can function in place of that. Also can run special. It is also excellent as a dragon check, dragon gem chomp Ohkos Dragonite through multiscale unless Dnite has bulk investment.

Suicune - The best wall in the tier and a dangerous win condition. Defensive Suicune with Sitrus berry is, with Cresselia, the only non-resist that is not 2hkoed by Dragonite/Garchomps banded outrage. It also serves a dual function of being to soak up specs kingdra's surfs/pumps and any of excadrills attacks whilst threatening back. Strong against bulkier teams too without a lot of power with sub/cm or sheer cold, can also use rest-chesto berry. Often bulkier teams are forced to go into suicune wars. Scald is also an obnoxious move with the burn chance which will cripple the majority of the tier.

Thundurus-I - The last pokemon of S, not as outright broken in the stats department, what makes Thundurus-I amazing is the ability Prankster. Prankster Thunder Wave is something that every player who plays GBU will just have to deal with. It's like a goodbye button to your rain Kingdra which will slow down to a pitiful 67 speed in rain. Tbolt, Volt Switch, Hp Ice, taunt, Hp Flying, Focus Blast, it has all the moves it needs to muscle past the tier. A great suicune check, twave on Dnite even if you cant KO it really limits it or you can sub stall banded outrages until Dnite hits itself in confusion and HP Ice. Really so much this mon can do and I had to include it up here.

A Rank:

Excadrill - The Sand Sweeper essentially, you can also use it as a suicide sash lead, ground/steel coverage is surprisingly hard to switch into and there are a lot of places where drill can SD. Its weakness is it can be picked off by priority and a few walls like suicune can switch into drill and threaten the KO but they do have to sacrifice a lot in order to do so. Drill does have a surprising amount of special bulk and can switch into Draco Meteors from Garchomp or Latios.

Ferrothorn - The Best rain check you could ever have whilst also being excellent on rain. Steel as a defensive typing is also excellent vs. the plethora of dragons running around in the tier and it can generally take any non-fire/non-stab fighting moves. Leech seed winds up fatter teams and punish switchins, sapping your opponents momentum whilst it can 1v1 most suicune builds as well. Walls Thundurus-I too theoretically. It does suffer from being a bit passive at times, certain mons like garchomp or dragonite and conkeldurr can set up on it. However, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.

Kingdra - Talked a bit about Kingdra earlier, essentially the beast that validates rain as a playstyle. Does have issues with certain pokemon like ferrothorn or being locked in. Double priority, especially like Mamoswine/Conkeldurr + Dragonite can pick off Kingdra, but generally has pretty decent stats. Water/Dragon is surprisingly a decentish defensive typing too. Nothing really wants to switch into specs Kingdra's draco meteor or hydro pump though.

Latios - Essentially the best specs dragon in the tier. Benefits further from being a great sleep talker and breloom check. It has the speed tier and special power advantage over other dragons, which is why you would want to use it. Not quite as great in the bulk department and you are kind of shoehorned into running hp fire on some builds which can mean you lose speed ties. Would be S probably if not for Tyranitar.

Politoed - The counterpart to Kingdra, you can't have Kingdra without it, which is why it is here. Surprisingly bulky and consistent. Specs and Scarf as well as the bulkier sets are perfectly viable and can catch opponents off guard. If this was an individual mon, Politoed would be far lower.

Salamence - Just another dragon to add, has dragon dance and the power to go with it. It's main niche is that it is a faster dder than Dnite with a better special attack stat than either garchomp/dnite, allowing it to run mixed sets way more easily. Whilst arguably objectively worse in most ways, still deserves to be around here.

Scizor - One of the best banded pokemon and pivots in the tier. Banded uturn/bullet punch hit like a truck with technician and can be used to check dragons. Has surprising coverage such as aerial ace and super power for conkeldurr/ferrothorn. SD + steel gem with a bulkier set is also commonly seen and very effective. scizor and thundurus kind of play off each other as well, covering each others weaknesses.

Tyranitar - Has an excellent ability in sand stream, breaking multiscale and sash off breloom, generally wear down a lot of pokemon, changing weather from rain and enabling a lot of the pokemon above. The best Latios check in the tier, able to pursuit trap it and remove it from the game and also great vs. Cresselia. Tyranitar after Conkeldurr has some of the most sexy spreads and techs in the tier. Can run physical or special, can sweep or be a support. It's weakness vs. Suicune as well as it's 4x fighting weakness hold it back a bit but a staple in the tier.



Breloom - Pretty much the best noob stomper pokemon in GBU. You need to have Breloom checks on every team because of how broke spore is. That being said, once you have a way of dealing with breloom, it's threat goes down considerably. Not to say it cannot be used though, it still has excellent power and priority and spore is still really annoying even with lum/sleep talk.

Chansey - Pretty much the same fat blob it is every single gen, it does exactly the same thing in gbu that it does everywhere else. It helps chansey that there are few excellent fighting types in the tier, though conkeldurr really does put a hamper in it.

Cresselia - See chansey. Best conkeldurr check in the game, also winds up dragons with rocky helmet and ice beam. Can calm mind sweep so it doesnt have no versatility, but it tends to also be a bit passive.

Gliscor - Essentially a semi-stall mon, guillotine is terrifying, has consistent recovery in poison heal and can take on a lot of special threats and thrives vs. fatter teams.

Heatran - For a pokemon that is weak to rain and sand, it is surprisingly good. It's a great dragon check if not EQ or any special moveset. Great against opposing steels such as ferrothorn, skarmory and scizor. Can do well vs. fatter stuff too and specs hits very hard.

Landorus-T - An all around excellent pokemon with the ability intimidate that is very useful. It does sometimes suffer from not being able to put enough threat onto prominent pokemon in the tier such as garchomp and suicune, but it is an excellent pivot and surprisingly good scarfer.

Skarmory - Essentially a defensive wall, similar to chansey you know what it does. More versatile than chansey in terms of teams, you can see it as a dragon check on non-stalls/semi-stalls


Hippowdon - Want a fatter Tyranitar that is not weak to EQ or fighting moves but not quite as versatile in general and weaker spdef wise, here ya go.

Mamoswine - Mamoswine is kind of a matchup dependent pokemon, it destroys dragon spam and pretty much every dragon type and is primarily used as an offence killer, with ice shard and spear. It simultaneously isn't very good against fatter teams and stuff like scizor, suicune or conkeldurr. Also kind of one dimensional, but excellent at checking dragons. It OHKOs every dragon in the tier.

Wobbuffet - An underrated mon in the tier that you often don't see much of taunt or substitute from certain pokemon, allowing wobbuffet to come in and do what it does. Often the threat of Shadow Tag can spook opponents during the game.

B Rank:

Abomasnow - Has an excellent niche as an anti-weather mon. You will generally be seeing sash/scarf. Other than that, it's not too good, but there is a lot of weather here. The typing is good offensively, but held back by speed and weaknesses. Can break sashes of certain pokemon that sand fails to.

Blaziken - It's very good and can sweep but is held back by there being a lot of pokemon that can consistently take hits from it and threaten it back with OHKOs such as practically all the S rank mons. Also struggles vs. rain. If you build around it well, it can be a terror though.

Latias - Essentially a worse latios. Does have healing wish though, so if you were to use it, that would be the niche.

Gyarados - Surprisingly good, sets up on a lot of pokemon due to intimidate and has a good move pool. Unfortunately hampered by that big electric weakness, stealth rock weakness and being walled by suicune.

Haxorus - Another dragon. Not quite as good as any of the dragons I've listed above that can DD and not as bulky but suffers less from ice type attacks.

Metagross - Just in general decent bulky steel, but lacks the longevity or typing of skarmory/ferrothorn whilst not being as powerful or able to pivot like scizor so it gets worn down easily. It can boom though and has a decent movepool.

Rotom-Wash - Just an all round great pivot and great vs. rain and sand teams, has the excellent will-o-wisp, but does suffer from not having quite enough bulk to take dragon attacks.

Terrakion - A strong fighting type threat that can take on a lot of the tier, suffers from being weak to the best priority users as well as rain and sand. Hard to get in and use effectively but when it works, it can really steamroll.

Thundurus-Therian - Personally I think it's underrated, which is why I've been using it a bit too much recently. Overshadowed by thundurus-I, but slightly more powerful as well as being a thund-i check due to volt absorb.

Volcarona - Hard to get in, but there are steel types out there where you can set up on. Gems make volc hit like a truck. Flame body is also obnoxious, with a 30% chance to make a dragon physical attacker useless for the rest of the game. Rock weakness and lack of physical bulk do hurt it.

Zapdos - It's hard to justify over thund-i, but is bulkier and has roost as well as having an excellent ability in static, you can surprise people with specs or scarf also.


More thoughts on tiers below:

I think beyond here there is a drop off so I'm not going to go through every pokemon unless I have a bit more time in the future. I think these ranks would probably change quite a bit in my mind as I played the tier more, but I have limited experience to go off. I do think you can use most if not all of the pokemon below that and even some that I haven't mentioned here merely because I've forgotten about them.
 

DragonWhale

It's not a misplay, it's RNG manipulation
is a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Classic II Usage stats
[Gen 5] (42)PokemonUsageUsage%Win%
Thundurus2661.90%57.69%
Suicune2252.38%50.00%
Breloom2047.62%50.00%
Scizor1945.24%57.89%
Dragonite1638.10%62.50%
Latios1638.10%50.00%
Cresselia1433.33%50.00%
Tyranitar1228.57%66.67%
Garchomp1126.19%27.27%
Conkeldurr1023.81%80.00%
Ferrothorn819.05%50.00%
Mamoswine819.05%37.50%
Excadrill716.67%71.43%
Heatran511.90%60.00%
Volcarona511.90%20.00%
Blaziken511.90%20.00%
Landorus-Therian49.52%25.00%
Reuniclus37.14%66.67%
Chansey37.14%66.67%
Gliscor37.14%66.67%
Cloyster37.14%33.33%
Rotom-Wash37.14%33.33%
Politoed24.76%50.00%
Kingdra24.76%50.00%
Wobbuffet24.76%50.00%
Hitmonlee24.76%50.00%
Gyarados24.76%50.00%
Salamence24.76%0.00%
Starmie12.38%100.00%
Infernape12.38%100.00%
Skarmory12.38%100.00%
Abomasnow12.38%100.00%
Hydreigon12.38%0.00%
Latias12.38%0.00%
Donphan12.38%0.00%
Metagross12.38%0.00%
Alakazam12.38%0.00%
Sharpedo12.38%0.00%
Rotom-Heat12.38%0.00%
Raichu12.38%0.00%
Yanmega12.38%0.00%
Ludicolo12.38%0.00%
Sableye12.38%0.00%
Cobalion12.38%0.00%
Gothitelle12.38%0.00%

[Gen 6] (48)PokemonUsageUsage%Win%
Kangaskhan2450.00%54.17%
Talonflame2347.92%60.87%
Thundurus1633.33%50.00%
Gengar1531.25%40.00%
Aegislash1429.17%57.14%
Garchomp1429.17%42.86%
Ferrothorn1225.00%66.67%
Salamence1225.00%58.33%
Cresselia1122.92%63.64%
Volcarona918.75%55.56%
Landorus-Therian918.75%55.56%
Greninja816.67%50.00%
Hippowdon816.67%37.50%
Suicune816.67%25.00%
Heatran714.58%42.86%
Lopunny612.50%50.00%
Klefki510.42%60.00%
Hydreigon510.42%60.00%
Raikou48.33%75.00%
Swampert48.33%75.00%
Thundurus-Therian48.33%50.00%
Azumarill48.33%50.00%
Rotom-Wash48.33%25.00%
Donphan36.25%66.67%
Tyranitar36.25%66.67%
Conkeldurr36.25%66.67%
Zapdos36.25%66.67%
Slowbro36.25%66.67%
Liepard36.25%33.33%
Charizard36.25%33.33%
Latios36.25%33.33%
Blaziken36.25%0.00%
Excadrill36.25%0.00%
Heracross24.17%100.00%
Porygon224.17%100.00%
Breloom24.17%50.00%
Ditto24.17%50.00%
Weavile24.17%50.00%
Espeon24.17%50.00%
Dragonite24.17%50.00%
Lucario24.17%0.00%
Sylveon24.17%0.00%
Abomasnow24.17%0.00%
Rotom-Heat24.17%0.00%
Serperior12.08%100.00%
Mawile12.08%100.00%
Gardevoir12.08%100.00%
Blastoise12.08%0.00%
Metagross12.08%0.00%
Mamoswine12.08%0.00%
Gothitelle12.08%0.00%
Venusaur12.08%0.00%
Bisharp12.08%0.00%
Scizor12.08%0.00%
 
Long overdue but heres the usage stats for the GBU tournament I hosted:

PokemonUsageUsage %WinsWin %
Thundurus-I4850.002756.25
Conkeldurr4647.922860.87
Latios4344.792046.51
Suicune4142.712253.66
Scizor3940.632051.28
Garchomp3435.422058.82
Tyranitar3233.331546.88
Ferrothorn3132.291754.84
Breloom2728.131348.15
Dragonite2728.131348.15
Volcarona1818.751161.11
Mamoswine1616.671062.50
Cresselia1414.58857.14
Excadrill1313.54430.77
Landorus-T1212.50650.00
Kingdra1010.42330.00
Cloyster1010.42990.00
Thundurus-T1010.42550.00
Politoed99.38222.22
Heatran99.38777.78
Blaziken77.29114.29
Rotom-W77.29342.86
Chandelure55.21240.00
Chansey55.21240.00
Starmie44.17250.00
Reuniculus44.17250.00
Slowbro33.13266.67
Abomasnow33.13266.67
Alakazam33.13133.33
Terrakion33.13266.67
Ditto22.08150.00
Ludicolo22.080.00
Porygon222.080.00
Toxicroak22.08150.00
Hydreigon22.08150.00
Mandibuzz22.08150.00
Gliscor22.080.00
Hippowdon22.080.00
Metagross22.08150.00
Salamence22.08150.00
Shedinja22.082100.00
Uxie22.08150.00
Gothitelle22.080.00
Gorebyss11.040.00
Infernape11.040.00
Jellicent11.040.00
Liepard11.040.00
Porygonz11.040.00
Raikou11.040.00
Rhyperior11.040.00
Smeargle11.040.00
Zapdos11.041100.00
Espeon11.040.00
Azumarill11.040.00
Ninetales11.041100.00
Magnezone11.040.00
Tornadus-I11.040.00
Skarmory11.040.00
Scrafty11.040.00
Staraptor11.040.00
 
Hey, I'm probably not going to be around any more and I didn't have much time to finish this, but I was compiling a list of old GBU blogs, teams, tierlists, old tour results and it ended up half arsed and half done as I lost motivation. Not that there is ever going to be a GBU tour again, but if anyone is interested in finding some decent teams for friendlies or whatever, perhaps you can find something cool:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17yVb7VXRUlVXM1iX8P8lLbHCarUVOU0Oyu2fXuaPv-I/edit?usp=sharing
 

Darkinium

the mighty nuaguunibi
not playing bspl this year bc no gbu slot + most of my teams already in replays + no post in really long time + quarantine + ppl probably needing gbu teams for bspl classic = e p i c s q u a d d u m p

Cloyster @ Focus Sash
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Shell Smash
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Hydro Pump

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Talk

Volcarona @ Fire Gem
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 56 Def / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip

Thundurus @ Expert Belt
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Conkeldurr @ Fist Plate
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 100 Atk / 252 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk
Cloyster is nice in a meta run by dragons. Checks include Conkeldurr, Steels, Suicune, etc., which is where the rest of the team comes in. Hydro Pump is on Cloyster because I think it does better against Scizor, Heatran, and Conkeldurr, amongst others. I'm sure Rock Blast can still be useful, chunking bulky waters or something. Maybe even Razor Shell? But Hydro should do more vs Conkeldurr and Scizor.


Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Empoleon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 164 SpD / 56 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Yawn
- Roar

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight
- Trick Room
- Lunar Dance

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 56 Def / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Sleep Talk
Raikou is a pretty good check to Thundurus, outspeeding it and not taking too much outside of maybe a boosted Focus Blast or maybe a Superpower. Unfortunately not immune to Thunder Wave, though. Empoleon is there for rocks + Yawn + Roar, and appreciates Raikou's ability to take on Thund, similar Steel or Water could (should, maybe) take its place if you want, like Suicune or Ferrothorn. Conk and Volc save the day vs Ferrothorn, Excadrill, Tyranitar, and other enemies of Raikou. Cress can TR as well, offering a Semi-TR alternative, seen a lot in GBU, with Conk and Dragonite being the slow / slowish mons to take advantage.

Heracross @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Facade
- Stone Edge

Thundurus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Talk

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Spear
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Bullet Seed
- Thunder Wave

Latios @ Dragon Fang
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Earthquake

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold
Built this for BSPL finals for someone who used CressTran a few times, a core that Hera can totally m i s h (as long as they don't switch around forever and kill Hera from Toxic damage.) Hits like a truck even with Jolly thanks to high base Attack, Guts, and 120 BP STABs. Likes the statusy GBU meta, too, with lots of burn, para, and sleep being thrown around all the time. Thundurus takes care of fast stuff and provides chances to break with Volt Switch, and cleans and breaks pretty well itself. Mamo helps vs Thund, sets up rocks to helps get stuff into range for Hera and Thund. Ferro and Suicune provide defensive backup, and Latios helps check Fightings and stuff. Also has EQ to lure in Tran and TTar, very cool.

Ninetales @ Leftovers
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 68 Def / 4 SpA / 28 SpD / 164 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Hypnosis
- Substitute
- Roar

Cresselia @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Moonlight
- Thunder Wave
- Lunar Dance

Garchomp @ Dragon Gem
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake

Chansey @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

Thundurus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Talk

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
GBU is dominated by Sand and Rain, and even Abomasnow gets some action as an answer to weather teams, but Sun? Well, there's just Ninetales. I think I got the set while reading some Japanese blog. Put stuff to sleep, set up Subs, shuffle around, put more stuff to sleep, all the while resetting sleep counters on every switch. Cress helps vs dragons, and even gets extra health from a sun-boosted Moonlight. Chansey is another great complement to Cress, taking care of special attackers while appreciating Cress' ability to take on Dragons, Fightings, etc. Together, they provide Rocks, Lunar Dance, and Thunder Wave for SubSD Chomp. Chomp takes advantage of all the status the other three mons throw around, and demolishes stuff once set up. Thundurus + Scizor is a great offensive core that takes advantage of Rocks and status as well, and finds chance for Chomp to set up.

Snorlax @ Custap Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 244 Def / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Ice Punch
- Self-Destruct
- Fire Punch

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Sleep Talk
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Thundurus @ Charti Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Focus Blast

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rest

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 72 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
gluttony custap self destruct lmao

Snorlax is a chonker and can take most hits thrown at it. Gluttony activates below half health so at that point you can surprise a faster mon and hit it with STAB, coverage, or literally just boom on it. Overall not a great mon though, wouldn't recommend besides memes, also not as fun as Ninetales because a bunch of bulky mons literally just eat a Self-Destruct, but if you surprise something fast it's satisfying.

Garchomp @ Choice Band
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dual Chop
- Sleep Talk

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power

Cresselia @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Rest

Thundurus @ Flying Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave

Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Sheer Cold

Conkeldurr @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Def / 68 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Facade
CB Garchomp is a strongass wallbreaker. CressTran provides a defensive backbone and deals with stuff like Conkeldurr, Ferrothorn, Scizor, and other dragons, and has rocks and Thunder Wave. Choice Scarf Abomasnow because CressTran struggles vs weather. Thund is a secondary Fighting check, and Conk provides more firepower which the team lacks besides Garchomp. Toxic Orb + Guts makes for a cool status absorber, too.

Hydreigon @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SpA / 28 SpD / 156 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Superpower
- Flamethrower

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
- Superpower

Conkeldurr @ Fist Plate
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 124 HP / 100 Atk / 252 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Water Gem
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
Hydreigon has a shitton of coverage to take advantage of typical dragon checks. This set opts for Superpower and Flamethrower, good vs Heatran, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Ferrothorn. Thundurus + Scizor gives a lot of opportunities to come in and cover its ass vs Fighting-types and faster Dragons. Scarf Chomp for speed control, which also appreciates Hydreigon's ability to lure dragon checks to make it easier to clean, while also checking faster Dragons.

Reuniclus @ Flame Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 12 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Recover
- Trick

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 44 HP / 124 Atk / 4 Def / 84 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Fire Blast

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

Ferrothorn @ Lum Berry
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Protect

Conkeldurr @ Black Belt
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Water Gem
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SpA / 36 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold
Reuniclus is a pretty good pick in the GBU meta. Got the set from a blog team, I think the EVs on this one are different though. Flame Orb protects vs paralysis or sleep once activated, and can be Tricked onto physical attackers afterwards. Magic Guard helps vs status and Leech Seed, and Reuni can set up vs stuff like Cress, Ferro, Suicune without Sheer Cold and Heatran without Taunt. Everything else on the team loves Reuni's ability to wallbreak, and protect it vs scary physical wallbreakers like Tyranitar, Exca, and Scizor.

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pickpocket
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
- Ice Shard

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Acrobatics

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Superpower
- Extreme Speed
- Sleep Talk

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Magma Storm
- Toxic
Weavile makes for an interesting pick in GBU because it's one of the fastest usable mons, outspeeding even Thundurus, and hits Dragons + Thund hard with Ice STAB. Going Adamant is possible but then you just barely miss out on Latios and Thundurus, who then can only be KOed by Fake Out + Ice Shard, and then the latter can squeeze in a Thunder Wave before dying. Thundurus covers Water- and Fighting-types and appreciates an answer to Dragons, and does U-turn stuff with Scizor, which can take out the Fightings better with a Flying Gem Acro. Dragonite provides some thump and blanket check, same with Loom. Heatran has rocks which are nice on this team, can switch into some stuff, and has Air Balloon to check Excadrill (only 75% of the time with Magma Storm - another Fire STAB is worth considering.)

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Surf
- Sleep Talk

Conkeldurr @ Black Belt
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 228 HP / 188 Atk / 20 Def / 20 SpD / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Substitute
- Focus Punch

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rest

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Substitute
- Lava Plume
- Protect

Mamoswine @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard
- Toxic
Latios is a good breaker, but is mished by stuff like Tyranitar and Ferro. SubPunch Conk mishes them even harder by forcing switches, getting up Subs, and absolutely demolishing anything with a Focus Punch. Also evades status if it manages to get up a sub. Suicune and Heatran are blanket checks, Mamoswine is a revenge killer and deals with Thund, and Thundurus lures in Tyranitar and stuff and brings in Conk with U-turn, in addition to normal Thund stuff.

Garchomp @ Custap Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Endure

Thundurus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 8 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 2 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Focus Blast
- Sleep Talk

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Rest

Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blizzard
- Grass Knot
- Sheer Cold
- Rock Slide

Volcarona @ Fire Gem
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fire Blast
- Giga Drain
- Bug Buzz
Don't remember who I built this for but I remember they used a lot more weather than most people. Garchomp can tank a hit with Endure, and then surprise KO with Custap Berry, useful since its STABs are super effective vs both Excadrill and Kingdra. Also useful if you've set up and are about to be mished by a Thundurus or Latios or something. Thundurus and Scizor VoltTurn, whittle down walls, and give chances to set up. Suicune blanket checks. Abomasnow deals with weather, also has cool Rock Slide to lure Volc. Volc deals with Ferro.

Squad dump concluded. Looking forward to watching some e p i c GBU games during BSPL classic! :blobthumbsup:

#freegbu
 
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I'm retiring this team for the rest of the Tournament since 1TP will kill me if I use it again, but I thought I'd do a bit of a write up incase anyone ever wants to use this team in a future GBU tournament.




The basic premise of the team is two suicide leads (Thundurus and Breloom) based on the matchup into hard setup receivers based on the opponents lead. Thundurus-I is the lead the vast majority of the time and spreads paralysis. This Thund is unique in that it has a decent matchup vs. Mamoswine in particular which can be troublesome for Garchomp setup and can punish it for going for rocks with the Grass Knot. Asides from that Jacoba Berry is used to Chip Multiscale Dragonite, Sash users such as Chomp, Mamo or Breloom. Rocky Helmet can also be used but doesn't break non-contact sash.

Because Thund-I, especially in conjunction with Volcarona typically invites Tyranitar brings, Sand Veil Garchomp is utilised to punish Ttar. Dragon Gem is used to better break through opposing Suicune. Asides from that, the spread/moves are pretty common on Garchomp. At this point you might be noticing the Minimize Starmie, a hidden terror of this team. It functions both as a support and a carry in its own right. It depends on the party, sometimes Chandelure can be better as the Minimize user in these sorts of compositions especially if you fear opposing Breloom but both serve the same function which is to check opposing Conkeldurr. Starmie comes with the extra ability to soak status with Natural Cure, allowing you to pivot between Starmie, Garchomp and Thundurus when facing opposing Thundurus and Breloom (you can proc Jacoba for example). The EVs are for +2 Cloyster Rock Blast and Specs Latios Dragon Pulse.

The second mode of the team consists of Breloom + Cloyster + Volcarona. Breloom is very important as an anti-rain user. Max speed with the Rock Tomb is important for opposing Volcarona and Thundurus-I. Cloyster is an anti-dragon measure in case the rest of the team cannot deal with it such as vs. Dragspam. Kings Rock is there more as there isn't really any better item than anything else due to Loom having sash and Volc having LO. It's aim isn't to hax, its just bonus if you flinch stuff. Volcarona is a super strong sweeper that can put in a lot of work if it is set up for the right way. It does suffer vs. Heatran and Tyranitar but Starmie/Garchomp can take advantage of these so these are good teammates. Volcarona is strong enough due to Life Orb to even take on Suicune though watch out for Water Gem boosted Pumps and Mirror Coat.

Selection:

Basic: Thund - Chomp - Starmie
Secondary: Breloom - Volc - Cloyster
Vs. Rain: Breloom - Thund - Chomp
 
I guess this is probably the best place to put this. I'm retiring from BSS for a multitude of reasons I won't get into but I thought I'd share some of the teams I used in BSPL and hopefully they can help aspiring players who are playing the classic tournament and future old gens.

W1:

USUM: :lopunny: :celesteela: :lanturn: :naganadel: :heatran: :gliscor:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/f4341f0c43ff1862
Description:
This is probably my favourite Lopunny Offence and therefore was the perfect way to start off the season. Most Lopunny teams I find are pretty matchup oriented in that Lopunny either has a great matchup or the strategy falls apart. Strong Attackers such as Charizard, Xurkitree and Thundurus-T that are bulky enough to take Fake Out -> Return from Lopunny and opposing Tapu Fini/Celesteela are real issues for a lot of these archetypes. This team deals with them through the use of Scarf Heatran and Lanturn, unorthodox picks but with effective niches. Lanturn in particular is great at checking Thundurus-T whilst pressuring Steela/Fini cores. Most of the sets otherwise are pretty straight forward, the Celesteela is meant to take on Mega Salamence and Kartana as well as itself whilst Gliscor annoys balance cores.

GBU: :politoed: :kingdra: :thundurus: :garchomp: :scizor: :cresselia:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/f1cd06e8a98c1e67
Description:
I wanted to use a rain with a bit of a twist and therefore ended up with this one. Most conventional rains in GBU run specs or life orb kingdra so sub + disable can really catch a lot of people off guard. However this allows kingdra to put in work in situations where it would not be able to otherwise and take advantage of choice locked pokemon and opposing ferrothorn and fatter checks that can check kingdra but often struggle to break substitute, especially without their move of choice. The Politoed spread is also interesting with fast Custap berry designed to take on opposing Dragonite. The rest of the team is pretty standard, rocky helmet Thundurus despite its relatively low usage in the GBU scene is probably the best Thund set and is a solid lead all round if you dont know what to do/cant bring rain.

W2:

USUM: :salamence: :heatran: :ferrothorn: :tapu fini: :celesteela: :mimikyu:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/c230b8d1d1f5f0c3
Description:
The team is not from a particular blog but just stacks steel types on top of each other which makes it extremely obnoxious to break if you don't have a strong balance breaker. Pretty straight forward set wise. This team does have a notable weakness in Thundurus-T but aims to alleviate this with the combination of Mega Salamence and Mimikyu. Overall you cannot go wrong with Salamence + Heatran + Ferrothorn in USUM. Salamence makes a good nuker lead and a good way to trade with big threats like Thundurus-T, also deals well with Mega Venusaur and opposing Mence. Heatran for Naganadel, Volcarona, Tapu Lele and Charizard. Ferrothorn helps check bulky normals, in particular Snorlax as well as opposing Tapu Koko. Tapu Fini helps stall break and is a solid defensive pivot. Celesteela is the Mega Salamence, Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Metagross check. Lastly Mimikyu is just a great pokemon incase you run into a bad matchup and generally as the GOAT of USUM.

GBU: I explain it in this post (https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...ations-discussion-thread.3587199/post-8434349)

W3:

USUM: :pelipper: :swampert: :ferrothorn: :heatran: :mimikyu: :salamence:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/82dac5d6fbbb03f2
Description:
This team (10th ranked Nouthuca team from S16) also contains the Ferro Tran Mence core for poor matchups but that is the secondary core of what is primarily a rain composition containing Pelipper/Swamper/Ferrothorn. I'm a big fan of spdef Heatran as it really discourages special wallbreakers, in particular Volcarona/Naganadel/Charizard Y/Tapu Lele from being brought in team preview, allowing for more forgiving and macro oriented games. This particular variant of rain is designed to take advantage of bulky normals that can often frustrate rain, whilst having Pelipper/Ferrothorn for Tapu Fini. Hydro Pump into Z-Hydro Pump KOs Snorlax whilst Focus Punch on Swampert allows you to KO recover/recycling Normals without having to go for multiple waterfall flinches as they waste your rain. Asides from this, most of the team is standard, the Mimikyu is there as a last ditch stopgap and is needed specifically vs. Kommo-o.

ORAS: :thundurus: :garchomp: :kangaskhan: :mawile: :gastrodon: :talonflame:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/b000ef0938362a9c
Description:
This is a pretty standard team with the dual mega of Kangaskhan and Mawile, two of the strongest pokemon in the tier. What makes this team very solid is the number of status absorbers on the team with Thund, double ground and Talonflame, which is needed in a tier where Thundurus is rampant. Lum berry on Thund allows it to set up and break vs. opposing hippo and absorb status from pokemon like mega gengar and opposing thund. Garchomp serves as standard sweeper/revenge killer and charizard check. Mega Kang is mostly standard except the ice beam which is for opposing chomp/dragonite. Mawile can break through Cresselia and other fat that Kang can struggle with as well as doing well vs. Kang/Lucario/Gengar. Gastrodon is an unorthodox kang/chomp/thund check which can often wall entire teams or be less useful dependent on the matchup. Last just banded talonflame for priority revenge killing and for breloom/blaziken.

W4:

USUM: :salamence: :metagross: :xurkitree: :volcarona: :gyarados: :tapu lele:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/65ccb24df0f82e36
Description:
This is probably the first and only really spicy USUM team I used in the tournament and is based around a fake mega metagross. This team leads you to believe that it is regular z-fly gyara, but instead it is just suicide lead metagross into 5 different breakers depending on the opponents team composition. Tapu Lele + Volcarona is a classic combination that has great coverage and pressures even strong checks like heatran heavily, whilst mega gyarados is probably the best hyper offence sweeper in the format. Salamence is there as another dd sweeper and to dissuade breloom lead. Lastly Xurkitree is a niche balance breaker with z-electric terrain you outspeed the all important base 135 speed and therefore are able to sweep through lop balances as well as destroying steela/fini in general.

GBU: I use my week 2 team again


W5:

USUM: :gengar: :greninja: :mimikyu: :gyarados: :glalie: :snorlax:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/8d2a7dfb9a86b9e8
Description:
Z-Fly Gyarados, despite also having an excellent mega is a great sweeper in its own right that can put in work in certain matchups where the Mega would struggle such as vs. mega venusaur and tapu fini. It also allows gyarados to be brought with gengar which is something opponents often don't think of at team preview. Double speed control in Gengar Icy wind and Mimikyu Twave as well as yawn allows glalie to set up in the back if needed. Gengar also traps bulky normals and starts firing off focus blasts in matchups you cannot bring glalie. Protean greninja is a stop check to strong sweepers such as naganadel, salamence and Tapu Lele. This team does have to watch out for volcarona in particular but you can deal with it with gyarados and status.

GBU: :garchomp: :chandelure: :dragonite: :scizor: :thundurus: :cloyster:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/cc63c7d430114964
Description:
This team functions similarly to the GBU team I used in Week 2, with the Thundurus/Garchomp/Chandelure core. This core is designed to take advantage of certain pokemon, in particular cresselia, ferrothorn, latias, scizor and conkeldurr. Chandelure kind of covers most of the pokemon that starmie cant set up on well too. Dragonite/scizor/cloyster are meant specifically for matchups that this core struggles versus such as vs. dragspam, rain and suicune. Flamethrower on garchomp is meant for ferro/scizor, hp fighting on chandelure means you can deal with Tyranitar. Quick attack on scizor allows you to do more damage to Kingdra and the way you deal with rain is through priority spam and thund. I did end up losing with this team but I do think is equally as solid as the starmie one.

ORAS: :politoed: :swampert: :mawile: :chandelure: :serperior: :togekiss:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/d2b62715759fffdb
Description:
This is an interesting pseudorain that I picked up off a blog that I enjoy using a lot. Offensive Politoed hits everything really hard in its own right and perish song is useful against stuff like glalie/suicune. Lead swampert can psyche people out expecting mega swampert and going for WoW with Rotom for example. Can take on mega kang and thund without grass knot quite well. Then you have trick room core of chandelure/mega mawile. Chandelure can set up on quite a few pokemon that porygon2 can't such as mega Kangaskhan and even garchomp/landorus-t thanks to balloon. Lastly you have Serp + Togekiss as a general haxy paring. Serp can also slow pokemon for mawile and be a sweeping threat vs. certain teams whilst togekiss allows you to not be swept by outrage spam.

Semifinals:

USUM: :gliscor: :metagross: :porygon2: :toxapex: :naganadel: :tapu fini:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/c7c72c826ce8045b
Description:
This is about as standard a metagross p2 gliscor pex balance as you can get. It does have trouble vs. certain matchups but at the same time can also do well vs. others. Naganadel is z-fire + substitute as naga can often get subs on switches and sweep through this way. Poison Jab on Toxapex allows it to hit Koko on switchin for a 2hko. Scarf Tapu fini is kind of needed for the damage on Naganadel/Thund and for breaking opposing balance. Asides from that, you have both iron head and bullet punch on gross for the power and to be able to take on glalie who otherwise can 6-0 the team. Zen headbutt is just stronger vs. mega venusaur.

ORAS: :kangaskhan: :hippowdon: :greninja: :gengar: :thundurus-therian: :breloom:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/3fe5791a1e85b7c7
Description:
This team aims to use the power of specs greninja to break through opposing teams and has tools to deal with various checks. Mega Gengar is there to trap Ferrothorn and trade 1 for 1 with various threats whilst Thundurus-T is there for taking on opposing thundurus-i and preventing Twave spam. Hippowdon is your kang check and also deals with incoming zard/tflame on a rocks predict with rock tomb. The kang is secret power just for the potential haxing of threats such as cresselia. Breloom helps deal with rain and slower teams. I think in retrospect I would have tweaked this team a bit but didn't really have time that particular week.

Semis Tiebreak:

USUM: :salamence: :tapu lele: :ferrothorn: :heatran: :pheromosa: :thundurus-therian:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/f2ae0dfdf3f11d05
Description:
This team is an adaptation of an adaptation of the team Ultra Terry used to get 2100. It has the generally strong Ferro-Tran-Mence core that I've used many times already but has pheromosa as an anti-meta threat that a lot of teams struggle against and had been used effectively by a few people earlier on in the tournament. This is supported by Tapu Lele which stops Pheromosa being shut down by priority spam. Thundurus-T here serves as a balance breaker, specifically for steela/fini cores or pex/gliscor/p2. The spreads/sets are mostly really standard other than sash lele which is just a general lead and stopper.

GBU: :hippowdon: :excadrill: :latios: :scizor: :breloom: :suicune:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/6ae0ae00e7468a62
Description:
This team is a sand team based around the core of hippo + drill + latios with the aim of bringing these three as much as possible. The rest of the members cover matchups that sand cannot deal with well. These are mainly strong fighting types (in particular conkeldurr and breloom) as well as rain. Latios can substitute on loom/conk/cress that generally like to come in these matchups and start setting up, whilst scizor gets essential chip on cresselia for sand (which reduces cress healing) even if it has hp fire. Breloom is there for the rain matchup with suicune as well being there for stallbreaking and for dragonite cushion.

Finals:

USUM: :lopunny: :celesteela: :tapu fini: :naganadel: :garchomp: :glalie:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/81607aae3c02960e
Description:
This is a similar team to my week 1 team with the major difference being a more traditional core and having glalie as a stall breaker. Substitute Mega Lopunny allows you to win 50/50 mindgames vs. opposing aegislash by subbing on kings shield. Choice Specs Naganadel is the surprise breaker on this team, hitting extremely hard and able to take on the steela fini combination thanks to specs tbolt. The glalie was originally taunt but I changed it to standard. Taunt does help in the glalie 1v1 when it comes to pp stalling. Garchomp there for opposing volcarona and charizard. Asides from that a standard fini steela ground core really carries this team.

GBU: :mamoswine: :thundurus: :latios: :gothitelle: :conkeldurr: :ditto:
Paste: https://pokepast.es/93edade35ee88ae1
Description:
Probably the whackiest team I brought the entire tournament based around trapping people with gothitelle or countersweeping setup with ditto. Originally the team had block mamoswine and block conkeldurr but I couldnt justify actually bringing that to the game so changed conk to ice punch. The purpose of block is to trap typical switchins/counterleads to mamo such as cresselia, suicune and conkeldurr who might stay in to break sash and then switch to something that isn't trapped by gothitelle t2. If you aren't leading mamoswine you are leading thundurus-i, it is actually the counterlead to tyranitar since you either superpower it down to sash or trap scarf tar stone edge with gothitelle. Goth is just a cancerous set but standard asides from the double team which was just a bit of flavour added in to frustrate. Conkeldurr works as a reciever for sash mamo since you can sub on shard, mach and then get a focus punch off on the opponents next mon. Focus punch conk does dumb amounts of damage, just check the calcs. Anything living focus punch into mach from conk is getting trapped by goth, especially if you are max attack you almost always ko latios. Block on conk instead of ice punch was meant to then block this switchin such as cress so you can get to +666 with gothitelle. You can change the conk speed to 64 (29 ivs) to outslow other conk and add more attack (sub punch will win 1v1s).

Extra:

Some random GBU teams for good measure, though I do not guarantee success with these:

Sand + Dusclops: https://pokepast.es/02ceb7ec448eedbd
Rain + Eject Button Raikou into Goth/Tox Orb Loom: https://pokepast.es/3920529af2cd9154
TTar Gliscor: https://pokepast.es/34f3c13dd8ed80e0
Another more offensive variant with Cobalion: https://pokepast.es/e8e4cc40e398ac0a
Hail duo + Goodstuffs: https://pokepast.es/7b11e1894531d27b
Same team above + memes - viability: https://pokepast.es/6d2bf07b5251b6be
Skill Swap full Stall: https://pokepast.es/6f78dc66d98e7a75
Second more conventional variant: https://pokepast.es/97df798c9384c868
Gengar Mag Gyara: https://pokepast.es/952a618c38d93aa0
Metagross Zapdos Azu: https://pokepast.es/ad2d36516c52d26c
Dual Screens Smash Pass: https://pokepast.es/b7dc9ceec9f2aa14
Banded Virizion + Mesprit: https://pokepast.es/af18834ee39c4f1d
 
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howdy
classic has finally wrapped up and after a grueling run from r1 losers to grand finals I wanted to post a lil something
garchomp.gif
cresselia.gif
heracross.gif

https://pokepast.es/9a9de4224ce36e64
thundurus.gif
tyranitar.gif
abomasnow.gif

throughout my run using this build I oddly enough never dropped a GBU game despite my inexperience & relative disdain for the crusty ass gen, I may have even grown to like it along the way...

The core structure of the team was made early on and evolved with changes here and there as the rounds progressed to what it is now, I knew right off the bat I wanted a Heracross build bc it's just such a chad mon & fat shredder, the idea of a thicc hera that could sponge most hits and OHKO things back sounded cool, paired it up with Ttar as they have natural offensive/defensive synergy and pursuit trapping latios was appealing. I went back and forth between items but I've settled on dark gem as it removes the usual crunch/pursuit 50/50's as it'll always kill lati with 2 turns of sand. Despite having dark gem I found having maximum coverage was most effective on Ttar throughout my games which is why I ended up dropping crunch. Next came Chomper and Thundy cuz they're broken not really much to say lmao they patch up the offense matchup and are two of the most consistent threats in the gen, they appreciate Ttar's trapping as well but don't require it. Cresselia was slapped on as a glue to defend against the likes of blaziken, scarf lando/chomp, usual cress stuff. RestoChesto cuz i ended up having double weather on the team and chesto is nice vs loom, having double thunder wave on Cress & Thundy supports Hera nicely. To round off the team I wanted smth anti meta'ish and I love my ice types so I used Weavile early on, ended up changing it to scarf aboma later to improve my rain matchup and have a water resist in general lul. Good mon! Clicking blizzard free af
vs Megazard: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-1128178038
vs Puffkilla/breckinridge: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-1136435272
vs Tectonicdestroyer: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-1141010942-0n67b16vsl4hdunpey21wjb8yolgcnhpw
vs can't say: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-1150174767 (this version was the most varied but I'll get into that !!)
-​
iiight now hear me out, he may not have been sent out his pokeball the game i brought him bc there was a whole SABLEYE and WOBBUFFET but he's too epic not to share
machamp.gif

THE BOYYYYYYYYY
The idea to use Machamp was conceived after I saw can't says vile sand veil in action vs mishiimono here https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-1141102542 as a ct and general stop to evasion bullshit with no guard, carrying stone edge & ice punch it honestly has the coverage it needs to be legit with a MEATY spammable dynamic punch to boot w/ the added perk of confusion which we all know is busted in these gens. Lum abuses swagger attempts, dodges status in general & in particular lets it beat Breloom 1v1 when carrying bullet punch letting it be multipurpose :blobuwu:

I was gonna segway into some SM stuff here but it's hellishly hot out rn and I cba, to be continued
 

Attachments

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Darkinium

the mighty nuaguunibi
Warning: untested GBU shitmon teams ahead, use at your own risk


Crobat @ Flying Gem
Ability: Infiltrator
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Acrobatics
- Super Fang
- Hypnosis
- U-turn

Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard

Scizor @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower

Conkeldurr @ Coba Berry
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 76 Atk / 52 Def / 164 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Sleep Talk

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Sleep Talk
  • Crobat has lots of random utility moves, checks Fighting-types, and outspeeds +1 Dragonite
  • Mamoswine covers Thundurus for Crobat who checks FIghting-types in return, also has SR to help pick up KOs
  • Scizor is the team's Dragon resist, can U-turn around with Crobat and appreciates Super Fang and Hypnosis support
  • Conkeldurr is some all-around glue with a set that helps check Scizor
  • Thundurus takes advantage of Crobat's utility to sweep with Nasty Plot, provides secondary Scizor and Fighting check, breaks down Water-types
  • Dragonite is more glue and immediate firepower which the team lacks otherwise
  • Crobat probably ended up being the worst of the experimental mons, not really strong or bulky enough to do much, Hypnosis is too situational, and it usually ends up on the bench or just mindlessly bouncing around with U-turn


Jynx @ Salac Berry
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lovely Kiss
- Substitute
- Nasty Plot
- Ice Beam

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 212 HP / 4 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Magma Storm
- Toxic
- Substitute

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 20 SpA / 36 SpD / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rest
- Sheer Cold

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep

Latios @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Surf
- Sleep Talk
  • Jynx uses a SubSalac set with NP to take advantage of sleep's brokenness and the plethora of Dragon-types
  • Thundurus breaks Suicune, offers Thunder Wave support to help Jynx set up, and checks Fighting-types and Scizor who'd KO Jynx with their priority
  • Heatran helps Jynx secures KOs with SR, Toxic, and Magma Storm chip
  • Suicune is the team's glue, ChestoRest for fast recovery and Sheer Cold to break bulky stuff
  • Breloom is a catch-all check, gives some speed with Mach Punch, creates setup opportunities for Jynx with Spore, and completes a FWG core with Heatran and Suicune
  • Latios is another Fighting check with speed and firepower, Expert Belt and Surf to help vs Excadrill who gives the team a hard time


Lanturn @ Choice Specs
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 50
EVs: 12 HP / 12 Def / 252 SpA / 76 SpD / 156 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk

Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- U-turn

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blizzard
- Energy Ball
- Focus Blast
- Rock Slide

Latios @ Dragon Fang
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Calm Mind
- Dragon Pulse
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
  • Lanturn counters Thundurus, deals some damage with Specs and pivots around with Volt Switch
  • Scizor completes the VoltTurn core and checks Dragons while Lanturn counters Thundurus in return
  • Gliscor is a Fighting and Sand check, can set SR to make VoltTurn a bigger pain and adds its own U-turn into the mix
  • Conkeldurr is a tank that hits like a ton of bricks, appreciates the VoltTurn is get chances to break
  • Abomasnow is the scarfer, checks Dragons, weather, and Thundurus
  • Latios has Calm Mind to break other Calm Mind users like Cresselia and Suicune, and lures Pokemon trying to take advantage of Choice Specs


Xatu @ Expert Belt
Ability: Magic Bounce
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Happiness: 0
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 204 HP / 228 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Pursuit

Excadrill @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Talk

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
  • Xatu is a Fighting check that bounces back status moves like Breloom's Spore and Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, brings in breakers with U-turn
  • Tyranitar appreciates the Fighting check and checks Thundurus for Xatu, can be brought in with its U-turn and punch holes with CB-boosted attacks
  • Excadrill works great with Tyranitar and Xatu, offers a Dragon resist, checks Thundurus and Tyranitar for Xatu and can set up when brought in via Xatu's U-turn
  • Suicune is the team's glue, checks Dragons, deals with Rain, and takes out walls with Sheer Cold
  • Latios offers firepower on the special side and another Fighting check
  • Thundurus checks Suicune, Fighting-types and Scizor, speed control with Thunder Wave, and shuts down Ferrothorn with Taunt


Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Sucker Punch

Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast

Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Sleep Talk

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 188 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed

Cresselia @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 28 HP / 12 Def / 216 SpA / 12 SpD / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
  • Toxicroak's unique typing and ability let it setup vs walls like Ferrothorn and Suicune
  • Politoed appreciates Toxicroak breaking down Grass-types, gives it passive recovery via Drizzle, and shuts down Sand teams with Choice Scarf
  • Kingdra works great with Politoed's rain and also likes Toxicroak breaking down Ferrothorn and Suicune
  • Ferrothorn is the team's glue, chips foes with SR and Leech Seed and gives the team's sweepers an easier time
  • Cresselia checks Fighting-types and can surprise Scizor and Ferrothorn with its offensive set and HP Fire
  • Thundurus checks Fightings, Scizor, Dragons, and shuts down Ferrothorn via Taunt


Virizion @ Lum Berry
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Tyranitar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 20 SpA / 36 SpD / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Rest
- Sheer Cold

Conkeldurr @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Sleep Talk

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 Def / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Talk
  • Virizion is a sweeper is a useful speed tier and its special bulk lets it handle Water-types and certain special attackers like Thundurus
  • Tyranitar sets up SR to help Virizion sweep and appreciates its ability to check Water-types, dealing with Latios in return
  • Thundurus answers Fighting-types and Scizor, which both other members struggle with
  • Suicune is the team's tank and can KO walls at random with Sheer Cold
  • Conkeldurr is another tank that offers immediate firepower
  • Latios is another Fighting check with both power and speed


Moltres @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 252 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Acrobatics

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 28 HP / 196 Atk / 28 Def / 28 SpD / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Punch

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn
  • Moltres's typing walls Conkeldurr and Breloom without Stone Edge, and hits most relevant foes like a truck with its high-power Specs-boosted STABs
  • Suicune enjoys the counter to Breloom and Ferrothorn, in return it tanks hits and deals with Tyranitar
  • Breloom is a good catch-all check and completes the FWG core
  • Scizor can clean up after Moltres punches holes in opposing teams, and both have U-turn to pivot around
  • Tyranitar provides a much needed Thundurus check, some speed, and a rain check
  • Thundurus beats Water-types, spreads paralysis, and carries U-turn to maximize the team's momentum


Lucario @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Extreme Speed

Latios @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Trick
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Sheer Cold

Tyranitar @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 84 HP / 156 Atk / 132 Def / 132 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Volcarona @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 48 Def / 252 SpA / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Fire Blast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sleep Talk
  • Lucario can pack a punch after an SD and notably has Extreme Speed to clean up vs faster foes and priority users
  • Latios breaks down walls and checks Fighting-types
  • Suicune is the all-around sponge
  • Tyranitar chips foes, breaks Focus Sash with SR and sand, and checks Latios
  • Thundurus provides speed control and deals with Water-types
  • Volcarona checks Fighting-types, catches faster foes off-guard with Choice Scarf, and provides an answer to Ferrothorn which the team desperately needs


Gyarados @ Water Gem
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang

Tyranitar @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 84 HP / 156 Atk / 132 Def / 132 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Fire Punch

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Low Sweep

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Latios @ Fire Gem
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 12 HP / 248 SpA / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Sleep Talk
  • Gyarados can set up on many Pokemon such as Conkeldurr and Scizor thanks to its unique typing and Intimidate
  • Tyranitar appreciates Gyarados checking Conkeldurr and Scizor, in return it deals with Thundurus and chips foes with SR and sand
  • Breloom creates setup opportunities with Spore and deals with walls like Suicune and Ferrothorn using Bullet Seed and Low Sweep
  • Scizor gives the team a Dragon resist and a wallbreaker who can bring Gyarados in with U-turn
  • Thundurus offers much needed speed control and checks Water-types
  • Latios is another wallbreaker that can surprise Steel-types trying to take advantage of Choice Specs with a Fire Gem HP Fire


Chandelure @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 52 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Minimize
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Pokeball: cherishball
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Rest

Conkeldurr @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Def / 68 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Facade

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Quick Attack
- Sleep Talk

Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blizzard
- Grass Knot
- Earthquake
- Sheer Cold
  • Chandelure's unique typing lets it set up Subsitute and Minimize against Ferrothorn, Conkeldurr, Breloom, and others
  • Thundurus provides essential Thunder Wave support giving Chandelure an easier time setting up, checks Water-types, and can bring it in safely with U-turn
  • Suicune is the team's tank and checks Dragon-types
  • Conkeldurr wallbreaks and absorbs status with Guts
  • Scizor provides more speed control, a secondary Dragon check, and more U-turn support
  • Abomasnow checks Thundurus, Dragon-types, and weather abusers


Glalie @ Leftovers
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 84 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Protect
- Frost Breath
- Sheer Cold

Thundurus @ Electric Gem
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Low Sweep

Scizor @ Flying Gem
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Acrobatics
- Superpower

Dragonite @ Dragon Gem
Ability: Multiscale
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Hurricane
- Fire Blast
- Sleep Talk

Suicune @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Pokeball: cherishball
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Mirror Coat
- Rest
  • Glalie does its usual Moody thing and fares well against the meta's numerous Dragon-types
  • Thundurus provides Thunder Wave support, covers Suicune, Scizor, and Fighting-types for Glalie, and can bring it in with U-turn
  • Breloom deals with Tyranitar, Spore offers Glalie even more chances to set up, and can set up itself with Thundurus's support
  • Scizor packs immediate power, works great with Thundurus, and carries U-turn as well, also has an unusual 4 attacks set for extra coverage for Conkeldurr and Ferrothorn
  • Dragonite brings more power to the table, works as a catch-all check with Multiscale, and carries an atypical specially offense set to surprise usual checks like Conkeldurr and Ferrothorn, as well as absorbing sleep
  • Suicune is the team's wall, offering leverage vs Sand teams and Dragon-types
 
Last edited:

marilli

With you
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Former Other Tournament Circuit Champion
Maybe shoulda posted this before Classic, but here it is:

Gen 7 BSS Team Dump

https://pokepast.es/ca9e866544eb19ce

You might remember my post here, which was a first draft of this current post: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-spot-singles-good-cores.3602082/#post-8156937I've fixed some things here and there and cut out some unnecessary stuff. Because I cannot edit posts in archives, I will post archived teams from these common meta archetypes.

It is a non-exhaustive list. I have intentionally taken out several Pokemon / cores that are still viable in the metagame, but haven't really had great results. I'm not condemning the likes of Blaziken, Venusaur, BuluPex, and other cores I've removed from the prior draft as unviable, but I think the teams I've left out were rarer sights, and these spread of sample teams are more representative of the metagame and will serve you well in battle. Not to mention, some of those cores that aren't listed here are still featured on some sample teams.

Due to many players deleting their team blog post, some of them will only have the Pokepaste. I will do my best to credit every player. Also, this post is possible thanks to the help of Ika Ika Musume who has posted many of the top teams in pokepaste form on this thread here: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/battle-spot-singles-sample-teams.3619162/. Without his help this would have taken a lot more time to compile.

Bulky Offense Archetypes

Hippo-Mence-Aegis Bulky Offense



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https://pokepast.es/6a16551399947f38 - banbee's original team

https://pokepast.es/1aa3742b38ed5812
https://gameclubproject.jp/kaede-pokemon-s12/ banbee's team with breloom > kart

https://pokepast.es/6149dccceb53520b
https://roshipokepoke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/183822

Hippo-Zard-Lele Bulky Offense


https://pokepast.es/cb79433fa3442bdb
https://mr-kg0210.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/04/02/124448

https://pokepast.es/098abd7f0841e42e - hakusyaku's

Metagross Rotom-H Fini Bulky Offense


https://pokepast.es/2ebe5985d2580a61
https://chilno-poke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/145958

https://pokepast.es/e2b375f41a72c901
https://narukami-pokemon.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/04/03/001947

Meta-Zard Offense

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https://pokepast.es/5e7e7333021cf755
https://gashio.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/09/04/095221

https://pokepast.es/855880dd7053091f
https://blog.naver.com/1209sung/221437268637

https://pokepast.es/7c298c2745f6f13d
https://ultima.hatenadiary.jp/entry/2019/09/03/192021

Salamence FerroTran Bulky Offense


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https://pokepast.es/5dc3dd11a3ed95c7
https://www.asamipoke.com/entry/2019/01/09/001715

https://pokepast.es/d7de33cee9a48336
http://parabako.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-279.html

https://pokepast.es/1ec915243d47d090
https://yoshimaru-poke.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/11/07/113500

Mawile-Latias Bulky Offense


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https://pokepast.es/210f09b2f3813e57
https://sakku-poke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/06/18/182118

https://pokepast.es/8452afaf63b9195b
https://sakku-poke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/04/02/195723

Balanced Archetypes

Mega Kangaskhan Balance


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https://pokepast.es/8632a9091cd4389f
https://yukaiakari.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/211818

https://pokepast.es/ffbd468101f5b2dd
https://yukaiakari.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/09/03/170310

https://pokepast.es/3d90a527f1a58a79
https://irohapoke15.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/212654

Mega Gengar Control


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)

https://pokepast.es/ebc4370e37f3c131
https://oniyan0916.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/04/02/184730

https://pokepast.es/2156b4acb155bee1
https://ghncje9za2g2.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1.html

https://pokepast.es/e67e65aec1431128
https://cluclupoke-perorimu.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/09/04/172917

Zard-X Celesteela + Tapu Fini Balance


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https://pokepast.es/1708437bbc57879b
https://level-eater.hatenablog.jp/entry/2019/04/02/192018

https://pokepast.es/38176c112c724872
https://almond-beginer-1500-ibaru.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/04/03/140843

Mega Lopunny Balance


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https://pokepast.es/ac5b7648ad65b4a4
https://nagoshirasu.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/01/23/174716

https://pokepast.es/4406c1b3718a52b2
https://bfessaakuru.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/01/08/034111

Pory-Gross Defensive Balance


https://pokepast.es/df197979b54f3cc4 - piupoke's
https://pokepast.es/0c06b5bfbd3739cc - scarf's

Hyper Offense Archetypes

Mega Gengar Hyper Offense


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)

https://pokepast.es/534ed954f32fad3d
https://little-tale.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/11/06/173441

https://pokepast.es/2c54ff132a3bf3ee
https://noncal2007.hateblo.jp/entry/2018/09/04/203434

Mega Gyara Hyper Offense


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https://pokepast.es/f16577615348b8d3
https://suropoke.hatenadiary.com/entry/2019/01/08/174238

https://pokepast.es/2122df5e18848c26 - azelfhoon's

Mawile + Porygon 2 Trick Room


https://pokepast.es/4534fc54e0312c50 - suropoke TR

Mega Swampert Rain Offense


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https://pokepast.es/ac77bca61e107c89
https://sskaa14.hatenablog.jp/entry/2019/01/08/054702

https://pokepast.es/3d506b0963ed2753
https://m.blog.naver.com/1209sung/221640029252

Stall Archetypes

Mega Gengar Stall


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+ (
)

https://pokepast.es/b80b2abbe8f17e01
https://www.asamipoke.com/entry/2018/05/15/185713

https://pokepast.es/23eb97620182aa3f
https://manapoke.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/09/03/204305

https://pokepast.es/c3d8645011e9be1d
https://daminmusaboro.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/09/05/003632
 
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MZ

And now for something completely different
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
So GBU hasn't had an official VR ever and it's been bothering me during this BSPL. After all, such a centralized meta shouldn't be that hard to tier!

Anyway, I made one!
S Rank (Good on everything, always threatening and providing great support)


  • Breloom
  • Latios
  • Suicune
  • Thundurus-I


A Rank (Fits well on most teams, a serious meta threat, generally consistent)

A+
  • Conkeldurr
  • Ferrothorn
  • Garchomp
  • Kingdra
  • Politoed
  • Scizor
  • Tyranitar

A
  • Chansey
  • Cresselia
  • Excadrill
  • Gliscor
  • Heatran
  • Landorus-Therian
  • Mamoswine

A-
  • Abomasnow
  • Dragonite
  • Gothitelle
  • Hippowdon
  • Reuniculus
  • Skarmory
  • Starmie
  • Volcarona


B Rank (Low splashability and won’t always be brought but a legitimate threat when picked)

  • Blaziken
  • Cloyster
  • Ditto
  • Gengar
  • Gyarados
  • Jellicent
  • Latias
  • Metagross
  • Rotom-Wash
  • Terrakion
  • Thundurus-Therian


C Rank (Rare threats used for very specific reasons, fills a niche but lacks consistency)

  • Chandelure
  • Gastrodon
  • Glalie
  • Magnezone
  • Ninetales
  • Porygon2
  • Salamence
  • Slowbro
  • Tornadus
  • Tornadus-Therian
  • Toxicroak
  • Venusaur
  • Zapdos


I (MZ) have never really seen but someone else might know if they’re worth ranking

  • Alakazam
  • Bronzong
  • Cobalion
  • Dusclops
  • Gorebyss
  • Haxorus
  • Heracross
  • Hydreigon
  • Lucario
  • Mandibuzz
  • Raikou
  • Snorlax
  • Virizion
  • Weavile
  • Whimsicott
  • Wobbuffet
  • Zoroark


A note on the VR:

I think GBU is incredibly fun, but a very centralized meta. When I build, I rarely consider anything outside of the A-ranks, and that’s ok! To me the main questions to answer here are: How did I get the niche-ness between the subdivisions of A rank? Is anything in B-rank consistent enough to deserve a promotion? And what happens to the “things MZ hasn’t seen but other people might have an opinion on” tier?

Anyway this was all a personal project, but if BSS leads want to get this its own spot in the GBU thread or a council or any consistent / official ways of being shown off and updated, feel free! I think this should be a resource for everybody in addition to an interesting thought experiment.

If you have a change to suggest, just message me on Discord or respond to this post or find me some other way idk and I’ll take it into account.

This was all done solo but the base was taken from Ika Ika Musume's old VR post that nobody ever responded to (oops) and a lot of the random low tier mons that I don't know how to rank came from various Darkinium posts. So thanks guys, and I hope people find this useful and want to help!
 
I guess it has been three years since the last VR I gave so my personal opinion can be updated based on the knowledge I have at this time. It should be noted that in early 2019 I was not a very good player, it was my first full year of competitive Pokemon so that VR should be taken with a grain of salt. It was created because basically no resources existed on Smogon whatsoever when it came to GBU at the time. I'd say in late 2019 and 2020, my mindset towards BSS changed where I realised how much improvement there was to be had between the Smogon Metagame and the Japanese Scene. The logical step was then to apply this to Old Gens. This considerably deepened my knowledge in GBU when I started looking into Japanese teams, how they play with and against certain Pokemon and also translated into results in Tournament play. I still update the document I've listed above once in a blue moon, but I no longer actively play/theorycraft BSS and as a result the progress at least on my end has been minimal since BSPL IV.

my-image.png


Explanations:

S Tier

- Breloom is very broken cause spore but not best pokemon, think I originally overreacted when it came to this mon in 2019 since some peole insisted it was the best when it has a lot of weaknesses when you are cognisant of it. Second best lead tho.
- Conk is still swiss army knife and you can do too many things to list here with it, there are certain psychic/ghost types that can exploit it but only are able to exist to exploit it, asides from that its matchup spread is insane and can be tailored in builder for every situation
- Garchomp immune to prankster Twave, can run many sets, great synergy with sand and dodging stuff, hard to switch into. Chomp vs Lati - 4xIce Weakness doesn't matter too much cause most of the strong ice moves a Latios would die to anyways and generally lives the weak ice moves Lati would also live. Also not weak to Tyranitar/Scizor/Volcarona.
- Dragonite multiscale is broken allowing it to live every move that isnt icicle spear, priority is very strong in tier including banded ESpeed also Dragon Dance very good, ability allows it to run banded effecitvely and nothing really likes switching into banded outrage.
- Suicune just too bulky, destroys most stall due to pressure and myriad of annoying CM sets which win a lot of CM wars, you would think cm + psyshock can beat cune but burn is v. strong as is freeze as is random stuff like sheer cold, roar which can just lead you to losing the game on the CM war. A general cushion to a lot of psychical threats due to its bulk as well as being able to live kingdra moves too.
- Thund-I is probably the best overall mon in the tier, either it or Conk, prankster Twave is just the best opener in the tier, a lot of stuff you can do like sub toxic, nasty plot, swagger, random hidden powers, grass knot etc. just always useful and its very fast too got the perfect speed. Twave can be death in a lot of cases so its fine sacking thund lead cause then you get two kills.

A+ Tier

- Latios is very close to S but just has some bad matchups with Ttar and Scizor, getting paraed also way lowers its effectiveness. Unlike outrage, draco means you are useless after you get a kill and have to switch out or faint, also kinda have 4mms and also wants hp fire but loses mirror with that. Specs with trick is still very powerful and needs respecting
- Ferrothorn is very powerful in specifically rain matchup and taking electric/dragon hits, but it does requires some prediction and can be exploited by certain pokemon like Conkeldurr and Volcarona which leads it to being not as good. The defensive utility this mon brings as well as annoyance with hazards and leech seed not to be underestimated.
- Scizor kinda has the same issue as Ferrothorn where its fire weakness sets it back. I think its more offensive presence is traded off with the fact that its less defensively stellar compared to ferrothorn stuff like not being able to switch into pumps and tbolts as well. Bullet punch priority as well as Uturn is very strong.
- Tyranitar is an excellent pokemon just hampered by the fact that two of the best pokemon are fighting type and suffers vs a lot of the priority. Checks Lati and Thund pretty well which will always give it a niche as well as having rocks and Sand gives it great utility even if it doesnt trade 1 for 1 breaking a lot of stuff like sashes and multiscale.

A Tier

- Cloyster kinda slept on IMO. I think people look at this mon and go, well it shell smashes only and I either win or go bust. I learned this from looking at a lot of the old Japanese Tour replays that really Cloyster doesn't really need to smash (obviously have it on most sets why not) because it can still do a lot without even needing that due to skill link moves. Its defensive utility, being able to stop dragons overbearing and having a great dragspam matchup is great, trades with most things. Also Kings Rock.
- Cress is just fat, very fat but more exploitable than something like a Suicune which is why its lower here, but compensates with a better Conk matchup and Twave. Has quite a lot of utility moves but yea you can be in trouble when pokemon are setting up in your face and be behind the rest of the game.
- Excadrill does have some weaknesses such as to Mach Punch often requiring heavy Chople usage and requires Ttar to be on the team but can be very strong when it goes off. A lot of pokemon are bulky enough to live a hit from Drill so setup is needed which can be difficult to do in certain matchups. Can be very devastating in matchups like vs Lati/Thund where it lives hits well due to its typing and can get the setup.
- Gliscor is very good at stalling stuff and has just enough bulk/speed where it can do this vs a wide variety of targets. Poison heal Sub + Protect is just infinite and can stall out a lot of choice locked mons which is common in the tier. Multihit moves can be a problem for it though and at times you can just struggle to even get that turn.
- Mamoswine is very good anti-lead vs Thundurus and has a great matchup into dragons. Defensively asides from thund it can become a bit of a liability vs Conk, Suicune and Rain which holds it back, most opposing priority users asides from Dnite just wreck it too. I think its good enough to do work in most matchups but it really needs the right matchup to shine which is what I'd say differentiates it from a Cloyster say.
- Volcarona is an underlooked threat that can set up on a lot of the choice locked mons as well as Conkeldurr, Cresselia, Ferrothorn, Latios and Scizor. Fire blast is pretty difficult to switch into asides from by Dragons and hitting Volc with physical moves can be game losing cause of Flame Body. Bug Gem Bug Buzz can also really Dent stuff like Tyranitar.
- Politoed is only really here cause it sets up rain for Kingdra, but it can do decent damage and has a lot of utility such as Perish Song, living hits and Eject buttoning, Custap Endeavour, it kinda just about does its job which is enabling Kingdra.
- Kingdra if we were just assessing how good this mon is individually in forever rain then it would be A+ or S, but unfortunately it needs to do the work of 1.5 mons cause of Politoed existing so it has pressure on it. Nothing really deals with it that well so you are always trading, its just how many kills you can get, getting 1 is generally not enough.

A- Tier

- Skarmory I forgot to put here but is around here, stall is inherently weaker due to not being on cartridge also Skarm is exploitable by every CM user ever, of course you can make stall work in these theoretical matches where you just switch perfectly and wall everything with Skarm/Chansey but this doesn't work as well. Skarm is worse than Chansey since you can use Chansey in every style I think.
- Abomasnow is kinda anti dragon wrapped in with anti rain so you kinda get a CT with the tradeoff being having to use Abomasnow, also good vs Suicune though so it has something.
- Chansey I talked about a bit with Skarmory, I think the main issue that holds Chansey back is a lot of the special threats don't really lose to Chansey like the main specs user lati specs psyshock does tons and trick completely cripples Chansey whereas CM users like Suicune, Lati, Goth, Reuniculus can just feast on Chansey. Also being weak to fighting is bad, but as a pure, I need to stop this special attack decimating my team now its good at that.
- Gothitelle is powerful but also situational, I think you cant just run this on every team in every matchup and find success, some times when you are trapping too, the opponent just has a trump card which then loses you the game, like cm warring suicune and then it shows roar or sheer cold and you can't win. Since there are so many turns in setup too, you can get crit unless you have the right pokemon against you.
- Heatran is strong in a lot of different situations when its typing is a strength, obviously its weaknesses are bad too, though it can still put in work in a lot of matchups as just a decent special tank that isn't just setup bait. Kinda randomly hard to fit on team structures too.
- Hippo faces competition with Ttar as a sand user, it is less weak to physical moves but trades off the movepool and general utility and lati/thund check that ttar gives you in the lead slot making it overall worse. Hippo lati drill is probably the strongest pure sand structure though.
- Lando-T might be a bit high here but I think its intimidate has value, the issue is that unlike future gens, the main physical attacks are just stupidly strong outrages which lando doesn't resist which means it takes them worse even though intimidate exists.
- Wobbuffet is really good for a mon that doesn't have a movepool, I think it has a lot more utility and splashability than Gothitelle but a lower upside, there are a lot of choiced mons or four attackers that you can just counter/mirror coat and encore can just put opponents into situations where you can just switch into setup. Yea it has flaws but you get to choose your matchups so if you are good at manipulating the board I think Wobb is very strong.

B+ Tier

- Blaziken isnt the same mon that it is in ORAS since it cant learn egg moves such as Baton Pass and is event only. Speed boost is strong but it has no defensive utility and falls over to a lot of mons like basically everything in S except Breloom
- Chandelure is low key probably the best minimizer, better than Starmie just hasn't really seen in tournament, ghost/fire is really hard to switch into unless you are ttar and it also has stuff like wisp which is very annoying to deal with so you can't just go and switch in Garchomp or Dnite and click EQ. TTar and Garchomp and to a lesser extent Mamo are hard though.
- Gengar you can kinda do some cool stuff with scarf or sash, lot of destiny bond, trick, curse nonsense, thought it was best to put it around here though I could see this being a bit high.
- Piloswine is just a bulkier weaker Mamoswine can replace Mamoswine where you want a bit more beefiness.
- Reuniculus can be very strong in certain matchups with Calm Mind etc. sometimes it also just does nothing its matchup dependent for sure and is very slow too which can be an issue so in a lot of cases youd rather just cresselia.
- Rotom Wash unique typing can definitely help in certain matchups, in particular its very good vs Mamoswine and to a lesser degree Suicune but on the other end it can struggle with the strong dragon moves in the tier and competition from other electric users, does have stuff like trick/will-o-wisp to help.
- Starmie kinda has an offensive LO set and a minimize set, its minimize set does come under some trouble once you know how to play vs it like for example stalling it out with suicune you can't really do anything vs this mon. The LO set isn't quite strong enough due to Starmies strong but not amazing SpA, I think it comes around somewhere like here overall.
- Thund-T is basically just a Thund that checks Thund, it's very good in the right situations and doesn't hold many negative qualities but mostly you'd rather use Thund-I due to Prankster just being the better ability and outspeeding Lati, Garchomp is useful.
- Zapdos is kinda another electric flying that is a bit more defensive than Thund and has roost so can be used in certain scenarios, again faces strong competition.

I could go through my B-/C justifications but I feel like I'd be there too long and this post has gone on as is though happy to explain if people are interested, I've played with or seen enough to have a decent idea of where I think mons are at. B- mostly concerns very niche styles or pokemon that might be lower down choices on an overloaded archetype like dragspam. C is stuff that I've seen can work but for the most part don't think is very good at all. Then theres kinda other random theory ideas below that.
 
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