XY LC Just a Pawn in Chess, but a King in Pokemon

[SilentMango]

ABOUT THE TEAM AND ME
​

I have mainly just been a Smogon guest lurking about and reading the smog, articles in the LC forums, and RMTs in general for about 2 years, and admittedly, stealing some teams from the RMT or other places I could find good teams, because my team building skills were absolute trash. However after encountering the creator of a team that I stole on the ladder using the team that I stole, or "borrowed," I felt a little embarrassed, because I am very shy and self conscious. After that experience, I decided to go try and make a team by myself after reading through all the team building guides and viability rankings on the LC forums. This is probably the first team I made that isn't COMPLETELY trash. This team was also based on the team I found on the RMT, but pretty much completely changed from it except for the win condition. (http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/shadow-dancing-a-goth-offense-team.3517146/)

BRIEF TEAM BUILDING PROCCESS(probably not worth it because my team building is pretty bad)Pokemon that made the final cut are bolded.​

1. WIN CONDITION/LATE GAME SWEEPER- Because this was based on the team I had found on the RMT, I choose swords dance pawniard to be my win condition. Then, I looked at Pawniard's problems, a lot of them which I hadn't found at this time. The only ones I found at this moment were ground types (drilbur and diglett mainly) and fighting types

2. TAKING CARE OF FIGHTING TYPES- Once again, I decided to make this similar to the team I found, and the main reason for my making this team was because I loved gothita and wanted a good way to use it. If you couldn't tell from my as subtle as a sledgehammer hints(including the pokemon's name in the 2nd hint), my pokemon of choice to take care of fighting types was gothita, because it could trap and (hopefully) kill fighting types

3. HAZARDS- I am actually relatively new to LC (just dropped down from playing casually in OU) and know that DeoSharp is/was (id about the OU metagame anymore) a very prominent threat in OU. After reading an article in the Smog about advice on switching tiers, it said to make comparisons between the tier you were in and the tier you are switching to, so I made the Pawniard and Bisharp connection, and decided to add a "deoxys-d." For my "deoxys-d" that sets up hazards, I decided to go with the hazard stacking dwebble at first, because I played LC a tiny bit for fun during BW and I think hazards dwebble was actually pretty good back then.

TEAM BUILDING SO FAR- Pawniard(sweeper), Gothita(fighting support), Dwebble(hazards)

4. CHECKING GROUND TYPES- I decided to look for grass types, and came upon foongus, an overall good pivot. I actually forgot poison was weak to ground and that foongus actually takes a decent amount of damage from a drilbur's EQ, so I decided that foongus was going to be my ground type check.

5. COVERING WEAKNESSES- All of the pokemon on my team were weak to fire, except for gothita, but I wasn't exactly expecting it to tank fire type moves consistently, so i looked for a good stop to most fire types in the tier. I also wanted something that could give me a slow u-turn/volt switch into pawniard. Chinchou fit well in this role very well.

6. I normally have a hard time choosing a 6th pokemon, and this was no exception. Something about the pressure of it being the last puzzle piece to hopefully make your team work, or the fact that the core of your team is usually already made at this point, and supporting and finding/fixing is something I am really bad at. I decided to be really cheeky and make a F/W/G core by adding Ponyta. Ponyta is also a decent switching into Mienfoo I guess, so it wasn't completely random...​

FINAL FIRST VERSION- Pawniard(sweeper), Gothita(fighting support), Dwebble(hazards),Foongus (really bad ground check), Chinchou( covering the fire weakness), and Ponyta (FWG)

7. After messing around, I finally came to the conclusion a couple months late that spike stacking dwebble just wasn't cutting it anymore. I decided to replace it with Trubbish, because Trubbish has the option to set up spikes, and can take on opposing mienfoos and pawniards very well, which both need to be removed for pawniard to sweep.

8. Drilbur completely screwed my team over, and gothita just wasn't pulling it's weight, because it actually can't reliably kill mienfoos. Because of this, I decided to remove gothita instead of foongus(because foongus is still a good pivot) to get a better drilbur check, eventually settling on Slowpoke.

FINAL VERSION-Pawniard(sweeper), Foongus(pivot), Chinchou(momentum and covering fire weakness), Ponyta(FWG), Trubbish(fighting type and pawn check), Slowpoke(ground type counter)​

Sorry for that not intended to be as long wall of words. If you completed that, you deserve a cookie.

NOW, FOR THE ACTUAL TEAM

Pawniard

Item: Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
Evs: 236atk, 36 def, 36 spdef, 196 speed
Nature: Jolly​

Swords Dance, Knock Off, Sucker Punch, Iron Head

Description: Swords Dance Pawniard can really become a big threat after one Swords Dance. It has the ability to dent if not kill most defensive threats in the game. A few notable defensive threats that Swords Dance Pawniard can OHKO or 2HKO after a swords dance include Spritzee, Porygon, Archen, Chinchou, and Foongus. Knock off is in general a great move, especially in LC, Sucker Punch, because Pawniard needs priority to beat threats that are faster than it, and Iron Head mainly for additional STAB and a little more coverage. The EVs focus on it's Attack and Speed, while giving it some bulk. The eviolite makes it much bulkier and able to come in mid game and knock off a few of it's checks or bulkier pokemon in general without being knocked to a too low hp range before attempting to pull off a sweep with it.

Additional Notes: I think that Pawniard is here to stay on this team. I was thinking of perhaps a different move than Iron Head, but I think Iron Head is probably the best option. I was also thinking of switching eviolite to life orb to maybe snag a little more kills that it would usually miss out on (if there are any, I honestly don't know).

Trubbish

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Item: Berry Juice
Ability: Sticky Hold
Evs:40hp, 184def, 100sdef, 160speed
New Evs for Trubbish are 116 HP, 36 Atk, 100Def, 20 SpDef, 236 speed thanks to
Nature:Bold
New Nature for Trubbish is Jolly

Recycle, Spikes, Gunk Shot, Drain punch​

Description: Trubbish is a great switch-in to most fighting types that threaten Pawniard, because it resists their fighting STAB and can take a knock off no problem, because of sticky hold. Recycle+Berry juice give it some decent recovery. Spikes are so that it can let Pawniard get some more kills, as well as wearing down pokemon in general. Spikes can also bait the defog for pawniard to switch into. Gunk Shot is just for power, because of trubbish's low attack stat. Drain punch is because Pawniards usually end up switching into trubbish, so you can surprise them with an OHKO drain punch.

Additional Thoughts: The Evs are slightly random, giving it good mixed bulk, but most importantly good defense for checking pawn and fighting types. The speed is so that I think it outspeeds or ties with most Pawniards. However, I think a better EV spread might help; idk. Trubbish may be changed for Timbur, because trubbish can't actually OHKO pawniard with drain punch, while Timbur makes a great pawniard counter.

Chinchou

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Item: Eviolite New Item is Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
Evs: New Evs are 52 def, 232 SpAtk, 224 speed
Nature: Bold Changed to modest
MOVES: Hydro pump, Ice Beam, thunderbolt, Volt Switch
changed from rest/talk chinchou
​

Description: Chinchou was mainly put on the the team to help stop fire types. Chinchou in general is just a really solid pivot, and has the ability to give a slow bulky volt switch to Pawniard. One of the notable checks to Pawniard that Chinchou can beat is Ponyta, because it is immune to wild charge, can rest off burns doesn't care much about burns, and dozen't take much damage from flare blitz, while being able to hydro pump it. A fletchling check never hurt anyway. Chinchou's scarf lets it outspeed drilbur with a surprise hydro pump. Chinchou also in general gives good special firepower and speed, something this team is lacking.

Additional Thoughts: Honestly, I don't really know about what variant of Chinchou I should run. Scarf could give me some much needed specially offensive presence and some speed too, as well as a drilbur check, so I was considering that. Just changed it to scarf but still testing between scarf and rest/talk. Currently I like scarf better.

Foongus

Item: Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Evs: 124 hp, 160 def, 160SpDef
Nature:Bold
Spore, Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Hidden Power Fighting
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Description: Foongus overall just works as a nice pivot pokemon with a surprisingly decent power (more ATK than Fletchling). Spore is also a great move just to have in general, as you can disable a pokemon for maybe the whole game with it. The EVs are standard,Bold for more defense, because I normally use it against physical attackers. HP Fighting is used, because Foongus(at least in lower ladders) makes great bait for Pawniard. Foongus is also a pretty good fighting type switch-in as well.

Additional Thoughts: I honestly don't really know about Foongus. He forms a nice FWG core, but I was thinking of replacing him with Pumpkaboo or whatever the name is, because 1. It can spin block, 2. It can counter drilbur, and 3. It fits the Halloween theme since Halloween is coming soon.

Ponyta​

Item: Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
Evs: 40 hp, 76 Atk, 156 Def, 88 SpDef, 116 Speed
New Evs for Ponyta are 236 Def, 76 SpDef, 196 Speed
Nature: Bold
New Nature is impish
Flare Blitz, Will-o-Wisp, Morning Sun, Toxic replaces Wild Charge.
​

Description: Ponyta rounds out the FWG core very well. It makes a decent secondary check to mienfoo, being able to morning sun until mienfoo burns itself, or just in general spreading burns to mienfoo(or to other pokemon like Pawniard or fletchling). Toxic is for wearing down very bulky pokemon that tend to switch in. Wild charge was removed because Chinchou can hit many pokemon with electric type moves and it isn't too necessary in the meta. I tried to make it pretty strong in physical defense through the Evs because it is mainly switched into physical attackers.
Additional Thoughts: The EVs could potentially be better I think. This is one of the pokemon that I am 75% sold on, meaning it isn't bad but if I had to, I guess I could replace it.

Staryu(replacing Slowpoke)
Item: Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Evs: 116 Hp, 156 Def, 36 SpAtk, 156 speed
Nature:Timid
Rapid Spin, Scald, Thunderbolt, Recover
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Description: Stayu replaces slowpoke because of the fact that it basically is like Slowpoke with the same typing, but Staryu has the important trait of being able to rapid spin away hazards, which Ponyta really needs have removed. Staryu, just like Slowpoke can "Fish for for Scald burns," (thanks Eren yeagar) which is both important and makes a very bad pun. Staryu also can check drilbur pretty well. Recover gives it the longevity it needs and natural cure is overall a great ability. The EVs are so it is pretty physically defensive but also capitalizes on it's amazing speed

​

OUTRO
This is my first team and is probably really bad. If you are reading this, thank you so much, because I would never have thought anyone would be reading this RMT, none the less actually be interested enough to read it to here. I know the team is probably horrible, but please don't tear it apart to pieces and instead be constructive, because the team and this RMT took a while to make. Thank you so much Eren Yeagar for the changes to Trubbish and Ponyta's natures and Evs. I am extremely appreciative of Yagura for also affirming(if that's the word idk) Staryu, and also affirm me that scarf chinchou would be a good worthwhile change, as well as telling me to replace wild charge on ponyta which looking back i did find a little lackluster.​

 

[Eren Yeagar]

Hello SilentMango , this looks like a really good LC team and defintely is well built, but I do have some suggestions.

Staryu over Slowpoke

I think Staryu can be really beneficial to your team because it's a good partner for your team since it can fish for Scald burns and be bulky with recover. Another big reason you need a Staryu on your team is you need something to effectively get hazards away since mainly Ponyta and your team hates hazards. Slowpoke has also gotten nerfed in XY LC since Knock Off is everywhere and VoltTurn is a super common and amazing archetype.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 36 SpA / 156 Spe
Timid Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

Also, this EV spread is more beneficial for Trubbish: EVs: 116 HP / 36 Atk / 100 Def / 20 SpD / 236 Spe and a Jolly nature is more beneficial than bold since Trubbish can speed tie with the pokemon in the 17 speed tier.

Ponyta also needs an EV spread change: EVs: 236 Def / 76 SpD / 196 Spe and an Impish nature is more beneficial than bold since you have no special attacks on Ponyta and it can reach an eviolite number in your defense stat.

Anyway, solid team! Good luck on your future battles!

 

[SilentMango]

Thank you so much for the help! Staryu seems like a great suggestion, especially since I was looking for a rapid spinner. Thanks as well for changing my wonky EVs on both Trubbish and Ponyta. Overall, giant thank you in general for everything that you said!

 

[boo836]

Trubbish really isn't a good pawn check, as it's commonly OHKO'd by +2 Sucker Punch (and can't kill pawn all the time). Try running Mienfoo, Timburr, or Croagunk if you find that you have trouble dealing with Pawniard.

 

[Yagura]

Hi there, this is a really nice team good job. First of all I'd like to say that I agree with Eren Yeagar's suggestions, Staryu fits better in Slowpoke's place as you'll need hazards away to keep Ponyta as healthy as possible so I think you should change it. I do have some suggestions here and there too:

First of all, change Pawniard's EVs spread from 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe to 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe, that is the best spread to use on Pawniard at the moment especially the Swords Dance variants as it allows you to hit an Eviolite (even) number in Special Defense and the Attack drop doesn't really affect it much because you can boost it using Swords Dance.

Also I do agree with boo836, Trubbish isn't really much of an answer to Pawniard as it gets OHKOed by a +2 Sucker Punch at +2 and heck it can't even OHKO back with Drain Punch. So I suggest using Timburr over Trubbish as it gives you a great answer to Pawniard thanks to its priority Mach Punch and solid bulk, here is the set:

Timburr (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 76 Def / 160 SpD
Impish Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab

Also, I do agree that Scarf Chinchou will be fit better in your team than RestTalk not only it gives you a way to gain momentum with Volt Switch but it has a nice surprise factor against stuff like Drilbur and non-Sash Diglett, here's the set:

Chinchou @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 52 Def / 232 SpA / 224 Spe
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

Another thing even though it's just a slight change but it'll be better to use Toxic over Wild Charge on Ponyta as it allows you to win the 1v1 against stallish Pokémon with recovery like Porygon and also do some passive damage to non-Rest Chinchou, Wild Charge isn't much needed in the current meta and you already have Chinchou to fire Electric-type attacks.

Anyways, that's all I've got to say, like I said this is a good team that has a lot of potential so good luck, I hope I helped and if you've got any question about this team or LC in general feel free to ask.

 

[SilentMango]

I have been thinking about Timbur over Trubbish for a little while. When switching to Timbur, I loose a pretty good fighting type check, which I feel is important in Pawniard centered teams. Spikes, while less important is still a pretty cool move to be able to use, especially just wearing down opponents and potentially even baiting defogs. I have been maybe thinking about Acrobatics Mienfoo> Trubbish because Mienfoo can take on Pawniard as well as being able to switch in to opposing fighting types if it gets its eviolite knocked off and can acrobatics them. Lastly, Mienfoo forms a good regenerator core with Foongus. Thank you Yagura for the insightful well explained changes, and the very friendly, helpful vibe I get from your comment.

 

[SilentMango]

I am probably using Staryu wrong, but I am currently seeing it to be a little lackluster. The main job I had for slowpoke was to be a drilbur counter/check, and well Staryu isn't so hot against Drilbur because:
236 Atk Mold Breaker Drilbur Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 156 Def Eviolite Staryu: 9-12 (45 - 60%) -- 68.4% chance to 2HKO
(9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12)
I actually haven't pulled off a rapid spin yet in the games I've played yet (but to be fair I've only played 4 games with staryu.)
Ponyta becomes a bigger problem against my team after changing to scarf chinchou because after playing against ponyta, will-o-wisps and flare blitzes that do quite a chunk(76 Atk Ponyta Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 52 Def Chinchou: 9-11 (37.5 - 45.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO) as well as rock damage really started to wear me down (Staryu had died to Ponyta's wild charge so no rapid spin), and I didn't have much for Ponyta. Chinchou was originally placed on the team to counter the fire weakness I had, and as a scarfed chinchou, it is definitely working aw well.

 

[Corporal Levi]

Try using 116 HP/156 Def/36 SpA/156 Spe (with a Timid nature) for the calc instead (you put in the wrong EV spread for the calc). It allows you to avoid the 2HKO from Earthquake the vast majority of the time and still outspeed to Recover spam if they get a max roll. Between Staryu, Chinchou, Flare Blitz recoil and Stealth Rock, I think Ponyta should be manageable, but if it does get out of hand, you could run Stone Edge over Poison Jab on Timburr, which also allows for the surprise KO on Archen and Larvesta as well.
Other than that, your team looks really solid. Good luck!

 

[SilentMango]

Whoops about the damage calculator, sorry for putting in the wrong Evs and not realizing it. Thank you for telling me how to deal with Drilbur better as well. Wild Charge Ponyta can get a bit problematic, as it kills Staryu, and I actually don't have any SR support. However, I guess that if it is wild charge Pony I can send in Staryu, bait the wild charge, then go into Chinchou and heal up a little from volt absorb. Thanks for the suggestion on Timbur too. It sounds like a good idea, but i am not 100% sure (but close to it) on swapping trubbish for timbur, because I am also testing Mienfoo.