Hey guys, this is my first RMT and my first post on Smogon. The goal of this team is to be either be spamming CC with Sawk or Double Edge with Tauros by the end of the game. This means that I have to eliminate any Ghost types, bulky Psychics e.g. Musharna, bulky Poison types e.g. Golbat and Weezing, and other physical walls e.g. Tangela and Alomomola.
This team has been fairly successful peaking #13 with 1935 points on the Gen 5 NU ladder.
So without further ado, here is the team. (The Pokémon are in no particular order.)
Scolipede (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
Scolipede is my lead ~2/3rds of the time. His job is to get up hazards as quickly as possible. Spikes weaken the opponent over time, which allows Tauros to get more OHKO's. Sawk doesn't benefit as greatly from them, however, they help an enormous amount on incoming Tangelas because Spikes turn a 3HKO to a 2HKO with a CC. I also have toxic spikes to also help with Tangela and to prevent Liepard and Exeguttor from doing their substitute shenanigans. Rock slide is used to kill the occasional Lead specs Charizard (which has fucked up my team badly before) and 2HKO opposing Scolipedes. Obviously, Megahorn is my fourth moveslot. It is a great stab move and that works well with Focus Sash and Swarm. Max Speed to speed tie opposing Scolipedes and max Attack for the extra power. Focus Sash and Swarm are used because if Scolipede is hit while setting up hazards, and the hit lowers him to the sash, something is maimed by Megahorn.
Tauros @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Anger Point
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
In my opinion, Tauros is a very underused mon. He is behind Armaldo on the 1850 September Usage Stats for crying out loud. A scarfed Tauros is even more underused. He outspeeds ALL scarfers, including Modest Zebstrika and can usually OHKO all common ones with hazard support. Tauros doesn't stop there. He outspeeds any Swift Swim or Chlorophyll mon except for Floatzel and Jumpluff. Double Edge is the most powerful move in Tauros' arsenal. I don't really care about the recoil because by the end everything should be weak and not have a lot of HP left if the team members have done their job. EQ is for any rock or steel types remaining and Stone Edge is for ghosts. I don't need these moves if Sawk and Liepard have done their jobs. I also have Sleep Talk on here. I was having a problem with Jynx if it got a free switch into anything but Tauros and Liepard. Usually, I switch Tauros into the Jynx. If it Lovely Kisses, and it tries to set up, I click Sleep Talk and that’s one dead Jynx. If its scarfed, I take the hit and, if it stays in, I kill it with double edge. This also allows for Sawk to spam CC because I just eliminated the opponents scarfer. I run max Speed and max Attack for obvious reasons and Tauros is Jolly so it can outspeed weather sweepers. I use Anger point instead of the infinitely better Sheer Force and Intimidate because Intimidate can and has made people believe Tauros was scarfed when it came in because they are familiar with the Smogon set. Sheer Force is also incompatible with one of the moves.
Sock (Sawk) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Sawk is my wall breaker. With hazard support he can 2HKO Tangela, Alomomala, and every other physcial wall except for Musharna and Misdreavus. Close Combat is the mostly used move. It only fails to 2HKO Poison types, physically bulky Psychic types, and of course, Ghost types. EQ is used whenever the Ghost, Poison, or Psychic type switch in is obvious. Stone Edge is used for mons like Golbat and Driftblim. Golbat loses more than 75% health with Stealth Rocks up so it is effectively trapped and KOed as long as I hit the Stone Edge. Ice Punch is there just for when I need to beat Golurk. As said before, Sawk is the wall breaker. He can lower the HP of every wall in the tier enough so that Tauros can come in and clean up with Double Edge. Obviously, Tauros does not want to be locked into EQ at the end of the game. Sawk helps him with that. With a combination of CC and Mold Breaker. Sawk can OHKO every Rock and Steel Pokémon in the tier. Mold Breaker is also useful for EQing Weezing and Misdreavus through Levitate. Max Attack for most power and max Speed to ousspeed things
Musharna (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 16 SDef / 240 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
- Heal Bell
- Moonlight
Musharna is one of the best walls in the tier. It has a phenomenal support movepool, instant reliable recovery, a decent ability, a great physical typing for NU, a beefy HP stat, and respectable defensive stats. Musharna's role on the team is to wall anything and everything that is not Skuntank. It takes a hit, Moonlights if it has to, and then Baton Passes out. Pyschic is my only attacking moves but this leaves me to be walled by and Physcic or Dark type. However, Musharna needs all the power it can get and Physics is the most reliable STAB move. Musharna has Baton Pass to provide a slow volturn which is basically a free switch into whatever I want. It is also useful for escaping Skuntank's pursuit, however, I must watch out if the Skuntank just goes for the Crunch on my Baton Pass. Musharna provides Heal Bell support to any of my Pokés. Since my entire team is made up of physcical attackers, a burn is very unfortunate to everyone. If I can't kill the Pokémon that is about to WoW, I switch in to Musharna to synchronize it over. Most of the WoW users are either weak to Musharna or do use Eviolite so the Passive damage is very important. Moonlight is necessary on every Musharna set. It provides instant and mostly reliable recovery which is a godsend in the NU tier. The HP EVs give reduce passive damage and the rest of the EVs are thrown into physical and special bulk. 0 Attack IVs are to reduce the amount that Foul Play and confusion does even more.
Liepard (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Encore
- U-turn
Liepard is the most recent addition to my team. I wanted to use a Dark type to form the Fighting, Psychic, Dark core and originally I had Skuntank. Skuntank was used to trap and kill opposing Psychic and Ghost types. Skuntank was great and all but he was to predictable. Everyone know the set so they can easily play around it. I also had a problem with Bulk Up mons who set up on the first turn when I’m laying down hazards. I needed a solution that could solve both the predictability problem and the Bulk Up problem. What could be better than Pivot Liepard? Liepard's role in the team is to eliminate the Psychic types and the Ghost types and to stop set-up sweepers. It is great against people who don't know the pivot set. Sucker punch is used so Liepard can have some offensive presence and priority. Sucker Punch maims any frail Pokémon. Usually, the Sucker Punch is obvious with a Skuntank and they get a free sub or free switch into whatever they want. No one expects Sucker Punch on a Liepard so they stay in and don't sub which (hopefully) allows me to kill them. Pursuit is the same story, no one expects it. I use pursuit on Pokémon like Musharna who only have Psychic and are switching out.so I can get as much damage on it. Encore is to handle my problem with setup sweeper. Hopefully, I switch into a non-damaging move like Substitue or Bulk Up and I priority encore them into that move. Unless they're max Speed Bulk Up Floatzel, they are not going be able to hurt me. I have U-Turn because usually when a Pokémon is encore into a non-damaging move, they switch out. This provides my team with the all powerful momentum, hence the name Pivot Liepard. U-Turn also provides a little volturn core with Musharna. I run max speed and attack so I can encore opposing Liepard into Substitute or Swagger hopefully. The max Attack is used to get as much damage off as possible with Sucker Punch or Pursuit. Prankster is necessary for the priority encore. Leftovers are to limit the damage from entry hazards.
Piloswine (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 240 HP / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
Every team needs a Stealth Rocker and I find that Piloswine is the best and most reliable. He has great bulk, a good ability, great offensive typing, and an immunity to Electric. Piloswine's goal is to set up SRs and to help with the killing of Rock and Steel types. He can also tank many hits well. He can set up Stealth Rocks on many of the Pokémon in NU and doesn't fear many attacks. Stealth Rocks are extremely important to the team because they rack up entry hazard damage. Ice Shard is for weakened mons that are faster than Piloswine. Earthquake is Piloswines main attacking move, hitting Rock and Steall types aeasily. Icicle Spear is used to break through substitutes and is is Piloswines best Ice STAB. The EVs are straightfoward. They enhance his bulk and his power. 16 Speed is to ouspeed max Speed Torkoal and hopefully kill it before it gets the rapid spin off. Thick Fat is a fantastic ability that allows Piloswine to resist the BoltBeam tactic.
So this is my team. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions.
This team has been fairly successful peaking #13 with 1935 points on the Gen 5 NU ladder.
So without further ado, here is the team. (The Pokémon are in no particular order.)
Scolipede (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn
Scolipede is my lead ~2/3rds of the time. His job is to get up hazards as quickly as possible. Spikes weaken the opponent over time, which allows Tauros to get more OHKO's. Sawk doesn't benefit as greatly from them, however, they help an enormous amount on incoming Tangelas because Spikes turn a 3HKO to a 2HKO with a CC. I also have toxic spikes to also help with Tangela and to prevent Liepard and Exeguttor from doing their substitute shenanigans. Rock slide is used to kill the occasional Lead specs Charizard (which has fucked up my team badly before) and 2HKO opposing Scolipedes. Obviously, Megahorn is my fourth moveslot. It is a great stab move and that works well with Focus Sash and Swarm. Max Speed to speed tie opposing Scolipedes and max Attack for the extra power. Focus Sash and Swarm are used because if Scolipede is hit while setting up hazards, and the hit lowers him to the sash, something is maimed by Megahorn.
Tauros @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Anger Point
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk
In my opinion, Tauros is a very underused mon. He is behind Armaldo on the 1850 September Usage Stats for crying out loud. A scarfed Tauros is even more underused. He outspeeds ALL scarfers, including Modest Zebstrika and can usually OHKO all common ones with hazard support. Tauros doesn't stop there. He outspeeds any Swift Swim or Chlorophyll mon except for Floatzel and Jumpluff. Double Edge is the most powerful move in Tauros' arsenal. I don't really care about the recoil because by the end everything should be weak and not have a lot of HP left if the team members have done their job. EQ is for any rock or steel types remaining and Stone Edge is for ghosts. I don't need these moves if Sawk and Liepard have done their jobs. I also have Sleep Talk on here. I was having a problem with Jynx if it got a free switch into anything but Tauros and Liepard. Usually, I switch Tauros into the Jynx. If it Lovely Kisses, and it tries to set up, I click Sleep Talk and that’s one dead Jynx. If its scarfed, I take the hit and, if it stays in, I kill it with double edge. This also allows for Sawk to spam CC because I just eliminated the opponents scarfer. I run max Speed and max Attack for obvious reasons and Tauros is Jolly so it can outspeed weather sweepers. I use Anger point instead of the infinitely better Sheer Force and Intimidate because Intimidate can and has made people believe Tauros was scarfed when it came in because they are familiar with the Smogon set. Sheer Force is also incompatible with one of the moves.
Sock (Sawk) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Stone Edge
Sawk is my wall breaker. With hazard support he can 2HKO Tangela, Alomomala, and every other physcial wall except for Musharna and Misdreavus. Close Combat is the mostly used move. It only fails to 2HKO Poison types, physically bulky Psychic types, and of course, Ghost types. EQ is used whenever the Ghost, Poison, or Psychic type switch in is obvious. Stone Edge is used for mons like Golbat and Driftblim. Golbat loses more than 75% health with Stealth Rocks up so it is effectively trapped and KOed as long as I hit the Stone Edge. Ice Punch is there just for when I need to beat Golurk. As said before, Sawk is the wall breaker. He can lower the HP of every wall in the tier enough so that Tauros can come in and clean up with Double Edge. Obviously, Tauros does not want to be locked into EQ at the end of the game. Sawk helps him with that. With a combination of CC and Mold Breaker. Sawk can OHKO every Rock and Steel Pokémon in the tier. Mold Breaker is also useful for EQing Weezing and Misdreavus through Levitate. Max Attack for most power and max Speed to ousspeed things
Musharna (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 16 SDef / 240 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
- Heal Bell
- Moonlight
Musharna is one of the best walls in the tier. It has a phenomenal support movepool, instant reliable recovery, a decent ability, a great physical typing for NU, a beefy HP stat, and respectable defensive stats. Musharna's role on the team is to wall anything and everything that is not Skuntank. It takes a hit, Moonlights if it has to, and then Baton Passes out. Pyschic is my only attacking moves but this leaves me to be walled by and Physcic or Dark type. However, Musharna needs all the power it can get and Physics is the most reliable STAB move. Musharna has Baton Pass to provide a slow volturn which is basically a free switch into whatever I want. It is also useful for escaping Skuntank's pursuit, however, I must watch out if the Skuntank just goes for the Crunch on my Baton Pass. Musharna provides Heal Bell support to any of my Pokés. Since my entire team is made up of physcical attackers, a burn is very unfortunate to everyone. If I can't kill the Pokémon that is about to WoW, I switch in to Musharna to synchronize it over. Most of the WoW users are either weak to Musharna or do use Eviolite so the Passive damage is very important. Moonlight is necessary on every Musharna set. It provides instant and mostly reliable recovery which is a godsend in the NU tier. The HP EVs give reduce passive damage and the rest of the EVs are thrown into physical and special bulk. 0 Attack IVs are to reduce the amount that Foul Play and confusion does even more.
Liepard (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
- Encore
- U-turn
Liepard is the most recent addition to my team. I wanted to use a Dark type to form the Fighting, Psychic, Dark core and originally I had Skuntank. Skuntank was used to trap and kill opposing Psychic and Ghost types. Skuntank was great and all but he was to predictable. Everyone know the set so they can easily play around it. I also had a problem with Bulk Up mons who set up on the first turn when I’m laying down hazards. I needed a solution that could solve both the predictability problem and the Bulk Up problem. What could be better than Pivot Liepard? Liepard's role in the team is to eliminate the Psychic types and the Ghost types and to stop set-up sweepers. It is great against people who don't know the pivot set. Sucker punch is used so Liepard can have some offensive presence and priority. Sucker Punch maims any frail Pokémon. Usually, the Sucker Punch is obvious with a Skuntank and they get a free sub or free switch into whatever they want. No one expects Sucker Punch on a Liepard so they stay in and don't sub which (hopefully) allows me to kill them. Pursuit is the same story, no one expects it. I use pursuit on Pokémon like Musharna who only have Psychic and are switching out.so I can get as much damage on it. Encore is to handle my problem with setup sweeper. Hopefully, I switch into a non-damaging move like Substitue or Bulk Up and I priority encore them into that move. Unless they're max Speed Bulk Up Floatzel, they are not going be able to hurt me. I have U-Turn because usually when a Pokémon is encore into a non-damaging move, they switch out. This provides my team with the all powerful momentum, hence the name Pivot Liepard. U-Turn also provides a little volturn core with Musharna. I run max speed and attack so I can encore opposing Liepard into Substitute or Swagger hopefully. The max Attack is used to get as much damage off as possible with Sucker Punch or Pursuit. Prankster is necessary for the priority encore. Leftovers are to limit the damage from entry hazards.
Piloswine (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 240 HP / 16 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear
Every team needs a Stealth Rocker and I find that Piloswine is the best and most reliable. He has great bulk, a good ability, great offensive typing, and an immunity to Electric. Piloswine's goal is to set up SRs and to help with the killing of Rock and Steel types. He can also tank many hits well. He can set up Stealth Rocks on many of the Pokémon in NU and doesn't fear many attacks. Stealth Rocks are extremely important to the team because they rack up entry hazard damage. Ice Shard is for weakened mons that are faster than Piloswine. Earthquake is Piloswines main attacking move, hitting Rock and Steall types aeasily. Icicle Spear is used to break through substitutes and is is Piloswines best Ice STAB. The EVs are straightfoward. They enhance his bulk and his power. 16 Speed is to ouspeed max Speed Torkoal and hopefully kill it before it gets the rapid spin off. Thick Fat is a fantastic ability that allows Piloswine to resist the BoltBeam tactic.
So this is my team. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions.