Ladder The Dark Horse Project

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Hey there

So I managed to get the requirements for the Hall of Fame and I will now explain my team and the thought process behind it via the questions that were put in this thread. I will go through them in order. (Team is legit, with only 2 A rank pokemon, regice being under 2% and under a total of 37%)

http://prnt.sc/c6yuu1 (image doesn't work :x)

First of all I wanna say that I'm not the best team builder or analysist out there . This team took about 10 mins to make and it hasn't changed since I made it. I'm more of a person that learns while playing instead of sitting down and make a good team at first.

- So my pokemon of choice was Regice and this pokemon has great stats (it's ofcourse a legendary) but the reason it has been forgotten a bit is because of its ice-typing and mediocre speed. It's amazing special bulk makes it a great check to many special attackers, while also supporting a decent physical bulk. It did not disappoint me but I wouldn't say it was the MVP of the team. It relied a bit on matchup to make it work.

- So ofcourse regice being an ice type I needed hazard control. Pelliper was my choice, since it resisted fighting, fire and steel, which all threatened regice. Its good physical bulk paired up well with regice special bulk.
Klinklang: Provided me a rock resist and a set up sweeper which didn't give me too many extra weaknesses.
Grumpig: Provided me an answer to strong fire types and a good psychic type which also has focus blast.
Mega Audino: Extremely important to this team, helps me to keep my team healthy with wish (with regice not having recovery and with pelipper weak to SR) and heal bell which allowed me to play a bit riskier sometimes.
Barbaracle: Choice scarfer which gave me an answer to gastrodon with switcheroo and helps with normal types through superpower. Also can sweep late game.
Regice @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 216 HP / 252 SpA / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Thunder Wave

Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Roost
- Scald
- U-turn

Klinklang @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Happiness: 0
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shift Gear
- Gear Grind
- Magnet Rise
- Frustration

Grumpig @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 200 SpA / 56 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind

Audino-Mega @ Audinite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect

Barbaracle @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Switcheroo
- Razor Shell
- Stone Edge
- Superpower



- I can understand why the Dark horse would be harder to play with, but in this case Regice gave me a unique ability to be able to switch into many walls (such as vileplume, weezing, mantine, trevenant,...) and also threaten them with coverage moves. Thunder wave also is extremely helpful for faster threats that want to switch into regice and thunder wave is just a great move in general. Also focus blast is nice on the prediction for those fat normal and steel types.

- Once the ice resist on your opponent team were removed, nothing really appreciates switching into regice. The coverage moves also made my opponent think before they switched into a certain pokemon and the threat from t-wave was always there. Also dealing with mons that threaten Regice (such as hariyama, magmortar, aggron, ,..) could be dealt with with either pelliper or audino. I must say that it was quite harder for certain mons to deal with (for example Zangoose, kabutops, archeops)

- I must say I was quite lucky in some games but the focus miss really let me down in some matches. I lost 2/3 times against a rain team. Grumpig was definitely the MVP of the team dealing with lanturn which was so annoying and being able to get a sub up safely a lot, but Regice did help me in cases to give me more momentum in the match and help to cripple down the walls to help my set up pokemon sweep. Stab ice beam also hurts coming from this pokemon.
 

Jisoo

two slow dancers last ones out
is a Pre-Contributoris a defending SPL Champion
ok im changing again: Frillish -> Vigoroth -> Duosion
dark horse watchgod
 
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cyanize

Mantra Good I Casted So Many Spells U Idiot
is a Community Contributor
I finally reached the Hall of Fame! woo
http://imgur.com/a/Pq94X (ignore my garbage w/l lol)


My team is exactly as it should be - I'm so good at building that I didn't have to use an A-Rank mon!! nah jk i'm garbage at building
1.19% usage (Articuno) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Roost
- Hurricane
- Freeze-Dry

5.93% usage (Poliwrath) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave

6.54% usage (Ferroseed) @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Knock Off

7.52% usage (Claydol) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Earth Power
- Signal Beam
- Rapid Spin

0.85% usage (Camerupt) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Gentle Nature
- Lava Plume
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Will-O-Wisp

4.31% usage (Klinklang) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Magnet Rise
- Shift Gear
- Gear Grind
- Return

My Dark Horse mon was Articuno, who is a rather uncommon ice type in NU but has a few notable perks that actually make it worth using.
Here's how I built my team (warning: long AF) and a more in depth explanation of how Articuno works.
I started off with Articuno, a really underrated ice type in NU. Articuno is pretty unique in that it's a bulky ice type with a nice secondary stab, good power and a good speed tier sitting above a lot of prominent threats in NU including Shiftry, Samurott, Magmortar, Ludicolo, Abomasnow, and Mesprit. It also has a very cool ability in Pressure that allows it to Sub up on mons like these and PP stall their primary STAB, effectively beating them since their secondary STAB/coverage are unable to beat Cuno. However, it is deathly allergic to SR and has a bit of a problem with neutral attacks so it needs a good bit of support in order to work effectively. Instead of using the "standard" NU set of LO 3 Attacks + Roost, I went with the offensive Sub Roost set that PU uses and I believe that it is easily more effective - setting up Subs on status abusers, leech seeders, bulky grasses, waters, and pretty much anything slower than Cuno is so ridiculously useful that it has put in much more work than I have ever done using the LO set. Not to mention, it still has a very respectable damage output since it has a really strong STAB in Hurricane and Freeze-Dry is very often super effective.
I decided to go with Poliwrath as a initial partner to take care of the Rock and Fire weakness as well as give a much better secondary check to Water-types. Poliwrath also very much enjoys preying on the things that Cuno weakens such as Lanturn, Aggron, Aurorus, Miltank, and Skuntank.
Next, I needed something to take on Rock and Normal types more reliably, wall bulky Waters without getting Cuno statused and set hazards for Cuno so I went with Ferroseed. While building, I originally had SR Ferroseed with Protect, but I later changed it to better deal with fast threats and occasionally catch annoying Fire types on the switch. I also decided it would be better to not put as much pressure on Seed to keep Rocks up and check a bunch of things at the same time.
At this point I needed something for hazard control and yet another Rock type check (you can never be too safe, I still lost to a RP Rhydon once lol) that didn't have sky-high usage and also had a bit of staying power, so i went with Claydol. Claydol may not be the best spinner in the world, but it did help give me a pretty shaky Fighting resist and didn't have sky-high usage like Hitmonchan, while giving me a cool emergency check to stuff that I have no switchins to due to it's good natural bulk. It's also my only Malamar check because no one expects Signal Beam lol
I realized that Rotom and Fire-types walked all over my team, and I knew for a fact that Gastro/Lanturn had really high usage and didn't even reliably check all the Fires (Gastro in particular gets bopped by HP grass from everything) so i went with another underrated favorite of mine, SpD Camerupt. SpD Camerupt is so good at checking Fires, Grasses and Electrics (not named electivire) since it can't be Will-O Hexed by Rotom, takes zero from most coverage moves barring Specs Hyper Voice, and uses those free turns to spread burns and get Rocks up or OHKO Fire Types back with EQ. All in all a very fun mon and a pivotal part of my team. (This is when I changed Ferroseed to Spikes.)
Lastly, I thought about how weak I was to ice and also wanted a Physical wincon so I decided on Klinklang. Klinklang is a bit underrated as well imo - Lix is dropping in popularity, and it takes advantage of that very well by setting up on common threats such as Swellow and Mesprit using its solo Steel typing and natural bulk as well as Aggron, Archeops, Tauros, Abomasnow, Kanga, Rhydon, Lix and Torterra with Magnet Rise. Due to my team's nature of not really OHKOing other mons since the offense I have isn't particularly strong, KK works really well to clean teams and pick off members that Cuno, Poli and Claydol weaken.


It's not really that much harder laddering with a Dark Horse mon. In a lot of cases (think Bronzor, Articuno, Floatzel, Stoutland, and Regice) you can use cool mons for DH that aren't really bad, just more so outclassed or just underused. The surprise factor does help a bit - for example, a lot of people didn't seem to know Cuno's speed tier and relied on Kabu, Samurott and other such things to check it when they aren't really checks to it. I also think the player of the team makes a team more difficult to fight than teams with a certain set of mons - I never really had problems with "generic" teams or high-ranked mons (except Jynx :<) and actually had more problems with things in the lower ranks, such as Electivire and RP Torterra. However, I'd say the team constraints are much more difficult to play around - only being allowed to use lower-usage and mostly lower-ranked mons for all of your team members is pretty difficult to work with successfully.

Cuno was actually a very active member of my team throughout the challenge, and often was my wincon after I got a Sub up on weakened teams even when there were faster mons still in play. I honestly wouldn't have traded Cuno for any other ice type, since it fit my bulky-offense type team so perfectly and put in so much work even versus people who knew what it did (s/o Kenny ). It worked against all archetypes, though it performed especially well vs balance and semi-stall (I never faced any full stall thankfully) thanks to Sub being an amazing move that takes advantage of all the switches that Ice and Flying type STABs force.

As for how I reached the Hall of Fame - hard work and perseverance. No, seriously! I literally battled all day because I kept getting so close and would get haxed out of 1500 every time. It wasn't difficult, per se, but it was very tedious and annoying as laddering tends to be. For everyone struggling to break a certain threshold, I'd say just keep trying but don't push yourself if you're on tilt - that just screws your ELO harder.

So, that's my Dark Horse experience. I'm gonna keep trying to ladder and get that "special prize" but knowing my laddering prowess I'll probably end up worse than I started :x

Ganbatte, minnasan!
 

pancake

movement and location
is a Contributor Alumnus
Hey! I'm not getting the required GXE or ELO to reach the hall of fame because I suck, and I might try this challenge with another mon (and not go to the hall of fame again) just for the challenge. But I loved this team and it is by a lot the most fun team that I've used in NU so far. So here is Linoone Squad!



I even only used one of the "restricted mons--" and it was A-! s/o Yogibears and Luck O' the Irish for helping me with the team a little.

Linoone @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pickup
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Def / 40 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Shadow Claw
- Seed Bomb

Skuntank @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Memento
- Defog

Torterra @ Leftovers
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Def
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Synthesis

Poliwrath @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 96 HP / 252 SpA / 160 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Vacuum Wave

Aggron @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Fire Punch
- Superpower

Grumpig @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Heal Bell


I started with standard Linoone. I added lure Skuntank with Memento to lure Ferroseed and Steelix, two of the mons that Linoone couldn't break in its dreams. Memento also helps create setup opportunities for Linoone. I needed a rocker that could wallbreak, and Rhydon felt like it was too much usage, so Torterra fit the bill just fine. I then added Specs Poliwrath as a Water resist, Fire resist, and breaker for other things that Linoone has trouble with like Weezing and Barbaracle. Then, I added another breaker in standard Aggron with Fire Punch in order to break and be a "normal resist" and "bird resist." Note that these resists are in quotes lol. Finally I added Taunt / Toxic Defensive Pig to be a Fighting resist, to be a sturdier Fire resist, and to wear down walls with Taunt/Toxic.


Kangaskhan- KangaSpikes especially is annoying. I ran into this guy with Power-Up-Punch Kanga (cringe) on the ladder and it almost 6-0'd me. Usually Torterra can handle it but you have to keep it really healthy.

Gurdurr & Other Fighting Types- Fighting types are pretty annoying for this team to handle but Gurdurr especially because I have to keep Pig super healthy and prevent it from setting up.


"How did you choose your Dark Horse Pokemon for this project?"

I chose Linoone legit only because it looked fun to use. Lol.

"How did your Dark Horse Pokemon fit into your laddering experience?"

Linoone's job was to clean, and that's what it did almost every game, especially as I got higher on the ladder. Here's an OK replay I guess, from the ladder, where Linoone cleans: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nu-420748991 My gameplan going into most games was weaken Linoone's checks like Steelix, Ferroseed, and Weezing with my other mons, and then get an opportunity to BD up vs. a passive mon like Mantine or by using Mementon with Skunk.

"What was the most challenging aspect of this project?"

Playing NU, lol. nv (my amazing tutor :} I gave you good review but I said your timezone was fake xd) and Yogibears (just a great person in general :}) have really helped me out with this, but I'm still learning. It's kind of hard to win when you lose because you click E-Speed and your opponent turns out to be Max HP Max Defense Bold Poliwrath. I hate the ladder.

But it was really fun messing around with this team, I hope you try it yourself and enjoy it!
 
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