Introduction:
Ah, the legendary RUgged Mountain. For those of you unaware of this prestigious tournament, allow me to fill you in. RUgged Mountain was a Rarelyused tournament hosted in June 2012 by DittoCrow, where the top Rarelyused battlers at the time came together with 1 goal: to kill any civilian that attempted to climb the mountain. In order to climb the mountain and reach the pinnacle of Pokemon glory, one had to defeat all of the trainers in order with only 5 losses total. The 6th loss sent the trainer back to the beginning. Eventually, a champion emerged in shnen, who soon became a legend on Smogon. However, the mountain was still an extremely daunting challenge, and this was due to the supreme might of the first trainer: me. My team went 65-22, proving the strength of the Masters of Rarelyused. This team was so good that despite many changes within the tier, it continued to flourish for almost an entire year without any changes. Being a premier team for 10 consecutive stages in Rarelyused is no easy feat, and this team accomplished just that utilizing both Trick Room and non-Trick Room cores. Luckily for Double01, who managed to lose about 50 times in a row to this team, with UU's pillaging of Nidoqueen, the team is no longer able to function in the tier. With its days of vanquishing trainers over, I only saw it fitting to share the magnificence of this team upon the users of Smogon.The Team:
Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Spore
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
The best lead of all time. Smeargle has the capability to put its user in a ridiculously advantageous position early on in the game, incapacitating an enemy Pokemon while setting up entry hazards. Smeargle is such a dominant lead that many Pokemon such as Kabutops and Uxie started running Lum Berry to counter it. It had that much of an impact on the RU metagame. Whirlwind is a key move on Smeargle, allowing it to phaze out opponents that try to set up on the brilliant painter. Whirlwind is especially effective in that it often can bring out a Pokemon that Smeargle can outspeed, allowing it to use Spore and set up entry hazards. Focus Sash allows it to live any one hit, and almost guarantees that Smeargle will be able to sleep something and set up a layer of Stealth Rock afterwards. Truly the greatest lead in the history of Rarelyused.
Nidoqueen (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power
- Shadow Ball
DramaQueen. This thing is so powerful it almost broke up the Rarelyused Community. So much hate and turmoil were caused because of this behemoth;
Absol @ Life Orb
Trait: Super Luck
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Night Slash
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Magic Coat
The Killer. Absol was hardly used before the advent of RUgged Mountain, but during it, it proved how deadly it could be. After the tournament, Absol became a premier threat in the metagame, being able to sweep many teams using its vaunted Dark- / Fighting- attacking combination in tandem with its high Attack stat. Using Absol is all about prediction, and I took full advantage of this by running Magic Coat over Swords Dance. Absol was my late-game sweeper and priority user, so I often did not even need Swords Dance. Magic Coat revolves entirely around prediction, but if it is successful, it can turn a game around. I ran Magic Coat on Absol mainly because of opposing Smeargle leads. Other Smeargle users often ran Magic Coat, completely defeating my Smeargle, stopping me from setting up my own hazards, and setting up theirs. Opposing Smeargle could essentially end the game for me with 1 move. By running Magic Coat, I could completely troll Smeargle users and take the advantage. Magic Coat is also very effective against Lilligant, being able to bounce back the Sleep Powder.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Surf
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock
- Trick Room
OTR Cofagrigus V2. Slowking was my tank on this team, allowing me to take hits from Pokemon such as Entei without sacrificing members of my team. Slowking is the main part of my Trick Room core, and can decimate offensive. Fire Blast, Surf, and Psyshock provide amazing coverage, allowing Slowking to annihilate the majority of the tier. Fire Blast annihilates Ice- and Grass-types, while Psyshock allows Slowking to hit Fighting-types and hit opposing special walls hard. Trick Room also allows Slowking to completely mess up the opposing team by trolling the Speed Tiers. It often allows me to gain massive advantage along with Escavalier. With the help of the entry hazards Smeargle provides, Slowking can be a deadly late-game sweeper. Also, since Absol is slower than a large portion of the tier, Slowking can support that as well.
Escavalier @ Choice Band
Trait: Overcoat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Megahorn
- Iron Head
- Return
- Pursuit
The terminator. Escavalier's power cannot be matched. STAB Megahorn and Iron Head hit the majority of the tier neutrally or super-effectively, decimating all those in its wake. Even Pokemon that resist Escavalier are often OHKO'd / 2HKO'd. Under the Trick Room provided by Slowking, Escavalier outspeeds every Pokemon in the tier, allowing it to make full use of its supreme power. This also makes it a very good late-game sweeper. Its Steel-typing and bulk also allows it to take hits from the opposition giving me another Pokemon to tank hits with; its ability, Overcoat, also makes it immune to hail. Return provides neutral coverage against Pokemon such as Entei, who resist Escavalier's STAB moves. Pursuit rounds out the set by allowing Escavalier to trap Pokemon such as Cryogonal who are completely walled.
Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
The BEAST. Tauros was a very underrated Pokemon when this team was made, but now people truly recognize its power. 110 Base Speed is nothing to scoff at, and neither is a STAB Sheer Force- and Life Orb- boosted Rock Climb. It hits the majority of the tier neutrally, meaning that they get hit extremely hard by the raw power of the move. Fire Blast is a nice surprise for Pokemon such as Ferroseed and Escavalier that think they can wall Tauros. Earthquake hits other Steel-types, as well as Nidoqueen (when it was in the tier), and is the only 100% accurate move on this set, making it a good choice for finishing off weakened opponents. Rock Slide decimates Pokemon such as Moltres. With entry hazards, Tauros is extremely difficult to stop, as it outruns the majority of the tier. Sheer Force works perfectly with this set, boosting every move with the exception of Earthquake; Sheer Force also negates the Life Orb recoil caused by all of the moves that it boosts, making it even more effective. Tauros is also physically bulky enough to take attacks such as Absol's Sucker Punch, making it almost impossible to revenge kill with priority moves.
Conclusion:
While Nidoqueen is hard to replace, the team can still function since the rest of the team is still intact. Suggestions to replace this behemoth are always welcome people :)Threat List:
Sceptile: Lol. Sceptile rapes this team. I often have to switch around to try and find out if it runs Hidden Power Fire or Hidden Power Rock; if it carries HP Rock, it is much easier to kill. However, it can still be a challenge. If it runs Hidden Power Fire, I often have to sacrifice Pokemon and try and set up Trick Room late-game to try and win it. Probably the biggest threat.
Lilligant: This thing is also a major pain. This basically comes down to prediction with Magic Bounce and whether or not they run Hidden Power Fire or Hidden Power Rock. Predicting wrong with Magic Bounce (or using it when they miss Sleep Powder), can often spell doom for this team. It is definitely a major threat.
Nidoqueen: lol.
Lilligant: This thing is also a major pain. This basically comes down to prediction with Magic Bounce and whether or not they run Hidden Power Fire or Hidden Power Rock. Predicting wrong with Magic Bounce (or using it when they miss Sleep Powder), can often spell doom for this team. It is definitely a major threat.
