SM LC A Rambler's Life

Fiend · Dec 24, 2016

thanks for the banner mambo!

First off: Fuck Gothita. Second Off: Music to set the mood.

With Gothita’s almost assured banned on the horizon (thank christ), coupled with the chance of Drifloon reentering the tier, and this being my 1k, I figured I should RMT one of the more successful builds I’ve had thus far in Sun and Moon LC. The team has yet to accrued any prestige, for I don’t ladder enough any more for it to peak the ladder, nor has there been a tour for me to show it off in. Nevertheless, it has done well almost every time I’ve used it, the main issues with it being human error or stupid luck. The team does have flaws, such as how terrible the team is at dealing with Grass-types or how weak it is to some notable threats such as Magnemite or Shellder, but there are tools enough to make even matchups against these winnable if you’re not stupid. Priority has just so much utility in the current metagame, and the offensive inclinations of most teams in LC makes the style of priority spam rather effective. Trapping is borderline absurd in every tier, but Gothita is disgusting for how good it is in a Dark-type filled metagame, and how good it is at switch-in into half the tier. The team blends together trapping and priority spam to make a rather effective team, trapping the irksome slower Pokemon and bashing to bits the faster Pokemon with priority. As it happens, the team turned out to be an ode of sorts to Gothita’s absurdity since this is effectively 5 Gothita cores on the same team. Fuck Gothita.

Originally I built the team in the middle of Cutiefly’s suspect, as it was pretty clear to anyone paying attention that it would be banned and I had yet to really try half the Pokemon I had been meaning to. Plus I was bored with the metagame as Munchlax semi-fat teams were everywhere and the tier felt so matchup oriented. In general I was really disappointed with how most builders were building. Worn out by building a million Vullaby teams as everyone was doing too, I decide to avoid Vullaby for once. This culminated in a decently large deviation from what everyone else had been using, while not being particularly innovative either. In an effort to not autolose to weather or Vullaby like everyone else seemed too, I started building a team with CM Gothita in tandem with a largely untried Carvanha. I built the team around a Cutiefly-less metagame, which essentially begged for Timburr to be included. Being unsure how Cutiefly leaving the tier would affect Steel-type usage, I added Steel Trapper Magnemite to the core of Carvanha and Calm Mind Gothita as Pawniard and Ferroseed are annoying to the duo.

With a solid start, I was really not sure how I wanted to finish the team. Having Carvanha and Timburr--which supported one another to begin with--who both created tightnight cores with Gothita, and Magnemite to make Steel-types a non issue, I considered Ice Shard Shellder as my 5th Pokemon. I opted instead to use Corphish, as Adaptability Aqua Jet is just so good in the metagame. Corphish gave me a 3rd Pokemon which Gothita compliments surprisingly well, and its synergy with Carvanha is superb.

I was mildly unhappy with the team so far, as it was simply a juxtaposition of ideas. However I wanted to finish it since Water-spam was barely used and I like being slightly different than the rest of the bunch. The last slot could have been anything with access to Stealth Rock, but I had used Onix so much I was over it, and most other choices are pretty garbage. Pawniard defaulted as my choice since Onix was off the table, and hey it appreciates Gothita like half of the team so far. That alone meant it wasn’t a poor choice to begin with. I tacked on a Choice Scarf since the team was slow, and Choiced Pursuit helped against Gastly and Abra as well as opposing Gothita which eat slow teams alive.

If you’re familiar with the tier, you should be able to see how inconsistent the above team is. I used this team a decent amount and it was very matchup oriented, and frankly I hated it. I changed Pawniard to an Eviolite set, as Sucker Punch provided an okay buffer against Abra and Gastly anyway. Diglett was then used over Magnemite, as Steel Trapper Magnemite is very matchup oriented and pairing it with Gothita makes the team almost auto lose to offense. Diglett’s Speed was great for the team, helping handle the 19 Speed tier. Diglett still helps trap Steel-types, and with the ever handy Beat Up, Gastly, Abra, and Vullaby are substantially less threatening. Sludge Bomb makes it a great Grass-type lure too, helping the Water-spam core cover its bases.

This was an amazing improvement, but the Sticky Web matchup was far too hit or miss for me still. Scraggy teams were annoying, as was Life Orb Pawniard. Since Dark-types were my main issue, I started playing around with Gothita sets. As I was not using Calm Mind much and Thunderbolt saw no usage either I had lent of room for flexibility too. I added Magic Coat to help the Sticky Web matchup, and then eventually adding Reflect to help against ScraggyGoth teams. Then at the suggestion of Mambo, Safeguard was added as a buffer against Foongus’s obnoxious Spore. Gothita is such a stupid Pokemon; it can be tailored to most teams needs, and it really only need its STAB to be a nuisance. I hate it, it’s too good.

In Depth:

Say nothing me boys,
our smoke and our noise

Carvanha is one of the best Pokemon in LC right now, its main issue being how good Timburr is. Most teams are not truly prepared for it, and with the Gale Wings nerf and Prankster no longer affecting Dark-types, most of the less intrusive ways to handle Carvanha no longer work. With quite a few teams having glaring Carvanha weaknesses, I figured it deserved some usage. Carvanha has the two best offensive STABs in the tier, so it’s pretty easy to support as adding Gothita covers almost everything the STABs fail to. Psychic Fangs was a lovely addition to its movepool, since missing blows especially when you predict correctly. Protect is better for not being revenge killed by Scarf Mienfoo while Aqua Jet is a good choice too since priority is one of the best things in the tier. Seeing as Scarf Mienfoo eats this team though, Protect is pretty necessary. You can also use Aqua Jet over Psychic Fangs if you really want to, but Psychic Fangs makes using Carvanha incredibly straightforward.

At the Battle of Old St. Vincent, boys
Says "Aye, to fuck with this!"

While this set may look like a weird take on mimicking Wynaut, this is about as optimal as Gothita can get for this particular team. The set beats everything I need it to, and doesn’t lose much of anything in doing so. This is a good example of why Gothita is ridiculous, and makes I touched on a lot of the set already, but Gothita is able to switch into Timburr somewhat reliably, KOing Knocked Off ones and doing over 50% to Eviolite ones. The worse and less common Croagunk also doesn’t beat this set and is obviously OHKOed. Foongus loses 1v1 too, though you must beware of Spore. If you switchin and stay awake, Safeguard makes Foongus essentially a non issue, but even if you get outplayed by the mushroom both Timburr and Carvanha don’t terribly mind it being alive when it is Knocked Off. I think you can use Rest or Substitute over Safeguard just as well but I haven't actually tested this out. With Reflect, Gothita makes up for being set up bait for most Dark-types. Magic Coat is fun as hell too, getting up Sticky Web for the team to level the playing field and making the matchup winnable. The number of times I've bounced back Pawniard's Stealth Rocks is pretty noteworthy as well. Psychic is used over Psyshock, since all Psychock does is allow for Gothita to trap Spritzee yet that is irrelevant for this set due to a lack of Calm Mind. Psychic does more damage to every other target as well, which is a huge bonus consider it is a mono attacker. Gothita makes for a passable Bellsprout check as well, taking little from Solar Beam and being able to usually dent it enough for Diglett or Pawniard or Carvanha to handle later on in the match. Notably the EV spread allows Gothita to take any decent Timburr and most Croagunk by surprise since you outpace them. Fast Croagunk can be slightly problematic but that's why Diglett is here too.

Well he sucked up lies
and spared goodbyes

Ice Punch Timburr is a little weird on a Gothita centric team, but it helps as no one expects the move which can often be the end of Foongus. It does enough versus Cottonee for Carvanha to clean it up with Psychic Fangs as well, and Ice Punch can be helpful against Mudbray. Mach Punch is great, making Hail teams have a pretty mediocre matchup, and picking off Scraggy a lot of the time too. Again priority is amazing in LC, and is what makes Vullaby manageable. Timburr is loving the trend of less Snubbulls and Spritzees too, which makes it excellent by itself. However in the event either of these are played against, Knocking them off and then trapping them with Sludge Bomb Diglett becomes important for assuring Carvanha’s ability to clean. The EV spread is a little weird, and honestly could probably use some improvement. But it allows Timburr to KO Foongus with Knock Off into Ice Punch most of the time even without Rocks up. It also speed ties most opposing Gothita and Mudbray which is the reason for the investment in the first place. You can probably get away with Sheer Force Poison Jab if you feel like it, since this obliterates every Fairy-type, but it makes the team more Gothita reliant which is a little risky. Guts is also an okay option if you're fearing burns, but the power loss can be notable.

See you look here,
the navy has come!

Corphish places so much pressure on most teams due to is raw power. Corphish as always been undervalued for It can almost 2HKO most Water-resists after Knock Off which is phenomenal. With Knock Off it weakens its own checks while also breaking the game open for Carvanha, and thanks to how pressuring Corphish is, opposing teams cannot afford to try and pressure Water-resist usually. Crabhammer does enough damage to make Corphish a check to most things that are neutral to Water giving it decent utility against slower teams and Pokemon such as Timburr. Adaptability Aqua Jet is the best priority in LC as well, making Corphish able to check Vullaby even from high health. With Dragon Dance, bulky offense teams struggle to handle the mighty Corphish as it being faster than most non Scarfers with a boosted Aqua Jet for the frail Pokemon faster than it makes it hard to handle. Gothita pairs well with it, trapping most Water-resists for it, while Timburr and Carvanha weak down Ferroseed and Diglett traps Cottonee and slow Chinchous. Swords Dance can be used instead of Dragon Dance to pressure fat teams and hyper offense more, and it is probably better overall than Dragon Dance, but you boost so rarely it does not matter that much. It is important to note that Corphish doubles into a trapper are devastating.

This time a bold young man,
from the Banks of the Bann

I have an issue with most Stealth Rock users in LC, as half of them are bad and the other few that don’t suck are not nearly as flexible as I would appreciate. Pawniard is one of the two Stealth Rockers I actually like using, and that’s why it is here. Sucker Punch is a great buffer against random Sand sweepers, frail wallbreakers, and even Sun sweepers. Stealth Rock helps Carvanha secure OHKOs and is why I forced a rocker onto the team, while Pawniard forms a decent Dark-spam core with Carvanha. Gothita is able to make the most of Pawniard’s Knock Offs too. Pawniard is an okay offensive Vullaby check too, which is great when you’re able to predict the set. The best use of Pawniard tends to be sacking it to Timburr after getting up Rocks and knocking off Timburr’s Eviolite, allowing Gothita to come in and remove it for Carvanha. Knock Off into Sucker Punch followed by Corphish’s Aqua Jet is the best method of handling Vullaby which try to set up against you.

But none holds fame
In body or name

Diglett is probably the most hated Pokemon in LC, ever. I don’t really know anyone who likes it and I couldn’t finish a list of people who hate it, but it finds its way onto a lot of teams despite that. It is once again being suspected, but I'm still not convinced it's broken. What everyone should be convinced of though is that trapping is amazing. Diglett is a decent answer to a lot of annoying things such as Pawniard--Substitute vesus Sucker Punch games are fun--and Cottonee--since Sludge Bomb is great. Diglett sorta checks a lot of things too, such as Snivy and Staryu, which helps out the Water-spam core. Beat Up Diglett is also one of the best sets in existences, as not only does it 6-0 Melon (enjoy.) a solid 50% of the time, but it allows for Diglett to check Gastly behind a Substitute and all Abra sets (besides Scarf, Scarf Abra is awful). Beat Up Diglett has the benefit of making it not entirely passive versus Vullaby either--as long as you have 3 teammates alive (-3 on Vullaby thanks to Weak Armor) it is very manageable. Diglett is pivotal for overcoming Sun teams, as trapping Vulpix is the best way to handle them. The Naive nature is for maximum damage against Snivy, while still surviving Sucker Punch from full. Trapping Croagunk is the only downside caused by going Naive, but it is so rare and with Gothita to trap it too the issue isn't that bad.

Conclusion:

It's a solid team overall, as I have found it to be anyway. It seems most have forgotten about Water-spam and have been focusing on Dark-spam instead, and this has lead to the team being very easy to use. With Foongus a rare sight, Cottonee in decline, and Croagunk almost nonexistent, the metagame has been incredibly friendly to the likes of Corphish and Carvanha. Most of this is due to Gothita and how ridiculous it is, and its ability to shift the metagame is nearly unparalleled in LC history. Dual Water, Dual Dark, Dual trap offense with the ever deadly TimburrGoth tossed in the mix is pretty damning to face.

Can't wait to ban Goth, good god.

Threat List:

: While Bulbasaur is generally pretty bad, with Z-Celebrate it becomes pretty obnoxious. Gothita into Carvanha can handle it but that’s pretty unideal. It doesn’t set up on too much anyway, and it is so rare I wouldn’t bother trying to fix the weakness.

: This is a pretty manageable weakness even though it should not be. Sludge Bomb Diglett, Pawniard, Mach Punch, and a Carvanha 50/50 is generally enough since almost all Snivy’s are HP Ice as they fear Vullaby now. Pawniard cannot die or else you lose though. Hidden Power Fire variants also just roll the team over with decent playing. Oops.

: Cottonee is overall pretty irritating. Generally Diglett is how I handle it, but getting Diglett in is a real pain. Switching in on HP Fighting is pretty okay though, so it is manageable though monstrously annoying.

Sun teams: This should be no surprised as the first three were Grass-types, but a Bellsprout in Sun is terrifying to face. Between Protect turns, Gothita, Pawniard, and Diglett trapping Vulpix, it is an okay matchup. Carvanha also tends to obliterate Sun teams once Vulpix is gone, which is helpful to say the least. Generally you need to outplay on a handful of key turns, which can be daunting if you’re outmatched in terms of skills. Also if they fit a Timburr on the team it is substantially harder to win, but I’ve found Corphish is far more able to break Timburr Sun teams for whatever reason.

&

: Essentially priority and a half assed switch in of Pawniard is all I have for them, which is actually okay. Try not to sack an important Pokemon and you should be fine. LO Doduo is substantially harder to handle that its Scarf counterpart, but it is easier to revenge kill as well.

: I have a grand total of 0 switch ins. Diglett pressures it some due to brocking Volt Switch, and Timburr checks it decently. Corphish is able to take advantage of Scarf Magnemite that predicted Diglett’s switch in as well, making it a bit easier to handle than team preview would indicate. Berry Juice Recycle sets require some scouting and are more irksome, though generally these have been non issues.

: With only Pawniard and Timburr able to survive both Icicle Spear or Rock Blast, this match up can suck. Shellder doesn’t set up for free on anything though, and in a worse case scenario Pawniard and Timburr are able to revenge from fairly low health. A healthy Pawniard does counter non-Hidden Power Fighting Shellder too, but the chance of Hidden Power Fighting should keep you from relying on this too much.

: I don’t really have a switch in to its strong attacks, but I’ve found it to be manageable between Gothita and Corphish. Ice Punch Timburr helps a good deal as well but Mudbray can easily get out of hand if you don’t take care.

: No legal yet, and I’m not sure how likely it is to become legal, but since I didn’t build with it in mind the 'mon just eats the team alive. You can sorta deal with it thanks to Corphish and Pawniard but it is a pretty gross matchup and almost single handedly will make the team bad if it is freed (and Gothita somehow stays).

067jox You make slightly weird teams and have slightly odd metagame opinions, but you're actually a super cool dude and better at this game than most. You have fun with it too which I respect more than anything. I hope you're not done posting in LC, since we could always use more contributors. I hope you stick around man.

Berks You've been around long enough that you're actually decent at this game and you're like, the best contributor LC has. You're probably the best thing that's come out of Battling 101 (thanks Fizz!). I'll be sad when you leave.

Cheir I have legitimately no idea if you will see this, but I'm happy you're back. I'm sorry how LC treated you before and even more sorry about how I was one of the issues you had with the community. And while things are generally better now, I think the problems themselves are still here. But I do appreciate you, your contributions to the room alone are great and I find how British you are endearing. I hope you're okay with the community now, as I think you're an awesome person to have around and it would be a sizable loss to the community to lose you again.

Coconut I know you really care for a lot of LC, even while not appreciating the community at times for how you get treated. You're one of my oldest friends here on Smogon and I think that says a lot about you. You get confrontational, and you don't play in LCPL since you manage, and that's about all I can say about you that's negative. You're doing a lot for LC in general and that's something worthy of respect in and of itself. But beyond that I've found you to be one of the kindest while also funniest people around. Glad you're still here and we still chat. Also, you deserved to be drafted, I think anyway.

Corporal Levi You're a cross between the biggest tryhard I know and the laziest dude on the planet. It's weird, but you were a god at ORAS and I'm happy you won LC Open even if our match up was lackluster. I've heard mentions of you being worried about how you will do in SPL, but I would not be concerned. I didn't get drafted so I'm free to help out if you want me to. Not that you really need it though.

dsr95 You're kind of around again, which is great. I'm not really a fan of LC Dubs though so don't kill me.

Fille I don't know you nearly as well as Jox, but I see you around just as much. You're pretty helpful in the LC room too. Would you be interested in coming to the LC discord?

ggggd I feel like you fly under the radar way far too much for how good you are and how funny you can be. You're at worst top 12 in LC tbh. You're better than Goao anyway but goao sucks!

GOAO You're maturing a lot man. You're good at mons and not a bad contributor in general. You make some bad mistakes sometimes but boy do you learn from them. You'll win the next LC Open if I fail imo.

GrilledClawitzer UU is hot garbage right now man. But you're good spirited and not terrible at Pokemon. I'm drafting you in LCPL even if you're bad at LC, so sign up nerd.

H0W3AN I think you'll shape up to be good enough at Pokemon if you keep trying. I still hate your name.

HeaLnDeaL Hey I'm going to start to CAP soon! Thanks for being a good friend.

Joltage you're a cool dude, talk more though.

Kingler12345 You're a solid dude, and a good player. Hope you kick ass in SPL in GSC or whatever you end up in, you deserve too for how much you were talked down to last year.

macle You've been around for a long time, and that's not something most people actively realize. You've contributed a lot over you stay and I'm not sure if you get enough credit for that.

mad0ka Big fan. I hope you murder some fools in SPL, though bo1s are not your things.

Mambo I remember ages ago I didn't really like you but I didn't really know you either. As it is now, I regret probably being a cock to you for my first year or so being around LC. You're actually way better at mons than any likes to admit it seems, and most of the time you have a decent attitude about everything. You're just a great dude generally and I'm sorry you've gotten fucked over so many times despite everything. I don't think I've helped those circumstances either, but I do consider you a good friend. I hope things workout for you, and if I'm ever in your neck of the woods I'll be sure to swing by if you have the time to spare.

WaterlessMelon Hey nerd I hope you get a good computer soon to see this.

Merritt You're consistently posting at a good quality, though you make some pretty dumb posts occasionally, and you help keep important threads alive. You're generally knowledgeable and generally laid back. Glad you're still around.

Nineage Man do you suck at Pokemon. You somehow think Eviolite Knock Off Snivy is good too, like come on. But you're not bad to have around and you contribute a lot and more importantly well. Plus all the random shit you code is kinda awesome. And for what it's worth you're not actually that bad at this game.

OP I've given you so much shit over the almost two years you've been around. Putting all that aside I think you're legitimately talented and one of the best people in LC hands down. I'm glad I've been able to talk to you so much, and I'm glad you're back once again. You should maybe learn that Squirtle is indeed not that cute though.

Oma I don't think you're around enough, but when you were you were pretty great. A fun dude, decent at mons, incredibly easy to get along with, all in all I think you're a great dude Duncan.

Quote I'm glad to see an improvement in your confidence, and probably in your playing abilities too. You're a decent guy that I'm talking too a bit less since you have a terrible timezone. I think you're doing a fine job; we should flesh out that somewhat wonky suspect reqs idea someday.

rozes While I'm a little upset still about not being drafted, I don't blame you or Pearl for it. You're a great guy anyway, and I'm glad you're around and have an interest in LC too, which is more than I can say for some managers. But I'm going to get better at this game and care more about how good I am so I end up being worthwhile on West, hope we can be teammates then. Thanks for being a stand up guy and being great to talk too.

Sam-testings You're a weeb at heart and everyone knows it. You're not a bad guy though, and I'm happy with how you're maturing as a player and a builder. But you're becoming a pretty fun dude to talk to too, which is more than I can say for a lot of "newer" people.

Shrug You seem to be going through a rough patch irl, but you're just a consistently fun person to be around and a good friend. Hope all ends well for you.

sparktrain Hey you're back old friend! I hope you remain active enough for some quick convos and that all is going well.

Star You have an ego that I sometimes really, really hate, but I don't think I've ever not been a fan of you despite that. You're a solid player and not a bad guy, and no one can really change that. Plus you seem to be better about your ego now that you're taken seriously.

Tahu You have a defeatist attitude and get mad pretty easily, but outside of when you're getting haxed you're a cool dude who is constantly trying to innovate LC. You're a solid builder, and an okay player. I'm hoping you perform well in LCPL when I buy you.

tcr Sometimes you're an ass, and you're overly fond of the word inherently, but overall you're a cool dude who has done a lot for LC. I'm still waiting for you to make the best Amaura squad now that hail is actually viable though.

tko Apparently you're not fond of the LC Community, which seems to be a common sentiment. But you're just such a good dude to talk to and play against randomly. Hope you stay around because you're going to be my DPP player come April.

trash I'm glad you're around again. I don't think anyone dislikes you; you're just such a cool user. Hope real life is going well.

TUO You're the best user tbh. You're good at the tier and not bad at anything you feel like playing. You're fun as hell and consistently good at making people feel welcomed. You're only kind of around because of your timezone, but damn you're great.

Vileman As much as you meme, you're pretty sincere. You're funny and a nice guy, and contributed the best meme team LC has ever had in SLAM CLAM. Glad you're around, hope you stay awhile more.

zf Nice name change. You're pretty good at this game and more importantly a great guy. I don't have much to say about you other than talking to you is always nice and playing against you and losing is more fun than beating a lot of other people.

General shoutout to all of the LC players writing the analysis for us. Thank you guys! AD Thunderboy you in particular bc you seem hard working and Heavy Slam on Bronzor was an excellent catch.

Aerow :(
Amp Pharaohs :(
Ashley11 :(
Dhaora :(
Eren Yeagar :(
Max Carvalho :(
Superpowerdude :(
boo836 :(
zeriloa :(

Merry Christmas all.

Importable:

Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 HP
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Psychic Fangs
- Protect

Gothita @ Eviolite
Ability: Shadow Tag
Level: 5
EVs: 236 HP / 36 Def / 156 SpD / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
- Psychic
- Safeguard

Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 156 Def / 76 SpD / 76 Spe
Careful Nature
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

Corphish @ Eviolite
Ability: Adaptability
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crabhammer
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off

Diglett @ Life Orb
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earthquake
- Beat Up
- Sludge Bomb
- Substitute

Pawniard @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head

SM LC A Rambler's Life

Fiend

someguy