INDEX
1.The Idea
2.Proof of Peak
3.Team+Description
4.Team Weaknesses
5.Misc
1.The Idea
Fini is my favourite out of the 4 tapus,and in this gen it's not doing too hot compared to gen7,8 and 8ND.So after awhile I realised that there may be a niche it could carve out for itself,atleast on ladder which is what this team is for.There are a ton of dragon types on ladder and the dnite + gouging +Tusk HOs that have been running around could be exploited by Fini.
also I made this team after watching episode 11 of the current mha season...PEAK
2.Proof of peak
The team actually peaked rank 9 but i didnt screenshot it,and lost my game which lead to a tilt,so heres the peak after that night:
3.Team+Descriptions
(Just as a quick reminder,this is a fun team that I made generally for ladder+reliability at 1700-1800+ and for that reason you'll notice that the team has barely any moves that can miss,the only 2 being stone edge and play rough.The intention is to be able to win almost every game through skill and not being afraid of hax.Also I'll be adding replays and calcs for each pokemon just to show off their strong points,since this team is for ladder,ill also be including replays from 1600-1800+ to show the team can work vs unorthodox builds and the general bizarre world that is the natdex ladder)
Dragonite(A.P SHOT)(Just as a quick reminder,this is a fun team that I made generally for ladder+reliability at 1700-1800+ and for that reason you'll notice that the team has barely any moves that can miss,the only 2 being stone edge and play rough.The intention is to be able to win almost every game through skill and not being afraid of hax.Also I'll be adding replays and calcs for each pokemon just to show off their strong points,since this team is for ladder,ill also be including replays from 1600-1800+ to show the team can work vs unorthodox builds and the general bizarre world that is the natdex ladder)
A.P SHOT (Dragonite) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
Banded Nites role on the team is really simple:6-0 offense and break apart really thick cores with well timed outrages and fire punches.It isnt an auto-win button but it can definitely feel like that at times,though of course the most annoying part of the set is having to be aware of outrage being nerfed in misty terrain and playing around that.Here are some important calcs you'll have to be aware of when using nite:
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darkrai: 240-283 (85.4 - 100.7%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Iron Valiant: 240-283 (82.7 - 97.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gouging Fire: 186-220 (52.9 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 64 HP / 28 Def Raging Bolt: 231-273 (56.7 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 255-300 (84.7 - 99.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
The calcs are just against offensive pokemon,as i wanted to show how straightforward a game can be given your opponent doesn't keep rocks off.Here are some replays of Banded Nite cleaning games with ease:
vs Wildfiree:(ignore the kartana,its from an earlier build of the team)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2169006857-uk790g0hxk1nhz5sgwspqtbht3srlxdpw?p2
vs xieeee : gliscor+Glowking+Dozo defensive core,but it has no steel type
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2173977897-ydtac7ty98fahn9b6z4of57alj0rje0pw
vs Trick Room :
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2173992767-qi91a2e3xkkisi5gq2jnscs1wtna8m6pw?p2
vs sun:(again,ignore the kartana)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2168865271-s9vlzz9468kskwbgst628bsn9dn1krkpw
Slowking-Galar(Dynamight)
DYNAMIGHT (Slowking-Galar) @ Heavy-Duty Boots Ability: Regenerator
Level: 99
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Chilly Reception
- Slack Off
The goat pivot of the new gen,Gking's role on this team is very clear to understand and also extremely pivotal(heh).It forms the first half of the pivot core,helping get in the hard hitting mons while also having a great matchup against the general metagame,especially with tera helping the team beat every weather style without too much struggle,initially the tera was water which is still extremely helpful in alot of cases,however i prefer tera dragon for how much it helps the team in the zard y matchup.The 204 spdef is to avoid being 2hkod by specs kokos tbolt pre-tera while the rest is dumped in defense to better shrug off physical hits,though going max max like standard with tera water/steel is also fine.I prefer slack off to further improve the teams stall/balance matchup,however tspikes/status are also fine 4th move slots.Also its level 99 just to get the slower chilly reception vs opposing glowking cuz im fat and smelly.I'm not including any calcs because we all know what glowking does,as for replays i do have 1 or 2 where I think glowking shows its value as a pivot:
vs zimuxiao where its able to future sight and chilly out while eating hits consistently:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174056255-ler6ewuloah91glg6o68hups9uv4lovpw?p2
vs sun where it being able to change whether really helps other pokemon dish out damage so dnite can sweep lategame:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2168865271-s9vlzz9468kskwbgst628bsn9dn1krkpw
HOWITZER IMPACT(Mawile Mega)
HOWITZER IMPACT (Mawile-Mega) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
- Stealth Rock
The other explosive threat on the team,Mega Maw is the more reliable fat breaker of the team.With Knock Off+Ice Punch it is able to make progress vs almost every fat archetype and stab play rough cleaves through everything that doesn't resist it.The addition of stealth rock was something I thought about for a long time,prefering to have rocks on landorus and changing the sets around,however in practice maw was able to consistently get up rocks on most builds,though struggling significantly vs offense.This is generally due to g-king future sight + the potential for Mawile to knock Off after a reception forces switches,and with those switches you are able to throw rocks up,of course not having anything to hit corv can be annoying but the matchup has generally been playable.136 Spe creeps skeledirge which can be a major annoyance to the team otherwise.
some replays:
vs EZRA where maw is able to muscle through the team with a decent bit of luck:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2173986677-1heser6qujj7qhv16k0smio1vo8b0yspw
vs Dr.Dreco where its able to get up rocks that pressure Charizard Y,preventing it from freely switching while also punching massive holes,leading to an early win:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174080292-pm0x69w2sbga03gvub1nnzjc622tbxrpw?p2
vs veil offense:where maw is able to knock off and get a game ending surprise ko with ice punch:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174106300-ew8yn597f15415srvr6var5tfr3k50lpw?p2
vs Trick Room:Maw puts in Prime Kobe numbers with the value its able to get out of its typing+attacks+rocks
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2173992767-qi91a2e3xkkisi5gq2jnscs1wtna8m6pw?p2
BIG BAKUGO(Landorus-T)
BIG BAKUGO (Landorus-Therian) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 152 HP / 64 Atk / 176 Def / 116 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Defog
Old Reliable,pledged to remain number 1 in my heart scarf landorus-T.This is the standard scarf lando set but with 116 spe investment it hits 271 speed unboosted which allows it to outspeed mega lopunny,from what i understand 276 speed(which is the standard) was used to outspeed zamazenta,but thats banned now so just invested the rest in attack,there could be a better optimisation for it on this build but it does the job,eats almost all physical hits,with intimidate and pivots into big threats while also givinng support via defog,no replays for this one since its literally just doing what every scarf lando does.
KATSUKI(Tapu Fini)
Katsuki (Tapu Fini) @ Icium Z
Ability: Misty Surge
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Haze
- Scald
- Moonblast
- Taunt
So when I decided to use Tapu Fini the first set that came to mind was leftovers defensive,but that set has only really been viable versus stall in testing,as it was always overwhelmed by the offensive pokemon it tried to wall otherwise.Dnite and Gouging fire could set up on it using tera or just abusing their bulk vs finis really low power moonblasts.Eventually I landed on Z-haze as it has the secondary effect of healing fini back to full,which allows fini to shutdown a setup sweeper while shrugging off the damage in one turn,the only issue is it being one time only so you have to time it well,but in general this set has made the mon useable for me,with z-haze coming in clutch tons of times and allowing fini to reliable wall what its supposed to and provide extremely important terrain support for mega mawile,allowing Mawile to ignore the effects of flame body and static while attacking.The speed investment allows it to comfortably clear minspeed rotom,tusk and Landorus-T.Taunt is just generally good util in this meta with many pokemon trying to set up or heal,in most matchups fini can taunt and then go band for band in terms of damage because it is able to z-haze it all of eventually
Here are some replays:
vs Dr.Dreco again :Not the same game as the Maw one,showing off z haze as a surprise tech and taunt being able to keep bro from doing its thing:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174009259-5r1382xo9ejko311b9lqwrt9xnzjiwhpw
vs Dnite Glim HO:This is like a perfect game that shows how its able to come back from the dead after doing its job for round 2 like prime mcgregor
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174056255-ler6ewuloah91glg6o68hups9uv4lovpw?p2
vs Grim HO:Shuts down Gouging fire and also gives mawile the misty terrain support necessary to avoid static para chances(ignore the crit lmao)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174017154-zs1gkv4d5w27knkjbdqtmnvoua5662dpw?p2
vs veil offense:(yes its the same as the maw game but it gets the point across)where it one v ones dd kyurem while retaining all its health
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174106300-ew8yn597f15415srvr6var5tfr3k50lpw?p2
LIGHT FADES TO RAIN(Volcarona)
LightFadesToRain (Volcarona) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Shiny: Yes
Hidden Power: Ground
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 200 Def / 60 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Roost
Simply put,volcarona is cheap,and the team needs to atleast make sense half the time,this is the standard defensive set which helps the team against sun,where its able to dd after a chilly reception and just end the game if rocks are up pressuring the gouging fire.Volc actually has great synergy with mega maw as maw is able to severely weaken the fatter special walls such as chansey,blissey and clodsire leading to simple endgames,additionally Maw can threat the dragon types that Volc is unable to beat.As the only setup sweeper on the team,it gives the team more options in terms of potential wincons.Tera steel is amazing as it allows it to ignore toxic outside of misty terrain and blank alo.Unlike Landorus-T which i mentioned early can go from 276 speed down to 271,volc needs to hit 276 speed as it clears 2 important pokemon.First Adamant Excadrill which hits a speed stat of 275,and more importantly it outspeeds Booster energy iron valiant at + 2 which just makes it easier for volc to clean up against offense .Here are some replays of volc being cheap:
vs Dewfew:There are literally 6 pokemon on both sides of the field when I go for QD,yet it still somehow is able to bullshit an autowin:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174072955-0m7gc581ryssc8snow8ka13up99a176pw
vs Sand:Using Volc defensively to answer valiant,its able to qd and abuse tera to get the speed boosts needed to win.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174052493-v7cna9q2x9cibvk2m0h3yebi1x4j7mopw
vs Random Mono Dragon:proving why having cheap stuff is nice when there are so many different teams on ladder that can be hard to beat.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2174012335-myhot9w8zimvdjqyj05rgx1izhs06j2pw?p2
vs Ribombee HO:With the help of misty terrain,volcarona ends the game in 6 turns:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2175231883-7xg9anqcm5vusvt4d88sglqhpksa9kkpw
4.Team Weaknesses
Throughout my testing so far I hadn't come across any "auto-lose" matchups,though I may be blanking on a potential threat that I just can't think of.There are some matchups that are a bit annoying and require carefully choosing sacks and may require you to play a certain way,off of memory I can name:
5.Misc
Thats about it for the rmt,if your interested in using the team here is the paste again:https://pokepast.es/e2a1747b236845b5 . Thanks for reading this far if you have,any suggestions or changes you'd like to add i'm open to hearing,hope you all have a good night/day :].
Shoutout PRC
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