SM LC Dimness (Alolan Grimer-Gastly Offense)

[rineko]

Dimness

too lazy for a banner here's some afd sprites (a-grimer doesnt have one so ill just use regular)
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Introduction​

'Sup guys, I am making my first RMT and not because of anything special, but because I want to show off this cool team I've been using for a couple of days now. It started off as an idea of an AlolanGrimer-Gastly spam core and so I decided to build the team. What turned out was probably my favourite team ever. I had good success with this team on the ladder as I managed to break 1500 (and now 5th and peaked 1576) and this was my main reason for posting this. Now let's go straight into the RMT.

Teambuilding Process​

The AlolanGrimer-Gastly core was what I wanted to build around. They cover their weaknesses very well with Gastly immune to AGrimer's Ground weakness and AGrimer resisting Ghost and Dark while immune to Psychic. While Poison isn't the best type to spam with many Rock and Steels running around, the Dark and Ghost type moves they have respectively have almost the same coverage making up for it.

I wanted some momentum for my team so I immediately looked for some U-turn and Volt Switch users. I ended up choosing Mienfoo and Vullaby which build a solid U-turn core. Vullaby also pairs up with AGrimer really well as it covers the Ground weakness of AGrimer while spamming Dark type moves, it also hits Fighting-types really hard. Mienfoo really likes both AGrimer and Vullaby's immunity to Psychic while being able to hit Rock and Steels that were trouble for the team.

Lastly, I really needed hazard control as well as a way to stop Water and Birdspam. Onix provides Stealth Rock support, and is able to stop Flying-types, and also provides an Electric immunity. Staryu is my only Water resist, can remove them with Thunderbolt, and can remove rocks to better support Vullaby.

In-depth

Grimer-Alola @ Berry Juice
Ability: Poison Touch
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 196 Def / 36 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Gunk Shot
- Shadow Sneak / Fire Blast
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Alolan Grimer was one of the two Pokemon I chose to build around. Its great typing works with Gastly very well covering each others weaknesses. It especially covers Psychic and Ghost types, being able to trap them with Pursuit. The spread maxes out AGrimer's Attack with remaining EVs going in bulk while Berry Juice is used to provide recovery for AGrimer. Knock Off is spammable, especially with the poison chance from Poison Touch, Pursuit traps fleeing foes, namely Abra and Gastly, and Gunk Shot is strong Poison STAB hitting Spritzee, Cottonee, and Snivy. Lastly, Shadow Sneak is priority to pick off weakened mons however Fire Blast can be used instead to hit Ferroseed and other Steel-types but change the nature to Brave and add 36 SpA EVs if so. When using this mon definitely switch it in on a Pursuit-bait Pokemon like Abra & Gastly and try avoid Diglett as much as possible.
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Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 40 Def / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting] / Dazzling Gleam
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Gastly appreciates AGrimer's resistances to Ghost and Dark (while immune to Psychic) and it has Levitate being immune to Ground that AGrimer is weak to. Gastly mainly functions as a revenge killer because with a Choice Scarf, it becomes among the fastest Pokemon in the meta, outspeeding mons like Modest Bellsprout and Omanyte at +2, as well as Impish Shellder at +2. Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb are main STABs, with Bomb being chosen over Wave for poison chance. Psychic allows Gastly to really hit Fighting and Poison types, but more importantly allows Gastly to check Bellsprout in Sun. HP Fighting is used to smack Dark and Steels, especially Pawniard. As much as I don't like Gleam, it can be useful for hitting Dark and Fighting types, especially Scraggy. Another option for this set is Energy Ball over Psychic as it can be used to hit Mudbray and Chinchou however that is about it. If your opponent has AGrimer or Pawniard, just watch out for them switching since they render Gastly pretty much dead.
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Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
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Vullaby was chosen as it pairs with AGrimer well and more importantly has U-turn. I mainly chose it as it checks Fighting types and Foongus, being able to check them with Brave Bird. It hits 15 Speed outspeeding many of the 14 Speed mons, hits an Eviolite number in both Defenses with some nice HP and the remainder of EVs are placed into Attack to hit Fighters hard. Knock Off is the most spammable move ever removing items like Eviolite, Brave Bird is a strong STAB capable of OHKOing Fighters, U-turn provides the momentum and Roost is good recovery especially after taking some damage from SR. It's best to use Vullaby to check Ground and Grass types, and if you predict they'll switch into something like Onix or Pawn, just use U-turn and switch into Mienfoo or Staryu.
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Mienfoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Drain Punch / High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- High Jump Kick / Acrobatics
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Mienfoo is easily one of the best mons and the best pivot in the whole tier with U-turn + Regenerator. It provides the team a reliable way to beat most Steels and Darks and it checks most leads. The spread hits max Speed for Mienfoo allowing it to outspeed Pawniard and speed tie with Onix and also Eviolite numbers, leaning physically defensive for mons like Timburr. The first three moves are self-explanatory at this point, and High Jump Kick is in the last slot because it's raw power deals a ton of damage to most foes and allows Mienfoo to clean up lategame. Acrobatics can also be used since it allows Mienfoo to hit opposing Fighters like Timburr and Croagunk. Mienfoo will likely be the most used mon on this team always switching in and out. One tip I have is that if you run Acrobatics and don't really need the Eviolite boost, just switch it in on Knock Off from a Fighter and KO them with Acro.

Onix @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Taunt
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Onix is my main lead and with Sturdyjuice, it will have a lot of time to set up Stealth Rock. It's my only Flying resist and is usually able to take on Vullaby, Rufflet, and Scarf Doduo without much trouble. Maximum Speed ensures a fast Stealth Rock while the Attack ensures Onix to hit as hard as it can, the remainder of EVs go to buffing its poor Special Defense. Earthquake and Rock Blast are standard STABs, with Rock Blast being used to benefit from LC's multihit rolls. Lastly, Taunt is used to prevent slower Pokemon from setting up Stealth Rock or any other status move. While Onix is a lead, definitely watch out for Staryu, Mienfoo, and even Meowth since they can check Onix quite easily.

Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Def / 116 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
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Originally opting Omanyte in this spot as a wincon, Staryu is here instead as it is able to remove hazards for Vullaby and the team as well as being naturally fast to check some 17 and 18 Speed mons. It provides the team with a Water resist, effectively countering most of them and forcing them out with Thunderbolt; and it can check Ground types with Scald. The spread maximizes Staryu's Speed while hitting an Eviolite number for Defense. The remaining EVs were put into Special Attack for damage output, however investing in HP provides more bulk while not hampering Staryu's offensive capabilities much. Rapid Spin like I mentioned earlier removes hazards, Scald is the main STAB move and can cripple physical attackers with a burn. Thunderbolt is mandatory as it allows Staryu to hit Water-types such as Corphish, Shellder, and Omanyte which Staryu is supposed to counter. Recover is put in the last slot as recover to better allow Staryu to check Water and Ground types. Psychic can hit Fighting-types, mainly Croagunk, a lot better, however Recover is a lot better most of the time.​

(italicized parts were changes recommended by raters)

Threatlist​

threats

Chinchou is probably the biggest threat to this team as none of my Pokemon can reliably switch in on both of its STABs. If you want to be ballsy, Onix can switch in predicting Volt Switch and force it out or Earthquake it due to generally being faster or Chinchou holding a Scarf. Gastly is faster than any Chinchou thanks to Scarf and can pick off a weakened Chinchou.

Doduo's access to Jump Kick this generation makes Onix an unreliable counter now. While Scarf Gastly is able to revenge kill Doduo with Sludge Bomb, it speed ties with Scarf Doduo which can be a bit unreliable, however Onix can beat Scarf Doduo if locked into Brave Bird or Return. Staryu can KO with Tbolt but it cannot switch in. Rufflet is similar to Doduo as it has ways to cover Onix in Superpower and is even stronger however I feel Doduo is much more threatening because of its higher Speed tier.

Even though I have Vullaby and Gastly immune to Ground, Diglett is still annoying to fight. If it switches in on AGrimer or Onix, they are gone. Vullaby is my best check since it can KO Diglett with a Knock Off and Staryu can check too though it will lose a large sum of HP before using Scald.

Once these guys set up they can be some trouble. Staryu is my best bet since it can OHKO Shellder with Tbolt before Shell Smash and can live Omanyte's Earth Power then KO with Tbolt. If they try to set up on Onix, Onix can just Taunt them. Gastly is also a check since it will often outspeed them and usually KO after 1 Special Defense drop.

Timburr is really annoying to fight because I really only have checks to it. Vullaby doesnt wanna switch in a lot though it OHKOes with Brave Bird, AGrimer is deterred by Timburr because of Guts, and Staryu can use Psychic on it but it only 2HKOes.

Conclusion​

I feel like I built pretty well on the AGrimer-Gastly core. I was mainly going for other cores that complement the AGrimer-Gastly one, such as the U-turn core of Vullaby and Mienfoo, and hazard control by Onix and Staryu. It's one of the few teams I made myself that fit my playstyle and also good on the ladder. Overall this team focuses primarily on offense, specifically Dark spam with some Poison to hit Fairies. Despite the team looking like it can lose easily to other archetypes of typespam teams, it is able to hold its own against them quite well from what I've fought. I found this team pretty fun so if you do use it have fun with it!

I don't wanna give individual shoutouts since I'm bound to miss people so instead I'll just give shoutouts to groups of people instead, you should know who you are:
Showdown Lobby people
Little Cup guys
C&C dudes
The Smogon Discord channels I'm in (Main, LC, Social Forums, Fire Emblem)

Importable​

ps importable

Grimer-Alola @ Berry Juice
Ability: Poison Touch
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 196 Atk / 196 Def / 36 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Pursuit
- Gunk Shot
- Shadow Sneak

Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 40 Def / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost

Mienfoo @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Acrobatics

Onix @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Taunt

Staryu @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Def / 116 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

 

[Fiend]

I'm just going to drop a quick rate here now that I have a chance.

I noticed you've added some slashes (Fire Blast and Recover), which really do make all the difference. Between Fire Blast and Shadow Sneak, you don't really need to go with either one, and I wouldn't try to dissuade you from using either though Fire Blast as a whole makes your life slightly easier, but Shadow Sneak can always be useful. On the other hand I would always recommend Recover over Psychic on Staryu for this team. While hitting Croagunk is nice, Analytic Thunderbolt gets the job done and the recovery allows for your team to actually manage to check Ground and Water types now.

As for some other changes, I think Gastly should settle on Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Psychic, and Dazzling Gleam as its 4 attacks. With Staryu having longevity now, Energy ball isn't very useful outside of hitting Chinchou, though you never KO it to begin with. Psychic allows for Bellsprout in the Sun to be check, which otherwise fails to really be handled by the team. Outside of this, it has limited use, but Gastly is still able to check Shell Smash users without Energy Ball.

On Vullaby, you should consider a spread of 116 HP / 76 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe with an Adamant Nature, as the added bulk is quite nice. Furthermore, the loss of attack is hardly noticeable. Vullaby is now able to plausibly check some of the Ground-types in the tier, helped allow Gastly to forgo Energy Ball.

I truly do not see the appeal of Fake Out on Mienfoo, especially considering how Acrobatics helps make Timburr and Croagunk more manageable foes. Fake Out's chip damage simply isn't as useful as removing a large chunk of traditional checks from the game. Similarly, I will suggest High Jump Kick over Drain Punch, as while it does miss its raw damage is far more useful than anything else. With HJK, Mienfoo actually does damage and has some good potential to clean late game.

Lastly, Berry Juice over Eviolite on Grimer-A is always a nice addition. The recovery boost is rather important, allowing it to stump even HP Ground Abra.

 

[rineko]

I'm just going to drop a quick rate here now that I have a chance.

I noticed you've added some slashes (Fire Blast and Recover), which really do make all the difference. Between Fire Blast and Shadow Sneak, you don't really need to go with either one, and I wouldn't try to dissuade you from using either though Fire Blast as a whole makes your life slightly easier, but Shadow Sneak can always be useful. On the other hand I would always recommend Recover over Psychic on Staryu for this team. While hitting Croagunk is nice, Analytic Thunderbolt gets the job done and the recovery allows for your team to actually manage to check Ground and Water types now.

As for some other changes, I think Gastly should settle on Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Psychic, and Dazzling Gleam as its 4 attacks. With Staryu having longevity now, Energy ball isn't very useful outside of hitting Chinchou, though you never KO it to begin with. Psychic allows for Bellsprout in the Sun to be check, which otherwise fails to really be handled by the team. Outside of this, it has limited use, but Gastly is still able to check Shell Smash users without Energy Ball.

On Vullaby, you should consider a spread of 116 HP / 76 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe with an Adamant Nature, as the added bulk is quite nice. Furthermore, the loss of attack is hardly noticeable. Vullaby is now able to plausibly check some of the Ground-types in the tier, helped allow Gastly to forgo Energy Ball.

I truly do not see the appeal of Fake Out on Mienfoo, especially considering how Acrobatics helps make Timburr and Croagunk more manageable foes. Fake Out's chip damage simply isn't as useful as removing a large chunk of traditional checks from the game. Similarly, I will suggest High Jump Kick over Drain Punch, as while it does miss its raw damage is far more useful than anything else. With HJK, Mienfoo actually does damage and has some good potential to clean late game.

Lastly, Berry Juice over Eviolite on Grimer-A is always a nice addition. The recovery boost is rather important, allowing it to stump even HP Ground Abra.

Thanks for the rate! Now I added a lot of your changes since they were good, however there were still some changes I was a bit unsure about. You said HJK over Drain however I feel like Drain's more consistent & recovers HP still allows it to be useful, so I slashed HJK along with Drain. I used Acrofoo on this team and it actually works well if Mienfoo can get a Fighter to use Knock Off however I still feel like HJK is worth the fourth slot as well due to the fact that it doesn't need to be Knocked Off to gain full power. I still feel like Energy Ball has its use for checking Chinchou and Mudbray so I decided to mention it in the description (like OO lel). And all the other changes are pretty much better for the team as mentioned earlier so nice rate.