Giant Manly Centipede Attack

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

GIANT MANLY CENTIPEDE ATTACK​

Introduction

Hello guys, my name is ScraftyIsTheBest, here with my third RMT. Basically, I love toying around with underrated Pokemon from lower tiers, always spicing up my teams with at least one of them. So I decided to build a team around one of my favorites, a Pokemon who recently dropped to NU but is still pretty awesome in the tier: Scolipede. I've always loved using Scolipede in RU, whether as a Spiker or a Swords Dancer, so I decided to make something good around him (and besides, Scolipede is pretty fucking manly, so why not?). I love playing RU (and UU too), and building teams in the tier is pretty fun, and I just love toying around with NU Pokemon.

Anyways, this team is all about offense (as hinted in previous RMT's I'm mostly an offensive player, not a defensive), using hazards and getting multiple layers up, and get what is needed to sweep with the centipede. The vast majority of my teams usually are Spike-stacking teams, aiming to set up hazards quickly in the match and also tear down Scolipede's counters so he can get wreckin' later on in the match. This team is giving me a pretty solid winning streak, getting in the Top 100 on the ladder and is only going up. Anyways, before you get bored with this, let me get onto the team.

The Team

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

In terms of spiking, Smeargle is basically tied with Qwilfish as the best of them in RU. Smeargle is absolutely amazing in RU; setting up both Spikes and SR for my team to succeed, while incapacitating an opponent with Spore, which in several cases has proven to be a lifesaver. The formula to using Smeargle here is pretty simple; lead, Spore something, and proceed to set up hazards as it wishes. Smeargle does nothing else, and it always dies. But even then, that's pretty much all Smeargle needs to do to leave its mark. Whirlwind is just there to deter setup from shit like Klinklang and SubCM Mesprit/Uxie, making sure they don't tear my team in half, while also racking up the damage from Smeargle's hazards. A Focus Sash is there because Smeargle really has no stats at all, which makes it ideal, and also allows it to guarantee at least Stealth Rock. I never lead Smeargle if the opponent has something like Cinccino or Taunt Aerodactyl (even though that set is shit lol), so I usually go into pressuring them so that Smeargle can come in later.

Omastar @ White Herb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

I was looking for a good offensive partner for Scolipede, and I basically chose Omastar. It can come in on Fire- and Flying-type moves that Scolipede attracts, and set up and sweep, and it also attracts Grass-types to let Scolipede come in on to start his sweep. Omastar is basically my special sweeper, and tbh, having used it now, I don't really get why Omastar doesn't get used more; it's pretty fucking incredible. After a Shell Smash boost, Omastar is basically set to sweep a whole team; and hazards are easily patching up any potential KO's it would miss out on. Surf is the STAB move, mostly for its reliability over Hydro Pump's power, which makes it more ideal imo, and plus SR+Spikes make up for the loss in power. Ice Beam is for Druddigon and Sceptile, while HP Grass handles Water-types like Slowking. It's also a cool piece of the team since Entei and Emboar can send Scolipede running for cover, so it can use them as setup fodder. Basically, Omastar is pretty good on this team, and makes for a good piece, it's easily starting to become one of my favorite things to use in RU right now.

Scolipede @ Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail

Here's the star of the team, and the Pokemon I built the whole team around. Scolipede is one of my all time favorite Pokemon, he's pretty manly and powerful looking, and he's pretty awesome in RU (and he's one of the first Bug-types that doesn't suck, lol). I've used his Spiker and SD sets, both of which were quite solid, but then I found out about a set I've never used before; SubSalac Scolipede. Basically, it's the SubPetaya Empoleon of RU, and Scolipede makes for quite a monstrous sweeper with this set. BW2 was really kind to Scolipede, allowing him to use Salac Berry and also giving him Aqua Tail, which allows him to perform this set with the two-move coverage. Substitute allows Scolipede to avoid status, and if I get him low on health, it can activate not only the Salac Berry (to make him the fastest Pokemon in the tier, for the record), but also Swarm, powering up his Megahorn making it even more absurd. Swords Dance is useful to boost his decent Attack to a formidable level. Megahorn and Aqua Tail are there to just hit everything in the tier bar Qwilfish and Poliwrath, and Scolipede is quite a monster. Overall, I really like using Scolipede, especially this set, and I think Scolipede is incredibly underrated; he should definitely reclaim his RU status.

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]

I've always loved Sceptile since his introduction in RSE; he was awesome in those games, Ash's Sceptile kicked ass in the anime, and he looks so damn cool. Sceptile is quite a monster in RU, and is definitely one of the tier's best cleaners (he ain't S-Rank for no reason!). I like SubTile in particular (yeah, lol both Scolipede and Sceptile are about Sub spamming to activate pinch abilities in this team), as he can avoid status such as T-wave that would cripple him, and also get to the point where he can fire pretty powerful Giga Drain's, recovering his HP in the process too, and repeating it. Focus Blast and HP Rock are basically the coverage moves, hitting Steel-types and Flying-types, respectively. Sceptile is basically my fast cleaner and gives me the immediate Speed to work with. Overall, Sceptile is pretty awesome in RU, and definitely finds itself a spot on this team.

Entei @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk

Entei has never really been a great Pokemon in its past history, firstly being unable to take advantage of its high Attack due to Fire-type moves being special, and having a poor movepool, then living in the shadows of Arcanine even when getting Flare Blitz and E-Speed. Well, Entei is as of now one of the best Pokemon in RU, and finds itself on this team with a three roles. Firstly, he's the wallbreaker of the team, using his mighty CB Flare Blitz to pretty much destroy anything that doesn't resist it, breaking down walls for Scolipede to get going afterwards. He's also a pretty good revenge killer, with ExtremeSpeed allowing me to pick off Cinccino, Hitmonlee, and Absol. He also absorbs Sleep for my team, taking it from Amoonguss, Lilligant, and Jynx, (and Smeargle too lol) which is pretty useful. He completes the FWG core with Sceptile and Omastar, which is also a good reason to slap it on the team. The other nice thing is he absorbs Will-O-Wisp from the Ghost-types Scolipede can't really take on. Overall, Entei is pretty much the "glue" of the team, doing quite a bit to help out the team in general while being powerful.

Golurk @ Life Orb
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Shadow Punch
- Fire Punch

I also decided to try out something else new, particularly RP Golurk. I've used this, and like SubSalac Scolipede, the team's star, it's quite underrated. Golurk can literally blow down a team after an RP boost, and he also functions to block Rapid Spin so Smeargle's work doesn't go to waste. He's not that great of a spinblocker but he's still alright at the job, and I mostly aim to pressure Kabutops and Cryogonal anyways. Golurk also checks Hitmonlee pretty well, stopping it from grabbing Unburden while hitting it pretty hard, which helps. EQ+Shadow Punch+Fire Punch gets pretty good coverage, and allows Golurk to take down a couple of opponents. Golurk also has some nice resistances in general which allow it to set up. Overall it's been really solid so far, and I really like RP Golurk, again, like Scolipede, it deserves RU status imo.

Threats to this team

Cinccino is a pretty big threat to this team, with its pretty awesome coverage and multi-hitting moves making Smeargle a risk to use while also stopping Scolipede pretty much completely. It's pretty hard to wall and I have to outspeed it to stop it.

Not that big of a threat but it's pretty fast and is capable of quickly dealing damage to most of my Pokemon.

This thing can activate Unburden and sweep, although if Scolipede has an SD and a Sub under his belt Hitmonlee isn't too big of a deal

Especially Scarf Braviary, which is annoying since I don't really have many Flying resists, and if Omastar is out I'm screwed.

See Braviary

Conclusion

Well, that's my team. RU is a pretty balanced tier, especially now that both Nidoqueen and Cresselia are gone (didn't give a fuck about Queen though), and it's a lot of fun to play in. Nothing really stands out as broken here (aside from maybe hail, but that's pretty debatable), and there's tons of viable Pokemon to use, regardless of whether they are in the tier of trash (NU), and overall I like playing the tier. This team has been a pretty big enjoyment to use, and I really like it in general. I'm glad with how the team is performing right now, but any advice is welcome.

And here's the importable:

Importable

Omastar @ White Herb
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Scolipede @ Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail

Sceptile @ Life Orb
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]

Entei @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Golurk @ Life Orb
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Jolly Nature
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Shadow Punch
- Fire Punch

 

[watashi]

this is not really a rate but if you want salac berry to activate on the third substitute then you should be using 30 hp ivs on scolipede and not 4 hp evs

 

[KidTheDeath]

Nice Team but Unburden Sceptile with SD, Leaf Blade, Acrobatics, and Eq could sweep your team

 

[col49]

Hey ScraftyIsTheBest, cool team ^_^ I myself have been kinda getting into Scoli as a 'mon (admittedly it's probably 'cuz you're repping it, like, all the time lol), and the use of lesser seen 'mons like RP Golurk and SmashStar is really chill as well.

First of all, I'd reiterate that Scoli would really appreciate the ability to activate its Salac after 3 consecutive subs, and as such I'd recommend you run a spread of 12 HP / 244 AtK / 252 Spe. I think it's needless to say that the loss in damage output is almost completely unnoticeable.

Something else I noticed as that as with a bunch of Smeargle offense teams, this team really doesn't have a designated game plan for opposing Smeargle teams. Personally, I'm pretty against the practice of risking the speed tie with opposing Smeargle, since losing the 50-50 means you're getting SR+Spikes on your field that are there to stay due to your lack of spinner, which can pretty much mean a loss at Turn 3 if the opponent plays well x_x I believe the most optimal way to mitigate this issue would be with the use of Choice Scarf Rotom-C over Sceptile. While you lose some late-game presence by dropping Sceptile, this can be made up for between Golurk and Scollipede for the most part. In exchange, Rotom-C offers you a solid scout for mid-game, a Trick utility for crippling generally annoying 'mons like Amoonguss, and of course a game plan for opposing Smeargle in Rotom-C Volt Switch->Entei. This also offers you a much more comfortable check to birds and a more bulky switch-in to Water-types, which is nice because Sceptile really can't switch into 'mons like Poliwrath (which scares out Entei, Scoli, and Golurk / Oma to an extent) without taking a good amount of damage in doing so.

tl;dr

• 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe ---> 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe

--->

Set

Rotom-C @ Choice Scarf | Levitate
Timid | 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Leaf Storm | Volt Switch | Thunderbolt | Trick

Anywho, tried and true formula so I can't really say much in terms of team structure, still effective enough stuff haha. Worth dropping a momo imo, good luck friend :]