Hey guys! I've been working on this team for a little while now and feel it is finally in good enough shape to show to the Smogon community. The main purpose I had in mind while making this team was to have strong counters for some of the most commonly used strategies in the meta. Namely Trick Room, Tyranitar + Excadrill, Pelipper + Ludicolo, Justified + Beat Up and Prankster Whimsicott/Grimmsnarl. I originally thought Tsareena's Queenly Majesty blocked all priority moves and not just ones targeting opponents, hence the name of the team. Because of that, I had to find a new queen to take the throne and eventually settled on-
The Queen (Gothitelle) (F) @ Sitrus Berry or Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpA
Calm Nature
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Psychic
- Imprison
Gothitelle's Imprison and decent bulk makes her a great candidate to counter trick room teams. Taunt comes in handy often for stopping more passive, support pokemon and Psychic is there to avoid being shut down by Taunt herself. Shadow Tag is a very useful ability because it stops trick room setters and taunted pokemon from escaping to safety where they can be utilized after the Queen is no longer on the field. I was running Helping Hand on all of the other queen candidates, but Taunt is slightly more useful, especially when it can be imprisoned.
Queen's Aide (Grimmsnarl) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Fake Out
- Spirit Break
Because of the slow to mid-speed of the team, having Grimmsnarl's screen setting does a lot to increase the longevity of the team. Fake Out helps stop a lot of different setups. In particular, it helps to flinch Whimsicott while Mantine, Conkeldurr or Duraludon deliver the finishing blow in the same turn. Spirit Break is an extremely useful attack that not only does a ton of damage to many common pokemon, but also lowers the Sp. Attack of opponents giving that much more protection for the team.
Queen's Guard (Conkeldurr) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
Conkeldurr is my primary answer to the sand stream duo of Tyranitar and Excadrill. With Helping Hand and priority Mach Punch he can OHKO both Tyranitar and Excadrill before they are dynamaxed. He can also do the same with unboosted Drain Punch if I do not believe he will be killed before using it. The assault vest is to add to his overall bulk while the Fire and Ice punches give him good move coverage.
Queen's Navy (Mantine) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Scald
- Helping Hand
- Roost
Mantine is my answer to rain teams, specifically the Pelipper + Swift Swim Ludicolo duo. Mantine can outspeed Ludicolo and also deliver super effective flying attacks. Air Slash is good for the flinch, but when a rain team is in play I often end up dynamaxing Mantine and spamming max airstream to increase the speed of whichever teammate Mantine is with. Because Air Slash/Max Airstream is the most commonly used attack, I gave Mantine a Sharp Beak to increase the power of these moves even more. Scald was chosen for the burn but also to change the weather in certain situations whenever dynamaxed. Helping Hand allows Conkeldurr to OHKO a non-dynamaxed Excadrill or Tyranitar with priority Mach Punch or OHKO either of them dynamaxed with drain punch.
Queen's Steed (Mudsdale) @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Body Press
- Rock Slide
- Payback
Mudsdale adds a ton of bulk to the team while also accounting for ground and rock coverage. This is easily one of the hardest pokemon to kill because of its Stamina ability, which also greatly increases the power of Body Press. I chose High Horsepower over Earthquake not only because the name is so fitting to Mudsdale, but because only Mantine is capable of avoiding an Earthquake on this team. Because of how slow Mudsdale is, Payback seemed like a great option for a 4th move as it is likely he will have been hit by the time he moves.
Queen's Rook (Duraludon) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stalwart
EVs: 240 HP / 52 SpA / 44 SpD / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder Wave or Snarl
Duraludon counters common fairy threats such as Hatterene, Togekiss, and Grimmsnarl while also having the Stalwart ability to bypass any misdirection attempts from opponents. His decent bulk allows him to trigger Weakness Policy and become even more threatening. Thunderbolt checks flying and water types while Draco Meteor keeps dragons at bay.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this team!
The Queen (Gothitelle) (F) @ Sitrus Berry or Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpA
Calm Nature
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Psychic
- Imprison
Gothitelle's Imprison and decent bulk makes her a great candidate to counter trick room teams. Taunt comes in handy often for stopping more passive, support pokemon and Psychic is there to avoid being shut down by Taunt herself. Shadow Tag is a very useful ability because it stops trick room setters and taunted pokemon from escaping to safety where they can be utilized after the Queen is no longer on the field. I was running Helping Hand on all of the other queen candidates, but Taunt is slightly more useful, especially when it can be imprisoned.
Queen's Aide (Grimmsnarl) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Fake Out
- Spirit Break
Because of the slow to mid-speed of the team, having Grimmsnarl's screen setting does a lot to increase the longevity of the team. Fake Out helps stop a lot of different setups. In particular, it helps to flinch Whimsicott while Mantine, Conkeldurr or Duraludon deliver the finishing blow in the same turn. Spirit Break is an extremely useful attack that not only does a ton of damage to many common pokemon, but also lowers the Sp. Attack of opponents giving that much more protection for the team.
Queen's Guard (Conkeldurr) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Drain Punch
Conkeldurr is my primary answer to the sand stream duo of Tyranitar and Excadrill. With Helping Hand and priority Mach Punch he can OHKO both Tyranitar and Excadrill before they are dynamaxed. He can also do the same with unboosted Drain Punch if I do not believe he will be killed before using it. The assault vest is to add to his overall bulk while the Fire and Ice punches give him good move coverage.
Queen's Navy (Mantine) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 16 HP / 240 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Scald
- Helping Hand
- Roost
Mantine is my answer to rain teams, specifically the Pelipper + Swift Swim Ludicolo duo. Mantine can outspeed Ludicolo and also deliver super effective flying attacks. Air Slash is good for the flinch, but when a rain team is in play I often end up dynamaxing Mantine and spamming max airstream to increase the speed of whichever teammate Mantine is with. Because Air Slash/Max Airstream is the most commonly used attack, I gave Mantine a Sharp Beak to increase the power of these moves even more. Scald was chosen for the burn but also to change the weather in certain situations whenever dynamaxed. Helping Hand allows Conkeldurr to OHKO a non-dynamaxed Excadrill or Tyranitar with priority Mach Punch or OHKO either of them dynamaxed with drain punch.
Queen's Steed (Mudsdale) @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 SpD
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Body Press
- Rock Slide
- Payback
Mudsdale adds a ton of bulk to the team while also accounting for ground and rock coverage. This is easily one of the hardest pokemon to kill because of its Stamina ability, which also greatly increases the power of Body Press. I chose High Horsepower over Earthquake not only because the name is so fitting to Mudsdale, but because only Mantine is capable of avoiding an Earthquake on this team. Because of how slow Mudsdale is, Payback seemed like a great option for a 4th move as it is likely he will have been hit by the time he moves.
Queen's Rook (Duraludon) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stalwart
EVs: 240 HP / 52 SpA / 44 SpD / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder Wave or Snarl
Duraludon counters common fairy threats such as Hatterene, Togekiss, and Grimmsnarl while also having the Stalwart ability to bypass any misdirection attempts from opponents. His decent bulk allows him to trigger Weakness Policy and become even more threatening. Thunderbolt checks flying and water types while Draco Meteor keeps dragons at bay.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this team!