Hey guys! With the recent release of Galladite and Mega Gallade on showdown, I went up and decided to try and build a team centered around it, since it's one of my favorite megas, and with the ban of Marshadow to ubers, it now has an opportunity to shine a little in this meta, especially since I haven't run into a single team using this mega. I have played with this team a couple of days and it has worked well so far.
Without further ado, here's the team:
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
The main Pokémon of the team, Mega Gallade works as an early/mid-game physical wallbreaker or late game sweeper (depending on the situation), capable of getting past things like Magearna and Tapu Fini after a Swords Dance. In addition, it has a decent amount of bulk (something that Mega Medicham does not have). The rest of the movepool is pretty self-explanatory: Close Combat nukes almost anything Gallade faces, with Zen Headbutt working as a coverage STAB move and further boosted by Lele's terrain (we'll get there) and Knock Off to get rid of annoying defensive Pokémon's items such as Mew's Leftovers or Toxapex's Black Sludge, amongst other things.
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Landorus works both as a rocker and a stallbreaker, and is effective at both, checking things like Mega Pinsir which possesses priority moves or Dugtrio, which would otherwise trap and kill Gallade if it still has its Focus Sash intact. Earthquake works as the mandatory STAB move for Landorus, while Stone Edge covers switch-ins like Zard Y, and gives Continental Crush a whooping 180 BSP. Also, if able, Landorus can set up a Swords Dance against some physical attackers thanks to Intimidate and its respectable physical bulk. This works notably well against stall teams, getting past Celesteela and Skarmory (if it doesn't run Whirlwind). I decided to run Jolly to outspeed things that may want to come in into Landorus like Kyurem-B with its ice-type moves, and then dealing massive damage with Cont. Crush.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
The special wallbreaker, Tapu Lele works fine in conjunction with Gallade, providing it with Psychic Terrain to protect it against priority moves, getting rid of things Gallade can't touch like Mega Sableye and boosting its Zen Headbutts, while Gallade can check the Dark-types that Lele can't touch. Psyshock is helpful against Pokémon like Chansey that would otherwise tank any hit, while HP Fire is to check Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, since both of them can be a nuisance to Gallade without a boost.
Greninja (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
Since this is a fairly offensive team, Spikes support would also be really helpful for it, and Greninja is the best option for a Spikes setter, since it also has a good offensive pressure overall. Gunk Shot is run to check Tapu Fini, since it's a common defogger, and hazard stacking is really useful for this team. Ice Beam works as coverage, dealing with Garchomp and scarfed Latios if it decides to defog before attacking.
Bisharp (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
The Gallade-Bisharp core is really good, and in this team is no exception, especially with some of the Pokémon that Bisharp is partnered with. First and foremost, Defiant helps out a lot in this team with hazard stacking, making defoggers like Latios and Fini, as well as Intimidate users like Landorus (+1 Sucker Punch knocks out offensive variants of Landorus) be more wary of switching in. While Psychic Terrain makes Sucker Punch useless, it also works by protecting Bisharp against Mach Punch from Pokémon like Breloom or even Conkeldurr. Iron Head and Knock Off work both as STAB moves, with Swords Dance to further boost Bisharp's attack stat. And also, some of its weaknesses are covered by the other Pokémon in the team (ground by Lando, fire by Gren and fighting by Lele).
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Trick
The only thing missing in this team was a revenge killer, and Latios was my first thought. Choice Scarf lets it outspeed most of the unboosted meta, while having powerful attacks in Draco Meteor and Psyshock. Trick helps it cripple defensive Pokémon like Celesteela, Toxapex and Clef, to name a few, as well as offensive Pokémon that rely on their coverage moves, set-up moves or items like Zygarde, Mew and Tangrowth. Lastly, Defog works as a little hazard control, although it also may be detrimental for my team, given it relies on both rocks and Spikes.
Some threats to this team that I've found out are:
That's pretty much it. I hope you liked my team. Any and all criticism is appreciated!
Without further ado, here's the team:
Gallade @ Galladite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Close Combat
- Zen Headbutt
- Knock Off
The main Pokémon of the team, Mega Gallade works as an early/mid-game physical wallbreaker or late game sweeper (depending on the situation), capable of getting past things like Magearna and Tapu Fini after a Swords Dance. In addition, it has a decent amount of bulk (something that Mega Medicham does not have). The rest of the movepool is pretty self-explanatory: Close Combat nukes almost anything Gallade faces, with Zen Headbutt working as a coverage STAB move and further boosted by Lele's terrain (we'll get there) and Knock Off to get rid of annoying defensive Pokémon's items such as Mew's Leftovers or Toxapex's Black Sludge, amongst other things.
Landorus-Therian @ Rockium Z
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
Landorus works both as a rocker and a stallbreaker, and is effective at both, checking things like Mega Pinsir which possesses priority moves or Dugtrio, which would otherwise trap and kill Gallade if it still has its Focus Sash intact. Earthquake works as the mandatory STAB move for Landorus, while Stone Edge covers switch-ins like Zard Y, and gives Continental Crush a whooping 180 BSP. Also, if able, Landorus can set up a Swords Dance against some physical attackers thanks to Intimidate and its respectable physical bulk. This works notably well against stall teams, getting past Celesteela and Skarmory (if it doesn't run Whirlwind). I decided to run Jolly to outspeed things that may want to come in into Landorus like Kyurem-B with its ice-type moves, and then dealing massive damage with Cont. Crush.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
The special wallbreaker, Tapu Lele works fine in conjunction with Gallade, providing it with Psychic Terrain to protect it against priority moves, getting rid of things Gallade can't touch like Mega Sableye and boosting its Zen Headbutts, while Gallade can check the Dark-types that Lele can't touch. Psyshock is helpful against Pokémon like Chansey that would otherwise tank any hit, while HP Fire is to check Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, since both of them can be a nuisance to Gallade without a boost.
Greninja (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Spikes
- Hydro Pump
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Beam
Since this is a fairly offensive team, Spikes support would also be really helpful for it, and Greninja is the best option for a Spikes setter, since it also has a good offensive pressure overall. Gunk Shot is run to check Tapu Fini, since it's a common defogger, and hazard stacking is really useful for this team. Ice Beam works as coverage, dealing with Garchomp and scarfed Latios if it decides to defog before attacking.
Bisharp (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
The Gallade-Bisharp core is really good, and in this team is no exception, especially with some of the Pokémon that Bisharp is partnered with. First and foremost, Defiant helps out a lot in this team with hazard stacking, making defoggers like Latios and Fini, as well as Intimidate users like Landorus (+1 Sucker Punch knocks out offensive variants of Landorus) be more wary of switching in. While Psychic Terrain makes Sucker Punch useless, it also works by protecting Bisharp against Mach Punch from Pokémon like Breloom or even Conkeldurr. Iron Head and Knock Off work both as STAB moves, with Swords Dance to further boost Bisharp's attack stat. And also, some of its weaknesses are covered by the other Pokémon in the team (ground by Lando, fire by Gren and fighting by Lele).
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Trick
The only thing missing in this team was a revenge killer, and Latios was my first thought. Choice Scarf lets it outspeed most of the unboosted meta, while having powerful attacks in Draco Meteor and Psyshock. Trick helps it cripple defensive Pokémon like Celesteela, Toxapex and Clef, to name a few, as well as offensive Pokémon that rely on their coverage moves, set-up moves or items like Zygarde, Mew and Tangrowth. Lastly, Defog works as a little hazard control, although it also may be detrimental for my team, given it relies on both rocks and Spikes.
Some threats to this team that I've found out are:
- Scarf Chomp: Garchomp can revenge kill most of my mons if Lati loses its Choice Scarf, and even then has to risk a Draco Meteor missing.
- Mew: This mon is the reason I decided to give Bisharp a Lum Berry instead of something like a Life Orb or a Dread Plate. Its natural bulk makes it hard to take down, and can cripple Lando, Gallade and Bisharp with a WoW.
- Weavile: Weavile is faster than most of my mons, and half of my team is weak to Ice-type moves.
- Tapu Bulu: Since the only "counter" to Bulu would be Bisharp, and it has no bulk whatsoever, Bulu can somewhat be problematic, especially if it sets up an SD.
That's pretty much it. I hope you liked my team. Any and all criticism is appreciated!