The Team
Proof of Peak
1. Introduction Proof of Peak
Been a while but I'm back with another RMT. This is a cool bulky offense featuring mixed LO chomp + choice band melmetal. The idea behind this core is that chomp baits in many of melmetal's most prevalent checks, including buzzwole, corviknight, and skarmory, and threatens to KO them or do significant damage with its special moves. This team also features what I believe to be a fun and underrated threat in bulk up zarude. Without further ado let's get into the team composition.
2. Sets
Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
The mon and the set that the team is built around, mixed LO chomp. This particular set is able to bait it and do big damage to mons that would normally check garchomp, such as buzzwole, corviknight, skarmory, and physdef landorus-t. It's also a very effective stealth rock setter, as it threatens the most prevalent defogger in the tier, corviknight, with fire blast, and threatens other defoggers such as torn and lando-t with draco meteor. The four moves listed are the only moves I would ever run on this particular set. I chose hasty nature to better take hits from special attacking defoggers but naive is just as viable in my opinion, matter of preference.
Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Ice Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Superpower
A really strong breaker, especially paired with mixed chomp. I believe the four moves listed give you the best overall coverage vs the metagame. Ice punch lets you hit lando-t, chomp, and zapdos for big damage, thunder punch hits pex, slowbro, and metal birds, and superpower hits ferrothorn, magnezone, and opposing melmetal. I personally wouldn't use other moves but earthquake is another move to consider for chople magnezone. 108 speed is one point faster than hippowdon, allowing you to flinch it down with double iron bash. Rest of the evs go into spdef since melmetal already has colossal HP and defense. This helps it take hits much better from threats such as tapu lele, zadpos, and torn-t.
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 168 Spe
Timid Nature
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Defog
I decided for my next slot I would need hazard control, a pivot, and speed control. Torn-t fits all three of these and provides great utility overall, as well as a check to kartana and rillaboom. Heat wave is the preferred first move over hurricane as it is more accurate and still hits both rilla and kart, as well as being able to hit ferrothorn and melmetal. U-turn allows it to pivot and get breakers onto the field, while knock off provides great utility as almost nothing likes to switch into a knock off. Defog is obviously for hazard control. 168 speed creeps base 110's like gengar and the latis, rest of the evs are dumped into defense to better check rilla and kart. Icy wind for garchomp is an option over u-turn or knock off, but is generally an inferior option overall.
Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 124 SpA / 120 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Sludge Bomb
- Flamethrower
- Scald
Slowking-g gives us a special wall, tspikes absorber, and future sight to aid melmetal in breaking. Once garchomp has eliminated steel types that may stand in melmetal's way of breaking, future sight + banded double iron bash is incredibly difficult to switch into. Slowking-g also form a double regenerator core with torn-t, and gives us a powerful scouting tool that can live a hit vs mons like tapu lele, blacephalon, and dragapult. The ev spread is taken off of the smogon strategy dex. It is standard for AV slowking-g but I honestly don't know what it's for (lol). It's a good mix of spdef to be able to sponge hits and spa to make slowking-g's terrific coverage that much more threatening. Future sight and sludge bomb are required, I chose flamethrower in the next slot for ferro, scizor, and bisharp, and scald in the last slot as a midground for lando-t, chomp, and heatran.
Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Psyshock
Main wincon and speed control for the team. Just like melmetal, it benefits from chomp's ability to remove corviknight. It also appreciates melmetal's ability to bait in ferrothorn and heatran and KO them with superpower. Additionally, it synergizes well with slowking-g by boosting the power of future sight. Psychic terrain makes scarf lele incredibly difficult to revenge kill once its checks are eliminated or worn down. Standard moveset on this one, didn't feel the need to add future sight since I already have it on slowking-g, and focus blast is used over thunderbolt since this team is pretty reliable at chipping or KO'ing corviknight, and the team does not struggle with slowking.
Zarude @ Leftovers
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Power Whip
- Darkest Lariat
- Jungle Healing
With one mon to go I realized my team had both no ghost resist and no water resist. Zarude fills both of those roles while providing a strong wincon vs fatter teams. In addition, it appreciates garchomp's ability to remove corviknight, buzzwole, and skarmory. Max attack is preferred over a bulkier spread to allow it to 2hko unaware clefable with power whip and 1v1 toxapex with the combination of bulk up and jungle healing. Darkest lariat comes in handy vs cheesy mons like cosmic power mew and acid armor reuniclus.
3. Threats
Major:
SD Chomp - Ironically the mon that threatens this team most is garchomp. To beat it, play aggresively to not let it SD + Scale shot because at that point you're in a very bad spot. Take advantage of the fact that melmetal lives an earthquake, and always attack it if you're in vs one. Zarude can sometimes 1v1 non fire fang chomp as well. Going hard lele is also an option if you're predicting an SD.
Melmetal - Even more ironically the mon that threatens this team second most is melmetal. The team does not have a comfortable switch, often your own melmetal is your best bet. Chomp can revenge non AV with fire blast, and its always wise to knock it with torn if given the opportunity. Not letting it in for free with slowking-g by utilizing flamethrower is ideal as well.
Minor:
Bulky Volcarona - Can be dealt with so long as chomp and lele are healthy, but this can be difficult in some matchups. Try to not let it get to +2 speed and you should be fine.
Blacephalon - The team doesn't have a great switch but slowking-g can be used to scout any attack once. Keeping rocks up also limits it which is not hard to do with this team.Tapu lele - Again, best bet is to scout with slowking-g and switch accordingly depending on the move. Melmetal can take any hit reasonably well except fblast, and slowking-g can take anything well except psyshock.
Hawlucha - This team doesn't really have counterplay to lucha after an sd so make sure you play aggressively to not let it sd for free, or even not let it pop its seed by resetting terrain with lele.
4. Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1407463246-54x7il24x5jx4xq65cbym9nzabj8iqppw
This is somehow the only replay I have saved but I'll add to this post as I save more.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1420224648-2p63hngv82rle42s9f6zfq2e1oas9uepw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1420227031-9l7m2bqy2yi6gzvf7530cik36zrj50zpw
Might be one of my best replays ever LOL
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1420801242
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1420804301-dhfkz8ra6fi7kv26xkiy4c739yj5gcfpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1420818303
If you got this far thanks for reading! I really enjoyed using this team and I hope you do too if you decide to try it out. Pokepaste is attached below and as always if you have any questions please ask!
https://pokepast.es/70a51ffd7dd5cb93
S/O Hypertonix
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