Introduction
Hi, most people know me as Tuff Tuff, the Bot Guy, or more commonly, "Idk who this is." I've been around the Monotype community since Gen 7, but I wasn’t really involved and mostly laddered for fun.
Recently, I’ve gotten more involved in competitive play and have actually been enjoying it. I’ve participated in PSPL, MWP, NDMPL, and some other minor tournaments, competing even in casual ladder tournaments.
In February, I won the Ladder Tournament using my RestTalk Goltres team, but it felt somewhat unreliable due to having to gamble on Sleep Talk rolls in certain situations. So, I tried to refine the idea of running Goltres Flying with a different approach.
I then went on to win the Monthly Ladder Tournament in March with this team, peaking at 1752 (I’m lazy, so I just laddered as far as necessary :x).
Team Building Process
The main idea behind RestTalk Goltres was to have something that could handle some of Flying’s biggest threats - mainly bulky NP Gholdengo and Specs Fluttermane so it can't lock itself into Shadow Ball for free. However, this time, I opted for a more offensive approach, using it as a breaker that weakens the opponent’s team while still maintaining decent bulk to take some hits for the team. I noticed that a lot of Teams have Trouble Dealing with this Pokemon and often rely on Status Moves to deal with it, so running Substitute to use Pokemon like Toxapex or Gliscor as Setup Fodder works very well.
The Rest of the Team is fairly Standardish, Covering the common Weaknesses of each other. Gliscor as a Electric Immunity, Corviknight for Physical Ice Attacks, Articuno for Special Ice Attacks. Dragonite Covers or at least set ups on Fire or Water Moves making them less Spammable.
The combination of SD Gliscor and NP Moltres-Galar is great at breaking through defensive cores. Moltres-Galar pressures Steel-types like Corviknight and Skarmory, while Gliscor can take on special walls that would otherwise stop Moltres, allowing for an effective offensive synergy while having a strong defensive Backbone.
The Team
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Atk / 248 Def
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Defog
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Roost
While Leftovers is generally the better item, Rocky Helmet is necessary to chip down threats like Triple Axle Meowscarada, Scarf or Banded Urshifu, and other physical attackers. This chip damage helps bring them into range for Dragonite’s Extreme Speed.
Corviknight runs 12 Attack EVs to guarantee an OHKO on Fluttermane with Iron Head, though it still doesn’t reliably tank a Specs Moonblast. However, in some cases, this trade-off is justified. Body Press is another option I considered, as it allows Corviknight to punish Bisharp on a predicted Defog switch-in while still dealing solid damage to Ice-types like Mamoswine and Protean Meowscarada. U-turn is a must-have for me, as it helps maintain momentum in the Steel matchup by allowing Corviknight to pivot out when Gholdengo switches in.
To optimize positioning in Flying mirrors, Corviknight runs 30 Speed IVs, ensuring it moves after opposing Corviknight and preserves momentum with a slow U-turn.
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 44 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bleakwind Storm
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Tornadus-Therian is an incredibly strong Pokémon for this type of build, so the classic Assault Vest set is the obvious choice. To avoid dealing with Hurricane’s accuracy issues, I opted for Bleakwind Storm. While it misses out on a few key KOs against threats like Ogerpon-H and Ogerpon-W, the improved reliability is a trade-off I’m willing to accept.
Tornadus-T performs well against many of Flying’s biggest threats, including Swords Dance Urshifu (if Bleakwind Storm connects), Specs Latios, and Specs Fluttermane, threatening them with Knock Off or chipping them down with U-turn. Heat Wave is especially useful in the Steel matchup, helping against Swords Dance Scizor. Knock Off is invaluable for removing key items like Rocky Helmet, Leftovers, Black Sludge, Eviolite, and damage-boosting items. U-turn is essential for maintaining momentum.
With 248 HP and an Assault Vest, Tornadus-T can survive a wide range of powerful special attacks, including Specs Greninja’s Ice Beam, Specs Fluttermane’s Moonblast, Thunderbolt, and Power Gem, as well as Specs Latios’ Ice Beam and Thunderbolt. This bulk makes it an excellent scout, allowing it to identify opposing sets while maintaining longevity through Regenerator.
A Timid nature with 216 Speed EVs lets Tornadus-T outspeed Iron Valiant, making it a revenge killer for the team as its fastest Pokémon. The remaining 44 Special Attack EVs are unfortunately necessary to secure important damage thresholds against threats like Ogerpon and Great Tusk, though I would have preferred to invest in Defense to better handle priority moves like Scizor’s Bullet Punch or Urshifu’s Aqua Jet.
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 204 SpD / 56 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Roost
- Substitute
- Haze
Articuno is a Pokémon I have mixed feelings about - I like it, but I hate using it. I was in denial for a while, but after my Specially Defensive Corviknight kept getting frozen, and since I refuse to run Covert Cloak, I finally decided to use Articuno as my primary switch-in for powerful Ice-type attacks from threats like Specs Greninja, Specs Kyurem, and Specs Latios.
Freeze-Dry is a fantastic move that hits a wide range of types effectively, making it especially valuable in the Rain matchup and against Pokémon like Landorus, Gastrodon, Swampert, Walking Wake, and Ogerpon-W. Substitute allows Articuno to dodge status moves and improves its ability to PP stall in certain matchups. Haze is crucial for shutting down setup sweepers, particularly Calm Mind Primarina and opposing Moltres-Galar.
The given Speed EVs allow Articuno to outspeed Jolly Azumarill and anything that speed creeps it, such as the common Archaludon set.
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 32 Def / 224 SpD / 8 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Protect
All Jokes aside, Gliscor helps in a lot of difficult Matchups, like Poison(obv), Steel, Flying Mirror, and even Ghost. I went with Knock off over Facade, just because it deals a bit better with Ghost Types, especially Bulky Balloon Gholdengo or hitting a Latios Switchin from a Dragon Player. I went with the Sample Spread, which is fairly Fast with a Jolly Nature, outspeeding most Gholdengo Sets.
Its also the only Electric Immunity for tge Team, and can take on Archaludon if needed, 1v1 CM Hatterene and can take most Status Moves for the Team, as well as Knock Offs, to preserve important Items, like HDBs.
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
I call this mon my failsafe because, with such a defensive team, something is bound to go wrong. Dragonite plays multiple roles here. Since we don’t have a Scarfer, Extreme Speed serves as our primary revenge-killing tool, allowing us to pick off threats like Meowscarada and Greninja once they’ve been chipped down by the defensive core.
Dragonite’s typing synergizes well with the rest of the team, making Water- and Fire-type moves much harder to spam without the risk of giving it a free setup opportunity. It’s also crucial for dealing with dangerous setup sweepers like Swords Dance Urshifu, Quiver Dance Volcarona, Swords Dance Bisharp, and Swords Dance Samurott.
Beyond that, Dragonite is an incredible late-game sweeper against offensive teams or once the opponent’s defensive core has been worn down by our own Pokémon. The given Speed investment allows it to outspeed Darkrai and Weavile at +1, while the additional bulk lets me pretend I EV’d it for a specific scenario if it lives something.
Ability: Berserk
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Fiery Wrath
- Nasty Plot
- Hurricane
Now for the star of the show (I guess?) - Galarian Moltres. Surprisingly, it has solid defensive stats, comparable to Articuno’s bulk, but lacks longevity due to the absence of reliable recovery outside of Rest or Pain Split. I opted for a Modest max Special Attack set to maximize its offensive pressure against opposing teams. Substitute allows it to set up on several Pokémon, such as opposing Gliscor, Archaludon, Corviknight, and Toxapex.
152 HP gives it decent bulk, allowing it to survive any attack from Specs Latios or Specs Greninja’s Ice Beam, while also ensuring its Substitute can tank a Dragon Tail from Hisuian Goodra for example.
104 Speed lets it outspeed standard Gliscor sets, preventing it from being hit by Toxic, while also outspeeding uninvested base 100s and neutral max-speed base 70s.
For now, I prefer Leftovers over Heavy-Duty Boots due to the prevalence of Poison- and Flying-type teams on the ladder, which often provide free Defogs with For the item, I prefer Leftovers over Heavy-Duty Boots for added longevity. This is particularly useful because the team already has a reliable Defogger in Corviknight, so the risk of Stealth Rocks isn’t as significant. The Leftovers recovery helps Moltres-Galar stay in the game longer, especially when it is forced to use Substitute multiple times.
Pain Split is an alternative option, but I currently run Hurricane to better handle Grass-, Dark-, and Fighting-types that would otherwise check Moltres and/or Gliscor.
Moltres-Galar’s combination of offensive pressure, utility with Substitute, and ability to pivot in and out makes it a fantastic choice for this team. It pairs especially well with SD Gliscor and Dragonite, since it can help break through defensive walls like Archaludon, Skarmory, Corviknight, that would otherwise wall the rest of the team
Bisharp is quite annoying, since it is fairly Bulky, punishes your defog, while you are fairly weak to Rocks, so you are forced to always U-Turn with Corviknight. Eviolite Versions dont get 2hkot by EQ from Gliscor and do huge damage to the team.
This cat especially when banded is very scary, it naturally outspeeds the Team, while ignoring your Multiscale on Dragonite with Triple axle. Usually you try to chip it passively with Helmet and pray it gets in range for an Extreme Speed. But if people know you are Rocky Helmet on Corv, they usually can click Knock Off freely until the Helmet is gone.
(252 Atk Choice Band Protean Meowscarada Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 248 HP / 248+ Def Corviknight: 185-219 (46.3 - 54.8%) -- approx. 62.1% chance to 2HKO) now imagine rocks being up
While it cant spam Shadowball freely with Moltres hanging around, a lot of the time it is a go to Switchin into Moltres since fiery wrath doesnt 2hko it. Moonblast gets kind of free, since PhyDef Corviknight doesnt tank it too well. Knocking it with Gliscor/Torn takes away a bit of its power but lets it freely Change attacks inbetween Moonblast/Thunderbolt/Power Gem. Not playing around it carefully can be quite problematic.
That demon can be quite troublesome for flying. Often you have to give up your Multiscale early, because SD is very free into the Team, and it can easily heal up to full with bitterblade. Bleakwind Storm + Knock Off can deal with it as a lead, but you dont even have Rocks to break its sash early or something like toxic on Gliscor to Status it.
DD Dragapult in the Late Game can be Troublesome, since you lack the Power to 1Hko it and it can pick off your weakened Team quite easily
SD + Bolt Beam Coverage? Yeah that stuff is Tuff to deal with. Just hope its not Shuca and try to chip it with Corvs Helmet and Play a bit around it before killing it with Gliscor/Dragonite EQ
SD Shifu, can be troublesome, but Scarf or banded too (a bit more managable with Helmet + Dragonite), but SD Shifu is a bit like, pray you hit Bleakwind Storm.
Tanky af, Boltbeam Coverage with a high Chance to Para you? no thank you. You cant really kill it, at least we dont run Toxic Gliscor so it gets Poison Heal with trace too... Main way to deal with it is Pressure Stalling it with Cuno.... Fun.
Not very common. But dont act like i didnt warn you, someone is running fast Haze Articuno for Gliscor, which kinda shutsdown your whole Team, even if you knock its HDBs you cant punish it since you dont have Rocks.
Banded Mamoswine is scary, just because it can Flinch you with crash and has a strong Priority Ice Shard too. You can play around it, but its still scary.
Sub Bulk Up Smack Down Eq. Well its a specific Set to deal with Flying so... Yeah go next
Nasty Plot Ice Beam + Thunder can be annoying to deal with since its faster than your whole Team, and it hits hard. Even just Ice Beam + NP can be sufficient to cause you Problems since the rest of Dark Teams, usually do very well into Flying in General
SD Samurott can do work, weaken Corviknight for Meowscarada, while you need to chip it for Dnite to kill it + Sucker does Chip Torn fairly good.
Most Gholdengo Sets should be managable, just Full Speed Nasty Plot will be a bit scary since +2 Make it Rain does kill Gliscor from full and is a roll on Moltres-G from Full and usually you aren't full life since Steel can just setup rocks and go Gholdengo on the Corviknight defog.
Can be quite difficult due to Kleavor and Volcarona, Kleavor can Spam Stone Axe, while Volcarona forces the Corviknight to switch giving it an opportunity to setup, at the end of the day you chip down Kleavor with Corviknight and kill Volcarona with Dragonite (or Gliscor depending on the Volcarona set).
The most difficult Matchup imo. Scarf Meowscarada is somewhat managable, while Banded can cause a lot of Trouble. You cant really defog in this Matchup either and Ting-Lu can just Whirlwind you for progress. Gren isnt a huge issue, but some Builds run NP Ice Beam Darkrai which is Tuff to play around. SD Samurott can be threatening too, the Match Up basically comes down to Chip everything until you can Clean with Dragonite. (Which still is hard vs Mandibuzz/Sableye
Dragon is a fairly good Matchup. SD Gliscor does put in a lot of Work, often catching Latios with a Knock off. (T1 Gliscor SD, vs Archaludon SR, T2 Gliscor Knock into Latios Switch). Outside of Latios and Kyurem, nothing really beats Gliscor 1v1 on Dragon and you have good Switchins into them with Articuno + Tornadus-T. Moltres can help you take down Archaludon early, or even fish for the Kill on Latios, since it can tank a hit.
Electric matchup is fine. You have to be mindful of SD Iron Hands with a shuca Berry, but outside of that Gliscor kind of deals with it, and Dragonite can lategame clean too. Rotom-W is a bit annoying, but you can just Pressure Stall Hydropumps with Cuno and you will be fine.
Fairy matchup is good for you. Iron Valiant mixed can be annoying but its slower as Tornadus-T and it cant deal huge amounts of damage anyway, Primarina gets 1v1t by Articuno, Articuno can Haze the BD Azumarill and you have Dragonites Extreme Speed as well as Corviknights Rocky Helmet for Chip. Hatterene gets 1v1t by Gliscor too.
Fighting has some scary Mons and this Matchup relys heavily on Tornadus-T hitting his Bleakwind Storms vs Iron Valiant and Urshifu. SD Iron Hands again with Shuca Berry is Threatening but Managable (chipping it with Corv/Knocking with Torn for the Berry)
Rare Lilligants with Ice Spinner + Close Combat and Victory Dance, just 6-0 this, but thats just a general Flying Team issue
Fire is a bit Scary, but it hasnt really found its Build yet. Ogerpon-H is scary, since it deals Huge Damage in the Sun and ignores Multiscale on Dragonite dealing a lot of Damage with Play Rough. You just have to be Mindful when to Sac Articuno and Corvknight. Dragonite + Gliscor usually just deal with it (+ Tornadus for Ogerpon)
You have a very favorable Matchup unless they run fast Haze Articuno. They dont really have a lot to deal with Gliscor anyway and Molter-Galar can setup on a lot of their passive mons (and flinch Articuno with Fiery Wrath)
Ghost has a lot of threats in Specs Fluttermane, SD Ceruledge and DD Dragapult. But its still fine due to Moltres-Galar having a blast in this Matchup and as long as you dont get Lategame swept by Pult you should be good.
Grass can be quite Rough, with the Ogerpon Versions and Meowscarad as well as Lilligant with Victory Dance. But Tornadus-T does a lot in that Matchup, U-Turning with Corviknight and Chipping everything for Dnite in the end.
Ground Matchup should be pretty good, unless you get Flinched by Banded Mamoswine. The more Defensive Versions with Smack Down + EQ are a bit harder to deal with. Gravity Lando always Struggles in that Matchup because you have Tornadus-T and Gliscor who can stall out the Gravity Turns anyway.
Ice... Well usually the onslaught of Strong Ice Attacks from Kyurem and Weavile is enough to deal with it. Maybe they even have a Bellydrum Cetitan (behind screens)
You dont even have SR for this Matchup. Its quite Terrible (But not very relevant).
Normal is an okay Matchup. Porygon 2 is annoying to deal with, but not very common. Ursaluna is a bit Scary because it can claim some Kills before it dies. Ice Beam Terapagos can be a bit of an issue, but you can Chip it down slowly.
Poison Matchup is good. We have Gliscor. But its an annoying Matchup to deal with, especially without Rocks. You could Run Facade Gliscor to punish them more, but you will break them eventually. Torns Longevity with Regen, + threatening Weezing out helps a lot as well as perma Switchin Gliscor. Dealing with Iron Moth might be the Biggest Issue but thats about it. Sub Goltres also slowly chips the Team down and can setup on a lot of poison teams as long as there is no Unaware Clodsire
I barely faced this, but i guess its fine? You have Strong Knock Offs with SD Gliscor, Tornadus can U-Turn/Knock Off freely and Moltres-Galar which can spam Strong Fiery Wraths. Dont think its much of an Issue.
Rock is a bit scary, with Strong Rock Moves from Iron Boulder and Ogerpon-C as well as Arcanine. Killing Gargancl is also quite annoying but i guess SD Gliscor somewhat can match it?
Steel Struggles into this Team, Gliscor is scary for Steel. Galarian-Moltres does threaten Hoodraless Steel versions a lot, while its rough for them to Preserve the Balloon on Treads/Dengo/Heatran since you will U-Turn a lot with Corviknight and Tornadus.
You just have to be mindful of NP-Gholdengo and accept that you will play with Rocks up and U-Turn with Corvi every Time.
Also Bulk Up Max SpDef Corvknight Semi Beats this. Maybe gets PP Stalled by Cuno if they arent careful.
Since Water has Multiple Viable Builds im gonna Address each one
Rain Water will Struggle a lot since its Rain Abuser cant really break the core of this Team. Barraskewda gets Chipped by Rocky Helmet into Extreme Speed Range and is Setup Fodder for Dragonite in general. Articuno takes on any Special Attacker like Kingdra or Basculegion in Combination with Tornadus-T.
Freeze Dry is usually very free too in that Matchup, and in the End you just get everything low enough for Dragonite Sweep.
Also we have Accurate Hurricanes from Moltres Yay!
Balance Water does Struggle too, pex is basically useless and is just Setup Fodder, Specs Primarina can be scary, but Idk if anyone runs this. Ogerpon can be a bit scary, but at the same Time you have Dragonite and Torn to beat it. Articuno can Spam Freeze Dry into that team and nothing really wants to take it, while it takes on Special Attackers.
SD Urshifu can be threatening but well we have Torn.
Stall Water is ... Yeah Stall Water. Its mostly just a pressure Stall thing. But since Dondozo isnt as Common anymore you can beat it decently with SD Gliscor and NP Moltres. And even Dondozo losese to Articuno. Just bring some time...
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2323130814-29ygexcmwdi34ygi3vh8uxw03q6x1g1pw?p2 vs HO Ghost
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2330846612-tvm1i4t6uyrafc22i95jegdk7vg6f0opw Flying Mirror
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2330954496-gqiboyd0lr1wyratr77lhuon44cc1hppw vs Balance Water
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2331337636 vs Kommo Dragon
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2331911645 vs Hoodraless Steel
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2332284333-x91p7eucrtw428hg39vblglibkodhqrpw vs Normal
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2330846612-tvm1i4t6uyrafc22i95jegdk7vg6f0opw Flying Mirror
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2330954496-gqiboyd0lr1wyratr77lhuon44cc1hppw vs Balance Water
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2331337636 vs Kommo Dragon
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2331911645 vs Hoodraless Steel
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2332284333-x91p7eucrtw428hg39vblglibkodhqrpw vs Normal
Conclusion
This team is far from an easy-to-use build—you'll need to familiarize yourself with matchups, plan ahead, and preserve your key Pokémon carefully. It performs well in the current metagame, especially with its ability to wear down defensive cores and pressure common threats. Plus, it’s a great way to make people hate Gliscor even more!
That said, the team does have some glaring weaknesses. The lack of hazards can make progress difficult in certain matchups, particularly since Dragonite thrives on chip damage to secure late-game sweeps. However, I feel that running Stealth Rock on Gliscor would waste a lot of its offensive potential, so I opted against it.
Despite these challenges, this team offers a new take on Flying, utilizing Galarian Moltres and SD Gliscor as core breakers while maintaining a solid defensive backbone. There’s room for adjustments - maybe tweaks to item choices or Spreads - but overall, I think it’s still very solid.
Feedback is always welcome!
This team is far from an easy-to-use build—you'll need to familiarize yourself with matchups, plan ahead, and preserve your key Pokémon carefully. It performs well in the current metagame, especially with its ability to wear down defensive cores and pressure common threats. Plus, it’s a great way to make people hate Gliscor even more!
That said, the team does have some glaring weaknesses. The lack of hazards can make progress difficult in certain matchups, particularly since Dragonite thrives on chip damage to secure late-game sweeps. However, I feel that running Stealth Rock on Gliscor would waste a lot of its offensive potential, so I opted against it.
Despite these challenges, this team offers a new take on Flying, utilizing Galarian Moltres and SD Gliscor as core breakers while maintaining a solid defensive backbone. There’s room for adjustments - maybe tweaks to item choices or Spreads - but overall, I think it’s still very solid.
Feedback is always welcome!
