Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I would like to introduce you guys to a new core I have recently thought of: Clefable + Dugtrio! Dugtrio can come in when Clefable is forced out and not only counter some threats to Clefable, but trap them as well. There is things the core needs to deal with, so of course I will be making a team around these two. Anyways, let's move on to the team!
THE TEAM
Clefable is my favorite Fairy type to use and is an excellent LO sweeper with Magic Guard. It has a fairly interesting and wide movepool that improves its matchup against Pokemon like Ferrothorn, Toxapex, Excadrill, etc. Recovery is excellent on Clefable since it's also immune to Toxic and SR, making this the LO attacker of the team.
Dugtrio is a great Pokemon that can deal with Clefable threats such as specially defensive Pokemon, Poison types, Steel types and Fire types, all while trapping them. It also has great access to moves like Stone Edge, Reversal, Sucker Punch, etc. Dugtrio struggles greatly against Corviknight, which Clefable can use Flamethrower/Thunderbolt (Iron Head is a problem if Corviknight is running it, though.) This core is atleast capable of trapping/forcing out certain Pokemon.
Seismitoad is a great Stealth Rock setter and a great counter to Rotom Heat/Wash and other Water Pokemon such as Dracovish. It's also one of the few Pokemon that get Toxic which makes it fun to use. It's also one of the best counters to rain teams.
Corviknight has a great Steel/Flying typing which allows it to check most Fairy type Pokemon and is a great Defogger. Thanks to its typing, it can resist many of the teams weaknesses such as Seismitoad being weak to Grass. It can also pivot out with U-Turn if an opponent is trying to force out your Corviknight. It can also synergize well with Seismitoad in a way.
Rotom Heat is a great Volt Switch user and I chose it over Rotom Wash because it can add a threat to Ferrothorn and also resists Fairy types. Overheat is also a great 130 BP move that can leave a dent in things that dont resist it over Rotom Wash's Hydro Pump. It might have to be careful switching it to Gyarados, though, as Rotom is still weak to Waterfall. It can resist all of Gdarms attacks, making it a good check to it.
Galar Darmanitan is a great choice to put on any offensive team. It's one of the best Choice Scarf users in the tier with an attack-boosting ability and has great coverage and even has access to U-Turn. Since the removal of Dynamax, it can no longer deal with HP boosted Pokemon making Darmanitan a monster.
IN-TEAM DEPTH
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt
- Moonlight
Clefable is a great LO sweeper with a great STAB move in Moonblast, Flamethrower to beat Steel types, and Thunderbolt to do damage to Toxapex and OHKO Gyarados. Moonlight helps Clefable recover more damage as ii's immune to SR and Toxic. 60 speed EVs also help it outspeed certain Pokemon.
Dugtrio @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Reversal
- Stone Edge
Dugtrio has a great STAB move in Earthquake that can hit lots of Pokemon that are trapped by it. Sucker Punch can hit Dragapult and kill off Focus Sash Pokemon like Excadrill. Reversal is a filler option, and Stone Edge can hit Flying Types (It has trouble dealing with Corviknight, though.)
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Seismitoad is a great bulky Stealth Rock setter and can use Toxic to cripple alot of Pokemon. Scald is also used to burn physical Pokemon which can help the team. Earth Power is used as STAB that could deal damage to Pokemon like Aegislash or Toxapex. Physically defensive seismitoad is ran so it can eat a few attacks before hopefully wearing them down with Scald.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Def / 180 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- U-turn
- Roost
- Brave Bird
This Pokemon has excellent bulk, allowing it to be a great Defogger. It's only weak to Fire and Electric types, which Dugtrio and Seismitoad already counter. Brave Bird is a filler option that can deal damage to Grass types (theres not too much in the meta as of now) and bug types like Centiskorch. It can also use U-Turn which allows it to pivot out after a Defog and a great recovery move in Roost.
Rotom-Heat @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 224 HP / 56 Def / 12 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sleep Talk
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Rest
Rotom Heat is a great pivotter with a decent typing in Fire/Electric and the ability Levitate and resists Fairy types. It does suffer from Stealth Rocks, so Heavy Duty Boots is used so it dosent have to worry about Corviknight debugging them out. Rest talk is a good option for recovery as it can pivot away with sleep talk while it is resting. Rotom heat likes to Overheat its food and as a result instantly OHKOs Ferrothorn as people now run physically defensive sets nowadays. The spread allows it to be bulky while outspending certain Pokemon at the same time.
Darmanitan-Galar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Finally, we have our BIG GREAT TROLL Darmanitan who is a great Choice Scarf user and can revenge kill alot of Pokemon. Now that Dynamax is gone, this Pokemon is even more of a threat when Stealth Rocks is up. This Pokemon usually comes in when the team is weakened, as Gorilla Tactics boosts its power. Earthquake can kill Pokemon like Toxaprex and Aegislash. Flare Blitz can also kill Steel type Pokemon as well as itself. Icicle Crash is STAB and can do good damage to neutral Pokemon like Clefable. It can also pivot out with U-Turn.
Well, that's the team folks! I think this core is good because Clefable and Dugtrio are very different from eachother and have an interesting typi ng eachother in Fairy and Ground. I hope you enjoyed this team and feel free to give feedback!
REPLAYS
POKEPASTE
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Rotom-Heat some more defensive investment. So far its your only capable switch in to Darmanitan-G, which is a huge problem for your team otherwise. Right now, with your investment, Rotom-H has a 99.8% chance to be 3KO'd by Darmanitan. That might not seem like such a bad thing, but given the immediacy of Darmantian's power, getting those Icicle Crashes off is not a terrible difficult thing for it to do. Furthermore, I'm not so sure I'm sold on Rest-Talk Rotom, since that seems like a big set-up bad for Excadrill / Dracovish. If you really want to run Rest then I think ChestoRest would be more consistent- and you can still run WoW/T-bolt- though you miss out SR immunity. Otherwise, I would consider this set:
Dugtrio from Jolly to Adamant? It still outspeeds anything relevant you might want to trap (barring Cinderace) and it guarantees the 2HKO vs. Toxapex and opposing LO Clefable. There's nothing wrong Jolly at per se, but you have to weigh the positives vs. negatives, so if you value trapping Cinderace + other faster threats, you might want to stick with it, though Adamant may push some rolls in your favor. 
