Hello again everyone,
Generation nine has been off to an interesting (and somewhat controversial) start, and all in less than a week no less.
My forum presence so far has been minimal apart from my vote in the SS OU Melmetal suspect test and my recent SS OU essay-of-an-RMT I made as a goodbye to generation eight, and I have often taken many months breaks between my stints on Showdown! However, with this new generation and going forth, I hope to have more of a presence on this site (both Showdown! and Smogon) and I look forward to experiencing this metagame with all of you and contributing to it in some lasting way. With that being said, let's get on to this RMT (which I promise will be much shorter than my last).
The new games have brought a lot of changes to the meta, for both good and bad. And the tiering council have certainly had their hands full with discussions, decisions, and enactments. Among these are the likelihood of bans for both
and 
, two of the strongest pokémon in the meta right now (especially now that 
and 
have already been banned). Aside from some initial testing in the first few hours after Showdown! updated with the new mons, the team I have been solely laddering with utilizes both and ; I present that to you now.
The team:
https://pokepast.es/b92b8ef6e4619880
I originally made this team to use and abuse tailwind, as I was quite excited for the new wind abilities. This was the team: https://pokepast.es/e1dd10fb79ac4d24
Unfortunately once the pokémon were available on Showdown! I had the horrible discovery that neither ability work when the pokémon switches in while Tailwind is active (from the leaks it had seemed, or perhaps had made me hope, it would work). I still think the pokémon are somewhat viable, and will perhaps become moreso once the meta changes (with Home and potential DLCs). As the team now is different I will speak about the differences last.
The team is clearly a Rain team; as such Pelipper is a must.
Palafin is perhaps the star of the team; an incredibly powerful wallbreaker in Hero form and even more so with the power boost Rain provides to water moves.
Clodsire is a special tank, a necessity both now and before Flutter Mane was banned.
Corviknight is the physical tank, another necessity with all the Paradox and other powerful pokémon around.
Additionally, with the many sweepers that Corviknight can't take out, Dondozo provides additionally physical defence support.
Lastly, to replace Kilowattrel, Iron Bundle provides the special offence and sweeping capability the rest of the team lacks.
This is my no means an incredibly balanced team, with many checks that need to be approached with caution and tact, and is not very easy to use either.
With that being said, here are the sets and explanations thereof.
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
is of course the Rain setter, with Drizzle as its ability. As such I gave it Damp Rock to extend the weather. I don't actually see this as a necessity as seems to be coming up against more checks and counters as of late, such as 
, 
, and Water Absorb 
, and that frankly the rest of the team doesn't really abuse Rain to a great degree (though they do appreciate it).
never sees use of its Tera as it has a niche defensive role to begin with (mostly pokémon like 
, , and some defencive mons), and doesn't really face situations that warrant using up the team's only tera just to take an
attack.
EVs and Nature (Bold) are allocated almost entirely in HP and Def so as to maximize physical bulk. Pretty standard stuff. The remaining 8 are put in SpA just to give those errant few calcs a bit better odds. I didn't put 4 in Spe because I didn't see the need to outspeed other uninvested base 65s; though perhaps it may be useful to do so, or to remove an IV to get a slower pivot out from them.
As for moves, U-Turn allows to function as a pivot. Surf is 's strongest
move aside from Hydro Pump (yes, does not learn Weather Ball (or Scald for that matter)). Hurricane is of course a strong STAB move that's useful for hitting
pokémon as well as others. And lastly Roost is for recovery; useful in those defencive situations I mentioned.
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
is most notorious for his awesome (I mean that literally) Attack stat. With access to ample priority, and decent bulk and speed, I opted to give him a Choice band and an Adamant nature to maximize his Attack into something truly awful (again, meant literally). After Nature and Band, 's real Attack stat sits at a horrifying 690; and that is not even discussing his moves.
As for Tera,
allows to lose any weaknesses it had as
and gain an additional STAB option. Some instances where this is useful defencively include versus , versus Sucker Punch users such as 
, and versus
or Tera-
pokémon.
Jet Punch is a great priority move appreciates, especially being quite slow compared to the rest of the tier (Also useful for outspeeding 
's Prankster Reflect). Flip Turn allows much-needed pivot capability (especially for a Choiced set), and Wave Crash is to let really dish out damage when he needs to. Close Combat is a great move to provide neutral or super-effective coverage where
is walled. Barring Rain, Close Combat will do equal damage as Wave Crash but without the recoil. A non-STAB CC plus a STAB one can KO 
, and STAB CC does something between 40 and 65 percent to most .
Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
is a very cute and effective special wall. Typically Unaware pokémon are resigned to mediocre stats (see 
and 
), but with 130 HP and 100 SpD and a good typing, is very capable at what he needs to do.
Now I don't run Unaware as's ability. I tried it for a little while but the ability to lose a weakness is huge. One reason why Water Absorb mons are so good is that it usually turns a neutral hit into an immunity. Or Levitate on an a pokémon that would otherwise be weak to
.
Leftovers for passive recovery, and EVs to maximize Special bulk. The Tera type was a holdover from but I put because I figured SpD
would be a good defencive type for this meta. I haven't used it at all either so feel free to use something different and/or more useful. Just in case though, I recommend not using Black Sludge on the off chance of using Tera.
As for moves, Stealth Rock is of course good and fits nowhere else on the team. Toxic is nice for mons like
before they set up, or against a Special attacker that you don't have enough Recover PP to stall out. Earthquake as strong stab and is necessary to damage said attackers or at least break through a Substitute. And lastly of course Recover because of course.
Very weak to physical attacks of course, even opposing. Perhaps it may be helpful to put 4 EVs into Speed just for this match up.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
is the ever-popular (and for good reason) physical wall (though I love his special set). has great typing with decent abilities and stats, and a movepool that leaves nothing more to be desired.
Boots is hardly a necessity with (just as was the case with 
), and Rocky Helmet is great to punish most physical attackers, especially pivots (and makes any match-up with 
a 6v5).
Mirror Armor is great for avoiding defence drops from Crunches and Shadow Balls, and Tera
is if you need to resist
,
, or
attacks. Though often needs to live
attacks, so there may be a better type. I rarely if ever Tera , so take from that what you will. I find that with most purely defencive pokémon, save say 
and 
, that Tera is better suited for more offencive pokémon.
As for EVs, max Def and a magic HP; the Speed was just a benchmark I utilized in gen 8 (don't ask me what it was for), and the remaining 4 into SpD. Impish for Def.
U-Turn once again for pivoting, Roost for recovery, and Defog for dealing with hazards (if annoying
will let you). On the original team I had Tailwind in place of Body Press, and it isn't unhelpful for giving and Speed boosts, but Body Press can be quite helpful versus pokemon like 
or 
instead of having to go fully on the defencive or hope U-Turn does enough damage.
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
To continue the topic of Unaware mons, they are incredibly useful as they ignore most set-up sweepers (and these are especially common right now). Most of the set-up sweepers currently are physical attackers, what
's stat distribution makes him most suited to counter. I went on for paragraphs in my last RMT on the sheer physical bulk of 
(146k); meanwhile, having the third-highest HP of any water type and 11th highest Def, checks in with a physical bulk at an impressive 182k, the second highest after 
(who has about 9% more). (And in contrast, 's special bulk is about 8.5% higher than 's; nothing impressive, but he can still live a decent hit or two.) All-in-all he is very bulky, able to take a physical hit from even the biggest threats. Something like Crunch from a Banded does about 40% or so.
was given Leftovers for passive recovery and maximization of his HP. The EVs maximize his Def and HP as well, with the few extra in SpD. Nature too, like . Tera
on is probably the most useful among the defencive pokémon on this team (only and see more use of theirs); it maintains his resistances to
and
, while covering his weaknesses of
and
. Sure, changing
from a resist to a weakness and adding 2 more isn't perfect but I find it considerably useful. can also change to his Tera type to avoid the extra chip damage from Salt Cure (type change must be before the move hits, not during the effect, in order to reduce the damage, as far as my testing demonstrated. Update: according to this post, this may not be the case!).
has a very limited Status moveset, and a decently large Physical one. For a pokemon with a maximized Defence stat, Body Press is always a good option. Having at least two attacks on every mon is always good, and STAB is even better. For a water move does get Liquidation, but its only 85 base power and the defence drop is not helpful for him because of his ability. Wave Crash at 120 base power is appealing, though some may be put off by the recoil. However, for a pokemon with such high HP, the recoil is actually quite minimal unless it is doing massive damage to a bulky opponent. And the extra damage Wave Crash provides is noteworthy; especially in Rain. Between that and 's decent base 100 Attack, it can definitely hold its own; Wave Crash easily OHKO-ing 
(just barely survives Body Press), does about half to , 
, and SpD 
, and more so to :Great Tusks: and 
to name a few. Body Press has even better coverage, easily countering , , and . As for match-ups, perhaps most importantly is 's ability to 1v1 Taunt / Bulk Up ; if he does Taunt you, you simply spam Body Press (or Wave Crash if he Teras into a
-resistant type). The does outperforms that of and gets the KO first, even including the recovery it gets off of Drain Punch. Rest is for reliable recovery, my signature perhaps. And Yawn is a great option for forcing a switch or getting an opportunity to bring in a breaker/sweeper.
Iron Bundle @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
is the designated special attacker and sweeper for the team. Before was even on Finchinator's radar I was advocating for a look into . Not that I won't use it myself in the meantime ;)
has the fastest attack of all the mons added this generation, and is tied with 
as the third-fastest mon in the current dex (after 
, then 
), 1 base point (or 3 real) faster than and . While it's only real
move comes in the form of the 80% accurate Hydro Pump, because of 's 124 base SpA stat, when it hits, it hits hard. also gets access to Freeze-Dry, which when coupled with Hydro Pump has better coverage than BoltBeam. There is not a single pokémon in the dex that resists both
and Freeze-Dry. In the national dex, only 
and 
with their Thick Fat ability allow them to resist Freeze-Dry; the closest thing to this now is Thick Fat 
, which takes neutral from Freeze-Dry and has a decent bulk. The only other mons like that are 
, 
, 
, and other . Additionally, also has a great natural Defence stat of 114, allowing it to live most Physical hits (such as a +1 Earthquake from or half from a Dragon Claw at neutral). Just try not to get hit by a special attack; is almost as bad at taking them as is with physical moves.
Of course none of these can take much more than a single hit from the powerhouse that is. When coupled with Booster Energy, which in this case I have give my Modest a 1.3x (formerly 1.5x) boost to SpA, as well as Tera
for "Adaptability", can practically sweep every other pokemon than 
and a very select other few. In fact, in Rain, Hydro Pump did at least 60% to Blissey; probably 50% or so now that Booster Energy has been nerfed. Coupled with Substitute and Agility, has the ability to avoid status, finish off any few mons that (just barely) require two hits to faint, and outspeed the entire tier (including Scarfers). The Tera type also allows to win mirror matches, as the opponent will go for a potential KO with Freeze-Dry while it likely does about 40-45% after Tera, and meanwhile you can guarantee an OHKO with your own Freeze-Dry. If you are able to take out any special walls or pertinent counterplay, then it may be more advantageous to run max Speed Timid, and replace the Booster Energy with Choice Specs or Heavy-Duty Boots.
Here's the full team again:
I'll have some replays (as well as proof of peak) linked below (though perhaps not until after the holiday).
Happy Thanksgiving!
https://pokepast.es/b92b8ef6e4619880
Replays:
Proof:
Generation nine has been off to an interesting (and somewhat controversial) start, and all in less than a week no less.
My forum presence so far has been minimal apart from my vote in the SS OU Melmetal suspect test and my recent SS OU essay-of-an-RMT I made as a goodbye to generation eight, and I have often taken many months breaks between my stints on Showdown! However, with this new generation and going forth, I hope to have more of a presence on this site (both Showdown! and Smogon) and I look forward to experiencing this metagame with all of you and contributing to it in some lasting way. With that being said, let's get on to this RMT (which I promise will be much shorter than my last).
The new games have brought a lot of changes to the meta, for both good and bad. And the tiering council have certainly had their hands full with discussions, decisions, and enactments. Among these are the likelihood of bans for both
and , two of the strongest pokémon in the meta right now (especially now that and have already been banned). Aside from some initial testing in the first few hours after Showdown! updated with the new mons, the team I have been solely laddering with utilizes both and ; I present that to you now.The team:
https://pokepast.es/b92b8ef6e4619880
Iron Bundle @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
I originally made this team to use and abuse tailwind, as I was quite excited for the new wind abilities. This was the team: https://pokepast.es/e1dd10fb79ac4d24
Unfortunately once the pokémon were available on Showdown! I had the horrible discovery that neither ability work when the pokémon switches in while Tailwind is active (from the leaks it had seemed, or perhaps had made me hope, it would work). I still think the pokémon are somewhat viable, and will perhaps become moreso once the meta changes (with Home and potential DLCs). As the team now is different I will speak about the differences last.
The team is clearly a Rain team; as such Pelipper is a must.
Palafin is perhaps the star of the team; an incredibly powerful wallbreaker in Hero form and even more so with the power boost Rain provides to water moves.
Clodsire is a special tank, a necessity both now and before Flutter Mane was banned.
Corviknight is the physical tank, another necessity with all the Paradox and other powerful pokémon around.
Additionally, with the many sweepers that Corviknight can't take out, Dondozo provides additionally physical defence support.
Lastly, to replace Kilowattrel, Iron Bundle provides the special offence and sweeping capability the rest of the team lacks.
This is my no means an incredibly balanced team, with many checks that need to be approached with caution and tact, and is not very easy to use either.
With that being said, here are the sets and explanations thereof.
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
is of course the Rain setter, with Drizzle as its ability. As such I gave it Damp Rock to extend the weather. I don't actually see this as a necessity as seems to be coming up against more checks and counters as of late, such as , , and Water Absorb , and that frankly the rest of the team doesn't really abuse Rain to a great degree (though they do appreciate it). never sees use of its Tera as it has a niche defensive role to begin with (mostly pokémon like , , and some defencive mons), and doesn't really face situations that warrant using up the team's only tera just to take an
EVs and Nature (Bold) are allocated almost entirely in HP and Def so as to maximize physical bulk. Pretty standard stuff. The remaining 8 are put in SpA just to give those errant few calcs a bit better odds. I didn't put 4 in Spe because I didn't see the need to outspeed other uninvested base 65s; though perhaps it may be useful to do so, or to remove an IV to get a slower pivot out from them.
As for moves, U-Turn allows
to function as a pivot. Surf is 's strongest
does not learn Weather Ball (or Scald for that matter)). Hurricane is of course a strong STAB move that's useful for hitting
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
is most notorious for his awesome (I mean that literally) Attack stat. With access to ample priority, and decent bulk and speed, I opted to give him a Choice band and an Adamant nature to maximize his Attack into something truly awful (again, meant literally). After Nature and Band, 's real Attack stat sits at a horrifying 690; and that is not even discussing his moves.As for Tera,
to lose any weaknesses it had as
, versus Sucker Punch users such as , and versus
Jet Punch is a great priority move
appreciates, especially being quite slow compared to the rest of the tier (Also useful for outspeeding 's Prankster Reflect). Flip Turn allows much-needed pivot capability (especially for a Choiced set), and Wave Crash is to let really dish out damage when he needs to. Close Combat is a great move to provide neutral or super-effective coverage where
, and STAB CC does something between 40 and 65 percent to most .Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
is a very cute and effective special wall. Typically Unaware pokémon are resigned to mediocre stats (see and ), but with 130 HP and 100 SpD and a good typing, is very capable at what he needs to do.Now I don't run Unaware as
's ability. I tried it for a little while but the ability to lose a weakness is huge. One reason why Water Absorb mons are so good is that it usually turns a neutral hit into an immunity. Or Levitate on an a pokémon that would otherwise be weak to
Leftovers for passive recovery, and EVs to maximize Special bulk. The Tera type was a holdover from
but I put because I figured SpD
As for moves, Stealth Rock is of course good and fits nowhere else on the team. Toxic is nice for mons like
before they set up, or against a Special attacker that you don't have enough Recover PP to stall out. Earthquake as strong stab and is necessary to damage said attackers or at least break through a Substitute. And lastly of course Recover because of course.Very weak to physical attacks of course, even opposing
. Perhaps it may be helpful to put 4 EVs into Speed just for this match up.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
is the ever-popular (and for good reason) physical wall (though I love his special set). has great typing with decent abilities and stats, and a movepool that leaves nothing more to be desired.Boots is hardly a necessity with
(just as was the case with ), and Rocky Helmet is great to punish most physical attackers, especially pivots (and makes any match-up with a 6v5).Mirror Armor is great for avoiding defence drops from Crunches and Shadow Balls, and Tera
needs to live
, so take from that what you will. I find that with most purely defencive pokémon, save say and , that Tera is better suited for more offencive pokémon.As for EVs, max Def and a magic HP; the Speed was just a benchmark I utilized in gen 8 (don't ask me what it was for), and the remaining 4 into SpD. Impish for Def.
U-Turn once again for pivoting, Roost for recovery, and Defog for dealing with hazards (if annoying
will let you). On the original team I had Tailwind in place of Body Press, and it isn't unhelpful for giving and Speed boosts, but Body Press can be quite helpful versus pokemon like or instead of having to go fully on the defencive or hope U-Turn does enough damage.Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
To continue the topic of Unaware mons, they are incredibly useful as they ignore most set-up sweepers (and these are especially common right now). Most of the set-up sweepers currently are physical attackers, what
's stat distribution makes him most suited to counter. I went on for paragraphs in my last RMT on the sheer physical bulk of (146k); meanwhile, having the third-highest HP of any water type and 11th highest Def, checks in with a physical bulk at an impressive 182k, the second highest after (who has about 9% more). (And in contrast, 's special bulk is about 8.5% higher than 's; nothing impressive, but he can still live a decent hit or two.) All-in-all he is very bulky, able to take a physical hit from even the biggest threats. Something like Crunch from a Banded does about 40% or so. was given Leftovers for passive recovery and maximization of his HP. The EVs maximize his Def and HP as well, with the few extra in SpD. Nature too, like . Tera
is probably the most useful among the defencive pokémon on this team (only and see more use of theirs); it maintains his resistances to
can also change to his Tera type to avoid the extra chip damage from Salt Cure (type change must be before the move hits, not during the effect, in order to reduce the damage, as far as my testing demonstrated. Update: according to this post, this may not be the case!). has a very limited Status moveset, and a decently large Physical one. For a pokemon with a maximized Defence stat, Body Press is always a good option. Having at least two attacks on every mon is always good, and STAB is even better. For a water move does get Liquidation, but its only 85 base power and the defence drop is not helpful for him because of his ability. Wave Crash at 120 base power is appealing, though some may be put off by the recoil. However, for a pokemon with such high HP, the recoil is actually quite minimal unless it is doing massive damage to a bulky opponent. And the extra damage Wave Crash provides is noteworthy; especially in Rain. Between that and 's decent base 100 Attack, it can definitely hold its own; Wave Crash easily OHKO-ing (just barely survives Body Press), does about half to , , and SpD , and more so to :Great Tusks: and to name a few. Body Press has even better coverage, easily countering , , and . As for match-ups, perhaps most importantly is 's ability to 1v1 Taunt / Bulk Up ; if he does Taunt you, you simply spam Body Press (or Wave Crash if he Teras into a
does outperforms that of and gets the KO first, even including the recovery it gets off of Drain Punch. Rest is for reliable recovery, my signature perhaps. And Yawn is a great option for forcing a switch or getting an opportunity to bring in a breaker/sweeper.Iron Bundle @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
is the designated special attacker and sweeper for the team. Before was even on Finchinator's radar I was advocating for a look into . Not that I won't use it myself in the meantime ;) has the fastest attack of all the mons added this generation, and is tied with as the third-fastest mon in the current dex (after , then ), 1 base point (or 3 real) faster than and . While it's only real
's 124 base SpA stat, when it hits, it hits hard. also gets access to Freeze-Dry, which when coupled with Hydro Pump has better coverage than BoltBeam. There is not a single pokémon in the dex that resists both
and with their Thick Fat ability allow them to resist Freeze-Dry; the closest thing to this now is Thick Fat , which takes neutral from Freeze-Dry and has a decent bulk. The only other mons like that are , , , and other . Additionally, also has a great natural Defence stat of 114, allowing it to live most Physical hits (such as a +1 Earthquake from or half from a Dragon Claw at neutral). Just try not to get hit by a special attack; is almost as bad at taking them as is with physical moves.Of course none of these can take much more than a single hit from the powerhouse that is
. When coupled with Booster Energy, which in this case I have give my Modest a 1.3x (formerly 1.5x) boost to SpA, as well as Tera
can practically sweep every other pokemon than and a very select other few. In fact, in Rain, Hydro Pump did at least 60% to Blissey; probably 50% or so now that Booster Energy has been nerfed. Coupled with Substitute and Agility, has the ability to avoid status, finish off any few mons that (just barely) require two hits to faint, and outspeed the entire tier (including Scarfers). The Tera type also allows to win mirror matches, as the opponent will go for a potential KO with Freeze-Dry while it likely does about 40-45% after Tera, and meanwhile you can guarantee an OHKO with your own Freeze-Dry. If you are able to take out any special walls or pertinent counterplay, then it may be more advantageous to run max Speed Timid, and replace the Booster Energy with Choice Specs or Heavy-Duty Boots.Here's the full team again:
I'll have some replays (as well as proof of peak) linked below (though perhaps not until after the holiday).
Happy Thanksgiving!
https://pokepast.es/b92b8ef6e4619880
Iron Bundle @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ice
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze-Dry
- Substitute
- Agility
Pelipper @ Damp Rock
Ability: Drizzle
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- U-turn
- Surf
- Hurricane
- Roost
Palafin @ Choice Band
Ability: Zero to Hero
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Wave Crash
- Close Combat
- Jet Punch
Clodsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Recover
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Body Press
- Roost
- Defog
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wave Crash
- Body Press
- Yawn
- Rest
Replays:
vs. Truebeliver (1691) 
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1717316305-nra04e3p11elfl8ihlxhpy3og09m3gzpw
Good example of Iron Bundle both sweeping, and beating an opposing Iron Bundle (Ditto) by terastallizing to an Ice type. He complained of a crit but if you calc it (especially when Booster Energy was 1.5x, but I think even without), it always KOs.
vs. Tonybuffnuts (1585) 
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1716729080-uz61yktkqrs5l6k3xok3z4uykbff57xpw
This replay is a good example of Iron Bundle's pure strength, dealing 95% to Water-Tera Garganacl with Freeze-Dry, as well as of the ability for the team to handle the infamous Houndstone between weather control, physical walls, and priority moves.
(Houndstone's 300BP Last Respects does almost equal to a Poltergiest from +1 Marowak-Alola; Houndstone was very gimmicky to begin with (just like Marowak-Alola) and with the new speed tiers and movepools, he can either be taken out with priority or outsped with little real issue.) Nonetheless I am fine with the move being banned, but it seems counterproductive to ban the pokémon and then have to do it all over again when Home comes out.
vs. Zero to Heroe (1503) 
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1717515028-b7uar798nqv7r5snx5fpz5p7n6210mppw
Nothing high-ladder or anything but a great example of Dondozo's offencive prowess (and Tera), as well as the team's synergy handling different threats.
vs. Landzard (1455)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1716502648-m5x7b1jt3yzjq7lfpe055covm0ialh6pw
Again, not a high-ladder replay (I didn't save too many, unfortunately), but nontheless shows how Iron Bundle can essentially turn a 6v6 into a 5v3 at the start (or sweep from mid game). This also contains a good demonstration of Dondozo out-performing Bulk Up / Taunt Palafin-Hero (though he didn't spam Drain Punch the whole time for some unknown reason, you can understand the direction it was heading, as well as how Clodsire handles Substitute / Calm Mind Flutter Mane with ease.
The only dangerous Flutter Mane set in my opinion is one with Substitute and 3 attacks including Psyshock. Prior to the ban, however, I never saw a single one of this set. Substitute / Calm Mind sets never ran Psyshock and could be easily taken out by a special wall with any semblence of physical attack (my Clodsire's uninvested base 60 attack dealt 60% to Flutter Mane.) And the sets that did run Psyshock did not run substitute, allowing literally any non-immune priority move to practically OHKO Flutter Mane.
(Ting-Lu is an amazing addition to bulky offence that also walls Flutter Mane. Since day 1, I had calcs showing AV Ting-Lu only takes 30% from Flutter Mane's Moonblast and returns with an Earthquake for at least 75%. And that's not including Tera if need be to get around its Fairy weakness.)
[more to be added]
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1717316305-nra04e3p11elfl8ihlxhpy3og09m3gzpw
Good example of Iron Bundle both sweeping, and beating an opposing Iron Bundle (Ditto) by terastallizing to an Ice type. He complained of a crit but if you calc it (especially when Booster Energy was 1.5x, but I think even without), it always KOs.
vs. Tonybuffnuts (1585)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1716729080-uz61yktkqrs5l6k3xok3z4uykbff57xpw
This replay is a good example of Iron Bundle's pure strength, dealing 95% to Water-Tera Garganacl with Freeze-Dry, as well as of the ability for the team to handle the infamous Houndstone between weather control, physical walls, and priority moves.
(Houndstone's 300BP Last Respects does almost equal to a Poltergiest from +1 Marowak-Alola; Houndstone was very gimmicky to begin with (just like Marowak-Alola) and with the new speed tiers and movepools, he can either be taken out with priority or outsped with little real issue.) Nonetheless I am fine with the move being banned, but it seems counterproductive to ban the pokémon and then have to do it all over again when Home comes out.
vs. Zero to Heroe (1503)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1717515028-b7uar798nqv7r5snx5fpz5p7n6210mppw
Nothing high-ladder or anything but a great example of Dondozo's offencive prowess (and Tera), as well as the team's synergy handling different threats.
vs. Landzard (1455)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1716502648-m5x7b1jt3yzjq7lfpe055covm0ialh6pw
Again, not a high-ladder replay (I didn't save too many, unfortunately), but nontheless shows how Iron Bundle can essentially turn a 6v6 into a 5v3 at the start (or sweep from mid game). This also contains a good demonstration of Dondozo out-performing Bulk Up / Taunt Palafin-Hero (though he didn't spam Drain Punch the whole time for some unknown reason, you can understand the direction it was heading, as well as how Clodsire handles Substitute / Calm Mind Flutter Mane with ease.
The only dangerous Flutter Mane set in my opinion is one with Substitute and 3 attacks including Psyshock. Prior to the ban, however, I never saw a single one of this set. Substitute / Calm Mind sets never ran Psyshock and could be easily taken out by a special wall with any semblence of physical attack (my Clodsire's uninvested base 60 attack dealt 60% to Flutter Mane.) And the sets that did run Psyshock did not run substitute, allowing literally any non-immune priority move to practically OHKO Flutter Mane.
(Ting-Lu is an amazing addition to bulky offence that also walls Flutter Mane. Since day 1, I had calcs showing AV Ting-Lu only takes 30% from Flutter Mane's Moonblast and returns with an Earthquake for at least 75%. And that's not including Tera if need be to get around its Fairy weakness.)
[more to be added]
Proof:
Peaked rank 137 (Elo 1592) on 11/21 @ 3:00 AM EST (8:00 AM GMT)
Since then I haven't been laddering too much as I've been wanted to test other mons off-ladder and as I'm sure you are all familiar, hazard spam and stall are honestly too annoying right now (hence why is likely getting banned soon). It's unfortunate because I think he would be balanced without tera but alas we have to wait for that ban. I just hope that most of the mons that get banned before tera/Home get brought back afterward for retesting; it'll really be a whole different metagame then.
I have used the team occasionally since, however, and have been able to maintain my Elo (and bring it up a few points to 1597). For reference these scores are akin to mid-1700s in gen8ou.
Since then I haven't been laddering too much as I've been wanted to test other mons off-ladder and as I'm sure you are all familiar, hazard spam and stall are honestly too annoying right now (hence why
is likely getting banned soon). It's unfortunate because I think he would be balanced without tera but alas we have to wait for that ban. I just hope that most of the mons that get banned before tera/Home get brought back afterward for retesting; it'll really be a whole different metagame then.I have used the team occasionally since, however, and have been able to maintain my Elo (and bring it up a few points to 1597). For reference these scores are akin to mid-1700s in gen8ou.
Last edited:
