A Tribute to LilOu, text and art courtesy of yours truly, with special thanks to SPEBSQSA.
INTRODUCTION
I feel like it’s somehow long overdue and people wanted to see me showcase another masterpiece again; I could’ve done this way earlier if it weren’t for my extremely busy schedule. Anyway, what brings me to write another RMT article once again is that one of the Pokémon in this team became subject to serious discussion regarding its stellar impact in the metagame. Fortunately, it remained in the tier, which prompted me to continue working on this long-overdue article. While that Pokémon isn’t the “star” of the show, it maintains as one of the biggest catalysts to the team’s success since its inception.
If that Pokémon wasn’t the star, one might ask what Pokémon are featured in this team. Yes, two Pokémon are featured in this team: one whom trainers typically run as a Calm Mind user or as an offensive Trick Room user, and the other whom trainers actually overlook because of its horrid weakness to Stealth Rock and its rather mediocre Attack stat. The goal of this team is to exert pressure to defensive teams with the former’s unconventional set, and to provide an opening for the latter to set up and to take advantage of its incredible ability that allows it to defeat most of the opposition before they could even strike. While there is one missing element that would make it very successful, this balanced team has the tools sufficient enough to pose a threat in the Underused metagame.
This team has brought huge waves of success after the farewell of Injustice: Gods Among Us thanks to the departure of Salamence. Speaking of Salamence, its absence flourished the team greatly to a point that I am very willing to share this team to some of the people I know before putting it in an RMT article. As such, allow me to share with you how this team evolved over ten months as the metagame shifted and grew.
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HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
This team started as a request from SPEBSQSA in the Underused Teambuilding Lab. His requested core tempted me to build with it, which I happily took the request. Initially, I started building the core by giving one of his requested Pokémon the support it needed by virtue of covering weaknesses and resistances, so I ended up using Christo’s most trusted balanced core. The final Pokémon whom I called the catalyst was then added as the sole stall breaker of the team.
Initially, the team granted a modest amount of success; that variant allowed me to win my first 21 battles on the ladder using a fresh account during that time; while I was, at first, satisfied with the output, I felt there’s an element missing upon playing that team myself.
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I read through numerous resources available in the Underused Subforum until I stumbled through a forum post by Yettison which features one of SPEBSQSA’s requested Pokémon and another Pokémon that would exert pressure to defensive teams; therefore, I gave that core a try and consequently overhauled the team. Incidentally, I realized that the final output became reminiscent of the team I used against Bouff in Week 6 of the third iteration of Underused Premier League.
This is the team that brought bigger waves of success than the first variation, and other players can attest to how amazing this team can be. As of this moment, the team remains undefeated in official tournament exposure, most notably in the fifth iteration of Smogon Grand Slam's UU Open. While they lost in the whole series, Memoric (Round 1, Game 2 vs. Sam I Yam) and SunnyORAS (Round 2, Game 1 vs. Adaam) managed to defeat their respective opponents with this team. Confide, on the other hand, defeated atomicllamas with this team in Game 1 and advanced past Round 2. I used this team in Round 2 of UU Open V as well, and I sealed the victory over my opponent 0Nl in a rather convincing fashion.
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Greetings of peace, fellow members of the Smogon community. Today, we will witness the team as a tribute to one of my friends, LilOu, as he is one of the biggest reasons why this team became a reality. Allow me to showcase to you one of my successful teams in the ORAS UU metagame: “Plants vs. Zombies: A Trip to the Peruvian Fields”!
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INTRICACIES OF THE TEAM
INTRICACIES OF THE TEAM
I first built the team by using one of the Pokémon SPEBSQSA requested in the Underused Teambuilding Lab. What intrigued me in his request is the unconventional use of a set which, I believed, brought stellar potential in taking down the opposition while surviving even the most deadly of Special attacks. This Pokémon brought me newfound inspiration in building this team, and no other Pokémon could do that as gracefully as Reuniclus.
Infi-nut (Reuniclus) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 120 HP / 136 SpA / 252 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Energy Ball
What sets it apart from the conventional Reuniclus sets is the use of Assault Vest, allowing it to take any Special Attack (even Hydreigon’s Dark Pulses) with ease while being capable of taking out the opposition with its coverage moves coupled with its subtle yet threatening 125 Base Special Attack. While its popularity isn’t as prevalent as the Calm Mind and Offensive Trick Room sets, this Reuniclus set started by LilOu remains a low-profile threat for most Pokémon to handle.
The crux of the set is Future Sight, one of the most threatening moves if the opponent doesn’t tread carefully. While it has to wait for two turns before Future Sight can do its job, Reuniclus has already done its job in exerting offensive pressure against most archetypes. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast are near mandatory for Reuniclus to cover Pokémon that would easily take Future Sight damage (most especially Dark-types due to their immunity to Future Sight). Psyshock would be a very tempting move to use as an alternative attack boosted by STAB, but with Swampert being a potential threat to this team, Energy Ball is the most desirable move to eliminate it early in the game.
While Magic Guard ignores Status conditions from taking its toll on Reuniclus’s health, Regenerator allows this particular Reuniclus set from taking a lot of damage from most Special attackers, only to have their most valiant efforts wasted once Reuniclus switches out. Therefore, this Reuniclus bearer must examine the opponent’s team whether it has a potential Pursuit user (such as Absol and Krookodile), and use it aggressively by using Future Sight and switch out to its appropriate switch-in whenever possible. It has proven time and time again (no pun intended) that this set can definitely take no prisoners and can definitely win games.
As per LilOu, this set’s EV spread is customizable, tailored to suit the player’s needs. However, I ended up devising a spread that can maximize Reuniclus’s potential, with great thanks from King UU. Maximizing its Special Defense EVs is mandatory as it can help survive even the most grueling of Special attacks. 136 Special Attack EVs coupled with a Modest nature puts it in a jump point to maximize the damage output while minimizing the damage taken from Special Attackers with 120 HP EVs.
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Initially, I gave the other Pokémon SPEBSQSA requested all the support it needed to attain a sweep through Christo’s most trusted balanced core. With the realization that Sableye would be a pain to deal with in the first draft, I ended up using Reuniclus as a starting point due to its great offensive pressure brought by Future Sight and stumbled upon a core posted by Yettison and immediately gave it a try. After a series of test matches, I have fully attested that Choice Band Heracross is the best Pokémon to pair with Assault Vest Reuniclus.
Squash (Heracross) @ Choice Band
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Sleep Talk
Heracross provided all the offensive support Reuniclus needed to exert pressure to most archetypes (notably defensive ones); its STAB attacks in Megahorn and Close Combat prove way too much for the Pokémon resisting Reuniclus’s Future Sight to handle. As such, with Future Sight ticking, Heracross puts the opponent’s team in a very precarious position: either switching out to its proper switch-in then end up being obliterated by Future Sight or staying in then end up being destroyed by one of Heracross’s STAB attacks. Giving Heracross Choice Band bolsters its wall breaking abilities, giving more meaning to Reuniclus’s purpose.
While Megahorn and Close Combat are provided as the main attacks thanks to its boost from STAB, Knock Off is another move worth putting in one of Heracross’s slots. Heracross has a natural tendency to scare opponents thanks to its strong STAB attacks; Knock Off is a good way of opening the game by scouting for potential switch-ins and by scouting for potential game-changing items. Finally, the last slot is a toss-up, and upon final analysis of the team, all Pokémon will be disabled when they are asleep. As such, Sleep Talk is used in the final slot to select any of the three attacks while taking advantage of the boost from Guts.
While Heracross’s main role is to break walls with its menacing STAB attacks, it provides another role integral to the success of the team. Note that the Reuniclus set given has Regenerator, which means that the lack of Magic Guard would end up having succumbed to indirect damage, especially Status conditions such as Burn and Poison. This is where Heracross comes into play to catch all those Status conditions (barring a freeze) and become one of the most menacing wall breakers to ever grace in this tier.
No description would best describe Heracross’s EV spread other than straightforward. Maximizing Attack and Speed EVs optimizes Heracross’s wall breaking potential, and giving it Jolly nature allows it to tie with Nidoking and other Pokémon with Base 85 Speed. The remaining EVs are devoted to Special Defense such that Heracross wouldn’t fall short in breaking walls whenever needed, provided it catches a burn or (normal) Poison.
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The prevalence of Fairy-type Pokémon makes Heracross’s and Reuniclus’s lives miserable as they struggle in taking them down. As such, Steel-type Pokémon are of great help for the wall breaking duo to provide an immediate stop for those Pokémon such as Sylveon and Florges. Two candidates stand out for the role; incidentally, both happen to have Mega Evolutions. Upon further analysis of the team, the team needs something to completely stop Volt Switch users, which eventually leads me to using Mega Steelix.
Wall-nut (Steelix) @ Steelixite
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 244 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
While Mega Aggron can be used interchangeably with Mega Steelix in this team so as to serve as an answer to Pokémon such as Gyarados and Feraligatr, no other bulky Steel-type Pokémon can block Volt Switches outright other than Mega Steelix, which is its biggest selling point thanks to its added Ground typing. While Mega Steelix trades its Electric immunity with an added Water weakness, Mega Steelix can still perform well in this team; besides, Reuniclus’s Energy Ball can take care of most Water-types for Mega Steelix (it covers most notably Swampert to eliminate it early in the game).
Heavy Slam and Earthquake are Mega Steelix’s potent STAB attacks. Despite the lack of Attack investment, it can still deal massive damage against all Fairy-types with Heavy Slam, and it is the Pokémon that would be consistent in dealing the maximum damage output possible because of its weight. Mega Steelix also serves as a catalyst for Reuniclus with Future Sight ticking; with opposing Umbreon having Protect most of the time, Reuniclus’s and Heracross’s efforts are wasted, and this is where Mega Steelix’s Roar comes into play as it bypasses Protect and let Future Sight do the damage against the forced switch-in. Finally, Mega Steelix is very capable of laying the most important entry hazard to the opposition, which is no other than Stealth Rock; alongside Roar it can practically damage the forced switch-in.
The team’s goal is to provide the tools needed for SPEBSQSA’s requested Pokémon to shine. In the case of Mega Steelix, it provides a much needed pivot to most attacks and provides a staple entry hazard such that Heracross’s and Reuniclus’s attacks turn from mere heavy blows into potentially fatal hits. While Wish support is very welcome, it is not needed for this team as micromanaging pivots like Mega Steelix for an environment like this defeats the overall purpose of the team.
The EV spread for Mega Steelix is designed to maximize bulk on both sides of the spectrum; while it has a stellar Defense stat, Mega Steelix is much more suited in taking some Special Attacks with ease. 16 Defense EVs with an Impish nature is essentially enough as it reaches the minimum jump point. While 248 HP EVs are placed such that Mega Steelix doesn’t end up having an even HP number and at the same time maximizing its bulk, the rest of the EVs are placed to Special Defense because its Steel typing is designed to take a lot of attacks from the Special spectrum, Moonblasts included.
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The team would then struggle to Fire attacks, which makes Entei all the more threatening with Sacred Fire. As such, I found a bulky Water-type being mandatory for a balanced team like this. Tentacruel would then become an instant fit in this team as it provided a lot of utility options for the whole team.
Tangle Kelp (Tentacruel) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Haze
The reason why most players end up having Tentacruel in their teams because it provides more than they could ask for; while Tentacruel’s main job is to clear entry hazards that were laid out by the opposition, the sheer utility it provides is very stellar to a point players think they would fall short not fulfilling if it were to choose other Pokémon fit for the hazard-clearing role. No wonder this team isn’t an exception to the trend.
Tentacruel excels not just in clearing hazards laid out by the opponent, but also in setting up Toxic Spikes and disrupting any potential set-up sweepers with Haze. Toxic Spikes can augment Reuniclus’s (and Heracross’s, to an extent) purpose of taking down most Pokémon with Future Sight, among other moves, because most defensive Pokémon in the Special spectrum would succumb to Poison damage that would put them in a precarious position whether to continue being productive or not. The team will end up being usually weak to set-up sweepers (most especially Suicune) if it weren’t for Tentacruel’s Haze to stop it. Finally, Scald is the most ideal STAB attack for a bulky Water Pokémon like Tentacruel as it can fish for a potential burn to most opponents either with an immunity to Toxic Spikes thanks to their typing or with Toxic Spikes not yet laid out.
Tentacruel is one of the most accessible candidates for hazard control in this tier; Zapdos’s and Salamence’s departure crushes the presence of hazard control to an all-time low. As such, teams employing a hazard stacking strategy deems to be a deadly force not to be underestimated with given the state of the tier. While some hazard clearers have some distinct characteristics that would set apart from Tentacruel, most of the time, they would struggle in fulfilling their role as a hazard clearer; Tentacruel has very minimal opportunity cost, a factor helpful enough in taking care of some of the menacing Pokémon in the tier.
The EV spread for this Pokémon once again takes advantage of jump points because it has to outpace teams with an orientation towards Bulky Offense. Tentacruel doesn’t afford to lose its overall bulk for the sake of achieving its Leftovers number; therefore, it needs to have 248 HP EVs. Sitting at 253 Speed is a decent benchmark to outpace for Pokémon such as Nidoqueen; therefore, 176 Defense EVs coupled with a Bold nature achieves the jump point while pumping the rest of its EVs to Speed. While the spread 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe along with a Timid nature seems very tempting to use, the role Tentacruel plays in this team is more of a pivot that needs to take damage from strong attacks such as Entei’s Sacred Fire and Mienshao’s High Jump Kick.
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With Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes up, there has to be something that would take care of Pokémon employing a different form of hazard control, which is Defog (I can get away with opposing Rapid Spin users, anyway). With that in mind, a Taunt user is most welcome in the team, which is definitely reminiscent of Christo.’s old archived team. As such, I put Hydreigon in this slot to fulfill just that, and more.
Snapdragon (Hydreigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Roost
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
Hydreigon, while not the star of the show as I have mentioned in the introduction, is actually one of the reasons why I am showcasing this team. The insane damage output brought by two of its potent STAB moves, Draco Meteor and Dark Pulse, alongside its sheer versatility, puts the opponent in a precarious position to a point it has to scout for Hydreigon’s other moves (and, of course, its potential hold item), which is the crux of the argument for the most recent Suspect test. Hydreigon being a catalyst to the success of virtually any team makes it a top-tier Pokémon, and it is never a surprise this Pokémon fits into this team very well.
While more players are inclined to use Hydreigon as a momentum grabber with a Choice item equipped, this Life Orb set takes advantage of the sheer power brought by its menacing STAB attacks while having the freedom to switch moves in between turns; the Life Orb damage will be negated by Roost, anyway. However, Taunt serves as the main draw of the set which disallows the opponent from doing anything productive such as healing and disrupting.
Incidentally, the trio of Hydreigon, Mega Steelix, and Tentacruel has become the backbone of one of my successful teams I used to defeat Bouff during Week 6 of the third iteration of the Underused Premier League. Hydreigon is the catalyst for Mega Steelix and Tentacruel because the Taunt set will definitely disarm any Defog users from wasting Mega Steelix’s and Tentacruel’s valued efforts in laying down Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes respectively; that alone can exert pressure to the opposing team. Speaking of exerting pressure, Reuniclus and Heracross can also benefit from Hydreigon’s current set as Hydreigon’s Taunt shuts down any Pokémon from doing anything productive such as using Wish after it survives an attack from either Heracross or Reuniclus, only to have their efforts wasted.
Like Heracross, Hydreigon’s EV spread screams straightforward once again. All it needs is to optimize its offensive potential by maximizing both Special Attack and Speed EVs and put a Timid nature such that it doesn’t let any slower Pokémon to outpace it. Finally, the remaining EVs are put into Special Defense such that Porygon2 and Porygon-Z will instead raise its Attack from Download as they usually take advantage of its Special Attack.
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Finally, the last slot is dedicated to the remaining half of SPEBSQSA’s requested Pokémon. There are a lot of hidden gems worth trying in the tier; while they consider most of my teams with Pokemon never seen before being “memes”, such as Belly Drum Marill (cf: An Apocalyptic Alleluia) and Substitute Regigigas with paralysis support at the back (cf: Iron Chef Season 1: Speed Control), I give assurance to myself and to everyone in the Underused Room that I build around them because I see a potential in them. As a builder looking forward to see some hidden gems doing work in the tier, I happily took his request in the Teambuilding Lab. The other Pokémon SPEBSQSA wanted to build alongside Assault Vest Reuniclus is no other than Fletchinder.
Red Stinger (Fletchinder)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 24 HP / 232 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Acrobatics
While Fletchinder is no meme (Linda aside) since some highly-recognized players such as Pak and Shiba utilized teams featuring this Pokemon to great degrees of success, some players have no idea how they wanted to build a team around this Pokémon because the first thing that sprung into their minds is its horrid weakness to Stealth Rock. The reason why Fletchinder is featured in this team, among other possible set-up sweepers, is because this team lacks any viable priority attack, and Fletchinder provided one of the strongest priority attacks ever graced the tier: Gale Wings-boosted Acrobatics.
While Conkeldurr’s Mach Punch (with Choice Band, Adamant Nature, and Iron Fist) can slightly outdo Fletchinder’s Acrobatics in terms of damage output, what sets Fletchinder apart is the addition of Swords Dance, which makes it more of a monster when executed right. Of course, Fletchinder has to hold no item such that Acrobatics can provide a maximum damage output every time (unless Flying Gem exists in this generation). While Acrobatics and Swords Dance are enough to warrant a sweep, there are a few options worth using. There are times that Fletchinder can’t squeeze a turn to sweep because a lot of threats are still around: Will-O-Wisp is one good option to take care of most Steel-types that can reliably take Acrobatics; Roost is also a nice move to have to recover all the damage taken from Stealth Rock if that wasn’t cleared out, and to promote more set-up opportunities with Swords Dance.
Most of the time, players like myself have this pattern of building a team around a certain Pokémon, and support around that Pokémon in terms of roles, weaknesses, and resistances. This team, however, broke such boundaries in team building; while it maintains a sense of balance and direction, Fletchinder relies on the pressure the teammates exerted to reach to the opening it needs to come through; that’s why this theoretically serves as the win condition for the team, though it only happens in some cases, since the teammates are doing their roles against different team structures.
The EV spread for Fletchinder takes advantage of its oddly placed base Attack stat; as such, 232 Attack EVs coupled with an Adamant nature are invested. While standards have put a certain amount of Speed EVs outpace Adamant Honchkrow and avoid being first hit by Sucker Punch, there are a lot of Pokémon lying around in the 250 Speed region, which means that Fletchinder may be outpaced by other Pokémon such as Cloyster and Slurpuff when it’s not using Acrobatics, hence the investment in Speed EVs maximized, consequently giving the rest of the EVs into HP.
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LIST OF NOTABLE FLAWS
LIST OF NOTABLE FLAWS
Of course, the team is not in its perfect form whatsoever, and not all teams can be considered perfect with all the threats, whether prevalent or hidden, lying in the tier, and with all the gaps the team needed to fill. In this team, one of the most notable flaws I have discovered after a series of battles is the lack of momentum by virtue of Volt Switch and U-turn. While VoltTurn strategies are currently dominant in any play style, this team didn’t manage to squeeze in such essence (which is very vital in exerting some form of pressure against other opposing offensive teams in my opinion); however, what makes up for the lack of momentum is exerting another form of offensive pressure that would take out any other team with a huge degree of success. Lack of momentum aside, here are the most notable threats that would steamroll the team with relative ease, although it can be played around with the help of long-term planning.
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CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
All the glaring flaws and threats aside, this team is actually one of the teams I loved the most, and almost all of my friends from the Underused Community and from the other spheres of the Smogon community would love, too. I also have this feeling that unlike my last RMT named Injustice: Gods Among Us, this team will be forever in my heart and will be forever used in the tier (unless tier policies say otherwise) since Hydreigon remained in the UU tier.
Here it is, fellow members of the Smogon community: my RMT article-long-overdue-but-actually-not-overdue-thanks-to-Hydreigon-not-being-banned in its inception: “Plants vs. Zombies: A Trip to the Peruvian Fields”. As much as I have gone to an extremely busy schedule to a point that devoting my time to Pokémon Showdown has decreased significantly, I am still not saying any farewells yet. Unlike most RMT articles that devote a portion of it for shout-outs, I’d rather put it in a separate post so that everyone I could give a shout-out deserves to get tagged to bask in the beauty of the team.
This is your fellow Underused community member and fellow Iron Chef Euphonos, signing out. Until we meet again.
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