Greetings everyone! So,after a long time , I decided to post here again about a new pokemon team I am using currently. Although its quite obvious from the thread title itself, the team I built is focused around Empoleon and Skeledirge. I can cenfidentally say that I am more experienced than before (since my last thread), but since I am more of a casual player, correct me if I am stating something wrong.
1) Team Introduction + Reason of choice:
This is the team I am using in the past couple of matches.
Skeledirge (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball/Hex
- Scorching Sands/Will-O-Wisp
Since I consider this team balance-centered,I wanted
to act as a defensive Unaware mon,while also investing in a little bit into Sp.Attack. The combination of Torch Song that boosts its own Sp.Attack every time that the move is being used,the Hidden ability Unaware (Ignores enemy stat stages when attacking, but ALSO ignores own stat stages -notable stat drops- when recieving a hit) and the move Slack Off, makes this mon a lot more bulky than it looks on paper. An amazing mon overall. Now,about the moves. Slack off and Torch Song is a must if you ask me,in every set. You need the recovery in order to take advantage of its respectable HP and Def base stats. Torch Song can make to deal impressive amounts of damage. Tera Water because it is a very nice type defensively. Now, If you need to unleash the inner stall player (no hate to stall at all btw),Hex and Will-O-Wisp is a very nice combo in order to weaken all physical attackers, notably 
. Scorching Sands if you want to play more aggresive against 
(pre-tera grass ofc) and 
, although Boulder is a rare sighting these days...
Empoleon (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Flip Turn
- Chilling Water
This is actually my favourite starter of all time,so there is a little bit of personal preference here. Its stats are quite balanced,with an acceptable stats, mostly on the special side. I am using
as a rock setter/pivot. Since was invested more on the defensive side -and I also wanted to build both mons around their superior defensive stat- , is being juiced in Sp.Defense investments. Now,with Flip Turn, it is much easier to set rocks and then pivot. Chilling Water is also a very nice move that lowers opposing mon Attack every time the move is being used,meaning that can safely weaken physical attackers. Roost is the cherry on top here,since it just provides a more defensive profile to this mon. Tera Ground is used to just avoid any EQ's from 
, 
and Thunderbolt/Discharge from 
and 
.
Great Tusk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Atk / 8 SpD / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Spinner
Tusk is,in my opinion, the best rapid spinner. I had some other choices at first,but If I was about to pick a Defogger,like
or 
, I would have removed .But the team is built around the 2 starters. So,I had to stick with Tusk. An amazing mon,also bulky with VERY high Attack and Defense stat. Respectable HP stat too. Terrible stats on the special side. Okay-ish Speed stat, in case you want to make a fast physical sweeper. Booster Energy or Sun-Base teams solve this problem,but when you want to invest in more bulk,you need to invest in around 75-85EV's in speed,and that's only because you would prefer to remove enemy hazards first and to also be faster than 
and when you are already +1. Tera Fairy is the better personal choice. I was between Steel and Fairy. Ice Spinner destroys opposing 
, , . The other three slots are actually the basic Tusk set. Headlong Rush can also be used in place of EQ, but earthquake does not put an extra risk of having another move that lowers both defensive stats.
Kommo-o (M) @ Leftovers / Lum Berry / Loaded Dice
Ability: Bulletproof
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head
- Outrage/Scale Shot
Easily the most random,versatile choice,not gonna lie. I just needed a dragon type. Kommo-o seemed the better choice in this team between
and 
. I also tried three different sets for this mon and can't completely decide which physical set I should keep. D-Dance/Scale Shot/L.D looks the stronger set, but also the Outrage/Lum Berry combo also made wonders in some specific matches. Drain Punch on these sets is a must,since its defensive profile is very promising on paper (fear the Moonblasts). Dragon/Fighting is a very unique combination, but it comes with a x4 weakness to fairy types,which they are dominating the metagame. Tera Steel helps dealing especially with them. D-Dance once to make 
fast enough so it can do its game. Drain punch is a MUST. You need the recovery,since Scale Shot makes your Defence low enough to get vulnerable. Iron Head to destroy fairy types.
Enamorus (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Fairy/Fire/Ground
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Mystical Fire
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
Very Underrated mon for many. Super aggresive profile, with Choice Scarf you can just outright punish most of the meta mons. All three tera types are unique in their own way. Maybe tera Ground is the better choice,as it makes Steel and Poison types to deal minimum damage to you,since their damage is 1/2 the usual.
, and 
/ can outright punish you. This is why you have Earth Power,Mystical Fire and Sludge Bomb, respectively. All three moves can cover its own weaknesses effectively. At first, I disliked this mon with all my heart. Now,I just love its aggresiveness,damage wise.
Sinistcha-Masterpiece @ Leftovers
Ability: Heatproof
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Matcha Gotcha
- Hex
Another underrated mon. Grass/Ghost is a type combination which I personally like a lot. With
, you can create many sets,but the bulky special sweeper is my favourite. Calm Mind once or twice and then try to fish for a burn with either Matcha Gotcha or Scald. Tera Water is used here,as it boosts Scalds's damage and also limit your weaknesses. Although Grass/Ghost is an interesting type,it sure has its weaknesses. Knock Off,Ice Beam is used by most meta mons and with ice spinner also became more popular now. You can stop opposing , and many other meta threats with this mon. Heatproof is an amazing ability,as it halves all fire and burn damage by 50%,making it actually "neutral" to fire and also making Leftovers to outheal burn damage.
2)Thoughts while teambuilding:
As I mentioned in the first part of the thread,I wanted to make a team around two bulky starter types,one of which I wanted to be ,since Its one of my favourite mons. and are two Ghost types,so they can also act as spin blockers,due to the immunity to normal type attacks. I also added with HDB as a bulky spinner that can freely step into hazards and remove them. was the random choice at first,but as I was trying sets,it can act as a very promising,fast sweeper that also punishes fairy types post-tera Steel. 
was chosen as the super aggresive mon that almost always moves first and cripples the opposing mons. is the burn fisherman (Similar to ) that also stops meta threats, if used at the right moment.
3)Matchups:
Against HO: If it is more Physical Centered,it is almost a guaranteed win. Very easy to land burns. OF COURSE,it depends on the team comp. If Special Centered,it is 40/60,in opponent's favour.
Against BO: 50/50. Easier to deal than Special Focused HO.
Against Stall: Depends on team comp.
is one of the biggest counters,especially when either or are (maybe both) fainted. 
is easily manageable by .
Against Balance: 50/50, if exists,then 40/60. It can take almost all Special hits easily and spam T-Wave to make own mons slower to respond. 
also can Whirlwind so it is impossible to setup, but and can deal with it if they are not statused.
Against Specific Meta mons:
==> , can beat it.
==> , maybe , can beat it.
==> destroys it. and can easily burn it,chipping it away.
==> ONLY if it survives a hit. can deal with it most probably. Against its 50/50.
==> if you have Scorching Sands. can chip it but most probably its 50/50 ot 60/40 to 's favor.
==> or can beat it. actually beats it.
==> and can beat it,but can T-Wave and then mess up with setups.
==> ONLY can beat it. instantly dies,exept if a miracle happens. With encore it can mess with all setups and pp stall Will-O-Wisps.
OR ==> can absolutely rip through them and also make Body Press useless with Burns. If uses Power Trip set,only can beat it (maybe post tera) because of Unaware.
Thank you for reading. Would love to interract more,but I maybe need to gather more game knowledge (peaking at 1500 at most). Any recommedation is acceptable. Will try to answer to any comment to try to interract. Have a nice day! (or night,in Greece is 4:46 AM at the moment,please inject cafeine lol).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| 1)Team Introduction + Reason of choice |
| 2)Thoughts while teambuilding |
| 3)Matchups |
1) Team Introduction + Reason of choice:
This is the team I am using in the past couple of matches.
Skeledirge (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Slack Off
- Torch Song
- Shadow Ball/Hex
- Scorching Sands/Will-O-Wisp
Since I consider this team balance-centered,I wanted
to act as a defensive Unaware mon,while also investing in a little bit into Sp.Attack. The combination of Torch Song that boosts its own Sp.Attack every time that the move is being used,the Hidden ability Unaware (Ignores enemy stat stages when attacking, but ALSO ignores own stat stages -notable stat drops- when recieving a hit) and the move Slack Off, makes this mon a lot more bulky than it looks on paper. An amazing mon overall. Now,about the moves. Slack off and Torch Song is a must if you ask me,in every set. You need the recovery in order to take advantage of its respectable HP and Def base stats. Torch Song can make to deal impressive amounts of damage. Tera Water because it is a very nice type defensively. Now, If you need to unleash the inner stall player (no hate to stall at all btw),Hex and Will-O-Wisp is a very nice combo in order to weaken all physical attackers, notably . Scorching Sands if you want to play more aggresive against (pre-tera grass ofc) and , although Boulder is a rare sighting these days...Empoleon (M) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Roost
- Flip Turn
- Chilling Water
This is actually my favourite starter of all time,so there is a little bit of personal preference here. Its stats are quite balanced,with an acceptable stats, mostly on the special side. I am using
as a rock setter/pivot. Since was invested more on the defensive side -and I also wanted to build both mons around their superior defensive stat- , is being juiced in Sp.Defense investments. Now,with Flip Turn, it is much easier to set rocks and then pivot. Chilling Water is also a very nice move that lowers opposing mon Attack every time the move is being used,meaning that can safely weaken physical attackers. Roost is the cherry on top here,since it just provides a more defensive profile to this mon. Tera Ground is used to just avoid any EQ's from , and Thunderbolt/Discharge from and .Great Tusk @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Protosynthesis
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Atk / 8 SpD / 80 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Spinner
Tusk is,in my opinion, the best rapid spinner. I had some other choices at first,but If I was about to pick a Defogger,like
or , I would have removed .But the team is built around the 2 starters. So,I had to stick with Tusk. An amazing mon,also bulky with VERY high Attack and Defense stat. Respectable HP stat too. Terrible stats on the special side. Okay-ish Speed stat, in case you want to make a fast physical sweeper. Booster Energy or Sun-Base teams solve this problem,but when you want to invest in more bulk,you need to invest in around 75-85EV's in speed,and that's only because you would prefer to remove enemy hazards first and to also be faster than and when you are already +1. Tera Fairy is the better personal choice. I was between Steel and Fairy. Ice Spinner destroys opposing , , . The other three slots are actually the basic Tusk set. Headlong Rush can also be used in place of EQ, but earthquake does not put an extra risk of having another move that lowers both defensive stats.Kommo-o (M) @ Leftovers / Lum Berry / Loaded Dice
Ability: Bulletproof
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Drain Punch
- Iron Head
- Outrage/Scale Shot
Easily the most random,versatile choice,not gonna lie. I just needed a dragon type. Kommo-o seemed the better choice in this team between
and . I also tried three different sets for this mon and can't completely decide which physical set I should keep. D-Dance/Scale Shot/L.D looks the stronger set, but also the Outrage/Lum Berry combo also made wonders in some specific matches. Drain Punch on these sets is a must,since its defensive profile is very promising on paper (fear the Moonblasts). Dragon/Fighting is a very unique combination, but it comes with a x4 weakness to fairy types,which they are dominating the metagame. Tera Steel helps dealing especially with them. D-Dance once to make fast enough so it can do its game. Drain punch is a MUST. You need the recovery,since Scale Shot makes your Defence low enough to get vulnerable. Iron Head to destroy fairy types. Enamorus (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Fairy/Fire/Ground
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Mystical Fire
- Earth Power
- Sludge Bomb
Very Underrated mon for many. Super aggresive profile, with Choice Scarf you can just outright punish most of the meta mons. All three tera types are unique in their own way. Maybe tera Ground is the better choice,as it makes Steel and Poison types to deal minimum damage to you,since their damage is 1/2 the usual.
, and / can outright punish you. This is why you have Earth Power,Mystical Fire and Sludge Bomb, respectively. All three moves can cover its own weaknesses effectively. At first, I disliked this mon with all my heart. Now,I just love its aggresiveness,damage wise.Sinistcha-Masterpiece @ Leftovers
Ability: Heatproof
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Scald
- Matcha Gotcha
- Hex
Another underrated mon. Grass/Ghost is a type combination which I personally like a lot. With
, you can create many sets,but the bulky special sweeper is my favourite. Calm Mind once or twice and then try to fish for a burn with either Matcha Gotcha or Scald. Tera Water is used here,as it boosts Scalds's damage and also limit your weaknesses. Although Grass/Ghost is an interesting type,it sure has its weaknesses. Knock Off,Ice Beam is used by most meta mons and with ice spinner also became more popular now. You can stop opposing , and many other meta threats with this mon. Heatproof is an amazing ability,as it halves all fire and burn damage by 50%,making it actually "neutral" to fire and also making Leftovers to outheal burn damage. 2)Thoughts while teambuilding:
As I mentioned in the first part of the thread,I wanted to make a team around two bulky starter types,one of which I wanted to be
,since Its one of my favourite mons. and are two Ghost types,so they can also act as spin blockers,due to the immunity to normal type attacks. I also added with HDB as a bulky spinner that can freely step into hazards and remove them. was the random choice at first,but as I was trying sets,it can act as a very promising,fast sweeper that also punishes fairy types post-tera Steel. was chosen as the super aggresive mon that almost always moves first and cripples the opposing mons. is the burn fisherman (Similar to ) that also stops meta threats, if used at the right moment.3)Matchups:
Against HO: If it is more Physical Centered,it is almost a guaranteed win. Very easy to land burns. OF COURSE,it depends on the team comp. If Special Centered,it is 40/60,in opponent's favour.
Against BO: 50/50. Easier to deal than Special Focused HO.
Against Stall: Depends on team comp.
is one of the biggest counters,especially when either or are (maybe both) fainted. is easily manageable by .Against Balance: 50/50, if
exists,then 40/60. It can take almost all Special hits easily and spam T-Wave to make own mons slower to respond. also can Whirlwind so it is impossible to setup, but and can deal with it if they are not statused.Against Specific Meta mons:
==> , can beat it. ==> , maybe , can beat it. ==> destroys it. and can easily burn it,chipping it away. ==> ONLY if it survives a hit. can deal with it most probably. Against its 50/50. ==> if you have Scorching Sands. can chip it but most probably its 50/50 ot 60/40 to 's favor. ==> or can beat it. actually beats it. ==> and can beat it,but can T-Wave and then mess up with setups. ==> ONLY can beat it. instantly dies,exept if a miracle happens. With encore it can mess with all setups and pp stall Will-O-Wisps. OR ==> can absolutely rip through them and also make Body Press useless with Burns. If uses Power Trip set,only can beat it (maybe post tera) because of Unaware.Thank you for reading. Would love to interract more,but I maybe need to gather more game knowledge (peaking at 1500 at most). Any recommedation is acceptable. Will try to answer to any comment to try to interract. Have a nice day! (or night,in Greece is 4:46 AM at the moment,please inject cafeine lol).
matchups can either humiliate my team with ease (and forgot to mention it in the matchup against specific meta mons) or I just humiliate it itself. It is much easier to counter