Monotype Solid Stone: A Hyper Offensive Rock Team

smub · Jun 10, 2017

Solid Stone

Hey guys, I'm smub, and I usually hang around the Monotype chatroom on PS. This Rock team has gone through many, and I mean MANY changes over the course of a single month, and I'm very happy with the end result. While Rock is an absolute garbage type, this team has proven to be quite successful on the ladder, and I want to share it with all of you. Without further ado, let's dive into the teambuilding process.

Right off the bat, I wanted to start with this amazing offensive core right here, consisting of a Choice Banded physical wallbreaker in Tyranitar, a Life Orb wallbreaker in Nihilego, and a Scarfed revenge killer/cleaner in Terrakion.

As with any Monotype team, I needed a hazard setter. Since I wanted to use something other than Shuckle, I went with suicide lead Aerodactyl, which also provided helpful speed control with Tailwind and could use Taunt to prevent hazards from getting up on my side.

At this point I needed something that could effectively check the insane threat that is Mega Scizor. And the best one available was Rhyperior, who could not only check Mega Scizor, but could also check a wide range of other potential physical threats ranging from Scarf Heracross, Scarf Landorus-Therian, Excadrill in sand, and Scarf Garchomp, some of which Alolan Golem couldn't effectively handle.

For the final Pokemon, I went with Omastar since it did nicely as a special wallbreaker/sweeper that was capable of completely turning around my Ground matchup. It also helped vs Steel provided they had no Water resistance or Ferrothorn was removed.

I then realized that while Aerodactyl was a nice suicide lead, it wasn't very consistent. So I swapped it out for Shuckle, who took over the Stealth Rocking job while also setting up Sticky Web to give the offensive core as well as Omastar better sweeping potential. It also offered some helpful utility in Knock Off and Encore.

Afterward, I experimented with Mega Aerodactyl for a bit and really liked its amazing 150 speed tier and the way it aided the team in the troublesome Grass, Fighting, and Bug matchups.

I decided to go back to Omastar because after some thinking, I decided I valued my Ground matchup more than my Fighting and Grass matchups since Ground was more prevalent.

Now let's take a look at the Solid Stones!

Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web
- Knock Off
- Encore

Starting with our hazard setter and utility Pokemon, Shuckle is a great asset to just about any Rock team. Shuckle's Sticky Web can allow Choice Scarf Terrakion to outspeed nearly the entire Scarfed metagame(barring stuff like Latios), as well as give Omastar a shot at outspeeding Excadrill in sand after a single Shell Smash. Knock Off is great for helping Terrakion break through Normal's Eviolite core even easier than it already does, as well as removing Choice Scarves from threats like Tapu Bulu, Heracross, Terrakion, and Landorus-Therian. Finally, Encore is really important for halting hazard setters, hazard removers, setup sweepers, and tanky Pokemon in general.

Omastar @ Air Balloon
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Shell Smash

Here we have the main reason why our Ground matchup is so straight-forward and one of our main special sweepers/wallbreakers in Omastar. Hydro Pump is our strongest Water STAB, and while it has shaky accuracy, its incredible power is worth more than Surf's consistency. Ice Beam is great coverage to have for hitting Dragon types like Dragonite, Salamence, and Garchomp, as well as Flying types like Zapdos and Togekiss. Hidden Power Grass is important for hitting Ground types that are immune to Hydro Pump like Gastrodon and Seismitoad, as well as allowing it to target other Water types like Swampert and Rotom-Wash. While this set does a great job against Ground, I've also experimented with a set more tailored around beating Steel with Hidden Power Fire over Hidden Power Grass, and Earth Power over Ice Beam. That set not only did nicely against Steel teams, but it could allow it to break through Ferrothorn, Toxapex, and Volcanion, all of which would otherwise wall it out. However, I went with the Ground killing set instead because Mega Scizor could still easily revenge kill Omastar if it was weakened enough, and this set can still do effectively against Steel if you're able to remove Ferrothorn or if they don't have a Water resist.

Nihilego @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Nihilego serves as the main offensive core's special sweeper/wallbreaker. I went with a Life Orb over Choice Specs because in matchups like Ground and Water, having the freedom to switch up between moves is extremely important. Sludge Wave is the basic Poison STAB, allowing it to wipe away most Fairies in a single hit. Thunderbolt is important coverage for hitting Flying types like Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mantine, as well as Water types like Keldeo, Toxapex, and Manaphy. Grass Knot is great for hitting Water types that are immune to Thunderbolt like Swampert, Gastrodon, and Seismitoad, as well as Ground types like Hippowdon and Mamoswine, who don't take too much damage from Hidden Power Ice. Finally, Hidden Power Ice is for Ground types that aren't hit hard by Grass Knot such as Garchomp and the Landoruses, as well as Dragon types like Dragonite and Salamence.

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

Terrakion, being one of the most essential Pokemon to just about any Rock team, is serving as one of our main forms of speed control while also being a nice cleaner. Stone Edge and Close Combat are the standard STAB moves. Earthquake is important coverage for hitting Toxapex, Magearna, and Tapu Koko. Finally, Poison Jab is used to revenge kill Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu while also keeping Azumarill from setting up safely against you. However, X-Scissor is also nice for dealing with Psychic teams. Iron Head is yet another alternative in order to hit non-Babiri Berry Clefable and Mimikyu. Even Rock Slide can be a decent choice for a more consistent Rock STAB if you don't like taking your chances with Stone Edge.

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Tyranitar is another essential for Rock teams, and on this one it operates as the offensive core's physical wallbreaker. 212 Speed EVs are used to speed creep the speed creepers who speed creep the speed creepers who speed creep Mega Venusaur(pretty fun to say, right?). Stone Edge and Crunch are the basic STAB moves. Fire Punch is essential to make sure it isn't complete setup bait for Mega Scizor, while also hitting Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Celesteela. Finally, Earthquake is nice coverage for dealing heavier damage to Magearna, as well as to Toxapex, Tapu Koko, and Nidoking. However, Pursuit is an alternative to trap Psychic and Ghost types like Latios and Gengar.

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch

Every Rock team needs a Mega Scizor check, and the best one available is Rhyperior. Rock Slide is a more consistent Rock STAB compared to Stone Edge, which it should really only be using against Pokemon that are weak to it. Earthquake is the standard Ground STAB that helps in order to beat Excadrill and Jirachi. Fire Punch is essential for hitting Mega Scizor, as well as Ferrothorn and Celesteela. Finally, Ice Punch is used in order to hit Ground types like Landorus-Therian and Garchomp, as well as Dragon types like Dragonite and Salamence.

So those were the Solid Stones! Really hoped you enjoyed the team, as I have. If you want to use it for yourself, here it is:

Shuckle @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web
- Knock Off
- Encore

Omastar @ Air Balloon
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Shell Smash

Nihilego @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Terrakion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch

Tyke · Jun 19, 2017

I've been testing with your team, and based on my experience I'd make the following changes.

Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar > Choice Band Tyranitar
I had a lot more success using Mega Tyranitar with this team, as it occupies a pretty interesting speed tier and dragon dance lets it generate more offensive momentum than Band T-tar can. It also acts as a fierce wincon against several types, including Poison and Psychic. Here is the set I was using...

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

Power Gem > Hidden Power [Ice] on Nihilego
I get you want Hidden Power [Ice] + Grass Knot for Ground teams, but you have an Omastar, which should solo that matchup regardless. Power Gem offers the team reliable Rock STAB, which is otherwise difficult to come by. That's what makes Rock a reliable c-team for Fire, Electric, Poison, and Flying.

Here are some replays using this revised team.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-591128748 (vs Dragon)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-591148073 (vs Psychic)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-591143544 (vs Steel)

Hope these changes help.

Highborne · Dec 6, 2018

Very interesting lineup. I have been running a team very similar to this, a year and a half later. Lol Having very solid results, too.

Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Ice Punch
- Aqua Tail
- Crunch
- Stone Edge

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Ice Fang
- Iron Head
- Aerial Ace

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Brick Break
- Avalanche

Nihilego @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Power Gem

Shuckle @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Sticky Web
- Encore
- Toxic

Omastar @ White Herb
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Whirlpool

Kenpaddi · Jan 7, 2020

Does this set even have a mega venasaur counter?

Divine Retribution · Jan 7, 2020

Kenpaddi said:
Does this set even have a mega venasaur counter?

Tyranitar 2HKOs after Rocks and Sandstorm damage, plus it's not exactly like M-Venu is a common sight in Monotype. Grass is a non-viable type (although if you do run into a mad enough lad to use it this team does kinda get 6-0'ed by Serperior but hey), you sometimes see Poison teams and they sometimes run M-Venu but that's an incredibly uncommon matchup, and generally once M-Venu is chipped or removed something like Omastar can go to town on Poison teams.

Monotype Solid Stone: A Hyper Offensive Rock Team

smub

Tyke

Highborne

Kenpaddi

Divine Retribution