Time for some Bug Updates!
TheWyvernKing is the alt I use to ladder pretty much just bug, and I've been making changes to the original team I posted in here to better combat the meta. With having the ability to handle Dondozo while losing as little viability as possible being the goal. I was able to peak #2 on ladder with bug this past week @1695, and it wasn't a fresh run on the alt the elo I started at was ~1500 but I figured it was a decent enough indicator.
Anyhow the team has 2 slight variations right now, with the change being the lokix set.
Here's the bug with Taunt SD Lokix
https://pokepast.es/9e047af346ea6508
And then bug with Band Lokix
https://pokepast.es/caef64fabba92f23
Standard Vivillon set, pretty needed for the Water matchup in my opinion. I tried variations of the team with heracross instead here but the Vivi Lead is pretty needed in my opinion to not autolose Dondozo water. With it in the front, it can pretty easily apply pressure in the matchup, and if they lead Dondozo you can pretty effectively Energy Ball and Sleep Powder to get yourself into a fitting position. It's also solid for mons such as Bulk Up Great Tusk, and sets like that are the main reason why I run Vivi Timid. The 89 Speed Tier right now outpaces some important mons, Quaquaval/Great Tusk being the 2 biggest examples.
Probably the set that stands out to the most. Metronome Fury Cutter allows Scizor to 1v1 Dondozo by spamming Fury Cutter. Fury Cutter I surprisingly find myself using in other places as well, but it's mostly for Dozo. Metronome Bullet Punch is also pretty neat in the fairy matchup, as it makes spamming Bullet Punch without SD a bit more threatening and you wouldn't have to worry about insta death to Foul Play Klefki. Speed evs outspeed no speed Rotoms as well as adamant azumarill. Close Combat in the last slot for coverage.
Life Orb with Close Combat/EQ 2hkos just about all bulky waters, and is an awesome wallbreaker in general. First Impression keeps the Dark matchup in your favor if you run SD Lokix, I suppose you could replace FI there if you have Band, but it's a neat priority move to have in general. Speed to get past no speed Rotoms, rest in bulk. There aren't a whole lot of significant speed tiers to cover that are slower than Slither, and having the bulk investment makes the mon a much more reliable tank as well, with the longevity from Morning Sun making it much more threatening in the ground/water mus. Having thoughts about changing the set around to try out Bulk Up or whatnot, as that would still help with bulky water but also make Gargancl a bit easier to handle, but this set works pretty well for now.
Pretty standard rocks spin set, with volt switch for momentum, and gyro ball to make sure it's not setup fodder for mons like Dragapult/Mimikyu/Baxcalibur. I consider Rocky Helm important here in this pretty fast paced meta, but you can defs swap it out for lefties or whatnot to help with longevity.
Considering changing this set around, but love bulk volc in general. Speed evs lets it outpace +1 Iron Treads at +2, forget what the defense and special d cover, rest in special attack.
First used the taunt sd set cause people were like "you can beat dozo with taunt". Yeah no, this ain't gonna do shit to dondozo LOL. That being said, the Taunt SD set is surprisingly solid. Especially in the Ground MU it can find tons of setup opportunities, and Taunt shuts down a lot. There are matches where it's definitely better to have a band. Band would be better to swap into Sableye dark and just Uturn, helps more in Flying and vs. offensive builds in general. Taunt SD can still be a threat to offensive builds if it forces a switch to SD, plus it still has priority in sucker, but the places where you're really going to be wanting it are in the lategame vs. bulky mons like Toxapex. A band in the lategame vs. a healthy toxapex won't do anything for example, but a taunt SD could definitely cut it down low. I'll also say that while I specified the band set was better vs. more HO builds, and definitely reliable for just about all matchups, if you get an SD up vs. something like offensive dark you can pretty much just sweep if the conditions are right. +2 Sucker OHKOs mons like Meowscarada and OHKOs Roaring Moon if rocks are up. Anyhow they both serve different purposes but work with the team overall.
I'll probs try to figure out if it's worth to change the Slither/Volc set and try out other stuff in the meantime
TheWyvernKing is the alt I use to ladder pretty much just bug, and I've been making changes to the original team I posted in here to better combat the meta. With having the ability to handle Dondozo while losing as little viability as possible being the goal. I was able to peak #2 on ladder with bug this past week @1695, and it wasn't a fresh run on the alt the elo I started at was ~1500 but I figured it was a decent enough indicator.
Anyhow the team has 2 slight variations right now, with the change being the lokix set.
Here's the bug with Taunt SD Lokix
https://pokepast.es/9e047af346ea6508
And then bug with Band Lokix
https://pokepast.es/caef64fabba92f23
Standard Vivillon set, pretty needed for the Water matchup in my opinion. I tried variations of the team with heracross instead here but the Vivi Lead is pretty needed in my opinion to not autolose Dondozo water. With it in the front, it can pretty easily apply pressure in the matchup, and if they lead Dondozo you can pretty effectively Energy Ball and Sleep Powder to get yourself into a fitting position. It's also solid for mons such as Bulk Up Great Tusk, and sets like that are the main reason why I run Vivi Timid. The 89 Speed Tier right now outpaces some important mons, Quaquaval/Great Tusk being the 2 biggest examples. Probably the set that stands out to the most. Metronome Fury Cutter allows Scizor to 1v1 Dondozo by spamming Fury Cutter. Fury Cutter I surprisingly find myself using in other places as well, but it's mostly for Dozo. Metronome Bullet Punch is also pretty neat in the fairy matchup, as it makes spamming Bullet Punch without SD a bit more threatening and you wouldn't have to worry about insta death to Foul Play Klefki. Speed evs outspeed no speed Rotoms as well as adamant azumarill. Close Combat in the last slot for coverage. Life Orb with Close Combat/EQ 2hkos just about all bulky waters, and is an awesome wallbreaker in general. First Impression keeps the Dark matchup in your favor if you run SD Lokix, I suppose you could replace FI there if you have Band, but it's a neat priority move to have in general. Speed to get past no speed Rotoms, rest in bulk. There aren't a whole lot of significant speed tiers to cover that are slower than Slither, and having the bulk investment makes the mon a much more reliable tank as well, with the longevity from Morning Sun making it much more threatening in the ground/water mus. Having thoughts about changing the set around to try out Bulk Up or whatnot, as that would still help with bulky water but also make Gargancl a bit easier to handle, but this set works pretty well for now. Pretty standard rocks spin set, with volt switch for momentum, and gyro ball to make sure it's not setup fodder for mons like Dragapult/Mimikyu/Baxcalibur. I consider Rocky Helm important here in this pretty fast paced meta, but you can defs swap it out for lefties or whatnot to help with longevity. Considering changing this set around, but love bulk volc in general. Speed evs lets it outpace +1 Iron Treads at +2, forget what the defense and special d cover, rest in special attack. First used the taunt sd set cause people were like "you can beat dozo with taunt". Yeah no, this ain't gonna do shit to dondozo LOL. That being said, the Taunt SD set is surprisingly solid. Especially in the Ground MU it can find tons of setup opportunities, and Taunt shuts down a lot. There are matches where it's definitely better to have a band. Band would be better to swap into Sableye dark and just Uturn, helps more in Flying and vs. offensive builds in general. Taunt SD can still be a threat to offensive builds if it forces a switch to SD, plus it still has priority in sucker, but the places where you're really going to be wanting it are in the lategame vs. bulky mons like Toxapex. A band in the lategame vs. a healthy toxapex won't do anything for example, but a taunt SD could definitely cut it down low. I'll also say that while I specified the band set was better vs. more HO builds, and definitely reliable for just about all matchups, if you get an SD up vs. something like offensive dark you can pretty much just sweep if the conditions are right. +2 Sucker OHKOs mons like Meowscarada and OHKOs Roaring Moon if rocks are up. Anyhow they both serve different purposes but work with the team overall.I'll probs try to figure out if it's worth to change the Slither/Volc set and try out other stuff in the meantime
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Best physical wall on Grass thanks to its stats and ability, access to Ruination and Leech Seed makes this Pokemon very annoying to deal with. I run Body press to deal with particular threats such as Kingambit, but Foul Play also works well if you are looking to have a more broad response to physical attackers (especially the ones with setup such as Dragonite).
One of the best offensive mons Grass teams have; pretty much a must-have if you ask me since it does a lot of things, not gonna say much here. Great base speed, Protean, access to Flower Trick and decent coverage (Play Rough / Knock Off / U-turn) makes it a great scarfer in general and sometimes can even be used with Choice Band. I personally prefer Scarf here because Grass lacks speed control in general and you basically outspeed many other threats with it, and you have other options for Band (which I added on Breloom / see below).
Another super standard Pokemon to have; it provides toxic spikes hazard removal and a pretty good check to common threats like Flutter Mane and Iron Valiant due to its typing. Access to Spore and Regenerator are also good traits this Pokemon have; pretty much should be used by any Grass team.
The main reason I use this is to provide a backup answer for common threats such as Chien-pao and Baxcalibur, which you pretty much autolose against otherwise. It also helps alleviating the pressure Wo-Chien takes in several cases (since it lacks reliable recovery it helps a lot). Hail now provides a 1.5x boost to defense, allowing it take several Ice attacks without much trouble. Body Press pairs nicely with it as it uses the defense stat to deal damage; and it also brings Aurora Veil utility to increase the longevity of its teammates. Leech Seed + Protect combo to further increase tankiness and to make it even more annoying to deal with.
Breloom does it job especially on the Dark matchup. It will have some trouble against teams that have Sableye or Lokix (or both), though. Choice Band provides it immediate power, enabling it OHKO offensive Hydreigon variants and bulkier Kingambit spreads. Bulldoze is chosen here as it works better vs certain Poison and Steel Pokemon which are more common than Flyings and Bugs, thus making it a better choice than Rock Tomb in most cases. Close Combat and Bullet Seed are hard hitting STAB moves and will do a lot of damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Mach Punch does its job as a priority / late game cleaning and especially at checking the forementioned threats.
