hi i was bored so i made some teams. this metagame is a lot more diverse compared to home and dlc1 so it gave me enough motivation to attempt something like this again. sorry in advance for the dull tone as opposed to my usual artistic flair, but teambuilding is pretty much the only thing i still enjoy and am passionate about in regards to smogon these days so this post won't be as cringe high effort compared to my previous iterations. with that being said, i hope ya'll enjoy
Team 1
https://pokepast.es/f94e25387a5aae21
finiland core with dragon breakers in chomp and hydra - hydra was originally dd kyu-b before it kicked the bucket but hydra has surprisingly proven its excellence given its superior defensive typing and the sets surprise factor. mosa and metal are glue mons that give the team some speed and bulk without losing out on offense. fire blast on chomp is meant to snipe buzz, ferro and skarm on the switch and mosa has shock wave to snipe and ko peli since rain can be an issue for weatherless offense teams like this. the ev spread on mosa allows it to take a banded glide from rilla from full while still killing peli. scarf fini is great since it cripples fat walls to allow for easier set up and outspeeds +spe mosa, though i prefer surf>hydro pump since it still kos nido and ace without risking accuracy.
Team 2
https://pokepast.es/afc4e4ab1ac99724
sub cm spectrier bo - this team is all about status spam while breaking down defensive cores so that spectrier can sweep. i've tested nasty plot and found it to be unnecessary considering it's already strong enough as is especially with its ability. calm mind is more useful in allowing it to set up easier and have its sub not be broken by weaker moves like clef moonblast, tran earth power and zap volt switch after +1. the spread allows its sub not to be broken by a burnt mandi foul play and burnt pex and clef knock off. the speed outspeeds torn and the rest is put in sp atk for easier revenge killing. the tran set is also somewhat special, sub taunt allows it to maximize its stallbreaking potential. avoiding status and knock off via substitute allows it to easily dispatch of annoying mons like clef, pex and bliss and can afford forgoing toxic to hit its usual targets since metal and pex can compensate on that front.
Team 3
https://pokepast.es/d76acca50f3ce6a2
celepex and zapert - defensive cores that i was inspired to build with from adv and sm respectively and complement each other extremely well. pert and zap cover each others weaknesses splendidly while also functioning as a potent momentum core. the pert spread avoids the 2hko from specs spectrier and nido after protect while zap can take a band wicked blow from jolly shifu at full if necessary and outspeed. pert is also a nice backup bulky water that can handle things that pex would otherwise struggle with like tran and zap. celepex is standard with poison jab to be able to 1v1 cmfini and clef while ace gives the team some offensive pressure and benefits from the momentum pert and zap provide. scarf cm clef gives the team a means to cripple fat and potent win con, with enough speed to revenge sdchomp and shifu.
Team 4
https://pokepast.es/c12915d5ecee4ddc
koko screens with broken set up sweepers in qdmosa and ddmag - lucha is complementary and is also an extremely potent win con especially vs offense, which is even better now that land can't threaten it with z fly or hp ice. scarf fini gives the team some extra speed which helps vs the spectrier, mosa and rain match up while also crippling fat to ease set up. it also has calm mind to abuse screens and function as an early game softener for its partners. land is suicide rocks, but also has defog since sometimes leading koko and setting screens is ideal as well and setting up screens has opportunity cost in usually allowing your opponent to set up hazards, so defog is there to negate that.
Team 5
https://pokepast.es/881d98a263082dc9
eleki screens with dual ground sweepers - eleki has a surprising niche as a dual screener in that it can outspeed pretty much everything while also being able to threaten almost every defogger. while it is by nature extremely one dimensional, it does force your opponent into making very telegraphed plays like leading or switching into a ground type which is extremely easy to capitalize off of. shifu-r is able to take advantage of that pretty well and can generate momentum and do damage as a decent anti lead and offensive pivot, especially since people usually expect shifu-s at team preview. sd chomp and land act as a one-two punch that weakens each others checks and counters and can also snowball by also being able to boost speed. moltres-g acts as a mini yveltal and is pretty difficult to kill under screens thanks to its immense bulk. i prefer rest>agility since the usual way to deal with this mon is via status and also being able to potentially activate berserk twice. its also a pretty good spectrier punish and the rest of the members can threaten its counters pretty well.
Team 6
https://pokepast.es/4902a419e65db75b
future sight bro with aoa shifu and specs lati - really standard bulky offense that supports this dynamic pretty well. both are extremely difficult to switch into, and with future sight it pretty much guarantees that they will make progress in some capacity. the rest of the team is pretty self-explanatory so i don't feel the need to get that into it.
Team 7
https://pokepast.es/7ac78e33a1c44658
np torn balance with status spam - this team is somewhat similar to the spectrier bo but has some differences in team members. pult has some steep competition compared to spectrier atm, but what it does have over it is infiltrator to bypass sub and screens, twave>wisp and better defensive typing. gastro is also a pretty antimeta pick that is similar to pert but with reliable recovery and a water immunity. clear smog is used to be able to beat cm fini especially with rocky helmet. scarf cm clef is a back up emergency revenge killer/sweeper which complements torn pretty well. torn's spread allows it to live ice beam from nido and stone edge from scarf land while ohkoing spdef ttar at +2.
Team 8
https://pokepast.es/e146f2aed5a132b6
sand semistall - this team is pretty antimeta in that it deals with opposing weather pretty handily while also being able to keep most top threats in check. spdef ttar is a reliable rocker that can keep rocks on the field pretty easily, with toxic being helpful to lure ground types for zap and exca. exca on this team is scarf since keeping sand up is pretty unreliable and scarf is helpful to surprise revenge kill offensive threats and pivots outside of sand. buzz, zap and amoong patch up defensive weaknesses and cover for each other relatively well with scarf cm clef crippling fat and functioning as a potent win con. the clef spread on this team only outspeeds nido so it can cripple it with trick since buzz can deal with chomp and shifu while amoong has occa to be able to check ace and tran.
Team 9
https://pokepast.es/ae0180ff57009f58
sand offense - i believe this is a team made by ruft but i adapted to my liking. the only important changes i made were making ttar smooth rock to maximize sand turns for sand sweepers and pex>slowking since i thought it fit better and future sight was a bit difficult to pull off while maintaining sand abuse. pex is also eject button to give zolt and exca free momentum and maximum sand turns with buzz and molt patching up defensive weaknesses. exca is also balloon for extra insurance vs ground types which troubles both it and zolt, but especially for being able to pivot into nido.
Team 10
https://pokepast.es/0f492b84d190c119
rain balance - not particularly a traditional rain team in that its much more balanced>offensive, but it has good defensive synergy (which is asking a lot for rain) and strong breakers to boot. ferro is even more of a hassle to deal with in this gen and protect+leech seed allows it to stay almost unkillable with rain. clef and molt patch up weaknesses with scarf cm clef being able to cripple annoying walls like pex and bliss whilst functioning as a good late game sweeper. heliolisk is a somewhat fringe option, but it gives the team a ghost and water immunity as well as good speed control since no swift swimmer.
Team 11
https://pokepast.es/85bc175dcc030a6e
rain offense - also a slightly unconventional version of rain but one that is absolutely relentless. np torn in rain is pretty busted in that it ohkos/2hkos everything in the metagame after +2, with life orb superpower ohkoing spdef ttar and 2hkoing blissey. most flying resists in the tier drop to a +2 weather ball which is basically secondary stab in rain which is kind of stupid. pert and corv are slow defensive pivots to bring in skewda and torn safely, with corv also being eject button to maximize rain turns and allow safe momentum. skewda has crunch as filler to threaten slow twins, lati and pult while boots volcanion is a great trapper that can eliminate pex and fini without a hitch. it also has the benefit of threatening teams that rely on ferro as their sole water resist.
Team 12
https://pokepast.es/f3f117c3b1631c10
hail offense - i didn't think hail was viable until i got swept by this demon. arctozolt in hail is basically a kyu-b that doesn't need to boost dd and can outspeed and threaten every unboosted mon under hail. i definitely prefer it over dracozolt since icicle crash+freeze dry lets it deal with every ground type which paves way for bolt beak spam. band kart makes a pretty potent offensive partner that helps soften checks like ferro and buzz that would otherwise trouble it. tran, land and hydra patch up weaknesses, with land being special scarf to lure opposing threats like land, lucha and mosa with weather ball and psychic. hydra is also eject button to maximize hail turns and allow for safe momentum, though i prefer fire spin>dark pulse for extra pex insurance.
Team 13
https://pokepast.es/7c1365f01fc2d3a0
sun offense - storm zone and ox the fox sun team that i adapted to my liking. i only made a couple changes with giga drain>sludge bomb on venu since having the longevity with giga drain is extremely necessary since venu is often chipped when setting up, to the point it gets revenged or is useless since its too low and also threatening ground types better which generally trouble sun. ancient power>flash cannon on heatran to screw over peli and molt, with the latter being more of a priority now that venu can't hit it with sludge bomb. clef is also scarf cm (yes i know i have a boner for this set but trick is busted and isn't passive vs offensive/fat) over phys def helm which allows it to revenge sd chomp and shifu while crippling huge threats in nido and thund. hydra is also eject button to maximize sun turns and allow for safe momentum.
Team 14
https://pokepast.es/da3a44e9bc742ee4
nido balance with wishport clef - if there is one mon that i universally fear facing with any team in this generation it would undoubtedly be modest nidoking (hopefully this doesn't convince people to not use timid even though its ass). it gets free switches on clef, threatens phys def pex and tran with the guaranteed ohko and can 2hko/ohko everything in the metagame. the only exceptions are blissey which is 4hkod by sludge wave and is shut down with taunt and slowking which faces steep competition with slowbro. ice beam is not as necessary since there is no zyg, mega lati or glisc and flamethrower is preferred to threaten ferro and corv. the rest of the team patches up defensive weaknesses and this tran is flash fire>flame body to be able to pivot into ace pyro ball and outspeed and kill with scarf earth power (flame body is usually better unless you're extremely fire weak imo since u can usually bluff flash fire).
Team 15
https://pokepast.es/530d45c11e6ab9a5
healing wish ho - if you guys don't know the power of healing wish in this generation i recommend you watch the recent snake finals game of talah vs garak oak. this team is somewhat inspired by the team talah brought, which is basically threats+healing wish. the way this mechanic works is that healing wish won't work immediately if you send in a mon that is already healthy, so it will always be delayed until you send in a mon that is already chipped and/or statused. nido and shifu complement each other really well and are primed to dismantle fat with taunt. specs koko is a threatening fast offensive pivot that is pretty underrated especially since there aren't much grass types in the tier and ground types don't like switching into a specs dazzling gleam or grass knot. ace can also abuse terrain with terrain boosted electro ball which ohkos 0 iv - spe bro while still 2hkoing pex, low kick is also preferred over hjk since it still kills tran and shifu with life orb without risking accuracy. land and lati make up the rest of the members and offer bulk and speed control.
Team 16
https://pokepast.es/35d0e79ce29f4b39
specs koko and specs zone - offensive koko is a mon that people don't give much credit after it lost hp ice, despite things like glisc and tang being gone. pairing it with zone however makes it all the more potent. specs rising voltage from zone in terrain 2hkos ferro and bliss which are just two more things stopping koko that it doesn't have to deal with (it can also trap and one shot av metal and spdef tran which is just obscene). sd chomp pairs well forming the potent dragmag duo and mandi and bro are there to patch up defensive weaknesses. teleport bro also has the advantage of forcing momentum by bringing in koko and ace safely or a trap with zone.
Team 17
https://pokepast.es/cd4e7d6b27954624
band rilla and scarf kart - having these two is probably the closest you can get to screwing over offense but they don't offer that much beyond the revenge killing aspect. grassy terrain support on the other hand is pretty beneficial, especially for mons with unreliable recovery like tran and pert giving them much needed staying power especially with protect. zap and pert provide potent momentum for rilla and kart with scarf cm clef (i swear this is the last one) to cripple fat and function as a potent win con.
Team 18
https://pokepast.es/3be5ea15ed557a48
cm fini with bandshifu and ace - pretty generic bulky offense team with good offensive and defensive synergy and potent win cons. cm taunt fini with draining kiss can get out of hand real fast and this mon is pretty much the reason why i run poison jab on almost all my pex. ace and shifu provide offensive pressure to deal with steels that would trouble it like ferro and metal with the rest of the members patching up general weaknesses.
Team 19
https://pokepast.es/8e30c3e077a71c5f
unwallable trio - if there is anything that can counter/check nido, shifu and spectrier lmk. the combination of these three mons cover each others checks and counters exceptionally well to the point that the rest of the team just needs to patch up their defensive weaknesses. encore clef is necessary to prevent opposing set up and provide safe switches while pex is also eject button to get safe momentum into said threats. this team is all about forcing the right match ups and guaranteeing damage to set up for any of said three to steamroll.
Team 20
https://pokepast.es/b8ea31024e07e6fb
trapshifu-r and vincune - you know how i said that nidoking was the scariest mon in the metagame? well i lied, apparently vincune is actually broken if you eliminate pex. this team is undefeated and is probably the best i've made this generation, but that's moreso a testament to suicune being able to subject the opposition to force lose scenarios with no way to handle it. i'm being 100% sincere when i say that a well played vincune can sweep you if you give it even the slightest opportunity to set up, in fact all the teams i posted in this dump will have issue with it lol. the team supports it pretty well, with tspikes nido keeping ferropex at bay and helping with sub tect strats, encore clef to deter set up and eject button corv providing safe momentum. the shifu-r set in particular is designed to eliminate pex while in general being able to force damage with taunt. band mosa provides the team some speed and offensive pressure and throat chop as filler to snipe spectrier and shedinja.
Bonus Team
https://pokepast.es/02ab68d260f45660
trap stall - i want to preface this by saying that i think stall this generation actually sucks, it struggles so hard with any combination of cores and means of breaking that the only reason it is still viable is because pex exists. stall however usually has trouble with opposing stall match ups and tends to result into infinite switch loops since neither team can break the other. losing pursuit especially sealed the nail in the coffin, but there's still hope. if anybody knows me they know i use untraditional stall teams, but i like to refer it as non passive stall. this stall team actually has a way of breaking down the opposition while still managing to keep most things in check. block spite pex is a set you don't see to often, as its relatively niche and can only really trap and pp stall one mon due to low pp. so while you may be able to trap a ferro, that still doesn't help you deal with the hypothetical clef or pex in the back. lunar dance cress however fixes that issue and allows it to force a 2 for 1 trade and checkmate scenario, with cress also coming with trick which can help speed up the process. the rest of the team is logical in terms of defensive synergy, with shedinja having trick as a way to deal with opposing trick users.
conclusion
i realize that most of the value in the teams i posted are dependent on the surprise factor to be used effectively which is part of the reason why i build constantly. be that as it may, a team is only as good as the person using it and if anything i hope i've inspired others to make their own creations and try to come to their own conclusions on what's good or not based on their own experiences. if you want to be a better player and understand the game on a deeper level, building and appropriating ideas from others is something i encourage as the tier and metagame won't progress if people don't experiment. it's also one of the reasons why i prefer the current generation compared to past gens as the metagame is always undergoing constant development. if there's anything to take away from this message, its that you can make literally anything work if you support it well enough, so don't let your dreams be memes
Team 1
https://pokepast.es/f94e25387a5aae21
finiland core with dragon breakers in chomp and hydra - hydra was originally dd kyu-b before it kicked the bucket but hydra has surprisingly proven its excellence given its superior defensive typing and the sets surprise factor. mosa and metal are glue mons that give the team some speed and bulk without losing out on offense. fire blast on chomp is meant to snipe buzz, ferro and skarm on the switch and mosa has shock wave to snipe and ko peli since rain can be an issue for weatherless offense teams like this. the ev spread on mosa allows it to take a banded glide from rilla from full while still killing peli. scarf fini is great since it cripples fat walls to allow for easier set up and outspeeds +spe mosa, though i prefer surf>hydro pump since it still kos nido and ace without risking accuracy.
Team 2
https://pokepast.es/afc4e4ab1ac99724
sub cm spectrier bo - this team is all about status spam while breaking down defensive cores so that spectrier can sweep. i've tested nasty plot and found it to be unnecessary considering it's already strong enough as is especially with its ability. calm mind is more useful in allowing it to set up easier and have its sub not be broken by weaker moves like clef moonblast, tran earth power and zap volt switch after +1. the spread allows its sub not to be broken by a burnt mandi foul play and burnt pex and clef knock off. the speed outspeeds torn and the rest is put in sp atk for easier revenge killing. the tran set is also somewhat special, sub taunt allows it to maximize its stallbreaking potential. avoiding status and knock off via substitute allows it to easily dispatch of annoying mons like clef, pex and bliss and can afford forgoing toxic to hit its usual targets since metal and pex can compensate on that front.
Team 3
https://pokepast.es/d76acca50f3ce6a2
celepex and zapert - defensive cores that i was inspired to build with from adv and sm respectively and complement each other extremely well. pert and zap cover each others weaknesses splendidly while also functioning as a potent momentum core. the pert spread avoids the 2hko from specs spectrier and nido after protect while zap can take a band wicked blow from jolly shifu at full if necessary and outspeed. pert is also a nice backup bulky water that can handle things that pex would otherwise struggle with like tran and zap. celepex is standard with poison jab to be able to 1v1 cmfini and clef while ace gives the team some offensive pressure and benefits from the momentum pert and zap provide. scarf cm clef gives the team a means to cripple fat and potent win con, with enough speed to revenge sdchomp and shifu.
Team 4
https://pokepast.es/c12915d5ecee4ddc
koko screens with broken set up sweepers in qdmosa and ddmag - lucha is complementary and is also an extremely potent win con especially vs offense, which is even better now that land can't threaten it with z fly or hp ice. scarf fini gives the team some extra speed which helps vs the spectrier, mosa and rain match up while also crippling fat to ease set up. it also has calm mind to abuse screens and function as an early game softener for its partners. land is suicide rocks, but also has defog since sometimes leading koko and setting screens is ideal as well and setting up screens has opportunity cost in usually allowing your opponent to set up hazards, so defog is there to negate that.
Team 5
https://pokepast.es/881d98a263082dc9
eleki screens with dual ground sweepers - eleki has a surprising niche as a dual screener in that it can outspeed pretty much everything while also being able to threaten almost every defogger. while it is by nature extremely one dimensional, it does force your opponent into making very telegraphed plays like leading or switching into a ground type which is extremely easy to capitalize off of. shifu-r is able to take advantage of that pretty well and can generate momentum and do damage as a decent anti lead and offensive pivot, especially since people usually expect shifu-s at team preview. sd chomp and land act as a one-two punch that weakens each others checks and counters and can also snowball by also being able to boost speed. moltres-g acts as a mini yveltal and is pretty difficult to kill under screens thanks to its immense bulk. i prefer rest>agility since the usual way to deal with this mon is via status and also being able to potentially activate berserk twice. its also a pretty good spectrier punish and the rest of the members can threaten its counters pretty well.
Team 6
https://pokepast.es/4902a419e65db75b
future sight bro with aoa shifu and specs lati - really standard bulky offense that supports this dynamic pretty well. both are extremely difficult to switch into, and with future sight it pretty much guarantees that they will make progress in some capacity. the rest of the team is pretty self-explanatory so i don't feel the need to get that into it.
Team 7
https://pokepast.es/7ac78e33a1c44658
np torn balance with status spam - this team is somewhat similar to the spectrier bo but has some differences in team members. pult has some steep competition compared to spectrier atm, but what it does have over it is infiltrator to bypass sub and screens, twave>wisp and better defensive typing. gastro is also a pretty antimeta pick that is similar to pert but with reliable recovery and a water immunity. clear smog is used to be able to beat cm fini especially with rocky helmet. scarf cm clef is a back up emergency revenge killer/sweeper which complements torn pretty well. torn's spread allows it to live ice beam from nido and stone edge from scarf land while ohkoing spdef ttar at +2.
Team 8
https://pokepast.es/e146f2aed5a132b6
sand semistall - this team is pretty antimeta in that it deals with opposing weather pretty handily while also being able to keep most top threats in check. spdef ttar is a reliable rocker that can keep rocks on the field pretty easily, with toxic being helpful to lure ground types for zap and exca. exca on this team is scarf since keeping sand up is pretty unreliable and scarf is helpful to surprise revenge kill offensive threats and pivots outside of sand. buzz, zap and amoong patch up defensive weaknesses and cover for each other relatively well with scarf cm clef crippling fat and functioning as a potent win con. the clef spread on this team only outspeeds nido so it can cripple it with trick since buzz can deal with chomp and shifu while amoong has occa to be able to check ace and tran.
Team 9
https://pokepast.es/ae0180ff57009f58
sand offense - i believe this is a team made by ruft but i adapted to my liking. the only important changes i made were making ttar smooth rock to maximize sand turns for sand sweepers and pex>slowking since i thought it fit better and future sight was a bit difficult to pull off while maintaining sand abuse. pex is also eject button to give zolt and exca free momentum and maximum sand turns with buzz and molt patching up defensive weaknesses. exca is also balloon for extra insurance vs ground types which troubles both it and zolt, but especially for being able to pivot into nido.
Team 10
https://pokepast.es/0f492b84d190c119
rain balance - not particularly a traditional rain team in that its much more balanced>offensive, but it has good defensive synergy (which is asking a lot for rain) and strong breakers to boot. ferro is even more of a hassle to deal with in this gen and protect+leech seed allows it to stay almost unkillable with rain. clef and molt patch up weaknesses with scarf cm clef being able to cripple annoying walls like pex and bliss whilst functioning as a good late game sweeper. heliolisk is a somewhat fringe option, but it gives the team a ghost and water immunity as well as good speed control since no swift swimmer.
Team 11
https://pokepast.es/85bc175dcc030a6e
rain offense - also a slightly unconventional version of rain but one that is absolutely relentless. np torn in rain is pretty busted in that it ohkos/2hkos everything in the metagame after +2, with life orb superpower ohkoing spdef ttar and 2hkoing blissey. most flying resists in the tier drop to a +2 weather ball which is basically secondary stab in rain which is kind of stupid. pert and corv are slow defensive pivots to bring in skewda and torn safely, with corv also being eject button to maximize rain turns and allow safe momentum. skewda has crunch as filler to threaten slow twins, lati and pult while boots volcanion is a great trapper that can eliminate pex and fini without a hitch. it also has the benefit of threatening teams that rely on ferro as their sole water resist.
Team 12
https://pokepast.es/f3f117c3b1631c10
hail offense - i didn't think hail was viable until i got swept by this demon. arctozolt in hail is basically a kyu-b that doesn't need to boost dd and can outspeed and threaten every unboosted mon under hail. i definitely prefer it over dracozolt since icicle crash+freeze dry lets it deal with every ground type which paves way for bolt beak spam. band kart makes a pretty potent offensive partner that helps soften checks like ferro and buzz that would otherwise trouble it. tran, land and hydra patch up weaknesses, with land being special scarf to lure opposing threats like land, lucha and mosa with weather ball and psychic. hydra is also eject button to maximize hail turns and allow for safe momentum, though i prefer fire spin>dark pulse for extra pex insurance.
Team 13
https://pokepast.es/7c1365f01fc2d3a0
sun offense - storm zone and ox the fox sun team that i adapted to my liking. i only made a couple changes with giga drain>sludge bomb on venu since having the longevity with giga drain is extremely necessary since venu is often chipped when setting up, to the point it gets revenged or is useless since its too low and also threatening ground types better which generally trouble sun. ancient power>flash cannon on heatran to screw over peli and molt, with the latter being more of a priority now that venu can't hit it with sludge bomb. clef is also scarf cm (yes i know i have a boner for this set but trick is busted and isn't passive vs offensive/fat) over phys def helm which allows it to revenge sd chomp and shifu while crippling huge threats in nido and thund. hydra is also eject button to maximize sun turns and allow for safe momentum.
Team 14
https://pokepast.es/da3a44e9bc742ee4
nido balance with wishport clef - if there is one mon that i universally fear facing with any team in this generation it would undoubtedly be modest nidoking (hopefully this doesn't convince people to not use timid even though its ass). it gets free switches on clef, threatens phys def pex and tran with the guaranteed ohko and can 2hko/ohko everything in the metagame. the only exceptions are blissey which is 4hkod by sludge wave and is shut down with taunt and slowking which faces steep competition with slowbro. ice beam is not as necessary since there is no zyg, mega lati or glisc and flamethrower is preferred to threaten ferro and corv. the rest of the team patches up defensive weaknesses and this tran is flash fire>flame body to be able to pivot into ace pyro ball and outspeed and kill with scarf earth power (flame body is usually better unless you're extremely fire weak imo since u can usually bluff flash fire).
Team 15
https://pokepast.es/530d45c11e6ab9a5
healing wish ho - if you guys don't know the power of healing wish in this generation i recommend you watch the recent snake finals game of talah vs garak oak. this team is somewhat inspired by the team talah brought, which is basically threats+healing wish. the way this mechanic works is that healing wish won't work immediately if you send in a mon that is already healthy, so it will always be delayed until you send in a mon that is already chipped and/or statused. nido and shifu complement each other really well and are primed to dismantle fat with taunt. specs koko is a threatening fast offensive pivot that is pretty underrated especially since there aren't much grass types in the tier and ground types don't like switching into a specs dazzling gleam or grass knot. ace can also abuse terrain with terrain boosted electro ball which ohkos 0 iv - spe bro while still 2hkoing pex, low kick is also preferred over hjk since it still kills tran and shifu with life orb without risking accuracy. land and lati make up the rest of the members and offer bulk and speed control.
Team 16
https://pokepast.es/35d0e79ce29f4b39
specs koko and specs zone - offensive koko is a mon that people don't give much credit after it lost hp ice, despite things like glisc and tang being gone. pairing it with zone however makes it all the more potent. specs rising voltage from zone in terrain 2hkos ferro and bliss which are just two more things stopping koko that it doesn't have to deal with (it can also trap and one shot av metal and spdef tran which is just obscene). sd chomp pairs well forming the potent dragmag duo and mandi and bro are there to patch up defensive weaknesses. teleport bro also has the advantage of forcing momentum by bringing in koko and ace safely or a trap with zone.
Team 17
https://pokepast.es/cd4e7d6b27954624
band rilla and scarf kart - having these two is probably the closest you can get to screwing over offense but they don't offer that much beyond the revenge killing aspect. grassy terrain support on the other hand is pretty beneficial, especially for mons with unreliable recovery like tran and pert giving them much needed staying power especially with protect. zap and pert provide potent momentum for rilla and kart with scarf cm clef (i swear this is the last one) to cripple fat and function as a potent win con.
Team 18
https://pokepast.es/3be5ea15ed557a48
cm fini with bandshifu and ace - pretty generic bulky offense team with good offensive and defensive synergy and potent win cons. cm taunt fini with draining kiss can get out of hand real fast and this mon is pretty much the reason why i run poison jab on almost all my pex. ace and shifu provide offensive pressure to deal with steels that would trouble it like ferro and metal with the rest of the members patching up general weaknesses.
Team 19
https://pokepast.es/8e30c3e077a71c5f
unwallable trio - if there is anything that can counter/check nido, shifu and spectrier lmk. the combination of these three mons cover each others checks and counters exceptionally well to the point that the rest of the team just needs to patch up their defensive weaknesses. encore clef is necessary to prevent opposing set up and provide safe switches while pex is also eject button to get safe momentum into said threats. this team is all about forcing the right match ups and guaranteeing damage to set up for any of said three to steamroll.
Team 20
https://pokepast.es/b8ea31024e07e6fb
trapshifu-r and vincune - you know how i said that nidoking was the scariest mon in the metagame? well i lied, apparently vincune is actually broken if you eliminate pex. this team is undefeated and is probably the best i've made this generation, but that's moreso a testament to suicune being able to subject the opposition to force lose scenarios with no way to handle it. i'm being 100% sincere when i say that a well played vincune can sweep you if you give it even the slightest opportunity to set up, in fact all the teams i posted in this dump will have issue with it lol. the team supports it pretty well, with tspikes nido keeping ferropex at bay and helping with sub tect strats, encore clef to deter set up and eject button corv providing safe momentum. the shifu-r set in particular is designed to eliminate pex while in general being able to force damage with taunt. band mosa provides the team some speed and offensive pressure and throat chop as filler to snipe spectrier and shedinja.
Bonus Team
https://pokepast.es/02ab68d260f45660
trap stall - i want to preface this by saying that i think stall this generation actually sucks, it struggles so hard with any combination of cores and means of breaking that the only reason it is still viable is because pex exists. stall however usually has trouble with opposing stall match ups and tends to result into infinite switch loops since neither team can break the other. losing pursuit especially sealed the nail in the coffin, but there's still hope. if anybody knows me they know i use untraditional stall teams, but i like to refer it as non passive stall. this stall team actually has a way of breaking down the opposition while still managing to keep most things in check. block spite pex is a set you don't see to often, as its relatively niche and can only really trap and pp stall one mon due to low pp. so while you may be able to trap a ferro, that still doesn't help you deal with the hypothetical clef or pex in the back. lunar dance cress however fixes that issue and allows it to force a 2 for 1 trade and checkmate scenario, with cress also coming with trick which can help speed up the process. the rest of the team is logical in terms of defensive synergy, with shedinja having trick as a way to deal with opposing trick users.
conclusion
i realize that most of the value in the teams i posted are dependent on the surprise factor to be used effectively which is part of the reason why i build constantly. be that as it may, a team is only as good as the person using it and if anything i hope i've inspired others to make their own creations and try to come to their own conclusions on what's good or not based on their own experiences. if you want to be a better player and understand the game on a deeper level, building and appropriating ideas from others is something i encourage as the tier and metagame won't progress if people don't experiment. it's also one of the reasons why i prefer the current generation compared to past gens as the metagame is always undergoing constant development. if there's anything to take away from this message, its that you can make literally anything work if you support it well enough, so don't let your dreams be memes
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