Hey all, this is the team that I made on Day 1 of RU when the ladder first opened. It has since then been retired, but I was hoping my RU peeps could brainstorm on how to bring this team back to life.
Basically the team centers around two main Pokemon: SubCM Cresselia and LO Hone Claws Durant. The idea is to weaken the team enough from entry hazards and Toxic damage to the point where either one can come in, depending on what's left on the opponent's team, and sweep.
Since this team was made on Day 1, before any of the main threats were fully realized, it obviously has some gaping holes in its overall defense, so focus on filling those gaps!
Without further ado, here's the team:
Scolipede @ Leftovers
Ability: Poison Point
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Megahorn
- Earthquake
Most of the time I'd lead with this little beast to get Spikes and/or TSpikes up early in the game. This was crucial in order to wear down some of the bigger threats to the team as well as weaken the opposing team enough so that Durant could come in and wreak havoc. TSpikes were especially useful to maim Poliwrath and Quagsire, both hard stops to SubCM Cresselia.
The main problems I found with Scolipede was his lack of offense. That could obviously be remedied by shifting those HP EVs to Atk, but then I would lose out on that much-needed bulk to guarantee at least 2 layers of TSpikes. I've thought about replacing Scolipede with Eviolite Roselia or Ferroseed, but they lack one major thing Scolipede has over them: Awesome Speed.
Golurk @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
Golurk was my designated spinblocker of the team, which is crucial for one centered around entry hazards. SubPunch provides Golurk some much needed protection against status, as well as some added protection against common switch-ins like Weezing, Moltres, and Honchkrow looking to switch in on a Choice-locked Earthquake. Really there aren't many Pokemon that actually want to switch into a SubPunch Golurk, making him a nice pivot Pokemon to rack up extra entry hazard damage.
Probopass @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Thunder Wave
- Power Gem
- Taunt / Earth Power
blah blah wtf is Probopass blah blah. But, I wanted Probopass for a couple of reasons. One, it outright dgaf/counters Yanmega not using HP Ground. Two, it provides Stealth Rock. Hence why I'm not using Munchlax in this spot. The lack of recovery could be fixed with using Rest in the last slot, but once he sets up SR and once Yanmega is dead, Probopass has pretty much served his purpose. I like Taunt since it can prevent Venomoth and Omastar from setting up on him if he catches them on the switch, but otherwise he's forced out. I chose Toxic over Thunder Wave because being able to nail Cresselia with it is always a god-send, but TWave does help with said Venomoth and Omastar switch-ins too. The main reason why I'd be open to replacing him with Munchlax is because Munchlax gets Whirlwind.
I also thought of using Bastiodon in this slot since it does get Roar, but Probopass provides just a little more Special Defense which helps against most of the tier.
Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Foresight
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Dragon Tail
The spinner of the team, and the much-needed Water resist. I went and sprung for the Foresight + Spin because I really don't like entry hazards on my side of the field, even though Durant and Cress don't particularly mind them. Blastoise also functions as a much-needed check to CB Entei and most Rhyperior. Blastoise and Probopass actually make a pretty decent defensive core as they cover each other's weaknesses pretty well, though they don't resist most of the hits, they don't particularly mind the neutral ones.
Dragon Tail provides unfortunately the only phazing move on the team, but is great thanks to all the hazards my team is sure to get down. Scald is nice for possibly getting the burn on random Flying-types/Levitators, like Yanmega or Honchkrow.
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Moonlight
- Ice Beam / Psychic
Sweeper number one of the team and also goes with the tankish nature of the team. SubCM is probably my favorite Cresselia set of all time thanks to its ability to just tank almost the whole tier. There are a few hard counters to the set, but most are covered by the rest of the team. SubCM also remedies two of Cresselia's biggest weaknesses: its lack of offense, and its weakness to Toxic. Unfortunately, even at +6 Cresselia can't hope to break certain Pokemon, such as Quagsire, Umbreon, and other bulky Psychics. I almost always go with Ice Beam though, because with it, Cresselia actually beats Honchkrow, Absol, and Sharpedo one-on-one.
Durant @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Hone Claws
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide
Probably one of the most underrated sweepers in the tier, Durant is amazingly powerful at +1, and sometimes I don't even have to wait for entry hazards to get set up in order for him to sweep. Hone Claws also remedies one of the biggest downsides to using Durant: the accuracy loss of Hustle gets canceled out. Durant is also freaking fast, being able to outpace all of the top unboosted threats, such as Venomoth, Yanmega, Moltres, and Entei, which also makes Durant a great last-ditch revenge killer.
Top Threats to the team:
Shell Smash Omastar - Cresselia has a chance to beat it if it has a Sub up and is at +1 or if Omastar switches into Golurk as it Subs, otherwise it's pretty much "gg" when they bring this beastie out. Don't even get me started on when it's raining when they bring him out.
Rain/hail teams in general - If they're well built this team has some major problems against them, particularly because Blastoise is my only Water-type resist and Blastoise and Probopass are the only real Ice-type resists (Durant can't take a Blizzard worth shit). They also nerf Cresselia's Moonlight, making it really hard for her to outstall hail stall teams.
Rate away and bring this team back to life and thanks for reading!
Also P.S. this is my first RMT 9.9
Basically the team centers around two main Pokemon: SubCM Cresselia and LO Hone Claws Durant. The idea is to weaken the team enough from entry hazards and Toxic damage to the point where either one can come in, depending on what's left on the opponent's team, and sweep.
Since this team was made on Day 1, before any of the main threats were fully realized, it obviously has some gaping holes in its overall defense, so focus on filling those gaps!
Without further ado, here's the team:
Scolipede @ Leftovers
Ability: Poison Point
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
- Toxic Spikes
- Spikes
- Megahorn
- Earthquake
Most of the time I'd lead with this little beast to get Spikes and/or TSpikes up early in the game. This was crucial in order to wear down some of the bigger threats to the team as well as weaken the opposing team enough so that Durant could come in and wreak havoc. TSpikes were especially useful to maim Poliwrath and Quagsire, both hard stops to SubCM Cresselia.
The main problems I found with Scolipede was his lack of offense. That could obviously be remedied by shifting those HP EVs to Atk, but then I would lose out on that much-needed bulk to guarantee at least 2 layers of TSpikes. I've thought about replacing Scolipede with Eviolite Roselia or Ferroseed, but they lack one major thing Scolipede has over them: Awesome Speed.
Golurk @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SpA)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake
Golurk was my designated spinblocker of the team, which is crucial for one centered around entry hazards. SubPunch provides Golurk some much needed protection against status, as well as some added protection against common switch-ins like Weezing, Moltres, and Honchkrow looking to switch in on a Choice-locked Earthquake. Really there aren't many Pokemon that actually want to switch into a SubPunch Golurk, making him a nice pivot Pokemon to rack up extra entry hazard damage.
Probopass @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
Nature: Calm (+SpD, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic / Thunder Wave
- Power Gem
- Taunt / Earth Power
blah blah wtf is Probopass blah blah. But, I wanted Probopass for a couple of reasons. One, it outright dgaf/counters Yanmega not using HP Ground. Two, it provides Stealth Rock. Hence why I'm not using Munchlax in this spot. The lack of recovery could be fixed with using Rest in the last slot, but once he sets up SR and once Yanmega is dead, Probopass has pretty much served his purpose. I like Taunt since it can prevent Venomoth and Omastar from setting up on him if he catches them on the switch, but otherwise he's forced out. I chose Toxic over Thunder Wave because being able to nail Cresselia with it is always a god-send, but TWave does help with said Venomoth and Omastar switch-ins too. The main reason why I'd be open to replacing him with Munchlax is because Munchlax gets Whirlwind.
I also thought of using Bastiodon in this slot since it does get Roar, but Probopass provides just a little more Special Defense which helps against most of the tier.
Blastoise @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Foresight
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Dragon Tail
The spinner of the team, and the much-needed Water resist. I went and sprung for the Foresight + Spin because I really don't like entry hazards on my side of the field, even though Durant and Cress don't particularly mind them. Blastoise also functions as a much-needed check to CB Entei and most Rhyperior. Blastoise and Probopass actually make a pretty decent defensive core as they cover each other's weaknesses pretty well, though they don't resist most of the hits, they don't particularly mind the neutral ones.
Dragon Tail provides unfortunately the only phazing move on the team, but is great thanks to all the hazards my team is sure to get down. Scald is nice for possibly getting the burn on random Flying-types/Levitators, like Yanmega or Honchkrow.
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Moonlight
- Ice Beam / Psychic
Sweeper number one of the team and also goes with the tankish nature of the team. SubCM is probably my favorite Cresselia set of all time thanks to its ability to just tank almost the whole tier. There are a few hard counters to the set, but most are covered by the rest of the team. SubCM also remedies two of Cresselia's biggest weaknesses: its lack of offense, and its weakness to Toxic. Unfortunately, even at +6 Cresselia can't hope to break certain Pokemon, such as Quagsire, Umbreon, and other bulky Psychics. I almost always go with Ice Beam though, because with it, Cresselia actually beats Honchkrow, Absol, and Sharpedo one-on-one.
Durant @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Hone Claws
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Rock Slide
Probably one of the most underrated sweepers in the tier, Durant is amazingly powerful at +1, and sometimes I don't even have to wait for entry hazards to get set up in order for him to sweep. Hone Claws also remedies one of the biggest downsides to using Durant: the accuracy loss of Hustle gets canceled out. Durant is also freaking fast, being able to outpace all of the top unboosted threats, such as Venomoth, Yanmega, Moltres, and Entei, which also makes Durant a great last-ditch revenge killer.
Top Threats to the team:
Shell Smash Omastar - Cresselia has a chance to beat it if it has a Sub up and is at +1 or if Omastar switches into Golurk as it Subs, otherwise it's pretty much "gg" when they bring this beastie out. Don't even get me started on when it's raining when they bring him out.
Rain/hail teams in general - If they're well built this team has some major problems against them, particularly because Blastoise is my only Water-type resist and Blastoise and Probopass are the only real Ice-type resists (Durant can't take a Blizzard worth shit). They also nerf Cresselia's Moonlight, making it really hard for her to outstall hail stall teams.
Rate away and bring this team back to life and thanks for reading!
Also P.S. this is my first RMT 9.9
