Introduction
Alright so I originally built this team around Whimsicott which is why I called the team that. However, through development of the team, the usage of each mon became far more balanced, and if anything I end up using Whimsicott the least (I still believe it has a solid niche in the team). In the development of this team, my aim was to be able to create opportunities for Whimsi while having a relatively high amount of offensive potential. The main strength of this team is switch in plays and doing large chunks of damage on forced switch ins; every single mon on this team (besides Whimsi) hits very hard. This team also does not have any moves dedicated to clearing entry hazards. Entry hazards don't have much of an effect on the team (with the exception being stealth rock on Dragonite, which can be annoying sometimes), so all they really do is give free moves to deal more damage. One weakness of the team is the amount of 90 accuracy moves; I have lost games to unfortunate misses. However, usually you can get away with 1 or 2 a game.Heatran @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Overheat
- Flash Cannon
- Steel Beam
I LOVE this thing. Basically the goal is for it to switch in on special attacks and deal a dumb amount of damage back. Its typing covers a ton of weaknesses on the team. The EV spread and Modest nature allow it to have maximum damage potential with a good amount of general bulk and outspeed other Heatrans who have no speed investment. Assault Vest is what makes it a 4-5HKO for most neutral special attacks and 3HKO for most non-stab 2x damage attacks. Earth Power is mostly to counter other Heatrans and solid general coverage. Overheat is ridiculous, especially boosted by Flash Fire. It can OHKO most pokemon with weaker defenses and does ridiculous damage to anything it doesn't OHKO. The only downside is having to switch out after most uses. Flash Cannon is great stab with fairy-killing potential, as well as an overall reliable move. Steel Beam is for if I need a dumb amount of damage down ASAP without using Overheat, or if Heatran is going to die anyway.
If I had to change one thing about this set it would be Steel Beam. I've thought about putting in Dark Pulse to counter Dragapult, however Heatran resists Draga pretty hard and can use Flash Cannon to kill if needed. Steel Beam also OHKOs Draga sometimes. I've also considered Dragon Pulse to counter Zygarde, however you wouldn't even want Heatran in at that point.
Overall, Heatran is very crucial to the dynamic of this team.
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wood Hammer
- U-turn
- Grassy Glide
- Knock Off
I went for a very standard set on Rilla. This thing hits ridiculously hard, and is great for switching in on physical mons. Its EV spread and Adamant nature creates insane damage potential, especially with Grassy Surge, which also synergizes well with Whimsi's set and is good general healing. Rilla also has solid natural bulk. Choice band for obvious reasons. Wood Hammer is for if I really need that extra damage down and don't have to worry about moving first. U-turn is obviously great for pivoting and safe switch ins. Grassy Glide absolutely pipes sweepers and weaker mons, the damage stacking with Rilla's 125 base attack is absurd. Knock off is great general coverage and utility.
If I had to change something with Rilla it would probably be taking EVs from speed and putting them in HP, but at the same time the extra speed is sometimes good to have and the extra HP may not be necessary. I've also thought about replacing U-turn with other general coverage such as EQ or Low Kick.
Overall, Rillaboom shreds and serves a similar role to Heatran in the team with the main difference being Grassy Glide. However, the typing is a lot weaker.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- U-turn
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch
Cinderace might be my favorite gen 8 mon. In the previous generations, I was a massive fan of Greninja and its incredible ability as an offensive pivot, so naturally Cinderace fills that role for me quite nicely. The base typing also compliments the team chemistry nicely. I went for another standard set here with Heavy-Duty Boots to negate entry hazards, as mentioned in the intro. The EV spread is also very standard and maximizes both Cindy's damage potential while also being a relatively high-speed threat. Pyro Ball combined with Heatran's Overheat is basically a massive middle finger to steel types. Also useful for specifically countering Rilla and Magnezone. U-turn is obviously used for pivoting and great damage on psychic/grass types in general. Now, I went for Gunk Shot here over HJK to deal with fairy types. I honestly hate going against Clefables specifically, and there's enough physical power on the team to deal with an enemy Blissey. For dealing with fairies, yes I could use Iron Head but I'd rather run Gunk Shot for Tapu Fini and Azumarill as well as having more high-power general coverage. Sucker punch is to deal with weakened scarf users or other high speed mons, including opposing Cinderaces, Spectrier, and Dragapult.
I really love this set but if I really had to change something it would be HJK for U-turn.
Dragapult @ Choice Band
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dragon Darts
- Steel Wing
- U-turn
This is one of the more interesting sets and I can easily see it becoming meta. Typing-wise, it counters HJK and other fighting moves as well as general coverage types such as water, complimenting the rest of the team nicely. Choice Band Dragapult isn't very common now, as other physical Draga sets typically run D-Dance. However, having a choice band allows you to put down great damage with no setup moves, along with already having great speed. It also makes Draga a better offensive pivot. Fire blast may not seem necessary considering the other great fire coverage, but I have found it very useful when forcing switch ins into Ferrothorn, Melmetal, or other annoying steel types, doing a good chunk of damage to them, if not OHKOing. Fire blast is also good against opposing Rillas. Dragon darts is an incredible move in the current meta. With Choice band and the current EV spread, it OHKOs Dragonite from 100HP thanks to it hitting twice. Zygardes running a substitute set are also easily countered and can be dealt with before ever setting up Coil. It is also just great neutral stab damage against a lot of weaker mons. Steel wing is mostly more coverage against fairies, and U-turn is used for pivoting and general coverage. Dragapult is also great against non-fairy screen leads such as Regieleki - Dragon Darts OHKOs nearly all of them.
So, I love the concept of this set and it has been incredibly useful for me. However, there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. First, I'm very shaky on Steel wing. If one move had to go it would be steel wing; I already have good steel coverage from Heatran and more fairy counter potential Cinderace, so I would definitely not be opposed to swapping it out for Dragon Tail, Sucker Punch for Spectrier, or maybe even some more special coverage. Again, I don't think D-Dance is necessary at all as Choice Band allows it to be a great pivot. Furthermore, I am still not sure about running a Hasty nature; I think an attack-boosting nature could also work here to get that extra damage in, and mostly because it outspeeds everything it needs to already even without a speed-boosting nature. Zeroara, which outspeeds Draga by one point, actually sucks against Draga and is OHKOd by Dragon Darts. Pheremosa gets piped by Rilla and Regieleki can't do much to Draga without electric terrain.
Overall, Dragapult serves as a hard-hitting offensive pivot that also deals with annoying dragon types.
Dragonite @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Punch
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
Cmon, one of the most reliable bulky sweepers in the game. The typing works great with literally the entire team (but mostly Heatran and Cinderace). I've gone with the classic WP-DD set for its reliability, cleanup potential, and sometimes straight up sweep potential. Ice punch is obviously great coverage, and while Garchomp and both forms of Lando aren't crazy threats to this team, they also haven't been specifically countered yet. Earthquake is great damage to annoying steel and fire types such as a speed-invested Heatran, the occasional scarf Magnezone, Magearna, Blaziken, and Victini, while also doing a nice chunk of damage to Tyranitar. Draco meteor is great for countering offensive walls such as Avalugg and Aaron after WP pops, and is fantastic 1-time stab damage in general.
Alright, so every move on this set comes in useful at some point so I'm not too sure what could be swapped out if necessary. Lmk what you guys think
Overall, I <3 Dragonite 6-0s
Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Protect
- Toxic
Jesus christ this thing is something else when used right. Its EV spready and nature allows it to switch in on a solid amount of physical threats. Basically the way it's used is you wanna switch in on favorable matchups, such as Lando-T, Urshifu, physical ground or dragon types or Zygarde (before substitute). Then throw a toxic or leech seed down, depending on the scenario (usually better to toxic first). If they stay in, they either die or have some damage done before switching out. If they switch out, free toxic on someone else which can easily be stalled out by alternating between substitute (which can also counter most status and other weird moves thanks to Prankster) and protect, which some leech seeds thrown in there for better sustain. Once whimsicott has been given a free move, it is very hard to shut down. Opponents will be forced to switch into steel or poison types, allowing you to get an easy read and switch into a counter. The strength of Whimsicott is very reliant on one's ability to make reads and predictions, making it a little difficult to use sometimes. The weaknesses of this set include other grass types, poison types, magic guard, some steel types (mainly Corviknight) and dark types (due to Prankster), however all of these weaknesses are covered on the team. Because of this, Whimsicott is a great mid-to-late game stall/toxic spreader and is rarely used early game, and can sometimes even be used as clean up in some scenarios.
Overall, Whimsicott carves out a really weird niche in the tier. It fits well in the team thanks to its type and ability to create opportunities for the team by forcing switch ins and spreading solid toxic and leech seed damage across the team.
Alright, so to wrap everything up, I think it's an interesting team with solid potential. It is a minimal-setup, high-damage team that covers most offensive threats in the current meta very well in my opinion. The only thing lacking so far is fighting and electric coverage, but that hasn't been a real problem yet. One of the only mons that can sometimes be real annoying against this team is Urshifu, but not always. Buzzwole can also be pretty annoying sometimes. Rain teams get shredded by Rilla and Draga, and can usually be walled by Whimsi. Same goes with electric terrain teams. I can't really imagine swapping out mons on this team right now, but that's probably because I've spent way too much time the last few days thinking about it, so I'm very much looking forward to any input.
If you read all of this ily, looking forward to seeing rates/improvements :)
Edit: would also like to mention that the name i have for this team in team builder is "black tar heroin" lol
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