You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

[CTNC]

I'm just going to say it. I know I'm not winning this round. Good luck to every one else!



Dugtrio
Sand Veil
-Earthquake
-Slash
-Rock Slide
-Sucker Punch

To the surprise of no one, Dugtrio is on this team. Original Dugtrio is much more of a surprise though. It's in the Alola Dex, so it's allowed. (Edit: I think.)

Slash is a weird choice, but I went with it because it's the one of the two (non-egg) moves Alolan Dugtrio can't learn that Origional Dugtrio can. Alolan Dugtrio can't learn it because they learn Iron Head instead. (The other move is Scratch because of Metal Claw being a Level 1 move instead.) Dugtrio is too frail to use any Status moves even if they did have any worth using, so I went with 4 Attacks. Sucker Punch is for suckers if you're assuming the AI is using your team, but it's more interesting than Night Slash or Shadow Claw.

It seems ironic that the guy that gives himself too many restrictions based on what feels right is okay with regional forms that you can't get without transferring.


Vikavolt
Levitate
-Dig
-U-Turn
-Volt Switch
-Thunder Wave

Something that flies feels like a weird chance for a Ground team, but its pre-evolutions, Grubbin and Charjabug, are the kinds of Pokemon that burrow to make nests and hide and evolving doesn't stop Vikavolt from learning Dig. U-Turn and Volt Switch retreating could be seen hiding, possible underground, but I honestly think that's a bit of a stretch.

I had no idea what to do for the last move. I already had enough Dark attacks, so I didn't want Crunch, and Flying is pretty much the opposite of Ground, so I was saying no to any Flying attack. I considered Roost, but that draws attention to the fact that Vikavolt flies. Thunder Wave doesn't work with the a move the next Pokemon knows, but it's better than everything else.


Gigalith
Sand Stream
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Stealth Rock
-Toxic

Don't have enough Ground types for a Ground team? Use a Rock type! I was already thinking I'd probably go with Gigalith from the start, but I checked out what other Rock Pokemon there were and I was surprised that only 3 out of 5 could learn Ground moves without USUM Tutors. The other options were Suddowoodo, Corsola, and two Rock types that can't learn Ground moves without USUM Tutors. The two that can fit better on Grass and Water teams than Ground and Gigalith lives in caves, so it was an easy choice.

Gigalith doesn't have much variety in Physical attack options and Ground + Rock coverage is good enough, so I went with Stealth Rock because no one on Smogon can resist Stealth Rock and Toxic to add onto Sandstorm's drain.


Whiscash
Oblivious
-Earth Power
-Muddy Water
-Ice Beam
-Future Sight

Earth Power may be an Egg Move and I usually avoid those if I can, but I figured why not because this team could use a Special attacker. I don't really don't like Muddy Water because of low Accuracy and lowering Accuracy, but it fits too well thematically for a Ground team to say no. Ice Beam is almost a must on any Water type and Future Sight for the final move is because Whiscash is an unusually non-mystic for a Pokemon that can learn Future Sight.

Why isn't this the last Pokemon when there's only 2 fully evolved Ground type species? That has to do with why this team isn't winning this round.


Machamp
Guts
-Earthquake
-Revenge
-Payback
-Bulk Up

I'm not entirely sure why I thought Machamp was a good idea for a Ground team. Maybe it was because I didn't want more than one Rock type and I didn't think many options fit. I liked the idea of using Pokemon that live underground or in caves for a Ground team and Machop and Machoke can be found in caves in every game they can be found in until SM

I didn't want to use No Guard + Dynamic Punch (I really don't luck based stuff like confusion.) and didn't want the Egg move Close Combat, but there weren't many Fighting moves that were that strong without any drawbacks like lower Accuracy. I went with Revenge because of the potential 120 Power and Machamp's bulk should let it endure some hits. If I'm using Revenge, I might as well use Payback too. Adding Status moves makes movesets more interesting than just 4 Attacks and this was another Pokemon with enough coverage that it really didn't need more attacks, so I went with Bulk Up for the last move so the team would have a setup Pokemon.


Alolan Dugtrio @ Groundium Z
Sand Veil
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Rock Slide
-Sucker Punch

This is why I'm not winning this round. The rules say no repeat species, so this team is disqualified. (Edit: Not disqualified! :D) The point is to have fun and this felt like a clever idea even if it's not allowed because of regional forms technically being the same species.

The moveset is the same as the other Dugtrio except with the move Alolan Dugtrio leans at Level 41 instead of the one Origional Dugtrio learns at that Level. I thought that if I'm using two different Dugtrio it'd be neat to have them as the first and last Pokemon and make their movesets similar.




Pros: Three fully evolved Ground types.
Cons: The rules say no repeat species. Worth it though.

This round was a hard one. I have no idea what I'd use as a sixth Pokemon if I didn't use both Dugtrio.

 

[Pikachu315111]

To the surprise of no one, Dugtrio is on this team. Original Dugtrio is much more of a surprise though. It's in the Alola Dex, so it's allowed.

(...)

This is why I'm not winning this round. The rules say no repeat species, so this team is disqualified. The point is to have fun and this felt like a clever idea even if it's not allowed because of regional forms technically being the same species.

While it's of course all up to QuentinQuonce, but technically you're disqualified for using Normal Dugtrio. If we're strictly sticking to what Pokemon you can get in Sun & Moon, you cannot get Normal Dugtrio. Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon gave you a way to evolve Pokemon with Alolan Variant evolutions a way to evolve into their normal counterpart, but we're basing our team on Sun & Moon.

Now granted, QuentinQuonce has allowed for cross game Moves & Abilities (and probably Items too), and I believe in the main game you can battle normal Dugtrio (and other normal versions of Alolan Variants) via the Tourist Trainer Class. Allowing for a form which, while normally inaccessible, is still in the game could stretch into that, which in that case you're all good.

"No repeat species". That rule sounds specific... but being this is Pokemon of course it comes with a few asterisks. Obviously it means no dupes, but what about forms? Okay, sure, some forms are only cosmetic; no entire team of Vivillon. But what about forms with slightly different traits? Jumping ahead, Regional Variants are essentially a separate species from their base forms in-lore. Stat-wise, they usually have some major difference between them and their base, even if its just a Type change (though even that usually comes with an Ability and Moveset difference which can make some play very differently). To get to my point, Regional Variants I feel are one (if not the only) exception to the "no repeat species" rule (heck, after Alola a few Variants were given different Pokemon Category), thus if both are in the game you can use them (which goes back to my first point of whether QuentinQuonce requires the Pokemon to be catchable or even one form of it existing in the dex is enough to count).

 

[QuentinQuonce]

While it's of course all up to QuentinQuonce, but technically you're disqualified for using Normal Dugtrio. If we're strictly sticking to what Pokemon you can get in Sun & Moon, you cannot get Normal Dugtrio. Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon gave you a way to evolve Pokemon with Alolan Variant evolutions a way to evolve into their normal counterpart, but we're basing our team on Sun & Moon.

Now granted, QuentinQuonce has allowed for cross game Moves & Abilities (and probably Items too), and I believe in the main game you can battle normal Dugtrio (and other normal versions of Alolan Variants) via the Tourist Trainer Class. Allowing for a form which, while normally inaccessible, is still in the game could stretch into that, which in that case you're all good.

"No repeat species". That rule sounds specific... but being this is Pokemon of course it comes with a few asterisks. Obviously it means no dupes, but what about forms? Okay, sure, some forms are only cosmetic; no entire team of Vivillon. But what about forms with slightly different traits? Jumping ahead, Regional Variants are essentially a separate species from their base forms in-lore. Stat-wise, they usually have some major difference between them and their base, even if its just a Type change (though even that usually comes with an Ability and Moveset difference which can make some play very differently). To get to my point, Regional Variants I feel are one (if not the only) exception to the "no repeat species" rule (heck, after Alola a few Variants were given different Pokemon Category), thus if both are in the game you can use them (which goes back to my first point of whether QuentinQuonce requires the Pokemon to be catchable or even one form of it existing in the dex is enough to count).

Y'know what, on this one case I'm kind of minded to allow it. It's not the most egregious rulebreak and while I can't bring an example to mind I could well imagine an in-game opponent using both the original and the regional variant of a certain Pokemon (either in service of a devoted type specialism or simply because they're a fan - is there a Meowth fanatic using all three variants in SwSh or ScVi?).

Plus CTNC has been here a while so it's not like they've just stumbled onto the thread and disregarded the guidelines as others have (naming no names...)

So yeah this one time I'm allowing it as a joke/meme pick. But only on the proviso that people don't take this as a free-for-all to start stacking the same Pokemon on the same team. Let's keep that spirit of creativity alive.

 

[CTNC]

Y'know what, on this one case I'm kind of minded to allow it. It's not the most egregious rulebreak and while I can't bring an example to mind I could well imagine an in-game opponent using both the original and the regional variant of a certain Pokemon (either in service of a devoted type specialism or simply because they're a fan - is there a Meowth fanatic using all three variants in SwSh or ScVi?).

Plus CTNC has been here a while so it's not like they've just stumbled onto the thread and disregarded the guidelines as others have (naming no names...)

So yeah this one time I'm allowing it as a joke/meme pick. But only on the proviso that people don't take this as a free-for-all to start stacking the same Pokemon on the same team. Let's keep that spirit of creativity alive.

Cool! :D Not complaining about it being a one time exception. That's fair. Complaining about being called a meme/joke pick though. :P

About the trainers that use different regional forms, it's two trainers in a Double Battle, but there's two Tourist couples in USUM that use the Original and Alolan forms of Pokemon. (The Punk Girl is one of my favorite trainers for complaining about the Tourist following her and making fun of his puny Exeggutor.) The closest thing for one trainer is either the Meowth Camp in SwSh, which does have all three Meowth but I wouldn't count that in this case because of not being an opponent, or Instructor Dendra using both Fire and Water Tauros in SV's Academy Tournament.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Cool! :D Not complaining about it being a one time exception. That's fair. Complaining about being called a meme/joke pick though. :P

I mean, when you start your entry by saying "so, this absolutely isn't going to win, but..."

About the trainers that use different regional forms, it's two trainers in a Double Battle, but there's two Tourist couples in USUM that use the Original and Alolan forms of Pokemon. (The Punk Girl is one of my favorite trainers for complaining about the Tourist following her and making fun of his puny Exeggutor.) The closest thing for one trainer is either the Meowth Camp in SwSh, which does have all three Meowth but I wouldn't count that in this case because of not being an opponent, or Instructor Dendra using both Fire and Water Tauros in SV's Academy Tournament.

Knew there had to be one, completely forgot about the Sightseer class. Surprised it's not more of a thing, though it's still a fairly recent concept.

 

[SturdyShedinja]

Movesets here!

I couldn’t find the time to participate last week, but I have a submission for this week, even if it’s yet another sand team. The first three are pretty straightforward. Dugtrio seemed like a better lead with its higher speed, while whiscash as the ace seemed interesting since it’s almost never used in the games. Lycanroc is the primary weather abuser with its sand rush ability and its design fits the type well. Magnezone is a reference to the ground type sandy shocks and it enjoys sand while pressuring annoying water types. Lastly, mandibuzz is immune to sand thanks to overcoat and learns sone oddball ground moves like bone rush to fit the theme.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Apologies for the lateness of this, real life did that annoying thing it often does and got in the way.

https://strawpoll.com/40Zmqjj7AZa​

New poll is up! You have until August 20th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote.

Let's do numbers.

Numbers

Dugtrio: 11 (+1)
Whiscash: 11

Gigalith: 10

Mandibuzz: 4

Hariyama: 3
Lycanroc: 3

Shelgon: 2
Snorlax: 2
Sudowoodo: 2
Vikavolt: 2
Carbink: 2

Primeape: 1
Decidueye: 1
Machamp: 1
Muk: 1
Magnezone: 1
Salamence: 1
Fearow: 1
Gumshoos: 1
Gengar: 1
Smeargle: 1
Blissey: 1
Slowbro: 1
Whimsicott: 1

Nice varied round, this. We came very, very close to having one of the wildcards be on every team, which I don't believe has happened yet. Ultimately, though, one person elected to leave Gigalith off the list. Whiscash and Dugtrio were of course mandatory inclusions. Interested to see that no-one did a Rototiller team: it's one of those obscure moves I initially thought only a couple of things get, but Dugtrio learns it. Melemele has Lilligant, Whimsicott, and Decidueye. When I saw Hugin's farmer team I thought "ah, this must be it" but no... there's actually a surprisingly small amount of Grass, which you'd think would overlap. Instead we mostly got a Rock overlap, which is to be expected since Ground and Rock have always had a close relationship. Enjoyed the justifications for some of the less obvious wildcards like Gengar and Vikavolt though.

Stuff I expected to see more (or at all)

Honestly not a lot. The Melemele dex is small and you all covered quite a lot of bases.

Lilligant. Covered why I thought I might see this above, funny to see Whimsicott appear but not this.

Definitely thought I'd see more Snorlax. Big fat bulky mountain mon, learns Ground moves.

Muk. It plays vaguely similarly to type changers we've seen on other teams: it can inherit abilities with Power of Alchemy, so it could pick up Sand Force (thus making itself immune to sandstorm damage) or even Sand Stream to reactivate the weather.

Fearow, because Drill Run.

Corsola. Gets Ingrain which ties in mechanically with grounding, and it's Rock but also Water to provide some useful type diversity.

 

[Pikachu315111]

My look through of last comp winners:

Grand Ice

jhm5: So, this is interesting to me as both jhm5 and I did a Shoal Cave team. But while they won with 25 votes, I only got 6. So, what did jhm5 do right with his Shoal Cave team that left mine sinking. What immediately stands out is that jhm5's team is more a Water-type with 2 "off" inclusions while I tried to vary up my Types more. Also they strictly stuck with Pokemon in and around Shoal Cave while I tossed in some other stuff like Claydol to represent Mossdeep and Ninetales as support. I guess maybe that what did my team in, in effort to make my team varied I spread my theme too wide. Jhm5's team may be mostly Water-type but they all know Ice moves, and Glalie and Crobat actually help in that regard because they're not Water-types which makes you think there's more going on (while in my team they just blend in). Finally never underestimate a team with a matching color scheme.

Hugin: Following just one point behind, a strong theme (and another matching color scheme) really pushes this one up the mountain. While others included Absol just because it was fluffy and leanr Ice Beam, it was a great match with the weather forecaster theme. Wouldn't notice it doesn't have an Ice-type Move (or, maybe some did, and that may have made the point difference).

Imperial Magala: I hate to say it, but I think you should have stuck with the Dusclops. Gardevoir may look ghostly and taking the spot of Froslass, but Gardevoir is not Froslass and is generally seen as a Pokemon of protection. Having a Ghost-type instead of a ghost-like substitute would have made it a solid "deadly cold" theme which it otherwise is. Also with other people going with Gardevoir, Dusclops may have helped your team stand out.

Axiemeister: First time and got tied for 4th place, not bad! Another (semi) Shoal Cave team (with a matching color scheme, I really did overthink things).

CTNC: The other 4th place winner, and it's by this point, even if they didn't do the same theme, we are starting to see the same few Pokemon. It's nice that you and a few others gave Sealeo a chance, though without Eviolite it does feel like with it you're stretching to just have another Ice-type instead of a usable team member.

 

[Hugin]

Yeah, this one was rough. There were a lot of good picks for a wildcard when all was said and done(I love that we just universally agreed Gigalith is Rock/Ground in our hearts). I expected a lot more grass, but the grass types available sucked, so I get why we didn't see that. Same with Steel and Ice, which are thematic matches in general, but not the mons in particular. I also expected a lot more mostly-rock teams(I don't vote for them, but I get why people do it). Gumshoos was a great choice too and I wish I'd thought of it.

Also, Barboach and A-Diglett are both so bad that Shelgon was the designated pre-evo for this matchup.

I admit, I'm starting to get burned out on the artificial restrictions. I like the concept, but...it's that the wildcard picks are so limited that's bugging me. If all islands were allowed this round, for example, we'd have Parasect, ice types, Stoutland...a lot more options for ground-theming. This round I had to really stretch and wasn't really happy with the final product.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I expected a lot more grass, but the grass types available sucked, so I get why we didn't see that.

(...)

I admit, I'm starting to get burned out on the artificial restrictions. I like the concept, but...it's that the wildcard picks are so limited that's bugging me. If all islands were allowed this round, for example, we'd have Parasect, ice types, Stoutland...a lot more options for ground-theming. This round I had to really stretch and wasn't really happy with the final product.

I was also thinking of doing something with Grass and then having some Pokemon with Rototiller to power them up, but that sounds like something for more of a Grass team than Ground.

Hm, maybe adjust the restriction where we can only use the designated Type for that island, but than we could choose any other Pokemon from the whole Alola Dex

 

[Axiemeister]

even if i get last i am proud i was the only one to not use gigalith. it was really tempting to lean on rock types and i am glad i found a theme i didn't need to

my favourite other themes were hugin's farmer team, pikachu's seismologist team, and ctnc's double-dugtrio team

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Another close result that nearly went another way - congrats Cobalt Empoleon for emerging victorious.

Yeah, this one was rough. There were a lot of good picks for a wildcard when all was said and done(I love that we just universally agreed Gigalith is Rock/Ground in our hearts). I expected a lot more grass, but the grass types available sucked, so I get why we didn't see that. Same with Steel and Ice, which are thematic matches in general, but not the mons in particular. I also expected a lot more mostly-rock teams(I don't vote for them, but I get why people do it). Gumshoos was a great choice too and I wish I'd thought of it.

Also, Barboach and A-Diglett are both so bad that Shelgon was the designated pre-evo for this matchup.

I admit, I'm starting to get burned out on the artificial restrictions. I like the concept, but...it's that the wildcard picks are so limited that's bugging me. If all islands were allowed this round, for example, we'd have Parasect, ice types, Stoutland...a lot more options for ground-theming. This round I had to really stretch and wasn't really happy with the final product.

I figured this round wouldn't be many people's favourite. However, as I'd personally like to eventually cover all the different types (well, except Normal - I don't believe any Pokedex, even a truncated one such as the current example, has fewer than six Normal-types) I thought give it a shot. It would be quite easy to fall into a cycle of Dragon, Ice, Steel, Ghost, Dragon, Ice, Steel, Ghost, etc.

None of the regions after Unova have a Pokedex that limits any of the types - not only are they all much larger, they generally do a far better job of giving each type representation. So it kind of forces segmenting them if Alola, Kalos, and others are to be included - which I'd like them to be.

Personally I'd like to think that a small listing makes the challenge more interesting rather than less, but I acknowledge it's not always the case. Always open to constructive feedback though (really)!

 

[Cobalt Empoleon]

Ooh very surprised to win! Definitely second-guessed my submission once I realised I had zero unique picks haha.

Personally I'd like to think that a small listing makes the challenge more interesting rather than less, but I acknowledge it's not always the case. Always open to constructive feedback though (really)!

Definitely not biased, but I agree that having more restrictions is a good thing! This challenge is a fun combination of teambuilding, storytelling, and constructing a defensible argument, all of which are made more interesting by having to get creative with limited options. Sometimes it can even be easier to land on your chosen six when you aren't overwhelmed with choices.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Evening! After conferring, our winner has selected our next round and we're onto a type I'm truly surprised we haven't yet covered...

You are a Dark-type specialist in LGPE Kanto. How do you best represent your chosen type?​

A reminder to please read the guidelines in the OP before commenting, especially if you're new to the thread.

LGPE Kanto Dex is here for those who need it. However, this question comes with a BONUS!

To wit: Dark in LGPE Kanto will be the actual question for this round, but you are hereby encouraged to add a "Dark in FRLG Kanto" team to your post as an addendum, purely for fun. Since FRLG Kanto has literally no Dark-types, I don't think it's worth doing a proper round for that topic: too obscure. But I didn't want to leave it out completely, either. So let's do both!

For clarity, the actual team you should be judging participants on is their "Dark in LGPE Kanto" one; spoiler tag your FRLG one if you're including it to make things neater. You have until August 26th, 9PM GMT to make your case!

teams so far

Imperial Magala: Raticate, Persian, Muk, Arbok, Charizard, Gyarados
Misterdarvus: Raticate, Muk, Persian, Golbat, Vileplume, Gyarados
Lemingue: Raticate, Fearow, Tauros, Arbok, Hypno, Golbat
Lady Salamence: Raticate, Muk, Persian, Parasect, Tentacruel, Ditto
CTNC: Raticate, Persian, Muk, Gengar, Marowak, Gyarados
Pikachu315111: Raticate, Muk, Persian, Weezing, Arbok, Gyarados
Metalmindstats: Raticate, Persian, Muk, Golbat, Gengar, Gyarados
Ironmage: Persian, Venusaur, Gengar, Rhydon, Mr Mime, Kangaskhan
Hugin: Muk, Persian, Marowak, Ditto, Mr Mime, Gyarados
Axiemeister: Raticate, Persian, Rhydon, Parasect, Golbat, Marowak

 

[Axiemeister]

ooh i did better than i expected!!

also i think that for the ideal amount of fun for everyone, the chosen type/location combo should not result in teams having too many default picks - as in, either we are restricted to three or less FE mons of the type, or we have substantially more than six of them (which is not a common situation i'd think). to use the current type as an example, LGPE is a good pick for dark because it has 4 picks and they are all situational - 3 foreign regional forms and 1 mega. there's room for creativity. meanwhile, johto and its exactly 5 native dark types would be less exciting - harder to justify not using them.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

ooh i did better than i expected!!

also i think that for the ideal amount of fun for everyone, the chosen type/location combo should not result in teams having too many default picks - as in, either we are restricted to three or less FE mons of the type, or we have substantially more than six of them (which is not a common situation i'd think). to use the current type as an example, LGPE is a good pick for dark because it has 4 picks and they are all situational - 3 foreign regional forms and 1 mega. there's room for creativity. meanwhile, johto and its exactly 5 native dark types would be less exciting - harder to justify not using them.

Surely having more than six fully evolved mons of the type in question would defeat the purpose of the exercise?

Or have I misunderstood you?

 

[Axiemeister]

Surely having more than six fully evolved mons of the type in question would defeat the purpose of the exercise?

Or have I misunderstood you?

i could see a scenario in which having a lot of options wouldn't quite defeat the purpose because then the focus shifts fully towards making sure there's more than type unifying those mons. certainly more room for creativity than "it's umbreon, houndoom, sneasel, tyranitar, murkrow, and a 6th mon that kind of fits".

but, as i said, i can't even think of any type/region combo where we have this many options

 

[QuentinQuonce]

i could see a scenario in which having a lot of options wouldn't quite defeat the purpose because then the focus shifts fully towards making sure there's more than type unifying those mons. certainly more room for creativity than "it's umbreon, houndoom, sneasel, tyranitar, murkrow, and a 6th mon that kind of fits".

I feel like that's a different thread altogether. There's a distinction between "you have very few actual Pokemon of [type], which others would you choose as plausible stand-ins" and "you have an abundance of Pokemon of [type], choose the team that best showcases that type's strengths while covering its weaknesses."

In the latter, the focus shifts more to

1. choosing those with the best stats/movepools
   
   
2. ensuring that you have a broad and diverse mix of secondary types to cover all bases, while avoiding redundancy
   
   
3. ensuring you have Pokemon which operate differently strategically and mechanically so your entire team isn't walled with ease

but, as i said, i can't even think of any type/region combo where we have this many options

Off the top of my head:

• Poison in Kanto
  
  
• Flying in Johto
  
  
• Grass, Bug, and Ground in Hoenn
  
  
• Dark in B2W2 Unova
  
  
• Fighting and Dragon in USUM Alola
  
  
• honestly pretty much any region and Normal. Or Water.

 

[ant4456]

I accidentally missed like, a lot including the Strawpoll but sorry for doing a poor job on the Ice Hoenn team, when I see a theme I'm into I will try to do better next time. Congrats to the winner and y'all did a great job :>

 

[Imperial Magala]

More Alolan Pokemon are going to show up here than the challenge set in Alola.

-Crunch
-Hyper Fang
-Sucker Punch
-Bulk Up

I'm not doing the FRLG bonus, but if I did, Pinsir would replace Biggie Cheese. Kantonian Raticate doesn't learn Bulk Up, while Alolan Raticate does, so I wanted to give it a move exclusive to it.



-Dark Pulse
-Dream Eater
-Hypnosis
-Nasty Plot



-Poison Jab
-Crunch
-Moonblast
-Toxic

The other two Alolan Dark types. Persian-A is a duel set-up and status inflictor, with Nasty Plot taking advantage of its higher SpA than Persian-K. Muk-A could have a more debilitating moveset, but the Let's Go games are the only time both Muks gets Moonblast, so I felt like I had to keep it.



-Poison Jab
-Crunch
-Glare
-Sucker Punch

Arbok already showed up in a Kanto Ghost team with Agatha, with Dark types feeling more appropriate due to Crunch and Sucker Punch being part of its nature moveset. Two ROM hacks I've played (Inclement Emerald and Radical Red) made Arbok into a Poison/Dark type, so that also influenced my choice.



-Fire Blast
-Crunch
-Will-O-Wisp
-Roost

Charizard has a history of being associated with the Dark type in the TCG, including having an entire expansion revolving around the concept (Obsidan Flames). Will-O-Wisp and Roost are meant to reference Tankzard X, and to have every single major status condition that can be directly applied with a move (sorry Freeze).



-Waterfall
-Crunch
-Outrage
-Earthquake

It's Mega Gyarados, it would be weird not to have an ultra destructive Kanto-native Dark type Mega Evolution be the ace in the hole.

I want to use the two other possible team members to showcase my main gripe with how team building ends up with some of these challenges.

I planned out a different team themed around a swindler trainer, with Raticate and Persian being the thieves, Hypno jedi mind tricking people into unawareness, Vileplume and Muk using stench as a getaway tactic, and Mega Gyarados using brute force as a last resort. My gripe is how teams always have to decide whether to stick with a theme, at the cost of having lost type association, or stick with the given type theme, at the cost of an interesting story behind the team. I personally value Pokemon being able to reference a type independently from the rest of its team. Vileplume is a cool shout-out to Team Snagem using a Gloom to incapacitate the player and is already used by a Dark type specialist in Karen, but its lack of Dark type moves here makes it less appealing than using Arbok to me. Basically, I agree with Axiemeister that paradoxically, having a larger selection of matching Pokemon leads to more interesting teams because there's less "forced" options and more room for different line ups and themes. Having every single Alolan Ground type available would turn Whishcash and Dugtrio-A from forced inclusions that teams have to build around into wildcard options when Pokemon like Palossand and Garchomp are around for example.

 

[misterdarvus]

I had to use every dark-type available, which is majority Alolan, had to use Mega Gyarados too
Golbat is because it has affinity with dark.... yeah thats it. And at some point I mistaken it for a Dark-type
Vileplume is just because Karen the Dark-type specialist used it.

Bonus Stage: Dark Specialist FRLG Kanto

The last reach. And lets admit; poison-type in Kanto are honorary Dark (and evil) type
Golbat and Vileplume are still for the same reason
Fearow I think is the most Evil bird-mon available
Arbok is nuff said. So does Gengar with the same reasoning with Vileplume
And Hypno is the most crafty Psychic-type available. I think it looks like at home.

 

[Mowtom]

Have an incredibly silly not-actually-legal bonus team!

Bonus Team

The plan is simple: Take every Kanto mon that eventually got a Dark type regional form/evolution/mega. Sadly, for the gag to work properly we need to include the legendary Moltres.

 

[Bakugames]

I'm gonna try to only use one of the alolan forms if I can, so my team might look a bit Lance-y LOL


- light screen
- reflect
- teleport
- foul play

Hypno is here for one thing: enabling the average shitty hax that dark types love. Light screen and reflect to lower damage, teleport for a safer switch, foul play if it needs to get rid of a strong attacker.


- Roost
- Toxic
- U-turn
- Protect

The main teleport target. dark type specialists love going with trolling tactics, and I wanted to start with one here. Sets up toxic, protects and keeps itself healthy, and then fucks off if needed to. Light screen and/or reflect help it even more. U turn lets it go back to hypno to get renewed screens, or it can go to...


- Drill Peck
- U-Turn
- Protect
- Drill run

This is the mon that Golbat fucks off to if the foe is weakened enough. Fearow is meant to pick off weak mons, and then u-turn back to golbat for another toxic round. Drill peck and drill run are basic coverage, protect for toxic turns, u turn for saying bye and bringing back golbat


- Crunch
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Protect

An option for golbat if it needs heavier damage output without sending the stronger team members. Arbok is kinda an obvious addition, everyone loves making it poison/dark type. Wanted a normal "punches you" kind of mon for the "middle" of the fight, nothing interesting beyond sucker punch having the function of getting arbok the last word after toxic wears you down enough. Kind of a sacrifical lamb as it cant pivot, but it'll help getting rid of annoying mons to enable the hypno-golbat core there.



- Thrash
- Outrage
- Double-edge
- Focus Energy

Tauros has always felt "mean" and rough to me. The idea here was to have it focus energy and then become a nuke with recoil and lock moves, and try to grab any crits in the meantime. It's the bully interpretation that some dark types take, instead of the scheming one. Functions as blowing bigger holes on a team that's probably weakened but still standing, making path for the last mon to clean house.


- Bulk up
- Crunch
- Sucker punch
- Super fang

The main ace, Raticate comes out after all the stupid bullshit the rest of the team pulls on the player as a straight forward set up sweeper, or at least compared to the rest of the team. Super fang cripples anything that didnt get blown up by toxic or tauros, crunch for stab and sucker punch to compensate how slow it is.

 

[a fairy]

When I think dark-types, I don't come out with strong positive connotations. Dark is the "evil" type, to an extent - with even Ghost in later gens picking up some more pedestrian approaches to the idea. But Pokemon that represent things we'd consider bad - nightmares with Darkrai, death with Yveltal, disaster with Absol, hell the Ruinous Quartet's shared typing - Dark-type is the common denominator of the things we worry about. Fear in my mind I strongly associate with the Dark typing.

So begins my team. I used three Dark-types, all transplants from Alola. I decided to build an identity as a transplant troublemaker from Alola, bringing over their friends from the island region. As such, I limited myself to the inner Venn diagram for both LGPE Kanto and Alola, and then built around this idea of fears and worries as the structure of the 'mon selection.

From there, I began building a strategy. In my mind, Dark-types don't play fair, they use unique strategies designed to limit or disrupt their opponent's freedom and choice. While LGPE's Kanto does have limits on what strategies are available, many core moves still exist, even if they span the type range. Dark is a type, yes, but it has its fingers in other design spaces.

Parasitosis - Spore / Substitute / Leech Seed / Leech Life

Fear of Infestation

First 'mon out sets the expectation for what this battle will be like. If you lose control of the battle for even a moment, each Pokemon is primed to never give it back or to continue the disruption. Sleep is a frustrating condition to deal with, and the Substitute healing combo makes it even more difficult to break out of the cycle once it starts.
A fear of being infested with parasites - spores, leech seeds, a fungal infection taking over your body and life. It's a goosebumps-inducing start to the team, and this isn't even a dark type.

Musophobia - Toxic / Protect / Crunch / U-Turn

Fear of Rats

Our first real Dark-type, and a slight change of the norm. Toxic and Protect follow in the same steps as the overall strategy for sure, as every scrappy trainer trying to pull one over on a gym leader knows. Crunch and U-Turn add a strong offensive punch to Raticate's presence, ensuring their ability to get out if needed or provide a necessary coup-de-grace.
A fear of mice and of rats - logical during some eras, rodents bring illness and plague with them surprisingly often. In the dark rooms when the candles and lights flicker out, the pattering of small feet hitting the ground are not friendly sounds.

Thalassophobia - Substitute / Wrap / Toxic / Surf

Fear of Deep

While not as powerful as old Kanto, Wrap is another move that strangles opposing strategies, while Toxic and Substitute have already had their songs sung. Surf as a move provides Tentacruel an ability to close the gap as Toxic wears things down, or to speed along the process. While unable to heal itself like Parasect, Tentacruel also learns Mega Drain, which can replace Surf at the cost of a bit of speed.
Fear of the deep. Tentacruel has cruelty in its name, it seems almost a natural fit for the Dark-type if not for the more biologically natural Water/Poison given to it before the Dark-type existed.

Nyctophobia - Fake Out / Taunt / Foul Play / U-Turn

Fear of Darkness

The two of the one-two punch with Musophobia, Persian here serves a similar purpose to Raticate, though with a focus more on the shutting down of enemies similar to Parasect than the outlasting or finishing off that Raticate has. Fake Out, Foul Play, and U-Turn all serve as damaging moves with unique side effects of doing damage, with Taunt disrupting a wide range of strategies.
When nighttime comes, most diurnal creatures begin to slow down for sleep. This can be incredibly dangerous if you have not spent precious time to make yourself safe.

Chemophobia - Haze / Taunt / Disable / Foul Play

Fear of Chemicals

To act like we will never lose control is a bit foolish. Muk is the answer to that. Taunt and Foul Play are repeat choices, but Haze and Disable provide new tools to shut down an opponent who is successfully enacting their strategy. Even if they accomplish the difficult task of breaking out of the constant jabs from our team, Muk can sweep the legs out from under them as they begin to try and pull ahead.
A fear of chemistry and chemicals is perhaps a less-known fear, but looking at Muk, it's a fairly logical one. Another Dark type addition to the team, another variant of a Gen 1 mon.

Autophobia - Transform

Fear of Self

This is a bit of a strange ace in the sleeve. It's not even Dark-type, and it's not likely to become a Dark-type. This one serves less a purpose of a more-powerful catch-all defense for anything. What strategy disruption is better than stealing your opponent's? It's hard to say more about this addition to the team than just that, because... its strategy is its opponent's.
This is not a Dark-type, but fear of self is surprisingly real and unnerving. Extrapolating out to uncanny valley, imposter syndrome, and other "I don't belong" or "I'm not me" mindsets are dark places for people to find themselves in, and I wish those struggling the best.

 

[Hugin]

Ooh very surprised to win! Definitely second-guessed my submission once I realized I had zero unique picks haha.

What I've decided is that you never know what's going to appeal to people for this. It seems to see-saw depending on the whims of the voters. Which is more fun, it means I get to build how I want and not worry as much about appealing to others. It was a good solid roster, and that's apparently what we wanted this time around.

I decided to go an odd route for Dark. He's a Scientist, and maybe has the player questioning if he's a mad scientist given the type and how...focused...he is. His area of study is the Dark type, why was it only discovered recently, what makes some mons develop into dark types and not others. He started with a Meowth, imported another one, and has been studying everything related to "limited" dark types ever since.

PersianA and Muk are Alolan dark types, PersianK is the control for PersianA, Gyarados-Mega is a Kanto mon that becomes Dark, Marowak-A is a very spooky Alolan regional that isn't a Dark type(which I think he'd find interesting), and Ditto can change types(and species) at-will. Ditto is a bit of a cheat, I admit, but it really fit the theme. And dual Persian is a bit rules-iffy, but I think it's valid here.

Moveset

Marowak-Alola
Ability: No Ability
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Flare Blitz
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

Muk-Alola
Ability: No Ability
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
- Disable

Persian
Ability: No Ability
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Play Rough
- Taunt
- U-turn

Persian-Alola
Ability: No Ability
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
- U-turn

Ditto
Ability: No Ability
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Transform

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: No Ability
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Outrage

LGPE competitive is weird, y'all. Lead rocks+hit hard Marowak to discourage setup, Muk has Disable to be annoying and otherwise has strong attacks, PersianK has UTurn, Fake Out, fairy coverage, and Taunt to be annoying, PersianA is my only special attacker and has UTurn to let PersianA Fake Out more often, Ditto is Ditto, and Gyarados kills things(no Bounce? Really GF?). This team folds to Fighting or Bugs except for Marowak, but I couldn't do much better without compromising my theme.

This one was wild. Dark's a wide enough type that there were plenty of mons to choose from, the issue was narrowing it down(and not ending up with 6 poisons). I had about 20 mons shortlisted, and figuring out a theme was a big part of making the challenge completable at all. I suspect I won't be the only one to do this basic idea, though there's some interesting choices in mine that I doubt we'll see replicated.

And the bonus round:

This is a bit eclectic, yes. Not the traditional picks. This person is going to go on a lot in their dialogue about feeling like something's missing, they're not sure what sort of mons they should be training, etc. This is the final roster for rematches before the player hits the postgame.

And then once the NatDex opens up, this person runs TTar, Murkrow, Houndoom, Crawdaunt, Shiftry, and Absol. I tried to make sure the mons were still at least somewhat dark(hence Vileplume over Exeggutor), but it's entirely about having clear parallels so that their final rematch team isn't a surprise.

Edit: Now that I've read through everyone else's teams, shoutouts to literally all 3 of the people before me for having fun ideas. Not sure who I'm voting for, but all y'all made me think a bit. (and yes I saw the Moltres thing too and was more annoyed by not having it than by not having Regice in those challenges).