Hello! I've been using this team a lot recently, and as it's probably my best team to date, I figured I'd share it with you. HO has always been my favourite team archetype to play, especially in LC where things take more damage. Also- while I really like how the team functions, there are a few things that bug me about it, and I'd like to know what I can do to improve it. Song choice (not entirely sure why that's a thing but W/E) chosen because of Mienfoo.
This might seem weird, but all my HO teams start with the lead. Not sure why, it just always feels natural to start with what I'm going to lead with in-battle, and it gives me somewhere to start. Since this gets replaced later I won't go in-depth.
Now the real basis of the team, duel scarf Mienfoo and Magnemite were added. The two form a great VoltTurn core, building up momentum and just generally being a bitch to take out. They also have some decent defensive synergy, with Magnemite taking on most flying and fairy types, though most of the psychics in LC have coverage for it. Mienfoo doesn't do much for Magnemite defensively, but then it's not there to support anything- generally it just throws off HJK's and Knocks Offs until it's forced out.
Next, the team needed a Spinblocker, and I chose Drifloon because everyone else was using it and the team needed a good ground switch. Again, this gets swapped out at the end for obvious reasons, so I'll move on.
I love staryu right now, and as Drifloon was still a #1 threat at the time, I made it offensive LO. Staryu generally just provides hazard support and hits like a truck with it's coverage moves, as well as pressuring the troublesome ground types. It's also one of my few Mons that can reliably revenge-kill fighters, especially Croagunk.
Finally, Fletchling was added to provide something else to reliably check fighting types, as well as providing a much better match-up against sun teams and generally being glue that holds everything together. Fletch is often my lategame sweeper if they have more answers to Foo.
R.I.P Drifloon. Pump fits this team better anyway, and does basically the same thing- spreading burns and spinblocking. It also stops this team getting 6-0'd by Mag+Diglett, so that's nice. Still switches into ground attacks and is generally really hard to kill. Waaaay underused mon that needs to get more attention now that Drifloon has ascended.
Finally, I decided that Nosepass just wasn't pulling it's weight, especially since Drifloon got banned. I needed a ground type, and since this team doesn't have a defiant/competitive user, I needed something with more longevity.
So that's the final team- there might have been some other changes I've forgot about or were changed quicker, but this was the basic process I went through to make it.
The Team:
Connect Me (Onix) (M) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 236 Atk / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
Onix is, imo, the best SR setter around right now. Normally I go with suicide Diglett as my HO lead, but in this case I needed something with more longevity, since there's no Defog abuser on the team. Rock Tomb is a bit of an experiment but since that's what I always use on my Drilburs and it seems to work fairly well on this I'll probably keep it. Everything else is standard, though at one point I did have Explosion on it.
ADangerousMan (Mienfoo) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Aptly named and aptly feared, Scarf Foo can potentially run through an entire team lategame with HJK (or U-turn one weird time.) This one is run as Jolly instead of the usual Adamant because it tends to get Knocked Off and I don't like risking ties against Pawniard/getting outsped by the several hundred 17 speed mons in LC. I have thought about using Reckless instead of Regenerator, but HJK hits hard enough without it and the extra health is really helpful, mainly for checking Pawniard.
Forever Together (Magnemite) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Name works way better for Magneton but w/e I was running out of ideas. Magnemite is the second Scarf here, and probably does a lot more for the team than I give it credit for- Foo tends to be in the spotlight. HP ground smacks Chinchou and- perhaps more importantly- Magnemite, which is why I don't run HP grass. It might seem weird to run Sturdy over Analytic, and I admit that I do miss the extra power sometimes, but sturdy lets me take on set-up a lot easier and generally comes in clutch a lot.
I Like It (Pumpkaboo-Super) (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 204 HP / 36 Def / 236 SpD / 28 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Synthesis
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
Pumpkaboo, or "Balanced Floon" as I like to call it, is a criminally underused Pokemon. That said, I'd really rather it remained underused, because fuck this thing, and fuck Will-o-Wisp. Anyway, Pump is important glue for this team, spinblocking and providing a water, electric, and fighting (though it does fear Knock Off) switch. I prefer Sneak of Fire Blast, especially on HO teams. Frisk is actually incredibly useful, since predicting a Scarf or Berry Juice wrong has been my undoing countless times.
Unstoppable (Staryu) @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 SpA / 76 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Rapid Spin
Offensive Staryu is an absolute monster, even with the Floon ban. Hydro Pump is ridiculously strong, with Psychic taking out basically any fighting type, bar Scraggy. This set also beats basically every spinblocker on the switch bar Frillish, which is much less common and a much smaller threat than Pumkaboo, which is the main reason why I use Ice Beam over Thunderbolt.
WannaBeAngel (Fletchling) (F)
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 200 Atk / 12 Def / 40 SpA / 180 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Acrobatics
- Overheat
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Fletchling is the main point of contention on this team. I'm using MixFletch because Ferroseed is a problem for this team, since Mienfoo doesn't enjoy being Parad, and the team is light on Knock Off, unfortunately. However, the team would also enjoy being able to pivot out of threats like Tirtouga and Pawniard easier, since I have limited switch-ins to them after set-up.
Threat list
Well I guess that's it. Probably could have made this prettier or with more stuff but I just wanna finish it.
