perplexingpool
Banned deucer.
Hey guys! Perplexingpool here, known on PS as Mamp. This is my first RMT, so I wanted to make it for my most successful team. I had been playing Averagemons extensively before it became Other Metagame of the month, and it became one of my favourite metas quite quickly, due to the sheer diversity of viable Pokemon and playstyles.
As soon as I found out it was to be OM of the month, I immediately made it my goal to make it to the top of the ladder. When I sat down to build the ideal laddering team, I thought back to the best teambuilding advice I have ever been given: 'use the broken shit'.
Unfortunately, I didn't screenshot the ladder ranking before the server reset, but I did get a screenshot of the 43 win-streak.
(edited out all the irrelevant rankings)
The Team at a Glance
The team was built to be able to handle any threat, and weaken opposing teams to the point where either Kangaskhan and Talonflame can sweep. The biggest thing I had in mind when building this team was utility; every Pokemon has multiple roles that they can perform effectively, and this leads to a very versatile team - important in a meta where so many things are viable.
Prankster Will-o-wisp is what makes Sableye so great; the ability to completely shut down most physical attackers before they can hit you has saved me from many sweeps, and the residual damage is very helpful, allowing Sableye to stall things to death by spamming recover. Knock Off is an amazing move in every format. Knocking off Leftovers is very important for a Pokemon that kills things through residual damage, and Knock Off is also handy if you get Taunted. Speaking of Taunt, it is a great move on Sableye, stopping things from setting up on you, statusing you, or taunting you.
The EVs are pretty simple; Sableye doesn't really need investment in physical bulk with W-o-W to protect it from physical hits, so the investment is in special bulk. This means that very few special attackers can actually deal enough damage to Sableye to avoid getting stalled to death with W-o-w and Recover. The speed creep is important - it lets Sableye outspeed opposing Sableye and Taunt them, and also outspeed max HP Talonflame, and Recover on it before it can Brave Bird. However, you shouldn't attempt to Recover on a Talonflame until you know for sure that you outspeed.
Sableye is fantastic at stopping dangerous threats, both offensively and defensively, and it checks and counters so much stuff that I couldn't imagine taking it off the team. It is also good at giving free switches into the likes of Talonflame and Kangaskhan, which is often all they need to sweep. It also can take Fighting-type attacks aimed at Kangaskhan and Arceus-Rock, and Poison attacks for Clefable. Perhaps most importantly, it is a very solid check to Mega Kangaskhan, arguably the best offensive threat in the meta.
overpowered (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Power-up Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
Speaking of Mega Kangaskhan, here it is! Mega Kangaskhan is probably the most potent late game sweeper in the tier. At +2, it can OHKO neutral physical defensive Pokemon with Return.
+2 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mew: 360-424 (89.1 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Kangaskhan needs only a single turn of set-up, and it can easily sweep a team. Tbh, there isn't much to say about Mega Kangaskhan. It is an absolute monster, and it's hard to find a team on the ladder that doesn't have a crippling weakness to it. Some people prefer Crunch over Earthquake, but the extra coverage afforded by Earthquake is very important. As well, Kanga's Earthquake is one of the team's only ways of dealing with Arbok. Being walled by Gengar is an issue, as it can just forgo mega evolution and spam non-attacking moves until you switch. This can be prevented however, by bringing in something else, entice it into mega evolving, and then bringing Kanga back in later to kill it with Earthquake.
On top of this, Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch is a great revenge killing tool, often saving me from sweeps from the likes of CM Swoobat.
it's a trap (Gothitelle) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
Gothitelle is the most important Pokemon on the team. The idea behind Gothitelle's inclusion on the team is that is very rare for a team to have multiple answers to Sableye, Kangaskhan, and Talonflame, meaning that usually there is one Pokemon that can be removed that will leave the opposing team wide open to be swept. Thus Gothitelle's job is that of a sniper; trapping and removing a Pokemon that would otherwise deny you victory. At first I played around with offensive sets on Gothi, but usually the Pokemon I was trying to remove with it were defensive, and could beat offensive Gothitelle. So I tried out this set, and never looked back. It may seem somewhat gimmicky, but is actually very effective. The majority of Pokemon that you want to be trapping with Gothitelle will attempt to set up, recover, or status you on the first turn in against Gothi, as you Trick them the scarf, locking them into that move. Then you set up Calm Mind boosts on them, Resting as necessary. Then you kill them, and unless they have a Dark-type or a phazer that resists Psychic, you have a good chance of sweeping them outright. If the opponent locks themselves into an attack that does too much to Gothitelle to allow it to set up, switch to something that resists it; all of Gothitelle's weaknesses are covered by other Pokemon on the team.
On occasion, you will lock an Unaware Pokemon into a recovery move, in which case you will just have to wait until it runs out of PP, because you won't be able to kill it. As well, specially defensive psychic resists locked into recovery will have to be PP stalled as well, because you won't be able to do enough to them to kill.
+6 0 SpA Gothitelle Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mew: 139-164 (34.4 - 40.5%) -- 50.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
If you ever successfully trap a dark-type, you will have to PP stall as well, but this is quite rare as most dark-types will just attack you from the get go, and not allow you to set up.
When using Gothitelle, you will have to identify from the team preview what needs to be removed. Basically, this is powerful special attackers and fire-types for Sableye, Pokemon that resist Fire and Flying for Talonflame, and Sableye, Skarmory, and other defensive ghosts for Kangaskhan. Usually, there will be one Pokemon that needs to be removed to facilitate a sweep. Getting Gothitelle in safely will often require a double switch, or you may need to sacrifice something. Talonflame and Kangaskhan are somewhat redundant; if your opponent has lots of answers to one of them, don't be afraid to sacrifice it to get Gothitelle in safely. As well, Gothitelle can sometimes act like a more traditional scarfer if its sniping abilites are not needed, revenge killing things with Psychic and occasionally cleaning up late game.
Note: I would be using a Perish Trap Mega Gengar here if I didn't already have Kanga. Gengar is much more effective as a sniper than Gothitelle is.
nope (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic
- Moonblast
The amount of games I would have lost without Clefable is truly uncountable. Clefable is an amazingly versatile defensive support Pokemon, but the reason it is so great is Unaware, allowing it to put a stop to boosting sweepers like Linoone, Crawdaunt, Malamar, and Arceus-Normal, which would otherwise seriously threaten my team. Clefable also has excellent defensive typing for this, as it doesn't have a type disadvantage to any common boosting sweeper bar Arbok, and Steel and Poison-type coverage moves are rare.
The set is fairly straight-forward: Toxic is good against Calm Mind sweepers, or anything else that doesn't take much from Moonblast. It's also obviously a great move to hit defensive Pokemon with. Aromatherapy is a great move, as this team has a lot of Pokemon on it that really don't appreciate getting statused. Moonlight is used over Soft-boiled because it is illegal with Unaware. I used to have Wish over Moonlight, but it was just too unreliable without Protect, and I didn't want to cut any of the other moves for Protect. As well, everything else except Kangaskhan has recovery anyway, so it wasn't really necessary.
In my opinion, having an Unaware Pokemon is a necessity in Averagemons. Set-up sweepers are just so much more common, and more deadly, in the tier that to not have a way of stopping them is practically begging to get swept, time and time again. Ditto is another solid option, but I think an Unaware wall just has a lot more utility. I considered Quagsire while building this team, but its typing is inferior, and it doesn't get Aromatherapy, which is very important for this team.
Clefable does have issues with a few sweepers though. The most notable is Arbok, which Clefable basically cannot touch, and can hit you hard with Gunk Shot. Growth Venusaur is scary too, for the same reasons as Arbok. Calm Mind Swoobat can hit you very hard with Stored Power despite Unaware, due to the high base power. Another threat is Magic Guard Clefable (and Sigilyph), which Clefable can't really do much to. When any of these come out, go straight to Sableye and Taunt them, or to Gothitelle to Trick them the Scarf.
(talonflame hasn't been in the anime yet so you'll have to settle for a badass drawing)
nope (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
If I were to make a list of Pokemon that it is necessary to have an answer to in Averagemons, Talonflame would be at the top of that list. Talonflame is a wonderful Pokemon, acting as both an almost unstoppable sweeper and a fantastic revenge killer in one Pokemon. Talonflame is able to offensively check the majority of the meta and has stopped almost as many sweeps as Clefable and Sableye. But the reason it is so amazing is Swords Dance. At +2, Brave Bird with Sharp Beak OHKO's neutral 252/0's. Priority OHKO's are no joke, especially against Pokemon with significant bulk investment. Roost is important, as without it Talonflame would kill itself with recoil quickly. Just wait until you are in against something that can't threaten you, and Roost up. Roost is a great move to use on a predicted Sucker Punch as well.
Flare Blitz is for Steels, but generally shouldn't be used for anything else. The small amount of speed investment is for Sableye and other slow priority users. You don't really need any more speed than that, as you will mostly be spamming Brave Bird, and the HP investment is helpful for setting up, and reduces recoil damage.
When playing with Talonflame, it is important to note that you will be taking around 27-33% recoil when you OHKO something, so just keep this in mind when deciding when to Roost.
Talonflame really needs rocks off the field to sweep; it has trouble setting up at 50%, and will die quickly to recoil and be forced to Roost more often if it does manage to get a SD up, which leaves you vulnerable to getting statused or something. Thus, it is very important to conserve Arceus-Rock to remove the rocks from the field.
Talonflame's other notable role is as the team's best answer to Sableye. Most Sableye will Taunt you on the first turn in against Talonflame, and will get outsped and 2HKO'd with Brave Bird. If they start spamming Recover from the get-go, you can Swords Dance, OHKO them, and proceed to sweep. If they are running more speed than you, they are seriously compromising their bulk, and can be dealt with by Clefable. If they Knock Off the Sharp Beak, that sucks, but you can still deal with them without too much trouble.
Just in case you doubt Talonflame's power, here is a replay showing what it can do to an unprepared team. Note that this is an earlier version of the team, so it's a bit different: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/averagemons-74762822
lord and saviour (Arceus-Rock) @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Recover
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
Last but certainly not least, is Arceus-Rock. Rockceus was added to the team because I wanted a Pokemon that could take on fire-types for Sableye, particularly Talonflame, could remove hazards, and do so throughout the match. Rockceus was a perfect fit, as its typing lets it solidly stop all variants of Talonflame and OHKO them with Judgement. It can also switch into Choice Band Victini V-Creates, something no other Pokemon on the team can do. The most important move on Rockceus's moveset is Defog, which clears the Stealth Rock that would otherwise cripple Talonflame. Also, the ability to shut down spike stacking teams, Sticky Web teams, and remove screens is very useful as well. Will-o-wisp is always a useful move. If you switch in on a CB Talonflame Brave Bird, Will-o-wisping is a pretty safe move, as they will almost always switch, letting you cripple the switch-in. Judgement is a very powerful move even when uninvested, thanks to the high Base Power and Stone Plate. Recover shouldn't need to be explained; it is a very handy move at every stage of the match.
I have invested in Special Defense to allow Rockceus to take on the powerful special attackers that Sableye has issues with, like Exploud, Swellow, Xerneas, and Sylveon. Will-o-wisp lets Rockceus take on physical attackers quite handily. Rockceus also has good type synergy with Talonflame; after it removes the rocks from the field, it can give Talonflame a free switch in on the Grass, Fighting, or Ground-type attacks which are often directed at Rockceus.
Rockceus isn't nearly as broken as some of the other Pokemon on the team, and if I need to sacrifice something, it'll usually be Rockceus. However, Rockceus' niche can't be fulfilled by any other Pokemon, and thus it is an irreplacable and very valuable member of the team.
Threatlist
Sableye
Tbh Sableye is a threat to every team, and this one is no exception. Your best chance against Sableye is to burn it as it switches into Rockceus, then go to Talonflame and kill it. Otherwise, Clefable can hit it hard, and if Talonflame gets to set-up, it can take out Sableye easily.
Arbok
Arbok is one of the only set-up sweepers to give this team serious trouble, due to it's typing making it very hard for Clefable to deal with, and Shed Skin to protect it from Sableye's Will-o-Wisping shenanigans. As soon as Arbok comes in, go straight to Gothitelle and Trick it the scarf. If you have already tricked the scarf, you're in trouble. Your best bet is wearing it down with Kangaskhan Earthquakes, but after enough boosts even that won't do much, and Talonflame has difficulty revenge killing it once it has boosted enough. If it is running max SpDef (the best set imo) Gothitelle Psychic will do piddling damage. Sableye can stall it down somewhat, but still has difficulty. Basically, if you see an Arbok, make sure to save Gothitelle's scarf to Trick to it.
Mega Gengar
Similar to Sableye, this thing is a serious threat to every team. The best way this team has to deal with it is Kangaskhan, which can OHKO with Earthquake. However, it will have to mega evolve first, so usually you will have to bait it into mega evolving with something else. I find that Rockceus is good bait for Mega Gengar to come in and Perish Trap. Gothitelle and Talonflame can both revenge kill it from low enough HP.
Powerful Physical Water-type attacks
My team has nothing to switch on something like CB Basculin Waterfall, usually I have to sac something and get Sableye in to burn it.
Magic Guard Boosters
The best this team can do to things like Magic Guard Clefable, Sigilyph, and Reuniclus is Trick them the scarf. If you see one of these Pokemon, don't mess around with it, just go straight to Gothitelle and give it the scarf. Occasionally it will give you a status orb in return, which you can Trick to something else later in the game, which is always fun.
Importable
As soon as I found out it was to be OM of the month, I immediately made it my goal to make it to the top of the ladder. When I sat down to build the ideal laddering team, I thought back to the best teambuilding advice I have ever been given: 'use the broken shit'.
Unfortunately, I didn't screenshot the ladder ranking before the server reset, but I did get a screenshot of the 43 win-streak.
(edited out all the irrelevant rankings)
The Team at a Glance
The team was built to be able to handle any threat, and weaken opposing teams to the point where either Kangaskhan and Talonflame can sweep. The biggest thing I had in mind when building this team was utility; every Pokemon has multiple roles that they can perform effectively, and this leads to a very versatile team - important in a meta where so many things are viable.
overpowered (Sableye) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 232 HP / 24 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
- Knock Off
Sableye was the first Pokemon I chose for this team because it is literally the most broken piece of crap ever - it can beat 90% of the meta 1-on-1 with no set-up, and come out the other end no worse for wear. It is an invaluable member of the team, and without it I would lose to so many things. I couldn't imagine building an Averagemons team without it. Sableye is usually the lead, because Prankster Taunt shuts down most opposing leads completely, preventing them from setting up hazards or screens.Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 232 HP / 24 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
- Knock Off
Prankster Will-o-wisp is what makes Sableye so great; the ability to completely shut down most physical attackers before they can hit you has saved me from many sweeps, and the residual damage is very helpful, allowing Sableye to stall things to death by spamming recover. Knock Off is an amazing move in every format. Knocking off Leftovers is very important for a Pokemon that kills things through residual damage, and Knock Off is also handy if you get Taunted. Speaking of Taunt, it is a great move on Sableye, stopping things from setting up on you, statusing you, or taunting you.
The EVs are pretty simple; Sableye doesn't really need investment in physical bulk with W-o-W to protect it from physical hits, so the investment is in special bulk. This means that very few special attackers can actually deal enough damage to Sableye to avoid getting stalled to death with W-o-w and Recover. The speed creep is important - it lets Sableye outspeed opposing Sableye and Taunt them, and also outspeed max HP Talonflame, and Recover on it before it can Brave Bird. However, you shouldn't attempt to Recover on a Talonflame until you know for sure that you outspeed.
Sableye is fantastic at stopping dangerous threats, both offensively and defensively, and it checks and counters so much stuff that I couldn't imagine taking it off the team. It is also good at giving free switches into the likes of Talonflame and Kangaskhan, which is often all they need to sweep. It also can take Fighting-type attacks aimed at Kangaskhan and Arceus-Rock, and Poison attacks for Clefable. Perhaps most importantly, it is a very solid check to Mega Kangaskhan, arguably the best offensive threat in the meta.
overpowered (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Power-up Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
+2 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Mew: 360-424 (89.1 - 104.9%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Kangaskhan needs only a single turn of set-up, and it can easily sweep a team. Tbh, there isn't much to say about Mega Kangaskhan. It is an absolute monster, and it's hard to find a team on the ladder that doesn't have a crippling weakness to it. Some people prefer Crunch over Earthquake, but the extra coverage afforded by Earthquake is very important. As well, Kanga's Earthquake is one of the team's only ways of dealing with Arbok. Being walled by Gengar is an issue, as it can just forgo mega evolution and spam non-attacking moves until you switch. This can be prevented however, by bringing in something else, entice it into mega evolving, and then bringing Kanga back in later to kill it with Earthquake.
On top of this, Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch is a great revenge killing tool, often saving me from sweeps from the likes of CM Swoobat.
it's a trap (Gothitelle) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
On occasion, you will lock an Unaware Pokemon into a recovery move, in which case you will just have to wait until it runs out of PP, because you won't be able to kill it. As well, specially defensive psychic resists locked into recovery will have to be PP stalled as well, because you won't be able to do enough to them to kill.
+6 0 SpA Gothitelle Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mew: 139-164 (34.4 - 40.5%) -- 50.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
If you ever successfully trap a dark-type, you will have to PP stall as well, but this is quite rare as most dark-types will just attack you from the get go, and not allow you to set up.
When using Gothitelle, you will have to identify from the team preview what needs to be removed. Basically, this is powerful special attackers and fire-types for Sableye, Pokemon that resist Fire and Flying for Talonflame, and Sableye, Skarmory, and other defensive ghosts for Kangaskhan. Usually, there will be one Pokemon that needs to be removed to facilitate a sweep. Getting Gothitelle in safely will often require a double switch, or you may need to sacrifice something. Talonflame and Kangaskhan are somewhat redundant; if your opponent has lots of answers to one of them, don't be afraid to sacrifice it to get Gothitelle in safely. As well, Gothitelle can sometimes act like a more traditional scarfer if its sniping abilites are not needed, revenge killing things with Psychic and occasionally cleaning up late game.
Note: I would be using a Perish Trap Mega Gengar here if I didn't already have Kanga. Gengar is much more effective as a sniper than Gothitelle is.
nope (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic
- Moonblast
The amount of games I would have lost without Clefable is truly uncountable. Clefable is an amazingly versatile defensive support Pokemon, but the reason it is so great is Unaware, allowing it to put a stop to boosting sweepers like Linoone, Crawdaunt, Malamar, and Arceus-Normal, which would otherwise seriously threaten my team. Clefable also has excellent defensive typing for this, as it doesn't have a type disadvantage to any common boosting sweeper bar Arbok, and Steel and Poison-type coverage moves are rare.
The set is fairly straight-forward: Toxic is good against Calm Mind sweepers, or anything else that doesn't take much from Moonblast. It's also obviously a great move to hit defensive Pokemon with. Aromatherapy is a great move, as this team has a lot of Pokemon on it that really don't appreciate getting statused. Moonlight is used over Soft-boiled because it is illegal with Unaware. I used to have Wish over Moonlight, but it was just too unreliable without Protect, and I didn't want to cut any of the other moves for Protect. As well, everything else except Kangaskhan has recovery anyway, so it wasn't really necessary.
In my opinion, having an Unaware Pokemon is a necessity in Averagemons. Set-up sweepers are just so much more common, and more deadly, in the tier that to not have a way of stopping them is practically begging to get swept, time and time again. Ditto is another solid option, but I think an Unaware wall just has a lot more utility. I considered Quagsire while building this team, but its typing is inferior, and it doesn't get Aromatherapy, which is very important for this team.
Clefable does have issues with a few sweepers though. The most notable is Arbok, which Clefable basically cannot touch, and can hit you hard with Gunk Shot. Growth Venusaur is scary too, for the same reasons as Arbok. Calm Mind Swoobat can hit you very hard with Stored Power despite Unaware, due to the high base power. Another threat is Magic Guard Clefable (and Sigilyph), which Clefable can't really do much to. When any of these come out, go straight to Sableye and Taunt them, or to Gothitelle to Trick them the Scarf.
(talonflame hasn't been in the anime yet so you'll have to settle for a badass drawing)
nope (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 208 HP / 252 Atk / 48 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
If I were to make a list of Pokemon that it is necessary to have an answer to in Averagemons, Talonflame would be at the top of that list. Talonflame is a wonderful Pokemon, acting as both an almost unstoppable sweeper and a fantastic revenge killer in one Pokemon. Talonflame is able to offensively check the majority of the meta and has stopped almost as many sweeps as Clefable and Sableye. But the reason it is so amazing is Swords Dance. At +2, Brave Bird with Sharp Beak OHKO's neutral 252/0's. Priority OHKO's are no joke, especially against Pokemon with significant bulk investment. Roost is important, as without it Talonflame would kill itself with recoil quickly. Just wait until you are in against something that can't threaten you, and Roost up. Roost is a great move to use on a predicted Sucker Punch as well.
Flare Blitz is for Steels, but generally shouldn't be used for anything else. The small amount of speed investment is for Sableye and other slow priority users. You don't really need any more speed than that, as you will mostly be spamming Brave Bird, and the HP investment is helpful for setting up, and reduces recoil damage.
When playing with Talonflame, it is important to note that you will be taking around 27-33% recoil when you OHKO something, so just keep this in mind when deciding when to Roost.
Talonflame really needs rocks off the field to sweep; it has trouble setting up at 50%, and will die quickly to recoil and be forced to Roost more often if it does manage to get a SD up, which leaves you vulnerable to getting statused or something. Thus, it is very important to conserve Arceus-Rock to remove the rocks from the field.
Talonflame's other notable role is as the team's best answer to Sableye. Most Sableye will Taunt you on the first turn in against Talonflame, and will get outsped and 2HKO'd with Brave Bird. If they start spamming Recover from the get-go, you can Swords Dance, OHKO them, and proceed to sweep. If they are running more speed than you, they are seriously compromising their bulk, and can be dealt with by Clefable. If they Knock Off the Sharp Beak, that sucks, but you can still deal with them without too much trouble.
Just in case you doubt Talonflame's power, here is a replay showing what it can do to an unprepared team. Note that this is an earlier version of the team, so it's a bit different: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/averagemons-74762822
lord and saviour (Arceus-Rock) @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Recover
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
I have invested in Special Defense to allow Rockceus to take on the powerful special attackers that Sableye has issues with, like Exploud, Swellow, Xerneas, and Sylveon. Will-o-wisp lets Rockceus take on physical attackers quite handily. Rockceus also has good type synergy with Talonflame; after it removes the rocks from the field, it can give Talonflame a free switch in on the Grass, Fighting, or Ground-type attacks which are often directed at Rockceus.
Rockceus isn't nearly as broken as some of the other Pokemon on the team, and if I need to sacrifice something, it'll usually be Rockceus. However, Rockceus' niche can't be fulfilled by any other Pokemon, and thus it is an irreplacable and very valuable member of the team.
Threatlist
Tbh Sableye is a threat to every team, and this one is no exception. Your best chance against Sableye is to burn it as it switches into Rockceus, then go to Talonflame and kill it. Otherwise, Clefable can hit it hard, and if Talonflame gets to set-up, it can take out Sableye easily.
Arbok is one of the only set-up sweepers to give this team serious trouble, due to it's typing making it very hard for Clefable to deal with, and Shed Skin to protect it from Sableye's Will-o-Wisping shenanigans. As soon as Arbok comes in, go straight to Gothitelle and Trick it the scarf. If you have already tricked the scarf, you're in trouble. Your best bet is wearing it down with Kangaskhan Earthquakes, but after enough boosts even that won't do much, and Talonflame has difficulty revenge killing it once it has boosted enough. If it is running max SpDef (the best set imo) Gothitelle Psychic will do piddling damage. Sableye can stall it down somewhat, but still has difficulty. Basically, if you see an Arbok, make sure to save Gothitelle's scarf to Trick to it.
Similar to Sableye, this thing is a serious threat to every team. The best way this team has to deal with it is Kangaskhan, which can OHKO with Earthquake. However, it will have to mega evolve first, so usually you will have to bait it into mega evolving with something else. I find that Rockceus is good bait for Mega Gengar to come in and Perish Trap. Gothitelle and Talonflame can both revenge kill it from low enough HP.
My team has nothing to switch on something like CB Basculin Waterfall, usually I have to sac something and get Sableye in to burn it.
The best this team can do to things like Magic Guard Clefable, Sigilyph, and Reuniclus is Trick them the scarf. If you see one of these Pokemon, don't mess around with it, just go straight to Gothitelle and give it the scarf. Occasionally it will give you a status orb in return, which you can Trick to something else later in the game, which is always fun.
Importable
overpowered (Sableye) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 232 HP / 24 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
- Knock Off
overpowered (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Power-up Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
it's a trap (Gothitelle) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
nope (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic
- Moonblast
nope (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
lord and saviour (Arceus-Rock) @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Recover
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SDef / 232 HP / 24 Spd
Careful Nature
- Will-o-Wisp
- Recover
- Taunt
- Knock Off
overpowered (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Power-up Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake
it's a trap (Gothitelle) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Trick
- Rest
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
nope (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonlight
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic
- Moonblast
nope (Talonflame) @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
lord and saviour (Arceus-Rock) @ Stone Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Spd
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Recover
- Judgment
- Will-O-Wisp
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