The Iron Chefs can post any replays if they wish to do so, but I won't be posting them because they might be planning on using those teams for other major tours or they might just not want to share them in general.
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Project Iron Chef: Overused | Episode 11 (Coming 2019!)
- Thread starter Indigo Plateau
- Start date
paoisd
Lord Ninjax
LL
MultiAmmiratore
1_TrickPhony
I can play tomorrow in the evening and saturday all day if you guys want to challenge me
Lord Ninjax
LL
MultiAmmiratore
1_TrickPhony
I can play tomorrow in the evening and saturday all day if you guys want to challenge me
No, you can challenge each chef once every Episode (although you don’t need to fight every single one) during the challenging phase. It’s not a tournament
hum
HQuaze's team: Taillow / Chansey / Tirtouga / Porygon / Gible / Luxray
The opposing Heatmor used Double Team!
So this is the type of toxicity Iron Chefs use, looks like I might have to kick you both out n_n
Won vs Analytic, gg
...Time's Up!
And that concludes the first Challenging phase! Huge thanks to all the Iron Chefs for taking time out of their schedules to fit some battles in, and also to the participants for putting their battle skills to the test against them!
Up next is the Voting phase - everyone can vote! Below, you'll find each contestant's team alongside the importable + description. Your task is to vote for the team that you think best fits these three categories, as found in the OP:
There is no need to worry about the total amount of points; just vote for the best team in each category. Please include a short description (1-2 good sentences) on why you think the team deserves that award. The following will not be accepted:
Creativity: Team 3 because I've never seen a Hippowdon
Essence: Team 2 because I like the three Choice users
Effectiveness: Team 3 because Landorus + Toxapex = good lol
Community voting will last for approximately 3 days and be 30% of the overall score. Simultaneously, the Panel of Judges will be voting through PM's and this will account for 60% of the overall score. Without further ado, I present each contestant's dish!
And that concludes the first Challenging phase! Huge thanks to all the Iron Chefs for taking time out of their schedules to fit some battles in, and also to the participants for putting their battle skills to the test against them!
Up next is the Voting phase - everyone can vote! Below, you'll find each contestant's team alongside the importable + description. Your task is to vote for the team that you think best fits these three categories, as found in the OP:
CREATIVITY (0-5 POINTS): Is your finished dish a delight never before tasted by our judges, or is it the same standard fare? Your goal is not to merely reheat an existing team, but to break boundaries and challenge standards. A team that was copied from an RMT or tournament with a few minor changes should score poorly here, while a team full of new ideas could bring home as many as five points.
ESSENCE / ELEVATION (0-5 POINTS): How well does your team use this round's theme? Is it merely tacked on to satisfy the tournament's requirements, or is it a fundamental part of how the team works? A team that barely uses the round's theme could end up with nothing here, while a team that not only uses the theme but redefines might win it all.
EFFECTIVENESS (0-10 POINTS): And now we're down to the real meat of the dish. How good is the team? This category is worth twice as much as the other two, because in the end, it doesn't matter how original your dish is - if it doesn't taste good, then people won't eat it. A team that will struggle to succeed in the current metagame, even against mediocre teams, might receive a zero here. On the other hand, show the judges how great your team is, and you could take home a full ten points.
ESSENCE / ELEVATION (0-5 POINTS): How well does your team use this round's theme? Is it merely tacked on to satisfy the tournament's requirements, or is it a fundamental part of how the team works? A team that barely uses the round's theme could end up with nothing here, while a team that not only uses the theme but redefines might win it all.
EFFECTIVENESS (0-10 POINTS): And now we're down to the real meat of the dish. How good is the team? This category is worth twice as much as the other two, because in the end, it doesn't matter how original your dish is - if it doesn't taste good, then people won't eat it. A team that will struggle to succeed in the current metagame, even against mediocre teams, might receive a zero here. On the other hand, show the judges how great your team is, and you could take home a full ten points.
There is no need to worry about the total amount of points; just vote for the best team in each category. Please include a short description (1-2 good sentences) on why you think the team deserves that award. The following will not be accepted:
Creativity: Team 3 because I've never seen a Hippowdon
Essence: Team 2 because I like the three Choice users
Effectiveness: Team 3 because Landorus + Toxapex = good lol
Community voting will last for approximately 3 days and be 30% of the overall score. Simultaneously, the Panel of Judges will be voting through PM's and this will account for 60% of the overall score. Without further ado, I present each contestant's dish!
Description:
So basically the description of this team was to build around Lele + Psychium Z Volc because I got that idea from someone in blunder's discord and it seemed really hype. I went for scarf Lele because it obviously couldn't be z move which was my main choice and scarf is a nice revenge killer so it worked out fine. I chose Greninja because it gave me a nice ground answer and just overall it is super good with spikes and priority and super hard hits. After this, I decided to go with Lando-T because it has a nice U-turn and it basically just does Lando things like rocks, huge defensive backbone with intimidate, ground immunity etc. After this I chose Kartana because it is an amazing mon right now and it gives me another great scarfer with hazard removal for the Volc which was key. After this I wanted a mega and another defogger and I tried Scizor at first but it hadn't really been doing much to help me and the psychic terrain didn't help it much so I decided that Mega Latias was nice as a great supportive mon to just help out the team. One thing I might wanna try is changing the TWave on Lati to Healing Wish.
Greninja @ Icium Z
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- U-turn
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Tapu Koko @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Dazzling Gleam
Hawlucha @ Electric Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 96 HP / 252 Atk / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Acrobatics
- Stone Edge
Magearna @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Ice Beam
- Flash Cannon
Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Substitute
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
Since my opponent knows I have 3 choiced mons and Greninja is a very common scarfer, I decided to play on this fact by making Greninja non-choiced so it could grab a surprise kill. I decided on hp fire and z ice beam as its coverage moves so that it can lure pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Ferrothorn for Tapu Koko and Mega Gyarados.
252 SpA Protean Greninja Subzero Slammer (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 56 SpD Assault Vest Tapu Bulu: 320-378 (93 - 109.8%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 SpA Protean Greninja Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 256-304 (72.7 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Tapu Koko is just a great choiced pokemon in this metagame and I knew I wanted it on the team, and Hawlucha is a great partner for it. It has stone edge because Zapdos can be annoying and I don't expect to be setting up on Landorus-T (I have a lot of lures for it so I feel roost would be less useful). The next pokemon is scarf Magearna. I think my opponent will expect AV Magearna, with my 3 choiced mons being greninja, koko and landorus. Therefore Magearna can be great to net a surprise kill. Mega Gyarados is up next, I needed a fire resist and it also helps to check Ash-Greninja which is invaluable. I may end up missing ice fang on this thing, but I hope to lure grass types before Gyarados needs to set up. Also sub helps a lot to set up on annoying mons like Toxapex and Celesteela. Last up is scarf Landorus-T for stealth rock and my electric/ground immunity.
The Team is built around on capitalising on the common switch ins of each Team member. M.Scizor brings Toxapex and Steel types in commonly, allowing both Zygarde and Keldeo to fire off powerful attacks in hope to break the opposing team for M.Scizor. Tornadus-T can also break Steel types by forcing them in due to the power of Specs Hurricane and smacking them with Heat Wave, but also taking advantage of common Grass type switch ins, such as Av Bulu, and M.Venusaur both Zygarde and Keldeo face. Due to how hard Specs TornT can hit, its main purpose is to force switches and be the main source to pick up momentum for the team to restart the cycle. With Regenerator and with the combonation of hard hitting attacks (With no LO recoil) and its Speed, TornT will be very hard for opposing fatter teams to wear down, allowing it to function throughout the match. I chose M.Scizor because of its dynamic to work as a Bulky Pivot early game, bringing in the Pokemon for Zygarde and Keldeo on its common switch ins, but then to flip and abuse the gap left by Zygarde and Keldeo, removing its checks allowing for Bullet Punch to sweep late game. Jirachi pairs nicely with M.Scizor as a defensive pivot, providing both Rocks and Healing Wish support, allowing more recklessly play with each mon. Jirachi also shares many of the same common switch ins as M.Scizor and though the typing overlap may be an issue, the rest of the team is chosen to be bulky enough to cover for these few types with there natural bulk alone. Lastly Scarf Landorus-T was chosen as the teams main revenge killer, due to its ability to also keep up the all important momentum for the team with U-Turn, but compacting a fast Defog on the team as well as some defensive utility.Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Toxic
Keldeo-Resolute @ Waterium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Taunt
- Secret Sword
- Calm Mind
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 188 SpD / 68 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Healing Wish
Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 20 SpD / 64 Spe
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Tornadus-Therian @ Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 48 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Knock Off
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Defog
Set Details:
- Zygarde is running Toxic to hit Bulu and other fat resists, wearing them down faster throughout the match.
- Taunt WaterZ on Keldeo allows it to set up on Toxapex and be a nuisance to fatter teams in general, shutting down recovery and other status moves.
- Jirachis speed is for Magearna +1 stat point, allowing it to creep Av Bulu, and others in this crowded tier
- M.Scizors defence is hitting a jump point
- M.Scizors speed is for M.Mawile + creep, escaping from the crowded speed tier as well as certain Magnezone.
- The rest is put in Spdef on M.Scizor, allowing it take take Magearnas +1 Tbolt
- Tornadus-T outpaces Scarf Magnezone, while the rest is dumped into bulk
- Landorus-T outpaces base 150s, while rest is placed into bulk
The Team faces issues from Greninja Ash, with Keldeo being the main resist, but relying on Healing Wish support to be able to keep it in check throughout the match. Greninja Ash shouldnt see much oppotunity to come in however, by the fact that 4/6 Pokemon on the team have and will be spamming U-Turn, while the other 2 can perhaps eat a hit and Ko it in return. Specs Tapu Koko is also another severe threat, with no switch in that isnt threatened by one of its attacks, allowing it to pick up momentum on the team. But between LandoT, Zygarde and Jirachi, Koko should be somewhat kept in check and Tapu Koko is no Flying resist infront of Specs TornT. Lasty Rain match up is looking pretty damaging, but the combo of Z-Keldeo and Specs TornT, this should be more manageable than the previous two. There is a few more issues, but I won't go into them here, to save your sanity.
Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
Keldeo @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Stone Edge
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
Tapu Lele @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
Magearna @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 224 HP / 36 SpA / 248 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Iron Head
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Fleur Cannon
- Volt Switch
Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Smart Strike
- Defog
So I was sifting through the good cores thread when I found Tyranitar + Keldeo and Tapu Lele + Keldeo, I remembered that I'd built a few Tapu Lele + Tyranitar teams back in SM so I decided to try the three together. I added Landorus-T for rocks and a general purpose glue (also because it's a ground resist, a physical check, and a few other things), then Magearna for the purposes of steel-type, special mons check and a few other things. Kartana I just added because I love Kart and think its amazing, plus I figured that with the mixture of VoltTurn and heavy hitters that this team has it'd be easy to create opportunities for it to cut loose ingame.
When I decided to submit this team for Iron Chef, I made a few reworks. I'd pulled CM+Waterium Z Keldeo from the good cores thread, but a half-dozen test games convinced me that that set was mediocre and that I should run a choice item on Keldeo. The question became which of Lele / Kart gets the Z-Move?, also I decided to make the other mon scarfed because I figured it was a good buster / sweeper core and it would force opponents to guess which of them was the Z-Move holder. Watching SPL games made me decide that Fightinium-Z Lele is better at luring / smashing steel types with All-Out Pummeling, while Kart's faster speed tier allows it to clean up teams lategame + I can run 3 coverage moves + defog on scarf Kart. I decided on double scarf because Keldeo can check Volcarona / Ash-Greninja / a few other things in the lategame which the team would otherwise struggle with, I tried specs once or twice but wasn't too happy with it. Anyways, yeah, that's the crew.
Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes
Zygarde @ Choice Band
Ability: Aura Break
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
- Outrage
- Iron Tail
Mawile-Mega @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 108 SpD / 152 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Thunder Wave
This is a really solid team that I wanted to make when I heard about this contest because I think that Choice Specs Ash Gren and CB Zygarde compliment each other perfectly. Zygade can lure in Tapu Bulu with CB Iron Tail and Ash Greninja wears down stuff like Tangrowth with Spikes while threatening out stuff like Landorus-T that annoys Zygade. Going off of these double choice core to start off, I added SD Mega Mawile because it plays off of the central core fantastically, appreciating Zygarde's ability to pressure Landorus-T and switch into Heatran while removing Lando's Leftovers so that it can't passively heal throughout the match and thus supporting Zygarde, not to mention that Spikes support from Ash Gren is huge for wearing stuff into range of +2 Sucker. After that, Jirachi was add to provide obvious Healing Wish support for CB Zyg + Mawile, both of whom love HW support and Tapu Bulu rounds out the necessary defensive backbone for the team. Rounding out the team is Scarf Latios, it provides a secondary water resist besides Tapu Bulu and a revenge killer for key threats like Mega Pinsir that can be problematic for the team as well as some necessary hazard control. Overall this team is really solid aside from a pretty glaring Pinsir weakness (although im running edge bulu to lure it in and kill it in situations where i lose to +2), and I think it's a great example of how multiple choice users can function together effectively.
Wolf Meat (Lycanroc) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 196 Atk / 60 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Endeavor
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
Beatle's wings (Pinsir-Mega) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Aerilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Close Combat
Frog Tongue (Greninja-Ash) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Hydro Pump
- U-turn
Dog Meat (Landorus-Therian) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Defog
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Explosion
Steel Salad (Kartana) @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Knock Off
Boiled Eggs (Tapu Koko) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
This is an old team I used pretty much in ladder with better results than I thought (top 50), I already had 2 choice item and the only change I made is Choice Specs > Magnet on Tapu koko...
I remember I started cooking with the core Wolf Meat + Beetle's Wings as Lycanroc can be an excellant suicide lead capable of taunting Stealth Rockers and chip much Pinsir-mega checks with endeavor or Stone edge (the spdef evs are so water shuriken of Specs Ninja needs 4 hits to kill), it also can be not sacked in early game depending on the opponent team as it has a good speed tier and a decent attack to create some holes thanks to Stone edge + taunt to prevent recovery. Next I added some Boiled Eggs as they Helped the plate with speed control and it could eliminate mons like Hawlucha, Skarmory, Celesteela and other annoying mons, they can also volt Switch on fat grass mons to let Mega-Pinsir do his work, grass knot is for M-Swampert as Rain is an hard match up for the team. The Side Dish of this plate was Steel Salad as it had similar checks with Pinsir-mega they could weaken Them reciprocally to let the other sweep, Pinsir and Kartana together can smash stall if zapdos isn't there or it's dead. The 5th mon I added in the mix was Dog Meat as it lent my team more speed control, a defog user, a ground immunity not weak to rocks and a nice cleaner, like koko it can u-turn on fat grasses to let Pinsir-mega Smash things, also when peaple see the teams expects the scarf is kartana so bluffing it can be really nice. I don't really remember why I put The Frog on the team, I think I needed a strong Special Attacker with a priority so I could Revenge kill easier anyway it really fits like the other mons on my teams it can u-turn on usual checks like Chansey, Bulu, Tangrowth, Fini etc. and let my team do hard damage, u-turn also likes the endeavor support of Lycanroc as it let me have a win win situation [Transform if he stays in or take momentum if he switches(also even if he switches that mon with 1% will most likely be only Sack material).
Anyway this team as HO as much threats like Ash ninja in late game can just spam water shuriken if kartana or greninja ar weakened and I don't have entries to a specs Hydro Pump, Hawlucha if koko is weakened and greninja is not ash yet then is a problem as u have to hope for a 4 hits water shuriken or a Quick attack crit... Full def Zapdos is also annoying if carrying heat wave as u have to sack kartana at +2 to do 60% and then pressure it as much as possible to prevent it roosting and let Pinsir-mega sweep.
if your opponent has SG magearna u need to not cripple koko as it is the only thing which doesn't get Ohkoed and does 80% in Return, enough to let Greninja Revenge kill it with water shuriken.
Importable:
http://pokepast.es/c9c05f5b8d7410aa
Cursory Description:
Pretty straight forward trick room team. Golem is used over Magnezone as a steel trapper mostly for his ability to set rocks, but also because people do not expect it to be a trapper, which often leads to a free kill. I chose stealth rocks on golem because you will commonly find situations where golem has nothing to trap/already trapped them and I chose not to sac it and this gives golem the ability to do something useful other that being cannon fodder. Banded stakataka would not have been a good substitute for golem, as it struggles against steela and skarm, who golem can easily trap and kill. He can also trap Heatran without needing to take up he z move slot with electrium like zone does. With steels removed, banded Bulu, fairium z magearna, band azumarill, and stakataka have a much easier time destroying the enemy team.
When I saw the ingredient I immediately thought of building a trick room team because TR abusers are commonly choiced and it would give me an edge against others using the secret ingredient due to my ability to under speed opposing scarf and/or fast band/specs mons. Also I personally find it fun to play TR teams.
Issues:
- SubProtect suicune - pp stalls Bulu, kills golem with scald, burns azumarill, and walls the rest of my team
- EQ bait steela - OHKOes golem and then is very hard to remove
- Specs Koko - outside of TR, it’s pretty hard to kill, especially as it can 2hko pretty much the whole team after a bit of damage on bulu and doesn’t die to azumarill’s aqua jet
- Mega venusaur - walls bulu, azu, golem, and magearna and can wear down stak on switch-in with giga drains and possibly EQ’s
- No ghost resist, but mimikyu at +2 can’t stop magearna from setting trick room and then killing it with a Fleur Cannon/ twinkle tackle and azumarill won’t get OHKOed by Blacephalon and can OHKO it with an aqua jet
Kartana @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Frustration
Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Atk / 56 SpD / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Nature's Madness
Hawlucha @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Roost
Heatran @ Firium Z
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Toxic
- Taunt
Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
- Water Shuriken
This team lames the most popular trends in Smogon, but damn, is it good.
AV bulu is the head honcho of this team. It checks nearly all the special attacker in the game, and is usually my lead.
Scarf Kartana benefits from the terrain, helps it from being worn down by physical attackers, emergency defogger, best scarf mon in the game.
Tran beats the stalling mons in the game, benefits from grassy terrain to not get destroyed by ground attacks allowing you to pivot this around. They usually don't expect groundium Z with bulu supporting so you can nab easy kills on defensive pokes when grassy terrain is off.
Zone checks opposing Kartanas, and Cele/Skarmory. Allows you to have two strong steel checks, which are pretty prevalent, and allows you to pivot into any of the first 3 mons well
Lucha is super speed control, w/ roost to beat Lando 1 vs 1, and is otherwise a super dangerous mon. Gives a good type coverage spread to beat grass mons like mega venu which can destroy this core otherwise.
Ash greninja may be the mon I want to switch out, but its the best next choice user I could find, and rounds out type coverage. Spikes is also good, because this setup causes a lot of switches and spikes wears down well.
Honestly, it doesnt have any prevalent issues, its a really strong team that the choice pokemon are really strong in the meta. Ive played a few of 1700ish ladder games and have lost to status the only times I have, need more practice w it to find its weaknesses.
What came to mind w the choice items was use mons that are powerful and not prohibited by the choice item, and make sure that they arent covering the same niche. I have a physical sweeper/fast defogger, a steel check, and a special wallbreaker. Since I wanted Kart to sweep, I have zone since it no longer has access to fightinium, greninja to break physical walls, bulu to boost grass attacks, heatran for stall and grass, lucha for backup sweeper, lando, and grass/bug/steel counter
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Creativity:
Team 7, by Prisoner952.
Golem-alola in ou is pretty awesome. I liked this team cause it had arguably the most unique pokemon, being the only one of all the teams that had an unranked mon. Honestly though the major reason i liked this team was because you used a rare mon not just because you wanted to, but because it met the niche you needed it to. TR with staka, azu, and no mega also contributed to me picking it.
Essence:
Team 8, By 1_TrickPhony.
This is the only team where I felt all 3 mons had arguably the best or one of the best items that they can hold in the current meta. Many of the other teams had mons that aren’t the best in the current meta with choice items such as scarf keldeo, relatively outdated sets such as band zygarde, or unsets such as specs torn. However, on Phony’s team, magnezone appreciates the scarf for kartana, kartana appreciates it for sweeping or cleaning purposes, and specs ash gren continues to be an awesome set.
Effectiveness:
Team 8, By 1_TrickPhony.
This is overall just a very solid team. It utilizes awesome cores like bulutran and seed lucha, and doesn’t appear to have any glaring threats that it fails to break. All its sets are relevant, (I guess other than frustration on kart) and it’s many choice users are a help to the team, rather than a hinderance.
Team 7, by Prisoner952.
Golem-alola in ou is pretty awesome. I liked this team cause it had arguably the most unique pokemon, being the only one of all the teams that had an unranked mon. Honestly though the major reason i liked this team was because you used a rare mon not just because you wanted to, but because it met the niche you needed it to. TR with staka, azu, and no mega also contributed to me picking it.
Essence:
Team 8, By 1_TrickPhony.
This is the only team where I felt all 3 mons had arguably the best or one of the best items that they can hold in the current meta. Many of the other teams had mons that aren’t the best in the current meta with choice items such as scarf keldeo, relatively outdated sets such as band zygarde, or unsets such as specs torn. However, on Phony’s team, magnezone appreciates the scarf for kartana, kartana appreciates it for sweeping or cleaning purposes, and specs ash gren continues to be an awesome set.
Effectiveness:
Team 8, By 1_TrickPhony.
This is overall just a very solid team. It utilizes awesome cores like bulutran and seed lucha, and doesn’t appear to have any glaring threats that it fails to break. All its sets are relevant, (I guess other than frustration on kart) and it’s many choice users are a help to the team, rather than a hinderance.