Project Monotype Teambuilding Competition V3.2 [index]

The voting phase is over, congratulations to Guwahavel for winning Cycle 49!

Harp: 3
PotatoBlaster: 1
Guwahavel: 4
Gratify: 0


The next cycle will be up soon, tagging Eien to merge this with the Index thread
 

Harpp

No rain, no flowers.
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Groundium Z Volcanion Fire Offense: https://pokepast.es/7b8c14123dcf0e97

Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Yawn

Volcanion @ Groundium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave

Infernape @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Mach Punch
- U-turn

Rotom-Heat @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Volt Switch
- Defog

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Started the team off with Groundium Z Volcanion since it is a good lure to take out Pokemon such a Toxapex which is troublesome for Fire teams. Volcanion has Sludge wave to help deal with Belly Drum Azumarill which can otherwise sweep fire teams. I have decided to use Modest Nature for a bit more power. Next added Torkoal for necessary Drought support along with other utility moves it adds to the table such as Rapid spin, Selected Mega Charizard X as the Mega Pokemon of the team since it is a very threatening DD user and one that appreciates wall breaking by its teammates a lot and it is better then Mega Charizard Y. Added Rotom Heat dual screens set next to aid Mega Charizard X in setting up and providing the team with some bulk. Added Band Infernape since it is a set I really like as it beats types like Normal and Dark pretty well on its own, Lastly added Choice Scarf Blacephalon as Speed control of the team and it has Psyshock to deal with Nihilego which is a threat otherwise. Choice Scarf Blacephalon improves the Psychic Match up of the team as well.
 
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The Vin Flint Mono-Fire Midnight Special
Volcanion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Solar Beam

Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Torkoal @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 160 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp
- Clear Smog
- Rapid Spin

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bolt Strike
- V-create
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt

Heatran @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
I originally made this team when Volcanion was first released in Gen 6. There have been various changes to this team as I continuously tried to adapt to the meta that was so unforgiving to Mono-Fire, but certain picks have stayed constant since the beginning. One of those picks was Volcanion, which was the original reason why I built this team. Everyone was theorycrafting with this mon, but almost everyone overlooked a set that I thought could be really cool: Choice Scarf Volcanion. This set turned out to be very good in Gen 6, and even though Gen 7 brought new threats to Mono-Fire that make Scarf Volcanion a less desirable option, this team continues to stand up against the meta.

I peaked #11 on ladder with this team with 1684 elo in early-mid Gen 7 (yes, there were days where the top 10 on ladder weren't all 1750 and above), and I can still somewhat consistently bring this team to the 1600's. Also, many of the odd teambuilding choices were made because of my teambuilding philosophy. When I first started playing Monotype, I noticed a stigma against the tier that the meta was matchup based and that therefore it was uncompetitive. This made me want to build a team that had no insta-loss matchups and that could win any matchup if played to the best of my abilities. Although that stigma may have gone away a little more now, remember that this team was originally built in Gen 6. With that in mind, I theorycrafted and tried to perfect ways to deal with all of the big threats that would usually make a Fire player click x and forfeit, leading to the wacky sets you will see below.​
Choice Scarf Volcanion makes full use of this monster's offensive power by giving it some much needed speed. HP Ice allows it to threaten dragon types in the Mono-Dragon matchup and Solar Beam, when enabled, can threaten Water. Infernape is the first step to hazard control and is an attempt to keep hazards from ruining Volcanion and co. Charizard-Y gives Volcanion sun to boost Flamethrower and makes Solar Beam a usable move, which makes Volcanion a threat to Mono-Water. Torkoal is the second hazard control and also takes physical hits for Volcanion and co. Victini is the actual speed control and removes Chansey and other walls that can body Volcanion. Heatran takes the special hits that Volcanion otherwise couldn't and keeps the team from being swept by Nihilego/Latios + some other special attackers.​

Volcanion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Solar Beam
So when I originally made this set, there was no Tapu Koko to outspeed and kill it no matter what, but even now this set holds up. Choice Scarf catches a lot of people off guard and leads to many 2HKO's using Volcanion's strong special attack. Steam Eruption is a natural pick, being the most reliable STAB move that also deals massive damage. I used to run Fire Blast as secondary STAB, but not only do I have two Sun setters to boost Flamethrower into a powerful move, but running Fire Blast on both Charizard and Volcanion made misses occur more often than I wanted. The next move, Hidden Power Ice, marks the first of many weird teambuilding choices in an effort to cover everything. The Mono-Dragon matchup seemed borderline unwinnable with Mono-Fire without using Charizard-X, which I just didn't want to use for personal preference reasons. Thus, I added HP Ice to be able to OHKO Dragonite after rocks (and I usually outsped because everyone ran Adamant Dragonite which even at +1 speed gets outsped by Volcanion) and to be able to sometimes 2HKO normal Latios after rocks. It also hit Garchomp hard after chip, although it failed to OHKO. Finally, with two sun setters on the team, I was usually able to manipulate the weather well enough to beat Mono-Water using Solar Beam. Both Volcanion and Charizard-Y had Solarbeam coverage to remove a lot of threats on Mono-Water which, combined with the surprise factor of Choice Scarf, nabbed a lot of free kills. Just to be clear, though, even without the element of surprise, Volcanion could put a lot of pressure in a lot of matchups.


Infernape @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Flare Blitz
- Close Combat
It should be well known by now just how much rocks hurt a Mono-Fire team, especially with how prevalent they are overall. If my opponent set up rocks, that could sometimes seal my fate right then and there because of how much damage they deal to this team, especially with the switching that I did. Enter Taunt Infernape, the perfect lead to counter other leads. Being able to Taunt and then set up rocks of yourself own is a huge plus in many matchups, especially in the Mono-Dragon matchup. If you prevent a turn 1 rocks from Garchomp, then Infernape is able to chip it with Close Combat and put Garchomp in KO range from HP Ice, which is huge. Rocks also brings Dragonite into KO range from Volcanion and Latios into 2HKO range. Finally, both STAB moves were threats of their own, with Flare Blitz potentially getting a boost from Blaze and Close Combat pressuring Mono-Normal teams.


Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
In most Mono-Fire teams, you will usually find Charizard-X, but I wanted maximum control over the weather to beat Mono-Water as much as I could. With Charizard-Y, I won against Mono-Water more than I lost. Solar Beam saw to that, as it OHKO'd most things on Rain after Stealth Rocks, and pressured other variants of water hard. It also made the Mono-Ground matchup pretty free so long as I played correctly. Fire Blast is just an insanely powerful stab move that will almost 2HKO anything that doesn't resist (except Chansey, but Charizard is instrumental in beating that too, as you'll see in the Victini section). Now Earthquake is an interesting tech that I enjoy more than the other common 3rd move, Focus Blast. I already had Fire Blast to OHKO every steel type in the game except Heatran, which made Focus Blast feel redundant, and although Focus Blast could try to cover for Heatran, it also had a good chance to miss. However, Earthquake never misses, and it OHKO's almost every variant of Heatran. I would usually try to predict the Air Balloon Heatran switchin by hitting it with a Solar Beam or HP Ice, then use Earthquake to finish it off and put the final nail in the coffin for Mono-Steel. Earthquake also helped out in the Mono-Poison matchup, where Fire Blast in the sun doesn't even 2HKO Nihilego. Since Scarf Nihilego is a huge threat to this team, and many players try to switch it into a Fire Blast to sweep, I enjoyed using Earthquake to predict the Nihilego switchin and OHKO it. Finally, HP Ice is another way for me to curb the Mono-Dragon weakness that my team has. This time, it deals much more damage to Garchomp and the rest of the dragons, so if I catch a Latios on the switchin I can 2HKO it while living a full Draco Meteor from Scarfed variants.


Torkoal @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 160 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp
- Clear Smog
- Rapid Spin
This weird Torkoal set was originally intended to beat Scarf Terrakion, or at least hinder it enough that the rest of my team doesn't get swept by it. Barring a crit, Torkoal lives a single Stone Edge 100% and can Willowisp the Terrakion so that Victini and Volcanion can live a hit and kill it later. This also works on other Physical mons, however, and Torkoal is usually my go to against Dragonite, Mega Gallade, and really any other physical mon that threatens my team. I put rest on this set in case there was more than 1 physical threat that I needed to Willowisp (Dragonite + Mega Altaria or Tapu Bulu + Mimikyu), but Rest also allows this mon to use Clear Smog and beat set up sweepers after burning them while being able to deal with chip damage. On that note, Clear Smog also removes stat changes from +1 Dragonite and allows Volcanion to outspeed 100% of the time again, and Torkoal can be sacrificed to prevent Volcarona from setting up and winning by repeatedly using Clear Smog. Finally, Rapid Spin gives this team a way to remove rocks in case the opponent sets rocks after Infernape goes down. I have some SpDef investments to survive a Z-Celebrate boosted Victini Stored Power because that used to be a threat, but I think that most Victinis are banded now, so I might put those evs back into Defense.


Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bolt Strike
- V-create
- U-turn
- Zen Headbutt
Yes, this team has two scarfers. However, this usually didn't hinder me because of two things. Firstly, each scarf mon has enough power to at least 2HKO most threats anyway, especially under Sun where Victini could OHKO a lot of things. Secondly, I used to make a lot of predictions in my games to keep the pressure up, so having two scarfers on my team wasn't a problem since I usually switched them out pretty quickly anyway. Scarf Volcanion doesn't have enough speed to actually act as speed control. That role goes to Victini. With Bolt Strike, Victini could clean up a lot of kills onto Mono-Water and Mono-Flying teams, further pushing the Mono-Water matchup into my favor. U-turn allowed me to keep momentum up with correct predictions, and Zen Headbutt was added for coverage against random things, but most of all, Toxapex, which ruined my team more often than not. But the last move, V-create, is a personal favorite of mine because under the Sun, Victini did Banded damage with the added benefit of running Choice Scarf. Sun boosted V-Create OHKO'd things like most Gliscor sets and almost any offensive sets, and it dealt insane amounts of damage to Mono-Normal mons like Chansey and Staraptor even after intimidate. Then, when my opponents assumed that I was slower because of the debuffs from V-Create, the Choice Scarf kicked in and often times let me land another V-Create to 2HKO what I couldn't already OHKO (Staraptor, again). Once stuff like Chansey fell to the unrivaled power of Sun boosted Victini, my predominantly special attacking team could clean up, notably Scarf Volcanion and Charizard-Y.


Heatran @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
- Stone Edge
The final surprise on this team is an Assault Vest Heatran set. Despite having two Scarf mons and in general a hyper offensive looking team, I still lost pretty hard to certain special attackers like Latios, Nihilego, and Volcarona if it set up. Thankfully, Heatran has amazing typing as a SpDef wall and also amazing power. This let it OHKO Volcarona even after boosts with Stone Edge while living HP Ground, eat 4 hits from Nihilego before going down, and come in hard on Latios every single time. After switching in on a special attack and forcing a switch out, Heatran has a variety of threatening options. With maximum SpAtk investments, Heatran could do things such as OHKO Kyurem-B on the Latios switching out with Flash Cannon. Heatran was also crucial in beating Toxapex, as it was the only thing on the team that could 2HKO every variant of Toxapex reliably with Earth Power. Even though Heatran could usually only force a switch on Toxapex, I could be put in a situation where Toxapex was unable to switch into a Charizard-Y Solar Beam without being 2HKO'd in the Mono-Water matchup.​

It's past midnight at the time of writing this, so I hope it wasn't too difficult to read and comprehend. It's also super long if you read the whole thing, but if you did, thanks for checking this out. Although I have dabbled in many different types, this team has stuck with me the longest. It's not a teambuilding challenge per say, since I've had this team for a long time, but I still thought it would be fun to put here.​
 
V+V Offensive Fire: https://pokepast.es/763e37dd8664ca3f

Volcanion @ Grassium Z
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Steam Eruption
- Earth Power
- Solar Beam

Victini @ Choice Band
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Trick

Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Yawn

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake

Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Taunt
- Magma Storm
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon

Blacephalon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Psyshock
Grassium Z Volcanion is the best set in my opinion since it deals with Gastrodon and Seismitoad, common switch-ins on Ground Teams, and still lets it beat Azumarill without the need for Sludge Wave. Victini makes a good partner as it deals with Mantine and can even muscle past stuff like Toxapex if the Sun is up. That brings us to Torkoal which is the utility mon for this team, setting sun and rocks, and also removing rocks. Charizard X is an insanely good sweeper that glues the type together as a whole and really isn't worth not using. Heatran checks Rock-Types and traps passive walls so Charizard sweeps easier. Blacephalon acts as the team's scarfer and runs the usual coverage to hit as many threats as possible.
 
This is my first entry into these contest, so I hope I am doing this right. Here's my team:

Team Volcanic Eruption:
BOOM!!!




Volcanion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast

Camerupt-Mega @ Cameruptite
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Stealth Rock

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Defog

Chandelure @ Life Orb
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick Room

Infernape @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- U-turn
- Final Gambit


As I was developing the team, I know that to maximize Volcanion's usefulness, this should be a Fire team without Drought. Since Volcanion can naturally take any Water attacks, the rest of the team can focus on combating other Fire weaknesses. I especially needed to address Volcanion's weaknesses. Rock isn't so common, other than Stealth Rock, so a portion of my team should be devoted especially against that. After that, it dawned on me that Mega Camerupt is Volcanion's perfect partner in giving each other free switch-in. They even make thematic sense! Rotom-Heat was the final piece in completing this core, with free Ground-attack switch-in and a resistance to Electric. Since both Volcanion and Mega Camerupt are slow, Trick Room becomes a plan B that can surprise opponents, and Chandelure is the best setter for Fire while also packing a lot of power.
I also wanted to take advantage of my Pokemon's tendency to Burn, so the stats distributions are geared toward bulky special defensive. The last two slots are used specifically to deal with Stealth Rock setters. The function of Victini is to Final Gambit the setter on first sight and its speed investment plus scarf lets it outspeeds any max 130 speed guys like Tapu Koko, Infernape's Taunt lets me deal with the Sturdy/Focus Sash variants.

The plan is to open with Victini to take care of rock setters, U-Turn out if the opponent opens with something else. Pass that point, Infernape and Rotom-H should be up next giving out Will-o-Wisp. Then finally let me specially defensive core do the work.
 
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