Happy holidays,
giove97! I've got your Mawile + Jellicent squad(s) here for you.
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Starting out, your request for 6xThePUSS™ (sixth annual PU Secret Santa) is interesting because you asked for Mawile, which is basically a Steel-type that lacks the resilience to take on special attackers like Ribombee, Whimsicott, Vanilluxe, Articuno-G, Mesprit, etc., long-term. Articuno-G is especially problematic for Mawile, with Mawile's Intimidate activating its Competitive if you bring Mawile in at the wrong time, and so Sheer Force is an option over Intimidate that avoids that issue altogether while also netting OHKOs on Archeops and Frosmoth with Iron Head. Using Mawile in this meta is more or less handicapping yourself, and I would normally just replace it with something like Togedemaru, specially defensive Aggron, or Sandslash-A on a more serious team.
Where Mawile outshines these other Steel-types however is in taking on physically offensive threats like Tsareena and Scyther, and if you're versus ladder, Pokemon like Cinccino, Absol, and Flapple, too. I built these teams around Mawile with this role in mind, but also gave it a mixed defensive spread that improves its chances versus Silvally-Fairy's Flamethrower, CS Mesprit's Psychic, and standard Ribombee's boosted Moonblast. You'll often see your opponent bring Charizard in on Mawile, so Mawile really needs at least Toxic or Knock Off to capitalize on the free turns that it creates when it forces something out (so Pain Split / Toxic / Iron Head / Knock Off or SR made the most sense here).
Specially defensive Jellicent complements Mawile nicely, as it counters many of the threats Mawile isn't equipped to handle (Charizard mainly, but its Toxic is admittedly still annoying for Jellicent). Mawile by itself is an insufficient response to the tier's offensive Psychic- and Fairy-types like Mesprit, Ribombee, Articuno-G, etc., and so this specially defensive spread blanket checks those. It may not be a cold stop to all of them, but it does well situationally; for example, Jellicent can free itself from Freezing Glare freezes via Scald, while Cursed Body has a reasonable chance to disable choice-locked Articuno-G and force it out over SR. Jellicent is running just enough Speed for uninvested Lanturn to taunt that out of Toxic and to prevent it from healing its teammates via Heal Bell. Not only that, this level of investment lets it outspeed Weezing too, which prevents Jellicent's teammates like Silvally-Ground, Bouffalant, Aromatisse, etc. from being afflicted by Weezing's Toxic Spikes. Some combination of Taunt, Toxic, and Cursed Body will usually save you against Ribombee too, but in case that's not enough or if Jellicent isn't healthy enough for Ribombee, this brings me to my next addition:
Charizard patches up many of the shared issues that Mawile and Jellicent have with Ribombee, Gallade, Scrafty, SpDef (Toxic) Togedemaru, Vanilluxe, Centiskorch, etc., and checks a lot of these from full HP while also forming an entry hazard and removal core with Mawile. I would usually opt for Toxic on Charizard over Defog, and then shift removal to a different slot; however, this method of building with Charizard is also valid so long as you focus on pressuring those SR-wielding Charizard counters like Gigalith with Charizard's teammates. This is more or less where the team started to branch off into the different versions that you see below.
Silvally-Ground is one of these options that enables Charizard to forgo Defog in favor of Focus Blast or Toxic (or even Scorching Sands); alternatively, Charizard can run Defog instead so that Silvally-Ground can run SD / Flame Charge or U-turn / Rock Slide / MA, which is very potent and consistent in sweeping versus ladder. Silvally-Ground is a great support for Charizard, as it scares out many of the Rock-types that Charizard struggles with and brings in Ground resists like Tsareena for Charizard to roast, either on a double switch or via U-turn. Silvally-Ground may or may not be leaving the tier at the upcoming tier shift, and with these teams coming out so close to that date, I wanted to include other configurations here so you have more than just a day or two to test all of these squads. Sandaconda is a great option here too, and when Mawile runs SR, this gives you the opportunity to run Coil, which kind of just runs through other teams if it has match-up. Admittedly though, Articuno-G is faster than half of the team, and with the team's Psychic resist being some combination of SF Mawile and SpDef Jellicent, any composition with Silvally-Ground will perform better against Articuno-G. I also tested Sandslash(-K) and Rhydon here on this slot; while they are not perfectly interchangeable with Silvally-Ground or Sandaconda, the same basic synergy is achieved. SpDef Rhydon with cleric support and Rest is an interesting stop to Charizard and keeps SR up long-term, while Sandslash capitalizes on Gigalith being switched into your own Charizard and activating Sand Rush for you.
These last two slots were about gluing the team together and providing an additional Scrafty and Gallade check (Mawile isn't running Play Rough or Intimidate here, so it's only got Charizard and a SpDef Jellicent holding these Fighting-types back); speed control; some sort of Ghost resist to support Jellicent defensively versus threats like Trevenant; and, a cleric to keep Jellicent and Charizard healthy long-term. I more or less settled on SubSD Bouffalant here for one of these slots - it's pretty underrated and sets up on a large portion of the defensive meta. I purposefully built it with 180 Speed and fatter Substitutes so that it'd set up against Pokemon like uninvested Weezing (using its Sludge Bomb as the SpDef benchmark for keeping Substitute up), Sandaconda (Speed benchmark), Lanturn, defensive Jellicent, Tangela, and Ferroseed, which does a lot toward setting up Silvally-Ground or Charizard as a wincon depending on what Bouffalant is able to take out 1v1. With both Mawile and Sap Sipper Bouffalant as supports, Jellicent and whatever Ground-type you choose are adequately protected from Grass-types like Tsareena and Trevenant. What's more, Bouffalant's Sap Sipper lets you keep Ferroseed low on HP by blocking its Leech Seed (though be careful of Ferroseed's Toxic on the switch). Something to note, +2 16 Atk Adamant Bouffalant's Throat Chop OHKOes Articuno-G. I tried out Sap Sipper RH Heal Bell Miltank with Body Press and enough Speed for Jolly Sandslash-A and Adamant Absol over SubSD Bouffalant, but this change sort of gave Trevenant free rein with Miltank lacking coverage for that.
(
v1 - Silvally-Ground /
v2 - Sandaconda) Standard Ribombee is pretty hard to beat, especially when counters like SpDef Togedemaru are easily checked by the rest of the team (Charizard and Silvally-Ground in this case). Ribombee supports its teammates via Aromatherapy and keeps Jellicent healthy in the face of Charizard's Toxic, if you're able to pivot around that effectively. It also grants you a counter to standard BU Scrafty and a check to Gallade, as well as speed control that will help you pressure faster threats like Galvantula and Archeops, which would harass the rest of the team otherwise. I honestly don't think you need speed control faster than Ribombee in this meta, as the only threats you need to think about beating are the occasional DD/BD+Salac Charizard, +1 Silvally, and assorted threats like QD Frosmoth, Ludicolo (rain), and Sandslash-A/-K (hail / sand). Even though Ribombee outspeeds +1 Frosmoth, it's something you have to play around carefully with this team given you're using Mawile as the team's Ice resist (as I mentioned above though, Sheer Force Mawile OHKOes that via its uninvested Iron Head). To be honest, ignoring the request and simply replacing Mawile with Togedemaru would do a lot toward checking these Pokemon while improving the Articuno-G match-up too, but in return, Scyther and Tsareena would become more threatening if this change were made.
Overall, the team as it stands is slightly weak to Electric- and Water-types and so threats like Choice Specs Jellicent will keep you on your toes, which prompted me to build some other versions with Tsareena, Whimsicott, and even Shiftry. Shiftry in particular is cool in this meta, as it doesn't exacerbate an Articuno-G weakness, given that Adamant LO Sucker Punch OHKOes that most of the time.
The chosen Pokemon above have the potential to be run in a more offensive configuration, too; for example, if you run SF LO Mawile, Choice Specs Jellicent, Sticky Web Ribombee, and offensive Sandslash over Silvally-Ground,
you can easily turn this balance team into webs offense with a few slot changes. There was a lot more to talk about here with the other versions, but I'll just let you test these out for now - feel free to message me if you have any questions about the teams. Anyway, I hope you enjoy (click on the pictures for the pastes)!
- Tsareena hits 194 Spe prior Rapid Spin, and 290 Spe after, which is +1 faster than Modest Articuno-G.
- Sandaconda's Drill Run breaks through BU Scrafty more easily with its increased crit chance, which the team struggles with a bit.
- The team hasn't struggled with Ferroseed yet, but if it does, Heat Wave Archeops, Taunt Mawile, or HJK Tsareena are options to improve that match-up.
- Miltank is running Thick Fat and more SpDef to take on threats that Jellicent and Mawile wouldn't be able to handle, like Vanilluxe, while creeping neutral base 70s and Timid Aurorus. You could go slightly faster for Timid Jellicent too, but that's not really a thing other builders use too often.
- Running recovery moves on all slots has been very strong for winning longer games.
- Replay against Prodigezz (a French PUWC player with generally solid teams), or someone
with his team -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1471041792-6bla3kpj989wrm538ws2v5go1c6fpskpw
- Replay against a possible Wingless alt -
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1471012357-xtg5e4mgpu6x2c7mlnf47ws4vbb7x7ipw
- This version of the team shifts hazard removal from Charizard to Silvally-Ground, which lets Charizard run 3 Attacks + Roost (or standard Toxic + 2 Attacks + Roost).
- With Silvally-Ground now responsible for removing hazards but also being vulnerable to hazards itself, I included standard Aromatisse to keep it healthy.
- Aromatisse is run with near-max Defense investment and can be considered the team's primary response to Gallade and Scrafty.
- Silvally-Ground's U-turn should be used to bring in Weezing so that Bouffalant has something to set up on (Sub on the turn that Weezing uses WoW) or so that Jellicent or Charizard can pressure it. Do the same versus Tsareena: U-turn with Silvally-Ground to bring it in, then pressure it with Mawile or Charizard.
- Given the overall speed of this team, it could be worth it to consider Togedemaru > Mawile, Sandaconda > Silvally-Ground, and Whimsicott or Ribombee > Aromatisse, but this bulky, more durable version has done pretty well in tests and was really only bothered by Galvantula -
here's a replay showing that it's not really a deal breaker, though.
- Psych Up / Taunt / Recover SpDef Jellicent stops Ribombee cold every time. Not only can Jellicent copy its QD boosts, but Moonblast is likely to be disabled by Cursed Body, leading Ribombee to struggle after you hit it with Taunt. You can optionally use its standard set here, but this set is very fun for stopping Ribombee and Stored Power users. The given EVs allow Jellicent to hit 360 Speed after you copy two QD boosts (or one SS boost) and outspeed uninvested Sandaconda before any boosts have been copied.
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Psych Up Jellicent copying CM Aromatisse
- Bouffalant's set is variable here, but as long as you have something to hit Trevenant with (given you're a Ghost+Grass immunity), then whatever works.
- Defog on Charizard lets you use a more offensive Silvally-Ground set, which sweeps ladder pretty cleanly up until about 1500 rating (about the time when you start seeing more and more defensive builds). Given you're running Defog Charizard, it's a good idea to give it a move that'll improve its match-up versus common SR users, so Focus Blast is being used here for threats like Regirock and Aggron.
- The team's speed control is rounded out by CS Whimsicott. Some combination of TrickScarf (with Infiltrator) and Encore will make it so you'll never get 6-0d by any Sub+ID+Body Press or Stored Power user (this is the 'I hate setup spam' version of the team above, basically). Infil > Prankster, as you outspeed most of what you want to anyway, and checking things behind a Substitute consistently is part of this set's charm.
- This is another one of those slow, but very threatening balance builds. It acknowledges that Audino and SpDef Jellicent are probably not enough for Specs Modest Articuno-G, so it tries to cover that through Rock Slide Silvally-Ground, Sucker Punch Shiftry, and Charizard.
- Mawile with Wish Support sticks around for the long haul against big threats like Tsareena and Scyther; it's also run with more Defense, Intimidate, and Play Rough for Gallade and Scrafty mainly, but it also happens to cover other threats like Hitmontop and Absol.
- Defog can be traded back and forth between Silvally-Ground and Charizard, while Shiftry can potentially be traded out for Tsareena, letting you run Coil Sandaconda or SD Silvally-Ground + Toxic Charizard. One thing to note though, LO Adamant Shiftry's Sucker Punch OHKOes standard Articuno-G 81.3% of the time, so it was used over Tsareena here.
- Audino can run Yawn + Mawile can run Eject Button to force the Yawned target to stay in for a turn longer than anticipated.
- This is maybe my favorite build of the bunch because it rewards careful play when you slowly but surely break down targets via Knock Off and Toxic. At the same time, it's very forgiving if you make any misplays thanks to the support Audino provides.
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https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1482355460-7nt61d6xmnm2j06oeixb6x8qw7w4nt0pw
- Blunder Policy Destiny Bond Weezing is maybe the most fun you'll have playing PU. Go for an inaccurate move like Zap Cannon when a threat like Charizard is predicted to switch into Weezing; either it'll hit, and Charizard will be paralyzed and close to being KOed, or it'll miss and you'll gain +2 Speed, putting you slightly faster than Ribombee and in a position to Destiny Bond whatever threatens Weezing.
- Weezing's IVs are dropped on purpose so that Fire Blast / Hurricane from Charizard OHKO Weezing perfectly.
- When Weezing successfully removes something via Destiny Bond (ideally a strong special attacker like Charizard, Vanilluxe, Articuno-G, etc.), this gives you the opportunity to use whatever move KOed Weezing with Choice Specs Copycat Jolteon afterward. If you are positioned to use Charizard's Fire Blast for example, this enables Jolteon to KO Togedemaru as it switches into a predicted Volt Switch.
- Similarly, Jolteon can copy Shiftry's Eject Pack Leaf Storm, meaning Jolteon can take out Ground-types and Lanturn by surprise.
- Sandslash hits 376 Speed after Rapid Spin, or 502 with Gigalith's sand up when that switches into Charizard.
- Stone Edge can be traded out for Leech Life for a big hit on Tsareena while also recovering back some HP; however, Charizard, Bouffalant, Ribombee, and Mawile all handle Tsareena nicely.
- Once webs are up, just smash stuff with SF LO Mawile, Specs Jellicent, or 3 attacks Charizard.
- Speed Boost WP Endure Carvanha can actually be pretty scary. If you can't OHKO anything with it, or if they're trying to take you out with Sucker Punch, go for Destiny Bond. I used to use Bounce in that last slot for a Tsareena kill while also stalling in the air for another Speed boost, but either move works (I think Destiny Bond with Speed boosts is generally more consistent, though).
- You can use Endure WP Carvanha as a big punish to U-turn users and Psychic-types like Mesprit that need coverage to hit you.
- CB Rhydon with webs up murders everything too. Megahorn is there for Tangela, but this slot is pretty negotiable.
- When priority is the opponent's speed control, Tsareena's Queenly Majesty in combination with Sticky Web shuts everything down. Not only that, but Queenly Majesty stops Prankster Whimsicott's priority Defog (even if Whimsicott is falling off a bit) from removing Sticky Web.
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https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1482382810-kv9yp1d5qd7mbx6po7jl9fvkhhv3qu6pw
- Rest SpDef Rhydon and SpDef Jellicent in tandem with cleric support handles Charizard long-term, though Rest can be replaced with Heat Crash and a more offensive spread for hitting Tsareena much harder.
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https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1481220803-88r2dl0h93gusqzd67lanq0yd6my2agpw
- vs Tone's teamlab:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1481199976-224lfkghtds14irzu7t3rdo2cn9ni8dpw
Some other replays:
Miltank + Whimsicott
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1468568164-28of9pnh6fj4z0l711qxo927sqgi1d4pw
Scarf Miltank vs Xiri
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1466995385-xiyyrkk3qqp9ttha5hsj9ore34fixx4pw
Scarf Whimsicott vs beef dreams
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1466853151-8hhgs4suuap2aa24fwasf6khm7psyn7pw
SD FC Silvally-Ground vs zoowi
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1466769148-rs86k86c5htfkjr9cy0f1nvv69t7c58pw
SubSD CG Bouffalant vs ladder
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1466735855-qi5l9a8ev7oqfyum6t7w3um4ws9r37tpw
SD Shiftry vs French stall
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8pu-1481223516-1vgz5h7kyb339i1543aupq1m6nyet3ipw