ORAS LC Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink

[Simonquinlank]

Introduction
Hello, RMT Forums! I'm back with another team, this time LC. This team coalesced around Corphish, specifically the dragon dance set. Next came Carvanha to form a potent water spam core. The rest of the team sprung up around these two mons. The team has been performing quite well, but I'd love to hear your suggestions on how to improve it. Onto the specific team members.

Corphish

Corphish @ Eviolite
Ability: Adaptability
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet

Our resident sweeper. After a dragon dance, Corphish becomes very powerful indeed, with priority STABdaptability in aqua jet, a massive wrecking ball in crabhammer, and utility in knock off. The rest of the team supports Corphish and works to wear down and eliminate walls that would halt Corphish's sweep. Which brings us to Corphish's partner in crime...

Carvanha

Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Aqua Jet
- Destiny Bond

Carvanha's main role is to function as a water-spam partner and wallbreaker for Corphish, although an unchecked Carvanha can easily function as a sweeper on its own. Destiny bond is especially useful, as it allows Carvanha to kamikaze a shared check, such as magnemite (bypassing sturdy too!), chinchou, etc.

Houndour

Houndour @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Destiny Bond
- Pursuit

Scarf Houndour came next. Houndour functions as the third leg of a spam love triangle with our water spam core, Carvanha forming a dark core wth houndour as well as a water core with (hehe) Corphish. Houndour also packs Destiny Bond, allowing it to target a problematic mon and bring it down. Flashfire lets it switch in on fire attacks.

Ferroseed

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 148 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Knock Off

Ferroseed provides much needed support, setting up stealth rocks, knocking off items, spreading paralysis and checking a variety of threats. Stealth rock support helps the water sweep, breaks sturdy, and chips down at the enemy team throughout the match.

Croagunk

Croagunk @ Eviolite
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 28 Atk / 116 Def / 108 SpA / 116 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Vacuum Wave
- Drain Punch

Another utility mon that helps wall-break for the sweepers and also absorbs and checks a number of threats. Croagunk is a nice switch in on fighting types, and can also switch in on water attacks. Croagunk provides more knock off support, more priority, and a pivot into problematic fighting types.

Drilbur

Drilbur @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Poison Jab
- Rapid Spin

Scarf drilbur can rapid spin in a pinch, but it's main use comes in it's hard and fast earthquake. Rock slide means it can also take on flying types. If you predict switches well, vullabies sent in to the soak up earthquakes can quickly get buried under a pile of rocks. The speed from scarf is valuable, allowing Drilbur to function as an effective revenge killer and sometimes as a late-game sweeper in its own right.

I'd appreciate your feedback. A specific question: is two destiny bond mons too much? Should I run protect on Carvanha instead? Or Life-Orb houndour instead of scarf? Thanks in advance

 

[S0L1D G0LD]

Yo.

You have a pretty good team. I'll provide you with a few tweaks to improve it.

We're first going to be starting with a minor change: I feel that your team would benefit more from using a Swords Dance Corphish over your current set. SD Corphish has more wallbreaking capabilities and power, which helps Carvanha perform its role as a cleaner easier, and also allows it to become more immediately threatening after a single turn of set up. However, Dragon Dance has merit as well, so this isn't a 100% essential change.

Next, I will recommend the following moveset changes to make for your Carvanha: Aqua Jet --> Zen Headbutt ; Destiny Bond --> Protect . Your current core has issues with Croagunk as well as fighters in general, and Zen Headbutt helps to alleviate this as well as deterring their switching in. Protect lets Carvanha dodge Fake Outs and gives it an easier time setting up with Speed Boost.

It is my opinion that you will get more mileage out of Houndour if you use its Life Orb set instead. Houndour already is potent for wallbreaking, and that is exactly what this change will amplify. The extra power allows it to take out threats to your core easier, and snags some useful bonuses against common mons (notably securing the 2HKO against Defensive Spritzee, Vullaby, and Porygon while guaranteeing the OHKO on Foongus (all except Porygon are regardless of hazards, too boot). Using two scarfers is a bit redundant, and your team isn't terribly weak to hazards, so I chose to swap Houndour's set instead of Drilbur's.

Because Croagunk is your only answer to Fighting-Types, and is weak to the common trappers in the tier, I recommend using its Bulk Up attacker set instead of the utility one. With this change, Croagunk counters most of the same things as your old set does, but plays mind games with trappers via Sucker Punch and has a chance to survive EQ from Diglett if it does wind up trapped (even after chip damage/rocks/u- turn (assuming you get to +1 defense)). It also can act as a backup win-con if you need it to.

Enclosed in the hide tag below you will find a list of sets with applied changes.

Sets/Summary

Corphish @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 196 Atk / 76 Def / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Swords Dance

Carvanha @ Life Orb
Level: 5
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 196 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Protect

Houndour @ Life Orb
Level: 5
Ability: Early Bird
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Destiny Bond

Croagunk @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 52 HP / 188 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch
- Bulk Up

Stick around in Little Cup, and Good luck with your team.

 

[fran17]

Hey there cool team, but I feel like that having 3 fight weak mons with only Croagunk as your resistence is kinda bad, and you also don't have any flying or ground check. With Scarf Drilbur you really need a flying check, because Fletchling can come on you after a kill, press SD and then win easily. Also all of your mons are grounded and scarf Drilbur isn't that great at hazard removal because it gives too many free turns which is something I don't really like because usually the opponent can take advantage of this bringing in a setup-sweeper or just a threat to your team :/

I suggest you to change Carvanha to EdgeQuake Tirtouga, this change will give you a solid FletchDig check that can still lure Corphish checks. With Earthquake and Stone Edge Tirtouga will be able to hit decently hard every mon in LC.

Now I think you really need a ground resistence, so Cottonee over Ferroseed sounds a good change for me. With this change you get both a ground and fighting resistence which your team really aprreciates. With this change you lose Stealth Rock, so I suggest to change Drilbur's set to an utility one; now you have a form of hazard control that doesn't lock you on Rapid Spin, and you also get a new Stealth Rock user :) for the fourth move I suggest you Poison Jab, which is a nice lure to Cottonee so you can let Tirtouga sweep better! Also I don't think that losing the scarf is a problem since you have 3 priority in the back.

This is all I have, btw give Houndour 0 IVs in HP so you can take less recoil from Life Orb, good luck with your team and stick to LC

new sets

Tirtouga @ Berry Juice
Level: 5
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 212 Atk / 92 Def / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 40 Def / 144 SpA / 40 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Encore
- Knock Off

Drilbur @ Berry Juice
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 76 Atk / 36 Def / 76 SpD / 212 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock

 

[Simonquinlank]

Thanks both of you for your advice-- I've been liking the more physical croagunk set (though I've alternated between using bulk up and knock off in the 4th moveslot). I'm intrigued by your suggestions fran and I'll try them out right away :)