(◕ᴗ◕✿) (Mantine) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Moves:
- Scald
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Whirlpool / Defog
Mantine serves as this team's de facto Special Wall. With useful immunities to water and ground, it can even switch into certain physical moves and provide useful pivoting. Scald is used for a bit of damage and to fish for burns, Roost is used for recovery, Ice Beam is used to beat out specific threats like Landorous-T, Tera Grass Volcorona, and Gliscor, and Whirlpool is used to potentially trap key targets and provide chip damage. Tera Dragon is used primarily to better your matchup into Tera Grass Volcorona, but also useful for removing your exploitable Electric weakness and to, hilariously enough, trap and eliminate certain electric types like Mega Manetric. Leftovers are for a little extra healing, although Heavy Duty Boots would also be a strong option if you have trouble keeping Stealth Rock off the field. If you don't feel like dealing with Whirlpool's shotty accuracy or don't care about trapping, Defog could be a strong alternative to help with hazard control.
French Fry (Garganacl) (M) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
Moves:
- Salt Cure
- Protect
- Recover
- Body Press
No other pokemon provides the same amount of safe, consistent damage as Garganacl. With an absurdly powerful ability for a wall AND the best consistent damage move in the game, it was a no-brainer to put this salty monstrosity on the team. Salt Cure provides constant damage and helps deal with water and steel types, Protect is used for scouting the opponent's moves, leftovers recovery, and Salt Cure damage, Recover keeps you healthy, and Body Press is useful to beat other Garganacl and deal a large chunk of damage if needed. Tera Water and Ghost are both solid options, each having a strong use case. I've mostly used Water for dealing with steel types and a better defensive typing, but Ghost provides two immunities and, with Purifying Salt, you only have a weakness to dark to deal with.
Boom boom? (Overqwil) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Barb Barrage
- Haze
- Crunch
- Self-Destruct / Taunt / Liquidation
Overqwil was the last added member to the team, dealing with very specific problems that would otherwise cause significant issues. With the combination of Toxic Immunity, ability to remove Toxic Spikes, Psychic Immunity, massive physical bulk, Intimidate, and access to Haze, Overqwil provides a lot in terms of consistency to the team. Barb Barrage is useful for debilitating status and massive damage, especially against Fairies, Haze is used to stop many set-up sweepers, Crunch deals solid damage and can force opponents out with a Defense drop, and Self-Destruct can used to provide momentum or a safe switch, depending on what you need. As for Tera Type, any could realistically work, but I chose Poison to get a more potent Barb Barrage and preserve the ability to remove toxic spikes. If exploding isn't your style, than Taunt or Liquidation can be solid options to deal with annoying stall pokemon or ground types, respectively.
(ㆁωㆁ) (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Impish Nature
Moves:
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes / Toxic / Swords Dance / Roost
When the name of the game is longevity, Gliscor is the go-to pokemon. Serving as the team's primary Physical Wall, Gliscor can soak up many hits and passively heal them off while providing a ton of pressure. Combined with Mantine, you should be able to absorb most hits relatively safely. Protect stalls for chip damage and Poison Heal recovery, Earthquake deals a massive chunk of damage even without investment and deals with poison immune Poison and Steel types, Knock Off provides amazing utility and an always valuable button to click, and the move slot can be extremely flexible. I prefer Toxic Spikes for something to do when you wait for your opponent to switch in their special attackers, but Toxic for immediate pressure, Swords Dance for a potential win condition, and Roost for even more recovery are all valid options. Tera Water is used to stifle special-attacking Water and Ice pokemon, although it would usually just be better to swap into Mantine or Slowking.
? (Slowking) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Moves:
- Yawn
- Scald
- Counter / Slack Off
- Psychic / Slack Off
Slowking, first and foremost, is there to absorb as much damage as possible. Outside of that function, Slowking is a bulky water type with a few tricks up their sleeve. Yawn is great for interrupting the opponent's game plan and forcing switches, Scald deals decent damage and has a chance to burn, Counter is a consistent way to remove physical attackers if you don't have a reliable answer, and Psychic is a useful STAB option to hit pesky Poison and Fighting type pokemon. If you want Slowking to be a more reliable wall, Slack Off is an option, although with the rest of the team already so bulky, having a wall with some extra tools behind it. Tera Steel helps negate weaknesses as needed, although similarly to Overqwil, you'll probably end up using your Tera Type on a different Pokemon.
Emerald (Sableye-Mega) (F) @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster --> Magic Bounce
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
Moves:
- Encore / Taunt
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Knock Off
My favorite member of the team, Sableye does it all. This'll be the trickiest Pokemon to pilot, but if done well, you can dismantle entire teams with it. The amazing ability to choose between Prankster and Magic Bounce are the real draw of this Pokemon. Encore forces switches and gives opportunities to switch around as needed, Recover allows you to repeat your shenanigans multiple times, Thunder Wave is an amazing shut down tool, and Knock Off is an amazing utility move that punishes switching and deals a shocking amount of damage. You can replace Encore with Taunt for a more consistent way to keep status moves off your ally Pokemon, but I personally prefer Encore for switching.
Game plan:
Always, and I mean ALWAYS, lead with Sableye. The only exception is against Hisuian-Samurott, where you should lead Slowking to hopefully KO it with Counter and only suffer one layer of spikes. You don't necessarily have to Mega Evolve Sableye turn one, unless the opponent is threatening something like Stealth Rock or Leech Seed. In certain matchups, like against a lead set-up sweeper, it's better to use Prankster Thunder Wave followed by Encore, and THEN Mega Evolve. Other than that, you should be trying to spread status early game, then force damage on key targets and force KOs. Play semi-stally, but don't be afraid to make an aggressive attack every once in a while longer to keep them on their toes.
Things to watch out for:
There are a few key Pokemon you have some troubles with, so proceed with caution!
1. Hisuian-Samurott: with access to Ceaseless Edge, it can force hazards onto your team without a whole lot of counterplay
2. Tera Grass Volcorona: Even with Tera Dragon Mantine, if you aren't careful to keep it at high life, you will straight up lose to this Volcorona set.
3. Hardcore Stall Teams: It's not unwinnable, it just takes a LONG time to get through them.
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Moves:
- Scald
- Roost
- Ice Beam
- Whirlpool / Defog
Mantine serves as this team's de facto Special Wall. With useful immunities to water and ground, it can even switch into certain physical moves and provide useful pivoting. Scald is used for a bit of damage and to fish for burns, Roost is used for recovery, Ice Beam is used to beat out specific threats like Landorous-T, Tera Grass Volcorona, and Gliscor, and Whirlpool is used to potentially trap key targets and provide chip damage. Tera Dragon is used primarily to better your matchup into Tera Grass Volcorona, but also useful for removing your exploitable Electric weakness and to, hilariously enough, trap and eliminate certain electric types like Mega Manetric. Leftovers are for a little extra healing, although Heavy Duty Boots would also be a strong option if you have trouble keeping Stealth Rock off the field. If you don't feel like dealing with Whirlpool's shotty accuracy or don't care about trapping, Defog could be a strong alternative to help with hazard control.
French Fry (Garganacl) (M) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
Moves:
- Salt Cure
- Protect
- Recover
- Body Press
No other pokemon provides the same amount of safe, consistent damage as Garganacl. With an absurdly powerful ability for a wall AND the best consistent damage move in the game, it was a no-brainer to put this salty monstrosity on the team. Salt Cure provides constant damage and helps deal with water and steel types, Protect is used for scouting the opponent's moves, leftovers recovery, and Salt Cure damage, Recover keeps you healthy, and Body Press is useful to beat other Garganacl and deal a large chunk of damage if needed. Tera Water and Ghost are both solid options, each having a strong use case. I've mostly used Water for dealing with steel types and a better defensive typing, but Ghost provides two immunities and, with Purifying Salt, you only have a weakness to dark to deal with.
Boom boom? (Overqwil) (F) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Barb Barrage
- Haze
- Crunch
- Self-Destruct / Taunt / Liquidation
Overqwil was the last added member to the team, dealing with very specific problems that would otherwise cause significant issues. With the combination of Toxic Immunity, ability to remove Toxic Spikes, Psychic Immunity, massive physical bulk, Intimidate, and access to Haze, Overqwil provides a lot in terms of consistency to the team. Barb Barrage is useful for debilitating status and massive damage, especially against Fairies, Haze is used to stop many set-up sweepers, Crunch deals solid damage and can force opponents out with a Defense drop, and Self-Destruct can used to provide momentum or a safe switch, depending on what you need. As for Tera Type, any could realistically work, but I chose Poison to get a more potent Barb Barrage and preserve the ability to remove toxic spikes. If exploding isn't your style, than Taunt or Liquidation can be solid options to deal with annoying stall pokemon or ground types, respectively.
(ㆁωㆁ) (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Impish Nature
Moves:
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic Spikes / Toxic / Swords Dance / Roost
When the name of the game is longevity, Gliscor is the go-to pokemon. Serving as the team's primary Physical Wall, Gliscor can soak up many hits and passively heal them off while providing a ton of pressure. Combined with Mantine, you should be able to absorb most hits relatively safely. Protect stalls for chip damage and Poison Heal recovery, Earthquake deals a massive chunk of damage even without investment and deals with poison immune Poison and Steel types, Knock Off provides amazing utility and an always valuable button to click, and the move slot can be extremely flexible. I prefer Toxic Spikes for something to do when you wait for your opponent to switch in their special attackers, but Toxic for immediate pressure, Swords Dance for a potential win condition, and Roost for even more recovery are all valid options. Tera Water is used to stifle special-attacking Water and Ice pokemon, although it would usually just be better to swap into Mantine or Slowking.
? (Slowking) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Moves:
- Yawn
- Scald
- Counter / Slack Off
- Psychic / Slack Off
Slowking, first and foremost, is there to absorb as much damage as possible. Outside of that function, Slowking is a bulky water type with a few tricks up their sleeve. Yawn is great for interrupting the opponent's game plan and forcing switches, Scald deals decent damage and has a chance to burn, Counter is a consistent way to remove physical attackers if you don't have a reliable answer, and Psychic is a useful STAB option to hit pesky Poison and Fighting type pokemon. If you want Slowking to be a more reliable wall, Slack Off is an option, although with the rest of the team already so bulky, having a wall with some extra tools behind it. Tera Steel helps negate weaknesses as needed, although similarly to Overqwil, you'll probably end up using your Tera Type on a different Pokemon.
Emerald (Sableye-Mega) (F) @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster --> Magic Bounce
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
Moves:
- Encore / Taunt
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Knock Off
My favorite member of the team, Sableye does it all. This'll be the trickiest Pokemon to pilot, but if done well, you can dismantle entire teams with it. The amazing ability to choose between Prankster and Magic Bounce are the real draw of this Pokemon. Encore forces switches and gives opportunities to switch around as needed, Recover allows you to repeat your shenanigans multiple times, Thunder Wave is an amazing shut down tool, and Knock Off is an amazing utility move that punishes switching and deals a shocking amount of damage. You can replace Encore with Taunt for a more consistent way to keep status moves off your ally Pokemon, but I personally prefer Encore for switching.
Game plan:
Always, and I mean ALWAYS, lead with Sableye. The only exception is against Hisuian-Samurott, where you should lead Slowking to hopefully KO it with Counter and only suffer one layer of spikes. You don't necessarily have to Mega Evolve Sableye turn one, unless the opponent is threatening something like Stealth Rock or Leech Seed. In certain matchups, like against a lead set-up sweeper, it's better to use Prankster Thunder Wave followed by Encore, and THEN Mega Evolve. Other than that, you should be trying to spread status early game, then force damage on key targets and force KOs. Play semi-stally, but don't be afraid to make an aggressive attack every once in a while longer to keep them on their toes.
Things to watch out for:
There are a few key Pokemon you have some troubles with, so proceed with caution!
1. Hisuian-Samurott: with access to Ceaseless Edge, it can force hazards onto your team without a whole lot of counterplay
2. Tera Grass Volcorona: Even with Tera Dragon Mantine, if you aren't careful to keep it at high life, you will straight up lose to this Volcorona set.
3. Hardcore Stall Teams: It's not unwinnable, it just takes a LONG time to get through them.
