Fire from the Gods
https://pokepast.es/81a6971ddd45b782
Introduction.
Alright, so I've had a lot of fun initially with S/V OU and I built a good amount of teams. It's worn off a bit now and I'm going to take a break until Home at least, but I wanted to drop one of my favorite teams first. One archetype I've tried a lot of variations on is Sun. With the addition of Protosynthesis mons and a few pretty strong Fire types, the abusers of Sun are now more varied than ever. There's a lot of stuff to try, and Protosynthesis can also give boosts to things other than raw firepower, such as boosting defensive stats or speed. This can lead to some very fun teambuilding.
Teambuilding Process.
I'll skip through this a bit quickly, because individual mons will be explained below. So this core featured on most of my first sun teams. Torkoal is obviously the setter and it provides some utility as well such as SR. Hatterene can cover a variety of mons and can protect the SR-weak fire mons thanks to Magic Bounce. Moon is one of the best Sun abusers because it basically becomes a Band+Scarf user in 1 with the right EVs and hits like a truck. Tusk does Tusk things of course and is insanely tanky under Sun.
Now, I won't go into all the varieties of things I've tried, but I wanted to mention this version which has some merit over the one I'm about to post. Bonnet is a great breaker with utility via Spore and Sucker Punch on top. Defensive Volc covers things like Valiant well which the team is otherwise weak to. The issue I had is that the team could struggle to break through resist. Now there's two ways to do that and that is by residual damage from hazards, or just raw firepower. I saw solutions employing both and found them to work very well together and that brings us to the final version:
I'll discuss the individual roles more in depth below, but the idea for this team is simple. Moth is nearly impossible to switch in under Sun already, but with Spikes up from Shocks it becomes horrible. The VoltTurn core of Shocks and Moon can also bring in Moth or each other with ease, while also chipping away at each other's checks.
The Team
Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Solar Beam/Rapid Spin
- Will-O-Wisp
You know what this boy does. The only interesting thing to mention about the set is that I forgo Yawn in favor of Wisp. Yawn can be useful to prevent something like Volc from setting up, but I have checks to most things that would like to set up on Torkoal and Encore Scream Tail can discourage some of the slower ones. Wisp is great to catch things like Tusk or Chomp that like to switch into this thinking they can't really be threatened. Chipping them and lowering their threat is great for Moth and Moon. It can also stop things like Dragonite from setting up on this. Tera Ghost can be great in a pinch to keep up hazards. Solar Beam can chunk Dozo and Tusk which can be helpful, but Spin to keep Moth healthy is viable too. You don't need a second spinner as much with this team as say a Charizard team.
Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Encore
- Wish
- Protect
So I decided eventually that Hatterene wasn't needed as much, and Scream Tail provided me with more. Notably this set can check Valiant fairly well under Sun. Specs Moonblast does a lot, but you barely avoid the 2HKO which is good enough. It can really mess with offense teams thanks to Encore, and Wish support keeps this team healthier than you would expect. Tera Fairy ditches the silly weaknesses you get from Psychic. Tera Steel is an option to flip some match-ups, but since this has no offensive output I don't really see that being worth it. If you prefer, you can still run Hatt in this slot to be honest, it's up to preference really.
Iron Moth @ Choice Specs
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Overheat
- Solar Beam
- U-turn
Honestly, imagine if this thing had Protosynthesis, it would be insane. Anyway, it still has 140 base SpAtk which is crazy, and with Specs and Sun (and possibly Tera), pretty much nothing can switch into this thing except for pink blobs and Flash Fire mons. That's also why I don't really run coverage on this, it does nothing and locking yourself into Dazzling Gleam just invites in Gholdengo to come in and set up a NP when this is one of your checks. U-turn can be helpful to pivot on the FF or pink mons so we run that instead.
Sandy Shocks @ Life Orb
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Earth Power
- Tera Blast
- Spikes
Alright now this is the fun part. Sandy Shocks has been gaining some traction due to its unique STAB combination and ability to set hazards. I've seen people run Specs, but frankly I disagree with that. Choice items make it so the game becomes extremely prediction reliant for you when it doesn't need to be. Furthermore this isn't a win-con here anyway, it is here to force progress and put in unrelenting pressure so that the other choice mons can win the game. Tera Fairy Blast is incredibly valuable since it can dent or even kill a large variety of mons that could otherwise check Moth or Moon: e.g. Tusk, Chomp, Hydreigon, Ting-Lu, Dragonite etc. The STAB combination threatens mons like Dondozo, Corviknight, Toxapex etc. that could otherwise be annoying for Moth and Moon as well. Life Orb allows you to keep up pressure, and Spikes makes the VoltTurn part of this team much more scary. You basically aggressively trade hp on this thing to force progress and prep the stage for Moth and Moon.
Great Tusk @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
- Rapid Spin
Honestly, do I even need to explain what this does? It's the Lando-T of this generation. It checks most physical mons, and does so even better under Sun. The combination of Rapid Spin and Bulk Up allow it to become a threatening end-game sweeper to, which is enabled well by the fact that most things that could check it late, get chipped away at by the Shocks/Moth/Moon core. Tera Fire is good for avoid Wisp, but you could also run Tera Water so you don't get rolled by Rain teams as bad.
Roaring Moon @ Choice Band
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 32 HP / 220 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
It's better Mence. With CB this thing is a decently scary breaker that would be much more feared if Tusk didn't exist. Unfortunately Tusk does exist so you'll be clicking U-turn a whole lot. That being said, with Sun up it can easily sweep teams in the late-game since it's faster than even Booster Valiant and still has an impressive base 139(!) Atk. It can straight up hax through a lot of switch-ins like Corviknight thanks to Crunch defense drops too (unless they run Mirror Armor ofc). Tera Dragon Outrage does insane damage, easily 2HKO'ing even Dondozo (220 Atk Choice Band Tera Dragon Roaring Moon Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 264-312 (52.3 - 61.9%)-- guaranteed 2HKO). It also tends to bring in mons that can be abused by Shocks and Moth (e.g. Tusk, Dondozo, Corv), so the VoltTurn part of this core complements each other nicely.
Threats
I won't spend too much time on this, but here's just a couple of annoying things to keep in mind.
I mean this thing is a threat to every team since it has such an absurd amount of sets. It can be physical, special or mixed. It can use every item under the sun and has a huge array of coverage options (seriously why does it have Liquidation?). Moth and Tail cover a lot of sets, but it can be dicy if Sun isn't up, or if hazards are on the field. Try to figure its set out early.
You have a mon that wants to spam fire moves. Of course Flash Fire is an issue. What's worse is that U-turn is kind of punished by Weak Armor to some extent. Look at team preview and try to gauge what set it could be. Keep in mind that Tusk likely cannot handle Ceruledge alone if they haven't used their Tera yet.
A different weather that has a positive type match-up, yeah it'll be an issue. You cannot let pelipper come in for free and just u-turn too much, make some predictions. Shocks can be great here to keep the momentum advantage.
The moth can be a pain depending on Tera type. It can also tank a good portion of the team, be very careful around this thing.
Closing Thoughts
I think Sun got a lot better this generation, and that's hardly an unpopular opinion I think. There's so many fun options that I haven't shown here even, so go ahead and try some stuff. Maybe have fun with Band Slither Wing or Ceruledge for example. I also played around with Hydreigion/Dragapult who now have a third STAB in Sun basically, and I still think Brute Bonnet is great as well. It's nice to see Sun being arguably the better weather for once.
https://pokepast.es/81a6971ddd45b782
Introduction.
Alright, so I've had a lot of fun initially with S/V OU and I built a good amount of teams. It's worn off a bit now and I'm going to take a break until Home at least, but I wanted to drop one of my favorite teams first. One archetype I've tried a lot of variations on is Sun. With the addition of Protosynthesis mons and a few pretty strong Fire types, the abusers of Sun are now more varied than ever. There's a lot of stuff to try, and Protosynthesis can also give boosts to things other than raw firepower, such as boosting defensive stats or speed. This can lead to some very fun teambuilding.
Teambuilding Process.
I'll skip through this a bit quickly, because individual mons will be explained below. So this core featured on most of my first sun teams. Torkoal is obviously the setter and it provides some utility as well such as SR. Hatterene can cover a variety of mons and can protect the SR-weak fire mons thanks to Magic Bounce. Moon is one of the best Sun abusers because it basically becomes a Band+Scarf user in 1 with the right EVs and hits like a truck. Tusk does Tusk things of course and is insanely tanky under Sun.
Now, I won't go into all the varieties of things I've tried, but I wanted to mention this version which has some merit over the one I'm about to post. Bonnet is a great breaker with utility via Spore and Sucker Punch on top. Defensive Volc covers things like Valiant well which the team is otherwise weak to. The issue I had is that the team could struggle to break through resist. Now there's two ways to do that and that is by residual damage from hazards, or just raw firepower. I saw solutions employing both and found them to work very well together and that brings us to the final version:
I'll discuss the individual roles more in depth below, but the idea for this team is simple. Moth is nearly impossible to switch in under Sun already, but with Spikes up from Shocks it becomes horrible. The VoltTurn core of Shocks and Moon can also bring in Moth or each other with ease, while also chipping away at each other's checks.
The Team
Torkoal @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Lava Plume
- Solar Beam/Rapid Spin
- Will-O-Wisp
You know what this boy does. The only interesting thing to mention about the set is that I forgo Yawn in favor of Wisp. Yawn can be useful to prevent something like Volc from setting up, but I have checks to most things that would like to set up on Torkoal and Encore Scream Tail can discourage some of the slower ones. Wisp is great to catch things like Tusk or Chomp that like to switch into this thinking they can't really be threatened. Chipping them and lowering their threat is great for Moth and Moon. It can also stop things like Dragonite from setting up on this. Tera Ghost can be great in a pinch to keep up hazards. Solar Beam can chunk Dozo and Tusk which can be helpful, but Spin to keep Moth healthy is viable too. You don't need a second spinner as much with this team as say a Charizard team.
Scream Tail @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Encore
- Wish
- Protect
So I decided eventually that Hatterene wasn't needed as much, and Scream Tail provided me with more. Notably this set can check Valiant fairly well under Sun. Specs Moonblast does a lot, but you barely avoid the 2HKO which is good enough. It can really mess with offense teams thanks to Encore, and Wish support keeps this team healthier than you would expect. Tera Fairy ditches the silly weaknesses you get from Psychic. Tera Steel is an option to flip some match-ups, but since this has no offensive output I don't really see that being worth it. If you prefer, you can still run Hatt in this slot to be honest, it's up to preference really.
Iron Moth @ Choice Specs
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Overheat
- Solar Beam
- U-turn
Honestly, imagine if this thing had Protosynthesis, it would be insane. Anyway, it still has 140 base SpAtk which is crazy, and with Specs and Sun (and possibly Tera), pretty much nothing can switch into this thing except for pink blobs and Flash Fire mons. That's also why I don't really run coverage on this, it does nothing and locking yourself into Dazzling Gleam just invites in Gholdengo to come in and set up a NP when this is one of your checks. U-turn can be helpful to pivot on the FF or pink mons so we run that instead.
Sandy Shocks @ Life Orb
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Earth Power
- Tera Blast
- Spikes
Alright now this is the fun part. Sandy Shocks has been gaining some traction due to its unique STAB combination and ability to set hazards. I've seen people run Specs, but frankly I disagree with that. Choice items make it so the game becomes extremely prediction reliant for you when it doesn't need to be. Furthermore this isn't a win-con here anyway, it is here to force progress and put in unrelenting pressure so that the other choice mons can win the game. Tera Fairy Blast is incredibly valuable since it can dent or even kill a large variety of mons that could otherwise check Moth or Moon: e.g. Tusk, Chomp, Hydreigon, Ting-Lu, Dragonite etc. The STAB combination threatens mons like Dondozo, Corviknight, Toxapex etc. that could otherwise be annoying for Moth and Moon as well. Life Orb allows you to keep up pressure, and Spikes makes the VoltTurn part of this team much more scary. You basically aggressively trade hp on this thing to force progress and prep the stage for Moth and Moon.
Great Tusk @ Leftovers
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
- Rapid Spin
Honestly, do I even need to explain what this does? It's the Lando-T of this generation. It checks most physical mons, and does so even better under Sun. The combination of Rapid Spin and Bulk Up allow it to become a threatening end-game sweeper to, which is enabled well by the fact that most things that could check it late, get chipped away at by the Shocks/Moth/Moon core. Tera Fire is good for avoid Wisp, but you could also run Tera Water so you don't get rolled by Rain teams as bad.
Roaring Moon @ Choice Band
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 32 HP / 220 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Outrage
It's better Mence. With CB this thing is a decently scary breaker that would be much more feared if Tusk didn't exist. Unfortunately Tusk does exist so you'll be clicking U-turn a whole lot. That being said, with Sun up it can easily sweep teams in the late-game since it's faster than even Booster Valiant and still has an impressive base 139(!) Atk. It can straight up hax through a lot of switch-ins like Corviknight thanks to Crunch defense drops too (unless they run Mirror Armor ofc). Tera Dragon Outrage does insane damage, easily 2HKO'ing even Dondozo (220 Atk Choice Band Tera Dragon Roaring Moon Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 264-312 (52.3 - 61.9%)-- guaranteed 2HKO). It also tends to bring in mons that can be abused by Shocks and Moth (e.g. Tusk, Dondozo, Corv), so the VoltTurn part of this core complements each other nicely.
Threats
I won't spend too much time on this, but here's just a couple of annoying things to keep in mind.
I mean this thing is a threat to every team since it has such an absurd amount of sets. It can be physical, special or mixed. It can use every item under the sun and has a huge array of coverage options (seriously why does it have Liquidation?). Moth and Tail cover a lot of sets, but it can be dicy if Sun isn't up, or if hazards are on the field. Try to figure its set out early. You have a mon that wants to spam fire moves. Of course Flash Fire is an issue. What's worse is that U-turn is kind of punished by Weak Armor to some extent. Look at team preview and try to gauge what set it could be. Keep in mind that Tusk likely cannot handle Ceruledge alone if they haven't used their Tera yet. A different weather that has a positive type match-up, yeah it'll be an issue. You cannot let pelipper come in for free and just u-turn too much, make some predictions. Shocks can be great here to keep the momentum advantage. The moth can be a pain depending on Tera type. It can also tank a good portion of the team, be very careful around this thing.Closing Thoughts
I think Sun got a lot better this generation, and that's hardly an unpopular opinion I think. There's so many fun options that I haven't shown here even, so go ahead and try some stuff. Maybe have fun with Band Slither Wing or Ceruledge for example. I also played around with Hydreigion/Dragapult who now have a third STAB in Sun basically, and I still think Brute Bonnet is great as well. It's nice to see Sun being arguably the better weather for once.
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