I was originally planning to only write a 1k posts RMT of a very special team to me, but with DPP’s recent Arena Trap ban (and some inspiration from BKC), I want to write about this team too while people still remember it. I consider this to be the most successful team I’ve made (and maybe ever will make), and by extension this team may be the most conventionally solid DPP team of the Dugtrio metagame. I’ve got a ton to say, but I’ll save all of the juicy stuff for the next RMT when I reach 1k posts.
Teambuilding Process
The original idea of this team was slightly inspired by a Tamahome team that used both defensive Wish + Protect Jirachi and Skarmory. The combination of these two Pokemon strongly suffocates a lot of offensive teams, as they provide both a strong defensive overlap and great defensive synergy, covering each other's checks to a surprising extent. Besides the obvious issues with this core (Fire-types like Heatran in particular), Magnezone is a big problem because it can effortlessly trap and remove both of these Pokemon. This is where I established the core concept of this team: adding Dugtrio to the mix. This was a twofold way to solve the issues with the Skarmory + Jirachi defensive core. Dugtrio can more consistently remove Heatran than any of its other trapping targets, and it also forces Magnezone to choose between Skarmory and Jirachi. Once Magnezone removes one of them (usually Skarmory, because I ultimately chose to lead with it in the end), Dugtrio comes right in and the other roams free of being trapped. This strategy is especially effective because usually teams with Magnezone depend on it to remove the likes of Skarmory and Jirachi, meaning whichever one didn't get trapped became very difficult to deal with. Dugtrio also trapped other annoyances to this defensive core, like Infernape, Gengar, and even a Choice item Rotom/Latias if it locked into the wrong move.
Moving forward with this core that gave many issues for offensive teams, I wanted to take advantage of the defensive nature of these Pokemon and use something that can play long games really well and shut down a lot of common stalls. Calm Mind Clefable fit like a glove here, as it may be Dugtrio's best partner. Its immunity to all hazards and status combined with its defensive attributes provided tremendous utility, making it far easier to fill out the remaining two team members.
RestTalk Rotom is another incredible Pokemon in this metagame, and it helped this team in several ways. In particular, it allowed Skarmory to run dual hazards thanks to its spinblocking and sleep-absorbing attributes. Its Fighting-type immunity was also quite necessary, as it is actually the only one on the team. Thanks to Dugtrio and the last team member, this team was able to get away with it. The nature of this team is already one with an incredibly sturdy backbone, a playmaker in Dugtrio to facilitate aggressive play (a rare trait for a defensive team), and a strong win condition in Calm Mind Clefable. However, there were still some defensive holes that needed to be filled.
Water-types like Swampert, Kingdra, and Suicune were menacing, opposing Calm Mind Clefable seemed quite difficult to beat outside of Jirachi and Calm Mind wars, and surprise setup sweepers with moves like Curse could be surprisingly potent. Milotic fits like a glove here, improving the durability of the team even more, shoring up the matchup against Water-types (Swampert in particular), and answering a variety of setup sweepers with Haze.
A Closer Look
*Disclaimer: Some of the EVs here may not be identical to the ones that I use
*Disclaimer: Some of the EVs here may not be identical to the ones that I use
ipanema (Skarmory) @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
Skarmory lead is usually a luxury if you can afford it, as admittedly it has some undesirable lead matchups, like Azelf, Zapdos, Heatran, and Rotom (among others). However, not only does it fit perfectly on this team but it also can stack hazards very nicely against some of the most common leads in the metagame like Jirachi, Metagross, Swampert, Flygon, Tyranitar, and Uxie. It enables the team to potentially be played in an aggressive manner, getting hazards up early-game, phazing stuff out to scout around, and wearing stuff down to help the defensive pieces pick off weakened foes. In addition, Skarmory is strategically placed as a lead to lure Magnezone. Max HP and max SpD make sure Skarmory has the highest odds possible to survive a Scarf Magnezone's Thunderbolt. In most games where this scenario occurs, Skarmory is able to get up Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes before Magnezone finishes it off. Many people consider Skarmory to have "done its job" if it gets up even one layer of Spikes, so I was okay with this trade since Dugtrio evens the score by trapping Magnezone like specified in the teambuilding process. A great example of this is in august vs McMeghan (also linked in replays section). In addition, specially defensive Skarmory provides more Starmie counterplay, as you can stay in and take Surfs quite well, properly scouting its set then spinblocking with Rotom accordingly.
Other Options
• Skarmory can be physically defensive instead, which can help against some Dragon Dance sweepers, physically-inclined Swampert, Metagross, and Pokemon locking onto Outrage. However, if doing so, Jirachi should be specially defensive to compensate. People like SoulWind used an alternative version of this team with this configuration.
• If using physically defensive Skarmory, Shed Shell may be an interesting item to consider if also keeping it in the lead slot. That way, it can function to lure Magnezone without having to be KOed. This is especially helpful because with no Special Defense, it can't get Spikes up in addition to Stealth Rock. DeepBlueC used this on his version of the team.
• A mixed EV spread with Impish and some Special Defense can be considered so that Skarmory can still phaze foes like Calm Mind Suicune and Jirachi if need be, but also function as a sturdy physical wall.
wake up alone (Dugtrio) @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 224 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Pursuit
- Screech
Dugtrio distinguishes this team from other defensive teams by enabling the defensive core of Skarmory + Jirachi + Calm Mind Clefable and trapping terrifying breakers like Heatran, Tyranitar, and Breloom. It synergizes particularly well with Haze Milotic, as Screech enables it to trap support Clefable, while Milotic shuts down Calm Mind Clefable decently well. Pursuit punishes Trick users like Choice item Rotom and Latias while also trapping Gengar, who is generally one of the scariest Ground-immune breakers to face. The EVs enable it to always live Jolly Lucario's Extreme Speed after Stealth Rock damage, which is actually quite crucial given this team's weakness to Crunch Lucario. Although it's a niche threat, having these EVs has actually come in handy the few times I've faced it.
Other Options
• Sucker Punch can be used over Pursuit to compensate for the lack of a Choice Scarfer and play off the fact that Gengar generally doesn't switch out of Dugtrio anyway.
• The EVs can be customized if you don't really care about the Lucario benchmark. Dugtrio can use more Speed to try to creep opposing Dugtrio, which could come in handy. Alternatively, more HP can be used instead of Defense for special attacks.
• There honestly aren't many good replacements for Dugtrio on this team, as it is a tremendous component of the gameplan. This team without Dugtrio is not nearly as dominant, but perhaps it may not be bad. You can try Gliscor > Dugtrio to stack another Spikes immune and add some more defensive utility. I don't think it will be as strong as other defensive teams with Gliscor + Milotic + Clefable cores though.
body and soul (Jirachi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 160 Def / 108 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wish
- Body Slam
- Iron Head
- Protect
Wish + Protect Jirachi may be the best set in DPP OU. Very few Pokemon can stand up to it in a one-on-one matchup. Combined with Spikes and Dugtrio, it becomes even more oppressive. The idea is simple here: wall and check a large portion of the metagame, pass Wish to push the team's longevity to greater heights, and wear stuff down and spread paralysis. I like Impish to compensate for the lack of a Choice Scarfer and soft check pretty much all of the Dragon Dance sweepers.
Other Options
• As mentioned before, a specially defensive variant can be used here to enable physically defensive Skarmory as well as improve matchups against Gengar, special attacking waters like Kingdra, and be less prone to the Dragon Dance sweeper + Magnezone core in case of an emergency. I don't think this is as strong as the arrangement I have though.
• EVs can be customized to whatever you want. As long as it's bulky, WishTect Jirachi can run several different EV spreads. Fun fact: in SPL, every single WishTect Jirachi I used had a quite different EV spread.
• U-turn can be used over Body Slam, but I think that kind of defeats the whole purpose of Dugtrio limiting Magnezone's trapping potential. You really want Body Slam or else you're going to be really weak to Dragon Dance stuff and other sweepers.
valerie ('68) (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
If WishTect Jirachi is the best set in the metagame, Calm Mind Clefable is the second best. The amount of utility and role compression this Pokemon provides is insane. Even with a specially defensive spread like the one I have here, it still soft checks Dragon Dance sweepers and generally doesn't mind too much about its loss in Defense. Calm Mind Clefable + Dugtrio is an insanely powerful core and you really can't go wrong with it.
Other Options
• A physically defensive spread with Bold nature can be used, which is honestly the better variant of Calm Mind Clefable. However, Special Defense is more defensively sound with this team, as otherwise Electric-types are going to be a huge issue. Basically, you can have a stronger win condition at the expense of a defensive hole.
• If you're concerned about Gyarados, Dragonite, opposing Dugtrio, Milotic, and CroCune and want improved damage rolls on these Pokemon, Life Orb may tickle your fancy; I wrote a bit about it in this post. That said, I wouldn't recommend it here because Leftovers is generally better.
like smoke (pat) (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
RestTalk Rotom is difficult to answer for many offensive builds. On this team it spinblocks, sleep absorbs, provides Fighting- and Ground-type immunities, and spreads burn everywhere. Its defensive traits enable a number of sets here, and in particular it also shuts down most variants of Jirachi and Lucario. Rotom just provides so much for defensive teams and it's not that easy to not use it. This is just one of those instances where it fits too well to not use it.
Other Options
• Shadow Ball can be considered over Thunderbolt in general to improve matchups against Swampert, Breloom, and Latias. If you have a strong preference for it, then go for it; however, I think this team doesn't need it at all and would probably prefer Thunderbolt. With RestTalk Rotom you don't really have too much flexibility outside of this.
• You could try for some Special Defense EVs to improve spinblocking potential against Starmie and maybe improve the Suicune matchup, but you generally want as much physical bulk as possible. Alternatively, you can speed creep max speed Swampert and other Pokemon in the high 210 to low 220 Speed range.
tears dry (Milotic) @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Recover
- Haze
The final member of the team. Milotic is one of the most frustrating Pokemon to play against because it is notoriously difficult to take down. If you don't have Spikes, sand, or some way to status/muscle through it, good luck. Milotic generally doesn't like sand up, but it doesn't mind too much, so it enjoys that flexibility a lot on this team. As far as Milotic goes, it's got a pretty shallow movepool. This is the Milotic set you will see 99% of the time. Haze is great to filter out a number of setup sweepers that could pose trouble, like CursePert, Calm Mind Clefable, and even niche Pokemon like Curse Gastrodon and Cradily.
Other Options
• On an early version of this team, I had Toxic over Ice Beam since there was already enough insurance for opposing Breloom, and it helped against potential threats like offensive Calm Mind Suicune and even Gyarados. In the end, however, I figured Ice Beam was just better overall, giving Milotic a potential win condition against more defensive stuff with the threat of a freeze and the immediate damage on Grass- and Dragon-types.
• More Special Defense can be used for Pokemon like +SpA MixGon and Kingdra, but max Defense is the standard and the superior option.
Threatlist
Honestly, this team has very few bad matchups. It can usually net at worst an even matchup against all conventional teams.
Crunch Lucario is probably on paper the biggest threat to this team. It's probably a losing matchup, since Rotom is probably the only proper Lucario check on the team. That said, it doesn't get many opportunities to set up, it's a very fringe option in the metagame, and since it usually runs Jolly, Dugtrio can trap it thanks to its nifty EV spread.
Even with this team's durability, Spikes had potential to be destructive since there are only three Spikes-immune Pokemon and there's no removal. Skarmory, Roserade, and even Froslass could facilitate some issues in this respect. However, this team's longevity is extremely strong even with Spikes, and there is still potential to outplay here.
Substitute Jirachi in sand with some support and luck can be really irritating. It doesn't usually get far, especially if it paralyzes opposing Jirachi, but we all know how Jirachi sometimes can spiral out of control. If it manages to break past Impish Jirachi, Milotic, and RestTalk Rotom, I suppose it can do some real damage. Substitute + Calm Mind Jirachi is also a threat, but it can be trapped by Dugtrio and dealt with in part by SpD Calm Mind Clefable and Milotic in the meanwhile.
Suicune is definitely a threat, namely the offensive and Substitute variants outside of sand. They can both be stalled out, phazed by SpD Skarmory, and played around, but with some Ice Beam freezes and some critical hits, things could get ugly.
Replays
Excal vs Honor (SPL XI Week 5)
mael vs Honor (DPP Server Tour)
Fakes vs BluBirD (DPP Server Tour)
Teclis vs Sakito (French DPP Cup)
Excal vs Ade50 (DPP Cup Round 1)
SoulWind vs Heroic Troller (DPP Cup Quarterfinals)
DeepBlueC vs byronthewellwell (RCoP Round 1)
Star vs Pohjis (Permasand Invitational Round 1)
Excal vs Zokuru (Permasand Invitational Round 2)
TDK vs Tony (Permasand Invitational Round 2)
august vs McMeghan (Permasand Invitational Round 3)
false vs zugubu royale (DPP Winter Seasonal Round 3)
Hyogafodex vs idiotfrommars (DPP Dugtrio Suspect Tour)
Closing Words
Excal vs Honor (SPL XI Week 5)
mael vs Honor (DPP Server Tour)
Fakes vs BluBirD (DPP Server Tour)
Teclis vs Sakito (French DPP Cup)
Excal vs Ade50 (DPP Cup Round 1)
SoulWind vs Heroic Troller (DPP Cup Quarterfinals)
DeepBlueC vs byronthewellwell (RCoP Round 1)
Star vs Pohjis (Permasand Invitational Round 1)
Excal vs Zokuru (Permasand Invitational Round 2)
TDK vs Tony (Permasand Invitational Round 2)
august vs McMeghan (Permasand Invitational Round 3)
false vs zugubu royale (DPP Winter Seasonal Round 3)
Hyogafodex vs idiotfrommars (DPP Dugtrio Suspect Tour)
Closing Words
Arena Trap has just been banned this past week. I'm really sad to not be able to use this team anymore, but I'm incredibly excited to see how the metagame develops without Dugtrio in the mix. This team will forever be sentimental to me because it's the team I used when I debuted in SPL, it got a lot of tournament use, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to create another team that matches its effectiveness. If you got this far, thanks so much for reading. Thank you to those who in some way contributed to this RMT, and thank you again to Classiest for such an overwhemingly positive experience in my first official tournament. I'll save all the shoutouts and stuff (if I don't get lazy) for the 1k RMT :).