Hey guys! Welcome back to another RMT! The ban of Dynamax and interesting choice of Pokémon in the LC Tier has grew me into the tier and I decided to build a team for fun. This is an offensive team and as you read from the title, I will be making a main core around Pawniard and Cutiefly. While the two are both weak to fire, there is barely any Fire types in the tier so it's not too much to worry about. Anyways, let's get on with the team!
THE TEAM
Onix is the Stealth Rock lead of this team. I chose this as a lead because it's new access to Dragon Dance makes it a great desire for keeping up hazards and putting offensive pressure on the team at the same time. It can also switch in at times and shares mutual checks with its teammates. It's also an A tier in Viability Rankings along with Mudbray and Drilbur, the highest tier of a Stealth Rock Pokemon as of now.
With our hazard setter on the team, here comes Pawniard, the main reasons why I built this core. It's one of my favorite sweepers in LC and Strength Sap actually raises its attack by 1 due to Defiant. It can still be countered, however. Timburr is a pretty good answer to it and Trapinch can trap and remove it. Pawniard is great at chipping Pokemon, however, as it's able to Sucker Punch faster users. Attacking is Pawniards greatest asset.
Cutiefly is great and can counter almost everything Pawniard struggles with. It can Moonblast Timburr, Energy Ball ground types, etc. All of that while it has a great access to the move Quiver Dance and is even an S tier in Viability Rankings. Like I said, the both of them may struggle with Fire Types but the little use of them make this core stay strong and Onix is there to kill Fire types. If Cutiefly does encounter a Steel type, however, it's pretty much dead. But with Quiver Dance, it can still do some chip damage with Moonblast. The best way to deal with Cutieflys counters is offensive pressure.
Timburr is the hazard remover of the team (Yes, it gets access to Defog.) The reason why I chose Timburr was because I didnt have enough space to put Vullaby in, and Timburr can effectively counter Pokémon like Munchlax. One thing that helps Timburr with checking Pokemon is Iron Fist, making moves like Drain Punch or Mach Punch stronger. When removing hazards, it also needs enough bulk to survive.
This team struggles against Ground types, so I decided to use Oddish. While it has a Poison typing, it can Strength Sap the likes of Trapinch and Diglett and damage them with Giga Drain. It can also Giga Drain Corphish and Strength Sap Farfetch'd (Most might run Brave Bird.) This makes Oddish a good fit on the team.
For the last option, I decided to use Drifloon as a Calm Mind sweeper. As a Calm Mind sweeper, it's definitely a strange option, but the abiity Unburden along with Substitute and Berry Juice makes it outspeed almost everything in the tier. It's moveset isnt too wide, but ill be sharing it later in the in-team depth. Drifloon can just clean the rest of the team and does a decent job against weather teams, along with Cutiefly.
IN-TEAM DEPTH
Onix @ Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
Onix has 20 HP, meaning that it can guarantee a free Stealth Rock and Dragon Dance with Sturdy + Berry Juice. As a hazard setter, its very fun to use compared to others and has strong STAB moves of Earthquake and Stone Edge to hit Flying Types. On a side note, Onix can also learn Head Smash now but loses 50% HP which loses its opportunity as a Dragon Dancer.
Pawniard @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
Swords Dance makes Pawniard such a threatening sweeper and is the main reason why I use it. Originally, I was going to replace Night Slash with Payback but now i'm a little skeptical. Iron Head and Sucker Punch are great STAB moves, and Sucker Punch is also a priority move, making it outspeed other Pokémon. Life Orb makes Pawniard more stronger than it already is.
Cutiefly @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sweet Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 244 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Focus Sash guarantees a free Quiver Dance, making Cutiefly more than just a Pokémon to help with Pawniards weaknesses. Defog Timburr helps support the use of hazards so Focus Sash can't be broken. Moonblast is a very strong STAB move, while Psychic is used over Bug Buzz to counter Poison types like Mareanie or Oddish. Energy Ball also checks off ground types like Trapinch or Mudbray.
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 SpD
Adamant Nature
Timburr can actually work well as a Defogger when you slap Eviolite on it. It also has different assets than the likes of Vullaby, nd that is it's wide variety of moves. Mach Punch is a good priority move (I originally used Drain Punch but I was suggested to use Mach Punch for Pawniard so let me know if I should change this.) Poison Jab counters fairies, and Thunder Punch counters flying types. I thought this bulky guy would be a decent fit on an offensive team.
Oddish @ Eviolite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Here we have Oddish, who can check a small number of threats in this team. I decided to use a Modest Nature to do a lot of damage with Giga Drain to Ground types. Sleep Powder is also an option if you want to stop a certain Pokémon from setting up, hitting hard, etc. FUN FACT: Oddish with Eviolite can tank a Psychic from Life Orb Cutiefly and KO it back with Sludge Bomb. Take that, Fairies!!!
Drifloon @ Berry Juice
Ability: Unburden
Level: 5
EVs: 196 SpA / 84 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
Drifloon is a decent Calm Mind sweeper who later becomes super fast after Berry Juice. Of course, Substitute is ran since Drifloon isn't the bulkiest. Shadow Ball is a great STAB move, while Thunderbolt is ran over Destiny Bond, Will-O-Wisp, etc. because this team is greatly countered by Wingull, so Thunderbolt is the closest thing to countering it. Drifloon could actually be effective at cleaning teams sometimes.
In conclusion, I think this team is good because it focuses on offensive pressure and coverages. Let me know what you think of the team and what needs improvement. Thanks for reading!!!
REPLAYS
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