SS RU Mind Melter -- Psychic-Spam Hyper Offense

[Setendo]

INTRODUCTION​

So those tier shifts, huh? This one brought a bunch of powerful, threatening Pokemon in the tier, not the least of which is Espeon. As soon as I saw that it learned Expanding Force, I knew I had to pair it with Indeedee-F. After several iterations of a Psychic-Spam balance team, I chose to create a more hyper-offense team and haven't looked back since. This team can very easily win games form the word "go" and slam the opponent with repeated, powerful attacks. Without further ado, here's the team.

TEAMBUILDING PROCESS​

Teambuilding

A Psychic-spam team needs Psychic Terrain, so Indeedee-F was a no-brainer. Even though it's technically weaker than its male counterpart, it certainly doesn't feel like too much of a downgrade, especially with a Choice Specs.

Next came Espeon, who's combination of speed and power makes it a prime candidate for this kind of team. It's actually stronger and faster than Indeedee-M, although it lacks the Psychic-Terrain to really push it over the edge.

I don't wanna auto-lose to opposing Indeedee-F, so I knew I needed a Dark-type. Drapion is a pretty good pick since it can also threaten Fairy-types and can remove Choice Scarfs, making the team much more threatening.

HO teams love having Webs, and fortunately, the shift also brought one of my personal favorite Pokemon, Ribombee. Blazing fast with some surprising firepower, it was the best Web setter for me.

Unfortunately, it isn't as braindead as just clicking Expanding Force a couple of times. I needed something to deal with Dark-types. I opted for Passimian since it can also punish a potential Defog from the opponent.

Lastly, I wanted some hazard removal and a spinblocker, and Dhelmise provides both of those things plus some serious firepower.

THE TEAM

Tsar Bomba (Indeedee-F) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Hyper Voice
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball​

You! Yeah, you! Have you ever wanted to use the most braindead-easy, one-button Pokemon since Dracovish? Look no further than Specs Indeedee! Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the point still stands. You'd be very hard-pressed to find a Pokemon that doesn't get 2HKO by this beast. Scarf already hits hard as is, but Specs can just wipe teams off the face of the planet. Expanding Force because if you're not clicking it, then why use Indeedee? Hyper Voice is there in case I don't want to predict a Dark-type coming in. Dazzling Gleam is there for any Dark-types like Scrafty or Sillvally-Dark that wanna come in. Shadow Ball is good for opposing Psychic-types like Claydol or the newly-added Xatu. Most of the time, though, you're clicking Expanding Force. With webs up, that's pretty much GG.

Little Boy (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind​

Espeon honestly doesn't see too much action, but that's usually because Indeedee-F mauled the opponent's team before it even hit the field. When it does come out, though, it can be just as lethal. It can outspeed and OHKO a plethora of threats even without Webs up. I opted for a Life Orb set over Specs so that I don't have to predict as much. It allows it to function more as a cleaner than a wall-breaker, though it can certainly bust through opposing walls if need-be. Expanding Force because its stupid, Dazzling Gleam for Dark-types, and Shadow Ball for Psychic-types. The last slot was mainly filler, so I decided to go for Calm Mind in case there was a wall that was giving me a bit too much trouble. An underrated player on the team, to be sure, but it definitely earned its spot.

Big Meaty Claws (Drapion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide​

No one likes losing to Scarf Indeedee-F from game start, so Drapion is here to make sure that doesn't happen. It's also pretty good since it outspeeds other common Scarfers like Passimian and Braviary. It doesn't hit all that hard, but frankly, it doesn't really need to. Just removing an item, be it an Eviolite from Porygon2 or a Choice Scarf from a Passimian, can be enough to win me the game. The set is pretty standard: Dual STAB, with Earthquake for Pokemon like opposing Drapion and Rock Slide for things like Charizard or Frosmoth. 99% of the time, though, I'm clicking Knock Off. Sniper is there because OHKOing something off a surprise crit is pretty fun.

Navi (Ribombee) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Stun Spore​

Rimbombee is a really good suicide lead. It's the second-fastest thing in the tier, only outsped by Accelgor. It also hits surprising hard with Moonblast. I chose to go for max Special Attack over max Speed since it's really frail. Plus, it makes Moonblast hit that much harder. Sticky Web is basically my wincon. Once webs are up and the Dark-types are gone, Indeedee basically wins the game. U-turn is good if I think they'll switch to a Magic Bounce Pokemon, and Stun Spore can help my team outspeed certain Pokemon even without Sticky Web. Shield Dust is its only useful ability, but it's at least decent. Not much else to say here, really.

Monky (Passimian) @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide​

When your goal is to spam one move, there will inevitably be a bunch of Pokemon that beat that one move. In this case, the primary roadblock is Dark-types. I figured Passimian would be a good answer to them: not only does can it punish Pokemon trying to Defog away my webs with Defiant, but it can also use U-turn to pivot around. Since I already had Scarfer in Drapion, I opted for a Choice Band set this time. Having a Choice Band gives Passimian a ton more firepower, allowing it to do things like 2HKO physically defensive Vaporeon with Close Combat. The moveset is pretty standard, with Rock Slide being used over Gunk shot so I can hit things like Centiskorch and Charizard more reliably. Plus, fairy-types aren't that big of a nuisance to this team.

Steamboat Willie (Dhelmise) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Power Whip
- Anchor Shot
- Knock Off​

Last but not least is Dhelmise. This Pokemon pulls double-duty as a Rapid Spinner and a spin blocker. Colbur Berry is good for acting as a surprise check to Pokemon like Toxicroak or Passimian. I pulled the EV spread straight from the Smogon Dex, with 84 Speed EVs used to outspeed unboosted Vileplume. I opted for Rapid Spin + 3 attacks because I didn't want to waste turns using Synthesis when I could be dealing damage. Power Whip hits ridiculously hard, and Knock Off is good for removing items and hitting Psychic-types, especially Espeon and Xatu. As much as I wanted to run Poltergeist, I already had two Knock Off users on the team (three including Dhelmise), so it seemed like it'd have poor synergy. I opted for Anchor Shot instead, which still hits really hard.

THREATS

MAGIC BOUNCE​

Magic Bounce users can deflect my webs back at me, greatly neutering my team. Getting rid of them isn't too big of a hassle (Ribombee can 2HKO Espeon most of the time, for example), but playing around Magic Bounce is still annoying.

PORYGON2​

Porygon2 is a special case. Physically Defensive gets cleanly 2HKO by Specs Expanding Force from Indeedee-F, but Specially Defensive variants are 3HKO, allowing them to switch in and stall out Psychic Terrain. There are numerous ways to deal with this though, with three Knock-Off users to remove its Eviolite and a banded Passimian ready to fire off a Close Combat. Still, it's worth keeping in mind.

BRAVIARY
​

Scarf Braviary is unaffected by Webs and outspeed the entirety of my team except for Drapion. I either need to paralyze it with Ribombee or remove its Choice Scarf. If I can't do that, it can easily be GG for me.

CONCLUSION​

This team can fire on all cylinders right from the get-go. Its pretty one-dimensional, though, and I imagine it can be easily to play around if you know its coming. Still, the raw power offered by the team can be enough to overwhelm even the most prepared teams. I highly recommend giving this team a shot.

Team Import

Tsar Bomba (Indeedee-F) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Hyper Voice
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Little Boy (Espeon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind

Big Meaty Claws (Drapion) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

Navi (Ribombee) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Moonblast
- U-turn
- Stun Spore

Monky (Passimian) @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide

Steamboat Willie (Dhelmise) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Power Whip
- Anchor Shot
- Knock Off