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Welcome to the latest edition of the Team Rater Competition! The tier this time around will be SS Monotype. For each round we'll post a team, and participants will have one week to complete a rate of said team. When the round is over, the participants who submitted the best rates will move onto the next round. If you are eliminated and want to receive feedback on your rate, the hosts will be more than happy to provide that upon request. Each round will last one week. Failure to rate the team within the one week time period will result in disqualification unless you're able to give us a valid reason. Please only sign up if you can commit to rating one team every week for the next month. If you're currently involved in or are looking to start rating Monotype teams, I highly encourage you to participate as this promises to be a great learning experience. Here's to a fun and competitive tournament!
Important notes:
The top two rates from each round in addition to the rates in the final round will count towards the Team Rater badge
Each round will last one week. Failure to rate the team within the one week time period will result in disqualification unless you're able to give us a valid reason. Please only sign up if you can commit to rating one team every week for the next month.
Please submit your rates to the hosts via Smogon conversation.
If you are eliminated and would like some feedback on your rate and how you can improve going forward, feel free to ask us.
At the end of each round, we will announce the best rate from that round and a quick overview of what we liked in the rates submitted.
Congratulations to Maki and Harpp for making it to the finals! Here's the team for this round:
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 224 HP / 60 Atk / 212 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Smack Down
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
The first member on the team is Landorus-T which is pretty much a staple thanks to its Electric immunity being very valuable for Flying-type teams. Went with a bulky set up set with Substitute and Swords Dance as well as Smack Down to deal with Pokemon such as Celesteela.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Toxic
Speaking of Celesteela it's the next member of the team. Pretty standard set and spread, don't need to go too much into detail about what it does. Toxic was chosen over Flamethrower because the team lacks status and because it didn't feel needed with the next Pokemon on the team.
Moltres is a pretty solid pick thanks to Heavy-Duty Boots allowing it to avoid taking Stealth Rock damage. Its typing is great for handling Steel-type teams, especially since it also has access to Scorching Sands to deal with Heatran. The combination of Substitute, Roost, and Pressure can sometimes be used to PP stall certain Pokemon which can be useful.
Thundurus-T is the next teammate. Its Electric typing is great for threatening Flying and Water-type teams, and its a secondary Electric immunity which is always useful for Flying teams. Went with a Choice Scarf set since the team otherwise lacks speed control. Sludge Wave is good for hitting Tapu Koko and other Fairy-types, Grass Knot is for Ground-types, and Focus Blast hits Ice-types as well as Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Heatran.
Mandibuzz @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 244 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
Mandibuzz provides Defog as well as a Ghost resist and a special wall capable of avoiding a 2HKO from Nidoking's Thunderbolt / Ice Beam. U-turn is nice for safely bringing in teammates like Landorus-T and Thundurus-T.
The last member of the team is Mantine. It adds more bulk to the team and also provides a very useful Water immunity because the team is otherwise very weak to strong Water-type attacks. Haze is nice for stopping set up sweepers such as Belly Drum Azumarill which it outspeeds if running Adamant thanks to the 96 Speed EVs.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Toxic
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 224 HP / 60 Atk / 212 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Smack Down
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
Thanks to everyone who participated in the second Monotype Team Rating Competition! Shoutout to maroon for helping me with stuff throughout the competition!
Congratulations to the finalists Maki & Harpp for making it this far, but there can only be one winner. Congratulations to Maki for winning the second Monotype Team Rating Competition! Your rates have been pretty consistent, not just with the suggestions but the formatting, writing, and explanations.
Maki started the rate by replacing Moltres with Galarian Moltres and explains how Moltres' biggest niche is posing a big threat to Steel-type teams, whereas Galarian Moltres is capable of doing the same but also shines in other matchups such as Psychic, Poison, and Ghost. Next he replaces Mandibuzz with Galarian Zapdos to improve the Dark matchup as well as just add a powerful wallbreaker to the team. Since he replaced Moltres, he proceeds to suggest Flamethrower over Toxic on Celesteela to make up for the loss of Fire coverage and check Steel-types more effectively. His last change was Landorus-T where he changed it from a setup set to a bulky utility set with Stealth Rock, which the team previously lacked, Knock Off, and Toxic.
Starting the major changes off, I believe that while Moltres does have a niche in dealing with Steel- type teams well alongside the ability to utilize Pressure with Substitute, it more scenarios than not will it be outclassed by its Galarian twin. Moltres-G still is a huge threat against Steel- type teams while also doing well against a majority of other types, notably Psychic, Poison, and Ghost due to its typing and access to a boosting move alongside Substitute. The given EV spread allows Moltres-G to setup 5 Substitutes if no prior chip was taken using Leftover healing while also absorbing Slowking Scalds from behind Substitute. Nasty Plot is obvious setup to break through Pokemon like Toxapex and Mantine. Hurricane and Air Slash both offer Moltres-G valuable Flying- type STAB with one valuing power and the other consistency. Substitute helps Moltres-G setup on more passive Pokemon and avoid status to sweep. Fiery Wrath is an obvious choice due to being Moltres-G's best Dark- type STAB move.
Now that we have a new Ghost- resist that is Moltres-G which also happens to greatly threaten both types Nidoking is on, we can expand this slot into a different Pokemon. I propose that we replace Mandibuzz with Zapdos-G to immensely improve the Dark- type matchup that might otherwise be problematic while also acting as a generally strong nuke. Defiant allows Zapdos-G to be a huge deterrent for Defog and Intimidate users as activating the ability usually allows for a kill. Close Combat and Brave Bird are Zapdos-G's strongest forms of STAB. U-turn helps to bring other teammates in and forms a Volt-Turn core alongside Thundurus-T. Dual Wingbeat can be used for Flying- STAB that does not have the demerit of recoil and can break potential Substitutes. Stomping Tantrum hits certain Electric and Steel- types like Tapu Koko and Aegislash.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Flamethrower
Now onto the minor changes, I believe that fitting Flamethrower over Toxic is a good fit as no longer do we have a Fire- type and Toxic misses out on punishing many of the common switch ins. Flamethrower allows Celesteela to punish Pokemon like Jirachi and Ferrothorn which would otherwise have no problem switching in and helps to win a Celesteela mirror. While Toxic is great at whittling down the health of opposing Pokemon, many of the more common responses to Celesteela like Slowbro and Toxapex do not mind it.
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic / Gravity
While the Swords Dance set can be devastating against certain types like Poison and Steel, most of these matchups are already covered by Moltres-Galar. As a result of this and the fact that the team still is hazardless, I suggest switching Landorus-T into a more defensive set with Stealth Rock and Knock Off support. The given EV spread allows Landorus-T to outspeed max speed neutral natured base 70s while maximizing special defensive for Pokemon like Tapu Koko and Alolan Raichu. Toxic allows Landorus-T to spread status on Pokemon that can normally switch onto it like Mandibuzz and Zapdos. Gravity can be a more niche alternative to punish certain Pokemon like Celesteela, Rotom-W, and Zapdos which can all normally switch into it.
Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Flamethrower
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 168 SpD / 88 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Toxic / Gravity
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