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I knew Zap would be solid but it was way stronger than I Thought it would be in testing. The Z set makes zap a tailwind setter that beats all other tailwind setters while feeling the hardest to take down. I put it on a bulk up palafin team, where It can deal with mons that dissuade palafin from setting up like megamence, whimsicott, and coaching zama. The rest of the team is pretty standard with a couple little techs like Tera normal rachi and Tera fairy heatran to help prevent marshadow from stealing a boost and becoming too threatening
The idea behind this team is to apply a lot of immediate offensive pressure on the field as much as possible with the amount of spread attacks and priority attacks. I wanted to sort of recreate the DisQuake strategy used back in the day that's optimized for this format, which resulted in the core of Choice Scarf Zapdos and Tera Ground Zygarde.
Scarf Zapdos is honestly a bit underrated and I had fun using it. It's able to outspeed any Urshifu as they normally like to carry a Choice Scarf as well, and it has access to both Discharge and Heat Wave as spread moves, both of which have a chance to afflict a status condition. I specifically went with Fire as its tera type to not only withstand an Ice-type attack from a Chien-Pao, but to also boost the damage output of Heat Wave. Thunderbolt is there as a single target option as Discharge is a bit of a double-edged sword and Hidden Power Ice is there for coverage against Mega Salamence, Zygarde, and Landorus-Therian. Static is the icing on the cake with its 30% chance to paralyze on contact, making priority attacks from popular Pokemon like Rillaboom and Chien-Pao a bit risky.
Even though it's a Zygarde, it's a bit of a different take that's designed to synergize well with Zapdos. I usually prefer to use a bulkier spread, but since this will be on a hyper offensive team, I wanted to have max attack to maximize damage. While most Zygarde would opt for Normal or Fire as its tera type, I decided to go with Ground to accomplish two things:
Allow Zapdos to continue spamming Discharge
Deal even more damage with Thousand Arrows
With the added damage from terastrallization, Tera Ground can catch opponents off guard as it is usually never considered in benchmarks for EV spreads. With the right opportunities, Tera Ground + Dragon Dance boosted Thousand Arrows combined with Scarf Discharge can be a very powerful combination.
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Dazzling Gleam vs. 48 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde: 314-372 (85 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Specs Flutter Mane is pretty self-explanatory. It's mainly there for Fairy-type coverage as opposing Zygarde and Chien-Pao can be a bit of an issue for this team. Icy Wind is the fourth move as a form of speed control as there is no Tailwind support for this team.
This Rillaboom set is also a bit of a different take from the norm as it's a more offensively oriented one. I got the idea of Miracle Seed + Tera Grass from LDP333, which is more favorable for this team as Iron Bundle can be a bit of an issue. I originally had U-Turn on Rillaboom, but I rarely ever used it while testing and never really felt the need for more coverage. I was more worried about Wide Guard and set-up/stall, which is why Taunt is there instead. Because Assault Vest is the most common item on Rillaboom, I was able to catch some people off guard with the Taunt while testing this team.
Grassy Glide (vs. Iron Bundle, Flutter Mane, and Rapid Strike Urshifu)
Without Miracle Seed or Tera:
252+ Atk Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Bundle in Grassy Terrain: 224-266 (88.5 - 105.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 204-240 (81.2 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike in Grassy Terrain: 252-296 (73.9 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
With Miracle Seed, no Tera:
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Bundle in Grassy Terrain: 270-318 (106.7 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 243-286 (96.8 - 113.9%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike in Grassy Terrain: 300-354 (87.9 - 103.8%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
With Miracle Seed and Tera:
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tera Ghost Iron Bundle in Grassy Terrain: 180-212 (71.1 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery (Tera Ghost)
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 324-382 (129 - 152.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera Grass Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike in Grassy Terrain: 400-472 (117.3 - 138.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Wood Hammer (vs. Volcanion)
Without Miracle Seed or Tera:
252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Volcanion in Grassy Terrain: 231-273 (63.6 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
With Miracle Seed, no Tera:
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Volcanion in Grassy Terrain: 277-327 (76.3 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
With Miracle Seed and Tera:
252+ Atk Miracle Seed Tera Grass Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Volcanion in Grassy Terrain: 370-436 (101.9 - 120.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
ボルケニオン (Volcanion) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 144 HP / 44 Def / 188 SpA / 116 SpD / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Steam Eruption
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
This is Shoe's set that I found in a past post of his and it works very well with this team thanks to having Ground as its tera type, allowing Zapdos another partner to spam Discharge next to. Volcanion is a very good partner for Zapdos as they can cover most of each others' weaknesses and can also deal spread damage.
Outspeeds uninvested Mega Tyranitar by 2
Outspeeds Gholdengo by 2 after an Icy Wind drop
188+ SpA Volcanion Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0- SpD Salamence-Mega: 336-396 (101.2 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 144 HP / 44 Def Tera Ground Volcanion: 288-342 (85.4 - 101.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 144 HP / 116 SpD Assault Vest Volcanion: 147-173 (43.6 - 51.3%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO
ジラーチ (Jirachi) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Serene Grace
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 92 Def / 160 SpD / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Follow Me
- Imprison
- Trick Room
Jirachi not only provides redirection support and a form of speed control, but it also has Imprison to shut down the Hard TR teams running around on the ladder. This EV spread has a bit of speed investment, which allows Jirachi to shut down opposing Jirachi with Imprison. I opted for Water as its tera type to improve its matchup against Chien-Pao, Urshifu, and sun teams, which can further enable its partners to set up and/or attack. Safety Goggles is the item of choice to prevent Amoonguss from pulling its usual shenanigans, which is valuable for this team.
252+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 92+ Def Jirachi: 344-408 (85.3 - 101.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 160 SpD Jirachi: 344-408 (85.3 - 101.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Bonus Stuff
Before coming up with this squad, I originally tried to make a seed set work...but I had a bit of difficulty piloting it, especially knowing how strong Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao are in this format. If anyone wants to give it a try, below is the set I came up with.
I originally thought because specs Flutter Mane is so common, a Psychic or Misty Seed made the most sense as Zapdos' held item. For moves, Thunderbolt and Tailwind the standard choices and Hidden Power Ice is for coverage against top tier threats like Salamence. For the remaining move, I considered Roost, but chose Eerie Impulse instead to better support the team as lowering the damage output of special attackers is quite valuable in my eyes. For its tera type, I decided to go with Dark for two reasons:
Helps Zapdos ignore Prankster Taunt
Marshadow's signature Z-Move is insanely strong and there's not much that can resist it
Benchmarks:
Outspeeds a timid Pelipper by 2
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 116+ Def Zapdos: 320-380 (83.5 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. +1 248 HP / 72 SpD Zapdos: 160-190 (41.7 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. +1 248 HP / 72 SpD Tera Dark Zapdos: 320-380 (83.5 - 99.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I'm not really proud of this because I didn't have much success with it but I tried to build around zap and it's checks, for example Zapdos checks Rilla and Urshifu-R so with both of those gone Iron bundle goes wild
Pretty standard offense team built around TW Zapdos and dealing big damage with Flutter Mane, Kingambit and Mega Metagross. Also has Zamazenta to provide Coaching support for Kingambit and Mega Metagross allowing them to break away at bulkier opponents. Rillaboom is able to give Fake Out support and allow for Kingambit to get a free Swords Dance off whilst providing coverage against the likes of Tapu Fini and Urshifu Rapid-Strike. Flutter Mane is able to deal with opposing Zamazentas to provide other team members, namely Kingambit and Mega Metagross, with more opportunities to come come in.
The teambuilding competition returns after an extended hiatus!
This week: Tapu Lele!
This Pokemon hasn't really seen a lot of use, but with fighting types and priority being extremely strong, this Pokemon seems primed to position itself as a force that cannot be underestimated. Unlike Indeedee, this Pokemon packs a powerful offensive punch, both supporting allies with its terrain as well as defeating a large chunk of the meta. While bad matchups into Flutter Mane and Marshadow can potentially make this Pokemon seem less desirable, Tapu Lele can still be a viable pick on the right team.
You have until Tuesday December 19th, 11:59PM UTC to submit a team, and voting will take place for two days after.
I've been enjoying the Steel-Fairy-Fighting (rather than Dragon) core for some time now. Metagross now has a stronger STAB move. Along with Tapu Lele, it has a pseudo Bolt Beam moveset combo. Scarf Urshifu outspeeds a lot of fast but fragile mons. Tornadus assist Urshifu with Tailwind (if needed) and Rain Dance. Amoonguss is a threat to many teams that doesn't prepare for it. Lando-T is good for ground and rock coverage as well as taking out two opposing mons with Explosion (given that you time it correctly).
lele gross semiroom
three tapu(ofc tapu rill)can make gross steel stab move use more.scraf fini can control speed and overspeed moonblast kill pao.z lele can kill many pokemon who can alive under psychic.also,cm terapagos is a demon
I really should be posting teams more often considering how many I have that I'll likely never use. This is a slight edit to a team i was considering using during ndfl. the game never happened unfortunately but Its probably my favorite ndf l team to use (def not the best tho, just reminds me of pre incin sm lol). Deo-a is goofy and having gained e-force is huge (the original had psycho boost lol), fighting z is because I hating losing 30% of my games and dont wanna split offenses. its also good for baiting in dark switches. I chose tapu lele here specifically for its offensive presence since indd is kinda passive, and politoed+indd feels bleh. shifu+kingdra having fast pivot moves is good for lele's positioning, which in turn protects from priority and keeps terrain control. There's a fair bit of type overlap but even teams with multiple rain counters tend to get overwhelmed, also shifu is busted.
It's time for a very special teambuilding competition.......
This week: Iron Bundle!
It's cold outside*, and that means its time for a cold Pokemon! Iron Bundle is a particularly interesting Pokemon, due to its ability to fire off fast Icy Winds providing for solid speed control, and Freeze Dry preventing it from being walled by Water types like Urshifu. Additionally, its speed is slightly faster than Flutter Mane, giving it an interesting niche in the meta. Additionally, Iron Bundle is specially oriented, meaning that the Coaching defense boost won't make an opposing Pokemon completely impenetrable. However, being weak to Fighting type moves in a meta dominated by them makes it difficult for Iron Bundle to have a strong impact, and Iron Bundle's frailty makes it a weak alternative to other ice types. Additionally, it faces stiff competition from other Water type Urshifu-R, which can fire off powerful Water type moves, take advantage of coaching, bypass Protect, ignore Intimidate, has a priority option, ha
It's Iron Bundle time! So get ready to unwrap your presents, and if you've been good, your hydro pumps may never miss for the next year!
You have until January 2nd, 11:59 UTC to submit a team and voting will take place 48 hours later.
