NU... The forgotten tier
Just because the name is Never-Used, doesn't mean the tier should be never used! First and foremost this is a RMT, but hidden beneath it is an opressed cry from the phantom NU players, begging for more of the community to join in...
Now that that's over with I'll get to explaining the team.
Overview
When I heard a NU option was being placed on the Smogon server (so long ago), I had no choice but to make a team and roll with it. Having already tried games in UU (and failing quite miserably), I used my ideas from there to create a team using less common Pokémon. This teams main idea is to get a Sub+CM+Petaya Drifblim sweep, which works very similar to CM Mismagius in UU. Originally it was only made to scout out the NU tier before making a more serious team, but it's worked so amazing that I had to carry on with it. My record with this team is great, and although I have no stats to back it up, I'm very proud of myself and this team and when I get a chance (be it a NU tourney, or a NU ladder) I'll definitely be using this team to the best of my ability. Now enough with the chatter, I'll get on with the team.
Bibarel @ Leftovers
Unaware Ability
EVs - Hp 252, Def 156, SpDef 92, Spd 8
Careful Nature
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
~ Super Fang
~ Waterfall
This has got to be the best lead I've used in any tier. Seriously. He almost never fails to get SR up and severly damage or incapacitate the opponents lead. Even after that he can still come in and annoy walls. Although SR+Taunt appears very suicide-lead-esque, I can assure you, Bibarel is anything but a suicide lead. Firstly Taunt along with Bibarel's great base 71 speed (with 8 EVs to beat other Bibarel) means that no other leads (bar any suicide leads, but I haven't seen any of those in NU) can get SR up. Bibarel can then set up SR of his own while taking the opponents attack. Super Fang halves any Pokemon's Hp (as long as it isn't a Ghost), working amazingly against any walls hoping to sponge attacks. Waterfall is for the usual STAB and helps when Super Fang gets Hp to ~25%. Water+Normal also gets unresisted coverage besides Shedinja (who's uncommon even in NU and he gets raped by SR). As well as getting SR up, Bibarel's Unaware Ability ruins any Baton Pass leads and means he can switch in to stop any late game setup. He's bulky enough to take a few hits with his EV investment too.
What Bibarel does for the team
He provides a safe switch in for any Ghost attacks trying to catch Drifblim in his setup (though Bibarel is usually gone by the time I bring Drifblim out). He sets up SR, giving the help so that Drifblim can get his needed OHKOs, he prevents the foe setting up theirs, so Drifblim doesn't take 25% on a switch, he does some damage and still hangs about to help in the mid game. What else could I want him to do?
Hitmonchan @ Choice Band
Iron Fist Ability
EVs - Hp 40, Atk 252, SpDef 6, Spd 212
Adamant Nature
~ Close Combat
~ Mach Punch
~ Ice Punch (Testing ThunderPunch here)
~ Earthquake
My only physical sweeper and my answer to a lot of the threats in NU. Due to almost all of the walls in NU being weak to Fighting, a strong Fighting-type is a necessity. I originally had a scarf on him, mainly because I was scared of Linoone, but seeing as he isn't too common I've gone for a band set instead. Due to most of my team using special attacks, Hitmonchan gets a lot of use in countering special walls. Close Combat is the usual STAB move, annihilating anything not Ghost-type. Mach Punch gets STAB, Band and Iron Fist boosts, making it a strong priority move great for taking down Tauros, rival Hitmonchan (after they CC to -1 defenses), Scarf Glaceon and DD Lapras. Ice Punch is for the large number of Grass- and Flying-types in NU, and also gets the Iron Fist boost. Earthquake hits Poison- and Steel-types without locking myself into CC. Really though, I usually just switch in on something, scare it away and hit the switch in with CC, then come in later and mop things up with Mach Punch. Although he only has base 50 HP, he backs that up with a strong base 110 SpDef, meaning he can switch in on a number of neutral special attacks and hit back hard. The EVs give max Attack and enough Speed to beat base 60 pokémon. The rest goes into Hp and his SpDef.
What Hitmonchan does for the team
He's my only physical sweeper, beating anything that may have boosted Speed with strong priority and literally punching holes in my opponents team. Without Hitmonchan, Shuckle etc would wall my special attackers to hell. A great help on this team.
Exeggutor @ Choice Specs
Chlorophyll Ability
EVs - Hp 6. SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Timid Nature
~ Leaf Storm
~ Psychic
~ Hidden Power [Fire]
~ Explosion
My hit-and-run special attacker, my first switch in to Fighting-type moves and my counter to Sunny Day teams. When a Fighting-type comes in to counter Bibarel, I switch in this guy to take the hit like a champ and hit back with a STAB+Specs boosted 140 base power move. Base 95 Hp and 85 Defense, plus a resistance to Fighting mean he can often switch into Medicham etc. This thing hits as hard as Specsmence does, with only Glaceon having more Special Attack than him in NU, even max/max neutral Dusclops can be OHKOd by this, and it rips through anything else that doesn't resist Grass. Unfortunately many things in NU do resist it, so I have Psychic to hit Poison-types and Hidden Power to hit Grass- and Steel-types. The Chlorophyll ability means that anyone relying on Tangrowth to sweep in the sun gets killed. Exeggutor has 5 more base Speed (hence the Timid nature to ensure I always outspeed Tangrowth), so he can switch in on a Power Whip meant for Bibarel and take it easily, then hit back with a SE, Specs and weather boosted Hidden Power, ruining Tangrowth and possibly having a sweep of the rest of the team. Leaf Storm and Psychic are for STAB, Hidden Power for coverage and Explosion to take down and special walls that Hitmonchan can't do.
What Exeggutor does for the team
He makes big holes in the enemy team. He can take the Fighting-type attacks and hit back hard. He stops Sunny Day teams, which could otherwise be a nuisance to me. His hit-and-run attacks mean that he can often get 2-3 kills a game just by relying on resistances and smart prediction.
Manectric @ Life Orb
Static Ability
EVs - Hp 6, SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Timid Nature
~ Thunderbolt
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power [Grass]
~ Toxic
My plan-B special sweeper. If something happens to Drifblim, or I can't find the opportunity to set him up, then Manectric comes out to deal some damage. As well as this, he can be an excellent revenge killer with base 105 Speed and Special Attack and has often swept on his own, without even setting up Drifblim. He gets spectacular coverage with only 3 attacks. Life Orb is because I already have 2 choice attackers, so I didn't want any more limitations. Besides, I think Manectric works better as a sweeper than a hit and run attacker. Thunderbolt is for STAB, Flamethrower to hit the Grass-types who wall my other attacks and Hidden Power is for any Rock- or Ground-types. It's amazing how many people see Thunderbolt and Flamethrower and just switch in Golem to wall him, before being OHKOd by Hidden Power. Toxic is here because after looking at the other options, I decided none would work. Substitute is best with a Petaya Berry and although it protects against status, I have a perfectly good ststus absorber in Probopass and I didn't want to be using 35% health every time I wanted to attack. Also, Charge Beam didn't attract me because I didn't want to be using a base 50 power move with only 90% accuracy in hope of getting a boost, when I could just OHKO with Thunderbolt anyway. Instead I chose Toxic. Things like Cradily and Hypno love to try wall Manectric, so I chose to cripple them with Toxic, meaning they can be stalled out as Drifblim sets up Substitutes. I have never thought "Damn I shouldn't have chosen Toxic", because it always works great, but if someone can show me a better option then feel free to do so.
What Manectric does for the team
He's a great special sweeper, as a great backup for if Drifblim fails. He can cripple the common special walls and he hits very widely with his strong coverage. Anything that could revenge kill Drifblim is usually taken out by Manectric, hitting fast with base 105 Speed. His Static ability often helps by paralysing a Tauros etc who attacks, leaving an opportunity for Drifblim to switch in and set up. The Electric type attacks help deal with the number of Flying- and Water-types in NU. Not much can switch in safely, and if it can do, it gets badly poisoned.
*If I begin using Sunny Day on my Probopass (see below) then I may consider Substitute over Toxic on Manectric, so he isn't completely raped by status.
Currently testing this over Manectric...
Rapidash @ Life Orb
Flash Fire Ability
EVs - Atk 6, SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Hasty Nature
~ Fire Blast
~ Megahorn
~ Hidden Power [Grass]
~ Double Kick
Probopass @ Leftovers
Magnet Pull Ability
EVs - Hp 252, SpAtk 32, SpDef 136, Spd 88
Calm Nature
~ Power Gem
~ Earth Power
~ Thunder Wave
~ Rest/Sunny Day
I needed some bulk in my team, or I risked being killed quickly by a fast special sweeper resisting Hitmonchan's Mach Punch. So I added this guy. Originally I had Aggron here, but I realised that any Physical sweeper could hit 4x on Aggron anyway, so I went to Probopass, who can take special hits better and can trap Steel-types. The EVs are standard, but I made a minor change, max Hp is for survivability, 88 Speed outspeeds support Aggron, I moved 32 EVs from SpDef to SpAtk to get a 100% OHKO with SR on 252/0 Aggron with Earth Power and the rest is in SpDef. Power Gem gets STAB and hits the Bug-, Flying- and Ice-types in NU well. Earth Power is for the 4x weak Steel-types and along with Magnet Pull I can trap, outspeed and OHKO them (I can't outspeed Magneton however and he may use Magnet Rise, which could be a threat). Thunder Wave is to slow any sweepers trying to kill Probopass, meaning I can slow them on the switch, bring Drifblim in on the Earthquake/Close Combat and then set up a Substitute. Rest is for recovery, but I haven't been using it very often so I had a better idea. My team has trouble with Sandstorm teams (Stockpile Cradily can only be stopped by a well timed Toxic and other Pokémon in SS teams are also a threat), and I don't want to go facing StallRein in Hail, so I thought of the idea of using Sunny Day instead of Rest. Bibarel can stop both of the auto-weather leads in NU (Hippopotas and Snover) and I can then switch Probopass in to use Sunny Day, leaving the weather team without its greatest asset - the weather. The rest of my team gains no real advantages from Sunny Day, besides a stronger Flamethrower on Manectric, but Exeggutor could become a strong force in the sunlight, essentially being my fastest Pokémon for 5 turns, doing even more damage. I have yet to test this though, but I will soon.
What Probopass does for the team
He walls the special attackers in NU, giving me some much needed bulk. He traps and kills Steeel-types excellently meaning Exeggutor can get away with spamming Leaf Storm etc. Paralysis support is always welcome, especially on my team as I have to rely on priority and Manectric to revenge anything. With Sunny Day he can stop any weather teams in their tracks, giving support to Exeggutor along the way. His Rock/Steel typing, although coming with 2 4x weaknesses, means that switching in on the large number of CB Normal types is easy, or I can switch Drifblim in if it's late game.
Drifblim @ Petaya Berry
Unburden Ability
EVs - Def 100, SpAtk 248, SpDef 20, Spd 140
Modest Nature
~ Shadow Ball
~ Hidden Power [Fighting]
~ Calm Mind
~ Substitute
The star of the show, the NU Mismagius takes the stage. With Substitute, Calm Mind, Unburden and a Petaya Berry it seems Drifblim was destined for this role. The basic idea is to switch in after a kill or on a resisted attack, set up a Sub, then another Sub if the opponent is faster, or begin Calm Minding while the opponent breaks the Sub. After 3 Subs Petaya Berry kicks in, giving me +1 SpAtk and +2 Speed thanks to Unburden. Calm Mind increases SpAtk and SpDef, often meaning that some Pokémon need more than one attack to break Drifblim's massive Substitutes, meaning more CM's for me. If I'm lucky I can end up with +3 SpAtk, +2 SpDef, +2 Speed and a Substitute still intact, if this is the case then my opponent is in for a world of pain with unresisted coverage from Shadow Ball and Hidden Power. EVs are as follows, 140 Speed allows me to outspeed everything up to Scarfed base 90s after Unburden, max Special Attack to do more damage, the defensive EVs give equal stats and I'm left with an even Hp stat so Petaya activates after 3 Subs. Shadow Ball gives STAB and Hidden Power is for coverage. Often I may attack before the Petaya kicks in, especially if I was up against an Ice Shard Sneasel etc. Speaking of priority moves, Drifblim is immune to Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, Fake Out, Quick Attack and Extremespeed, and Substitute means that Sucker Punch can't harm me. This means the only priority moves I need to worry about are Ice Shard from Sneasel (OHKOd by HP with SR, even with no boosts) or Lapras (OHKOd by +3 HP with SR) and Shadow Sneak from Banette (OHKOd by Shadow Ball with no boosts).
Probopass is one of the best partners for Drifblim, he attracts Ground- and Fighting-type attacks like crazy, which Drifblim can happily switch in on and set up on. Probopass can also get rid of any Steel-types and any fast special sweepers with his offensive moves and can spread paralysis around the enemy team, all of which making it easier for Drifblim to set up and sweep.
What Drifblim does for the team
See above :) Isn't all that enough for you? And he's a hot air balloon man.
Thought Process
I started off knowing that I wanted to take advantage of CM+Sub+Petaya Drifblim, so he was obviously my first team member.
Then I needed someone to deal with special walls so that Drifblim could sweep, so it was between Medicham and Hitmonchan. I decided on a Scarf Hitmonchan with Mach Punch so Linoone couldn't get through me.
I was looking for a lead, and happened upon Taunt Bibarel. Seeing the interesting set and deciding there was nothing cooler than a big bad beaver, I chose him.
I needed a plan B in case Drifblim failed so I chose a Sunny Day Exeggutor to take advantage of the lack of auto-weather in NU.
I then decided that Manectric worked better as a plan B seeing as he required no setup, so Exeggutor was changed to a Specs version and Manectric was implemented.
Finally I wanted some bulk in my team. With all the CB Normal-types running around I thought that Aggron was a sure fit.
So that was it, my team finally done.
Though apparantly something was missing and after realising that most of the Normal-types that Aggron was meant to wall also had Close Combat or Earthquake, I decided special walling was the way to go, so finally Probopass replaced Aggron, serving as a great wall and as an excellent partner to Drifblim. Hitmonchan was also changed to a CB set, because Linoone wasn't a common threat, which is mainly what Aggron was meant to wall.
So the finished product:
So that's it. I've been doing amazingly, the best I've done in any of the tiers, and I don't have any problems with the team really, but it's always good to get some ideas rolling from you people :)
C&C much appreciated.
Just because the name is Never-Used, doesn't mean the tier should be never used! First and foremost this is a RMT, but hidden beneath it is an opressed cry from the phantom NU players, begging for more of the community to join in...
Now that that's over with I'll get to explaining the team.
Overview
When I heard a NU option was being placed on the Smogon server (so long ago), I had no choice but to make a team and roll with it. Having already tried games in UU (and failing quite miserably), I used my ideas from there to create a team using less common Pokémon. This teams main idea is to get a Sub+CM+Petaya Drifblim sweep, which works very similar to CM Mismagius in UU. Originally it was only made to scout out the NU tier before making a more serious team, but it's worked so amazing that I had to carry on with it. My record with this team is great, and although I have no stats to back it up, I'm very proud of myself and this team and when I get a chance (be it a NU tourney, or a NU ladder) I'll definitely be using this team to the best of my ability. Now enough with the chatter, I'll get on with the team.
Bibarel @ Leftovers
Unaware Ability
EVs - Hp 252, Def 156, SpDef 92, Spd 8
Careful Nature
~ Taunt
~ Stealth Rock
~ Super Fang
~ Waterfall
This has got to be the best lead I've used in any tier. Seriously. He almost never fails to get SR up and severly damage or incapacitate the opponents lead. Even after that he can still come in and annoy walls. Although SR+Taunt appears very suicide-lead-esque, I can assure you, Bibarel is anything but a suicide lead. Firstly Taunt along with Bibarel's great base 71 speed (with 8 EVs to beat other Bibarel) means that no other leads (bar any suicide leads, but I haven't seen any of those in NU) can get SR up. Bibarel can then set up SR of his own while taking the opponents attack. Super Fang halves any Pokemon's Hp (as long as it isn't a Ghost), working amazingly against any walls hoping to sponge attacks. Waterfall is for the usual STAB and helps when Super Fang gets Hp to ~25%. Water+Normal also gets unresisted coverage besides Shedinja (who's uncommon even in NU and he gets raped by SR). As well as getting SR up, Bibarel's Unaware Ability ruins any Baton Pass leads and means he can switch in to stop any late game setup. He's bulky enough to take a few hits with his EV investment too.
What Bibarel does for the team
He provides a safe switch in for any Ghost attacks trying to catch Drifblim in his setup (though Bibarel is usually gone by the time I bring Drifblim out). He sets up SR, giving the help so that Drifblim can get his needed OHKOs, he prevents the foe setting up theirs, so Drifblim doesn't take 25% on a switch, he does some damage and still hangs about to help in the mid game. What else could I want him to do?
Hitmonchan @ Choice Band
Iron Fist Ability
EVs - Hp 40, Atk 252, SpDef 6, Spd 212
Adamant Nature
~ Close Combat
~ Mach Punch
~ Ice Punch (Testing ThunderPunch here)
~ Earthquake
My only physical sweeper and my answer to a lot of the threats in NU. Due to almost all of the walls in NU being weak to Fighting, a strong Fighting-type is a necessity. I originally had a scarf on him, mainly because I was scared of Linoone, but seeing as he isn't too common I've gone for a band set instead. Due to most of my team using special attacks, Hitmonchan gets a lot of use in countering special walls. Close Combat is the usual STAB move, annihilating anything not Ghost-type. Mach Punch gets STAB, Band and Iron Fist boosts, making it a strong priority move great for taking down Tauros, rival Hitmonchan (after they CC to -1 defenses), Scarf Glaceon and DD Lapras. Ice Punch is for the large number of Grass- and Flying-types in NU, and also gets the Iron Fist boost. Earthquake hits Poison- and Steel-types without locking myself into CC. Really though, I usually just switch in on something, scare it away and hit the switch in with CC, then come in later and mop things up with Mach Punch. Although he only has base 50 HP, he backs that up with a strong base 110 SpDef, meaning he can switch in on a number of neutral special attacks and hit back hard. The EVs give max Attack and enough Speed to beat base 60 pokémon. The rest goes into Hp and his SpDef.
What Hitmonchan does for the team
He's my only physical sweeper, beating anything that may have boosted Speed with strong priority and literally punching holes in my opponents team. Without Hitmonchan, Shuckle etc would wall my special attackers to hell. A great help on this team.
Exeggutor @ Choice Specs
Chlorophyll Ability
EVs - Hp 6. SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Timid Nature
~ Leaf Storm
~ Psychic
~ Hidden Power [Fire]
~ Explosion
My hit-and-run special attacker, my first switch in to Fighting-type moves and my counter to Sunny Day teams. When a Fighting-type comes in to counter Bibarel, I switch in this guy to take the hit like a champ and hit back with a STAB+Specs boosted 140 base power move. Base 95 Hp and 85 Defense, plus a resistance to Fighting mean he can often switch into Medicham etc. This thing hits as hard as Specsmence does, with only Glaceon having more Special Attack than him in NU, even max/max neutral Dusclops can be OHKOd by this, and it rips through anything else that doesn't resist Grass. Unfortunately many things in NU do resist it, so I have Psychic to hit Poison-types and Hidden Power to hit Grass- and Steel-types. The Chlorophyll ability means that anyone relying on Tangrowth to sweep in the sun gets killed. Exeggutor has 5 more base Speed (hence the Timid nature to ensure I always outspeed Tangrowth), so he can switch in on a Power Whip meant for Bibarel and take it easily, then hit back with a SE, Specs and weather boosted Hidden Power, ruining Tangrowth and possibly having a sweep of the rest of the team. Leaf Storm and Psychic are for STAB, Hidden Power for coverage and Explosion to take down and special walls that Hitmonchan can't do.
What Exeggutor does for the team
He makes big holes in the enemy team. He can take the Fighting-type attacks and hit back hard. He stops Sunny Day teams, which could otherwise be a nuisance to me. His hit-and-run attacks mean that he can often get 2-3 kills a game just by relying on resistances and smart prediction.
Manectric @ Life Orb
Static Ability
EVs - Hp 6, SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Timid Nature
~ Thunderbolt
~ Flamethrower
~ Hidden Power [Grass]
~ Toxic
My plan-B special sweeper. If something happens to Drifblim, or I can't find the opportunity to set him up, then Manectric comes out to deal some damage. As well as this, he can be an excellent revenge killer with base 105 Speed and Special Attack and has often swept on his own, without even setting up Drifblim. He gets spectacular coverage with only 3 attacks. Life Orb is because I already have 2 choice attackers, so I didn't want any more limitations. Besides, I think Manectric works better as a sweeper than a hit and run attacker. Thunderbolt is for STAB, Flamethrower to hit the Grass-types who wall my other attacks and Hidden Power is for any Rock- or Ground-types. It's amazing how many people see Thunderbolt and Flamethrower and just switch in Golem to wall him, before being OHKOd by Hidden Power. Toxic is here because after looking at the other options, I decided none would work. Substitute is best with a Petaya Berry and although it protects against status, I have a perfectly good ststus absorber in Probopass and I didn't want to be using 35% health every time I wanted to attack. Also, Charge Beam didn't attract me because I didn't want to be using a base 50 power move with only 90% accuracy in hope of getting a boost, when I could just OHKO with Thunderbolt anyway. Instead I chose Toxic. Things like Cradily and Hypno love to try wall Manectric, so I chose to cripple them with Toxic, meaning they can be stalled out as Drifblim sets up Substitutes. I have never thought "Damn I shouldn't have chosen Toxic", because it always works great, but if someone can show me a better option then feel free to do so.
What Manectric does for the team
He's a great special sweeper, as a great backup for if Drifblim fails. He can cripple the common special walls and he hits very widely with his strong coverage. Anything that could revenge kill Drifblim is usually taken out by Manectric, hitting fast with base 105 Speed. His Static ability often helps by paralysing a Tauros etc who attacks, leaving an opportunity for Drifblim to switch in and set up. The Electric type attacks help deal with the number of Flying- and Water-types in NU. Not much can switch in safely, and if it can do, it gets badly poisoned.
*If I begin using Sunny Day on my Probopass (see below) then I may consider Substitute over Toxic on Manectric, so he isn't completely raped by status.
Currently testing this over Manectric...
Rapidash @ Life Orb
Flash Fire Ability
EVs - Atk 6, SpAtk 252, Spd 252
Hasty Nature
~ Fire Blast
~ Megahorn
~ Hidden Power [Grass]
~ Double Kick
Probopass @ Leftovers
Magnet Pull Ability
EVs - Hp 252, SpAtk 32, SpDef 136, Spd 88
Calm Nature
~ Power Gem
~ Earth Power
~ Thunder Wave
~ Rest/Sunny Day
I needed some bulk in my team, or I risked being killed quickly by a fast special sweeper resisting Hitmonchan's Mach Punch. So I added this guy. Originally I had Aggron here, but I realised that any Physical sweeper could hit 4x on Aggron anyway, so I went to Probopass, who can take special hits better and can trap Steel-types. The EVs are standard, but I made a minor change, max Hp is for survivability, 88 Speed outspeeds support Aggron, I moved 32 EVs from SpDef to SpAtk to get a 100% OHKO with SR on 252/0 Aggron with Earth Power and the rest is in SpDef. Power Gem gets STAB and hits the Bug-, Flying- and Ice-types in NU well. Earth Power is for the 4x weak Steel-types and along with Magnet Pull I can trap, outspeed and OHKO them (I can't outspeed Magneton however and he may use Magnet Rise, which could be a threat). Thunder Wave is to slow any sweepers trying to kill Probopass, meaning I can slow them on the switch, bring Drifblim in on the Earthquake/Close Combat and then set up a Substitute. Rest is for recovery, but I haven't been using it very often so I had a better idea. My team has trouble with Sandstorm teams (Stockpile Cradily can only be stopped by a well timed Toxic and other Pokémon in SS teams are also a threat), and I don't want to go facing StallRein in Hail, so I thought of the idea of using Sunny Day instead of Rest. Bibarel can stop both of the auto-weather leads in NU (Hippopotas and Snover) and I can then switch Probopass in to use Sunny Day, leaving the weather team without its greatest asset - the weather. The rest of my team gains no real advantages from Sunny Day, besides a stronger Flamethrower on Manectric, but Exeggutor could become a strong force in the sunlight, essentially being my fastest Pokémon for 5 turns, doing even more damage. I have yet to test this though, but I will soon.
What Probopass does for the team
He walls the special attackers in NU, giving me some much needed bulk. He traps and kills Steeel-types excellently meaning Exeggutor can get away with spamming Leaf Storm etc. Paralysis support is always welcome, especially on my team as I have to rely on priority and Manectric to revenge anything. With Sunny Day he can stop any weather teams in their tracks, giving support to Exeggutor along the way. His Rock/Steel typing, although coming with 2 4x weaknesses, means that switching in on the large number of CB Normal types is easy, or I can switch Drifblim in if it's late game.
Drifblim @ Petaya Berry
Unburden Ability
EVs - Def 100, SpAtk 248, SpDef 20, Spd 140
Modest Nature
~ Shadow Ball
~ Hidden Power [Fighting]
~ Calm Mind
~ Substitute
The star of the show, the NU Mismagius takes the stage. With Substitute, Calm Mind, Unburden and a Petaya Berry it seems Drifblim was destined for this role. The basic idea is to switch in after a kill or on a resisted attack, set up a Sub, then another Sub if the opponent is faster, or begin Calm Minding while the opponent breaks the Sub. After 3 Subs Petaya Berry kicks in, giving me +1 SpAtk and +2 Speed thanks to Unburden. Calm Mind increases SpAtk and SpDef, often meaning that some Pokémon need more than one attack to break Drifblim's massive Substitutes, meaning more CM's for me. If I'm lucky I can end up with +3 SpAtk, +2 SpDef, +2 Speed and a Substitute still intact, if this is the case then my opponent is in for a world of pain with unresisted coverage from Shadow Ball and Hidden Power. EVs are as follows, 140 Speed allows me to outspeed everything up to Scarfed base 90s after Unburden, max Special Attack to do more damage, the defensive EVs give equal stats and I'm left with an even Hp stat so Petaya activates after 3 Subs. Shadow Ball gives STAB and Hidden Power is for coverage. Often I may attack before the Petaya kicks in, especially if I was up against an Ice Shard Sneasel etc. Speaking of priority moves, Drifblim is immune to Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, Fake Out, Quick Attack and Extremespeed, and Substitute means that Sucker Punch can't harm me. This means the only priority moves I need to worry about are Ice Shard from Sneasel (OHKOd by HP with SR, even with no boosts) or Lapras (OHKOd by +3 HP with SR) and Shadow Sneak from Banette (OHKOd by Shadow Ball with no boosts).
Probopass is one of the best partners for Drifblim, he attracts Ground- and Fighting-type attacks like crazy, which Drifblim can happily switch in on and set up on. Probopass can also get rid of any Steel-types and any fast special sweepers with his offensive moves and can spread paralysis around the enemy team, all of which making it easier for Drifblim to set up and sweep.
What Drifblim does for the team
See above :) Isn't all that enough for you? And he's a hot air balloon man.
Thought Process
I started off knowing that I wanted to take advantage of CM+Sub+Petaya Drifblim, so he was obviously my first team member.
Then I needed someone to deal with special walls so that Drifblim could sweep, so it was between Medicham and Hitmonchan. I decided on a Scarf Hitmonchan with Mach Punch so Linoone couldn't get through me.
I was looking for a lead, and happened upon Taunt Bibarel. Seeing the interesting set and deciding there was nothing cooler than a big bad beaver, I chose him.
I needed a plan B in case Drifblim failed so I chose a Sunny Day Exeggutor to take advantage of the lack of auto-weather in NU.
I then decided that Manectric worked better as a plan B seeing as he required no setup, so Exeggutor was changed to a Specs version and Manectric was implemented.
Finally I wanted some bulk in my team. With all the CB Normal-types running around I thought that Aggron was a sure fit.
So that was it, my team finally done.
Though apparantly something was missing and after realising that most of the Normal-types that Aggron was meant to wall also had Close Combat or Earthquake, I decided special walling was the way to go, so finally Probopass replaced Aggron, serving as a great wall and as an excellent partner to Drifblim. Hitmonchan was also changed to a CB set, because Linoone wasn't a common threat, which is mainly what Aggron was meant to wall.
So the finished product:
So that's it. I've been doing amazingly, the best I've done in any of the tiers, and I don't have any problems with the team really, but it's always good to get some ideas rolling from you people :)
C&C much appreciated.
