Time for an obligatory "I like this Pokemon and think it has potential to be good so I'm going to use it to the best of its abilities despite the naysayers" RMT thread. This one starring: Wishiwashi and Golisopod! (RIP Alolan Sandslash)
Team Building
Wishiwashi @ Leftovers
The first of my 3 favorites I aim to build the team around if possible. I noticed Wishiwashi was an absolute behemoth in single-player under an Aqua Ring without any other stall tools, so of course I'd try it out in the simulator with the full stall arsenal at its disposal. Aqua Ring plus Leftovers combined with his incredible bulk results in something that can only be taken care of with a Super Effective from someone with high Attack/Special Attack. Once you safely pull off an Aqua Ring, his one weakness of being put into Solo Forme and being made completely irrelevant is nullified. The recovery from a single Aqua Ring+Leftovers is usually enough to put him back into Schooling Forme, and if it's not, another heal after a Protect does the trick. Will replace with Gliscor as my favorite Toxic Stall Tank once PokeBank comes online.
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
An old favorite of mine and glad to see it finding a spot back on my team. Tapu Lele is a flat out hardcounter to Golisopod, the centerpiece of the entire team. Not only does Psychic Field shut down half of Golispod's moveset in addition to the lack of priority making Emergency Exit a crippling death sentence instead of a powerful tool, but the simple fact that they can casually switch into Tapu Lele the turn I want to use a priority move and shut it down completely just destroys him. Magnezone is there to help. Snugs315 also suggested Mega Metagross first, so if for some reason Mega Alakazam doesn't cut it and I don't have another Mega I replace it with, I can have that slot opened for Megagross if it's that much better at being a Tapu Lele slayer than Magnezone. And of course if you guys have a better suggestion for dealing with Tapu Lele given my team comp, let me know. Stufful_God suggested an Assault Vest set over the Scarf one, using Magic Coat t deal with Special Attackers aiming to take advantage of what they think is a low Special Defense.
Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
In comes Buff Mosquito. Buff Mosquito handles the physically defensive side of things while Goodra handles the special defensive. His bulk combined with Leech Life makes him an excellent switch in for physical attackers while having the offensive power to dish out attacks in return. With Poison, Bug, and Fighting in his coverage, this allows me to use Fell Stinger as his "set-up" move. Beast Boost combined with Fell Stinger is a full 4 stages if it's pulled off, letting him sweep an entire team without a hard counter. Hammer Arm reduces his speed, but it was negligible to begin with, so it's a small price to pay. Another I'm considering is Superpower. 30 more BP after STAB and Beast Boost negating the Attack drop, he only ends up losing 1 stage of Defense if it scores a kill.
Goodra @ Assault Vest
An old Pokemon of mine from Pre-Bank OU back in XY. Back then I used the Assault Vest version and wouldn't mind hopping back to it if it does the job as a SpDef switch in a lot better than the Specs Version. Moveset between the two is the same. I believe the EVs are the same too. Since I also plan on using in-game online verses with this team as well, I'm not sure if I can use the same item on two Pokemon. If I can and the Specs Set isn't the optimal one, I'd love to switch back to a double Assault Vest spread. (Actually testing the Assault Vest at the moment since I noticed a lacking in her SpDef bulk. Can switch back to Specs if it's the superior build).
Alakazam @ Alakazite
My dedicated Special Sweeper. While I do like Alakazam, I do like a lot of other Mega Evolutions more. Granted they are all PokeBank like Mega Beedrill. I'm not too hardset on using Mega Alakazam though, so if someone does his role as an All-Out Attacking Sweeper better, then just say so. And if Mega Metagross is a better Tapu Lele counter than Magnezone and you guys have someone not with a Mega Evolution who can fill in Alakazam's void, just let me know. I'll consider switching them. He does his job quite well, nonetheless. He gibs 1-2 Pokemon and would probably do better once I learn the OHKO rates for everything so I can know when to switch off of Alakazam when I won't OHKO them but they can OHKO me. Other than that (which is my own skill and not so much the Pokemon) he's been an absolute monster.
Golisopod @ Assault Vest
The centerpiece of the entire team. A lot of people don't find him that great because of his Emergency Exit ability, but I've had an absolutely wonderful time with him. While Emergency Exit is a crippling effect in single player, in a structured online team it's actually really good. If you can predict when the next attack will trigger it, you can turn Aqua Jet into a 60 Base Power (after STAB) Water-type U-Turn with Priority +1. And with his bulk he can handle taking a hit and actually landing in the Emergency Exit zone instead of just being aborted without attacking. And don't even get me started on First Impression. It turns him into a revenge killing monster. And if you find something that can't kill you and won't trigger Emergency Exit from its attack (either it's not strong enough or you're already below 50%) your bulk combined with Leech Life will result in this beefy monster sticking around for quite some time. Despite his bad rap, I've had him take out quite a few Pokemon in a single battle with First Impression or Aqua Jet. The downside is Tapu Lele and Psychic Terrain shutting him down. And with Tapu Lele being an almost staple, it really cripples Golisopod's ability to properly shine. Until she gets potentially banished to Ubers, I'll just have to make due with putting counters on my team, but for now things seem pretty solid. We'll see how Magnezone pans out for that role.
Poke Box
Import/Export Raw Data
Special Thanks: Snugs315 for the Scarf Magnezone as well as the suggestion for Mega Metagross if I don't use another Mega to deal with Tapu Lele. Stufful_God for the alternate Magnezone suggestion.
Team Building
As I said, I'm a casual player at heart, so of course I started out with a team of nothing but favorites, as seen below.
Everyone minus the Goodra are taken from my in-game team. Goodra was a good SpDef tank I ran back in the XY Pre-Bank era before stopping Pokemon for a while. Granted if someone doesn't make the cut, I'm willing to drop them. The only ones I'm hesitant on dropping are Alolan Sandslash, Wishwashi, and especially Golisopod.
I was encountering a lot of Mimikyus, so I decided to drop the weakest link, Salazzle, as she wasn't doing anything and added in a Skarmory as counter. The following team resulted in:
Skarmory was pulling his weight a lot, but I noticed a decline of Mimikyus. Seeing as I didn't need to keep around a counter for something I wasn't seeing, especially since Alolan Sandslash can function as an anti-Physically-Based Fairy Pokemon, I might as well swap him out for something else. And seeing as Tapu Lele is both dominating the meta, AND a massive hardcounter to my ace Pokemon, Golisopod, something had to be done about him. At Snugs315's suggestion, I decided to try out a Scarf Magnezone, hoping to snuff out Lele so I can switch into Golisopod in peace and let him clean up like the monster he is when Psychic Terrain isn't around.
Unfortunately Alolan Sandslash just wasn't cutting it. He had the muscle. He had the bulk. He had the movepool. But his fragility to Special Attacks, Fire Attacks, and Fighting Attacks just didn't make up for his lack of speed. He was great if he was at full health from switching in from a KO, but his point was supposed to be a bulky Physical behemoth to safely switch into before returning the damage next turn. This gave the opponent two free hits on him: Something he honestly couldn't really afford. Sometimes he switched in on a Physical attacker who didn't carry his weaknesses and he shined in that regard. Those moments were very few and far between.
In comes Buzzwole. With his nice coverage from Fighting, Poison, hefty physical bulk, and a pseudo-setup in regards to his Beast Boost and Fell Stinger, Buzzwole aims to take Sandslash's spot as a physical switch-in. We'll see how it goes.
Everyone minus the Goodra are taken from my in-game team. Goodra was a good SpDef tank I ran back in the XY Pre-Bank era before stopping Pokemon for a while. Granted if someone doesn't make the cut, I'm willing to drop them. The only ones I'm hesitant on dropping are Alolan Sandslash, Wishwashi, and especially Golisopod.
I was encountering a lot of Mimikyus, so I decided to drop the weakest link, Salazzle, as she wasn't doing anything and added in a Skarmory as counter. The following team resulted in:
Skarmory was pulling his weight a lot, but I noticed a decline of Mimikyus. Seeing as I didn't need to keep around a counter for something I wasn't seeing, especially since Alolan Sandslash can function as an anti-Physically-Based Fairy Pokemon, I might as well swap him out for something else. And seeing as Tapu Lele is both dominating the meta, AND a massive hardcounter to my ace Pokemon, Golisopod, something had to be done about him. At Snugs315's suggestion, I decided to try out a Scarf Magnezone, hoping to snuff out Lele so I can switch into Golisopod in peace and let him clean up like the monster he is when Psychic Terrain isn't around.
Unfortunately Alolan Sandslash just wasn't cutting it. He had the muscle. He had the bulk. He had the movepool. But his fragility to Special Attacks, Fire Attacks, and Fighting Attacks just didn't make up for his lack of speed. He was great if he was at full health from switching in from a KO, but his point was supposed to be a bulky Physical behemoth to safely switch into before returning the damage next turn. This gave the opponent two free hits on him: Something he honestly couldn't really afford. Sometimes he switched in on a Physical attacker who didn't carry his weaknesses and he shined in that regard. Those moments were very few and far between.
In comes Buzzwole. With his nice coverage from Fighting, Poison, hefty physical bulk, and a pseudo-setup in regards to his Beast Boost and Fell Stinger, Buzzwole aims to take Sandslash's spot as a physical switch-in. We'll see how it goes.
Wishiwashi @ Leftovers
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 130 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Aqua Ring
- Toxic
- Dive
EVs: 252 HP / 130 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Aqua Ring
- Toxic
- Dive
The first of my 3 favorites I aim to build the team around if possible. I noticed Wishiwashi was an absolute behemoth in single-player under an Aqua Ring without any other stall tools, so of course I'd try it out in the simulator with the full stall arsenal at its disposal. Aqua Ring plus Leftovers combined with his incredible bulk results in something that can only be taken care of with a Super Effective from someone with high Attack/Special Attack. Once you safely pull off an Aqua Ring, his one weakness of being put into Solo Forme and being made completely irrelevant is nullified. The recovery from a single Aqua Ring+Leftovers is usually enough to put him back into Schooling Forme, and if it's not, another heal after a Protect does the trick. Will replace with Gliscor as my favorite Toxic Stall Tank once PokeBank comes online.
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
An old favorite of mine and glad to see it finding a spot back on my team. Tapu Lele is a flat out hardcounter to Golisopod, the centerpiece of the entire team. Not only does Psychic Field shut down half of Golispod's moveset in addition to the lack of priority making Emergency Exit a crippling death sentence instead of a powerful tool, but the simple fact that they can casually switch into Tapu Lele the turn I want to use a priority move and shut it down completely just destroys him. Magnezone is there to help. Snugs315 also suggested Mega Metagross first, so if for some reason Mega Alakazam doesn't cut it and I don't have another Mega I replace it with, I can have that slot opened for Megagross if it's that much better at being a Tapu Lele slayer than Magnezone. And of course if you guys have a better suggestion for dealing with Tapu Lele given my team comp, let me know. Stufful_God suggested an Assault Vest set over the Scarf one, using Magic Coat t deal with Special Attackers aiming to take advantage of what they think is a low Special Defense.
Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Hammer Arm
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Hammer Arm
In comes Buff Mosquito. Buff Mosquito handles the physically defensive side of things while Goodra handles the special defensive. His bulk combined with Leech Life makes him an excellent switch in for physical attackers while having the offensive power to dish out attacks in return. With Poison, Bug, and Fighting in his coverage, this allows me to use Fell Stinger as his "set-up" move. Beast Boost combined with Fell Stinger is a full 4 stages if it's pulled off, letting him sweep an entire team without a hard counter. Hammer Arm reduces his speed, but it was negligible to begin with, so it's a small price to pay. Another I'm considering is Superpower. 30 more BP after STAB and Beast Boost negating the Attack drop, he only ends up losing 1 stage of Defense if it scores a kill.
Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
An old Pokemon of mine from Pre-Bank OU back in XY. Back then I used the Assault Vest version and wouldn't mind hopping back to it if it does the job as a SpDef switch in a lot better than the Specs Version. Moveset between the two is the same. I believe the EVs are the same too. Since I also plan on using in-game online verses with this team as well, I'm not sure if I can use the same item on two Pokemon. If I can and the Specs Set isn't the optimal one, I'd love to switch back to a double Assault Vest spread. (Actually testing the Assault Vest at the moment since I noticed a lacking in her SpDef bulk. Can switch back to Specs if it's the superior build).
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Psychic
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Psychic
My dedicated Special Sweeper. While I do like Alakazam, I do like a lot of other Mega Evolutions more. Granted they are all PokeBank like Mega Beedrill. I'm not too hardset on using Mega Alakazam though, so if someone does his role as an All-Out Attacking Sweeper better, then just say so. And if Mega Metagross is a better Tapu Lele counter than Magnezone and you guys have someone not with a Mega Evolution who can fill in Alakazam's void, just let me know. I'll consider switching them. He does his job quite well, nonetheless. He gibs 1-2 Pokemon and would probably do better once I learn the OHKO rates for everything so I can know when to switch off of Alakazam when I won't OHKO them but they can OHKO me. Other than that (which is my own skill and not so much the Pokemon) he's been an absolute monster.
Golisopod @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Sucker Punch
- Leech Life
- First Impression
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Sucker Punch
- Leech Life
- First Impression
The centerpiece of the entire team. A lot of people don't find him that great because of his Emergency Exit ability, but I've had an absolutely wonderful time with him. While Emergency Exit is a crippling effect in single player, in a structured online team it's actually really good. If you can predict when the next attack will trigger it, you can turn Aqua Jet into a 60 Base Power (after STAB) Water-type U-Turn with Priority +1. And with his bulk he can handle taking a hit and actually landing in the Emergency Exit zone instead of just being aborted without attacking. And don't even get me started on First Impression. It turns him into a revenge killing monster. And if you find something that can't kill you and won't trigger Emergency Exit from its attack (either it's not strong enough or you're already below 50%) your bulk combined with Leech Life will result in this beefy monster sticking around for quite some time. Despite his bad rap, I've had him take out quite a few Pokemon in a single battle with First Impression or Aqua Jet. The downside is Tapu Lele and Psychic Terrain shutting him down. And with Tapu Lele being an almost staple, it really cripples Golisopod's ability to properly shine. Until she gets potentially banished to Ubers, I'll just have to make due with putting counters on my team, but for now things seem pretty solid. We'll see how Magnezone pans out for that role.
Poke Box
Here are the Pokemon I dropped or have on the side and hopefully looking to swap in. Feel free to give me suggestions for each of them as well, but there won't be a description on any of them so if you want more details feel free to ask. Maybe some I retired could make it back with some tweeking or gain a niche spot after a main team edit.
Salazzle @ Shuca Berry
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Cloyster @ White Herb
Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Salazzle @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Belch
- Overheat
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Belch
- Overheat
Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Steel Wing
EVs: 252 HP / 232 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Steel Wing
Sandslash-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Slush Rush
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Icicle Crash
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Leech Life
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Icicle Crash
Cloyster @ White Herb
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Razor Shell
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Razor Shell
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Hammer Arm
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
Import/Export Raw Data
Wishiwashi (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 130 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Aqua Ring
- Toxic
- Dive
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Hammer Arm
Goodra (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
Alakazam (M) @ Alakazite
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Psychic
Golisopod (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Sucker Punch
- Leech Life
- First Impression
Ability: Schooling
EVs: 252 HP / 130 Def / 126 SpD
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Aqua Ring
- Toxic
- Dive
Magnezone @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 128 Def / 252 SpA / 128 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mirror Coat
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
Buzzwole @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fell Stinger
- Poison Jab
- Leech Life
- Hammer Arm
Goodra (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Draco Meteor
Alakazam (M) @ Alakazite
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Psychic
Golisopod (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Emergency Exit
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Sucker Punch
- Leech Life
- First Impression
Special Thanks: Snugs315 for the Scarf Magnezone as well as the suggestion for Mega Metagross if I don't use another Mega to deal with Tapu Lele. Stufful_God for the alternate Magnezone suggestion.
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