I never know how to start RMTs, so let's just get into it.
The Team
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
This team was built around one of my favorite mons from SS AAA that got several subtle buffs and nerfs in SV AAA: Terrakion. On the positive side, Sword of Ruin is a straight upgrade to Adaptability, Fluffy being free makes Stone Edge all the more valuable, physically defensive Regnerators are near an all-time low, and Intimidate is rarer / Dauntless Shield is straight-up gone. Conversely, Gholdengo exisitng is a pretty hefty nerf, the meta is faster than it was in SS AAA (once again why the hell is Scream Tail 111 Speed), and it faces still competition from other, faster wallbreakers like Zamazenta, Iron Boulder, Ogerpon, and Chien-Pao. Terrakion's niche is its combination of two-move power and ability to bypass Fluffy birds with a STAB move, making it very difficult to successfully midground.
The set is mostly self-explaitory, Choice Band + nuclear STAB moves and Earthquake to hit non-Ground immune Gholdengo and Pecharunt. The last moveslot is frankly pretty barren; I opt for Stealth Rock here to put up hazards in an early-game situation instead of making of a 50 / 50, but Quick Attack is an option for priority, Poison Jab can fish for a poison on Scream Tail...basically, this is a cosmetic slot as you're just clicking Close Combat + Stone Edge.
Jirachi @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- U-turn
- Psychic Noise
- Thunderbolt
The second member of this team is also an unusual pick, Jirachi. When you're using a (relatively) slow Fighting-type in a metagame prominately featuring Scream Tail, Deoxys-S, Azelf, and Latios, you are asking to be revenge killed by a Psychic-type. Jirachi is one of the most sure answers to Psychic-types (although nothing is ever 100% sure against Deoxys-S), provides slow pivoting, and crucially Future Sight support. Terrakion is heavily prediction-reliant, as it can often 2HKO every mon on the opposing team with either Close Combat or Stone Edge...but not both and it's a guessing game as to what the switch in will be. Future Sight can simplify that prediction considerably, as it nails some of the best switch-ins to Close Combat (Pecharunt, Fluffy Corviknight) and Stone Edge (Great Tusk, Iron Hands) for significant damage.
Psychic Noise is just kind of a broken move in general and is especially userful here for stopping slow walls like Corviknight or Wish-reliant Scream Tail from recovering. Thunderbolt trolls Corviknight.
Iron Moth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fiery Dance
- U-turn
- Morning Sun
- Toxic Spikes
Iron Moth is here for two reasons: I am petrified of Walking Wake and Toxic Spikes are broken. Even with minimal investment, Iron Moth can heavily pressure opposing teams with both Toxic Spikes and Fiery Dance spiraling out of control. It is a special pivot (which is crucial to any Terrakion-based team, it loves coming in on special walls) and can, like Jirachi, force more predicatable and linear plays from the opponet by laying Toxic Spikes, which is also a huge wincon against other offensive teams that Terrakion may struggle to get in against.
Maximum HP invesmnet lets it moderately comfortably check PSea Walking Wake, which as alluded to above, I am terrified of, and it preserves its good 110 Speed tier to dance around other teams. Even with no investment, Fiery Dance can spiral against weakened or passive teams that can't actually hit Iron Moth hard, especially once that rely on Empoleon lacking Earthquake.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
This is one of the most standard mons in all of AAA, so not a lot to say here; dummy physical bulk with Fluffy, great typing, slow pivot, Rocky Helmet chips most physical guys passively, and it has Defog for opposing hazard stack. This team aims to avoid having to spend a lot of turns Defogging, as Toxic Spikes can very much pressure the opponent to do the say, but it's an important tool against opposing hazards stack or Sticky Webs.
I have been giving more and more consideration to Intimidate + Leftovers, as Chien-Pao is dumb and so are the Ogerpon formes. It's hard to give up the extra bulk Fluffy has (in the right circumstances of course) and passive damage from Rocky Helmet.
Pecharunt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Malignant Chain
- Destiny Bond
- Recover
- Parting Shot
Prankster Pecharunt, in addition to having alliteration, is a nice catch-all pivot and emergency setup control. Anyone who knows me knows I tend to run absolutely garbage setup control, and if someone sets up a Speed boost I am often toast. Pecharunt is a great insurance policy, as alternating between Malignant Chain and Destiny Bond keeps the effect up against almost all releveant setup sweepers and the poison chance prevents them from just stalling out Destiny Bond's PP.
Prankster Parting Shot is a very useful pivoting and scouting tool and can often get Terrakion in in a favorable situation or give one of the walls space to recover. Having two grounded Poison-types also means that opposing Toxic Spikes are very rarely an issue, and Jirachi covers the crippling Psychic-type weakness that usually brings. Boots are to freely pivot through other hazards. Pecharunt should be played aggressively and use its health to get other guys in in favorable positions, unless there is a likely setup threat it needs to be held in back for.
Roaring Moon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Outrage
- Iron Head
Choice Scarf Roaring Moon is excellent speed control and the usual wincon, as it can easily push through weakened teams that Terrakion has munched through. It is the fastest common Choice Scarf user, outpacing Azelf, and even gets the jump on the rare-but-not-unheard-of Regieleki. Tough Claws is chosen over Adaptability to still boost U-turn and because Terrakion had dibs on Sword of Ruin; this can also hide Roaring Moon's Choice Scarf against other Roaring Moons, as Tough Claws does not announce itself.
Roaring Moon is mostly a late-game sweeper but can still be used as an early-game pivot and item remover if something on the other team has Leftovers, Rocky Helmet, or Heavy-Duty Boots and is annoying Terrakion. Outrage is its best cleaning move late-game, and Iron Head is there again mostly as deceration but I guess hits Scream Tail harder than anything else. In a pinch, it can also be an emergency Fire- and Ghost-type switch in (more on that in a minute).
Full paste:
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2090696087 Terrakion munches through the opposing defensive core single-handily
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2089214063?p2 Toxic Spikes come in the cluth
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2091256292 Jirachi + Terrakion push through
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2090380780?p2 Okay sure there was a lucky crit but
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2094738798 Toxic Spikes and Terrakion do work
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2100687787 How to throw two mons early and still win
Known Weaknesses
Fire-types, especially physical ones: none of the mons on the defensive core take Fire moves well and the only two proper resists are Terrakion and Roaring Moon, which is obviously not ideal. Pecharunt used to be Well-Baked Body in earlier iterations of this team, but then it had garbage setup control and there are more ways to play around Fire-types (Moon revenge, Pecharunt and Jirachi can each eat one on their respective side and pivot) than out-of-control setup.
Special Ghost-types: sure they can always be revenge killed by Roaring Moon, but especially since Terrakion likes to lock itself into a Fighting move in a vacuum, Jirachi being the main switch-in is not ideal.
Gholdengo and Pecharunt, espeically Ground immune: obviously immune to Close Combat and can tank Stone Edge, even without Ground immunity they force a third prediction onto Terrakion. They also are both immune to Toxic Spikes. With Ground immunity, it can be a real uphill battle to make progress; they obviously aren't a fan of the Roaring Moon in the back, but it can still dramatically slow down progress.
Reliant on 50 / 50s and Stone Edge hitting: Terrakion is the main progress maker on this team, and while it is rare it cannot make progress at all, it often relies on getting the turns right between Stone Edge and Close Combat. With Toxic Spikes, Future Sight, and literally every other mon on the team being a pivot, it has lots of tools to make the predictions simplier or, failing that, get lots of chances to make those predictions, but it still is a weakness.
Chien-Pao: Jirachi is the best swtich-in to the Ice move, which is a bad sign.
Protect (espeically Ting-Lu): you know how I mention Terrakion needs to win predictions? Yeah it can't do that against Protect.
This is a team I have had a lot of fun with and fits my playstyle well, but I am very open to potential improvements, espeically to not be so dire against Fire.
The Team
Terrakion @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
This team was built around one of my favorite mons from SS AAA that got several subtle buffs and nerfs in SV AAA: Terrakion. On the positive side, Sword of Ruin is a straight upgrade to Adaptability, Fluffy being free makes Stone Edge all the more valuable, physically defensive Regnerators are near an all-time low, and Intimidate is rarer / Dauntless Shield is straight-up gone. Conversely, Gholdengo exisitng is a pretty hefty nerf, the meta is faster than it was in SS AAA (once again why the hell is Scream Tail 111 Speed), and it faces still competition from other, faster wallbreakers like Zamazenta, Iron Boulder, Ogerpon, and Chien-Pao. Terrakion's niche is its combination of two-move power and ability to bypass Fluffy birds with a STAB move, making it very difficult to successfully midground.
The set is mostly self-explaitory, Choice Band + nuclear STAB moves and Earthquake to hit non-Ground immune Gholdengo and Pecharunt. The last moveslot is frankly pretty barren; I opt for Stealth Rock here to put up hazards in an early-game situation instead of making of a 50 / 50, but Quick Attack is an option for priority, Poison Jab can fish for a poison on Scream Tail...basically, this is a cosmetic slot as you're just clicking Close Combat + Stone Edge.
Jirachi @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Future Sight
- U-turn
- Psychic Noise
- Thunderbolt
The second member of this team is also an unusual pick, Jirachi. When you're using a (relatively) slow Fighting-type in a metagame prominately featuring Scream Tail, Deoxys-S, Azelf, and Latios, you are asking to be revenge killed by a Psychic-type. Jirachi is one of the most sure answers to Psychic-types (although nothing is ever 100% sure against Deoxys-S), provides slow pivoting, and crucially Future Sight support. Terrakion is heavily prediction-reliant, as it can often 2HKO every mon on the opposing team with either Close Combat or Stone Edge...but not both and it's a guessing game as to what the switch in will be. Future Sight can simplify that prediction considerably, as it nails some of the best switch-ins to Close Combat (Pecharunt, Fluffy Corviknight) and Stone Edge (Great Tusk, Iron Hands) for significant damage.
Psychic Noise is just kind of a broken move in general and is especially userful here for stopping slow walls like Corviknight or Wish-reliant Scream Tail from recovering. Thunderbolt trolls Corviknight.
Iron Moth @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fiery Dance
- U-turn
- Morning Sun
- Toxic Spikes
Iron Moth is here for two reasons: I am petrified of Walking Wake and Toxic Spikes are broken. Even with minimal investment, Iron Moth can heavily pressure opposing teams with both Toxic Spikes and Fiery Dance spiraling out of control. It is a special pivot (which is crucial to any Terrakion-based team, it loves coming in on special walls) and can, like Jirachi, force more predicatable and linear plays from the opponet by laying Toxic Spikes, which is also a huge wincon against other offensive teams that Terrakion may struggle to get in against.
Maximum HP invesmnet lets it moderately comfortably check PSea Walking Wake, which as alluded to above, I am terrified of, and it preserves its good 110 Speed tier to dance around other teams. Even with no investment, Fiery Dance can spiral against weakened or passive teams that can't actually hit Iron Moth hard, especially once that rely on Empoleon lacking Earthquake.
Corviknight @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
This is one of the most standard mons in all of AAA, so not a lot to say here; dummy physical bulk with Fluffy, great typing, slow pivot, Rocky Helmet chips most physical guys passively, and it has Defog for opposing hazard stack. This team aims to avoid having to spend a lot of turns Defogging, as Toxic Spikes can very much pressure the opponent to do the say, but it's an important tool against opposing hazards stack or Sticky Webs.
I have been giving more and more consideration to Intimidate + Leftovers, as Chien-Pao is dumb and so are the Ogerpon formes. It's hard to give up the extra bulk Fluffy has (in the right circumstances of course) and passive damage from Rocky Helmet.
Pecharunt @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Malignant Chain
- Destiny Bond
- Recover
- Parting Shot
Prankster Pecharunt, in addition to having alliteration, is a nice catch-all pivot and emergency setup control. Anyone who knows me knows I tend to run absolutely garbage setup control, and if someone sets up a Speed boost I am often toast. Pecharunt is a great insurance policy, as alternating between Malignant Chain and Destiny Bond keeps the effect up against almost all releveant setup sweepers and the poison chance prevents them from just stalling out Destiny Bond's PP.
Prankster Parting Shot is a very useful pivoting and scouting tool and can often get Terrakion in in a favorable situation or give one of the walls space to recover. Having two grounded Poison-types also means that opposing Toxic Spikes are very rarely an issue, and Jirachi covers the crippling Psychic-type weakness that usually brings. Boots are to freely pivot through other hazards. Pecharunt should be played aggressively and use its health to get other guys in in favorable positions, unless there is a likely setup threat it needs to be held in back for.
Roaring Moon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Outrage
- Iron Head
Choice Scarf Roaring Moon is excellent speed control and the usual wincon, as it can easily push through weakened teams that Terrakion has munched through. It is the fastest common Choice Scarf user, outpacing Azelf, and even gets the jump on the rare-but-not-unheard-of Regieleki. Tough Claws is chosen over Adaptability to still boost U-turn and because Terrakion had dibs on Sword of Ruin; this can also hide Roaring Moon's Choice Scarf against other Roaring Moons, as Tough Claws does not announce itself.
Roaring Moon is mostly a late-game sweeper but can still be used as an early-game pivot and item remover if something on the other team has Leftovers, Rocky Helmet, or Heavy-Duty Boots and is annoying Terrakion. Outrage is its best cleaning move late-game, and Iron Head is there again mostly as deceration but I guess hits Scream Tail harder than anything else. In a pinch, it can also be an emergency Fire- and Ghost-type switch in (more on that in a minute).
Full paste:
Replays
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2090696087 Terrakion munches through the opposing defensive core single-handily
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2089214063?p2 Toxic Spikes come in the cluth
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2091256292 Jirachi + Terrakion push through
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2090380780?p2 Okay sure there was a lucky crit but
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2094738798 Toxic Spikes and Terrakion do work
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9almostanyability-2100687787 How to throw two mons early and still win
Known Weaknesses
Fire-types, especially physical ones: none of the mons on the defensive core take Fire moves well and the only two proper resists are Terrakion and Roaring Moon, which is obviously not ideal. Pecharunt used to be Well-Baked Body in earlier iterations of this team, but then it had garbage setup control and there are more ways to play around Fire-types (Moon revenge, Pecharunt and Jirachi can each eat one on their respective side and pivot) than out-of-control setup.
Special Ghost-types: sure they can always be revenge killed by Roaring Moon, but especially since Terrakion likes to lock itself into a Fighting move in a vacuum, Jirachi being the main switch-in is not ideal.
Gholdengo and Pecharunt, espeically Ground immune: obviously immune to Close Combat and can tank Stone Edge, even without Ground immunity they force a third prediction onto Terrakion. They also are both immune to Toxic Spikes. With Ground immunity, it can be a real uphill battle to make progress; they obviously aren't a fan of the Roaring Moon in the back, but it can still dramatically slow down progress.
Reliant on 50 / 50s and Stone Edge hitting: Terrakion is the main progress maker on this team, and while it is rare it cannot make progress at all, it often relies on getting the turns right between Stone Edge and Close Combat. With Toxic Spikes, Future Sight, and literally every other mon on the team being a pivot, it has lots of tools to make the predictions simplier or, failing that, get lots of chances to make those predictions, but it still is a weakness.
Chien-Pao: Jirachi is the best swtich-in to the Ice move, which is a bad sign.
Protect (espeically Ting-Lu): you know how I mention Terrakion needs to win predictions? Yeah it can't do that against Protect.
This is a team I have had a lot of fun with and fits my playstyle well, but I am very open to potential improvements, espeically to not be so dire against Fire.
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