Hello, and welcome to this very special RMT! With this RMT, this marks my 777th post on Smogon and that's cause for celebration! So, to mark the occasion, I give you my favorite-current-meta team in any tier that just so happens to be in my favorite tier!
I wish I had some deep reason for why I like the number 7 so much, but I have nothing. I've just always liked how the number 7 looks, so it became my favorite number, so now that I have 777 post, that's pretty special to me. Also, my favorite year of school (so far) was 7th Grade, so I guess that's something.
First, we start with Kecleon. I usually start teambuilding by looking for a low-to-mid viability Pokemon and try to make it work and it's no different here. Plus, I figured it would be cool to build a team around the other Pokemon with Protean for once.
Next, I decided to to get a physically defensive Pokemon and hazard setter to help Kecleon's damage output, so Palossand looked like a good choice. In return, Kecleon's huge special bulk allows it to take special Water and Grass move for Palossand well.
A way to beat Dark-types was needed, so Gurdurr looked like a fine option. Gurdurr can also setup and clean once Kecleon weakens the opposing team enough, further aided by Stealth Rock from Palossand.
I wanted more assurance against Grass-types, so Magmortar was added to resist and beat Grass-types, as well as provide a more surefire way of dealing with Fairy- and Fire-types to an extent.
Hazard removal is always important, especially when using a Fire-type like Magmortar, and I didn't already have a Z-Move user, so I added Swanna as a hazard remover. Swanna also deals with Fighting-types, putting less strain on Palossand.
Since Spiritomb just dropped to PU, I figured that it would be viable and thus needed some reassurance against it, deciding on Absol thanks to it being a Dark-type and having access to Play Rough to quickly take out Spiritomb.
THE TEAM
top_kek (Kecleon) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Protean
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Shadow Sneak
- Fake Out (/ Ice Punch)
- Knock Off
top_kek is a very nice bulky physical attacker and revenge killer, and also a Pokemon I've particularly had fun using. With Kecleon's nice 60/120 Special bulk and the Assault Vest, Kecleon eats almost any Special move not named Psyshock up for breakfast, which is nice to know considering how slow Kecleon is. Protean is also a very cool ability that we all know and "love" on OU's resident SmogFrog, letting all of Kecleon's seemingly weak coverage moves pack a punch. Drain Punch sustains Kecleon, as it of course can't use Recover while holding the Assault Vest, and lets it beat down Pyroar, Aurorus, and Drampa. Shadow Sneak picks off weakened targets and helps to circumvent Kecleon's low Speed, particularly Mesprit, who I always have a hard time dealing with, and Oricorio-Sensu, who can be hard to deal with if it wins Sucker Punch mindgames against Absol. Fake Out also circumvents Kecleon's low Speed, though I don't find myself using it often. I've also used Ice Punch in that slot while Altaria was still in the tier since it's very hard to deal with otherwise. Lastly, Knock Off is Kecleon's hardest-htting move most of the time and provides useful item removal against foes like Ferroseed, Lanturn, and Type: Null.
Pile O' Sand (Palossand) (M) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Water Compaction
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Shadow Ball
- Stealth Rock
- Shore Up
Pile O' Sand is my physically defensive wall and hazard setter. Palossand's bulk and typing allow it to take most physical moves with ease from otherwise daunting Pokemon like Kangaskhan, Togedemaru, and Lycanroc. Palossand's typing is also very beneficial to the team, giving it an Electric immunity to help Swanna, a Fighting immunity to help Absol/Kecleon, a Rock resistance to help Magmortar (and Swanna), and a Bug resistance for Absol. Stealth Rock is also very important to secure KOs and wear the other team down to be KOed by Kecleon, Gurdurr, and Absol's priority moves. Shore Up gives Palossand recovery, allowing it to check physical attackers throughout the whole battle, which eases up on the pressure the opposing team may exert. Earth Power + Shadow Ball and Palossand's decent Special Attack without investment make sure that it's not passive and also heavily damage Togedemaru, Magmortar, Mesprit, and Raichu-Alola. The Colbur Berry is my item of choice as Shore Up gives nice enough recovery and insurance against Knock Off is nice.
Grr (Gurdurr) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Atk / 64 Def
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Knock Off
- Bulk Up
My extremely creatively named Gurdurr is my setup sweeper/cleaner and can also act as a revenge killer and wall. Gurdurr's physical bulk with the Eviolite is fantastic, allowing to eat hits, set up with Bulk Up and rip through weakened teams easily. Gurdurr was another fun to use Pokemon, watching it take hits like nothing and eventually breaking through and leaving the opponent crippled. This is further aided by Guts, as its possible sweep can't be stopped by a burn, making Gurdurr a great status absorber, which the rest of my team greatly appreciates. Drain Punch keeps Gurdurr healthy throughout the battle, especially when it constantly takes damage from a burn or poison, and is also its strongest move. Mach Punch allows Gurdurr to get past that horrendous Speed of his, making it great at sweeping when set up or revenge killing weakened foes, particularly Hail cores, Pyroar, Primeape, and Jynx. Finally, Knock Off hits the Ghost-types that would otherwise wall Gurdurr completely and allows it to Knock Off the items of other Gurdurrs, among others.
Flannery (Magmortar) (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 60 HP / 248 SpA / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunderbolt
Flannery is my team's bulky special attacker. Magmortar's Fire-typing and bulk make it a useful weed killer and Fairy repellent, helping out Palossand, Gurdurr, and Absol a lot. Plus, with Vital Spirit, Magmortar easily takes on Lillgiant and Bellossom (and Jynx if it hasn't Nasty Plotted yet), all of which are very scary sweepers to deal with, especially if left healthy. To further aid in checking these threats, the Assault Vest boosts Magmortar's decent special bulk to very respectable levels. Flamethrower is my STAB move of choice as I have missed many Fire Blasts in the past. It also burns up Ferroseed, Lillignt, and Jynx. Focus Blast makes up for what Flamethrower misses, hitting Regirock, Aggron, and Drampa, while also denting Audino and Stoutland. Hidden Power [Grass] and Thunderbolt both take down Water-types that would otherwise be an issue for Magmortar, namely Gastrodon and Swanna.
sass (Swanna) (F) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Hurricane
- Roost
sass is carries my team's method of hazard removal and is also a great special attacker and Z-Move user. With bulky Magmortar on the team, as well as Kecleon and Gurdurr who lack a super reliable way of healing, it is imperative that I keep hazards off the field, so Swanna plays a crucial role in getting rid of pesky rocks and Spikes with Defog, Swanna also uses Supersonic Skystrike well, giving me a guaranteed-to-hit super powerful Flying move that comes in handy against bulkier Pokemon or when I don't want to risk missing Hurricane. Scald is Scald, spreading burns that happen way more than 30% of the times and simultaneously acting as a high powered STAB option. Roost rounds out Swanna's moves, giving it a way to keep itself healthy.
Disaster (Absol) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
Finally, Disaster is another physical sweeper and wallbreaker to complete the team. Absol hits like a truck, boasting one of the highest Attack stats in PU while still managing to have a usable Speed stat and no hindering abilities. With these qualities, Absol tears through teams, especially after a Swords Dance, as many walls or resists fail to take a hit well at all. This is further bolstered by the Life Orb, giving its moves a little more "oomph." To help with that usable but still somewhat lacking Speed stat, Sucker Punch can cut down faster foes like Oricorio, offensive Mesprit, Jynx, and pretty anything remotely frail. Of course, Dark- and Fighting-types easily switch into Dark moves, so Play Rough is useful for taking them down, namely Hitmonchan and Spiritomb. Lastly, Knock Off, when boosted to 97.5 BP, dents almost everything in the tier (that's barely an exaggeration) AND removes their item which, in the case of Eviolite and Colbur Berry users, will make them take more or similar amounts of damage the next time around.
THREATLIST
Aurorus and Sandslash-Alola both pack a huge punch that can dent everything on my team if I'm not careful, especially the latter as nothing on my team outspeeds it in Hail. My best bets are to have Kecleon take a hit against Aurorus and Drain Punch it or have Gurdurr Mach Punch it and have Gurdurr take a hit against Sandslash and Drain Punch it if it's too healthy to go down to Mach Punch.
When your only Grass-type move is Hidden Power on a Fire-type, it's kind of a given that you would struggle against Gastrodon. My best bet against it is to brute force my way through it, using Gurdurr (which can hopefully get burned by Scald) or Swanna's Supersonic Skystrike. If Magmortar catches Gastrodon on the switch with Hidden Power, that also deals with it.
(static sprite wasn't working)
On paper, Mesprit shouldn't be too much of a pain, but it always is. Both of its sets, Defensive and Choiced, can hinder me in many ways, especially if I guess what set it is wrong. Kecleon is very good against Choiced sets, while Palossand can take down its Defensive.
If I lose the Sucker Punch mindgame and this thing gets up a Substitute, there's not that much I can do, at least in my experiences.
REPLAYS
I will gather more later, but here's just a couple
VS Megazard (L)
VS Plans (W)
Roomtour Final iirc (W)
First, I'd like to shoutout the Pet Mods community. I've been an active member in that community the longest, I've had countless days creating and voting on cool ideas across all of our community based metas, from the Trick Room nightmare that is SylveMons, to the the ridiculousness of Fusion Evolution, to the creativity of Eternal Pokemon and everything in between. I've even gotten to host a Pet Mod (and be a big part of the council for another), which is something I wanted to do since I discovered Pet Mods.
Reviloja753, Ludicrousity, AquaticPanic, Pika Xreme, Exploudit, Jerrytkrot, G-Luke, Origin0, Sereg, Dilasc, Mygavolt, Gojiratar, Cookie Butter, Squawkerz, Gravity Monkey, charizard8888, leonard (from big bang theory), S. Court, KirbyRider1337, Samtendo09, MaceMaster, PrincessGardevoir, Solarblade, ChrystalFalchion, Stitch98, Yahooboo, Zaph1337, Yveltal for PU, Ticktock, Blumenwitz, Jucherz, wishes, Heavyweapons Mann, Yung Dramps
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
Reviloja753, Ludicrousity, AquaticPanic, Pika Xreme, Exploudit, Jerrytkrot, G-Luke, Origin0, Sereg, Dilasc, Mygavolt, Gojiratar, Cookie Butter, Squawkerz, Gravity Monkey, charizard8888, leonard (from big bang theory), S. Court, KirbyRider1337, Samtendo09, MaceMaster, PrincessGardevoir, Solarblade, ChrystalFalchion, Stitch98, Yahooboo, Zaph1337, Yveltal for PU, Ticktock, Blumenwitz, Jucherz, wishes, Heavyweapons Mann, Yung Dramps
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
The PU and Gen 6 NU communities were the first official meta communities I really got to be a part, which was my goal when I signed up for Smogon (though originally with Gen 6 RU, which didn't work out that well). In Gen 6, the NU Theorymon thread was something I always looked forward to and was the first place I felt truly accepted on Smogon. The Gen 7 PU community is filled with great people, it was the first community I started doing tournaments for, and has been the most fun metagame for me in Gen 7 (and 6... and 4... and 3), as well as being the first metagame I felt at least decent as a player in, thanks in part to the help I've received from these great people.
Also, I always thought that writing an analysis was the coolest thing ever when I was younger, and now I've actually written one thanks to the PU community's support.
Also also, just looking through the Gen 6 NU Theorymon thread just reminded me of how (much more) cringy I was back then, jeez...
Many, Aaronboyer, Megazard, HJAD, galbia. Akir, TJ, Dibs The Dreamer, Taskr, yogibears, Haund, Anty, Plans, ShuckleDeath, EasyPickings, Specs Jigglypuff, pinktidal, Teddeh, TONE, LordST, UberSkitty, SergioRules, Tonda Gossa!, 2xTheTap, Raseri, Chrisloud1, GenZeon, Twix, EviGaro, Eseque
erisia, quziel, Based Sexy Pants, Shadestep, cyanize, Disjunction, Quite Quiet, Melons-N-Soda, PursuitOfHappiny, Take Azelfie, Shaneghoul, Kiyo, Pilo
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
Also, I always thought that writing an analysis was the coolest thing ever when I was younger, and now I've actually written one thanks to the PU community's support.
Also also, just looking through the Gen 6 NU Theorymon thread just reminded me of how (much more) cringy I was back then, jeez...
Many, Aaronboyer, Megazard, HJAD, galbia. Akir, TJ, Dibs The Dreamer, Taskr, yogibears, Haund, Anty, Plans, ShuckleDeath, EasyPickings, Specs Jigglypuff, pinktidal, Teddeh, TONE, LordST, UberSkitty, SergioRules, Tonda Gossa!, 2xTheTap, Raseri, Chrisloud1, GenZeon, Twix, EviGaro, Eseque
erisia, quziel, Based Sexy Pants, Shadestep, cyanize, Disjunction, Quite Quiet, Melons-N-Soda, PursuitOfHappiny, Take Azelfie, Shaneghoul, Kiyo, Pilo
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
Last, but certainly not least, the ASB community introduced me to a new way to play the game I love in this odd meta where I have a Pokemon's whole movepool to work with and Dig is the best move ever. The ASB meta is really fun, and talking and learning with the people of the community has always been a blast, even after almost 1.5 years.
Toon, PTPlatinum, Ooraloo, JJayyFeather, Frosty, Birkal, Un passant ordinaire, zarator, deadfox081, YellowAdminSilver, Agender Nerd, Granny Pie, Complications, nightblitz42, S0L1D G0LD, acidphoenix, Earth Traveler, Maxim, Fort Colorcastle, Matezoide, Elevator Music, ZhengTann, VirajVora
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
Toon, PTPlatinum, Ooraloo, JJayyFeather, Frosty, Birkal, Un passant ordinaire, zarator, deadfox081, YellowAdminSilver, Agender Nerd, Granny Pie, Complications, nightblitz42, S0L1D G0LD, acidphoenix, Earth Traveler, Maxim, Fort Colorcastle, Matezoide, Elevator Music, ZhengTann, VirajVora
and anyone else I missed, thank you!
Thank you for reading and thank for making Smogon such a great place that I've invested so much time into to make all this happen. Here's to 777 more!
