Vader contributed to the team by giving it a name. I did everything else.
Jokes aside, this is a team the two of us made around a month or two ago, and it's been fairly successful. I'm hijacking parts of formats from random RMTs, mainly Dracoyoshi's new LC team which you should also look at.
Aipom @ Life Orb
Run Away : Jolly
76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 Spe
- Fake Out
- Return
- U-turn
- Shadow Claw
Aipom was chosen as our lead because it's cute yet, masculinely justiceful. Also (and more importantly), it stops most leads from setting up SR, which is good for Mantyke and Diglett. It's an overall better lead than Meowth because even though it has a less powerful Fake Out, it is bulkier and has a more powerful Return and U-turn. This makes it more useful after turn 2. The team lacks a lot of priority, so having Aipom there to threaten a strong LO STAB Fake Out or Return off of 19 Speed really helps.
I chose U-turn and Shadow Claw over Aipom's other auxillary moves because U-turn is helpful for scouting switches, and I wanted Aipom to be able to threaten Gastly, meaning Shadow Claw was necessary. It would be nice to have Brick Break or Taunt or Seed Bomb, but I feel this moveset is best for the team.
Croagunk and Diglett really help Aipom, as the pokemon Aipom has problems with (Aron, Kabuto, etc), Croagunk and Diglett deal with pretty easily.
Diglett @ Focus Sash
Arena Trap : Hasty
240 Atk / 236 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Sucker Punch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Diglett can act like a second lead, but it is mostly a revenge killer. It picks off key members of the opponent's team that can be troublesome to play, like Chinchou or Gligar or Munchlax or whatever, which definitely helps the team quite a lot.
Focus Sash is really nice to have, especially with a lead like Aipom that is so good at keeping Stealth Rock off the field. I'm pretty sure that Sash is intact in probably around 80%+ of my battles, to help people understand. It gives Diglett much more versatility in what it can remove, adding in pokemon that may be able to pick it off with priority or kill it in a hit, such as Carvanha and Dratini or Houndour.
HP [Ice] may seem silly, but it makes Diglett very good at luring out and weakening/killing Gligar (very good for Croagunk)... and it's not as if Diglett really needs that last slot anyways.
Croagunk @ Life Orb
Dry Skin : Hasty
188 Atk / 196 Spe / 108 SpAtk
- Vacuum Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Earthquake
- ThunderPunch / Sucker Punch / Ice Punch
Vader kind of threw this set together, but it works. Vacuum Wave is staple on Croagunk, and Dark Pulse hits incoming Gastly switchins. Earthquake is very uncommon, and allows Croagunk to kill opposing Croagunk and Chinchou with ease and surprise. ThunderPunch hits Mantyke, but I have only used it a couple of times, so I'm considering switching it out for Ice Punch (to hit Gligar) or Sucker Punch (for more priority, but also to hit Gastly).
Croagunk helps as a revenge killer with strong priority (it seriously checks like half of the metagame, making it great at stealing momentum), and also to clean up lategame. It also works well in the mid/early-game to help lure out and kill certain pokemon. Another thing it does is give me protection against Rain Dance teams, which is good because unprepared teams lose very quickly to them.
Gastly @ Choice Scarf
Levitate : Timid
36 HP / 40 Def / 200 Spe / 200 SpAtk
- Trick
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
TrickScarf Gastly is pro. Vader recommended it, and it's awesome for taking out Munchlax, because nobody expects Trick. I usually either switch in Gastly after I kill something with U-turn, or come in on a predicted Return or EQ (often from Munchlax itself). As soon as it's Munchlax vs Gastly, I use Trick. With Trick, Gastly can beat Munchlax with repeated HP [Fighting]s (or Sludge Bombs), or leave it with a small amount of HP locked into Pursuit. This is great as it frees Mantyke and Chinchou from their enemy #1. Gastly also makes a great revenge killer with Scarf intact, though it is just as usable without a Scarf as well.
HP [Fighting] really doesn't do too much, aside from hitting Munchlax/Houndour a little harder than Sludge Bomb, but I don't really need any other moves, and every hit point counts.... I guess it makes it so Aron can't set up....
Mantyke @ Oran Berry
Swift Swim : Timid
36 Def / 200 Spe / 200 SpAtk / 40 SpDef
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Flying]
MANtyke epitomizes MASCULINE JUSTICE. In all seriousness, it is the MVP of the team hands-down. RainTyke is such an incredible sweeper with just a little bit of support, since very few things can stand in its way. Once Gastly has removed Munchlax from the equation by locking it into a Pursuit or killing it, Mantyke can do its thing. Snover can be problematic, as it removes Rain, but it is taken down pretty easily by HP [Flying]. Bulky Water-types like opposing Mantyke and Chinchou are dealt with by Diglett and Croagunk.
I chose Oran Berry over Life Orb because Mantyke really doesn't need the power, but the bulky is helpful against lots of priority. Rain boosted Hydro Pump hurts...
Beast.
Chinchou @ Oran Berry
Volt Absorb : Timid
56 Def / 220 Spe / 228 SpAtk
- Agility
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Chinchou picks up where Mantyke left off. Chinchou and Mantyke have very similar counters and checks (Munchlax, Snover, whatever), so if for some reason Mantyke can't completely destroy a team, Chinchou can easily get the rest.
Chinchou also gives me some nice defensive synergy, checking pokemon like Elekid that could be otherwise troublesome.
-Threat List-
I made a brand new one just for this RMT! I was going to put it in a separate post, but I realized I'd probably never get around to it if I did that... and also I'm trying to conserve posts for my 1k
Pokemon I find threatening/potentially troublesome/annoying are ~SHINY~, both in text and in sprite!
Abra
- Rare. Also not a serious threat because Diglett can take it out whenever.
Aipom
- Annoying to play as a lead because of speed ties. I usually just switch to Gastly to absorb the Fake Out, then back to Aipom to scout for Shadow Claw. However, in repeat battles this changes. Easily revenge-killable by Diglett/Croagunk.
Aron
- Handled by Croagunk, as well as Diglett with Sash intact. Everything but Aipom can OHKO it easily.
Bronzor
- Actually he's annoying because he walls Aipom and Diglett well and beats Gastly/Croagunk/Chinchou one on one (I think). I usually go to Mantyke, Rain Dance, and then fire off Hydro Pumps. It can't really hurt Mantyke back too badly. Not too big a threat though.
Buizel
- Chinchou is a good check/switchin, and Croagunk is a good check. Bulk Up Return could hurt Chinchou though.
Carvanha
- Croagunk is a good check.
Chimchar
- Depending on the lead set it'll either score a single KO or die. It'll probably just die, since most lack Protect. Diglett beats it easily as well, and my Water-types can use it as set-up bait.
Chinchou
- Diglett kills it easily if it has a Sash. Croagunk is an OK check, as is my own Chinchou. Aipom can hurt it with Fake Out.
Croagunk
- I should outspeed most opposing Croagunk and KO with Earthquake. Diglett can trap and kill with enough HP. Mantyke can kill it, and Gastly can absorb most priority.
Diglett
- Rare, especially outside lead. Potentially could suck to play, but I have lots of priority and my own Diglett at worst. Mantyke can survive a Rock Slide too, I think.
Dratini
- Not a problem because I have Scarf Gastly. Diglett with Sash can beat it. It can't really set up on any of my pokemon.
Duskull
- My Water-types aren't terribly threatened and can hurt it with STAB Hydro Pumps, however it's a nuisance to Gastly and Diglett. Aipom and Croagunk can Shadow Claw and Dark Pulse respectively.
Eevee
- Rare. Gastly can take Quick Attacks and Returns.. Croagunk hurts it with Vacuum Wave. Aipom has a faster Fake Out.
Elekid
- Chinchou and Diglett with Sash are great. Scarf Gastly can hurt it a lot too, and Croagunk.
Gastly
- Definitely threatening behind a Sub, and it gets a not-so-bad opportunity to do so against Croagunk and my own Gastly locked into the wrong move. Usually I'll sacrifice Aipom or Diglett to Hypnosis/break the Sub and go from there. If it's not behind a Sub, it's not as threatening.
Gligar
- Maybe a bulky SD/Earthquake/Stone Edge/Quick Attack set could be bad if Diglett was weakened and Gastly lost its Scarf, but I don't see it as too big an issue.
Houndour
- Only really threatening to Gastly, and maybe a weakened Aipom. Croagunk is a great check.
Kabuto
- Croagunk is a great check. Diglett will win with Sash. One of the only lead matchups I really dislike, but most Kabuto players won't SR at first.
Krabby
- Rare. I never saw one while laddering, but maybe could be bad if it gets an Agility. Vacuum Wave will hurt though with Krabby's shit Special Defense.
Lileep
- Rare. Could be bad, but I could always either Trick Scarf onto it or pray for a crit... Mantyke can remove the Special Defense boost I guess...
Machop
- Gastly can take DynamicPunch. Every other move is set-up bait.
Magby
- Chinchou and Diglett work well I guess. ScarfGastly doesn't fear Mach Punch.
Mankey
- Gastly can take DynamicPunch. Every other move is set-up bait. Except U-turn, of course.
Mantyke
- Croagunk can kill Mantyke without HP [Flying]. I'm not sure how much LO Ice Beam does though. Chinchou is also a good check.
Meowth
- I usually go to Gastly, then Croagunk scout Bite. Sometimes I'll gamble the speed tie just because. Diglett beats it after Fake Out.
Munchlax
- Gastly works his tricky magic, but Diglett also strips off a good 50% with EQ, and Aipom can threaten it.
Omanyte
- Croagunk and Sash Diglett.
Paras
- Rare. If it gets an Agility and Aipom is out of the picture, things don't look good (especially if it Bug Bites an Oran Berry or two). It can't really set up on anything except maybe Croagunk though. Diglett could win with Sash intact though, and Gastly can win too if it's not asleep.
Phanpy
- Aipom KO's with Fake Out+Return.
Porygon
- Rare. I'm sure Porygon can threaten all of my pokemon, but not in one moveset. Croagunk, Chinchou, and Gastly are good checks, as are Aipom and Diglett.
Slowpoke
- Rare. Croagunk and Gastly can beat it if they avoid Zen Headbutt. Mantyke and Chinchou probably win one on one (obviously Chinchou does).
Snover
- Annoying, because it beats Diglett and Chinchou with ease and wins most matchups one on one. Dies eventually though....
Taillow
- Rare. Gastly can outspeed and revenge kill, as can Diglett, and Taillow dies fast anyways.
Teddiursa
- Rare. Croagunk is an awesome check, as is Gastly.
Totodile
- Chinchou and Croagunk do well. Aipom can hurt it badly with Fake Out.
Voltorb
- It can only set up Rain Dance or get one attack in as a lead. Chinchou would beat it if it wasn't in the lead spot for some reason.
Wynaut
- Aipom can U-turn to Gastly, and Croagunk can Dark Pulse. I can't see Wynaut coming in on anything else, but it probably does beat Chinchou and Diglett, and it might survive boosted Hydro Pump from Mantyke.
Jokes aside, this is a team the two of us made around a month or two ago, and it's been fairly successful. I'm hijacking parts of formats from random RMTs, mainly Dracoyoshi's new LC team which you should also look at.
-Team At A Glance-
-A Closer Look-
Run Away : Jolly
76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 Spe
- Fake Out
- Return
- U-turn
- Shadow Claw
Aipom was chosen as our lead because it's cute yet, masculinely justiceful. Also (and more importantly), it stops most leads from setting up SR, which is good for Mantyke and Diglett. It's an overall better lead than Meowth because even though it has a less powerful Fake Out, it is bulkier and has a more powerful Return and U-turn. This makes it more useful after turn 2. The team lacks a lot of priority, so having Aipom there to threaten a strong LO STAB Fake Out or Return off of 19 Speed really helps.
I chose U-turn and Shadow Claw over Aipom's other auxillary moves because U-turn is helpful for scouting switches, and I wanted Aipom to be able to threaten Gastly, meaning Shadow Claw was necessary. It would be nice to have Brick Break or Taunt or Seed Bomb, but I feel this moveset is best for the team.
Croagunk and Diglett really help Aipom, as the pokemon Aipom has problems with (Aron, Kabuto, etc), Croagunk and Diglett deal with pretty easily.
Arena Trap : Hasty
240 Atk / 236 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Sucker Punch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Diglett can act like a second lead, but it is mostly a revenge killer. It picks off key members of the opponent's team that can be troublesome to play, like Chinchou or Gligar or Munchlax or whatever, which definitely helps the team quite a lot.
Focus Sash is really nice to have, especially with a lead like Aipom that is so good at keeping Stealth Rock off the field. I'm pretty sure that Sash is intact in probably around 80%+ of my battles, to help people understand. It gives Diglett much more versatility in what it can remove, adding in pokemon that may be able to pick it off with priority or kill it in a hit, such as Carvanha and Dratini or Houndour.
HP [Ice] may seem silly, but it makes Diglett very good at luring out and weakening/killing Gligar (very good for Croagunk)... and it's not as if Diglett really needs that last slot anyways.
Dry Skin : Hasty
188 Atk / 196 Spe / 108 SpAtk
- Vacuum Wave
- Dark Pulse
- Earthquake
- ThunderPunch / Sucker Punch / Ice Punch
Vader kind of threw this set together, but it works. Vacuum Wave is staple on Croagunk, and Dark Pulse hits incoming Gastly switchins. Earthquake is very uncommon, and allows Croagunk to kill opposing Croagunk and Chinchou with ease and surprise. ThunderPunch hits Mantyke, but I have only used it a couple of times, so I'm considering switching it out for Ice Punch (to hit Gligar) or Sucker Punch (for more priority, but also to hit Gastly).
Croagunk helps as a revenge killer with strong priority (it seriously checks like half of the metagame, making it great at stealing momentum), and also to clean up lategame. It also works well in the mid/early-game to help lure out and kill certain pokemon. Another thing it does is give me protection against Rain Dance teams, which is good because unprepared teams lose very quickly to them.
Levitate : Timid
36 HP / 40 Def / 200 Spe / 200 SpAtk
- Trick
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
TrickScarf Gastly is pro. Vader recommended it, and it's awesome for taking out Munchlax, because nobody expects Trick. I usually either switch in Gastly after I kill something with U-turn, or come in on a predicted Return or EQ (often from Munchlax itself). As soon as it's Munchlax vs Gastly, I use Trick. With Trick, Gastly can beat Munchlax with repeated HP [Fighting]s (or Sludge Bombs), or leave it with a small amount of HP locked into Pursuit. This is great as it frees Mantyke and Chinchou from their enemy #1. Gastly also makes a great revenge killer with Scarf intact, though it is just as usable without a Scarf as well.
HP [Fighting] really doesn't do too much, aside from hitting Munchlax/Houndour a little harder than Sludge Bomb, but I don't really need any other moves, and every hit point counts.... I guess it makes it so Aron can't set up....
Swift Swim : Timid
36 Def / 200 Spe / 200 SpAtk / 40 SpDef
- Rain Dance
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Flying]
MANtyke epitomizes MASCULINE JUSTICE. In all seriousness, it is the MVP of the team hands-down. RainTyke is such an incredible sweeper with just a little bit of support, since very few things can stand in its way. Once Gastly has removed Munchlax from the equation by locking it into a Pursuit or killing it, Mantyke can do its thing. Snover can be problematic, as it removes Rain, but it is taken down pretty easily by HP [Flying]. Bulky Water-types like opposing Mantyke and Chinchou are dealt with by Diglett and Croagunk.
I chose Oran Berry over Life Orb because Mantyke really doesn't need the power, but the bulky is helpful against lots of priority. Rain boosted Hydro Pump hurts...
Beast.
Volt Absorb : Timid
56 Def / 220 Spe / 228 SpAtk
- Agility
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Chinchou picks up where Mantyke left off. Chinchou and Mantyke have very similar counters and checks (Munchlax, Snover, whatever), so if for some reason Mantyke can't completely destroy a team, Chinchou can easily get the rest.
Chinchou also gives me some nice defensive synergy, checking pokemon like Elekid that could be otherwise troublesome.
-Threat List-
I made a brand new one just for this RMT! I was going to put it in a separate post, but I realized I'd probably never get around to it if I did that... and also I'm trying to conserve posts for my 1k
Pokemon I find threatening/potentially troublesome/annoying are ~SHINY~, both in text and in sprite!
Abra
Aipom
Aron
Bronzor
Buizel
Carvanha
Chimchar
Chinchou
Croagunk
Diglett
Dratini
Duskull
Eevee
Elekid
Gastly
Gligar
Houndour
Kabuto
Krabby
Lileep
Machop
Magby
Mankey
Mantyke
Meowth
Munchlax
Omanyte
Paras
Phanpy
Porygon
Slowpoke
Snover
Taillow
Teddiursa
Totodile
Voltorb
Wynaut
