(Persian-Alola Parting Shot into Stoutland)
Introduction
Z Parting Shot Persian-Alola has been something that I've wanted to try for quite some time now, and because Parting Shot is such a nice way to pivot into Wallbreakers and Setup Pokemon in particular since they take less damage switching in, I knew I wanted to take an offensive approach to this team. This team was inspired by the common rivalry between cats and dogs, Persian-Alola being the cat in this team and Stoutland being the dog, and since I'm such an animal lover myself, I was quite excited to see how this would turn out and to see what other possible animals would end joining the team. I also wanted to get this up before the tier shift and we lose Stoutland, as I have enjoyed using this team so much lately.
The Team
Garfield (Persian-Alola) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Toxic
So I started the team off with Persian-Alola, my cat. Persian-Alola is a central Pokemon on my team as it pivot arounds with Parting Shot, it spreads Toxic damage, it's my Ghost-Type switchin, and it shuts down annoying bulky set-up Pokemon with taunt. I also use it sometimes as an Anti-lead, if Probopass is not suitable to lead. Darkinium Z is useful to bring back chipped teammates later in the game, and it's also useful if Foul Play doesn't do enough damage to KO a Pokemon.
Red Rover (Stoutland) @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Facade
Stoutland is the Wallbreaker of this team, and it benefits from Persian-Alola's and Silvally-Ghost's Parting Shot support since it can switch in against the bulkier Pokemon that they draw in, Silvally-Ghost in particular. Overall this Pokemon's powerful damage output helps Lilligant and Kingler out a lot chipping their counters, increasing their potential to sweep late-game.
Bouquet (Lilligant) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Next I wanted a setup Pokemon that could benefit from the Parting Shot support who could put in the work late-game. I resorted to Lilligant seeing as it has amazing longevity with Giga Drain, and it's able to beat a lot of the Pokemon that switch in against Stoutland, including Rock-types like Regirock, and Gastrodon. Having the ability to put other Pokemon to sleep is also beneficial to the rest of my team members, seeing as it temporarily shuts down one of the opponent's Pokemon, allowing my other Pokemon to do their roles with much more ease.
Clawdia (Kingler) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Agility
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Superpower
I added Kingler next as another late-game potential sweeper, but also because this Pokemon is really hard to switch into thanks to its Sheer Force, Life Orb boosted Liquidation. With access to Knock Off, Kingler also really helps my team against bulkier Pokemon such as Clefairy that rely on their item to strengthen them. A Jolly nature Kingler outspeeds Scarf Pyroar at +2 Speed.
Silvally-Ghost @ Ghost Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Parting Shot
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Defog
Next I decided to add Silvally-Ghost as my Defogger, as I really needed a Fighting-type switchin. This Silvally form in particular also works nicely for my team too as it can sometimes function as a Spinblocker, when I want rocks up to break a Pokemons Focus Sash/Sturdy or even just to chip Pokemon down further. It's offensive presence also helps me keep the pressure on my opponent and provides my team with more Parting Shot support.
Nose it All (Probopass) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
Despite my want to put a Fire-type in this spot, I realised that I needed a SR setter. This was a difficult decision for me to make since I didn't want something that was too passive like Ferroseed. I decided to add Probopass, as it's ability to trap other Steel-types helped me a lot, allowing Stoutland to click Frustration more freely, but it also helped with the rest of my teams inability to deal with stuff like Ferroseed. I am running Air Balloon on this to help me against Aggron and opposing Stealth Rock setters, for when I choose to use this Pokemon as an Anti-lead.
Weaknesses
Pyroar's amazing Speed tier, and its wallbreaking capabilities threaten my team a lot since Persian-Alola is the only Pokemon that can outspeed it, and even at that Persian-Alola can't do much in return to Pyroar. Having no switchin against Fire Blast, I have to sack a Pokemon every time against this Pokemon in order to bring in a Pokemon that can take one Fire Blast. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to add a Fire-type Pokemon that could take a Fire Blast, or even a Flash Fire Pokemon like Ninetales, however Stealth Rocks is vital for my team in order to chip this Pokemon. I have also considered changing Kingler to a Floatzel, however Floatzel does not do much more than Kingler since it speed ties with Pyroar, and with a lower damage output I opted to keep Kingler instead.
Toxic Damage:
Since I don't really have any Toxic immunity besides Probopass, who is worn down easily since it does not have Leftovers, a lot of my Pokemon can be worn down easily by bulkier Pokemon with Toxic. While Stoutlands Facade damage output is very high, it does get slowly worn down as the opposing Pokemon using healing moves and sometimes even Protect. Luckily this is an easier weakness to play around thanks to Alolan-Persian's Z Parting Shot being able to heal my Pokemon back to full.
Conclusion
I found this team fun to use because of the offensive direction the metagame has taken lately, making Parting Shots ability to reduce a Pokemons Attack and Special Attack much more useful. This makes the whole process of setting up much easier, which is why I chose to have two setup Pokemon as a pose to just one. I also love pivoting Pokemon since, if played correctly, they can offer a lot of momentum in a game. I'm looking foward to see what the next tier shift brings and to see if Parting Shot will maintain its usefulness in the meta.
Garfield (Persian-Alola) @ Darkinium Z
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Toxic
Red Rover (Stoutland) @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Facade
Bouquet (Lilligant) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Clawdia (Kingler) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Agility
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Superpower
Silvally-Ghost @ Ghost Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Parting Shot
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Defog
Nose it All (Probopass) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Foul Play
- Toxic
Red Rover (Stoutland) @ Choice Band
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Superpower
- Pursuit
- Facade
Bouquet (Lilligant) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Clawdia (Kingler) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Agility
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
- Superpower
Silvally-Ghost @ Ghost Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Parting Shot
- Shadow Ball
- Flamethrower
- Defog
Nose it All (Probopass) @ Air Balloon
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Taunt
Last edited: