Project USM TEAMBUILDING: Week 17: Golisopod

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Week 3 Challenge



One of the metagame's most fearsome wallbreakers, Hoopa can provide a team with an incredibly powerful asset and tool. Ghostium or Fightinum Z Crystals along with Hoopa's access to Nasty Plot sport virtually no counter. However, Hoopa's Ghost Psychic typing gives it a 4x weakness to dark and ghost, with its dark weakness in particular making it pursuit fodder. Furthermore, Hoopa's weak defense stat means it will generally drop to almost any strong physical attack, and its mediocre 70 speed leaves it very vulnerable. A Pokemon with such severely pronounced strengths and weaknesses provides an interesting challenge for this weeks builders. Can they create a squad which will use Hoopa's wallbreaking potential to its fullest advantage, while covering up for its numerous vulnerabilities and weaknesses?
 

MrAldo

Hey
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Gonna drop something here, nothing spectacular.


Hoopa @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Focus Blast

Salazzle @ Salac Berry
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Substitute
- Fire Blast

Flygon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Defog
- Earthquake
- Outrage

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Protect
- Toxic

Bewear @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Double-Edge
- Superpower

Rotom-Mow @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Leaf Storm

Pretty straightforward bulky offense build that consist on allowing Sub Nasty Plot to have a good shot at cleaning late-game. Nasty Plot Hoopa is a ridiculous wallbreaker with virtually no switch-ins, and pair wells with Salazzle for a dual nasty plot core and to overwhelm common spdef blanket walls like p2, umbreon, and snorlax. Flygon is the revenge killer and hazard control, with how momentum oriented the team is you should focus more on the offensive but having the emergency button in case hazard control gets out of hand is nice. Registeel is Registeel, not much to add about it. A physical breaker is necessary so SD Bewear complements the team well, adding an important dark resist and stuff. At the end we have rotom-cut to add a crucial water resist and beater, and finishes the volt-turn combo. HP Flying is cool to do substantial damage to Roserade and Shaymin.

Weaknesses include: Nidoqueen (no surprise, just use sick doubles between registeel and rotom-cut and nuke it with leaf storm), Honchkrow (balls deep against this one), SD Zoroark can be tricky but sub on salazzle and bewear help, and probably a bunch of other shit but should fine against most stuff. Ah, and fighting types in general cause the resists are hoopa and salazzle. Machamp is busted.
 

EviGaro

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RU Leader
Wanted to try something cool, ended up with nonsense that looks cool.



Hoopa @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Trick

Mismagius @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt

Chesnaught @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Synthesis

Snorlax @ Choice Band
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Pursuit
- Return
- Earthquake

Diancie @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Power Gem
- Earth Power
- Stealth Rock

Durant @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Superpower
- Aerial Ace
- X-Scissor


Basically I thought "Hey, I never see ghost spam" so I approached this week from that point. Scarf Hoopa is uh, not great, but the speed in itself isn't bad because it takes on almost everything relevant in the metagame bar like Aerodactyl - super big threat to this team btw - if you ignore other scarfers. but those, in general, are kept in check by a pretty neat defensive core in fast Chesnaught, Diancie and CB Snorlax. It doesn't have the most reliability because I didn't make those mons as defensive as I could, but I feel the sets are almost necessary, as Snorlax lures in stuff like Doublade, traps specific mons with Pursuit - think Roserade, Espeon - and Chesnaught is amazing against nearly every physical scarfer. Also I know the Diancie set is... weird, but that speed creeps Abomasnow and that investment does a lot to both and - again - Doublade, two of the most important threats for that team imo. You can run Toxic instead of Earth Power, which I've done a few times because nothing else on the team carries ité

Still, Hoopa has a clear role on that team in outspeeding and sometimes switching into dangerous threats like Salazzle, Roserade, Sigilyph, Durant on a revenge. It can also shutdown defensive mons with trick if you don't need the speed. Mismagius is the breaker, a tried and tested set that can be an absolute nightmare under the right circumstances. Durant is a broken wallbreaker, but has no setup or move to really hit Doublade because I got mad at it missing and wanted full coverage.

Team is still slow, and Zoroark especially can be a nuisance with its versatility, but it's really why I wanted a core to be sturdier against most dark types. Feraligatr can be super annoying, as SD claims one more often than not with Chesnaught being so fast. Webs are dumb because there's nothing to stop them, but Diancie is arguably the only reliable counter to Honchkrow which helps.
 

Hoopa @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 SpA / 76 SpD / 180 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

Ampharos-Mega @ Ampharosite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Dragon Pulse
- Toxic
- Thunderbolt

Nidoqueen @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic Spikes

Zoroark @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Foul Play
- Low Kick

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Atk / 60 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Toxic
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak

Durant @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Superpower
- Crunch
- Iron Head


So far we have the standard sub np and a scarf Hoopa team posted. These are two of the three most used items on ladder as can be seen below. Naturally the last team should have the last part of the top three most used sets, right? Nah boi. We going for the universal ladder set. ASS BEST.
Mr ladder specialty himself does not bow down to anything. He attacc, he protecc, but most importantly, he mr worldladderwide.
You wanna check Queen? Ez. Kommo? What's poppin. Lazzle? How bout you do nothing bc i decided you're not firium.
-don

First we got AV Hoopa, bc frankly, why the fuck not. Hot dogshit is what seems to be working both on ladder and in tours, so lemme hop on that train real quick. Secondly we need a knock absorber and Krow check. Bop Fabio. Mr luscious checks Durant too, bl. No rest Talk bc having to switch out when using your main stab is annoying af. Toxic to snipe all the goons: P2, Cress, Lax, you name it. Max def bc as seen below, you need that in order to actually check Borkedant. Thirdly we needed a rocker. Mandatory Queen, might as well get it out of the way early. Fuck Doggo, opposing Queen, Gon and all of them, Shuca is here and your breaker is now dead. Doesn't matter if it's DPP or S&M, berries are bound to spice things up. Dual Hazard bc removal is dong. Next, i noticed we were still sorta weak to DD Gon and Gatr. Sure, Fabio does live one +1 Ice Punch, but it already has to chekc Durant. And while Queen might not let Gon set up on it, Hoopa does. SD Jet Gatr is also annoying. Thus, yours truly added the scarf Zoro. Scarf Foul Play is clean for revenging set up sweepers such as the aforementioned Gon and Gatr, as well as Decid, Doub and even Durant if it gets out of hand (basically if it crits Fabio or he gets too low). Knock is the best utility move in the game aside from spikes. Low Kick bc coverage. Uturn to complete the Volt Turn. Currently there is no ice or dragon resist, Lax 6-0s and there's no such thing as a team without a steel. Hence Doub got picked. Milo's an annoying piece of shit and so is Umby, and since Toxic is the goat move, who needs Sclaw. Lastly we have the mon to abuse the Volt Turn and break the entire tier, our own little ant. Standard HC AoP, bc the set is broken af, and we need that in order for this team to actually be usable.
Stay fire and build dong. We out.
[23:26:42] +eifo: .usage1630 hoopa items
[23:26:42] *TIBot: Choice Scarf 27.742% | Life Orb 14.922% | Fightinium Z 14.674% | Ghostium Z 10.827% | Choice Specs 9.654% | Leftovers 8.928% | Focus Sash 5.324% | Assault Vest 2.791% | Psychium Z 1.926% | Other 3.210%


+2 248 SpA Salazzle Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 76 SpD Assault Vest Hoopa: 160-190 (53.1 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Kommo-o Clanging Scales vs. 0 HP / 76 SpD Assault Vest Hoopa: 124-147 (41.1 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 76 SpD Assault Vest Hoopa: 95-113 (31.5 - 37.5%) -- 84.9% chance to 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Hustle Durant All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ampharos-Mega: 286-337 (74.4 - 87.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
It's time for the voting stage once again! Vote for the best of these 3 distinguished entries.
 


After seeing some use in early SM RU, as an offensive fighting type with an extremely powerful fighting stab and the utility of an offensive spinner, Hitmonlee's usage has fallen off almost completely as it competes with the other amazing fighting types in the tier. Yet Hitmonlee sports a useful combination of power and speed and access to the coveted move Rapid Spin, despite struggling to break through Pokemon that resist its fighting attacks such as Gligar, or being forced into High Jump Kick 50/50's like with Pokemon like Doublade. Can someone build a team that makes use of Hitmonlee's unique set of roles giving it a chance to shine as a fighting type in RU?
 


Miltank @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Careful Nature
- Punishment
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Milk Drink

Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 92 HP / 160 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Psychic
- Moonblast

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Atk / 96 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw

Zoroark @ Life Orb
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Sucker Punch

Hitmonlee @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Sucker Punch

Aerodactyl @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit


Fun team built around a core of Miltank/Cress/Doub. Miltank is a cool counter to mons such as Shaymin and Decidueye. The sdef allows it to take one unboosted fb from Hoopa as well as avoid the 2hko from non-lo Rade. Sub Cm Cress is a really underrated set that is great in the current meta. Subs on a plethora of mons, including common titans such as Regi and Queen. It does however struggle with mons such as Escav and Doub. This is where Hitmonlee and Zoro comes into the picture. Doub will usually be the opponent's countermeasure to Lee, which allows for you to weaken it for Cress with knock. Zoro can also be disguised to lure it in. Aero is also a mon that lures in Doub and weakens ot for Cress. Taunt Rockium is a fun set that allows it to keep Glig low for Doub, prevent hazards and status, and have a nuke in Cont Crush, while still fitting pursuit for the likes of Swellow and Salazzle. The team is basically centered around breaking with Zoro+Lee?aero and sweeping with either Doub or Cress. Escav is pretty annoying, but it can get whittled by Doub and disguised Zoro.
 
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