Scarfed Mew and the Clean Up Crew
Hello hello and thank you for taking the time to look at my team!
It has been ages since I played any form of competitive pokemon. I stopped playing during the starting stages of Gen 7, and poked my head in at the start of Gen 8, only to be turned away by dynamaxing. Since then, however, I've had the itch to play some more, and after playing with some emvee teams, I decided I was having enough fun to take a shot at building my own team. From the title, you already know what the gimmick is, but nonetheless, this is a Hyper Offensive(I think?) team with just a bit of balance laced in. After not playing in forever, I was pleased to make it to 1500 with this team, with minimal losses(GXE and all that are posted down below.) Nonetheless, I'm not the greatest at teambuilding, and with how rusty I am, I'm hoping to get some tips and pointers for future reference. (Plus I just wanna see people's reactions to it).So, without further ado, let us begin!
Scarfed Mew, aka:
My Child (Mew) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Volt Switch
I know seeing a scarfed Mew may seem a bit odd, but just read on, and you'll see why I picked it. First and foremost, Mew is my absolute favorite pokemon, so if I was going to make a team, I wanted Mew to be a part of it. But I didn't want to just pick some bland bulky set. I wanted something that people wouldn't expect. Something that would throw them off guard, and by the time they reacted it was too late. Scarfed mew serves that purpose, able to pick off any incoming fast mons that would normally be checks to Mew. The amount of Zeraora, Dragapult, Gengar, and Hydriegon that this set has picked off because they came in none the wiser is more than enough for me to believe that this set is beautiful. And you'll see some examples of it working in the replays down below. Dazzling Gleam is great for taking out mons like Urshifu and Hydriegon. Especially since they don't think you have it. Initially I had Dark Pulse instead of Flamethrower on this set, but I found the team struggling ever so slightly against Ferrothorn, and Dark Pulse honestly wasn't doing much. So out came Flamethrower for a bit of coverage, It's not a horrible move to have either for Magnezone or Corviknight. Volt Switch is a good way to snatch momentum during switch in reads, as well as deal some nice chip to rain teams. With Max Special Attack and some speed and natural bulk thanks to it's stat spread, Mew provides a nice bit of surprise power that opponents often don't expect.
Lifeorb Urshifu, aka:
Goku (Urshifu) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
Urshifu just felt more than right on a team meant for offense. Powerful attacks as well as Wicked Blow means that Urshifu can and will blitz through stall if given the chance. Urshifu is a good late game sweeper, and has won me games on more than one occasion during late game. Wicked Blow, as stated before, tears through stall, or anything really, for that matter. Close Combat is here for mons like Magnezone or Ferrothorn, though it's a rare day when either of those will willingly stay in. Sucker Punch is for finishing off or getting some last breath damage in against faster threats to the team, and Iron Head takes care of any fairy types that consider themselves cheeky. I don't feel there's really a lot to say about Urshifu that the meta doesn't already know, lol.
Mandibuzz, aka
Scrawy (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- Knock Off
Mandibuzz is one of the two non offensive pokemon in this team, providing nice cover over certain mons such as Urshifu or Dragapult, who I don't want to necessarily switch other mons in on. Thanks to it's typing, Mandibuzz provides cover over certain threats, and then proceeds to just be annoying with Knock Off and Roost. Brave Bird is there for dealing damage against any mon that is brave enough to just sit there and let Mandibuzz do whatever it wants. Roost and Defog are there for hazard removal and healing, for obvious reasons, and Knock Off is there to pester the enemy team. I really like to press Knock Off on obvious switches. It's nice damage against mons like Dragapult, and it renders many an item useless. I considered putting Toxic on this set, but ultimately decided that I didn't want to try and wait out toxic damage, deciding that this build did the job splendidly.
Focus Sash Zeraora, aka
Jojo Reference (Zeraora) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
Adding to coverage for the team, Zeraora provides coverage in the form of his electric stab, as well as provides a much needed option against set up threats. Any time a pokemon starts to set up, such as Dragapult Ddance, I know I can just send in Zeraora to take the hit and finish it with a Knock. This goes for any other set up mons as well, usually. If Zeraora's faster, then it's even better because it allows Zeraora to get two hits in, and usually live. Focus Sash also allows me to save Zera for another day if needed, since it's speed and power make it quite the threat against most mons. Plasma Fist and Volt Switch need no explanation I feel. Momentum and a powerful physical attack should never be turned down. Close Combat is there as another option for certain mons that may wall my team out, though I dislike sending Zeraora up against Ferro, since usually I want to preserve my sash if necessary. Knock Off is, again, just a decent option that provides coverage on the obvious ground type/volt absorb switch in.
Rockymoonguss, aka:
Fungeye (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 120 Def / 132 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Clear Smog
Amoonguss is the final bulky option on the team that is an even better counter to some of the prominent physical threats in the game, such as Rillaboom and Zeraora. 132 Special Attack is there mainly to ohko Rillaboom after it takes some rocky helmet damage, with the rest going into defenses. Thanks to Regenerator, Amoongus doesn't really need *that* much defense evs, since it comes in, scares out a physical threat, spores, and then switches into something more dangerous. That said, Amoongus can still hold it's own, and has served the team well. Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain are there just for damaging options, on the off chance I don't want to switch Amoongus out. Spore is Spore, it needs no introduction. Clear Smog is there as another option to set up mons. There's a particular replay where it comes in very handy.
Scarfed Drill, aka:
Drillgobrrrrr (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Honestly, Excadrill might be the weakest member of the team. It plays it's part, don't get me wrong, but compared to everyone else, Excadrill doesn't end up doing too much. Thanks to scarf, it can do something similar to Mew, killing certain mons that would normally be considered a check to Drill, and Stealth Rock is just there to sometimes provide a fakeout, to make them think Drill isn't scarfed. Plus Rocks are just nice to have sometimes, against enemy scarfers. Earthquake and Iron Head are great moves for enemy fire/fairy types. Despite me saying Excadrill is the weakest of the team, it is a great lead against Sun teams. It can tear through them if given the chance. Rock Slide is there as well for reading a flying type switch in. It's not often used, but it can be nice against enemy Volcarona.
Threats:
Weather Teams: While my team has options to teams that rely on the weather, they are still without a doubt the scariest teams I have to face. If a venusaur in the sun were to get the chance to use Growth, I would have so sack two or three mons at least to take it down. Kingdra as well can prove itself to be quite the threat, given the right reads or without me having good options late into the battle.
Clefable: Clefable can be a.. hard pokemon to bring down. It's defensive bulk and typing are often an issue when it comes in. If it's carrying Flamethrower, then it's even worse, since Amoonguss is no longer a viable option to switch in. Typically Clefable does go down, especially with a well timed Spore, but it has proved to be a scary mon when played right.
Togekiss: It feels weird to call Togekiss a threat, but I've seen a few teams that have Togekiss and Sticky Web, and that can be scary, since I then have to rely on Mandibuzz avoiding the flinch fest in order to get the defog off. Without Togekiss is a nonissue, but with it, well... Lady Luck isnt always my friend.
Results
It'd be a lie to say I'm not proud of the results. Having been out of the game for so long, I was sure I was gonna be extremely rusty, but this was arguably better than I ever used to do. Back when pokemon was a huge part of my life, it took me forever to achieve top 50 in OU, so I thought my rustiness would be the bane of me. I know 1500 isn't exactly high or anything, but for me it's quite nice to be able to reach that in just a few days.
Replays:
Most of these replays were taken while I climbed to 1500.
Mandibuzz the Wall: Mandibuzz was the absolute MVP for this match. After it got para'd by Ferro, said Ferro and Mantine had no way to bring Mandibuzz down. I even got to take down Volcarona with it, who was no doubt hoping for a chance to sweep. Terrakion was causing problems until it clicked in my brain that it was choiced. After that,it was a nonissue, and we get to see Mew play its part in stopping a Bulk Up Zeraora from sweeping the team.
Togekiss Issues:We get to see Mew and Amoonguss play the starring role with this team, stopping both Zeraora and Slurpuff from sweeping. Though, to be quite honest. I misplayed a bunch here. Zeraora couldn't have one shot Mandibuzz, so I should have gone for the defog immediately, and I danced around the Ferrothorn at the beginning, expecting it to switch against Mew. Nonetheless, a victory is a victory, and I picked it back up after nearly dropping it a few times.
Vs. A weird Sun team: We get to immediately see Excadrill put in work, dealing good damage to Torkoal, and then take out a Venusaur. We also see a spore from Amoongus be very impactful later when Urshifu starts to tear through the team.
Rain Team: Here we see Urshifu and Excadrill pull off some early/late game work respectively. We also see why I consider Clefable a threat as it came in and just started taking hits until it got bored of Zeraora's existence.
Urshifu and Mandibuzz break stall: With a smidge bit of luck, Urshifu got to run through this team, with Mandibuzz bringing up the rear and finishing off Clefable, Blissey, and even Dragapult!
In Conclusion:
I think the team I've built here is exceptional at it's job, with only a few minor inconveniences. But there's always room to learn. I'm happy to hear any and all critiques to the team!
Team Import
Hello hello and thank you for taking the time to look at my team!
It has been ages since I played any form of competitive pokemon. I stopped playing during the starting stages of Gen 7, and poked my head in at the start of Gen 8, only to be turned away by dynamaxing. Since then, however, I've had the itch to play some more, and after playing with some emvee teams, I decided I was having enough fun to take a shot at building my own team. From the title, you already know what the gimmick is, but nonetheless, this is a Hyper Offensive(I think?) team with just a bit of balance laced in. After not playing in forever, I was pleased to make it to 1500 with this team, with minimal losses(GXE and all that are posted down below.) Nonetheless, I'm not the greatest at teambuilding, and with how rusty I am, I'm hoping to get some tips and pointers for future reference. (Plus I just wanna see people's reactions to it).So, without further ado, let us begin!
Scarfed Mew, aka:
My Child (Mew) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Volt Switch
I know seeing a scarfed Mew may seem a bit odd, but just read on, and you'll see why I picked it. First and foremost, Mew is my absolute favorite pokemon, so if I was going to make a team, I wanted Mew to be a part of it. But I didn't want to just pick some bland bulky set. I wanted something that people wouldn't expect. Something that would throw them off guard, and by the time they reacted it was too late. Scarfed mew serves that purpose, able to pick off any incoming fast mons that would normally be checks to Mew. The amount of Zeraora, Dragapult, Gengar, and Hydriegon that this set has picked off because they came in none the wiser is more than enough for me to believe that this set is beautiful. And you'll see some examples of it working in the replays down below. Dazzling Gleam is great for taking out mons like Urshifu and Hydriegon. Especially since they don't think you have it. Initially I had Dark Pulse instead of Flamethrower on this set, but I found the team struggling ever so slightly against Ferrothorn, and Dark Pulse honestly wasn't doing much. So out came Flamethrower for a bit of coverage, It's not a horrible move to have either for Magnezone or Corviknight. Volt Switch is a good way to snatch momentum during switch in reads, as well as deal some nice chip to rain teams. With Max Special Attack and some speed and natural bulk thanks to it's stat spread, Mew provides a nice bit of surprise power that opponents often don't expect.
Lifeorb Urshifu, aka:
Goku (Urshifu) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
Urshifu just felt more than right on a team meant for offense. Powerful attacks as well as Wicked Blow means that Urshifu can and will blitz through stall if given the chance. Urshifu is a good late game sweeper, and has won me games on more than one occasion during late game. Wicked Blow, as stated before, tears through stall, or anything really, for that matter. Close Combat is here for mons like Magnezone or Ferrothorn, though it's a rare day when either of those will willingly stay in. Sucker Punch is for finishing off or getting some last breath damage in against faster threats to the team, and Iron Head takes care of any fairy types that consider themselves cheeky. I don't feel there's really a lot to say about Urshifu that the meta doesn't already know, lol.
Mandibuzz, aka
Scrawy (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog
- Knock Off
Mandibuzz is one of the two non offensive pokemon in this team, providing nice cover over certain mons such as Urshifu or Dragapult, who I don't want to necessarily switch other mons in on. Thanks to it's typing, Mandibuzz provides cover over certain threats, and then proceeds to just be annoying with Knock Off and Roost. Brave Bird is there for dealing damage against any mon that is brave enough to just sit there and let Mandibuzz do whatever it wants. Roost and Defog are there for hazard removal and healing, for obvious reasons, and Knock Off is there to pester the enemy team. I really like to press Knock Off on obvious switches. It's nice damage against mons like Dragapult, and it renders many an item useless. I considered putting Toxic on this set, but ultimately decided that I didn't want to try and wait out toxic damage, deciding that this build did the job splendidly.
Focus Sash Zeraora, aka
Jojo Reference (Zeraora) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Plasma Fists
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
Adding to coverage for the team, Zeraora provides coverage in the form of his electric stab, as well as provides a much needed option against set up threats. Any time a pokemon starts to set up, such as Dragapult Ddance, I know I can just send in Zeraora to take the hit and finish it with a Knock. This goes for any other set up mons as well, usually. If Zeraora's faster, then it's even better because it allows Zeraora to get two hits in, and usually live. Focus Sash also allows me to save Zera for another day if needed, since it's speed and power make it quite the threat against most mons. Plasma Fist and Volt Switch need no explanation I feel. Momentum and a powerful physical attack should never be turned down. Close Combat is there as another option for certain mons that may wall my team out, though I dislike sending Zeraora up against Ferro, since usually I want to preserve my sash if necessary. Knock Off is, again, just a decent option that provides coverage on the obvious ground type/volt absorb switch in.
Rockymoonguss, aka:
Fungeye (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 120 Def / 132 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Clear Smog
Amoonguss is the final bulky option on the team that is an even better counter to some of the prominent physical threats in the game, such as Rillaboom and Zeraora. 132 Special Attack is there mainly to ohko Rillaboom after it takes some rocky helmet damage, with the rest going into defenses. Thanks to Regenerator, Amoongus doesn't really need *that* much defense evs, since it comes in, scares out a physical threat, spores, and then switches into something more dangerous. That said, Amoongus can still hold it's own, and has served the team well. Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain are there just for damaging options, on the off chance I don't want to switch Amoongus out. Spore is Spore, it needs no introduction. Clear Smog is there as another option to set up mons. There's a particular replay where it comes in very handy.
Scarfed Drill, aka:
Drillgobrrrrr (Excadrill) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
Honestly, Excadrill might be the weakest member of the team. It plays it's part, don't get me wrong, but compared to everyone else, Excadrill doesn't end up doing too much. Thanks to scarf, it can do something similar to Mew, killing certain mons that would normally be considered a check to Drill, and Stealth Rock is just there to sometimes provide a fakeout, to make them think Drill isn't scarfed. Plus Rocks are just nice to have sometimes, against enemy scarfers. Earthquake and Iron Head are great moves for enemy fire/fairy types. Despite me saying Excadrill is the weakest of the team, it is a great lead against Sun teams. It can tear through them if given the chance. Rock Slide is there as well for reading a flying type switch in. It's not often used, but it can be nice against enemy Volcarona.
Threats:
Weather Teams: While my team has options to teams that rely on the weather, they are still without a doubt the scariest teams I have to face. If a venusaur in the sun were to get the chance to use Growth, I would have so sack two or three mons at least to take it down. Kingdra as well can prove itself to be quite the threat, given the right reads or without me having good options late into the battle.
Clefable: Clefable can be a.. hard pokemon to bring down. It's defensive bulk and typing are often an issue when it comes in. If it's carrying Flamethrower, then it's even worse, since Amoonguss is no longer a viable option to switch in. Typically Clefable does go down, especially with a well timed Spore, but it has proved to be a scary mon when played right.
Togekiss: It feels weird to call Togekiss a threat, but I've seen a few teams that have Togekiss and Sticky Web, and that can be scary, since I then have to rely on Mandibuzz avoiding the flinch fest in order to get the defog off. Without Togekiss is a nonissue, but with it, well... Lady Luck isnt always my friend.
Results
It'd be a lie to say I'm not proud of the results. Having been out of the game for so long, I was sure I was gonna be extremely rusty, but this was arguably better than I ever used to do. Back when pokemon was a huge part of my life, it took me forever to achieve top 50 in OU, so I thought my rustiness would be the bane of me. I know 1500 isn't exactly high or anything, but for me it's quite nice to be able to reach that in just a few days.
Replays:
Most of these replays were taken while I climbed to 1500.
Mandibuzz the Wall: Mandibuzz was the absolute MVP for this match. After it got para'd by Ferro, said Ferro and Mantine had no way to bring Mandibuzz down. I even got to take down Volcarona with it, who was no doubt hoping for a chance to sweep. Terrakion was causing problems until it clicked in my brain that it was choiced. After that,it was a nonissue, and we get to see Mew play its part in stopping a Bulk Up Zeraora from sweeping the team.
Togekiss Issues:We get to see Mew and Amoonguss play the starring role with this team, stopping both Zeraora and Slurpuff from sweeping. Though, to be quite honest. I misplayed a bunch here. Zeraora couldn't have one shot Mandibuzz, so I should have gone for the defog immediately, and I danced around the Ferrothorn at the beginning, expecting it to switch against Mew. Nonetheless, a victory is a victory, and I picked it back up after nearly dropping it a few times.
Vs. A weird Sun team: We get to immediately see Excadrill put in work, dealing good damage to Torkoal, and then take out a Venusaur. We also see a spore from Amoongus be very impactful later when Urshifu starts to tear through the team.
Rain Team: Here we see Urshifu and Excadrill pull off some early/late game work respectively. We also see why I consider Clefable a threat as it came in and just started taking hits until it got bored of Zeraora's existence.
Urshifu and Mandibuzz break stall: With a smidge bit of luck, Urshifu got to run through this team, with Mandibuzz bringing up the rear and finishing off Clefable, Blissey, and even Dragapult!
In Conclusion:
I think the team I've built here is exceptional at it's job, with only a few minor inconveniences. But there's always room to learn. I'm happy to hear any and all critiques to the team!
Team Import