[TB][UU] This must be the work of an enemy「TRAINER!」- starring Golisopod, Togedemaru, and more.
Honestly I'm kinda bad at Pokemon (highest rating I've gotten is around 1500 in Gen 7 OU and Randbats, I've kinda deteriorated since then), but whatever, I've been having a lot of fun in the Gen 8 UU Alpha! After a bunch of fiddling around with teambuilding and testing teams, I've settled on this not-quite-hyper-offense team that I'm mostly happy with. There's definitely some things that could be improved, but it's still been a blast to play with.
**The Hand (Golisopod)** @ Sitrus Berry **Ability:** Emergency Exit **EVs:** 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def **Adamant Nature**
- First Impression - Leech Life - Liquidation - Aqua Jet
My personal favorite member of the team and the one who I originally built the team around, Golisopod has insane physical bulk and can dish out insane damage in return. It easily forces out Psychic, Grass, and Dark types, and consistently punches holes in teams that succumb to its mindgames. *Gonna switch to your Charizard for that nice 4x First Impression resist? Nah, I actually just used Liquidation.* I've noticed that a lot of people tend to be caught off-guard by Aqua Jet, thinking that First Impression's the only priority it has to offer. All in all, an absolutely excellent revenge killer and physical tank, but it tends to get totally squashed by special attackers. Assault Vest might be a good choice over Sitrus Berry, but I usually prefer the Berry's utility of allowing GPod to stay in on heavier damage (though Emergency Exit can come in handy a lot of times).
**Dragon's Dream (Flygon)** @ Life Orb **Ability:** Levitate **EVs:** 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe **Adamant Nature**
- Dragon Dance - Earthquake - Outrage - Stone Edge
Not much to say here, a pretty standard DD sweeping set that can obliterate nearly anything after only a single dance. In my experience, it can occasionally be a bit tough to switch Flygon in, mostly thanks to faster, rival dragons such as Kommo-o and Haxorus, but once Flygon gets a setup opportunity, good luck switching anything that's not Galarian Weezing in to it. I miiight want to replace Flygon with one of the aforementioned other dragons, but he's served me well enough so far.
**Chili Pepper (Togedemaru)** @ Air Balloon **Ability:** Sturdy **EVs:** 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe **Jolly Nature**
- Iron Head - Spiky Shield - Zing Zap - Nuzzle
The resident horrible, annoying little man, and what I usually lead with. Nuzzle cripples anything that's not Ground or Electric type, and from there it's time for the flinch-para-hax hell. Iron Head and Zing Zap provide basically perfect neutral coverage with the flinch chance on top (though, notably, Water/Ground types resist both), and Spiky Shield lets me scout for nasty coverage moves and punish physical attackers with chip damage. No matter what happens, I can always rely on Toge to leave a permanent mark on every game it enters.
**Speed King (Chandelure)** @ Choice Scarf **Ability:** Flash Fire **EVs:** 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe **Timid Nature** **IVs:** 0 Atk
- Fire Blast - Shadow Ball - Trick - Memento
As its given name implies, Chandelure is the fastest member of the team, blazing past most of the metagame with a Choice Scarf and its godly special attack stat. It can fill a variety of roles; sweeping teams that can't revenge-kill it, revenge-killing a nasty sweeper, or crippling opposing Pokemon with Trick or Memento. It's fairly easy to switch in, too, thanks to its plethora of immunities. Very few Pokemon can wall it reliably, though it can be forced to switch out depending on what move it's using, and it's definitely the frailest member of the team. In particular, Gengar can completely obliterate it, regardless of whether it's using Focus Sash or Scarf.
**Chariot Requiem (Mr. Rime)** @ Heavy-Duty Boots **Ability:** Screen Cleaner **EVs:** 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD **Calm Nature** **IVs:** 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin - Freeze-Dry - Psychic - Slack Off
He's probably the weakest member of the team, but Mr. Rime still has his place. His primary roles are hazard/screen clearing and tanking special attacks... and honestly, he doesn't do a whole lot else spectacularly. Typically, once I kill or force out a lead with Togedemaru, I switch Mr. Rime in to deal with any hazards, and then use him whenever I feel like it. His combination of attacks lets him threaten a wide variety of Pokemon, but he tends to have trouble kiling anything that doesn't have abysmal special bulk. Overall, he's okay, but I might try replacing him with Galarian Weezing and seeing how that fares.
**Scary Monsters (Drapion)** @ Choice Band **Ability:** Sniper **EVs:** 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe **Jolly Nature**
- Knock Off - Poison Jab - Earthquake - Brick Break
Drapion, out of all of the hard-hitting physical attackers on this team, provides the greatest immediate threat. Between its fantastic speed and ridiculous Band-boosted attack, it can break plenty of walls that would be too tough for other members of the team to handle. He fills a similar role to Golisopod, but it's a much greater gamble. Knock Off hurts anything hard with its item-removal (and is what I click 90% of the time), Poison Jab deletes Grass and Fairy types from existence, Earthquake slams Fire, Rock, Steel, and Electric types with massive damage, and Brick Break... I don't think I've ever used Brick Break once... I might want to replace it with Taunt or something and give Drapion a Life Orb, but the pressure from Band is way too good, and there is potential for Max Knuckle shenanigans.
**Some Overall Flaws I've Noticed**
- With 4 physical attackers, burns are an absolute nightmare to deal with, and it can just be game over if Chandelure and/or Mr. Rime die. Physical tanks like Galarian Weezing are also the bane of this team's existence. - Sweepers that abuse dynamax like Eiscue, Haxorus, and Braviary can overwhelm and outspeed the whole team, Golisopod is the only hope at that point. (Hopefully moot if Dynamax is banned from UU) - Nobody on the team is really good at abusing Dynamax... Flygon and Drapion might be able to take advantage of it, but I haven't encountered any great opportunities. (Hopefully moot if Dynamax is banned from UU) - No hazard setters; I'll probably want to replace one of my Pokemon (probably Mr. Rime) with one. - Having both Golisopod and Drapion on the same team miiight be redundant? They feel just different enough to work together but I might sacrifice one of them for a hazard setter/remover or special attacker.
**Replays:**
- Overcoming an Eiscue, my own misplays, and paralysis to clean up with Drapion: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1023864928 - Predicting 5 years too far in to the future with Golisopod, still win anyway with Chandelure: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1023873399 - All 4 physical members of my team take the spotlight: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1023845786 - Mr. Rime proves his worth, somewhat: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1023854445 - Flygon sweep, Gurdurr takes a summer vacation: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8uu-1023838482