~ Zangoose Strikes Back ~
Hey there. Welcome to another NU RMT. So I am a long time Zangoose fan, and honestly, I think he's one of the best pokemon in NU. However, I have yet to build a team around him; he's often been thrown on sort of as an afterthought, and not given the proper team support for him to shine. Well now he does. And he's coming to get you. ;D
Edit 19/10/12: Changed quite a lot on this team. I would appreciate some feedback. :)
Team Preview
Rotom-F @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp
Edit: Replaced Rotom-S with Rotom-F, who solves quite a few of my problems including weakness to Golurk. My team really appreciates the Ice resistance, especially with Golem > Piloswine. Trick and Will-O-Wisp is handy for Sucker Punchers, and crippling walls like Alomomola and Amoonguss comes in handy when they're stalling me out of a Zangoose sweep. He doesn't really need any extra coverage anyway. He's the only thing I have for Sub Bulk Up Braviary but I can keep him alive usually, so that's okay.
Musharna (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Moonlight
- Heal Bell
- Psychic
- Baton Pass
Yes, I also admit to abusing this pokemon a rather large amount, but again, it's just amazing there's not much that can equal its level of pwnage. >:D Since I've been using a CM set ever since it came out really, I decided to try something different this time. Musharna is my bulky pivot, she can switch into a large number of attacks and not be OHKOd. This is more of a support set which provides synergy & heal bell support for the team. She's also a dead stop to Scarf Sawk, which Zangoose is very grateful for since he only knocks off about 40% from Sawk with toxic boost quick attack. Heal Bell may seem odd on a team focused around a sweeper being poisoned, but it's really useful for the other members. Plus I can just tank a hit and pull off a dry pass out back to Zanz, reactivating his orb.
Golem (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Sucker Punch
Edit: Byebye Piloswine, sad to see you go. However, I need something that can take a Flare Blitz from Emboar, which I didn't. He doesn't completely solve my Emboar weakness ( the only way to do that would be adding Alomomola, and i'm not doing that ) but at least now I can play around him with Musharna and Golem. Anyway, standard set really. Rock Blast & Earthquake cover most pokemon in the tier, and STAB on them makes him pretty dangerous. Sucker Punch is some last ditch priority. Leftovers is the preferred item because he's my main Bird check and needs to stay healthy.
Amoonguss (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 244 SDef / 12 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
I debated for a long time whether to have Amoonguss or Vileplume on this team... I do love my Vileplumes, but Amoonguss wins it this time just for having the awesome ability Regenerator. Seeing as this is another of my pivot pokemon, coming in, taking a hit, and then switching out and regaining most of the HP lost is just awesome. This is my check to most Water types, from Toxic spamming walls like Alomomola to big offensive threats like Ludicolo. Spore is an obvious choice on him, it doesn't matter whether you sleep fodder something or not, I'm double switching to Zanz to activate the Toxic Orb. I don't use Clear Smog because frankly it sucks and Amoonguss is helpless against most CMers in NU anyway. Synthesis is pretty reliable recovery and can help stalling out Rain turns from Ludicolo. ALSO IF YOU HATE AMOONGUSS & YOU WANT TO USE THIS TEAM YOU CAN USE VILEPLUME IN ITS PLACE :D
Edit: Sigh....................................... replaced Lefties for Black Sludge >_>
Skuntank (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Aftermath
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
- Pursuit
Ohmygod I love this poke. All my NU teams used to have trouble with Musharna... slap this bad boy on and you're ready to go. Skuntank is ESSENTIAL to my team - he traps and KOs basically every Ghost type barring Colbur Berry Golurk. The Sucker Punch & Pursuit combo checkmates the opposition - if I switch in safely they're probably not coming out alive.
Edit: Replaced Crunch with Poison Jab since I can just Taunt Musharna to make it not a threat any more. Poison Jab gives me a reliable counter to Absol and lets me not have to potentially sack something every time Emboar switches in on me.
Zangoose (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Toxic Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Facade
- Close Combat
- Night Slash
- Quick Attack
Oh yes. The one and only. The MVP. It's Zangoose. Want a late game cleaner, powerful wallbreaker, and fast sweeper all in one? Use him :3 Toxic Orb combined with his ability skyrockets his attack up to around 542. Combine that with a 210 base power ( after STAB ) Facade, and you have MINDBLOWING power. Bear in mind Zangoose would not be nearly as good if it weren't for the amount of team support I gave him. My 3 poke defensive core easily handle all Scarfers and priority users that make Zanz sad like Sawk, Gurdurr, Rotom, Absol and Braviary. Skuntank effortlessly dispatches Ghost types that wall my STAB, especially Timid Haunter who can evade Quick Attack, outspeed and KO me with Sludge Bomb. The fact that he has been suspected in NU in the past is a testament to how fantastic he is :p
Facade is my nuke, 2HKOing even the bulkiest of Alomomola after Stealth Rock. Close Combat is for dat high power, no drawbacks coverage against Rock and Steel types. If your Sturdy's gone, you're screwed. Night Slash nails ghosts. However, since Skuntank is such a foolproof check to them, I'm considering replacing it with Swords Dance; the loss of coverage would hurt, but it would allow me to sweep even easier, as with all my pivot moves I can come in on something I force out and set up on the switch. Quick Attack, finally, is one of Zanz's staples. It basically stops him being revenge killed, particularly in endgame when all of the opponent's pokemon have been taken down to around 30%, they're easy pickings.
Edit: Not giving up Night Slash, I can't ever find a chance to set up :D
Aaand that's the team. It has been extremely successful on the PO and PS ladders, reached around 1350 on PO which I consider quite an achievement, obviously with Vileplume in place of Amoonguss because it's UU there now :( hope you enjoyed the RMT. Please leave your suggestions bye :7