Please note that this team is no longer usable in LC following the Murkrow ban.
Dwebble (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- X-Scissor
- Rock Blast
- Shell Smash
- Earthquake
Yeah, so this is my Dwebble. Now then, seeing as it is in the lead position, my opponent will not know whether I am running an Entry Hazard Dwebble or the Shell Smasher Dwebble. Also, plenty of opponent's lead off with Stealth Rock (sometimes one of the Spikes varieties.) This gives me time to set up a Shell Smash and then sweep my opponent right from the start. I've never been satisfied with having a Pokemon who only sets up entry hazards and uses Rapid Spin and then is useless for the rest of the battle. I prefer offensive leads. Dwebble makes a great Shell Smasher because it has surprisingly good speed (it can outspeed a Shellder) and Sturdy. X-Scissor is STAB. I used to have Bug Bite to get some Oran Berries but I found that not enough people were using them. I also couldn't do enough damage with Bug Bite, so I switched to X-Scissor. Rock Blast is also STAB. It can hit through Subs and Sturdy and most of the time does more damage than Rock Slide. It is more accurate than Stone Edge also. Earthquake is type coverage. Lum Berry has been so helpful. It protects me from paralysis, which is the bane of most sweepers. Heals off Sleep, which helps against Shroomish and Bronzor (as well as any other Pokemon using Sleep inducing moves). Heals burn, which is the bane of physical sweepers. Heals off Toxic, which makes me easier to KO. And it heals the odd freeze. EVs give me max sweeping capabilities, while still having enough left for a point in HP.
Murkrow (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 100 Def / 20 SpD / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
Originally added to the team to take down a certain Choice Scarfing Doduo, it later became a major player and a savior against all sorts of threats. Prankster allows it to outspeed the foe with priority status. The main purpose of this was with Thunder Wave, to slow down any Shell Smashers, Dragon Dancers, and Choice Scarfers. This allowed the rest of my team to be able to take them down. It proved to be the most important move for me in the tourney, even more so than Shell Smash. Taunt also gets that priority. This mainly came in handy to stop Subs from being put up. It blocked other status moves as well though. Brave Bird is high powered STAB. Even with a neutral hit it took out about 85% of the HP for non-walls. Sucker Punch is STAB with priority added in. Priority is incredibly useful in LC. EVs give Murkrow max Attack and some decent speed, enough to hit first when I need to with Brave Bird against most foes I would need to hit ASAP. The EVs along with the Eviolite also give Murkrow nice bulk.
Houndour (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 116 Atk / 200 SpA / 160 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Flame Charge
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Flash Fire is the main point of this gal (always mix up my genders so as to not be screwed completely by Attract.) Usually when I switch in I switch in against a Choiced foe. Knowing they will switch out I use Flame Charge. It hits with STAB and a Flash Fire boost against the new Pokemon and gives me a Speed boost. This worked several times in the tourney and I could often get Houndour to a +2 Speed. Fire Blast is also STAB, just if I want to hit harder. Sucker Punch is STAB priority, and I can never have too much priority. HP Fighting is type coverage. EVs make it a solid mixed sweeper, with some help from Flash Fire and Life Orb. I know a Hasty Nature makes me a bigger target for priority, but Mach Punch and Aqua Jet take me down anyways. As for the others, well I just care more about switching in on NVE Special hits.
Gastly (M) @ Oran Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 36 HP / 40 Def / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
Everybody needs a Ghost type. And it also has Levitate, so that is three immunities. Gastly hits pretty hard. Not hard enough to OHKO on a neutral hit, but hard enough to 2HKO. Seeing as I can easily get a Sub up, this is fine with me. Gastly also completely takes down Shroomish. I can sub up to protect from Spore and then resist Seed Bomb and am immune to Drain Punch. Shadow Ball is STAB. HP Fighting and Thunderbolt are coverage. Oran Berry is for healing and is useful along with the sub. EVs give me max offense as well as a tiny bit of bulk.
Diglett (M) @ Ground Gem
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Memento
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Rock Slide
The only member of my LC team to make it through all the cuts to this final team. It might not be the most powerful, but it sure is fast. It pretty much outspeeds all non-boosted Pokemon. And even with only 15 Attack, a STAB Earthquake is a STAB Earthquake. It will always do solid damage. Especially with Earth Gem. I used to use the standard Focus Sash for the whole "survive at 1HP and then Memento the next turn." But then all my opponent's had Stealth Rock, making it useless. The point of Earth Gem is to have Diglett take down the foe with a neutral hit. Sucker Punch is priority, something which saved me over and over again. Rock Slide is coverage. Memento is for when it is better to weaken the foe than to do damage to them. Arena Trap stops my opponent from switching out. This is helpful against Electric types among other Pokemon. EVs give me max offense and a point in HP.
Shellder (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 116 HP / 76 Atk / 116 Def / 196 Spe
Naive Nature
- Rock Blast
- Icicle Spear
- Surf
- Shell Smash
I don't think many people expect to see a second Shell Smasher. Shellder is there to finish what Dwebble started. Rock Blast and Icicle Spear hit hard thanks to Skill Link, breaking through Subs and Sturdy. Surf I had in there because I didn't like the 95% accuracy of Razor Shell. Shell Smash gives me a Special Attack boost, so I though "why not?" It ended up being a life-saver. Will-o-wisp is a common move to take out Physical sweepers. Thanks to Surf, I could survive it and hit back just as hard as ever. I use an Eviolite instead of the standard Focus Sash for the same reason I don't use a Focus Sash on Diglett. Eviolite pretty much cancels out the defensive stat drops of Shell Smash, meaning I have 18 Defense to survive priority with. EVs give me max speed, some offense, and some defense. I hit hard enough with 28 Attack and 22 Special Attack, so why not be able to take priority?
