Abra
Shadow Ball doesn’t hit anything that the other moves don’t, so you should replace it with Protect. Protect is good because it allows you to dodge Trapinch’s First Impression and Mienfoo and Grookey’s Fake Out. It also lets chip damage build up (e.g. from sandstorm or status). Life Orb is an inferior choice to Focus Sash, as while the extra power is nice, Abra is just too frail to be using Life Orb with all the Sucker Punch and Knock Off users running around in the tier. Focus Sash allows it to live a hit from a boosted Pokemon like Dragon Dance Moxie Scraggy, then OHKO it before it 6-0s your team. Other than that, it’s a good set. Here’s a revised version:
Magician (Abra) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
Level: 5
EVs: 236 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect
- Energy Ball
Amaura
Aurora Veil is pretty great, but it’s not too viable a playstyle in LC at the moment. It’s just too easy to pick off Amaura with Mach Punch, Close Combat, Iron Head, etc., due to its many crippling weaknesses. Ice types aren’t in high demand in LC, so I’ll recommend you Vullaby. It has pretty much nothing in common with Amaura, but it’s the god of Gen 8 LC and one of the best Pokemon around, so why not have it? Your team is a little low on defense, so you can try this:
Vullaby (F) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Weak Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 Def / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Defog
Scorbunny
Interesting, but sadly not very good. Fire types are okay, but they’re prone to getting chipped down by the ever present combination of Knock Off and Stealth Rock, so you should use a better Pokemon. That Pokemon is Pawniard. It has Sucker Punch, like Scorbunny, but it also has a better defensive typing (except for the glaring Fighting weakness), better bulk, and access to great moves like Knock Off, Swords Dance, and Stealth Rock. Here’s Smogon’s set:
Pawniard @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 116 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Now, while Scorbunny isn’t the best Pokemon, it’s certainly still decent. You can still use that if you don’t find Pawniard working out for you, as it can catch some players by surprise.
Onix
Onix is pretty solid (haha get it), so good choice. I like the set, but if you’d like something a bit better suited to countering Vullaby, use Sturdy or Weak Armor, and Rock Blast instead of Head Smash. Weak Armor lets it get a speed boost, which helps it in outspeeding Vullaby. If the Vullaby is a Weak Armor variant, each hit of Rock Blast will do more damage than that one before it. However, Head Smash is still incredible for sheer power.
Goliath (Onix) (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Rock Head / Weak Armor
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 Atk / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Head Smash / Rock Blast
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Stealth Rock
Magnemite
You’d be better suited to a Grookey counter, seeing as it stomps over your team. I recommend Koffing for almost every LC team, as it’s a great check to the stupid little grass chimp. It’s also a reliable way to counter physical Fighting types like Mienfoo and Timburr (with Will-O-Wisp), Spritzee, and it’s able to deal a great chunk to Eviolite Foongus (with Fire Blast). Here’s the set I use on my own teams:
Koffing @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 76 Def / 196 SpA / 236 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Blast
- Clear Smog
You could also use Thunderbolt in place of Clear Smog if you want a better way to hit Mareanie. I find Clear Smog extremely helpful against setup sweepers, but use whichever works better.
Machop
Completely and totally outclassed by the two greatest Fighting types in the tier: Mienfoo and Timburr. Both have superior move choices, and while Dynamic Punch No Guard Machop may be funny, you’ll find it works so much worse than Regenerator U-turn HJK Mienfoo or Iron Fist Timburr. Here’s the sets I use for both:
Mienfoo @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Fake Out
Timburr @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 5
EVs: 76 HP / 196 Atk / 236 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Thunder Punch
Apologies for changing so much of your team, but I hope my improvements will help. Be sure to play around with many different options so you find out what you work best with, and good luck playing LC!
Pokepaste (Mienfoo, not Timburr)
