That may sound crazy, but I really wanted to create a Pokémon Team only using early game rodents. This is mostly a team for fun, but I came up with a few victories testing it on Showdown. Here we go:
HappyTail (Bibarel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Protect
- Toxic
The tanky lead of the team. He comes out first and does his job immediately. He's mostly defensive, and can actually take two hits before fainting from most non super effective moves. I only need one to set up Stealth Rock, which always comes handy since my team is not, er, a powerhouse in terms of offensive ability. After that, Bibarel tries to become some sort of staller: he can actually pull off the Protect-Toxic combo very well, and cripple the most defensive Mons. Waterfall is here for STAB, which also explains those 4 Evs in Atk. Unaware is here to prevent setuppers.
Kiwi (Raticate) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Swords Dance/Protect
One of the two sweepers of the team. Raticate is actually kinda fragile, but his respectable Atk stat is just enough to pull off the Guts strategy, thanks to his Flame Orb. This guy is no joke, reaching after the Guts boost a 700 plus Atk. He can also outspeed pretty much everything he faces with a Speed stat equal or inferior to 100. The Facade/Crunch/Zen Headbutt coverage pretty much covers all possible opponents. I'm uncertain about the fourth slot: Swords Dance boost is amazing and gives this guy a huge attack, but Protect guarantes the Guts strategy with one extra turn. Opinions?
PopTart (Furret) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Trick
- Return
- U-turn
- Brick Break
Talking about setuppers, this little weasel's main purpose is to prevent opponents taking advantage of my low stats. Furret's purpose is to annoy those guys thanks to Trick, a speciality he can pull of very well thanks to his respectable speed + scarf bonus + jolly nature and max speed investiment. Furret is also no friend of walls and stallers, and he usually enters the battefield when facing the likes of Ferrothorn and Celesteela. If nothing can be done, he quickly escapes the battle thanks to U-Turn; Return and Brick Break are also here for coverage.
Nook (Linoone) @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Stomping Tantrum
- Seed Bomb
Predictable but very effective, the second and ultimate sweeper. This guy is the absolute powerhouse of the team, and I'm sure this set needs no explanation. I gave him a Jolly nature, not an Adamant one, to exploit that 100 speed stat at its max potential. He usually enters the battlefield when facing a nasty staller, as he needs just one turn to pull of Belly Drum. While opponents surely expects that strategy when facing this guy, Nook is actually capable of taking down a few Pokemons before fainting himself.
KillerEars (Diggersby) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Quick Attack
- Return
The strongest Mon on my team, competitively-wise. He's a very important member of the team: in fact, he's the only one sporting a super effective STAB on Rock type, which, you know, may be a little problem to a mono-Normal type - and yes, Bibarel is here as well, but his role is different. However, he's kinda a glass cannon, due to his mediocre defenses, and needs a bit of support to work effectively. He mostly targets Mons already weakened by the rock or other Mons, and thus can work as a good wallbreaker. Thanks to Quick Attack, he can also revenge kill very well.
TheWall (Gumshoos) @ Choice Band
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- U-turn (?)
Slow and fragile, Gumshoos works pretty much like Diggersby, without the important extra STAB of the former. Surely he can work as a wallbreaker (but he's too slow to be a sweeper), but is usually subject to traitorous switches and faster Ghost and Fighting types. He's very situational but is very good using opponent's switches at his own advantage, thanks to his awesome ability that can dent huge damages on anything that doesn't resist his coverage. I'm uncertain about U-Turn, since he's very slow. Opinions?
HappyTail (Bibarel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Waterfall
- Protect
- Toxic
The tanky lead of the team. He comes out first and does his job immediately. He's mostly defensive, and can actually take two hits before fainting from most non super effective moves. I only need one to set up Stealth Rock, which always comes handy since my team is not, er, a powerhouse in terms of offensive ability. After that, Bibarel tries to become some sort of staller: he can actually pull off the Protect-Toxic combo very well, and cripple the most defensive Mons. Waterfall is here for STAB, which also explains those 4 Evs in Atk. Unaware is here to prevent setuppers.
Kiwi (Raticate) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Crunch
- Zen Headbutt
- Swords Dance/Protect
One of the two sweepers of the team. Raticate is actually kinda fragile, but his respectable Atk stat is just enough to pull off the Guts strategy, thanks to his Flame Orb. This guy is no joke, reaching after the Guts boost a 700 plus Atk. He can also outspeed pretty much everything he faces with a Speed stat equal or inferior to 100. The Facade/Crunch/Zen Headbutt coverage pretty much covers all possible opponents. I'm uncertain about the fourth slot: Swords Dance boost is amazing and gives this guy a huge attack, but Protect guarantes the Guts strategy with one extra turn. Opinions?
PopTart (Furret) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Trick
- Return
- U-turn
- Brick Break
Talking about setuppers, this little weasel's main purpose is to prevent opponents taking advantage of my low stats. Furret's purpose is to annoy those guys thanks to Trick, a speciality he can pull of very well thanks to his respectable speed + scarf bonus + jolly nature and max speed investiment. Furret is also no friend of walls and stallers, and he usually enters the battefield when facing the likes of Ferrothorn and Celesteela. If nothing can be done, he quickly escapes the battle thanks to U-Turn; Return and Brick Break are also here for coverage.
Nook (Linoone) @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Extreme Speed
- Stomping Tantrum
- Seed Bomb
Predictable but very effective, the second and ultimate sweeper. This guy is the absolute powerhouse of the team, and I'm sure this set needs no explanation. I gave him a Jolly nature, not an Adamant one, to exploit that 100 speed stat at its max potential. He usually enters the battlefield when facing a nasty staller, as he needs just one turn to pull of Belly Drum. While opponents surely expects that strategy when facing this guy, Nook is actually capable of taking down a few Pokemons before fainting himself.
KillerEars (Diggersby) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch
- Quick Attack
- Return
The strongest Mon on my team, competitively-wise. He's a very important member of the team: in fact, he's the only one sporting a super effective STAB on Rock type, which, you know, may be a little problem to a mono-Normal type - and yes, Bibarel is here as well, but his role is different. However, he's kinda a glass cannon, due to his mediocre defenses, and needs a bit of support to work effectively. He mostly targets Mons already weakened by the rock or other Mons, and thus can work as a good wallbreaker. Thanks to Quick Attack, he can also revenge kill very well.
TheWall (Gumshoos) @ Choice Band
Ability: Stakeout
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- U-turn (?)
Slow and fragile, Gumshoos works pretty much like Diggersby, without the important extra STAB of the former. Surely he can work as a wallbreaker (but he's too slow to be a sweeper), but is usually subject to traitorous switches and faster Ghost and Fighting types. He's very situational but is very good using opponent's switches at his own advantage, thanks to his awesome ability that can dent huge damages on anything that doesn't resist his coverage. I'm uncertain about U-Turn, since he's very slow. Opinions?