After having quit mons for all of winter and going into some sort of a hibernation, I'm back here making some new stuff to showcase. I came up with this team when I was watching a Blunder video I think, where some dude in Gen 6 used both Landorus I and Thundurus I against Pokeaim in a tourney. Basically, I saw that they were both flying types, and thought to myself, "could this work in Monotype?" Well, after many hours of testing on the ladder, I think I came up with some sort of a team that has enough wins to validate its existence. It's not the most creative team I've ever made, and I'm like 90% sure that four of these mons were taken from the Smogon sample sets, but it's the team composition that counts. As per usual, feedback is always appreciated, but I would appreciate it if all suggestions kept the Landorus - Thundurus core, since that's the point of the team. Of course, modifications to the sets are always welcome, and I'll even consider changes that change the form of Thundurus and Landorus (that borders into the territory of being TOO standard, though, so if you change the forms of one of those mons, you better have some big heat that you wanna put somewhere else on the team).
The Team
Thundurus @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Fly
Thundurus acts as one of the offensive threats on this team. It carries the Z-move in the form of Z-fly, which is well known on other sets such as Landorus-T and Tornadus-T in OU. I decided to make this set because I couldn't reasonably figure out another set that this mon could run. Sure, I could modify its set a little, such as running Fightinium-Z instead, but overall the set would most likely remain offensive. I run a mixed set only to carry some form of electric coverage, since to my knowledge, Thunderbolt is the only decent electric move that Thundurus carries. Wild Charge didn't seem like a wonderful option considering how weak this mon is to rocks and its lack of recovery. Knock Off and Superpower exist as coverage moves, with Superpower being useful in the steel and rock matchups. Finally, Z-Fly just gives me a solid stab move to click, which can take out a lot of mons that take the move neutrally. The Defiant ability does not grant a lot of extra power, considering the most common Intimidater in the meta is scarf Landorus-T which would OHKO Thundurus with a Stone Edge, but it can help in niche situations.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Stealth Rock
Landorus is a little easier to make work in a monoflying team, since it is already an established threat. It serves as my rocks setter and as a powerful special attacker. I won't ramble on for long since it is well known what this mon does. The three attacks on this set have decent coverage, and even neutral hits pack a lot of power thanks to the combination of Life Orb and Sheer Force. My only concern would be whether I want to replace one of these moves with Rock Slide to beat flying teams harder, but I have found that largely unnecessary, since my Zapdos and Thundurus can put that matchup in my favor.
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze
We all hate Mantine. We all hate how it soaks up all non-electric special attacks. Whenever I play my mono-fire teams against mono-water, I always get frustrated by how Solar Beam continuously gets eaten up by this stupid manta ray. And on monoflying, this mon continues to kill teams on the ladder like it did to Steve Irwin (RIP). It can comfortably come in on Zard-Y WITH rocks up, and it is one of the two defoggers on this team. Haze allows me to not get swept by anything on the special side, and Scald can let me fish for burns or slowly chip down opposing Pokemon. All in all, this mon is a bitch to play against, and I have no idea why PETA would even try to defend this abomination in the monotype metagame.
(Link for context: )
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
Skarmory makes up the physical side of the defensive core of this team, with its notoriously high physical tanking abilities. I'm gonna be completely honest, this set is straight from the sample sets, since I just needed a good defensive wall to ground the rest of the heat. It has recovery, hazard removal, and Whirlwind to remove setup sweepers or, in rare cases, rack up hazards damage against certain opponents. Iron Head lets me threaten Tapu Bulu while simutaneously making it question its existence, and Sturdy lets me use Skarm to Whirlwind away fully set up threats in certain situations, provided hazards are not up.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Toxic
- Substitute
This set of Zapdos may indeed be the most broken set in Sun and Moon Monotype. I kid you not, there are many entire types that cannot destroy this set. Take, for example, a standard Monosteel team. Only Scarf Excadrill outspeeds this Zapdos set, and it can only really damage it with Rock Slide. Now, Excadrill can only hit this thing with Rock Slide 8 times due to Pressure, so by continuously subbing up or switching to Skarm every once in a while, I can pp stall Excadrill and eventually set up a situation where they cannot touch me. Discharge lets me chip a few threats down while I do my usual substitute BS, and Toxic can invalidate certain teams without a resist. It also has enough bulk to be useful in the Monoelectric matchup, where if I play it right, I can get a Toxic on a crucial target, and bring it down to revenge-killing range with Thundurus or Scarf Dragonite (you didn't misread that, it is in fact my last set). All in all, Zapdos is killing the game, and we need to ban it before the situation gets worse. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk /s
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
I bet you got bored of looking at standard sets, didn't you? Well, to those who are, here's my present to you. Merry Birthday. Scarf Dragonite serves as the speed control for this team. Without this thing, I would auto-lose to Monodragon, Monoelectric, Mono-anything that Zapdos doesn't 6-0. Scarf Outrage still packs a lot of power without any damage boosting items or moves, and it can pull an OHKO against most dragon types. Earthquake can also kill most Electric types barring Rotom and Zapdos, both of which get pounded by the aforementioned move. E-speed lets me finish off anything that's faster than me provided they're already weakened, and Fire Punch is there to look pretty, I guess. Honestly, I thought I would need Fire coverage for Ferrothorn or something, but A. Fire Punch doesn't do enough anyway, and B. Landorus spits in Ferrothorn's face already. I can't really ever find myself in a situation where I need a different move, though, so I don't know what to put there. I HAVE, however, found myself in plenty of situations where I would have preferred Banded Dragonite, but honestly the pros of this set outweigh the cons. At the very least, with this current incarnation of this team, Scarf Dragonite is like the glue that keeps me from just losing certain matchups.
I realized after I started writing Dragonite that most of this team is standard and it sucks, but I hope it was just heat enough that some of you can appreciate it. Next time, I'll make sure that the team I post makes zero sense and still somehow holds a sense of cohesion.
Here's some replays so you can seehow fire I am at this game how this team plays.
The Team
Thundurus @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Fly
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Stealth Rock
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Toxic
- Substitute
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Fly
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Stealth Rock
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Toxic
- Substitute
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
Thundurus @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Fly
Thundurus acts as one of the offensive threats on this team. It carries the Z-move in the form of Z-fly, which is well known on other sets such as Landorus-T and Tornadus-T in OU. I decided to make this set because I couldn't reasonably figure out another set that this mon could run. Sure, I could modify its set a little, such as running Fightinium-Z instead, but overall the set would most likely remain offensive. I run a mixed set only to carry some form of electric coverage, since to my knowledge, Thunderbolt is the only decent electric move that Thundurus carries. Wild Charge didn't seem like a wonderful option considering how weak this mon is to rocks and its lack of recovery. Knock Off and Superpower exist as coverage moves, with Superpower being useful in the steel and rock matchups. Finally, Z-Fly just gives me a solid stab move to click, which can take out a lot of mons that take the move neutrally. The Defiant ability does not grant a lot of extra power, considering the most common Intimidater in the meta is scarf Landorus-T which would OHKO Thundurus with a Stone Edge, but it can help in niche situations.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Stealth Rock
Landorus is a little easier to make work in a monoflying team, since it is already an established threat. It serves as my rocks setter and as a powerful special attacker. I won't ramble on for long since it is well known what this mon does. The three attacks on this set have decent coverage, and even neutral hits pack a lot of power thanks to the combination of Life Orb and Sheer Force. My only concern would be whether I want to replace one of these moves with Rock Slide to beat flying teams harder, but I have found that largely unnecessary, since my Zapdos and Thundurus can put that matchup in my favor.
Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze
We all hate Mantine. We all hate how it soaks up all non-electric special attacks. Whenever I play my mono-fire teams against mono-water, I always get frustrated by how Solar Beam continuously gets eaten up by this stupid manta ray. And on monoflying, this mon continues to kill teams on the ladder like it did to Steve Irwin (RIP). It can comfortably come in on Zard-Y WITH rocks up, and it is one of the two defoggers on this team. Haze allows me to not get swept by anything on the special side, and Scald can let me fish for burns or slowly chip down opposing Pokemon. All in all, this mon is a bitch to play against, and I have no idea why PETA would even try to defend this abomination in the monotype metagame.
(Link for context: )
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 Spe
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Defog
Skarmory makes up the physical side of the defensive core of this team, with its notoriously high physical tanking abilities. I'm gonna be completely honest, this set is straight from the sample sets, since I just needed a good defensive wall to ground the rest of the heat. It has recovery, hazard removal, and Whirlwind to remove setup sweepers or, in rare cases, rack up hazards damage against certain opponents. Iron Head lets me threaten Tapu Bulu while simutaneously making it question its existence, and Sturdy lets me use Skarm to Whirlwind away fully set up threats in certain situations, provided hazards are not up.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 136 SpD / 120 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Discharge
- Roost
- Toxic
- Substitute
This set of Zapdos may indeed be the most broken set in Sun and Moon Monotype. I kid you not, there are many entire types that cannot destroy this set. Take, for example, a standard Monosteel team. Only Scarf Excadrill outspeeds this Zapdos set, and it can only really damage it with Rock Slide. Now, Excadrill can only hit this thing with Rock Slide 8 times due to Pressure, so by continuously subbing up or switching to Skarm every once in a while, I can pp stall Excadrill and eventually set up a situation where they cannot touch me. Discharge lets me chip a few threats down while I do my usual substitute BS, and Toxic can invalidate certain teams without a resist. It also has enough bulk to be useful in the Monoelectric matchup, where if I play it right, I can get a Toxic on a crucial target, and bring it down to revenge-killing range with Thundurus or Scarf Dragonite (you didn't misread that, it is in fact my last set). All in all, Zapdos is killing the game, and we need to ban it before the situation gets worse. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk /s
Dragonite @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Extreme Speed
- Fire Punch
- Earthquake
I bet you got bored of looking at standard sets, didn't you? Well, to those who are, here's my present to you. Merry Birthday. Scarf Dragonite serves as the speed control for this team. Without this thing, I would auto-lose to Monodragon, Monoelectric, Mono-anything that Zapdos doesn't 6-0. Scarf Outrage still packs a lot of power without any damage boosting items or moves, and it can pull an OHKO against most dragon types. Earthquake can also kill most Electric types barring Rotom and Zapdos, both of which get pounded by the aforementioned move. E-speed lets me finish off anything that's faster than me provided they're already weakened, and Fire Punch is there to look pretty, I guess. Honestly, I thought I would need Fire coverage for Ferrothorn or something, but A. Fire Punch doesn't do enough anyway, and B. Landorus spits in Ferrothorn's face already. I can't really ever find myself in a situation where I need a different move, though, so I don't know what to put there. I HAVE, however, found myself in plenty of situations where I would have preferred Banded Dragonite, but honestly the pros of this set outweigh the cons. At the very least, with this current incarnation of this team, Scarf Dragonite is like the glue that keeps me from just losing certain matchups.
I realized after I started writing Dragonite that most of this team is standard and it sucks, but I hope it was just heat enough that some of you can appreciate it. Next time, I'll make sure that the team I post makes zero sense and still somehow holds a sense of cohesion.
Here's some replays so you can see