Hey guys, with drops eventually happening and UU probably going back into chaos, I decided to share one of my more fun teams. I actually stole the idea of running Spikes Glalie from the viability rankings, so full credits to them. It's easily been my favourite team to use lately, because games are usually short and explosive (pun intended). Glalie didn't really get a lot of recognition this gen and I'm hoping this RMT will encourage a few of you to give it a shot.
Teambuilding
After reading through the VR post above, I decided to give Azelf+Glalie a go. Glalie pressures most defoggers decently well and can explode to ensure Azelf's rocks are here to stay.
Entering: The most dangerous set up sweeper in the tier. Scizor really appreciates the hazard support the first two members provide (especially spikes) and is the wincondition in a lot of games.
At this point I really needed something to take care of mons like Manectric, Infernape etc. Lati has great synergy with scizor overall and provides the team with speed control.
Ironically opposing sd Scizor are a huge threat to this team so far, so I wanted some sort of counter-measure to it. More importantly though, Cobalion shares a lot of checks with Scizor (Tentacruel, Mantine, Doublade etc.) and can abuse the hazard support to clean up games.
Initially I ran Mamoswine in this slot to stop opposing electric types from volting on me and trapping my Lati for free, but after playing around with that version for a bit I settled on Azumarill in the end. Azu provides a solid breaker that can also somewhat take care of Infernape which is a huge threat to the rest of the team.
~~
In detail
Glalie-Mega @ Glalitite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Explosion
- Spikes
- Double-Edge
This is a fun Pokemon that gets under-utilised this gen. After reading through the post linked above, I honestly wasn't convinced that Glalie would really provide a lot to a team. Awful typing, a Stealth Rock weakness and using up your mega slot on top of it, doesn't sound very appealing at first. Surprisingly though, Glalie actually is threatening to a lot of teams and can usually fire off hits/spikes vs mons like Gliscor, Altaria, Wash etc. Admittedly you'll have to double to get it in a lot of the time, because it doesn't take hits well, but you'll usually find at least one opportunity to do so. Double explosion usually make sure your hazards stay up and on top of it Glalie is a threat to many common defoggers like Gliscor, Rotom-W (the rest of the team really enjoys these two weakened, so your opponent will usually attempt to save them on top of that). The EV spread ensures Freezy Dry 2HKOes Alomomola after Rocks, which leads to Glalie being quite a threat for Stall (Shoutouts Amane Misa for suggesting the spread). You could make an argument for Ice Shard on this specific team, because Sceptile and Serp are really obnoxious to deal with, but I usually prefer having a reliable stab.
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
- Explosion
Standard lead Azelf, nothing fancy here. Azelf sits in a nigh-unmatched speed tier, which means it will usually set up hazards without getting taunted. Sash ensures you'll be able to set up Stealth Rock and Explosion usually prevents the opponent from removing them. With a pretty decent 125 attack it also dishes out a lot of damage and can help soften up steel types for Scizor and Cobalion. I opted for taunt over another coverage option like Ice Punch because this team has no forms of hazard removal whatsoever and Sticky Web can be quite annoying to deal with, even though it isn't very common these days. Flamethrower is here to further threaten steel types. Together with Glalie these two mons provide a decent hazard core that sets the stage for the rest of the team.
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
This mon does't really need an introduction, we all know what it's capable of. If this monster manages to Swords Dance up, the game is usually over very fast. I'm running the Quick Attack set that sparrow popularised quite some time ago on this team, because it allows me to chip away on opposing Rotom-W, Infernape and Mega Manectric which would otherwise be impossible for this team to deal with. You could argue that superpower is the superior option here in order to hit cobalion, but because this team features Spikes Glalie you usually get away with running Knock Off (Also helps versus Chandelure). Scizor really appreciates Mega Glalie around, because it can severely weaken Rotom or Alo with Freeze Dry aswell.
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Trick
- Ice Beam
Since we are trying to actually win games, it's time to stack all the S rank mons now. Seriously though, Latias has several important roles on this team. First and foremost, it provides the team with some form of counterplay to opposing electrics and scarfers. Mega Mane still is a significant threat, because it is usally paired with pursuit support (read: Alolan Muk) so you have to be careful around it and try to weaken it to the point were scizor can pick it up with Quick Attack. Without damage boosting items Lati hits like a wet noodle, so having hazards around can really help with KOing opposing mons or even clean up games some of the time. I'm running Ice Beam over something like Healing Wish because gliscor is somewhat annoying to deal with and Ice Beam helps versus more offensively inclined teams.
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
The next addition to the team is Cobalion. The doge has great offensive synergy with scizor, so they usually end up weakening each others checks to the point were one of them can eventually break through and win the game. I've been tempted to run Steelium Z on this for quite some time now, but Gliscor/opposing Latis can be dealt with if you play well, plus having an additional nuke versus bulkier mons is overall the better alternative seeing how common stall is at the moment. Most of it's checks like Tentacruel, Doublade and bulky waters are grounded, so Spike Support makes it's job a lot easier. Cobalion also is this team's main way of stopping Sharpedo and Scizor who could otherwise be problematic to deal with. On top of that, it appreciates Latias baiting Dark type attacks to boost and eventually clean up.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
After toying around with this slot for quite some time, I finally decided to settle on Azumarill. Azu honestly is a nightmare to switch into and most of the mons that can take a hit like Alo or Mantine get 2HKOed after Hazards. Between Azumarill and Glalie the opposing team usually has a lot of trouble to stop one of my two setup mons from cleaning up the game. On top of that it sports a nice defensive typing which allows it to switch into Pokemon like Hydreigon or Infernape fairly reliable. Priority Aqua Jet also threatens Infernape or Chandelure and can chip away at Mega Mane/pick up weakened mons if necessary. I run enough speed for uninvested Mantine.
~~
Threatlist
[*]Mega Manectric (+ Muk): Can be very problematic to deal with if they manage to pursuit your Lati, try and avoid getting trapped and pick it off with QA.
[*]Mega Sceptile: Comes in on half my team and I don't really have great switchins. Latias and Cobalion can usually take one hit, still really difficult to deal with.
[*]Infernape: Nape is a really big threat to the team, you usally have to chip it with hazards to put it in range of Quick Attack or hope they'll let you pick it off with Lati.
[*]Rotom-Wash: Similar to Mega Mane, Wisp Wash is really obnoxious to deal with. Glalie and azu can usually chip it enough for sciz, still annoying to deal with.
[*]Serperior (+Muk): Once again the team relies a lot on Lati to deal with this mon, it's usually managable between priority and Lati though.
[*]Chandelure: Ghost resists lul. Threaten with azu or hope you'll catch it with Knock Off.
~~
Teambuilding
After reading through the VR post above, I decided to give Azelf+Glalie a go. Glalie pressures most defoggers decently well and can explode to ensure Azelf's rocks are here to stay.
Entering: The most dangerous set up sweeper in the tier. Scizor really appreciates the hazard support the first two members provide (especially spikes) and is the wincondition in a lot of games.
At this point I really needed something to take care of mons like Manectric, Infernape etc. Lati has great synergy with scizor overall and provides the team with speed control.
Ironically opposing sd Scizor are a huge threat to this team so far, so I wanted some sort of counter-measure to it. More importantly though, Cobalion shares a lot of checks with Scizor (Tentacruel, Mantine, Doublade etc.) and can abuse the hazard support to clean up games.
Initially I ran Mamoswine in this slot to stop opposing electric types from volting on me and trapping my Lati for free, but after playing around with that version for a bit I settled on Azumarill in the end. Azu provides a solid breaker that can also somewhat take care of Infernape which is a huge threat to the rest of the team.
~~
In detail
Glalie-Mega @ Glalitite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Explosion
- Spikes
- Double-Edge
This is a fun Pokemon that gets under-utilised this gen. After reading through the post linked above, I honestly wasn't convinced that Glalie would really provide a lot to a team. Awful typing, a Stealth Rock weakness and using up your mega slot on top of it, doesn't sound very appealing at first. Surprisingly though, Glalie actually is threatening to a lot of teams and can usually fire off hits/spikes vs mons like Gliscor, Altaria, Wash etc. Admittedly you'll have to double to get it in a lot of the time, because it doesn't take hits well, but you'll usually find at least one opportunity to do so. Double explosion usually make sure your hazards stay up and on top of it Glalie is a threat to many common defoggers like Gliscor, Rotom-W (the rest of the team really enjoys these two weakened, so your opponent will usually attempt to save them on top of that). The EV spread ensures Freezy Dry 2HKOes Alomomola after Rocks, which leads to Glalie being quite a threat for Stall (Shoutouts Amane Misa for suggesting the spread). You could make an argument for Ice Shard on this specific team, because Sceptile and Serp are really obnoxious to deal with, but I usually prefer having a reliable stab.
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
- Explosion
Standard lead Azelf, nothing fancy here. Azelf sits in a nigh-unmatched speed tier, which means it will usually set up hazards without getting taunted. Sash ensures you'll be able to set up Stealth Rock and Explosion usually prevents the opponent from removing them. With a pretty decent 125 attack it also dishes out a lot of damage and can help soften up steel types for Scizor and Cobalion. I opted for taunt over another coverage option like Ice Punch because this team has no forms of hazard removal whatsoever and Sticky Web can be quite annoying to deal with, even though it isn't very common these days. Flamethrower is here to further threaten steel types. Together with Glalie these two mons provide a decent hazard core that sets the stage for the rest of the team.
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
This mon does't really need an introduction, we all know what it's capable of. If this monster manages to Swords Dance up, the game is usually over very fast. I'm running the Quick Attack set that sparrow popularised quite some time ago on this team, because it allows me to chip away on opposing Rotom-W, Infernape and Mega Manectric which would otherwise be impossible for this team to deal with. You could argue that superpower is the superior option here in order to hit cobalion, but because this team features Spikes Glalie you usually get away with running Knock Off (Also helps versus Chandelure). Scizor really appreciates Mega Glalie around, because it can severely weaken Rotom or Alo with Freeze Dry aswell.
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Trick
- Ice Beam
Since we are trying to actually win games, it's time to stack all the S rank mons now. Seriously though, Latias has several important roles on this team. First and foremost, it provides the team with some form of counterplay to opposing electrics and scarfers. Mega Mane still is a significant threat, because it is usally paired with pursuit support (read: Alolan Muk) so you have to be careful around it and try to weaken it to the point were scizor can pick it up with Quick Attack. Without damage boosting items Lati hits like a wet noodle, so having hazards around can really help with KOing opposing mons or even clean up games some of the time. I'm running Ice Beam over something like Healing Wish because gliscor is somewhat annoying to deal with and Ice Beam helps versus more offensively inclined teams.
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
The next addition to the team is Cobalion. The doge has great offensive synergy with scizor, so they usually end up weakening each others checks to the point were one of them can eventually break through and win the game. I've been tempted to run Steelium Z on this for quite some time now, but Gliscor/opposing Latis can be dealt with if you play well, plus having an additional nuke versus bulkier mons is overall the better alternative seeing how common stall is at the moment. Most of it's checks like Tentacruel, Doublade and bulky waters are grounded, so Spike Support makes it's job a lot easier. Cobalion also is this team's main way of stopping Sharpedo and Scizor who could otherwise be problematic to deal with. On top of that, it appreciates Latias baiting Dark type attacks to boost and eventually clean up.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
After toying around with this slot for quite some time, I finally decided to settle on Azumarill. Azu honestly is a nightmare to switch into and most of the mons that can take a hit like Alo or Mantine get 2HKOed after Hazards. Between Azumarill and Glalie the opposing team usually has a lot of trouble to stop one of my two setup mons from cleaning up the game. On top of that it sports a nice defensive typing which allows it to switch into Pokemon like Hydreigon or Infernape fairly reliable. Priority Aqua Jet also threatens Infernape or Chandelure and can chip away at Mega Mane/pick up weakened mons if necessary. I run enough speed for uninvested Mantine.
~~
Threatlist
[*]Mega Manectric (+ Muk): Can be very problematic to deal with if they manage to pursuit your Lati, try and avoid getting trapped and pick it off with QA.
[*]Mega Sceptile: Comes in on half my team and I don't really have great switchins. Latias and Cobalion can usually take one hit, still really difficult to deal with.
[*]Infernape: Nape is a really big threat to the team, you usally have to chip it with hazards to put it in range of Quick Attack or hope they'll let you pick it off with Lati.
[*]Rotom-Wash: Similar to Mega Mane, Wisp Wash is really obnoxious to deal with. Glalie and azu can usually chip it enough for sciz, still annoying to deal with.
[*]Serperior (+Muk): Once again the team relies a lot on Lati to deal with this mon, it's usually managable between priority and Lati though.
[*]Chandelure: Ghost resists lul. Threaten with azu or hope you'll catch it with Knock Off.
Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
- Explosion
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Trick
- Ice Beam
Glalie-Mega @ Glalitite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Explosion
- Spikes
- Double-Edge
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
Cobalion @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Quick Attack
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Flamethrower
- Taunt
- Explosion
Latias @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Trick
- Ice Beam
Glalie-Mega @ Glalitite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 208 Atk / 48 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Freeze-Dry
- Explosion
- Spikes
- Double-Edge
I hope you guys will enjoy this team as much as I did and thanks for reading n_n (I shamelessly stole Cynde format, so might aswell give them credit).