ORAS NU Primal (A Let-Out Of Thoughts)

[Cheryl.]

Primal

Welcome to my newest NU RMT, my Smogonite buddies! It's me BrandonBeast here, showcasing a really cool team that I used to NOT get reqs in the Sceptile suspect test, and it's still relevant in the current meta as well. Basically, it's about going primal and hitting everything in sight for big damage, overloading their checks and counters and pulling through in the end. See, you might think if I was using this team to get reqs, then why didn't I get reqs? Well, that will come into play later on in this RMT, because I gotta say, the Sceptile suspect really opened some things up to me, let me learn some things about myself, and was just brutal as well. But alas, let me start this RMT!
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Teambuilding Process

I started off by building with Chatot, a mon that I wanted to use so I could see what advantages it had over the faster Swellow. Well, it has advantages, like being a lot stronger, making for more wallbreaking potential. Sadly, it is frail as fuck, so it needs some sort of backbone so it can take hits.

I added Lanturn because it helps with a lot of Chatot's weaknesses, such as it's weakness to Electric, and adds TWave support to help Chatot against more offensive builds. Also a slow Volt Switch to bring Chatot in safely is good as well.

This is where I got the NormalSpam idea of the build from. First, I added Garbodor for a Fighting check and Spikes and TSpikes support, and then I decided to add Kangaskhan because Chatot could weaken it's checks and counters, and KangaSpikes is nice as well.

I added Steelix to add another check to Fairy-types, a check to Normal-types and a good physically defensive Pokemon in general, as well as Stealth Rock. Swellow completed the squad by adding a last NormalSpam member as the team was super slow at that point, and Swellow made for a good cleaner late-game because Chatot and Kangaskhan weakened almost all of Swellow's checks and counters.

The Squad:

Ban This Garbage (Chatot) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Grass]

This is the team member I built the team around, Chatot. Chatot was an interesting choice to me, as it seemed a bit outclassed by Swellow, who was faster, making it better against offense squads. But Chatot has some notable advantages over Swellow, mainly a big increase in power, and it still has a decent 91 Base Speed to outspeed some things like Samurott. Chatot is a very powerful wallbreaker, as it's Boomburst can 2HKO walls that could wall Swellow easily like Lanturn, and it does about 40-45% to Steelix, so it can't switch in repeatedly. The rest of the moveset you aren't really ever gonna use, but Heat Wave is nice at times to roast Steelix and Grass-type switchins. (Wait did I say switchin to Chatot? lol) U-Turn can be nice to pivot out of a bad situation, and HP Grass is so Rhydon can't set up on Chatot, but most of the time Boomburst spam gets the job done. While Chatot does have some disadvanatages, like zero bulk whatsoever (I think he took like 90 from a LO Overgrow Giga Drain from Sceptile once on the ladder), and a meh speed tier versus offense, but with his insane power, Chatot carves a niche for itself in NU as a powerful wallbreaker, and I'm glad to have it on the team! (Also it's broken plz ban this garbage)

Guide the Light (Lanturn) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

Lanturn is a good partner for Chatot, helping with his Electric weakness, giving Thunder Wave support to help with his speed tier, and a slow Volt Switch to pivot him in. I use a bit of a weird EV spread with Lanturn, because I personally hate the defensive variant as it hits like a wet paper towel, and offensive Lanturn still checks what it wants to, just a bit less effectively. Shuca Berry is sort of necessary to live an Earthquake from shit like Piloswine or Steelix which could threaten this build. Heal Bell's on here mostly because I don't like Will-O-Wisps from Rotom, although Lanturn is sort of pressured enough anyways to check Fire-types and shit so it won't use it all the time. Overall, Lanturn is a really nice glue mon on this build and has really important roles in the build.

MY HEART (Garbodor) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast
- Toxic Spikes

Garbodor serves an important role on the team by checking Fighting types like Hariyama and wearing them down via Rocky Helmet or Aftermath, and also stacks both types of Spikes and can also spread status with Gunk Shot. I like to use Focus Blast over Drain Punch so I can do over 15% to Steelix, which is important to wear him down. The Spikes support is really nice, as a lot of Normal resists are grounded, making them weaker to Spikes, and Toxic Spikes are important in the fight against stall (Which is becoming more popular, urghh). Overall, Garbodor serves an important role in this build, and I'm glad to have him on here!

oo faceclamp (Kangaskhan) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake

Don't ask me where the nickname came from, because I don't know either lol. Either way, Kangaskhan makes up part of my NormalSpam core by adding a powerful wallbreaker, and a sort of speed control as well with his double priority, which is useful in the matchup against Rain and such, and is awesome to revenge kill frail shit as well. Double-Edge hits insanely hard and breaks down most non-Normal resistant walls so the other teammates can take advantage. I guess in this meta you could use Tauros over this for the higher speed, but I feel Kanga is necessary for the double priority and a way to hit Ghosts. Overall Kangaskhan is a really awesome member of the team and I'm glad to have him on here!

Solid Snake (Steelix) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Atk / 128 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Steelix makes for the last member of my defensive backbone core by adding Stealth Rocks, a Fairy check, a Normal and Rock check, and just a great physical wall. I decided to go with the standard Steelix set as it's just really good and Toxic is awesome to fuck Rotom and beat Musharna. This thing's physical defense is so good, it's happened to help me beat Kabutops Rain teams before thanks to Sturdy or outside of Rain where it can take a Waterfall. There's not really much to say about Steelix, I think everyone knows what it does, so yeah. Steelix is a great member of the team, and I'm glad to have it on here!

Super Fast Birdo (Swellow) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Tailwind

Swellow makes up the last member of the NormalSpam core by being our main win condition and cleaner late-game with his insane speed stat and decent power with Choice Specs. It's also a nice lead at times for his fast U-Turn or just to Boomburst some shit. Tailwind is in the last slot to help up the slower members of the team if Swellow is weakened, and also helps against Double Dance Rhydon and Combusken. In the Sceptile suspect, Swellow was really awesome by being able to outspeed the broken reptile and kill it, and it's still amazing in this meta due to being able to outspeed Floatzel and the base 110 speed tier, and hit them all hard. (Except for like Archeops) Overall Swellow is an amazing Pokemon in NU and an awesome member of the team!

And that's the team! Now I'll do the imports and the threatlist and stuff!

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Importable

Ban This Garbage (Chatot) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tangled Feet
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Guide the Light (Lanturn) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 148 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Heal Bell
- Thunder Wave

MY HEART (Garbodor) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 Spe
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast
- Toxic Spikes

oo faceclamp (Kangaskhan) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake

Solid Snake (Steelix) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Atk / 128 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Super Fast Birdo (Swellow) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- U-turn
- Tailwind
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Threatlist

Ground-types: Ok, well while they can't hit Swellow or Chatot with Earthquake, Ground-types like Rhydon or Steelix can hit them with their secondary STAB moves, and since they're so frail, that means they're dead. This is why I have to use Shuca Lanturn, to at least switch into one Earthquake and kill them back. Double Dance Rhydon is a fucking menace for this build, and can only really be beaten if it's RP + 3 attacks (Lanturn can live a unboosted EQ), Tailwind outspeeding it, or a combination of HP Grass from Chatot into Steelix who can live an EQ even at +2 thanks to Sturdy and revenge kill Don.

Rain Teams: Actually not that big of a problem, since I've come up with some sort of a strategy to beat the common Tennis Rain with this team, but it's still a pain to deal with since I don't really have switchins to Water moves outside of Lanturn, so Ludicolo and Kabutops are fucking hell for this team if Lanturn doesn't Thunder Wave Ludicolo on the switchin. Fake Out from Kanga can stall out Rain turns however, which is a godsend for this team.

Scarfers late-game: A minor problem considering Kanga can beat weakened Scarfers like Primeape, but they can still be annoying late-game when the defensive backbone is weakened.

Stall: Because stall lol
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Overall, even with it's weaknesses, this team proves well on the ladder and in roomtours (Maybe even actual tournaments as well!) due to it's ability to easily overload teams that only have 1 or 2 Normal checks (A lot of them!), and it's really effective in general. So why didn't I get reqs for the Sceptile suspect then, if it's so good, you ask? Well, idk. See, I was actually REALLY close to getting reqs (2612 I believe), and then... everything just fell apart. I started tilting very badly, but I just couldn't stop. I thought if I kept battling, then I would win some more and get more COIL than I was losing. But it didn't work, I just started losing and losing more COIL until I was at like 2400. I felt really horrible after that, I thought my team just wasn't good, because I couldn't get the reqs I wanted. I wanted to be like the good players out there, with their good teams getting showcased and archived and being good. Then I realized about a week later, that I'm never gonna be the perfect builder. I'm never gonna build the perfect team, I may build good ones, I may build bad ones, I may never get known or get my team archived or anything, I may never be ANYONE (What if I'm nothing, a nothing trapped in a male's body, lol), but I at least know I try to do things, and even if I get no recognition, I at least know I gave the best of effort, and that makes me proud. I hope this goes to teach you that nothing is perfect, but if you give your best effort, you might as well think you're something! I hope you all enjoyed this wall of text and the team!

And as always....

Keep Dancing

 

[Rapture]

Hi BrandonBeast the team is a pretty standard take on normal spam, shuca lanturn is a pretty cool tech however so kudos on that. I do agree offensive Rhydon and bulkier teams can be a pain to maneuver around but they arent anything that can't be handled with some slight tweaks to the team.

• 
  - My first and biggest suggestion to your team would be to change your Swellow set. I think a set of Substitute / Endeavor / BoomBurst / Heat Wave with a Silk Scarf would be fantastic. The set has seen some more use recently and it shines best on these type of normal spam types since it does a pretty decent job of whittling down normal resists with endeavor while Boomburst still puts in work versus more offensively inclined teams. Substitute is also nice for dodging sucker punch which can really catch someone off guard. It's also worth noting Endeavor helps in the matchup versus fatter teams since it makes for an effective way to break down defensive cores that stall has to rely on.
  
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  - Lanturn at the moment seems expected to check too many things, by running Facade over Double Edge you lose out on some power but it lets kanga function as an offensive check to status users like Rotom and Mismagius so that Lanturn isn't your only line of defense versus them.

Hide

Swellow @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Heat Wave
- Substitute
- Endeavor

oo faceclamp (Kangaskhan) @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Earthquake

A shame you couldn't get reqs but hopefully these changes help you out in the future.

 

[Evan.]

dont use facade kang it blows dong (and you have a lanturn)

i like the squad, its a p vanilla normal spam archetype but it works and as i keep saying nobody brings normal resists in this god forsaken tier fsr. biggest threats it looks like are obviously offensive donner variants and even a well played SD otter, since we all know how easy it is for garb to get worn down quickly during a match. i think what you gotta try and do to help out against the big threats (aka the smashers and offensive donners of the world) is to try your best to limit set up opps they get, which is kinda challenging atm since you've got 2 choice users that are both fodder if you lock into the wrong move. one way to help w/ that is to defs go sub + end on swellow cause it also helps you against bulky boosters (ones that beat lix just kinda beat you)

first thing im gonna suggest is throwing on seed bomb > toxic spikes on garb. i know that everyones like KANAGSPIKERS OMGOGMOGM but fr every solid team is running a bulky poison or a way to deal w/ t-spikes anyways to the point where its almost a wasted slot at this point. seed bomb helps limit setup opps for the rly threatening mons to your team esp if they get desperate and try and set up early.

ok i know you built w/ chatot and i dont wanna take that away, but it is pretty redundant on this type of build w/ kang and swellow already there. have you thought about trying sd jumpluff > chatot? it helps out w/ swellow and kang by attracting the same kinda mons and sleeping them, gives 1 less mon for rhydon and co to set up, provides you an actual otter check and even gives you a backup fighting check in case you lose garb early. it also provides you a neat late game wincon and also gives you another mon to pressure that 95-106 speed tier. its something worth trying at least

one thing you can also try if you switch up swellow is to go w/ special lix to try and pressure / surprise rotom and stuff like weezing the latter of which helps out even more if you end up switching for jumpluff. swellow give you insurance against bulky boosters anyways w/ the endeav set not to mention they just wont get a ton of setup opps.

well thats it for the rate, but im just gonna address that little piece you put at the end there. i just wanna tell you to keep at it dude, it gets better / easier. everyone's felt like they arent good enough or not appreciated but you just gotta remember that we all started somewhere. just look back to what felt like only a couple weeks ago when you were ICBB and look at you now, youre like a completely different guy. experience is a huge factor when it comes to this site and a lot of places irl in general and you just gotta keep plugging away at it in order to get better / get recognized. ofc there's gonna be the prodigies that come out of nowhere and just start fucking shit up in tours, but like 90% of the tour players and top contribs are just crusty old guys who have been ladder heros or lurkers for years on years like my good buddy kiyo. i hope some of what i said made sense, its 2am and i just kinda related w/ what you said so i thought itd be good for me to give some advice cause i feel like ive some experience on the topic. if you have any q's or w/e just shoot me a vm or pm dude, we're all just tryna be pkmn masters out here anyways

 

[erisia]

Hey BB, I had a few games with this team because it looked really fun. And it was really fun! The main thing I would say is that Garbodor can get overwhelmed quite easily as its your only check to Fighting-types like Primeape, and it still needs to get hazards up for things like Kanga and Swellow to be more effective. This is going to sound a bit strange but I think giving Steelix a Chople Berry could be a good move so that it can lure in Fighting-types that expect to deal good damage (such as Hitmonchan, Hariyama, and Primeape) and hit them hard with Heavy Slam or Earthquake, to the point at which Kangaskhan can KO them with Fake Out. This team is more offensive than defensive so overall I think the loss of Leftovers won't be a huge deal, you become weaker to stuff like Tauros but Swellow and Kanga can still mop it up to an extent.

Also don't worry about not being the best battler in the world. Reqs are more of an endurance test than anything, both in the amount of games required and that you'll have to restart if you have a particularly bad streak early on. I didn't even get reqs last round because I didn't have enough time and didn't want to go through unnecessary stress while my work was so busy. Battling is just one facet of this community, and you contribute a lot through your posts, your analyses, and just your general behaviour and friendliness, so don't let ladder blues get you down.

 

[Cheryl.]

Thanks for the rates guys! I'll test out each of the suggestions (Except maybe the Facade Kanga one because Facade is weak af lol) and decide which ones work out the best, and put the changes into the import! Also thanks for helping me feel better about the ladder stuff; it really means a lot to me that I have friends on the website who care for me, it's really heartwarming actually :)

 

[GhoulWrath]

Hey man, hope you're well :) I want to begin this rate with a couple of important statements. Firstly, I am no noob despite this being a new Smog account - I am an extremely skilled, strategical player, who peaked #1 on the ladder recently (67 Wins, 12 Losses inc. a few disconnect losses) - screenshot attached. I want to say props on the team, its very satisfying to use and a well constructed, powerful team. I'd like to echo Erisia's idea to use Chople Berry on Steelix, really helps against all of the Pokemon he mentioned but particularly Scarf Ape which causes this team bitch fits once Garbodor has gone down - easy to do for a skilled opponent between hazards which you cant remove, them predicting the switch in and Earthquaking, lures, status and Garbs lack of recovery. Hariyama is not quite as bothersome because your entire team outspeeds it, Garb can usually switch in for free and damage it with Rocky Helmet, Kanga can take a huge chunk out of it with Double Edge, but its a great lure to have when Assault Vest Yama is the only thing stopping Specs Swellow and Specs Chatot terrorizing their team.

I disagree with both of Shadowtags suggestions unfortunately, Facade Kanga is an ass set and Swellow needs all the power it can get with that shit SpA stat. I absolutely agree with Evan though about Seed Bomb on Garbodor, naturally most of the weaknesses of your team are Rock type set up sweepers - Smash Barbaracle, Carracosta, Omastar, DD Rhydon, SD Kabu or just Kabu in general and Seed Bomb gives all of these Pokemon one less Pokemon they can set up on. I would run it over Focus Blast however rather than Toxic Spikes.
This is because your team pressures the hell out of grounded poisons that remove your TSpikes ie. opposing Garbs, Skuntanks etc. as well as hazard removers such as Hitmonchan, Shiftry, Sandslash, Pelipper, Xatu, Claydol etc. and Toxic Spikes when they are able to stick are brutal with Fake Out and the amount of switches this team causes. Focus Blast misses hits like a wet paper towel against Steelix anyway coming off that terrible Sp Atk stat, all of the other rock types I mentioned get hit harder with Seed Bomb.
I would also just run 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Atk or Sp Def on Garb, it needs all the bulk it can get being the teams main switchin to the aforementioned fighting types as well as the safest initial switchin to things like Mega Audino and Shiftry, and the speed EVs rarely make a difference.

Finally, I dont feel like Specs Chatot is necessary on this team, it doesnt really add anything other than being a nuke, Swellow is superior due to Scrappy and a much higher speed stat. I would recommend one of two Pokemon in its place. Firstly I would suggest Adamant Toxic Orb Zangoose @ Facade, Knock Off, Close Combat, Quick Attack. This gives you a way to severely damage the rock types that trouble your team and gives them yet another Pokemon they cant set up on, is virtually impossible to wall with the perfect coverage it has and insane power, Quick Attack coming off 361 Attack boosted by Toxic Boost is surprisingly powerful and can help in late game scenarios against Pokemon like Scarf Ape, Sash Mons, fast but frail Pokemon like Swellow, Quiver Dance Vivillon, Pyroar etc., Quick Attack also outprioritises things like Cacturne and Shiftrys Sucker Punch (important because a well played Specially based LO Cacturne with Sucker Punch can cause this team big problems), Hitmonchans Mach Punch etc. and damages them heavily due to their frailty. Also your team has no issues activating Toxic Orb with Swellow and Lanturn as voltturners, both of which can easily force switches and Zangoose's Quick Attack allowing it to finish off a weakened target.
Finally Zangoose is just as much of a nuke as Specs Chatot and much harder to wall and it is an absolute terror with a last ditch Tailwind from Swellow in the lategame.

The other option would be Vileplume as this forms an ultra solid core with Steelix and Lanturn, providing you a solid water, fighting and grass resist with neutrality to ground and reliable recovery. This completely removes your weakness to the set up sweeper rock types, supplying you with a safe switch in and enabling you to take any hit at +2 from all but Shell Smash Omastar and KO with Giga Drain :) For Shell Smash Omastar you have a foolproof answer in Shuca Berry Lanturn so this works perfectly. Also gives you a watertight answer to Pokemon like Shiftry, Swords Dance Samurott and Cacturne. Like Steelix and Lanturn, Plume isnt a sitting duck either, with my proposed spread of 248 HP, 8 S Atk, 252 Def it hits 258 Sp Atk and has powerful STABS in Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb. Effect Spore, though not something to rely on is a haxy ability that means physical attackers are taking a risk every time they attack. Between Lanturn, Kang and Vileplume, you should also have a near autowin against standard rain - Liepard, Ludicolo, Kabutops etc.
Finally, Vileplume gives you a completely safe switchin to opposing Lanturn whereas at the moment your only safe switch in is your own Lanturn, which is likely to lose the Scald war with most Lanturns carrying Leftovers and yours having Shuca Berry. Obviously it also threatens it with Giga Drain.

I hope this rate was beneficial, because I am an experienced NU player and I put a lot of thought and time into this post.

Peace

nb; if you were to change to Vileplume, you could keep Leftovers on Steelix as you have an infallible switch in to Scarf Ape and it allows it to check the Pokemon its meant to better

 

[PrinceLucian]

Hello Brandon, ill be short and just say few quick things that came on my mind, just because i had pretty similar team with chatot+swellow few months ago, but yea all the spike stack teams look a lot,with exception of Special normal spam here , i also had AV lanturn over shuca which takes a lot better on hits that are aimed for steelix/birds but if Shuca was helpful then keep it.

First suggestion is gonna be Lanturn.
This is mainly offensive team, and seeing as youre running offensive lanturn you shouldnt run Heal bell on it, so in this case Whilrpool>heal bell will help you trap another annoying lanturns and beat them 1v1 ,while also trapping some other minor things and helping your Specs swellow late game clean, i dont agree on silk scarf swellow just because it needs that power later on game to clean easier.

Second suggestion is

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, this will give your team an offensive spinner and good priority user that really pairs well with birds and it can revenge kill offensive shell smashers that can setup vs birds if you decide to keep both since they are in original team.
Set:

Hide

Hitmonchan (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
- Mach Punch
- Rapid Spin

-Next thing i really dont like is focus blast on Defensive garbodors, and keeping both toxic spikes and spikes is as useful as it can be so you can swap that to seed bomb as Evan said.

Annoying things to this team will be ground types like rhydon/Steelix but lets keep this team as fun with swellow/chatot spam so i just dropped minor possible fixes,good luck in future and hf with team.^^