RMT One Thousand and One Nights

[PG24]

One Thousand and One Nights​

If you've ever talked to me, you'll understand that I don't like XY. I'll admit, it's better than BW by miles, but I've still yet to find any fun in the game. When teambuilding, I'll find myself repeating the same concepts and ideas to the point where it feels like I'm building carbon copies of the same teams. When I actually play a game, there is never a single moment where I feel the same rush I did from previous generations. This team has been fun because not only was the teambuilding fun to do, but actually playing it made games more enjoyable.

The premise of this team lies behind Lopunny's Substitute Baton Pass set. By pairing it with wallbreakers like Azumarill and Diggersby who have their flaws hidden behind Lopunny's Substitutes, they are able to form an effective core to weaken each others' counters. Oh, and they're all bunnies, so that's neat. Wobbuffet and Jirachi further compliment this core by eliminating certain threats and giving the bunny core opportunities to setup. Thundurus rounds out the team by punching holes and handling any threat that falls under the radar.

Team at a Glance:

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Team:

Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Trick
- Healing Wish
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Okay, look, this was originally a joke set. I got to the very end of teambuilding and realized I had a severe need for both Healing Wish and Stealth Rock. The only things available were Celebi and Jirachi. I avoided Celebi because it brought too many weaknesses to the team, so Jirachi was the only logical option. For a surprise factor, I decided to use the classic TrickScarf strategy so that Jirachi can not only cripple leads and walls, but also provide the team with more chances to setup. I thought this would never work in practice, but holy hell did it ever.

You should pick which move to use from looking at team preview and the lead they select. Walls that might be detrimental to the team should be Tricked immediately if you know they can't harm Jirachi. If you see them start with something like Landorus or Garchomp, the ideal scenario is to U-turn or hard switch respectively. Sometimes, it might be wise to simply save your Scarf and feint a defensive set. If you play out each play safely, you should be able to get off everything you need in the match. The ability to assist in setting up the rest of the team and provide utility in one package is seriously a godsend.

Wobbuffet @ Custap Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 52 HP / 232 Def / 224 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Destiny Bond
- Encore
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I have no idea what tier Wobbuffet actually is, but I really don't care. I had a bit of an affinity with Gothitelle last gen for its ability to assist sweepers by eliminating walls, and Wobbuffet is kind of like that. Wobbuffet is far more useful against offensive teams since it can't really defeat defensive mons outside of a few. The best you can do is Encore them into a support move like Stealth Rock or Recover and go out to your sweepers or Jirachi to setup on the opportunity.

Counter is for physical attackers, Mirror Coat is for special attackers. Mixed attackers take a little bit of prediction to handle, but Encore helps this if they can only 3HKO Wobbs. Destiny Bond is pretty crappy except if you are able to activate Custap Berry the same turn, in which case it seals the kill. Sometimes, you can maybe even get two kills in if the Pokemon you Counter / Mirror Coat gets you to Custap range and then you use Destiny Bond on the next Pokemon. Encore is amazing in that it prevents setup sweepers from having a feast on Wobbs. If you get something locked into a setup move, the best option is to either go out to your sweepers to kill it ASAP, or trick them a Scarf with Jirachi while still Encored so that they won't bother you again.

Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave
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Thundurus provides me with the ability to combat bulky Water- and Grass-types that can hurt this team's core. While the combination of Thunderbolt + HP Flying does limit Thundurus' coverage, it allows me to handle Pokemon like Mega Venusaur and Breloom who would otherwise be a huge problem. Not only that, but it's also a STAB combination that can sometimes get more damage out than HP Ice would. While I've run into situations where Focus Blast would be better to open more holes for the core, Thunder Wave has been far more useful to limit sweepers and faster threats. Also, Skarmory sucks.

Lopunny (F) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Substitute
- Baton Pass
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Lopunny is the staple of the team's strategy. What you essentialy want to do, after first crippling all the walls with the initial three Pokemon, is to have Mega Lopunny setup a Substitute on a forced switch. If you can go ahead and eliminate their switchin, do it since you get two hits. If the situation doesn't call for that, Baton Pass to either Azumarill or Diggersby and setup or attack off the opportunity. Another interesting thing to pass to Wobbuffet since "An attack absorbed by a Substitute can be countered for the amount of damage it would have done to the user had the user not had a substitute." This allows Wobbuffet to take attacks it normally wouldn't be able to and eliminate the threat while still staying perfectly healthy. When you decide to use Jirachi's Healing Wish, pass it to Lopunny unless you absolutely need to pass it to something else.

Azumarill (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Belly Drum
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Azumarill. +6 Attack. Behind a Substitute. That's pretty much the gist of just how threatening this can be. Normally the only thing things threatening to Azumarill is something that can tank an Aqua Jet and hit or status it faster. Azumarill forms a great pairing with Lopunny and Diggersby by wearing down each others' counters until one can sweep. Aqua Jet, Knock Off, and Belly Drum all form great coverage. If you need to use Azumarril more as a check to some of the opponent's Pokemon, be wary of letting it take too much damage as to possibly activate Sitrus Berry or leave Azumarill to the point where it can't Belly Drum.

Diggersby (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Quick Attack
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To be honest, I thought Diggersby would be the weak link of the team. I was clearly wrong, as Diggersby's cons are concealed by Lopunny's Subs. Backed by Huge Power and great STAB options, it can either punch holes in the opposing team. I've switched up the moveset during my testings and both work equally as well. Knock Off is the standard in my opinion and is good if you want to use Diggersby to help beat or weaken some of the common switchins to Diggersby like Gengar, Celebi, and Landorus-T. Swords Dance can allow you to dent more things for its partners or even sweep on your own if you play your cards right. Fire Punch smacks around Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skamory, all of which are major pains for the team to normally handle. The beauty of this bunny core is that you can really switch around what each Pokemon does, such as running SD Diggersby with CB Azumarill. If you use this team, just pick whatever you think is most comfortable to you.

Spoiler: Importable

not cammy (Lopunny) (F) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Substitute
- Baton Pass

dasani (Azumarill) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off
- Belly Drum

smug face bunny (Diggersby) (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Huge Power
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Frustration
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Quick Attack

floyd mayweather (Wobbuffet) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 52 HP / 232 Def / 224 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Counter
- Mirror Coat
- Destiny Bond
- Encore

tfw not fairy (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Trick
- Healing Wish

dj voltolos (Thundurus) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Thunder Wave

 

[Scattered mind]

Wow! This team IS fun
There are so many possibilities to adjust the team to your needs and skills. Even if the master plan of passing a sub to one of the wallbreakers doesn't work, the team still functions well, with Thundurus setting up NP or supporting the team with TW. While it looks like the team is more focused on dealing with stall, the addition of Wobb and Thundurus along with priority moves on both wallbreakers and Mega Lopunny himself make the team very powerful against offensive teams imo.