ORAS LC HO team featuring Anorith, Houndour, and a little blue dinosaur.

[McLemore]

Abra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
Level: 5
EVs: 240 SpA / 200 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Protect

This was originally Anorith, but after a battle with The Avalanches showed me I was weak to fighting types I decided that Abra would be much better here. Abra is my answer to Fighting types for now. Psychic is STAB, Dazzling Gleam hits the Dark types that are immune to Psychic, and HP[Fighting] is for Pawniard. The Focus Sash lets me beat Pawniard and some other threats 1v1.

Peyote (Cacnea) @ Eviolite
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 156 Atk / 196 Def / 116 SpD
Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

Anorith was weak to Water, Rock, and Steel types, but in came Cacnea which is immune to 1 of those types and has the coverage necessary to deal with the others. Cacnea acts as the check to Water and Rock types that Anorith was desperately needing. Cacnea reaches 34 Atk after one Swords Dance which makes him able to blow through teams that are unprepared. Sucker Punch is a good albeit shaky priority move while Seed Bomb and Drain Punch cover the biggest threats to Anorith and give neutral coverage to all but Flying, Poison, and Bug types. EVs are to hit Eviolite numbers.

Sharptooth (Cranidos) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 140 HP / 236 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Head Smash
- Superpower
- Zen Headbutt

Cranidos came on to the team to round out the coverage with Cacnea. He acts as my Fletchling and Zigzagoon checks and can also deal with Dwebble, Magnemite, and Onix thanks to Mold Breaker. Earthquake is to deal with Rock types that resist Head Smash, Poison types, and also OHKOs Magnemite. Head Smash is a STAB nuke that will blow through teams once any opposing Steel or Rock types are gone and also rounds out the holes in Cacnea's coverage of Flying and Bug types. Superpower allows Cranidos to reliably check Zigzagoon. Zen Headbutt is to help with Timburr. The Choice Scarf allows Cranidos to hit 21 speed which allows it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame.

Torso (Diglett) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Arena Trap
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock
- Memento

It was at this time that I decided to go full HO with this team and what better suicide lead for a HO team in LC then Diglett. Diglett's job is very simple: get up Stealth Rocks and then Memento out unless he can nab an OHKO on the opposing lead in which case that is preferred of course. Earthquake and Rockslide give a pseudo EdgeQuake combo while Stealth Rock and Memento allow Diglett to effectively function as a suicide lead. Focus Sash is to guarantee that SR go up.

Mariana (Kabuto) @ Eviolite
Ability: Battle Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 196 Def
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Slide
- Aqua Jet
- Knock Off

Since Anorith is weak to SR and Spikes I, of course, needed a spinner. Kabuto fulfills this role effectively and meshes well with Cacnea. Rapid Spin is required, Rock Slide and Aqua Jet are good for STAB and, in the case of Aqua Jet, priority. Knock Off provides great utility in a tier full of Eviolite users. Eviolite supplements Kabuto's bulk.

Inuyasha (Houndour) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Atk / 196 SpA / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
- Sucker Punch
- Destiny Bond

Last but certainly not least is the surprise MVP of the team so far. I chose Houndour because it covers Cacnea's Fire weakness and can also absorb Will-O-Wisps meant for Anorith and Cranidos. It is also a late game cleaner and after a Flash Fire boost can destroy most of the meta. Fire Blast and Dark Pulse are STAB while Sucker Punch provides a good bit of priority to Houndour's moveset. Destiny Bond is there to take out a slower check of Houndour's if it will open the door for a sweep from Anorith or Cranidos. LO maximizes damage.

I'll try to get sprites in here as soon as possible. Thanks for your rate. :]

 

[Goddess Briyella]

Hi there, JMcLemore57!

I can tell you're still a somewhat new user here, and you definitely have a good idea of how a lot of aspects of this metagame work. However, I have quite a few suggestions that should greatly improve the performance of the team, and I'll be explaining every recommendation I make in detail for you. The main issue here is that just about any Fighting-type can steamroll through everything on the team, and there's a Fighting-type on almost every good team. Anorith's Aerial Ace and Cranidos's Zen Headbutt are not enough to keep Fighting-types at bay, as the former doesn't deal near enough damage to matter when the popular Fighting-types carry Drain Punch for recovery, and the latter is forced to be locked into a move when it's weak to them as well.

In addition, some of the mons on your team are simply outclassed by better mons in Little Cup, and I'll be providing suggestions there as well, while not straying from the offensive setup you had in mind. :)

->

Dwebble @ Berry Juice
Level: 5
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rock Blast
- Knock Off

My first suggestion is replacing Anorith with Dwebble. Anorith just doesn't cut it in this metagame; it is cursed with an unfortunate typing both offensively and defensively and lacks any great options despite its high Attack stat and access to Rapid Spin and Knock Off. Same typing, but with a far different level of effectiveness. Dwebble has the same problem Anorith has with being totally walled by Fighting-types outside of the weak Aerial Ace, which doesn't measure up in the vast majority of cases. However, Dwebble's primary function on a hyper offensive team shouldn't be to deal damage, but to reliably set up hazards to assist its more offensively capable teammates with their sweeping and wallbreaking. What makes Dwebble so effective for this role is that Sturdy not only assures that it will survive a hit while laying hazards, but the activation of Berry Juice with exactly 21 HP guarantees that it will be able to survive yet another hit afterward (in case you're wondering why the extra 36 EVs that can be added to HP are intentionally left out, Berry Juice won't restore Dwebble's health to full if it has 22 max HP because Berry Juice specifically restores 20). Just be sure to look out for Knock Off, which ruins this tactic, and especially be on watch for Taunt Mienfoo, which is just fast enough to shut this down completely.

Counter can alternatively be used over Knock Off here if you'd like to have a shot at actually KOing Fighting-types back, but the utility of Knock Off for removing items from almost any target is generally preferred and is a lot less likely to fail in accomplishing its purpose.

->

Fletchling
Level: 5
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Atk / 92 Def / 52 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance
- U-turn
- Taunt

My second suggestion is replacing Cacnea with Fletchling. Cacnea's offensive prowess definitely looks a lot better on paper than it does in practice, and that will likely always be the case. It does indeed have nice attacking stats and access to Swords Dance to heighten its damage output, as well as priority in Sucker Punch, but Cacnea's poor defensive stats and unfortunate typing make it easy to pick off most of the time, which also makes it risky to try and switch into anything and expect to accomplish much after taking that hit. Fletchling is a much more threatening user of Swords Dance and priority here, and it also puts severe pressure on opposing Fighting-types, especially with hazards in play. Gale Wings makes Fletchling's itemless Acrobatics have priority and is the strongest priority attack in the game. Not only does this change help to patch up the team's issue with Fighting-types, but it also adds a much more capable attacker to the team in general. Taunt prevents the likes of Ferroseed from just setting up hazards, but Overheat can be used here as well if you want a more permanent solution for that, and Roost is another option for longevity if you can do without the other things.

Later on in the rate, I'm going to help you with a potent Fletchling + Diglett core that will allow Diglett to trap and kill Flying resists after Fletchling U-turns out of them as they come in, a tactic that works very well for offense

Sharptooth (Cranidos) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 5
EVs: 140 HP / 236 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Head Smash -> Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Zen Headbutt

I recommend exchanging Head Smash with Stone Edge here, simply because the damage output is still large enough to destroy opposing teams, but without the painful 50% recoil. If you want a more accurate alternative, you could even go for Rock Slide and still get easy KOs against the birds you want Cranidos to check, as well as other Rock-weak enemies. Just remember that Choice Scarf Cranidos often requires very good prediction to hold its weight throughout battles. One wrong guess is enough to completely screw this set or even the whole momentum of the battle.

Diglett @ Focus Sash -> Life Orb
Level: 5
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 36 HP / 236 Atk / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock -> Substitute
- Memento

I recommend these changes to Diglett's set, in order to make it a more aggressive trapper. As mentioned earlier, this set is capable of taking out the Flying resists that would impede Fletchling's sweep, so that annoyances such as Chinchou and Pawniard won't get in the way there. Life Orb is essential for assuring the Earthquake OHKO on Eviolite Chinchou and Pawniard (after prior damage from Fletchling's U-turn). Stealth Rock is no longer necessary, as Dwebble carries it now, so Substitute can be used to bypass Pawniard's Sucker Punch after trapping it (there's nothing else Pawniard can really do if it wants to survive the threat of Earthquake). Contrary to your previous idea of Diglett, it functions better as a utility provider or trapper and not just as a suicide lead. Memento drops can be nullified by a simple switch-out, so don't waste it. After Diglett has trapped and removed the opposing Flying resists, it can suicide with Memento to allow Fletchling to clean house.

->

Staryu @ Eviolite
Level: 5
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 200 SpA / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Fire

Finally, I recommend replacing Kabuto with Staryu. Your spinner would like to be able to 2HKO both Ferroseed and Pumpkaboo in the current metagame, for this particular team especially. Staryu's Ice Beam nails Pumpkaboo on the switch, as does HP Fire with Ferroseed, and they'll die in another hit from the appropriate move with hazards up. Analytic assures the 2HKO without needing hazards (assuming they switch in, which is likely), but they're carried on Dwebble so that you can afford the luxury of Natural Cure on Staryu instead. Not only is Staryu more powerful than Kabuto, but it has less weaknesses, more versatility, and the ability to outspeed a lot more threats, notably Gastly. Scald is an option over Hydro Pump here for superior accuracy and the chance to burn a target while still getting the OHKO on Water-weak things like offensive Archen, but the difference in power is definitely noticeable on the whole. Scald, Psychic, or Recover could be run over Ice Beam or Hidden Power Fire if you feel that Houndour and Fletchling cover Ferroseed and Pumpkaboo well enough, but it's up to you, and this is an offensive team.


Main things to keep in mind when using this team:

• Lead Mienfoo's most common fourth move in the current metagame is Taunt, which completely shuts Dwebble's hazard-setting shenanigans down. When opposing players see Dwebble on the team, it is likely that they will expect it to lead and will counter this by leading off with Taunt Mienfoo. You can backdoor this by leading with Fletchling instead, which applies pressure and gives you control from the start.

• Life Orb Diglett kills Eviolite Chinchou and Pawniard after Fletchling U-turns out. Gauge the damage of Fletchling's U-turn as one of those comes in to determine whether or not it's running Eviolite. You do not want to put Diglett against a potential Choice Scarf variant of Chinchou or Pawniard.

• Remember that Houndour's Sucker Punch outspeeds all of Fletchling's moves, including Gale Wings Acrobatics, so use it if you need to, but don't rely too heavily on just that.

• Conserve Fletchling for your opponent's Fighting-types. Be conservative of Fletchling at all costs in most cases in general; it is the team's win condition. Fighting-types, especially Timburr, are a problem for this team if Fletchling goes down. Hyper offense unfortunately isn't crawling with Fighting resists and Snubbull is more for bulky offense.

Also, since you were looking for them, the XY sprites you can use for things like this can be found here: http://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/xyani/

This concludes my rate! I wish you luck and success with your team! :)

 

[McLemore]

Thanks for the rate Briyella. I've noticed that the team is weak to Shell Smash since making the changes you've suggested. Cranidos can deal with Dwebble with Stone Edge, but can't OHKO Tirtouga. The inverse is true in that Cranidos can deal with Tirtouga with Earthquake, but misses out on the OHKO on Dwebble. These two together can destroy the entire team. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

 

[Goddess Briyella]

Thanks for the rate Briyella. I've noticed that the team is weak to Shell Smash since making the changes you've suggested. Cranidos can deal with Dwebble with Stone Edge, but can't OHKO Tirtouga. The inverse is true in that Cranidos can deal with Tirtouga with Earthquake, but misses out on the OHKO on Dwebble. These two together can destroy the entire team. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Shell Smashers, especially ones that rely on Sturdy + Berry Juice to sweep, can be defeated after hazards nullify their Sturdy ability. Hyper offense has trouble with these kinds of sweepers in general otherwise. I noticed that you added Abra to the team, and Energy Ball can be run on that to hit Tirtouga and other Water/Rock type sweepers such as Omanyte as well. Protect isn't as necessary on Abra because Fake Out is not common on Mienfoo anymore, so that's a good move to replace.