LC RMT Spotlight: Kaleidoscope

Hey everyone, Glass here with another LC RMT. Now that the LC Open is done, it's about time I posted this team. This whole team all started out as a group roombuild with a bunch of other LC guys who wanted to get far in the LC Open but didn't have many, if any teams. That being our motivation, I still didn't expect anything tremendous out of this team, just a team that was good enough to get by. But what came from this teambuild came to be the strongest team I've had the pleasure of building, and it helped get Obvious Power to round 6 of the LC Open, helped get chimpact his 2nd win in the LC Open Finals, as well as myself to win Lost Cave.

Now that introductions are through, I bring you Kaleidoscope:

In-Depth:

Pawniard (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Defiant
Level: 5
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpD / 196 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head

Swords Dance Pawniard was what we had all decided to base the team around, and boy has it not disappointed. Pawniard makes an incredible late-game sweeper, and is very easy to set up versus almost any playstyle with it's plethora of resistances. Now while it may seem odd on a stall team, Pawniard serves the role of being fletchling check #1, a win condition versus other stall teams while also serving the role of deterring the opponent's use of defog thanks to its ability, Defiant. If you defog, you have a +2 pawniard to deal with, and if you don't, you continue to let hazard damage rack up on your team. Moveset and EVs are pretty standard, daul dark STAB over brick break because I have ways of beating opposing pawniards and sucker punch priority comes into play way too often to give up, such as versus weakened offensive mienfoo, trubbish, and other 17+ speed mons.

Spritzee (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 5
EVs: 212 HP / 196 Def / 12 SpA / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy

Spritzee is the cleric and fighter check of the team, and has great synergy with Pawn, resisting fighting and beating every common fighter not named croagunk (who I'll cover later). Spritzee just stops most of the common fighters that would love to run through this team such as scraggy, Life Orb Mienfoo, Bulk Up timburr, and other stallbreaking threats. Spritzee is here to increase the total longevity of the team more than something like snubbull would by passing wishes, healing the team with aromatherapy, and just being fat and pink. Spritzee's moveset is standard cleric fare, helps heal Mienfoo and ferro, who don't have reliable recovery, and it also forms a nice core with ferros typing-wise.

[00:17] GlassGlaceon: what else should i say about spritzee
[00:17] Obvious Power: it clicks wish and does stuff

Hippopotas (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 5
EVs: 132 HP / 20 Atk / 212 Def / 100 SpD / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
- Slack Off
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind / Rock Slide
- Stealth Rock

At this point we realized we were super weak to fire in general, so we filled this teamslot with Sunbeater Hippo to take on sun and pony. Unfortunately, Hippo doesn't take on pony nearly as well as it should with a Mixed defenses, and we eventually changed it to a mostly physically defensive spread. Sun is not nearly enough of a problem to the point where it's worth being weak to pony and one of stall's biggest problems, LO Pawniard. The Physically Defensive spread can take up to a +2 Adamant Life Orb Pawniard Knock Off after rocks and +2 Jolly Life Orb iron head from full w/out eviolite, and ohko in return with earthquake. Hippo switches in on pony and larvesta, takes minimal damage from flare blitz, limits their recovery, and can either slack off to heal itself, setup rocks, or whirlwind if it already has hazards up. Rock Slide can be used in the place of whirlwind if you really feel the need to Hit Fletchling and Archen, which is occasionally more useful than whirlwind. Stealth Rock is stealth rock, e-z chip damage along with sand allows you to wear opposing teams down handily. this thing also handles croagunk, who can be sorta annoying to this team

Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 5
EVs: 84 HP / 36 Atk / 188 Def / 148 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Bullet Seed
- Leech Seed

Ferroseed is the team's other hazard setter, and this thing puts in work. Ferroseed's moveset is very customizable, and I run the TWave variant over the protect variant for a variety of reasons. Thunder Wave Cripples Pony and larvesta, common switch ins to ferro and minor problems to the team. It's also very helpful for Tauntfoo switchins, so that pawniard won't need to worry about speed and kill late-game at +2. Thunder wave just allows me to cripple most offensive switchins to ferro. Bullet seed is the attacking move of choice to break things like sub Elekid and Diglett behind a sub. Gyro Ball would be counterproductive alongside TWave and iron head makes it much harder to take down chinchou, something this thing counters. Leech Seed allows even more chip damage along with spikes, SR, and sand, all the while giving ferro passive recovery. Ferro just generally walls a ton of various crap with its fantastic typing, like staryu, chinchou, porygon, titrouga, omanyte, etc.

Vullaby @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
Level: 5
EVs: 116 HP / 156 Def / 156 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Knock Off
- Brave Bird

Vullaby is the standard defogger of the team, the backup fighting check, and a check for Abra. The set we're running runs a bunch of special defense just so it isn't 2HKOd by sashbra's Dazzling Gleam most of the time, and so it can take Foongus' sludge bombs a bit easier than the fully physically defensive set. Vullaby was also another reason why hippo was switched to physically defensive; Vullaby takes on sun very nicely, with Bellsprout spamming sleep powder. Vullaby is also another mon who lures in walls and bulky mons like Spritzee and Chinchou, knocks them off, and makes them much easier to break down. Vullaby is also one of my primary ways of beating Pawniard, as it should knock off pawn on the switch-in to effectively neuter it by removing its item. Defog is there to make sure this team doesn't get worn down by hazards. The reason i chose a defogger over a spinner was because it's pretty easy to set hazards back up, and most spinners are too frail for stall :/.

Mienfoo (M) @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 5
EVs: 196 Def / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge / Taunt
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Mienfoo is really the heart of the team, providing momentum with u-turn, knocking off items, and checking a plethora of threats to this team. Fastfoo was used over bulky foo specifically for Pawniard who can sweep through this team when weakened, and fastfoo can outspeed and revenge any non-scarf Pawniard, which can be a big threat to the team if it gets up a swords dance or if it gets defogged into defiant. Stone Edge can be run if you really hate Larvesta and Fletchling, but taunt can also be used if you're really paranoid about allowing too much pressure on Vullaby. The rest of foo's set is standard foo fare. Drain punch for recovery, knock off for utility, u-turn for momentum-grabbing, and the EV spread allows foo to survive Fletch's acrobatics a majority of the time and bop it in return with stone edge.

Introduction:

After Misdreavus's ban from the XY Little Cup metagame, stall and semi-stall teams had one less major threat to contend with. Rather than being turned into setup bait, the bulkiest walls in LC could now chip away at opposing teams with entry hazard and weather damage, wearing them down continuously while using their bulk and access to recovery to prevent themselves from being worn down. GlassGlaceon's team utilizes some of the bulkiest Pokémon in LC, all of which can be frustratingly difficult to wear down thanks to Spritzee passing Wishes to its teammates along with most of the Pokémon on the team having access to recovery. After the opposing team is worn down by Ferroseed and Hippopotas's entry hazards, Swords Dance Pawniard, one of the most potent sweepers in the post-Misdreavus era, can pick off the remaining foes with its powerful attacks. Mienfoo and Vullaby are able to check a variety of prominent threats while also adding some useful type synergy to the team.

The Team:

Perhaps one of the most frightening sweepers in Little Cup, Swords Dance Pawniard is the team's win condition. Its typing along with its decent defenses give it plenty of opportunities to set up, especially late-game, after its teammates have put its counters out of action. Although Pawniard is an uncommon option on stall teams, it has good type synergy with the rest of the team. It can make use of its moderate bulk despite its lack of recovery, as Spritzee keeps it healthy by providing Wish support and removing its status conditions with Aromatherapy. Pawniard's prowess as a sweeper is improved by its impressive Dark- and Steel-type STAB moves, Knock Off and Iron Head, which have almost perfect coverage in LC. Knock Off is a powerful and reliable move for crippling common switch-ins, particularly Fighting-types, by removing their Eviolites. Iron Head hits Fairy-types, particularly Spritzee for super effective damage.

Spritzee is an absolute staple on stall and semi-stall teams; it's the metagame's premier cleric, and its typing, solid defenses, and access to recovery make it extremely difficult to wear down. It's also a terrific partner for Pawniard, not just on stall teams but on nearly any team archetype, as it can take on almost all the Fighting-types that can stop Pawniard. Although Spritzee is sometimes placed under immense pressure to carry its teammates, it is commonly paired with a Knock Off-absorbing pivot that enables Spritzee to keep its Eviolite and remain bulky, in this instance Mienfoo. Both Pawniard and Spritzee are beaten by Croagunk, Ponyta, and Larvesta, however, which was part of GlassGlaceon's reasoning behind adding Hippopotas to the team.

The team's Stealth Rock setter is another Pokémon that appears infrequently on stall teams: Hippopotas. It plays an important role as the team's most consistent check to Fire-type foes and sets up Stealth Rock, which discourages them from switching in. This team is somewhat weak to Fire-types, so keeping Hippopotas healthy is necessary if the opponent's team is carrying Ponyta or Larvesta. Fortunately, Hippopotas's solid physical bulk and access to recovery allow it to stand up to both of these threats fairly well. Sand Stream enables Hippopotas to also check Vulpix and Sunny Day variants of Ponyta in addition to chipping away at opposing teams. Although sandstorm damage is negligible in LC, Hippopotas is one of the metagame's best phazers, and the damage from sandstorm, Stealth Rock, and Ferroseed's Spikes can wear down foes quickly. GlassGlaceon has listed Rock Slide as an alternative to Whirlwind, as it enables Hippopotas to take on common Flying-types such as Fletchling and Archen. Sandstorm synergizes particularly well with this team, as the only two members of this team susceptible to sandstorm have an easy time undoing the damage. Mienfoo has access to Regenerator, while Spritzee's high HP stat means it will take a comparatively small amount of damage from the sand.

Although it lacks a move or ability to give it substantial recovery, Ferroseed has all the makings of a great stall Pokémon. Fantastic 44 / 91 / 86 defenses with its great typing, which grants it nine resistances and an immunity, plus passive damage from Spikes, Leech Seed, and Iron Barbs stacking up very quickly make Ferroseed an ideal choice for any stall team. This is because it resists Water- and Fairy-type moves, allowing the team to handle some of the tier's fiercest Water-types while also turning Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Cottonee into setup bait for Spikes. Thunder Wave helps Ferroseed overcome its Speed issues while also crippling some of Pawniard's checks, particularly Mienfoo and Ponyta, enabling it to outspeed and KO them after they've taken residual damage. Bullet Seed allows Ferroseed to deal some damage too; the comparatively high damage output multi-hit moves have in LC makes it a strong attack, enabling it to OHKO Pokémon with Sturdy and Focus Sash such as Onix with three hits and Abra with four hits.

Vullaby fills a few roles the team is lacking while adding to a few roles the team already has. It's a bulky Pokémon with access to recovery and a secondary check to Fighting-types with Brave Bird. It can weaken foes with its STAB Knock Off, luring in common switch-ins and removing their items, enabling Pawniard to later secure many valuable KOs. It also supports its teammates with Defog, removing entry hazards from the field and allowing them to come in more easily. GlassGlaceon has given Vullaby a specially defensive EV spread, allowing it to synergize better with Hippopotas while allowing it to take certain special attacks better, most notably avoiding the 2HKO from Abra's Dazzling Gleam. It's still physically bulky as well, capable of withstanding attacks from Mienfoo and Timburr provided they lack Rock-type coverage.

Providing further Knock Off support and gaining momentum with U-turn, the final member on GlassGlaceon's team is Mienfoo, one of the metagame's best pivots. Although Mienfoo is less bulky than the rest of the team, its continual recovery thanks to Regenerator and Drain Punch can make it surprisingly difficult to wear down. Mienfoo is the third Knock Off user on the team, and the combined pressure of these users can get rid of foes' items easily and efficiently. Mienfoo's fourth moveslot is very variable; in this instance, Stone Edge is chosen to catch foes such as Ponyta and Larvesta on the switch, Pokémon that can otherwise really hurt this team. Mienfoo also deals with another Pokémon that greatly troubles this team: Pawniard. Opposing Pawniard can get a Defiant boost from Vullaby's Defog or set up a Swords Dance on Spritzee and proceed to hammer this team. Mienfoo's valuable 17 Speed enables it to consistently stop Pawniard as well as outspeed and threaten a large amount of the tier.

Threats:

Fire-types are a huge threat to this team; the only Pokémon on the team that can switch into a STAB Flare Blitz from Larvesta or Ponyta is Hippopotas, and even then, it can be worn down with repeated hits. This vulnerability to Fire-types was GlassGlaceon's reasoning behind adding Stone Edge to Mienfoo, but it can only hit Ponyta on the switch. Sun teams also pressure Hippopotas out, and sustained pressure will leave it easy to pick off. Although it is a less common set, special Sunny Day Ponyta can lure in Hippopotas and use Sunny Day on the switch, leaving the team in a very compromising situation. Pawniard, particularly Life Orb variants, can only be checked by Mienfoo and Hippopotas, and if Mienfoo is crippled or fainted, they can set up a Swords Dance and run through the team if it has been significantly weakened.

Conclusion:

Stall teams are difficult to make work in Little Cup, as Knock Off is the most common move in the tier, which inhibits the defensive capabilities of most Pokémon by removing Eviolite and Berry Juice. However, the team has enough Pokémon that can act as Knock Off absorbers, allowing Spritzee to heal and support the team while remaining bulky. The team has had some success in tournament play, being used successfully by chimpact and Obvious Power in the late rounds of the LC Open as well as leading GlassGlaceon to win the LC Lost Cave tournament. Its prowess as a phenomenal stall team was recognized, and it was added to the Rate My Team Archive.

« Previous Article

Home