Battle Stadium Singles blog #16 — "Light Baller, the Fling Garchomp" (S14)

It's probably obvious by now, but I kind of enjoy teams that are momentum-based, and therefore heavily reliant on the lead game. These teams are almost inevitably either hyper offense or some sort of balance-bulky offense, the two styles I am most comfortable with — especially this generation, where the balance of poker and rock-paper-scissors elements, a prominent feature of BSS, is a bit off for my taste. This makes trying to meticulously outplay opponents over multiple turns fundamentally unenjoyable for me, thanks to the wonderful and completely flawlessly implemented Dynamax mechanic.

   In any case, one of the most gratifying team-building aspects withing this approach is coming up with heavily targeted EV-ing that relies on format experience, particularly regarding defensive benchmarks. So, here, then, is a Fling Light Ball Garchomp team.

Born to lead. And Fling Light Balls.

Getting crit through the calcs on turn 1: 252+ SpA Life Orb Zapdos Max Airstream (140 BP) vs. 108 HP / 116 SpD Garchomp: 165-196 (83.7 – 99.4%).

With Dragapult (Screens) and Thundurus-I (Taunt/Thunder Wave) on the team, I figured it would be Swords Dance + Lum Berry, but went for Fling over Rock Tomb on turn 2 anyway. Perhaps the reason why this player decided to lead it was to counterlead a Lapras counterlead (Kartana, Thundurus, Mimikyu) given how free it is against this team.

+2 252 Atk Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex in Grassy Terrain: 138-163 (87.8 - 103.8%) -- 25% chance to OHKO (25% chance to OHKO after accuracy)

Not pictured: the time I conceded after having three turns to hit a +4 Focus Blast against Chansey and missing all three.

Don't need no stinkin' Focus Sash to live an Ice Punch.

[252 Atk Urshifu-Single-Strike Ice Punch vs. 108 HP / 32 Def Garchomp: 176-208 (89.3 - 105.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO]

To stitch a blanket of understanding from the threads of madness...

LEL.

Stealth Rock up, Skarmory paralyzed, forced Tyranitar to Dynamax in order to live a +2 Focus Blast, about to clean up with Max Knuckle Kartana (unrevealed Quagsire or Toxapex in the back), get disconnected — I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rental code: 0000 0004 MD87 KK

Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/0b87d6a5921246e6

1) Team overview

Garchomp

This set, by ranway, on a Blaziken-pass team, was the main thing I started to build around for the team. But instead of going for the Baton Pass route, I opted for Dragonite as the direct follow-up, while retaining both Kartana and Mimikyu, although with markedly different sets, reflecting their slightly different roles with the absence of Blaziken.

   Despite the fact that Fling has only 1.8% usage on Garchomp as of Season 14, its item selection is far more varied than it was in USUM. This means that, if you want to use it as much as possible, you really want to sell the opponent on Focus Sash to avoid certain openers that would otherwise oneshot it. For opposing Dragapult, whose renaissance has finally come as of Season 14, for example, this entails making it opt for Dragon Darts, U-turn to get momentum on Tapu Fini or even Mimikyu switching in, a support move, or Max Airstream/Phantasm instead of firing off a lethal Max Wyrmwind.

   As stated by the author, the defensive investments on this set target 252 Att Dragapult's Dragon Darts, and +252 SpAtt Life Orb Max Airstream from Zapdos, with the added benefit of being guaranteed to live a Tapu Fini-braving 252 Att Choice Scarf Dracovish's Outrage. Also survivable and relevant for the lead match-ups is Choice Band Urshifu-Single-Strike Wicked Blow, but more importantly, the occasional Ice Punch from 252 Att Focus Sash Urshifu variants (25% to 1HKO).

   Another major defensive benchmark is living Porygon2's Ice Beam, which this set does against all but +252 SpAtt variants. Lead Porygon2 may also opt to Max Hailstorm to circumvent Focus Sash, thereby not losing an additional Dynamax turn, but in this case, trading the opposing Dynamax for paralysis, in my experience, is absolutely worth it so long as Mimikyu is brought along to exhaust remaining Dynamax turns while Swords Dancing, with Dragonite or Kartana likely in the last slot, and your own Dynamax ideally still available.

   Although possibly the worst possible lead match up for Garchomp short of Icicle Spear and Triple Axel users, Timid Choice Scarf Tapu Fini's Ice Beam is also eminently survivable (6.3% to 1HKO; Modest ones 1HKO 62.5% with Moonblast failing to 1HKO either way).

   It should also be noted that +252 SpAtt Tapu Lele's Moonblast is only survivable exactly 50% of the time, but because Tapu Lele sets currently are experimenting with their own defensive benchmarks — most notably living Focus Sashed Wicked Blow — not to mention the fact that Timid Moonblast is more or less a 50/50 over Modest ones on Choice Scarf sets anyway, making leading against Tapu Lele an advantageous match up overall.

   All in all, I have to concur with the author's sentiment when they say: "It was fun to throw an electric ball at Daima Pokemon”.

Dragonite

Dragonite is the biggest Stealth Rock bait since Series 6 Charizard, which is partly what Heavy-Duty Boots is here to counteract, ensuring a Multiscale-protected initial Dragon Dance no matter what.

   That being said, on bulky Roosing Dragonite, Maranga or Kee Berry would strictly speaking be the superior choices for hold items, but the idea here is to be just that much more consistent as a follow-up to paralysis-support Garchomp, and, to reiterate, as a general Dynamax check with Multiscale and Roost as well as ideally being better able to withstand multiple switches.

   With Roost and Dragon Dance, limited offensive coverage is a problem: Fire Punch lets Dragonite do its thing against Ferrothorn and Celesteela, as Fire-coverage is otherwise sorely lacking here, but leaves Dragonite crucially unable to threaten Nihilego, Tyranitar, Rhyperior. The occasional Heatran and Rotom-H/W do also give pause as to whether to bench the beer-bellied dragon altogether.

  The EVs play towards maximizing the boosting and Roosting lifestyle while avoiding giving Porygon2 the desired Download-boost into SpAtt, with the chief benchmark for Speed being beating Dragapult's 213 native stat by one after a Dragon Dance or Max Airsteam.

Kartana

As with Dragonite, another conservative item choice here, on a 4-attacks Dynamax sweeper set of all things, in Focus Sash instead of Life Orb, but one that lets Kartana take lead trades against the likes of Cinderace and Pheromosa when the idea was to try to counterlead Hippowdon, Swampert, Tapu Fini, or Lapras, which are undesireable encounters for Garchomp.

   Focus Sash also lets Kartana bait things like Cinderace and Zapdos to remove themselves from the equation by staying in and attacking into a Giga Impact/Max Strike, especially when operating outside Max Airstream momentum yourself. Indeed, without Swords Dance, Kartana has a harder time wallbreaking, making Max Knuckle openers preferable over Max Airstream in many cases.

Tapu Fini

Alright, this isn't a real Tapu Fini; it's merely a secondary cripple lead option over Garchomp, whose defensive role overlap should, first and foremost, be understood in that context. Benched most games, its team preview game empowers Garchomp by its very existence thanks to its complementary defensive pairing with the venerable land shark. This is less so the case against Dragapult and Dracovish, who Garchomp actually wants to hit in the lead (barring +252 Att Dracovish and Life Orb or special attacker Dragapult), but moreso for things like Pheromosa, whose possible Focus Sash is a prime target for Rocky Helmet.

   So where's the Water-coverage then? To put it bluntly, it doesn't do anything on a disposable set like this. Icy Wind is far superior, being able to Speed control for offensive momentum, and preventing opposing Nihilego and Zapdos momentum should either of them switch into it. This is also partly the reasoning for the Speed-investment on this set: 114 not only beats 252 Speed Celesteela, but also conveniently outspeeds Nihilego at -1.

   Taunt has some utility against the occasional Unaware Clefable or some other, seldom-seen slow set-up strategy (Cresselia, Reuniclus) in the back, and as a lead against some variants of Baton Pass, although greedy early offensive momentum (e.g. Dragonite vs Blaziken-pass) and Thundurus (Scolipede-pass) feel more consistent to be due to the fact that Speed Boost will let the Baton Pass go off eventually even with Icy Wind (Substitute). Indeed, one of the changes I will consider for this set in the future is to drop Taunt for Haze of all things.

Thundurus-T

Aside from some kind of defensive pivot, Nasty Plot wallbreaking is the answer to the question of why anyone would elect to use Thundurus-T over a certain other Electric/Flying type that actually has access to recovery (Roost) and Flying-type moves (Max Airstream).

   So then, what Thundurus does here is sit in front of any kind of stall involving Quagsire, Toxapex, Chansey, Ferrothorn or Skarmory/Celesteela, and clicks Nasty Plot until everything, including Tyranitar, falls over without even necessarily having to pop Dynamax. A secondary effect of collecting free wins against certain compositions like this is forcing out more offensive modes from them, if present, which, in stall's case, tends to be a job for Dynamax Kartana.

   Unlike for Xurkitree, which previously occupied a similar role to what Thundurus does here but unfortunately got completely neutered in the transition from USUM to generation 8 by no longer having access to Tail Glow, losing Hidden Power: Ice is not as devastating either, because Grass Knot and Focus Blast are insane coverage, the former letting Thundurus lead or come in against Hippowdon and Swampert for free thanks to Lum Berry, and the latter providing a meaningful threat to Ferrothorn and Tyranitar.

   A major benchmark for Speed in the format is 126, which beats Cinderace's 188 by one after a Max Airstream, or in this team's case, after Garchomp Rock Tomb or Kartana Max Strike. More importantly though, because things like bulky Zapdos and various other fat Max Airstream sweepers indeed do like to settle on 126, this Thundurus seeks to creep past that by one.

   On the topic of benchmarks and Zapdos, the defensive investments on this set are a synthesis of two builds, mikan-poke's and panipanipanipa's, which prevents the 2HKO from Max Flare by Choice Scarf or all-out offensive — +252 SpAtt Life Orb — sets in a Dynamax duel. Also survivable is Porygon2's uninvested Max Hailstorm and hail damage from without having to expending Dynamax yourself.

   It should be noted that Thundurus is among the worst things imaginable to bring into a Nihilego game, so whenever such a decision is on the table, Mimikyu/Kartana have to be waiting in the wings.

Mimikyu

Here yet again to lend additional consistency to the team by patching up defensive flaws with its prowess as a blanket check to offensive momentum. For this team, I once again decided to stick with a slower defensive spread and Drain Punch to beef up the Porygon2 match-up because of a spate of Max Hailstorm leads, rather than opting for the faster Phantom Force sets that target the Kee Berry Mimikyu mirror.

2) Usage notes

Ice has always been an excellent offensive type, but this team takes that weakness to the next level, with Tapu Fini being the only thing that can switch in defensively and not get crippled. So when that Ice-move is Freeze Dry, things are even more grim, likely calling for a counterlead — Kartana/Thundurus in the case of Lapras, with Mimikyu being the most consistent against Ninetales-A.

   Anything with an Ice-move that leads against Garchomp (especially Porygon2) may also opt to Dynamax on turn 1 in order to break through a presumed Focus Sash, which tends to mean bringing Mimikyu in the back is called for, and is indeed a major justification for Mimikyu's set, as outlined above. Alternatively, Tapu Fini can be elected. Trading paralysis for the opponent's Dynamax, especially in the case of Porygon2

Rating before the last three days of play.

Peak on the final day.

Final rating after going 2-6 on a last minute push to break triple digits (1891 Elo).

2.1 Usual team compositions

Garchomp-Kartana-Mimikyu

Garchomp-Dragonite-Mimikyu/Kartana

Kartana-Tapu Fini/Mimikyu-Dragonite

Thundurus-Tapu Fini-Dragonite/Kartana

2.2 VS Team Select Screen (in order of frequency)

Only minor changes for this entry below, with the Dragapult-renaissance being the chief consideration.

Hyper Offense

- Usually comes in the form of Focus Sash user + dedicated Dynamax sweeper + Mimikyu.

- Landorus, Kartana, Dragapult, Urshifu, Naganadel, Pheromosa, Nihilego, Cinderace + Zapdos, Mimikyu, Moxie Gyarados, Dracovish.

Garchomp-Mimikyu-Kartana/Dragonite

Kartana-Mimikyu-Tapu Fini/Dragonite

Playing to lead Garchomp is advised, but it needs to watch out for Tapu Fini, barring obvious things like Pheromosa, in which case Tapu Fini can also opt to lead for likely Kartana momentum with Icy Wind and Nature's Madness. This should be Thundurus' worst match up; on paper, at least. Garchomp in the back is usually only reserved against Nihilego teams.

Bulky Offense or Balance

- Purely defensive anti-Dynamax checks: Swampert, Hippowdon, Porygon2, bulky Intimidate users (Landorus, special attacker Salamence, Gyarados).

- Mainly reactive Dynamax options: Porygon2, Landorus, Tapu Fini, Ferrothorn.

- Likely offensive options: Nihilego, Cinderace, Zapdos, Swords Dance Landorus, Kartana, Celesteela. Offensive options likely EV'd defensively to cushion specific hits.

- Wallbreaking options: Choice Band Rillaboom/Urshifu-Single-Strike, Dracovish.

Garchomp-Mimikyu-Kartana/Dragonite

Thundurus-Mimikyu-Kartana/Dragonite/Garchomp

Robust Hippowdon/Porygon2 play looks better for Thundurus' prospects, although Mimikyu will likely have to be brought in the back if Nihilego is abound, and Landorus feels like it might be a fully offensive set instead of, say, a defensive pivot or bulky Swords Dance. Trying to get a greedy lead against Hippowdon is Thundurus' job, as Kartana can't 1HKO it even with Max Overgrowth.

Screens Mode

- Explosion Regieleki, Curse Dragapult, and Grimmsnarl as the three most common Light Clay screens setters, with Grimmsnarl being arguably the scariest because of Prankster and access to various crippling options (Scary Face, Trick Lagging Tail, Thunder Wave). Dragapult sets, on the other hand, need to be inferred from the rest of the opposing line-up.

- Taunt + Nature's Madness Tapu Koko is criminally underrated in this regard, easily eclipsing trash like Regieleki which has a similarly telegraphed team select screen presence. Ninetales-A is also a perfectly usable possibility, its niche being Sheer Cold with either Focus Sash or bulky Light Clay.

- Common offensive pairings include Moltres-G, Landorus, Celesteela, Dragon Dance users. Baton Pass is also a possibility in a convoluted two-stage set-up.

Garchomp-Mimikyu-

Thundurus-Mimikyu-

Garchomp is a good lead against every Screens setter. Mimikyu is good at exhausting Screens turns.

   Tapu Fini has some utility against Grimmsnarl and neither the Speed drop from Icy Wind nor Nature's Madness are impacted by Taunt or screens, but it should be noted that Grimmsnarl Screens isn't guaranteed to be in the lead because of the Prankster anti-offensive momentum its kit can opt to carry.

   If the Screens setter is Regieleki, however, Thundurus' Nasty Plot is free, with Max Guard being an option against its Explosion turn, depending on what the follow-up will be.

   As for Kartana, washing up against Screens is most likely the absolute last thing it wants to be doing.

Hard Stall

- Toxapex, Chansey/Blissey, Quagsire, Skarmory, Tyranitar, Clefable

- Offensive punch, if present, likely made up of either Cinderace, Celesteela, Pheromosa/Urshifu/Darmanitan, Dragonite, or Zapdos.

Thundurus-Kartana-

Tapu Fini-Thundurus-

Garchomp-Thundurus-

The plan should look like this: 1) Get Thundurus in a position where Nasty Plot is free; 2) Don't miss the boosted Focus Blast against Tyranitar/Chansey; 3) Bring answers to anti-Thundurus offensive threats (Tapu Fini).

   Kartana is also a possible out as Scared Sword is actually decent against Skarmory if the Max Knuckle turns line up properly (basically: don't start Knuckling in front of it as its Iron Defensing), but needs to be at +2 Att with Grassy Terrain in order for Toxapex to get oneshotted from full by Max Overgrowth — a tall order indeed.

   Garchomp's utility is limited to clicking Stealth Rock and Fling, but sometimes that's enough to get the ball rolling even against stall. Tapu Fini fares well in the stall match up because of Taunt and Nature's Madness, and can also check Urshifu-Single-Strike, Darmanitan, and Pheromosa.

Trick Room mode (semi-Trick Room)

- Semi-Trick Room as a form of reverse-speed control has the advantage of forcing a secondary mode coin-flip in the team preview screen from teams that rely on snowballing with a sweeper (e.g. Moxie Gyarados) as the main mode.

- Cresselia, Mimikyu, Porygon2 as the most universally viable setters when paired with slow sweepers. Uxie can be hard to read in this regard due to its ability to run several support sets in Stealth Rock + Yawn + pivot, Screens + Yawn/Memento, and Trick Room.

- Notable sweepers that usually give away the game: Glastrier, Rhyperior, Dracovish, or even something like Choice Specs Eruption Torkoal and Stakataka.

- If more than one setter and/or slow offensive powerhouse is present, it's dedicated Trick Room, which is bad, and anyone losing to it should feel bad. 

Tapu Fini-Mimikyu-Kartana

Garchomp-Mimikyu-Tapu Fini

Playing through Tapu Fini works because it can't really get 1HKO'd by anything other than lead Zapdos or Rillaboom, meaning something is going to get crippled or traded into. Tapu Fini also stops Glastrier-Cresselia's Trick Room-into-Lunar Dance, although getting into a position to actually click Taunt on a Trick Room turn is more or less wishful thinking.

Baton Pass

- Only any good because Scolipede is good, likely passing Iron Defense and Speed to a set-up sweeper (for example, Swords Dance users).

- Recipients include Cresselia (Stored Power) and Celesteela, but Clefable remains a standout thanks to Stored Power + Unaware/Magic Guard, with something like Porygon2 able to grind out almost anything, especially if passed to from Dynamax Weakness Policy Scolipede.

- Either straight lead Scolipede/Blaziken, or have dedicated lead up for it in the form of a cripple lead, especially the case for Blaziken.

- Depending on how dedicated the team is, a non-Baton Pass mode likely has some straightforward powerful stuff like Cinderace, Tapu Fini, or Landorus. 

Tapu Fini-

Thundurus-Kartana-

Tapu Fini does well against any kind of opposing cripple lead option on more convoluted set-ups, and can potentially stop something big and fat like Unaware Clefable or Cresselia in the back from pulling away with the game. Indeed, clicking Taunt, Icy Wind and Nature's Madness is generally consistent against Baton Pass teams, with Nasty Plot Thundurus being an option against Scolipede-pass. Dragonite can be elected against Blaziken-pass because of Dragon Dance and Dual Wingbeat.

   A seemingly more recent development on Baton Pass teams, Urshifu, is especially scary, because Swords Dance-boosted Surging Strikes makes short work of Mimikyu, and likely has coverage for Tapu Fini.
                                                                                 

3) In Conclusion

And that about does it for this write-up. For Series 8, I think I'll start out by trying to record a decent score with Eternatus stall (Ditto, Zapdos), and then switch to Zygarde-C, which looks kind of interesting and underrated despite having actual niches thanks to Glare, Coil, and Thousand Arrows.

- Tox

SW-0021-9848-8999