Remember in 5th gen when Liepard could run around in lower tiers and utterly massacre teams with Assist picking Roar paired with Sub / Nasty Plot? Liepard trolling is one of my fondest memories from 5th gen. When 6th gen came around we got Meowstic, effectively the same thing but with better bulk and Calm Mind. For a couple glorious days Assist trolling returned. Meowstic could shred teams pretty much on its own, only really worrying about Talonflame who wasn't particularly hard to deal with. Then we found out Roar / Whirlwind couldn't be picked by Assist anymore. The glitch was almost immediately fixed on Showdown and Assist cat dicking died there. Or did it? There is one remaining place that Assist can break the game. Battle Spot. Assist can still pick Spore and on Battle Spot there is no sleep clause.
Please keep in mind this is for 3v3 lvl 50 Battle Spot. EVs are slightly different, Smogon OU bans do not apply, and clauses are not in place. Because the team is built around Meowstic utilizing priority Assist Spores that means the rest of the team is only able to use the moves found here.
Truffles (Breloom) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Atk / 100 Def
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Protect
- Counter
Of the 6 Pokemon on my team I can bring 3. Because Meowstic needs Spore to be somewhere on the team in battle that means Breloom pretty much always comes along. Despite this Breloom is a pretty cool anti lead. Meowstic is my lead in team preview so often the opponent will lead with things capable of crippling the cat such as Talonflame and Kangaskhan, both of whom Breloom demolishes. Protect blocks Fake Outs and scouts choiced mon moves. For example against a lead Talonflame I can find out if they're going to Brave Bird or just U-turn out. If they BB I just counter (which they never, ever see coming). If they U-turn I just Spore, then Focus Punch. Protecting against Kangaskhan is important because dodging Fake Out allows me to survive a follow up Adamant Return 100% of the time with the given EVs and Spore + Focus Punch it. Because I run no speed EVs Breloom usually takes a hit, survives with Sash, Spores something, and Focus Punches whatever comes in. Effect Spore means even at 1 HP Breloom has the capacity to totally dick something over. In rare situations Effect Spore has been annoying when it Poisons my opponent and blocks my own Spore but this is pretty rare. Breloom even managed to KO a Mandibuzz, despite having no ability to do direct damage to it.
Fagatron (Meowstic) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 12 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Assist
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
Meowstic is incredibly hard to stop in a 3v3 setting without Sleep clause. Assist is only capable of picking Spore and with that paired with Substitute + Calm Mind this shitty cat becomes deceptively difficult to remove. I used to run Dark Pulse because it hits everything in the game for at least some damage but I didn't really run into Dark types as much as I thought I would (Bisharp / Mandibuzz suck in 3v3 and Tyranitar isn't exactly common either). Psyshock has the added bonus of winning Calm Mind wars (almost literally just Suicune) and dealing crippling damage to Breloom and Mega Venusaur, two annoying grass mons who are immune to Spore. Lastly Psyshock hits Mega Mawile and Lucario way harder than Dark Pulse. 244 speed outruns Jolly Garchomp at level 50. 12 Sp def EVs assists in preventing cat's Subs from being broken after a few Calm Minds. I considered dropping the speed for even more bulk but outrunning Garchomp, Charizard, and OHKOing them before they wake up etc is too good to pass up. 0 Attack IVs mean Foul Play does not break a Sub (So Klefki can fuck itself).
GetsAround (Ditto) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Transform
Basically Ditto is one of the few Pokemon who can be run on an Assist team unhindered. Ditto is the least used member of the team and is pretty much just here to replace Meowstic in the event team preview shows that my opponent has a team that can easily handle it. Battles like this one. IVs give Ditto Hidden Power Ice which has literally never been useful but for the one in a million matches where I need it, it's there. Ditto is very powerful in 3v3 because it means the match is 5v3 from the start since I can pick a Pokemon the opponent has and try to sweep them with their own mons.
Gipsy Danger (Golurk) @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Phantom Force
- Focus Punch
- Sleep Talk
Golurk is bulky enough to survive most STAB hits and un-STABed super effective moves so most of the time it can launch a Banded Phantom Force and get at least one KO. Focus Punch can be used to hit incoming Dark / Normal types and with Iron Fist has about the same power as a STAB Close Combat. Sleep Talk is cool because it can't pick Focus Punch so it pretty much just reads "use Phantom Force while asleep". No 4th move because Golurk doesn't really learn anything useful and it gets in the way of Sleep Talk.
Slappy (Banette) (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 68 Def / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Phantom Force
- Sleep Talk
- Protect
Banette is a cool Pokemon. Phantom Force hits reasonably hard and has incredible type coverage. Destiny Bond has priority and is a free kill in a lot of situations. Against faster Pokemon I can just switch between Destiny Bond and Phantom Force until the opponent is either dead or kills itself. Sleep Talk and Protect in the last slots because it really doesn't have anything else. Metronome would have been funny because it gets priority through Prankster but it is incompatible with Phantom Force. Frisk > w/e its other abilities are because scouting items (Lum Berries, mostly) and thus sets is invaluable for Meowstic sweeps. HP and Def EVs guarantee survival against Band Talonflame's Brave Bird while Speed EVs outrun max speed Adamant Azumarill.
Sharknado (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Endure
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
I needed something to wear down Talonflame. My choices were basically Ferrothorn and Garchomp. Ferrothorn has better stats but learns nothing good. Garchomp can at least use Dragon Tail as an offensive move and scout the 2nd or 3rd member of my opponent's team. Endure is fun to draw out some extra damage with Rocky Helmet and it some situations can even activate several times in a row. This along with Brave Bird recoil leaves Talonflame basically dead even if I don't do anything. Roar is still useful to get Sub setup mons to go away. Sleep Talk because Garchomp doesn't get much else.
So this team tends to generally do really well. A few issues.
Grass types are annoying because they are immune to Spore. Ferrothorn is the #1 problem because cat is worthless against it. Breloom and M Venusaur can be overpowered and Celebi can't do shit unless it has U-turn or Perish Song.
Dark types are also hard to beat. Cat can't touch them, though it can at least put them to sleep and give my next mon a safe switch in 66% of the time.
"Sound" moves and infiltrator Pokemon can be a threat. Usually I just bring Ditto instead of Meowstic if the opposing team looks like it can evade my subs.
I have had a few ideas for other mons to run but haven't found a spot for them yet...
Gothitelle. Goth can Trick a Burn Orb or Scarf onto something and prevent it from switching with Shadow Tag. It has a terrible movepool though. Trick / Thief / Mirror Coat is basically all of it.
Gengar. Trick Black Sludge / Scarf / Burn Orb. It can't trap like Goth but it has a good movepool including Destiny Bond / Focus Punch / Thief / Counter. I could also run Mega Gengar but then I couldn't use Trick.
Pangoro. Gets Circle Throw and Thief but basically nothing else. It can switch in on most Darks and sorta shits of Ferrothorn.
Chatot. Chatter has 100% confusion rate which almost means a 50% flinch rate (with added damage!). While "counter" isn't the right word it could sorta deal with Mega Venusaur. It gets Sleep Talk too but not much else.
Lopunny. Klutz and Switcheroo make it the perfect Pokemon to trade Scarf / Burn Orb. It gets Circle Throw / Copycat / Mirror Coat too alongside passable bulk.
Drifblim. Tricks items and gets Destiny Bond. Also has Aftermath so it can strip 25% off something that decides to KO with a contact move.
Arbok. Tricks Black Sludge and has intimidate. Dragon Tail is nice and it absorbs Toxic Spikes, which is something I have never once needed.
Anyhow that's my team. Please don't mention defensive threats because this team has no need for defense. I need more help handling things that threaten Meowstic. I can't drop Meowstic, Breloom, and probably not Garchomp but everything else is replaceable.
Here are some more battle logs.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169556782
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169555225
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169541681
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169521661
Please keep in mind this is for 3v3 lvl 50 Battle Spot. EVs are slightly different, Smogon OU bans do not apply, and clauses are not in place. Because the team is built around Meowstic utilizing priority Assist Spores that means the rest of the team is only able to use the moves found here.
Truffles (Breloom) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Atk / 100 Def
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Focus Punch
- Protect
- Counter
Of the 6 Pokemon on my team I can bring 3. Because Meowstic needs Spore to be somewhere on the team in battle that means Breloom pretty much always comes along. Despite this Breloom is a pretty cool anti lead. Meowstic is my lead in team preview so often the opponent will lead with things capable of crippling the cat such as Talonflame and Kangaskhan, both of whom Breloom demolishes. Protect blocks Fake Outs and scouts choiced mon moves. For example against a lead Talonflame I can find out if they're going to Brave Bird or just U-turn out. If they BB I just counter (which they never, ever see coming). If they U-turn I just Spore, then Focus Punch. Protecting against Kangaskhan is important because dodging Fake Out allows me to survive a follow up Adamant Return 100% of the time with the given EVs and Spore + Focus Punch it. Because I run no speed EVs Breloom usually takes a hit, survives with Sash, Spores something, and Focus Punches whatever comes in. Effect Spore means even at 1 HP Breloom has the capacity to totally dick something over. In rare situations Effect Spore has been annoying when it Poisons my opponent and blocks my own Spore but this is pretty rare. Breloom even managed to KO a Mandibuzz, despite having no ability to do direct damage to it.
Fagatron (Meowstic) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 12 SpD / 244 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Assist
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
Meowstic is incredibly hard to stop in a 3v3 setting without Sleep clause. Assist is only capable of picking Spore and with that paired with Substitute + Calm Mind this shitty cat becomes deceptively difficult to remove. I used to run Dark Pulse because it hits everything in the game for at least some damage but I didn't really run into Dark types as much as I thought I would (Bisharp / Mandibuzz suck in 3v3 and Tyranitar isn't exactly common either). Psyshock has the added bonus of winning Calm Mind wars (almost literally just Suicune) and dealing crippling damage to Breloom and Mega Venusaur, two annoying grass mons who are immune to Spore. Lastly Psyshock hits Mega Mawile and Lucario way harder than Dark Pulse. 244 speed outruns Jolly Garchomp at level 50. 12 Sp def EVs assists in preventing cat's Subs from being broken after a few Calm Minds. I considered dropping the speed for even more bulk but outrunning Garchomp, Charizard, and OHKOing them before they wake up etc is too good to pass up. 0 Attack IVs mean Foul Play does not break a Sub (So Klefki can fuck itself).
GetsAround (Ditto) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Transform
Basically Ditto is one of the few Pokemon who can be run on an Assist team unhindered. Ditto is the least used member of the team and is pretty much just here to replace Meowstic in the event team preview shows that my opponent has a team that can easily handle it. Battles like this one. IVs give Ditto Hidden Power Ice which has literally never been useful but for the one in a million matches where I need it, it's there. Ditto is very powerful in 3v3 because it means the match is 5v3 from the start since I can pick a Pokemon the opponent has and try to sweep them with their own mons.
Gipsy Danger (Golurk) @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Phantom Force
- Focus Punch
- Sleep Talk
Golurk is bulky enough to survive most STAB hits and un-STABed super effective moves so most of the time it can launch a Banded Phantom Force and get at least one KO. Focus Punch can be used to hit incoming Dark / Normal types and with Iron Fist has about the same power as a STAB Close Combat. Sleep Talk is cool because it can't pick Focus Punch so it pretty much just reads "use Phantom Force while asleep". No 4th move because Golurk doesn't really learn anything useful and it gets in the way of Sleep Talk.
Slappy (Banette) (M) @ Banettite
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 68 Def / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Phantom Force
- Sleep Talk
- Protect
Banette is a cool Pokemon. Phantom Force hits reasonably hard and has incredible type coverage. Destiny Bond has priority and is a free kill in a lot of situations. Against faster Pokemon I can just switch between Destiny Bond and Phantom Force until the opponent is either dead or kills itself. Sleep Talk and Protect in the last slots because it really doesn't have anything else. Metronome would have been funny because it gets priority through Prankster but it is incompatible with Phantom Force. Frisk > w/e its other abilities are because scouting items (Lum Berries, mostly) and thus sets is invaluable for Meowstic sweeps. HP and Def EVs guarantee survival against Band Talonflame's Brave Bird while Speed EVs outrun max speed Adamant Azumarill.
Sharknado (Garchomp) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Dragon Tail
- Endure
- Sleep Talk
- Roar
I needed something to wear down Talonflame. My choices were basically Ferrothorn and Garchomp. Ferrothorn has better stats but learns nothing good. Garchomp can at least use Dragon Tail as an offensive move and scout the 2nd or 3rd member of my opponent's team. Endure is fun to draw out some extra damage with Rocky Helmet and it some situations can even activate several times in a row. This along with Brave Bird recoil leaves Talonflame basically dead even if I don't do anything. Roar is still useful to get Sub setup mons to go away. Sleep Talk because Garchomp doesn't get much else.
So this team tends to generally do really well. A few issues.
Grass types are annoying because they are immune to Spore. Ferrothorn is the #1 problem because cat is worthless against it. Breloom and M Venusaur can be overpowered and Celebi can't do shit unless it has U-turn or Perish Song.
Dark types are also hard to beat. Cat can't touch them, though it can at least put them to sleep and give my next mon a safe switch in 66% of the time.
"Sound" moves and infiltrator Pokemon can be a threat. Usually I just bring Ditto instead of Meowstic if the opposing team looks like it can evade my subs.
I have had a few ideas for other mons to run but haven't found a spot for them yet...
Gothitelle. Goth can Trick a Burn Orb or Scarf onto something and prevent it from switching with Shadow Tag. It has a terrible movepool though. Trick / Thief / Mirror Coat is basically all of it.
Gengar. Trick Black Sludge / Scarf / Burn Orb. It can't trap like Goth but it has a good movepool including Destiny Bond / Focus Punch / Thief / Counter. I could also run Mega Gengar but then I couldn't use Trick.
Pangoro. Gets Circle Throw and Thief but basically nothing else. It can switch in on most Darks and sorta shits of Ferrothorn.
Chatot. Chatter has 100% confusion rate which almost means a 50% flinch rate (with added damage!). While "counter" isn't the right word it could sorta deal with Mega Venusaur. It gets Sleep Talk too but not much else.
Lopunny. Klutz and Switcheroo make it the perfect Pokemon to trade Scarf / Burn Orb. It gets Circle Throw / Copycat / Mirror Coat too alongside passable bulk.
Drifblim. Tricks items and gets Destiny Bond. Also has Aftermath so it can strip 25% off something that decides to KO with a contact move.
Arbok. Tricks Black Sludge and has intimidate. Dragon Tail is nice and it absorbs Toxic Spikes, which is something I have never once needed.
Anyhow that's my team. Please don't mention defensive threats because this team has no need for defense. I need more help handling things that threaten Meowstic. I can't drop Meowstic, Breloom, and probably not Garchomp but everything else is replaceable.
Here are some more battle logs.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169556782
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169555225
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169541681
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotsingles-169521661
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