Monotype My Water Mono - Peaked at 1712 (top 32)

[Rychuuuu]

INTRO

Hi all and thanks for checking my team out!

I haven't done one of these in a LONG while - so thought I'd drop this team here that I've had some success with! I originally created this team as a bit of fun - as OU was stale and I loved Water Pokemon. Over time I wanted to see how well this team could do with laddering in Mono so I knuckled down and made a few changes to improve it. The result was this team peaking at 1712 ( before dropping off (proof below) - so for me that's some sort of achievement!

It's a mix of the weird and wonderful and not a very orthodox Water type team and is still quite fun to play with. Anyways - let's get into it... :)


THE TEAM

G-warts (Seismitoad) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock
One of my all time favourite Water Pokemon and more often than not - the lead in most of my battles. Aside from being immune to Electric - I gave it Water Absorb to give it another immunity and stop things like Rotom-W doing anything to it. Moveset is fairly straight forward - Scald and EQ provide it STAB, Knock Off is there for anything that switches in or is holding an annoying item (like Leftovers) and Stealth Rocks is pretty self explanatory. EV spread is to maximise it's physical bulk and me not caring too much about speed on this team - I chucked the remaining on to SpDef to buff up that area. I've switched around the spread (between SpDef and Def) and it's honestly not done any worse than this current one.

Navi (Azumarill) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Toxic
- Protect
Water has plenty of coverage and checks to one of it's weaknesses (Electric). Sadly it's other weakness to Grass isn't really "checked" as comfortably. Even common Water favorites Pelipper and Toxapex can be played around a bit. Basically - I knew I wouldn't stand much of a chance against Grass in mono as it straight up brushes most Water teams aside. With that in mind though - I still wanted some sort of answer to it especially as I have two Water/Ground types! Enter Sap Sipper Azumarill! Nothing too fancy here EV spread is to maximise it's special bulk and moves wise - it's your typical Whirlpool/Perish Song trap set up. Azu essentially provides me a free switch into Grass type moves and opens up the opportunity for me to Perish trap. Mega Char Y (if left unchecked and I don't have Rocks up can be free to dent holes in my team with it's combo of Drought/Solar Beam etc) can be nullified easily enough with this set. Any Celesteela set is pretty much fodder to this and Ferrothorn (without Gyro Ball) can find itself being put out quite quickly, although I have to be wary of it stacking Spikes. Toxic is there instead of Rest or another useful move like Knock Off - as it allows me to stall and chip away at anything that switches in. It can't do much to Mega Venu with Sludge Bomb - but it does provide me the means to stop it from Giga Drain-ing my entire team or planting Leech Seed. I would usually still go for the Whirlpool/Perish Song trap - as at least i can dent it somewhat until we're both forced into switching out. It's not perfect - but this Azu has saved my hide on more than one occasion!

Probe Light (Lanturn) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Protect
With three Pokemon on my team being weak to Electric - and me needing another answer to it instead of the expected switch into Seismitoad or Swampert - I brought in Volt Absorb Lanturn. 'Toad can usually be one of the first Pokemon in my team to faint, so I didn't want to rely on Swampert coming in and getting chipped away at. This thing is decent enough to come in and stop Volt Switchers and force them to try something else or switch out and doesn't mind too much if it's hit with Will O Wisp. This will allow me to either Volt Switch myself, go for Scald (and pray for burn lols) or hit 'em with Toxic. Even against stubborn special attackers who will try to chip away at it - if I have used Toxic or got the burn from Scald - I can stall a little bit coz of Lanturn's good bulk and anticipate what they might try and do next. Volt Switching also allows me to bring in Fini (to lure in status users) or Mega Swampert (for Knock Off). The EV spread and Bold nature means it can stomach more than one non Adamant or Band/Orb Garchomp and Landorus EQs allowing me to go for the hail Mary of Scald burn or replying with Toxic to help make it easier for other Pokemon to clean up.

Ariel (Tapu Fini) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Misty Surge
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf or Muddy Water
- Moonblast
- Trick
- Defog
Most people frown upon this set - but this Fini has definitely been one of my stars on this team! Other than providing blanket cover vs status for my team (thanks to Misty Terrain), it's a fast special attacker and Defog-er which can act as a sweeper/clean up. But I especially like that it can shut down any pesky non-Z move Pokemon - like sweepers (Calm Mind Clefable, Dragon Dance non-Mega Gyardos) hazard leads (like Klefki, opposing Seismitoad etc) or anything else that my team might struggle to break down like Jellicent, Skarmory, Gastrodon, Zapdos and Rotom-W. It's other moves - Scarf Fini with Moonblast (and Rocks damage) can tear apart most members of Dark, Fighting and Dragon type teams (although I have to watch out for banded Dragonite) and is just a reliable move that dents holes in non-resistant Pokemon. Surf or Muddy Water is there for additional STAB although I do prefer Muddy Water for the chance for it to lower accuracy - but the irony that it can also miss isn't lost on me! Trick I've covered and Defog is straight forward. It's not a very orthodox Fini set by any means - but it is fun to abuse and to see my opponents rage when their sweeper or stall-mon is shut down!

Cucumber (Pyukumuku) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Soak
- Counter
- Toxic
- Recover
Probably the other undisputed star of my team! Pyuku's EV spread is straight forward to give it as much bulk (it holds well against most special attackers) as possible and while it has a rather Taunt bait move set - this little guy is the most fun Pokemon to abuse! It's still surprising that I get opponents thinking it'll have Innards Out ability in favor of it's superior one - Unaware! Most set up sweepers I've come across in mono struggles against this little guy. The likes of Scizor, Lando-T, Gyarados, Azumarill etc. Soak is crucial for two reasons - removing their STAB (people can underestimate just how valuable that is!) and also allowing me to apply Toxic! I can then Recover stall or hit back with Counter (if they are a physical attacker). Sure it cant do much to Taunt users or something like CM Unaware Magic Guard Clef - but that's not what it's there for. Pyuku's main role is stop set up sweepers - toxic and recover stall them - then repeat. If it can't survive an opponents attack - I can opt to use Counter or go for Soak (to remove that all important STAB which allows Lanturn to come in and abuse it) or as with the above Pokemon - hit em Toxic for that all important chip damage. In certain battles - this thing is my wincon!

'Roidz (Swampert) (M) @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Rain Dance
Probably the only member of my team I am still iffy about having... Rain isn't essential to my team as 'Pert is the only one that can really abuse it - but it does provide me a powerhouse physical attacker. Moveset and EVs are fairly straight forward but it does require some care. Normally I'll have Fini bring in the Terrain before I send in 'Pert. Whilst I'm still not fully convinced of it's role in my team - it does provide a good physical hitter especially against Pokemon that can really trouble my team such as the likes of Toxapex, Clefable and a weakened Mega Venusaur and when the opportunity is there - has been my wincon in some battles.


OVERVIEW
This team - as I have already said - is far from perfect being that it's quite unorthodox. It straight up loses to Grass - so I rarely even bother. If I can't get rid of Mega Venu - then the battle is a done conclusion. This team also has a very hard time against Ice teams - as the few I've encountered tend to abuse Freeze Dry which my team is so weak to. Other threats are stall teams and Sub users as I usually end up sacking Fini to remove the Sub. The thing with mon is that oftentimes I will have my "OU" head on and think a Pokemon will have a OU set then end up surprising me with something else!

As for the Pokemon in the team - Mega Swampert is one area I'm not sure on - even if it does provide a decent physical attack output. I did use to have Mega Gyarados and Toxapex on this team (which made it somewhat easier to deal with Grass)... I have considered changing it for something like Araquanid (decent physical attacker, can't be burnt and can offer Sticky Webs) or possibly Protean Greninja (to make match ups vs Grass a bit more desirable, especially vs Mega Venu and possibly offer a Taunt or Spike user). I'll definitely try both and am open to suggestions!

Otherwise - it is a fun team and has had some success for me.

REPLAYS
Vs Mono Fairy: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-888844774
Vs Mono Electric: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-925805354
Vs Mono Psychic: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-921976525
Vs Mono Dragon: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-921533302
Vs Mono Dark: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-924544889
Vs Mon Rock: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-921702684
Vs Mono Posion (some lucky haxx here I'll admit!): https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-922094706
Vs Mono Fire: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-924446752
Vs Mono Ground: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-924565380
Vs Mono Steel: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-924602470

 

[Perish Song]

Hello Rychuuuu, this is definitively an interesting team. However, this team kinda looks like you tried to fit in different aspects of different archetypes into one team and ended up with this. This doesn't look bad but I'll point out with things I disagree with and try to suggest what you can do alternatively.

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I'm recommending this here for various reasons.

- Swampert is both stronger and bulkier.
- While you have Lanturn in your team, I wouldn't worry about Rotom much since you block Volt Switch and Hydro Pump damage would be too small.
- Despite the statement above, Seismitoad cant actually touch to Rotom at all. You are under the risk of getting Toxic'd. In the long term, Seismitoad will lose a war vs Rotom.
- Swampert as a rain setter is also not beneficial in the long term. You will take lots of hits while trying to set rain up, and its easily stalled out by Protect users such as Celesteela.

Overall I do think Swampert or its Mega can serve you much better as a Stealth Rock user, over Seismitoad. If you insist on keeping Seismitoad, consider running Toxic over Knock Off sometimes.

Rest --> Toxic

Your job is to lure stuff and kill them with Perish Song. When your entire objective is this, running Toxic to cripple things seems a bit redundant. Rest lets you take out Mega Venusaur on the switch, and amount of targets you can actually Toxic is quite limited. You almost always want to Whirlpool on the turn they switch in. (2 turns of Whirlpool damage is equal to 3 turns of Toxic.)

EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD --> 128 HP / 128 Def / 252 SpD

This is just to take Special hits better. Azumarill itself won't be enough as a tank, and Lanturn needs all the Sp.Def it can get in order to take hits from Electric-type Pokemon with coverage. You may also consider running Heal Bell over Protect. You have Tapu Fini with terrain but this is a risk I wouldn't take honestly.

Calcs

252+ SpA Choice Specs Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Lanturn: 168-198 (39.7 - 46.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Xurkitree Energy Ball vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Lanturn: 312-368 (73.7 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Defog --> Ice Beam

Personally, I haven't ever seen a Scarf Fini before, but this looks interesting and I do want to try it sometime myself. But I do think that Ice Beam is too valuable to skip, and I'm not a huge fan of Scarfed Defog users. This also affects my next recommendation of course.

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Now that I recommended you to replace Defog on Fini, you actually need a Defog user in your team. Pyukumuku can be interesting sometimes but despite Unaware the Pokemon is a bit flawed to see great competitive usage, especially in a high ladder or tournament level play, if we consider the fact that your team is not entirely Stall. This particular Pyukumuku set loses to any Toxic user, any Substitute user, invites in nearly every possible Electric-Type Pokemon, any special Steel-type Pokemon. Amount of stuff you can reliably beat with Pyuk will be quite limited so I don't really think you should keep it in your team.

Mantine, on the other hand, provides the Defog, can spread both Burn and Toxic, its access to Haze lets it act as an Unaware user to a certain degree. (In another note you still lose to stuff like Taunt Kommo-o which is smoking hot right now). If you still want to keep an Unaware Pokemon in your team I can recommend Quagsire.

Mantine

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze

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Now as I stated above, I'm not a huge fan of picking Swampert as the only rain Pokemon in one team. Gyarados will serve you much better than Swampert in terms of offense, without in need of rain. The Gyarados you can use is based on what you decided to use as a rocker. It has Dragon Dance, better coverage, Taunt, and a few more things.

If you go for Seismitoad/Swampert, then go for Mega Gyarados.
If you go for Mega Swampert, then go for Gyarados with Flyinium Z.

Gyarados

Gyarados @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall
- Substitute / Taunt

Mega Gyarados

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Substitute / Ice Fang

I hope you find my recommendations helpful \o/

 

[maroon]

Introduction
Hey Rychuuuu, your team is interesting. Rather than making this somewhat of an offensive team I decided to make it full on stall, mostly because the Pokemon you had on your team Lanturn, Pyukumuku, and Sap Sipper Azumarill. I tweaked the team from there, since you seemed interested in Pyukumuku I centered the team around that instead of Quagsire, which is the more common Unaware Pokemon on stall water, however this will do just fine. Anyway lets get into the rate!!

Major Changes
Mantine > Seismitoad

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While it seems odd to get rid of a Ground-type on Water teams, Seismitoad is certainly not helping the team succeed. What Mantine provides over Seismitoad is a Ground immunity, a Defog user, and a Haze user. All of these three are pretty much essential on any variation of stall water. I decided to not make Mantine creep Jolly Azumarill for one reason, this does not need to be used to check it. Pyukumuku is the unaware wall and should be used to check these extremely dangerous setup sweepers, while Mantine can do it, the other does it with much more ease. Defog pretty much allows the team to deal with Hazard Stack against types such as against Grass and Steel teams. The Special Defense investment allows it to better switch into threats such as Mega Venusaur as well as other teammates covering defense up really well for the team. Scald of course is super aids and can cripple every physical attacker that doesn't straight up OHKO Mantine.

Mantine Set

Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Defog
- Roost
- Haze

Alomomola > Tapu Fini

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While Tapu Fini certainly seems like a cool idea on Stall teams being able to bring in the Misty Terrain, blocking status from working it actually works negatively for the team. As its teammates such as Azumarill and Mega Swampert rely on moves such as Rest to really stay active through the entire match. Another major setback to it being is that it prevents your team from spreading status around, which is a huge negative for stall as it really relies on chip over time as its major game plan. Alomomola is a fantastic replacement for Tapu Fini, as it also does a fantastic job of keeping the team healthy but in a completely separate way. Alomomola is the teams wish passer, this automatically makes the team bulkier as they are pretty much guaranteed safe switchins with this Pokemon monstrous HP stat backing them up. Alomomola also has the utility move in Knock Off, which allows it to cripple the foes items such as Kyurem-B's Life Orb. Aside from that Protect not only can be used to effortlessly regain HP from Wish, but it can also be used to severely weaken z-moves, be used to scout Choice Locked Pokemon such as Victini, but also can stall out turns with Pokemon that are poisoned by Toxic.

Alomomola Set

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Def / 248 SpD
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Scald
- Protect
- Knock Off

Minor Changes
Mega Swampert

With no surprise to anybody, just like the rest of this team has become a much more stall effective set so has Swampert. These EVs are specifically designed to allow Swampert to live 2 Life Orb Ice Beams from Kyurem-B, with a bit of chip damage for reassurance. The Speed EVs are just there to creep other fat Mega Swamperts and the rest of the EVs are dumped into Defense to maximize its Physical bulk as much as possible. Note, given these EVs, if Alomomola has successfully removed Kyurem-B's Life Orb, it can easily switch in and take 3 Ice Beam's from Kyurem-B. Stealth Rock is pretty much mandatory, as it pressures teams to remove them with Defog, while also providing very nice chip damage for the team, since it very well relies on that to wear down the opposing team. Scald is mainly just to fish for burns, while Earthquake is mainly to nail annoying Electric-type Pokemon. Rest allows Mega Swampert to stay healthy through the battle, it generally is meant for the Electric matchup, but is widely effective in many other matchups such as Dragon, Flying, and Steel.

New Set

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Def / 176 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Earthquake

Pyukumuku

Pyukumuku is a pretty standard set in OU I thought would work very well here. Rather than using some cheeky Soak+Toxic set I decided that wearing out the opposing teams PP was better, as this gave threats such as Mega Gallade less of a chance to actually get across damage. The Defensive EVs are just so it can take on Physical setup sweepers and attackers better such as the aforementioned Mega Gallade as well as other Pokemon such as Azumarill, Mimikyu, Landorus-T, and Excadrill. Toxic of course is just an easy last as this allows it to then wear down other Pokemon with chip, and Recover supports both of its other moves by keeping its longevity up. This can be pretty disgusting if played right as it can zap the PP of threats such as Close Combat from Mega Gallade or Fusion Bolt from Kyurem-B, severely limiting their ability to threaten the team well.

New Set

Pyukumuku @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Block
- Recover
- Spite
- Toxic

Azumarill

This description will be kept short, as Perish Song already described the importance of Rest>Toxic on the Pokemon, as well as you practically having the right set on it anyway. This provides the team with the Dragon- and Grass-type immunity, allowing it to switch into powerful attacks such as Tapu Bulu's Horn Leech and Latios's Draco Meteor. Overall it is important to keep this Pokemon healthy as it functions as the trapper of the team and one of the teams primary win-conditions being able to easily, albeit a gimmicky way of taking down opposing Pokemon.

New Set

Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Whirlpool
- Perish Song
- Rest
- Protect

Lanturn

Perish Song already dropped the correct set for this, the EVs should be this as it eases up the Electric matchup, which Lanturn does play a huge role in the teams success in that. Additionally Lanturn should be kept healthy through the entire match, as it can heal the status off its teammates, directly waking up Mega Swampert and Azumarill from their slumbers, effectively giving them a free complete recovery without many drawbacks as well as being able to cure status of Poison, Paralysis, and Burns from its other teammates. Heal Bell is extremely important in the longetivity of the team and that is why Lanturn is so important to the team.

New Set

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 128 HP / 128 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Toxic
- Heal Bell
- Scald

Alternative
You could replace Pyukumuku with Quagsire, what this does is give the team the better Unaware mon, however more importantly it can free up a slot for a crucial teammate which otherwise can not find space on this team in Toxapex. This would level out the Fairy matchup more which right now is fairly atrocious, since there is no Toxic Spikes, Tapu Bulu and Tapu Koko can practically switch into this team for free, as well as the team pretty much taking an autoloss to any team with Toxic Spikes, as the team does not like being severely crippled by Toxic Spikes. Right now you have Mantine, however sometimes that just isn't enough to remove the Toxic Spikes and you will end up letting the team get crippled by them. Here is the alternative team, which in my opinion is far better. Here it is: https://pokepast.es/d2ebf6576aa4bc0f. This also features Curse Quagsire, which allows the team to have a win-condition, and allows Mantine to run another Toxic as Toxapex takes the slot as the Haze user. This is because it can easily utilize Icium Z, which checks dangerous setup users such as Jirachi and Taunt Kommo-o as well as act as a Trick blocker for a team without a mega. However, this team lacks Stealth Rock, which can be frustrating in matchups such as Flying.

Conclusion

{Importable found by clicking on the sprites of these mons!}
This is the final version of your team after I tweaked it around a bit to play more easily. I would like you to read the descriptions of the Mega Swampert EVs as they really do play a crucial role in a certain matchup. Anyway, good luck with the team and hope you enjoy playing with the team after my tweak. If you have any questions let me know, I'm maroon on PS! and maroon#9782 on discord and wouldn't mind answering any potential questions, comments, or concerns!

 

[Rychuuuu]

Hi Perish Song Thank you for your recommendations. While I will most definitely trying them all out to see if they work - I will still offer my own notes with what you've mentioned :)

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- Swampert > Seismitoad . I do agree with this. And while I've never been a huge fan of regular 'Pert - I'll definitely give it a try. Probably one of the main reasons I prefer Seismitoad is because it has two immunities over Swampert's one. The water immunity is handy in certain match ups)
- Rotom. Seismitoad blocks both of Rotom's attacks instead of me taking the damage from HPump. And TBF - most Rotom-W sets I come across are ever rarely using Toxic - being that WoW offers more. It's not really a concern for me getting into Seismitoad vs Rotom-W 1 on 1. I can opt for Knock Off to remove it's item and either force it to switch out or just chip away at it with Scald. Of course I'd ideally stay away from ever having to be in those situations lol.
- Swampert as a rain setter. I agree here - but i have found ample situations to use Rain Dance. It isn't ideal I know - but I rarely have problems with Celesteela thanks to Azumarill :)

Rest --> Toxic. TBH I've rarely found situations where Rest would be useful. I did originally have Rest on Azu when I started out - but I just didn't end up using it. Knock Off could be a better choice here imo.

EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD --> 128 HP / 128 Def / 252 SpD. I'm gonna have to play around with your suggestion here a bit as I've found my EV spread far more useful vs physical attackers and non Banded Ground types. Specs A-Raichu is rare and Xurkitree even rarer in the mono Electric teams I've seen... Although I suppose that could change if I were to ever break past 1700s! ;)

Defog --> Ice Beam. I'm open to replacing Defog as my team doesn't really suffer too much to Stealth Rocks. It's mainly there as a filler and in the off chance I need to get rid of stacked Spikes etc. Ice Beam I don't see a need for as Muddy Water/Surf and Moonblast pretty much cover anything I need to hit with Fini.


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. I'll give Mantine a go - it does get Water Absorb so that's handy against Keldeo and Volcanion. My concern is that bringing in Mantine for Haze isn't ideal as it's so slow and passive. Also you mentioned Pyukus credentials - I'd still lose to pretty much everything you mentioned with Mantine in Pyuku's place! The difference is that with an Unaware Pokemon that can use Soak AND Toxic - I can cripple and stall things out that don't use a Sub :) It is rare to come across Pokemon that use a Sub, Toxic AND try to set up - so that worry isn't too high for me.

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. I did use Mega Gyarados and didn't have much success with it. I also wanted to avoid weather wars due to worrying how predictable it would be on plays. But I didn't use a Sub/Dance set - which could prove useful... Unfortunately I dislike regular Gyarados even more as it offers too little. Even with the moves you've listed - I don't find it very appealing.

But thank you for your recommendations - I will certainly give them a try.