Protea - An SV AAA RMT
You'd think I really did have no life considering how fast I made it to another milestone again. I think a lot of people are probably also gonna be surprised it's not an SV NatDex team, but I've been sinking more time into OMs like AAA and BH and this squad in particular really hit it for me personally. I don't do well with introductions, especially since I'd probably be repeating myself from my 1k post, so let's get on with it.
The Teambuilding Process
I had the sudden urge to build around Walking Wake, but I didn't know what set in particular. Choice Scarf caught my eye as a set that still had immediate power and forced extremely linear plays from the opponent, as its pool of checks even without Choice Specs is still very limited (Water-immune ability users like Heatran and other niche Pokemon, Empoleon, and Primarina are notable ones; the rest dislike Knock Off heavily and they all still hate entry hazards). Thus, I began with it.
Walking Wake's adept ability at baiting in special walls makes Terrakion a notable partner; it works especially well since a lot of Walking Wake's checks bar Primarina and slightly more niche stuff like Water Absorb Scream Tail are easily taken advantage of by it. Clicking buttons is also just super satisfying with it if you get turns right.
Offensively, Walking Wake and Terrakion already cover each other well; defensively, the former still needs assistance against foes like Primarina and others, which Heatran helps excellently with. It can also burn non-Take Heart Manaphy when given the opportunity, which helps in wearing it down alongside Knock Off and hazards.
Swampert provides an additional pivot, Knock Off support for my wallbreakers (specifically baiting in Corviknight and preventing Terrakion from being chipped as easily), and a soft check to special attackers like Primordial Sea Zapdos, Iron Moth, and Gholdengo.
Scream Tail and Corviknight round out the team, with the former appreciating the immense pressure put on Steel-types here and providing hazard support and the latter being a Good Pokemon. Can't go wrong with either.
The Team
PROTEA (Walking Wake) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Primordial Sea
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Weather Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Knock Off
- Flip Turn
When your sky is gray (Sky is gray)
I'll be by your side (I'll be by your side)
This is easily, in my opinion, one of the better breakers in the tier right now. Its influence on the builder is more than known, with a lot of squads often falling apart against it clicking Weather Ball six times. Knock Off increases its self-sufficiency dramatically, allowing it to exploit its checks for the benefit of its teammates. Empoleon stands out as an important target, since its Corviknight-like nature (prone to hazards, Flip Turn bot, easily forced to use recovery) makes it super easy to take advantage of with Scream Tail or just smart double switches. A Naive nature is used here to maximize Flip Turn damage. It's probably minimal enough to the point where you can just, run Timid, but its bulk matters so little in a lot of games so I'm not too pressed really.
THE GOOD (Scream Tail) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Boomburst
- Stealth Rock
- Wish
- Psychic Noise
The amount of growth that I've gone through on this site has been like, genuinely surreal honestly. I never expected to lead a section after becoming a CL; after that happened, I really thought I was done. I never believed in myself enough to do more than just be "there" and help out, but I ended up going for more anyways. I really appreciate the amount of faith you guys put in me to lead National Dex and the community behind it; my life really would not be the same.
It also feels kinda unreal that I'm saying this about a bunch of little people on my screen, but when I say all this, I really mean it. My mentality outside of Smogon changed a bit as well; not by much, but it was uplifting nonetheless to see myself become a bit more confident overall.
It also feels kinda unreal that I'm saying this about a bunch of little people on my screen, but when I say all this, I really mean it. My mentality outside of Smogon changed a bit as well; not by much, but it was uplifting nonetheless to see myself become a bit more confident overall.
The rise of Pixilate Scream Tail can generally be attributed to a lot of teams using Corviknight as their Steel-type, which it preys on beautifully with Psychic Noise. Stealth Rock enhances this aspect greatly, as well, pushing those same Steel-types into range of Psychic Noise and preventing them from healing, allowing Walking Wake to exploit them. Wish makes it easier to play around threats and makes Scream Tail a long-term threat, though the absence of Protect can make it difficult to position at times. Good Pokemon, not much more to say.
THE BAD (Corviknight) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
Despite my increase in confidence and self-esteem, I still feel like I have an extreme case of impostor syndrome, both when playing competitively and staffing. As a younger user, the pressure that comes with making the right choices in both fields sometimes got to me, and I started to feel like I wasn't doing...enough. This especially applies to my competitive playing ability; my lack of confidence led me to feel like no matter what I did, I just wouldn't grow beyond where I was already. It was part of why I was reluctant to take on a TL position in the first place. I believed there were better choices because I was already beginning to feel like my skills and fundamentals were trending downwards. And yet, I took that leap of faith anyways. I like to think I'm doing alright, but that's for others to decide.
Corviknight is like the worst best Pokemon in the tier. It is extremely passive and abusable / easy to tech for, and yet its usage is insanely high. It's a glue Pokemon that will still provide the "on paper" utility a team needs, though the proficiency at which it can do so really depends on how intentionally your opponents build. Here, it provides a solid pivot for my wallbreakers and blanket check to a ton of physical attackers, assuming they don't tech for it at least. Honestly wasn't sure on the ability choice here, I just went with Fluffy and it's been fine, but that could change.
FIREPLACE (Heatran) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 196 SpD / 60 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Will-O-Wisp
And when the rain falls, I'ma be right there
And your dreams come true for you, just know I'ma be right here
Heatran is a demon that patches up a lot of holes here with Water Absorb; it checks Primarina, opposing Walking Wake, Scream Tail, and traps and beats / wears down stuff like Toxapex, Roaring Moon, Manaphy, and Dragonite. Will-O-Wisp is truly broken on this and enables some toxic ass shit, notably ruining the aforementioned physical attackers and overall accruing massive amounts of chip damage with Magma Storm too. Taunt is probably interchangeable for Stealth Rock, which frees up a slot on Scream Tail, but Taunt is good for more reliably trapping stuff. Just comes down to preference.
ROAD RAGE (Terrakion) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Tera Type: Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
They can't bring you down when you got your soul straight
And that's just how it go
Terrakion is super good right now. STAB Stone Edge is an insane tool to have in a tier infested with teams that use Corviknight as their only physical wall. Obviously its broad niche is bypassing all Fluffy users with it, but that's the big highlight here in my opinion. All this thing really needs is STAB moves + Earthquake, meaning the last slot is honestly a free one. Poison Jab provides a more reliable click into Scream Tail and Enamorus-T but honestly that's really it I think? It's pretty flexible and I'm not opposed to options.
FORGET ABOUT IT (Swampert) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flip Turn
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
They gon' try to bring you down, forget about it
They gon' try to take your crown, forget about it
Swampert occupies the Regenerator slot on this team. So far, things were looking bleak into Electric-types like Sandy Shocks and Zapdos, which this remedies quite well. I think that's really a big part of Swampert's main niche, alongside its slower Flip Turn against Corviknight, meaning its always at an advantage against teams that use it as their primary pivot. Ice Beam helps a ton against Zapdos and most notably Dragonite, which is a huge threat to this team as well.
Threatlist
Dragonite is super fucking annoying if it's mixed, which a lot of them are nowadays to deal with Corviknight. You need to bait Thunderbolt or keep Swampert healthy enough to survive a boosted Extreme Speed to pick it off with Ice Beam. This matchup is definitely dicey otherwise, though.
With the main special wall here being Heatran, an Electric-neutral Pokemon, it's super easy for Hisuian Electrode to click Volt Switch risk free and win games off sheer chip damage and smart play. It's up to the player to make smart doubles to prevent it from maintaining momentum as easily, but that's still difficult and taxing to do.
Shoutouts
Disclaimer: These are gonna be shorter than the others I've done because I'm lazy as fuck. I am truly sorry if I missed anyone; just know I love you all and I mean no offense with your exclusion.
sealoo hidin gamer but swag adem R8 Adriyun Runo Boomenheimer kDCA ChrisPBacon and so so so many more people; National Dex would not be the same without all of you lovely human beings. I definitely wouldn't be, either; my growth as a person has been exponential thanks to you guys, and I'm thankful I chose to stay two years ago. Big Z loves you all. 
cheru Rae Corperate n haxlolo Slip Totomon (please come back...) sanguine and all of the amazing people I've met from UU; words cannot express how much fun I've had with you guys. I sadly lost my drive for UU and haven't spent as much time there, but had I never left, I'd spend as much time as I could with you guys and I'd never look back. Keep being awesome, goats.
ishtar Meteordash DrReuniclus EviGaro SergioRules and the rest of suu; I don't talk there as much anymore but I'll probably pick back up in activity at some point. You guys are hella awesome to interact with and I'll cherish our Unite games for as long as I can. I promise I won't AFK if we play again though...
hayedenn pannu Ducky iapt I love talking with you guys a whole lot (EXCEPT for pannu), even if I know virtually nothing about what you guys are interested in tbh. Would never trade you guys for anyone else, and I mean that.
@ The OM community, I'm really glad I stuck around to keep playing these tiers; this is truly one of the most dedicated communities on the site and the growth its experienced has been amazing to watch, both as a spectator and as a perceived newcomer.
@ US South, I truly apologize for the lack of support and dedication I've put into NDWC right now; I feel like a majorly Carried Bum and that sucks a whole lot. Even then, though, you guys put in maximum effort every week and came out on top regardless. I'm hoping we can carry that energy into finals and win. Go South! :wisemysticaltree:
cheru Rae Corperate n haxlolo Slip Totomon (please come back...) sanguine and all of the amazing people I've met from UU; words cannot express how much fun I've had with you guys. I sadly lost my drive for UU and haven't spent as much time there, but had I never left, I'd spend as much time as I could with you guys and I'd never look back. Keep being awesome, goats.
ishtar Meteordash DrReuniclus EviGaro SergioRules and the rest of suu; I don't talk there as much anymore but I'll probably pick back up in activity at some point. You guys are hella awesome to interact with and I'll cherish our Unite games for as long as I can. I promise I won't AFK if we play again though...
hayedenn pannu Ducky iapt I love talking with you guys a whole lot (EXCEPT for pannu), even if I know virtually nothing about what you guys are interested in tbh. Would never trade you guys for anyone else, and I mean that.
@ The OM community, I'm really glad I stuck around to keep playing these tiers; this is truly one of the most dedicated communities on the site and the growth its experienced has been amazing to watch, both as a spectator and as a perceived newcomer.
@ US South, I truly apologize for the lack of support and dedication I've put into NDWC right now; I feel like a majorly Carried Bum and that sucks a whole lot. Even then, though, you guys put in maximum effort every week and came out on top regardless. I'm hoping we can carry that energy into finals and win. Go South! :wisemysticaltree:
this might've ended up being corny as fuck but idc, xiv out
