Sleeping In The Sand
Dondozo Ting-Lu Reg F Team Report
A Dynamic Duo We Thought Was All But Dead Until Suddenly...
Poképaste: https://pokepast.es/68b17c94c10b336e
Rental:
What is Dondozo Ting-Lu?
Ting-Lu and Dondozo. Yin and Yang. These two Pokémon produce a strategy that no other Pokémon can do as effectively: Sand Tomb + Yawn. This strategy works due to Sand Tomb’s trapping effect paired with Yawn’s guaranteed sleep at the end of the following turn. It’s used as a way to mitigate damage from the opponent, while also doing chip damage to different members of their team. Sand Tomb, while being important due to its trapping effect, also inflicts a 12.5% tick damage at the end of the turn for 4-5 turns. There is a downside to this strategy as Sand Tomb is only 85% and flying types are immune to it. However, in most scenarios this combination is deadly and game altering. Other Pokémon do have similar moves such as: Fire-spin, Whirlpool, or Grip, but Dondozo and Ting-Lu far outclass due to their naturally high base stats, Abilities, and specific move pools. Ting-Lu’s Ability is nothing new, multiplying all other Pokémon’s special attack stats by 0.75% while they are on field, allowing Ting-Lu’s mediocre Sp. Def stat to suddenly become more effective with its hefty base 155 HP. Dondozo, while also having a high HP stat and lower Sp. Def stat benefits from the Vessel of Ruin debuff as well. Dondozo’s Oblivious Ability serves multiple prevention roles, first and most importantly stopping players from Taunting Dondozo to stop the Yawns. Secondly, it makes Dondozo immune to opposing Intimidates which helps prevent the opponent from cycling to mitigate your damage output. Moves are pretty common across the board with Ting-Lu having some more variation in its movepool whereas Dondozo sticks to the same four moves most of the time.
Ting-Lu runs Sand Tomb, and then an assortment of the following: Stomping Tantrum, Heavy Slam, Ruination, Body Press, Protect, and Taunt.
Dondozo typically has a move-set consisting of Wave Crash / Waterfall, Heavy Slam / Fissure, Yawn, and Protect.
Global Challenge II:
A New Beginning
It's the end of the second Global Challenge, people are posting results and suddenly we see a giant influx of a newer variant of Dondozo Ting-Lu with Gouging Fire and Gholdengo?
Obviously the Global Challenge is CTS, so when I reached out to my friend Yenagi about the team I took it with a grain of salt and was slightly confused when I saw some of the sets... Clear Amulet Morning Sun Dragon Dance Gouging Fire... Scarf Tera Fairy Dazzling Gleam Gholdengo... Tera Bug Dondozo? What was he cooking? So instead of actually playing with these techs I immediately removed them and made them into the regular sets that we commonly see in VGC. Howl Booster Speed Gouging Fire, Sitrus Nasty Plot Gholdengo, Tera Fairy Dondozo.
I said "F*ck it we ball" and loaded it up into the Himmy Burnt Glizzy Tournament that was held that night.
https://pokepast.es/86b356df7344e4bb
The original version of the team as I stated previously had some quite interesting sets:
https://pokepast.es/c2e62ae90b6bb3d8
While I liked the main concept of the team I wasn't too comfortable with some of the choices so I adapted it in a way that I felt confident in my play.
Main Changes:
Gouging Fire Setup Sweeper -> Howl Support
Scarf Gholdengo -> Bulky Setup
Ting-Lu Taunt -> Stealth Rocks
Dragonite Tera Fairy -> Tera Normal, + Dragonite Moveset
Gouging Fire’s Dragon Dance was not the most effective, especially in OTS, where opponents would just target it down due to the lack of protection. So I opted for a bulkier, more supportive role on Gouging-Fire with the intent of abusing its fast Howl boosts. Gholdengo felt really weak with Choice Scarf and it was not pulling its weight in several scenarios so I decided to go with a full bulk Sitrus Berry set with Nasty Plot and Recover which allowed Gholdengo to take advantage of the sleeps turns that yawn created as well as the damage mitigation with Breaking Swipe and Vessel of Ruin.
Ting-Lu’s Taunt felt unnecessary in many cases, and Ting-Lu had seen previous success with Stealth rocks, so I decided to try it out as it made sense with the concept. Forcing a 12.5% Rock type chip damage on entry (weaknesses/resistances are applied) is quite beneficial in preventing targets from trying to switch around Dondozo’s Yawn pressure. This adaptation in specific came into play a lot against the Articuno snow teams that were running around because Articuno takes 50% on entrance from stealth rocks due to its 4x weakness.
Yenagi had told me that Tera Fairy Dragonite was the play, and at first I didn’t believe him because it had felt as though Dragonite did 0 damage to opposing targets without the Tera Normal Extreme Speed, but I would later realize that a defensive Tera Type on Dragonite was in fact the play and that with Howl boosts you don’t necessarily need that offensive Tera Typing.
https://pokepast.es/c2e62ae90b6bb3d8
While I liked the main concept of the team I wasn't too comfortable with some of the choices so I adapted it in a way that I felt confident in my play.
Main Changes:
Gouging Fire Setup Sweeper -> Howl Support
Scarf Gholdengo -> Bulky Setup
Ting-Lu Taunt -> Stealth Rocks
Dragonite Tera Fairy -> Tera Normal, + Dragonite Moveset
Gouging Fire’s Dragon Dance was not the most effective, especially in OTS, where opponents would just target it down due to the lack of protection. So I opted for a bulkier, more supportive role on Gouging-Fire with the intent of abusing its fast Howl boosts. Gholdengo felt really weak with Choice Scarf and it was not pulling its weight in several scenarios so I decided to go with a full bulk Sitrus Berry set with Nasty Plot and Recover which allowed Gholdengo to take advantage of the sleeps turns that yawn created as well as the damage mitigation with Breaking Swipe and Vessel of Ruin.
Ting-Lu’s Taunt felt unnecessary in many cases, and Ting-Lu had seen previous success with Stealth rocks, so I decided to try it out as it made sense with the concept. Forcing a 12.5% Rock type chip damage on entry (weaknesses/resistances are applied) is quite beneficial in preventing targets from trying to switch around Dondozo’s Yawn pressure. This adaptation in specific came into play a lot against the Articuno snow teams that were running around because Articuno takes 50% on entrance from stealth rocks due to its 4x weakness.
Yenagi had told me that Tera Fairy Dragonite was the play, and at first I didn’t believe him because it had felt as though Dragonite did 0 damage to opposing targets without the Tera Normal Extreme Speed, but I would later realize that a defensive Tera Type on Dragonite was in fact the play and that with Howl boosts you don’t necessarily need that offensive Tera Typing.
I ultimately ended up going 10-2, walking home with 1st place and was quite happy with the changes that I had made. However, I had a few ideas that I thought could improve the team. I had never really brought the Gholdengo, so the journey of looking for a last slot began.
Common Sixth Slots
Corviknight (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 140 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Roost
A senior by the name of Teddy French ended up 9-1 losing in Finals of EUIC to an unfortunate series of events (missing multiple Sand Tombs against a Primarina). He had chosen Corviknight as it was a perfect hard counter to Landorus and with Bulk Up + Roost, it became yet another endgame cleaner. Taunt is used as a way to stop various common status moves that may want to harm the team such as: Spore, Will-O-Wisp, Intimidate or even opposing setup Pokémon. Corviknight’s natural bulk, setup potential, and Roost with a Sitrus Berry makes it incredibly difficult to take down while paired with Ting-Lu’s ability. +1 Brave Birds are a consistent way to hit a majority of the format for solid chunks of damage as there aren’t too many Flying resists currently and with Mirror Armor Corviknight's stats cannot be lowered.
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 140 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Roost
A senior by the name of Teddy French ended up 9-1 losing in Finals of EUIC to an unfortunate series of events (missing multiple Sand Tombs against a Primarina). He had chosen Corviknight as it was a perfect hard counter to Landorus and with Bulk Up + Roost, it became yet another endgame cleaner. Taunt is used as a way to stop various common status moves that may want to harm the team such as: Spore, Will-O-Wisp, Intimidate or even opposing setup Pokémon. Corviknight’s natural bulk, setup potential, and Roost with a Sitrus Berry makes it incredibly difficult to take down while paired with Ting-Lu’s ability. +1 Brave Birds are a consistent way to hit a majority of the format for solid chunks of damage as there aren’t too many Flying resists currently and with Mirror Armor Corviknight's stats cannot be lowered.
Ogerpon (F) @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Superpower
- Follow Me
- Spiky Shield
My friend Micah Homick went 7-0, ending up 1/74 in Swiss standings of the Orlando PC that happened the night before the regional using this Teal-Mask-Ogerpon. Ogerpon-Teal gives the team the ability to hit bulky Water-types, makes the team even more anti-Intimidate, gives an answer to Choice Scarf Urshifu (With the speed boost from Teal Tera), and allows us to have to have a redirector for Grass/Ground moves that would threaten the other Pokémon on the team. Covert Cloak was chosen as a way to prevent Fake Outs and any random effects such as: Icy Wind / Electroweb Speed drops, Rock Slide / Dark Pulse flinches, and other adverse secondary effects. Ogerpon is Ev’d to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Urshifu after Ogerpon gains the Speed boost from Teal Tera, The attack investment is 252 Adamant to ensure that we get knockouts on most Incineroar with +1 Superpower, with the rest of Evs being dumped into HP and splitting the fours.
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Superpower
- Follow Me
- Spiky Shield
My friend Micah Homick went 7-0, ending up 1/74 in Swiss standings of the Orlando PC that happened the night before the regional using this Teal-Mask-Ogerpon. Ogerpon-Teal gives the team the ability to hit bulky Water-types, makes the team even more anti-Intimidate, gives an answer to Choice Scarf Urshifu (With the speed boost from Teal Tera), and allows us to have to have a redirector for Grass/Ground moves that would threaten the other Pokémon on the team. Covert Cloak was chosen as a way to prevent Fake Outs and any random effects such as: Icy Wind / Electroweb Speed drops, Rock Slide / Dark Pulse flinches, and other adverse secondary effects. Ogerpon is Ev’d to outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Urshifu after Ogerpon gains the Speed boost from Teal Tera, The attack investment is 252 Adamant to ensure that we get knockouts on most Incineroar with +1 Superpower, with the rest of Evs being dumped into HP and splitting the fours.
Glimmora (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Corrosion
Tera Type: Grass
Evs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Power Gem
- Toxic Spikes
- Mortal Spin
- Spiky Shield
Probably the most unorthodox set on the entire team, Glimmora is the main answer for the Mirror. Corrosion Mortal Spin allows us to poison opposing Ting-Lu even if they go for the Tera Poison, and it allows us to get a better matchup vs Amoonguss with Mortal Spin + Sand Tomb and slowly chip away 25% per Turn. Glimmora gives the team a way to deal with opposing Glimmora by use of Mortal Spin which will activate the Toxic Debris on contact, will poison the Glimmora, and then will remove any hazards on the field. Manual Toxic Spikes make up for the lack of Toxic Debris and are more situational than an every-game thing. We opted for Power Gem as a consistent STAB, and Spiky Shield is better than Protect in every way. The Defensive investment has favorable rolls to live 156+Choice Scarf Surging Strikes and guaranteed lives 156+ Non-Tera Mystic Water Surging Berry with Sitrus Berry from full. Its speed is meant to speed creep Tyo’s Articuno that won Utrecht as Glimmora also helps into that MU threatening 4x super effective damage. My Friend Kevin Salvetto ended up winning the Himmy Burnt Glizzy Tournament the week immediately after I had won with the same 5, but he had used this Glimmora over my Gholdengo.
Ability: Corrosion
Tera Type: Grass
Evs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 12 SpD / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Power Gem
- Toxic Spikes
- Mortal Spin
- Spiky Shield
Probably the most unorthodox set on the entire team, Glimmora is the main answer for the Mirror. Corrosion Mortal Spin allows us to poison opposing Ting-Lu even if they go for the Tera Poison, and it allows us to get a better matchup vs Amoonguss with Mortal Spin + Sand Tomb and slowly chip away 25% per Turn. Glimmora gives the team a way to deal with opposing Glimmora by use of Mortal Spin which will activate the Toxic Debris on contact, will poison the Glimmora, and then will remove any hazards on the field. Manual Toxic Spikes make up for the lack of Toxic Debris and are more situational than an every-game thing. We opted for Power Gem as a consistent STAB, and Spiky Shield is better than Protect in every way. The Defensive investment has favorable rolls to live 156+Choice Scarf Surging Strikes and guaranteed lives 156+ Non-Tera Mystic Water Surging Berry with Sitrus Berry from full. Its speed is meant to speed creep Tyo’s Articuno that won Utrecht as Glimmora also helps into that MU threatening 4x super effective damage. My Friend Kevin Salvetto ended up winning the Himmy Burnt Glizzy Tournament the week immediately after I had won with the same 5, but he had used this Glimmora over my Gholdengo.
The Final Team
After weeks of continuous play throughout the format and conversing with some of the best players from across the world making tedious small changes that didn't work, I ended up finalizing what I believe to be the best version of Dondozo Ting-Lu in Regulation F.
Dragonite @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Inner Focus
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed
- Scale Shot
- Protect
Dragonite was one of the most changed Pokémon on the team, with most teams using a Choice Band or Assault Vest variant to increase the damage/bulk of Dragonite to allow for better endgame clean up scenarios. I had seen a lot of Japanese players running this Dragonite set on different teams and was curious if it could work over the typical Assault Vest. Kevin ended up winning the Himmy Burnt Glizzy Tour with the Scale Shot set, however we were not entirely sure if it was overall better for the team. We decided to continue testing to see where it would get us, and after Kevin placing consistently high on various limitless tournaments along with me peaking T10 on Showdown B03 ladder we ultimately agreed that this set was the correct choice.
Scale Shot Dragonite allows us to have a base 100-125 Dragon STAB move 90% of the time (when it lands) while also giving dragonite a speed boost letting it outpace Modest Flutter-Mane and Adamant Chien-Paos after a +1 Boost.
Extreme Speed is basically required on all Dragonite movesets as it is one of the strongest moves in the game
Tera Steel Iron head gives us a consistent way to hit Flutter-Mane as well as let us checkmate Tera Fairy Raging Bolt between Dragon and Steel coverage.
Protect is incredibly valuable on this team as you’ll see ⅚ of our members have it. Being able to Protect and Howl with Gouging-Fire can put you into advantageous positions that otherwise are not achievable without Protect; It also allows you to Protect on Yawn turns or Protect and allow extra Sand Tomb chips.
Ability: Inner Focus
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 204 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Extreme Speed
- Scale Shot
- Protect
Dragonite was one of the most changed Pokémon on the team, with most teams using a Choice Band or Assault Vest variant to increase the damage/bulk of Dragonite to allow for better endgame clean up scenarios. I had seen a lot of Japanese players running this Dragonite set on different teams and was curious if it could work over the typical Assault Vest. Kevin ended up winning the Himmy Burnt Glizzy Tour with the Scale Shot set, however we were not entirely sure if it was overall better for the team. We decided to continue testing to see where it would get us, and after Kevin placing consistently high on various limitless tournaments along with me peaking T10 on Showdown B03 ladder we ultimately agreed that this set was the correct choice.
Scale Shot Dragonite allows us to have a base 100-125 Dragon STAB move 90% of the time (when it lands) while also giving dragonite a speed boost letting it outpace Modest Flutter-Mane and Adamant Chien-Paos after a +1 Boost.
Extreme Speed is basically required on all Dragonite movesets as it is one of the strongest moves in the game
Tera Steel Iron head gives us a consistent way to hit Flutter-Mane as well as let us checkmate Tera Fairy Raging Bolt between Dragon and Steel coverage.
Protect is incredibly valuable on this team as you’ll see ⅚ of our members have it. Being able to Protect and Howl with Gouging-Fire can put you into advantageous positions that otherwise are not achievable without Protect; It also allows you to Protect on Yawn turns or Protect and allow extra Sand Tomb chips.
Ting-Lu @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 156 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Sand Tomb
- Ruination
- Body Press
- Protect
Ting-Lu is a crucial part of the team strategy, being one half of the main combination. Ting-Lu’s stat distribution is one of the best in the game with Vessel of Ruin patching up it’s lower Special Defense stat. Tera Poison has been one of the most common yet effective Tera Types on Ting-Lu as it gives the Pokémon a Fairy, Grass, and Fighting resist which are incredibly important with Rillaboom, Urshifu, and Flutter-Mane being on a majority of teams. Ting-Lu’s Evs are designed for 2 specific reasons: To allow for Body Press 2HKO against 4 defense Sash Urshifu-Single-Strike, and for it to be bulky. This is why we only have 4 Atk and 4 Spe as Ting-Lu’s job is to stick around and ensure that you chip things with Sand Tomb and Ruination.
Sand Tomb - Half of the main strategy is a mandatory move, Trapping effect + residual is incredibly good at chipping down slower targets such as Raging Bolt and Amoonguss.
Ruination - A move that decreases the opponents health by 50%, it is useful for extra chip damage on things that you cannot hit with Sand Tomb and for combinations with other moves such as Dondozo’s Wave Crash or Sucker Punch / Extreme Speed from Chien-Pao / Dragonite.
Body Press - Even without STAB, Body Press is a great way of getting consistent chip damage onto things especially with Ting-Lu’s high defense investment.
Protect - As mentioned before, Protect is a great way to obtain an extra Sand Tomb chip, dodge a Fake Out, stall a turn for Yawn, or even just for Protecting Ting-Lu to preserve a Sand Tomb trap as you switch to gain a better board position.
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 156 HP / 4 Atk / 116 Def / 228 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
- Sand Tomb
- Ruination
- Body Press
- Protect
Ting-Lu is a crucial part of the team strategy, being one half of the main combination. Ting-Lu’s stat distribution is one of the best in the game with Vessel of Ruin patching up it’s lower Special Defense stat. Tera Poison has been one of the most common yet effective Tera Types on Ting-Lu as it gives the Pokémon a Fairy, Grass, and Fighting resist which are incredibly important with Rillaboom, Urshifu, and Flutter-Mane being on a majority of teams. Ting-Lu’s Evs are designed for 2 specific reasons: To allow for Body Press 2HKO against 4 defense Sash Urshifu-Single-Strike, and for it to be bulky. This is why we only have 4 Atk and 4 Spe as Ting-Lu’s job is to stick around and ensure that you chip things with Sand Tomb and Ruination.
Sand Tomb - Half of the main strategy is a mandatory move, Trapping effect + residual is incredibly good at chipping down slower targets such as Raging Bolt and Amoonguss.
Ruination - A move that decreases the opponents health by 50%, it is useful for extra chip damage on things that you cannot hit with Sand Tomb and for combinations with other moves such as Dondozo’s Wave Crash or Sucker Punch / Extreme Speed from Chien-Pao / Dragonite.
Body Press - Even without STAB, Body Press is a great way of getting consistent chip damage onto things especially with Ting-Lu’s high defense investment.
Protect - As mentioned before, Protect is a great way to obtain an extra Sand Tomb chip, dodge a Fake Out, stall a turn for Yawn, or even just for Protecting Ting-Lu to preserve a Sand Tomb trap as you switch to gain a better board position.
Dondozo @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 116 HP / 132 Atk / 68 Def / 188 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Heavy Slam
- Yawn
- Protect
Dondozo, the Yang to the Yin. Our other half of the duo, Dondozo's bulk pairs well with Ting-Lu to make the two incredibly hard to break through. Leftovers was chosen over Sitrus Berry for longevity and because a lot of hits were not bringing Dondozo under half so we decided to have Leftovers as consistent recovery that wasn't dependent on our opponents. Oblivious allows Dondozo to not have to worry about Intimidate cycles or Taunts that would prevent it’s damage output or Yawns. 132+ secures the OHKO onto most Flutter-Mane with Heavy Slam provided they aren’t Max HP and Max Defense… This also gives Dondozo a good chunk of Attack investment for Wave Crash pickups on neutral targets after a Ruination or Howl boost sometimes. The HP and Defense investment is to optimize Leftovers recovery as well as giving Dondozo a good chance to survive the double up from Sash Urshifu Wicked Blow and Wellspring Horn Leech. We dumped the rest into Special Defense and the extra 4 falls into Speed which comes in handy vs the mirror as many opposing Dondozo don’t run speed investment. Tera Grass is mainly used for getting around Amoonguss Spores and Rage Powers while also giving Dondozo a Grass and Electric resist.
Wave Crash - Strong Base 120 STAB Move that does consistent chunks of damage, the recoil is mitigated by the Leftovers recovery every turn.
Heavy Slam - Main way of dealing with Flutter-Mane as Wave Crash doesn’t always pick up.
Yawn - Great move to pressure opponent’s Pokémon, as it puts them to sleep at the end of the next turn.
Protect - Almost always paired with Yawn to ensure that you don’t take damage on the turn that you are waiting for Yawn and helps you gather more Leftovers recovery.
Ability: Oblivious
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 116 HP / 132 Atk / 68 Def / 188 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Heavy Slam
- Yawn
- Protect
Dondozo, the Yang to the Yin. Our other half of the duo, Dondozo's bulk pairs well with Ting-Lu to make the two incredibly hard to break through. Leftovers was chosen over Sitrus Berry for longevity and because a lot of hits were not bringing Dondozo under half so we decided to have Leftovers as consistent recovery that wasn't dependent on our opponents. Oblivious allows Dondozo to not have to worry about Intimidate cycles or Taunts that would prevent it’s damage output or Yawns. 132+ secures the OHKO onto most Flutter-Mane with Heavy Slam provided they aren’t Max HP and Max Defense… This also gives Dondozo a good chunk of Attack investment for Wave Crash pickups on neutral targets after a Ruination or Howl boost sometimes. The HP and Defense investment is to optimize Leftovers recovery as well as giving Dondozo a good chance to survive the double up from Sash Urshifu Wicked Blow and Wellspring Horn Leech. We dumped the rest into Special Defense and the extra 4 falls into Speed which comes in handy vs the mirror as many opposing Dondozo don’t run speed investment. Tera Grass is mainly used for getting around Amoonguss Spores and Rage Powers while also giving Dondozo a Grass and Electric resist.
Wave Crash - Strong Base 120 STAB Move that does consistent chunks of damage, the recoil is mitigated by the Leftovers recovery every turn.
Heavy Slam - Main way of dealing with Flutter-Mane as Wave Crash doesn’t always pick up.
Yawn - Great move to pressure opponent’s Pokémon, as it puts them to sleep at the end of the next turn.
Protect - Almost always paired with Yawn to ensure that you don’t take damage on the turn that you are waiting for Yawn and helps you gather more Leftovers recovery.
Gouging Fire @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 84 HP / 100 Atk / 44 Def / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Heat Crash
- Breaking Swipe
- Howl
- Burning Bulwark
Gouging-Fire could be considered the glue that holds the team together, whether it’s from Howl boosting Dragonite and Chien-Pao, to the chip and damage mitigation that Breaking Swipe provides. Gouging-Fire serves several different purposes on the team that without Gouging-Fire, the team would struggle to succeed to the point that it has within the Regulation. Gouging-Fire getting newly introduced with the second DLC of Scarlet and Violet has managed to make quite the impression on the format and so mirrors are quite often. That’s where Tera Fairy and the 252+ Speed investment comes into play so that you are able to attempt a Speed tie or just straight up outspeed the slower Gouging-Fires. Tera Fairy is given as a defensive Tera Typing wise to prevent Breaking Swipes from opposing Gouging-Fires. 100 Attack guarantees an OHKO on all three forms of Ogerpon and Flutter-Mane at +1 with Chien-Pao on the field. The assorted bulk is to make 156+ Choice Scarf Surging Strikes a guaranteed 3HKO, with the leftover points being put into Special Defense.
Heat Crash - A good Fire Type STAB move that hits for high base power against most targets and doesn’t have the recoil of Flare Blitz.
Breaking Swipe - Great for dealing spread damage and breaking Focus Sashes for Chien-Pao while also giving both targets a stage 1 Attack drop.
Howl - Used mainly for setting up Chien-Pao / Dragonite for sweeps or to revert intimidates that have hit Gouging-Fire.
Burning Bulwark - Some players have dropped this move, however I think it still has value especially in the Gouging-Fire mirror you can burn the opposing Gouging-Fire or get a cheeky burn onto something that tries and clicks Fake Out into you. Downside is that status moves can hit through it, so the move can definitely be replaced for regular Protect.
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 84 HP / 100 Atk / 44 Def / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Heat Crash
- Breaking Swipe
- Howl
- Burning Bulwark
Gouging-Fire could be considered the glue that holds the team together, whether it’s from Howl boosting Dragonite and Chien-Pao, to the chip and damage mitigation that Breaking Swipe provides. Gouging-Fire serves several different purposes on the team that without Gouging-Fire, the team would struggle to succeed to the point that it has within the Regulation. Gouging-Fire getting newly introduced with the second DLC of Scarlet and Violet has managed to make quite the impression on the format and so mirrors are quite often. That’s where Tera Fairy and the 252+ Speed investment comes into play so that you are able to attempt a Speed tie or just straight up outspeed the slower Gouging-Fires. Tera Fairy is given as a defensive Tera Typing wise to prevent Breaking Swipes from opposing Gouging-Fires. 100 Attack guarantees an OHKO on all three forms of Ogerpon and Flutter-Mane at +1 with Chien-Pao on the field. The assorted bulk is to make 156+ Choice Scarf Surging Strikes a guaranteed 3HKO, with the leftover points being put into Special Defense.
Heat Crash - A good Fire Type STAB move that hits for high base power against most targets and doesn’t have the recoil of Flare Blitz.
Breaking Swipe - Great for dealing spread damage and breaking Focus Sashes for Chien-Pao while also giving both targets a stage 1 Attack drop.
Howl - Used mainly for setting up Chien-Pao / Dragonite for sweeps or to revert intimidates that have hit Gouging-Fire.
Burning Bulwark - Some players have dropped this move, however I think it still has value especially in the Gouging-Fire mirror you can burn the opposing Gouging-Fire or get a cheeky burn onto something that tries and clicks Fake Out into you. Downside is that status moves can hit through it, so the move can definitely be replaced for regular Protect.
Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Sacred Sword
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
While one of the simplest Pokémon on the team, it is one of the most crucial elements. Sword of Ruin’s Physical Defense debuff is one of the strongest offensive abilities in the game by lowering all other Pokémon’s Defense stats by 0.75. Chien-Pao + Dragonite is one of the best combos in the game for immediate damage, with its dual priority moves and aggressive Ev spreads. Stellar Tera was chosen over Ghost to let Chien-Pao do more damage as with a Howl boost, Stellar Tera Icicle Crash becomes an OHKO on many neutral targets. Chien-Pao is not the bulkiest of Pokémon so we chose to go with a Focus Sash to allow for maximum damage output with max Speed and max Attack with the 4 defense to optimize Surging-Strikes damage rolls.
Icicle crash - Many Pokémon are calc’d to live Adamant Ice Spinner, but the extra 5 base power is enough to push a lot of the frailer targets into knockout ranges. The 27% flinch chance is also very crucial as just about a quarter of the time you click the move you will stop the opponent from gaining any sort of advantage in the turn.
Sacred Sword - A great coverage move paired with Icicle Crash and Sucker Punch allowing Chien-Pao to hit Steel, Normal, and Dark Types for Super Effective damage.
Sucker Punch - Arguably Chien-Pao’s best priority move, It’s STAB and allows Chien-Pao to occasionally take a knockout or create checkmate scenarios against certain Choice item Pokémon.
Protect - Without Tera Ghost, Chien-Pao is more vulnerable to getting its focus sash broken so being able to conserve that is crucial to maintain the Sword of Ruin debuff on the field for as long as possible.
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Sacred Sword
- Sucker Punch
- Protect
While one of the simplest Pokémon on the team, it is one of the most crucial elements. Sword of Ruin’s Physical Defense debuff is one of the strongest offensive abilities in the game by lowering all other Pokémon’s Defense stats by 0.75. Chien-Pao + Dragonite is one of the best combos in the game for immediate damage, with its dual priority moves and aggressive Ev spreads. Stellar Tera was chosen over Ghost to let Chien-Pao do more damage as with a Howl boost, Stellar Tera Icicle Crash becomes an OHKO on many neutral targets. Chien-Pao is not the bulkiest of Pokémon so we chose to go with a Focus Sash to allow for maximum damage output with max Speed and max Attack with the 4 defense to optimize Surging-Strikes damage rolls.
Icicle crash - Many Pokémon are calc’d to live Adamant Ice Spinner, but the extra 5 base power is enough to push a lot of the frailer targets into knockout ranges. The 27% flinch chance is also very crucial as just about a quarter of the time you click the move you will stop the opponent from gaining any sort of advantage in the turn.
Sacred Sword - A great coverage move paired with Icicle Crash and Sucker Punch allowing Chien-Pao to hit Steel, Normal, and Dark Types for Super Effective damage.
Sucker Punch - Arguably Chien-Pao’s best priority move, It’s STAB and allows Chien-Pao to occasionally take a knockout or create checkmate scenarios against certain Choice item Pokémon.
Protect - Without Tera Ghost, Chien-Pao is more vulnerable to getting its focus sash broken so being able to conserve that is crucial to maintain the Sword of Ruin debuff on the field for as long as possible.
Gholdengo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 244 HP / 44 Def / 132 SpA / 36 SpD / 52 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Make It Rain
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Trick
After many changes of the last slot, we finally decided that we would take the original member but twist it a bit. With a team of five physical attackers, things like Registeel, Kommo-o, and Hisui-Goodra started becoming a problem so we searched for answers. Gholdengo being a special attacker, immune to Body Press and resisting the Steel moves that all three of those Pokémon carried as coverage moves made it an ideal candidate in providing an answer. Trick allows us to give them a Choice item which locks them into a setup move or they are locked into a base power Body Press while also stealing their Leftovers making them easier to take down. We chose Chose Specs over Choice Scarf because it gave us more immediate damage, while also letting us lean into the bulk provided by Ting-Lu and Gouging-Fire as the Choice Scarf Variant forces you to either run Bulk + Speed, or Speed + Offense and then your missing out on bulk or offense which can be detrimental for Gholdengo. Tera Fairy offers a great defensive Typing while boosting the damage of Specs Dazzling Gleam. The Gholdengo is calc’d specifically to have 6.3% rolls on 252+ Chien-Pao Sucker Punch and 108+ Specs Fluttermane Shadow ball with Vessel of Ruin. 132 Modest hits the Special Attack Bump on Gholdengo, and 52 speed is there to speed creep 36 speed Rillaboom.
Make It Rain - An incredibly strong high base power spread STAB move that Gholdengo can take advantage of with its Choice Specs not having to worry about the first Special Attack drop.
Shadow Ball - Yet another consistent stab move allowing Gholdengo to hit most targets for good chunks and lets you OHKO opposing Gholdengo.
Dazzling Gleam - We’ve seen how good Fairy Ghost Coverage is in the format, especially with Flutter-Mane and giving Gholdengo a defensive Fairy Typing is great especially when it gains access to other consistent spread moves and gains STAB.
Trick - Mainly for locking setup Pokémon into their setup moves, but can also be used to get rid of the Choice Specs in case you wish to switch moves.
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 244 HP / 44 Def / 132 SpA / 36 SpD / 52 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Make It Rain
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Trick
After many changes of the last slot, we finally decided that we would take the original member but twist it a bit. With a team of five physical attackers, things like Registeel, Kommo-o, and Hisui-Goodra started becoming a problem so we searched for answers. Gholdengo being a special attacker, immune to Body Press and resisting the Steel moves that all three of those Pokémon carried as coverage moves made it an ideal candidate in providing an answer. Trick allows us to give them a Choice item which locks them into a setup move or they are locked into a base power Body Press while also stealing their Leftovers making them easier to take down. We chose Chose Specs over Choice Scarf because it gave us more immediate damage, while also letting us lean into the bulk provided by Ting-Lu and Gouging-Fire as the Choice Scarf Variant forces you to either run Bulk + Speed, or Speed + Offense and then your missing out on bulk or offense which can be detrimental for Gholdengo. Tera Fairy offers a great defensive Typing while boosting the damage of Specs Dazzling Gleam. The Gholdengo is calc’d specifically to have 6.3% rolls on 252+ Chien-Pao Sucker Punch and 108+ Specs Fluttermane Shadow ball with Vessel of Ruin. 132 Modest hits the Special Attack Bump on Gholdengo, and 52 speed is there to speed creep 36 speed Rillaboom.
Make It Rain - An incredibly strong high base power spread STAB move that Gholdengo can take advantage of with its Choice Specs not having to worry about the first Special Attack drop.
Shadow Ball - Yet another consistent stab move allowing Gholdengo to hit most targets for good chunks and lets you OHKO opposing Gholdengo.
Dazzling Gleam - We’ve seen how good Fairy Ghost Coverage is in the format, especially with Flutter-Mane and giving Gholdengo a defensive Fairy Typing is great especially when it gains access to other consistent spread moves and gains STAB.
Trick - Mainly for locking setup Pokémon into their setup moves, but can also be used to get rid of the Choice Specs in case you wish to switch moves.
Common Leads:
+ + + + Common Backs:
+ / / + / Results with Team:
Both Kevin and Davide brought this team to EUIC and got T256 and T8 respectively.
My testing partner was able to maintain high 1800s ladder consistently even peaking 1900s at one point.
T30 Rating Shown Below: