You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
:bw/scolipede::bw/scrafty::bw/garbodor:
Scolipede (Poison Point. Focus Sash. Poison Jab/Mega Horn/Toxic Spikes/Pursuit)
Scrafty (Moxie. Muscle Band. Payback/Low Sweep/Poison Jab/Rock Slide)
Garbodor (Aftermath. Sitrus Berry. Gunk Shot/Stockpile/Recycle/Payback)
:bw/seismitoad::bw/eelektross::bw/amoonguss:
Seismitoad (Swift Swim. Damp Rock. Rain Dance/Muddy Water/Earthquake/Sludge Wave)
Eelektross (Levitate. Quick Claw. Thunder/Rock Slide/Crunch/Coil)
Amoonguss (Ace)(Effect Spore. Big Root. Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb/Toxic/Ingrain)

So, much easier this time around.
In addition to using all the Poison-types in Unova, being I'm making a team for a Poison-type specialist, wanted to make sure all my Pokemon have a Poison-type Move. I think most of them explanatory.
I picked Scrafty out of other choices since Poison-types a usually seen as a "grungy" group.
Amoonguss is my ace as I wanted to do something different, hence it also not having Spore.
 
Last edited:
Damn, almost everything has been taken already.

:garbodor: Item: Rocky Helmet. Moves: Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Gunk Shot, Thunderbolt. Nothing to explain here, is one of the poison Mons. Sets hazards and contact damage.

:cofagrigus: Item: Leftovers. Moves: Protect, Will-o-Wisp, Shadow Ball, Psychic. It's a mummy, ancient Egypt "ghost". They were guarded in pyramids, which had traps (some of them in form of poison) and some curses that supposedly killed people all the way in 20th century. Stalls and hits decently hard, Psychic damages opposing poisons who removed Toxic Spikes.

:amoonguss: Item: Black Sludge. Moves: Spore, Giga Drain, Venoshock, Double Team. Another poison Mon. Hits hard with Venoshock if opponent is poisoned, otherwise sleeps and cheeses with Double Team.

:durant: Item: Wide Lens. Moves: X Scissors, Rock Slide, Iron Head, Thunder Wave. Ants have some poison, in another generation it could have been a poison type (there is still potential for a regional form). The set doesn't actually use any poison move but still has a status move, which Poison specialists use.

:hydreigon: Item: Chesto Berry. Moves: Dark Pulse, Flamethrower, Toxic, Rest. This is the highest BST Mon of the region, which doesn't mean it has to be the ace, so the set isn't fully offensive. Hydreigon is based on Lernean Hydra, from Ancient Greece. Among other powers (like regenerating heads, which now that I think about it could have been used to make this Pokemon have Regenerator, imagine that) it had poison, so it fits. Additionally, both Poison and Dark type, apart from having excellent sinergy, are often used by villains, so this Pokemon fits well into the team. Set uses the classic Poison move in Toxic. Hydreigon doesn't learn Roost until BW2, so it uses Rest instead to last longer. Every single poison immune Mon in BW is hit hard by either Dark Pulse or Flamethrower and the combo of the offensive moves is only resisted by Hydreigon itself and Terrain.

:scolipede: Item: Poison Gem. Moves: Sword Dance, Megahorn, Earthquake, Poison Jab. Since we don't have Gigamax in Unova, this is the right Mon for being a Poison Ace. After everyone else in the team statuses and weakens the challenger, this fast Mon uses Sword Dance and cleans. Poison Jab is not the optimal move for such a set, but since we are a Poison specialist, it has to be used, with a Gem too, which is a BW introduced item.

Lmao, accidentally tagged some users, sorry for that. Edited the post.
 
I will say, some people are taking the sets a bit too seriously. Held items are rare in-game cause it feels bad to get got by them, and fainting to optimal coverage after hours of mooks isn't a good feeling either. There's a middle ground between naming 6 mons and preparing for ladder. A memorable Gym team is a synthesis between mechanics and flavor, not optimizing for one of them.

Accelgor
Ability: Hydration
- Acid Spray
- Yawn
- U-turn
- Bug Buzz

Scolipede
Ability: Swarm
- Steamroller
- Bulldoze
- Poison Jab
- Screech

Garbodor
Ability: Stench
- Stockpile
- Rest
- Sludge Bomb
- Dark Pulse

Amoonguss
Ability: Effect Spore
- Venoshock
- Toxic
- Synthesis
- Hex

Stunfisk
Ability: Limber
- Earth Power
- Discharge
- Bulldoze
- Sludge Bomb

Cofagrigus
Ability: Mummy
- Hex
- Psychic
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force

Poison in Unova isn't just interesting for being scarce; all three of its representatives take very different approaches. Scolipede is unabashed offense, Garbodor is about buffs and debuffs, and Amoonguss is a status spreader with weak attacks that would be all too familiar in Kanto and Johto. This makes creating a coherent-feeling team a little difficult, but I've settled on a split between debuffs and status. That's what Poison should be, not a wannabe attack spammer at the mercy of the type chart. My non-Poison-types have already been used and justified as I would, so I'll focus on their mechanical purposes.

Accelgor is great for setting the tone. Acid Spray is a move design I wish they'd lean into more, but it at least holds weight in-game, where switching is too seldom encouraged. Yawn is the team's only sleep move, as I want it to give teammates a bit of breathing room without overshadowing the poison status.

Swords Dance Scolipede is corny as hell for in-game; it's already fast and strong. There are far more interesting sets out there if you're willing to take the power level down a bit. Bulldoze can mess with Fire-types and any other fast thing, setting up Steamroller (did you know this move existed? I didn't until yesterday). Screech fairly compensates for the low-power moves and further punishes soloing.

I'd love to interview the guy at Game Freak who wouldn't stop putting the Stockpile package on things. It's so bad, yet so many Pokemon were built for it! The move itself is fine as long you have recovery that keeps the boosts; Rest Garbodor makes for a impactful yet interactable payoff. Dark Pulse can mess with poisoned or slowed foes.

I don't like how poison, sleep, and paralysis got lumped together among Grass-, Bug-, and Poison-types in the early gens; they compete with each other and dilute type identity, so no Spore Amoonguss. Instead, it's a resilient poison payoff.

Stunfisk covers a lot of type holes while having plenty of thematic ties, as Lalaya's post explains. I wanted to keep its paralysis spreading to a minimum to let poison shine, but Discharge is an iconic move to it, and an Electric-type move is necessary. If the foe hasn't been poisoned yet, it probably never will anyway. I dislike putting Pokemon on a Gym team just because they learn moves of the type, especially when those types make bad coverage like Dragon and Poison, but Stunfisk justifies Sludge Bomb against Grass. There are good Grass-types in Unova and Stunfisk isn't a powerhouse, so I don't feel bad about it like Ice Fang Gyarados last time.

Cofagrigus can put a halt to any brainless physical assault and let damage rack up with Phantom Force. Will-O-Wisp is the team's plan B for Steel-types. Psychic is a cheeky callout on the opponent's own Poison-types.

Exclusions:
:seismitoad: :jellicent:
Water-types don't fit the 'bleeder' style. Their moves are boring. I actually quite dislike Seismitoad's lore going on about the poison so much, considering its minimal mechanical impact. Jellicent (and Chandelure) offers nothing that Cofagrigus can't do more elegantly.
:zoroark:
People like to ascribe trickery to Poison, both in- and out-of-universe, but I think that's BS. Poison is very rarely shy about what it is and what it does, and Unova's three reflect this: Scolipede is large and in charge, Garbodor couldn't be more literal, and Amoonguss doesn't hide its face when the mimicry jig is up. There's a reason Roxie is the opposite of subtle. Koga would like you to think Poison is sneaky, but he just puts widespread nonsense like evasion, Explosion, and Sleep Powder on his Pokemon. Haxers that happen to be Poison, not haxers because they're Poison.

This rant is to say that Dark doesn't go super well with Poison, and especially with Illusion. Poison is happy to draw attention to itself.
:scrafty: :eelektross: :reuniclus:
The mere basis of learning Poison-type moves or having poison in lore doesn't cut it for me. Scrafty's too straightforward of an attacker, while Coil and Acid Armor are known for their uses on NON-Poison-types. Their type assignment means nothing.
 

Celever

i am town
is a Community Contributor
I will say, some people are taking the sets a bit too seriously. Held items are rare in-game cause it feels bad to get got by them, and fainting to optimal coverage after hours of mooks isn't a good feeling either. There's a middle ground between naming 6 mons and preparing for ladder. A memorable Gym team is a synthesis between mechanics and flavor, not optimizing for one of them.
Considering we're talking about full teams of 6 here, the implication is that we're designing rematch or post-game facility teams considering usually even the eighth gym leader won't have 6 Pokémon when you first battle them. These teams tend to have 6 held items, and at times (such as in the PWT) are basically ladderable teams. One thing I've enjoyed seeing is that pretty much everyone as some kind of unspoken rule has obeyed Item Clause, because enemy boss teams always do that in-game.

I actually did make my team with more thought put into its place in-game (and the fact it'll be controlled by an AI and has to be foolproof for that) than just building a competitive team, to the extent of having a physical Galvantula just so it would use a Poison-Type attack that wasn't Gastro Acid and having Defence Curl + Rollout Amoonguss because it's humorously effective in-game on enemy teams, but I understand the people who find it more fun to take it as a challenge to make the type as strong as possible in a more competitive sense. It's basically just the difference between a DPPt Battleground or final in-game gen 3 rematch team, or a PWT World Leaders Tournament team.
 

CTNC

Doesn't know how to attack
Minor note for my aproach: I treat the team like it's an in game boss, so that's why I mention the AI and only give an item to the final Pokemon.

Other than the 3 Poison Types, I'll start with who learns Poison moves without TMs. If we get to who learns Poison moves through TMs, I'm ignoring Toxic. That'd let me use anything except Tynamo. I'm also ignoring anyone that only learns Gunk Shot though Tutor because that wasn't until BW2.

Accelgor learns a Poison Attack by Level, Acid Spray at Level 4, and Shelmet learns Acid at Level 4 instead as well as Acid Armor. This slimy shelless snail is good thematically, but not very good when there's already another Grass type and another Bug. Then again, this is more about representing the type than making a good team...
Cottonee learns Poison Powder. Honestly, it feels like a Grass move that's Poison instead because it poisons. Still a little tempting because of how much I love Leech Seed though. :P
Seismitoad learns Acid thought Level and has the Ability Poison Touch.
Galvantula only has Gastro Acid through Level, but has the Egg Moves Poison Sting and, much more usefully, Cross Poison.
Eelektrik learns Acid, Acid Spray, Coil, and Gastro Acid. It doesn't learn Sludge Bomb and the AI won't use Acid Spray, so Coil will do for Eelektross!
Druddigon has Poison Tail as an Egg Move. Interesting.
Chandelure learns Smog and has 3 Poison Egg Moves, Acid Armor, Acid, and Clear Smog. None of those are good enough. That's a shame because I would've liked to use a Ghost Type, especialy because of Hex.
Serperior learns Coil and Gatro Acid, but no one in BW uses starters other than you and your rivals.
I don't even need the no starters reasoning to say no to Emboar's Smog.


:Garbodor:
Garbodor
Aftermath
-Toxic Spikes
-Gunk Shot
-Payback
-Toxic

No Poison type specialists in game (except the one that cheats and sets it up before the battle) uses Toxic Spikes. Let's fix that! A lead with Toxic Spikes forces you to deal with poison, which is kind of the main point of Poison. Payback is one of the few coverage moves and happens to hit Psychic Types Super Effectively. The Movepool is bad enough that I considered Explosion, but the risk of the AI using it Turn 1 isn't worth it. Body Slam's 30% chance to inflict a status problem that isn't poison also isn't worth it because it means no poisoning. I just slapped on Toxic for the fourth move. Even though no one in game used Hidden Abilities until SwSh, Gen 5 did introduce them. I'd say that makes up for not having any moves that were new in BW.

Note edited in after noticing most other Garbodor are Special: The reason my Garbodor is Physical is their base Attack is 95 and their base Special Attack is 60. The Special Movepool is better so I probably should have ignored the stat difference. It's not like one stat being so much higher hasn't stopped Game Freak from making movesets that use the lower one.


:Seismitoad:
Seismitoad
Poison Touch
-Sludge Wave
-Muddy Water
-Dig
-Drain Punch

Sludge Wave is slightly more powerful than Sludge Bomb, much fewer Pokemon can learn it, and it's a new move in BW. Muddy Water has the same Power but worse Accuracy than Surf, but if feels right to have the dirtier move for a Poison team. It's not completely worse than Surf though because of the 30% Accuracy drop chance. I'm not going to deny Dig isn't the best Ground Attack, but it's Seismitoad's only STAB the makes contact and what's the point of Poison Touch if you're not using contact moves? Drain Punch is a contact move that's coverage for... no idea honestly. I just think it's odd that Seismitoad learns it by Level. Pokmeon in game have random covorage moves all the time and it's much better than the Fighting Elite Four's Grass Knot on Sawk. (I have no idea what Game Freak was thinking when they made that moveset or what the AI was thinking when they used it on my Servine.)

My reason for Seismitoad, other than Poison Touch, is the mud of Water/Ground types is easily associated with the muck of Poison types. Swampert and Gastrodon even have Sludge as Egg Moves!

:Accelgor:
Accelgor
Hydration
-Sludge Bomb
-Acid Spray
-Bug Buzz
-Focus Blast

Acid Spray's effect would be threatening if the AI would ever use the 40 Power move. Sludge Bomb is so there's a Poison move the AI would actually use. Bug STAB and Focus Blast coverage are unplesent for Psychic and Steel types. I could've used Energy Ball or Giga Drain for Accuracy and hitting Ground Types, but the only Pokemon weak to Ground on this team is Garbodor.

My reason for using Accelgor, even though its weaknesses are terribble for a team that already had a Grass type and another Bug type, is Shelmet is only found in the swamps of Route 8 and the Moor of Iccirus. Swampy and slimy just feels right to me for Poison.

:Eelektross:
Eelektross
Levitate
-Coil
-Toxic
-Wild Charge
-Brick Break

Coil is the slimy eel's obligatory non-Toxic Poison Move and Toxic is for for a Poison move that's more obviously a Poison move and works well with Coil's Defense boost. Wild Charge's recoil makes it a bad choice for a setup sweeper, but it's better than Spark and can give players the realization that they just need to endure long enough for Eelektross to KO itself. I wanted to have a coverage move that's resisted by Grass to throw a bone to the only type weak to Poison, but there's weren't any. Instead, I went with the move that's a screw you to the Grass Type that gets off too easy, Ferrothorn.

I think Eelektross is the least Posion Pokemon on this team, but I still liked it better than the other Pokemon that lean Poison moves naturaly because they mostly learn usable Poison moves as Egg Moves and eels are slimy. It also gets to show off a Poison Status move that doesn't inflict poison.

:Amoonguss:
Amoonguss
Effect Spore
-Toxic
-Venoshock
-Giga Drain
-Synthesis

There's no way Amoonguss can't not have a stall moveset. Just because we have Toxic Spikes doesn't mean we don't have to use Toxic. Flying Types ignore it and Poison Types absorb it after all. Venoshock is used over Sludge Bomb because it's more powerful after poisoning the opponent and it's a "new" move. The coverage isn't good, but coverage isn't really an option for Amoongus.

:Scolipede: :Black Sludge:
Scolipede @ Black Sludge
Poison Point
-Poison Jab
-Megahorn
-Earthquake
-Sword Dance

Amoonguss's movepool isn't good enough for a tough ace and Garbodor is the lead for Toxic Spikes, so Scolipede gets to be the ace. Sword Dance on a fast Pokemon is terrifying, especially with Megahorn's 120 Power, but the 85 Accuracy gives the player hope. Earthquake hits Fire types, which 3 Pokemon on the team are weak to, and the types that are immune to poison. I considered Bulldoze or Steamroller for the sake of having a "new" move, but nerfing what's supposed to be the team's signature Pokemon didn't feel worth it for more representation of the "new" generation. I also considered a Poison Gem instead of the usual healing berry because it's Gen 5 only, but Black Sludge is practically signature item of Poison types. I don't think I need to explain the Ability.


:Garbodor: :Seismitoad: :Accelgor: :Eelektross: :Amoonguss: :Scolipede:

Pretty weak to Fire and Flying, but I think it's strong thematicly and that's more importaint Coincidentally, the only Poison move more than one Pokmeon on this team knows is Toxic. That wasn't planned but it's a nice bonus for showing off diferent Poison moves.
 
Last edited:

ItzaDelta

formerly I-Deepblue-I
It's poisonin' time.
:garbodor: :amoonguss: :stunfisk: :scolipede: :musharna: :shelmet:
Alright, let's first justify my picks before moving on to the actual team.

:garbodor: :amoonguss: :scolipede: Gen 5's Poison types, really, there's no reason not to include them. Helps that they are overall pretty fitting for the structure I wanna create.

:stunfisk: First off-type pick, this one is pretty straight forward, the stargazer fish (one of the fish Stunfisk is inspired by) are venomous. It doesn't get too many Poison type moves, but what it has is enough to work with.

:shelmet:
"When attacked, it defends itself by closing the lid of its shell. It can spit a sticky, poisonous liquid."
Yeahhhh, I think this one is good to go :)

:musharna: Easily my least justifiable pick, there isn't really anything connecting it with the Poison type, but I really liked the synergy it had with the rest of the Pokemon, being a Psychic resistance and having the exact moves I needed to make the team work. Besides, you can make an argument for the mist it spits out to be vaguely "poison-y" and such (y'know, like some kinda neurotoxin).

Alright, let's get this team going!
quick clarification by the way!
im treating this boss as if it was made for BW, so these Pokemon will only have access to the moves, items or abilities featured in Gen 5!


:bw/garbodor:
Garbodor @ Custap Berry
Ability: Stench
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
- Sludge Wave
- Rock Blast
- Explosion
- Toxic Spikes

Here's my lead. From now on, one of the big concepts around this team can be simplified to a single word: "Annoying"...Garbodor is a pretty good example of this idea; Stench + Rock Blast can be a bit annoying to slower foes if it gets lucky, and Custap Berry lets it get something done before dying. Its general purpose is setting up Toxic Spikes, which is one of the two most important parts of this team.

:bw/amoonguss:
Amoonguss
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
- Grass Knot
- Venoshock
- Spore
- Foul Play

Amongus is probably the most bland Pokemon on my team, being a bulky Pokemon who's damage output relies entirely on the opponent being strong, heavy or poisoned. Nothing too impressive, but it can prove to be a nuisance to strategies relying on setting up and sweeping and it's the first Pokemon here that benefits directly from Garbodor's Toxic Spikes.

:bw/stunfisk:
Stunfisk @ Ground Gem
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA
- Earth Power
- Thunder
- Sludge Bomb
- Magnet Rise

One of the key weaknesses I found with this team was opposing Poison types being able to tank basically everything this team can throw at it, and most notably, absorbing Toxic Spikes for good. Stunfisk is my solution for this, Ground Gem boosted Earth Power wrecks Poison types trying to absorb the hazard, and it can also hit Steel and Flying types for super effective damage. Sludge Bomb hits Grass types and Surf hits Ground types, so basically, this is the team's offensive backbone.

:bw/scolipede:
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spe
- Megahorn
- Iron Defense
- Endeavor
- Baton Pass

Scolipede features the second part of this team; Baton Pass, but more specifically, defensive Baton Pass. Scolipede functions as the second "lead" that gets the Baton Pass chain going, having access to Iron Defense and the move, but it's also got two other tricks under its sleeve; Focus Sash + swarm boosted Megahorn or Endeavor coupled with Toxic Spikes can make Scolipede work as an offensive threat in its own right if it gets granted any free turns.

:bw/musharna:
Musharna @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
- Future Sight
- Baton Pass
- Calm Mind
- Reflect

Here is our second Baton Passer. Musharna is the only Pokemon in the Unova dex that gets access to Baton Pass alongside a Special Defense boosting move, and as such, is essential for this team. Future Sight can let it recreate FuturePort to an extent (so yet another anti Poison measure) and Reflect can let it set up a bit more easily if defense boosts weren't received.

:bw/shelmet:
Shelmet @ Eviolite
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 HP
- Signal Beam
- Double Team
- Recover
- Rain Dance

Lastly, we got the ace of the team and the Baton Pass chain receiver, Shelmet. If it receives the defensive boosts safely, Shelmet can potentially just stall the heck out of you and win by the war of attrition. Toxic Spikes are really necessary for this strategy to work, as Shelmet is awfully passive otherwise. Hydration invalidates simply running a Pokemon with Toxic, as it will just set the Rain up and cure itself of status while having access to Recover and Double Team to really hammer in home how hard this is to break, truly embodying of the concept of "annoying".
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Hugin had a good idea the last time around, so I'mma do the same: let's look at people's picks by numbers:

(same caveats apply: this was just counted by me, pls don't yell if I'm off by 1 somewhere, order within each tier is essentially random)

Scolipede: 15
Amoonguss: 15
Garbodor: 14

Seismitoad: 8

Accelgor: 6

Stunfisk: 4
Eelektross: 4

Zoroark: 3
Jellicent: 3

Scrafty: 2
Cofagrigus: 2

Reuniclus: 1
Chandelure: 1
Galvantula: 1
Maractus: 1
Mandibuzz: 1
Beartic: 1
Hydreigon: 1
Klinklang: 1
Cincinno: 1
Druddigon: 1
Musharna: 1
Durant: 1
Whirlipede: 1
Shelmet: 1

Not going to post my thoughts on this outside of saying some of those wildcards are really interesting picks, did not expect to see a couple of the names there. But loving reading everyone's justifications!
 
Considering we're talking about full teams of 6 here, the implication is that we're designing rematch or post-game facility teams considering usually even the eighth gym leader won't have 6 Pokémon when you first battle them. These teams tend to have 6 held items, and at times (such as in the PWT) are basically ladderable teams. One thing I've enjoyed seeing is that pretty much everyone as some kind of unspoken rule has obeyed Item Clause, because enemy boss teams always do that in-game.

I actually did make my team with more thought put into its place in-game (and the fact it'll be controlled by an AI and has to be foolproof for that) than just building a competitive team, to the extent of having a physical Galvantula just so it would use a Poison-Type attack that wasn't Gastro Acid and having Defence Curl + Rollout Amoonguss because it's humorously effective in-game on enemy teams, but I understand the people who find it more fun to take it as a challenge to make the type as strong as possible in a more competitive sense. It's basically just the difference between a DPPt Battleground or final in-game gen 3 rematch team, or a PWT World Leaders Tournament team.
I’m actually trying the second half as well more. I saw a couple of mons that I could probably justify that would be stronger for the team than Stunfisk. But Stunfisk just fits better thematically. But once I have a team, definitely going to try to make it as viable as possible.
 
Heyyyyyy I haven't submitted my team again

Anyways here it is. I don't know how to get those juicy ass B/W sprites though.

Garbodor (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Sludge Bomb
- Dark Pulse
- Giga Drain

Garbodor is one of the region's three poison types and is here just to set up toxic spikes and die. Dark Pulse and Giga Drain provide coverage and Sludge Bomb is STAB but it pretty much just starts with Toxic Spikes. Aftermath discourages contact move users from just OHKOing it and giving it a turn to set up Toxic Spikes

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spore
- Clear Smog
- Giga Drain
- Growth

Amoonguss is another of the Poison Types of the Unova Region and I'm suprised there's only 7 of them considering that Kanto had 33. Spore is annoying, Clear Smog is annoying for setup, Growth allows Amoonguss to set up itself and Giga Drain and Black Sludge make sure that you'll never need to use Regenerator (not)

Seismitoad @ Choice Band
Ability: Poison Touch
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Poison Jab
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall

Seismitoad has Poison Touch, is related to Croagunk and that Paralyzing Liquid sounds suspiciously like Poison. Anyways it has Poison Jab and Poison Touch cos Poison and apparently Seismitoad doesn't get any Physical Water-type moves so Low Kick it is.


Accelgor @ Bug Gem
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Bug Buzz
- Spikes
- Energy Ball

I mean it gets Acid Spray? It also spits poison soo... Maybe I shoulda put this second for the spikes. It gets Bug Gem Unburden cos I have to activate Unburden somehow and also Gems go whee. Energy Ball is good for Rocks and Grounds I guess

Eelektross @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Discharge
- Giga Drain
- Flamethrower

It also gets Acid Spray so there. This set goes with Specs 4 Attacks cos Assault Vest doesn't exist yet

Scolipede @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Megahorn
- Poison Jab
- Swords Dance

The last of the Unova Poison Types, it's the Ace and gets a Swords Dance set. Shame it gets Quick Feet instead of Speed Boost this gen
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Mmmkay so we've got a decent number of teams now so I'm making the executive decision to close this question early! Formerly tomorrow, I'm now saying you have until June 7th, 9PM GMT to post a team if you haven't already - I'm flying on Saturday and will be away for a few days, so this way I can put a new question up on Friday after the vote and let you all thrash the new topic out for a few days.

One other thing: not calling anyone out, but just a reminder about one point in the OP:

  • Move restrictions are not a consideration; therefore you may justify usage of a Pokemon based on a move it did not learn until a later generation. But stick to what is actually learned by Pokemon in the games rather than assigning moves to species that don't learn them.
So if, for instance, a Pokemon from Gen V got a raft of Poison moves down the line in Gen VIII (wrt to this challenge in particular), cool! It's every bit as valid for consideration as something else.

Again, not calling anyone out for doing anything wrong, as it's been fun seeing people's ideas for movesets/overall strategies - but don't feel the need to be too restricted by "[Pokemon] doesn't get any good [type] moves until [later generation]". Really enjoyed this round, lots of good ideas.
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Aaaaand vote number two begins! Thanks once again to everyone who contributed their thoughts. No disqualified entries so we have a grand total of seventeen competitors - as before, have a read back through the thread and cast your vote for the person you judge to have designed the best team, and/or argued their case in the most eloquent and creative fashion (even if, after reading everyone's thoughts, you think that's you). I will DM the winner shortly afterward.

The poll is open until 10pm GMT on Friday 9th June - votes cast after this time will NOT be counted. Please only vote once.

 
Last edited:
Hugin had a good idea the last time around, so I'mma do the same: let's look at people's picks by numbers:

(same caveats apply: this was just counted by me, pls don't yell if I'm off by 1 somewhere, order within each tier is essentially random)

Scolipede: 16
Amoonguss: 16
Garbodor: 15

Seismitoad: 9
Accelgor: 7
Eelektross: 5
Stunfisk: 4

Zoroark: 3
Jellicent: 3

Scrafty: 2
Cofagrigus: 2

Reuniclus: 1
Chandelure: 1
Galvantula: 1
Maractus: 1
Mandibuzz: 1
Beartic: 1
Hydreigon: 1
Klinklang: 1
Cincinno: 1
Druddigon: 1
Musharna: 1
Durant: 1
Whirlipede: 1
Shelmet: 1

Not going to post my thoughts on this outside of saying some of those wildcards are really interesting picks, did not expect to see a couple of the names there. But loving reading everyone's justifications!
(I updated the count for the final person). First off, I'm glad you liked the idea. I'm a big fan of trying to find meaning in weird data, and this is more of that.

Now, my thoughts on these: The three poison-types are, of course, obvious. Seismitoad too(I only excluded it because Jellicent is also an excellent fit). Everything after that, though, I'd kind of argue with. Not their inclusion on the list at all, even most of the wild cards make perfect sense to me. Just the order is wild. I'm not saying anyone's wrong, just that I don't really get why Accelgor and Eelektross are so much more popular than Maractus or Mandibuzz. I was also expecting a lot more Whirlipede, especially with Eviolite in this gen.

Now that's partly that we're spoiled for choice this time around(I thought Snorlax as a dragon was clever, and that is definitely more of a stretch than many of these), and it's also the point of this challenge, that we get to see how the types are viewed and teams are built when under stress.

I just really like this thread.
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Gassssspppppp, we have another tie... two (and a bit) hours to go, and it's another three-way-tie. Who'll prevail? Cast your vote now if you have not done so!
 
Went to check the results and did not realize that the website you used doesn't lock by IP or anything

Like I don't think anyone here would stuff the ballot on a thing that didn't matter but , ah, oops
 

Celever

i am town
is a Community Contributor
Went to check the results and did not realize that the website you used doesn't lock by IP or anything

Like I don't think anyone here would stuff the ballot on a thing that didn't matter but , ah, oops
Considering how easy it is to get around those IP locks with a VPN I think it makes sense to just have a universal policy of trust.

Because yeah if someone tries to rig an unserious thought exercise with no prize for winning whatsoever (not even clout, really!) they need to seriously review their priorities lol
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Went to check the results and did not realize that the website you used doesn't lock by IP or anything

Like I don't think anyone here would stuff the ballot on a thing that didn't matter but , ah, oops
Weirdly on the first one I was able to view the result without voting but here, it seems not...? Luckily I saved the URL for the results tab. Will make a mental note to link to it in future in case the same thing happens next time.


Considering how easy it is to get around those IP locks with a VPN I think it makes sense to just have a universal policy of trust.

Because yeah if someone tries to rig an unserious thought exercise with no prize for winning whatsoever (not even clout, really!) they need to seriously review their priorities lol
This. I'm sure there are poll websites where I'd be able to see who voted but honestly I'm really not too fussed, and this one worked well enough.

And tbf if someone implausibly got 15 votes or something I'd just disqualify it anyway.
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
And that's that - we still have a tie, with Hugin, Hematite, and Just A Seaking all in joint first place. As thread creator and undisputed moron-in-chief, I get the casting vote. And I decree it shall be given to...

Y'know what, I'm quite taken by Just A Seaking's take on this concept - you win this round! Your approach was an interesting one, and each pick was justified well while also establishing some good synergy. Well done - will DM you shortly.

I'ma start a record of who emerged on top for each round in the first post.
 

Celever

i am town
is a Community Contributor
Now that voting's done I'll comment on how the round went.

Which is that I'm actually really quite surprised with how it turned out? Obviously I ended up with 2 mons that only I suggested (and only 1 vote) but the popular mons are really surprising to me. In all honesty, I don't see the connection that Zoroark or Cofagrigus have at all -- Cofagrigus does learn Toxic Spikes but outside of ninja lore this is only ever given to walls that aren't Poison-Type so I've always just viewed it as a gameplay rather than lore decision. Stunfisk also really surprised me because flounders aren't poisonous or venomous they're genuinely just regular fish. And though Eelektross does learn Acid Spray, a quick google taught me that eels aren't poisonous or venomous either which is why I went with Galvantula instead.

I guess of the mons that got more than one nomination, Accelgor, Seismitoad, Jellicent, and Scrafty are really the only ones I "get"? And even Scrafty is in a looser "Poison-Type is associated with punk" vein because Dark-Type is more associated with punk nowadays! I'm very surprised that Reuniclus, Galvantula, Mandibuzz, Druddigon, and Musharna weren't more popular choices -- all of these were Pokémon I thought about (and Galvantula I included) when making my own submission. Cofagrigus, Zoroark, Stunfisk... they didn't even come to mind. And this isn't me hardcoring on Maractus being robbed, even I admit that was a slightly loose connection, even if I feel it's more poisonous than several of the popular picks.

It's just cool to see how differently all of our minds work. I actually didn't include Reuniclus because I submitted after Hematite but still pretty early, and I figured Reuniclus would be a really popular choice so I'd end up getting lost in the fray.

I'll also say that of the three tied frontrunners, I do like that Just A Seaking won. They were my second preference for a vote, I liked the route of taking a very character-minded approach. Depending on the next prompt I may try my hand at that, or not, we'll see.

QuentinQuonce just wondering, would you ever consider having ranked voting instead of just picking your favourite option? I think it would make voting more interesting :sphearical:
 

CTNC

Doesn't know how to attack
  • Move restrictions are not a consideration; therefore you may justify usage of a Pokemon based on a move it did not learn until a later generation. But stick to what is actually learned by Pokemon in the games rather than assigning moves to species that don't learn them.
Thanks for pointing out this rule. This opens up more possibilities, but something feels wrong about not sticking to the game the Dex is from. (For example, not sticking to Gen 5 movesets for the BW Dex.) For future ones, am I allowed to have two movesets? One for the gen the Dex is in and one unrestricted by what Gen the Dex is in?

QuentinQuonce just wondering, would you ever consider having ranked voting instead of just picking your favourite option? I think it would make voting more interesting :sphearical:
Seconding this or at least being able to vote for multiple people. (Especially because you can vote for yourself.)
 
There is no criteria to have movesets at all, so I don't think there's much need to worry about having a lot of them other than how far you're willing to get into the weeds.
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
Now that voting's done I'll comment on how the round went.

Which is that I'm actually really quite surprised with how it turned out? Obviously I ended up with 2 mons that only I suggested (and only 1 vote) but the popular mons are really surprising to me. In all honesty, I don't see the connection that Zoroark or Cofagrigus have at all -- Cofagrigus does learn Toxic Spikes but outside of ninja lore this is only ever given to walls that aren't Poison-Type so I've always just viewed it as a gameplay rather than lore decision. Stunfisk also really surprised me because flounders aren't poisonous or venomous they're genuinely just regular fish. And though Eelektross does learn Acid Spray, a quick google taught me that eels aren't poisonous or venomous either which is why I went with Galvantula instead.

I guess of the mons that got more than one nomination, Accelgor, Seismitoad, Jellicent, and Scrafty are really the only ones I "get"? And even Scrafty is in a looser "Poison-Type is associated with punk" vein because Dark-Type is more associated with punk nowadays! I'm very surprised that Reuniclus, Galvantula, Mandibuzz, Druddigon, and Musharna weren't more popular choices -- all of these were Pokémon I thought about (and Galvantula I included) when making my own submission. Cofagrigus, Zoroark, Stunfisk... they didn't even come to mind. And this isn't me hardcoring on Maractus being robbed, even I admit that was a slightly loose connection, even if I feel it's more poisonous than several of the popular picks.

It's just cool to see how differently all of our minds work. I actually didn't include Reuniclus because I submitted after Hematite but still pretty early, and I figured Reuniclus would be a really popular choice so I'd end up getting lost in the fray.

I'll also say that of the three tied frontrunners, I do like that Just A Seaking won. They were my second preference for a vote, I liked the route of taking a very character-minded approach. Depending on the next prompt I may try my hand at that, or not, we'll see.

QuentinQuonce just wondering, would you ever consider having ranked voting instead of just picking your favourite option? I think it would make voting more interesting :sphearical:
Yes, I think this is a good idea. I'm a big critic of FPTP in other contexts so I should probably practice what I preach.
 

bdt2002

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs superfan
is a Pre-Contributor
Hey there. I've been looking into this thread for a while now and think is a pretty unique idea. Whenever the next team building round starts up, I'd love to participate, but for the time being I have a few questions I wanted to ask, if you don't mind. Thanks in advance for reading this post :)

1. This one's more of a personal curiosity question, but I was wondering what kinds of selection criteria you were using to decide which types and which games are suitable for this thread. I get the whole "limited options for this type" theme, but do you have some kind of cutoff line or do you just kind of wing it for fun?

2. Around the time your thread went up, I had a very similar idea for a thread I wanted to post, where I would collect ideas of what kinds of teams people would make. We can chat in PMs if you want the finer details if you're interested, but just to be safe I wanted to at least ask permission to go forward with this, since I don't want you to feel like I'd be copying your idea.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top