Trap
Banned deucer.
Team Thesis
With the suspect of Entei amongst us and a general sense that it will be banned from RU soon, I have decided to retire Young and Beautiful which I have used in RU Open and on the ladder with various degrees of success. This team is more of a showcase than it is an actual rate. Young and Beautiful embodies what the current metagame trends of RU looks like and is a good look into how I believe bulky offensive teams should be played with Entei in the tier. As a whole, Entei has affected balanced and bulky offense play styles the most. Due to its only above average base speed, offense has no trouble offensively checking Entei. Ostensibly, stall teams are able to employ staples such as Pyukumuku or Quagsire which are hard stops to Entei. As for balance and bulky offensive teams, they do not have the luxury of using frail pokemon like Zygdog or momentum zapping Pokemon like Pyukumuku. Instead, today's common balance and bulky offensive teams opt for Pokemon such as Milotic and Snorlax, which act as blanket counters to many Pokemon, including Entei, but also give free switches as they are forced to recover the resulting damage.
I consider this reactive play style to be evident in most all balance and bulky offensive builds and such mentality seems to be ingrained in the community at large. Young and Beautiful attempts to amend such issues with the use of offensively orientated checks to the metagame in order to never be on the back foot. This idea is something which is not yet common in RU balanced builds but in my opinion is necessary for these structures to succeed in today's metagame. Young and Beautiful showcases the philosphy of using fast stall breakers on bulky offensive teams as well as relying on Pokemon with both defensive utility and offensive merit. As a result of adhering to this proactive team structure, majority if not all threats to this team are manageable given you play with a level of initiative. I would go as far as to say that proactively structured balance teams are a necessity for them to thrive. Young and Beautiful was made with the intent to represent proactive building through common metagame threats which have recently arisen during the Entei era.
Teambuilding Process
Noivern was chosen as the initial Pokemon to be featured on Young and Beautiful. This Pokemon is one that reflects progressive play in balance and bulky offense teams. With it's speed, power and expansive move pool, Noivern is a useful presence on Young and Beautiful because of its versatility. Noivern serves the role of applying pressure to fatter based teams through taunt and thief while also maintaining defensive utility.
Barbaracle and Gardevoir were the next additions to the team. Scarf Gardevoir is a Pokemon which serves a revenge killer with good resistances to common types but also has utility moves in Trick and Memento which punish stall and offense respectively. Barbaracle was added in addition as a offensive check to Entei and being complimented nicely with Memento Gardevoir. As a whole, these Pokemon have a defined defensive purpose but also offer some offensive pressure on opposing teams.
Registeel is a pokemon which I am very much conflicted on. On one hand it offers bulk and reliable wall to the common special threats and fairies of the tier. However, Register also struggles with keeping up momentum and must rely on the combination of toxic and seismic toss to be progressive. As a whole, I considered Registeel the necessary evil of this team by fulfilling the role of stealth rocker and wall but going against the philosophy of the team.
Blastoise-Mega was added as another check to Entei while also providing hazard removal in order to win the hazard war versus other common rockers. More specifically, it acts as a reliable way to punish defog Gligar which Registeel often invites.
Shaymin was added to round off the squad as a way to punish Milotic, a Pokemon which proved to be troublesome with the original five members of Young and Beautiful. As a whole, Shaymin is a nice catch all to play against opposing water types and also has the added use in checking offensive ground types. More so, Shaymin can hit hard while still having relatively solid bulk without any investment.
Team Analysis
seen the world (Noivern)
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 248 HP / 52 Def / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- Hurricane
- Thief
Taunt, Roost and Hurricane are all mandatory spots on bulkier Noivern. The fourth move is pretty flexible and in this case, Thief was chosen. Thief is a cool tech which allows you to steal the leftovers from common switch-ins such as Milotic and steel types. Removing their passive recovery allows their walls to be more effectively crippled. By not running an item, it also allows for Flynium Z to be bluffed to an extent (Barbaracle is still present) and for Knock Off damage to be limited. The evs creep Salazzle while the rest is poured into defense. As a whole, this set and Pokemon in general causes issues for many teams which have not yet adapted to Noivern's growing prevalence.
city lights (Gardevoir) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Memento
- Trick
Gardevoir acts as the other means of speed control along side Noivern. Both stabs are chosen while Trick and Memento are used to help the matchup versus Stall and Offense respectively. As a whole, Gardevoir is my favorite scarfer of the metagame. It's speed tier allows it to check many different threats while also having a useful typing to switch into fighting type attacks. However, Gardevoir is invaluable to me given the good matchup it can foster against either stall or offense. Trick and Memento are what set it apart from all other scarfers. Its ability to force sub-optimal plays from the opposing team by virtue of move pool strengthen its usefulness on Young and Beautiful which by nature punishes misplays through the hard hitting Pokemon featured on the team.
still love me (Barbaracle) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Liquidation
- Protect
- Shell Smash
Barbacle is a Pokemon that has risen to prominence in RU only recently. In the late game, it outspeeds everything relevant bar scarf Salazzle after a Shell Smash and can also take a lot of the common priority moves after the Defense drop (Zygarde and Entei Extreme Speed, Doublade Shadow Sneak, Medicham and Pangoro Bullet Punch). At +2 Continental Crush is ridiculously strong and Tough Claws boosted Liquidations is also able to clean. More so, Barbaracle is able to function as an effective
mid-game breaker with its solid bulk and strength prior to setup. On this team, Barbaracle functions as a check to Entei (although crippled by burns) and is aided in its setup opportunity with Memento from scarf Gardevoir. Protect is chosen as the fourth move of coverage for its ability to beat Golispod and also allowing for more turn to guess correct in a 50/50 vs Milotic with your Z move.
mid july (Registeel) @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
- Protect
Registeel acts as the rocker of the team while also providing added security against special threats. The set is the most standard, tried and true set for Registeel. As previously mentioned in the Teambuilding Process, Registeel is the odd man out in Young and Beautiful. While all other members have a breaking ability and offer some defensive utility, Registeel is offensively a momentum zapper. At the end of the day, I had to make a trade off of an offensive rocker such as Rhyperior for Registeel- I do not regret this decision one bit. Registeel can be played much more aggressively through a series of doubles and through progressive thinking of a player to not fall trap to being setup bait. On the flip side, an offensive Pokemon cannot be played defensively because it lacks the bulk despite trying to function as a bulky Pokemon. The point I'm trying to make, which was quite poorly conveyed is that defensive orietated Pokemon can still be played proactively without losing much momentum if the team supports such atmosphere. This luxury does not work the other way which is why I chose Registeel as opposed to another offensive rocker.
diamonds (Blastoise) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
EVs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rapid Spin
- Scald
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam
I am of the opinion that Blastoise is the best mega in the tier. Its ability to clear hazards and also threaten most hazard setters makes it invaluable. Furthermore it acts as another means of counterplay to Entei which can otherwise be restricting to these type of builds. In this team, it serves this exact role. Registeel is subject to being forced out by a lot of opposing rockers and defoggers. Blastiose abuses Pokemon that have a favorable hazard matchup against Registeel, thus winning the war of attrition through rapid spinning and applied offensive pressure. While the set in itself is standard, the role which it plays is one that is pivotal to this team's success.
aching soul (Shaymin) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Air Slash
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
I wrestled with who I wanted to choose as the final member of Young and Beautiful. In its current state, the team struggled with punishing Milotic. After switching between a Toxicroak and Shaymin, I ended up settling on the version I present to you today. Leech seed Shaymin is the perfect grass type for proactive play in balance teams. Its natural bulk and reliable recovery from leech seed, coupled with its offensive prowess allow it to function as both a check to offensive ground types but also a way to threaten opposing bulky water types.
Forethought
The end result of this team is one that I am fairly happy with. This team is embolic of the metagame in which we play today, utilizing the common core of Gardevoir and Barbaracle and using other common threats such as Shaymin and Noivern. Entei can still be problematic given some timely burns, however it is not a Pokemon which can shift a matchup against you from preview. More important than the success of this team is the discussion in which I hope this RMT will bring. In the current metagame, I feel as if people are contempt with slapping down a core of Milotic / Bronzong or Registeel / Gligar and filling in the blanks from there. This building is something I would consider not only lazy but inefficient as people begin to adapt. Toxicroak has risen in viability to threaten such passive balance builds and other threats such as Barbaracle have become more prevalent which also take advantage of the standard core. This is not to say that Young and Beautiful is the perfect example of proactive building, instead I hope to see this philosophy be applied to more balanced builds in the future. On the topic of balanced builds, from my perspective, the advantage of using a balanced team is the fact that it gives you the most room to outplay. By having a defensive backbone but also an overall offensive presence, it gives you many outs to different matchups and I would go as far to say that balanced and bulky offense builds allow for the user to play at a higher ceiling than other play styles. By building a balanced team which plays passively, I believe it defeats the purpose of playing balance to begin with. With that in mind, I'd like to thank everyone for the good times thus far and for also reading through this RMT. It is my hope that more experienced and better builders may take some of my team building ideologies and evolve the metagame with a new or refined outlook.
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