Hello everybody! Inspired by Dragonborn's little series of teams, and my use of Showdown as both an easy way to kill time and a way to satiate my Pokemon hunger (too stingy to buy a 3DS, but I've been considering it), I've made my first monotype team that I've been play testing a bit. I remember bug being unbelievably good in Gen 6, largely in part to mega Pinsir, if I recall correctly. So, I won't be using him of course! This is mainly centered around Mega Scizor, Heracross, and Volcorona. Hopefully it isn't unplayable xD
Scizor
Scizor is an absolute monster. This thing shreds other Pokemon with a massive 130 attack stat pre-mega and 150 afterwards. While banded Scizor and Life orb Scizor hit harder, I did have a mega available to use and I wanted the flexibility of chosing different moves without having to worry about recoil. And Scizor always hits hard no matter what. I use a bulky attacking set for Mega Scizor, as this team doesn't have too much defensive presence and I prefer a more balanced playstyle. Swords Dance turns Scizor into a terrifying wallbreaker, boosting attack to sky high levels. Bullet Punch is here for it's hard hitting priority, and believe me, this hits HARD. With 252+ attack, you can take a big chunk out of most threats. Bug Bite I choose over U-turn or X-Scissor because U-turn gets rid of SD boosts and Bug-Bite works well with Technician ability before Mega evolving. One of the nice things about Scizor is that it's completely viable without mega evolving, so waiting and taking advantage of Technician's extra power can sometimes be useful. My last spot is for Roost, which allows Scizor to stick around much longer and keep dealing damage. The 44 speed IVs are to outspeed uninvested base 80 Pokemon, the rest is pumped into health for bulk.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Heracross
Heracross is the next Pokemon I threw into the mix because it's one of my absolute favorites. I prefer a choice scarf revenge killing set using the Moxie ability to get a sweep steamrolling late game. With a 125 attack stat, it hits hard. With choice scarf, it's able to outspeed and OHKO many Pokemon that could give it trouble. It does suffer from a little bit of power loss, but if it can get a Moxie boost up and stay in, it's a force to be reckoned with. The moveset is simple: pile on as many hard hitting coverage moves as possible. The only exception is I run Knock Off to take care of any pesky items. Knock Off is almost always a good option for any set on any Pokemon if it has a slot open.
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Volcorona
With two physical attackers, I needed some special coverage added to the mix. Enter Volcorona, the premiere Bug type speical attacker. Seriously, this thing is one of 6 non UB/event only Bug types with 100 or more special attack. There's not many, but Volcorona is a damned good one! With a huge 135 special attack and a nice 100 speed, this is one heck of a sweeper. I like to run Firium Z on it for those tight pinches when you really cannot afford a miss from Fire Blast or if you have to punch a hole into something beefy. Quiver Dance also happens to be the second most rediculous boosting move in the game (after Shell Smash, in my opinion), so that doesn't hurt one bit. After a QD boost, this thing is a monster. The fire typing it packs is also helpful for getting rid of steel types, who give me a bit of trouble if Heracross's Close Combat isn't cutting it.
Volcarona @ Firium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Fire Blast
Araquanid
This monster right here brings a whole new world to Bug type teams and is pretty much a staple. Thanks to it's Bug/Water typing and awesome ability in Water Bubble, MonoBug actually has a Fire resist now! Araquanid isn't a half bad Pokemon either, with a humongous 132 special defense and nice 92 defence. Water Bubble also has the added effect of boosting water type moves, so it's mediocre 70 attack becomes much more usable with Liquidation. I wanted a special wall while also keeping some offensive pressure, so I went with Assault Vest as the item. This way I can invest more EVs into attack and still have a huge special defense stat. This also works wonderfully Mirror Coat, a really cool move to nuke pretty much any special threat as you can live almost anything at least once. Seriously, no special move OHKOs this. I got hit with a Thunder from Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain, and only took about 70% damage. Beastly.
Araquanid @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Scald
- Mirror Coat
Armaldo
I'll admit it, I really wanted to use Crustle here. The idea of a Pokemon with Sturdy and Shell Smash is fantastic, espcially if you can slap a White Herb on there and get two boosts off. BUUUUTTT, rocks are a big issue with this team. I thought about putting Defog on Volcorona, but 50% damage on the switch makes that impractical. Scizor was another possible defogger, but I'd have to give up the SD boosts, and I didn't want to give up my wallbreaker. Not that I don't like Armaldo! Rapid Spin and Stealth Rocks is fantastic. Get rid of their hazards and keep mine? Yes please! The other slots go to Knock Off for being the best utility move out there, and Rock Blast for the accuracy and being able to get rid of Substitute. This is very helpful when Pokemon like Zapdos come in and try to stall you out. Armaldo is also a more defensive option compared to Crustle, so he rounds out my defensive core. Still might switch to Crustle, have to test it out.
Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Rock Blast
Vikavolt
This last spot was kind of a toss up for me, but I decided to go for another boosting sweeper, this time one of the other special Bugs. Vikavolt is a really cool pokemon with a HUGE special attack of 145! The drawback is its abysmal speed, sitting at a measly 43. However, it does get a neat way around this: Agility. Vikavolt has decent defensive stats and while they aren't the best, it is enough to usually get off a boost. With Life Orb, this thing hits like a truck, giving it a good chance to OHKO anything that doesn't resist it's STABs. Levitate is also an incredibly handy ability to have, providing the team with free swap ins to Earthquakes. I also chose to run Modest nature on this rather than Timid because due to Vikavolts low speed, the 10% bonus was almost nothing, however it's massive special attack let the 10% bonus to have a much bigger impact.
Vikavolt @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Agility
Once I have some replays of battles, I throw them in the comments. Let me know what you think, and feel free to give it a try! It seems good on paper at least!
Hello everybody! Inspired by Dragonborn's little series of teams, and my use of Showdown as both an easy way to kill time and a way to satiate my Pokemon hunger (too stingy to buy a 3DS, but I've been considering it), I've made my first monotype team that I've been play testing a bit. I remember bug being unbelievably good in Gen 6, largely in part to mega Pinsir, if I recall correctly. So, I won't be using him of course! This is mainly centered around Mega Scizor, Heracross, and Volcorona. Hopefully it isn't unplayable xD
Scizor
Scizor is an absolute monster. This thing shreds other Pokemon with a massive 130 attack stat pre-mega and 150 afterwards. While banded Scizor and Life orb Scizor hit harder, I did have a mega available to use and I wanted the flexibility of chosing different moves without having to worry about recoil. And Scizor always hits hard no matter what. I use a bulky attacking set for Mega Scizor, as this team doesn't have too much defensive presence and I prefer a more balanced playstyle. Swords Dance turns Scizor into a terrifying wallbreaker, boosting attack to sky high levels. Bullet Punch is here for it's hard hitting priority, and believe me, this hits HARD. With 252+ attack, you can take a big chunk out of most threats. Bug Bite I choose over U-turn or X-Scissor because U-turn gets rid of SD boosts and Bug-Bite works well with Technician ability before Mega evolving. One of the nice things about Scizor is that it's completely viable without mega evolving, so waiting and taking advantage of Technician's extra power can sometimes be useful. My last spot is for Roost, which allows Scizor to stick around much longer and keep dealing damage. The 44 speed IVs are to outspeed uninvested base 80 Pokemon, the rest is pumped into health for bulk.
Scizor @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Roost
- Swords Dance
Heracross
Heracross is the next Pokemon I threw into the mix because it's one of my absolute favorites. I prefer a choice scarf revenge killing set using the Moxie ability to get a sweep steamrolling late game. With a 125 attack stat, it hits hard. With choice scarf, it's able to outspeed and OHKO many Pokemon that could give it trouble. It does suffer from a little bit of power loss, but if it can get a Moxie boost up and stay in, it's a force to be reckoned with. The moveset is simple: pile on as many hard hitting coverage moves as possible. The only exception is I run Knock Off to take care of any pesky items. Knock Off is almost always a good option for any set on any Pokemon if it has a slot open.
Heracross @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Megahorn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
Volcorona
With two physical attackers, I needed some special coverage added to the mix. Enter Volcorona, the premiere Bug type speical attacker. Seriously, this thing is one of 6 non UB/event only Bug types with 100 or more special attack. There's not many, but Volcorona is a damned good one! With a huge 135 special attack and a nice 100 speed, this is one heck of a sweeper. I like to run Firium Z on it for those tight pinches when you really cannot afford a miss from Fire Blast or if you have to punch a hole into something beefy. Quiver Dance also happens to be the second most rediculous boosting move in the game (after Shell Smash, in my opinion), so that doesn't hurt one bit. After a QD boost, this thing is a monster. The fire typing it packs is also helpful for getting rid of steel types, who give me a bit of trouble if Heracross's Close Combat isn't cutting it.
Volcarona @ Firium Z
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Fire Blast
Araquanid
This monster right here brings a whole new world to Bug type teams and is pretty much a staple. Thanks to it's Bug/Water typing and awesome ability in Water Bubble, MonoBug actually has a Fire resist now! Araquanid isn't a half bad Pokemon either, with a humongous 132 special defense and nice 92 defence. Water Bubble also has the added effect of boosting water type moves, so it's mediocre 70 attack becomes much more usable with Liquidation. I wanted a special wall while also keeping some offensive pressure, so I went with Assault Vest as the item. This way I can invest more EVs into attack and still have a huge special defense stat. This also works wonderfully Mirror Coat, a really cool move to nuke pretty much any special threat as you can live almost anything at least once. Seriously, no special move OHKOs this. I got hit with a Thunder from Tapu Koko in Electric Terrain, and only took about 70% damage. Beastly.
Araquanid @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Bubble
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Liquidation
- Leech Life
- Scald
- Mirror Coat
Armaldo
I'll admit it, I really wanted to use Crustle here. The idea of a Pokemon with Sturdy and Shell Smash is fantastic, espcially if you can slap a White Herb on there and get two boosts off. BUUUUTTT, rocks are a big issue with this team. I thought about putting Defog on Volcorona, but 50% damage on the switch makes that impractical. Scizor was another possible defogger, but I'd have to give up the SD boosts, and I didn't want to give up my wallbreaker. Not that I don't like Armaldo! Rapid Spin and Stealth Rocks is fantastic. Get rid of their hazards and keep mine? Yes please! The other slots go to Knock Off for being the best utility move out there, and Rock Blast for the accuracy and being able to get rid of Substitute. This is very helpful when Pokemon like Zapdos come in and try to stall you out. Armaldo is also a more defensive option compared to Crustle, so he rounds out my defensive core. Still might switch to Crustle, have to test it out.
Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
- Rock Blast
Vikavolt
This last spot was kind of a toss up for me, but I decided to go for another boosting sweeper, this time one of the other special Bugs. Vikavolt is a really cool pokemon with a HUGE special attack of 145! The drawback is its abysmal speed, sitting at a measly 43. However, it does get a neat way around this: Agility. Vikavolt has decent defensive stats and while they aren't the best, it is enough to usually get off a boost. With Life Orb, this thing hits like a truck, giving it a good chance to OHKO anything that doesn't resist it's STABs. Levitate is also an incredibly handy ability to have, providing the team with free swap ins to Earthquakes. I also chose to run Modest nature on this rather than Timid because due to Vikavolts low speed, the 10% bonus was almost nothing, however it's massive special attack let the 10% bonus to have a much bigger impact.
Vikavolt @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Agility
Once I have some replays of battles, I throw them in the comments. Let me know what you think, and feel free to give it a try! It seems good on paper at least!
