Teambuilding Process:


art taken from serebii :]

The team was built around the core of Magnezone and Ninetales, because Ninetales is a very threatening Pokémon that is walled by Steel types which are trapped by Magnezone. You can read about it more here.


art taken from serebii :]

I then noticed that the core was weak to Ground types, Stealth Rock and also to Magearna to an extent; Mandibuzz was then added to cover for the Ground types and to Defog away hazards, while Marowak is there to deal with Magearna, because their typings allows them to deal with threats to my core. Plus they are really cute together because they have cute matching bones <3


art taken from serebii :]

Toxapex was then added to solidify my defensive core and to help check Fire types like Arcanine and provide Toxic Spikes.


art taken from serebii :]

Finally, Mamoswine was added to deal with Fire types more easily while providing a physical wallbreaker, priority in Ice Shard and Stealth Rock.


In-Depth Analysis:



Ninetales-Alola @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Blizzard
- Moonblast
- Freeze-Dry

Ninetales is the team's main sweeper, sporting great Speed, decent Special Attack and a good dual STAB combination. Nasty Plot makes Ninetales very dangerous, since it can then hit very hard with a Blizzard or a Moonblast, its two main STABs. Finally, Freeze-Dry is used to hit Water types harder than Moonblast. The EVs allow it to be both fast and powerful, while Snow Warning is the ability of choice since it allows Ninetales to have a 100% accurate Blizzard.




Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Magnezone is here to help Ninetales sweep with more ease by trapping Steel types that are problematic for Ninetales, including the very popular M-Scizor, and KOing them with Thunderbolt/HP Fire. It is also very useful to weaken/kill bulky Water types to help out Ninetales, since it appreciates the prior damage on walls. Volt Switch is also just very nice to gain momentum. Choice Scarf allows it to outspeed a lot of things, and the EV spread makes it fast and powerful. Magnet Pull is obviously the ability of choice since it traps Steel types.




Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Impish Nature
- Defog
- Foul Play
- U-turn
- Roost

Mandibuzz is the first Pokémon on my defensive core; it's really useful because of Defog, which removes hazards, Foul Play, which allows to KO certains set-up sweepers such as Aegislash, and U-Turn, which gives momentum and forms a Volt-Turn core with my Magnezone. It also has access to reliable recovery, which allows it to stay alive for a while. The EV spread gives it solid mixed defenses, which allows it to check a lot of special and physical attackers, and Overcoat is its best ability in my opinion since it makes it immune to Spore/Hail/etc.




Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- Shadow Bone
- Earthquake

Marowak is a great check to Pokémon like Magearna and Tapu Koko that can pretty much sweep my team if Magnezone is gone, because of its good typing which gives it a bunch of very useful resistances and also its ability Lightning Rod, which makes it immune to Electric. Will-O-Wisp allows it to reduce the attack of Pokémon, so it can tank physical hits too. Flare Blitz, Shadow Bone and Earthquake are nice coverage moves, that are still pretty powerful even without Attack investment, because of the Thick Club. The EVs make it as specially bulky as possible.




Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Baneful Bunker
- Toxic Spikes
- Recover
- Scald

Toxapex is sooooo bulky omg Toxapex is the team's physical wall, while also being able to handle special attackers with its natural bulk, taking even super effective hits and shrugging them off with the Recover + Regenerator combo. It is also very useful because of Toxic Spikes, which allows it to wear down the opposing team, which makes sweeping with Ninetales even easier because of the prior damage. Scald burns things and Baneful Bunker allows it to get a free turn of Black Sludge recovery, which can be crucial, and can also poison anything that makes contact with it while using Baneful Bunker. The EVs make it very physically bulky, and the ability allows it to gain back health when switching.




Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash

Finally, Mamoswine does quite a few things for the team: it provides Stealth Rock, which is always useful to wear down opposing teams, priority with Ice Shard, which checks fast attackers with low defenses, and it's the team's main physical attackers, which can take care of special walls for Ninetales and Magnezone. Earthquake and Icicle Crash are the two main STABs for big damage. The EV spread makes it very powerful, especially with a Life Orb, and it also makes it as fast as possible, even though its speed is a bit underwhelming.


Importable: