[DISCUSSION] My Rock-Type Gym Team!

[0kamii]

 

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and I am WAY behind in posting, so I figured I'd do you all a solid and catch up using a throwback!

So I was browsing YouTube, as I so often do, and I noticed that there's a healthy amount of "If I Were a Gym Leader"-esque videos. This includes Champion, evil teams, frontier brains, and more! So I thought it'd be fun to bring a little life back to the forums and share with you all what MY Rock-Type gym team would be! Also, since I know there's a fair amount of you wondering: but 0kamii (I hear you saying), your favorite type is Dragon! You said so in that one post you made like a year ago! Yes, Dragon is my favorite type, and still is. The reason I'm going with Rock-Type is becase Rock was the very first gym that was throw at us in Gen 1, so while it's not my favorite, nor particularly strong, it's memorable because of nostalgia, and for having some VERY cool pokémon to its name! With that said, I present to you:

 

My Rock-Type Gym Team!

 

 
 

 

I'm no pushover, at least I like to think I'm not, so there's no way my Rock-Type gym would be one of the lower tier gyms! Mine would be the 7th, possibly 8th gym in the region, so you'd better come packing with solutions to the strong, sturdy Rock-Types I have tucked away! I was going to do a full team analysis, but since this isn't actually an in-game team, I'll just do an overview of why I chose each team member instead. Mostly, each one is there to cover one of Rock's many weaknesses, but others are there simply because I really like them! So let's get things started with Cradily!

 

 

Cradily seems like a no brainer for this team. It covers two of Rock's five weaknesses, being Water and Ground, from the get-go, and provides good stab in Energy Ball, Grass Knot, Ancient Power, and Stone Edge. It also gets Storm Drain, making all Water attacks useless and increasing its threat. It was virtually impossible for me not to include a Fossil Pokémon on this team, as I've made two separate posts talking exclusively about them. I think my love of them is rather apparent, and I'm thrilled that Cradily actually contributes to making the team endgame material. At least a little bit. Also, Stealth Rocks. That's all.

 

 

I love using Shell Smash, and a double attacking omniboost coupled with Minior's coverage against Steel and Fighting-Types making it a great addition to the team. Obviously, it'd be holding a White Herb, as Minior has little viability outside it. Especially seeing as how this would be Singles, Minior would be a whole lot of chaos for one trainer to handle. Also, it's purple. That alone is good enough for me. I'm really not hard to please.

 

 

Rhydon is the perfect candidate for the Eviolite user on the team. It was never meant to evolve, and thus has absurdly high Attack and Defense for a middle stage pokémon. Not to mention that it's excellent backup for Steel-Type coverage in case Minior fails to get off an Earthquake in time. Sure, it's got two 4x weaknesses, but I always say no mon is without its hubris. Rhydon would probably be my favorite team member, that is if it didn't have competition from the next two slots.

 

 

I've mentioned already in my Top 5 USUM Exclusive Pokémon that Lycanroc-Dusk is probably my new favorite form of Lycanroc. While I was previously Team Midnight, that 110 Speed stat in a gym battle, coupled with 117 Attack, + Swords Dance, + Tough Claws, + Lycanium Z makes it a force with which to be reckoned on any team! Also, I don't care if Z-moves aren't traditionally used in gym battles! I'm not wasting a Z-move slot, and if Olivia's Lycanroc is allowed to use a Rockium Z, than mine is using a Lycanium Z! My only gripe with Lycanroc-Dusk is it's semi-limited movepool, but give it Ice/Fire Fang, and it can hold its own against the more common, more expected of its weaknesses.

 

 

Every gym leader needs an ace, and Gigalith is most certainly mine (at least in this case). You're all probably wondering why I'm not using Rampardos instead, as I made such a big deal about it last year, and it's my favorite of the Fossil Pokémon. Well, as much as it pains me to say it, Rampardos is just too frail for this kind of challenge. If my gym were mid-tier, like 4th or 5th, then I'd gladly use a Rampardos, because at least then I can get away with a Focus Sash + Rock Polish set, but here I need a more reliable mon to take hits and deal damage. Gigalith is easily my second favorite Rock-Type in the game, and now that it has Sand Stream, it's only gotten better. Load it up with coverage like Earthquake, Heavy Slam, and Superpower, and it can hit almost anything you throw at it. Give it an Assault Vest to boost its already +50% Sp. Def, arguably its greatest setback, and you can't touch it, physical or special. It's huge, it's powerful, and definitely worthy of being my ace Rock-Type pokémon at the 0kamii Gym.

Well, there you all have it! The five pokémon that would compose my gym team were I a Rock-Type gym leader! Be sure to let me know what YOUR five pokémon would be if you were Rock-Type gym leader, and don't forget to check out some of the other posts I've linked within this one! Some of them might just surprise you! I know I've been falling behind in posts, but all I can say is stuff keeps getting in the way. School, ARK: Aberration, work, ARK: Aberration, the Middle Cup coming up, some EV training for something else, ARK: Aberration, oh did I mention ARK: Aberration? Seriously, that game is life-consuming! Hope to get back to my regular posting schedule soon!

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii