Building a Speed-First Cobblemon Team

In Cobblemon battles, speed can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. A speed-first team is designed to outpace opponents, ensuring your Cobblemon strike first, disrupt enemy strategies, and maintain offensive pressure. This guide will walk you through selecting the best Cobblemon, moves, and strategies to build a team that dominates through speed.

The Core Principles of a Speed-First Team

1. High Base Speed Stats: The foundation of a speed-first team is Cobblemon with naturally high Speed.
2. Priority Moves: Moves like Quick Attack and Aqua Jet ensure you strike first, even against faster foes.
3. Speed-Boosting Abilities: Abilities such as Swift Swim, Chlorophyll, and Speed Boost enhance a Cobblemon's speed during certain conditions.
4. Support Moves and Items: Moves like Tailwind and items like Choice Scarf amplify your team's speed advantage.

Top Cobblemon for a Speed-First Team

1. Jolteon (Electric)

Strengths: Jolteon has one of the highest base Speed stats in Cobblemon, allowing it to outspeed most opponents. Its Electric typing gives it an edge against Water and Flying-types.

Recommended Moveset:

• Thunderbolt: Reliable STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) move with high damage.
• Volt Switch: Allows Jolteon to deal damage and switch out, maintaining momentum.
• Shadow Ball: Coverage against Ghost and Psychic-types.
• Protect: Useful for scouting moves in double battles.

Ability: Volt Absorb — Heals Jolteon when hit by Electric-type moves, giving it durability in certain matchups.

Item: Choice Specs for increased damage or Focus Sash to survive potential one-hit KOs.

2. Talonflame (Fire/Flying)

Strengths: With its Gale Wings ability (granting priority to Flying-type moves), Talonflame is a formidable speed-first choice for offensive play.

Recommended Moveset:

• Brave Bird: Powerful Flying-type move with priority due to Gale Wings.
• Flare Blitz: High-damage Fire-type move for coverage.
• Tailwind: Doubles the Speed of your entire team for four turns, setting up a massive advantage.
• Roost: Recovers HP, useful to counteract recoil damage.

Item: Life Orb to boost damage or Sharp Beak for enhanced Flying-type moves.

3. Greninja (Water/Dark)

Strengths: Greninja’s Protean ability changes its type to match its move, ensuring STAB on every attack and increasing versatility.

Recommended Moveset:

• Hydro Pump: Strong Water-type move for powerful hits.
• Ice Beam: Coverage against Dragon, Grass, and Ground-types.
• U-turn: Allows Greninja to switch out after dealing damage, preserving momentum.
• Dark Pulse: STAB move that can flinch opponents.

Item: Focus Sash to ensure it survives a hit and can retaliate.

4. Weavile (Dark/Ice)

Strengths: Weavile boasts an impressive Speed stat and strong offensive capabilities, making it an ideal sweeper.

Recommended Moveset:

• Icicle Crash: High-damage Ice-type move with a chance to flinch.
• Knock Off: Removes opponents’ held items, a disruptive and powerful STAB move.
• Low Kick: Great against heavier opponents, providing coverage against Steel and Rock-types.
• Fake Out: Priority move that flinches and disrupts opposing strategies on the first turn.

Ability: Pressure — Useful for depleting opponents' PP.

Item: Choice Band for increased damage or Focus Sash for surviving a strong hit.

5. Dragapult (Dragon/Ghost)

Strengths: With a high Speed stat and a solid movepool, Dragapult can act as both a special and physical attacker.

Recommended Moveset:

• Dragon Darts: A unique multi-hit Dragon-type move.
• Phantom Force: Powerful Ghost-type move that hits through Protect.
• U-turn: Maintains offensive momentum.
• Flamethrower: Coverage against Steel and Grass-types.

Ability: Infiltrator — Allows attacks to bypass Substitute and barriers like Reflect.

Item: Choice Scarf for absolute speed supremacy or Life Orb for extra damage at the cost of HP.

Speed-Boosting Strategies

1. Tailwind Support: Use Cobblemon like Talonflame or Whimsicott to set up Tailwind, doubling your team’s Speed for four turns.
2. Speed Boost Ability: Cobblemon like Blaziken gain a Speed stat increase at the end of each turn, making them formidable late-game sweepers.
3. Weather-Based Speed Buffs:
   • Swift Swim for Water-types like Kingdra doubles Speed in rain.
   • Chlorophyll for Grass-types like Venusaur boosts Speed in sunlight.

Items to Amplify Speed

• Choice Scarf: Increases Speed by 50% but locks the user into one move. Ideal for naturally fast Cobblemon to ensure they outspeed any opponent.
• Focus Sash: Prevents one-hit KOs, giving your Cobblemon a chance to retaliate.
• Life Orb: Increases damage output while sacrificing a bit of HP, perfect for fast sweepers.

Priority Moves for Added Control

• Aqua Jet, Ice Shard, and Quick Attack provide an edge against faster Cobblemon when they also have priority moves.
• Fake Out: A staple move to flinch and disrupt opponents, ensuring your team sets up without interference.

Sample Speed-First Team Composition

1. Lead: Talonflame with Tailwind to set the stage for the rest of the team.
2. Special Attacker: Jolteon with Choice Specs to dish out powerful Electric-type moves.
3. Physical Sweeper: Weavile with Choice Band for fast, high-damage physical hits.
4. Versatile Attacker: Greninja for its adaptability with Protean.
5. Support: Whimsicott with Prankster to set up support moves like Tailwind or Encore.
6. Backup Sweeper: Dragapult with Infiltrator for late-game cleanups.

Conclusion

Building a speed-first Cobblemon team requires careful selection of fast Cobblemon, supportive moves, and strategic items. By choosing Cobblemon with high base Speed, abilities that boost Speed in certain conditions, and moves that maintain offensive pressure, you can create a team that consistently strikes first and dominates battles. Fine-tune your strategies with speed boosters like Tailwind and Choice Scarf to keep your team ahead of the competition, ensuring that you outpace and outmaneuver your opponents at every turn.