Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In each generation, I intend to have at least one themed team, and this one is it, made up entirely of Pokémon based on animals you might see in an African safari: Pyroar based on a lion, Feraligatr based on an alligator, Zebstrika based on a zebra, Farigiraf based on a giraffe, Hippowdon based on a hippopotamus, and Mightyena based on a hyena. The idea for this team came about before I knew that the Terarium would have a Savannah Biome, just that some of these Pokémon would be available there. This also means, in turn, that the Safari Team was the first one made after the release of Indigo Disk.
The Safari’s playlist is as such:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp6SP7xkG_LEihjHgmPTeDziP2lXoyVWt
Completion: January 8th, 2024
All Pokémon have IVs of 31 except in their non-attacking stats or where otherwise noted.
Leonardo (Pyroar) (Male)
-
Nature: Timid (via Mint)
Ability: Rivalry
Held Item: Focus Sash
Tera: Grass
-
EVS: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-
Protect
Flamethrower
Tera Blast
Yawn
Feraligatr (Gustave)
-
Nature: Adamant (via Mint)
Ability: Sheer Force
Held Item: Life Orb
Tera: Stellar
-
EVS: 252 Attack, 220 HP, 36 Sp. Def
-
Tera Blast
Liquidation
Ice Punch
Aqua Jet
Zebstrika (Debra)
-
Nature: Timid
Ability: Lightning Rod
Held Item: Choice Scarf
Tera: Ground
-
EVS: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-
Overheat
Volt Switch
Tera Blast
Thunderbolt
Farigiraf (Gigi)
-
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Armor Tail
Held Item: Covert Cloak
Tera: Fairy
-
EVS: 200 Defense, 200 Sp. Def, 100 HP, 8 Sp. Atk
IV of 0 in Speed
-
Dazzling Gleam
Trick Room
Expanding Force
Mirror Coat
Hippowdon (Hipparchus)
-
Nature: Brave
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: Assault Vest
Tera: Rock
-
EVS: 252 Attack, 220 HP, 36 Sp. Def
IV of 0 in Speed
-
High Horsepower
Rock Slide
Fissure
Hard Press
Mightyena (Lena)
-
Nature: Bold
Ability: Intimidate
Held Item: Adrenaline Orb
Tera: Poison
-
EVS: 252 HP, 116 Defense, 140 Sp. Def
-
Super Fang
Helping Hand
Snarl
Foul Play
Flamethrower ultimately became the only move that remained on Pyroar since the start. Hyper Voice because Tera Blast, Snarl became Protect, and Flame Charge became Yawn. Yawn was the most experimental move on Pyroar and the most recent change, but I found that there was little benefit in raising Speed on something with a Focus Sash because of the high likelihood of Pyroar going down to a priority move anyway: Yawn and Protect mean a better defense against them. The challenge then becomes figuring out if they’ll switch out or they’ll take the Sleep. I just have to be careful there isn’t an anti-Sleep effect on the field (like Electric Terrain) or on the opponent (like Insomnia).
Lightning Rod on Zebstrika should be pretty useful in a double battle to redirect Electric moves away, most potently if Miraidon tries Electro Drift. However, I can count on one hand the number of times Lightning Rod has actually triggered, and it was usually in matches where I already had a far advantage. It likely means that most of my opponents play with a resource on hand and deduced that Zebstrika has Lightning Rod, avoiding using such moves (such as, for instance, settling for Dragon Pulse when Miraidon is out, or Fighting moves when Iron Hands is out). This might mean that in the future, I should opt for an alternate Ability to play on how people will assume it has the type-canceling one, like how my Bronzong in Pokémon Battle Revolution has Heatproof instead of Levitate. Tera Ground is to get the drop on Electric-types in particular.
Farigiraf is the Pokémon with by far the highest usage rank in the team format they’re in, but that’s okay because this one is a themed team. I usually try to pick Pokémon not popular in Ranked or competitive teams, but I relax the rule for the sake of a theme. Farigiraf performs no better than anyone else on the team; it can be hard to really tell because of Farigiraf’s support role though.
I need to be careful when I select both Hippowdon and Pyroar for this team, as the 1 HP remaining from Focus Sash on Pyroar may be all for naught if sandstorm damage kicks in.
All in all, this team was pretty successful when it was first introduced (though I’ll never know how many of my opponents caught on that it’s themed), even considering the fact that this team debuted in an Online Competition where people were serious about being invited to the World Championships. However, it dropped off later on when it prove to struggle against specific Pokémon: Dragonite, Archaludon, Koraidon, and Shadow Rider Calyrex, whose popularity would all increase after this team’s introduction.
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: まこと (Makoto)
Battle Court: Blueberry Academy
Music: Zekrom
My Pokémon: Gigi (Farigiraf), Lena (Mightyena), Gustave (Feraligatr), Debra (Zebstrika)
Opponent’s Pokémon: ドラドラ (Dradra) (Dragapult), ガブリアス (Garchomp), ソウブレイズ (Ceruledge), (REDACTED) (Annihilape)
I DID make some edits here, namely to block out all instances I could find of a URL nickname.
In each generation, I intend to have at least one themed team, and this one is it, made up entirely of Pokémon based on animals you might see in an African safari: Pyroar based on a lion, Feraligatr based on an alligator, Zebstrika based on a zebra, Farigiraf based on a giraffe, Hippowdon based on a hippopotamus, and Mightyena based on a hyena. The idea for this team came about before I knew that the Terarium would have a Savannah Biome, just that some of these Pokémon would be available there. This also means, in turn, that the Safari Team was the first one made after the release of Indigo Disk.
The Safari’s playlist is as such:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp6SP7xkG_LEihjHgmPTeDziP2lXoyVWt
Completion: January 8th, 2024
All Pokémon have IVs of 31 except in their non-attacking stats or where otherwise noted.
Leonardo (Pyroar) (Male)
-
Nature: Timid (via Mint)
Ability: Rivalry
Held Item: Focus Sash
Tera: Grass
-
EVS: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-
Protect
Flamethrower
Tera Blast
Yawn
Feraligatr (Gustave)
-
Nature: Adamant (via Mint)
Ability: Sheer Force
Held Item: Life Orb
Tera: Stellar
-
EVS: 252 Attack, 220 HP, 36 Sp. Def
-
Tera Blast
Liquidation
Ice Punch
Aqua Jet
Zebstrika (Debra)
-
Nature: Timid
Ability: Lightning Rod
Held Item: Choice Scarf
Tera: Ground
-
EVS: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-
Overheat
Volt Switch
Tera Blast
Thunderbolt
Farigiraf (Gigi)
-
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Armor Tail
Held Item: Covert Cloak
Tera: Fairy
-
EVS: 200 Defense, 200 Sp. Def, 100 HP, 8 Sp. Atk
IV of 0 in Speed
-
Dazzling Gleam
Trick Room
Expanding Force
Mirror Coat
Hippowdon (Hipparchus)
-
Nature: Brave
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: Assault Vest
Tera: Rock
-
EVS: 252 Attack, 220 HP, 36 Sp. Def
IV of 0 in Speed
-
High Horsepower
Rock Slide
Fissure
Hard Press
Mightyena (Lena)
-
Nature: Bold
Ability: Intimidate
Held Item: Adrenaline Orb
Tera: Poison
-
EVS: 252 HP, 116 Defense, 140 Sp. Def
-
Super Fang
Helping Hand
Snarl
Foul Play
Flamethrower ultimately became the only move that remained on Pyroar since the start. Hyper Voice because Tera Blast, Snarl became Protect, and Flame Charge became Yawn. Yawn was the most experimental move on Pyroar and the most recent change, but I found that there was little benefit in raising Speed on something with a Focus Sash because of the high likelihood of Pyroar going down to a priority move anyway: Yawn and Protect mean a better defense against them. The challenge then becomes figuring out if they’ll switch out or they’ll take the Sleep. I just have to be careful there isn’t an anti-Sleep effect on the field (like Electric Terrain) or on the opponent (like Insomnia).
Lightning Rod on Zebstrika should be pretty useful in a double battle to redirect Electric moves away, most potently if Miraidon tries Electro Drift. However, I can count on one hand the number of times Lightning Rod has actually triggered, and it was usually in matches where I already had a far advantage. It likely means that most of my opponents play with a resource on hand and deduced that Zebstrika has Lightning Rod, avoiding using such moves (such as, for instance, settling for Dragon Pulse when Miraidon is out, or Fighting moves when Iron Hands is out). This might mean that in the future, I should opt for an alternate Ability to play on how people will assume it has the type-canceling one, like how my Bronzong in Pokémon Battle Revolution has Heatproof instead of Levitate. Tera Ground is to get the drop on Electric-types in particular.
Farigiraf is the Pokémon with by far the highest usage rank in the team format they’re in, but that’s okay because this one is a themed team. I usually try to pick Pokémon not popular in Ranked or competitive teams, but I relax the rule for the sake of a theme. Farigiraf performs no better than anyone else on the team; it can be hard to really tell because of Farigiraf’s support role though.
I need to be careful when I select both Hippowdon and Pyroar for this team, as the 1 HP remaining from Focus Sash on Pyroar may be all for naught if sandstorm damage kicks in.
All in all, this team was pretty successful when it was first introduced (though I’ll never know how many of my opponents caught on that it’s themed), even considering the fact that this team debuted in an Online Competition where people were serious about being invited to the World Championships. However, it dropped off later on when it prove to struggle against specific Pokémon: Dragonite, Archaludon, Koraidon, and Shadow Rider Calyrex, whose popularity would all increase after this team’s introduction.
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: まこと (Makoto)
Battle Court: Blueberry Academy
Music: Zekrom
My Pokémon: Gigi (Farigiraf), Lena (Mightyena), Gustave (Feraligatr), Debra (Zebstrika)
Opponent’s Pokémon: ドラドラ (Dradra) (Dragapult), ガブリアス (Garchomp), ソウブレイズ (Ceruledge), (REDACTED) (Annihilape)
I DID make some edits here, namely to block out all instances I could find of a URL nickname.
