A Team Dissection
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The Team
Description / History
What is a team dissection, you may ask? A team dissection is where a team is broken down and looked at in depth, covering everything in the team and how it all comes together. This is especially useful for newer players or even experienced players who want to improve their teambuilding and have a close look at how important Pokémon-to-Pokémon synergy is in teams.
This team was created by the user BC wish killer, who is a notorious OU ladder hero. He made this team all the way back in early XY, and this team has still been capable of peaking at the top of the ladder even through the entirety of XY and ORAS, which includes huge metagame shifts, showing just how dominant this team is, with only minor tweaks made during major shifts such as Shed Shell on Skarmory during the point in the meta where Mega Pinsir + Magnezone was one of the most dominant playstyles and Hidden Power Flying on Keldeo in order to lure and KO Mega Venusaur when it was very common; it also picked off Mega Heracross nicely when it was one of the most dominant forces in the metagame.
Of course, this team is nothing special by any means; it's considered a joke by many ladder and tournament players due to its flaws, but despite this, it still hangs around the top of the OU ladder and is one of the most well-known teams throughout XY and ORAS.
In-depth
At a glance, the team looks weak to common threats in the metagame such as Mega Medicham, Mega Heracross, Tornadus-T, and Terrakion, and while this is true, it rarely comes down to auto-lose matchups like a lot of people exaggerate the team to have. Mega Medicham is easily the most threatening single Pokémon to the team, as nothing wants to stand up to its ridiculous power and STAB moves, and the main way the team can threaten it is with Scald from Keldeo and Sucker Punch from Bisharp. Mega Heracross is also very difficult to deal with, as it can nearly OHKO everything on the team with little counterplay; again, it's mostly pressured by potential Scald burns from Keldeo. Tornadus-T is similar in that it can shut down most of the team with Taunt, but it can be pressured with stray burns or poison, Stealth Rock, and Sucker Punch from Bisharp, though this isn't exactly easy to achieve. Terrakion is also a pain to play around, mostly because of how easy it can be to wear down Mega Venusaur, which is the team's most solid switch-in to it; otherwise, risking a Speed tie with Keldeo is one of the main ways this team can deal with Terrakion. The team also features some slept-on sets such as Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo and some unconventional sets such as bulky Bisharp and Mega Venusaur with maximum Defense investment.
Chansey
- Chansey @ Eviolite
- Ability: Natural Cure
- EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpD
- Bold Nature
- IVs: 0 Atk
- - Seismic Toss
- - Soft-Boiled
- - Thunder Wave
- - Aromatherapy
Chansey serves as a catch-all to many special attackers in the tier such as Mega Alakazam, Thundurus, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gardevoir, and Manaphy, all of which can be threatening to the team. It also helps prevent Mega Venusaur from being overloaded by also being capable of taking on threats such as Mega Diancie. Seismic Toss is Chansey's main way of dealing damage, as its pitiful Special Attack makes running attacks such as Ice Beam and Fire Blast ineffective; Blissey can freely run said moves, but the main selling point of Chansey is its ability to use Eviolite, which boosts its already sky-high bulk further, making it very difficult to take down. Soft-Boiled is used as reliable recovery so that Chansey can consistently take on the threats that it needs to handle for the team, while Thunder Wave provides a means of slowing them down and creating situations for slower teammates such as Bisharp and Mega Venusaur to take advantage of; however, keep in mind that trying to burn or poison an opposing Pokémon with Scald or Sludge Bomb may be more beneficial in the long run. Aromatherapy is very important on this team, as it allows the player to play riskily and take chances of Bisharp and Mega Venusaur being burned or Keldeo being paralyzed. Aromatherapy is especially useful if Mega Venusaur gets burned, as the chip damage will cause it to heavily struggle to take on threats such as Keldeo, as Choice Specs Hydro Pump is more than capable of muscling through a burned Mega Venusaur.
Keldeo
- Keldeo @ Leftovers
- Ability: Justified
- EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Timid Nature
- - Scald
- - Secret Sword
- - Calm Mind
- - Substitute
Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo is one of the main sweepers on this team, and it takes advantage of the fact that the entire team is capable of taking on all of its counters; bulky Water-types such as Slowbro and Slowking are punished by Mega Venusaur and Bisharp, and they can also be hit by Toxic from Heatran, which makes it very difficult for them to reliably beat Keldeo, especially with Spikes support from Skarmory. Latios and Latias both bait in Chansey and Bisharp, while faster offensive checks such as Mega Diancie and Mega Alakazam are dealt with by Mega Venusaur and Chansey, respectively. Keldeo also functions as a check to Weavile and opposing Bisharp on this team, switching in with ease and forcing them out or OHKOing them with Secret Sword. Keldeo's set is another that has been changed slightly over time, once having Hidden Power Flying over Substitute in order to hit Mega Venusaur when it was one of the most dominant Pokémon in the tier.
Heatran
- Heatran @ Air Balloon
- Ability: Flash Fire
- EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Timid Nature
- IVs: 0 Atk
- - Stealth Rock
- - Lava Plume
- - Toxic
- - Taunt
Heatran brings a stallbreaker and Stealth Rock to the team while providing additional support against Mega Scizor and Mega Heracross, as it outspeeds both of them. Heatran is also very important on this team because it covers Keldeo's counters and puts additional pressure on them by hitting the likes of Slowbro and Slowking with Toxic and providing a good counter to Amoonguss and opposing Mega Venusaur. One of the main things that makes Heatran so great on this team, though, is its ability to heavily pressure common stall builds, as most stall builds are incapable of touching Heatran and many Pokémon struggle to deal with the combination of Lava Plume / Toxic and Taunt, which shuts down an array of defensive Pokémon. Air Balloon might seem like an odd choice on this team, but it allows Heatran to threaten Ground-types with Toxic or a potential Lava Plume burn; this is especially important against the likes of Garchomp, which can run Fire-type coverage to hit Skarmory, and Landorus-T, which can run options such as Smack Down and Gravity to deal with Skarmory. Putting these Ground-types on a timer takes a huge amount of pressure off the team. Heatran is usually used as a lead on this team, but it's generally better to send out Mega Venusaur if the opponent has an offensive Water-type to counter-lead Heatran.
Skarmory
- Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
- Ability: Sturdy
- EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
- Impish Nature
- - Spikes
- - Roost
- - Brave Bird
- - Whirlwind
Skarmory forms the other half of the hazard stacking core, bringing Spikes to the team as well a solid immunity to Ground-type moves and a useful resistance to Fairy-type moves. Skarmory's main role on the team is to set up Spikes while keeping offensive Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Garchomp in check. It also covers Mega Pinsir, which is a huge threat otherwise, being one of few reliable answers in the tier to it, but unfortunately it often folds to one of Mega Pinsir's teammates in Magnezone. Regardless, it is a well-needed Pokémon and also offers some bulk against Mega Gardevoir and Mega Diancie should Chansey be too weakened to take them on, as well as being one of the few things on the team that can annoy Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross. The given EV spread ensures Skarmory survives Fake Out + High Jump Kick from Mega Medicham and Hyper Voice + Focus Blast from Mega Gardevoir without Stealth Rock up. Spikes allows Skarmory to put pressure onto Keldeo's and Bisharp's checks and counters, making it very hard for them to reliably beat it, especially when Spikes, Stealth Rock, and status are all taken into account. Brave Bird allows Skarmory to deal solid damage to Mega Pinsir while hitting most offensive Pokémon neutral to Flying-type moves for decent damage. Whirlwind helps phaze setup wallbreakers and sweepers while also netting useful entry hazard damage on grounded Pokémon.
Bisharp
- Bisharp @ Leftovers
- Ability: Defiant
- EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
- Adamant Nature
- - Knock Off
- - Iron Head
- - Swords Dance
- - Sucker Punch
Bisharp has a well-defined role on this team, being one of the two main sweepers, alongside Keldeo, the team has to offer. It is also the main way this team can deal with Clefable, as Mega Venusaur and Heatran can get paralyzed and shut down by Thunder Wave and Skarmory can't do anything back to it. Bisharp is considered by many to be one of the most threatening sweepers in the entire tier because of the potency of its high-powered STAB moves, which reach frightening power levels, especially after a Swords Dance or Defiant boost. The Bisharp set on this team is also well known for being bulky, instead of the standard set with maximum Speed investment. The added bulk gives Bisharp much more longevity, allowing it to switch into the likes of Latios and Latias a lot more easily while also taking on much weaker attackers such as Ferrothorn and utility Starmie much more effectively. One main advantage of bulky Bisharp is that it can beat Hippowdon switch-ins without relying on an Iron Head flinch, which more offensive variants rely on if they want to power through Hippowdon. Leftovers is also very useful, as it can punish people trying to play around Sucker Punch by allowing Bisharp to heal and potentially letting it bypass an attack that would otherwise OHKO if it's weakened. Leftovers also helps offset damage from Stealth Rock and in general makes Bisharp very difficult for some teams to handle, as a lot rely on wearing it down. All of Bisharp's moves are pretty self explanatory; Knock Off is Bisharp's strongest STAB move and can remove items from the likes of Ground- and Fighting-types; while Iron Head nails Fairy-types and helps Bisharp deal with Clefable in particular; and Swords Dance allows Bisharp to apply pressure to teams, given that a lot of them can struggle to deal with consistently taking hits from it, especially with Knock Off removing Leftovers from defensive Pokémon. Sucker Punch is what makes Bisharp so potent and allows it to effectively pressure offensive teams, preventing the likes of Keldeo and Mega Diancie from checking Bisharp when they have been weakened.
Mega Venusaur
- Venusaur @ Venusaurite
- Ability: Chlorophyll
- EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 Spe
- Bold Nature
- IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- - Giga Drain
- - Sludge Bomb
- - Hidden Power Fire
- - Synthesis
Mega Venusaur patches up many big holes in the team, including the team's weaknesses to Keldeo and Breloom, while being able to cushion attacks from the likes of Mega Lopunny and Terrakion. Basically, it blanket checks many threatening Fighting-types and provides a resistance to Electric-type moves as well as an extra Water-type move resistance while also being able to take on the likes of Mega Altaria and Mega Diancie. Most of Mega Venusaur's weaknesses are easily covered by the rest of the team, as Bisharp and Chansey can take on Latios and Latias; Keldeo and hazard support can wear down opposing Heatran very quickly; and although Tornadus-T is a bit of an issue, it can be pressured by poison from Sludge Bomb, and Bisharp can switch into any move that isn't Superpower or Heat Wave and apply pressure through Sucker Punch. Mega Venusaur originally ran Leech Seed over Sludge Bomb on this team, but it was recently changed to Sludge Bomb to prevent Mega Venusaur from being setup bait for Clefable and Mega Altaria. Leech Seed was useful for pressuring Heatran and Chansey, making it harder for them to deal with Mega Venusaur. This Mega Venusaur also runs near-maximum Defense investment in order to reliably take hits from the likes of Mega Lopunny and Breloom, which makes it very difficult to wear down by physical attackers. Giga Drain hits Water-types and provides Mega Venusaur with extra recovery; Sludge Bomb hits the aforementioned Fairy-types; Hidden Power Fire picks off Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, the latter being an important target so that it cannot set up Spikes freely against Mega Venusaur; and Synthesis provides somewhat reliable recovery but is hurt by the high usage of sand inducers and its low PP.
Threatlist
+ 
- Mega Pinsir + Magnezone is one of the biggest threats to the team, as Magnezone can remove Skarmory very easily to open up a hole for Mega Pinsir, which can then easily boost with Swords Dance and proceed to OHKO everything on the team; even unboosted Mega Pinsir is a huge pain to face, as it deals very heavy damage to Keldeo even with an unboosted Quick Attack, and nothing else on the team can outspeed it. Mega Pinsir can also survive a Sucker Punch from Bisharp after Stealth Rock prior to Mega Evolution.
- Specially defensive Talonflame is very annoying for the team to face, as the team lacks a way to reliably hit it. It can set up on nearly everything with the combination of Taunt + Bulk Up or Taunt + Will-O-Wisp while having priority Brave Bird to deal with Keldeo. The team is very weak to specially defensive Talonflame, but misplays can lead to Talonflame being hit by a status move, or it can be pressured a lot if Mega Venusaur can poison it with Sludge Bomb as Talonflame attempts to switch in.
- Mega Medicham blows the team back very easily, as it can OHKO everything with the combination of High Jump Kick and Zen Headbutt. The only thing that outspeeds Mega Medicham is Keldeo, meaning that a Scald burn is generally the team's best counterplay to it. However, Skarmory survives Fake Out + High Jump Kick, meaning that it can attempt to anti-lead Mega Medicham users and catch them out at the cost of losing Skarmory; however, many Mega Medicham users won't let this happen and simply switch out of Skarmory unless it is severely weakened.
- Life Orb Tornadus-T is a huge pain for the team to face; Knock Off cripples Chansey and removes items from everything else, while Taunt can be used to prevent status moves such as Thunder Wave and Toxic. Other coverage moves such as Heat Wave can be used to remove Skarmory very easily, but Tornadus-T can already deal with it with the combination of Taunt and Hurricane. It struggles to switch in often because of the threat of burns and poison, but it will put in a lot of work when it gets the opportunity to switch in.
- Terrakion, specifically Life Orb variants, also takes on this team easily. With Swords Dance, it can completely overpower Mega Venusaur while dealing with the Pokémon resistant to Rock-type moves with Close Combat. Terrakion's dual STAB moves are very potent and a pain for many teams to face, so this isn't exactly a huge surprise. Choice variants can be easier to play around, as it is much safer to pivot between Rock- and Fighting-type resistances.
+ Wallbreakers - Because this team lacks a Pokémon immune to Electric-type moves, Pokémon such as Mega Manectric and Raikou can be very annoying for the team to face, as they can use Volt Switch to attempt to safely switch in wallbreakers such as Choice Band Tyranitar, Choice Band Terrakion, and various other ones, which can be massively punishing if the team allows Mega Manectric to gain momentum off the likes of Chansey and Mega Venusaur.
- Bulky Mega Heracross is capable of OHKOing or 2HKOing everything on the team with its sky-high Attack and high-powered STAB moves. It can set up a Substitute against Chansey and just rips the team apart, as nothing can safely switch into it. The team's main countermeasure against Mega Heracross is forcing it to take some damage from Skarmory's Rocky Helmet along with Keldeo's Scald and Heatran's Lava Plume.
Conclusion
Although this team has a bad reputation on the OverUsed ladder and is considered by many players to be a joke of a team, this team has still carved itself into XY OU history in being one of the most known teams to exist through the entire generation.
Puzzle Page »
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Puzzle Page
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Flying Press's Puzzle Page! Thanks to all of those who sent in their answers. In our previous installment, the people who earned the most points were Euphonos and AWailOfATail! Congratulations to both of them. As usual, anyone who submitted correct answers has earned points on the leaderboard at the bottom of the page.
Thanks to all of the members of the puzzle team who helped out with the puzzles in this edition, including DarkShinyGiratina, Irraquated, ILRB, kevinrocks, and Level 51! We have some puzzles that have never been used in the previous editions, so if you haven't already, make sure you try them out and send in your answers!
Anagrams
Anagrams consist of several Pokémon-related terms whose letters have been scrambled around. In order to solve them, you have to figure out which terms have been scrambled. For example, "Science Spy Hop" unscrambles to Espeon / Psychic.
- Accelerate Snorkel Sphinx Rotor (3 Terms: Gen III Key Item, Gen IV Key Item, Gen VI Key Item)
- Atop Repressed Pelf Giggler Dean (3 Terms: Move, Move, Ability)
- Handkerchiefs Cut Over Tip Fell (3 Terms: Pokémon, Pokémon, Item)
Parameters
By using the /dexsearch command on Pokémon Showdown, find out which parameters match only the Pokémon listed. For example, say you are given these Pokémon: Bibarel, Bidoof, Pachirisu, Patrat, Raticate, Rattata, Smeargle, and Watchog. Even though all of them learn both Protect and Substitute, there are many other Pokémon that can as well, so the trick is to try to narrow down your options as much as possible. Parameters may include moves, abilities, tiers, generations, colors, and so on.
- Masquerain, Roselia, Roserade, Smeargle (2 Parameters)
- Abomasnow, Bouffalant, Cranidos, Kingler, Krabby, Rampardos, Smeargle, Snover, Tropius (3 Parameters)
- Golduck, Paras, Parasect, Psyduck (3 Parameters)
Psywaves (NEW)
A Psywaves puzzle (originally created by the user Psywaves) takes a Pokémon's name and splits it up either by phonetics or by spelling. The terms are then either categorized (as a letter, number, body part, etc.) or replaces with a synonym of the original term. Each section of the term is separated by plus signs, and when put together, the terms will form a Pokémon's name. For example, the answer to Exhale + Animal would be Psyduck because "Sigh" (Psy) is a synonym of exhale and "Duck" is a type of animal.
- Letter + Bug + Number in Another Language
- Paralyze + Energy
- Body Part + Everything + Animal
Pokémon Countdown (NEW)
Making a return from The Smog's Puzzle Page, Pokémon Countdown has a similar concept to anagrams in that letters in a term will be unscrambled to make a Pokémon-related term with each letter only being used as it appears in the original term. However, there are no definitive answers (there will likely be multiple), and not all of the letters are used. Your goal is to try to find the longest term possible with the given letters. For example, "Ban Tomb Gem" may contain the letters needed to form "Metang," but "Magnet Bomb" is a longer term and would therefore be a better answer. Categories may include Pokémon, moves, items, abilities, locations, and so on.
- Rationales
- Elliptic Orbit
- Frequent Obliteration
Cryptogram
In a cryptogram, every letter used in a message is replaced with a different letter. In order to solve it, you must determine what the original message is. The following phrase is a quote from a character in the main series Pokémon games. For example, a cryptogram of "VDWXQFR REBU AFRSUBKYTCA!" would unscramble to "Pikachu used Thunderbolt!", as each U in the original sentence is swapped for R, each E is swapped for B, and so on. This cryptogram is composed of three parts, each with a different index for letter substitutions. However, each part will come together to form segments of the same quote.
- CPQC FLI VHQFQIMD XQDT'C QECATV FAVPC.
- WX R KSWJSV , XYASBYVO AMXE ZWFS KYJTSV RE EY SFYDFS...
- KZK ARI URDQ GQLQ MQUEIBQ RO SGQ YZJK SEJQB?
Conclusion
The answers to last week's puzzle can be found in the announcement thread of the Flying Press forum. As usual, once you've completed one, some, or even all of the puzzles that this page has to offer, send your answers via a private message to Smogon's Flying Press on the forums (a Smogon account is required). Good luck to all who dare to participate, and we'll see you again in a few weeks!
Leaderboard
- Kit Kasai: 67 points
- lovemathboy: 50 points
- baconbagon: 36 points
- Calm: 36 points
- DarkShinyGiratina: 25 points
- Someoneelse: 25 points
- EnemyJurist: 24 points
- Awesomepi: 23 points
- AWailOfATail: 22 points
- Euphonos: 22 points
- FiveQwerty: 20 points
- Kyubics: 20 points
- castaways: 19 points
- Blitzamirin: 16 points
- Chimechoo: 16 points
- Dogfish44: 16 points
- Fuuta of the Stars: 16 points
- Seito Hakari: 16 points
- shadowmist: 16 points
- SparksBlade: 16 points
- Tralf: 16 points
- rhydreigon: 14 points
- Yoda2798: 14 points
- Mowtom: 13 points
- xXDuongDannyXx: 13 points
- chuckaboomboom: 12 points
- HeadsILoseTailsYouWin: 11 points
- Mishimono: 11 points
- pancake: 11 points
- Swede: 10 points
- asparandix: 9 points
- hardenmetapod: 8 points
- Plaessynplaeae: 5 points
- Reigaheres: 5 points
- Yellow Paint: 5 points
- Amitghosh: 3 points
- aXl: 3 points
- BenTheDemon: 3 points
- Epic_Mewtwo: 3 points
- Memoric: 3 points
- Sobi: 3 points
- Vader_the_White: 3 points
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