The Shadowed Band - A CAP RMT

[polelover44]

This is a team featuring Choice Band Kitsunoh. It is featuring CBKit, not centered around it, so I am willing to take out Kit. I've been using this team for a bit now, and it's done reasonably well, with only a few losses (I'm looking at you Deck Knight), and some nice wins (I'm still looking at you, Deck Knight). However, I feel that this team can accomplish more than where it is now, and I would like some help from more experienced members of both the Smogon community and the CAP project in strengthening it. I present to you:

The Shadowed Band
A CAP RMT

Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Explosion
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
Suicide leads such as Azelf or Stratagem work well in a stall-based metagame such as CAP. For this reason, amongst others, I decided to go with an Azelf as my lead. Psychic gets Fidgit and Arghonaut leads (are there Arghonaut leads?), Fire Blast hits Metagross and Kit, and explosion can OHKO Lucario after 1 Close Combat and Life Orb recoil.
~EVs~
The given nature and EVs were the standard, and for a good reason. With said EVs, Azelf reaches a speed of 361, allowing him to outspeed any non-scarf'd Gengar leads. Also, I have given him aforementioned EVs to hit maximum potential with special attacking, as Explosion needs a boost.
~Why Azelf?~
When I decided that I needed a suicide lead for a CAP team, I was immediately down to 2 choices: Azelf and Stratagem. As I thought that Azelf would work better as a Focus Sash lead, and seeing as I don't really like Stratagem, I went with Azelf.

Arghonaut (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP/32 Atk/224 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Waterfall
- Rest
- Stone Edge
I've always really liked the Bulk Up Arghonaut set, on top of Argho being my second favorite CAP. Bulk Up helps boost Argho's average defense, as well as its above average Attack. Its Special Defense, combined with +1 or +2 Defense, can hit some opponents very hard, or I can simply catch them unawares (no pun intended) by using this > the Recover Tank set.
~EVs~
Since Bulk Up boost Defense as well as Attack, Arghonaut has no need for too many defensive EVs. Therefore, its ability to take Special hits is maximized by the set. Once you have 2 or 3 Bulk Ups up, Rest brings you back to full health, where you can stall for a couple turns, then attack, Resting when necessary.
~Why Arghonaut?~
A Bulk Up/Curse tank brought me down to 4 choices: Hippowdon, Snorlax, Revenakh, and Arghonaut. Hippo's weakness to water, as well as Special moves, didn't hit me as great, so I passed on that guy. Snorlax was susceptible to Fighting moves, so that brings me down to Rev vs. Argho. Arghonauts's better type coverage with Stone Edge/Waterfall made the choice easy. I went with Argho.

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spd
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Grass Knot
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Celebi is a tank that can hit back, which was basically what I was looking for in the whole team. I used Celebi a lot in my early Pokemon days, and wanted to 'bring back the fun old times'. Grass Knot hits for STAB, while Hidden Power Fire hits Scizor. Recover is Recover, you'll notice that all three of my tanks have recovery. (Forry is a wall, not a tank). I'm undecided about Thunder Wave here. I was having some troubles with Thunder Wave earlier (DECK KNIGHT, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!) and I might be switching it with Leech Seed for residual damage/recovery.
EDIT: I no longer have HP Fire. Kit deals with all forms of Scizor, and Celebi can get TWave + Leech Seed up, so I have TWave AND Leech Seed over HP Fire.

~EVs~
The EVs let Celebi outrun Scizor, ensuring that it will only be hit by Bullet Punch, which cannot OHKO. As Celebi is mainly physical, the EVs in HP and Defense let it take Physical hits as well as possible, and coming off 100 base SP. Atk, a tank needs no SAtk EVs.
~Why Celebi?~
This part is simple. Status Absorber. Three Pokemon in OU have Natural Cure: Starmie, Celebi, and Blissey. Starmie was too offensive, and I hate Blissey, so Celebi was the way to go.

Tyranitar (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 236 HP/72 Atk/8 Spd/192 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Brick Break
- Crunch
- Sleep Talk
- Rest
This is the one set that I refuse to change. This set has gained great fame on Marriland as 'RhysTalk Tar'. The set was created by a Marriland user called Rhys29, and I have been looking for a way to use it ever since. Heatran can never score a 4HKO with Earth Power, and Tar gets instant healing with Rest/Talk. Brick Break was chosen over Earthquake for type coverage, although Earthquake is a possible option for that spot.
~EVs~
This started out as an altered CurseTar. Sooner or later, Rhys fell into the swing of things with this. Instead of running the normal 236/56/216 spread which allows Celebi to never get a 3HKO, Rhys decided to screw Celebi, and go with this. Heatran will never get a 4HKO, and Tar hits maximum Leftovers recovery while having reasonable attack. The 8 Speed EVs let me outspeed other Tyranitar, and a few other Pokemon that aim to outspeed 0 Speed Tar.
~Why Tyranitar?~
Well, I had been looking for a spot to put RhysTalk Tar in my team for a while, and I needed something to take Special hits for me. Tyranitar did the job perfectly.

Infernape (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk/232 Spd/24 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Close Combat
- Overheat
- Stone Edge
- Mach Punch
This is (with to-be-mentioned EV changes), the standard Physical Mixape. Close Combat gets high power and STAB, Stone Edge hits the flyers that can greatly damage me, and Mach Punch hits things that are low on health but outspeed me. Since I have no other Special moves, I have placed Overheat here in order to get higher power.
~EVs~
I have changed the EVs specially for CAP. The new EVs help outspeed Timid Fidgit, a large and popular threat in CAP. 24 SAtk EVs are more than enough enough to OHKO Skarmory with Overheat, and I maxed out the attack to... do as much damage as possible, maybe?
~Why Infernape?~
Plus recommended that I add a bit more oomph into my team. I took this into stride and sent an Infernape in to get some Special Attacks, as well as some Offensive Power on my team.
NOTE: I am considering replacing this with a Specially Based Mixape, as CBKit, RhysTalk Tar, and Arghonaut already give me my fair share of physical attacks.

Kitsunoh (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Limber
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- ShadowStrike
- U-turn
CBKit. What else is there to say? With Limber, it can't be paralyzed, and therefore hits hard and fast no matter what the circumstances. CBKit almost won me the first round of the CAP tourney, I lost because of a team error (Adamant > Jolly). Jolly lets it outspeed Mixape and hit with EQ, something very important to Kitsunoh. Ice Punch hits Dragons, U-Turn scouts, and ShadowStrike gets STAB + Defense Drop.
~EVs~
Although CBKit is not mentioned in the analysis, I put it on my team because it's CBKit. Kit needs Jolly + Full speed EVs to outspeed Mixape, and to tie with other base 110s. Kit can revenge kill Ape, Heatran, and others, and to do so I have maximum attack.
~Why Kitsunoh?~
I wanted a revenge killer, so I got this thing. CBKit is an awesome revenge killer, and is pure fast offense, something my team really needed. Magnezone doesn't provide me with speed, and Dugtrio gives me... well... It just doesn't feel like CAP with a Dugtrio. Too much Zapdos. ​

 

[VKCA]

I know I have a Fire weakness. I have managed to work around this, as Arghonaut eats any fire moves.
[/SIZE][/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE] [/CENTER]

I wouldn't say you have that bad of a fire weakness 3 weak and two bulky resists is better than one.

 

[polelover44]

Flygon says hi.

It doesn't resist fire.

 

[Joatmon]

I will post more later, but I am not liking Rest/Bulk Up. I presonally like Recover/Substitute, as it blocks status and provides recovery without that 2 turn waiting period. It also allows you to use Focus Punch, which is better than Stone Edge you shouldn't bother going against Gyarados/Salamence regardless, and doesn't have 80 accuracy.

Also, you should run Curse and Crunch/Payback on that Tar, simply because factoring STAB and the boost from curse and either the power increase in Payback or the defense drop from Crunch will mean that Tyranitar wins regardless against Heatran.

More later.

EDIT: Flygon does resist Fire what are you talking about? o.o

 

[Gir!]

It doesn't resist fire.

He does resist fire, he just isnt bulky enough to use that resistance too well

 

[polelover44]

He does resist fire, he just isnt bulky enough to use that resistance too well

Oh right. Dragon. I was thinking Ground only. I'm tired.

@ Joatmon: What's wrong with Bulk Up?

 

[Deck Knight]

Scarf Flygon is rather problematic for your team, its true. My SubRoost Zappy has two attacks instead of Toxic, mostly because once Blaziken's down I don't have any other Fire moves. I'm considering a change to Restalk Machamp though, since Drapion doesn't cover Ghosts quite as well as I'd like.

Either way I mostly one the second match because Fire Blast critted at Low HP. Thus why I love that Blaziken lead, it punishes setup extremely harshly.

Aside from that the team is solid, although the instances are few where the 8 Spe EVs will help you. CBTar runs enough to outspeed Skarmory.

 

[Umbreon Dan]

First of all, what is your answer to Infernape? Assuming Azelf is out, your only answer is to sacrifice something and revenge it.

Mixmence also wrecks your team. Maybe Tyranitar helps against the ones that don't have Brick Break, but outside of that, you're forced to lose something to revenge it.

Life Orb Stratagem with Flamethrower and Energy Ball is extremely threatening, but your Tyranitar may cover that, I'm not sure.

Lastly, one of the most underrated threats in the metagame, Alakazam, is sweeping your whole team. Focus Blast deal with Tyranitar, Signal Beam rpis up Celebi, and HP-Fire cleans up Forretress and Kitsunoh.

I would ordinarily suggest that you replace Tyranitar with a Vaporeon, but you seem quite attached to it, so I'll just leave it be. At any rate, I recommend replacing Forretress with the staggeringly more popular Fidgit, which can Spike and Rapid Spin more effectively than Forretress as well as support the team with various other moves.

And Void, why are you taking shots at my team when you're not in my thread, never on the server and don't even know the type chart?

 

[polelover44]

OK Dan, I've replaced Forry with Fidgit. I decided that Rapid Spin was unnecessary on Fidgy as I have 2 resists to SR and no weaknesses already.

 

[Plus]

I'm just wondering how you get around stall. I mean, sure, your lead is cool and all with breaking stuff like Fidgit. However, it's suicide lead, and it won't get you far alone. You can get explosion blocked by Protect Bliss or ghosts such as Rotom-a. That being said, I see some parts in your team that can't handle stall easily. In CaP, I'd say it's important to lay a foundation on where you want to go. Are you going to break stall? Or are you going to go with it?

By the looks of your team, it looks like you are going in the offensive direction. Some stuff like Argho, Tar, and Kitsunoh can't do jack to Skarmory. In fact, once your Azelf is dead (and trust me it will), your team has NOTHING to handle Skarmory. That's very problematic.

My advice is to add some more oomph into your team. Try a Salamence, an Infernape, heck, even using Trick on Kitsunoh will help you out. If you are running offense you'd better be checking the common threats of stall, mainly Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Blissey. You shouldn't be switching out too much either, or else entry hazards will bite you in the ass.

Since you have said you aren't taking out Tar, then you are extremely limited on spots to go in order to add that extra power you need to demolish stall. Go for a bit of mixed attacking, as that will put stall in deep shit. Be aware that just 1 stall breaker doesn't cover it; your whole team needs to be supporting this stall breaker, which isn't really that hard to do. I would have advised mixtar as well, but that doesn't seem like an option =/. If you are too reluctant to change something on your team, at least pack some things to handle stall. for now it just looks like SkarmBliss walls this team to no end.

 

[polelover44]

So possibly a Mixape over Celebi? Seeing as Celebi does practically nothing, that's probably for the best.

 

[Plus]

I actually wonder what Fidgit does. Why do you need speed? Is there something you wish to outspeed in particular? I don't see why you have wish and two rest users either, that just seems a bit excessive. You also have to make sure that Infernape's threats are all easily taken care of. Note that if you had replaced celebi with infernape, you would lose your best bulky water killer.

So, I'm not going to tell you "where" to replace your pokemon, as that is totally up to you. Just make sure that you dont leave any holes when doing this. Think about what you least need when preparing for stall.

As i've said before, I'm not a particular fan of Sandstream+LO either. So, keep that in mind. It's a bit constricting in this case, but you have to find space in your team to take on stall.

 

[polelover44]

OK, I have replaced Fidgit with a Mixape. I'll ladder with it and see how it works.

 

[polelover44]

I'm giving this a whatever-hour bump, as I haven't bumped it yet.