My mood is better this month

[AeroGP]

At a glance:

I've gotten over my rage against OU and have submitted to the meta. As long as I don't take it personally, it's pretty fun to play in. I don't know if I can go back to my old BL team now, even though after a few modifications it turned out okay too.

The team focuses on scouting for potential threats and acting accordingly so that either Skymin or Heracross can achieve a clean sweep. Its decent resistances and 4 key immunities are important for arranging favorable matchups and eliminating anything that could stand in the way of my sweepers. Heracross was chosen as the physical sweeper for its ability to absorb Thunder Wave and Toxic to Power-Up its offense, creating an immediately dangerous threat. Skymin was selected because it's powerful STAB Seed Flare is really shaking up the metagame right now, and I want to take advantage of that. Both can threaten teams without much setup, allowing the team to function flexibly.

Donphan (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/6 Atk/252 Def
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
My replacement for Torterra. It's not as weak to Ice Beam as it's predecessor, and can revenge-kill dragons for me, freeing up Vaporeon's Ice Beam. Despite this, I don't get to setup Stealth Rock that often, but it helps whenever I can. And blowing away my opponent's field hazards makes it more safe for my sweepers to come in and do their thing. A welcome addition to the team.

Rotom-h @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/144 Spd/112 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Discharge
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Reflect/Light Screen
An extra check against steel types goes a long way in Platinum. Reflect is really coming through for this team right now, but Light Screen might be more useful in the long term, especially against Salamence - I'm just not certain yet. Discharge gets the nod over Thunder Wave for doing STAB damage to Heatran and potentially paralyzing it simultaneous. It blocks opposing Rapid Spin, which makes it essential to this team.

Heatran (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 20 HP/236 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Explosion
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Keeping my key sweepers from getting burned is just so important, since they share that weakness in common. Heatran does it so well there's just no excuse for me not to run one. The boost it gets from fire attacks also makes it an even stronger check against my opponent's fire-weak sweepers so they don't get in the way. With Scarf, it can decently revenge-kill threats like Scizor so that I can go to town with the rest of their team.

Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP/252 Def/68 SAtk
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Surf
- Roar
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Typically my first switch-in from Donphan to absorb Ice/Water. Cushions attacks with great efficiency, and with Stealth Rock damage Roar becomes really potent. With HP Electric, fellow waters types can no longer come in on it and setup, specifically Gyarados and Suicune. They'd be phazed anyways, but it helps when they're the last pokemon. Being able to juggle its attack moves and support options while taking minimum damage takes a bit of skill to get right, but the payoffs are huge. I no longer have to guess what my opponent might use against me, which makes pinpointing key threats to my sweepers easier. And with her decent Special Attack, she can make a pretty good sweeper herself if the need arises (such as, if Heatran's dragged in haphazardly)

Shaymin-s @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 32 HP/224 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Earth Power
- Seed Flare
- Substitute
Skymin's just the popular thing to use right now. I'd use Shaymin-L if it didn't require Choice Scarf to be of any real use to me, especially since it's not as vulnerable to Stealth Rock as this thing is and can Natural Cure-Rest for re-usability. I've been overly cautious with Substitute, and as a result of it and Life Orb recoil I haven't been getting many K.Os. However, Serene Grace LO Seed Flare does serious damage when I can land a blow successfully, and cannot be underestimated. I usually end matches by flinch-haxing my opponent's remaining pokemon to death, and even the pokemon that resist it are pretty badly bruised.

Heracross (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Guts
EVs: 104 HP/252 Atk/152 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
The physical powerhouse of the group. I try to save him for last, but I won't hesistate to get a strong attack in if I absolutely have to. Megahorn just hits that hard. There's no surprizes with this guy, but since all of its attacks are deadly, there doesn't need to be - I just need to predict well and the damage speaks for itself. Being able to keep Stealth Rocks on the field is what really makes it work, affording me a few mispredictions. Vaporeon's Roar especially helps, as it allows me to catch Dugtrio and some other Aerial Ace'ers and prevent any rude revenge-killing from them.

The vulnerabilities of this team have been reduced, but it can still be stalled out of power against a well-prepared stall team using Hail or Sandstorm if Heatran is ever taken out. Skymin could be swapped with a bulkier special sweeper if affordable, which would eliminate pressure to keep Stealth Rock on the field (as well as pressure to keep Heatran alive to absorb fire).

 

[Imran]

The one problem with field Hazards I have found is that the number of Pokemon that can use them is limited, for example Spikes can be learned by very few things. IMO Skarm is a bit vunerable in the early game, and I tend not to use it because either you have to have whilwind / spikes prediction wars or you can just lay one layer, then run and bring it back in on a resist, lay another layer etc...

I guess the most reliable Lead for spreading field Hazards would be a Deoxys S with reasonable Bulk. Perhaps the Spiker set, but with a few modifications to allow Stealth Rock in there as well. I don't know if you need extra coverage against Swampert if you have Skymin, it can come in on any move except for Ice Beam and pose an Immediate threat. If you run Deoxys S with Protect you wont need to worry about Azelfs Explosion if you predict well enough, but it is vunerable to the new Tyranitar leads. And with Spikes + Stealth Rock and Protect you run the risk of Either dying to Tyranitar or dying to something like gengar depending on whether you are using SuperPower or Psychic. Recover as an option also drops out. The problem with setting up field hazards early is that leads tend to be reasonably well sorted for dealing with them. Bronzong can Hypnosis Skarm, it can Gyro Ball Deoxys etc... You're going to be lucky to lay more than 1 set of Spikes, from your lead. I guess you could run Taunt Skarm for bronzong and you will be temporarily be beating Azelf without Thunderbolt. But it is a risky thing. You could try leading with Skymin and then having Skarm > Toreterra to lay down SR and spikes how it usually does or you could try Lead Deoxys. Its a sticky issue that will need a lot of testing. I will check back in the morning to see if you have an opinion on this but for now Good Luck with your team :D

 

[AeroGP]

I've run more tests, and Swampert does wall the team pretty badly. With Life Orb, Skymin doesn't have the longevity to reliably come in and shoo it away, not to mention how easy it is in the early game to wall Grass STAB. Grass Knot would work wonders, but I have no slots I can afford to place it in.

Right now, I'm thinking about a special-oriented Bronzong with Grass Knot, killing both birds with one stone. Something along the lines of Grass Knot/Psychic/Stealth Rock/Protect @Lum Berry. It's not as useful as a physically-oriented Bronzong with Earthquake/Gyro Ball, and it's more easily walled, but still it supports the team and it gives me an extra resistance to dragons which will come in handy. I don't know what the EVs would look like on something like that, so If someone could point out an adequate spread, I would appreciate it. That's assuming this idea is any good, though.

 

[futuresuperstar]

Bronzong with Explosion / Stealth Rock / Trick is lethal. You can use Grass Knot in the fourth slot if you're paranoid about Swampert.

 

[nihilist]

Donphan seems like it would fit in better than torterra as a lead. It will allow you too revenge kill salamence, while still being able to lay down some stealth rocks.

also is there any specific reason for your EV spread for rotom? im just wondering.

your vaporeon should also run HP electric. It is your only answer to gyra, who would otherwise run over your team after a DD or two.

Max your speed on heatran for other scarftran, its better than being outsped all of the time.

and if you are really worried about swampert, why not run rotom cut? leafstorm is more than enough to get an OHKO im sure.

 

[AeroGP]

Donphan sounds like a plan. It can even Rapid Spin to clear the way for my sweepers, and with Ice Shard, I might be able to afford losing Ice Beam on Vaporeon in favor of HP Electric. Either that, or I'll start running Scarf Rotom again.

Speaking of Rotom, its spread comes from Juuka. So far, it's been more useful to me than the Choice Scarf version because it can afford to stay in more often, allowing me to support the team, but I don't mind switching back if it's absolutely necessary.

I don't see the point in maxing Speed when Heatran's going to be locked into something all the time. If opposing Heatran come into me and I Earth Power, they're dead, but if I don't, being outsped won't matter because I'm out of there anyways. It works visa-versa, as well, so I don't think I follow. If you're refering to some other threat, please explain.

Leaf Storm is too easy to wall; the additional check against Scisor and Lucario is more important to me. I'd run Wash Rotom, but I don't like Hydro Pump's accuracy.

 

[nihilist]

lets say its heatran mirror match, if they max speed, which they probably do, you lose automatically. If you max speed, you have a fighting chance to Earth power still.

timid 196 spd rotom allows you to outspeed both scizor and scizor. switching to rotom cut allows you to take on all three of these threats with 252 HP 196 spd and the rest in defense. Well, as long as you use reflect.

 

[AeroGP]

lets say its heatran mirror match, if they max speed, which they probably do, you lose automatically. If you max speed, you have a fighting chance to Earth power still.

The only time that situation would happen is if they come into me locked into Earth Power, knowing full well I'm not max speed, and use Earth Power back (and I don't really think that's an easy read to make). If they come into anything else, it's obvious to both me and the opponent that I have no choice but to switch, even without max speed.

timid 196 spd rotom allows you to outspeed both scizor and scizor. switching to rotom cut allows you to take on all three of these threats with 252 HP 196 spd and the rest in defense. Well, as long as you use reflect.

Why do I need to outrun it when I can OHKO with Overheat while not getting OHKO'd back?

Anyways, I went to try out Donphan right away, and the results seem stable enough. My trial with Skymin has proven to be more effective today, so I'm keeping him for now. Vaporeon's Roar has been enough to keep Swampert off my back until late game, when Skymin can just K.O it on its way to victory. With the free slot for HP Electric, I'm not walled by other waters, either, and having more ways to wear out Suicune always helps. Because of Donphan's vulnerability to Ice Beam, however, I don't often get a chance to lay rocks, which bothers me a little.

So Torterra has been replaced by Donphan and Vaporeon now has HP Electric. More suggestions are always welcome, and thank you to those who have helped already. (Nihilus, Goldfan)

 

[Imran]

Like you said about a bulkier special sweeper. The problem is that they will not have the raw Power that Skymin has. The best example I can think of would be Azelf. The only problem with that would be is that you are losin gthe coverage against Heatran. Which may or may not be an issue depending on how well Vaporeon is cpoing with its other jobs :P

Roserade has a rather overlooked base 105 Sp. Defence that it can use to tank. It also resists Swmaperts Surf, but will have a hard time switching into repeated Earthquakes without a lot of suport from Vaporeon. Again you will lose some coverage against Heatran.

Once you go beyond those two you get to the realms of Special Tanks, things in the vein of Slowking, and things like Mix Metagross which I don't think will really fit the picture seeing as you are looking for a fast clean up sweeper. The problem is trying to balance the speed, special attack and defencive stats into one pokemon. I don't know if any I mentioned will work, or whether you can find something else.