Yes, world cup has come to an end for USA West and me. World Cup has drained me and I would like to share one of my favorite teams before I go to a temporary retirement after my current tournament matches end. I was inspired to see top players post their: "mixed stall," "balanced hazards," "semi-stall," or whatever you guys want to call it. It is nice the team style started to get the dominance as seen today. I would like to call this team: one of the pioneers of semi-stall in DPPt as people like Panamaxis/JLei2k built a team based on this team. Anyways, the team I am posting has got me as high as #2 in OU leaderboard under the names of LoveDestiny and -Michael Jackson-. I have also used this team for the 2nd Round World Cup, where if anyone has seen this team in that battle, it shined. Also this is my first detailed RMT, as if you looked as my past RMT, i wasn't so good =(. I would like to say since the beginning of DPPt, after months working with this team, I officially retire this team. In this current metagame, this team has lost its groove in winning matches it would like to win. Also, I feel I can no longer update this team to my liking. So... here it is, one of my favorite and succesful team ever.
Great examples of Similar Team Styles
(Panamaxis/JLei2k)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58790
(Phillip7086)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59793
(JabbaTheGriffin)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59683
Overview
The purpose of the team was to force enough pressure by forcing switches with defensive typing/bulk and kill opponents with hazards damage and Roar. Although if Stealth Rock+Spikes are not enough to beat things, then Pokemon like Salamence and Snorlax helps beat Pokemon.
-----------
Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Spikes
- Endeavor
- ExtremeSpeed
Designed to mess up opposing leads as much as possible and quickly lay Spikes to start the pressure game right from the beginning. Against some fast leads, I get at least one layer of Spikes, but against slower leads, I am almost guaranteed as least two layers. It can also prevent the opposing team to set up Stealth Rock by sleeping the SR user which can be extremely beneficial later in the game. The last two moveslot was chosen depending on the need of the team. Endeavor serves as a last ditch move which helps to beat Pokemon that can otherwise give future trouble. ExtremeSpeed is a much-need priority move in the last slot to primarily kill Pokemon hit by Endeavor and also revenge kill Pokemon if Smeargle manages to survive later in the game. Two options I seriously considered instead of Endeavor/ExtremeSpeed was Protect/Taunt. Protect helped blocked Fake Out and Taunt helped stop stat-uppers, sleep talkers, and unslept SR users, but I really needed a priority user late in the game if I am unable to set up. 252 Atk EVs was given to maximize the damage potential of ExtremeSpeed.
---
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/212 Def/56 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Roar
Swampert is a very essential part of the team as it sets up Stealth Rock and rack up hazard damage with Roar. Swampert is bulky as fuck so it serves as my main physical wall and gives a nice immunity to paralysis and electric attacks. It helps to hinder one of the biggest threat to this team, Tyranitar. 56 Special Attack EVs were given to OHKO Gliscor and the rest of the EVs are added to bulk. I use to run Surf in place of Roar in the past, but the move was limited to a select few pokemon. Roar helps to serve the overall purpose of team and has more usability.
---
Rotom-s @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/136 Def/120 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
A Spikes team always need a Spin blocker. I chose Rotom-S over other formes because it is undoubtly the best forme ever =P. It serves as a counter and check to many things that can threaten this team. Metagross, Gyarados, Scizor, to name a few.. There is no much to say as it is the standard Rest-talker, except that Shadow Ball was chosen over Will-O-Wisp to try to beat opposing Rotoms and damage Pokemon that resist Thunderbolt.
---
Snorlax (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Return
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Superpower
Snorlax serves a very intimate place in the team. It is one of my main offensive weapons and serves to sponge special hits the best way possible. I had Body Slam over Return, but paralysis barely mattered for the team. So, Return helps give its the extra punch that Body Slam lacks. Special attackers are a big threat to this team overall, so pursuit helps catch Pokemon like Starmie, Rotom, Gengar, Azelf, and Latias on the switch. Crunch+Pursuit sounds like a extremely weird combination, but Crunch is very much needed to hit Rotom hard on the switch. I had Fire Punch over Crunch in the past, but I seldomly used it. I had Superpower over Earthquake for several reasons: 1)It has more power 2)It actually hits Skarmory, Bronzong, Flygon, and Togekiss. 3)It hits ohkos opposing Snorlax and hits much harder than Return after a Curse. The ability Immunity was chosen over Thick Fat because it gives me an immunity to Toxic Spikes. Sweepers like Suicune would destroy Snorlax with Toxic Spikes support, but Immunity helps remedy that.
---
Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/80 Def/176 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
My revenge killer and important fighting/ground resist. In the past, I used so many other Pokemon in place of Salamence, but after seeing JLei2k use it in a effective matter. I saw that it fits well in my team. Outrage is used for late-game sweeps, while Dragon Claw serves as a mid-game option. I cannot let Salamence locked in Outrage early or it leaves me suspectable more to Lucario sweeps and Scizor kills. Earthquake helps hit Heatran, T-Tar, etc. Fire Blast is used to catch Scizor on the switch and 2OHKO Skarmory. EVs are pretty standard CSMence except that SpAtk Evs are relegated to Defense EVs to increase physical durability, allowing it to switch in more often.
---
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
This is the 5-star Celebrity with Sandstream immunity.! Hiding under the Substitute, Heatran becomes extremely dangerous to opponents. With Spikes+Stealth Rock up, Roar serves to continue rack up Hazards damage. The combination of Sub+Roar really beats teams with Celebi, Blissey(w/o Seismic Toss,) Jirachi, Cresselia, Skarmory, Umberon, CurseTar, and Scizor. I designed this Heatran to beat Obistall, but the rise of Resttalk Gyarados seriously affected the effectiveness of this set. Lava Plume is the main source beat grasses, ice, and steels. It also has the nice 30% burn rate that can help vs fliers or levitators like Gyarados, Salamence, and Flygon. Under a Sub, Earth Power helps to beat opposing Heatrans, Infernape, and T-Tar. It also helps to finish off Pokemon like Vaporeon, Swampert, and Suicune if in OHKO range.
---
Teambuilding Process
I experimented with Smeargle to function like Azelf and Aerodactyl towards the end of D/P with good results. But it was apparent that at the time, Gengar leads outshined it, and Lum Berry leads were popular at the time. But as DPPt arose, Hypnosis got reduced to 60%, so Lum Berry leads got less popular. I saw a big opportunity to use Smeargle. I teamed Smeargle+Swampert+Heatran for several reasons. I was in need of a bulky ground SR user, so it was either Hippodown or Swampert. I couldn't stand Hippodown breaking Smeargle's sash with Sandstream, so I opted with Swampert. I have always liked Heatran, but saw its use as a Scarf user to be lackluster. I remembered someone saying Substitute is the best move ever, so I tried it with Heatran. It worked extremely well and had a moveset consisting of Substitute/Fire Blast/Earth Power/Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse was nice to OHKO Salamence and Kingdra, but as I saw a bigger picture of the team's purpose, I changed Dragon Pulse to Roar. Since Heatran forces so many switches, Roar was indeed the best option in this team to force more switches.
Smeargle, Swampert, and Heatran were some of my favorite Pokemon. Immediately, I wanted to add more of my favorite Pokemon and thought of Zapdos and Gengar. Gengar and Zapdos has that nice Ground+Fighting immunity that the team desperatly needs. Gengar also served as an anti-spinner that I need as well. I had Zapdos set with 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spe Bold with the moveset Thunderbolt/Heat Wave/Toxic/Roost. Notably Toxic was used to beat Blissey, Swampert, and opposing Zapdos. Gengar was a Scarf user with 4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe Modest with the moveset Trick/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt/Focus Blast. Trick helped to fuk up anything that switches in like Blissey. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt helps to pick off Salamence and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance, and Focus Blast took care of T-Tar and Lucario. The last slot I decided I was in need of a late game sweeper. I took my eyes on Kingdra at the time because it has very nice resistances. It has nailed me really nice late-game sweeps, but I felt something was lacking. The team just seemed too average. I tried many things like Bronzong and SD Celebi Sweeper(lol). But at that time Scizor was heralding itself as a top Pokemon. I read some posts about U-Turn on Scizor being one of the most threatening things in the metagame. I put it in my team, hoping I can rack up damge with CB, and force switches as I U-Turn to a Pokemon that was more favorable vs the opponent. The strategy was a success. It got me to #2 in ladder and to the 4rd round in ST5 until my loss to JabbaTheGriffin(which I shoulda won, but stupid mistakes cost me.) But later in the metagame.. Spinners got popular again and Latias was now OU..
At this point, I met JLei2k. He really liked my team idea and made a team similar to mine. I looked at some of his battles and saw that Rotom-A was very capable in a team like mine. I saw that it can serve like a dual pokemon of Gengar+Zapdos combined. So I replaced those two with Rotom-S. I found that Scizor couldn't take repeated hits from Latias and Gengar. And.. Rotom-S couldn't take repeated hits from Starmie. So I took up a Pokemon that I really like in Snorlax. This team really needed immediate offense, so I chose CBLax.
The team was an extreme success and got me to as high as #2 in ladder. But, during a Smogon Tour quarterfinals, I saw myself get swept late game by Lucario. I knew that Lucario could really mess up my team, but I usually took it well by forcing pressure so that Lucario never had a chance to sweep. However, I wanted to perfect this team, so I remember JLei2k used a ScarfMence is one of his old teams. I took that idea because it looked like it can really help take fighting attacks. It was a success and I got to #2 in ladder under the name -Michael Jackson-. Although repeated uses showed that the metagame has changed and that I couldn't keep using this team to get to the top.
----------
Well, thats my team... I had a extremely fun time building it, but finally stopped. It sucks that I never got #1 ever in ladder with this team because either I lose a match after attempting to take the #1 spot, or have someone like IPL who laddered to 1700+ in a fast pace. As I look at teams like Panamaxis/JLei2k, JabbaTheGriffin, and Phillip7086, I am proud that they are able to build on the team style and make it even better.
Great examples of Similar Team Styles
(Panamaxis/JLei2k)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58790
(Phillip7086)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59793
(JabbaTheGriffin)
http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59683
Overview
The purpose of the team was to force enough pressure by forcing switches with defensive typing/bulk and kill opponents with hazards damage and Roar. Although if Stealth Rock+Spikes are not enough to beat things, then Pokemon like Salamence and Snorlax helps beat Pokemon.
-----------
Smeargle (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Spikes
- Endeavor
- ExtremeSpeed
Designed to mess up opposing leads as much as possible and quickly lay Spikes to start the pressure game right from the beginning. Against some fast leads, I get at least one layer of Spikes, but against slower leads, I am almost guaranteed as least two layers. It can also prevent the opposing team to set up Stealth Rock by sleeping the SR user which can be extremely beneficial later in the game. The last two moveslot was chosen depending on the need of the team. Endeavor serves as a last ditch move which helps to beat Pokemon that can otherwise give future trouble. ExtremeSpeed is a much-need priority move in the last slot to primarily kill Pokemon hit by Endeavor and also revenge kill Pokemon if Smeargle manages to survive later in the game. Two options I seriously considered instead of Endeavor/ExtremeSpeed was Protect/Taunt. Protect helped blocked Fake Out and Taunt helped stop stat-uppers, sleep talkers, and unslept SR users, but I really needed a priority user late in the game if I am unable to set up. 252 Atk EVs was given to maximize the damage potential of ExtremeSpeed.
---
Swampert (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/212 Def/56 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Ice Beam
- Roar
Swampert is a very essential part of the team as it sets up Stealth Rock and rack up hazard damage with Roar. Swampert is bulky as fuck so it serves as my main physical wall and gives a nice immunity to paralysis and electric attacks. It helps to hinder one of the biggest threat to this team, Tyranitar. 56 Special Attack EVs were given to OHKO Gliscor and the rest of the EVs are added to bulk. I use to run Surf in place of Roar in the past, but the move was limited to a select few pokemon. Roar helps to serve the overall purpose of team and has more usability.
---
Rotom-s @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/136 Def/120 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
A Spikes team always need a Spin blocker. I chose Rotom-S over other formes because it is undoubtly the best forme ever =P. It serves as a counter and check to many things that can threaten this team. Metagross, Gyarados, Scizor, to name a few.. There is no much to say as it is the standard Rest-talker, except that Shadow Ball was chosen over Will-O-Wisp to try to beat opposing Rotoms and damage Pokemon that resist Thunderbolt.
---
Snorlax (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 SDef
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Return
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Superpower
Snorlax serves a very intimate place in the team. It is one of my main offensive weapons and serves to sponge special hits the best way possible. I had Body Slam over Return, but paralysis barely mattered for the team. So, Return helps give its the extra punch that Body Slam lacks. Special attackers are a big threat to this team overall, so pursuit helps catch Pokemon like Starmie, Rotom, Gengar, Azelf, and Latias on the switch. Crunch+Pursuit sounds like a extremely weird combination, but Crunch is very much needed to hit Rotom hard on the switch. I had Fire Punch over Crunch in the past, but I seldomly used it. I had Superpower over Earthquake for several reasons: 1)It has more power 2)It actually hits Skarmory, Bronzong, Flygon, and Togekiss. 3)It hits ohkos opposing Snorlax and hits much harder than Return after a Curse. The ability Immunity was chosen over Thick Fat because it gives me an immunity to Toxic Spikes. Sweepers like Suicune would destroy Snorlax with Toxic Spikes support, but Immunity helps remedy that.
---
Salamence (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/80 Def/176 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
My revenge killer and important fighting/ground resist. In the past, I used so many other Pokemon in place of Salamence, but after seeing JLei2k use it in a effective matter. I saw that it fits well in my team. Outrage is used for late-game sweeps, while Dragon Claw serves as a mid-game option. I cannot let Salamence locked in Outrage early or it leaves me suspectable more to Lucario sweeps and Scizor kills. Earthquake helps hit Heatran, T-Tar, etc. Fire Blast is used to catch Scizor on the switch and 2OHKO Skarmory. EVs are pretty standard CSMence except that SpAtk Evs are relegated to Defense EVs to increase physical durability, allowing it to switch in more often.
---
Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power
This is the 5-star Celebrity with Sandstream immunity.! Hiding under the Substitute, Heatran becomes extremely dangerous to opponents. With Spikes+Stealth Rock up, Roar serves to continue rack up Hazards damage. The combination of Sub+Roar really beats teams with Celebi, Blissey(w/o Seismic Toss,) Jirachi, Cresselia, Skarmory, Umberon, CurseTar, and Scizor. I designed this Heatran to beat Obistall, but the rise of Resttalk Gyarados seriously affected the effectiveness of this set. Lava Plume is the main source beat grasses, ice, and steels. It also has the nice 30% burn rate that can help vs fliers or levitators like Gyarados, Salamence, and Flygon. Under a Sub, Earth Power helps to beat opposing Heatrans, Infernape, and T-Tar. It also helps to finish off Pokemon like Vaporeon, Swampert, and Suicune if in OHKO range.
---
Teambuilding Process
I experimented with Smeargle to function like Azelf and Aerodactyl towards the end of D/P with good results. But it was apparent that at the time, Gengar leads outshined it, and Lum Berry leads were popular at the time. But as DPPt arose, Hypnosis got reduced to 60%, so Lum Berry leads got less popular. I saw a big opportunity to use Smeargle. I teamed Smeargle+Swampert+Heatran for several reasons. I was in need of a bulky ground SR user, so it was either Hippodown or Swampert. I couldn't stand Hippodown breaking Smeargle's sash with Sandstream, so I opted with Swampert. I have always liked Heatran, but saw its use as a Scarf user to be lackluster. I remembered someone saying Substitute is the best move ever, so I tried it with Heatran. It worked extremely well and had a moveset consisting of Substitute/Fire Blast/Earth Power/Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse was nice to OHKO Salamence and Kingdra, but as I saw a bigger picture of the team's purpose, I changed Dragon Pulse to Roar. Since Heatran forces so many switches, Roar was indeed the best option in this team to force more switches.
Smeargle, Swampert, and Heatran were some of my favorite Pokemon. Immediately, I wanted to add more of my favorite Pokemon and thought of Zapdos and Gengar. Gengar and Zapdos has that nice Ground+Fighting immunity that the team desperatly needs. Gengar also served as an anti-spinner that I need as well. I had Zapdos set with 252 HP/220 Def/36 Spe Bold with the moveset Thunderbolt/Heat Wave/Toxic/Roost. Notably Toxic was used to beat Blissey, Swampert, and opposing Zapdos. Gengar was a Scarf user with 4 HP/252 Sp.Atk/252 Spe Modest with the moveset Trick/Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt/Focus Blast. Trick helped to fuk up anything that switches in like Blissey. Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt helps to pick off Salamence and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance, and Focus Blast took care of T-Tar and Lucario. The last slot I decided I was in need of a late game sweeper. I took my eyes on Kingdra at the time because it has very nice resistances. It has nailed me really nice late-game sweeps, but I felt something was lacking. The team just seemed too average. I tried many things like Bronzong and SD Celebi Sweeper(lol). But at that time Scizor was heralding itself as a top Pokemon. I read some posts about U-Turn on Scizor being one of the most threatening things in the metagame. I put it in my team, hoping I can rack up damge with CB, and force switches as I U-Turn to a Pokemon that was more favorable vs the opponent. The strategy was a success. It got me to #2 in ladder and to the 4rd round in ST5 until my loss to JabbaTheGriffin(which I shoulda won, but stupid mistakes cost me.) But later in the metagame.. Spinners got popular again and Latias was now OU..
At this point, I met JLei2k. He really liked my team idea and made a team similar to mine. I looked at some of his battles and saw that Rotom-A was very capable in a team like mine. I saw that it can serve like a dual pokemon of Gengar+Zapdos combined. So I replaced those two with Rotom-S. I found that Scizor couldn't take repeated hits from Latias and Gengar. And.. Rotom-S couldn't take repeated hits from Starmie. So I took up a Pokemon that I really like in Snorlax. This team really needed immediate offense, so I chose CBLax.
The team was an extreme success and got me to as high as #2 in ladder. But, during a Smogon Tour quarterfinals, I saw myself get swept late game by Lucario. I knew that Lucario could really mess up my team, but I usually took it well by forcing pressure so that Lucario never had a chance to sweep. However, I wanted to perfect this team, so I remember JLei2k used a ScarfMence is one of his old teams. I took that idea because it looked like it can really help take fighting attacks. It was a success and I got to #2 in ladder under the name -Michael Jackson-. Although repeated uses showed that the metagame has changed and that I couldn't keep using this team to get to the top.
----------
Well, thats my team... I had a extremely fun time building it, but finally stopped. It sucks that I never got #1 ever in ladder with this team because either I lose a match after attempting to take the #1 spot, or have someone like IPL who laddered to 1700+ in a fast pace. As I look at teams like Panamaxis/JLei2k, JabbaTheGriffin, and Phillip7086, I am proud that they are able to build on the team style and make it even better.
