Introduction
Simply put, I just got my hands on White version and there were a few new Pokemon I wished to experiment with. I didn't want to include any Dream World abilities, and still do not, for I plan on using this team on Wifi (naturally when the Dream World abilities are released, I will have no quarrel with them). I would still like to combat Dream World threats, however.
Weather, weather weather. That's all anyone really talks about this generation. I didn't exactly want to follow the path of rain or shine, and so I chose sand. Funny, because not many Pokemon abuse sand this generation. Nevertheless, this turned into a rather splendid team, which has peaked at #42, if I recall correctly, and currently sits and ~#50 with a 1200 rating.
At A Glance
Team Building Process
Well to begin, I had only two Pokemon in mind - Ferrothorn and Volcarona. Ferrothorn was an MVP even in my in-game team, and is extremely viable competitively. I was in love with Volcarona ever since I saw it's move set. It reminded me of Moltres immediately, but with access to an insane stat-boosting move and a godly STAB move.
For starters, I needed a spinner for Volcarona. Obviously. And a partner for Ferrothorn. Although many would see this as a prime example for Starmie, its frailty has ultimately brought it down this generation, in my opinion. Plus the fact that it falls miserably to Ferrothorn, arguably the #1 entry hazard distributer on the scene right, made me side against this choice. There aren't too many Rapid spinning options, in retrospect. No other spoke out to me... Except Excadrill. And so I decided to go with this unusual option. Now Excadrill desperately needs a sand-inducer. Many opt for Tyranitar and, although he still remains one of my favorite Pokemon, I find his ubiquitous weakness keep him out of a team too often. I decided to go with the only other option, Hippowdon, which ended up being an excellent choice, as it and Ferrothorn compliment eachother surprisingly well.
The next job was to round out the typings. Even with Ferrothorn, I was at a huge weakness to Water, and so I chose his predicted walling partner, Jellicent. At first I was unsure of this decision, as it could not hold its own very well with its somewhat poor BST, despite its spinblocking ability. But after a change to its moveset, Jellicent began to hold its own again.
Well, you don't think I got this team right on the first try, do you? At first I saw Reuniclus and Sigilyph and was tempted by their dark promises of invincibility due to Magic Guard. And so I tried each of them, with little avail.
These Pokemon were just not cutting it. Reuniclus was decent, but I could never set him up properly (Now I feel like I was just too new for the metagame then, but whatever). Plus I desperately needed a Ground-resist or -immunity. Sigilyph tried to remedy that, but proved far too frail without any Cosmic Power boosts, often fell victim to critical hits, and had few switch-in openings. But the real problem was my team's speed. Both of these options are far too slow. So I chose a Levitate user who had previously torn my team limb from limb - Hydreigon.
Analysis
Hippowdon
@ Leftovers
Nature: Impish
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp Def
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Stealth Rock
-Slack Off
This set is just fantastic, in my opinion. It sets up my all-desirable sand, and therefore usually acts as a lead. Stealth Rock because its the best move in the game, Roar is great for phasing the likes DD Tyranitar and Dragonite or SD Scizor and Garchomp, and can rack up a lot of damage if Hippowdon can take a beating from the opponent's team (which is quite often the case). Slack Off keeps me healthy, so I can spam Roar and stall with Sand Stream (it gets more KOs than one would think). To round out the set and prevent shut-downs from Taunt, I included Earthquake for some STAB. Although it may seem redundant due to Excadrill, a strong attacking move such as this is extremely useful. All its weakness, except Ice, are covered by Ferrothorn, and Hippowdon can likely sponge Fighting- and Fire-type moves and hit back with STAB Earthquake, healing off with Slack Off. The sand helps Excadrill and Ferrothorn a lot, as well. EVs are for maximum physical bulk, although I've been desiring some on the Special side lately - any suggestions are appreciated!
Ferrothorn
@ Leftovers
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP, 68 Def, 188 Sp Def
IVs: 0 Speed
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Spikes
Ah, the metagame-defining Ferrothorn. What a kid. On my team he layers down spikes, resists sweepers form all sides of the spectrum, and gives the team some support. Spikes are just fantastic, and Ferrothorn can usually get down layers with health to spare. Spikes generally give Excadrill a much easier time sweeping, as it can then do so without a Swords Dance, for the most part. It alos racks up damage as my team forces switches with its defensive core. Leech Seed keeps Ferrothorn healthy, and is usually what I use when I know the opponent is switching something in. Many will slander me for my use of Gyro Ball AND Power Whip, but in honesty, I'm not going to run Explosion, Protect seems trivial to me unless ran with Wish, and these two make powerful STAB! EVs equalize the defenses before taking nature into account, although this might not be necessary with Sand Stream boosting it's Special Defence to nigh 500.
Jellicent
@ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Water Absorbs
EVs: 252 HP, 172 Def, 80 Speed
-Scald
-Toxic
-Taunt
-Recover
Well. I previously run Surf, Will-o-wisp, Protect, Recover, with Special Defense EVs and well... It failed miserably. I couldn't take any physical hits, I missed Toxic, and Will-o-Wisp's accuracy was as shaky and Scald's burn chance. So I went with this. Max HP, Physical Defense EVs, enough Speed to outspeed certain threats (though I forget what). Scald burns to help further remedy physical attacks. Toxic acts as a more reliable way to deal damage over time. It actually works very well in tandem with Taunt against bulky boosting sweepers and slower staller. Recover keeps me healthy, nuff said. Water Absorb give lots of switch in options. I may switch over some speed EVs to Defense or Special Defense once I recall what their purpose is.
Excadrill
@ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-Swords Dance
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
Alright. I want Adamant. I always lose the Excadrill speed ties anyways. EVs and items are obvious. Rapin Spin is needed to keep Volcarona alive. Swords Dance keeps me powerful, although I end up using it very seldomly. Earthquake is for the all-powerful STAB. Rock Slide's accuracy isn't as shaky as Stone Edge's, and can supply some VERY clutch flinches. Pretty standard set.
Volcarona
@ Leftovers
Nature: Modest
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Sp Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Feiry Dance
-Substitute
Standard boosting Volcarona. I'll come back to this later, but it's really standard. Only quarrel with me is Substitute. It helps in preventing Thunder Waves and Toxics, but otherwise has limited uses. I just really dont feel like/doubt my ability in breeding the HP I desire. Nonetheless, the insane Special Attack and STAB absolutely decimate most Pokemon. Swarm is far better than Flame Body. Sand Stream makes me need Leftovers, but thats quite alright with me. I like the sustainability it gives me, as though it effectively heals me, it keeps my health in that crucial Swarm range when it gets to that point.
Hydreigon
@ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Sp Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-U-turn
-Fire Blast
-Surf
-Draco Meteor
If anything, this is the weakest link. It doesn't do quite enough damage with Draco Meteor, although it's very standard. I think I'm going to change this to Modest, Timid just doesn't really help. I might try Choice Specs as well. I tried Life Orb and it just failed. But right now it holds the spot well enough. Suggestions would be very appreciated here.
Actually I have just exchanged this set for a Choice Specs set, courtesty of Awmgnoob...
Choice Specs
Modest
Draco Meteor
Dragon Pulse
Fire Blast
Surf
Analysis still pending.
Threats and Closing
And unfortunately I must part now. I will formalize any threats later (along with elaborate upon my offensive core), but the most prominent threats tend to be Gliscor, Breloom, Genosect (please ban?), Conkelcurr, and Reuniclus. Anyways, reviews would be appreciated, thank you for your time!
Simply put, I just got my hands on White version and there were a few new Pokemon I wished to experiment with. I didn't want to include any Dream World abilities, and still do not, for I plan on using this team on Wifi (naturally when the Dream World abilities are released, I will have no quarrel with them). I would still like to combat Dream World threats, however.
Weather, weather weather. That's all anyone really talks about this generation. I didn't exactly want to follow the path of rain or shine, and so I chose sand. Funny, because not many Pokemon abuse sand this generation. Nevertheless, this turned into a rather splendid team, which has peaked at #42, if I recall correctly, and currently sits and ~#50 with a 1200 rating.
At A Glance
Team Building Process
Well to begin, I had only two Pokemon in mind - Ferrothorn and Volcarona. Ferrothorn was an MVP even in my in-game team, and is extremely viable competitively. I was in love with Volcarona ever since I saw it's move set. It reminded me of Moltres immediately, but with access to an insane stat-boosting move and a godly STAB move.
For starters, I needed a spinner for Volcarona. Obviously. And a partner for Ferrothorn. Although many would see this as a prime example for Starmie, its frailty has ultimately brought it down this generation, in my opinion. Plus the fact that it falls miserably to Ferrothorn, arguably the #1 entry hazard distributer on the scene right, made me side against this choice. There aren't too many Rapid spinning options, in retrospect. No other spoke out to me... Except Excadrill. And so I decided to go with this unusual option. Now Excadrill desperately needs a sand-inducer. Many opt for Tyranitar and, although he still remains one of my favorite Pokemon, I find his ubiquitous weakness keep him out of a team too often. I decided to go with the only other option, Hippowdon, which ended up being an excellent choice, as it and Ferrothorn compliment eachother surprisingly well.
The next job was to round out the typings. Even with Ferrothorn, I was at a huge weakness to Water, and so I chose his predicted walling partner, Jellicent. At first I was unsure of this decision, as it could not hold its own very well with its somewhat poor BST, despite its spinblocking ability. But after a change to its moveset, Jellicent began to hold its own again.
Well, you don't think I got this team right on the first try, do you? At first I saw Reuniclus and Sigilyph and was tempted by their dark promises of invincibility due to Magic Guard. And so I tried each of them, with little avail.
These Pokemon were just not cutting it. Reuniclus was decent, but I could never set him up properly (Now I feel like I was just too new for the metagame then, but whatever). Plus I desperately needed a Ground-resist or -immunity. Sigilyph tried to remedy that, but proved far too frail without any Cosmic Power boosts, often fell victim to critical hits, and had few switch-in openings. But the real problem was my team's speed. Both of these options are far too slow. So I chose a Levitate user who had previously torn my team limb from limb - Hydreigon.
Analysis
Hippowdon
@ Leftovers
Nature: Impish
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp Def
-Earthquake
-Roar
-Stealth Rock
-Slack Off
This set is just fantastic, in my opinion. It sets up my all-desirable sand, and therefore usually acts as a lead. Stealth Rock because its the best move in the game, Roar is great for phasing the likes DD Tyranitar and Dragonite or SD Scizor and Garchomp, and can rack up a lot of damage if Hippowdon can take a beating from the opponent's team (which is quite often the case). Slack Off keeps me healthy, so I can spam Roar and stall with Sand Stream (it gets more KOs than one would think). To round out the set and prevent shut-downs from Taunt, I included Earthquake for some STAB. Although it may seem redundant due to Excadrill, a strong attacking move such as this is extremely useful. All its weakness, except Ice, are covered by Ferrothorn, and Hippowdon can likely sponge Fighting- and Fire-type moves and hit back with STAB Earthquake, healing off with Slack Off. The sand helps Excadrill and Ferrothorn a lot, as well. EVs are for maximum physical bulk, although I've been desiring some on the Special side lately - any suggestions are appreciated!
Ferrothorn
@ Leftovers
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP, 68 Def, 188 Sp Def
IVs: 0 Speed
-Gyro Ball
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Spikes
Ah, the metagame-defining Ferrothorn. What a kid. On my team he layers down spikes, resists sweepers form all sides of the spectrum, and gives the team some support. Spikes are just fantastic, and Ferrothorn can usually get down layers with health to spare. Spikes generally give Excadrill a much easier time sweeping, as it can then do so without a Swords Dance, for the most part. It alos racks up damage as my team forces switches with its defensive core. Leech Seed keeps Ferrothorn healthy, and is usually what I use when I know the opponent is switching something in. Many will slander me for my use of Gyro Ball AND Power Whip, but in honesty, I'm not going to run Explosion, Protect seems trivial to me unless ran with Wish, and these two make powerful STAB! EVs equalize the defenses before taking nature into account, although this might not be necessary with Sand Stream boosting it's Special Defence to nigh 500.
Jellicent
@ Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Water Absorbs
EVs: 252 HP, 172 Def, 80 Speed
-Scald
-Toxic
-Taunt
-Recover
Well. I previously run Surf, Will-o-wisp, Protect, Recover, with Special Defense EVs and well... It failed miserably. I couldn't take any physical hits, I missed Toxic, and Will-o-Wisp's accuracy was as shaky and Scald's burn chance. So I went with this. Max HP, Physical Defense EVs, enough Speed to outspeed certain threats (though I forget what). Scald burns to help further remedy physical attacks. Toxic acts as a more reliable way to deal damage over time. It actually works very well in tandem with Taunt against bulky boosting sweepers and slower staller. Recover keeps me healthy, nuff said. Water Absorb give lots of switch in options. I may switch over some speed EVs to Defense or Special Defense once I recall what their purpose is.
Excadrill
@ Life Orb
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Att, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-Swords Dance
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
Alright. I want Adamant. I always lose the Excadrill speed ties anyways. EVs and items are obvious. Rapin Spin is needed to keep Volcarona alive. Swords Dance keeps me powerful, although I end up using it very seldomly. Earthquake is for the all-powerful STAB. Rock Slide's accuracy isn't as shaky as Stone Edge's, and can supply some VERY clutch flinches. Pretty standard set.
Volcarona
@ Leftovers
Nature: Modest
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Sp Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Feiry Dance
-Substitute
Standard boosting Volcarona. I'll come back to this later, but it's really standard. Only quarrel with me is Substitute. It helps in preventing Thunder Waves and Toxics, but otherwise has limited uses. I just really dont feel like/doubt my ability in breeding the HP I desire. Nonetheless, the insane Special Attack and STAB absolutely decimate most Pokemon. Swarm is far better than Flame Body. Sand Stream makes me need Leftovers, but thats quite alright with me. I like the sustainability it gives me, as though it effectively heals me, it keeps my health in that crucial Swarm range when it gets to that point.
Hydreigon
@ Choice Scarf
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Sp Attack, 252 Speed, 4 HP
-U-turn
-Fire Blast
-Surf
-Draco Meteor
If anything, this is the weakest link. It doesn't do quite enough damage with Draco Meteor, although it's very standard. I think I'm going to change this to Modest, Timid just doesn't really help. I might try Choice Specs as well. I tried Life Orb and it just failed. But right now it holds the spot well enough. Suggestions would be very appreciated here.
Actually I have just exchanged this set for a Choice Specs set, courtesty of Awmgnoob...
Choice Specs
Modest
Draco Meteor
Dragon Pulse
Fire Blast
Surf
Analysis still pending.
Threats and Closing
And unfortunately I must part now. I will formalize any threats later (along with elaborate upon my offensive core), but the most prominent threats tend to be Gliscor, Breloom, Genosect (please ban?), Conkelcurr, and Reuniclus. Anyways, reviews would be appreciated, thank you for your time!
