.: Introduction :.
Hi all! I'm posting a new but nonetheless fairly successful team of mine. Since I've started using it, I've reached a CRE of 1340 within the first few hours, with only two losses (and I must say there was considerable hax involved in said losses). That said, I would appreciate fixes as it's definitely not perfect.
The team is based around an offensive core of Swords Dance Lucario and Choice Specs Latios. As well as covering each other's weaknesses, they excel in destroying the other Pokemon's counters and being all-round powerhouses. The rest of the team is built around supplying Paralysis support, and preventing powerhouses such as Garchomp and Thundurus from setting up a sweep.
I'll get on with the team.
.: Team :.
Thundurus @ Leftovers
[4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe]
Timid Nature
Prankster
~Thunder Wave
~Volt Switch
~Focus Blast
~Hidden Power [Ice]
I generally lead with Thundurus, because of his tendency to inflict big damage and abuse Prankster to paralyse everything in sight. Thundurus is the most expendable member of the team, and often I will sacrifice him to paralyse that one opposing Terrakion or Heatran. Because of Lucario's quite poor Speed, I like to paralyse as much as possible before bringing him out, and Thundurus is the most efficient Pokemon at doing so. I opt for Volt Switch over Thunderbolt to help obtain or retain momentum, but at this stage my mind isn't made up; the obvious power difference shows frequently. Focus Blast and HP Ice round out the set that you all know and love to hate. This Pokemon is a dead end to many attempted sweeps, and for that he is invaluable.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers
[252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD]
Impish Nature
Sand Stream
~Stealth Rock
~Earthquake
~Slack Off
~Roar
Hippowdon sets up the all-important Sandstorm that helps keep Rain teams in check, and is also a great setter of Stealth Rock. It's also a fantastic physical wall when Skarmory isn't fit for the job, and does a great job of stopping Excadrill. Stealth Rock is fairly vital for my team, as my aim is to weaken as many Pokemon as possible before puncturing holes in the opponent's defenses with my two offensive Pokemon. Sandstorm is also valuable for my team as it can often bring offensive Pokemon into ExtremeSpeed kill range after a few turns of passively weakening them. Slack Off is as useful as ever, if Hippowdon ever gets and opportunity to use it, and Roar can postpone a Swords Dance Garchomp sweep, among other uses. I've EVd Hippowdon to make it as bulky as hell physically, whilst still being able to take some neutral punishment from the special side.
Skarmory @ Leftovers
[252 HP / 16 Atk / 232 Def / 8 Spe]
Impish Nature
Sturdy
~Spikes
~Brave Bird
~Roost
~Whirlwind
Kinda does the same job as Hippowdon, just with different typing. One half of the infamous SkarmChans, and my primary stop against Garchomp. Skarmory does a fantastic job of laying Spikes, which are pretty valuable to my team. Brave Bird can put the hurt on Conkeldurr, which can be quite threatening to my team, and Roost keeps Skarm healthy. Whirlwind is, well, Roar. You know that. I've put 16 Attack EVs onto Skarm to help against things such as defensive Abomasnow, which can be really annoying. 8 Speed is to outrun 4 Speed Skarmory to the Whirlwind.
Chansey @ Eviolite
[208 HP / 252 Def / 48 SpD]
Bold Nature
Natural Cure
~Seismic Toss
~Thunder Wave
~Aromatherapy
~Softboiled
Goddamn is this thing bulky. It can take +2 Earthquakes from Excadrill. Aside from being a great physical wall, it is a dead halt to juuuuust about every single special attacker there is. Chansey complements Skarmory perfectly, and provides paralysis support for the rest of my team. Seismic Toss is so it can do mediocre amounts of damage, and Softboiled keeps it healthy. With Aromatherapy, Chansey makes an excellent cleric. There truly isn't much to say about Chansey, it does its job better than any other Pokemon. I use it over Blissey because it makes for a better physical wall; it doesn't just up and die to any relatively strong physical attack, in which I can take the opportunity to paralyse the offender.
Latios @ Choice Specs
[4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe]
Timid Nature
Levitate
~Draco Meteor
~Surf
~Thunderbolt
~Trick
One half of my offensive core, Latios punches holes in Pokemon that can give Lucario issues. Pokemon such as Gliscor and Slowbro can't stand up to powerful Draco Meteors. Most of the time I will just rape the Draco Meteor button, but the other moves can be useful if I want to preserve my Special Attack. Trick can take out a Ferrothorn or, even better, a Chansey. The Nature and EVs are standard for a Pokemon such as Latios.
Lucario @ Life Orb
[80 HP / 252 Atk / 176 Spe]
Adamant Nature
Steadfast
~Swords Dance
~Close Combat
~Crunch
~ExtremeSpeed
Lucario is a massively underrated sweeper and revenge killer in the 5th Generation environment. With paralysis support, he can easily set up a Swords Dance and finish teams. He pairs extremely well with Latios, and can take down Pokemon like Chansey and Ferrothorn that Latios may struggle to remove. After the opponent's team has been sufficiently weakened, I can get Lucario in on a Ferrothorn or Forretress and proceed to wreak havoc. Crunch is so I'm not walled by Jellicent and I can have a good option to use against Reuniclus, but most of the time I'll be using Close Combat and ESpeed. The EVs and Nature are standard for a slowish sweeper like Lucario.
.: Conclusion :.
Well, that's my team. I apologise about the short descriptions, I'm quite pressed for time... If you want me to write longer paragraphs, just say so and I will obey. Feel free to criticise and fix, any help is appreciated. Thank you.
