The Team
Mienshao (Kung-Fu) (F) @ Rock Gem
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Rock Slide
- Wide Guard/Acrobatics
Standard Mienshao lead, outspeeds all fake out users except Liepard (which I haven't seen at all since early April, so that's of no concern). With his fake out, partner Carracosta is always guaranteed one Shell Smash, and thus my sweep begins. Drain Punch is a reliable STAB, Rock Slide is just a plain good move (and completes a fast, annoying double rock slide lead), and Wide Guard is much more useful than protect when it comes to blocking rock slides and heat waves. Female to avoid female Attract Whimsicott.
In the face of fellow Mienshao leads, I have Carracosta protect to avoid Sturdy being broken while Mien fires off a Rock Slide, to gurantee that he at least softens up one of the opponent's leads. It works pretty well, and since he leaves himself open, it may mean that he gets knocked out. He's really only useful for turn 1; the quicker he dies after faking out, the better, because that means I can send better support in sooner.
I gave him Rock Gem so he can die quicker, have a more powerful Rock Slide, and so that Chandelure gets the focus sash. Testing proves gem to be the better item on him. Also comtemplated if Acrobatics would be viable; it catches people off-guard, and may be more useful than Wide Gurard, idk.
Carracosta (Turtles) (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Shell Smash
- Aqua Jet
- Rock Slide
- Protect
The focus of the team, and arguably one of the most powerful things I've ever used. With just one shell smash, he outspeeds max speed Whimsicott, and has an attack stat higher than Adamant max Atk Haxorus, and arguably one of the (if not the most) powerful STAB Rock Slides in the metagame. Aqua Jet is for emergencies, like tailwind or if I see the opportunity to go for a quick KO. Mental Herb completes the set, making sure lead Whimsicott never encores him into submission. The reason I chose to use him as a lead is because, well, that's where I feel he's more effective. You see, pokes in the 3rd and 4th slots cycle out at random, depending on what one needs to have on the field right away. This means a fake out user in the back could use up their fake out before he comes out, or he could lose his Sturdy before proper support comes out, thus hampering the strategy. Besides, so many leads are weak to his STAB combo. If you feel he would work better as back-up, feel free to comment.
Now, what if I run into a Tailwind lead, thus negating the usefulness of his speed boost? I never fake out the Tailwind user so they can set up turn 1 (the quicker Mien dies the better), while Costa sets up on the first turn. Then Costa protects, while Mien does not and hopefully dies off quickly. This way I can send in one of two things for a counter: Amoonguss with Rage Powder so Costa can attack or set up another smash, or Tornadus with a priority Tailwind, so Costa now outspeeds their entire team :naughty:.
Terrakion (Big Brown) @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Def
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Quick Attack
- Protect
I realize that focus sash Terrakion is more popular at this stage in the metagame (and for good reason), but the classic still holds up rather well. Great power output, Quick Attack for emergencies, and with Carracosta, forms a duo of powerful Rock Sliders that is rather difficult to stop. Jolly Terrakion and Shell Smash Carracosta outspeed a very large portion of the metagame, and are able to score numerous flinches (should Rock Slide not miss...). However, if one feels that he would be better off with a focus sash for longetivity's sake, feel free to comment, but keep in mind that Chandelure already has a sash.
Tornadus (Genie) (M) @ Flight Gem
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 Def
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
- Acrobatics
- Taunt
- Protect
- Tailwind
Usually used as back-up, and a damn good back-up mon does he make. A Thundurus used to be in his place, but its HP Flying lacked the power to stop the fighting-types that threaten Carracosta, so I went to Tornadus. Taunt because he's already an effective sweeper with one move, and it stops many whimsicott, trick room, and priority thunder wave from Thundurus.
Tailwind is very important. If the opponent already has tailwind up, he comes in after Mienshao falls, and sets it up as Carracosta protects. Then on the next turn, Carracosta goes and destroys. The wind also benefits pretty much every other member of the team (even Chandelure if I go Mein/Costa/Tornadus/Chandelure). At this point in the metagame, things like Tailwind or Trick Room are used as back-up instead of leads, making it less predictable and having the power to turn a match on its head. This set is a very fine example of that.
Amoonguss (Derp) (F) @ Coba Berry
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 244 HP/252 Def/12 SpD
Nature: Sassy (+SpD, -Spe)
- Rage Powder
- Giga Drain
- Spore
- Protect
Exact same set that I used in my old Trick Room team. I must say, I am very surprised at how well he functions even without moving first. Rage Powder is a life saver for many (especially Costa), being able to draw in resisted Mach Punches for little damage or Sucker Punches for no damage at all! With the given EVs, nature, and item, he can take a STAB Flight Gem-boosted Acrobatics from Tornadus with a little more than a third of his health intact, and counter back with Spore. Also, Giga Drain does upwards of 54% on 4/0 Terrakion.
I usually have him in back when I sense Trick Room in the team preview, since he outspeeds a good portion of popular TR pokes. Would it be more helpful if his Spe IV was 0? I would like to know.
Chandelure (CandleJack) (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 Spe/252 SpA/4 HP
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Trick Room
- Imprison
I was thinking about whether he should have the focus sash instead of the ghost gem before I came back to fix this, so I gave it the sash and changed the EVs. This set has been tested, and it works rather well when put in use.
All that aside, the set is pretty self-explanatory. If I sense TR in the team preview, he gets a spot no matter what. Timid + max speed allows him to shut down opposing Chandelure and outspeed Adamant Krookodile. To be honest, I haven't had a whole lot of use for him so far. But now that he can survive more than one attack, thus having the freedom to do more things, it seems that I can effectively have either TR or Tailwind as a back-up strategy. Interesting...
Conclusion
Although Carracosta is the focal point of the strategy, the team can still function very well after he's gone. This team is very versatile and has a rather impressive win streak. Well, had is more like it. In the past few days, my ratio of wins to losses has been very 50:50-ish, instead of what it used to be. To be honest, though, a good portion of the losses are from the opponent "avoiding Rock Slide". Regardless, this tells me that there are some improvements that I can make, and I came back here to find out. Any criticism is appreciated
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