Felina: All Hail The King

[Pat Labor]

FELINA

​

Hello Smogon, the 6th gen is released and the Smogon Tour is now over for me, so I've decided to share my hailteam and explain how much I enjoyed to play it.
I made this team after reading an article about Keldeo in the Smog; « while hail generally requires a bulky Water-type instead of an offensive one such as Keldeo". What about using both?

------

Heisenberg / Abomasnow
Snow Warning / Leftovers / Adamant
200 HP / 252 Atk / 56 Spd

[Ice Shard] [Wood Hammer]
[Earthquake] [Protect]

"Well, goodbye"
​

In a metagame dominated by dragons and rains, Abomasnow is an excellent Pokémon.

Defensively, Abomasnow is my only "safe" switch-in for Starmie, Rotom-W and Thundurus-T. Thanks GF, its Ice Shard makes him my first revenge killer before Jirachi. It scaresout Landorus, Garchomp, etc... Snow warning is just an extra to annoy opponents, the team isn't reliant on weahter.
Offensively, Abomasnow can deal some good damages against a team without Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Kyurem(-B) or Volcarona, and it also acts as a good lure for Heatran.

Nature & Evs
I maximized attack in order to Revenge Kill more effectively, while the speed investment lets Abomasnow outspeed Jellicent, Politoed and Tyranitar without speed investment.

Hank / Gliscor
Poison Heal / Toxik Orb / Impish
244 HP / 40 Def / 224 Spd

[Taunt] [Stealth Rock]
[Earthquake] [Ice Fang]

"My name is ASAC Schrader, and you can go fuck yourself"​

In a team with Volcarona, I must have a solution to check Terrakion and Dragonite. In the first version of the team, I had Landorus-T in this spot. What Gliscor has over Landorus-T is Taunt to prevent the use of EH and the ability to recover 6% of his health per turn, which is a good thing in hail.

Gliscor is my primary physical wall. It can handle Volcarona's counters such as Garchomp, Dragonite or Landorus-t and retaliate with ice fang. Taunt prevents the use of every entry hazards but also recovery moves, making Gliscor able to pull its weight when facing Stall.
Its excellent synergy with Starmie and Keldeo allows me to go with a defensive strategy based on spin and status (Starmie) or a more offensive way with Keldeo. I will also mention that I usually lead with Gliscor.

Nature & Evs
The spread is classic.

Jesse / Keldeo
Justified / Choice Spec / Timid
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spd

[Hydro Pump] [Surf]
[Secred Sword] [HP Ghost]

"I'm a blow fish. A blow fish! I'M A BLOWFISH! BLOWFISH! YEEEAAAH! BLOW FISHIN' THIS UP!​

When we talk about Keldeo, we always talk about how this Pokémon is an offensive behemoth, but I'd really like to emphasize his amazing dual-type, especially in hail.

Keldeo is a good answer to Tyranitar, Scizor and Fire-typed Pokémon, which shows how much of a good partner Keldeo is for Abomasnow. It's not only a good partner to the cook, it also has the ability to blast off really powerful Hydro Pump, especially by abusing double switchs to keep the pressure. Without too much thinking, Hydro Pump destroys (almost) everything.
His ability to weaken water- and dragon-typed Pokémon is a good thing for Volcarona. Overall, Keldeo is realy useful on the defensive side, it's my only check to Volcarona (only Giga Drain less variants tho). You must be always on your guard to avoid a Volcarona sweep.
I chose the choice spec set for two good reasons: the hit&run factor and the instant raw-power (the spec set is better than the scarf of CM one in these regards). Surf is here for safety, and HP Ghost is used to hit both Celebi and Jellicent.

Nature & EVs.
It's unthinkable to play Keldeo whitout a 252/252 spread.

Gus / Volcarona
Flame Body / Leftovers / Modest
160 HP / 232 Def / 116 Spd

[Quiver Dance] [Roost]
[Fire Blast] [Bug Buzz]

"If you try to interfere, this becomes a much simpler matter. I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter."​

I needed a Pokémon to complete the WGF core, and if possible a check to Breloom and Keldeo's counters that can also beat Abomasnow. Volcarona fills all these roles.

All Volcarona's counters are in even bigger trouble under Hail, such as Terrakion (which doesn't have the special defense boost anymore) or Heatran unable to regain his HP with leftovers.
During a long time I was hesitating between HP Ground, Giga Drain and Roost. Finally, I chose Roost for many reasons; it allows me to play around Scizor and Breloom on the long run (thanks to Roost), trying to grab a Flame Body Burn there and there, it also allows me to set-up even more easily. On top of that, Volcarona is a huge threat to Sun teams, and thus is a help against them.

Nature & EVs
Volcarona can outspeed 130BS at +1 and scarfed 110BS at +2. The EVs in HP allow Volcarona to set-up some QD against Thundurus-t Double Booster and Jolteon (Thunderbolt does 60% at +0). The defense investments helpful against Scizor and Breloom, and it also even lets Volcarona take an OrberChomp's Outrage, or a Gyarados Waterfall at +0. The modest nature makes sure Volcarona does not get walled by Hippodown. At +1 Keldeo, Terrakion, Rotom-W, Politoed, Hippowdon are all 2HKOed with the appropriated move.

Skyler / Starmie
Natural Cure / Leftovers / Calm
248 HP / 32 Def / 148 SpD / 80 Spd

[Recover] [Rapid Spin]
[Scald] [Toxik]

"I fucked Ted"​

The SR weakness kind of forces to play with a spinner. At first I chose Tentacruel for his Toxik spikes, greatly appreciated by KeldeoCM. But since I switched to a specs set, there was no reason to use a bulky Pokémon without a recovery move under Hail. This is why Starmie took the spot.

The team has to be played really differently, wither or not the Entry Hazards are on the field. Starmie is here to spin these shit away. It's basically kind of a win condition. The team plays a lot around switchs and double-switchs. Without the possibility to spin, SR damages would add up too quickly.
Starmie is my go-to check for Keldeo, and a reliable tool in order to get weaken/kill Jellicent, the best Keldeo/Volcarona counter. It will at least be crippled by Toxik.
Additionally, it helps to check water pokemons so I don't have to rely on Abomasnow too much. Starmie is also an excellent answer to RainStall by itself and thus allows me to plays against them much easier.
Last but not least, Starmie is able to lay some burns thanks to Scald. If you add Fire Blast, Flame Body and Fire Punch (Serene Grace) to the mix, burn damages happen on a regular basis, supporting Hail's residual damages.
About the set, Toxik could seem weird on Starmie, but it's incredibly useful to cripple Rotom-W, Gastrodon, Keldeo, Kyurem(-black), Latias, as they are greatly hindered by a status like Toxik (or even a burn from Scald), but it's mostly there to get past defensive Jellicent.

Nature & EVs
The first part of the EV spread is pretty obvious. The Speed EVs allow my Starmie to outspeed Rotom-W, Mamoswine, and Adamant Landorus. The remaining EVs are invested in Special Defense to withstand Keldeo better (3HKO'd by HP Elec coming from a Scarf version), Politoed Specs, Heatran, Jellicent's Shadow Ball, or even Rotom-W (44-56% from the bulky variant's Volt-Switch).

Goodman / Jirachi
Serene Grace / Choice Scarf / Adamant
252 Atk / 140 SpD / 116 Spd

[Iron Head] [U-turn]
[Zen Headbutt] [Fire Punch]

"Seriously, when the going gets tough, you don't want a criminal lawyer... You want a criminal lawyer."
​

Scarfrachi is always a pain in the ass for anyone. At first in this spot, I had ScarfZor. His U-turn more effective, but on the defensive side, it's not the same story. Being OHKOd by Latios on DM + SR is pretty bad, especially when it's the only Steel member of your team. Jirachi also has a flying resistance, especially useful considering it's a weakness Aboma/Volc and Keldeo share.

On the defensive side, Jirachi can be a check to Lati@s, Gengar, Tornadus, and even Keldeo. On the offensive side, Jirachi is always ready to reverse a hopeless game. U-turn and his synergy with Keldeo helps to keep the momentum without giving up any pressure on my opponent.
I tried to play Thunder Punch over Zen Heabutt for Gyarados, but Zen headbutt helps to deal with Tentacruel, Thundurus-t, Keldeo, etc (I will also note that it's my primary stab as I find myself using it even more than Iron Head)..
Falco...oops Fire Punch is here at first to catch a steel on the switch, but it also offers neat coverage and a decent chance to burn.

Nature & EVs
This EV spread reaches 398 speed, there is nothing else higher that I really need to hit, bar irrelevant speedties. I really want to retain the bulkiness instead, and the Adamant nature allows Jirachi to nab some crucial OHKO/2HKO (Gengar, Scizor SD, Latios, among others). The remaining EVs are invested into Special Defense, Jirachi doesn't take physical hits too often, and it particularly helps against Latios Spec.



Major threats:
Dragonite: Narnar in his bulky variant, can be troublesome. SR is the best way to deal with it.
Gyarados: if he is a bit lucky, Gyarados shatters the team in pieces. Abomasnow can be a good answer if it doesn't have Stone Edge or Taunt. Jirachi deals 40% with Zen Headbutt. That's about it...
Kyurem-Black: it has no counter, right? Jirachi is my answer if Kyurem-Black is not played with substitute or a choice scarf. Volcarona can set-up on a specially-based kyurem. Other sets are poorly handled by the team.
Volcarona: if it is played with Giga Drain or Hurricane, I'm in the shit. Keeping Keldeo at full hearth is my top priority after setting up SR. Jirachi can also outspeed at +1 if he is not full speed...
Jolteon / Zapdos: their coverage moves wreck the team. In the worst case scenario, Volcarona can set-up some QD to beat them.
Sun Teams: without Heatran or dragon-typed Pokémon, it's a fact, there are huge threats. More than Venusaur, their fire-typed Pokémons are the big issues. Once again, SR is the best way to deal with them.

Thankfully, all threats have a SR weakness, which is why I can play around them. Unfortunately, I don't have a spinblocker and they are most of the time paired with a spinner.

Last words:
I hope you have taken the same pleasure reading and playing this team as I did while spamming Hydro Pump. Good luck for the 6th gen.

:hank:

Credits:
Reymedy is a scrub. Oh and McMeghan for helping with the translation.

"Thank you, guys."​

 

[Zephir]

RMT Archive worthy
Calm starmie > new meta

 

[fleurdyleurse]

Great team, although not all sun threats are weak to SR.

 

[Qualna]

Good thing that Tailwind Tornadus is very rare, I don't see how will you win against a team with it. Well, SR is the best way to deal as Tornadus tends to switch a lot, but that's not enough.

But really, this is a nice solid OU team.

 

[Electrolyte]

Hey there, cool team!

This team is pretty solid, so there isn't much that needs to be touched up upon. Ironically, you're quite weak to Keldeo- and standard Rain archetypes in general- as Starmie is the only one that can tank consecutive Hydro Pumps / Secret Swords. Offensively, you're missing out on ways to break past standard defensive cores, mainly RainFerroCent, whom can easily wear out Starmie and then batter your team with Keldeo or any other types of Water-type offense. It's not that you lack answers and defenses towards those common types of offense, it's that your checks really have no way of actually defeating the Pokemon you are using them to counter.

I'm going to start off by suggesting that you use Psychic instead of Toxic on Starmie. The only thing Toxic really hits is Jellicent, who is kind of a defensive block to this team but shouldn't exactly be countered by Toxic anyway. Psychic helps Starmie hit things like Tentacruel and Keldeo, at least providing you with a way to dent them before they flee to a teammate or muscle past you.

On Keldeo, I suggest you use Hidden Power Electric instead of Hidden Power Ghost because you keep your ability to hit Jellicent but also gain a useful attack to hit Tentacruel, Gyarados, and other Water-types much harder than Hidden Power Ghost does. HP Ghost does hit Celebi as you've mentioned but Celebi isn't that much of a threat to this team; Volcarona sets up on it easily and constant offensive pressure from U-Turn Jirachi should definitely keep it at bay. Instead, Keldeo should focus on aiding Starmie offensively against Rain.

One thing you can do to really help your team is make Abomasnow mixed, in my opinion. I don't really see Protect doing more to help your team than Hidden Power Fire, which will let Abomasnow serve not only as a way to check Rain but also to tear apart its defensive infrastructure by smacking Jellicent / Tentacruel / Ferrothorn / Forretress / Skarmory hard with super-effective moves. With this change, a spread of 252 Atk / 172 SpA / 84 Spe Lonely with should suffice. You keep your max Attack to hit Dragons, Politoed, and Tyranitar as hard as possible, and enough SpA power to OHKO Scizor and 2HKO Ferrothorn under Hail, all while still outspeeding Politoed and Skarmory to hit them with the respective moves. I feel as if you can also afford to try Expert Belt on Abomasnow now that Keldeo and Starmie are more suited to helping sponge and reply back at Rain, and the extra offensive power will definitely be helpful. (For example, EBelt lets you OHKO Garchomp and 2HKO Lati@s after Hail. It also guarantees OHKO against Landorus in Hail and lets you OHKO Tyranitar and Ninetales after Stealth Rock. The list goes on.)

With these changes, you're definitely a lot more ready to take on Rain and other common threats of the metagame. Good luck!

 

[Pat Labor]

Cosmic: it's a general note which applies to the other threats too, not just the Sun one.

@Qualnas: It's a good point, Tornadus is able to deal heavy damages to the team, but Jirachi is always a good check. Starmie scares off Tornadus (everyone assume they are played Timid and not Calm like I do (on the other hand, they will notice it if Hail is on the field)) and the star can take one Hurricane. Also, Abomasnow is able to revenge kill it if needed.

Electrolyte: First of all, HP Ghost is an excellent move against most semi-stall team that uses the classic Jellicent/Latias(/Starmie/Celebi) core.
Secondly, HP Electrik is just an open invitation to Latias and Celebi, while HP Ghost can be a threat to them as they are 2HKO'd with SR and Hail damages.
Moreover, if my opponent notices that I play HP Electrik at some point, it will mean Celebi and Latias have a free switch-in opportunity on Keldeo, which ease their way to get the momentum back (they still check the HP Ghost variant but I will at least have a way to weaken them pretty hard and force them to think twice before switching in, hell, this will also force them to Recover if they switch on it). Not even mentionning the fact that if they possess Thunder-Wave, I can't even properly play around them with Jirachi/Volcarona.
Thirdly, Gyarados doesn't like to switch on SpecKeldeo, especially if SR are up, and I have a good chance to be able to RK them with Jirachi if they do.
Moreover a good player would play safety and wait to set up his Gyarados after a K.O (i.e: not on an unknown Hidden Power). Oh, and at +1, HP Eleck or not, Keldeo is outsped and OHKO'd.
In my experiences, HP Eleck is an inferior choice to HP Ghost.

Fourthly, I never said steel-typed Pokémon are an issue. And I never had trouble to deal with rainstalls (Starmie isn't named Skyler for nothing, it's a real bitch).
HP Fire is a good option, but Ferrothorn isn't OHKO'd and in return OHKO Abomasnow, Skarmory is always played with some EVs in speed to outspeed CBtar and once again Abomasnow will be OHKO'd. I don't really mind about Scizor and Forretress because they aren't threatening at all for the team.
On the other hand, Protect helps a lot to scout choiced Pokémon (like Keldeo or Scizor), and make able to get some extra damages with hail, as well as some recovery with the leftovers. Also, it makes Abomasnow able to avoid Gyarados Bounces to deal with it pretty well.
In fact, the EB-set really reduces Abomasnow's bulkyness, and it increases the Gyarados weakness, the same weakness you wanted to solve... Zzzz

Thank you for your rate Electrolyte.