Gen 4 Eagle

[Jirachee]

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Even though Tour isn't over already I want to post this team because people have started stealing it. I also really like this team so I want to share it with everyone. I built it somewhere around February and since then it has p much been my main DPP team. Also, I kinda wanna break the ice with the revival of the Past Gen Teams forum ;]

The team itself is pretty standard, but it features two extremely underrated sets in the current metagame, lead Smeargle and Choice Specs Rotom. The first is widely considered to be extremely hit or miss which is something I've never really felt, and I used that team for a lot of battles. The latter is simply left aside for other variants (particularly Scarf) or Zapdos. I find it to be extremely hard to switch into especially with hazards up and obviously, Rotom's Ghost typing ensures Rapid Spin doesn't ruin that. The rest of the team simply takes advantage of the early momentum.

In the beginning I had a slightly different version of this team. Scizor and Rotom had their items inverted (Choice Band Scizor obv.) but I made the switch to be able to pound Suicune with boosted Thunderbolts and really the team was more effective, even without an opposing Suicune. I also switched around Tyranitar's coverage a few times but I believe this is the best, as Shuca Berry came in handy many times.

A closer look:

Smeargle @ Focus Sash *** LION
Ability: Own Tempo
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Spore: Smeargle's most useful move, and what sets it apart from most other leads. Useful for getting set up opportunities, and getting Sleep + Hazards early can be a killer.
- Stealth Rock: Best move in the game. On Smeargle because I don't want to use 2 Pokemon slots on hazards and what else is Smeargle going to run?
- Spikes: Second layer. Kills Stalls and Balances.
- U-turn: Evades Taunt and breaks Focus Sashes.

Smeargle is what I built my team around and I have to say I'm always impressed with how good it is as a lead. It has a couple of terrible match ups (Roserade...) but for the most part it'll be able to at least get out Sleep + Stealth Rock which is acceptable. It truly shines when it faces a slower lead though, as then you can often get both Stealth Rock and Spikes and kill bulky teams right from turn 1 if you play your spinblocker well. U-turn doesn't come into play often but it can be used against Taunt leads (like Aero and Azelf) so you can evade it, break their Sash, and scare them away with Scizor. You could honestly run everything in that slot from Explosion to Toxic Spikes but the truth is you'll never really need more than your first 3 moves and U-turn reduces the amount of bad match ups Smeargle has.

Lead Match-Up:

click here

Amazing match ups:

These leads usually allow me to get all of Sleep, Stealth Rock, and Spikes. Forretress is pretty much the absolute best match up if it doesn't get lucky with Sleep turns as incapacitating their spinner is just gold. Some of them also carry hazards which makes it a great advantage. Slow leads in general as pretty nice to face.
Good match ups:

(some

)

These leads reliably give me Sleep as well as Stealth Rock and sometimes Spikes, if I outplay the opponent. I put Hippowdon in there because Sand Stream will break Focus Sash. Machamp almost always has Focus Sash now so I can Spore it. I put some Gyarados because it's not an issue if Adamant, but Jolly could be quite troublesome. Most attacking leads that rely on strong attack + priority fit in that category.
Neutral (trade):

These leads either limit me to Stealth Rock (ie Metagross or Heatran) or are just somewhat risky to play and could go either way. I also put U-turn leads in there because it depends on the opponent's entire team rather than just the lead. I can sometimes get both SR and Sleep on those leads too (pretty often actually).
Bad match ups:

Taunt leads are annoying, obviously. It's kind of a mind game from turn 1 with U-turn and Spore. All of them are owned by Scizor so that gives me a good counterplay to them. Choice Band Azelf is annoying.
Terrible match ups:

Fuck these Pokémon

Rotom-W @ Choice Specs *** DEMON
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Thunderbolt: STAB move. Very hard to switch into if hazards are up or if the opponent doesn't have a Ground type.
- Shadow Ball: Second STAB, has excellent coverage with Thunderbolt.
- Hydro Pump: The reason to use Rotom-W over the other formes, it hits a lot of common switch ins, such as Tyranitar, Heatran, and Ground types.
- Trick: Ruins Stall.

As I said before I think this set is really underrated because boy, does it hit hard. It's not easy to switch into it without a Blissey or something because of its great coverage, and even that can get seriously ruined by Trick. The reason I have this set over the Choice Scarf set is mainly because if you invert Rotom's and Scizor's sets, you become a lot weaker to Starmie and Suicune. As far as spinblocking goes, you obviously do worse against Starmie, but the extra power is very useful against Forretress, a spinner you cannot Pursuit. Other than that, Rotom's main purpose is to break down stuff early game and offer an initial switch in to stuff like Leftovers Zapdos. It can also switch into annoying stuff like Swampert that can really annoy the team with Roar.

Scizor @ Choice Scarf *** MOON
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- U-turn: Takes advantage of Hazards, scouts the opponent's team, hits hard, etc.
- Pursuit: Traps Gengar and Starmie.
- Superpower: Strongest attack, also hits Steel types and revenges stuff like Lucario.
- Bullet Punch: Allows me to pick off really weakened Speed boosters.

MVP right here. Scarf Scizor is awesome because the fast STAB U-turn goes well with SR + Spikes. It can really steal the momentum from bulky offense teams who use Psychic types like Celebi or Starmie. It's also a pretty safe way to bring in my sweepers late game which can solidify a win condition. A scarfer is pretty necessary on offensive teams otherwise you're just gonna get run over by some threats (ie DD Tyranitar) and thankfully Scizor is able to handle those pretty easily. I have other versions of this team where Jirachi is the Scarf and honestly it can't do the job as well as Scizor. The STAB U-turn really is that amazing.

Gyarados @ Leftovers *** SNAKE
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
- Waterfall: Generic STAB attack.
- Stone Edge: Good coverage option, hits stuff like Dragonite and Zapdos.
- Earthquake: Kills Steel types that could take a hit and kill back (Jirachi and Magnezone) as well as a general neutral hit on stuff like Starmie
- Dragon Dance: Turns Gyarados into the single most dangerous Pokémon in the metagame in just 1 turn.

Gyarados has pretty interesting synergy with Tyranitar and Intimidate is awesome for offensive teams. Most weak Physical threats can be set up on because of it, and it's pretty rare that Gyarados sets up and doesn't do some kind of damage. Being able to set up on Grounds is pretty important for this team as my two other sweepers don't really like them, and I need something that can pivot in as I break them before I can sweep. I decided to go for the 3 Attacks set rather than Taunt + DD because Gyarados isn't really supposed to go for sweeps by itself, but rather set up a sweep for something else on the team. Anyway, once Starmie has been (hopefully) removed or weakened, Gyarados just comes in and wrecks.

Jirachi @ Leftovers *** MANJI
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Psychic: Solid neutral coverage, strongest STAB. Much better than shitty Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt: Hits Skarmory as well as Water types that could try to 1v1 you (Suicune, Starmie)
- Hidden Power [Ground]: Kills Heatran as well as a few Steel types, can also pick off weakened Tyranitars.
- Calm Mind: Boosts on weak Special attackers and makes Jirachi one of the best sweepers out there.

I know most people like to go either full Physical or Special on HO teams like this but I think Superachi has pretty nice synergy with Gyarados and Tyranitar, while also taking advantage of the physical walls they will lure in. A lot of people rely on Grounds to handle Jirachi and Tyranitar but unfortunately for them it's hard to handle both when +1 Psychic does so much and Tyranitar holds a Shuca Berry. I decided to go TBolt + HP Ground rather than GK + HP Fire simply because being walled by Heatran blows when one of your answers is SR weak and then other really hates being worn down (and fucking Will-O-Wisp.) Also I just think it's the superior coverage in general.

Tyranitar @ Shuca Berry *** DRAGON
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
- Stone Edge: Tyranitar's strongest attack. When boosted, it kills nearly everything that doesn't resist it.
- Earthquake: Hits Steel types for big damage, and gives a good coverage move in general.
- Ice Punch: Amazing with Shuca. Nails Flygon, Gliscor, and Breloom.
- Dragon Dance: Boosts Tyranitar's Speed above nearly every unboosted Pokemon and makes it very strong.

The one and only. The boss, the god himself. Dragon Dance Tyranitar is able to sweep so many teams late game it's ridiculous. The huge Special Defense also really helps against just about every Special attacker in the tier. I decided to go with the Shuca variant simply because Scarf Flygon being bait killed is amazing for this team, especially if it's ThunderPunch Flygon. I don't like Babiri + Fire Punch as much because Gyarados can set up on Scizor and literally more than half my team resists Steel. Lum is the only other item I'd use to help setting up against Rotom and stuff like Thunder Wave Blissey. Once things like Pert have been worn down by Spikes + CM Jirachi, this thing can go to town. I tend to keep it as my last unrevealed Pokemon because of its late game potential.

Team synergy:
Here is my view on how the team works:

1) Hazards core:

The interaction between these 3 Pokemon is what started the team. Basically, Smeargle's ability to quickly lay down multiple hazards makes it a viable option to run an offensive Spinblocker and a fast Pursuit user. If Smeargle happens to face a faster Taunt lead, you can simply U-turn out of them and beat them with Scizor. Keeping Hazards up is essential when facing a bulkier team so I can wear down their counters to my sweepers.

2) Sweeping core:

These Pokémon complete each other so well. The main target of this group are bulky Ground types, for example Swampert, Gliscor or Hippowdon. Both Jirachi and Tyranitar are usually stopped by them, but it's hard to handle both at the same time, as I explained earlier. Gyarados can take advantage of said Ground types, which makes it a good partner to have with Spikes. Also, alongside Tyranitar, it puts a lot of pressure on the opponent's physically defensive walls.

Threat list:

threat list

: Choice Specs Zapdos in particular. It can hammer through my main Electric checks, Rotom-W and Tyranitar. It usually leads so if I can sleep it it's less of an issue. Otherwise I need to have Stealth Rock up and be sure to not let it in for free.

: If it comes in on a Thunderbolt / Hydro Pump from Rotom-W or Gyarados it can do serious damage. Obviously not gonna sweep my whole team but it restricts my options.

: As long as it's healthy it's gonna be an issue. I need Rotom to be around to be able to hammer it with Thunderbolt. Otherwise I may have to CM war it which is dumb.

: It gets pretty nice opportunities to come in, and my main check is Stealth Rock weak which means it can get troublesome.

: Gyarados is the most dangerous Pokémon in the metagame and if it gets a set up opportunity it's gonna be a pain. Thankfully it gets very little opportunities to set up, and if it lacks Earthquake Jirachi can check it.

: Checks two of my sweepers, so if it manages to stay healthy it'll be trouble.

: Empoleon is a threat to (almost) every Offense team and mine is no exception. Not letting it set up is the key.

: Kinda in the same boat as Hippowdon, but it's harder to "hit hard", but easier to wear down, if that makes any sense.

: This team fell victim to Funkasaurus's voracious Torterra more than once.

Importable

click here

Smeargle (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- U-turn
- Spore

Scizor (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

Rotom-Wash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hydro Pump
- Trick

Tyranitar (F) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Dragon Dance

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Calm Mind

Gyarados (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

shoutouts bc why not:

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BKC CrashinBoomBang Harsha Funkasaurus FLCL Soulgazer ium Nachos TGMD Valentine Rewer Mizuhime fingerscrossed Jayde tab dadoux Iconic Texas Cloverleaf peng I love you all

I've probably forgetten someone then ヽ（´ー｀）┌

Wepwn is a god

 

[dadoux]

Nice team, you should add a threatlist, it's easier to rate with it. The main threat i see is specszapdos, can be annoying as hell for you team, you could maybe drop some spA for some hp on Tom-w for that reason. Breloom could be a pain in the ass too since gyarados is a set-up fodder without taunt/ice fang (but ice fang sucks a bit y).

lov u too brah

 

[boudouche]

cute

Ever consider Magic Coat in the last slot on Smeargle? Beats Aero / Azelf which you normally U-turn out of, and beats Rose which gets a guaranteed Sleep Powder on something otherwise. Also has the added bonus of preventing opposing SR from faster leads which gives you some options (e.g. straight spikes t2, switch to sweeper as they SR again on t2 etc).

Can't think of anything else. Probably some cooler EV spreads out there for some of these but w/e

like you said swamp is a bit annoying but rotom works as a lure and can weaken it pretty easily so yeah... same goes for quagsire which is more painful with encore but less used.

cool team anyway

 

[BKC]

hey cutie, i think the biggest problem is gonna be hippowdon. he shits on sciz/jira/tar and you cant really beat him down like you would swampert cause he has slack off. gyara is sr weak and rotom is pursuit weak so things could get messy. try an ebelt grass knot rachi of some sort, hes just as dangerous as super but he comes with the bonus of raping physical walls who might mess with gyara and ttar. speaking of gyara, i would use bounce over stone edge @ wacan, i think its more useful. tanking tbolt is really useful for this team and if you have sr up then bounce shits on most of stone edges targets anyway. good team otherwise ily

 

[Jirachee]

peng 's post he deleted: yeah magic coat is garbage, but if I was to use something else over U-turn it'd be Explosion. With max Attack you can OHKO stuff like 0/0 Starmie and even bulkier things like Celebi about 50% of the time. You also do like upwards 70s to SpDef Hippowdon and nearly OHKO Blissey. The problem with it though is that Smeargle is now totally worthless against Aero and some Azelf so yeah :(

dadoux : yeah, Specs Zapdos is pretty annoying. Usually if it leads I can get Sleep on it which is nice but some people will just U-turn to break my sash. Against those I have to play pretty carefully and try to not stay in with Scizor because it lets it come in for free. More HP on Rotom could help in those cases, I'll try it out.

boudouche + BKC : yeah Grounds are kinda annoying and I have to say I never really thought of EBelt Jirachi, I'll try it out. I do like the ability to boost on Lefties Zapdos though. If it doesn't work out maybe I could try GK + HP Fire as coverage which would kill them as well. As for Gyara, I kinda had in mind to try out Wacan for a while but I never did. I like Stone Edge to OHKO Zapper though :(

Thank you all for the rates

 

[McMeghan]

Philou :D
That's a pretty cool team you're showing there! Always a pleasure to see some quality old gen team on this forum. I really like the presentation: simple and effective. I think you could add some lead match-up and a threat list though.

Fluff aside, I think the team is pretty solid and you're using the right tools to accomplish your overall strategy. My biggest grip with your team is your weakness to Infernape. I always found my ScarfZor teams weak to Nape and yours is no exception, especially without a Starmie or a priority.

Your best answer for Nape is Gyarados, which is pretty bad at it with the SR weakness and the offensive spread. Unlike some other threats of yours like Shaymin or Suicune, you cant force it out with ScarfZor or outspeed it (technically you can with Superpower but that's a really shaky way to deal with it).

Considering the fast pace of your team and its tendency to dictate its games, I think you could get away with a leftovers less Jirachi. You could use an Occa Berry to help with Infernape and even prevent ScarfTran to revenge kill you.

An another dangerous threat is probably Breloom, which has a field day on Gyarados and ScarfZor if you're locked on anything but Uturn. From there, it'll take back all your momentum and put a solid dent on your team. A soft solution for this issue would be running Ice Fang on Gyarados, over Earthquake probably since Spikes will weaken your EQ targets. Even then, Breloom will probably stay troublesome, but it'll have less opportunies to pull its shenanigans and IF will put it in Uturn range for Scizor!

I noticed some other threats (Zapdos, Flygon, Lo Aero to name a few) but the way your team works don't let them many oppurtunities to come in (unlike Nape and Loom), and even then, you have some room to outplay them.

Good job overall

 

[Jirachee]

Philou :D
That's a pretty cool team you're showing there! Always a pleasure to see some quality old gen team on this forum. I really like the presentation: simple and effective. I think you could add some lead match-up and a threat list though.

Fluff aside, I think the team is pretty solid and you're using the right tools to accomplish your overall strategy. My biggest grip with your team is your weakness to Infernape. I always found my ScarfZor teams weak to Nape and yours is no exception, especially without a Starmie or a priority.

Your best answer for Nape is Gyarados, which is pretty bad at it with the SR weakness and the offensive spread. Unlike some other threats of yours like Shaymin or Suicune, you cant force it out with ScarfZor or outspeed it (technically you can with Superpower but that's a really shaky way to deal with it).

Considering the fast pace of your team and its tendency to dictate its games, I think you could get away with a leftovers less Jirachi. You could use an Occa Berry to help with Infernape and even prevent ScarfTran to revenge kill you.

An another dangerous threat is probably Breloom, which has a field day on Gyarados and ScarfZor if you're locked on anything but Uturn. From there, it'll take back all your momentum and put a solid dent on your team. A soft solution for this issue would be running Ice Fang on Gyarados, over Earthquake probably since Spikes will weaken your EQ targets. Even then, Breloom will probably stay troublesome, but it'll have less opportunies to pull its shenanigans and IF will put it in Uturn range for Scizor!

I noticed some other threats (Zapdos, Flygon, Lo Aero to name a few) but the way your team works don't let them many oppurtunities to come in (unlike Nape and Loom), and even then, you have some room to outplay them.

Good job overall

roro, mon coco ;]

I just added a lead match up and threatlist!

You're absolutely right about Infernape, my team is pretty weak to it. I remember a game in particular where I had to keep Scizor alive to check it with Superpower. I think the Occa Berry Jirachi suggestion is pretty interesting, I'll be sure to try it out. I especially like the ability to stay in on ScarfTran actually, lol.

As for Ice Fang on Gyarados, I'll give it a try. The stronger hit on Grass types in general sounds great for this team because Scizor pretty much is my only counter, and I don't think Bounce really works out on this team.

Thank you very much for the rate and the kind words :)