Respect
Introduction
Hello! I am a new face in the Competitive pokemon community, one that some of you may have already seen - besides being active is the Overused subforum + PS! chatroom, I have also managed to gain access to the victory Road subforum. The team I bring to you today is the result of my attempts at actually making a team decent enough for the Showcase. Interestingly enough, this actually started out very whimsically as a very rough template, but the result surprised me, especially since I wasn't really expecting the template to even work. The template was, as you may have already guessed, a team built around Meloetta - specifically a physically biased Relic set made by CTC when I asked him to make a team around melo on a whim. I finally finished this team less than a week before ORAS starts, which is really my only chance remaining at the
(Underrated, blazing speed, decent attack, not deadweight, unprepared for)
Don't even get me started on Meloetta. Besides being my favorite pokemon by a long shot, she is extremely underrated anywhere outside
((note whimsical initial building) birdspam check that I haven't tried out before)
Now, my initial teambuilding is relatively whimsical, so half the reason I put Rhyperior here is because it's relatively uncommon, and wanted to see how it would fare. I needed a birdspam and landog check, mainly, but the fact it had equal bulk to bulky landog INCLUDING the intimidate drop and that it hit harder as well as checking off a SR setter early also helped in guiding my hand towards him.
(bulky pivot, defog, good nuke)
A Lati twin was easily the next thing that popped into my mind: Meloetta appreciates opposing mons to be worn down so that she can OHKO, so Draco was a great asset; Mach Punch users stopped her short, and Psyshock took care of them; and Meloetta is easily worn down with the combination of rocks + LO, so the defog support was welcome. Latias was chosen over her brother because
(secondary wincon, beat fighting-types)
At this point, I was pretty Dragon weak; I also lacked a secondary wincon, and a way to hit fighting-types after Latias wishes up. While I was skeptical adding a third psychic-type to the team, when I looked into it, I wasn't really overlapping weaknesses that much by doing so. It's also my way past Stall, which I otherwise can't break through.
(fairy check, wallbreaker, reliable fighting STAB, pivot)
So while I could deal with birdspam, dragspam, and stall, I still needed to get my Denzel Crocker on, as well as finding a way past troublesome walls that Gard couldn't break through. I was also weak to opposing M-Gards, and had no reliable Fighting-type STAB. Cobalion was the mon that fit the bill the best, hard-checking M-Gard as well as being able to bop Clefable and fairies in general. Justified also discouraged Dark-type attacks against Melo or Latias.
(water check, psyspam check, landog check)
finally, raikou was added to deal with bulky waters, which I could otherwise not hit, Psyspam teams, and most importantly, Landog. My team really enjoyed the extra momentum as well. Started as Specs, but ended up switching to Assault Vest.
(was weak to exca, landog, gar, and gren; replacements did jobs better; replace Taunt with SR on cobal, M-Gard gets Taunt over WoW)
Me being the insecure person that I am, I didn't believe that this team would really be able to function. So, I got some help from alexwolf (still gonna give him more credit than he thinks he deserves), who noted my Excadrill weakness that I completely overlooked, as well as pointing out that I didn't actually deal with Gren and landog. By replacing two mons and slightly shuffling movesets around, we came up with the final result - which caught me off guard; I was thinking it would take more than one change.
In-Depth
Meloetta @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 SpA / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Relic Song
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Hyper Voice
Enter Psychic #1. No, I wasn't joking when I said I was using Meloetta. This set in particular is actually quite good in the metagame - after only one turn of set-up, and with this spread, Meloetta-P hits 355 Atk and 386 Spe - to put that into perspective, it speed-ties with Jolly Talonflame. This allows it to outspeed everything except scarfers and Mega Alakazam, Aerodactyl, and Manectric. And while 355 Attack is nothing to write home about, it's more than enough to deal with offense and Hyper Offense, the most common playstyle as of now. The given spread is used to speed-tie with Jolly Talonflame and maximize Attack while not being 100% deadweight while in Aria forme - it does 47% at minimum to Slowbro, and 2HKOs bulky Landog, and can punch holes in general if needed - it really does do more than you would expect. One more thing: While this Meloetta really likes to preserve health, if need be, it can switch into any unboosted neutral special attack due to its 100/128 special bulk - heck, it only takes 65.6 - 77.7% from Latios' Draco!
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
This pokemon has topped the usage charts for a while now, for good reason; just like this team, it acts like offensive glue, checking/countering multiple pokemon. Landog counters Sand and any Electric-type that didn't click HP Ice, and checks Greninja - and most offensive pokemon, now that I think about it. The fact that it can gain momentum out of it is also quite invaluable for my team, which heavily enjoys momentum. Knock Off was chosen as my last move so I could have a reliable Dark-type move, while giving great utility in general.
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
Enter Psychic #2. Despite sharing some weaknesses with the other two Psychics, and some talk about replacing her, Latias has ended up pulling her weight enough to stay on the team. She has three main roles to cover: The first is to nuke the opponent to KOable range of M-Gard or Meloetta, or straight-out KO troublesome mons like Rotom-W. The second is to provide Defog support - my team is worn down easily, so it's essential even though I have no rock-weak mons. Lastly, she's there for her Healing Wish support. While I'm in the boat that while HW is good, it's overhyped, it's a massive boon to this team in particular; it allows Meloetta to come in and take some damage without cutting off her ability to clean, for Rotom-W to check what I need it to check, and gives me more room in otherwise risky scenarios, mainly of actualizing momentum. Certainly a keystone of this team.
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Enter Psychic #3. M-Gard really doesn't need an introduction: despite her physical frailty and base 100 speed, her ability to demolish offense and defense alike is paralleled by few. She's also very reliable; while Meloetta needs to be careful about her health and needs a turn of set-up to really start wrecking, Gard only needs a decent switch-in to start going. I use Taunt over WoW because I already have WoW on rotom-W, and Mew & Co. would otherwise wall me to no end.
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 204 HP / 112 Atk / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
For a pokemon that's been unranked for who knows how long, it's surprisingly good. With the right EV adjustment, it can fit on a large amount of teams; it has a great reactionary typing, several ways to actualize and maintain momentum, and both its bulk and offenses are on par for OU, making it a fantastic pivot. He found his way onto my team to cover several uncovered weaknesses my team had, as well as being one of the more reliable rockers in the metagame. The EVs will need an explanation: they are tailored to outspeed base 100s and OHKO M-Gard after rocks 100% of the time, with the rest dumped into bulk. I can also afford a Jolly nature since Volt Switch still does decent chip damage even with the SpAtk drop.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
When I added Rotom-W, I was surprised at just how much he covered for my team: he covers ground-types, water-types, is a secondary birdspam check, and overall hits a lot of teams hard just by itself. He also generates fantastic momentum, and has great synergy with a lot of mons in my team - it generates a VoltTurn core with Cobal/Landog, has Latias to cover its grass weakness, works well with Cobalion in general, and helps in the wearing down of the opponent. There's honestly not much to explain in terms of moveset or EVs - I'd just be regurgitating the analysis.
Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Punch
The wildcard that just didn't hold out in the end. It's better than people think it is, though.
Raikou @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
Simply not enough; I needed more than what it offered. Rip.
Since PS! decided to shit itself recently, due to a DDoS attack or whatever, I was unable to acquire any high-level replays. However, I will add them as soon as I get my hands on any.
Meloetta @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 SpA / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Relic Song
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Hyper Voice
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 204 HP / 112 Atk / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 SpA / 236 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Relic Song
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Hyper Voice
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Defog
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt
Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 204 HP / 112 Atk / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Volt Switch
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Conclusion
Well, there's not much to say here that I haven't already said. If you've made it this far, you've obviously already made an opinion on the team; if you want to, feel free to post it below. Thanks for reading!
Well, there's not much to say here that I haven't already said. If you've made it this far, you've obviously already made an opinion on the team; if you want to, feel free to post it below. Thanks for reading!
