Introduction
I'm relatively new to competitive play, and my first dive into it was a disaster. Looking for a fresh start, I actually did my research for my second team and ended up with the unholy disgrace that you see below. I think the biggest problem on this team is that I have two pokemon with a 4X ice weakness, but both play major roles in battle.
The Team
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Brick Break
Metagross has always been a favorite of mine, and his mega made this an easy choice. The STAB moves were obvious choices. the others weren't so easy. i went with brick break instead of earthquake because it gets the Tough Claws boost, putting it almost exactly on par with EQ, and it rounded my coverage out more to my liking. the only relevant pokemon I can't hit when i run brick break is aegislash, where EQ leaves my helpless to Skarmory or Celesteela. I personally think bullet punch is a must-have for priority.
Garchomp @ Firium Z
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
I had to choose garchomp for overall reliability. mostly works for me as a setup wallbreaker, but I've swept late game with him, used him defensively when necessary, and i believe you can never go wrong with a garchomp. moveset was easy. earthquake for obvious reasons, very spammable. I chose dragon claw instead of outrage because I wasn't looking to be locked into a move, and i may have the worst confusion luck in the world. Z-Fire Blast fixes any problems i may be having with a celesteela or skarmory, and is a nice little surprise for anything with a fire weakness that I need to get rid of.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
And here we arrive, at the root of my problem, my second 4X ice weakness. pretty standard Landorus-T set. physically defensive, utility. Stealth rocks are my only entry hazard on this team, and he is my only way of setting them. knock off for pesky leftovers, choice items, etc. U-Turn keeps him out of trouble. the given defense EVs makes him a 3HKO for mamoswines ice shard after intimidate.
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- Heavy Slam
- Curse
- Sleep Talk
Snorlax serves as my primary special wall. curse keeps him from being easy pickings for physical attackers. Rest-Talk works because it usually doesn't matter too much if he uses heavy slam of curse, usually both are fine. I chose heavy slam over return or body slam because i didn't want ghost types to force him out. I tried him with body slam before, but ghost types came in after they found out i only had one attack and started setting up for free.
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Protect
I mostly use sylveon for cleric support since nothing on my team has its own form of recovery. pixilate hyper voice at least allows it to throw out some damage. Protect is useful when i need one more round of leftovers. I can wish, then switch next turn to bring a pokemon from near death up to decent HP. heal bell gets the burns off of my mostly physically attacking team, and keeps toxic off to avoid toxic stall.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Def / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
I almost always carry a rotom, either heat or wash, because they make excellent pivots. hydro pump finishes off weakened opponents mostly, i don't use often because rotom doesn't have a huge amage potential. Normally he comes in to paralyze or burn, the volt switch out. not much more to say about him.
Conclusion
As stated earlier, i think my biggest problem is the two 4X ice weaknesses. Otherwise, even though I know it's not perfect, I'm still only here to have fun. that being said, winning is more fun than losing.
I'm relatively new to competitive play, and my first dive into it was a disaster. Looking for a fresh start, I actually did my research for my second team and ended up with the unholy disgrace that you see below. I think the biggest problem on this team is that I have two pokemon with a 4X ice weakness, but both play major roles in battle.
The Team
Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Meteor Mash
- Brick Break
Metagross has always been a favorite of mine, and his mega made this an easy choice. The STAB moves were obvious choices. the others weren't so easy. i went with brick break instead of earthquake because it gets the Tough Claws boost, putting it almost exactly on par with EQ, and it rounded my coverage out more to my liking. the only relevant pokemon I can't hit when i run brick break is aegislash, where EQ leaves my helpless to Skarmory or Celesteela. I personally think bullet punch is a must-have for priority.
Garchomp @ Firium Z
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
I had to choose garchomp for overall reliability. mostly works for me as a setup wallbreaker, but I've swept late game with him, used him defensively when necessary, and i believe you can never go wrong with a garchomp. moveset was easy. earthquake for obvious reasons, very spammable. I chose dragon claw instead of outrage because I wasn't looking to be locked into a move, and i may have the worst confusion luck in the world. Z-Fire Blast fixes any problems i may be having with a celesteela or skarmory, and is a nice little surprise for anything with a fire weakness that I need to get rid of.
Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
And here we arrive, at the root of my problem, my second 4X ice weakness. pretty standard Landorus-T set. physically defensive, utility. Stealth rocks are my only entry hazard on this team, and he is my only way of setting them. knock off for pesky leftovers, choice items, etc. U-Turn keeps him out of trouble. the given defense EVs makes him a 3HKO for mamoswines ice shard after intimidate.
Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- Heavy Slam
- Curse
- Sleep Talk
Snorlax serves as my primary special wall. curse keeps him from being easy pickings for physical attackers. Rest-Talk works because it usually doesn't matter too much if he uses heavy slam of curse, usually both are fine. I chose heavy slam over return or body slam because i didn't want ghost types to force him out. I tried him with body slam before, but ghost types came in after they found out i only had one attack and started setting up for free.
Sylveon @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Protect
I mostly use sylveon for cleric support since nothing on my team has its own form of recovery. pixilate hyper voice at least allows it to throw out some damage. Protect is useful when i need one more round of leftovers. I can wish, then switch next turn to bring a pokemon from near death up to decent HP. heal bell gets the burns off of my mostly physically attacking team, and keeps toxic off to avoid toxic stall.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Def / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
I almost always carry a rotom, either heat or wash, because they make excellent pivots. hydro pump finishes off weakened opponents mostly, i don't use often because rotom doesn't have a huge amage potential. Normally he comes in to paralyze or burn, the volt switch out. not much more to say about him.
Conclusion
As stated earlier, i think my biggest problem is the two 4X ice weaknesses. Otherwise, even though I know it's not perfect, I'm still only here to have fun. that being said, winning is more fun than losing.