Smogon Community - View Single Post - Platinum/HG/SS Battle Frontier and DP Battle Tower Records

VaporeonIce · Feb 15th, 2011, 2:56:04 PM

I figured I may as well post this, since it's under a month until Black and White come out in the US. After going insane trying to get the gold print in the Battle Factory (see my 48, 46, and 45 win streaks), I looked around for other frontier locations to spend my time on during my train ride to work. I eventually returned to my favorite, the Battle Arcade. I basically took Pokemon I had used for other facilities (including a failed Trick double-Memento team for the Battle Tower) and modified them ever-so-slightly for the Arcade. The result is Team Leverage (Uxie, Garchomp, and Drapion), which got a streak of 148 wins in the Heart Gold Singles Battle Arcade:

Thief (Uxie)
Serious Nature (it was the only Uxie I had)
Levitate
EVs unknown, stats 172/80/156/87/156/116
~Flash
~Thunder Wave
~Memento
~Yawn

Hitter (Garchomp)
Jolly Nature
Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
~Swords Dance
~Substitute
~Outrage
~Earthquake

Mastermind (Drapion)
Careful Nature
Battle Armor
(Jumpman's EVs; don't remember them at the moment, stats are 177/110/134/72/128/111)
~Acupressure
~Rest
~Substitute
~Crunch

This team works so well, it's insane. The strategy is pretty obvious; Uxie starts using with Yawn or Thunder Wave, depending on the opponent (against a lot of Pokemon faster than Uxie, and pretty much every Pokemon faster than Garchomp, I'll use Thunder Wave; I'll use Yawn on most other things). Depending on Uxie's health, I'll then either keep using Flash or go straight into Memento. If Garchomp is able to OHKO the lead with Outrage and sweep the team at +2, I'll pretty much always use Yawn, Memento, switch to Garchomp, Swords Dance, Substitute, sweep.

Of course, a +2 Garchomp can't sweep everything; because the opponent may wake up on the Substitute turn and break the Sub, sweeping with Garchomp can be risky if the opponent has a faster Pokemon waiting in the wings, or leads with a Flying-type or Pokemon with Levitate (I don't want to risk Outrage only going for two turns). That's where Drapion comes in. Against almost everything that's a threat to Garchomp, I'll Memento the lead (possibly after using Flash a few times) and send in Drapion. I pretty much never find myself wishing I had Black Sludge; sure, it would be nice, but after a Memento, the appropriate defense boost, and maybe an evasion or two, Drapion can stall out basically everything with Rest. Once I'm fully set up, I go behind a Sub and sweep easily.

I can't stress enough how amazing this team's synergy is. Typewise, it kind of sucks; Drapion doesn't resist Ice or Dragon and Garchomp doesn't resist Ground, and Uxie's fainted before either of them come in pretty much every time. But Garchomp is absolutely the best Pokemon for quick sweeping with the minimum of one turn provided by Yawn and Memento, and Drapion does the "slow and steady" thing better than any other Pokemon. This team also works really well against a lot of the negative squares on the board. Paralysis can be kind of annoying, but Uxie can usually still manage to live and pull off Yawn, and since Garchomp is immune to the board's paralysis, it doesn't have any trouble setting up. Drapion doesn't care much about burns, since it can just rest them off. Drapion is also immune to poison, though Garchomp usually sweeps so fast that it doesn't care about poison either. Sleep and freeze suck, but both sweepers work so well that it usually doesn't matter if one of them is taken out of commission, and Uxie often has the bulk to wait it out and still cripple the opponent. I also just have to point out how often hax works in my favor; after a Flash or two, if Drapion gets and evasion boost, the opponent is basically never going to hit him, and Garchomp can make good use of lowered accuracy to get free Subs to set up behind. The team just handles inconvenience very well, and it's extremely easy to use. The absence of most items in the Battle Arcade really helps as well; without hax items to force Garchomp or Uxie to miss with key moves, Quick Claws OHKOs, Focus Sashes, and Choice items to help opponents KO Uxie faster, I can almost always set up. Oh, and the sandstorm square on the board is simply golden; using Flash and Sand Veil to cause opponents to repeatedly miss is priceless.

How I lost:

The opponent's team was Dragonite, Porygon2, and Honchkrow. I think I was trying to stop the board on "Paralyze Opponents" so I could Flash to mess up the insanely threatening Dragonite, but I ended up paralyzing my own team. And to think, I'm usually so good about avoiding squares on the board that would cripple me.

Uxie comes out against Dragonite, and Nite immediately uses Outrage. I respond with Thunder Wave, thinking it could give Garchomp a chance to set up, especially once confusion sets in. Even though I'm faster after the T-Wave, I'm hit by full paralysis, so Flash (or maybe it was Memento) fails. Uxie's down.

I send in Garchomp; annoyingly enough, the two turns of Outrage didn't confuse the opponent's Dragonite, so I'm stuck Subbing up. Dragonite proceeds to hit through confusion AND paralysis five times in a row, so I'm stuck with a 3 HP Garchomp against Dragonite. I'm completely forced to attack; sending in Drapion would be suicide, since it can't take an Outrage and CERTAINLY can't take an Earthquake well enough to set up. I use Outrage. Dragonite faints.

Porygon2 comes in and gets a Download boost to its Special Attack. Dammit. I hit it with Outrage, and it lives with about a third of its health left. It KOs Dragonite with Tri Attack.

I send in my paralyzed Drapion, hoping for a miracle that obviously isn't coming. I use Acurpressure, because well, what the hell else am I going to do? I get an evasion boost; Porygon2 smacks me with Tri Attack, dropping Drapion to a little under half of its health. I use Sub, because Substitute + Evasion boosts = God, and a tiny chance to actually Rest and survive this awful situation. Unfortunately, P2 hits Drapion with Ice Beam, getting the KO. As I've often done, I got frustrated and tried to quit out so quickly, I forgot to save the video.

To be honest, this loss was entirely avoidable. If I had led with Yawn, Dragonite would have fallen asleep after KOing Uxie, giving Garchomp the turn it needed to set up and sweep. Even if it had gotten confused after two turns, I could've just switched to Drapion, who could have easily worn Honchkrow down enough for Garchomp's unboosted Outrage to finish it off (if it doesn't already). I honestly think this team can do way better than I've done with it; again, the three Pokemon work so well together, and frequently Garchomp can just wreck the opponent's team, even if something goes wrong with Uxie.

Although bad choices (probably caused by deathly fear of Dragonite and its stupid Outrage/Earthquake combo) led to my loss, this team is afraid of a few things. Obviously, it hates getting Choice items (or like, Flame Orbs) from the board; fortunately, the one time I got them, Garchomp was able to sweep with Choice Band, and I was able to switch them for berries in the next round. It doesn't like Steel-types on the opponent's team when the opposing lead is something too powerful for Drapion and immune to Earthquake, though frequently Garchomp can either 2HKO after a Swords Dance, or just switch out after being confused and KO when it comes back in. OHKO moves can be annoying, but usually I just put OHKO/Explosion Pokemon to sleep and set up with Garchomp. While Fog usually works to my advantage (allowing Garchomp and Drapion to set up while the opponent misses), I did have one insanely close call due to fog once (after Outrage kept missing). I ended up with a 17 HP Garchomp against a Rampardos weakened by Drapion's Crunch (before it promptly KO'd Drapion with Earthquake); we both missed twice in a row with Earthquake before I finally managed to hit and KO. Of course, the bane of my team's existence is lead Heracross; three out of four sets outspeed Uxie and OHKO with Megahorn most of the time, leaving me in a pretty bad spot unless I manage to paralyze it with the board. Of course, if I had a flawless Bold or Impish Uxie, it could live through a non-crit Megahorn, but I have what I have, and it's done pretty well.

I think I'll keep trying with this team; top 3 on my first attempt is pretty good, and I've definitely learned how to better avoid the loss I had last time. Plus, I need something to do on the train until Black and White come out.

Feb 15th, 2011, 2:56:04 PM	#3431
VaporeonIce Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 195	I figured I may as well post this, since it's under a month until Black and White come out in the US. After going insane trying to get the gold print in the Battle Factory (see my 48, 46, and 45 win streaks), I looked around for other frontier locations to spend my time on during my train ride to work. I eventually returned to my favorite, the Battle Arcade. I basically took Pokemon I had used for other facilities (including a failed Trick double-Memento team for the Battle Tower) and modified them ever-so-slightly for the Arcade. The result is Team Leverage (Uxie, Garchomp, and Drapion), which got a streak of 148 wins in the Heart Gold Singles Battle Arcade: Thief (Uxie) Serious Nature (it was the only Uxie I had) Levitate EVs unknown, stats 172/80/156/87/156/116 ~Flash ~Thunder Wave ~Memento ~Yawn Hitter (Garchomp) Jolly Nature Sand Veil EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed ~Swords Dance ~Substitute ~Outrage ~Earthquake Mastermind (Drapion) Careful Nature Battle Armor (Jumpman's EVs; don't remember them at the moment, stats are 177/110/134/72/128/111) ~Acupressure ~Rest ~Substitute ~Crunch This team works so well, it's insane. The strategy is pretty obvious; Uxie starts using with Yawn or Thunder Wave, depending on the opponent (against a lot of Pokemon faster than Uxie, and pretty much every Pokemon faster than Garchomp, I'll use Thunder Wave; I'll use Yawn on most other things). Depending on Uxie's health, I'll then either keep using Flash or go straight into Memento. If Garchomp is able to OHKO the lead with Outrage and sweep the team at +2, I'll pretty much always use Yawn, Memento, switch to Garchomp, Swords Dance, Substitute, sweep. Of course, a +2 Garchomp can't sweep everything; because the opponent may wake up on the Substitute turn and break the Sub, sweeping with Garchomp can be risky if the opponent has a faster Pokemon waiting in the wings, or leads with a Flying-type or Pokemon with Levitate (I don't want to risk Outrage only going for two turns). That's where Drapion comes in. Against almost everything that's a threat to Garchomp, I'll Memento the lead (possibly after using Flash a few times) and send in Drapion. I pretty much never find myself wishing I had Black Sludge; sure, it would be nice, but after a Memento, the appropriate defense boost, and maybe an evasion or two, Drapion can stall out basically everything with Rest. Once I'm fully set up, I go behind a Sub and sweep easily. I can't stress enough how amazing this team's synergy is. Typewise, it kind of sucks; Drapion doesn't resist Ice or Dragon and Garchomp doesn't resist Ground, and Uxie's fainted before either of them come in pretty much every time. But Garchomp is absolutely the best Pokemon for quick sweeping with the minimum of one turn provided by Yawn and Memento, and Drapion does the "slow and steady" thing better than any other Pokemon. This team also works really well against a lot of the negative squares on the board. Paralysis can be kind of annoying, but Uxie can usually still manage to live and pull off Yawn, and since Garchomp is immune to the board's paralysis, it doesn't have any trouble setting up. Drapion doesn't care much about burns, since it can just rest them off. Drapion is also immune to poison, though Garchomp usually sweeps so fast that it doesn't care about poison either. Sleep and freeze suck, but both sweepers work so well that it usually doesn't matter if one of them is taken out of commission, and Uxie often has the bulk to wait it out and still cripple the opponent. I also just have to point out how often hax works in my favor; after a Flash or two, if Drapion gets and evasion boost, the opponent is basically never going to hit him, and Garchomp can make good use of lowered accuracy to get free Subs to set up behind. The team just handles inconvenience very well, and it's extremely easy to use. The absence of most items in the Battle Arcade really helps as well; without hax items to force Garchomp or Uxie to miss with key moves, Quick Claws OHKOs, Focus Sashes, and Choice items to help opponents KO Uxie faster, I can almost always set up. Oh, and the sandstorm square on the board is simply golden; using Flash and Sand Veil to cause opponents to repeatedly miss is priceless. How I lost: The opponent's team was Dragonite, Porygon2, and Honchkrow. I think I was trying to stop the board on "Paralyze Opponents" so I could Flash to mess up the insanely threatening Dragonite, but I ended up paralyzing my own team. And to think, I'm usually so good about avoiding squares on the board that would cripple me. Uxie comes out against Dragonite, and Nite immediately uses Outrage. I respond with Thunder Wave, thinking it could give Garchomp a chance to set up, especially once confusion sets in. Even though I'm faster after the T-Wave, I'm hit by full paralysis, so Flash (or maybe it was Memento) fails. Uxie's down. I send in Garchomp; annoyingly enough, the two turns of Outrage didn't confuse the opponent's Dragonite, so I'm stuck Subbing up. Dragonite proceeds to hit through confusion AND paralysis five times in a row, so I'm stuck with a 3 HP Garchomp against Dragonite. I'm completely forced to attack; sending in Drapion would be suicide, since it can't take an Outrage and CERTAINLY can't take an Earthquake well enough to set up. I use Outrage. Dragonite faints. Porygon2 comes in and gets a Download boost to its Special Attack. Dammit. I hit it with Outrage, and it lives with about a third of its health left. It KOs Dragonite with Tri Attack. I send in my paralyzed Drapion, hoping for a miracle that obviously isn't coming. I use Acurpressure, because well, what the hell else am I going to do? I get an evasion boost; Porygon2 smacks me with Tri Attack, dropping Drapion to a little under half of its health. I use Sub, because Substitute + Evasion boosts = God, and a tiny chance to actually Rest and survive this awful situation. Unfortunately, P2 hits Drapion with Ice Beam, getting the KO. As I've often done, I got frustrated and tried to quit out so quickly, I forgot to save the video. To be honest, this loss was entirely avoidable. If I had led with Yawn, Dragonite would have fallen asleep after KOing Uxie, giving Garchomp the turn it needed to set up and sweep. Even if it had gotten confused after two turns, I could've just switched to Drapion, who could have easily worn Honchkrow down enough for Garchomp's unboosted Outrage to finish it off (if it doesn't already). I honestly think this team can do way better than I've done with it; again, the three Pokemon work so well together, and frequently Garchomp can just wreck the opponent's team, even if something goes wrong with Uxie. Although bad choices (probably caused by deathly fear of Dragonite and its stupid Outrage/Earthquake combo) led to my loss, this team is afraid of a few things. Obviously, it hates getting Choice items (or like, Flame Orbs) from the board; fortunately, the one time I got them, Garchomp was able to sweep with Choice Band, and I was able to switch them for berries in the next round. It doesn't like Steel-types on the opponent's team when the opposing lead is something too powerful for Drapion and immune to Earthquake, though frequently Garchomp can either 2HKO after a Swords Dance, or just switch out after being confused and KO when it comes back in. OHKO moves can be annoying, but usually I just put OHKO/Explosion Pokemon to sleep and set up with Garchomp. While Fog usually works to my advantage (allowing Garchomp and Drapion to set up while the opponent misses), I did have one insanely close call due to fog once (after Outrage kept missing). I ended up with a 17 HP Garchomp against a Rampardos weakened by Drapion's Crunch (before it promptly KO'd Drapion with Earthquake); we both missed twice in a row with Earthquake before I finally managed to hit and KO. Of course, the bane of my team's existence is lead Heracross; three out of four sets outspeed Uxie and OHKO with Megahorn most of the time, leaving me in a pretty bad spot unless I manage to paralyze it with the board. Of course, if I had a flawless Bold or Impish Uxie, it could live through a non-crit Megahorn, but I have what I have, and it's done pretty well. I think I'll keep trying with this team; top 3 on my first attempt is pretty good, and I've definitely learned how to better avoid the loss I had last time. Plus, I need something to do on the train until Black and White come out.