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Stormorbiter · Apr 28th, 2011, 9:03:55 PM

I got a streak of 65 wins with this Singles team (though it should have been more):

INFERNAPE ♂ @ Focus Sash
Nature: Jolly
Ability: Blaze
EVs: | 252 Attack | 252 Speed |
~ Swords Dance
~ Close Combat
~ Shadow Claw
~ Fire Punch

My Infernape can sweep entire teams much of the time. The strategy with Infernape is to Swords Dance, take the hit with Focus Sash, and sweep. He's fast enough to do this, and Close Combat, his main form of attacking, is extremely powerful.
I have Fire Punch over Flare Blitz obviously to avoid recoil that would surely kill Infernape. Plus with Blaze (which will be activated most of the time), Fire Punch's BP gets boosted to 112.5, then add STAB and it's really powerful for an elemental punch. Shadow Claw is for type coverage. It's a little too weak to use against pokes that aren't super effected by it, but it works nicely against those that are.
When to switch out: If I predict my opponent knows a speed-priority move then I'll switch. If my opponent is faster than Infernape then I'll switch. And if Infernape won't be able to OHKO after a SD then I'll switch.

HYDREIGON ♂ @ Choice Specs
Nature: Timid
Ability: Levitate
EVs: | 252 Sp. Attack | 252 Speed |
~ Dragon Pulse
~ Dark Pulse
~ Flamethrower
~ Surf

Originally I had Hydreigon with a Life Orb because I have had bad experiences with choice items before, but I eventually realized that Choice Specs ended up being a lot more useful than Life Orb as long as I have a good resistance partner to switch to.
Hydreigon is a great special attacker with great type-coverage, and Levitate is extremely useful for switching to on EQs. He is mainly Metagross' resistance partner as he resists Fire and is immune to Ground.
Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse are his two STAB moves, and Dark Pulse has been useful for flinching, but it is not something to rely on. Flamethrower is mostly for taking out steel types and type coverage. Surf is mostly for taking out Ground types that threaten the rest of my team. Surf is also useful for killing fire types that threaten Metagross.

METAGROSS @ Leftovers
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: | 148 HP | 252 Attack | 108 Speed |
~ Agility
~ Meteor Mash
~ Earthquake
~ Zen Headbutt

Metagross, you never let me down. This guy outspeeds timid Jolteon after an Agility, and with an Adamant nature he doesn't need any items like a Life Orb to do major damage. I was also able to put a bunch of EVs into HP, and let me tell you, he is bulky. He can take 2 unSTABed super-effective EQs and still be in the game as a threat. Add Leftovers, and he can be really tough to take down. He is a pretty standard Agiligross with 2 powerful STAB moves and EQ.

I ended up losing (just barely) at Battle 66 with this team because of an error on my part by keeping Infernape up against an Arcanine that most likely would have Extremespeed, and it did. I'll be smarter next time.

-------------------------------

Not part of my team yet but I still want to try this Mienshao as a temporary replacement for Infernape just to see how she does:

MIENSHAO ♀ @ Focus Sash
Nature: Naive/Hasty
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: | 252 Attack | 252 Speed |
~ Swords Dance
~ Reversal
~ Endure
~ Fake Out

Same strategy as Infernape's except a little different. She is intended to take a hit then survive with Focus Sash while Swords Dancing, just like Infernape. The major difference is the move Reversal instead of Close Combat, not to mention her higher Attack stat. With STAB and minimal HP, Reversal has a BP of 300! That's more powerful than an unSTABed Explosion. Then add SD and you have a move with a power of 600. No one can survive a hit from that except bulky Pokemon that resist it.
I have Naive/Hasty over Jolly because I want Mienshao's defenses to be very low so that she has <4% HP most of the time. This is also why I have the ability Inner Focus instead of Regenerator. Endure is for minimizing HP if she has more than 4% HP, and Fake Out is for getting Focus Sash and Sturdy leads. She's not going up against Ghost types, which is what Hydreigon is for.
I would appreciate any suggestions on which nature (Naive or Hasty) to choose for her. I am leaning towards Naive because speed-priority moves are physical and hurting-self-in-confusion is physical, but I am still a little unsure.

Apr 28th, 2011, 9:03:55 PM	#93
Stormorbiter Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 8	I got a streak of 65 wins with this Singles team (though it should have been more): INFERNAPE ♂ @ Focus Sash Nature: Jolly Ability: Blaze EVs: \| 252 Attack \| 252 Speed \| ~ Swords Dance ~ Close Combat ~ Shadow Claw ~ Fire Punch My Infernape can sweep entire teams much of the time. The strategy with Infernape is to Swords Dance, take the hit with Focus Sash, and sweep. He's fast enough to do this, and Close Combat, his main form of attacking, is extremely powerful. I have Fire Punch over Flare Blitz obviously to avoid recoil that would surely kill Infernape. Plus with Blaze (which will be activated most of the time), Fire Punch's BP gets boosted to 112.5, then add STAB and it's really powerful for an elemental punch. Shadow Claw is for type coverage. It's a little too weak to use against pokes that aren't super effected by it, but it works nicely against those that are. When to switch out: If I predict my opponent knows a speed-priority move then I'll switch. If my opponent is faster than Infernape then I'll switch. And if Infernape won't be able to OHKO after a SD then I'll switch. HYDREIGON ♂ @ Choice Specs Nature: Timid Ability: Levitate EVs: \| 252 Sp. Attack \| 252 Speed \| ~ Dragon Pulse ~ Dark Pulse ~ Flamethrower ~ Surf Originally I had Hydreigon with a Life Orb because I have had bad experiences with choice items before, but I eventually realized that Choice Specs ended up being a lot more useful than Life Orb as long as I have a good resistance partner to switch to. Hydreigon is a great special attacker with great type-coverage, and Levitate is extremely useful for switching to on EQs. He is mainly Metagross' resistance partner as he resists Fire and is immune to Ground. Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse are his two STAB moves, and Dark Pulse has been useful for flinching, but it is not something to rely on. Flamethrower is mostly for taking out steel types and type coverage. Surf is mostly for taking out Ground types that threaten the rest of my team. Surf is also useful for killing fire types that threaten Metagross. METAGROSS @ Leftovers Nature: Adamant Ability: Clear Body EVs: \| 148 HP \| 252 Attack \| 108 Speed \| ~ Agility ~ Meteor Mash ~ Earthquake ~ Zen Headbutt Metagross, you never let me down. This guy outspeeds timid Jolteon after an Agility, and with an Adamant nature he doesn't need any items like a Life Orb to do major damage. I was also able to put a bunch of EVs into HP, and let me tell you, he is bulky. He can take 2 unSTABed super-effective EQs and still be in the game as a threat. Add Leftovers, and he can be really tough to take down. He is a pretty standard Agiligross with 2 powerful STAB moves and EQ. I ended up losing (just barely) at Battle 66 with this team because of an error on my part by keeping Infernape up against an Arcanine that most likely would have Extremespeed, and it did. I'll be smarter next time. ------------------------------- Not part of my team yet but I still want to try this Mienshao as a temporary replacement for Infernape just to see how she does: MIENSHAO ♀ @ Focus Sash Nature: Naive/Hasty Ability: Inner Focus EVs: \| 252 Attack \| 252 Speed \| ~ Swords Dance ~ Reversal ~ Endure ~ Fake Out Same strategy as Infernape's except a little different. She is intended to take a hit then survive with Focus Sash while Swords Dancing, just like Infernape. The major difference is the move Reversal instead of Close Combat, not to mention her higher Attack stat. With STAB and minimal HP, Reversal has a BP of 300! That's more powerful than an unSTABed Explosion. Then add SD and you have a move with a power of 600. No one can survive a hit from that except bulky Pokemon that resist it. I have Naive/Hasty over Jolly because I want Mienshao's defenses to be very low so that she has <4% HP most of the time. This is also why I have the ability Inner Focus instead of Regenerator. Endure is for minimizing HP if she has more than 4% HP, and Fake Out is for getting Focus Sash and Sturdy leads. She's not going up against Ghost types, which is what Hydreigon is for. I would appreciate any suggestions on which nature (Naive or Hasty) to choose for her. I am leaning towards Naive because speed-priority moves are physical and hurting-self-in-confusion is physical, but I am still a little unsure. Last edited by Stormorbiter; May 4th, 2011 at 4:39:57 AM.