[atsync]

@ CD: Yes I don't like Muscle band that much since 10% is kinda small but I wanted something that boosted all of my moves consistently and allowed me to not lock myself into one move that isn't called "Life Orb". That's why I stayed away from the gems and plates. I don't think Ground Gem would work out well because I use Waterfall just as much as Earthquake, if not more, and it needs a boost of some kind. However, I'll admit I didn't even consider Expert Belt. That would definitely give Ice Punch a nice kick in particular and its coverage is good enough to use it well. Then again, Swampert isn't always getting a super effective hit. Maybe I'll experiment and see what works...

@ Cradily: I don't always lead with Tailwind. It really depend on the leads. That's what's cool about Tornadus: Prankster means you don't really need to because it can set it up whenever it likes most of the time. That's also another benefit of Protect on Infernape, because I can Protect while I set it up instead of being at risk of dying. However, there are some trainers where I do try to set up Tailwind regardless of the leads, namely Legendary teams. They become MUCH easier to beat with Tailwind and the only time I wouldn't set it up is if the opponent lead with Virizion.

Substitute is used much like Protect (because of Prankster). You use it if you predict an attack is coming to hit you, which I often did against Thunder and Blizzard. Substitute has the advantage of being consistently usable on consecutive turns, and if you are lucky then it will still be up at the end of the turn so it provides prolonged protection. However, it has the downside of being unusable at less than 1/4 hp, and if Tornadus is double targetted then it may end up taking damage anyway. I might try Protect out maybe?

@ both of you: Hydreigon is Timid because it was the only one I had on me at the time (I'm so lazy lol). But to be perfectly honest I never found that Timid was "too weak". It still killed everything it needed to and dealt plenty of damage. The same can't be said for Swampert though, even with Adamant it's attack is only 1 point higher then Hydreigon's special attack, which is why Adamant is kinda important. I guess Tailwind was up often enough to justify it, but it certainly isn't always up, and I'm not sure I can be bothered breeding a new Modest Dark Pulse Hydreigon (I think my Hydreigon is female which would mean having to play through 4th gen to get the Dark Pulse TM to teach to a male parent, and then I would have to breed and level the offspring to lv. 64). I might try it out if I ever find time though, being able to invest in bulk is pretty cool too.

EDIT: Derp I just realised that Hydreigon is male after all. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to get a new Hydreigon, but nah I'll stick with Timid for now.

As for Tornadus, base 111 speed is just too good to not take full advantage of. As I said, being able to KO things like Espeon, Gengar (without sash), Froslass (without sash) and Virizion before they move is incredibly helpful.