Team Scone

Hello, I'm california roll, and this is Team Scone! (Because why WOULDN'T you name your team after scones?) I started competitive Pokemon in Gen IV, and was decent at it, I played it a lot at least. I wasn't ever top-notch, but I was good enough to win the majority of my battles on Shoddy. When the Gen V metagame began to emerge, I went on a brief hiatus. But now I have returned. After several team attempts, I created this, which has been rather successful so far. I do notice problems against some teams and I want to make my team better. Thus, this post. Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

TEAM AT A GLANCE

IN-DEPTH

changes are in RED



Infernape (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SpD)
- Fake Out
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Vacuum Wave
Description: This guy is generally my lead, unless in the Team Preview I see some glaring weakness in my opponent's team. He is very consistent in his ability to set up Stealth Rock and often do some damage as well. I almost always use Fake Out on the first turn. However, against Pokemon such as Tyranitar or Hippowdon who will break my Focus Sash even if the can't attack, I use Stealth Rock mostly to ensure that I get it up. Flare Blitz does decent damage to most leads, and Mach Punch is good for finishing enemies off. I made him as fast as possible to ensure he gets of Stealth Rock as often as possible, and although I forfeit attacking power, it is worth it as Infernape is mostly a suicide lead. His purpose is to get up Stealth Rock, do as much damage as possible, and die, and this he does remarkably well.



Scizor (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Pursuit
Description: Ah, Scizor. The scourge of Platinum and HG/SS is back for another round. He's still a fantastic Pokemon, as he can function as a revenge killer, a powerful attacker, and even a tank of sorts. This is literally the exact same CB Scizor used in Gen IV, but it works just as well. Bullet Punch is the best move on this set in my opinion, as it can OHKO frailer Pokemon and do substantial damage to anything that doesn't flat-out resist it. Superpower is good for wrecking Steel types and destroying Heatran if I can catch it on the switch. Pursuit takes out Pokemon trying in vain to flee the wrath of the iron bug. The EV's are standard: Max Attack, and HP EV's to get the most switches on Stealth Rock. Adamant nature gives the most attacking power. Scizor is probably the second most important Pokemon on this team, and my original strategy when creating this team was building a team around him. Scizor's purpose on the team is to be a bulky revenge killer, and sometimes to be a pure attacker. He also tends to lure in Heatran, who makes good set-up fodder for Suicune.



Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bulk Up
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Payback
Desription: Conkeldurr is possibly one of my favorite B/W Pokemon. His Attack stat is ridiculously large. This is the Guts Bulk Up set. The strategy is simple: switch in, Bulk Up, get poisoned, wreak havoc. Mach Punch is the primary attack, as it's STAB and always goes first. Payback hits Ghosts such as Jellicent and Chandelure who are unaffected by Mach Punch, and Stone Edge hits Flyers who resist it. This Conkeldurr doesn't last a terribly long time due to increasing Poison damage, but if I can get it in at the right time I have plenty of time to sweep. I maxed out attack, and the HP and Special Defense investments help it to be a good counter to Volcarona, as it can take a +1 hit and kill it with Stone Edge. Conkeldurr is also a powerful revenge killer with Mach Punch and is very VERY hard to stop once it gets going. He also as an easy time setting up on most things, since its weaknesses are not terribly common.



Starmie @ Life Orb
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs : 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Recover
Description: Starmie replaced Suicune to provide my team with a better check/counter to Thundurus, as well as maintain the presence of an attacking Water type on my team. Starmie also helps me take out Dragons with Ice Beam, which was difficult without it. Hydro Pump also wrecks a lot of things. Max Speed Starmie also outspeeds a lot of things, which helps me to beat them.



Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Description: One of the best Physical walls I've used. I originally ran Roost/Taunt/Toxic/Earthquake with Sand Veil, but found myself being walled by things that resisted or were immune to Earthquake. I realized the move I used the least was Roost, so I removed that and added Ice Fang. This allowed me to run Poison Heal with a Toxic Orb. Taunt is great against walls, and it really screws over Forretress and Skarmory, and often times I can switch and set up on the disabled walls. Toxic is also useful for slowly but surely KO'ing Pokemon that are not Steel types. Earthquake is the primary attack move, but Ice Fang is good against most Flying types, Dragons, and other Gliscor, who would wall me otherwise. The EV's and nature give me the highest Defense possible, allowing me to take even some of the strongest physical moves with over half my health. Gliscor is my best Pokemon to take Physical hits, as he can take anything of the nature with impunity. He also is a great counter to Excadrill as even at +2 the mole-thing can't really harm him and falls to Earthquake.



Gengar (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Description: Gengar is the most important Pokemon on this team. He is possibly the only member who can claim to have both top-tier speed and attacking power. Hidden Power Fire is there mainly for the new walling terror, Ferrothorn. He goes down easily to Gengar. Gengar is the most versatile Pokemon on my team. He is a fast attacker who can take on almost everything in the metagame well. He also makes a good switch in to some of the powerful Fighters this generation has introduced (i.e. switch into Mienshao Hi Jump Kick and laugh as the maim themselves). His three immunities (Ground, Fighting, Normal) are also very useful, especially Ground, as having an EQ immunity never hurts. Of all the Pokemon on my team, Gengar is the best at functioning by himself. His main purpose is generally to clean up an opponents team towards the end of the game after they are weakened.


FORMER MEMBERS

Suicune @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Description: Yet another standard from Gen IV. Attacking CM Suicune. Suicune is kind of a Special counterpart to Conkeldurr. After a Calm Mind or two, this thing can destroy mostly anything. Surf is a great STAB move. I chose it over Hydro Pump because I really dislike misses and Surf has mostly the same effect after I've set up. Life Orb helps Suicune pack a bit more power in its punch. I use a standard sweeper EV spread, maxing Special Attack and Speed. I use Timid over Modest because Special Attack is going to be boosted anyway and outspeeding things is very useful. Suicune is the closest I have to a bulky water on this team, and is a very good switch in to Fire types like Heatran who can't do anything to it. One of my favorite things to do with Suicune is: after Latios has Draco Meteor'd something which has either died or survived, switch in Suicune and begin setting up as -2 Latios struggles vainly to touch Suicune.

So, that's my team. It's generally good, but I know it could be better. Thank you for taking the time to read it, and for offering your suggestions.

-california roll

This a pretty good team. I just have a few little things to talk about. One thing is on conkeldur you should probably run a flame orb over toxic orb if you want to keep him out, since guts makes burn not lower your attack stat and will not add up as high. Also you might wanna try running fling on gliscor over toxic for 30 extra dark damage and would still cause the opponent to be toxiced because you are flinging a toxic orb at the enemy. Take the suggestions you like and leave the ones you don't.
-Good Luck.

Hey nice team I only have a couple suggestions

on Infernape I would replace Flare Blitz with Fire Blast. Since your using Focus Sash any Flare Blitz damge would kill you off. I also grants you more offence with Infernape. This change would would mean changing your Infernapes barite to Naive.

Also I recomend you switch Conkeldurrs item to Leftovers. The reson for this is if you want the Guts boost you can just switch into a Blissey using Toxic or something. Also lefties helps with the guts damage.

Gl!

Hey there,

This is a pretty cool team you have there (and I like the title lol). However, one of its major weaknesses would be Thundurus. Nothing will be able to stop it from steamrolling through your team, since your two priority users are not very effective against it. If you want to keep good offensive presence while being able to slay Thundurus, the best way of doing so is by revenge killing it. That's why I would swap Suicune for Starmie. Starmie has base 115 speed, enough to outspeed standard max speed Thundurus (Unless it's a weird Agility version). You should run this set :



If you don't mind losing a bit of offensive pressure but wanna be sure you will ALWAYS beat Thundurus, maybe Gastrodon would be a good choice. But for your kind of team, I'd stick with Starmie. You can use Hidden Power Fire instead of Recover if you're afraid of Ferrothorn. I haven't put Rapid Spin there because your team doesn't need it, and Recover is just awesome.

You will also have issues with Specs Rotom-W, which isn't covered by Starmie, but is by Gastrodon. Here's a quick Gastrodon set if you wanna use it :

Thank you all for quick responses.

@GreasyPanda - Right. When making this team Flame Orb completely escaped my mind. I'll change that. I'm a little reluctant to run Fling over Toxic, as it means I can only poison 1 Pokemon per match. Thanks for your ideas.

@Brizznetz - Fire Blast seems like a very good suggestion as it helps the Focus Sash be more useful. I'll definitely test that. I'm not gonna put Lefties on Conkeldurr because Guts is only really worth using if you get statused 100% of the time. Thanks for responding.

@Steeli - Thundurus is indeed a difficulty for this team. Starmie looks like a good check to it and I'll definitely be testing it. About the Gastrodon, though, any particular reason to use that over Swampert or even Quagsire? Purely for the immunity to Hydro Pump? Thanks for the ideas.

Gastrodon is superior to Swampert because it is immune to Hydro Pump, which heavily damages Swampert and Quagsire. It also gets Recover, which is pretty cool. Quagsire does have access to Water Absorb, but if it has it won't be able to take +2 Focus Blast from Thundurus.

Oh, I see. Well, I'll give both Starmie and Gastrodon a whirl today. I'm kind of liking the sound of Starmie better as it keeps the offensive mindset, but I'll try both.

On Gengar, do you strictly speaking need Hidden Power Fire? Ferrothorn is already hit very hard by Focus Blast. I reckon you could use Hidden Power Ice there instead, since Gengar outspeeds susceptible threats like Gliscor, Salamence and Landorus so long as they haven't boosted. Dragon types are quite threatening to the team since many carry Fire attacks that can demolish Scizor, and the rest of your team is neutral to Dragon attacks and hit hard by either Outrage or Draco Meteor. Giving Gengar Hidden Power Ice would let him come in after a death and clean up if the opponent hasn't boosted their speed.

Drought and other weathers in general give this team a problem. Sweepers such as Thundurus, Starmie, and Venusaur can all do massive damage to this team under their respective weathers. Tyranitar would probably work best over Scizor for this reason and although it may not be the best, it gives you some means of fighting off opposing weather. It can pursuit and trap lati@s and fast special attackers which is what Scizor could do; however Tyranitar allows you to check threats such as Thundurus and Starmie. A set with crunch | pursuit | stone edge | superpower would work best for this job especially if you maximize speed and attack with a choice scarf and a jolly nature. Volcarona gives this team huge issues as well. After a quiver dance nothing stands a chance against its boosted attacks. Offensive swords dance Scizor is in the same boat here as the only shot that you have of taking it down is Gliscor which is not really reliable at all. Infernape also seems out of place on this team. Due to team preview, the concept of a lead has drastically changed in this generation, so your current Infernape set will no longer be as effective as it used to be. I would switch your Infernape for a specially defensive Heatran so that you have both of the aforementioned threats checked. A set with stealth rocks | flamethrower | will-o-wisp | roar would be the most effective here with a calm nature and leftovers. As for an EV spread, I would run 248 HP | 252 SpD | 8 Spe as well.

Finally, I would switch Gliscor's EV spread to 252 HP | 176 Def | 80 Spe with a moveset of Swords Dance | Earthquake | Ice Fang | Taunt. The speed investment in Gliscor helps you outrun threats such as adamant Breloom and stallbreaker Mew which really helps you in checking both of those. The swords dance set helps you boost alongside sweepers such as Conkeldurr so you do not lose to it either. Gengar would also work much better as a substitute disable set with leftovers and a moveset of substitute | shadow ball | disable | focus blast. It is basically a better version of what you are running right now since you don't have to lower your speed and you can still lure in and cripple Ferrothorn, Scizor, and other steel types.

This seems like a pretty solid team. Good Luck.

After testing both Starmie and Gastrodon, I picked Starmie. Gastrodon just wasn't pulling his weight except when Thundurus was on my opponents team.

I changed Conkeldurr's item to Flame Orb (thank you GreasyPanda) and made some move changes to Infernape (thank you Brizznetz).

@GtM - I prefer to keep HP Fire, as Ferrothorn is not OHKO'd by Focus Blast and if I have to 2HKO it it will probably switch out. Especially now that I have Starmie who carries Ice Beam and is even faster than Gengar, I think HP Fire will stay. Thanks for your suggestion, though.

@AB2 - Weather has never really bothered me. I think it's because this team can use most any weather (with the possible exception of Hail, but that's VERY uncommon) to its advantage. Also, I am reluctant to cut Scizor from the team because his Bullet Punches and U-Turns are integral to the team's strategy.
However, your suggestion of Heatran seems possible. Volcarona is possibly the hardest thing for this team to handle and I have long been searching for a reliable counter. I will test that.
I see no reason to make Gliscor any less defensive than possible, simply to outspeed Breloom and Mew, as the former I don't use Gliscor against and the latter I have never EVER seen in a battle, so I don't want to make Gliscor any less able to take hits simply to outspeed a highly uncommon threat. Swords Dance is an interesting proposal, though I value Toxic highly, and I will test it.
Finally, Gengar. How does Disable "cripple" Ferrothorn or Scizor? Ferrothorn has other moves, and Scizor will just switch out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the way I see it playing out.
Thanks for your many ideas.