Wrath of Breloom

[PapaBearAds]

Wrath of Breloom

Introduction:


Hello Smogon! This is not only my first RMT, but is also my first post here with you lovely fellow’s. I’m relatively new to competitive teambuilding, although I’ve been in the world of Pokémon since the beginning. I dabbled a little in PO during DPP, but I never fully understood some of the finer points of battling, and none of my teams amounted to much. I’ve been playing properly since the release of Gen 5. In terms of my style of play I enjoy balanced teams, and most of my teams have one or two defensive pivots, then an offensive core that compliments each other’s weaknesses.


My favourite Pokémon since it’s release in Gen 3 is Breloom. I love it. It’s featured, I’d say, in near to 90% of my teams. It looks awesome, it has a number of viable sets that keeps my opponents guessing, it has access to the sexiest move in the game Spore and it now has access to one of the most powerful abilities in the game in Technician. Needless to say now, he’s going to be the MVP of this team.


Teambuilding Process:

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As I said above, Techniloom is going to be the centre of this team and therefore the Poké’s that I select are going to compliment him and allow him to wreak havoc. I decided to add Ferrothorn for his entry hazards, massive walling capabilities and Leech Seed.




Due to the massive presence of Rain in the BW2 metagame I decided to finish my defensive core with Jellicent. Awesome typing, superb stat spread and awesome synergy with Ferrothorn meant it had an automatic slot for this team.



I then decided I had need of a speedy sweeper, and decided to add Espeon. Despite it’s less-than-satisfactory typing, it has a sexy stat spread, decent move set and the ability Magic Bounce meaning I don’t need a rapid spinner. Beautiful.



I then felt I needed to bring in a counter for the Genies, who seem to be dominating the metagame at the moment, so I went with Mamoswine. BW2 was kind to Mamoswine, who gained his ability Thick Fat, allowing him to sponge Ice attacks beautifully and remove his weakness to Fire. He also checks Dragons and counters Gliscor.



I decided to round the team off with Sub Hydreigon.




In testing I decided that Tornadus-T was running rampant on my team and I struggled against Sun teams. I decided to replace Ferrothorn with Heatran, who offered almost complete walling of Sun teams, phasing and allowed me to take Stealth Rock away from Mamoswine and use the classic EdgeQuake combo.




Hydreigon wasn’t pulling his weight, so I decided to bring in Keldeo-R. It offers decent coverage, late-game sweeping potential and impressive bulk.


Is the newest member to my team. I decided to replace Keldeo with this. I am running Scarf on it, I can now reliably KO many would be checks to my team, as well as offering a source of momentum.

Close up’s:

Breloom @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EV’s: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
-Spore
-Mach Punch
-Bullet Seed
-Stone Edge
What can I say about this Pokémon that you’ve not all heard before? Sexy attack stat, one of the best movesets in the game, an ability that turns his ordinarily weak STAB’s into devastating attacks and Spore. I love Spore. Spore is perhaps the most useful move in the game. He has a good chance to OHKO Heatran, as well as threats stupid enough to stick about such as Dragonite, Salamence and Tyranitar.



Espeon @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Bounce
EV’s: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
-Calm Mind
-Psyshock
-Shadowball
-Hidden Power Fighting
Previously I lived for Alakazam alongside my Breloom’s, but now that Espeon has Magic Bounce, she’s awesome. Hidden Power Fighting and Shadowball offer neutral coverage for breaking walls down after a Calm Mind. She’s often the Poké that I rely on for late game sweeping. Pink Blob twins are fearful of Boosted Psyshocks. Hidden Power choice is debatable but atm I’m enjoying the coverage.



Mamoswine @ Expert Belt
Trait: Thick Fat
EV’s: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
Ice Shard
Icicle Crash
Earthquake
Superpower

Beautiful Pokémon this thing. Expert Belt for faking out a Choice item and getting a cheeky KO or super effective hit. Beautiful counter to Gliscor, Genies and most Dragons. Jirachi should fear this thing too, which is always beneficial. I love Thick Fat, made him a whole lot more useable in my eyes. I’m fairly certain he’s a permanent member at the moment. Not much else to say.



Heatran @ Leftovers
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SDef / 8 Spe
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
Awesome check to many threats in the current meta, not easy to KO this thing when he’s juggling burns and protect stall. Solid layer of rocks, never a bad thing for any Pokémon. Sun teams cry when he’s out on the field, and along with Jellicent they don’t really worry me at all. Whereas with Ferrothorn feared Volcarona who also destroyed much of my last team, but this beauty walls it almost wholly. Phazing certain threats such as Lati@s and Dragon Dance dragons who would otherwise sweep.



Jellicent @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Defense / 44 Spe
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Shadowball
- Recover
- Taunt

Part of an awesome defensive core with Heatran. Walls a lot of what would threaten my team. Scald seems to burn a lot more than only 30%! I ran Toxic, but based on Jimbon's advise and a quick test, Shadowball is a better move that helps break down some of the defensive threats to this team. Recover offers reliable recovery, nothing to sniff your nose at. Taunt is yet another way to interrupt Dragon Dancers and Bulk Up abusers such as Toxicroak who can’t do anything to this thing.



Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Volt Turn
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power Fire
- Trick
This Poké has replaced Keldeo and already he's impressing me. Trick is one of the main reasons that I went for this member. I can do so much funky stuff with it and force many teams to have to change up their strategy. Volt Turn for scouting purposes, giving me momentum and annoying some teams. Hydro Pump for the huge STAB damage. Hidden Power Fire for coverage.

Threat List:
Rotom-W
Reuniclus
Celebi
Gengar
Lucario
Virizion
Scrafty
Tornadus
Alakazam

Thanks to all who offer their opinions and to anyone who leaves a rate!

[Jimbon]

Hi there!

This is a neat team you have here, making full use of Breloom's offensive power, coupled with support from you defensive core in Heatran / Jellicent. If your team is trying to attempt a sweep with Breloom, then odds are you will need to remove some of the things that Breloom has a lot of trouble with. The threats that you mentioned all pose some problems for Breloom, stopping it's sweep from happening. To help attempt this sweep, I do think you could try out Shadow Ball > Toxic on Jellicent. A lot of the defensive threats you seem to have trouble with are pretty easily dealt with by Shadow Ball. Taunt + Shadow Ball shuts down Calm Mind Reuniclus, while hitting Starmie and Rotom-W harder than Taunt does. This is especially important as Starmie often carries Recover and can easily switch in to your current Jellicent set. Rotom on the other hand will generally be Volt Switching in and out of Jellicent, meaning Toxic does not really affect it as it doesn't stya in long enough for Toxic damage to rack up. It also helps greatly against Sub Disable variants of Gengar, as Scald breaks the Substitute and you can Shadow Ball as they Disable, disposing of Gengar. Ultimately, it also helps you Spin block a lot easier, which is important as Breloom needs hazards to turn some of it's 2HKOs into OHKOs.

While the threats you have listed all look problematic for your team, I think that Rotom-W is arguably the most troublesome for your team to face. It can easily switch in on Heatran, Jellicent or Mamoswine and start burning things or Volt Switching out, either looking annoying for your team as Breloom who checks Rotom can be burned, and as you lack a spinner you will be racking up hazard damage pretty quickly. To help with this, I recommend that you try Superpower > Stone Edge on Mamoswine. Stone Edge is pretty redundant coverage, as the only thing you really hit harder is Volcarona, who is KO'd after Stealth Rock, and walled pretty hard by Heatran. Superpower however lets you hit Rotom as it switches in, a lot harder than Stone Edge without having to worry about it missing. Additionally, you get the added bonus of hitting Balloon variants of Heatran and Magnezone harder, while also being able to maul Tyranitar.

Cool team, hope I helped!

[PapaBearAds]

Hey Jimbon.

Those changes are superb, thankyou!

How do you feel about Keldeo? Outside of Rain she's not as powerful as I'd like, and I feel that I could utilize a different sweeper that helps counter Brelooms checks?

[PapaBearAds]

New update to my team, Rotom-W and I really like what it offers. I have some solid revenge kill capability, which previously I lacked outside of priorities. What are your thoughts on this? I was also considering a bulky annoying set, but inevitably I went for this.

[Latiax]

I think you should try CM Latios over Espeon. It has a bit higher SP attack and a better move pool. It also is a strong counter to Rotom-w and can usually own CM reun. Also adds another solid ground immunity for heatran

[Electrolyte]

Originally Posted by Fat Latiax

I think you should try CM Latios over Espeon. It has a bit higher SP attack and a better move pool. It also is a strong counter to Rotom-w and can usually own CM reun. Also adds another solid ground immunity for heatran

What are you talking about? Espeon has way higher SpA than Latias- Latias has 110, while Espeon has 130 SpA. Not only that, unless Latias carries Roar / Psyshock, it does not beat CM Reuniclus, who almost always carries psyshock. EDIT- nvm thought it said Latias


Papa, you have a really nice team. Any advice I'd give is in the form of small nitpicks, since Jimbon covered a lot and with RotomW your weaknesses are patched up pretty well. I would give Espeon Baton Pass instead of Shadow Ball. Baton Pass allows you to escape Pursuit from Tyranitar and Scizor. You also have a whole plethora of teammates to pass to- Rotom-W becomes a very formidable sweeper when passed some boosts. Jellicent becomes an even more solid and powerful special wall, while Heatran plows through your opponent with Lava Plume. Even Breloom and Mamoswine, who aren't special attackers, gain from this strategy too because both become extremely more defensive when their SpD is boosted. Virtually all of your team threats attack specially, so having a boost in SpD will help you a lot. And Espeon is just the pokemon to do it.

I would also give Heatran an Air Balloon instead of Leftovers, so that Dugtrio, the revenge trapper of many sun teams, can't trap you and end your walling capabilities.

Other than that, I didn't see any fatal flaws. Nice team, and great work!

[PapaBearAds]

Originally Posted by Fat Electrolyte

What are you talking about? Espeon has way higher SpA than Latias- Latias has 110, while Espeon has 130 SpA. Not only that, unless Latias carries Roar / Psyshock, it does not beat CM Reuniclus, who almost always carries psyshock.


Papa, you have a really nice team. Any advice I'd give is in the form of small nitpicks, since Jimbon covered a lot and with RotomW your weaknesses are patched up pretty well. I would give Espeon Baton Pass instead of Shadow Ball. Baton Pass allows you to escape Pursuit from Tyranitar and Scizor. You also have a whole plethora of teammates to pass to- Rotom-W becomes a very formidable sweeper when passed some boosts. Jellicent becomes an even more solid and powerful special wall, while Heatran plows through your opponent with Lava Plume. Even Breloom and Mamoswine, who aren't special attackers, gain from this strategy too because both become extremely more defensive when their SpD is boosted. Virtually all of your team threats attack specially, so having a boost in SpD will help you a lot. And Espeon is just the pokemon to do it.

I would also give Heatran an Air Balloon instead of Leftovers, so that Dugtrio, the revenge trapper of many sun teams, can't trap you and end your walling capabilities.

Other than that, I didn't see any fatal flaws. Nice team, and great work!

Hey Electrolyte,

Those changes are superb, thanks alot! I'm definitely gonna try them out as soon as I'm online. My only thought now is whether or not it's worth replacing Protect with something else, as I only really used it for free Leftovers heals. Heatran's weaknesses are far and few between and very easy to predict.

The baton pass idea was brilliant and I thank you! Yet another way for me to maintain momentum and I can pass off sexy boosts to Rotom if needed.

[PapaBearAds]

24 hourly bump, any more thoughts or proposed changes?

[Asek]

Originally Posted by Fat Electrolyte

What are you talking about? Espeon has way higher SpA than Latias- Latias has 110, while Espeon has 130 SpA. Not only that, unless Latias carries Roar / Psyshock, it does not beat CM Reuniclus, who almost always carries psyshock.

He said Latios my friend, not Latias.

Anyway I just have a few nitpicks here, since this is a really solid team PapaBearAds. Looking at Rotom-W I think using Hidden Power [FIRE] isn't the wisest choice for your Hidden Power try out Hidden Power [ICE] > Hidden Power [FIRE] on Rotom-W. HP [ICE] gives you perfect coverage as it allows you to hit the Dragons that wall your current set, while still hitting the Grass types HP [FIRE] is there to cover. Drop Attack and Defense IV's down to 30 to retain max speed though. (The default for HP[ICE] is 30Spe IIRC)

Mamoswine is a great addition to any team right now, yours included. But your set could have some improvements made to it to counter some threats to your team. Using Jolly Nature > Adamant on Mamo is a far better fit. Jolly allows you to outspeed other Adamant Mamo's and also lets you outspeed Adamant Lucario and Toxicroak, who otherwise look threatening to your team. To help Mamoswine get those OHKO's and 2HKO's he should be getting, try out Life Orb > Expert Belt. Expert Belt doesn't have the guranteed power boost that Life Orb does, and although you lose the ability to bluff, you gain a much needed kick to all your attacks.

GL with the team!

[PapaBearAds]

Originally Posted by Fat Asek

He said Latios my friend, not Latias.

Anyway I just have a few nitpicks here, since this is a really solid team PapaBearAds. Looking at Rotom-W I think using Hidden Power [FIRE] isn't the wisest choice for your Hidden Power try out Hidden Power [ICE] > Hidden Power [FIRE] on Rotom-W. HP [ICE] gives you perfect coverage as it allows you to hit the Dragons that wall your current set, while still hitting the Grass types HP [FIRE] is there to cover. Drop Attack and Defense IV's down to 30 to retain max speed though. (The default for HP[ICE] is 30Spe IIRC)

Mamoswine is a great addition to any team right now, yours included. But your set could have some improvements made to it to counter some threats to your team. Using Jolly Nature > Adamant on Mamo is a far better fit. Jolly allows you to outspeed other Adamant Mamo's and also lets you outspeed Adamant Lucario and Toxicroak, who otherwise look threatening to your team. To help Mamoswine get those OHKO's and 2HKO's he should be getting, try out Life Orb > Expert Belt. Expert Belt doesn't have the guranteed power boost that Life Orb does, and although you lose the ability to bluff, you gain a much needed kick to all your attacks.

GL with the team!

Hi Asek,

Your proposed changes are fantastic, thankyou! I was definitely considering running a Jolly Mamo, but inevitably went with the Adamant version. I've certainly been having trouble with certain versions of Toxicroak, and Lucario can be annoying if they're running Crunch. Although I'm likely to stick with the Expert Belt. The amount of KO's this Poké has gotten by Choice-bluffing is staggering. Luckily it seems to be Jirachi's that switch in on my ice attacks, only to be OHKO'd by STAB'd EQ.

The Hidden Power change is perfect and I thank you wholeheartedly. HP Fire, although a decent answer to Steel types, I other answers to them in the team, and I have a Pseudo-BoltBeam coverage.

Time to start my ladder journey, methinks!


EDIT! I've updated my threat list, and fixed up some formatting.