Hi everyone!
This is one of my favorite teams, and i figured I should throw it up here, its centered around a late game Excadrill sweep by weakening and killing his various Counters.
This is the code for the team, in case you're lazy (like me) and want to try it out.
And I'm back! I apologize for the necromancy, but I finally finished testing and tweaking what people have given me as advice. Changes and additions are in red. Things I remove or are obsolete can be found in the "Graveyard" can be found in the
Without Further ado, lets begin! I tend to ramble, So i put everything in spoilers to let you not shoot yourself.
The Stars of the show. Excadrill needs sandstorm to sweep, and as such a sand starter makes the most sense as a partner. Some people like using Hippowdon due to his superior bulk, but I like Tyranitar too much. I chose a relatively standard set that allows it to tank special hits, even super effective ones, very well.
Gliscor has always been one of my favorite pokemon, and with the addition of poison heal, has been further cemented into that position. I decided on a defensive set, that we'll get into in the analysis, simply because it draws out a lot of physical walls that think its a SD set only to be crippled by a flung toxic orb.
Seeing an obvious weakness to water, I figured having a bulky water type to partner with Gliscor could only help. I decided on Vaporeon fora number of reasons. One, she's sexy. At least as sexy as a mer-dog can get. Two, Wish passing 230ish heals is *really* nice support. I've tried Cruel and Jellicent in this position, and while I occasionally find my self missing the Toxic Spikes/Rapid spin support cruel offered, I wouldn't switch her out for anything.
Now with a Sand starter, 2 defensive pivots, and a sweeper, its time I found a way to pull a Ronald Reagan and break down some walls. I chose Zapdos because with T-bolt, Heat Wave, and Hidden Power, it destroys every single one of Excadrill's hard counters. (Levitate bronzong, skarmory, Gliscor etc.)
Breloom is my last choice. I'm stacking on some ice weaknesses with it, (among other things) but the resistances to water and immunity to sub seeding is why i chose it. The idea behind my choosing him, was that I wanted to *bait* counters and surprise them with death. Unfortuneately, Zapdos' move set isnt exactly unknown. As such I use Breloom as a way to bring in physical walls and either render them useless with spore, or punch a hole in them with focus punch. While I may not get the OHKO, Their wall now has a huge hole in it. Dare I say, large enough for a certain mole to get through.
Editing has brought it to this.
Ke$ha (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
The Monster that is Tyranitar is not to be taken lightly. Especially when it's Ke$ha. Tyranitar acts as my main lead, and my best friend. IT sets up Sandstorm which is the crutch of my late game. One things I love about this team is that even though it's based around Sandstorm, it doesnt require It to function, which we'll get into later. EV investment is designed to maximize special bulk. With the 50% boost from sandstorm, Ke$ha can survive some of the weaker Focus Blasts, which, however uncommon, is pretty damn impressive. Scalds fail to 3hko, assuming I dodge the burn, and pretty much any non-boosted, non-Fighting special attack cannot 2hko it. Stealth rock gives standard entry support, which can be spun away with little regrets on my end (in otherwords, 6 turns later, I didnt waste 6 turns setting up when they go poof). Fire Blast lets Ke$ha deal with Skarmory and Ferrothorns who think they can set-up and Ice beam covers balls-y Grass types and nails Gliscosr on the switch or set up. Crunch provides an obligatory stab, that hits off of physical attack, so Ke$ha isnt limited to her weaker Special stat as her main source of damage. Survived the first round without any changes. Its still a very reliable lead, and an awesome spec wall. With the addition of ferrothorn, I'm given a bit more flexibility in the lead slot, which is helpful.
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Vaporeon is one sexy bitch. Wish support is lovely on this team, especially with the amount of hits it's designed to take, not having to have recovery on *every* mon has been a life saver in many situations. Scald provides an obligatory stab, with a decent chance to burn, further increasing her physical bulk. Protect gives me guaranteed Recovery, but is easy to predict, and people will often Boost on the turn. I'm going to use Garchomp for example, because it happened to me like 3 seconds ago. I switched Vaporeon into a dragon claw, wished the next turn as he dragon claw'd again, at this point I'm at about 30 (each claw did around a third. Go division). And i protected to ensure the wish went off. Karma bit me in the ass that day, as he Swords Danced and proceded to kill me much faster than I could. Namely cause Ice beam missed. Fucker. Anyways. The usage of protect requires a bit of prediction is what I'm getting at, despite the common though that protect eliminates prediction. Getting back to the move set, Ice Beam gives good coverage hitting the thousands of dragons for super effective damage. Vap's EVs provide amazing physical bulk, allowing it to survive a crit dynamic punch with well over 25% left. Like Ke$ha, nothing has changed, Vappy is still a sexy bitch who pulls more than her own weight on the team
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Defensive Gliscor is a scary thing. It can survive All non-boosted non-stab physical Ice attacks and hit back most of the enemies super effectively. Jirachi and Machamp are the 2 I'm looking at, as they're the 2 most common switch in I see, apart from opposing Gliscor. What's fun about this set is that it's very effective and not commonly seen. so most people assume a SD set and will immediately switch to a counter, which (assuming its not skarmory) will be crippled with a toxic fling or beaten to death with an Earthquake. Whats great about gliscor is that it brings out the 2 most common Excadrill counters. Skarmory and other Gliscor. Since most other gliscor are a SD set, I can switch to Vap on the set up, (Or the ice fang, if they're ballsy, or not a SD set) and ice beam it into the floor after surviving the plus 2 EQ (thanks to the physical bulk she's been given). Another fun thing is that despite 0Attack EV's and a neutral nature, having access to base 150 and 165 attacks with great coverage allow for Gliscor to punch holes in many enemies. Through a Stab Boost alone. Protect has the same use as on vaporeon, only with poison heal instead of wish. I've found that instead of setting up on the protect, I often end up protecting switches. Which fucks me over, as i cant scout the first move of the switch, like I like to. Again, protect requires prediction.
Ultimately, the same fate awaited Gliscor as Vappy and Ke$ha. For a while I had run U-turn on him to further emphasize his "defensive piviot" job, but while the switch advantage is nice, the loss of protect is hurtful. I had also run taunt, to little success. I'm interested in trying a stall break scor from last gen, Taunt/Protect/EQ/U-turn with the same ev's and everything.
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
You know for a team completely designed for him, he doesnt show up in matches all too often. Mole boy does his work like no one else. I put him on the team strictly to sweep up whatever I couldn't kill. He's like the janitor. Yeah. So far, Excadrill has taken me from a would be 4-0 loss to a 0-1 victory, 3 times. the move set requires no explanation. EQ for stab, Rock slide and scissor for coverage, with SD to set up. Its nature and item do, however. I chose Adamant over Jolly, because quite frankly, opposing Excadrill are probably the easiest thing to take out. with every pokemon on the team being able to hit it Super effectively. (Oh no, Gliscor has to acrobat its balloon away first. The most Excadrill can do to Gliscor is tickle it with rocks.) I chose Life Orb over Balloon for 2 reasons. 1) Balloon Excadrills still have 3 weaknesses, 2 with priority, all 3 very common. The added "survivability" is really just the ability to switch into earthquakes. 2) Theirs no need. Assuming my team did it's job correctly, I'm throwing a full life (-entry hazard) sweeper against a team with >50% on each of the living pokes. half the time, I dont even need the Swords dance boost, thanks to Life Orb bonuses allowing me to blow through anything with decent bulk. In honesty, Balloon vs LO is personal preference, The way my team works, i need the extra damage more than the ability to set up. I mentioned before, in T-tar's description that the team doesn't require Sandstorm to work. And thats because the only abuser on the team is this guy. I dont require sandstorm to wear down enemies or to give my mon's the boost in power or defense they need to take out the opponent. Its really just there to ensure the late game goes smoothly.RAn return for a while, Ultimately decided the extra coverage on X-Scissor has been a life saver, especially against Lati@s and Reunculis and the random Grass types that crop up every now and again. It lets me use Excadrill as a revenge killer in the sand, which provides an interesting switch up in the general strategy of the team.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Zapdos has been a life savor at many times. I pulled the EV set off of defensive Scizor. 252 HP's give it all around bulk, while 216 def allows it to sport its fighting resistance much better. 40 Spec A and a modest nature gives it a bit over 310 spec attack, causing it to still be a huge offensive threat. Its attack moves provide amazing coverage, though its still resisted by Rotom-W and Lanturn (Breloom's still here though). Roost gives it much more bulk and less of a rock weakness when it needs it. I chose left overs over LO for 1 reasons. I need this to be a live, and between Sandstorm damage and Life Orb Recoil = a dead daffy duck in a few turns, even with roost. Zapdos's job is to kill the walls and counters of Excadrill. I'm not 100% satisfied with Zapdos, as Idealy, the mon that does this will actually *draw out* the opposing wall simply to surprise them with death, but Zapdos has done well so far, and survived with 3, 5 and 6 HP to OHKO a +2 garchomp with HP [Ice] multiple times, so I can't complain too much. It also takes out the 3 common Exca counters. Bronzong, Skarmory, and Gliscor, as its able to hit all 3 for super effective damage, assuming bronzong isn't heatproof. Honestly, who does that though?Over the course of testing Zapdos has gotten many face lifts and changes. I tried a CM Latias, and (due mostly to my ineptness) it didnt do much. Additionally, I didn't feel like it went with the flow of the team. Latias lead me to try a more offensive Latios. Expert belted T bolt, Surf and Draco Meteor provided great coverage against the walls I needed this mon to take out, but its such a common threat *everyone* has a check for it, and i found it on the floor more often than not. I finally decided on a more defensive version of Zapdos, like Eos had told me to. Like Latias, I found it didnt go with the team's flow all that much, and the loss of coverage was noticeable and games were lost because of it. I went back to what i had originally, and moved some ev's around. Sacrificing some bulk, Zapdos is now capable of Killing mostly everything I need it to in one or so hit. I'm not totally happy with these EV's, And I'm pretty sure more testing is going to lead to a 252spa/252spe modest set up. I like the surprise factor of Zapdos's bulk though. Surviving Garchomp Outrages and OHKOing in return.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Some one had told me that i lacked a counter to Reun and that i should run Scizor on the team over breloom to provide coverage on it. And it worked great; I ended up using a classic Choice Band, just because Pursuit catches people who think i will SD on the switch. Regardless, that has nothing to do with Ferrothorn. Without Breloom, I had no *real* way to deal with water types, which is a huge issue, because water types wall Excadrill, and, quite frankly, they're annoying as fuck. I'm looking at you Rotom-W. I eventually decided to give drill back x-scissor to deal with reuncs like i had before, sacrificing some one (usually ke$ha due to stab Crunch going off before it dies, if focus blast misses, I can probably kill it w/o dying.) and OHKOing whats left it. The other reason I was told to use scizor was to "Cushion dragon moves" I thought to myself, "well I need something that hits waters, and why not keep the rest of the benefits scizor has." That, and an undying hatred of rotom-W lead me to choosing Ferrothorn. Thunderwave cripples opposing everythings, even reunc (to an extent) Leech Seed allows for insane amounts of recovery (especially on blisseys and bulky water types)and often forces switches. Power Whip gives me a powerful STAB that hits Rotom-W where it hurts - right in its little washing machine testicles. I had originally ran Gyro Ball over spikes, but a mix of it not helping or doing much and T-wave working against it, I decided Spikes would be more helpful. It provides Dory with a few extra OHKO's unboosted against some of its fatter enemies. Unfortunately, the 2 big ones, Skarm and Gliscor, are unaffected by spikes, but the additional damage on switches is definitley noticible, especially on a team like this which forces a lot of switches and picks on enemies.
And thats about it. The team handles most threats well, though some things still give it trouble. Shell smash passers have been an issue, though if i can survive the hit, Its often OHKO'd due to the -defenses. Assuming I don't let things set up with impunity, The team can handle most enemies I've seen. Skarmory has proven to be a real big bitch, especially when its a SkarmBliss, but that just requires some thoughtful prediction and a fuck ton of patience. Due to the lack of a spinner, Entry hazards are a real big bitch, especially spikes, as most of the team resists or is neutral to rocks. With only 2 pokemon actually having to worry about T-spikes, its less of an issue, but the loss of those 2 are definitely hindering.
Thanks to the few people who helped me do the first editing of this team, I'm looking forward to more feedback and review.
have a great day guys!
This is one of my favorite teams, and i figured I should throw it up here, its centered around a late game Excadrill sweep by weakening and killing his various Counters.
This is the code for the team, in case you're lazy (like me) and want to try it out.
And I'm back! I apologize for the necromancy, but I finally finished testing and tweaking what people have given me as advice. Changes and additions are in red. Things I remove or are obsolete can be found in the "Graveyard" can be found in the
Ke$ha (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Ke$ha (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Hardy Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Hardy Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
- Roost
The Stars of the show. Excadrill needs sandstorm to sweep, and as such a sand starter makes the most sense as a partner. Some people like using Hippowdon due to his superior bulk, but I like Tyranitar too much. I chose a relatively standard set that allows it to tank special hits, even super effective ones, very well.
Gliscor has always been one of my favorite pokemon, and with the addition of poison heal, has been further cemented into that position. I decided on a defensive set, that we'll get into in the analysis, simply because it draws out a lot of physical walls that think its a SD set only to be crippled by a flung toxic orb.
Seeing an obvious weakness to water, I figured having a bulky water type to partner with Gliscor could only help. I decided on Vaporeon fora number of reasons. One, she's sexy. At least as sexy as a mer-dog can get. Two, Wish passing 230ish heals is *really* nice support. I've tried Cruel and Jellicent in this position, and while I occasionally find my self missing the Toxic Spikes/Rapid spin support cruel offered, I wouldn't switch her out for anything.
Now with a Sand starter, 2 defensive pivots, and a sweeper, its time I found a way to pull a Ronald Reagan and break down some walls. I chose Zapdos because with T-bolt, Heat Wave, and Hidden Power, it destroys every single one of Excadrill's hard counters. (Levitate bronzong, skarmory, Gliscor etc.)
Breloom is my last choice. I'm stacking on some ice weaknesses with it, (among other things) but the resistances to water and immunity to sub seeding is why i chose it. The idea behind my choosing him, was that I wanted to *bait* counters and surprise them with death. Unfortuneately, Zapdos' move set isnt exactly unknown. As such I use Breloom as a way to bring in physical walls and either render them useless with spore, or punch a hole in them with focus punch. While I may not get the OHKO, Their wall now has a huge hole in it. Dare I say, large enough for a certain mole to get through.
Editing has brought it to this.
Ke$ha (Tyranitar) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Crunch
The Monster that is Tyranitar is not to be taken lightly. Especially when it's Ke$ha. Tyranitar acts as my main lead, and my best friend. IT sets up Sandstorm which is the crutch of my late game. One things I love about this team is that even though it's based around Sandstorm, it doesnt require It to function, which we'll get into later. EV investment is designed to maximize special bulk. With the 50% boost from sandstorm, Ke$ha can survive some of the weaker Focus Blasts, which, however uncommon, is pretty damn impressive. Scalds fail to 3hko, assuming I dodge the burn, and pretty much any non-boosted, non-Fighting special attack cannot 2hko it. Stealth rock gives standard entry support, which can be spun away with little regrets on my end (in otherwords, 6 turns later, I didnt waste 6 turns setting up when they go poof). Fire Blast lets Ke$ha deal with Skarmory and Ferrothorns who think they can set-up and Ice beam covers balls-y Grass types and nails Gliscosr on the switch or set up. Crunch provides an obligatory stab, that hits off of physical attack, so Ke$ha isnt limited to her weaker Special stat as her main source of damage. Survived the first round without any changes. Its still a very reliable lead, and an awesome spec wall. With the addition of ferrothorn, I'm given a bit more flexibility in the lead slot, which is helpful.
Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef
Bold Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Ice Beam
Vaporeon is one sexy bitch. Wish support is lovely on this team, especially with the amount of hits it's designed to take, not having to have recovery on *every* mon has been a life saver in many situations. Scald provides an obligatory stab, with a decent chance to burn, further increasing her physical bulk. Protect gives me guaranteed Recovery, but is easy to predict, and people will often Boost on the turn. I'm going to use Garchomp for example, because it happened to me like 3 seconds ago. I switched Vaporeon into a dragon claw, wished the next turn as he dragon claw'd again, at this point I'm at about 30 (each claw did around a third. Go division). And i protected to ensure the wish went off. Karma bit me in the ass that day, as he Swords Danced and proceded to kill me much faster than I could. Namely cause Ice beam missed. Fucker. Anyways. The usage of protect requires a bit of prediction is what I'm getting at, despite the common though that protect eliminates prediction. Getting back to the move set, Ice Beam gives good coverage hitting the thousands of dragons for super effective damage. Vap's EVs provide amazing physical bulk, allowing it to survive a crit dynamic punch with well over 25% left. Like Ke$ha, nothing has changed, Vappy is still a sexy bitch who pulls more than her own weight on the team
Gliscor (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Acrobatics
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Fling
Defensive Gliscor is a scary thing. It can survive All non-boosted non-stab physical Ice attacks and hit back most of the enemies super effectively. Jirachi and Machamp are the 2 I'm looking at, as they're the 2 most common switch in I see, apart from opposing Gliscor. What's fun about this set is that it's very effective and not commonly seen. so most people assume a SD set and will immediately switch to a counter, which (assuming its not skarmory) will be crippled with a toxic fling or beaten to death with an Earthquake. Whats great about gliscor is that it brings out the 2 most common Excadrill counters. Skarmory and other Gliscor. Since most other gliscor are a SD set, I can switch to Vap on the set up, (Or the ice fang, if they're ballsy, or not a SD set) and ice beam it into the floor after surviving the plus 2 EQ (thanks to the physical bulk she's been given). Another fun thing is that despite 0Attack EV's and a neutral nature, having access to base 150 and 165 attacks with great coverage allow for Gliscor to punch holes in many enemies. Through a Stab Boost alone. Protect has the same use as on vaporeon, only with poison heal instead of wish. I've found that instead of setting up on the protect, I often end up protecting switches. Which fucks me over, as i cant scout the first move of the switch, like I like to. Again, protect requires prediction.
Ultimately, the same fate awaited Gliscor as Vappy and Ke$ha. For a while I had run U-turn on him to further emphasize his "defensive piviot" job, but while the switch advantage is nice, the loss of protect is hurtful. I had also run taunt, to little success. I'm interested in trying a stall break scor from last gen, Taunt/Protect/EQ/U-turn with the same ev's and everything.
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor
You know for a team completely designed for him, he doesnt show up in matches all too often. Mole boy does his work like no one else. I put him on the team strictly to sweep up whatever I couldn't kill. He's like the janitor. Yeah. So far, Excadrill has taken me from a would be 4-0 loss to a 0-1 victory, 3 times. the move set requires no explanation. EQ for stab, Rock slide and scissor for coverage, with SD to set up. Its nature and item do, however. I chose Adamant over Jolly, because quite frankly, opposing Excadrill are probably the easiest thing to take out. with every pokemon on the team being able to hit it Super effectively. (Oh no, Gliscor has to acrobat its balloon away first. The most Excadrill can do to Gliscor is tickle it with rocks.) I chose Life Orb over Balloon for 2 reasons. 1) Balloon Excadrills still have 3 weaknesses, 2 with priority, all 3 very common. The added "survivability" is really just the ability to switch into earthquakes. 2) Theirs no need. Assuming my team did it's job correctly, I'm throwing a full life (-entry hazard) sweeper against a team with >50% on each of the living pokes. half the time, I dont even need the Swords dance boost, thanks to Life Orb bonuses allowing me to blow through anything with decent bulk. In honesty, Balloon vs LO is personal preference, The way my team works, i need the extra damage more than the ability to set up. I mentioned before, in T-tar's description that the team doesn't require Sandstorm to work. And thats because the only abuser on the team is this guy. I dont require sandstorm to wear down enemies or to give my mon's the boost in power or defense they need to take out the opponent. Its really just there to ensure the late game goes smoothly.RAn return for a while, Ultimately decided the extra coverage on X-Scissor has been a life saver, especially against Lati@s and Reunculis and the random Grass types that crop up every now and again. It lets me use Excadrill as a revenge killer in the sand, which provides an interesting switch up in the general strategy of the team.
Zapdos @ Leftovers
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 220 HP / 36 Def / 252 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Heat Wave
- Roost
Zapdos has been a life savor at many times. I pulled the EV set off of defensive Scizor. 252 HP's give it all around bulk, while 216 def allows it to sport its fighting resistance much better. 40 Spec A and a modest nature gives it a bit over 310 spec attack, causing it to still be a huge offensive threat. Its attack moves provide amazing coverage, though its still resisted by Rotom-W and Lanturn (Breloom's still here though). Roost gives it much more bulk and less of a rock weakness when it needs it. I chose left overs over LO for 1 reasons. I need this to be a live, and between Sandstorm damage and Life Orb Recoil = a dead daffy duck in a few turns, even with roost. Zapdos's job is to kill the walls and counters of Excadrill. I'm not 100% satisfied with Zapdos, as Idealy, the mon that does this will actually *draw out* the opposing wall simply to surprise them with death, but Zapdos has done well so far, and survived with 3, 5 and 6 HP to OHKO a +2 garchomp with HP [Ice] multiple times, so I can't complain too much. It also takes out the 3 common Exca counters. Bronzong, Skarmory, and Gliscor, as its able to hit all 3 for super effective damage, assuming bronzong isn't heatproof. Honestly, who does that though?Over the course of testing Zapdos has gotten many face lifts and changes. I tried a CM Latias, and (due mostly to my ineptness) it didnt do much. Additionally, I didn't feel like it went with the flow of the team. Latias lead me to try a more offensive Latios. Expert belted T bolt, Surf and Draco Meteor provided great coverage against the walls I needed this mon to take out, but its such a common threat *everyone* has a check for it, and i found it on the floor more often than not. I finally decided on a more defensive version of Zapdos, like Eos had told me to. Like Latias, I found it didnt go with the team's flow all that much, and the loss of coverage was noticeable and games were lost because of it. I went back to what i had originally, and moved some ev's around. Sacrificing some bulk, Zapdos is now capable of Killing mostly everything I need it to in one or so hit. I'm not totally happy with these EV's, And I'm pretty sure more testing is going to lead to a 252spa/252spe modest set up. I like the surprise factor of Zapdos's bulk though. Surviving Garchomp Outrages and OHKOing in return.
Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave
- Power Whip
Some one had told me that i lacked a counter to Reun and that i should run Scizor on the team over breloom to provide coverage on it. And it worked great; I ended up using a classic Choice Band, just because Pursuit catches people who think i will SD on the switch. Regardless, that has nothing to do with Ferrothorn. Without Breloom, I had no *real* way to deal with water types, which is a huge issue, because water types wall Excadrill, and, quite frankly, they're annoying as fuck. I'm looking at you Rotom-W. I eventually decided to give drill back x-scissor to deal with reuncs like i had before, sacrificing some one (usually ke$ha due to stab Crunch going off before it dies, if focus blast misses, I can probably kill it w/o dying.) and OHKOing whats left it. The other reason I was told to use scizor was to "Cushion dragon moves" I thought to myself, "well I need something that hits waters, and why not keep the rest of the benefits scizor has." That, and an undying hatred of rotom-W lead me to choosing Ferrothorn. Thunderwave cripples opposing everythings, even reunc (to an extent) Leech Seed allows for insane amounts of recovery (especially on blisseys and bulky water types)and often forces switches. Power Whip gives me a powerful STAB that hits Rotom-W where it hurts - right in its little washing machine testicles. I had originally ran Gyro Ball over spikes, but a mix of it not helping or doing much and T-wave working against it, I decided Spikes would be more helpful. It provides Dory with a few extra OHKO's unboosted against some of its fatter enemies. Unfortunately, the 2 big ones, Skarm and Gliscor, are unaffected by spikes, but the additional damage on switches is definitley noticible, especially on a team like this which forces a lot of switches and picks on enemies.
And thats about it. The team handles most threats well, though some things still give it trouble. Shell smash passers have been an issue, though if i can survive the hit, Its often OHKO'd due to the -defenses. Assuming I don't let things set up with impunity, The team can handle most enemies I've seen. Skarmory has proven to be a real big bitch, especially when its a SkarmBliss, but that just requires some thoughtful prediction and a fuck ton of patience. Due to the lack of a spinner, Entry hazards are a real big bitch, especially spikes, as most of the team resists or is neutral to rocks. With only 2 pokemon actually having to worry about T-spikes, its less of an issue, but the loss of those 2 are definitely hindering.
Thanks to the few people who helped me do the first editing of this team, I'm looking forward to more feedback and review.
have a great day guys!
Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
I think this set needs no introduction or explination, but I dont want my thread locked after 30 minutes of work so far. Breloom provides, via typing, resistance to water, and an immunity to leech seed, 2 things I've found out this team was very weak to through various play tests and such. Spore provides 100% sleep, which allows for Subs and Focus Punching with impunity. Nine times out of ten, people switch the spored 'mon out, allowing me to just focus punch on the switch. This is usually done when I know either a Counter or something weak to fighting is coming out. If anything is taking x2 to a 225 BP hit, it's dead, so i take the free kill where i can get it. For counters that come in, I poke a 20-30% hole into it, and respond accordingly. Some people may be wondering why i dont just Sub the switch and get a free hit in *next* turn. And honestly, while yes poison heal regeneration is a lot, in sand, its limited to leftover recovery, which *does not* justify dealing a fourth of my life to do the same amount of damage. Seed bomb provides a secondary stab with decent coverage, most notabley on Bulky waters which give the rest of the team, namely Excadrill and Gliscor, trouble.
Trait: Poison Heal
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Spore
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
I think this set needs no introduction or explination, but I dont want my thread locked after 30 minutes of work so far. Breloom provides, via typing, resistance to water, and an immunity to leech seed, 2 things I've found out this team was very weak to through various play tests and such. Spore provides 100% sleep, which allows for Subs and Focus Punching with impunity. Nine times out of ten, people switch the spored 'mon out, allowing me to just focus punch on the switch. This is usually done when I know either a Counter or something weak to fighting is coming out. If anything is taking x2 to a 225 BP hit, it's dead, so i take the free kill where i can get it. For counters that come in, I poke a 20-30% hole into it, and respond accordingly. Some people may be wondering why i dont just Sub the switch and get a free hit in *next* turn. And honestly, while yes poison heal regeneration is a lot, in sand, its limited to leftover recovery, which *does not* justify dealing a fourth of my life to do the same amount of damage. Seed bomb provides a secondary stab with decent coverage, most notabley on Bulky waters which give the rest of the team, namely Excadrill and Gliscor, trouble.
