The Eye of the Storm IV (Sandstorm, Peaked 125)

[jds24]

Hello everyone, welcome to my second (real) RMT. For those of you who saw my last RMT, Eye of the Storm II are probably wondering where III went. Eye of the Storm IV sounded much cooler than III so that's that... This team has had more success than my last one, and I've finally found a 6th member that fits well. Please point out any weakness and post any suggestions, that's why I'm posting this on here. This team has peaked at 1377 points with a ranking of 163 on PO server (because smogon is down). I go by Bladeezz on PO, feel free to challenge me, it'll be fun! I've been having a lot more trouble using this team to ladder nearly as successfully on smogon. Weird huh? I seem to have hit a wall on the smogon leader board around 1400 points - I've broken though my 1300 wall! Peaking at 1360 points with a rank of 125! If you're a tutor and you're not busy and you see me on, it would be really great to get a battle and some tips from someone who really knows what they're doing. Things being tested have been marked in bold.

Team Building Process and Synergy

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This is where my team started off. A pretty classic combo of Tyranitar and Garchomp, one providing the sand for the other and baiting out its counters allowing it to sweep. Tyranitar has lots of weaknesses to cover, and Garchomp doesn't help with many of them, so that would be left up to the rest of the team. Tyranitar also provides Stealth Rock support for Garchomp if he doesn't get a chance to SD.


Now that I had my lead and a sweeper, I needed the defensive core every balanced team should have. First off was the Specially Defnsive half. Specially defensive vaporeon caught my eye for its ability to wish pass, and its literal ability Water Absorb. With rain teams all over the place now a days, it comes in handy quite often. It syngerizes well with Garchomp and Tyranitar helping to cover some of their major weaknesses.


And now the second half of the defensive duo, Skarmory. Skarmory has an insane amount of resistances and is a great defensive wall. Although he shares a common weakness of electricity with Vaporeon, Garchomp is immune to it and can switch in to it and help eliminate it with his STAB Earthquake. Skarmory's other weakness of fire is covered by every other member of my team. This defensive duo only leaves neutrality to Rock and Fighting attacks.


Now that I had a lead, defensive core, and a physical sweeper, I was in need for a special sweeper. I found Reuniclus as a great choice, being a hard counter to fighting types and being able to rip through unprepared teams. Although he has decent coverage, it doesn't work as well as it could with Garchomp. I was still in need of a fire attack.


This last slot has been the hardest to fill. I've actually played with just these 5 pokemon and still been able to win battles fairly consistently. Many pokemon have been tried here, and so far the best fit has been infernape (God I would kill for Blaziken to be back to OU now). His coverage helps to deal with some things that wall my team and bulky waters.


I decided to switch from skarmory and vappy defensive core to jellifro combo. They spread status much more effectively, and cover eachothers weaknesses perfectly. They're really just a gift from game freak, and jellicent's access to taunt is also a blessing. The only thing these two lack in team support are wish passing and heal bell type support, which I am finding how helpful wish support was now that i dont have it. This really leaves my 6th slot a mystery. I'm trying now to see what pokemon can fit the bill of cleric and still having somewhat offensive presence while not adding any weaknesses to the team. I may add a poll to this thread wish possibilities im considering and allowing all of you to voice your opinion easily.

As of now I've been using Terrakion as my 6th member. I felt that my team was become a bit too defensive and Terrakion is just a great pokemon for applying pressure early in the game. He fuffils an important role in my team with his Air Balloon, checking many threats and also as a second taunter.


Although Terrakion was filling his niche well, his niche wasn't what my team needed. I was weak to lots of threats above Terrakions speed tier and set up sweepers that use Quiver Dance and Dragon Dance. Excadrill does well to check or counter those faster threats that can hurt my team, so I decided he would be a nice adition.

Overview

In Depth

Knight of the Sand Storm

Tyranitar (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SAtk / 80 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Crunch
- Ice Beam

Yes, this set is stolen from KG (almost). This Tyranitar has great bulk and gets Stealth Rocks out reliably. It helps to bait in some of Garchomps counters and eliminate them with Fire Blast and Ice Beam. Pursuit is an interesting option, and is a great trapping move and helps to limit the number of times the opposing weather inducer can switch in and out, having to be hit once on the switch in and once on the switch out, thus allowing me to more than likely win the weather battle. I prefer Crunch over Pursuit because of it's ability to hit Reuniclus harder. This works much more effectively than pursuit, as the metagame predicts it and never switches into it, ending up in Tyranitar's untimely demise. The EV's (or lack there of) and nature help to be slower than all oppsing weather starters and have Standstorm out at the beginning of the battle. Due to his typing he has quite a large pool of weaknesses that needed to be covered by the rest of my team. Also though due to his typing, he can take (all but bug) attacks direct at Reuniclus, and fire attacks directed at Ferrothorn. Although if it's a weather battle, that wouldn't be preferable because it would cut down his longevity, eventually making me lose the weather battle. Fire Blast's accuracy has been a huge pain, it seems to always miss at key points early in the battle. Focus Sash is being tested and is working great, allowing me to take powerful hits from Landorus and Gliscor and OHKO back with Ice Beam. It also makes Tyranitar a much more reliable Reuniclus counter, not relying on Focus Blast missing.

Synergy
: Jellicent, Ferrothorn.
: Ferrothorn.
: Jellicent, Reuniclus.
: Ferrothorn, Jellicent.
: Excarill if Air Balloon is intact.
: Jellicent, Excadrill.

Garchomp Reigns Supreme

The King (Garchomp) (M) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Outrage
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Earthquake

The King makes his return from my last RMT. This returns to my motto of "If it ain't broke... don't use it". I'm in love with this set. It allows a tremendously powerful Outrage with no confusion draw back. After a Swords Dance Garchomp is frighteningly powerful and when coupled with a Sub can often times beat its counters one on one. Earthquake is there for obvious STAB reasons, and with Outrage offers just rediculous coverage which is only hard walled by two pokes. He also works as a back up check to status inducers because of his Lum Berry, but I don't like doing this because it cuts down on his sweeping ability. The most namely of the status inducers being coutnerd is Breloom. Garchomp can switch in, cure spore sleep and OHKO with Outrage. All in all I'm in love with Garchomp, and in heinsight I want to support it more with wish, which my team doesn't seem to be very good at right now. I have tested ScarfChomp out over Sub + SD Chomp, and this set is much more effective with my team. Excadrill does a great job of countering the things ScarfChomp does, so the power of Sub + SD Chomp is what my team needed.

Synergy
: Ferrothorn, Excadrill (if it's a weak attack, -2 Draco Meteor).
: Jellicent, Tyranitar (pseudo).

Illusion of the Oasis

Manfred (Jellicent) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Scald
- Shadow Ball

This Jellicent is the first half of my defensive core and functions as a great bulky water, special wall, and spin blocker. He synergizes perfectly with Ferrothorn and together they apply two of the most crippling statuses in the game: Burn and Paralysis. Although the shaky accuracy on WoW is somewhat of a turn off, it can do it's job well and allows Reuniclus to set up on physical attackers more succesfully and often. I also love burning opposing Ferrothorns, making them even more set up fodder for Garchomp when their Power Whips don't even break his subs. Water Absorb makes opposing Politoed useless, and he can also take fighting attacks directed at Tyranitar with immunity, allowing him to be a great early game switch in against rain teams. Him and Reuniclus give my team a strong fighting resistance I've been looking for. Overall this pokemon is a total upgrade from Vaporeon, have better stats, status moves, and identical ability. The only set back from using Jellicent is his lack of Wish. Scald is being tested over Taunt. Taunt seemed to become almost never used. Scald allows me to check Gliscor when Jellicent has most of it's health. Jellicent has been a great wall lately, walling off more threats than Ferrothorn. I am very pleased with Jellicent's performance.

Synergy
: Ferrothorn
: Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Excadrill
: Ferrothorn, Garchomp, Excadrill, Tyranitar (pseudo).
: Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Excadrill.

The Cactus Wunnabe


Ferrothorn (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Power Whip
- Protect
- Thunder Wave
- Spikes

This is my main method of T-Waving things faster than Garchomp. He is just a physical tank and synergizes perfectly with Jellicent. Protect is used over Gyro Ball because it becomes useless after T-wave. Protect really can come through in the clutch when my team just really needs a turn of immunity. Often times there are threats weaked about to go down, but still pose a large threat. Protect allows Sand Storm to take its toll, as well as burn if I have it set up. Power Whip provides neccesary coverage for my team, as in the past I have always had trouble with working a grass move in some where. He does seem to be a fair trade off for Skarmory due to his status inducing moves, but his lack of phazing puts my team in need of one. Spikes are being tested over Leech Seed after being told my team would appreciate the support.

Synergy
: Jellicent, Reuniclus.
: Jellicent, Tyranitar, Garchomp.

I Am The Syndrome

Syndrome (Reuniclus) (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Recover

Don't be fooled by this thing's appearence, it's much more dangerous than it appears. This thing is incredibly bulky with this EV spread, and can set up on lots of pokes, defensive or offensive. While recoiless Life Orb is hard to pass up, Leftovers is being tested over Life Orb for the survivability it provides. It makes this blob nearly impossible to take down. Magic Guard is one of the best abilites in the game, giving immunity to Sandstorm and entry hazards, which my team has no way of preventing. The moveset allows it to have a great recovery move and neutral damage to most pokemon (although psychic resists both, it has two moveslot syndrome). I prefer this variant over trick room because trick room could hinder the rest of my team if this goes down with TR still up. He acts as a strong counter to Conkledurr and other strong fighting types, and he carries an important fighting resistance for my team. Him and Excadrill make up a great offensive core, Excadrill having X-Scissor to put a dent in or eliminate Psychic types which resist Reuniclus's attacks. Lately he has netted me some pretty clutch late game sweeps, leading me to a victory against the #3 player on the smogon leader board.

Synergy
: Jellicent, Excadrill.
: Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Excadrill.
: Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, Excadrill.

Drilling the Competition

DeathQuake (Excadrill) @ Air Balloon
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- X-Scissor

Excadrill is my main answer to many things my team was weak to, more specificly Thundurus. My team was weak to set up mons that use moves like Dragon Dance and Quiver Dance to sweep because I had no way to outspeed them and they could just tear through my team. Excadrill fuffils the role of countering Thundurus, Haxorus, Opposing Excadrill (Without Air Balloon), Volcarona, and weakened Latios well. I say weakened Latios because X-Scissor does an average of 81%, so Sand Storm and Stealth Rock damage need to occur before Latios can be taken down. He also functions great as a mid game offensive mon by applying pressure early on, posing an immediate threat with his great coverage and 405 attack stat. Even more effectively though, he is a great late game sweeper once his counters have been eliminated. His held item, Air Balloon, opens up tons of oppurtunities during the game to set up a SD and put me in a check mate position. This is a pretty standard Excadrill, there's not much more to say... If it ain't broke... don't use it.

Synergy
: Jellicent, Ferrothorn.
: Jellicent, Reuniclus.
: Jellicent, Ferrothorn, Garchomp.
: Excadrill's Air Balloon.

Some of my teams problems/things I don't like about my team consist of:

-Lack off Wish and Heal Bell/Aromatherapy Type move.
-Lack of a reliable phazer.

Some art (Reuniclus) is taken from Yilx's Art Thread . Check it out, his art is fucking awesome.
Picture in Threat List is from Fatecrasher's Art Thread . Check it out! His work is really funny.
If you have better pictures of Jellicent, Ferrothorn, and Excadrill, PM them to me, if I like them enough, I'll put them up on my RMT and add your name down here too!

I've put a lot of effort into this threat list, I would really appreciate it if you would read it. If you're lazy, just read the colors. I color coded it for you, really please do read it.

The Threat Down (Total Threat List)

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My reactions, in color code:
Green: I lol at you, or I never see you.
No Color: No threat really *kicks feet up on sofa*
Blue: *Rubs eyes laxidazicly* oh I should probably pay attention...
Red: OH FUCK, not this guy.

Offensive Threats

Aerodactyl - Lead versions do what they do best and die to Ice Beam. Uncommon life orb sets don't really pose much of a threat even though they outspeed most of my team. Excadrill can OHKO with Rock Slide

Archeops - Same story as Aerodactyl, except it's never a lead, and Excadrill negates it entirely as a threat even if it doesn't get OHKO'd because of defeatist. Also, Stealth Rocks say hello.

Azelf - 5th gen has killed Azelf. I almost never see it, and is checked or hard countered by most of my team. More specificly, Jellicent and Excadrill.

Bisharp - Never really used, and is susceptable to Excadrill's Earthquake, unless carrying an air balloon. It's 4x weak to Reuniclus's Focus Blast, but I would be careful about using it as a counter, until after I mind fuck it in the sucker punch meta-meta-game.

Breloom - What team isn't Breloom a threat to? Thank god it has fallen in usage this gen. Sleep is basicly an OHKO to any 'mon. My only real true answer to this is Garchomp, but doing that costs me my Lum Berry which cuts down on his Outrage. It can tank the sleep and outspeed and OHKO with Outrage. Reuni is a hard check if sleep clause is in effect.

Chandelure - The only viable set for this thing is in DW tier, so I have no idea how well my team handles it. I know Excadrill rapes its titties off with Earthquake and outspeeds it. Any other set besides ScarfTag is lol worthy.

Cobalion - It is weak to Excadrill, and Garchomp can take it on easily with Earthquake because no one runs max speed, because no one runs this at all. It's also set up fodder for Reuni if it isn't carrying taunt.

Conkeldurr - Reuni is a hard counter for this, being slower and negating the purpose of Payback, tanking Stone Edges like a boss if need be, and resisting his fighting moves with easy. STAB Psychic destroys bulk up sets with ease due to lack of SpD. Can be problematic if I fail though, but what isn't.

Darmanitan - Hard Countered by Jellicent. Immune to super power and resists Flare Blitz, the only thing I can't do is burn it back and really destroy it. Garchomp outspeeds non-scarfed variants and OHKOs with Earthquake, Excadrill can't switch in, but can revenge with ease.

Deoxys-S - Lead Version's don't get OHKO'd by Crunch, so they do their job well. Excadrill outspeeds and OHKOs with X-Scissor. Imo, no one really plays Deo-S to its full potential as a sweeper, as with its coverage and speed can be a real threat to teams, but I think mine could handle it fine. Prediction is important with this mon.

Dragonite - Excadrill can revenge w/ Rock Slide with ease, and Stealth Rocks take their toll. Ferrothorn can usually wall it, but being weary of the Fire Punch. It's pretty easy to cripple and has really never posed a threat to my team.

Druddigon - LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. Next.

Eelektross - Although it has no weaknesses, I don't really give a fuck about it lol. Reuni is probably my best counter and can use it as set up fodder.

Electivire - If it gets a speed boost, it'll be up to Excadrill to revenge KO with EQ, but getting said speed boost would be some kind of amazing gypsy magic as my team doesn't have an Electric Attack besides T-Wave on Ferrothorn, so he probably isn't a problem.

Emboar - I don't believe this thing can survive at all in todays OU environment. It gets destroyed by pretty much all of my team.

Empoleon - I feel this thing will bloom in usage after pinch berries come out. I really like SubPetaya empoleon personally. It can't stand up to EQ, and Garchomp outspeeds before an Agility. Water + Ice coverage = gets walled by Jellicent, I can burn and recover stall/ Ferrothorn leech seed + protect stall.

Espeon - This mofo blowing ma rocks back out me. HOW DARE YOU!?! Tyranitar can crunch leads hard for a 2HKO. Espeon is suprisingly fast clocking in at 350, but like everything else falls short to Excadrill. X-Scissor is an easy OHKO. Garchomp can also usually take a hit and KO back, or set up if I feel it is right.

Escavalier - This thing is green just because I never see it. It has nice defenses and typing, but I can power through it with EQ, and Tyranitar outspeeds (WOW) and can OHKO with Fire Blast. Jellicent can also burn it, as it resists both stabs.

Excadrill - Once again, what team isn't Excadrill a threat to? Jolly variants can be troublesome if carrying an Air Balloon. I usually try to pop its balloon with something else while keeping my Excadrill's Balloon intact, allowing me to KO with EQ. If it has Brick Break... damn you. Brick Break is the Excadrill on Excadrill counter move, which is why I consider using it, but X-Scissor's coverage is too good to pass up.

Garchomp - Such typical threats to teams... Garchomp can be a bitch with Sub by avoiding status and leech seed. If I manage to burn or leech seed it, I can usually stall it out, or weaken it enough into OHKO range for Excadrill, who can switch in on a predicted EQ directed at Ferrothorn with impunity. Sorry if you don't speak native english, as that last sentance porbably won't make since, as well as this one. I hate it when it comes down to speed ties between mine and oposing Garchomp.

Genesect - He is a DW mon, so he is green. When he is released, his Choice Scarf set could cause some damage. It really comes down to prediction, just like countering any choiced mon.

Gengar - Faster than the majority of my team, this thing is like half blue, as it can be somewhat threatening. Sub Disable Gengar is a bitch and can counter Reuni. Excadrill fails to OHKO with Rock Slide. Garchomp may outspeed the SubDis set, but I'd have to look it up as I'm not sure. Ferrothorn can paralyse fast sweeping sets in order to allow for a revenge kill.

Golurk - LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

Gyarados - Fuck Intimidate ruining Excadrill sweeps. Without the attack drop, Excadrill can OHKO with Rock Slide. If chomp has sub up, he can block intimidate and not get his sweep ruined. Reuniclus can also counter it decently. God Gyrados is scary looking though.

Haxorus - Dragon Dance Haxorus SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME. It's not that my team is weak to it, it's just that it's SUCH A MONSTER. My best bet at dealing with +1 +1 Haxxy is smart switching, burn/leech seed damage, iron barbs, and sandstorm. I really can just out predict it and wear it down quickly. Garchomp outspeeds +0 Haxorus and OHKOs with Outrage, but obvious move is obvious and will cause a switch. Excadrill isn't quite OHKO'd by Outrage, and can strike back at weakend Haxxy with Earthquake. God he is scary, I really wunna use him in one of my teams someday.

Heatran - 4x weak to Earthquake, and 2x Weak to Focus Blast. Reuni can set up on it if I don't switch into something painful, as he needs full health to set up succesfully. Air Balloon vairants just require me to go to him then. Never really been a problem.

Heracross - You bastard and your godly typing. Moxie variants succum to Burn from Jellicent, while guts laugh at me. His typing makes him resist all of my teams attacks barring Outrage, Rock Slide, and Psychic. He can hit all of my sweepers hard, and half of my defensive core hard, and wrecks Tyranitar. On paper, this thing is a weakness to my team, during the match, I never have an overwhelming amount of trouble taking it down due to its lack luster speed.

Hydreigon - The speed Game Freak gave this thing just kills it, more so than I do. It either has to run Specs for acceptable power, or Scarf for Acceptable speed. It's weak to X-Scissor and thinks it's a good idea to switch into EQ due to it's levitate. Ha, jokes on you, im going to rape you. Garchomp also destroys it.

Infernape - HARD WALLED BY JELLICENT. Often leads against Tyranitar, so I just switch to Jellicent after getting SS up and being immune to the close combat. It's weak to EQ, but outspeeds Garchomp. Excadrill fears Mach Punch which does around 50%, but he can take one if it is called for.

Jirachi - I FUCKING HATE YOU. Jirachi, I despise Jirachi. There needs to be a Flinch Clause implemented, meaning the same mon can only flinch one out of three turns. Bitches always counter Reuniclus with Jirachi, and I'm just a pusseh and don't want to switch into Garchomp, and lose my Lum Berry just to get off an EQ, when they're just gunna switch out. Jirachi is a thorn in my teams side, I hate it, I HATE IT. It's not even hax, it's going to happen every time.

Jolteon - Excadrill can switch into an obvoius T-Bolt directed at Jellicent, outspeed, and OHKO with EQ. Garchomp can't touch it due to pseudo BoltBeam coverage everyone wants to run, but allows Ferrothorn an easy time T-Waving it.

Keldeo - Keldeo is DW currently, but it's pretty boss. I like Keldeo, and it get's walled pretty hard by Jellicent, only taking some damage from HP Electric, if that's even what the set will consist of. It gets outsped by Excadrill, and I'm not sure if he OHKOs with EQ.

Kingdra - I never see it, but it has some pretty boss typing. Garchomp is my go to counter, and can put a dent in it, if no OHKO with Outrage. It must've been just a huge threat on Rain Teams pre-Drizzle-Swift-Swim-Ban. I can handle it well also with Ferrothorn. I have yet to test out Jellicent as a check.

Krookodile - This is a pretty outdated threat list. Krookodile is never a problem for my team, weak to Excadrills X-Scissor. Jellicent can hit it with Focus Blast if need be. Next.

Kyurem - Kyurem is SR weak, Excdadrill weak, and Garchomp weak. Get back into UU where you belong.

Landorus - I have nothint super effective against this guy. He can tear up my team pretty hard and takes more than one mon to take down. Reuniclus is my best bet, but I don't like switching into a Sand Force-Life Orb'd EQ. Excadrill can wear it down with Rock Slide and careful switching. If I burn it, GG for it. It makes me rub my eyes and pay attention though.

Latios - I am Latios... Rawr. Latios's speed is it's main advantage over my team. Excadrill doesn't OHKO with X-Scissor, so I have to wear it down with SS and JelliFro core before switching in Excadrill (carefully). Latios with Draco Meteor is suprisingly much easier to tackle, and turns into set up fodder for Excadrill once it gets -2.

Lilligant - Offensive Grass types are a big threat to most SS teams. If I keep the weather on my side, it's fairly easy to KO with X-Scissor, and Garchomp can outspeed and KO. Ferrothorn hard walls it's STAB. I wouldn't underestimate it though after reading Katakiri's RMT.

Lucario - Lucario's drop in usage this gen is reasonable. It's just not fast enough to content with todays meta. Garchomp, Excadrill, and Reuniclus all pose immediate threats to Lucario, and keep it well in check. Also, JelliFro duo wall it pretty well.

Machamp - Machamp you ripped, four armed bitch. You get hard walled by Reuniclus, and checked by Jellicent. Reuniclus negates Payback effectiveness, and Jellicent can burn. Jellicent is usually my go to when it leads against Tyranitar, just for the immunity to Dynamic Punch. I keep Excadrill and Garchomp out of the fight against it just because it could go terribly for them.

Magnezone - 4x weak to EQ. Garchomp outspeeds and is my best counter to non-Air Balloon variants as it outspeeds and OHKOs. People often try to trap Excadrill and kill it. If is see one in the preview I will bait and switch on my first time having Excadrill out and switch to Reuni/Garchomp, depending on how the other team looks or the condition the rest of my team has left it in.

Mamoswine - I've lost to Mamoswine before just due to my lack of pokemon knowledge. I just had no idea how fast it was and misplayed. Reuni can Focus Blast, Excadrill can EQ, but it won't OHKO. Garchomp puts its tail (does it have a tail? Garchomp is some kind of insane Land Shark Jet Plane Dragon so I wonder) between its legs when it sees Mamoswine, fearing Ice Shard.

Metagross - Weak to EQ and Neutral to Focus Blast, and has low special defense. It doesn't really have the speed or power to muscle through really any of my team.

Mienshao - U-Turning bastard... Quiet an annoyance to my team, but I can negate it entirely by smart switching. I can usually bait it into a Psychic with Reuni, but I fear it's U-Turn, but I can just recover off it's damage and deal with the switch in. Not much of a threat.

Reuniclus - Reuniclus scares my team, just like mine scares you. Excadrill and Garchomp can tag team it down, but one of them will die in the process. Reuni v Reuni battles scare me, because I will lose every time time. No one (good) will leave Reuni in vs another Reuni if it doesn't carry Shadow Ball or Psyshock. Just like to every team, this thing is a tough take down. Trick Room Variants are pretty lolzy tho.

Roserade - Seriously, who made this list. I rarely see Roserade. It's neutral to EQ, and doesn't really pose a threat to anything. Sleep Powder is a pain, keeping Reuni from setting up on it all that well.

Salamence - Intimidate set > Moxie set. It's a fact. It can ruin Excadrill sweeps all day, but if I have SD'd before hand I can still OHKO w/ Rock Slide. Garchomp outspeesd and OHKOs before a DD. Reuni can tank intimidate and set up usually. Draco Meteor versions of MixMence are lol worthy.

Sawsbuck - In sun, can be a threat, in SS, pretty lolz. Weak to Excadrills X-Scissor, Garchomp outspeeds out of sun and can do some good damage with Outrage. Reuni can also probably handle just fine. Neither of my walls can deal with it very well due ot it's Fighting/Grass coverage.

Scizor - Scizor loves switching into Reuni. If I don't predict it, he will have to switch out or die to U-Turn. Focus Blast can put a heavy dent into Scizor. Excadrill also does a fair amount with EQ. Garchomp is likewise. Jellicent walls moreso than Ferrothorn. Jellicent burn = GG for it.

Scrafty- Moxie + DD Scarfty gets wrecked. Bulk Up + Shed Skin can get me often because I status it. It's weak to Reuni's Focus Blast, and Garchomp and Excadrill can hit it pretty hard before a Bulk Up. JelliFro duo can't wall it too well due to it's Fighting/Dark Coverage.

Seismitoad - Never see these. Ever. Drizzle + Swift Swim ban at work. Ferrothorn can take it down, as wall as the rest of my team probably. No need to KO what isn't there.

Serperior -Thank god that DW Serperior isn't out yet, it's broken as shit. Specs + Contrary + Leaf Storm + base 115 Speed = Brokemon. If can hit lots of my team hard, luckily Excadrill can OHKO with X-Scissor. Ferrothorn can wall decently if it doesn't have HP Fire, hopefully T-Waving it allowing for a Garchomp kill if neccesary.

Shaymin - Excadrill, Garchomp and Reuni all hit it decently hard and can set up on it. Shaymin has always failed in my eyes as a wall, and offensive sets are even more fail.

Sigilyph - If your name isn't KG, dont use this pokemon. You will fail at using it. My team takes it down well, just like to avoid Burns on Excadrill. Never been a problem.

Smeargle - Smeargle is no threat... just whatever it baton passes to might be. Smeargle has never swept me to say the least...

Starmie - Starmie has great coverage, power, and speed, but is frail. If I can win the weather battle, this mon is no problem at all. X-scissor takes it down easily, and Reuni can set up on it because it has no status moves. Garchomp fears ice beam, and loses the speed battle.

Terrakion - I've messed up before and let double boosting Terrakion get both boosts and sweep me. I like to switch to Jelicent on a predicted CC, and then Burn on a SD or Stone Edge. He's pretty fast, but crippled once burned. Excadrill can OHKO with Earthquake if he has no Balloon (Balloon Terrakion is really good... don't use it *winkeh face* I don't wunna fight it).

Thundurus - Thundurus is half blue half red because it can be a big threat to my team and has been pointed out to me by team raters. Once Excadrill goes down, this guy can be a big problem if part of my JelliFro Duo is down. I can wear it down fairly fast with burn/leech seed + protect/recover stalling, and sandstorm. This thing is pretty scary, and my main two ways of countering it are pretty unreliable.

Togekiss - I hate getting FlinchFucked. Luckily it relies on T-Wave, which Garchomp and Excadrill are immune to. I hate having it counter Reuniclus with flinch hax though. Much less of a problem than jirachi though. I hate Jirachi.

Tornadus - Same story as Thundurus, but less of a threat due to it's coverage.

Tyranitar - Never had trouble with Tyranitar. Most sets are some sort of utility/item set or a lead. It's weak to my whole team barring my Tyranitar and Jellicent. Burning it makes it set up fodder for Garchomp. It's hard to predict Tyranitar sets due to its vast move pool.

Venusaur - A pretty potent sweeper for sun teams. I've never had any trouble with it though. Reuni can set up on it outside of Sun. Excadrill and Garchomp have neutral coverage. Doing thraet lists are so draining and take forever.

Victini - Just a smart switch will negate it's V-Create and leave it crippled. It's not a problem at all, being weak to Earthquake. Reuni doesn't have shit on it though. Never been a problem.

Virizion - This thing can be a problem if I let it set up and it's max speed. Garchomp OHKO's CM versions with Outrage, if he's faster. Excadrill has to rely on X-Scissor for neutral damage. Reuniclus can hit it hard with Psychic if he's already set up.

Volcarona - Raped by rocks, and Excadrill. Jellicent hard walls. Garchomp can do a fair amount of damage. Volcarona is scary after a Quiver Dance, but never been a problem.

Weavile - 4x weak to fighting and will attempt to Pursuit Reuniclus. I just stay in and Focus Blast it. Ice Priority is always a pain, popping Excadrill's Balloon, but he can get the job done.

Zoroark - Lol Zoroak... Over hyped to over destroyed.

Defensive Threats

I believe this to be the more important half of a threat list. If your whole team is walled by one poke, it is a serious flaw in a team.

Alomomola - I killed you and your family.

Blissey - Even my special sweeper handles its fat ass.

Bronzong - OH SHIT BRONZONG. I hate Bronzong. I'm so glad it has no form of recovery. I'm forced to just slowly wear it down. Reuniclus is my best bet as it can take repeated hits and fire of neutral attacks. Bronzong has just rediculously good typing. Tyranitars Fire Blast is my best answer for it, but it never gets a chance but it gets Gyro Ball'd. Bronzong is a pretty large problem for my team.

Celebi - 4x Weak to X-Scissor. Can somewhat wall Reuni, I wouldn't be suprised if Reuni took it down though. Not a problem for my team.

Chansey - Bitch I just destroyed your mother.

Deoxys-D - Tyranitar, Excadrill and Garchomp (to a lesser extent) can take it down with ease.

Cofagrigus - Lol, not a problem at all.

Crustle - Crustle is much more of an offensive threat than a defensive threat due to shell smash. I've never been walled by it, and neutrality to EQ is it's downfall.

Dusclops - Again, ROFLPWND. Watch out for burn. Go Reuniclus for free status immunity.

Ferrothorn - Ferrothorn is a minor wall to my team. After a burn, it's set up fodder for Reuniclus and Garchomp. No really it's actually something I enjoy seeing. +4 Garchomp OHKOs with EQ. Same with Excadrill.

Forretress - Forretress loves to lead against Tyranitar for some reason. It doesn't love taking a fire blast and being destroyed for the rest of the battle.

Garbodor - God what a joke... this is such an early 5th gen threat list.

Gigalith - Roflpawnd. Literally destroyed by everything.

Gliscor - Once Reuni is down, this can be a bitch to take down. Garchomp can do 60% with a +4 Outrage, but that's all he will be able to get off. Excadrill does 30% with +2 Rock Slides (I think). Generally between the three I can take it down. Leech seed helps a lot, as well as if I can burn it before Toxic Orb activates. Blue on the threatdown meter.

Hippowdon - Hippowdon is a physical wall I could see myself having trouble with on paper. In game, not so much. Reuni gets phazed, basicly everything gets phazed, but at the same time everything does +50%. This is why it's not green, nor blue.

Jellicent - Once again, on paper could be a problem. I tend just to smash it's face in, or stall it with my JelliFro core. Ferrothorn can do a nice amount of damage, and leech seed + ss will take its toll.

Latias - A harder takedown for Excadrill. Max speed variants can't die from Garchomp, but are easier for Excadrill. Leech Seed and T-Wave support are much appreciated.

Mandibuzz - Outdated. Quite a joke wall, and gets wrecked by most of my team.

Murkrow - Are you serious?

Ninetales - Weather wars. The opponet will protect it with his life, but he will succum to rocks and the rest of my team.

Politoed - A much bigger threat to my team, not just because of the rain it brings, but because of its variations. Scarf Toed kills my Garchomp unexpectedly, and Specs Toed takes down Reuniclus. Also, screw perish song counter to Reuniclus. On Tyranitar vs Politoed, I switch to Jellicent who is immune to Hydro Pump and Focus Blast.

Porygon2 - This thing is rediculously bulky, but neutral to everything. Reuniclus can set up on it and OHKO with Focus Blast when I feel like it.

Rotom-H - As a defensive threat? Hrmm... Dies to like everything on my team. I would view more as an offensive threat. Screw you if you trick a choice item to me, I will rage on you.

Rotom-W - Gets entirely hard walled by Ferrothorn. I can take it down easy mode with Ferrothorn and Jellicent and smart switches to the rest of my team. My sweepers do a dismal amount of damage to it though. A long take down, but easy.

Scolipede - ORLY? Get's wrecked by the world.

Skarmory - While my team is prepared for Skarmory, it's Skarmory. It can wall my team after Reuni is down and can't be taken down easily by being worn down because of roost. This is a pretty large wall against my team. It's always a tough takedown. If I am able to bait it into a Tyranitar Fire Blast, god do I feel satisfied.

Snorlax - What is this, Gen 1? This thing is never used anymore.

Suicune - I can usually just smash it or go to Ferrothorn if I want. Never been a problem.

Swampert - It fears Ferrothorn. I'm appauled Qaugsire isn't on the threat list. I'm treating this as him. Quagsire is a pain to take down for everything besides Ferrothorn and Reuniclus. Taunting it with Jellicent and then Will-o-Wisping it helps on the take down.

Tentacruel - Weak to EQ, easy take down. Toxic Spikes are a pain, but my team resists them well.

Vaporeon - Same as Suicune, less scary.

Whimsicott - You're damn good at being annoying, congratulations. You still do nothign as far as battles are concerned.

Xatu - Done, finally.

Zapdos - Well almost... Rock Slide doesn't OHKO, and I fear Heatwave. Never been a problem, set up fodder for Reuniclus if it doesn't have Roar.

The threatlist below is just the problem pokemon. If you don't want to read the complete threat list please read this one, it gets directly to the point.

Threat Highlights

...

---

My reactions, in color code:
Green: I lol at you, or I never see you.
No Color: No threat really *kicks feet up on sofa*
Blue: *Rubs eyes laxidazicly* oh I should probably pay attention...
Red: OH FUCK, not this guy.

Offensive Threats

Breloom - What team isn't Breloom a threat to? Thank god it has fallen in usage this gen. Sleep is basicly an OHKO to any 'mon. My only real true answer to this is Garchomp, but doing that costs me my Lum Berry which cuts down on his Outrage. It can tank the sleep and outspeed and OHKO with Outrage. Reuni is a hard check if sleep clause is in effect.

Excadrill - Once again, what team isn't Excadrill a threat to? Jolly variants can be troublesome if carrying an Air Balloon. I usually try to pop its balloon with something else while keeping my Excadrill's Balloon intact, allowing me to KO with EQ. If it has Brick Break... damn you. Brick Break is the Excadrill on Excadrill counter move, which is why I consider using it, but X-Scissor's coverage is too good to pass up.

Garchomp - Such typical threats to teams... Garchomp can be a bitch with Sub by avoiding status and leech seed. If I manage to burn or leech seed it, I can usually stall it out, or weaken it enough into OHKO range for Excadrill, who can switch in on a predicted EQ directed at Ferrothorn with impunity. Sorry if you don't speak native english, as that last sentance porbably won't make since, as well as this one. I hate it when it comes down to speed ties between mine and oposing Garchomp.

Haxorus - Dragon Dance Haxorus SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME. It's not that my team is weak to it, it's just that it's SUCH A MONSTER. My best bet at dealing with +1 +1 Haxxy is smart switching, burn/leech seed damage, iron barbs, and sandstorm. I really can just out predict it and wear it down quickly. Garchomp outspeeds +0 Haxorus and OHKOs with Outrage, but obvious move is obvious and will cause a switch. Excadrill isn't quite OHKO'd by Outrage, and can strike back at weakend Haxxy with Earthquake. God he is scary, I really wunna use him in one of my teams someday.

Jirachi - I FUCKING HATE YOU. Jirachi, I despise Jirachi. There needs to be a Flinch Clause implemented, meaning the same mon can only flinch one out of three turns. Bitches always counter Reuniclus with Jirachi, and I'm just a pusseh and don't want to switch into Garchomp, and lose my Lum Berry just to get off an EQ, when they're just gunna switch out. Jirachi is a thorn in my teams side, I hate it, I HATE IT. It's not even hax, it's going to happen every time.

Landorus - I have nothint super effective against this guy. He can tear up my team pretty hard and takes more than one mon to take down. Reuniclus is my best bet, but I don't like switching into a Sand Force-Life Orb'd EQ. Excadrill can wear it down with Rock Slide and careful switching. If I burn it, GG for it. It makes me rub my eyes and pay attention though.

Latios - I am Latios... Rawr. Latios's speed is it's main advantage over my team. Excadrill doesn't OHKO with X-Scissor, so I have to wear it down with SS and JelliFro core before switching in Excadrill (carefully). Latios with Draco Meteor is suprisingly much easier to tackle, and turns into set up fodder for Excadrill once it gets -2.

Reuniclus - Reuniclus scares my team, just like mine scares you. Excadrill and Garchomp can tag team it down, but one of them will die in the process. Reuni v Reuni battles scare me, because I will lose every time time. No one (good) will leave Reuni in vs another Reuni if it doesn't carry Shadow Ball or Psyshock. Just like to every team, this thing is a tough take down. Trick Room Variants are pretty lolzy tho.

Scizor - Scizor loves switching into Reuni. If I don't predict it, he will have to switch out or die to U-Turn. Focus Blast can put a heavy dent into Scizor. Excadrill also does a fair amount with EQ. Garchomp is likewise. Jellicent walls moreso than Ferrothorn. Jellicent burn = GG for it.

Thundurus - Thundurus is half blue half red because it can be a big threat to my team and has been pointed out to me by team raters. Once Excadrill goes down, this guy can be a big problem if part of my JelliFro Duo is down. I can wear it down fairly fast with burn/leech seed + protect/recover stalling, and sandstorm. This thing is pretty scary, and my main two ways of countering it are pretty unreliable.

Defensive Threats

Bronzong - OH SHIT BRONZONG. I hate Bronzong. I'm so glad it has no form of recovery. I'm forced to just slowly wear it down. Reuniclus is my best bet as it can take repeated hits and fire of neutral attacks. Bronzong has just rediculously good typing. Tyranitars Fire Blast is my best answer for it, but it never gets a chance but it gets Gyro Ball'd. Bronzong is a pretty large problem for my team.

Gliscor - Once Reuni is down, this can be a bitch to take down. Garchomp can do 60% with a +4 Outrage, but that's all he will be able to get off. Excadrill does 30% with +2 Rock Slides (I think). Generally between the three I can take it down. Leech seed helps a lot, as well as if I can burn it before Toxic Orb activates. Blue on the threatdown meter.

Politoed - A much bigger threat to my team, not just because of the rain it brings, but because of its variations. Scarf Toed kills my Garchomp unexpectedly, and Specs Toed takes down Reuniclus. Also, screw perish song counter to Reuniclus. On Tyranitar vs Politoed, I switch to Jellicent who is immune to Hydro Pump and Focus Blast.

Skarmory - While my team is prepared for Skarmory, it's Skarmory. It can wall my team after Reuni is down and can't be taken down easily by being worn down because of roost. This is a pretty large wall against my team. It's always a tough takedown. If I am able to bait it into a Tyranitar Fire Blast, god do I feel satisfied.

[lordkira]

would love to "point out any weakness" and try to "post any suggestions"
but without knowing the full roster, this is going to be hard :/
edit: at least tell us the pokemons and their sets ploxx
edit2: SpD Jirachi set is fantastic to support garchomp's sweep but...Im not sure if you already have it on your team or not...as well as gliscor to check things like terrakion and standard dory

[jds24]

Originally Posted by Fat lordkira

would love to "point out any weakness" and try to "post any suggestions"
but without knowing the full roster, this is going to be hard :/
edit: at least tell us the pokemons and their sets ploxx
edit2: SpD Jirachi set is fantastic to support garchomp's sweep but...Im not sure if you already have it on your team or not...as well as gliscor to check things like terrakion and standard dory

Don't worry lol I will be I'm writing it right now.

EDIT: Done.

[Scarfwynaut]

I actuallt ran a very similar team for quite a bit, some of the movesets where is bit diferent, but overall the team was the same.

The only major change I would add, is stone edge > thunderpunch, you will find that quite often you will need that stone edge to kill off a few threats like Dragonite and Volcanora at the end, which normally will not go down without it.

Also, lum berry is off on Garchomp, you already have 2 pokemon that can take toxic any day, you don't need to waste a precious item slot for a general one time status man. Life orb is an ok item, but you go down fast for no reason, I used a yache berry, as it allows you to shrug off those attempted ice attack revenge killers, and after that they usually have nothing. Its a tad gimicky, but it works, its better then lum berry though. This is just a suggestion though.

[V0x]

Yeah on Garchomp, personally Sub points to Yache rather than Lum. Prankster status'ers are rare, so with Garchomp's speed you'll outspeed everything to sub up first. This only limits your ability to switch into status, which you wouldn't want to be doing with Lum anyway.

But the main reason I posted something relevant was to point out that your picture of Garchomp has rain rather than sand :D

[kaonohiokala]

You've got some major weaknesses to most common set-up mons. Dragon Dance, Quiver Dance, and set up moves by mons faster than base 102 speed are big problems, given they have the coverage to take out your team.

What your team needs atm is speed and/or priority.

[jds24]

Originally Posted by Fat Scarfwynaut

Also, lum berry is off on Garchomp, you already have 2 pokemon that can take toxic any day, you don't need to waste a precious item slot for a general one time status man. Life orb is an ok item, but you go down fast for no reason, I used a yache berry, as it allows you to shrug off those attempted ice attack revenge killers, and after that they usually have nothing. Its a tad gimicky, but it works, its better then lum berry though. This is just a suggestion though.

The lum berry isn't meant for absorbing status it's to allow garchomp to go 4-6 turns of outrage without confusion as opposed to 2-3. I know Skarmory can take a toxic (immune to poison), but what else were you saying could? Edit: jk Lols reuniclus yeah forgot about it taking toxic as well.

[mike2084]

Might I suggest changing Infernape for a Conkledurr? It has superior power and bulk and with a Bulk Up moveset you will get some good sweeps with it. But I could understand not changing it for that since you would lose your Electric and Fire moves

[jds24]

After giving this more thought, what this team needs is a 3 pokemon defensive core. I'm leaning towards jirachi/Gliscor combo and then the only reasonable 3rd poke would be rotom-w, which would put me with basically KGs team lol. Im probably going to bring back my previous core of Blissey/Slowbro and then switch infernape for another poke that will help cover the remaining weaknesses and induce a status (will probably have this done by tomorrow night).

EDIT: Jellicent and Ferrothorn could work as a very effective defensive core for this team, providing paralysis and burn support for reuniclus and garchomp. Just afraid of using ferrothorn for the same reason as not using conkledurp (that the meta has adapted to have every team carrying a counter for them)

EDIT 2: Just did a small test with ferrothorn and jellicent core. Works MUCH better. Thinking that the last slot on my team should be a dedicated paralyzer though, as the status do still not seem to be being spread all that effectively. Also status seem to be bugging my team, so a cleric Blissey may be in order, as it can wish pass (my defensive core can no longer do that, and it helps Garchomp immeasurably). Will be changing write up to match thi change tomorrow. Also somewhat in need of a phazer.

[Razza]

Edit: you say that you need a cleric, you could simply replace protect with heal bell on Vaporeon although you have to play him more carefully then.

Hey you say that you need something to give out status. A parashuffler dragonite is great for this job an I currently use one on my team to help garchomp setup with paralysis

Dragonite@ leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
Nature: (+ spdef - spa) forgot it's name
Evs: (252 hp/ 4def/ 252 sdef)
- thunder wave
- roost
- substitute
- dragon tail

The Idea is to thunder wave a poke as they attack and you should survive due to multiscale then you simply sub and roost after every second sub until they are fully paralysed, then roost and they will have trouble breaking a roosted multiple scale sub effectively meaning dragon, rock and ice moves do neutral damage. Then you phase ten out with dragon tail. I have found this to be a very unexpected strategy and works very well but without rapid spin support stealth rock breaks multi scale meaning you need to switch in on something you immediately threaten and can force a switch or lead with this guy. This guy is a phazer paralysis spreader and multi purpose wall with his high defences and multi scale and could really help your team out
GL

[jds24]

Changes have been posted, as well as the poll. Please check it out and rate!

[Instynct]

Hey there, I know what you mean about smogon being down, it's so annoying lol >.>. Your team is pretty solid but looking at it you pretty much get murdered by NP thundurus. Reuniclus is the only one who can really live a hit and the opponent can just wait until it has low enough hp and sweep. Granted it can set up on much but it could probably live a reuniclus psychic or force jellicent out and sweep. Furthermore, I personally don't feel like a jellicent/ ferrothorn core is enough to deal with the numerous threats in the metagame.

I would suggest changing ferrothorn to jirachi but then you are much weaker against rain and Garchomp really needs sandstorm with that set. For this reason I instead recommend you switch your terrakion to an Excadrill:

Excadrill@air balloon
Sand Rush
Jolly/Adamant
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-X scissor/return/rapid spin
-Rock Slide
252atk/252spe/4def


This will really help nullify the weaknesses in your team i feel whilst still alloweing you to switch on the offensive when need be. For balanced teams such as yours, i usually split the opponents' teams in to two main groups: defensive/stallish and offensive. I feel you are fine against defensive teams at the moment with reuniclus and that garchomp set and doryuuzu can help against those offensive teams that i feel you are not so great against and are much more common.


If you are going to remain with jellicent and ferrothorn i suggest switching their roles over so that jellicent is physically defensive and ferrothorn is specially defensive. At the moment you don't really have anything to take draco meteors besides tyranitar who, with that set isn't really designed to do so and is also your lead so may be played more recklessly. Furthermore, in a weather vs weather war, you really don't want tyranitar taking any large chunks of damage as it needs to out last the opponent's weather changer.

In addition to this I highly reccomend changing Jellicent for slowbro. Seems as you are not even utilising spikes on ferrothorn i really see no need for a spin blocker and slowbro is a much better overall wall.

The sets would be:

Slowbro@leftovers
Regeneration
Bold
-Scald/Surf
-Fire Blast/Ice Beam
-Slack Off
-ThunderWave
252Hp/40Sp.Atk/216 def
(feel free to tweak)


Ferrothorn@leftovers
Careful
-Thunder Wave
-Power Whip
-Leech Seed
-Spikes/protect
252Hp/208 Sp.def/48def


These two wall the vast majority of theats in the metagame and really give you a solid core (along with tyranitar and reuniclus helping out). Fire Blast on slowbro is for nailing skarm or ferrothorn but i would go for ice beam if i were you to beat out dragons. Scald is preferred because a burn on something can also help garchomp set up as well as thunderwave. I mentioned spikes on ferrothorn - you can use protect but i think spikes is overall better even without a spin blocker because rapid spin from something like tentacruel just gives garchomp an invitation to come in and set up, your choice though.

These changes might seem like a lot but they are really not if you think about it and i really think they will improve you team deal with the nasty threats in today's metagame =).

[Cloud 8]

I would just like to quickly point out that a bulk up roopushin could really hurt your team especially if reunclus is dead. You might want to go with that defensively bulky latias to fix this.

[jds24]

@Cloud 8 - I've never really had a problem with Conkledurp, even with Reuniclus down.

@Instynct - Thank you for pointing out my weakness to NP Thundurus. I've yet to run into one, but I could see it being a problem. Terrakion has a surprising amount of special bulk (due to Sandstorm), and can take a hit from +0 Thundurus and OHKO back with Stone Edge. In regards to Excadrill, he is basicly an upgraded version of Terrakion. Excadrill can switch into a Tbolt with immunity and OHKO with Rock Slide. Excadrill really is a great suggestion of Terrakion. I'll be trying him out today and get back to you on his effectiveness.

As far as replacing Jellicent and changing Ferrothorn around, I really like the way they work right now. Ferrothorn does a fine job of taking a Draco Meteor as he is now. I prefer Jellicent being Specially Defensive due to his disgusting 70 base Defense stat, which with max EVs and nature just turn it into a mixed wall, which I don't like as part of a two man defensive core. Due to Will-O-Wisp, he still can wall physical threats that aren't super effective if he gets the WoW on the switch in. He also synergizes great with Tyranitar, being able to come in on an obvious Fighting attack and forcing a switch. His type synergy is really the reason I'm keeping him over Slowbro (Slowbro has just overall more weaknesses). Thank you for the suggestion though!

Also on a side note which I should probaly make more clear in the write up, I didn't purpose Jellicent as a spin blocker, I was just trying to say it was a nice little added bonus.

[jds24]

Added some changes to my team, most importantly Excadrill which really eliminated lots of my teams weaknesses. Please rate my team, if you see any weaknesses please point them out! Thanks for reading. Also please vote on the poll. I've only gotten 4 responses, that's kind of depressing.

[HardCore]

Hey this is a pretty good team. The first thing that caught my eye however was your ferrothorn set. I noticed you are not running spikes on it and became worried it isn't doing enough for your team. I am glad that you do realize you should be running spikes on the ferrothorn. I would put spikes in place of protect honestly. Slowing things down along with getting a few spikes out + SR on ttar will cripple teams. Just watch out for magnezone with some good double switching to your ground types for a chance to sweep.
I agree with instynct on the fact that you could use a more special defensively based ferrothorn for having a wider range of dragon absorbing capabilities. (remember to make you defensive pokemon female because of haxorus.)
Having a defensively oriented jellicent will also be a better choice for jellicent. You don't have a huge fire weakness on the team so spdef jellicent is abit redundant if you run sp def ferrothorn who absorbs more attacks and cripples teams with its t wave leech seed and spikes. This change should add to the flow of the team, which of course is the most important aspect of the team.
My second concern would more than likely come out to be excadrill having X scissors over rapid spin. With such a nice core you don't want to be hurt too much by entry hazards specially since they are so common and pretty easy to get up.

The team does have nice senergy and I hope you make it far with it. As far as your NP thundurus weakness keep excadrill alive for so revenging and try to force it out with nice switches so that it gets hit by rocks as much as possible. Double switching in the current metagame has proven to be more vital than in 4th generation. Good luck.

[jds24]

I've put blood, sweat, and tears into the threat list I posted. Not literally... that would be really weird to watch that happen. I would really appreciate it if you would read it and provide constructive critisim, maybe even to just how I handle things with my team.

@HardCore - I Really need X-Scissor's coverage on Excadrill. Entry Hazards aren't a problem for my team as they don't deal much damage, and I feel like X-Scissor is just more important. It's hard to decide because it's like comparing apples to oranges. Thanks for the rate though!

[avatias0]

Excadrill does not work as a counter to Volcanaro.
Fiery Dance on the switch (more common than you might think further up the ladder) will not help you in any way.
Scarfchomp is far more reliable and I think you should consider using it. Also the combination of earthquake and outrage gets walled by skarmory, bronzong, and any balloon steels (namely heatran). This set gets harder and harder to pull off the better you get.
Also consider more Atk or sash on Tyranitar, so you don't have to count on Focus Blast missing to counter Reuniclus (even though it misses 95% of the time when you use it, the opponent is 95% likely to score it).

[jds24]

As I get higher on the ladder, I'm getting fewer and fewer Garchomp sweeps and he seems to be falling in usage on my team. This is my thought process on the idea of changing to ScarfChomp

1. Hmm Garchomp really isn't doing much lately, and team raters suggest I change to ScarfChomp.
2. I was reluctant because that would kind of negate the idea my team was based around, statuses, and make paralysis useless. Then it hit me.
3. I could switch T-Wave on Ferrothorn for spikes, which support ScarfChomp very well, and I wouldn't be losing much, and paralysis was only supporting Garchomp. I also have a spin blocker. This strategy sounds really good as of now, but I have yet to test it.
4. I would be losing my best Breloom counter, and Garchomp is now susceptable to Toxic Spikes, but he is no longer weak to them.

I'd like to know what you guys would think of this. Also, what ScarfChomp set do you guys think would best fit my team?

Also Tyranitar seems to be doing near nothing for my team, besides SR. Any ideas? Or is this not even an issue?

@Avatias0 - I really like the idea of Sash on Tyranitar. Thank you, that is truely a great idea, I will be testing it.

[franky]

hi blade,

this is a p. good team and i highly recommend going back to sub + sd set instead of the choice scarf gachomp you used against me. this is because excadrill does a p. excellent job at cheking the flame moth, thundurus, and tornadeous. substitute+sd is just too good to pass up. if gengar and thundurus prove to be major nuisances to your team, i'd recommend using chople berry over your current item on tyranitar.

opposing sub+sd chomp seems to be problematic, I see no reason to run that moveset on ferrothorn. try for a gyro ball / power whip / thunder wave / spikes set. leech set is a decent option, but for a team like this i think your team will benefit both spikes + paralysis. with gyro ball you can reliably hit garchomp without missing with power whip. i'd also recommend an ev of 252 hp / 128 def / 128 spd with a sassy nature to provide more balance in your defenses.

as for other options you can use toxic / scald / taunt / recover with 252 hp / 176 spd / 80 spe and calm nature on jellicent. this for the sole purpose of posioning opposing rain teams attackers. taunt completely shuts down set-up pokemon, while scald burns physical attackers. just my two cents, overall gl!

[jds24]

Thanks for the rate franky.

Added some changes to the team, which are marked in bold along with the reasoning behind them. Also posted synergy cores below the respective pokemon. Also a highlight threat list has been added, containing only problem pokes for a quicker read and rate, so if you haven't read it yet, please do! Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions and rates!

Also if anyones into GP, I would love to get a GP check!

[Woodchuck]

Well I suggest you run Life Orb on Excadrill over Air Balloon because hitting harder is really nice and gets you that crucial KO on Latios.
But if you're bent on Air Balloon then more power to you.

As for your JelliThorn combo:
First, why aren't you running Taunt over Shadow Ball? I know you like Scald but Shadow Ball really isn't that useful as almost anything you'll hit SE will kill you. Taunt, on the other hand, makes Jellicent a brilliant stallbreaker while also spin blocking.
I also ran fast taunt jellicent at one point (~192 speed which outsped min speed dragonite, politoed, and some other crap) and it was nice having that extra speed to get in the crucial taunt against stall teams. It will also take care of your issues with Bronzong and Skarmory as it taunts, scalds, and burns them.

But you have CM Reuniclus so stall may not be a problem.

My other question is why you are running max Special Defense on both Jellicent and Ferrothorn when this is a heavily physically oriented metagame. I suggest you run the standard Ferrothorn spread (252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpDef with Relaxed nature).
I also suggest you either give Jellicent Max/Max Defense Bold, seeing as its Sp. Def is naturally high, or you give Jellicent 252 HP / 60 Def / 192 Speed should you run taunt to screw with stall.

All in all nice team though ^^

[jds24]

Thanks Woodchuck,
I've been told by multiple people that I should run mixed(ish) defenses on both Jellicent and Ferrothorn, but I've kept it the same with each being specialized in walling one spectrum of attackers. I'm starting to think this may be a bad idea, perhaps I am trying to apply skarmbliss tactics to these two, and they aren't meant to be like that. I may test out different EV spreads, but I like to specalize my walls, playing off their best stats. If this is wrong and a bad idea, please just explain to me why (I too am beginning to think it doesn't work, really want to hear ideas on this).

As far as the other things go, Stall has never been a problem. The air balloon on Excadrill is 100% neccesary for the team because it's my only ground immunity/resist. It's not too hard for my team to wear down Latios a little, between sandstorm, stealth rock, and forcing switches.

As far as taunt on Jellicent goes, I used to carry it and I never used it. It just seemed worthless. Shadow ball does well to hit the Lati's, and can finish off a weakend Reuniclus. I prefer that over a move I never you use. Also, I'm considering running Ice Beam > Shadow Ball, in order to help deal with Gliscor, but I'm hesitant about it.