Today, after having nothing better to do, I decided to make an OU team that was centered around some of the less appreciated OU threats, in this case Gyarados, Salamence and Virizion. Like all of my teams, I was determined for it to not fall into cookie-cutter territory, so I've done my best to make it both somewhat unique and a devestating threat to the standard metagame. And I've managed to do this without using any of the top 5 pokémon! Egad!
When I was building my offensive core, I started to realise that there were a lot of doubles present in the team. For example, I'm running double Intimidate with Gyarados and Salamence (which is VERY helpful for dealing with certain physical threats), double Dragon with Salamence and Latios and double bulky-Steel with Bronzong and Heatran. Hence the name. :P Now without further stalling, here's some detailed analysis.
Triple Double!
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 168 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Taunt
And here's the star of the team, in the first slot! I don't lead with any particular pokemon in this metagame, just using Team Preview to see what the opponent's likely to do and preparing a response. Anyways, here's bulky DD Gyarados with a few changes. First of all, I'm running Bounce and Taunt. Waterfall + Bounce gives me amazing neutral coverage, failing only against Rotom-W, Empoleon, and Grass / Water types with Protect. Taunt lets me shut down pokemon that could otherwise phase or set up on me, such as Skarmory, and also prevents opponents from using Protect to block Bounce. Intimidate is used to help Gyarados set up as many boosts as necessary (and to deal with physical attackers in general) In my opinion, if you're doing Dragon Dance right, you don't need the boosts that Moxie provides. :P The EVs come from the standard set, outspeeding Scarf Tyranitar after a boost whilst still retaining good physical bulk. I've moved the Defense EVs into attack since Gyarados appreciates the power, and I'm not concerned in the slightest about Scizor's Quick Attack.
Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost
Salamence is Gyarados' dancing partner, and helps to clean up when Gyarados is finished (or vice versa, depending) This Salamence is more offensively orientated, since its weakness to Ice is more common than Gyarados' weakness to Electric. Plus, Salamence gets incredibly powerful STAB in Outrage, which lets it power through a lot of opponents after a single boost. Base 100 speed is also very nice, and is maxed to ensure that +1 Salamence at least ties with Scarfed base 100's. Earthquake is also boosted by Dragon Dance and provides good coverage in general; opponents such as Bronzong and Skarmory which aren't hit by this combination are dealt with by Heatran. Roost provides Salamence with instant recovery, and gives him a net increase in health as Gliscor tries to Ice Fang it. The EVs are straightforward, if anyone has any suggestions then I'm willing to try them out! I've also decided to use Lum Berry over Leftovers, since Salamence already has instant recovery in Roost, and Burns and Paralysis have generally been the main obstacle to Salamence's rampage. Plus, it lets me avoid Outrage's confusion in the best case scenario. :)
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Trick
Latios' primary role is to outspeed EVERYTHING and hit stuff hard with either Draco Meteor or its coverage options. With 525 Speed, Latios outspeeds all Dragon Dancers and ties with all Scarfed Dragons in the tier, as well as Scarf Gengar. Draco Meteor is Latios' pointy stick, dealing severe damage to most things that stay in on it. Thunderbolt allows Latios to check other DD Gyarados reliably, and punishes bulky Waters in general, whilst Hidden Power Fire lets me kill Ferrothorn, Forretress and Scizor if I predict correctly, which since nice considering CB Scizor can KO with either U-Turn or Pursuit. These moves provide fantastic coverage between each other and let me hit plenty of things hard on the switch if I predict correctly. Whilst I lose the speed tie against other Scarf Latios, Bronzong and Heatran can take Latios' attacks very well and will force him out regardless with Payback and Roar. Trick is exceptionally useful and lets me deal with special walls (and especially Eviolite users like Chansey) more effectively, and lets me change Latios' role as needed during a match. I've been considering running Psychic or Psyshock over Thunderbolt or Trick, but I'm unsure. I can see the utility of Psychic moves in dealing with the myriad Fighting types of the tier, but then again I know not to underestimate the threat of Gyarados! :P
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 52 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Payback
Bronzong is the new physically defensive Steel tank for the team, and replaces Forretress. In testing, I didn't really use Rapid Spin enough to justify me running a spinner, so I decided to run something with more offensive capacity in Forretress' place. Bronzong has excelled in this role so far, not only tanking Outrages and setting up hazards but also being able to take Draco Meteors! Not only this, but Bronzong's Gyro Ball actually has considerable power, and Bronzong has plenty of other offensive options to use in certain situations. For example, Earthquake significantly damages Heatran on the switch and lets me kill Excadrill, whilst Payback lets me kill Starmie if I hit it on the switch, and hit it again after it tries to attack. Mamoswine is also dealt with, as its STABs are walled and Gyro Ball is an OHKO. The EVs are specific: 252 HP gives Bronzong as much general bulk as possible, 204 Atk EVs allow the combination of Gyro Ball + Earthquake to always kill Balloon Excadrill and allows Payback to 2HKO Starmie if it switches in (so a 50 BP attack when Starmie comes in and a 100 BP attack the next turn), and the rest of the EVs are put in Defense to help take Outrages. A Relaxed nature is used since none of my other stats really need boosting and Bronzong appreciates the extra physical bulk.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Ice
Virizion is here primarily for one purpose: to take out Gyarados' most prominent checks and possibly do a little bit of sweeping before he comes in. With an excellent speed tier, powerful STAB attacks, a boosting move and titanic special bulk, Virizion is an underestimated threat in the tier that deserves more recognition. Although Virizion initially lacks power, it generally comes in on Water types that can't threaten it, giving it time to set up a few boosts before healing any residual damage with Giga Drain. Focus Blast is immensely powerful, and after a few boosts it deals with Jirachi well enough. Hidden Power Ice gives me coverage against Flying types that wall my STABs, and helps me continue to remove opposing Dragon types that could threaten Salamence's sweep. I'm considering using Hidden Power Rock instead since it decimates Volcarona, who Virizion can outspeed, but I'm not sure if it's worth the general utility of Hidden Power Ice. Notable fact: At +2 Virizion manages to OHKO the standard Blissey with Focus Blast, few Blissey expect it deal this much damage. :)
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpD / 32 Spe
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roar
And here's the last pokemon on my team; specially defensive Heatran with a few changes. Although having two Intimidators certainly helps me defend against physical attackers, the added Burn chance of Lava Plume is very useful in dealing not only with most Steels, but also offensive threats that try to get the jump on Heatran. Since almost all of my team deals with Heatran pretty well, I've decided to run Taunt on Heatran instead of Earth Power or another weak offensive move, since this helps me break stall teams more effectively. Even without speed investment, Heatran outspeeds most walls in the tier and can thus render them useless. Jellicent who try to switch will be hit by Toxic and rendered unable to Recover via Taunt, letting me switch Virizion safely into Scald or Shadow Ball. Blissey is also rendered setup bait for Salamence, without being able to Thunder Wave it on the switch. The speed EVs all me to outspeed Dragonites with no investment, letting Heatran Taunt and Toxic parashuffler sets, preventing them from paralysing my pokemon. Overall, Taunt helps make Heatran a more viable pviot for my offensive core. Toxic lets me deal with bulky waters on the switch and is generally useful; opponents like Jellicent will often stay in and Scald me for pitiful damage. Roar lets me capitalise on Stealth Rock and Heatran's inherent ability to cause switches, letting me cut down teams that are weak to the hazard. It also deals effectively with Calm Minders like Latias who think they can boost with impunity.
Okay! That's the team so far, hope you enjoyed reading. Let me know if there's any ways I could improve the team.
Celebi @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Hidden Power Fire
Celebi was used originally instead of Virizion, and was actually pretty damn good at being the offensive Grass type. It certainly had more power than Virizion behind its Giga Drain. However, Virizion had a much better typing, a more powerful and useful secondary STAB, and the option to run a different Hidden Power. Virizion's lovely base 108 speed is also very helpful since it outspeeds opponents like max speed Jirachi, most Dragons and a lot of stuff in general, whilst base 100 with an imperfect IV was a little lacklustre. Furthermore, Celebi couldn't take two Ice Beams from Politoed, whilst Virizion can freely set up on it with its amazing special defense, which tipped the balance in Virizion's favor.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split
Forretress initially provided a lot of things for the team, such as hazard support, spin support and the ability to tank Outrages all day long. However, I eventually decided that Forretress wasn't really adding anything, as there were very few scenarios where Rapid Spin was actually necessary. After testing Bronzong for a while, he just proved to be better at everything. He takes Outrages well enough, and Draco Meteors considerably better. He actually has offensive presence and can hit a lot of stuff hard on the switch, he can even deal with Excadrill and Starmie which my team proved quite weak to. Forretress was just outclassed, and unless I decide I desperately need Rapid Spin again I'm not going back.
When I was building my offensive core, I started to realise that there were a lot of doubles present in the team. For example, I'm running double Intimidate with Gyarados and Salamence (which is VERY helpful for dealing with certain physical threats), double Dragon with Salamence and Latios and double bulky-Steel with Bronzong and Heatran. Hence the name. :P Now without further stalling, here's some detailed analysis.
Triple Double!
Team Building Process
I started off with Gyarados, a pokemon who's sweeping power and general utility has always impressed me. Running the Bulky Dragon Dance set I always used to run in 4th Gen, I immediately looked at what new pokemon threatened Gyarados' chances for a sweep. Two immediately came to my mind: Ferrothorn and Rotom-W. I decided to pick an offensive pokemon who could deal with both of them in all conditions, and my first thought was Nasty Plot Celebi with Giga Drain, Psychic and Hidden Power Fire.
Next, I decided that I needed a more general response to Dragon types, who could set up on my main STABs and threaten a sweep. I looked over several different options, such as LO Weavile and LO Starmie, but I eventually decided on running Scarf Latios instead, since not only did it pack HEAPS more power with Draco Meteor, it also had better bulk and utility in this circumstance. I've outsped Kingdras with this on Pokemon Online (Smogon's down!) and have been thoroughly grateful to have Latios involved so far.
Once the main offensive core had been established, I set to work laying defensive groundwork. I was thinking of what pokemon would complement my existing choices the best, and in the end I decided to simply double up on everything with Salamence. :P Using Salamence means that opponent not only has to deal with two powerful Dragon types during the match, they also have to account for two completely different Dragon Dance users and two different Intimidate users. Once the opponent thinks they've dealt with one, I just whip out the other and clean up. Salamence has amazing power and thanks to Intimidate, it also helps patch up my team against the physical threats it's generally weakest towards.
At this point, I realised that both of my offensive partners were weak to Rock attacks, and I had no decent resist on the team. Hence, I decided to include a Rapid Spinner that could take any kind of Rock attack imaginable. My first choice was Excadrill with his 4x resistance, decent bulk and his ability to counteract the threat offensively, in addition to his ability to counteract Sandstorm teams and their respective Excadrill. However, I eventually decided to run Forretress instead, since he has the ridiculous Defense to take Rock attacks despite their neutrality. I then also I realised that Virizion resists Rock in a pinch, and thus felt less concerned with that matter. So I included Forretress for its ability to stack Spikes and aid offense, to Spin and aid longevity, and to annoy opponents with Gyro Ball and Pain Split. I'm willing to change this, Forretress is the weak link in the team but nonetheless fills a necessary role in my opinion.
At this point, I noticed my team was quite weak to opposing Dragon types; if Latios had Tricked its Scarf and now risked being outsped, the game could end quickly. Forretress isn't the best check to Dragon types, with his 4x weakness to Fire and lacklustre Special Defense. So I decided to bring in Heatran, who not only patches up my team's Fire weakness but can also take Draco Meteors all day with a specially defensive set, using Stealth Rock, Toxic and Roar to discourage Dragons from staying in.
However, I soon found that Celebi's multiple weaknesses, and inability to deal with Choiced Politoed was less than satisfactory, in addition to its reliance on a Hidden Power that was weakened by the omnipresent rain. I started to look for alternatives and found Virizion, who could take Politoed's Ice Beams all day, had a better speed tier (especially since it had a perfect speed IV with HP Ice) and a more useful STAB in Focus Blast. My only complaints were that Virizion was forced to use Calm Mind instead of the more immediate Nasty Plot, and that Focus Blast had such low accuracy, but I've been satisfied with their output so far and few games have been cost due to a Focus Blast miss. So Virizion replaced Celebi.
After extensive testing, I realised that I'd over-anticipated the need for Rapid Spin support, and thus I started looking for different options to put in Forretress' place. Bronzong seemed like the perfect candidate to replace him, since he had a much better defensive typing, much better special bulk and much better offensive capability. Rapid Spin was literally the only advantage that Forretress held over Bronzong to me, so the decision to replace him was a no brainer. In addition, Bronzong helped to patch up my team's weakness to Starmie and Excadrill, both of whom are easily defeated if Bronzong is at half health.
I started off with Gyarados, a pokemon who's sweeping power and general utility has always impressed me. Running the Bulky Dragon Dance set I always used to run in 4th Gen, I immediately looked at what new pokemon threatened Gyarados' chances for a sweep. Two immediately came to my mind: Ferrothorn and Rotom-W. I decided to pick an offensive pokemon who could deal with both of them in all conditions, and my first thought was Nasty Plot Celebi with Giga Drain, Psychic and Hidden Power Fire.
Next, I decided that I needed a more general response to Dragon types, who could set up on my main STABs and threaten a sweep. I looked over several different options, such as LO Weavile and LO Starmie, but I eventually decided on running Scarf Latios instead, since not only did it pack HEAPS more power with Draco Meteor, it also had better bulk and utility in this circumstance. I've outsped Kingdras with this on Pokemon Online (Smogon's down!) and have been thoroughly grateful to have Latios involved so far.
Once the main offensive core had been established, I set to work laying defensive groundwork. I was thinking of what pokemon would complement my existing choices the best, and in the end I decided to simply double up on everything with Salamence. :P Using Salamence means that opponent not only has to deal with two powerful Dragon types during the match, they also have to account for two completely different Dragon Dance users and two different Intimidate users. Once the opponent thinks they've dealt with one, I just whip out the other and clean up. Salamence has amazing power and thanks to Intimidate, it also helps patch up my team against the physical threats it's generally weakest towards.
At this point, I realised that both of my offensive partners were weak to Rock attacks, and I had no decent resist on the team. Hence, I decided to include a Rapid Spinner that could take any kind of Rock attack imaginable. My first choice was Excadrill with his 4x resistance, decent bulk and his ability to counteract the threat offensively, in addition to his ability to counteract Sandstorm teams and their respective Excadrill. However, I eventually decided to run Forretress instead, since he has the ridiculous Defense to take Rock attacks despite their neutrality. I then also I realised that Virizion resists Rock in a pinch, and thus felt less concerned with that matter. So I included Forretress for its ability to stack Spikes and aid offense, to Spin and aid longevity, and to annoy opponents with Gyro Ball and Pain Split. I'm willing to change this, Forretress is the weak link in the team but nonetheless fills a necessary role in my opinion.
At this point, I noticed my team was quite weak to opposing Dragon types; if Latios had Tricked its Scarf and now risked being outsped, the game could end quickly. Forretress isn't the best check to Dragon types, with his 4x weakness to Fire and lacklustre Special Defense. So I decided to bring in Heatran, who not only patches up my team's Fire weakness but can also take Draco Meteors all day with a specially defensive set, using Stealth Rock, Toxic and Roar to discourage Dragons from staying in.
However, I soon found that Celebi's multiple weaknesses, and inability to deal with Choiced Politoed was less than satisfactory, in addition to its reliance on a Hidden Power that was weakened by the omnipresent rain. I started to look for alternatives and found Virizion, who could take Politoed's Ice Beams all day, had a better speed tier (especially since it had a perfect speed IV with HP Ice) and a more useful STAB in Focus Blast. My only complaints were that Virizion was forced to use Calm Mind instead of the more immediate Nasty Plot, and that Focus Blast had such low accuracy, but I've been satisfied with their output so far and few games have been cost due to a Focus Blast miss. So Virizion replaced Celebi.
After extensive testing, I realised that I'd over-anticipated the need for Rapid Spin support, and thus I started looking for different options to put in Forretress' place. Bronzong seemed like the perfect candidate to replace him, since he had a much better defensive typing, much better special bulk and much better offensive capability. Rapid Spin was literally the only advantage that Forretress held over Bronzong to me, so the decision to replace him was a no brainer. In addition, Bronzong helped to patch up my team's weakness to Starmie and Excadrill, both of whom are easily defeated if Bronzong is at half health.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 152 HP / 168 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Bounce
- Taunt
And here's the star of the team, in the first slot! I don't lead with any particular pokemon in this metagame, just using Team Preview to see what the opponent's likely to do and preparing a response. Anyways, here's bulky DD Gyarados with a few changes. First of all, I'm running Bounce and Taunt. Waterfall + Bounce gives me amazing neutral coverage, failing only against Rotom-W, Empoleon, and Grass / Water types with Protect. Taunt lets me shut down pokemon that could otherwise phase or set up on me, such as Skarmory, and also prevents opponents from using Protect to block Bounce. Intimidate is used to help Gyarados set up as many boosts as necessary (and to deal with physical attackers in general) In my opinion, if you're doing Dragon Dance right, you don't need the boosts that Moxie provides. :P The EVs come from the standard set, outspeeding Scarf Tyranitar after a boost whilst still retaining good physical bulk. I've moved the Defense EVs into attack since Gyarados appreciates the power, and I'm not concerned in the slightest about Scizor's Quick Attack.
Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Roost
Salamence is Gyarados' dancing partner, and helps to clean up when Gyarados is finished (or vice versa, depending) This Salamence is more offensively orientated, since its weakness to Ice is more common than Gyarados' weakness to Electric. Plus, Salamence gets incredibly powerful STAB in Outrage, which lets it power through a lot of opponents after a single boost. Base 100 speed is also very nice, and is maxed to ensure that +1 Salamence at least ties with Scarfed base 100's. Earthquake is also boosted by Dragon Dance and provides good coverage in general; opponents such as Bronzong and Skarmory which aren't hit by this combination are dealt with by Heatran. Roost provides Salamence with instant recovery, and gives him a net increase in health as Gliscor tries to Ice Fang it. The EVs are straightforward, if anyone has any suggestions then I'm willing to try them out! I've also decided to use Lum Berry over Leftovers, since Salamence already has instant recovery in Roost, and Burns and Paralysis have generally been the main obstacle to Salamence's rampage. Plus, it lets me avoid Outrage's confusion in the best case scenario. :)
Latios @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Fire
- Trick
Latios' primary role is to outspeed EVERYTHING and hit stuff hard with either Draco Meteor or its coverage options. With 525 Speed, Latios outspeeds all Dragon Dancers and ties with all Scarfed Dragons in the tier, as well as Scarf Gengar. Draco Meteor is Latios' pointy stick, dealing severe damage to most things that stay in on it. Thunderbolt allows Latios to check other DD Gyarados reliably, and punishes bulky Waters in general, whilst Hidden Power Fire lets me kill Ferrothorn, Forretress and Scizor if I predict correctly, which since nice considering CB Scizor can KO with either U-Turn or Pursuit. These moves provide fantastic coverage between each other and let me hit plenty of things hard on the switch if I predict correctly. Whilst I lose the speed tie against other Scarf Latios, Bronzong and Heatran can take Latios' attacks very well and will force him out regardless with Payback and Roar. Trick is exceptionally useful and lets me deal with special walls (and especially Eviolite users like Chansey) more effectively, and lets me change Latios' role as needed during a match. I've been considering running Psychic or Psyshock over Thunderbolt or Trick, but I'm unsure. I can see the utility of Psychic moves in dealing with the myriad Fighting types of the tier, but then again I know not to underestimate the threat of Gyarados! :P
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 52 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
- Payback
Bronzong is the new physically defensive Steel tank for the team, and replaces Forretress. In testing, I didn't really use Rapid Spin enough to justify me running a spinner, so I decided to run something with more offensive capacity in Forretress' place. Bronzong has excelled in this role so far, not only tanking Outrages and setting up hazards but also being able to take Draco Meteors! Not only this, but Bronzong's Gyro Ball actually has considerable power, and Bronzong has plenty of other offensive options to use in certain situations. For example, Earthquake significantly damages Heatran on the switch and lets me kill Excadrill, whilst Payback lets me kill Starmie if I hit it on the switch, and hit it again after it tries to attack. Mamoswine is also dealt with, as its STABs are walled and Gyro Ball is an OHKO. The EVs are specific: 252 HP gives Bronzong as much general bulk as possible, 204 Atk EVs allow the combination of Gyro Ball + Earthquake to always kill Balloon Excadrill and allows Payback to 2HKO Starmie if it switches in (so a 50 BP attack when Starmie comes in and a 100 BP attack the next turn), and the rest of the EVs are put in Defense to help take Outrages. A Relaxed nature is used since none of my other stats really need boosting and Bronzong appreciates the extra physical bulk.
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Ice
Virizion is here primarily for one purpose: to take out Gyarados' most prominent checks and possibly do a little bit of sweeping before he comes in. With an excellent speed tier, powerful STAB attacks, a boosting move and titanic special bulk, Virizion is an underestimated threat in the tier that deserves more recognition. Although Virizion initially lacks power, it generally comes in on Water types that can't threaten it, giving it time to set up a few boosts before healing any residual damage with Giga Drain. Focus Blast is immensely powerful, and after a few boosts it deals with Jirachi well enough. Hidden Power Ice gives me coverage against Flying types that wall my STABs, and helps me continue to remove opposing Dragon types that could threaten Salamence's sweep. I'm considering using Hidden Power Rock instead since it decimates Volcarona, who Virizion can outspeed, but I'm not sure if it's worth the general utility of Hidden Power Ice. Notable fact: At +2 Virizion manages to OHKO the standard Blissey with Focus Blast, few Blissey expect it deal this much damage. :)
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpD / 32 Spe
Calm Nature (+SpD, -Atk)
- Lava Plume
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roar
And here's the last pokemon on my team; specially defensive Heatran with a few changes. Although having two Intimidators certainly helps me defend against physical attackers, the added Burn chance of Lava Plume is very useful in dealing not only with most Steels, but also offensive threats that try to get the jump on Heatran. Since almost all of my team deals with Heatran pretty well, I've decided to run Taunt on Heatran instead of Earth Power or another weak offensive move, since this helps me break stall teams more effectively. Even without speed investment, Heatran outspeeds most walls in the tier and can thus render them useless. Jellicent who try to switch will be hit by Toxic and rendered unable to Recover via Taunt, letting me switch Virizion safely into Scald or Shadow Ball. Blissey is also rendered setup bait for Salamence, without being able to Thunder Wave it on the switch. The speed EVs all me to outspeed Dragonites with no investment, letting Heatran Taunt and Toxic parashuffler sets, preventing them from paralysing my pokemon. Overall, Taunt helps make Heatran a more viable pviot for my offensive core. Toxic lets me deal with bulky waters on the switch and is generally useful; opponents like Jellicent will often stay in and Scald me for pitiful damage. Roar lets me capitalise on Stealth Rock and Heatran's inherent ability to cause switches, letting me cut down teams that are weak to the hazard. It also deals effectively with Calm Minders like Latias who think they can boost with impunity.
Okay! That's the team so far, hope you enjoyed reading. Let me know if there's any ways I could improve the team.
Celebi @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Psychic
- Hidden Power Fire
Celebi was used originally instead of Virizion, and was actually pretty damn good at being the offensive Grass type. It certainly had more power than Virizion behind its Giga Drain. However, Virizion had a much better typing, a more powerful and useful secondary STAB, and the option to run a different Hidden Power. Virizion's lovely base 108 speed is also very helpful since it outspeeds opponents like max speed Jirachi, most Dragons and a lot of stuff in general, whilst base 100 with an imperfect IV was a little lacklustre. Furthermore, Celebi couldn't take two Ice Beams from Politoed, whilst Virizion can freely set up on it with its amazing special defense, which tipped the balance in Virizion's favor.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 SpD
Impish Nature (+Def, -SpA)
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Pain Split
Forretress initially provided a lot of things for the team, such as hazard support, spin support and the ability to tank Outrages all day long. However, I eventually decided that Forretress wasn't really adding anything, as there were very few scenarios where Rapid Spin was actually necessary. After testing Bronzong for a while, he just proved to be better at everything. He takes Outrages well enough, and Draco Meteors considerably better. He actually has offensive presence and can hit a lot of stuff hard on the switch, he can even deal with Excadrill and Starmie which my team proved quite weak to. Forretress was just outclassed, and unless I decide I desperately need Rapid Spin again I'm not going back.
