Because Putting Random Stuff Together is the Best Idea Ever [Peak 23rd w/Dark Horse]

This sounds like my kind of team. Adapting my strategy to foiling what I think my opponent has planned sounds sexy, but that would require me to be insightful in the team preview stage. I'm generally more about RAWR KILL YOU than actually stopping long enough to think about the right move, and I'm currently working on making a Darmanitan+Haxorus core work. Seeing as teambuilding requires many of the same skills as making a good TCG deck, none of which I possess, this is a practically herculean task.

Add to this the fact that <1200 is full of randoms combined with people who have half an idea of what they're doing (there should be a special circle of hell reserved for youtubers that don't ask you first before uploading) and it's that much harder to break that glass ceiling.

Add an importable version for easier stealing and I'd be pretty much sold.

Sure thing.


Also available in the OP.

Hey Greed,

Offensive teams have never been my specialty, but I'll do what I can to improve your team.

First of all, I really enjoyed the creativity of this team, especially Azelf. The team itself is very solid and can play around most threats, my goal is to make playing around these Pokes a little easier.

You mentioned Tyranitar as one of these threats, however Jirachi contains it pretty well. It's the Pokemon who benefit from Tyranitar's Sand that give your team trouble. With that said, why don't you try CM Virizion > Dugtrio? Yeah, you lose the cool U-Turn + Trap combo, but you gain another offensive presence that single-handedly counters all of the Pokemon on your threat lists (Terrakion, Landorus, Politoed, Jolteon, Rotom-W.) This switch also takes a lot of pressure off Azelf when it comes to dealing with Politoed and now gives it the flexibility to run Life Orb > Choice Band and Stealth Rock > Trick. Unfortunately, the Virizion switch still doesn't fill hole against Fire types such as Heatran and Volcarona, which leads me to my next recommendation.

Salamence seems to be your answer to Fire types at the moment, but I believe a Water-Mon like Azumarill could work better. CB Azumarill > Salamence is a great option since the Powerful Water Mouse maintains Salamence's Fire and Water resistance and Speed (Aqua Jet) while still keeping your team's Semi-UU theme. As a matter of fact, Azumarill actually does a better job of revenging Volcarona and Heatran than Salamence. Volcarona after a Quiver Dance out speeds your current Mence Set and OHKO's it with HP Rock while Heatran resist all of Mence's attacks if it's carrying an Air Balloon. The Azumarill switch doesn't have too much of a downside (other than Heatran's Sunny Day nurfing its STAB attacks), since your team already has Air Balloon Heatran to contain opposing DD Dragons, instead of relying on Scarf Mence to revenge kill them.

Hope I helped. GL.

Dude you're a bro. That's all.

Anyways, the only thing I can see really messing this team up is Scarf Landorus - he doesn't give two shits about Jirachi if it doesn't have a Sub up, can U-turn on Azelf, etc. etc. hitting your entire team super effectively. You already mentioned it in your threatlist, but if Jirachi gets taken down earlier by something like Heatran or Dragonite you're pretty much toast. You've already outlined this and a bunch of other things as well. I do think that there is one solution that can effectively patch up your weaknesses - Donphan, who can smash most variants of Terrakion (bar Swords Dance who is owned by Duggy) before it is KO'd, especially Scarf Terrakion, since you're only 3HKOed by Close Combat while a Max Attack EQ is definitely KOing. Donphan also comes in on Landorus if you can lure it into using EQ, 2HKOing it with Ice Shard before it KOes you with HP Ice. Tyranitar should be obvious, though running enough EVs to outspeed and KO MixTar is a good idea. Also - Donphan gives you Rapid Spin support if you really want it to, which can be a big plus for Dugtrio / Salamence. I kinda don't have an idea where Donphan would go - maybe over Jirachi or something? Just something to consider. Really solid team though, so gj on that!

Btw I was thinking a Donphan set like:

Donphan @ Leftovers
160 HP / 252 Atk / 92 Spe
Earthquake / Ice Shard / Rapid Spin / Stealth Rock or Head Smash

You can switch the HP and Attack EVs if you want but its up to you. Good luck with the team!

edit: Adamant nature lol

My god, this team is fun to play. Got me above 1100 in two battles after a ragequit and an actual win. However, getting that second 100 is where I tend to disintegrate. Sadly, scarf Landorus is more common than this team wants, and the fact that it often has Tyranitar as a partner to activate Sand Force makes it that much worse. There's some formatting issues in the importable that you should probably fix, AG...Jirachi in particular needs to be manually entered in.

Hey AG, really cool team you have here. I'm seeing a big weakness to rain in general as you don't have a solid switch-in to water/electric-type attacks (Salamence is sr weak without reliable recovery and Dugtrio can't take water obv.). Sure you have Sunny Day Heatran, but that sun only last 5 turns. I think Tinkerbell Celebi would be a great fit over Azelf. Celebi is a great rain check and it gives you something against Landorus and Terrakion. Celebi also provides paralysis support which is great for Togekiss, and can lure in Heatran / Tyranitar for a duggy trap like Azelf (abeit less effectively without U-turn).

Just something to consider, great team!

I would suggest getting rid of Togekiss and Jirachi because they are just way too annoying to play against. Getting rid of them just seems like the right thing to do. There are more important aspects to this game other than winning, such as not being responsible for the suicide of another fellow gamer.

Hey

This is a brilliant Dark-Horse RMT AG, your strategy of using such unorthodox sets is astounding. At the moment, I think entry-hazards are definitely one of your worst enemies. Losing 25% from stealth rocks, everytime Salamence switches in to revenge kill simply makes it's role less effective; hazards also break your Dugtrio's Focus Sash which limits it's potential; Togekiss also gets hard time sweeping due to the fact it causes so many switch-ins and stealth rocks damage hurts in the long run. Rain Teams are also troublesome since none of your mons can tank super effective water-type moves. To fix this situation, I would highly recommend swapping Choice Band Azelf for Rapid Spin Starmie. Starmie is an excellent rapid spinner in the current metagame thanks to its ability to clear the field as its one of the fastest pokemon in the tier. Hydro Pump provides obligatory stab, decimating anything that doesn't resists it; the classic Ice Beam and Thunderbolt combination works extremely well with this set as it gives you insurance against dragon, ground, water and flying-type mons. You could also run Recover and Rapid Spin on the same set for even more reliable spin support. Psyshock does massive damage to fighting-type mons like Virizion, Breloom and Conkeldurr. Life Orb provides much needed offensive presence which comes in handy in many critical situations. Considering Starmie over Azelf opens up opportunities for your sweepers, as they put more pressure throughout the game. It doesn't make your Skarmory weak if Heatran goes down early, Starmie is again your best option to weaken rain teams which are problematic. After this change, Cloyster is seen as a minor threat who packs the ability to shit on this team after a shell smash.

For some minor changes, I would suggest switching your current Jirachi set with a Physical Attacker variant. Since you dislike the wish support and specially defensive sets, this one clearly becomes a superior option. The specialty about this Jirachi set is it packs a surprise factor which frustrates your opponent. Iron Head provides basic stab, as well as allowing for an effective paraflinch combo after a successful paralysis. Fire Punch OHKOs all Scizor variants paired with Expert Belt outside of rain, hits Ferrothorn and Forretress significantly harder; Ice Punch provides excellent coverage OHKOin the likes of Dragonite, Salamence, Gliscor. For the last slot Body Slam becomes an obvious choice to spread paralysis as your sweepers are massively benefited by it. Expert Belt and Leftovers are both ideal options, supporting your team in various situations. Sucker Punch could potentially be used over Stone Edge on Dugtrio as it is a potent weapon against enemy ghost- and psychic-types, such as Gengar, Azelf, Latios, and Latias. These changes help your Togekiss sweep by eliminating other minor threats which is really beneficial. Overall solid team, and Good Luck!

Thanks for the rates, everyone! I can't really make edits to my team at the moment due to being on a different computer, but I'll take most of the suggestions into consideration seperately. As for me not liking standard sets, feel free to disregard this limitation and offer me tips by suggesting standard sets (that work on this team, of course). I'd like to maintain as much momentum and flexibility at all times in the battle, so take this as you will.

Another Dark Horse RMT :D

Great team, too. I like the offensive combination between Heatran, Togekiss, and MoxieMence with Dugtrio to remove TTar and Heatran that annoy this team. CB Azelf is a cool touch with a powerful punch and disruption, but it also seems risky, since Zen Headbutt is not something you can really spam without consequences. mostwanted's Starmie is an amazing suggestion, enhancing the offensive capabilities of Togekiss and MoxieMence by removing Rocks, so I also fully support that recommendation. Not to mention that Starmie is a great check to Terrakion, EB Landorus, and Rain teams.

The only other change I can make is going Naive Nature on your MoxieMence, because otherwise offensive QD Volcarona can sets up on Togekiss (assuming they know that it doesn't have T-Wave) and can very well sweep your team. At least Naive Salamence covers more offensive Volcarona variants than a Naughty one.

Your Jirachi set is also really cool - and I can see how you prefer this over the specially defensive set :d. The extra bulk from max HP EVs also helps sponge Dragon hits, Cloyster and Sharpedo's boosted Water STAB, and a Close Combat from Terrakion, so I would keep the EV spread of yours. Although truly optional, you could potentially try HP Ice or U-turn over Substitute. HP Ice allows Jirachi to not be set-up bait against Gliscor, safely scoring a 2HKO, despite being Jolly. Removing Gliscor would also allow your MoxieMence to sweep more easily. U-turn is just a really useful scouting move that will prevent Jirachi to forfeit too much momentum (since its power is still lacking) for the team. For instance, Jirachi can easily U-turn out of Heatran to trap it with Dugtrio, or swap into Heatran against a Skarmory, etc.

Solid team, AccidentalGreed - thanks for sharing. I hope you take up the Dark Horse challenge when you're not so busy :)