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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 8:12:40 AM   #1
blinkenstein
 
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Default Third Time's The Charm...

Dear Smogon,

Welcome to my RMT! You may have seen me on PO recently under the guises of blinkblinkblink, TheDirector or, most recently, blinkenstein. It used to be just plain 'blink', but it appears that someone has stolen that username on the main PO server. *sigh*...

So, without further ado, here is the team!



Jirachi@Leftovers

Jolly
76 HP/252 Atk/176 Spe

-Substitute
-Body Slam
-Iron Head
-Fire Punch

I have tried quite a few variations of Jirachi. The problem is, it can do so many different things that it's disappointing when one set fails to be offensive/defensive enough or utilise Serene Grace effectively. Finally, I decided that the main selling point of Jirachi was using the paraflinch strategy to get me where I wanted. I never really have a chance to use Substitute, but it sometimes comes in handy. Body Slam is for paralysis, and although it's less reliable than Thunder Wave, most people like to switch Ground-types into Jirachi if they can help it, for the STAB Earthquake. Iron Head is the move of choice once the opponent is paralyzed (and therefore slower than Jirachi). Fire Punch comes in handy for random Steel-types who think they can handle Jirachi (bar Heatran).



Rotom-W@Choice Scarf

Timid
4 HP/252 SpA/252 Spe

-Volt Switch
-Hydro Pump
-Hidden Power Fire
-Trick

I never used to be a fan of Scarfed Rotom-W, but it can come in handy. I'm still working on the skill to ascertain when exactly is the best point in a battle to use Trick, because I often do it as the opponent switches to a sweeper, which of course gives them free rein to choose what move to get locked into. If I save this guy for near the end of a battle, however, he can come in handy for outspeeding annoyingly fast sweepers, although Hydro Pump's propensity to miss half the time is annoying. Should it be swapped for Surf? Anyway, Volt Switch is for quick switching, Hydro Pump is the main attack, and HP Fire doesn't see much use, but I think I prefer it to Will-O-Wisp.



Volcarona@Leftovers

Modest
252 SpA/4 SpD/252 Spe

-Quiver Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Hurricane
-Fiery Dance

...No, I'm not quite sure why either. I mean, this is meant for a rain team, not for a team with a Kingdra and no Rain Dancers. I spend a lot of the time biting my nails and hoping that Hurricane not only hits but confuses the opponent. It's useful for opponents like Dragonite, who resists both Volcarona's STABs, but not so much for Heatran. Bug Buzz and Fiery Dance provide nice coverage together, and the latter's secondary effect comes in useful too, turning a lucky 2-poke-KO into a 4-poke rampage. Quiver Dance is a useful booster, especially the speed boost.



Kingdra@Chesto Berry

Adamant
144 HP/160 HP/40 SpD/164 Spe

-Dragon Dance
-Waterfall
-Outrage
-Rest

The workings of this set are obvious. DD until your opponent thinks you're crazy in front of a poke with no priority, then use the newfound speed to ChestoRest, survive one attack and bang! goes at least three of the opponent's Pokémon. Unless I just used Outrage, in which case I'm screwed. This is the most annoying thing about this set - after working so hard to get those boosts, all it takes is one Steel-type to ruin my day by killing Kingdra or phazing it out. The STAB combination is still amazingly good, though - I haven't seen a single Empoleon scurrying about, either.



Zoroark@Life Orb

Naughty
252 Atk/36 SpA/216 Spe

-Swords Dance
-Sucker Punch
-Flamethrower
-Low Sweep

This was supposed to be a lure for Skarmory under the guise of Haxorus, but the main allure of this is firing off surprise Sucker Punches when the opponent has managed to secure speed boosts/is scarfed. I don't often get a chance to boost Sucker Punch with Swords Dance, but the results are terrific when I do. Flamethrower sees less use than it should, and Low Sweep is only used in desperate situations in losing battles. I have considered switching this to the special version, which is more powerful, but Sucker Punch stops me. Perhaps I should use another Pokémon with priority.



Haxorus@Lum Berry

Adamant
36 HP/252 Atk/220 Spe

-Dragon Dance
-Dual Chop
-Earthquake
-Brick Break

This used to be a Swords Dancer, but I get paranoid about not being able to outspeed the opponent - Haxorus is not exactly the bulkiest of Pokémon. Which brings us to the main oddity of this set:

Why Dual Chop?

As I mentioned earlier with Kingdra, I just don't like being locked into Outrage; however, this is not the point. With Dual Chop, I can suddenly attack a) Pokémon who have made substitutes while I danced and b) frail Focus Sash users whom I normally outspeed after a dance. It isn't the most powerful of attacks, but with Haxorus' gargantuan Attack, it doesn't have to be. The dances can be surprisingly easy to grab, especially when placed in front of a Pokémon hoping to burn or poison Haxorus.

This team is a mishmash of favourite Pokémon and random strategies that I like the sound of - it's not especially well-built, and lacks defined tanks and hazard- and status-inflicters. It does fairly well against rain teams, but not very well against sun teams. I would be grateful for any help you can give me. I apologise about the mismatched set of pictures.

Yours sincerely,

Blink N. Stein
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 11:12:03 AM   #2
Novaray
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Hi Blinkenstein

This is a pretty solid offensive team you've built here. I especially like your use of underused Pokemon in Kingdra and Zoroark that can definitely be successful in OU. I do have some suggestions to help improve the team. Looking at your team, Dragon Dance users such as Haxorus and Salamence are a major threat. After a DD boost, they can outspeed your entire team, OHKO'ing every member with Outrage save Jirachi who is taken out by Earthquake. These Dragon types can set up on Rotom-W and Jirachi, not fearing paralysis from Jirachi's Body Slam as they often pack Lum Berry. Im a similar vein, DragMag teams are threatening as they can trap Jirachi with either Magnezone and Magneton and barrel through your team with its multiple Dragon types such as CB Haxorus, Specs Latios, and Scarf Salamence. Another threat to you team is Terrakion. Choice Band Terrakion can switch in and fire off a powerful STAB Close Combat that will dent every member of your team. For these threats, I suggest replacing Haxorus with a Defensive Donphan with a moveset of Stealth Rock / Rapid Spin / Earthquake / Ice Shard. Donphan can handle the aforementioned Dragon types with his priority Ice Shard and great base 90 HP and 120 Defense which allows him to shrug off Outrages. He also provides you with good team support as he has access to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin. Stealth Rock cripples top OU threats such as Dragonite, Thudurus-T, and Salamence and the residual damage will allow your sweepers to more easily sweep. Rapid Spin clears your own side of the field of entry hazards, which is vital for Volcarona who is 4x weak to Stealth Rock and helps your other members not have to take Spikes damage or be inflicted with Toxic Spikes. This is also useful for Zoroark's Illusion ability as having no hazards on your side means Zoroark's disguise will not be given away by the amount of Stealth Rock damage he takes. Furthermore, Donphan's physical bulk allows him to handle common Sand team threats such as Tyranitar, Terrakion, and Landorus. An EV spread of 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Def with an Impish nature is suggested to nab the 2HKO on Landorus with Ice Shard and provide a more powerful Earthquake to smash Magnezone/Magneton. Haxorus is your most replaceable member as Kingdra and Zoroark are already filling the roles of physical set up sweeper and they are more important to your team as Kingdra checks rain teams and Zoroark provides a surprise factor.

Now for some smaller changes. On Volcarona, Hidden Power Ground is more useful than Hurricane. Without Rain support, a 70% accurate move is just too unreliable especially since a miss will likely end a potential sweep. HP Ground is a solid alternative in order to hit non- Air Balloon Heatran who otherwise walls you completely and Terrakion. A Timid nature over Modest on Volcarona is useful to outspeed Scarf Genesect at +1 and speed tie with Scarf Jirachi and Salamence. On Rotom-W, move the 4 HP EVs into Special Defense to maximize the number of Stealth Rock switch ins he can take. Rotom-W with 4 HP EVs has an HP stat of 241 and can only survive 7 SR damages while Rotom-W with no HP EVs has an HP stat of 242 and can survive 8 SR damages. The 4 EVs are placed into Special Defense so his Defense stat will be lower, meaning Genesect will receive an Attack boost. This inclines your opponent to U-turn out and since most Genesect are Scarfed, Rotom-W will be slower so you can gain the switch advantage by using Volt Switch.

Hope I helped and good luck with your team!


Set:
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tl;dr
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 11:39:52 AM   #3
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Hi,

This is a pretty good anti-Rain team. I like your use of Kingdra; that's a really successful set and hits hard even outside of Rain. However, as you said, Sun teams give you a lot of trouble, and Steel types too- because they wall your two primary sweepers, Kingdra and Haxorus. I don't think Zoroark is helping your team much; it really only helps use priority, and it's frailty looks like it's dragging your team down. To help you handle Sun teams and Fire types, I suggest you replace Zoroark with Heatran.


Heatran @ Air Balloon
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
~Lava Plume
~Earth Power
~Roar
~Substitute

This Heatran, although it may seem weird, helps your team a lot. The first thing it does is set up in the face of most Steel types- Ferrothorn, Forretress, Skarmory and many others can't break Heatran's substitute. A lot of them will be scared out anyway, giving you a free turn to attack behind your sub. This Heatran also walls a lot of Sun team- many, with their Fire/Grass coverage, will also fail to break Heatran's substitute. It, in turn, can phaze set up sweepers, Earth Power opposing tran's, and Lava Plume everyone's face.


Next, are just some minor changes. Jirachi needs Stealth Rock instead of Substitute. Stealth Rock is valuable hazards for your team, and helps wear down your opponent because your Dragons will force a lot of switches. Volcorona also needs Roost instead of Hurricane- it's inaccuracy will cost you a lot of HP loss. Roost allows you to regain health, and helps you win CM wars vs Latias.

That's it for now, good luck!
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Old Aug 16th, 2012, 9:02:36 PM   #4
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Hi

This is quite a nice team however there are some big issues that you need to fix immediately. First of all, teams who use entry hazards will completely walk over you. Needless to say, 99% of the serious teams you'll battle in the BW2 metagame will at least carry Stealth Rock, which means that Volcarona outright loses 50% of its health upon switching in, effectively making it pretty much unusable. Volcarona really needs Rapid Spin support to be succesful, otherwise it cannot find the opportunity to set up and will fail every game to do something good for you, which isn't something you want. However, once you remove Stealth Rock, Volcarona becomes a formidable sweeper with a lot of opportunities to set up. Another thing that you might find beating you up is opposing Dragon types, as Rotom-W gives them a ton of opportunities to switch in, especially Latios, which can then fire off powerful Draco Meteors and wreck your team. You might say "oh I have Jirachi", but without recovery and defensive EV investment, it will have a hard time taking multiple Outrages and Draco Meteor which is kinda bad. Getting a second Steel type might be an excellent idea in order to reduce the pressure on Jirachi, while you should also give Wish to Jirachi. Last thing, you'd like some entry hazard support of your own, because it's very important to use Stealth Rock in order to weaken enemy Dragonite, Salamence and Volcarona as well as giving you the chance to get easier OHKO or score some 2HKOes that you can't without. I think that Forretress is the perfect replacement for Zoroark on this team. Forretress gives you an additional Steel type to tank Dragon attacks, while providing you incredible Rapid Spin support and also being able to lay down Stealth Rock. It will greatly help you and I don't think Zoroark is the most helpful member of this team, so it might be a great idea to replace it.

Roost might be very helpful for Volcarona over Hurricane. Hurricane is just not very good outside of rain since it has pretty bad accuracy and you gain back your powerful Fire STAB move, so you won't really need it. Roost, on the other hand, allows Volcarona to become even deadlier by getting multiple boosts on weaker Special Attackers by restoring your health, while also helping Volcarona a bit with entry hazard damage which it totally hates. There are other nice options such as Hidden Power Ground and Substitute but for your team I think that Roost is the best idea, since you can deal with Heatran alright.

Anyway, I find that Electrolyte's Heatran suggestion is great as it will help you a lot dealing with Sun teams, however, I think you should be trying it out over Jirachi, as both are usually somewhat redundant when it comes to team synergy. This will also allow you to carry Forretress which is really going to help you out.

Anyway, here's the set you should use:
Forretress


Good luck!
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Old Aug 17th, 2012, 10:29:29 AM   #5
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Thanks for your help, guys! I'm testing all of your suggestions in separate teams. I'll let you know how it all goes and edit my post to accommodate for any permanent changes I make.
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