Rate my all around & random matchup team

QnA · Jan 2nd, 2013, 4:07:53 PM

I use this team to try and cover most threats I face, and while it seems to have no strategy I find it to work quite well in random matchup. Rate it for OU as well as random matchup if you can.

Alakazam:
Item: Life Orb.
Magic guard.
-Psyshock
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Substitute
252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 HP
Timid.
Being very fast and having great special attack, Alakazam is able to take on quite a few threats. With focus blast (unfortunately inaccurate) he is able to take on dark and steel threats that may give him problems, and even out-speeds a choice scarf tyranitar. Because of his great speed, substitute is a nice backup when people assume I'll be switching. I used psychic on this one because I find myself needing that extra push with most threats he faces. Shadow ball takes care of other psychics such as Starmie.
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Starmie:
Item: Choice Scarf.
Natural Cure.
-Psyshock
-Surf (hydro pump proved far too inaccurate at times)
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 hp
Timid.
My bolt-beam Starmie. I used to have Rapid Spin in place of psychic, but in the 3 way random matchup battles it isn't really that necessary. Great speed and decent special attack make him a force to be reckoned with, especially against dragons such as dragonite. Since I do have stealth rock, he can blast away through threats such as Dragonite quickly. Still a great teammate in 3 or 6 way battles.
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Gengar:
Item: Focus Sash.
Levitate.
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Focus Blast
-Destiny Bond
252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 hp
Timid.
Focus sash and Destiny Bond might seem crazy to some, but it's actually quite useful. Outspeeding most threats, Gengar can easily take out an Enemy in two hits, wait for the next, use Destiny Bond, and take out a second. Focus Blast keeps a variety of threats at bay, but being that it’s so inaccurate it can only be so trustworthy.
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Volcarona:
Item: Flame plate.
Flame Body.
-Fiery Dance
-Bug Buzz
-Hidden Power/Ice
-Quiver Dance
252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 special defense
Timid.
Volcarona is my only fire fighter in my team. I have Will-O-Wisp because I constantly find myself in the face of threats with high attack. Flame plate is so I can hit Metagross and Bronzong harder, and I can’t have another life orb on him, nor would using choice items be a good idea since I like to try and sneak in Quiver Dances. That being said, the rest of the moves are pretty standard.
----------------
Scizor:
Item: Life orb.
Technician.
-Superpower
-Bullet Punch
-Bug Bite
-Swords Dance
252 attack, 252 speed, 4 defense
Adamant.
One of my favorite powerhouses and scouts. I keep him as a scout so I can easily switch out to another pokemon that may be able to take a hit better than him. With Swords Dance, I can use Superpower and still have a devastating attack stat left. I do regret not splitting speed with defense, and I may end up doing that in the future.
----------------
Bronzong:
Item: Leftovers.
Levitate.
-Gyro Ball
-Light Screen
-Toxic
-Stealth Rock
252 def, 252 special defense, 4 hp
Relaxed.
My tank and my usual starter in 6-way fights. When in a 6-way battle, he would be using light clay to keep that Light Screen up. I use Light Screen because his defense is a bit higher, and the only huge threat to him is fire. With light screen, that threat is somewhat removed. It also helps keep huge threats from bothering the rest of my team. Stealth Rock is a must in some 3 way battles, and Toxic can be very useful to keep threats other teammates might not be able to switch in to off the field.

Bolded = thanks to Dr Ciel and Alexander.

Dr Ciel · Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:30:33 PM

Hello.

This is a cool team with some very odd sets you have there, most players use the common sets, but you like to be creative, which is very cool. The team seems very well put together, so hopefully this rate will make it even better, so let's get right in to it. Okay, first off, I would suggest giving your Alakazam a Life Orb over your Mind plate that you have. Life Orb increases Alakazams damage output by 20% and also with Magic Guard, Alakazam will never take any damage from it, which is always good. Up next, I suggest changing Volcarona to an Offensive Quiver Dance set over your current one. With this set, Volcarona can flat out sweep opposing teams after just one Quiver Dance. One final thing I would consider is changing Bronzongs EV spread to one of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD over the current one. The EV spread that I just listed allows Bronzong to have some significant bulk and allows it to tank multiple physical moves, either resisted or neutral. Well, that's all I have to say for this team. I hope my advice helped. Have fun and good luck with your team!

Set

~Dr Ciel~ (The doctor is OUT)

QnA · Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:58:27 PM

Would a choice scarf on starmie be a bad idea? Also, took your advice for alakazam.

Alexander. · Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:58:31 PM

Hey there,

Nice team you have here, it's really creative so props for that anyway let's start with the rate, I have some advice to give you!

First of all, I agree with Dr Ciel's advice to use Life Orb on Alalazam, replacing Mind plate. Life Orb allows Alakazam to hit more hard without take any recoil from it so it's fine. I also agree to use Offensive Quiver Dance Volcarona, replacing your current one. I'd use the same set that Dr Ciel posted. Then, on Scizor I suggest you to change U-Turn into Bug Bite. You don't have other U-Turn or Volt Switch user so you can't keep up the famous volturn and U-Turn is quite a bad move because when you will use it, you will probably lose Sword Dance's boost on Attack. Finally, on Bronzong I'd move these EVs in Defense in HP. EVs in HP allows to have a better staying power which is always fine. I wouldn't remove EVs in SDef because they are useful to block better Tornadus-T, which is quite problematic for your team.

Hope I helped, good luck!

QnA · Jan 2nd, 2013, 6:16:34 PM

There we go, took some advice. Not sure which I should do with Bronzong.

At the risk of posting too much in this thread, can anybody tell me if I should scarf my starmie or not?

inanimate blob · Jan 2nd, 2013, 11:48:26 PM

No, don't scarf your Starmie. Starmie is fast enough on its own to outspeed many threats, and actually functions a lot better as a bulky Water-type, or something along those lines.

BlankZero · Jan 3rd, 2013, 12:47:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat inanimate blob

No, don't scarf your Starmie. Starmie is fast enough on its own to outspeed many threats, and actually functions a lot better as a bulky Water-type, or something along those lines.

ScarfMie is not actually bad if it has Trick or is there to check Scarf Keldeo or something with psyshock. It can also ruin Alakazam.

Mr. Green · Jan 3rd, 2013, 3:33:48 AM

Hi, this is a very cool team.

On Alakazam instead of Substitute suggest you try Hidden Power Fire instead of Substitute and Focus Sash instead of Life Orb.
I suggest you to Starmie Rapid Spin on Thunderbolt and Leftovers of Icicle Plate, I understand what you're saying, but the Stealth Rock are also very annoying for your team, especially for Volcarona, who does not even Roost, so he would at most only two revenue and then dies.
For Volcarona I suggest you change the set in Offensive Quiever Dancer, suggested by Dr. Ciel.
I would change, something even Bronzong, giving Max Evs in HP, which in a wall is usually the first thing that you go and look after the defense, so I'd move all the Evs you put the defense in HP going to form this Evs spread of 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def, for reasons to counter Tornadus-T that causes enough problems. To make it last longer the Light Screen you may also try using Light Clay instead of Leftovers, although this does not imply that recovers energy Bronzong at most if it does not keep the Leftovers.
Good Luck, with your team!

QnA · Jan 3rd, 2013, 7:29:23 AM

Doing it, choice scarfed starmie. He is actually very useful once Light Screen is up, being able to switch in to most threats. Also had a run-in with a Blissy, and while Scizor was already down for the count Gengar's Destiny Bond took care of the problem. From there it was a quick win.

QnA · Jan 3rd, 2013, 7:32:39 PM

Running psyshock on starmie and alakazam.

Jan 2nd, 2013, 4:07:53 PM	#1
QnA Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 12	Rate my all around & random matchup team I use this team to try and cover most threats I face, and while it seems to have no strategy I find it to work quite well in random matchup. Rate it for OU as well as random matchup if you can. Alakazam: Item: Life Orb. Magic guard. -Psyshock -Shadow Ball -Focus Blast -Substitute 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 HP Timid. Being very fast and having great special attack, Alakazam is able to take on quite a few threats. With focus blast (unfortunately inaccurate) he is able to take on dark and steel threats that may give him problems, and even out-speeds a choice scarf tyranitar. Because of his great speed, substitute is a nice backup when people assume I'll be switching. I used psychic on this one because I find myself needing that extra push with most threats he faces. Shadow ball takes care of other psychics such as Starmie. ---------------- Starmie: Item: Choice Scarf. Natural Cure. -Psyshock -Surf (hydro pump proved far too inaccurate at times) -Ice Beam -Thunderbolt 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 hp Timid. My bolt-beam Starmie. I used to have Rapid Spin in place of psychic, but in the 3 way random matchup battles it isn't really that necessary. Great speed and decent special attack make him a force to be reckoned with, especially against dragons such as dragonite. Since I do have stealth rock, he can blast away through threats such as Dragonite quickly. Still a great teammate in 3 or 6 way battles. ---------------- Gengar: Item: Focus Sash. Levitate. -Shadow Ball -Thunderbolt -Focus Blast -Destiny Bond 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 hp Timid. Focus sash and Destiny Bond might seem crazy to some, but it's actually quite useful. Outspeeding most threats, Gengar can easily take out an Enemy in two hits, wait for the next, use Destiny Bond, and take out a second. Focus Blast keeps a variety of threats at bay, but being that it’s so inaccurate it can only be so trustworthy. ---------------- Volcarona: Item: Flame plate. Flame Body. -Fiery Dance -Bug Buzz -Hidden Power/Ice -Quiver Dance 252 special attack, 252 speed, 4 special defense Timid. Volcarona is my only fire fighter in my team. I have Will-O-Wisp because I constantly find myself in the face of threats with high attack. Flame plate is so I can hit Metagross and Bronzong harder, and I can’t have another life orb on him, nor would using choice items be a good idea since I like to try and sneak in Quiver Dances. That being said, the rest of the moves are pretty standard. ---------------- Scizor: Item: Life orb. Technician. -Superpower -Bullet Punch -Bug Bite -Swords Dance 252 attack, 252 speed, 4 defense Adamant. One of my favorite powerhouses and scouts. I keep him as a scout so I can easily switch out to another pokemon that may be able to take a hit better than him. With Swords Dance, I can use Superpower and still have a devastating attack stat left. I do regret not splitting speed with defense, and I may end up doing that in the future. ---------------- Bronzong: Item: Leftovers. Levitate. -Gyro Ball -Light Screen -Toxic -Stealth Rock 252 def, 252 special defense, 4 hp Relaxed. My tank and my usual starter in 6-way fights. When in a 6-way battle, he would be using light clay to keep that Light Screen up. I use Light Screen because his defense is a bit higher, and the only huge threat to him is fire. With light screen, that threat is somewhat removed. It also helps keep huge threats from bothering the rest of my team. Stealth Rock is a must in some 3 way battles, and Toxic can be very useful to keep threats other teammates might not be able to switch in to off the field. Bolded = thanks to Dr Ciel and Alexander. Last edited by QnA; Jan 3rd, 2013 at 7:32:14 PM.

Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:30:33 PM	#2
Dr Ciel When I walk these streets, A loaded six string on my back, I play for keeps, 'Cause I might not make it back Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 644 Brooklyn, New York	Hello. This is a cool team with some very odd sets you have there, most players use the common sets, but you like to be creative, which is very cool. The team seems very well put together, so hopefully this rate will make it even better, so let's get right in to it. Okay, first off, I would suggest giving your Alakazam a Life Orb over your Mind plate that you have. Life Orb increases Alakazams damage output by 20% and also with Magic Guard, Alakazam will never take any damage from it, which is always good. Up next, I suggest changing Volcarona to an Offensive Quiver Dance set over your current one. With this set, Volcarona can flat out sweep opposing teams after just one Quiver Dance. One final thing I would consider is changing Bronzongs EV spread to one of 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD over the current one. The EV spread that I just listed allows Bronzong to have some significant bulk and allows it to tank multiple physical moves, either resisted or neutral. Well, that's all I have to say for this team. I hope my advice helped. Have fun and good luck with your team! Set Volcarona @ Life Orb Lv. 100 -- Flame Body Nature: Timid - EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd - Hidden Power [Ground] - Bug Buzz - Quiver Dance - Fiery Dance ~Dr Ciel~ (The doctor is OUT) __________________ PM or VM me for an OU rate!

Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:58:27 PM	#3
QnA Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 12	Would a choice scarf on starmie be a bad idea? Also, took your advice for alakazam. __________________ I'd rather be a grunt in TRC than a leader of Triumvirate scum.

Jan 2nd, 2013, 6:16:34 PM	#5
QnA Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 12	There we go, took some advice. Not sure which I should do with Bronzong. At the risk of posting too much in this thread, can anybody tell me if I should scarf my starmie or not? Last edited by Delko; Jan 3rd, 2013 at 4:09:10 AM. Reason: double post

Jan 2nd, 2013, 11:48:26 PM	#6
inanimate blob Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 1,115 Wherever the food is.	No, don't scarf your Starmie. Starmie is fast enough on its own to outspeed many threats, and actually functions a lot better as a bulky Water-type, or something along those lines. __________________ Yeah! ASB Team! Battle Hall Thread! Battle Factory Team! Reffing Profile! Also, check out my fly letter on the Join Avenue! Really decreased activity for the next week or two due to APs and finals. Hey look, I'm adding to my workload with a Scramble.

Jan 2nd, 2013, 5:58:31 PM	#4
Alexander. Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 1,132	Hey there, Nice team you have here, it's really creative so props for that anyway let's start with the rate, I have some advice to give you! First of all, I agree with Dr Ciel's advice to use Life Orb on Alalazam, replacing Mind plate. Life Orb allows Alakazam to hit more hard without take any recoil from it so it's fine. I also agree to use Offensive Quiver Dance Volcarona, replacing your current one. I'd use the same set that Dr Ciel posted. Then, on Scizor I suggest you to change U-Turn into Bug Bite. You don't have other U-Turn or Volt Switch user so you can't keep up the famous volturn and U-Turn is quite a bad move because when you will use it, you will probably lose Sword Dance's boost on Attack. Finally, on Bronzong I'd move these EVs in Defense in HP. EVs in HP allows to have a better staying power which is always fine. I wouldn't remove EVs in SDef because they are useful to block better Tornadus-T, which is quite problematic for your team. Hope I helped, good luck!

Jan 3rd, 2013, 3:33:48 AM	#8
Mr. Green Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 143 Italy	Hi, this is a very cool team. On Alakazam instead of Substitute suggest you try Hidden Power Fire instead of Substitute and Focus Sash instead of Life Orb. I suggest you to Starmie Rapid Spin on Thunderbolt and Leftovers of Icicle Plate, I understand what you're saying, but the Stealth Rock are also very annoying for your team, especially for Volcarona, who does not even Roost, so he would at most only two revenue and then dies. For Volcarona I suggest you change the set in Offensive Quiever Dancer, suggested by Dr. Ciel. I would change, something even Bronzong, giving Max Evs in HP, which in a wall is usually the first thing that you go and look after the defense, so I'd move all the Evs you put the defense in HP going to form this Evs spread of 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def, for reasons to counter Tornadus-T that causes enough problems. To make it last longer the Light Screen you may also try using Light Clay instead of Leftovers, although this does not imply that recovers energy Bronzong at most if it does not keep the Leftovers. Good Luck, with your team!

Jan 3rd, 2013, 7:29:23 AM	#9
QnA Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 12	Doing it, choice scarfed starmie. He is actually very useful once Light Screen is up, being able to switch in to most threats. Also had a run-in with a Blissy, and while Scizor was already down for the count Gengar's Destiny Bond took care of the problem. From there it was a quick win.

Jan 3rd, 2013, 7:32:39 PM	#10
QnA Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 12	Running psyshock on starmie and alakazam.