“Wouldn't it be nice if our lives were like VCRS (video recorders), and we could 'fast forward' through the crummy times?"
Charles M. Schulz
Charles M. Schulz
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Team at a Glance
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Introduction:
Hello Smogon, here once again with one my best teams of Gen 5 to boot. This team came to being in the period of Kyurem-B dropping into OU as well as new threats like the genie forms/Keldeo running around. This idea was a combo of me wanting to try a Volt-Turn combo, having never used one, and using a bulky F/G/W core to execute it. I began forming the team on paper never expecting the success it would ultimately have.After very little tweaking and fine tuning turned out to be a powerful contender able to hang with the new threats as well as combo old weather contenders.
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Forming the Team:
I began thinking of Fire/Water/Grass pokemon that could either U-turn or Volt Switch. I noticed that when it came to Volt turn if I wanted anything other than a Rotom form it would be Lanturn. So I decided that having only a grass weakness via levitate and being an all around decent check to both Sand and Rain that Rotom-W would be my first member.
Next I decided to find a defensive grass type who would compliment Rotom-W by taking any grass type thrown its way. This grass type also needed access to U-turn which lead me to the obvious candidate in Celebi.
Looking to complete my FWG, as well as keep my Volt-Turn combo going I began looking through the fire types with U-Turn. In the end I narrowed it down to two pokemon, Infernape and Victini. After much debate I decided that with Victini having access to both V-Create and Fusion Bolt was better suited for my team.
With the Volt-turn set as well as the FWG core, I began to see that I lacked a few things. First being stealth rock which would help my core wear opponents down with constant switching, but also as I had planned on running a SpD variant of Rotom-W, I currently lacked a physical wall. In come Jirachi.
After some thought, I knew that even if everything went well that I could get my rocks up successfully while causing mayhem with my volt-turning that my team still did not have a concrete way of finishing off weakened foes. I began brainstorming on possible closer Pokemon who if need be, could also be used to open holes on the opposing sides defenses. I arrived at one of my favorite upgrades of Gen 5, Dragonite.
Looking at my team, I now saw that with Dragonite included that my team would really despise hazards being set on my side. I looked through all the rapid spinners, passing up a few of my favorites in Starmie and Cloyster, and ultimately decided that Jirachi could use a beefy back up who didn't share his weaknesses, Donphan.
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The Details
The Washer
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Rain Dance
To be honest, I never understood the hype around this thing. Yea its got only one weakness, access to Volt-Switch, typing that is perfect for Scizor, and excels in weather as well as out. It never created issues for my previous teams, and was seemingly easy to predict once you knew the set. MAN was I humbled, not only can Rotom-W take hits, but with WoW and Voltswitch, it rarely is in a bad situation. I chose the bulky SpD set for my Rotom, and it did not disappoint at all. I opted for Hydro Pump over Scald/Surf for more oomph when hitting things like Gliscor and Heatran. WoW and Voltswitch are standard and provide momentum for the team. For awhile I had Pain Split in the last slot, but found myself never using it. After having some trouble with Sun I decided that Rotom could be used to cancel out the weather if need be.
The Bluffer
Celebi @ Expert Belt
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 224 Spd / 252 SAtk / 32 Atk
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Leaf Storm
- Earth Power
Let me just say that I believe Expert Belt to be one of the best items in the current metagame. Most players are looking for Life Orb recoil or a specific Gem to activate and when they don't see it, they immediately think Choice. Celebi with its vast move pool take full on advantage of this fact. Usually I will just U-turn out after switching in to bluff the scarf and set the bait. Often times I'm able to take out multiple threats all at once because the opponent will get frustrated. Celebi also helps check most rain threats like Politoed, Gastrodon and Ferrothorn . Moveset is the most effective combination for removing several threats, HP Fire slaying Scizor, Ferrothorn, Skarmory. Leaf Storm to hit Politoed, Gastrodon, TTar, and Gliscor. And Earth Power for Heatran, Tentacruel and Toxicroak.
The Scarfer
Victini @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 SAtk
Hasty Nature
- Fusion Bolt
- U-turn
- V-create
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Victini is one of new favorites from Gen 5, right up there with Zebrastrika and Boldore. Victini helps control the pace, giving me an idea of what my opponent is running and when it's the right time to attempt a sweep. In the beginning of matches Victini typically sees very little use out of being switched in on resisted hit and U-turning out to the next counter. Where it shines is if Dragonite fails in the clean up, Victini has the speed and power to mop up the rest. Moveset is to help alleviate problems for Dragonite to clean up. V-Create with STAB is amazing and can damage even not effective foes, Fusion Bolt is mostly for a predicted bulky water switch in or Tornadus-T in Rain, HP Ice helps deal with Scarf Mence, Gliscor and Garchomp.
The Steel Wall
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Spd / 224 Def
Impish Nature
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Psych Up
Jirachi has worked wonders for the team by providing SR support as well as crippling faster Physical based threats with T-Wave. Jirachi is used to take all the Salamence Outrages, Boosted Dragonite Outrages, Conkeldurr Punches and TTAR Stone Edges. The moveset is fairly straight forward, excluding the last move. SR gives the team hazzards, T-wave for speed control, Iron Head to abuse Jirachi's ability. The last move slot stems from not having an effective way to deal with baton passing teams. Originally I thought that giving Donphan Roar would allieviate the problem but it was to know avail. Psych Up allows me the same boosts only with Jirachi's janky ability helping to turn the tides.
The Closer
Dragonite @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Dance
- ExtremeSpeed
- Waterfall
So I've never really been into to standard sets, if you hadn't already noticed, and Dragonites is no exception. Most of the time when I build I suffer from trying to cover too many threat all in 4 moves. So this set is the result of that, and really I just think it's a safer set then the standard DD/Outrage/EQ or FP/ES. Waterfall hits Gliscor, TTAR, Heatran w/Balloon, Hippowdon/Landorus/Ninetales w/Balloon/Terrakion and Volcarona for SE damage while also hitting Skarmory/Magnezone/Jirachi/Gengar/Forretress for neutral damage and a boost in the Rain as most of those are seen. Adamant for more power and lum berry cures my confusion or a burn/para. Waterfall is also chosen over Aqua Tail because I'd rather be 100% accurate with a flinch chance then 10 more bp
The Spinner
Donphan @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Rapid Spin
- Seed Bomb
The final member of my team and often one of the key components to opening the door for a Dnite sweep. Donphan provides me with quite a few tools to help the team, most of all the removal of hazard. Seed Bomb was chosen to compliment Rapid Spin as Jellicent is often the spin blocker I run into. It also allows Donphan to hit incoming Rotom-W who are predicting the EQ for SE damage. Earthquake is a must, and deals big damage to things like Magnezone and TTar. Ice Shard helps patch up my speed issue, by giving my another option to deal with Scarf Mence or opposing DDNite assuming Victini is dead. Overall Donphan gives me a much needed physical attack/defender in the form of a spinner.
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Conclusion
So that's the team that got me to a 78% win margin with just under 55 games. I'm always looking for improvements, suggestions or constructive criticism but as I've actually retired from using this team, I can't guarantee that changes will be implemented. I hope the wall of text doesn't scare you, and my explanations don't bore or offend you. So please rate away and lemme know what you guys think. Also if you guys think it is pertinent, I will reserve the second post in this thread for a threat list, though I have yet to fully complete one <_<;
Laddering was done under the name Hinata<3 on the Pokemon Showdown Smogon Server.
