Team of Torment

[Philip7086]

So now that Team US West’s run in the World Cup has come to an end, I have decided to post my very first ever RMT. Though this team has no laddering accomplishments or anything to prove its effectiveness (I purposefully did not ladder with this team, so that my sets would not spread while the World Cup was going on), I’m sure it’s many victims can attest to how terrifying it is to face this team. So without any further ado, I present to you Team of Torment:



Tyranitar (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP/126 Atk/12 Spd/120 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Rest
- Pursuit
---
Ah yes, this Tyranitar starts things off nicely. EV’d to do 95% min to standard lead Roserades with Stone Edge, allowing him to take the Sleep Powder (thanks to Lum), do at least 95% back, then let Sand Stream finish it off, rendering the focus sash useless. Then 12 Speed EV’s is to outrun random other TTars that only put 4 or 8 speed on. These EVs were more important back when I ran SuperPower over Rest. However, I decided Rest was overall more useful on this guy, because if I do not face a sleep-inducing lead, then I can give myself greater longevity by resting later for some instant recovery. I prefer Pursuit on this over Crunch, just because I like guaranteeing that Latias or Rotom won’t be coming in again. That also explains why I have so much SDef bulk; so I can switch in on those two with ease. This lead only loses to Metagross and Infernape leads, and is one of my favorite new toys.



Latias (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 180 HP/60 Def/252 Spd/16 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Roar
- Dragon Pulse
- Recover
- Calm Mind
---
I saw this set posted on Panamaxis’s RMT, and knew instantly that I had to try it out. I fixed the EV’s though, to my linking. I run max speed, so that I can revenge kill other Latiases and Gengars who have HP Fire (otherwise my Forretress can take care of them). Then I have enough bulk to comfortably live a +2 Orb ES from Lucatio, which also allows me to survive Pursuits from CB Scizor and TTar, while Roaring them away. This set also allows me to completely destroy all other CM Pokemon, by setting up with them, then Roaring them out. A great set that has saved my ass on multiple occations.



Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 38 HP/220 Spd/252 SAtk
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Trick
---
Scarf Rotom is so valuable to this team. Enough speed to outspeed Jolly Gyarados’s (thought I sometimes run max speed, to guarantee a speed tie vs. other scarf Rotoms, and outspeed Jolly +1 Kingdra, even though that is rarely used). This thing can revenge kill a lot of threats to my team, including Gyarados and Lucario. Also, Trick is a vital move on this team, seeing as it supports the star player. Originally, this team had three Trick users, but unfortunately, I had to limit it to just this guy, for the overall good of the team. HP Fighting destroys TTars that think they’re smart and switch in. It’s a 2HKO on even the bulkiest TTars if I have enough entry hazards set up.



Forretress (M) @ Shed Shell
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/252 SDef
Careful nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Toxic Spikes
- Payback
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
---
Forretress really supports the team like no other Pokemon could. Getting up Toxic and regular Spikes, while spinning away my opponent’s. Payback hits a lot of its common switch ins hard, including Starmie and Rotom. Payback and this much SDef allows this thing to even beat certain types of Latias’s. If I manage to kill my opponent’s SRer, and spin with this guy, I will gain a huge advantage by allowing my Gyarados to come and go freely. I decided to go with Shed Shell, because of the spike in Magnezones I have been seeing, and the fact that this guy is so key to my team’s success. However, since the addition of Shed Shell, I have considered changing the EV spread slightly, so that I could take Physical hits with greater ease.



Gyarados (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP/200 Def/16 Spd/40 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Rest
- Roar
- Sleep Talk
---
Standard RestTalk Roar Gyarados. This Pokemon is insanely annoying, as many people can attest to. It basically will only die to Rock or Electric type attacks and nothing else, especially if I can spin the rocks away. This guy provides the team with the always welcome Intimidate, while also fulfilling the status absorbing role. Some of you might think that having two Roarers is redundant, but I couldn’t disagree more. With entry hazards laid out, Phazing can really lay down the hurt. It also allows me to keep an eye out for Pokemon that could possibly stop the star of the show, which is…



Heatran (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 HP/140 Spd/18 SAtk/100 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Torment
- Protect
- Lava Plume
---
This. Thing. Is. A. Beast. If I can get a Sub up successfully, you aren’t going to touch me for a while. If your Heatran check is choice’d, then I will just laugh as you struggle and kill yourself. Even if it’s not choice’d, most Pokemon cannot touch me, because people rarely have more than one move that can successfully break this beast’s subs. This is how it works:

You switch in on my Sub. I use Torment as you break my Sub. Then I Sub again while you cannot use your Super Effective move on me that turn. Then I use Protect when you try to use it again. Now I’m safe to use Lava Plum while knowing that you cannot break my Sub with a Super Effective hit. If you try to set up against me, then you run the risk of getting Burned, which many set-up sweepers do not want to do.

There are, of course, a few things that will beat this set, such as non-choice’d Heatrans, Gyarados (if they don’t get Burned), Swampert (though they lose a heavy load of health breaking my Subs from Toxic Spikes), and anything with Rest. However, I can usually successfully scout, and neutralize those threats before this guy comes into play at the end of the match. I like to Trick Rotom’s Scarf onto something, while sacrificing himself, so that Heatran can come in on a hopefully-resisted attack. The whole team is built around getting this guy to take out full teams, and it rarely ever loses. In fact, the few losses that this team has seen can be mostly attributed to player error or hax, not in flaws in the team itself. I spent a lot of time getting this team as close to perfect as I could, and am very proud of the final results.

Although not every set on this RMT is my own, I still hope the original sets that it has encourages many of you to go out and create your own sets as well, instead of just using the well-known standards. Creativity is what makes this game fun and exciting, and I love seeing new things! Thanks for checking my team out.

Credits:
SilentEcho and Woj: For creating the very first ToT with me back in the day.
Rem and Woj: For revamping the original version and showing me, sparking my own interest in recreating one of my favorite teams of the past.
Team US West: For helping me tighten my EV spreads and solidify my moveset choices and final lineup. You guys were great, and I really enjoyed getting to know you all.
SoT for just being dope!
All the people that helped me test this team: If it weren’t for you, I would not have been able to get a feel for how this team played, and fix a lot of the original problems. Thanks.

[Philip7086]

THREAT LIST (STOLEN STRAIGHT FROM JABBA'S THREAD WHERE HE STOLE IT FROM KG'S!)

Defensive Threats:

Blissey - Toxic Spikes, Trick, Gyarados, Tyranitar.. Blissey's not really a problem.

Bronzong - Setup fodder for Forretress. I love seeing this guy.

Celebi - Celebis are too unpredictable these days. Forretress can live an HP Fire and set up, and non HP Fire versions can't do anything to Forretress. Rapid Spinning the Leech is nice too. Non-TWave Celebis give Latias an opening to start Roaring stuff around too.

Cresselia - Again, more setup fodder for Forretress. Most defensive threats end up being so. If this thing starts to CM, I will send in my Latias to CM war, then Roar it away. I can also Trick it with Rotom and make it Heatran Sub fodder.

Forretress - Predix when Forry comes around. Because my Rotom isn't Bulky, it doesn't like switching into a Payback thinking Forretress will Spin. However, Forretress just throws a tiny wrench in my plans at best (even though it cost me my tie break match for the WC.. but that's a different story). I usually try to get Heatran in before it Spins and scare it away.

Gliscor - Man, Gliscor is one annoying mofo these days. I just send in Gyarados to take the Taunt and just Waterfall. Eventually I'll get fed up w/ this guy and Trick him, allowing Heatran to mess around.

Gyarados - I pack more speed on my Gyara than most others do, so that's always nice. I can get the Roar out first. Latias also Roars faster, so that works in my favor as well. Rotom can OHKO of course, but I usually just shuffle defensive Gyaras around for a while until late game when my opponent loses it's better Tbolt switch-ins.

Hippowdon - Toxic Spikes make this guy useless. He also can't do much to Latias and Gyarados so that's that.

Jirachi - Defensive Rachis with Wish aren't too bad. I'll usually just toy around with Gyarados for a while until it needs to use Wish, then I'll send Heatran in to get a free Sub up (I never want to risk a Paralysis on Heatran). CM variants are beaten by Latias, and Heatran if i get it in fast enough.
Rotom-A - Tyranitar, Forretress, Heatran, hell, even my own Scarf Rotom to take this guy out.

Skarmory - Forretress is usually my initial switch-in, so I can spin whatever this guy does, or set up my own hazards. Heatran beats him, both of my Phazers are faster.

Snorlax - Curselax is a pain I guess, but he poses no immediate threat. I'll usually send Gyara in and Phase. Late game, I'll make sure Latias is around with a few CM's before this guy comes out again so I can 2HKO it. I also try to make sure I have Trick waiting when I see this guy.

Suicune - Whereas before I hated seeing Suicune, I now don't feel threatened by it anymore, thanks to Pana's Latias set. Also, Rotom can Trick it or just Tbolt away if I get in before a CM.

Swampert - Roar Perts are annoying as hell. I just gotta hope I get one of my Phazers Roared in, or my Forretress, so I can set up Toxic Spikes and be rid of this Pokemon for good. One of the only things that stops Heatran.

Tyranitar - Cursetar poses no threat earlygame, seeing as Gyarados can just Phaze him out, and Payback versions can't really hurt Latias that much either if I use Roar. In the end though, I pretty much have to rely on making sure he's at low health and asleep from all the Phazing I do, then Gyara can finish him before he gets any Curses off. Otherwise, I have to save my Trick for this guy.

Vaporeon - Toxic Spikes, Latias, Rotom.

Zapdos - Latias fucks w/ this Poke easily. Also TTar can do some damage. Heatran beats it if I get a Burn, but I seem to be really unlucky w/ that...


Offensive Threats:

Azelf - I lead w/ TTar so... GG. I have yet to face a late-game sweeper Azelf yet w/ this team, but Scarf Rotom and TTar can deal w/ it. Heatran too if it doesn't have HP Ground.

Breloom - Gyarados comes in for the Intimidate + Sleep absorber, then I can go to Latias to take whatever it throws at me, or try my luck with Sleep Talk.

Gengar - Gengar's a pain for sure. Scarf Rotom can revenge, but I don't like sacrificing things so that's a bust. Forretress can beat non-HP Fire versions. If they have HP fire, then Latias outspeeds and can finish this thing off too.

Gyarados - I usually go to my Gyarados first to Intimidate and take a Waterfall if they lead w/ that. If they DD on my Gyara switch, I will usually go to TTar to Sacrifice him, then finish this guy w/ Rotom. Gyarados is one of my bigger threats, although, I usually can handle it w/ Intimidate and other Pokemon. Latias takes non-Ice Fang hits like a pro, and I've been seeing less and less Ice Fang Gyarados's.

Heatran - The original version of this team really hated non-choice'd Heatrans. Now I don't mind them at all. Gyarados can come in, so can Latias, so can Tyranitar. No big problem there.

Infernape - Gyarados, Latias, Scarf Rotom.

Jolteon - Tyranitar can take care of this rodent, so does Toxic Spikes. Rotom also outspeeds and does major damage.

Latias - CM Latias is another Pokemon that can stop Torment Tran. Another reason I put max speed on my Latias too (so that in a worst-case scenario, I can speed tie it). I like to Trick these things so that Heatran can set up for free. Also, Pursuit on my TTar is the safest bet to killing this guy.

Kingdra - Rain Dance Kingdras will not get very far because I will get SS up right away. DD versions have Gyarados to answer to. Toxic Spikes also help. Rest Talk versions are annoying, but I've dealt with them in the past. Rotom outspeeds Adamant +1's with big Tbolt damage.

Lucario - Gyarados, Rotom. CM Lukes, Latias can handle.

Machamp - My favorite Pokemon! This guy is always a pain for anybody to deal w/. I go for the Intimidate early before this guy can attempt to Sub. If it's a Sub version, then Heatran can come in and stall it till it dies to Toxic Spikes. If it's a Rest Talk Version, then it's annoying as hell, but Heatran still usually wins out, unless my opponent has ridiculous luck w/ Sleep Talk. This guy's annoying to everybody that has to face him.

Magnezone - The reason my Forretress doesn't heal 6.25% every turn! :(. This guy's no biggie now though. TTar's my initial switch usually. Heatran also beats him, so does Latias and Rotom.

Mamoswine - Gyara for the Intimidate. Rotom for the HP Fight. Toxic Spikes really hurts this guy's chances of defeating my team.

Metagross - Ugh, Metagross. The lead that I hate the most. I'll usually go to Forretress to spin his SR and make him feel useless while I set up my own entries. However, this guy can do some major damage to my team if he gets an ATK boost. Rotom usually has to Trick it, then Heatran can set up. Still, I wish I had a better method of dealing w/ this guy, and I'll try out the Rest Talk Rotom sometime in the future.

Salamence - Salamence... what a beast. Latias beats non DD versions usually by saccing something else or w/ careful playing. Gyarados's Intimidate really helps here. I can usually bait out the Outrage and deal accordingly afterwards too. DD DClaw Mence is a huge pain to this team. Gyarados can live and Roar it away, and I'll have to just be really cautious later on, so that I always switch in Latias at the right time so they don't get a DD again.
Scizor - Scizor plays mind games w/ Latias. If it Pursuits and I Roar, I win. If I Roar and it U-Turns, I lose. If I switch out and it Pursuits, I lose, if I switch out and it U-turns, I win. Aside from Latias though, Scizor is easily handled by my team.

Starmie - This guy gets one spin at most against my team. Tyranitar comes in and ensures that. Rotom also beats it, so does Latias.

Tyranitar - Ah yes, the fearsom tyrant himself. If Toxic Spikes are up, CB TTar will get no more than 1 kill on my team. Torment Tran outspeeds, and can Sub-Protect until this guy dies. DD TTar will either eat an HP Fighting from Rotom, or a Trick, depending on how much HP it has. If I Trick it, it becomes Sub fodder for Heatran. No Rock resist is a bust, but I deal. This guy is the main reason I set up Toxic Spikes before Spikes with this team, though.

Zapdos - Tyranitar, Latias, Rotom.

[panamaxis]

Really cool team, that heatran is annoying as ever.

Okay so first off, I'm going to suggest changing rotom to a rest-talker and utilising thunderbolt and will-o-wisp as the moveset of choice. With this moveset change your team is much better defended against common offensive combinations such as gyarados + tyranitar and gyarados + agiligross as a couple of examples. At the current time these such combinations can cause your team grief. You can still take lucario that lack crunch and burn then with will-o-wisp so you don't lose too much by removing the scarf. Yes you lose a way to set up heatran, but as a whole I believe your team is much stronger with this change. I should also note that substitute machamp is much easier to deal with this way.

What you do lose by changing rotom to this form is some sort of insurance against Dragon Dance Tyranitar, so removing rest for superpower on tyranitar may be worth looking into if you decide to change rotom.

Otherwise, this team looks quite good, I like the originality, especially in heatran (who really is annoying as ever).

[Stallion]

I was gonna suggest resttalk rotom but heh pana beat me to it. Also I just wanted to say how inspiring a team like this is for my teambuilding, I had tun a sub/torment tran before but never with protect or lava plume, that looks annoying as fuck.

Also how well does Gyara take ddmence? Because despite your heatrans awesomeness, it can set up either there (70 % of the time) on forry or your current rotom and proceed to really lay the hurt on you.

Nice team bro :)

[COCKBLOCK]

Damnit Phil you shouldn't have posted this lol. Randoms will copy this now and it makes me sad to know this fact. Yeah you made me fall victim to that shit lol. The combination of Agiligross + DDGyara could prove troublesome (Meta luring in your Rotom and either taking it out or forcing the Trick so it can't outspeed Gyara after a DD). It could prove troublesome, but that's pretty much all I can sense in terms of weaknesses.

Love this team Philip. FPO!!

Edit: RStalk Rotom is pretty much the only change possible imo. Because I think having more bulk is more beneficial than revenge killing some pokemon. But I guess it's personal preference (I'm sure you've tried/consiered it before). Nothing else needs said. Again great team.

[Woj]

Honestly the best team I have ever been associated with building, it's kinda my pride and joy of pokemon haha.

But yeah since I helped build the team, not much rating I can do haha. Just mention that DD mence is reallllly annoying with +1, +1.

<3 ToT

[Stone_Cold]

I sort of agree with Philips choice of rotom here. Since it's not even a full stall team imo, Trick Rotom works immensely well since you have Heatran. If you tricked a choice scarf and they use a move like crunch or pursuit, then you pretty much have a free sub up with Torment Tran which is nice, and from personal experiance, once the sub goes up, it can be insanely hard to get rid of that thing.

My only suggestion is to keep a close eye on ToyMence since that pokemon can wreck this team in half. Especially if Latias is gone and Rotom's scarf is gone. I guess if you don't wanna make changes, mind games is your best option. Also be very warry of Jolteon, if t-tar is down, the charge beam Jolteon set could potentially sweep your whole team.

Other then the few weaknesses I mentioned, very nice team man.

[Phyres]

I really like this team, the Tyranitar Lead make you in a good position against those teams which rely on Roserade or Smeargle to get early entry hazards. I would also add that this is a good example of what some people call "semi-stall".

However, the lack of rock resist makes you quite weak to Choice Band Tyranitar. You can always revenge kill him but he will severely hurt your team each time he comes in. Plus, he may get some kills on Latias and Rotom with Crunch/Pursuit.

I think the team proved to be good as you say it so I don't want to change it. I agree with the fact that a bulkier Rotom would be good for this team, it can also burn Tyranitar which may try to set-up on it.

Rotom + Latias nearly covers the same thing that Gyarados, so if you really need a rock resist I think Gyarados would be the Pokemon to change. Perhaps a Metagross with Earthquake and Occa Berry to lure out some Heatran which could stop yours.

Anyway, these are just some thougts, and I don't think you will use this team again.

[musiquev24]

Just gonna say, props for making use of the move Torment.

Anyway, I really like this team. 5 Stars from me. If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to change Gyarados for literally the same Moveset on a Swampert. You would lose Intimidate, but Swampert could bring a very welcomed Rock Resist to your team. The Grass weakness is also probably a lot more welcome than the Electric and Rock ones you gain from Gyarados. You have Latios on your team so you don't gain a Mixape weakness from losing Gyarados either.

Great team though. Really well done.

p.s. Go West Coast!

[Philip7086]

Originally Posted by Fat musiquev24

Just gonna say, props for making use of the move Torment.

Anyway, I really like this team. 5 Stars from me. If I were to make a suggestion, it would be to change Gyarados for literally the same Moveset on a Swampert. You would lose Intimidate, but Swampert could bring a very welcomed Rock Resist to your team. The Grass weakness is also probably a lot more welcome than the Electric and Rock ones you gain from Gyarados. You have Latios on your team so you don't gain a Mixape weakness from losing Gyarados either.

Great team though. Really well done.

p.s. Go West Coast!

It's actually funny that you said this, because I started out with Swampert in the spot with the same MS as Gyarados. It seemed to do okay, but I really opened myself up to a huge Lucario weakness, relying completely on a Pursuitable Pokemon to deal w/ it. Not having a Rock resist has been a pain more than once, I'll admit, but I always set up Toxic Spikes first with Forretress, just for that reason. That way, the most I'll lose against Tyranitar is one Pokemon, because then Sub and Protect on Heatran can stall it out till it dies.

[musiquev24]

Originally Posted by Fat Philip7086

It's actually funny that you said this, because I started out with Swampert in the spot with the same MS as Gyarados. It seemed to do okay, but I really opened myself up to a huge Lucario weakness, relying completely on a Pursuitable Pokemon to deal w/ it. Not having a Rock resist has been a pain more than once, I'll admit, but I always set up Toxic Spikes first with Forretress, just for that reason. That way, the most I'll lose against Tyranitar is one Pokemon, because then Sub and Protect on Heatran can stall it out till it dies.

That makes sense. I didn't think about Pursuit dealing with your Lucario counters, its smart that you thought about that. I'm glad my suggestion was not complete nonsense then xD

[remlabmez]

Don't have much to say really, other than me and woj sparked the idea up of using torment tran for the WC and you basically went off own your own and perfected the team as much as you could, nice team. I FINALLY GET TO USE TORMENT TRAN ON LADDER instead of trying to keep it a secret, today is a good day ^_^.

Kidding nice team, like I have told you before id much rather just run LO latias because I like it more xD

[Woj]

Originally Posted by Fat romeojustdie

Don't have much to say really, other than me and woj sparked the idea up of using torment tran for the WC and you basically went off own your own and perfected the team as much as you could, nice team. I FINALLY GET TO USE TORMENT TRAN ON LADDER instead of trying to keep it a secret, today is a good day ^_^.

Kidding nice team, like I have told you before id much rather just run LO latias because I like it more xD

I second this haha

And honestly the only thing is can see to ease the mence weakness is make lati scarf, since it checks mence perfectly and adds another tricker. But honestly I don't even see it as being worth it because of all the support you loose with cm lati, so frankly I say just deal with the Mence weakness as I said before haha.

[Scofield]

It's great to finally see you post an RMT, I was about to suggest that you should post one, I know that you don't like having your secrets to success spread, but I love some of the teams that you make. I wasn't aware that you put rest on ttar, it actually is quite clever though. And could you get that log of this team vs husk to me once you can get it yourself?

Yeah, I have no changes to suggest, as I have already made all of them on irc while you were building it.