Hello all! I'm no good at introductions, and I don't exactly remember how the team-building process went, but I can tell you this team was based around Breloom going to town on the other team. After some more testing, I have noticed that TSpikes can really hamper this team's effectiveness, weakening TTar and Vaporeon significantly. Since I don't really have anything else to say up here, on to the team;
Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock
Metagross starts things as a reliable lead, consistently giving me good match-ups. Obviously he can't win every time, but he gets the job done whenever I need him to. I need SR up to wear down everything, but notably the flyers that can cause a ruckus once they get in. I have yet to go a match without SR, and Metagross usually takes down an enemy poke or two before going down. I'm using Lum Berry because sleep and confusion ruin me more than the obvious fire moves do. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with Metagross, doubt he's gonna be changed.
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Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This was a Choice Specs Heatran, but at recommendation of Cherub Agent, I'm currently testing this LO Taunt Heatran. Between Heatran and Breloom, I should have all the tools I need to stop stall from ruining my day. I've also switched to HP Electric since Swampert is no issue with Breloom around, and Gyarados is a bigger problem. Although I haven't run into stall yet, Heatran can still perform when I absolutely need him to.
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(I couldn't find a sprite of Rotom-h the same size as the others)
Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
Rotom-h provides the team with very crucial Fighting and Ground immunities, as well as a check to numerous pokemon the team otherwise struggles to beat. I went with -h over the other forms because I needed a faster way of dealing with pokes weak to Fire, and when I can't risk Heatran coming in on a SE attack. He also acts as a backup to bulky waters should something happen with Breloom, and assists greatly in eliminating the flyers that can cause Breloom grief. While I kinda feel he's a bit out of place, I'm not sure I can afford to switch him out for anything else, even changing the set.
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Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Choice Scarf Tyranitar is a key member of the team; I need his Crunch and Pursuit to eliminate Psychics and Ghosts who otherwise can stay in on Breloom all day. His Stone Edge is a great way of eliminating any defensive flyers such as Zapdos and Gyarados who can wall Breloom. I went with EQ because without a Ground type, Electrics can give me problems, so I wanted a good check to them, which is exactly what I get in Tyranitar.
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Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP/252 Atk/244 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Substitute
The star of the show; Breloom. This set is standard, and for good reason. While his defences may not be that great, it's pretty easy to get him in on a resisted attack, Spore, Sub, and have fun. I considered running Stone Edge over Seed Bomb, but the low PP is a big turn-off for me; Breloom could have to stay in for a while, and I need to be able to hit the opponent at any time. Besides, between Tyranitar and Rotom-h, I'm not too worried about flyers ruining my fun. I usually send out Breloom early- to mid-game, to see if they run any Psychics or Ghosts to counter it. If they do, Tyranitar feasts upon them. If I encounter a Flying type, Tyranitar and Rotom-h can easily force them out, building residual damage until they can no longer stand up to Breloom. His strategy is simple to execute, and hard to stop, which is why I love it.
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Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP/252 Def/68 SpDef
Bold nature (+Def,-Atk)
- Protect
- Surf
- Toxic
- Wish
I'll be honest, Vaporeon doesn't add much to the team. If I'm gonna change somebody, it'll likely be this guy. But I already had covered every major threat I thought of, and i already had decent variety in moves to hit whatever I need. Then I noticed the lack of recovery on Rotom-h and Heatran, and how much I relied on them to check a good number of threats. I decided I needed a Wish-passer, and the defensive Vaporeon does just that without compounding too many weaknesses. While half my team is now weak to Grass, Breloom and Heatran love the basically free switch-ins to resisted Grass moves. Toxic hasn't proved as useful as I had hoped, and I'm considering testing Ice Beam over it, but I feel basically useless when pitted against other Waters otherwise. Thoughts?
At the advice of Faladran, I am going to test an offensive CM Suicune in place of Starmie. Depending on how it goes, I might also test the Sub CM Cune set Arch posted, although I'll test the offensive version first.
So, that's my team. While it does have several members sharing common weaknesses, I can usually use these weaknesses as better opportunities to switch in my resisting pokes, and execute my strategy with a little less prediction. Overall, it does fairly well, and I have yet to run into any one threat that consistently gives my team trouble, and problems in matches usually arise from me playing too wrecklessly. I am happy with the team, but I'd love to hear how to improve it. Rate away, and thank you for your time!
Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Earthquake
- Meteor Mash
- Stealth Rock
Metagross starts things as a reliable lead, consistently giving me good match-ups. Obviously he can't win every time, but he gets the job done whenever I need him to. I need SR up to wear down everything, but notably the flyers that can cause a ruckus once they get in. I have yet to go a match without SR, and Metagross usually takes down an enemy poke or two before going down. I'm using Lum Berry because sleep and confusion ruin me more than the obvious fire moves do. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with Metagross, doubt he's gonna be changed.
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Heatran (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Taunt
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This was a Choice Specs Heatran, but at recommendation of Cherub Agent, I'm currently testing this LO Taunt Heatran. Between Heatran and Breloom, I should have all the tools I need to stop stall from ruining my day. I've also switched to HP Electric since Swampert is no issue with Breloom around, and Gyarados is a bigger problem. Although I haven't run into stall yet, Heatran can still perform when I absolutely need him to.
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Rotom-h @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP/252 Spd/252 SpAtk
Timid nature (+Spd,-Atk)
- Overheat
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt
- Trick
Rotom-h provides the team with very crucial Fighting and Ground immunities, as well as a check to numerous pokemon the team otherwise struggles to beat. I went with -h over the other forms because I needed a faster way of dealing with pokes weak to Fire, and when I can't risk Heatran coming in on a SE attack. He also acts as a backup to bulky waters should something happen with Breloom, and assists greatly in eliminating the flyers that can cause Breloom grief. While I kinda feel he's a bit out of place, I'm not sure I can afford to switch him out for anything else, even changing the set.
---
Tyranitar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Def
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
Choice Scarf Tyranitar is a key member of the team; I need his Crunch and Pursuit to eliminate Psychics and Ghosts who otherwise can stay in on Breloom all day. His Stone Edge is a great way of eliminating any defensive flyers such as Zapdos and Gyarados who can wall Breloom. I went with EQ because without a Ground type, Electrics can give me problems, so I wanted a good check to them, which is exactly what I get in Tyranitar.
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Breloom (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 12 HP/252 Atk/244 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk,-SpAtk)
- Focus Punch
- Seed Bomb
- Spore
- Substitute
The star of the show; Breloom. This set is standard, and for good reason. While his defences may not be that great, it's pretty easy to get him in on a resisted attack, Spore, Sub, and have fun. I considered running Stone Edge over Seed Bomb, but the low PP is a big turn-off for me; Breloom could have to stay in for a while, and I need to be able to hit the opponent at any time. Besides, between Tyranitar and Rotom-h, I'm not too worried about flyers ruining my fun. I usually send out Breloom early- to mid-game, to see if they run any Psychics or Ghosts to counter it. If they do, Tyranitar feasts upon them. If I encounter a Flying type, Tyranitar and Rotom-h can easily force them out, building residual damage until they can no longer stand up to Breloom. His strategy is simple to execute, and hard to stop, which is why I love it.
---
Vaporeon (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 188 HP/252 Def/68 SpDef
Bold nature (+Def,-Atk)
- Protect
- Surf
- Toxic
- Wish
I'll be honest, Vaporeon doesn't add much to the team. If I'm gonna change somebody, it'll likely be this guy. But I already had covered every major threat I thought of, and i already had decent variety in moves to hit whatever I need. Then I noticed the lack of recovery on Rotom-h and Heatran, and how much I relied on them to check a good number of threats. I decided I needed a Wish-passer, and the defensive Vaporeon does just that without compounding too many weaknesses. While half my team is now weak to Grass, Breloom and Heatran love the basically free switch-ins to resisted Grass moves. Toxic hasn't proved as useful as I had hoped, and I'm considering testing Ice Beam over it, but I feel basically useless when pitted against other Waters otherwise. Thoughts?
At the advice of Faladran, I am going to test an offensive CM Suicune in place of Starmie. Depending on how it goes, I might also test the Sub CM Cune set Arch posted, although I'll test the offensive version first.
So, that's my team. While it does have several members sharing common weaknesses, I can usually use these weaknesses as better opportunities to switch in my resisting pokes, and execute my strategy with a little less prediction. Overall, it does fairly well, and I have yet to run into any one threat that consistently gives my team trouble, and problems in matches usually arise from me playing too wrecklessly. I am happy with the team, but I'd love to hear how to improve it. Rate away, and thank you for your time!
