A Dark Horse Team
Team At A Glance:
[pimg]142[/pimg][pimg]483[/pimg][pimg]466[/pimg][pimg]141[/pimg][pimg]82[/pimg][pimg]189[/pimg]
Introduction:
Team At A Glance:
[pimg]142[/pimg][pimg]483[/pimg][pimg]466[/pimg][pimg]141[/pimg][pimg]82[/pimg][pimg]189[/pimg]
Introduction:
This is my first OU team in quite a while (Ubers is the best tier). Rather than being a real “competitive” team, this team is more of a concept test. The team is a foray into weather-less hyper offense, and was made to test the majority consensus that weather is basically necessary for a good team.
This team has neither weather nor common hyper offense Pokemon – this team contains no Deoxys-D, no Choice Pokemon, no Dragon Pokemon, and only one set-up sweeper. In fact, this team contains no OU Pokemon at all!
This team is anti-metagame in that it attempts to counter the prominent strategies with the use of unorthodox and “inferior” Pokemon. By running Pokemon that can abuse weather, I usually have a good match-up against most weather teams. By running fast Pokemon (two-thirds of my team have 110 Base Speed or higher, and all my Pokemon have max speed EVs), I manage to defeat offense, and by running a trapping combo in Magneton + Weavile, I also manage to defeat stall.
As evidenced by my EV spreads, this team plays incredibly offensive – I often sacrifice all my Pokemon to allow for a last Pokemon sweep. The team really has no “final” sweeper (though Jumpluff comes close!); each Poekmon can sweep, depending on which Pokemon I weaken.
Sadly, as a result of this offensiveness, I have very little defensive integrity when playing with this team. I can't rely on a wall to check stuff like CB Terrakion that OHKOes my whole team – this team is very fast paced (most games last under 30 turns!), and have to instead rely on revenging with priority and incredibly fast Pokemon. Success with this team relies on gutsy double switches and predictions and on knowing which Pokemon to sacrifice and how to create a good endgame situation.
This team has been fairly successful, peaking at #88 (before the ladder reset) with a rating of 1922 (Glicko2 of 2016); this means more than the numbers indicate because I am a bad player – I'm pretty sure a better player would have been able to get top 50 easily.
[pimg]142[/pimg]
Aerodactyl @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Taunt
AERO IS SEXUALLY ATTRACTIVE.
Aerodactyl is literally so fucking amazing. It's the best stealth rock setter in the game; it outspeeds Terrakion, so it avoids Taunt; it also beats Xatu, courtesy of STAB Stone Edge. This pretty much puts sun behind the eight ball, as sun (obviously) hates Stealth Rock. My team also hates Stealth Rock, so I can almost always prevent SR with Taunt. BUT AERODACTYL IS MORE THAN JUST A LEAD.
Aerodactyl's decent attack + 130 base speed allows it revenge all types of Pokemon. +1 Gyarados? Outsped and OHKOed. Dragonite? Outsped and OHKOed. Tornadus? Outsped and OHKOed. Starmie? Outsped and OHKOed.
The same traits that allow it to revenge allow it to clean, or even sweep frail / rock-weak (I'm looking at you hail / sun) teams. With SR and a layer of Spikes up, the majority of offense teams are OHKOed by my EdgeQuake combination.
Roles:
-SR Setter
-Sun Check
-Hail Check
-Revenge Killer
-Cleaner
-Hyper Offense Check
[pimg]483[/pimg]
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
BLAHH. FROSLASS SUCKS.
I originally put Froslass in the team to try to set-up spikes and spinblock; it does neither that well, due to its frality, but it does them well enough. I will always block a spin *once*, which is all I usually need to beat most spinners (Weavile traps Starmie, Froslass OHKOes Forretress). Froslass also usually gets a layer of spikes down, which helps because stuff like Breloom is only OHKOed by Kabutops after Spikes.
What Froslass has really become is a lure. It lures Scizor / Genesect / Forretress / Ferrothorn, all of which fuck up my team pretty badly, and 2HKOes / OHKOes with HP Fire. It also checks stuff like Breloom. I think Froslass' viability speaks about the weakness of the metagame to an Ice / Fire combination: it's really awkward to try and find a good switch-in to Froslass.
Sadly, Froslass would really like more Special Attack, and I often mind myself annoyed at how little damage it can do, but it's the only Pokemon that can spinblock and set up hazards, so it does pretty well.
Roles:
-Spinblocker
-Hazard Setter
-Steel Lure
[pimg]466[/pimg]
Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Night Slash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
GODDAMN WEAVILE IS SEXY.
Obviously, Weavile maintains a position as a Dragon check and as a quick Psychic / Ghost trapper. It kills Dragonite (through Multiscale!), while also OHKOing Starmie and Gengar (although Starmie requires SR up).
Weavile also has a position as a Sand check. The majority of Pokemon found on Sand teams (think Heatran, Tyranitar, Hippowdon, Latios, Landorus, Breloom) are either OHKOed or 2HKOed by Weavile. This is true also for Sun, as Weavile's Ice Shard revneges all Chlorophyll sweepers, and Ice Punch / Low Kick kill Gliscor / Dragons and Heatran, respectively. Weavile even traps Dugtrio!
I would really like to run Night Slash over Ice Punch, so that I can actually damage bulky waters, but Ice Punch's abilty to OHKO Dragonite through Multiscale is amazing too /:
Roles
-Sand Check
-Dragon Check
-Trapper
-Sun Check
[pimg]141[/pimg]
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
KABUTOPS IS MAD UNDERRATED.
I think Kabutops is way underused – it's probably better than Kingdra. Obviously, inside Rain Kabutops is amazing, outspeeding 2HKOing the standard Rain team with little effort, but where Kabutops really shows its strengths over Kingdra is outside of Rain.
Kabutops has amazing coverage. Its dual stabs wreck the majority of Sand teams, and, unlike Kingdra, Kabutops can OHKO Ferrothorn with Superpower. Kabutops also is more powerful against Sun teams because Stone Edge completely wrecks sun, while Kingdra has no similar moves.
What really differentiates Kabutops from Kingdra, though, is Aqua Jet. Priority is so important in Pokemon, and Kabutops really takes advantage of its sky-high attack stat and priority to revenge Pokemon such as Terrakion, Volcarona, and any weakened Pokemon.
My only dilemma about Kabutops is about its moveset. I would like to run Swords Dance or Rapid Spin, but I can't think of which slot to give up for it.
Role:
-Rain Check
-Sand Check
-Priority
[pimg]82[/pimg]
Magneton @ Occa Berry
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
Magneton @ Occa Berry
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
FUCK GENESECT.
That's seriously all my Magneton does. Magneton's main purpose is to trap those pesky steels which wall or revenge the rest of my team: Genesect, Scizor, Jirachi (although this motherfucker manages to always flinch me to death), Forretress, and Ferrothorn. Occa Berry is there *just* for Genesect, who never OHKOes me with +1 Flamethrower except with Expert Belt, and non scarf Genesect is easily dealt with. Occa Berry also provides a bluff that I'm Scarf, which really helps if I can lure in Mamoswines (they OHKO my whole team).
Magneton also works against rain to an extent, with the obvious Electric STAB.
Pocket suggested that Magneton is simply an inferior Magnezone, which has some truth (the bulk, or lack thereof, is really disconcerting), but Magneton has some advantages such as outspeeding and doing ~40% to Bulky Rotom-W, which often allows Kabutops to sweep.
Role
-Steel Killer
-Rain Check
[pimg]189[/pimg]
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Acrobatics
- Seed Bomb
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Acrobatics
- Seed Bomb
GOD FUCKING DAMNIT. SD JUMPLUFF IS HAWTTTTTT.
I know this sounds like a joke, but SD Jumpluff is actually incredibly strong. It's checked by a) Pokemon faster than it b) Pokemon that have Ice Shard / Bullet Punch c) steel types. If you have none of these Pokemon, you will lose. 100% of the time. I know that “every team carries steel / priority / scarfers”, but this isn't actually true. Hyper Offense literally is 6-0ed by SD Jumpluff, which can use Sleep Powder and sweep with +2 Acrobatics. Sun? Sun has no fucking chance against me with Jumpluff. Venusaur? Outsped and OHKOed. +2 Volcarona (though I wouldn't never let that happen, of course..)? Outsped and OHKOed. Xatu? OHKOed by +2 Acrobatics. If i play against sun this little ball of fluff basically guarantees me the game against sun.
If you run like 3 steels + Scarf Terrakion + Mamoswine, then that's *still* fine. All Jumpluff has to do is hit 1 Sleep Powder to guarantee that it was worth a spot: you will be at 6-5 automatically. This really helps against stall / semi-stall teams, because checking Kabutops / Weavile / Aerodactyl with 6 Pokemon is hard enough; you're fucked if you only have 5 Pokemon.
Even past its offensive role, Jumpluff checks the majority of Fighting types, such as Conkeldurr and Breloom, which would 6-0 my team without Jumpluff.
Role:
-Sweeper
-Win Condition
-Sleep
-Sun Counter
-Hyper Offense counter
-Fighting Check
Match-ups
Get off a sleep with Jumpluff, then set up SR with Aerodactyl. This has a pretty good matchup because Weavile kills Sand pretty well, and Kabutops revenges the majority of sand sweepers, such as Terrakion / Volcarona.
Important Pokemon:
- Weavile
- Kabutops
Important Pokemon:
- Weavile
- Kabutops
Rain Balance is my main problem. I have to play extremely well, as Rain annihilates me with boosted Water moves, and they basically provide a guaranteed spin because Tentacruel beats all my team one on one. My game plan is to get a quick sleep off with Jumpluff, create pressure with Magneton, and then weaken their Kabutops check until I can easily sweep.
Important Pokemon
- Kabutops
-Magneton
Important Pokemon
- Kabutops
-Magneton
I'm pretty much 100% guaranteed to win against Sun; set up SR, sweep with Jumpluff, and, if that fails, clean up with Weavile. Kabutops. Froslass and Magneton are basically dead weight in this match-up (with the only use being that Kabutops can tank a V-Create).
Important Pokemon
- Weavile
- Aerodactyl
- Jumpluff
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou2886513 (THIS IS AGAINST SOMEONE USING MY TEAM AGAINST ME SO PROUD C:)
Important Pokemon
- Weavile
- Aerodactyl
- Jumpluff
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/ou2886513 (THIS IS AGAINST SOMEONE USING MY TEAM AGAINST ME SO PROUD C:)
My game plan is to use Jumpluff to get a quick sleep, trap their Steel with Magneton, then go ham with Jumpluff + Weavile. Aerodactyl's Taunt is also pretty useful in preventing recovery. The main thing to remember is that Blissey is pretty useless against you, while Kabutops + Weavile is very useful for you – don't risk them getting paralyzed just to kill Blissey. This game plan applies to all stall, whether it be Sand or Rain or weatherless.
Important Pokemon:
ALL
Important Pokemon:
ALL
Set up SR with Aerodactyl, then sweep with Jumpluff. If they carry multiple fast Pokemon (like Rain Hyper Offense, which runs Latios / Tornadus-T), then just use Jumpluff to get off the sleep and proceed to wreck shit with Weavile.
Important Pokemon:
- Aerodactyl
- Jumpluff
- Weavile
Important Pokemon:
- Aerodactyl
- Jumpluff
- Weavile
Problem Pokemon:
This is annoying depending on how defensive it is (and how many flinches it gets with Iron Head). Magneton can beat it if they don't flinch me 10 times in a row, and Aerodactyl can Earthquake it low enough for Kabutops / Weavile to revenge it. I usually hope to sleep it with Jumpluff.
Bulky Waters are really annoying. It beats my whole team bar Jumpluff (even Weavile gets stalled out with Recover), and Jumpluff is hardly a safe switch-in with Scald's 30% chance of burn and a possible Ice Beam / Toxic. I usually rely on saccing Weavile then forcing it out with Jumpluff.
Stoutland annoys my team because it posses *just* enough bulk to avoid a 2HKO from Ice Shard + Aqua Jet, while OHKOing my whole team with the right move. My hope is to set-up enough hazards so that I can force it out one time and then revenge it with priority.
Usually, the hope is that the scarfers are weak to something on the team (Scarf Thundurus-T is weak to Weavile, for instance). If they're something like Scarf Genesect, then you really have to try and catch them on the switch with HP Fire. The other thing that you can do is to set up hazards and try to wear them down to a point where you can revenge with priority.
Importable
Aerodactyl @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Taunt
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Acrobatics
- Seed Bomb
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Magneton @ Occa Berry
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Taunt
Jumpluff @ Flying Gem
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Acrobatics
- Seed Bomb
Froslass (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
Weavile @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
- Low Kick
Kabutops @ Life Orb
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
Magneton @ Occa Berry
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
Rate, hate, steal!
also i just noticed that this has no 5th gen pokemon!