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A little introduction to the team
A little introduction to the team
So I was really tired of using the same team over and over again and OST was coming, so I decided that it was time for me to build a new team. I decided to build it around what is probably the coolest Dragon in the metagame, Salamence. Salamence is probably the nicest looking Dragon and I decided to look at what its counter was, and how to make it easier for it to sweep. That's how I built the team and it changed a lot, since the metagame suffered from a lot of important bans since when I built this team. Anyway, this is probably my favourite team I've ever built and even though it's not my best, it's so much fun to use that I really want to post it.
At a glance
Teambuilding process
The team itself started with the combination of Salamence and Expert Belt Genesect. Dragon Dance Salamence doesn't have a whole lot of counters and Genesect bluffing the popular Choice Scarf set could easily remove most of them.
I wanted to add in some Spikes as I know from experience with Salamence that it absolutely loves them. I've always found Skarmory to be the most reliable Spiker outside of Rain and I didn't want to use Rain as both Genesect and Salamence rely on Fire typed moves to remove Steel types, so Skarmory was the most logical choice.
I then added Gengar in order to block Rapid Spin. Having a spinblocker is always cool on teams that rely on Spikes as then you can send in your offensive mons and do some work, and your Spikers isn't as easy to target anymore. Gengar fits best on offensive teams, which was the direction I was heading.
I added Landorus-T for multiple reasons, the number one reason being that it's such a reliable Stealth Rocker. It can easily lay down SR since it walls a ton of Physical attackers and then it can pivot to something else with U-turn. Landorus-T also helps a ton against Jirachi which is incredibly popular.
Latias completes he team by fixing a lot of weaknesses it had, such as Thundurus-T or powerful Water types in general. At that point the team was complete and was pretty good.
With the banning of Genesect, the team found itself to be much less effective so I decided to try out some stuff in Genesect's spot. I finally settled by making Salamence a Choice Scarfer and using Starmie for Rapid Spin support in Genesect's position.
After I tried out some things and fucked around with the team a bit, I decided to use Hippowdon over Landorus-T, mainly because of Sand Stream. It gives the team an incredible advantage against opposing weather teams as Hippowdon can easily win weather wars, thanks to its incredible bulk. Both cover similar things anyway.
I found myself at a huge disadvantage against Special Dragons and Starmie's spot was easy to change, so I decided to use Scizor instead. Rapid Spin wasn't that useful to the team anyway, and Scizor adds a lot to the team's defensive synergy. That could also allow me to use Physically Defensive Skarmory instead of the Specially Defensive version.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf *** Apocalypse Please
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Naive
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
~Outrage
~Dragon Claw
~Earthquake
~Fire Blast
Salamence was the Pokemon I decided to build the team around. It's an extremely dangerous late game cleaner as it's already pretty fast and with Moxie, you can revenge kill something weak to pick up a boost and then Salamence is pretty much impossible to stop. I try to keep Salamence for late game use only, as it's then that it's going to be the most effective. In the rare cases where I have to send Salamence in early game, I don't really use Outrage as it makes it easy for my opponent to beat my main winning condition. Outrage and Dragon Claw are the moves I use most often since they're the most powerful, but Earthquake can get late game sweeps too, as it's reasonably powerful even for a coverage move and when you can pick off something like Terrakion with it, it's easy to accumulate boosts. Fire Blast is the move I use the less but it can come in handy sometimes when the opponent has Skarmory or Ferrothorn. When Salamence is ready to clean, it's pretty important to make sure the opponent's scarfer has been removed or is slower than Salamence, as it tends to be fairly weak to them. Things like Keldeo and Terrakion can revenge kill it fairly easily, so wearing them down with Spikes and multiple hits can be crucial.
Salamence isn't really used for defensive roles other than being my team's revenge killer. Since Salamence is weak to Stealth Rock and I have no spinner, I like to keep it for late game or in emergency situations. As my team's only scarfer and fastest Pokemon it has to do some revenge killing sometimes though, as things likes Dragonite just can't be revenge killed properly by Scizor's Bullet Punch.
Skarmory @ Leftovers *** Blackout
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
~Brave Bird
~Roost
~Whirlwind
~Spikes
I consider Skarmory to be the most important Pokemon on this team since it relies on Spikes so much, and Skarmory is such a reliable Spiker. It can get at the very least one layer of Spikes against all kind of teams if I play it carefully, and against Sand it can get more than one pretty much all the time, which is awesome. While it does have issues getting down Spikes against Sun teams, I don't think I really need them against Sun since they have a lot of SR weak Pokemon anyway, so I like to keep Skarmory as an emergency option with Sturdy + Whirlwind against their sweepers. I usually use Skarmory really early in the game, even though I rarely ever lead with it, as early game Spikes mean that it's very easy for my team to win, except if they have a lot of levitators or something.
I used to run a Specially Defensive spread on Skarmory, during the Tornadus-T metagame, since it could act as a decent check to it. I opted to change for the Physically Defensive version since it got banned and I switched to Scizor in the last slot though, as it's usually easier for Skarm to get Spikes since it walls so many Physical attackers. I use it as my main check to most Physical threats in the metagame, such as Mamoswine, Garchomp, or opposing Salamence, although some of them carry super effective moves sometimes, choiced versions are just turned into Spikes bait. Skarmory also has one more role, which is to prepare Salamence's sweep. When I have SR+Spikes, which is really easy, I like to get Skarmory in against something that it walls and just start to spam Whirlwind until something dangerous comes up, which weakens the opponent's team a lot, making it easier for Salamence to get a Moxie boost and start sweeping. Skarmory is easily this team's most important Pokemon, and I don't think anything can replace it.
Gengar @ Life Orb *** Hysteria
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
~Shadow Ball
~Focus Blast
~Substitute
~Pain Split
Gengar is probably not the bulkiest spinblocker available but it's certainly very effective on this team, especially with the given set. Aside from blocking Rapid Spin, Gengar can really help the team offensively. Using a Life Orb set on a Sand team might look like a terrible idea but I think it's more effective than the SubDisable set. I never liked the SubDisable set on Sand anyway as it negates Leftovers which are vital in order to create more subs. More recoil just makes Pain Split more effective anyway, which is nice when the opponent has something ridiculously bulky like SpD Hippowdon. Gengar abuses the entry hazards perfectly as it causes a lot of switches by creating Subs, and then has the power to KO things that stay in. Unlike Skarmory, Gengar isn't really a Pokemon that I can decide when I can switch it in, as I usually save it for the opponent's Rapid Spinner, if they have one. If they don't, then Gengar doesn't really have any kind of synergy with Skarmory, so it's wutevz.
Gengar's amazing typing and ability allows it to check a number of things that could be very dangerous to the team otherwise, like Landorus-I. While I do have Latias to stop it, I prefer to go to Gengar as my first switch in as Latias is much more prone to the U-turn set, taking Super Effective damage from U-turn and being easily trapped by Choice Band Tyranitar. Gengar can actually beat CBTar with Focus Blast, if it hits of course, while also x4 resisting U-turn, taking little damage from it. Random Psychic versions are annoying but they are pretty rare so it's wutevz.
Hippowdon @ Leftovers *** Endlessly
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
~Earthquake
~Slack Off
~Stealth Rock
~Whirlwind
I used to have Landorus-T here but in my opinion, going without weather in BW2 is just suicide. Hippowdon and Landorus-T are fairly similar Pokemon anyway, with a couple of key differences, Hippowdon's main advantage being Sand Stream. I like to lead with Hippowdon as it's so bulky that literally nothing can OHKO it, meaning I can get Sandstorm and Stealth Rock in early, for more residual damage on the opponent's team. Early game rocks can really give you an immense advantage, especially with a spinblocker. Hippowdon is an invaluable tool against Sun teams, as they can't trap it with Dugtrio and usually have a lot of issues with Stealth Rock, unless they carry Xatu.
Hippowdon's so bulky that it can be used as a back up check to an incredible amount of threats, especially with that spread. While full SpD can do ridiculous things like avoid the 2HKO from Hydreigon's LO Draco Meteor, the extra physical bulk means that it can take on things like Dragonite and Terrakion with a lot more ease. Hippowdon is without a doubt a better choice than Tyranitar for that team as it brings exactly the things I need. Sorry Tyranitar :(
Also, Hippo is adorable~
Latias @ Life Orb *** Time is Running Out
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid
EVs: 32 HP / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
~Draco Meteor
~Surf
~Psyshock
~Recover
Latias is such a good Pokemon in the current metagame. It's incredibly useful as it has just the best resistances possible, including Water, Fighting, Ground, and Electric. Too bad it doesn't resist Dragon I guess. What I like about Latias is that it adds so much to the team's defensive synergy, checking a lot of things that could simply sweep me otherwise, while also being a formidable offensive threat with Life Orb STAB Draco Meteor. Latias is my main weapon, along with Hippowdon, against other Weathers. It's my bulkiest Water resist and Rain without Ferrothorn usually has a lot of issues switching into Latias. Against Sun teams, Latias is my main switch in to sweepers before changing the weather back with Hippowdon.
The EV spread is fairly simple, 32 HP means that Latias hits an LO number and it adds just a bit of bulk without sacrificing too much power. I don't like to run 72 HP as then, Latias feels a lot weaker and misses out on some OHKOes, and with more HP, Latias is just too weak. That's why I run LO even on Sand. While Latias is crucial to my team's success and I can't really afford it going down, the power is also crucial to Latias' health, ensuring that it can actually KO stuff before they can hit it.
Scizor @ Leftovers *** Ruled By Secrecy
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 SpD
~Bullet Punch
~U-turn
~Pursuit
~Roost
Trapper Scizor is such a great Pokemon. It's the last Pokemon I've added to the team. I tried a lot of things in that slot and I've found that Scizor was just the best fit. Trapping the Latis is incredibly useful as they can do a lot of damage to this team, especially the LO/Specs versions. I know that Trapper Scizor usually uses a much more offensive spread with Life Orb, as the on-site analysis shows, but I really don't think it's the best spread you can run. This spread is a lot bulkier and it will be able to take on Latios a lot better, because it hits hard enough to actually destroy frailer Scizors with Draco Meteor. Scizor gives me a great offensive pivot who can come in on many common Pokemon with its great resistances and scout the switch in with U-turn. Scizor also provides useful priority which is good to have on any kind of team, finishing off weakened threats, meaning that I don't have to switch in Salamence all the time when I need to revenge kill something, so I can keep it for late game.
Having a second Steel is also extremely useful. While Skarmory is much more reliable when it comes to tanking Physical hits, Scizor can be used as an emergency Dragon resist when Skarmory is at low health or just dead. It's also better at taking on Special Dragons since I'm using a fully physical Skarmory, taking a lot of pressure out of it.
Conclusion
I hope that you've appreciated my RMT and that you like the team. It's really a lot of fun to use and I really suggest that you try it out on your own. I'm open to most suggestions, so don't hesitate to post a rate of your own.
Shoutout to the Raiders who were a cool team for the whole time I was on. It was a lot of fun playing with you guys, and I'm sad that our season had to end so quickly. Next season, we'll destroy.
Importable:
Code:
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
Gengar @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Pain Split
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Trait: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Atk
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Spikes
- Whirlwind
Hippowdon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 Def / 252 HP / 252 SDef
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off
Latias (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 224 SAtk / 32 HP / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Recover
Scizor @ Leftovers
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 44 Atk / 216 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Pursuit
- Roostn_n
