It started out as the Tflame Pinsir Staraptor core (From the 'good cores' thread), then I had to pull back and ask "OK, what are we doing here? We've got some issues with this team" So I took away one of the birds and decided to keep Tflame+Pinsir. I messed with it a lot in showdown and I eventually came up with a team I like, and so far, it's been my favorite team to use, which I will post under the break.
First of all, there are some MAJOR issues with this setup, not the least of which is metagross (This team was conceived before the suspect test), we've also got heatran who gives it trouble, we've got a big problem with opposing talonflame, we've got to deal with tyranitar, and we need to keep stealth rocks off the field at all times. We also gotta beware of Bisharp, as he is like a big flack cannon able to gun down our squad before they can get to him.
So, first things first, we gotta take care of the rocks, our options for this being as follows:
Latios/Latias= Good fast special attackers, they handle the rocks very well but they bait in bisharp. There's a couple other pokemon who we don't appreciate switching into the Eon pokemon, Metagross for example. Then there's still the heatran issue, Heatran can wall these two for days without breaking a sweat, granted he usually can't hit them with any of his moves, but that doesn't stop him from resetting the rocks then baiting us into defogging again so he can force a free switch to bisharp.
Scizor= while decent, he has his own problems, if we want him to defog he's forced to run a much more defensive set, unlike the Lati's who at least threaten bisharp with attacks, he can't hit bisharp outside of superpower (Though I guess he can U-turn but into what?). He also flat out loses to heatran instead of just getting walled by him.
Excadrill= This guy however has some options. While he doesn't counter heatran, he can certainly check him, he can also check bisharp to some degree, and he eliminates rocks pretty well while also setting them up. Good? Good awesome. There's still a few problems to this guy though, notable problems include things like scarflando and lopunny (who outspeeds even a scarf set, and breaks any focus sash we might have had with fakeout.) But these things are pretty keenly handled by other members of the squad, except for Lando.
(We could also use Flygon, I'll keep that option in mind!)
Rotom-W gotcha bro! The boggest of bog standard sets easily handles Lando and Heatran, but I don't wanna just have 1 counter to the air doge. Also a big problem for this team could be ferrothorn, my attackers take way too much damage pounding it and it defeats rotom with ease. I need a special fighting type, or something that hits hard with fighting type moves on the special side, who won't amplify my weakness to lando.
To answer lando, I need, a special attacker who doesn't fear rocks, scares lando away, can take a beating from him, and I think that my answer is Keldeo. A scarf set ensures that I am the fastest and he can still take one hit.
So now what? I still have one team member left. I decided I would draw up a resistance chart for the team, and discovered that I had an annoying water and electric weakness. This team, is actually weak to Rotom. Rotom is a hard one to counter, I mean Excadrill checks it, but I can't switch in on him, there's too many things he could do. I'm also weak to Raiko. Maybe I should run Magnezone? Yeah! MAGNEZONE!
So, first things first, we gotta take care of the rocks, our options for this being as follows:
Latios/Latias= Good fast special attackers, they handle the rocks very well but they bait in bisharp. There's a couple other pokemon who we don't appreciate switching into the Eon pokemon, Metagross for example. Then there's still the heatran issue, Heatran can wall these two for days without breaking a sweat, granted he usually can't hit them with any of his moves, but that doesn't stop him from resetting the rocks then baiting us into defogging again so he can force a free switch to bisharp.
Scizor= while decent, he has his own problems, if we want him to defog he's forced to run a much more defensive set, unlike the Lati's who at least threaten bisharp with attacks, he can't hit bisharp outside of superpower (Though I guess he can U-turn but into what?). He also flat out loses to heatran instead of just getting walled by him.
Excadrill= This guy however has some options. While he doesn't counter heatran, he can certainly check him, he can also check bisharp to some degree, and he eliminates rocks pretty well while also setting them up. Good? Good awesome. There's still a few problems to this guy though, notable problems include things like scarflando and lopunny (who outspeeds even a scarf set, and breaks any focus sash we might have had with fakeout.) But these things are pretty keenly handled by other members of the squad, except for Lando.
(We could also use Flygon, I'll keep that option in mind!)
Rotom-W gotcha bro! The boggest of bog standard sets easily handles Lando and Heatran, but I don't wanna just have 1 counter to the air doge. Also a big problem for this team could be ferrothorn, my attackers take way too much damage pounding it and it defeats rotom with ease. I need a special fighting type, or something that hits hard with fighting type moves on the special side, who won't amplify my weakness to lando.
To answer lando, I need, a special attacker who doesn't fear rocks, scares lando away, can take a beating from him, and I think that my answer is Keldeo. A scarf set ensures that I am the fastest and he can still take one hit.
So now what? I still have one team member left. I decided I would draw up a resistance chart for the team, and discovered that I had an annoying water and electric weakness. This team, is actually weak to Rotom. Rotom is a hard one to counter, I mean Excadrill checks it, but I can't switch in on him, there's too many things he could do. I'm also weak to Raiko. Maybe I should run Magnezone? Yeah! MAGNEZONE!
CAUTION! the talonflame.
CAUTION! (Talonflame) (M) @ Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
Caution is my main offensive powerhouse and the threat behind the door. If you open a door for him he will take advantage of it and he will stomp you out. The thing about this guy is he is powerful but he primarily functions as a lategame cleaner, yes sometimes he can break down walls early on especially if they are troublesome walls like venu or ferro, but mostly he comes in late for cleanup. Bravebird is great for that sort of thing, a powerful STAB move given priority. Sky Plate is the same as sharp beak it boosts that bravebird. Roost helps me beat aforementioned ferrothorn and staves off residual damage, its also important if I came in on rocks and I forced them out, roost can get my health back. Flare Blitz is bog standard, and obliterates a few things BB doesn't like Scizor/Bisharp. SD helps me get that extra damage in I need for KOs on certain things.
Beatle the Pinsir
Beatle (Pinsir) (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
Who opens that door you ask? Usually its this guy. I didn't appreciate just how hard he could hit until I saw him, with a burn, at +1, do about 60% to a lando for the KO. No crit, no rng, just raw strength. (The lando was probably banded btw, so no defenses, but still.) Pinsir punches holes in teams if they aren't prepared for it. Now sometimes it can be a little frustrating playing with 2 things that are 4x weak to rocks, but this guy is only weak to rocks after he mega evolves, before that he only takes 25%. Timing is critical to this guy as he has to mega evolve at the right moment. EQ is to nail heatran and also to help me wear down ferro who lack twave. Return with arilate is pure strength, not much is able to withstand it. Swords Dance amps up the power and allows it to score OHKOs where they were 2HKOs before. Quick Attack gives me another answer to Lop, and lets me play mind games with bisharps. This thing has to be played very carefully, I have a bad habit of sacing it early to gain a lead, only to lose later to something it could have countered.
Seismic the Excadrill.
Seismic (Excadrill) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
This gal is my support. I needed something to setup rocks, I needed something to check common threats to the team, I needed something to get rid of rocks, I choose this. Iron Head is slashed with rockslide because Zard is still a big problem but I give up my answer to sylveon so its kinda a coin toss. Iron Head also allows me to beat clefable so that's what I usually use but I've been considering rock slide more and more. Earthquake is the stab move of choice as it demolishes whatever is in front of Seismic, it hits heatran and bisharp, as well as rotom. Rapid Spin allows it to beat other leads trying to get up their rocks. My own SR is important as well as I force many switches and I want to have as many clean KOs as possible.
Scrubber the Rotom-W
Scrubber (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
(Do I even need to write this out? :P)
The boggest of bog standard sets. Rotom does things like counter Lando and check Heatran, he can also counter Azumaril, who can be kinda a pain. Will-o messes with physical attackers and racks up residual damage. Hydro is mandatory and puts on decent damage. Volt Switch is the primary attack and can allow for a switch to one of my threats, we also have a kind of double Volt switch core going on. Pain Split is my only method of recovery and can also really cripple certain walls with high HP.
d'Artagnan the Keldeo "Resolute!"
d'Artagnan (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric]
This musketeer is my scarfer. I went with a modest nature because I have so much priority on this team, I don't really need to go overboard on the speed tier as I can play around some of the common scarfers that you would want to be timid for, and I outrun jolly landorus scarf no matter what nature I run. Secret Sword and Scald are the primary attacks providing good coverage overall, Secret Sword wrecks heatran or ferrothorn and also does some damage to chancey. Scald might seem redundant to Hydro Pump, but they're for different scenarios. Scald is consistency, sometimes if you in an endgame scenario where Keldeo can cleanup your opponent's team you wanna pick scald because it won't miss, and also it can score a burn, which is important as it can cripple physical attackers. Hydro Pump is raw power, and can OHKO things that Scald wouldn't. HP Electric is needed for other bulky water types and for opposing Keldeo.
Iron Hand the Magnezone
Iron Hand (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
Ferrus Manus himself is the last puzzle piece for the team. He provides a buffer to Raikou who I'm weak to and he also messes with Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Moreover, he does something noone else on this team really wants to do, switch into opposing Rotom-W. Thunderbolt knocks out pokemon who take neutral damage from it sometimes, but most of the time you wanna volt switch because it will get you moving. HP Fire is vital to hit those steel types who won't die in one hit to Thunderbolt or Volt Switch, the Specs ensure that I OHKO Ferrothorn even if it's max SpD. Flash Cannon might seem odd, but it's my best bet against Lati@s as well as against defensive faeries like Sylveon. It also has some really good neutral coverage against most of the teams I've run into. Lando can't afford to switch into it.
And that's the team, however, here's a threatlist
Zard-X/Zard-Y: Charizard megas are a problem for this team, especially since Excadrill usually burns her sash early in the game. This is one reason why I've slashed rockslide, sr is very VERY important against it, as Talon can deal with it if its at 50%, also Keldeo can shut X down but we can't afford to let it dragon dance too many times, also Zard-Y's sun means that Keldeo can't OHKO it if it got in without rocks.
Altaria: Another dragon dancing threat that can be a big problem once setup, Ironhead is needed to deal with it but it means that I have to sac my Excadrill against it.
Defensive Lando-T: Variants of lando with a status move are a problem for Rotom, as they can out-sustain him, and they can knock his item off. A +1 Return will 1shot it, but I have to get a good setup with pinsir to arrange that.
Bisharp: Is pretty firmly handled, at least until Sesmic's sash is broken or until Keldeo is taken out, then Bisharp is a real pain. I either need to mind-game it with someone or sac something to it, and at that point, I've lost all the momentum.
Stealth Rock: Are kinda a pain, I've found that I can't really use Seismic as a real anti-lead because she is SO important to keep alive just to keep rocks away, but, once rocks are up, her sash becomes useless...so, I'm kinda at a loss, and not sure where to go with her.
Shoutout to Tinuviel and Rainbow+ who inspired me to build this team! Also a thank-you to boltsandbombers who I believe is the one who posted the Staraptor+Tflame+Pinsir core that I started with. (if I'm wrong let me know)
Beatle (Pinsir) (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
CAUTION! (Talonflame) (M) @ Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
Seismic (Excadrill) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Scrubber (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
d'Artagnan (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Iron Hand (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
CAUTION! (Talonflame) (M) @ Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
Seismic (Excadrill) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Scrubber (Rotom-Wash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Pain Split
d'Artagnan (Keldeo-Resolute) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Secret Sword
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Electric]
Iron Hand (Magnezone) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Flash Cannon
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