Note: Hey everybody! This is my first RMT, so please feel free to let me know if I've messed anything up and need to fix it. I apologize for how lengthy it is, kinda got carried away.
Thanks for reading!
I had a lot of spare time this past week. It was the week before spring break, classes were all winding down, and watching TPP had gotten me in the mood to get back into Pokemon again. I started a scramble challenge to scratch the itch, trying to come up with a new competitive team while I progressed through Kalos. My Whismur finally evolved into an Exploud and I tossed it a heart scale, wondering what moves it could learn. To my surprise, Boomburst was an option! I had forgotten you could learn it so early, resigning myself to the fact that he probably wouldn't hit 85 by the time I finished the game.
And then it dawned on me: the stupidest concept for a competitive team ever.
This is that team.
Update Log:
3/12/14 - Replaced Mega Lucario and Mega Scizor with Mega Aerodactyl and Garchomp. Added Update Log. Replaced team pictures (they were waaaay too big).
3/10/14 - Thread created
Team Concept:
To use high-damage AoE attacks that hit the entire field with immunity / ability combos to prevent ally Pokemon from being damaged.
(Peaked at 1324 ELO on Showdown XY Battle Spot Doubles Ladder in about 50 games of testing)
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths!
Team Building:
Originally, this team was called "Boomquake" for the original combo I thought up: Noivern's Boomburst and Golurk's Earthquake.
When figuring out what to do with the other two slots, I figured I'd throw in the other Boomburst user too for fun: Exploud. I needed another Ghost partner to make this work (or so I thought), and in that line of thinking I unknowingly came up with Golurk's replacement: Mega Gengar. With Sludge Wave as an AoE attack (due to DW Gastlys coming with the move) and a speed stat similar to Noivern's, the two made a great speedy AoE core.
As actual battle testing began, I was unsurprised to find that the back half of my team essentially did nothing. Golurk was far too slow and too weak to accomplish much of anything when he came in, and Exploud was even worse. I scrapped the two of them and tried to think of something that could actually help the team. I decided that more AoE synergy wasn't needed; after my Noivern or Gengar died, I usually was in a position where all I needed to do was finish the opponent's last one or two 'mon off. So I decided to go with the currently popular Talonflame for a priority physical threat.
To round out the core team, I wanted another Pokemon that would resist team attacks. Talonflame would take too much damage from Boomburst to make him a good partner for Noivern if Gengar fainted. Thus, I picked Gardevoir (due to her Telepathy ability) to be slightly tanky and pick off whatever's left.
Since this team was created for battle spot, these four are technically the team. However, I wanted to have a full six for battle select, and to have some options if I saw something I didn't like. Thus, I added Mega Lucario and Mega Scizor to replace Gengar, mostly if it looks like my first two 'mon might get special walled. (Why those two? Steel typing resists Boomburst, so they can take a few hits without too much care.)
I've tried a bunch of other Pokemon along the way. Jellicent was an early thought that I've certainly tested, but just seems to be too slow / doesn't deal enough damage to pair up well with Noivern. I've also experimented with a few helping hand users, namely Blissey, but found the extra damage doesn't really accomplish much. I tried Mega Aerodactyl in Gengar's spot as well to see if Rock Slide / Earthquake did enough damage to let him be useful, but the damage wasn't that great and he took too much health from Boomburst. I considered Mega Manectric as well but again, too much residual Boomburst damage.
UPDATE! After doing some more brainstorming, I realized that I might have been thinking about the last two 'mon in the wrong way. Instead of trying to find a partner for Noivern, why not bring in a separate set of leads to deal physical damage instead? This would prevent me from being destroyed by a team of special walls if seen in Team Select. Mega Aerodactyl was pretty much a lock as a speedy Mega with good group physical attacks in EQ and Rock Slide, and an immunity to his partner's probable EQ. In looking for a partner, I tried to find a speedy STAB EQ user, and the best I could find was a scarfed Garchomp. EQ + a coverage moveset allows him to deal with pretty much any threat.
With that, let's get into:
The Team:
Quick note: If you haven't yet realized, this is a battle spot team, hence why I have two Mega's listed. Either Noivern / M-Gengar or M-Aerodactyl / Garchomp will take the lead two spots, with Talonflame / Gardevoir filling the three and four spots for either set.
NOIVERN
@ Choice Specs
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Focus Blast
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor
The focus point of this team. Boomburst is a ridiculously strong attack, even without STAB. Noivern often hits for 50% or more on Pokemon that do not resist Normal, and while that may not sound that great, Mega Gengar can usually finish them off with Sludge Wave or Dazzling Gleam. Getting two kills on turn one is absolutely not uncommon with this setup. Specs and Modest nature make sure he hits as hard as he possibly can, and Telepathy lets Sludge Wave work its magic without hurting himself. The other three moves are coverage in case using Boomburst turn 1 is a terrible idea. Focus Blast takes out Mega Aggron and other Steel-type threats, Hurricane and Draco Meteor are hard-hitting STAB moves in case they're necessary.
MEGA GENGAR
@ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
The other half of this team's turn 1 offensive core. Mega Gengar is the perfect partner to Noivern: extremely similar speed, stronger Sp. Attack without having to choice, and a coverage move-set to try and tackle common threats. Sludge Wave is the preferred move to combo with Boomburst, but it isn't always usable. Dazzling Gleam allows for small AoE damage to be done if Poison is resisted, Shadow Ball will usually kill whatever it targets and Focus Miss helps to deal with some of this team's major threats.
TALONFLAME
@ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Steel Wing
This guy is a late game nightmare, exactly what this team needed. By the time Mega Gengar and Noivern have done their job, the opponent is usually down to one or two Pokemon, situations in which Talonflame shines. I again chose to go for a coverage move-set here; Steel Wing was picked over Tailwind because Talonflame's job is exclusively to revenge whatever's left on the field. I've almost never picked a move other than Brave Bird to attack with (and haven't used U-turn or Steel Wing yet) and he's still been a huge part of this team's success. As long as he takes out one guy with him, it's usually enough to put me over the edge and win the match.
GARDEVOIR
@ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
I didn't really know what to expect from this 'mon, and she's done more than I ever could have asked for. Her move-set gives her the coverage necessary to deal with any late-game threat, and Calm Mind allows her to win almost any 1v1 match-up against another Special Attacker. The tankier build and Leftovers let her take a few hits but she hits surprisingly hard with all of her moves. Telepathy means that I'll often put her out if Mega Gengar goes down, so that Noivern can keep spamming Boomburst while she snipes priority targets.
MEGA AERODACTYL
@ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Crunch
The first half of this team's new physical offensive core. I went for Mega Aerodactyl for his incredible speed stat and STAB Rock Slide, as well as a great coverage set. However, more importantly is the flying type that allows him to avoid his partner's EQs with little worry. I'm not 100% sold on him just quite yet, but in the testing I've done, he's performed fairly well.
Garchomp
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab
- Stone Edge
Easily the biggest question mark on this team. Scarfchomp is definitely not what I had in mind when I made the switch from Noivern partners to a physical speedy core, but I figured his STAB EQs would be a great help for Mega Aerodactyl. His moveset gives great coverage, with Poison Jab to avoid being afraid of fairies. I may swap out SE for Fire Fang to give a second option against Steel types and switch Dragon Claw to Outrage (since Scarf prevents me from moveswitching anyway). Still testing to see if he's the right fit for this team.
Threat List:
These guys used to be a big deal when I wasn't running Focus Miss on Noivern. Since then, they really don't pose me much threat.
Here's one of the bigger issues my team has; at least, in my leads. I've considered running Flamethrower / Fire Blast on Noivern and Focus Miss on Gengar, but I've honestly been doing okay by just hitting him with Shadow Ball. Not amazing, but okay.
Noivern absolutely cannot take one of these. Neither can Mega Aerodactyl or Garchomp. Scariest threat on turn one for me.
Protean Shadow Sneak is surprisingly dangerous for Gengar. Not much to do about that one when it happens.
Simply lack a great attacking option to hurt this guy on Noivern / Mega Gengar. Considering running Flamethrower on Noivern and Focus Miss on Mega Gengar but I'm not sure I want to give up Energy Ball just yet.
Something I've seen quite a lot on the ladder is a cheesy Shedinja play that gives him Sturdy; if this happens, I have no way of countering it on my first two 'mon. Probably just need to play smarter and get Talonflame out earlier.
On Rating:
There are two big things I'm looking for help with here. My first four 'mons have been performing extremely well, but I'm sure improvements can be made to their movesets and EV spreads. These are definitely not strengths of my team building, so I'm sure there are improvements to be made.
Obviously, the team members aren't one hundred percent set in stone just yet. I'm still considering including many diffferent AoE combos as leads: fire, electric and water attacks with boosting abilities might be a fun inclusion and may be better than my current Mega Aerodactyl / Scarfchomp combo.
I'm open to any suggestions about changing team members. Noivern / Mega Gengar are probably there to stay because I enjoy the combination so much, but I'll definitely entertain any ideas. Specifically, my last two 'mon can probably be improved the most. Any ideas about EQ combos or some other form of physical AoE damage could greatly improve my team.
But of course, any and all suggestions / comments / ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for reading!
Thanks for reading!
BOOMWAVE.
I had a lot of spare time this past week. It was the week before spring break, classes were all winding down, and watching TPP had gotten me in the mood to get back into Pokemon again. I started a scramble challenge to scratch the itch, trying to come up with a new competitive team while I progressed through Kalos. My Whismur finally evolved into an Exploud and I tossed it a heart scale, wondering what moves it could learn. To my surprise, Boomburst was an option! I had forgotten you could learn it so early, resigning myself to the fact that he probably wouldn't hit 85 by the time I finished the game.
And then it dawned on me: the stupidest concept for a competitive team ever.
This is that team.
Update Log:
3/12/14 - Replaced Mega Lucario and Mega Scizor with Mega Aerodactyl and Garchomp. Added Update Log. Replaced team pictures (they were waaaay too big).
3/10/14 - Thread created
Team Concept:
To use high-damage AoE attacks that hit the entire field with immunity / ability combos to prevent ally Pokemon from being damaged.
(Peaked at 1324 ELO on Showdown XY Battle Spot Doubles Ladder in about 50 games of testing)
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths!
- Two quick lead combos that can deal huge group damage of a single type (Sp or Atk).
- Can often take out both opposing leads on turn one with AoE attacks.
- Priority revenge killer in Talonflame to sweep late-game.
- Boomburst is resisted by Steel and ignored by Ghosts, two fairly common types.
- Switching is essentially not an option, because...
- ...all members except Gardevoir are extremely fragile, and she's no wall either.
- Walls can be tricky depending on which leads are being run; no matter which, the team has three of one attacking type.
- Physical leads are incredibly ice weak; ice priority attacks in general are a huge threat to this team.
- TR teams can perform really well if they get TR off.
Team Building:
Originally, this team was called "Boomquake" for the original combo I thought up: Noivern's Boomburst and Golurk's Earthquake.
When figuring out what to do with the other two slots, I figured I'd throw in the other Boomburst user too for fun: Exploud. I needed another Ghost partner to make this work (or so I thought), and in that line of thinking I unknowingly came up with Golurk's replacement: Mega Gengar. With Sludge Wave as an AoE attack (due to DW Gastlys coming with the move) and a speed stat similar to Noivern's, the two made a great speedy AoE core.
As actual battle testing began, I was unsurprised to find that the back half of my team essentially did nothing. Golurk was far too slow and too weak to accomplish much of anything when he came in, and Exploud was even worse. I scrapped the two of them and tried to think of something that could actually help the team. I decided that more AoE synergy wasn't needed; after my Noivern or Gengar died, I usually was in a position where all I needed to do was finish the opponent's last one or two 'mon off. So I decided to go with the currently popular Talonflame for a priority physical threat.
To round out the core team, I wanted another Pokemon that would resist team attacks. Talonflame would take too much damage from Boomburst to make him a good partner for Noivern if Gengar fainted. Thus, I picked Gardevoir (due to her Telepathy ability) to be slightly tanky and pick off whatever's left.
Since this team was created for battle spot, these four are technically the team. However, I wanted to have a full six for battle select, and to have some options if I saw something I didn't like. Thus, I added Mega Lucario and Mega Scizor to replace Gengar, mostly if it looks like my first two 'mon might get special walled. (Why those two? Steel typing resists Boomburst, so they can take a few hits without too much care.)
I've tried a bunch of other Pokemon along the way. Jellicent was an early thought that I've certainly tested, but just seems to be too slow / doesn't deal enough damage to pair up well with Noivern. I've also experimented with a few helping hand users, namely Blissey, but found the extra damage doesn't really accomplish much. I tried Mega Aerodactyl in Gengar's spot as well to see if Rock Slide / Earthquake did enough damage to let him be useful, but the damage wasn't that great and he took too much health from Boomburst. I considered Mega Manectric as well but again, too much residual Boomburst damage.
UPDATE! After doing some more brainstorming, I realized that I might have been thinking about the last two 'mon in the wrong way. Instead of trying to find a partner for Noivern, why not bring in a separate set of leads to deal physical damage instead? This would prevent me from being destroyed by a team of special walls if seen in Team Select. Mega Aerodactyl was pretty much a lock as a speedy Mega with good group physical attacks in EQ and Rock Slide, and an immunity to his partner's probable EQ. In looking for a partner, I tried to find a speedy STAB EQ user, and the best I could find was a scarfed Garchomp. EQ + a coverage moveset allows him to deal with pretty much any threat.
With that, let's get into:
The Team:
Quick note: If you haven't yet realized, this is a battle spot team, hence why I have two Mega's listed. Either Noivern / M-Gengar or M-Aerodactyl / Garchomp will take the lead two spots, with Talonflame / Gardevoir filling the three and four spots for either set.
NOIVERN
@ Choice Specs
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Boomburst
- Focus Blast
- Hurricane
- Draco Meteor
The focus point of this team. Boomburst is a ridiculously strong attack, even without STAB. Noivern often hits for 50% or more on Pokemon that do not resist Normal, and while that may not sound that great, Mega Gengar can usually finish them off with Sludge Wave or Dazzling Gleam. Getting two kills on turn one is absolutely not uncommon with this setup. Specs and Modest nature make sure he hits as hard as he possibly can, and Telepathy lets Sludge Wave work its magic without hurting himself. The other three moves are coverage in case using Boomburst turn 1 is a terrible idea. Focus Blast takes out Mega Aggron and other Steel-type threats, Hurricane and Draco Meteor are hard-hitting STAB moves in case they're necessary.
MEGA GENGAR
@ Gengarite
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
The other half of this team's turn 1 offensive core. Mega Gengar is the perfect partner to Noivern: extremely similar speed, stronger Sp. Attack without having to choice, and a coverage move-set to try and tackle common threats. Sludge Wave is the preferred move to combo with Boomburst, but it isn't always usable. Dazzling Gleam allows for small AoE damage to be done if Poison is resisted, Shadow Ball will usually kill whatever it targets and Focus Miss helps to deal with some of this team's major threats.
TALONFLAME
@ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Steel Wing
This guy is a late game nightmare, exactly what this team needed. By the time Mega Gengar and Noivern have done their job, the opponent is usually down to one or two Pokemon, situations in which Talonflame shines. I again chose to go for a coverage move-set here; Steel Wing was picked over Tailwind because Talonflame's job is exclusively to revenge whatever's left on the field. I've almost never picked a move other than Brave Bird to attack with (and haven't used U-turn or Steel Wing yet) and he's still been a huge part of this team's success. As long as he takes out one guy with him, it's usually enough to put me over the edge and win the match.
GARDEVOIR
@ Leftovers
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 SDef
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
I didn't really know what to expect from this 'mon, and she's done more than I ever could have asked for. Her move-set gives her the coverage necessary to deal with any late-game threat, and Calm Mind allows her to win almost any 1v1 match-up against another Special Attacker. The tankier build and Leftovers let her take a few hits but she hits surprisingly hard with all of her moves. Telepathy means that I'll often put her out if Mega Gengar goes down, so that Noivern can keep spamming Boomburst while she snipes priority targets.
MEGA AERODACTYL
@ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
- Crunch
The first half of this team's new physical offensive core. I went for Mega Aerodactyl for his incredible speed stat and STAB Rock Slide, as well as a great coverage set. However, more importantly is the flying type that allows him to avoid his partner's EQs with little worry. I'm not 100% sold on him just quite yet, but in the testing I've done, he's performed fairly well.
Garchomp
@ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Poison Jab
- Stone Edge
Easily the biggest question mark on this team. Scarfchomp is definitely not what I had in mind when I made the switch from Noivern partners to a physical speedy core, but I figured his STAB EQs would be a great help for Mega Aerodactyl. His moveset gives great coverage, with Poison Jab to avoid being afraid of fairies. I may swap out SE for Fire Fang to give a second option against Steel types and switch Dragon Claw to Outrage (since Scarf prevents me from moveswitching anyway). Still testing to see if he's the right fit for this team.
Threat List:
These guys used to be a big deal when I wasn't running Focus Miss on Noivern. Since then, they really don't pose me much threat.
Here's one of the bigger issues my team has; at least, in my leads. I've considered running Flamethrower / Fire Blast on Noivern and Focus Miss on Gengar, but I've honestly been doing okay by just hitting him with Shadow Ball. Not amazing, but okay.
Noivern absolutely cannot take one of these. Neither can Mega Aerodactyl or Garchomp. Scariest threat on turn one for me.
Protean Shadow Sneak is surprisingly dangerous for Gengar. Not much to do about that one when it happens.
Simply lack a great attacking option to hurt this guy on Noivern / Mega Gengar. Considering running Flamethrower on Noivern and Focus Miss on Mega Gengar but I'm not sure I want to give up Energy Ball just yet.
Something I've seen quite a lot on the ladder is a cheesy Shedinja play that gives him Sturdy; if this happens, I have no way of countering it on my first two 'mon. Probably just need to play smarter and get Talonflame out earlier.
On Rating:
There are two big things I'm looking for help with here. My first four 'mons have been performing extremely well, but I'm sure improvements can be made to their movesets and EV spreads. These are definitely not strengths of my team building, so I'm sure there are improvements to be made.
Obviously, the team members aren't one hundred percent set in stone just yet. I'm still considering including many diffferent AoE combos as leads: fire, electric and water attacks with boosting abilities might be a fun inclusion and may be better than my current Mega Aerodactyl / Scarfchomp combo.
I'm open to any suggestions about changing team members. Noivern / Mega Gengar are probably there to stay because I enjoy the combination so much, but I'll definitely entertain any ideas. Specifically, my last two 'mon can probably be improved the most. Any ideas about EQ combos or some other form of physical AoE damage could greatly improve my team.
But of course, any and all suggestions / comments / ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for reading!
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