Carousel of Pain: XY Volt-Turn (Peaked 2223, CURRENTLY RETIRED)

[vonK]

THIS TEAM IS RETIRED!!!
It was nice while it lasted, but it eventually stalled out around the 2200-2300 range and I got bored of it, I'll make a new RMT soon designed around a volt-turn team I'm working on for UU, but this team is finished.

Carousel of Pain
Note: If this team seems familiar that's because it's heavily derivative of Glace0n's , 4/6 of the pokemon are the same. That being said the builds have mostly been changed around, in some cases drastically, and the 6th member of the team, Crobat, is hugely vital to it's success. Also I gave them cooler names.

70% of the credit still goes to Glace0n though, he made a fantastic team.

This team is a well-oiled machine designed to claw out momentum early game and hold onto it for the rest of the match through a combination of speed, utility and power. It's a brand of pure, crazy Hyper Offense too fast for even hazards, and will generally score a kill within the first 3 turns. This team's real strength is how versatile each of these pokemon are and how easily most of them can force switches, which if predicted correctly amount to numerous free turns and several dead enemies. Out of all the games I've played with this team no opponent has had a chance to get off more than one layer of hazards. It's just that fast. I'm going 21-3* right now, and most of those fights were slaughters where I went 4-0 if not 5/6-0. This team isn't perfect, but it's very powerful, and if you're able to predict well it has an answer to pretty much everything.​

*Including Challenge matches, my official ladder record is 14-2 right now.

Analysis:
The Main Core: Tasked with establishing early game momentum and making the field safer for the others.

Ayatollah Komainu (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Frail as hell, strictly weaker than its Non-Mega form, and the crucial glue that holds this team together. He usually gets sent out first in order to secure a safe Mega-Evolution and soften the opponent's lead up. Despite his disappointing power he is the most indispensable member of the team due to intimidate + his blistering speed. His job is to show up early and soften targets, then hold back until late game and weaken or pick off any remaining 'mons which might threaten the slower members. Most of my late-game focuses on providing a safe environment for Manectric to switch in, because he destroys teams late game. A scarfed special Genesect may hit harder, but Manectric's speed paired with his wide coverage are what make him so deadly late game. One of my most common win-cons is a late-game Manectric sweep.

If you want to play with this team there is one crucial rule you need to follow: DON'T LET MANECTRIC DIE. If you lose him early game your chances of winning plummet, when in doubt be willing to sacrifice Crobat or Landorus. To keep him alive volt-turn often and use his predictability to your advantage, if you're playing a good opposing team and they send out a pokemon he shouldn't normally worry about like Landorus or Darmanitan switch out immediately because they're probably about to unleash a scarfed EQ.

Named after Komainu, lion-dog gargoyles seen outside shinto shrines which his unevolved form bears some resemblance to.

Dry Clean (Rotom-Wash) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 12 SAtk / 116 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp

Basic Rotom-W, not much to see here. Will-o-wisp works beautifully when paired with intimidate, levitate makes him a nice partner with Manectric and a good switch in to Mamoswine if you predict well. ChestoResto is far better than Pain Split for this team because it gives it a crucial status sponge, and at least prevents any Trick users from enjoying the benefits of leftovers. Don't be afraid to use rest even after the Chesto Berry is used up, in late game when your opponent's options are limited and you're not concerned about set-up sweepers, smart use of a sleeping Rotom-W can do a lot of good for this team. His value decreases relative to the offensive pokemon as the game goes on so he often does more good while asleep, plus exploiting the sleep clause to neutralize the threat of Breloom is always handy.

The name is self-explanatory.

Mezcalipoca (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Once again rather self explanatory, Flying/Ground typing gives it great synergy with Manectric, Azumaril and Rotom. He sees the light of day the least out of the team due to all the bulky water types out there as well as the abundance of things running Ice moves, but between intimidate, electric immunity and SR he has an important niche. As a standard Pivot he's built for bulk over power, which is important because getting SR up is vital against teams running Pinsir, Talonflame, Volcarona or the Charizards. Even when uninvested he hits like a truck with EQ and is my best bet against Aegislash, Excadrill and even physical Lucario.

He originally ran HP Ice + more speed but I've found Stone Edge + more bulk to be better against everything except Gliscor.

Named after Tezcatlipoca, a Jaguar deity in the Aztec religion, and Mezcal, because this team was originally going to be called The Spins and named after drinks until I realized that there wasn't any alcohol named after fat blue rabbits.

The Muscle: Tasked with revenge killing and punching holes through the enemy line.

Public Works (Conkeldurr) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

Was: Azumarill

Azumarill was a fine pokemon and had gotten me out of a few scraped before, but using physical Gensect over special Genesect left my team vulnerable to status, especially burn. After a lot of testing I decided that Conkeldurr was just the better man for the job since his ability, Guts, means he not only fears burn but benefits from it, continuing a trend started by Crobat of new additions to the team gaining an advantage at what would normally be considered to be a disadvantage. Conkeldurr fits the exact same niche on the team as Azumarill did, and even has nearly the same counters, but Conkeldurr is bulkier and more versatile than Azumarill, making him the clear choice.

Conkeldurr is my mid-game heavy, his job is to switch in on anything threatening status, absorb it and proceed to pummel it into oblivion. Conkeldurr is a fantastic wall breaker who nearly every team in the meta-game fears. While this team doesn't lack for speed he also provides some much-needed priority to ensure those few threats which can out-speed my team meet an unfortunate end. Conkeldurr is a champ, and the wide coverage his movepool offers makes it very easy to force opponents out and kill their switch-in with good prediction.

Once again the name is obvious.

Genny Cream (Genesect) @ Choice Band
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 SAtk
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Head

When I was running Glace0n's team I experienced a lot of trouble breaking through strong special walls like Florges, Chansey and Sylveon, even with Azumarill's help. Eventually I settled on switching Genesect from a primarily Special to Physical attacker, giving him Choice Band over Choice Scarf because Extreme Speed helps compensate for the loss of speed. The choice made the team more WoW/Sableye vulnerable, but I've found it's definitely worth it.

Genesect is my wrecking ball, and much like Manectric I generally send him out in very early and very late game. Genesect generally follows Manectric and scores kills off of his weakened prey. Between the two of them I'm generally able to get a kill within the first 3 turns while taking minimal damage on my own side. He's also a fantastic revenge killer and his unstoppable E-speed is able to hit almost everything under the sun for 50%.

Flamethrower>Blaze Kick because most pokemon I'd hit with it (Grass types, Steels, the Rare Bug) are far more physically defensive anyways, meaning I'd be wasting that Download buff for no reason. In addition it helps keep momentum against Aegislash's King Shield and prevents Iron Barbs/Rocky Helmet damage from triggering, keeping Genesect alive longer. Lastly U-turn/Flamethrower can be used to trick the opponent into thinking this is a standard scarf Genesect, clearing the way for a surprise Iron Head/Extreme Speed kill later on.

Named after Genny Cream Ale, a popular drink among poor college students and basically no one else.

The Utility: Tasked with keeping the battlefield free of hazards and then laying down his life

The Big Man (Crobat) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 192 Spd / 64 HP / 252 Atk
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Roost

Even though this team puts pressure on an opponent so quickly that it's often to prevent them from putting up hazards altogether, if they do get hazards up the damage to my team racks up rather quick. For this reason a Defog/Rapid Spin user is crucial to my success. However I tried several candidates and none seemed to stick. Forretress had too little offensive presence and was too predictable, Latias seemed like a good idea with her SR neutrality and handsome special bulk, but her typing was too poor and she never hit as hard as I needed. Mandibuzz had a lot going for her but she still failed to fit in with the team's hyper-offensive nature.

After a lot of searching I settled on Crobat, who I'd say is probably the single best offensive defogger. His typing provides him with useful 4x resistances to grass, fighting and Bug which make him a good partner to Rotom. His speed is incredible and paired with BB gives him a useful offensive niche on my team as a way to soften up the really big threats like M-luc to put them within Aqua Jet/E-speed range, it also hits Conkeldurr and M-venusaur for serious damage. Lastly I can't underestimate just how much infiltrator helps this team out, it turns substitutes into an advantage, cuts through Breloom and Trevenant like a scythe and preserves the team's momentum.

His speed Ev's are there to outspeed Greninja.

Importable

Ayatollah Komainu (Manectric) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SAtk / 232 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Dry Clean (Rotom-Wash) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Def / 12 SAtk / 116 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Rest
- Will-O-Wisp

Mezcalipoca (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Atk / 244 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Public Works (Conkeldurr) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 8 Def / 248 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch

Genny Cream (Genesect) @ Choice Band
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
IVs: 30 SAtk
- U-turn
- Flamethrower
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Head

The Big Man (Crobat) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Defog
- Brave Bird
- Roost

Threats List: (WIP)​

-(Special) Mega-Lucario: Surprisingly this team doesn't fear Luc at all, between the 2 mons that outspeed it and don't overly care about its priority, the 2 mons packing priority of their own and the extreme difficulty anything trying to set up on this team faces I haven't once had a problem with this guy.
-Conkeldurr
-Rotom-W: Conkeldurr makes short work of this guy.
-Entei:
-Heatran
-Mega Venusaur: Crobat counters more variants of this guy hard, BB is an assured 2hko and taunt removes any trace of its ability to fight back.
-Rotom-H
-Volcarona
-Mamoswine
-BD Azumarill
-Dragonite
-Deoxys-S

 

[MewTheDestroyer]

Run 16 speed evs on Azumarill to outspeed minimal speed Trevenant.

 

[vonK]

That's an interesting idea but Azumarill should NEVER stay in on Trevenant, Trevenant has burn, Trevenant has Grass STAB, Trevenant has everything Azumarill hates. To be honest Trevenant is one of my biggest concerns due to the slight lack of Special attackers on this team, but if Trevenant or Gourgeist comes out I'll usually switch into Manectric if I expect WoW or Crobat if I expect Sub.

Fake Edit: I've updated the OP a little bit.

Edit 2.0: I've put super fang on Crobat. It's actually a fantastic move and really helps him out vs Gliscor and other obstacles who foolishly believe they can safely switch into him.

 

[vonK]

HUGE UPDATE: (Also technically a bump)
-Crobat and Landorus builds have changed. Super Fang has been swapped out for Taunt and Lando has sacrificed all of his speed to improve his physical bulk.

-Azumarill has been replaced by Conkeldurr, and while they occupy the same niche this is a huge change strategically as it means I have two pokemon which can absorb status so my team no longer fear burn as it once did.

 

[The_Derpy_Chicken]

I like the sounds of this. I have been planning on making a team that is pretty much a simpler version of this, so this has provided some insight as to stuff I should have on the team to make sure I don't epically fail and just get totally slaughtered. Also, the teams name is amazing! "Carousel of Pain". It just sounds generally awesome, and describes the team quite nicely.

 

[Icephere]

Looks like a pretty good team man, but I'd possibly switch out flamethrower on genesect for blaze kick. I know you're risking 10% accuracy, but you'll do more damage for sure.

 

[The_Derpy_Chicken]

Looks like a pretty good team man, but I'd possibly switch out flamethrower on genesect for blaze kick. I know you're risking 10% accuracy, but you'll do more damage for sure.

The only way he would do more damage is by having a lot more Atk than SpAtk. Blaze Kick is like, 25 less power and 10 less accuracy. So the question is: Is it worth it? It may or may not be, I just thought I'd point that out.

 

[Icephere]

The only way he would do more damage is by having a lot more Atk than SpAtk. Blaze Kick is like, 25 less power and 10 less accuracy. So the question is: Is it worth it? It may or may not be, I just thought I'd point that out.

Yes, 25 less power and 10% less accuracy, but he has 252 attack not special attack. I don't know, it's debatable. It's up to him, if he's doing well with flamethrower then he can keep it, was just a suggestion/. :p

 

[vonK]

Flamethrower is mostly so that it can still hit Aegislash without KS seriously killing my momentum. It also means that if Genesect is unfortunate enough to take a WoW he's not completely useless, and helps mislead opponents as to his true set. Genesect doesn't seem to lose any notable OHKO or 2HKO's by switching to Blaze Kick anyways, so the Pros outweigh the Cons.

Edit: Added importable.

 

[The_Derpy_Chicken]

So I tried my simpler version. It failed epically. I played two matches before I gave up. Both times I lost 0-5. The one that did best was Umbreon, who was actually my only non-switch/turner, and ended up functioning as a special wall/cleric. On the other hand, I did use a bunch of random pokes, but still. It was basically a concept test, and the concept didn't work. It's hard to find enough tier-fitting pokes that have enough type variety and can use U-turn or Volt Switch. Btw, this was a UUbeta battle for Gen VI.

 

[vonK]

Yeah i was considering trying to repurpose this team for UU, replacing Rotom-W with lanturn and Genesect with Diggersby, among others, and it wasn't awful but it lacked the punch this team had. I may try again soon since this team has petered out around the 2200-2400 mark and I'm growing bored of it.

For a team like this to be succesful I'd say a cleric might actually be a bad idea since it cuts down on the team's offensive potential. There are also bulky volt-turn teams which I haven't tried, but to function in OU (and presumably UU) a team like this would need:
1) A Status Absorber: preferably more than one
2) Speed and Priority: Offense really is your best defense with pokemon this frail, mons like Intimidate Landorus-T, Defensive Rotom-W and AV Conk make an okay defensive core, but by the end of the day you're still not taking a lot of hits from Aegislash.
Options I haven't used, but could work: Greninja, Scizor, Talonflame
3) Immediate power: Set-up sweepers like BD azumarill can work on this team, but in order to prevent other pokemon from setting up on you, you can't give your opponent an option at any point in time.
4) Pivots: I haven't employed any but this team would probably benefit from a Pivot or two.
Options: Aegislash, Heatran
5) Hazard Removal: Self-explanatory.

 

[Gyarad0s]

First off; this is a great team. It meshes well together and has just enough bulk and damage output to stand up to and conquer most OU teams out there, and particulary runs over hyper offense, offense, and much balance. It has problems facing defensive teams; but I'll get to why in a moment.

Some of my thoughts on the team----Not too useful


As you know vonK I have spent quite a bit of time playtesting this team; and my biggest concern with this team (which is also why in my opinion this team absolutely rips apart newer to mid-level players and hits a brick wall with experienced players) is that it is extremely weak to prediction. Landorus, for instance, is almost required to effectively deal with Conkeldurr and-if Rotom has been lost-Aegislash; both of which carry moves that can rip it apart if they see it coming (Ice Punch and Shadow Ball; respectively). Players who can see the patterns that this team follows can tear it apart--or at least knock out a poke or two. That wouldn't be as much of a problem on a usual team but this volt-turn team contains pokes designed for specific necessary purposes that once lost create giant holes in the team. Usually the opponent's team has been absolutely ripped apart or sufficiently weakened for this not to matter; but losing a mon early can spell serious problems.
That said I have absolutely no idea how to fix it. It's a change that I guess requires predicting predictions-something that I am certainly not capable of unless I've played someone several times. You may be (and probably are) better at this; but that is the main problem I encounter with this team.

Beyond that nonsense I have a few possible changes:

Flamethrower to Blaze kick. The Drop in accuracy is worth the rise in power; as a CB Blaze kick is much more powerful than a non-invested; non-boosted flamethrower. I do however see your reasoning behind keeping flamethrower and also agree with that.

Scizor or Lati@s over Crobat. Scizor can pull off an excellent defensive set in >Defog/Roost/Bullet Punch/U-turn<. This does several things for the team; providing hazard removal, powerful priority even uninvested, and a slow u-turn that allows it to tank a hit for a teammate and still get off damage while allowing the teammate to switch in. I have also often run an offensive defogging Latios set in >LO/Lefties--Dragon Pulse/Psyshock/Thunderbolt(or surf)/Defog<. It tends to fall much quicker than Latias but is almost always able to remove entry hazards and has respectable power. Latias on the other hand would provide more bulk; but I can't recommend a set as I have never used Latias.

A Setup Sweeper. A quality stall team has always been able to almost completely wall me when I've used this team; slowly status the team (even with Conkeldurr and Rotom absorbing the brunt of it), and eventually get the upper hand. I feel that a setup sweeper such as Scolipede, Garchomp, Gyarados, or Terrakion would greatly help with this. These are all physical to enable the killing of Blissey/Chansey and Heatran; and would all be excellent choices in replacing Genesect or Conkeldurr.

 

[tcr]

Hey man, sorry for late reply but im here to help you out a bit. From what it looks like the main win condition is a late game Manectric sweep. You have nice pivots in Rotom W and Landorus T, as well as CB Genesect to help wear down walls. Conkelldurr helps absorb hits from the special side while also being a physical monster. Now Manectric is nice and all, but can't really facilitate a sweep. Its simply not powerful enough to sweep, although it does have the nice speed.

First off you said you have an issue with things like Volcarona, and also things like Charizard Y really poop on your team. Consider trying out Rotom-H over Rotom-W. It'll help with Genesect immemsely, by being able to switch in on any of its moves and resist them all. It also will always beat Charizard Y as well as stopping most Volcarona. It also stops things like Trevenant who can pivot in on Rotom W which is nice as well, and still keeps the synergy by stopping Talonflame.

The main thing Crobat has over other Defoggers is its speed and Super Fang. Since you arent running super fang, I would switch this out for Latias. Latias gives you better switchins and isnt rocks weak, so you can switch in and out better. Being able to have dragon typing is a boon as well and gives you a check against Azumarill or Venusaur, whichever one you want, by running either psyshock or thunderbolt. Firing off draco meteors is nice as well to weaken an opponents team.

Next with no real apparent win condition outside Manectric, I think you should switch Genesect's set to its Rock Polish set. You dont really need a wallbreaker, seeing as your entire team wears them down with constant switching. A CB set is easy to detect as well because of how powerful its U-Turns are compared to a regular Scarfed version. A rock polish set gives you some needed late game sweeping as it can easily get the boost with things like Rotom or Landorus running around (neither will stay in fearing the ice beam or energy ball).

I hope I helped your team man! Good luck!

 

[vonK]

Yeah Latias with Psyshock is a good idea. I think that I'll put Energy Ball>Thunderbolt though, since they'll do the same amount of damage to Azumarill and I've found water/ground mons give me trouble. Draco Meteor is always nice but wouldn't Roost be a better fit on my defogger, who I probably need to keep alive the most out of any pokemon. What EVs would you recommend by the way?

The biggest problem with this is that I lose some crucial speed, meaning that M-Luc and Volcarona become bigger threats, it does at least help mitigate my problems with certain water pokemon. It also decreases my reliance on physical attackers a little, but by the same token it makes me more knock off weak. Latias also fails to help with my problems with Aegislash, which I am considering ways to deal with. (Mandibuzz would help a lot, but raises problems over how to deal with M-venusaur, and also speed.)

As for Rotom-W, if he goes then I lose all water-type attacks, which is a pretty significant loss which I'm not sure I'm willing to take. Rotom-H also provides perfectly redundant coverage with M-Manectric and is weak to Aqua Jet.

Edit: Okay I think I'm going to try: Scizor> Crobat and Greninja> Genesect. This will fix my problems against everything except M-Venusaur, Azumarill, Volcarona and Deoxys-S. Advice on builds would be appreciated.