Introduction
Hello everyone and welcome to my first RMT. Be warned this is quite a lengthy RMT. I've been trying to fit myself into the 5th Generation for a while but have not had much luck so far. I tried many strategies but none really suited my play style. I didn't want to play a weather abuse team, and I wanted to build something anti-metagame to counter such offensive threats like Doryuuzu and defensive threats like Nattorei/Burungeru.
Under Construction
My team building process is quite lengthy, so I've used spoiler tags for it.
It all started with this guy:
Tyranitar, or more specifically, Tyraniboah. I've always loved Boah, but never found much use for him in the late 4th gen when I started battling competetively. I was excited to get some use out of his massive stall breaking capabilities this gen. I saw him as a great counter to the Nattorei/Burungeru combination.
Although I didn't want to make a weather team, having Tyranitar just screamed for me to abuse Garchomp. Enter the land shark.
This guy was to be my staple revenge killer and late game cleaner, and an all around threat. I never got to use Garchomp in gen 4, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for him.
Next up I needed entry hazards. My first choice was immediately Skarmory for his brilliant ability to absorb just about every attack aimed at both Tyranitar and Garchomp. He started off with spikes and stealth rock, but dropped the latter to pick up whirlwind and become a giant pain in the ass for my opponent.
After Skarmory, I saw another Dragon I wanted to try out, Latios. I was hesitant to have two dragons, but I went with a choice specs trick set. This way I could keep Garchomp in reserves until end game.
I had been tossing an idea for Erufuun around in my head for a while, and decided to add it as an anti-lead for my team, running a bulky set with taunt to prevent set up.
Initially my final spot was taken by Kerudio, his purpose was to be a mixed wall breaker like Tyraniboah.
However I realised afterwards that Kerudio wasn't available yet, and I did not want to adjust my standard OU team to play in Dream World just to accomodate him. I switched him prompty for rest talk Gyarados, after inspiration from the "I hate you nattorei" warstory.
I had my team put together and started testing it out right away. However something wasn't right, my team lacked defensive synergy and Latios was being a general deadweight. The fact that I lacked priority also frightened me because of the prominant threats of Dory and Cloyster. I also had a very large ice weakness that needed to be patched. I decided to swap Latios for a bulky Roobushin.
I found Roobushin to be completely underwhelming on my team, he just wasn't cutting it. I still sorely needed that ice resistance, I was tossing the idea of Heatran around in my head, but that would give me enormous weaknesses to fighting and ground with Tyranitar, so I was hesitant. I tested my HeaTrap from Gen 4 but was not satisfied.
I went back to Roobushin for a while, still lacking a lot of confidence in my team's defensive synergy. I wanted to mimic my Gen 4 team's near flawless synergy, so I threw a few concepts around in the team builder, like Sub Charge Lanturn, but before long my team was starting to look exactly like my Gen 4 team, so I threw those away. Finally I reluctantly accepted to acknowledge the pokemon holding my team back: Erufuun. I loved that set so much that I had been blind to it being a weakness, but it was a bit too gimmicky. It had saved me many times, but it was time to change. I swapped Erufuun to Celebi and moved Skarmory to the lead position, and replaced Roobushin with Heatran once more.
Finally, my team started to win more than it lost, and I felt very comfortable with it. The team's defensive synergy gave me access to the resistances and bulk to suit my prefered play style, and the team finally had a true goal: Phaze my opponent to hell, soften them up and clean up with Garchomp.
Funny how my Gen 5 team looks very much like a Gen 4 team, huh? It even has a f/w/g core as well. I guess that's just my play style.
If you actually managed to get through reading all that, then kudos. Now on to the details.
Tyranitar, or more specifically, Tyraniboah. I've always loved Boah, but never found much use for him in the late 4th gen when I started battling competetively. I was excited to get some use out of his massive stall breaking capabilities this gen. I saw him as a great counter to the Nattorei/Burungeru combination.
Although I didn't want to make a weather team, having Tyranitar just screamed for me to abuse Garchomp. Enter the land shark.
This guy was to be my staple revenge killer and late game cleaner, and an all around threat. I never got to use Garchomp in gen 4, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for him.
Next up I needed entry hazards. My first choice was immediately Skarmory for his brilliant ability to absorb just about every attack aimed at both Tyranitar and Garchomp. He started off with spikes and stealth rock, but dropped the latter to pick up whirlwind and become a giant pain in the ass for my opponent.
After Skarmory, I saw another Dragon I wanted to try out, Latios. I was hesitant to have two dragons, but I went with a choice specs trick set. This way I could keep Garchomp in reserves until end game.
I had been tossing an idea for Erufuun around in my head for a while, and decided to add it as an anti-lead for my team, running a bulky set with taunt to prevent set up.
Initially my final spot was taken by Kerudio, his purpose was to be a mixed wall breaker like Tyraniboah.
However I realised afterwards that Kerudio wasn't available yet, and I did not want to adjust my standard OU team to play in Dream World just to accomodate him. I switched him prompty for rest talk Gyarados, after inspiration from the "I hate you nattorei" warstory.
I had my team put together and started testing it out right away. However something wasn't right, my team lacked defensive synergy and Latios was being a general deadweight. The fact that I lacked priority also frightened me because of the prominant threats of Dory and Cloyster. I also had a very large ice weakness that needed to be patched. I decided to swap Latios for a bulky Roobushin.
I found Roobushin to be completely underwhelming on my team, he just wasn't cutting it. I still sorely needed that ice resistance, I was tossing the idea of Heatran around in my head, but that would give me enormous weaknesses to fighting and ground with Tyranitar, so I was hesitant. I tested my HeaTrap from Gen 4 but was not satisfied.
I went back to Roobushin for a while, still lacking a lot of confidence in my team's defensive synergy. I wanted to mimic my Gen 4 team's near flawless synergy, so I threw a few concepts around in the team builder, like Sub Charge Lanturn, but before long my team was starting to look exactly like my Gen 4 team, so I threw those away. Finally I reluctantly accepted to acknowledge the pokemon holding my team back: Erufuun. I loved that set so much that I had been blind to it being a weakness, but it was a bit too gimmicky. It had saved me many times, but it was time to change. I swapped Erufuun to Celebi and moved Skarmory to the lead position, and replaced Roobushin with Heatran once more.
Finally, my team started to win more than it lost, and I felt very comfortable with it. The team's defensive synergy gave me access to the resistances and bulk to suit my prefered play style, and the team finally had a true goal: Phaze my opponent to hell, soften them up and clean up with Garchomp.
Funny how my Gen 5 team looks very much like a Gen 4 team, huh? It even has a f/w/g core as well. I guess that's just my play style.
If you actually managed to get through reading all that, then kudos. Now on to the details.
An Indepth Look
Tactical Grace (Skarmory)
Ability: Sturdy
Nature: Impish +Def -Sp.Atk
EV Spread: 252 Hp / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Moveset:
-Spikes
-Whirlwind
-Roost
-Brave Bird
Description:
Skarmory is my primary lead. He goes out first 90% of the time regardless of what my opponents lead is. I don't fall into mind games with my leads, entry hazards are important to me so I start trying to stack them ASAP. Very little can KO Skarmory, not even super effective hits, so I generally play very recklessly with my Skarmory, and she rarely lets me down. Her role is not only to set up entry hazards, but to phaze away opponents to start racking up the damage and clear anyone trying to set up on Skarmory away. Roost + Whirlwind makes RQ if my opponent has nothing to counter Skarmory, as nothing short of a critical hit can stop her.
The name:
First I'll explain my naming scheme. My names come from the sci-fi series of novels The Culture and are the names of spaceships. The spaceships are controlled by sentient AI called the "minds" and have their own distinct personalities. The Minds choose their own names, and they usually express something about a particular Mind's attitude. As such, my pokemon also named themselves to reflect their personalities and their goals in battle.
For Skarmory I chose the name Tactical Grace. This represents her cunning tactics of setting up entry hazards and spreading the pain. Tactical Grace helps keep a lot of momentum on my side of the field and puts my opponent in a tough spot trying to beat her down, as she can easily take a super effective hit and whirlwind to something less threatening and roost up.
Considering Changes:
-Speed EVs are in question, are they really neccessary in this metagame?
-Leftovers > Shed Shell. Trappers aren't as common in Standard OU.
Attitude Adjuster (Tyranitar)
Ability: Sand Stream
Nature: Impish +Def -Sp.Atk
EV Spread: 252 HP / 88 Atk / 24 Def / 144 Sp.Def
Moveset:
-Substitute
-Focus Punch
-Crunch
-Fire Blast
Description:
TyraniBoah is the heart of this team. His presence if often underestimated as nothing more than a weather enducer, and he is prime switch-in bait for Nattorei and Burungeru. After all, Tyranitar is weak to Water, Grass and Steel. Burungeru are quick to switch out to avoid a crunch, and Nattorei falls prey to Fire Blast. However my Attitude Adjuster is not perfect yet, and I have been having trouble perfecting this set to effectively counter both Burungeru and Nattorei at the same time, and it all revolves around his speed.
If Boah is faster than Burungeru, then Nattorei can break his subs with Gyro Ball.
If Boah is slower than Burungeru, then Burungeru has a 30% chance to burn Boah before he gets a sub up.
The current spread forces Burungeru and Nattorei to roll max damage with Boiling Water and Gyro Ball. Unfortunately Power Whip destroys Tyraniboah, but fortunately not many Nattorei seem to run it. Nattorei is a clean 2HKO with Fireblast regardless, so he can outspeed and KO powerwhip Nattorei. With the attack EVs Crunch will OHKO Burungeru after spikes damage.
The name:
Attitude Adjuster expresses TyraniBoah's threatening presence on the field. His special bulk is incredible, and very often underestimated by many, including myself. The only thing Attitude Adjuster fears is the character limit, and it is clear that his rock typing is inherited from his enormous stones. To counter Nattorei and Burungeru despite being weak to their STABs definitely requires enormous ones. Whenever Attittude Adjuster goes on a rampage it just makes me want to scream BOAH!
Considering Changes:
-Lower Speed IV or more Defense IVs to take Nattorei's Gyro Ball
-Change in Nature (I really had nothing better to choose at the time...)
Quietly Confident (Celebi)
Ability: Natural Cure
Nature: Modest
EV Spread: 232 Hp / 240 Sp.Atk / 36 Spe
Moveset:
-Thunderwave
-Leaf Storm
-Recover
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Description:
Celebi came with great bulk and nice resistances to round off my defensive synergy. The bulk and recover allow her many switch ins to resist attacks thrown at Heatran and Gyarados. She also acts as my main Doryuzuu counter, hitting incredibly hard with Leaf Storm and resisting both Earthquake and Stone Edge, even after a sword dance. I have not yet encountered a Dory running X-Scissor, this could present problems. She serves as my primary resist to fighting attacks thrown at Tyranitar and Heatran.
The name:
Quietly Confident represents Celebi's unthreatening appearance. People don't usually expect much from her, but she can be very hard to get rid of, switching in again and again to resist attacks and shrug off the damage with recover.
Considering Changes:
-None at this time. Suggestions are welcome, however.
Furious Purpose (Gyarados)
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Impish
EV Spread: 248 Hp / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Moveset:
-Waterfall
-Dragon Tail
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
Description:
Gyarados is my second RQ maker. His incredible defensive capabilities and the untauntable Dragon Tail make him an unstoppable force. He retains momentum by shuffling my opponent's team around with Dragon Tail while soaking up damage as they feebily attempt to wear him down with weak attacks and status, only to cry in pain when he comfortably rests away the damage and continue his rampage even while asleep. Gyarados has enough bulk to shrug off rockslides and stone edges, however he cannot take any electric attacks. He partners well with Garchomp, who can come in for free as my opponents desperately try to rid themselves of this titan. Gyarados is definitely a star player of this team, words cannot express how incredible this set is. Combined with entry hazards provided by Skarmory, Gyarados quickly weakens the opposing team, further clearing the way to victory.
The name:
The name Furious Purpose, as well as being red, is a staple for all my Gyarados. Although this Gyarados differs from the original Bulky Dragon Dancing Furious Purpose, he is every bit as furious and threatening to my opponent. The lamentations of their women can be heard for miles as he crushes their spirits without mercy.
Considering Changes:
-Uncertain if speed Evs are neccessary. He mainly spams Dragon Tail any way.
Big Sexy Beast (Heatran)
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Calm
EV Spread: 128 Hp / 216 Sp.Atk / 104 Sp.Def / 60 Spe
Moveset:
-Earthpower
-Stealth Rock
-Lava Plume
-Taunt
Description:
Initially this was a Heatrap like my original Big Sexy Beast from Gen 4, however with Heatran being my primary ice resist, I knew I needed a bulkier set to absorb more hits and keep him in the game for longer. I considered a balloon, but Heatran was more prone to switching in to other resisted attacks, and I have two other ground immunities already. Shuca Berry allows him to counter other Trans, however they aren't as common so I am considering changing that to leftovers or a fighting resist berry. Heatran also provides my Stealth Rocks, although I rarely seem to need them as much in the 5th Gen. Spikes are definitely more important. Despite lacking recovery, Heatran easily has the bulk to switch in repeatedly, although he often finds himself as death fodder in the late game to allow someone else to come in and finish the job. I was initially hesitant in using Heatran and Tyranitar on the same team because of their common weaknesses, however they seem to be working together so far.
The name:
Much like Gyarados' name, Big Sexy Beast is my obligitory Heatran name. He's big, he's sexy, and he's an absolute beast. Everyone seems to have forgotten poor Heatran with the surge of new pokemon in B/W, but he's just as sexy as ever.
Considering Changes:
-Held item. Leftovers could provide additional bulk, or Chople Berry to alleviate the fighting weakness. Balloon is also an option, but I'm skeptical.
-EV spread. It's just a modified HeaTrap spread to offer more special bulk right now.
Someone Else's Problem (Garchomp)
Ability: Sand Veil
Nature: Jolly
EV Spread: 4 Hp / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Moveset:
-Dragon Claw
-Outrage
-Earthquake
-Fire Blast
Description:
The revenge killer and late game cleaner of my team. At least, he's supposed to be. More often than not my Garchomp comes in earlier on to resist elecrtic attacks thrown at Gyarados and try to KO the threat back. I avoid using Outrage as much as possible, except where I am unsure if Dragon Claw will KO. Garchomp is not actually an essential member to my success, part of the idea of the my team's defensive synergy was to disclude Garchomp from the loop so that I wouldn't need to bring him in until late game. Since I have a tendency to do so anyway, it's no big loss to me if Garchomp is KO'd. He doesn't often make it through to the end of the game.
I'll never leave Garchomp in on a speed tie with other Chomps, I have Skarmory to absorb their Outrages, and then I get free turns to set up. It also gives me a chance to eliminate their Garchomp counters early on. I'm actually quite underwhelmed with Garchomp after all the hype of him being ubered in Gen 4. Maybe I need to try the Yache Chomp to understand it myself.
I honestly wouldn't mind if another pokemon could fill this role better. I enjoy using Garchomp, but he doesn't feel like a neccessary team member. The electric immunity and the ability to KO almost every other dragon except Multi Scale Dragonite in a single blow is useful.
The name:
Like the name suggests, he's not my problem, someone else has to deal with him.
Considering Changes:
-Replacement, perhaps? He does hold his weight aside from being the unluckiest Garchomp ever (sand veil has only ever activated once for him)
-Scarfed Latios replacement for better type coverage? Team could benefit from Ice/Electric attacks.
Threat List
Offensive Threats
Doryuzuu is always a threat to every team. Celebi is my best chance to KO Doryuzuu lacking X-Scissor. Gyarados can be switched in on Earth Quake multiple times to intimidate and phaze. Gyarados can survive one +1 Rockslide and two +0 Rockslides from Dory. Skarmory can also phaze if Gyarados can intimidate it, but is too weak to phaze himself. Dory finds it pretty hard to get in to set up with all my phazers however. Gyarados' Waterfall can OHKO Doryuzuu, and I will always take the opportunity to do so if Dragon Tail draws the pesky mole out. Gyarados takes a mere 36% from +0 Doryuzuu.
Shell Break Cloyster is another threat to be considered to any team. Gyarados can easily wall intimidated Rock Blasts and dragontail to remove it. Heatran can also KO with Earth Power versus cocky Cloyster who try to Shell Break on him. Other than that, there is very little stopping Cloyster from total domination.
Dragons. With everything from Garchomp to Shazandora to Latios running wild, dealing with Dragons must be considered. With a lack of ice attacks, Garchomp serves as my primary check to all Dragons, being able to outspeed and OHKO almost every other dragon. Multi-Scale Dragonite can survive an Outrage from full HP, so stealth rocks are a must if he's around. Skarmory loves to wall and set up on dragons, I will never risk Chomp to a speed tie if Skarmory is still alive. Chomp can outspeed every other dragon with a scarf except scarfed Latias/Latios and Kingdra in the rain.
A lack of priority does hurt my team, but it proves that priority isn't the only way of removing these threats.
Defensive Threats
Burungeru/Nattorei are handled superbly by Tyranitar, with enough defensive spread to ensure both must roll max damage with their primary attacks to break his subs, while outspeeding both to the punch and OHKOing Burungeru after entry hazard damage.
Barujiina is a far bigger defensive threat to this team. It can absorb just about every attack I can throw at it, taunt and knock off my items. Definitely a major defensive threat that needs to be addressed. I haven't fought enough battles against it to know exactly how to counter it yet, doesn't seem all too common.
Vaporeon can be a nuisance if Celebi isn't around to Leaf Storm it to death. Tyraniboah can 2HKO with Crunch, however takes too much damage from Boil Over to be considered a check. Could benefit from an electric attack on my team to counter the two aforementioned threats.
Below is my first encounter with both Doryuzuu and Cloyster with this team.
Battle between Ashes and testingGen5 started!
Tier: Wifi
Variation: +13, -18
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
testingGen5 sent out Machamp!
Ashes sent out Skarmory!
Start of turn 1
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's super effective!
The foe's Machamp lost 74% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
The foe's Machamp used DynamicPunch!
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 237 HP! (70% of its health)
Skarmory became confused!
(This is actually wrong. The log states 70% for some reason, but it is actually 99%, Skarmory only hung on by Sturdy)
Start of turn 2
The foe's Machamp used Bullet Punch!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 4 HP! (1% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
Ashes sent out Celebi!
Start of turn 3
testingGen5 called Machamp back!
testingGen5 sent out Tyranitar!
The foe's Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
It's super effective!
The foe's Tyranitar lost 100% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Tyranitar fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
(I guess he expected a Psychic?)
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
testingGen5 sent out Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu is floating on a balloon!
Start of turn 4
The foe's Doryuuzu used Swords Dance!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack sharply rose!
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 55% of its health!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Balloon popped!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
(This is where I learned Celebi could counter Dory with a full power Leaf Storm, if it can hit 55% with -2 then it should be a 2HKO at mininum)
Start of turn 5
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
It's not very effective...
Celebi lost 184 HP! (46% of its health)
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 40% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Start of turn 6
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
Celebi lost 26 HP! (6% of its health)
Celebi fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Ashes sent out Garchomp!
(Haven't fought Dory with Garchomp before, so I thought I'd see if he could survive a hit)
Start of turn 7
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
Garchomp lost 358 HP! (100% of its health)
Garchomp fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack fell!
(Nope. Lesson learned, but it's no major loss. I don't need him for this battle any way.)
Start of turn 8
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 246 HP! (62% of its health)
Gyarados flinched!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 9
Ashes called Gyarados back!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
Heatran lost 133 HP! (37% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
Start of turn 10
Ashes called Heatran back!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack fell!
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
It had no effect!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(This is why I love my defensive synergy.)
Start of turn 11
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 146 HP! (37% of its health)
Gyarados used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 3% of its health!
The foe's Doryuuzu fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados fainted!
testingGen5 sent out Machamp!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
Start of turn 12
Heatran used Lava Plume!
The foe's Machamp lost 25% of its health!
The foe's Machamp fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
testingGen5 sent out Cloyster!
Start of turn 13
The foe's Cloyster used Shell Smash!
The foe's Cloyster's Defense fell!
The foe's Cloyster's Sp. Def. fell!
The foe's Cloyster's Attack sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster's Speed sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster restored its stats using white herb!
Heatran used Earth Power!
The foe's Cloyster lost 96% of its health!
The sandstorm rages!
The foe's Cloyster is buffeted by the sandstorm!
The foe's Cloyster fainted!
(Careless.)
Ashes won the battle!
Ashes: gg
Tier: Wifi
Variation: +13, -18
Rule: Rated
Rule: Sleep Clause
Rule: Species Clause
Rule: Wifi Battle
testingGen5 sent out Machamp!
Ashes sent out Skarmory!
Start of turn 1
Skarmory used Brave Bird!
It's super effective!
The foe's Machamp lost 74% of its health!
Skarmory is hit with recoil!
The foe's Machamp used DynamicPunch!
A critical hit!
Skarmory lost 237 HP! (70% of its health)
Skarmory became confused!
(This is actually wrong. The log states 70% for some reason, but it is actually 99%, Skarmory only hung on by Sturdy)
Start of turn 2
The foe's Machamp used Bullet Punch!
It's not very effective...
Skarmory lost 4 HP! (1% of its health)
Skarmory fainted!
Ashes sent out Celebi!
Start of turn 3
testingGen5 called Machamp back!
testingGen5 sent out Tyranitar!
The foe's Tyranitar's Sand Stream whipped up a sandstorm!
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
It's super effective!
The foe's Tyranitar lost 100% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Tyranitar fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
(I guess he expected a Psychic?)
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
testingGen5 sent out Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu is floating on a balloon!
Start of turn 4
The foe's Doryuuzu used Swords Dance!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack sharply rose!
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 55% of its health!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Balloon popped!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
(This is where I learned Celebi could counter Dory with a full power Leaf Storm, if it can hit 55% with -2 then it should be a 2HKO at mininum)
Start of turn 5
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
It's not very effective...
Celebi lost 184 HP! (46% of its health)
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 40% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
The sandstorm rages!
Celebi is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Start of turn 6
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
Celebi lost 26 HP! (6% of its health)
Celebi fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Ashes sent out Garchomp!
(Haven't fought Dory with Garchomp before, so I thought I'd see if he could survive a hit)
Start of turn 7
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
Garchomp lost 358 HP! (100% of its health)
Garchomp fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack fell!
(Nope. Lesson learned, but it's no major loss. I don't need him for this battle any way.)
Start of turn 8
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 246 HP! (62% of its health)
Gyarados flinched!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 9
Ashes called Gyarados back!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
Heatran lost 133 HP! (37% of its health)
The sandstorm rages!
Start of turn 10
Ashes called Heatran back!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Doryuuzu!
The foe's Doryuuzu's Attack fell!
The foe's Doryuuzu used Earthquake!
It had no effect!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
(This is why I love my defensive synergy.)
Start of turn 11
The foe's Doryuuzu used Rock Slide!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 146 HP! (37% of its health)
Gyarados used Dragon Tail!
It's not very effective...
The foe's Doryuuzu lost 3% of its health!
The foe's Doryuuzu fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
Gyarados is buffeted by the sandstorm!
Gyarados fainted!
testingGen5 sent out Machamp!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
Start of turn 12
Heatran used Lava Plume!
The foe's Machamp lost 25% of its health!
The foe's Machamp fainted!
The sandstorm rages!
testingGen5 sent out Cloyster!
Start of turn 13
The foe's Cloyster used Shell Smash!
The foe's Cloyster's Defense fell!
The foe's Cloyster's Sp. Def. fell!
The foe's Cloyster's Attack sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster's Sp. Att. sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster's Speed sharply rose!
The foe's Cloyster restored its stats using white herb!
Heatran used Earth Power!
The foe's Cloyster lost 96% of its health!
The sandstorm rages!
The foe's Cloyster is buffeted by the sandstorm!
The foe's Cloyster fainted!
(Careless.)
Ashes won the battle!
Ashes: gg
More example of my defensive synergy in action:
Peiraeus sent out Hitmonlee!
Start of turn 21
Ashes called Celebi back!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Hitmonlee!
The foe's Hitmonlee's Attack fell!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Stone Edge!
The attack of the foe's Hitmonlee missed!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 22
The foe's Hitmonlee used Stone Edge!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 133 HP! (33% of its health)
Gyarados fainted!
(The miss didn't matter, I only sent Gyarados in to get the intimidate)
Ashes sent out Celebi!
Start of turn 23
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 150 HP! (37% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 24
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 146 HP! (36% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 25
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 146 HP! (36% of its health)
Celebi used Thunder Wave!
The foe's Hitmonlee didn't get paralyzed because of its Limber!
(I'm an idiot. After this I didn't have enough HP to survive Blaze Kick and recover, so here is where my defensive synergy comes in to play.)
Start of turn 26
Ashes called Celebi back!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
Heatran's Flash Fire raised the power of its Fire-type moves!
(Now predicting the fighting attack.)
Start of turn 27
Ashes called Heatran back!
Ashes sent out Celebi!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Hi Jump Kick!
The attack of the foe's Hitmonlee missed!
The foe's Hitmonlee kept going and crashed!
The foe's Hitmonlee lost 50% of its health!
(And now the mind games begin for him, will I stay in or go back to Heatran? I've already made my mind up.)
Start of turn 28
The foe's Hitmonlee used Hi Jump Kick!
It's not very effective...
Celebi lost 77 HP! (19% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 29
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 132 HP! (33% of its health)
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Hitmonlee lost 9% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Hitmonlee fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
Peiraeus sent out Poliwrath!
Start of turn 30
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
It's super effective!
The foe's Poliwrath lost 91% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Poliwrath fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
Ashes won the battle!
Ashes: gg
Peiraeus: gg
Start of turn 21
Ashes called Celebi back!
Ashes sent out Gyarados!
Gyarados intimidates the foe's Hitmonlee!
The foe's Hitmonlee's Attack fell!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Stone Edge!
The attack of the foe's Hitmonlee missed!
Gyarados restored a little HP using its Leftovers!
Start of turn 22
The foe's Hitmonlee used Stone Edge!
It's super effective!
Gyarados lost 133 HP! (33% of its health)
Gyarados fainted!
(The miss didn't matter, I only sent Gyarados in to get the intimidate)
Ashes sent out Celebi!
Start of turn 23
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 150 HP! (37% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 24
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 146 HP! (36% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 25
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 146 HP! (36% of its health)
Celebi used Thunder Wave!
The foe's Hitmonlee didn't get paralyzed because of its Limber!
(I'm an idiot. After this I didn't have enough HP to survive Blaze Kick and recover, so here is where my defensive synergy comes in to play.)
Start of turn 26
Ashes called Celebi back!
Ashes sent out Heatran!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
Heatran's Flash Fire raised the power of its Fire-type moves!
(Now predicting the fighting attack.)
Start of turn 27
Ashes called Heatran back!
Ashes sent out Celebi!
The foe's Hitmonlee used Hi Jump Kick!
The attack of the foe's Hitmonlee missed!
The foe's Hitmonlee kept going and crashed!
The foe's Hitmonlee lost 50% of its health!
(And now the mind games begin for him, will I stay in or go back to Heatran? I've already made my mind up.)
Start of turn 28
The foe's Hitmonlee used Hi Jump Kick!
It's not very effective...
Celebi lost 77 HP! (19% of its health)
Celebi used Recover!
Celebi regained health!
Start of turn 29
The foe's Hitmonlee used Blaze Kick!
It's super effective!
Celebi lost 132 HP! (33% of its health)
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
The foe's Hitmonlee lost 9% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Hitmonlee fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
Peiraeus sent out Poliwrath!
Start of turn 30
Celebi used Leaf Storm!
It's super effective!
The foe's Poliwrath lost 91% of its health!
Celebi's Sp. Att. sharply fell!
The foe's Poliwrath fainted!
Celebi is hurt by its Life Orb!
Ashes won the battle!
Ashes: gg
Peiraeus: gg
They're not particularly exciting examples, and they do display a little of my rawness about competetive battling. Definitely not Warstory material, but hopefully you can understand from that a little of how I prefer to battle.
The main reason I am posting this RMT isn't because I think I've created a super awesome successful team, but rather that I've currently got tunnel vision on my team. I cannot see myself how to improve this team any further, and so I'm hoping some third perspective can help. When making suggestions, please take my play style into account, I prefer to use bulky offensive pokemon who can switch into resisted hits multiple times during a battle, and my team synergy is important.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to reading your constructive critique.
Footnote: For anyone interested in what set my Erufuun was running, I'll leave it here. I'm quite fond of it, maybe someone else can find a use for it.
SwitchErufuun
Erufuun (M) @ Lagging Tail Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Substitute/U-Turn
- Leech Seed/Stun Spore
- Switcheroo
Description:
The idea of this set is to shut down anything that sets up. Dragon Dance Kingdra, Sword Dance Doryuzuu, Shell Break Cloyster. You switch in on the stat-up, Switcheroo the Lagging Tail onto your opponent and then sacrifice Erufuun to bring in a pokemon that can OHKO your threat. It's essentially a panic button if you let something set up. Because of Mischievous Heart, Erufuun doesn't mind holding a Lagging Tail, and it's always hilarious when something tries to trick a scarf/specs onto you and ends up worse off.
I doubt I pioneered Lagging Tail + Switcheroo, but I haven't read about it anywhere else. It was fun to use, but really gimmicky.
Erufuun (M) @ Lagging Tail Trait: Mischievous Heart
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Taunt
- Substitute/U-Turn
- Leech Seed/Stun Spore
- Switcheroo
Description:
The idea of this set is to shut down anything that sets up. Dragon Dance Kingdra, Sword Dance Doryuzuu, Shell Break Cloyster. You switch in on the stat-up, Switcheroo the Lagging Tail onto your opponent and then sacrifice Erufuun to bring in a pokemon that can OHKO your threat. It's essentially a panic button if you let something set up. Because of Mischievous Heart, Erufuun doesn't mind holding a Lagging Tail, and it's always hilarious when something tries to trick a scarf/specs onto you and ends up worse off.
I doubt I pioneered Lagging Tail + Switcheroo, but I haven't read about it anywhere else. It was fun to use, but really gimmicky.
