I, in all my insanity, have finally decided to break away from the norm of Baton Pass teams having a Receiver and a Taunting Lead and a whatnot. Instead, I decided it would be a fun experiment to have the entire team attack as a whole. Essentially, you will free up a move slot for a sixth Pokemon in lieu of a receiver, allowing all your Pokemon in the chain to be attackers, unless they serve some other specific role.
This is a Favorites team, although it may not look like one. As much as I love Hypno and Ambipom and Rapidash and Furret(!), I could not find a place on this team for them without exposing a major weakness or being repetitive. However, you will find that although every move slot on this team is crucial, there is a lot of wiggle room. It doesn't matter so much as WHERE the attacks are, but that they are there.
What I love about this team is that the entire team is the core. It's not like, 'oh, I need a rapid spinner, so I'll stick a Starmie in there' or 'my team is Scizor weak, so I'll add ScrafTran' or whatever. It's more like, "I need, this, so I'll add one of these three, and since choice number 2 can do this, I'll use that." With both Aqua Ring and Ingrain being Baton Passed to every Pokemon in the chain, those with Leftovers can heal 18.75% of their health every turn. That's a HUGE number, folks. That means I can switch into Stealth Rock with a Sandstorm blowing and not lose any health. This recovery is one example of how the team is interdependent on itself.
Additionally, this is in-game (yes, I obtained Mew and Celebi via AR, but I did not hack anything special onto them), so I am not able to determine EV spreads. However, I am using this team with my friends, who do not know about/utilize EVs, so I figured in all fairness I shouldn't either. I will edit the post with stats if I must. However, I did use vitamins, mostly because I don't have the patience to EV train against Pokemon that won't be EV trained. Additionally, I'll list any notable IVs, if I know of them (for most I don't, sadly).
Clause: Anything Goes. No restrictions, no nothing.
Overview:
Uxie@Light Clay
Levitate
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
IVs: 31 Sp. Def, 30 Spd
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Memento
~ Thunder Wave/Taunt
Of all the 4th Gen Legendaries, Uxie has gotta be my second favorite. (Mespirit is my fav, hands down, but it doesn't get Memento.) The choice between Uxie and Latios really came down to defenses. Uxie's attacking power is terrible, and that's totally fine with me, because Uxie doesn't need to attack. Dual Screen Memento is one of the most effective strategies to set up...anything, really. I perfer this over Explosion because in the end, a 4- Pokemon to set up on, or the free turn Memento gives me will be enough to get the chain rolling. A Pokemon being KO'd, especially a frail lead, is of little consequence to me. The plan is, use Thunder Wave to ensure a speed advantage (or Taunt to prevent Taunting attempts...both have worked, but I prefer Thunder Wave) or to force a switch, and then set up the screens, using Thunder Wave as necessary to ensure Uxie lives through the onslaught. T-Wave also makes the opponent much easier to set up on later in the game, and is more useful than something such as U-turn, which I'll never use anyway, or Stealth Rock, as the opposition probably won't be constantly switching to rack up damage, and even if they do, any of the Baton Passers will be able to easily KO the opposition with their 6+ Sp. Atk boosts and at least 90 Base Power (sometimes STAB) attack. If the opponent is a special attacker, set up Reflect first and then Light Screen. If a physical attack, Light Screen first and then Reflect. Finally, use Memento to essentially cripple the opposition. This comes at the sacrafice of Uxie, but you'll find he's more then pulled his weight for the team. Good job, Uxie. Step 1, complete. I have yet to find one of the my friend's leads that gives this trouble. Dialga is outrun (it's 90 Base Speed to Uxie's 95) and Uxie takes minimal damage from Roar of Time/Dragon Claw/etc with the appropriate screen set up. Empoleon is Thunder Waved and has a hard time KO'ing Uxie with Mystic Water/Life Orb/Choice Specs Hydro Pump, and even Rapidash's Megahorn fails to do much, although Rapidash usually doesn't get that far. The only Pokemon I've had some trouble with is Darkrai running Dark Void, although I usually get lucky and get set up my screens, or a Sub from Vaporeon or use Mew's Synchronize or Celebi's Natural Cure to my advantage. Togekiss carries Focus Blast especially for Darkrai: hitting the aforementioned Dialga and Empoleon is just a bonus.
Vaporeon@Leftovers
Water Absorb
Timid (+ Spd, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 252 Def, 50 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def
~ Substitute
~ Aqua Ring
~ Baton Pass
~ Surf
Vaporeon has possibly been my favorite Pokemon ever since I get one on my Yellow. Actually, I've always loved most Water types and the water type in general for being so flexible (etc: Swampert and Tentacruel share no weaknesses and are both water types and are greared towards opposite ends of the spectrum). Vaporeon is, without question, my favorite Bulky Water. I used Timid Nature simply because I have no patience for breeding a Bold/Calm Vaporeon, and an extra boost in speed, especially when the team has no speed boosts, is always, ALWAYS welcome. I actually EV Trained this one for Defense, because I always get paranoid about Vaporeon's low Defense. The game plan here is simple. Substitute on the switch/weak attack which you most likely WILL survive (and unless they crit, with plently of Sub Hp to spare), and then use Aqua Ring. The score may now be 5-6, but you've essentially crippled at least one Pokemon and set up for the rest of your chain. With Aqua Ring, healing will be extremely quick, so even when the sub breaks (IF it breaks) your chain will have quick recovery. This is also your second line of defense from Critical Hits. After Vaporeon has achieved his purpose, Baton Pass out. When the Sub breaks, come back and fix another one (this Vaporeon has 420 HP, so a sub has 105 HP, which is a decent number). After Celebi succeeds in pulling off a few Calm Minds, Vaporeon's Surf is THE most powerful attack my chain possesses, so Vaporeon will oftentimes find himself sweeping with Calm Mind (from Celebi) and Rock Polish boosts (from Mew). Water Absorb is also really nice if it happens to come into play.
Mew @ Leftovers
Synchronize
Timid (+ Spd, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
~ Rock Polish
~ Barrier
~ Baton Pass
~ Ice Beam
I know what you're thinking. Out of everything Mew can do, THIS is what a choose? Why not use Scizor, who clearly pulls it off better? The answer is simple: this is in-game, folks. Mew can pull off anything, and therefore can be tailored to BP what the team needs Baton Passed. It's very inconvenient for me to have to chase after a new Pokemon every time I feel the need to make a change on Mew. Mew does it all. On this team, I need speed. Rock Polish, hello. I also need Defense. The choice was between Bulk Up or Barrier, and Barrier won. Baton Pass is obvious because, well, this is a Baton Pass team. Timid Nature to get the jump on a few Pokemon (why hello, Dialga). Ice Beam is a curious choice, admittedly. While I very easily could have gone for Aura Sphere, which hits just as well, or Psychic, which has fantasic neutral coverage and also gets STAB, I chose Ice Beam. Why? Ice Beam, Surf and Grass Knot hit most every Pokemon for neutral damage. Additionally, Ice Beam gets super-effective coverage on those annoying dragons and grassers who resist Surf, especially those like Dragonite, Roserade and Latias. It hits neutrally on Darkai, Mewtwo, and etc. So why NOT use Ice Beam? That, and Ice Beam has been my favorite attack. I was one of those people who spammed Ice Beam as a child when playing RBYGSC. I still spam Ice Beam on Pearl. Shows you how much I love it.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
~ Calm Mind
~ Double Team/Heal Bell/Perish Song/Thunder Wave/Toxic/Safeguard/Leech Seed/Swords Dance/Stealth Rock/Worry Seed/Trick
~ Baton Pass
~ Grass Knot
There are two reactions you might be going through right now. I know, getting tired of this EV spread, aren't we? I've managed to convince myself that a balance EV spread like this works best with the nature of my team. Essentially, this is versatile bulky offense. You need to survive hits based on your resistances, and dish them out as well. Granted, not every type is resisted, and that's a reason why I posed this team. But anyway, the second thing you're most likely gawking at is Double Team. I said anything goes, didn't I? This is one of them. I don't really worry about opposing Double Teamers because Togekiss has Aura Sphere, but not everybody carries a never-miss move on their team, so Double Team remains that annoying, broke move that it is. However, pretty much anything could be run over Double Team, but given the choice between any of them, Double Team is the winner by a landslide. Heal Bell and Safeguard are pretty useless because I'll have a Sub up 95% of the time, Perish Song will be carried with my Pokemon and will be bad, unless I decide to include a Mr. Mime (Perish Trapping with Smeragle, anyone?). Thunder Wave and Toxic are status moves that I use sometimes, but I've found Double Team is much better. Leech Seed is for extra recovery, but as my Pokemon are healing at least 12.50% of their total HP ever turn with Aqua Ring and Ingrain, it's not necessary. Swords Dance would be the other status boosting move, but I have no physical attacks. If I eschew Togekiss for Lucario, I'll probably run Swords Dance. Stealth Rock is nice, but the opponent probably won't be switching much (my friends never switch for some reason, but even so, why switch when you're being set up on?). Worry Seed is that sort of 'utility' move, but I'll find it useful more often than I think, I think. Problem is, I can't get it at the moment because I only have Pearl. The same thing goes for Trick. Out of all of the options, I almost ALWAYS go with Double Team. It's served me well by making my subs break less often, decreasing the chance of a critical hit ruining me, and providing protection from random suicide moves (it pleases me to no end when a Pokemon uses Explosion...and it misses). Calm Mind is the stat boosting move of the set, and is probably THE most important attack on Celebi's move set, as without it my team won't be doing much damage to the other team. Baton Pass is there for obvious reasons, and Grass Knot is a powerful attack that gets STAB from Celebi's grass typing. I could run Energy Ball or Leaf Storm over it, but Leaf Storm makes me lose my boosts and the difference between 80 and 120, even with all the boosts, is large. Although I know one of my friends runs a Vaporeon, another runs a Milotic, and generally the Milotic is more threatening to me than the Vaporeon. However, I'm not completely against switching to Energy Ball.
Togekiss @ Light Clay
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
Serene Grace
EVs: 100 Hp, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
IVs: 31 Sp. Def, 30 Spd
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Baton Pass
~ Aura Sphere
Another screener? What is this, Acredula? To be entirely honest, I'm thinking about replacing Togekiss. I'm a little paranoid that I won't be able to pull off this chain successfully without screen support, so that's Togekiss's main job. It is different then Uxie, however. Uxie is a suicide lead. He's meant to lead, set up screens, maybe paralyze and then Memento. Done. End of story, no questions asked. Togekiss is my mid-game replenisher. Think about weather teams: you need a Pokemon like Bronzong to come in and replenish the rain after its 8 turns have run up. The same is true with Togekiss. My team operates much better under screens, and with Togekiss, my subs have broken half as often. A couple of times my first Sub hasn't even broken. That's why I need Reflect and Light Screen. Additionally, I (don't think) critical hits, will go through screens, so that's another merit of always having them set up. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though. Aura Sphere, while not having STAB, has much better coverage than Air Slash. I was running Air Slash for a while, and it worked pretty well, especially after a couple of speed boosts were passed to it because of the 60% flinch chance (thank you Serene Grace!), but I was still having trouble against the likes of Empoleon, Dialga, Metagross and etc. Aura Sphere remedied that problem. I chose Togekiss because he's a sturdy dual screener, has tons of support moves to choose from (although sadly, none of them made it onto the set), gets two immunities, and only adds a rock weakness to the team, while providing a much-needed bug resistance. You need a Breloom counter? Got one.
Smeragle @ Leftovers
Own Tempo
Jolly (+ Spd, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: Honestly guys, I totally forget. I raised this guy on Colosseum.
IVs: 30 Spd
~ Spore
~ Ingrain
~ Baton Pass
~ Mean Look/Rapid Spin
Smeragle. Once again, the reason this team works. Spore is there for obvious reasons, and I believe it should be on every Smeragle set. Immobilizing an enemy is a free turn, and in the fast-paced metagame of DP, letting any Pokemon fall asleep is a huge liability. This is no exception. Additionally, as the rules are Anything Goes, there is no sleep clause. My opponent cannot afford to switch to something else, because I can sleep that too. Ingrain, as you probably know, prevents me from being pseudohazed away by Road and Whirlwind, and provides my chain with the extra 6.25% recovery. This is where the 18.75% comes from: 6.25% from Leftovers, 6.25% from Aqua Ring, and 6.25% from Ingrain. I could pull this off without Ingrain, but it really makes the team (I suppose Aqua Ring could too if Ingrain was used first, but that technicality doesn't matter). Imagine, you heal at 18.75% per turn, plus you have screens up. That means to inflect ANY damage, your opponent has to inflect at least 37.51% of your HP. That's a would-be 3KO, folks. Dual Screens and this extra recovery will turn a 2KO into a 4KO, a 3KO into an 8KO (or even a never KO), and etc. And when you add Substitute and the defensive boosts to the equation, your defenses become nearly impossible to break through. Without Ingrain, this wouldn't be as possible as it is with Ingrain. Baton Pass is there for very obvious reasons. The last slot is the only slot on the entire team which I am seriously debating about. On one hand, Mean Look allows for me to trap a helpless enemy, such as a wall, who has no hope of breaking my Sub with screens up and cannot status me because of my Sub. On the other hand, Rapid Spin helps the survivability of the entire team; when you Baton Pass in and out of everything all the time, even with an 18.75% recovery, combined Entry Hazards will take their toll (although if the sub survives the switch, you will heal off the damage the next turn, no matter who I'm using--Togekiss may not have Leftovers, but he's still heal off the 25% from SR in two turns when I have both healing moves up). Additionally, I could put Toxic Spikes here to get more free turns from switching, but Toxic Spikes are best set up early in the match, and Smeragle usually doesn't come out until I have at least one boost in all the stats. If you guys have any other suggestions, feel free to mention them.
A few reminders:
This team is TIERLESS. It's not Ubers. There is no metagame my friends are using. It's not a team that needs to be fixed because it has a huge TauntDDos weakness (which it does, by the way). It's a team that needs to be able to handle generic teams that consist of any Pokemon, and survive to do what it needs to do. I do not (at least for the time being, do not) intend on using this on Shoddy. Also remember this is In Game, so please don't go suggesting alternate EV spreads. Please.
However, ANY feedback at all will be greatly appreciated, because what do I know, my friends might decide they want to use a TauntDDOs.
And Edit: Now that I think about it, the team is semi-competitive in the way that it is a favorites team, and I'm not planning on using it on Shoddy or WiFi (scratch that, I don't even have WiFi to use) for the time being, but it is competitive with my friends, and then maybe will move to be competitive on Shoddy. I don't think it's in violation of Rule #15.
This is a Favorites team, although it may not look like one. As much as I love Hypno and Ambipom and Rapidash and Furret(!), I could not find a place on this team for them without exposing a major weakness or being repetitive. However, you will find that although every move slot on this team is crucial, there is a lot of wiggle room. It doesn't matter so much as WHERE the attacks are, but that they are there.
What I love about this team is that the entire team is the core. It's not like, 'oh, I need a rapid spinner, so I'll stick a Starmie in there' or 'my team is Scizor weak, so I'll add ScrafTran' or whatever. It's more like, "I need, this, so I'll add one of these three, and since choice number 2 can do this, I'll use that." With both Aqua Ring and Ingrain being Baton Passed to every Pokemon in the chain, those with Leftovers can heal 18.75% of their health every turn. That's a HUGE number, folks. That means I can switch into Stealth Rock with a Sandstorm blowing and not lose any health. This recovery is one example of how the team is interdependent on itself.
Additionally, this is in-game (yes, I obtained Mew and Celebi via AR, but I did not hack anything special onto them), so I am not able to determine EV spreads. However, I am using this team with my friends, who do not know about/utilize EVs, so I figured in all fairness I shouldn't either. I will edit the post with stats if I must. However, I did use vitamins, mostly because I don't have the patience to EV train against Pokemon that won't be EV trained. Additionally, I'll list any notable IVs, if I know of them (for most I don't, sadly).
Clause: Anything Goes. No restrictions, no nothing.
Overview:
Uxie@Light Clay
Levitate
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
IVs: 31 Sp. Def, 30 Spd
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Memento
~ Thunder Wave/Taunt
Of all the 4th Gen Legendaries, Uxie has gotta be my second favorite. (Mespirit is my fav, hands down, but it doesn't get Memento.) The choice between Uxie and Latios really came down to defenses. Uxie's attacking power is terrible, and that's totally fine with me, because Uxie doesn't need to attack. Dual Screen Memento is one of the most effective strategies to set up...anything, really. I perfer this over Explosion because in the end, a 4- Pokemon to set up on, or the free turn Memento gives me will be enough to get the chain rolling. A Pokemon being KO'd, especially a frail lead, is of little consequence to me. The plan is, use Thunder Wave to ensure a speed advantage (or Taunt to prevent Taunting attempts...both have worked, but I prefer Thunder Wave) or to force a switch, and then set up the screens, using Thunder Wave as necessary to ensure Uxie lives through the onslaught. T-Wave also makes the opponent much easier to set up on later in the game, and is more useful than something such as U-turn, which I'll never use anyway, or Stealth Rock, as the opposition probably won't be constantly switching to rack up damage, and even if they do, any of the Baton Passers will be able to easily KO the opposition with their 6+ Sp. Atk boosts and at least 90 Base Power (sometimes STAB) attack. If the opponent is a special attacker, set up Reflect first and then Light Screen. If a physical attack, Light Screen first and then Reflect. Finally, use Memento to essentially cripple the opposition. This comes at the sacrafice of Uxie, but you'll find he's more then pulled his weight for the team. Good job, Uxie. Step 1, complete. I have yet to find one of the my friend's leads that gives this trouble. Dialga is outrun (it's 90 Base Speed to Uxie's 95) and Uxie takes minimal damage from Roar of Time/Dragon Claw/etc with the appropriate screen set up. Empoleon is Thunder Waved and has a hard time KO'ing Uxie with Mystic Water/Life Orb/Choice Specs Hydro Pump, and even Rapidash's Megahorn fails to do much, although Rapidash usually doesn't get that far. The only Pokemon I've had some trouble with is Darkrai running Dark Void, although I usually get lucky and get set up my screens, or a Sub from Vaporeon or use Mew's Synchronize or Celebi's Natural Cure to my advantage. Togekiss carries Focus Blast especially for Darkrai: hitting the aforementioned Dialga and Empoleon is just a bonus.
Vaporeon@Leftovers
Water Absorb
Timid (+ Spd, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 252 Def, 50 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def
~ Substitute
~ Aqua Ring
~ Baton Pass
~ Surf
Vaporeon has possibly been my favorite Pokemon ever since I get one on my Yellow. Actually, I've always loved most Water types and the water type in general for being so flexible (etc: Swampert and Tentacruel share no weaknesses and are both water types and are greared towards opposite ends of the spectrum). Vaporeon is, without question, my favorite Bulky Water. I used Timid Nature simply because I have no patience for breeding a Bold/Calm Vaporeon, and an extra boost in speed, especially when the team has no speed boosts, is always, ALWAYS welcome. I actually EV Trained this one for Defense, because I always get paranoid about Vaporeon's low Defense. The game plan here is simple. Substitute on the switch/weak attack which you most likely WILL survive (and unless they crit, with plently of Sub Hp to spare), and then use Aqua Ring. The score may now be 5-6, but you've essentially crippled at least one Pokemon and set up for the rest of your chain. With Aqua Ring, healing will be extremely quick, so even when the sub breaks (IF it breaks) your chain will have quick recovery. This is also your second line of defense from Critical Hits. After Vaporeon has achieved his purpose, Baton Pass out. When the Sub breaks, come back and fix another one (this Vaporeon has 420 HP, so a sub has 105 HP, which is a decent number). After Celebi succeeds in pulling off a few Calm Minds, Vaporeon's Surf is THE most powerful attack my chain possesses, so Vaporeon will oftentimes find himself sweeping with Calm Mind (from Celebi) and Rock Polish boosts (from Mew). Water Absorb is also really nice if it happens to come into play.
Mew @ Leftovers
Synchronize
Timid (+ Spd, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
~ Rock Polish
~ Barrier
~ Baton Pass
~ Ice Beam
I know what you're thinking. Out of everything Mew can do, THIS is what a choose? Why not use Scizor, who clearly pulls it off better? The answer is simple: this is in-game, folks. Mew can pull off anything, and therefore can be tailored to BP what the team needs Baton Passed. It's very inconvenient for me to have to chase after a new Pokemon every time I feel the need to make a change on Mew. Mew does it all. On this team, I need speed. Rock Polish, hello. I also need Defense. The choice was between Bulk Up or Barrier, and Barrier won. Baton Pass is obvious because, well, this is a Baton Pass team. Timid Nature to get the jump on a few Pokemon (why hello, Dialga). Ice Beam is a curious choice, admittedly. While I very easily could have gone for Aura Sphere, which hits just as well, or Psychic, which has fantasic neutral coverage and also gets STAB, I chose Ice Beam. Why? Ice Beam, Surf and Grass Knot hit most every Pokemon for neutral damage. Additionally, Ice Beam gets super-effective coverage on those annoying dragons and grassers who resist Surf, especially those like Dragonite, Roserade and Latias. It hits neutrally on Darkai, Mewtwo, and etc. So why NOT use Ice Beam? That, and Ice Beam has been my favorite attack. I was one of those people who spammed Ice Beam as a child when playing RBYGSC. I still spam Ice Beam on Pearl. Shows you how much I love it.
Celebi @ Leftovers
Natural Cure
Bold (+ Def, - Atk)
EVs: 100 HP, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
~ Calm Mind
~ Double Team/Heal Bell/Perish Song/Thunder Wave/Toxic/Safeguard/Leech Seed/Swords Dance/Stealth Rock/Worry Seed/Trick
~ Baton Pass
~ Grass Knot
There are two reactions you might be going through right now. I know, getting tired of this EV spread, aren't we? I've managed to convince myself that a balance EV spread like this works best with the nature of my team. Essentially, this is versatile bulky offense. You need to survive hits based on your resistances, and dish them out as well. Granted, not every type is resisted, and that's a reason why I posed this team. But anyway, the second thing you're most likely gawking at is Double Team. I said anything goes, didn't I? This is one of them. I don't really worry about opposing Double Teamers because Togekiss has Aura Sphere, but not everybody carries a never-miss move on their team, so Double Team remains that annoying, broke move that it is. However, pretty much anything could be run over Double Team, but given the choice between any of them, Double Team is the winner by a landslide. Heal Bell and Safeguard are pretty useless because I'll have a Sub up 95% of the time, Perish Song will be carried with my Pokemon and will be bad, unless I decide to include a Mr. Mime (Perish Trapping with Smeragle, anyone?). Thunder Wave and Toxic are status moves that I use sometimes, but I've found Double Team is much better. Leech Seed is for extra recovery, but as my Pokemon are healing at least 12.50% of their total HP ever turn with Aqua Ring and Ingrain, it's not necessary. Swords Dance would be the other status boosting move, but I have no physical attacks. If I eschew Togekiss for Lucario, I'll probably run Swords Dance. Stealth Rock is nice, but the opponent probably won't be switching much (my friends never switch for some reason, but even so, why switch when you're being set up on?). Worry Seed is that sort of 'utility' move, but I'll find it useful more often than I think, I think. Problem is, I can't get it at the moment because I only have Pearl. The same thing goes for Trick. Out of all of the options, I almost ALWAYS go with Double Team. It's served me well by making my subs break less often, decreasing the chance of a critical hit ruining me, and providing protection from random suicide moves (it pleases me to no end when a Pokemon uses Explosion...and it misses). Calm Mind is the stat boosting move of the set, and is probably THE most important attack on Celebi's move set, as without it my team won't be doing much damage to the other team. Baton Pass is there for obvious reasons, and Grass Knot is a powerful attack that gets STAB from Celebi's grass typing. I could run Energy Ball or Leaf Storm over it, but Leaf Storm makes me lose my boosts and the difference between 80 and 120, even with all the boosts, is large. Although I know one of my friends runs a Vaporeon, another runs a Milotic, and generally the Milotic is more threatening to me than the Vaporeon. However, I'm not completely against switching to Energy Ball.
Togekiss @ Light Clay
Calm (+ Sp. Def, - Atk)
Serene Grace
EVs: 100 Hp, 100 Def, 100 Sp. Atk, 100 Sp. Def, 100 Spd
IVs: 31 Sp. Def, 30 Spd
~ Reflect
~ Light Screen
~ Baton Pass
~ Aura Sphere
Another screener? What is this, Acredula? To be entirely honest, I'm thinking about replacing Togekiss. I'm a little paranoid that I won't be able to pull off this chain successfully without screen support, so that's Togekiss's main job. It is different then Uxie, however. Uxie is a suicide lead. He's meant to lead, set up screens, maybe paralyze and then Memento. Done. End of story, no questions asked. Togekiss is my mid-game replenisher. Think about weather teams: you need a Pokemon like Bronzong to come in and replenish the rain after its 8 turns have run up. The same is true with Togekiss. My team operates much better under screens, and with Togekiss, my subs have broken half as often. A couple of times my first Sub hasn't even broken. That's why I need Reflect and Light Screen. Additionally, I (don't think) critical hits, will go through screens, so that's another merit of always having them set up. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though. Aura Sphere, while not having STAB, has much better coverage than Air Slash. I was running Air Slash for a while, and it worked pretty well, especially after a couple of speed boosts were passed to it because of the 60% flinch chance (thank you Serene Grace!), but I was still having trouble against the likes of Empoleon, Dialga, Metagross and etc. Aura Sphere remedied that problem. I chose Togekiss because he's a sturdy dual screener, has tons of support moves to choose from (although sadly, none of them made it onto the set), gets two immunities, and only adds a rock weakness to the team, while providing a much-needed bug resistance. You need a Breloom counter? Got one.
Smeragle @ Leftovers
Own Tempo
Jolly (+ Spd, - Sp. Atk)
EVs: Honestly guys, I totally forget. I raised this guy on Colosseum.
IVs: 30 Spd
~ Spore
~ Ingrain
~ Baton Pass
~ Mean Look/Rapid Spin
Smeragle. Once again, the reason this team works. Spore is there for obvious reasons, and I believe it should be on every Smeragle set. Immobilizing an enemy is a free turn, and in the fast-paced metagame of DP, letting any Pokemon fall asleep is a huge liability. This is no exception. Additionally, as the rules are Anything Goes, there is no sleep clause. My opponent cannot afford to switch to something else, because I can sleep that too. Ingrain, as you probably know, prevents me from being pseudohazed away by Road and Whirlwind, and provides my chain with the extra 6.25% recovery. This is where the 18.75% comes from: 6.25% from Leftovers, 6.25% from Aqua Ring, and 6.25% from Ingrain. I could pull this off without Ingrain, but it really makes the team (I suppose Aqua Ring could too if Ingrain was used first, but that technicality doesn't matter). Imagine, you heal at 18.75% per turn, plus you have screens up. That means to inflect ANY damage, your opponent has to inflect at least 37.51% of your HP. That's a would-be 3KO, folks. Dual Screens and this extra recovery will turn a 2KO into a 4KO, a 3KO into an 8KO (or even a never KO), and etc. And when you add Substitute and the defensive boosts to the equation, your defenses become nearly impossible to break through. Without Ingrain, this wouldn't be as possible as it is with Ingrain. Baton Pass is there for very obvious reasons. The last slot is the only slot on the entire team which I am seriously debating about. On one hand, Mean Look allows for me to trap a helpless enemy, such as a wall, who has no hope of breaking my Sub with screens up and cannot status me because of my Sub. On the other hand, Rapid Spin helps the survivability of the entire team; when you Baton Pass in and out of everything all the time, even with an 18.75% recovery, combined Entry Hazards will take their toll (although if the sub survives the switch, you will heal off the damage the next turn, no matter who I'm using--Togekiss may not have Leftovers, but he's still heal off the 25% from SR in two turns when I have both healing moves up). Additionally, I could put Toxic Spikes here to get more free turns from switching, but Toxic Spikes are best set up early in the match, and Smeragle usually doesn't come out until I have at least one boost in all the stats. If you guys have any other suggestions, feel free to mention them.
A few reminders:
This team is TIERLESS. It's not Ubers. There is no metagame my friends are using. It's not a team that needs to be fixed because it has a huge TauntDDos weakness (which it does, by the way). It's a team that needs to be able to handle generic teams that consist of any Pokemon, and survive to do what it needs to do. I do not (at least for the time being, do not) intend on using this on Shoddy. Also remember this is In Game, so please don't go suggesting alternate EV spreads. Please.
However, ANY feedback at all will be greatly appreciated, because what do I know, my friends might decide they want to use a TauntDDOs.
And Edit: Now that I think about it, the team is semi-competitive in the way that it is a favorites team, and I'm not planning on using it on Shoddy or WiFi (scratch that, I don't even have WiFi to use) for the time being, but it is competitive with my friends, and then maybe will move to be competitive on Shoddy. I don't think it's in violation of Rule #15.
