So I finally got into Shoddy Battle like yesterday, and while I'm still upset I can't use Natural Gift (among other dumb shoddy glitches), I guess competitive online battle simulation is cool stuff.
Ever since HGSS came out, my mini-goal for competitive battling is to find ways to use Feraligatr effectively that distinguishes him from Gyarados in the OU environment. So here is my team, which I know has problems and needs critique.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Cloak
Adamant; 252 Attack, 6 Defense, 252 Speed
-Earthquake
-Endeavor
-Ice Shard
-Stealth Rock
The standard Mamoswine lead. Nothing really fancy about it, because it works most of the time. Although Azelf, Infernape, and Jirachi leads are really annoying, and mispredicting endeavor when someone does substitute really sucks. I picked Mamoswine since the rest of my team lacks Ice and Ground coverage, probably a problem worth looking at.
Gyarados @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant; 6 HP, 252 Attack, 252 Speed
-Bounce
-Dragon Dance
-Substitute
-Waterfall
The Subbouncer. He's Gyarados...so when he gets in successfully without getting Tbolted or Stone Edge'd, good stuff happens. If I had a choice on Shoddy Battle, I would instead run Ice Fang and Natural Gift (base 80 Grass) for perfect type coverage, but w/e. I do like getting kills by Substituting to Berry activation and sweeping. It's a sight to behold lol. Part of the idea I was playing on is that it's hard for the physical water sweeper like Gyarados to be countered twice, and this brings me to...
Feraligatr @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Adamant; 252 HP, 252 Attack, 6 Sp Defense
-Aqua Jet
-Return
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
So far I like the results from this guy. When he gets set up, he destroys stuff, and the way I play, I kinda can have him and Gyarados back each other up when the other fails to sweep, and unlike Gyarados, he can take an odd Thunderbolt and he doesn't care quite as much about Paralysis. This guy has definitely won me a good number of matches with team support. A boosted Aqua Jet backed by Torrent is serious business (comparable to Scizor using a boosted Bullet Punch), and Return mauls 99% of the stuff that resists it. The big question is how I get off multiple Swords Dances, which you'll see pretty soon. Since Aqua Jet has priority, aside from maximizing attack, I put all EVs in HP to provide extra general durability. But that's not the entire story.
Magnezone @ Light Clay
Ability: Magnet Pull
Relaxed; 252 HP, 96 Defense, 162 Sp Defense
-Discharge
-Explosion
-Light Screen
-Reflect
At this point it should be apparent what I'm using Magnezone for. This is the Dual Screen set, and it pretty much rapes when I get it in on something like Band Scizor or Scarf Jirachi when they use a steel move. That's probably something I rely on a bit too much however, since faster guys with EQ are really annoying.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Adamant; 252 HP, 252 attack, 6 Sp Defense
-Bug Bite
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower
-U-turn
If I was smarter, I'd obviously have just used Pursuit instead of Bug Bite. I'm just too emotional over the Platinum weather glitch, mainly. Aside from that there shouldn't be too much of a surprise how this works. Considering he's only got a Fire weakness and that over half my team is able to switch into Fire moves really easily, that's something to be happy about.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Calm; 252 Defense, 80 Sp Attack, 176 Sp Defense
-Flamethrower
-Protect
-Toxic
-Wish
The wish set of course. There to make sure I'm not entirely owned by status, to stall things out that I'm having trouble setting up on, and being Blissey I guess and virtually immune to special attacks. Trick is really annoying I guess.
Known general problems:
Good stall teams have wrecked me with phasing, and I don't have a spinner, which makes me have to be cautious about entry hazards in general.
Generally I have to switch to Blissey to handle electric moves. So I think Zapdos is a real pain in the ass to deal with since Blissey really can't touch the subroost set. Otherwise I have to bet on a sweep with Feraligatr (hope Magnezone survives Heat Wave long enough to get the setup working) and hope he comes out on top with enough health.
Breloom is pretty hard for me to deal with if Gyarados isn't awake (or healthy for that matter). Or I guess I could try to revenge kill him with Mamoswine, which is rare since he usually dies shortly after doing lead stuff.
Generally speaking I think most of the Pokemon that give me problems lean defensive. Any other comments, critique, suggestions?
Ever since HGSS came out, my mini-goal for competitive battling is to find ways to use Feraligatr effectively that distinguishes him from Gyarados in the OU environment. So here is my team, which I know has problems and needs critique.
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Cloak
Adamant; 252 Attack, 6 Defense, 252 Speed
-Earthquake
-Endeavor
-Ice Shard
-Stealth Rock
The standard Mamoswine lead. Nothing really fancy about it, because it works most of the time. Although Azelf, Infernape, and Jirachi leads are really annoying, and mispredicting endeavor when someone does substitute really sucks. I picked Mamoswine since the rest of my team lacks Ice and Ground coverage, probably a problem worth looking at.
Gyarados @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant; 6 HP, 252 Attack, 252 Speed
-Bounce
-Dragon Dance
-Substitute
-Waterfall
The Subbouncer. He's Gyarados...so when he gets in successfully without getting Tbolted or Stone Edge'd, good stuff happens. If I had a choice on Shoddy Battle, I would instead run Ice Fang and Natural Gift (base 80 Grass) for perfect type coverage, but w/e. I do like getting kills by Substituting to Berry activation and sweeping. It's a sight to behold lol. Part of the idea I was playing on is that it's hard for the physical water sweeper like Gyarados to be countered twice, and this brings me to...
Feraligatr @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
Adamant; 252 HP, 252 Attack, 6 Sp Defense
-Aqua Jet
-Return
-Swords Dance
-Substitute
So far I like the results from this guy. When he gets set up, he destroys stuff, and the way I play, I kinda can have him and Gyarados back each other up when the other fails to sweep, and unlike Gyarados, he can take an odd Thunderbolt and he doesn't care quite as much about Paralysis. This guy has definitely won me a good number of matches with team support. A boosted Aqua Jet backed by Torrent is serious business (comparable to Scizor using a boosted Bullet Punch), and Return mauls 99% of the stuff that resists it. The big question is how I get off multiple Swords Dances, which you'll see pretty soon. Since Aqua Jet has priority, aside from maximizing attack, I put all EVs in HP to provide extra general durability. But that's not the entire story.
Magnezone @ Light Clay
Ability: Magnet Pull
Relaxed; 252 HP, 96 Defense, 162 Sp Defense
-Discharge
-Explosion
-Light Screen
-Reflect
At this point it should be apparent what I'm using Magnezone for. This is the Dual Screen set, and it pretty much rapes when I get it in on something like Band Scizor or Scarf Jirachi when they use a steel move. That's probably something I rely on a bit too much however, since faster guys with EQ are really annoying.
Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Adamant; 252 HP, 252 attack, 6 Sp Defense
-Bug Bite
-Bullet Punch
-Superpower
-U-turn
If I was smarter, I'd obviously have just used Pursuit instead of Bug Bite. I'm just too emotional over the Platinum weather glitch, mainly. Aside from that there shouldn't be too much of a surprise how this works. Considering he's only got a Fire weakness and that over half my team is able to switch into Fire moves really easily, that's something to be happy about.
Blissey @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
Calm; 252 Defense, 80 Sp Attack, 176 Sp Defense
-Flamethrower
-Protect
-Toxic
-Wish
The wish set of course. There to make sure I'm not entirely owned by status, to stall things out that I'm having trouble setting up on, and being Blissey I guess and virtually immune to special attacks. Trick is really annoying I guess.
Known general problems:
Good stall teams have wrecked me with phasing, and I don't have a spinner, which makes me have to be cautious about entry hazards in general.
Generally I have to switch to Blissey to handle electric moves. So I think Zapdos is a real pain in the ass to deal with since Blissey really can't touch the subroost set. Otherwise I have to bet on a sweep with Feraligatr (hope Magnezone survives Heat Wave long enough to get the setup working) and hope he comes out on top with enough health.
Breloom is pretty hard for me to deal with if Gyarados isn't awake (or healthy for that matter). Or I guess I could try to revenge kill him with Mamoswine, which is rare since he usually dies shortly after doing lead stuff.
Generally speaking I think most of the Pokemon that give me problems lean defensive. Any other comments, critique, suggestions?