Hey Smogoners, I'm back with another team for you to rate. I know my last team, Rain Stall, was uploaded fairly recently, but honestly, that team bored me. It just wasn't fun to play with. So, I made a new team based on my favorite pokemon, Breloom.
The teambuilding process:
Breloom is what I build the team around. He's by far my favorite pokemon, and his trusty Bulk Up set is not too shabby. The most important thing when deciding on my next move was picking a good offensive partner for Breloom, and after trying out a few different special and mixed sweepers, I decided on Latios.
Latios and Breloom have great offensive synergy, as they make excellent checks for the other's common switch-ins. Breloom handles Tyranitar, Scizor, and the blobs, while Latios smashes Gliscor. However, they both had a weakness to common steel-types, Skarmory in Breloom's case and just about everything else in Latios' case. So, the next course of action was obvious: I needed a Magnezone.
With Magnezone, I felt that my offensive core was complete, allowing me to move on to my defensive core. For starters, I needed a way to mitigate my fire weakness, as both Breloom and Magnezone take 2x damage from it. So, I decided to put in Heatran for my special wall.
At this point, I noticed that I was now weak to common fighting types, such as Terrakion and Conkeldurr, so I needed a physical wall who could handle those pokemon especially well. I tried out a few different pokes in the position, but the most effective one by far turned out to be Regenerator Slowbro.
Since I had 2/3 of a Fire/Water/Grass defensive core at this point, I thought at first that I would just throw Ferrothorn into the last spot. But then, I realized that the team I created was essentially an anti-metagame team, with the majority of my team practically being designed to handle OU's top threats. Breloom stops Volt-Turn and sand/rain teams cold, Magnezone murders every single steel type out there, Heatran laughs at sun teams, and Slowbro handles the tier's most popular offensive threats. So, I decided that my last pokemon should capitalize on this theme, while providing me with the check to dragon types that I still lacked. The answer? Abomasnow.
After a suggestion made by BTzz, I replaced Abomasnow with a Jirachi to use as my special wall, as well as changing Heatran's set to the Sunny Day one to neutralize the opposing team's weather after their inducer had been defeated, which was 90% of Abomasnow's purpose on the team anyway.
I am much more comfortable with this setup, as Abomasnow often felt like he had little use outside of changing the weather.
A closer look:
Breloom
Poison Heal w/ Toxic Orb
Careful: 236 HP / 212 SpD / 60 Spe
-Spore
-Bulk Up
-Drain Punch
-Seed Bomb
I don't care what anyone says about Stealth Rock, the best move in the game is definitely Spore. With the new mechanics, it essentially brings the opponent down to 5 pokemon permanently and allows a free turn of set-up. Bulk Up Breloom is extremely hard to kill, and I love it. He hits like a truck after a Bulk Up, even with a careful nature, and can tank hits like a champ. As the pokemon that this team was built around, he's not going anywhere.
Latios
Levitate w/ Choice Specs
Timid: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Psyshock
-Trick
Latios' job is to hit hard, and to hit fast, and he does both of these things very well. Draco Meteor wrecks everything that doesn't outright resist it, and even 2HKO's some that do. Surf provides coverage against Tyranitar, Scizor, and the like, while Psyshock allows me to bypass Chansey/Blissey. Trick gives me a way to cripple opposing walls, such as Jellicent, Jirachi, and once again, Chansey and Blissey.
Magnezone
Magnet Pull w/ Air Balloon
Timid: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
-Substitute
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Charge Beam
Magnezone's job is simple: see a steel type, switch in, kill it. It makes life so much easier for my sweepers, especially Latios. Even so, Magnezone can't stop Scizor from revenge killing Latios with Pursuit, so I try to draw him out and kill him before sweeping with Latios. Using him well can take prediction, but Magnezone is an invaluable member of the team.
Heatran
Flash Fire w/ Leftovers
Timid: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-SolarBeam
-Earth Power
This Heatran set allows me to effectively send opposing weather teams to their graves after the inducer has been dealt with (usually by Breloom). Sunny Day is the least common weather besides Hail, and I rarely have issues with opposing Sun teams anyway because of this guy and Latios. Fire Blast is his main STAB, SolarBeam takes advantage of the sun to hit water-types and the like, and Earth Power is for Tyranitar, opposing Heatran, etc.
Slowbro
Regenerator w/ Rocky Helmet
Bold: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Thunder Wave
-Slack Off
It boggles my mind that this guy isn't OU. Really, he's the best physical wall I've ever used, especially against those darn fighting types. Scald is his main STAB, and Psychic is for the fighting types that he was designed to counter, particularly Conkeldurr. Slack Off is for self-recovery, and Thunder Wave is greatly appreciated by my sweepers, especially if Breloom has already put someone to sleep. Rocky Helmet is used over Leftovers because he has plenty of self-recovery with Regenerator and Slack Off, and using Leftovers would be redundant.
Jirachi
Serene Grace w/ Leftovers
Calm: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
-Iron Head
-Wish
-Body Slam
-Stealth Rock
Jirachi is my special wall, Wish supporter, and Stealth Rocker, and it comboes quite well with Slowbro defensively. Iron Head is its main attacking move, Wish provides invaluable support for the other team members, Body Slam has a 60% chance to paralyze with Serene Grace (and it allows Jirachi to act as a paraflincher with Iron Head), and Stealth Rock is pretty self-explanatory.
So, there you have it. I'm rather proud of this team, since it as evolved from a fun team built around Breloom to a successful anti-meta team. Even so, the team does have it's share of weaknesses, and that's where you guys come in. Rate away.
The teambuilding process:
Breloom is what I build the team around. He's by far my favorite pokemon, and his trusty Bulk Up set is not too shabby. The most important thing when deciding on my next move was picking a good offensive partner for Breloom, and after trying out a few different special and mixed sweepers, I decided on Latios.
Latios and Breloom have great offensive synergy, as they make excellent checks for the other's common switch-ins. Breloom handles Tyranitar, Scizor, and the blobs, while Latios smashes Gliscor. However, they both had a weakness to common steel-types, Skarmory in Breloom's case and just about everything else in Latios' case. So, the next course of action was obvious: I needed a Magnezone.
With Magnezone, I felt that my offensive core was complete, allowing me to move on to my defensive core. For starters, I needed a way to mitigate my fire weakness, as both Breloom and Magnezone take 2x damage from it. So, I decided to put in Heatran for my special wall.
At this point, I noticed that I was now weak to common fighting types, such as Terrakion and Conkeldurr, so I needed a physical wall who could handle those pokemon especially well. I tried out a few different pokes in the position, but the most effective one by far turned out to be Regenerator Slowbro.
Since I had 2/3 of a Fire/Water/Grass defensive core at this point, I thought at first that I would just throw Ferrothorn into the last spot. But then, I realized that the team I created was essentially an anti-metagame team, with the majority of my team practically being designed to handle OU's top threats. Breloom stops Volt-Turn and sand/rain teams cold, Magnezone murders every single steel type out there, Heatran laughs at sun teams, and Slowbro handles the tier's most popular offensive threats. So, I decided that my last pokemon should capitalize on this theme, while providing me with the check to dragon types that I still lacked. The answer? Abomasnow.
After a suggestion made by BTzz, I replaced Abomasnow with a Jirachi to use as my special wall, as well as changing Heatran's set to the Sunny Day one to neutralize the opposing team's weather after their inducer had been defeated, which was 90% of Abomasnow's purpose on the team anyway.
I am much more comfortable with this setup, as Abomasnow often felt like he had little use outside of changing the weather.
A closer look:
Breloom
Poison Heal w/ Toxic Orb
Careful: 236 HP / 212 SpD / 60 Spe
-Spore
-Bulk Up
-Drain Punch
-Seed Bomb
I don't care what anyone says about Stealth Rock, the best move in the game is definitely Spore. With the new mechanics, it essentially brings the opponent down to 5 pokemon permanently and allows a free turn of set-up. Bulk Up Breloom is extremely hard to kill, and I love it. He hits like a truck after a Bulk Up, even with a careful nature, and can tank hits like a champ. As the pokemon that this team was built around, he's not going anywhere.
Latios
Levitate w/ Choice Specs
Timid: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Psyshock
-Trick
Latios' job is to hit hard, and to hit fast, and he does both of these things very well. Draco Meteor wrecks everything that doesn't outright resist it, and even 2HKO's some that do. Surf provides coverage against Tyranitar, Scizor, and the like, while Psyshock allows me to bypass Chansey/Blissey. Trick gives me a way to cripple opposing walls, such as Jellicent, Jirachi, and once again, Chansey and Blissey.
Magnezone
Magnet Pull w/ Air Balloon
Timid: 36 HP / 252 SpA / 220 Spe
-Substitute
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Charge Beam
Magnezone's job is simple: see a steel type, switch in, kill it. It makes life so much easier for my sweepers, especially Latios. Even so, Magnezone can't stop Scizor from revenge killing Latios with Pursuit, so I try to draw him out and kill him before sweeping with Latios. Using him well can take prediction, but Magnezone is an invaluable member of the team.
Heatran
Flash Fire w/ Leftovers
Timid: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
-Sunny Day
-Fire Blast
-SolarBeam
-Earth Power
This Heatran set allows me to effectively send opposing weather teams to their graves after the inducer has been dealt with (usually by Breloom). Sunny Day is the least common weather besides Hail, and I rarely have issues with opposing Sun teams anyway because of this guy and Latios. Fire Blast is his main STAB, SolarBeam takes advantage of the sun to hit water-types and the like, and Earth Power is for Tyranitar, opposing Heatran, etc.
Slowbro
Regenerator w/ Rocky Helmet
Bold: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Scald
-Ice Beam
-Thunder Wave
-Slack Off
It boggles my mind that this guy isn't OU. Really, he's the best physical wall I've ever used, especially against those darn fighting types. Scald is his main STAB, and Psychic is for the fighting types that he was designed to counter, particularly Conkeldurr. Slack Off is for self-recovery, and Thunder Wave is greatly appreciated by my sweepers, especially if Breloom has already put someone to sleep. Rocky Helmet is used over Leftovers because he has plenty of self-recovery with Regenerator and Slack Off, and using Leftovers would be redundant.
Jirachi
Serene Grace w/ Leftovers
Calm: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
-Iron Head
-Wish
-Body Slam
-Stealth Rock
Jirachi is my special wall, Wish supporter, and Stealth Rocker, and it comboes quite well with Slowbro defensively. Iron Head is its main attacking move, Wish provides invaluable support for the other team members, Body Slam has a 60% chance to paralyze with Serene Grace (and it allows Jirachi to act as a paraflincher with Iron Head), and Stealth Rock is pretty self-explanatory.
So, there you have it. I'm rather proud of this team, since it as evolved from a fun team built around Breloom to a successful anti-meta team. Even so, the team does have it's share of weaknesses, and that's where you guys come in. Rate away.
