Killer Moth
Introduction
Hello.
It would probably be a good idea if I introduce myself before coming on to the focal point of this thread; the team. I'm DarkBlazeR, often simply going by Blaze. I've been playing Pokemon competitively ever since the beginning of Gen 4, although have never really made an effort to get myself known, instead preferring to casually play ShoddyBattle once in a while. I did quit Pokemon for some time towards the beginning of the HGSS era, although in recent months I've got back into battling and realised what I loved about it in the first place.
I've made at least 20 new teams for the BW metagame, and this just so happens to be my most successful, even if not necessairly the best. Therefore, I feel this would be the most appropriate for a RMT thread. I find this team to be somewhat more offensive than my past efforts. I used to always run balanced teams with FWG cores in DP. This team has therefore felt quite fresh for me when battling with it. Whilst not every pokemon on my team is designed to sweep, each member contributes to the team's in an almost entirely offensive manner.
The ultimate goal of this team is to remove Volcarona's counters, allowing it to sweep unhindered. Why Volcarona? Simply put, it's by far my favourite new Pokemon from BW. This freaking bug will kick your ass through a combination of Quiver Dance and its surprisingly decent STAB combination. Even after just one QD, it becomes extremely dangerous. Out of all the metagame's top sweepers, I've swept more teams with Volcarona than any other. Its Stealth Rock weakness is the only thing keeping from being Uber in my opinion.
So far, this team has done quite well in the Pokemon Online Official Server, peaking at #5 and comfortably keeping me within the top 100 on a number of alts. Feel free to try it for yourself if you wish. Without further ado, lets get started!
The Team
Roserade (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Roserade occupies the "lead" slot for this team. I loved using it in DP and still continue to do so into BW. The ability to instantly cripple a Pokemon on the opponent's team with Sleep Powder is amazing for any team, but is particularly useful for this team as it means one less Pokemon that could threaten Volcarona. Toxic Spikes are incredibly useful too, as it makes Blissey's job of walling Volcarona nearly impossible. It also helps with wearing down bulky Waters such as Quagsire and Jellicent. Thanks to Focus Sash, Roserade is guarenteed at least one layer of Toxic Spikes before it goes down (unless it got Taunted), which is often enough to make all the difference. Whilst often Roserade's sole job in a match is to get Toxic Spikes up, it still isn't a slouch when it comes to dealing damage either. Leaf Storm hits very hard coming from a base 125 Sp. Attack, taking out anything that doesn't resist it or isn't named Blissey. Hidden Power [Fire] allows Roserade to hurt other Grass types and Steel types, in particular Scizor and Ferrothorn. Whilst these two are setup fodder for Volcarona, they can in the long run be irritating for the rest of the team, through U-Turn spamming and spike laying. Roserade, being a Poison type, can also absorb enemy Toxic Spikes without needing to Rapid Spin them with Starmie, although with ChestoRest on Volcarona it's not really necessary.
Possible set adjustments: May switch HP [Fire] to HP [Ice], as having another way of killing Dragonite is always a plus.
Volcarona (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Rest
Thestar err... moth of the the team! As mentioned prior, Volcarona is the focal point of this team. In about 90% of the matches I won, Volcarona was the one to finish off the opponent's team. I often lose if Volcarona somehow manages to die prematurely, so it's important that I play very carefully with it, and only bring it out when the time is exactly right. However, on a positive note, generally once I've set up at least one Quiver Dance, it's an almost guarenteed victory for me. The opponent will have lost all their checks to Volcarona before it makes an appearance, so assuming this happens according to plan, there's little the opponent can do to stop a clean sweep. I chose to use ChestoRest over a 3 attack set because if for whatever reason I fail to spin away the opponent's entry hazards, Volcarona still has a fighting chance to set up Quiver Dances. The rest of my team also covers what HP [Ground] would be used for. After several QDs, it doesn't usually matter if the attack is resisted anyway. The Speed EVs allow Volcarona to outspeed Modest Scarf Rotom-W after one QD.
Possible set adjustments: Fire Blast over Fiery Dance, but I prefer having 100% accuracy, and the difference in power will be nominal after its got some QDs under its belt.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Grass Knot
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Starmie plays the crucial role of my Rapid Spinner. This is absolutely necessary if Volcarona is going to pull off a sweep, as even with ChestoRest at its disposal, SR is going to have an adverse effect on its ability to sweep. Thankfully, Starmie does all in its power to prevent that from happening. Unlike many other spinners, Starmie has enough offensive presence to dissuade spin blockers from coming in and having a field day. The two most common spin blockers in OU are Gengar and Jellicent, and both are 2HKOd by Hydro Pump/Grass Knot respectively. I ran Thunderbolt at first but I later realised Grass Knot is (suprisingly!) a 100 BP move when used on Jellicent, yet also provides additional coverage against Swampert, Quagsire and Gastrodon if Roserade bites the dust, despite Grass Knot only being a measly 60 BP move on the latter two. Recover allows Starmie to heal from past assaults so it can Rapid Spin again in the future.
Possible set adjustments: Ice Beam instead Recover since being Dragonite bait sucks. It really is that annoying! Either that, or I'll keep Recover and run Life Orb.
Dugtrio (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Reversal
Dugtrio has a very specific role on this team, which is to trap and kill things that threaten Volcarona. The three most significant examples are Terrakion, Infernape and Heatran; Dugtrio outspeeds and OHKOs all three of them. In this metagame, at least one of these three Pokemon is present on most teams, so more often than not Dugtrio executes a job well done. As well as trapping these threats, it also provides a fairly decent user of Stealth Rock, which is vital on any team unless you want to get swept by Dragonite. It also, ironically, one of my best defenses against enemy Volcarona, whom my team is very weak too. The moves are standard and relatively obvious as to why I chose them; Stone Edge allows it to trap and kill enemy Volcarona, and Reversal allows it to abuse its Focus Sash; doing some decent damage in the progress.
Possible set adjustments: Sucker Punch over Stone Edge.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
Scizor is mostly here to soften the opponent's team enough so they're in KO range for Volcarona. Alongside Rotom-W, it forms a clichéd, yet very effective offensive core with Volt/Turn. I felt as if this team was becoming too specially based, so I added a strong physical attacker to even things up a bit. It also provides the team with an obligatory Dragon resistance, in which no team should find themselves without. CB Bullet Punch hurts a hell of a lot, and provides reliable priority to keep me safe from weakened setup sweepers. It also provides another answer to Terrakion should I need it, and in tandem with HP [Ice] from Rotom-W, allows me to defeat Dragonite with the exception of that fucking evil SubDDRoost set. Superpower wrecks Steels and Blissey, and Quick Attack allows me to revenge kill Gyarados, whom Volcarona hates.
Possible set adjustments: Pursuit over Quick Attack so I can revenge kill Specs Latios.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom-W is Scizor's partnet in crime, forming the famous ScRotom combination (lol). Choice Scarf allows it to function as an efficient revenge killer to a myriad of threats including but not limited to: Dragonite, Landorus and Gyarados. Trick allows Rotom to completely cripple particular Pokemon, most notably special walls such as Blissey, as well as certain setup sweepers such as CM Reuniclus. Resistance-wise, it provides me with an ever useful Ground immunity as well as a third Water resistance. I generally spam Volt Switch, unless I predict a Ground switch-in, in which case I will use Hydro Pump. U-Turn from Scizor and Volt Switch from Rotom also provide me with a safe way of getting Volcarona into the battlefield when the stage is set for victory.
Possible set adjustments: Not really. Maybe Will-o-Wisp over Trick, but that's unlikely. Possibly Timid over Modest to deal with the Jolly Dragonites I've seen seeing lately, but the power drop is unsettling.
Conclusion
Whilst this team's structure has some obvious flaws, no team is without weaknesses. This team has both incredibly fun to use and has been reasonably successful too.
I'd say the biggest threats to my team are Rain teams, although they're still manageable with the correct play. I was considering using a Ninetails, although I couldn't find a free slot for it. Since my team is not particularly bulky, I have to also be careful when dealing with strong choiced attacks. I'm willing to modify the team if necessary, so feedback would be appriciated.
Thanks for reading!
Format taken from ToF's RMT which was taken from Iconic's RMT.
Roserade (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Sleep Powder
- Toxic Spikes
- Leaf Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Roserade occupies the "lead" slot for this team. I loved using it in DP and still continue to do so into BW. The ability to instantly cripple a Pokemon on the opponent's team with Sleep Powder is amazing for any team, but is particularly useful for this team as it means one less Pokemon that could threaten Volcarona. Toxic Spikes are incredibly useful too, as it makes Blissey's job of walling Volcarona nearly impossible. It also helps with wearing down bulky Waters such as Quagsire and Jellicent. Thanks to Focus Sash, Roserade is guarenteed at least one layer of Toxic Spikes before it goes down (unless it got Taunted), which is often enough to make all the difference. Whilst often Roserade's sole job in a match is to get Toxic Spikes up, it still isn't a slouch when it comes to dealing damage either. Leaf Storm hits very hard coming from a base 125 Sp. Attack, taking out anything that doesn't resist it or isn't named Blissey. Hidden Power [Fire] allows Roserade to hurt other Grass types and Steel types, in particular Scizor and Ferrothorn. Whilst these two are setup fodder for Volcarona, they can in the long run be irritating for the rest of the team, through U-Turn spamming and spike laying. Roserade, being a Poison type, can also absorb enemy Toxic Spikes without needing to Rapid Spin them with Starmie, although with ChestoRest on Volcarona it's not really necessary.
Possible set adjustments: May switch HP [Fire] to HP [Ice], as having another way of killing Dragonite is always a plus.
Volcarona (F) @ Chesto Berry
Trait: Flame Body
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SAtk / 144 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Rest
The
Possible set adjustments: Fire Blast over Fiery Dance, but I prefer having 100% accuracy, and the difference in power will be nominal after its got some QDs under its belt.
Starmie @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Hydro Pump
- Grass Knot
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Starmie plays the crucial role of my Rapid Spinner. This is absolutely necessary if Volcarona is going to pull off a sweep, as even with ChestoRest at its disposal, SR is going to have an adverse effect on its ability to sweep. Thankfully, Starmie does all in its power to prevent that from happening. Unlike many other spinners, Starmie has enough offensive presence to dissuade spin blockers from coming in and having a field day. The two most common spin blockers in OU are Gengar and Jellicent, and both are 2HKOd by Hydro Pump/Grass Knot respectively. I ran Thunderbolt at first but I later realised Grass Knot is (suprisingly!) a 100 BP move when used on Jellicent, yet also provides additional coverage against Swampert, Quagsire and Gastrodon if Roserade bites the dust, despite Grass Knot only being a measly 60 BP move on the latter two. Recover allows Starmie to heal from past assaults so it can Rapid Spin again in the future.
Possible set adjustments: Ice Beam instead Recover since being Dragonite bait sucks. It really is that annoying! Either that, or I'll keep Recover and run Life Orb.
Dugtrio (F) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Reversal
Dugtrio has a very specific role on this team, which is to trap and kill things that threaten Volcarona. The three most significant examples are Terrakion, Infernape and Heatran; Dugtrio outspeeds and OHKOs all three of them. In this metagame, at least one of these three Pokemon is present on most teams, so more often than not Dugtrio executes a job well done. As well as trapping these threats, it also provides a fairly decent user of Stealth Rock, which is vital on any team unless you want to get swept by Dragonite. It also, ironically, one of my best defenses against enemy Volcarona, whom my team is very weak too. The moves are standard and relatively obvious as to why I chose them; Stone Edge allows it to trap and kill enemy Volcarona, and Reversal allows it to abuse its Focus Sash; doing some decent damage in the progress.
Possible set adjustments: Sucker Punch over Stone Edge.
Scizor (F) @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Quick Attack
Scizor is mostly here to soften the opponent's team enough so they're in KO range for Volcarona. Alongside Rotom-W, it forms a clichéd, yet very effective offensive core with Volt/Turn. I felt as if this team was becoming too specially based, so I added a strong physical attacker to even things up a bit. It also provides the team with an obligatory Dragon resistance, in which no team should find themselves without. CB Bullet Punch hurts a hell of a lot, and provides reliable priority to keep me safe from weakened setup sweepers. It also provides another answer to Terrakion should I need it, and in tandem with HP [Ice] from Rotom-W, allows me to defeat Dragonite with the exception of that fucking evil SubDDRoost set. Superpower wrecks Steels and Blissey, and Quick Attack allows me to revenge kill Gyarados, whom Volcarona hates.
Possible set adjustments: Pursuit over Quick Attack so I can revenge kill Specs Latios.
Rotom-W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Trick
Rotom-W is Scizor's partnet in crime, forming the famous ScRotom combination (lol). Choice Scarf allows it to function as an efficient revenge killer to a myriad of threats including but not limited to: Dragonite, Landorus and Gyarados. Trick allows Rotom to completely cripple particular Pokemon, most notably special walls such as Blissey, as well as certain setup sweepers such as CM Reuniclus. Resistance-wise, it provides me with an ever useful Ground immunity as well as a third Water resistance. I generally spam Volt Switch, unless I predict a Ground switch-in, in which case I will use Hydro Pump. U-Turn from Scizor and Volt Switch from Rotom also provide me with a safe way of getting Volcarona into the battlefield when the stage is set for victory.
Possible set adjustments: Not really. Maybe Will-o-Wisp over Trick, but that's unlikely. Possibly Timid over Modest to deal with the Jolly Dragonites I've seen seeing lately, but the power drop is unsettling.
Conclusion
Whilst this team's structure has some obvious flaws, no team is without weaknesses. This team has both incredibly fun to use and has been reasonably successful too.
I'd say the biggest threats to my team are Rain teams, although they're still manageable with the correct play. I was considering using a Ninetails, although I couldn't find a free slot for it. Since my team is not particularly bulky, I have to also be careful when dealing with strong choiced attacks. I'm willing to modify the team if necessary, so feedback would be appriciated.
Thanks for reading!
Format taken from ToF's RMT which was taken from Iconic's RMT.
